Me? Blog?

There's really no appropriate title for this post......

2005-12-29T21:15:00.000-05:00

The Wednesday before Christmas she was soooo excited to be going to Maryland to see her twin sister for the holidays, it was also the first time in a very long time all her family was going to be in one place for Christmas, I had just gotten to know this person since her new desk assignment next to mine. Never one to be down, talk negative about her job or anyone...She also took great pains to see her Mom well taken care of...this was a person I could admire and get to be great freinds with...

"Promise me that you will make me a snow angel while your up there!" I asked , jealous that she was going to be around snow and have that white Christmas I can only dream of for now...Her Mom and her other sister and all the family were going to be with her as well...Sounds like the kind of Christmas we all dream of and occasionally get...

"Laura, I promise to make you that snow angel!" she chimed as she counted down the hours until she left the Clerks office we both worked at...CHristmas came and went , and I occasionally thought of her up in Maryland playing in the snow...Yesterday I remembered that she was due back into the office and I as gearing up to ask how the snow was...Unfortunatly , a Doctor's appointment for her Mom had been switched to that day and she called off to take her Mom to that appointment...Oh well...There's always tomorrow I thought......I'll ask her then....

The following comes directly from the Palm Beach Post:

Metro report
By Palm Beach Post Staff Reports
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Police blotter
A 51-year-old woman was caught in the crossfire after gunshots broke out in a Riviera Beach neighborhood just after 6 p.m. Wednesday. The woman was sitting in her car on the 1100 block of West 27th Street, when another car pulled up in front of a home and at least one person began shooting at the house, Riviera Beach Police spokeswoman Rose Ann Brown said. People inside the home came outside and began shooting back. The woman died at the scene. Her identity was being withheld until next of kin were notified. No one was arrested, and police didn't know what caused the shooting, she said.

Thus the life of Berthel "Bebe" Becton tragically ended...Devoted daughter, freind to all...When we found out today , shock went thru the department, many tears were shed, everyone angry at the senselessness of this. She was sitting in her car waiting at the light, no rhyme or reason to this at all...

For those of you wondering, the reason there's been no arrests is they are still sorting thru the shooting and ballistics, trust me...arrests WILL be made...

Thoughts haunted me all day, the biggest is the hope (however fruitless) is it was quick and she had no knowledge of what befell her...To think that she may have spent her last moments on this planet in stark terror doesn't sit well with me at all...she didn't deserve this

I do take some solice in the fact that she was able to be with her entire family one last time...I hope that brings some comfort to those left to figure out how to go on....

"Bebe, promise me you'll make me a snow angel up there?""

Thanks for letting me get to know you, if only for a brief moment in time.....

Okay...Now the long version......If I make it that long

2005-11-21T18:26:00.000-05:00

Is it me or is EVERYONE waiting for E-lo to have this kid? WHEW! This is taking tooo long...! hahahaha....Seriously....I'm just hoping everything turns out okay....

That said...Life here is slowly turning back to normal...well as normal as my family can possibly be...It's great to be back at work, getting that paycheck...I work in the probate/traffic division...primarily learning to input all those wonderful traffic citations...It gets interesting cause while I thought Doctors had the bad handwriting...I have come to find out it must be a job requirement for cops as well...Thank heavens I have the ability to look up the Driver's license numbers so I can at least spell the name correctly(that's providing I can READ said numbers) I caught on fairly quickly to that...but there's still lots to learn...Some are infractions, some are crimes, and some are felony's....it really interesting to see what happens with what...I've seen some pretty interesting stuff so far...Keeps me hopping...The only thing that sucks is while I have internet access....you cannot use it and yes they track it carefully....So no hopping online whilst at work guys...Oh well..I can understand that...I also have no phone...Oh there's a number people can call if it's an emergency...or if my kid needs to reach me but that's about it...I guess I can deal with that too...If the kids need me, they can beep my pager...But all in all I really like this job....Just starting out with it and still tons more to learn....

As far as the Hurricane Wilma went....We made out okay I guess...Lost power for about a week...and it really didn't suck as back cause the weather was actually on the cool side...we weren't all hot and muggy, we had generators that powered up the fridge and T'V's and such....but the cold showers really bit the big one...I had to laugh as I started the job the friday before the hurricane struck and was on paid administrative leave for the entire next week...how cool is that? The kids were out of school for 2 weeks straight until they could get all the schools powered up and the traffic signals working again...so now they get to play catch up...yeah...The dilema down here is we have something called FCATS...they are standardized tests that all kids 3rd grade and up must take in March...(They are a pain in the ass, but don't get me started on those!) the problem is the kids lost 2 weeks of work that they need to have done to be prepared for the FCATS...The dabbled with having the kids make it up on Saturdays, but that got nixed cause the parents screamed (not me-other parents) they wanted to shorted Christmas break and again parents screamed (they had already made travel plans-I can sorta understand that one-but only sorta) so I have no clue what they are going to do....should be interesting....The debate continues....don't understand why the heck they just don't push the FCAT's back 2 weeks...that would make sense, but I had actually read a story that it wouldn't be fair to the school district's that could have them on time....um....people....we had a hurricane...you know...high winds, lines down, no power, trees up rooted and yes...I did see a witch on her bicycle flying by when the back wall came thru....it's not like we were just slacking off...Heck no one wanted this thing to come thru....it's funny to see the debates that is going on down here....just totally ludicrous if you ask me....all for a test that really doesn't do anything for the child, it doesn't get recorded for college, it's basically used to measure teachers....like report cards won't do that just as well?? But the pressure they put on these kids over this stupid tests is absolutly insane....Oh I wasn't going to go there was I? Sorry!!!!! I just don't like them and don't believe in them...

But other than that....We are doing fairly well...Manissa is down here with Kairi and I am so happy about that....Kairi can now pull herself up, crawl all over the place, and can run over Asha in 10 seconds flat if you put her in her walker...(The dog hasn't learned to get out of the way yet...and sadly...I have to wonder if she ever will!!!!! hahahahaha) She has all four front teeth in....and just a cute as a button!!!!! Patrick is doing okay...He misses all of us but he stays busy over there....in fact...they are getting a band together over there....don't ask...I have no clue, but Patrick plays bass...should be interesting to hear...he promises to send us recordings if he can...But all in all things are just wonderful all around....It's just hard to get onto the computer to check out everything....I am trying to adjust my schedule so I can get on here more often....

Well that should bring everyone up to date...Will check in on everyone else's blog this week!!!!

Take care all of you!!!

The short, short short version....................

2005-11-16T06:05:00.000-05:00

Been too busy to update, job's great, kid's great, hubby's great....Still waiting for Elo's fuzzball to make it's appearance in this world...(Come ON kid! The time is NOW! hahahahaha) (See Squirrel Stories if you don't understand)

Will give the longer version soon.....hopefully.........:)

Checking in......

2005-10-27T17:06:00.000-05:00

Mike has the generator going so instead of the TV getting plugged in....I plugged in the computer to check bank balances (YIKES! hahaha)

Still have no power but we're okay....SHEESH ....this storm took us by suprise...lots of damage everywhere...Kids have been out of school all week and I have no clue (But it doesn't look good) about next week....Getting gas for your car and generators is a new adventure....3-4 hour waits...UGH!!! We didn't have this with the last two storms combined last year!!!! Not sure when we're getting power back....I hope soon but FPL said worse case senario is 75% restored by Nov 8th and the rest by the 22nd....Yeah...but at least we have the generators....it's just getting gas that's the sucky part...Been off work on paid administrative leave all week...but I have to go in tomorrow...might not be for the whole day but we'll see....

Anyhoo....Gotta run....Take care all!!!!!

Oh W-I-L-M-A!!!!!!!!!!! (Doing my best Fred Flintstone)

2005-10-22T18:21:00.000-05:00

Yeah.....We have a hurricane coming and her name is Wilma...Who thought up that name???? Kids are out of School, and I am off work that day...

HI Guys!!! Long time no Blog too!!!

To give you and update...Manisa made it down here safe and sound and is staying here with me for the time being...She's going to help out with the kids if there is no school on Teusday...Kairi is just soooooo adorable...she's crawling and talking and OH....I'm loving it, loving it, loving it!!!! Manisa and I picked out her Halloween costume...Went to Wally world and I picked up and really shiny green fairy princess costume and Manisa just loved it...Has gossamer wings and all that....She's going to be adorable!!!

Started my Job at the Clerk's office on Friday with orientation....I came home brainfried from all the information they gave us....but all in all...I am really going to love it here...plenty of room for advancement and all that...I had to laugh when we talked about the hurricane and us working...seems that I still get paid when they close for a hurricane...I am okay with that!!! The Clerks office is closed Monday, don't know about Tuesday yet...will just have to wait and see...I figure they will have to assess any damage on Tuesday so I wonder if they will be open...Schools are closed Monday as well so the kids are all doing the happy dance...

Not as worried about this storm thought...I don't think we'll see much...but will have to see...ya never know...It still is planning to head right over us....yeah...I have plenty of water, canned goods, charcol, sterno and all that should we loose power...And it is a little cooler out so maybe we won't suffer the heat too much.....hopefully!!!

Well I will keep you updated as time allows.....Take care all!!

Tig's doing the "Happy Dance!"

2005-10-11T11:46:00.000-05:00

Well Guys.....It's finally offical! I have a job at the Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts....I called today to clarify the date...She had orignally told me that I was to return on Oct 17th at 9am to finish up and then where to go for the fingerprinting and drug screen....but...she said that was a Friday...I realized that wasn't the case, that was a Monday and promtly called to clarify...

Well just got off the phone with her and she said she got everything back okay and that yes...she made a mistake...I needed to be there this Friday....I asked if I can now say I am employed at the Clerks office and she said "YES you can!!!!

Going to dance around the house now.......See ya!!!!

Need to explain something to me.....

2005-10-10T08:25:00.000-05:00

I'm toodling around yesterday, had to take Wesley back to Toy R Us to return this video game that he purchased...Mike apparently didn't read the back as to why it was rated "T" for teens...

Mature Sexual Themes.....Nope don't really want an 11 year old boy playing that kind of game....Wesley was upset but understood....So he and I spent the time going over the backs of all the games so I could show him what ones he could get and what ones he couldn't....

So....He and I are parking and what do I see?

A Soccer Mom type in a Lexus SUV.....Really nice one....She and her kids are dressed in the latest from Tommy Hilfiger, you know the nice upper middle class type...

So tell me why in the world would she want to put stickers on the side of her Lexus that would make it look like it was rifled with bullet holes????? I have seen these kinds of stickers before...Golf balls stuck in glass....other things...But I really couldn't see the point for this....Is it going to make her look Cool? Oh yeah beware the soccer mom here...I had a good laugh as it was so ridiculous...

Why would someone want to do that????? SHEESH

At any rate....Still haven't heard back from the courts yet...Will keep you guys posted about that...They told me that I tentatively have the job but they would call me for sure after my Drug Screen and Fingerprinting...Even gave me a date to come in and finish the paperwork, and told me to bring a voided check for direct deposit....but I won't consider myself officially hired until I get that final phone call....

So keep those fingers crossed!!!!

Wish me luck guys!!!

2005-10-05T14:12:00.000-05:00

Got the call I'd been waiting for....

Went up to my Attorney's office today to finish the paper work for my bankruptcy (long story-but I had to do this) and as I am waiting in the reception area....The Clerks office called me...This is the place I'd really love to work at but had just about given up hope of getting a call...She wanted me to come in to work a temp job for 90 day....going to meetings and typing up minutes...I had to explain that I really had no experience in that....but she felt I could do it as my data entry skills were pretty much thru the roof according to my tests...She understood about me wanting stability and my hesitation....Then she asked what I was really looking for...I explained that I was looking for just about any job there....even if it was clerk instead of Accounts Payable (They pay pretty good too) But I needed the benefits as well that come with a permanent position...She mentioned the accounts payable position that was in Family Court and I said that I thought they needed biligual (i'm not) She said that they are looking for anyone at this point so her response was and I quote:

"Well....We'd really like to get you on board with us...can you come down for a interview tomorrow at 10am???"

Really like to get me on board???? OMG!!!! That so made my day....my week!!!!! I said Yes...I'd most assuredly be there....even if I don't get the job...(A permanent one) ....just her saying that made my day....

So wish me luck!!!!!!

I'll keep you posted!!!!

I hope I get it, I hope I get it, I hope I get it, I hope I get it............postitive thinking......:)

Tagged.......

2005-10-03T09:14:00.000-05:00

Me? Blog? : Due date is February 23rd.....

This is my Tag From Elo......

The rules are:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same.

I have to agree with Elo that this is lame but I've been tagged so you know that you have to follow suit...

And on those lines I happily tag.....Rhonda, April, KC, Manisa, Kim.....NO TAG BACKS!!!!!

hahahahahahahahaha

BTW....Happy Belated Birthday Julie!!!

Job hunting sucks royally.....

2005-09-30T11:30:00.000-05:00

I know...I know....I have only be actively at this a week...I applied at the courthouse like I wanted to...and while I passed all the tests (Typing...accounting) the application still has to go to all the managers and goes into a "pool" so....suffice to say it may be a while be fore I hear back...if I do...UGH!!!

Been putting applications in elsewere....I hate doing this at my age...I hope something comes thru soon!!!!

Other than that....just looking forward to when Manisa and Kairi get down here...2 more weeks to go!!!! YEAH!!!!

Country Vs. Rock at the Crossroads.....

2005-09-25T17:28:00.000-05:00

I finally had one of my dreams come true....And finally got to watch it!!!!

As you all know I love both country music and rock...Well CMT has had this show on call "Crossroads" in which country artists sing with Rock artists...the one with Martina McBride sang with Pat Benetar sent chills up me...what an awesome show...But I had always loved to have seen my two Fav Rock bands do something like this...(Bon Jovi and Def Leppard)

Well I got my wish with Bon Jovi...they did a Crossroads with Sugarland....OH...MY...GOD....it was great!!!! It was pretty much like I expected it would be...To see Jon sing "Gotta be something more" (A Sugarland hit) and singing it well (but no country twang mind you!) All in all it was a great show!!! I love it

Now if we can only get Def Leppard to team up with country?? but WHO??? Tim Mcraw??? Trace Adkins??? Montgomery Gentry Brad Paisley??? (Oh I can see Joe singing "Alcohol") How about some up and comer's like Jason Aldean or Craig Morgan (I love "Red neck Yatch Club)

Okay.....Def Leppard and Travis Tritt...I'd would have died and gone to heaven if that show happened....

What do you all think????

One last thing to Mention....I want to thank all of you guys for all your prayers, thoughts and wishes over the last week or so...Doug's family is doing okay...It will take time but they will get there...Doug came home but went back up for this week....His Mom is doing as well as can be expected but is coming around...

Thanks again for all your thoughts!!!! It really meant alot!

A bright light is going out......

2005-09-13T07:09:00.000-05:00

It is time that I post about this as her time to leave us is drawing oh so very close...It was actually out of respect for KC that I really hadn't posted about this...

My ex husband Doug called me yesterday from the airport...His beloved sister Sandy has but only maybe days left...5 years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer...She battled it and it went into remission...Sadly it came back and spread...She again battled it with every thing she had...The strength of faith that she showed through out the whole ordeal totally amazed me...She was my Daughter Hayley's favorite Aunt...She would spend summers in Massachusetts with her Grandma, who only live about a mile from Sandy...Hayley would go over and help out with the daycare that Sandy ran out of her home...She would also hang out with Megan and Kelly...Sandy's daughter's with her Husband Jon...Kelly is in High School and Megan in College...Kelly has said that the hardest part about all this was not the knowing about her Mom dying...she knew she was going to a better place...it was all the pain and suffering that Kelly saw her mother bravely endure that was the hardest on them all...Sandy is a wonderful soul that I am truly glad to have known...

We knew back in August of last year that Sandy was terminal...we had hoped the chemo/radiation would give her more time...bravely she went in and out of the hospital...but finally the time came to stop the chemo...and enter hospice about 2 weeks ago...Doug was flying up this Thursday to be with her and say his goodbyes but he got the call yesterday that she had taken a drastic turn and they didn't know if she would make it thru the night...So he left yesterday...I am awaiting a phone call to let me know when it happens...Hayley is taking it hard...as can be expected...Just this past April,Doug lost his Father and Hayley her Granddaddy...now this...

My heart goes out to Doug and his Family...Please keep them in your prayers during this very difficult time...

***** UpDate******

Sandy left this world at 10:30am this morning...she was surrounded by all her loved ones.....

Her spirit now runs with the winds to be an inspiration to those of us whose lives she touched.....

We love you Sandy......you will be missed and cherished forever....

By George I think I got it!!!!!

2005-09-09T13:36:00.000-05:00

I tried yet again to get Manisa's blog to come up....I think...I hope....I finally got it.....

Stop by and say hi!!! It may require you to sign up to post a response...but it takes only about 5 seconds to do....Or Just check out the really cute Pics that she posts of Kairi, Patrick and Herself!!! (ignore please the one of Grandma!!! She's not photogenic!!!! hahahahahaha)

Just another Day of Daily Grind.....

2005-09-09T07:33:00.000-05:00

Couple that with a lousy Chest/Head cold...I'm doing just great! (note the sarcasm) Got caught up on all the laundry...yeah...Just resting and taking it easy today...Worked on the budget...another oh yeah...Spent about an hour trying to figure out why Manisa's site won't come up on here...I checked how I put it in the template and it should come up...Oh well..I'll give it another go this weekend...I am so glad that we exchanged our web sites...I hadn't realized that she had a webblog!!!

So let me formally Welcome Manisa to my site...Love you Honi!!!! Love you too Kairi!!!!!

I really hope it works out that Manisa is here for Halloween....Of course Rhonda...I'll happily post photos....Um once I figure that function out!!! hahahaha...

Well....I had better get going....I have some cleaning to do....UGH!!!

Take care all!!

Back home......

2005-09-07T07:18:00.000-05:00

While I miss Kairi and Manisa something fierce...I am glad to be home and in my own bed...I had a great time while I was up there...Kairi is just totally amazing! I think I did a not so good thing by getting Kairi hooked on Mint Chocolate Chip Ice cream!! (just little bits) She loved it!!!!! hahaha...Grandma's must do those things don't ya know...

Anyhoo...Took Kairi to the beach on Friday...She loves the water...Loves the sand too as Manisa was forever getting it out of her little hands!!! She is at that wonderful stage where she wants to do so much but she's trying faster than her body can go....She's a baby on the go that one...She gets soooooo frustrated when she can't do what she wants too but she tries really hard!!!

Manisa and I talked and I think we've decided that she's coming down in October...Since her Mom will have a car for her to use...there's no need for her to bring her's...So it will save money in the long run since I won't have to fly up and drive down with her and Kairi...She's not sure if she's flying or taking Amtrak...Think flying would be better...Less time for Kairi to be cooped up...She loves the idea of Kairi trick or treating with us.....That would be soooo wonderful...I really hope that it does work out...It should...At any rate...We spent the rest of the time toodling around New Bern (Very wonderful old houses to look at....big wrap around porches!! It's was really nice) We bought a bookcase and put it together so Patrick had a place for all his books...Now Manisa just needs to figure out what to do with the rest of his stuff!! hahaha...Sorry Honi...Couldn't resist!!....

I can't wait until she and Kairi come down...about 5 more weeks and counting!!!!

Well I am here......YEAH!!!!

2005-09-01T20:35:00.000-05:00

Hi Guys!!!!!

Made it here safe and sound....I ended up driving straight here as I made good time...when I go back I will have to take 2 days as I am leaving around 12 ish...KAIRI is sooooo adorable!!!! OMG she's just the sweetest baby!!!!! She has grown so much!!! Miss my Family but Mike assures me that all is well...After Manisa and I unloaded my Dodge (For which I sadly can say while it ran great...the seats sucked big time...my back killed me!!!!) we headed to the Marine Corp base to get gas ($1 Cheaper then every place else) and then to the commisary for groceries...The base is pretty neat...I was able to see the hanger where Patrick fixes the C-130's he works on...very impressive...the base itself was pretty cool...Heck...they even have thier own bowling ally!!!!!

Trying to figure out something...If you look on my blog at my list of other sites I go to...I tried to add Manisa's blog...She's has a Xanga web blog but for some reason...it will not come up...Not sure what I am doing wrong here...any suggestion's oh you so much more computer savvy people then I am????

Anyhoo...Gotta run....Almost time to hit the hay....Heading to the beach tomorrow...

I am having such a wonderful time!!!!!!

Take care all!!!!

Tomorrow is TRIP DAY!!!!

2005-08-30T07:13:00.000-05:00

I am sooooooo excited!!! I think I am already for the trip....Mike and I go today to pick up the rental and load it up with the stuff we took out of storage for Patrick...I hope it will all fit!!! It should...Mike is a genius when it comes to loading things up so I will leave that in his capable hands....Just praying for good driving weather and all...I cannot wait to see Kairi and Manisa!!!!

Got all the house work done, laundry done, food shopping done so Mike won't have to hopefully deal with all that...Well...he'll have to do a few loads of laundry I'm sure but he should have it pretty easy...

I will be back here on sometime on Teusday so will catch up on all the going's on Wednesday!!

Take care all!!!

Okay....it's stupid question time.....

2005-08-28T12:45:00.000-05:00

Need some advice on a situation guys...Not sure what to do or if I should do anything...it's just bugging the hell out of me...

Hayley has informed me that over her Dad's house...Doug and Lynn's kids get an allowance for chores they do over there...Okay that's fine...But when Hayley's over there and does chores as well...They feel they should not give her any money as she get's an allowance from me...but that's only for chores that she does at my house...I don't pay her extra do to chores at her Dad's...I figured that was his department...When I asked Mike he said well...He could see them saying that as Doug does pay child support so in theory, he does contribute to Hayley's allowance for here...Somehow I am sure that makes sense...just can't see it as yet..When she's at her Dad's her chores are to pick up all the pine needles outside, dishes (All day) and help Ally clean up her room (Which means Hayley pretty much cleans it up herself) and some times vacumning and dusting and moping...given what they are doing...

The thing is...our allowances for the kids are based on what they do here...With the exception of Kitchen trash and dinner dishes (only dinner dishes...not anything else)...all chores can easily be done during the week...This was done to account for the weekends Hayley was at her Dad's so she didn't really get out of her chores for here...If it falls that her chore is dinner dishes...She does extra during the week to make up for the weekends she's at her Dad's...(She'll do all the dishes when she's home with me on my weekends)

So now here's the idiot question....Am I making a big deal out of this??? I can understand Hayley being upset about this...She feels she's being jipped somewhat...I am looking at this from every possible angle before I go back to Doug and ask him about this (Hayley has asked me to think about it) With things the way they are between us...it's not going to be easy...

What do you guys think???? Be honest....Tell me I'm being an idiot if that's what you think....

We are all okay......

2005-08-26T06:19:00.000-05:00

Lot's of wind and rain....lost cable for an hour (Oh the HORROR!) but other than that...we're fine...it actually hit in Ft Lauderdale...I'll have to call my Dad to see how he made out as he lives down that way...I am so glad this was minor...I'd have hated to put off my trip...

Manisa gave me this really great link for something called "MotoMail"...It's a service that they have for the military men deployed to Iraq...You write an email, then it send it...then someone at the base prints out all the emails and hand delivers them to the people...Kinda cool...It even tells you when they've downloaded it for delivery...Patrick said he could use some Razor's and Shaving cream and that sort...the kind they use at the bases aren't all that great...Trying to think of anything else he might need as well...Any suggestion's????? Oh and he does want a HUGE jar of peanut butter and some crackers! hahahaha...I had to laugh at that one cause he and I are peanut butter-aholics eat it right out of the jar with a spoon...

I miss that kid....Oh do I miss that kid!

Hope we get a break in the weather so my squirrel freind will come back...Yup...we have an "Adopted" girl squirrel...Everyday she and I have a ritual if you will..(Been doing this for months-just thought I"d mention it here)...She comes up to the kitchen door (Right up to the glass) and puts both front paws on the glass and looks in....When she see's that I know she's there...I grab up the bag of peanuts we keep just for her and go out side...I hand one to her and put a few on the floor...I am the only one in the house she will do this for...What's really cool is the other day I went outside to get Glen in for dinner...I saw her sitting over by my car...I called out to her and did the "Come on" wave with my hand and SHE FOLLOWED ME! right into the patio where I got the peanuts and gave her one...Peanuts are always on our grocery lists...I am the only one she apparently trusts...She's let Mike give her peanuts from time to time but it's easy to tell that she's easier with me...We don't let the kids do this as this is still a wild animal and we don't want them to do something wrong and they get bit...But it's kinda cool...

At any rate...Coffee is finally waking me up and I need to hit the showers and get my day started...Take care all!!!!!

Battening down the hatches.......well sorta....

2005-08-25T08:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah....Hurricane Katrina is heading my way....Oh yippie yeah....At least right now it is still a tropical storm but will be hurricane strength by today...I am well prepared should we loose power but Mike and I don't think that will happen...but you never know...Kids only had to go for half day today because of the storm but Mike and I decided to leave them home with me....it's pretty yucky outside right now...Depending on what happens it may delay going to North Carolina next wednesday...not sure yet...going to have to wait and see...

You all take care now!

Patrick made it safe and sound......

2005-08-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

He is now in Iraq....He called me from Kuwait on morning....He was heading to Iraq later that day....He will try calling again this week...he will be stationed at the military base of Al-Hasad (I could have that wrong...that's what it sounded like) He said that that they have hundreds of "Tin Can's" set up...Tin cans are just that...Lodgings for two that are made out of metal...they do have airconditioning in them...Patrick said they look like a Metal Box....UGH!...He said it's hotter than *&%# (Instert explicative here) and he misses all of us already...He will have access to his email so he and I can write each other...He can purchase phone cards for about $20 a week...that gives him 60 minutes of international air time...I am going to help him out with those as well...ALready got a care package ready to ship out to him...Going to take it up to Manisa...then she can take it to the base and have it shipped from there....

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers....I'm still worried about him....

The kids are back in School....Kids are back in School!!!

2005-08-11T10:18:00.000-05:00

Sing the above to the tune of "The boys are back in town!"

Yep, They all started School yesterday...Oh and let me tell you...they were thrilled to go...Just had a minor problem with Wesley's schedule...but Mike and I went down, spoke to the principle and it's all handled....

So now Justin and I get to spend some quality time until he goes back on the 20th...He starts school in Ohio on the 24th...Going to take him to the beach and treat him to lunch at John' G's (it's really good!) take him out to one of those Florida shops to buy a few momento's to take home with him...Going to miss that guy being here...But it was good for him...I can tell...I hope I can do this again sometime soon...in a couple of years...that would be awesome...My kids are sure going to miss him...

Not much else is going on...Just housework and stuff...Boy is my house getting clean with me home all day...hahaha...

Glen is happily borrowing my new Def Leppard CD everyday...He just loves it! (As he should!) He's being extra careful as he knows that I just love it too...

Well gotta run..More dust bunnies are about to bite the big one!!

Take care!

It just doesn't get any better than this....

2005-08-09T11:40:00.000-05:00

8 am-You meet your 8 year old's teacher and she has wonderful plans for makes sure your child stays on task...

9-am to 11 am-you haul all 4 kids (you nephew included) to Walmart for clothes and shoes, you also decide to splurge on the "Def Leppards Rock of Ages" CD...

You all get into the car, open the CD and pop it in...You then hear the opening strains to "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and you watch as your daughter cranks it WAAAAAAYYY....

You then Jam out in your car, look in the rear view and realize that ALL your kids know this song and are jamming right along with you......

Life is good....

My First offical day of not working.....

2005-08-08T07:37:00.000-05:00

And this is going to be a short post...I have 2 days to finish up getting everthing ready for the kids to go back to school...I already have them going to be (with much grumbling) at thier bedtimes and getting them up in the morning...Now I have to go thru all of Hayley's clothes and make a list for Clothe shopping...That's tomorrow...I wish I could have done that shopping earlier but didn't have the money...The middle school that she and Wesley are going to only allows plain T-shirts or Polo's....That's fairly easy...Hanes her way for Hayley ($5 each) and Hanes for Wesley at about $6 a apiece...Glen need uniforms...UGH...I hated the uniform thing before...But oh well...And they all need new shoes...Should be a fun day....NOT! I hate shopping with a passion...

Then onto Haircuts....All of them...Supercuts here we come! Then I think I can collapse....I think...Well see...

Other than that...Not much is going on...Oh well...I lead such an exciting life at times....hahahaha

One other thing...Just a reminder...Those of you that have my work email can now delete it (Sniff sniff) I don't know how long it will take them to delete me from the hospital email system so they probably will still go thru for a while...but you can all reach me at my home email....Lstremple@msn.com

Talk to you all later!

6 hours left.......And the odd thing is....

2005-08-05T09:01:00.000-05:00

"I wanna rock and roll all night......And party everyday!"

This is the song running thru my head.....How weird is that???

Later guys!

Only 2 more days left....

2005-08-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

Got 3 hours left tonight but then it will be down to 2 days....or 15 hours to be precise...It no longer feels weird to me...More like the vacation I can't wait for...

Talked to Patrick...Sigh...Wish I could be up there right now instead...He's leaving a week from Saturday for Iraq....Keep him in your prayers guys will ya??? But all in all nothing major going on...Same shit different day...Kids have all done thier orientations for schools, supplies are bought and they are already moaning that summer is over...

I for one am glad that school is starting!!!! No more, I'm bored, when's lunch/dinner? I swear, next year...no matter what these kids are going into summer camp...They have no clue what to do to entertain themselves...Summer camp takes care of that one!....

At any rate...Just popping in for a few...Talk to you guys later!

PISSED OFF!!!! NEED TO VENT!!!!!

2005-07-28T17:40:00.000-05:00

My Ex is SO going to hear it from me!!!!

Last Christmas...I bought Hayley a Tracphone....I pay $18 for a 40 minute card...(I have now found out you get 60 minutes if you do it online) This phone is to be used for emergencies ONLY....

I just put 60 minutes on Hayley's phone...That should have lasted her 2 months...this was last week...BUT OH NO....Enter my ex husband and his wife...The bitch....Seems they feel the need to use up Hayley's minutes to call her to check in with her...She is now down to 10 minutes...They do not have a house phone....For some stupid reason they had it shut off...Not that my Ex is supposed to be able to do that as he's a deputy and required by his department to have a working phone....but that's beside the point...

I am so friggin pissed I cannot see straight...I told Hayley they are buying her more minutes or they are getting a God damned house phone....This shit's for the birds...UGH!!!!

Thanks for letting me vent....

I.C.E. ON YOUR CELL PHONE...

2005-07-27T13:33:00.000-05:00

I know that someone has emailed me about this before and in a world where just about everyone has a cell phone...this is a good idea...figured I'd pass it to the masses...it's on mine....

Paramedics will turn to a victim's cell phone for clues to that person'sidentity. You can make their job much easier with a simple idea thatthey are trying to get everyone to adopt: ICE.

ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. If you add an entry in the contactslist in your cell phone under ICE, with the name and phone no. of theperson that the emergency services should call on your behalf, youcan save them a lot of time and have your loved ones contacted quickly.It only takes a few moments of your time to do.Paramedics know what ICE means and they look for it immediately. ICEyour cell phone NOW!

Please pass this one along

Take care all!!!!

9 more days and counting down.......................

2005-07-25T16:38:00.000-05:00

After today, I will have 9 more days til my job ends...

Feels weird folks...Knowing that you job is going to end...I've been with this hospital for the past 11 1/2 years...I've seen it go from a hospital that you wouldn't want to go to even if it was your last resort to one of the top hospitals in country...I have to thank HCA for that...They bought JFK when most of the Board of Director's were going to jail (Medicare apparently didn't think houses-complete with a waterbed-for your mistress was an allowable expense-go figure!) and they completely turned it around...and built it up in the process...But with building up comes changes and the consolidation of my job is one of them...OH well....on to greener pastures I say!

I'm going to miss this place...I've had my ups and my downs about being here...but the truth is...this is going to be a very strange 2 weeks for me....and I know that come Friday August 5th...I probably will be a blubbering idiot...How do you say goodbye to people that have been oh so very intwined with your life? I have no clue...

But still...it feels very strange.......and oddly very exciting in the same respect...sorta like opening a new chapter in my life.....

Please don't do this here.....

2005-07-21T18:26:00.000-05:00

Teachers Want To Remove 'Failed' Word From Classroom

Teachers Propose Replacing 'Failed' With 'Deferred Success'
UPDATED: 3:49 pm EDT July 21, 2005

There soon could be another F-word that might be banned from classrooms in England -- the word "failed."
Some members of the Professional Association of Teachers say that telling students that they've failed can put them off learning for life. The teachers propose to replace the word "failed" with the phrase "deferred success."
Liz Beattie, a retired schoolteacher, pitched the proposal, saying that teachers should avoid labeling children as failures because they need encouragement, not labels.

"We are talking about young people who struggle to read, write and can't relate to other people," said Jean Gemmell, PAT general secretary. "These are things you cannot be allowed to fail at."
But not everybody is in love with the concept.

The United Kingdom's Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly, said that children must learn about success and failure in order to prepare themselves for adult life.

The teachers association will debate the proposal at their annual PAT conference next week.
If the motion is accepted, it will be made policy for their 35,000 members from preschool, elementary and middle schools across the United Kingdom.

I am sooo against this and really wish they wouldn't do this at all over in England...Sorry but that's the tough Mom in me coming out...After raising one son, and dealing with three others...and having to deal with kids in general...I can say one thing...Kids need to grow up by learning about failure...Now I am not talking about kids with true handicaps...or learning disabled...or mentally disabled kids...no I'm talking your basic average kid with the brains to do the work...They need to grow up and take their own knocks in life...it's how they grow and learn...Deffered Success....BLECH...IMHO...if said normal average kid failed...he obviously deserved it...and he's got to be the one to deal with it...Either he didn't listen to the teacher or just plain didn't do the work...it's that simple...

The one thing I have told my kids is that I will not and cannot hold thier hands about school work...they are old enough and smart enough to make sure assignments have been done and turned in...Oh I've had my share of problems in that area as well "I thought I had turned that in, or the teacher must have lost it" that really only gets a blank look from me that tells them I don't believe them...I've been down that road.

What's your opinion guys?????????

"Scotty" on the journey to "The Final Frontier"

2005-07-20T13:49:00.000-05:00

James Doohan, 'Scotty,' Dies At 85

Being the Star Trek Fan that I am....You all knew I'd have to post about this...I think out of all the Character's from the original Star Trek...I loved Scotty the best...Always able to fix just about anything or rig something together in the nix of time...

"I'm givin her all I have Captain...She can't take it anymore!!!!"

But he always managed to get the Enterprise out of any fix they were in...A big teddy bear he was...

"Captain....There be WHALES on board!"

was another favorite line...(That was one of my favorite movies as well-remember when he was trying to "Talk" to the computer...Not realizing that he was in the time when computers didn't talk back to you???-Oh Yes...that movies was one of my favorites!)

From being in the Canadian forces, leading troops on D-Day in WWII to a lovable actor...WOW what a life....

R.I.P. James Doohan....I am sure that you will be dearly missed...rest easy and enjoy that final frontier

RENTAL CAR AGENCIES!!!!!!

2005-07-19T17:29:00.000-05:00

AAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

Boy oh Boy did I just have a fun afternoon trying to make a car reservation to go to North Carolina in September...I usually use Dollar Car Rental cause I have always recieved good rates...I made my reservation for a Jeep Grand Cherokee (To haul ALL of Patricks stuff up from our storage unit) Price was good...I got the confirmation to my email....

"As of August 1, we will no longer accept the debit/check cards with a Visa/Mastercard Logo on them when you pick up your rental"

Uh....Excuse me??? UGH!!! I called them and yup...They will not accept them at all, You can make the reservation all right, and you can even pay with the cards when you return a vehicle but you cannot use them to pick up the vehicle ...I have always been able to use them rent a car...They are supposed to used and accepted just like a credit card...The gal I spoke to at Dollar said that she didn't like the new policy either...We both agreed that you easily overdraft a credit card just like you can a checking account...She also stated that she hoped they went back to the old policy..

I, needless to say was frustrated...I do not have good credit...in fact I am currently in the middle of bankruptcy...Won't go into the details but it was basically my only option...and I'm cool with that...I guess I'm kinda taking this as a slap cause I'm basically being told there's not way to rent a car unless I have the almighty VALID credit card (yup that's what it says)

So I spent the next few hours going to every car rental shop online I could think of...I finally thru Budget made a reservation for a Ford Exlorer and the fine print (which I AM bringing with me in case of a hassle) says I can pick up the car using my Visa Check Card...

Now all I have to do is wait and see if I am really going...Cause I need to use my rentention money to go....so far I haven't heard that we are getting extended so it's basically

13 days and counting down......

But "sniff sniff" going to really miss everyone here at work....ya know?

TGIF!!!! (Slowly coming out of my funky mood)

2005-07-15T10:51:00.000-05:00

Yes...slowly but surely coming out of my weird mood...Got 14 more working days left at my job...I am actually looking forward to the break....Going to take August off to spend time with Justin one on one and get the kids back to school, RELAX!!! Still planning on going up to Manisa's and Kairi's Sept 1-6th...but I may be driving instead...Take up the rest of Patrick's stuff up that we have in Storage...He still has his toy Chest and rocking chair that my Dad made for him and he want's Kairi to have them...My Dad made them by hand and Patrick loves them...

Other than that...I am excited about tonight.....Yup...it's my Sci-Fi night....and also the season premires of StarGate SG-1 , StarGate Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica (Yup that's right-newer version...Starbuck's a girl!) so my phone will be off! hahahahahahahaha.....and the kids are being taken to Ci Ci's Pizza so they will be fine later on......

That's pretty much it.....Take care!!!!!! and everyone have a wonderful Weekend!!!!

Just another Rant......Okay well Sorta......

2005-07-12T18:10:00.000-05:00

Guess that I have been feeling a little weird lately...That's why some of my posts have been a little off center...Oh well...I just keep reading and reading about all this crap in the news and it's really starting to drive me up the wall...

I remember a time about probably 6 years ago, when I didn't pay that much attention to the news...Oh I got yelled at for it by about everyone...I never watched the news channels much less pick up a newspaper...The biggest person to yell at me was my boss...Oh how she ranted at me for not knowing what was happening outside my door...I was happier not knowing...but I did as I should and started reading...UGH...What I read and saw made me ill....How did this world get this way? I come out of my oh so wonderful bubble and I don't like what I see...But oh well...One does have to deal with this doesn't one???

I also never will understand politics...But I can understand how many many people think we are turning into a socialist state...As near as I can tell...there are those politicians who truly want to do some good (Few and far between) but I see them get stomped on by the lobbyist who have more money to turn the vote to the way they want it...UGH! This has become a goverment for the lobbyist...not for the people...How did we let this happen??? I could be wrong but that's how it looks to me...me and tons of people will want a certain law passed, but then enter the lobbyist who basically bullies (using money as the threat) the congressmen, senators, etc...into voting their way or they will pull their money...it doesn't make sense....it should but it doesn't...

I have no clue...Like I said...I am not politically smart....I truly consider myself rather a simpleton when it comes to the politcal arena...Maybe I shouldn't....I dunno....guess I have to read more...or at least paid more attention in Civics class...

I worry about all this because this is the world that my kids will have when I am gone, and my granddaughter too...I hope they can make some sense of it all...seems to have gone crazy somehow right now....I just hope that it can be turned around....I hope I hope...

Okay...I'm done ranting....

Not much else is going on here, have about 17 more days of work until my jobs offically ends (if it does at that-they have already extended it once) I actually am looking forward to a much needed change of pace...a new career path for me!

Kids are doing okay....Justin is having the time of his life...Kairi....Well what can one grandmother say except that she's just as darling as ever!!!! Still hoping to go up and see her in September...Miss that little girl way to much!

Take care all....Be well and be happy!

What are we fighting for?

2005-07-08T07:30:00.000-05:00

Have you forgotten?

Darryl Worley

I hear people saying we don't need this war

I say there's some things worth fighting for

What about our freedom and this piece of ground?

We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down

They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in

Before you start preaching

Let me ask you this my friend

Have you forgotten how it felt that day

To see your homeland under fire

And her people blown away?

Have you forgotten when those towers fell?

We had neighbors still inside

Going through a living hell

and you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

They took all the footage off my T.V.

Said it's too disturbing for you and me

It'll just breed anger

that's what the experts say

If it was up to me I'd show it every day

Some say this country's just out looking for a fight

After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right

Have you forgotten how it felt that day

To see your homeland under fire

And her people blown away?

Have you forgotten when those towers fell?

We had neighbors still inside

Going through a living hell

And we vowed to get the ones behind Bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

I've been there with the soldiers

Who've gone away to war

And you can bet that they remember

Just what they're fighting for

Have you forgotten all the people killed?

Yes, some went down like heroes

n that Pennsylvania field

Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?

All the loved ones that we lost

And those left to carry on

Don't you tell me not to worry 'bout Bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

This is a subject that I am sure give mixed emotions to everyone....But this song above has always struck a chord with me...9/11 will forever play out in my mind...My Dad knew people in the Pentagon...I have asked myself over and over again whether or not we are doing the right thing...Yes...I do think that Bush was out looking for a fight long before 9/11...Maybe he had good reason...maybe not...He may be trying to keep a promise to his Father..I will never be sure if we ever did the right thing by going to Iraq...Yeah...I never like Saddam, read all the reports of what he did to his people..the man was literally another Hilter in the making...But are we to be the police to all the countries in our world? I don't know...That is not an easy question to answer and I can honestly say that I am ill equipped to have an answer...I wish like Hell we were out of there...My son is leaving to go to Iraq in a few weeks...The one thing I can say for certain is I am not in Bushes shoes...I don't work for him, I am not privy to what he knows...I had a long long talk with my Father and my Son about this...Patrick gets so pissed off at the news that's coming out..it totally infruriates him and his squadron...People in his camp that are coming back from Deployment are coming back with stories of an Iraqi people that truly love what we are doing there...Want us to stay to help them out...Iraqi kids coming up to the soldiers to thank them...Where are those stories???? Makes me wonder what side the Media is on... I don't hear about those in the news...They talk about us helping them open schools, rebuild, never want people like Saddam in power again, want some type of democracy....The list goes on and on...I hear the same things from my Dad...Seeing how he knew people in the Pentagon...He was always telling me..."You don't know everything" What don't I know? Yeah...It's possible that I don't know everything...But Shouldn't I?

Where am I going with this rant??? Haven't a clue...Mind is just rambling on and on and I felt the need to jot it down...Wishing I had all the answers...Wishing I could trust that our goverment is doing the right thing...Wishing 9/11 didn't happen...wishing the attacks on London didn't happen...Wishing all the innocent lives lost never happened...

Wishing my son wasn't going.....hopeing and praying that he comes back.....

Eminent Domain

2005-07-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Don't know about you guys...But I have been watching what's been happening with this on the news for some time...I'd like to hear what you guys think...

I was very please to at least see our goverment trying to undo the Supreme Courts decision on this...This has actually got Mike and I thinking about just renting from now on..This also happened to a dear freind of mine...She lived in her parents house (Both deceased) The house had been in her family for a long time so yeah...memories were attached to it...And then they came...Said going to build a retirement community condo place...more people to pay more taxes...going to give her fair market value of her home...they said she had no choice in the matter...it was a done deal..."Excuse me?"

Fair market value...Didn't include all the memories that went with it...She still had the carving in the wall she made as a child...Still put her Christmas tree up in the bay window in the living room just like her mom and dad did...Lit the fireplace too...That house contained so much and she loved it....It was one of those wonderful old Victorian homes that you just want to put on a Card...Warm and Inviting...Sat on 5 acres out in the boonies south of Medina in Ohio...Now it's not there...She cried the day they tore it down....She had no choice...I cannot imagine how she felt, I don't want too...

My ex Mother in law has the same kind of house...They came to her and her husband once about using the property but they quickly realized they would have to also move and entire cemetary...Abe was totally against it anyway...said he'd stand his ground against the goverment if he had too...they weren't taking his home...He bought the house for $13,000 back when he and Diana got married (1958 I think), it's paid for ...they raised all thier kids and grandkids in that house...they have memories attached to it that no amount of money can every repay...

I don't like Eminent Domain...Makes one think that nothing is every truly yours...Mike and I can buy a house, make it a home but you can never really truly feel safe in it cause at any moment the Suits could come and out you go...Somehow it really doesn't seem fair to anyone...

What is your opinion?????

My dog is not a yo-yo...............

2005-06-27T09:03:00.000-05:00

But evidentally my kids seemed to think she was...and because of their lack of thinking...I have no voice still as of today...

Friday night was supposed to be a relaxing night for me and Mike...it was Sci Fi night and we watch the Sci Fi channel (Stargate nuts we are) Mike had asked Glen to take Asha out...Asha, for those that don't remember is a small Shih Tzu, and most know that she is my little buddy....So needless to say I was startled to have Wesley come into our room and laughingly tell us what Glen was up too....It appears he was wrapping the leash around her belly and flipping her over and over...I was also a little perplexed that Wesley was laughing as he told on his brother-but there's a reason for that...

Needless to stay I stormed outside, spotted Glen walking Asha up from the sidewalk...One look at my face and he knew he was in for it...immediately he started yelling "Wesley told me to do too!!!" over and over...I told him to march into the house...I saw Justin and asked what he saw...He confirmed that Glen was the one doing this to Asha and that Wesley was laughing about the whole thing and egging Glen on...

What schocked me about this whole incident was the lack of common sense in the two of them...They never once thought that this could serious hurt even kill Asha...Snap that leash just right and you snap her neck....First I dealt with Glen...Yes he got a spanking...and told to get his shower and go to bed, then I dealt with Wesley....Wesley tried to still deny any wrong doing...But I told him I knew different...I was shaking at this point...Asha was hiding from the two of them...she was scared shitless...that pretty much made me even more angry...I made Wesley get his shower and head to bed too...I know I scared the crap out of the two of them...they also have been banned from touching the animals in any way...during all the yelling...I lost my voice.....

Do I think they did this maliciously??? Heck no...for the most part they are really loving where animals are concerned....I really do think they left thier brains at the front door on this one...This is the second time I have had to deal with them about the dog...3 years ago when they first moved in, They adored Asha and one day I had both of them take her outside to go to the bathroom...5 minutes later I hear Asha yipping and the boys yelling...Glen had her front half and Wesley had her back half and they were having a good old tug of war...They got chewed out then too.... and banned from the animals that time too...

What really got me on this one was Wesley...he's going to be 11 this summer and I have no clue what he was thinking at the time...He's more responsible than that...

After I chewed them out, I checked on Asha....She about jumped into my arms, shaking...I calmed her down...checked her over good and she was none the worse for were....Mike later told the boys that he wouldn't be suprised if Asha didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore...snapped at them even...and they would deserve it...I was glad for that...He backed me up 100% about everything...I know Mike worries about me with the boys...he knows they both are high maintenace kids and he wonders if I ever think about what I got my self into...He doesn't need to worry...I thought of all that along time ago....I love him and yes...even thought they can be butt heads...I love those boys too...

All in all...I highly doubt they will be trying anything like that ever again....I do think they have learned their lesson....but it will still be a while before I allow them to touch the animals...I think that is the hardest on them as they love to play with them...Oh well...that's too bad...

KIDS!!!.......

It's Catch up time!!!!

2005-06-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

It's been VERY busy here...I've been to other blogs but have been very lax on keeping up with my own...Kids are out of school, Justin is down here...so that means my life is not my own....

Keeping 4 kids busy is a challange...I have heard "I'm Bored" more times than I care to count...These kids have roller blades, bikes, scooters, skateboards, tennis rackets, kites, and yet....they remain bored....

I know the problem....I don't let them sit in front of the TV all day nor do I let them play computer games or video games all day...I've never been that kind of Mom that allows that to happen...I've heard all the medical experts that say kids shouldn't be allowed to do just and I happen to agree...As long as it's not raining...I really want the kids to be outside for the most part...So yeah...I do limit them....I know they don't like it at times (Especially Wesley-he would remain glued to Cartoon Network if we let him) but I always believe that it's for thier own good...they are getting much needed exercise and sunshine...I remember as a kid that's where I always wanted to be...outside...I'd be outside from morning til nighttime...Just being outside...it was wonderful...I will never understand why kids today have a problem with it...they'd rather park thier butts in front of the TV or play the video games...UGH!!!!!

It's also been interesting with Justin here...I knew there were going to be some adjustments for him...He's had it pretty rough this past year and Mike and I both knew it affected him greatly...I think the hardest thing for him is getting used to all the rules...He's an only child and with how my sister has been this past year...he's not had a whole lot of structure...Now he's in a place where there is structure and it's taking time for him to get adjusted...Mike and I are taking the time to explain everything to him...and he also knows that if he breaks the rules...he will be punished...(And he remembers how I am! LOL) Part of the reason Diane wanted him to come here was for the structure while she tried to get her life together (And she's coming along with that-it's not been an easy road-but she's hanging in there-and FINALLY getting a tough side!)

Work is going okay....It's hard with the new schedule...I work Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30pm to 9pm and Wednesday and Fridays 7:30am til 5pm and then go in for a couple hours on Saturday....I am actually wishing I had done the 2:30 to 9pm for all week...that would have been easier on me...It's the getting home at 9pm and going to bed and heading right back into the office in the morning that gets me...ah well...

Well trying to think of anything else I need to add....hmm...*scratches head*....I know there was a lot more I had to add but right now it's left my brain.....

Later all!

My Dog is snoring...................

2005-06-06T06:26:00.000-05:00

As I sit here and write this.....Asha is putting out some serious zzzzzz's....does anyone else have a dog that snores and loudly at that????

At any rate....I'm just hanging out waiting for the kiddles to get up...Don't go into work til 2:30pm today...But I have lots to do this morning that requires the kids to be up at least by 9am...so I can make some noise about the house...If we let them, they would sleep until 10-10:30am....I wish I could...I am always up by 630am...UGH! Didn't think I was supposed to do that yet...not til I'm like what 80?????

Well Kairi and Her Mom Manisa went home on Saturday...I'm back to missing them both...It was wonderful when they were down here...I can't wait to see them in September...Going up for the Labor day weekend...The only problem we had when she was down was the bitch struck again....Yes...You heard me right....Remember Lynn????? Well She's gone and done it again.....UGH...With every thing Manisa had going on...The only time she was able to get over there was the Friday before she left...Now she was very nervous as she is all to aware of what happened the last time she went over there...But Patrick was told Doug would be there as well...

Well....He wasn't....Seems Lynn felt Doug needed to work overtime...So he wasn't going to be home until 12am Friday night...Manisa so didn't feel like staying until then...They preceded to lay a guilt trip on Manisa because they felt that she should have stopped in more while she was down...What???? Now keep in mind that they never bothered to pick up the phone either...It would have been easier for them to go to where she was instead of Manisa coming to them...I don't find fault with Manisa...I find fault with them over that...Ah but they don't think logically...

Then...while in the pouring rain....Lynn decided she wanted to show the baby off to a friend...Manisa tried to stop her but it was too late...Manisa was politly pissed off (Wouldn't you be?) At this point she really just wanted to go home...

Then there was the car seat issue...Manisa was using a car seat that okay ...wasn't top of the line but you know what...I checked that puppy out and it was perfectly fine...Well Lynn preceded to chew Manisa out and basically called her what amounted to a bad mom and what was she thinking putting Kairi in that...Manisa was in tears when she finally left after Lynn found another car seat...She wouldn't let Manisa leave until she had...It was very late when she got home and Kairi was more than cranky (for which I was told last night-Lynn had a few words to say about Kairi being cranky-WTF?)

Needless to say Patrick was more than pissed when he heard about all this stuff...And rightfully so...I was as well...Had smoke coming out my ears for the most part all weekend....Still do when I get to thinking of this...

What I thought was funny was when Lynn told Manisa (jokingly I hope) that she was going to move to NC to be closer and just leave Doug down here to finish up his last 7 years at the sheriffs office...When I told Patrick what she said....He responded "That bitch ain't moving up here....I'll move"

Guys this has gotten way beyond ridiculous...Lynn had no right to do that to poor Manisa...I am of the opinion that Doug never told Lynn about what Patrick told him the last time...I really think she ought to know...and I have this strange feeling that Patrick is going to be the one to tell her...

Feel better now writing about all this...But I have a feeling that it's not over with them by a long shot...I also have a feeling that Doug and I are going to be going back to court over Hayley...but I am holding out on that one til I see what happens....but that's for another blog....

Later and ya'll have a good one!

Mini bikes are awesome.....Bushes are not.....

2005-05-31T08:33:00.000-05:00

Yup....Mike and I went out to breakfast at Denny's on Friday morning after dropping the boys off at school...Then we went home and loaded up the mini bike...It's one of those Baja Mini bikes, looks like a motocycle that hasn't grown up yet...Tops out at only 25 MPH....

ANYHOO....So He and I took it out to the boonies to ride it...It was my first time so I was excited...Jumped on and away I went! Oh it was sooooo much fun!!! Rode it around for about a good 30 minutes on some paths and then came back to where Mike was sitting on the tailgate of the Bronco...Took a drink and was ready to head back out!!!!!!! I was having a blast....Turned the handle bar to give it gas to go again and ....That's when the bush jumped out at me!!! No really it did! It wasn't there before I swear!!!! Hahahaha....Yup...Mike was waiting for me to do that...Hit the gas...forgot where the brake was to stop it and WHAMO!!!! Tig meets bush....Hello Bush...Mike got the bike out and I have a nasty cut and bruise on my leg for my troubles...But it's really not going to stop me from getting back on!!!

The rest of the weekend was not a whole lot to write about ...grocery shopping...laundry...those fun things that we get to do....and never seem to get caught up on!!!! AH but when there's me and Mike plus 3 kids...we're bound to never get caught up with laundry...Mike thinks that by always having laundry for me is his way of showing me how much I'm needed...Gee thanks...next time give me diamonds...=)

Kairi and Manisa are down at my place for the next couple of days...Manisa is watching the boys until my schedule changes this week...I wrote up a list of household rules (you know the ones...If the kids say that Mom and Dad let them do it all the time-we don't, doesn't matter what it is...we don't-things like that) Manisa went into hysterics reading it...Kairi is just so wonderful...She brightens the whole room with one of her ear to ear grins....Makes me want to go and give her everything (much to my own children's dismay!) I am enjoying the heck out of having her here...But I am also planning on going up there for Labor Day weekend...Already have the car reserved from the Airport...Now all's that needed is to get the ticket...Right now Independence has a $99 each way.....Going to try to book that on the 17 when we get paid...Then I am pretty much all set...Patrick should be already in Iraq (Yeah...it's pretty much official) so it will just be us girls....Kairi will be about 7 months.....Crawling and popping teeth!!!!! I can't wait!!!

Well that's just about it....Not much else going on these days....

And that's a very good thing!

It's been a fun week so far.................

2005-05-26T11:29:00.000-05:00

Kairi is adorable as usual and making tons of noises.....She "talks" to you when you talk to her....it's sooooooo cute....They were down last night and they were going to come and spend the night tonight cept Mike and Hayley seem to have really bad colds and this morning Glen woke up stuffy....YEAH...Good thing is Mike and I have both Monday and tomorrow off (The hospital encourages all non-essential personnel-don't you like being told that?-You're non-essential) So if any of the kids need to stay home tomorrow they can...But I have to be totally selfish here....I'd rather they go to school...I hardley ever get time alone with Mike...We want to go to breakfast and then mini-biking...(yeah us old married couples don't spend it in the bedroom anymore-we actually LEAVE the house! LOL) But of course if they are sick...then Mike and I will get babysitters and go out anyway.....wait no....Okay Okay....We'll stay home and take care of them with love and chicken soup...Guess it's the mood I'm in today...

Hopefully Manisa will be down Sunday and Monday, we are planning a BBQ for Memorial day, just burgers and dogs-that kinda stuff...but YUMMY....Other than that....Not much going on....Just having a ball with Kairi and Manisa here....And Yes...I am taking lots of Photo's! She just sooooooo cute!!!!!!

Anyhoo....Take care all and I will try to update over the weekend.....Yeah I know...I am NEVER on the computer (Unless it's to check my bank balance) over the weekend...Life's way too busy!!!!!!!

You all have a wonderful holiday weekend.....Enjoy!!!!

YIPPEEE!!!!!!!!!

2005-05-19T15:42:00.000-05:00

Keep your fingers crossed guys!!!!!! I just got off Manisa...They are trying to get a ticket for her to come down next week with Kairi!!!!! Seems that Manisa was upset about missing her Graduation...She really didn't think she would...but her Mom offered to pay for the ticket....I checked Independence Air and they have a roundtrip for $313 total....YEAH!!!!! I hope it works out!!!!!!

*Update!* Just got the confirmation from Manisa.....She and Kairi will be here on Monday!!!!!! Oh YEAH!!!!!!! *Sniff* I'm so happy!

There's lawsuits and then there's these kinds of lawsuits...

2005-05-17T11:37:00.000-05:00

Ran across this while skimming over the news.....Go on and comment....You know you want too!

Woman Beats Rap For Boyfriend's Sex Injury
Appeals Court Says Girlfriend Not Liable

POSTED: 9:31 am EDT May 17, 2005

BOSTON -- Make love at your own risk. That's the gist of a ruling from a Massachusetts state appeals court.

A man only identified as John Doe in court papers sued a former lover. He contended the woman suddenly changed positions during sex, fracturing his you-know-what.

The man had emergency surgery in September 1994 and says he's been unable to satisfactorily perform since.

The court papers say he hasn't responded to medication or counseling.
The appeals court ruled the woman isn't legally responsible for her boyfriend's injuries. A lawyer for the man said they may file an appeal.

Here's the Scoop........

2005-05-13T07:18:00.000-05:00

There are times when you love your job and there's times when you REALLY love your job!

Still feeling a tad bit overwhelmed with the amount of work that runs thru our department that hasn't been consolidated yet..But that's okay...I'd rather be busy than twiddling my thumbs...but we got some big news last week about what's happening...

On April 4th, We entered into what I can call Phase 1 of our consolidation...We pay bills 2 ways here...The floors place orders and our Materials Management Dept. places the order, creates a Purchase order ("PO" if you will) The items are shipped, recieved and the company sends us an invoice for them...The other way is by not using a PO, then it has to be approved by what we lovingly term "God and Country" then it comes to us for payment...So for Phase 1, all the "PO" stuff was consolidated to our Supply Chain that will be handling it now..

They were warned well in advance that JFK (Where I worK) was a huge animal, and the amount we process in a month sometimes boggles the mind...Ah but I am betting that they thought they could handle it...Yeah...right....So on April 4th when us and another huge monster of a hospital had our PO stuff go there...They were just a little bit (please note the sarcasm) taken aback and then quickly got set back and behind...WAY behind...This was not a good thing as we needed to be able to access the invoices and such for our month end processes...Needless to say no one was happy with the situation...SO....That being the case...they had no choice (and I can totally understand this) to push back the rest of the consolidation to August 4th....This would give our supply chain the needed time to hire new people, get caught up and get thier ducks in a row...When we were told the news, needless to say I was happy but paniced because of my plans for the summer.....

Now Judy (My boss) knew that come June 4th, I was not really planning on putting my kids in summer camp, If I happened across a job over the summer, I had my retention bonus to use to put them in if need be...but you don't get your retention until after the job offically ends...She also was aware that my nephew Justin was coming down for the summer...She has know about how bad my sister was doing, and that Justin was suffering from depression because of it and his Doctor even said that his coming down was going to be the best thing for him...take his mind off of that...So apparently she had been talking to the controller about the situation....and pretty much solved it for me....YEAH!

So what Mike and I are going to do is this...Justin can still come down...Mike's seeing about switching his schedule from 6am to 2:30pm (Judy said if need be our CFO will talk to Mike's boss-I don't think she's need to but I so appreciated the offer) then I can come in at 2:30 and work until 9:30pm and make up what ever time I need to on Saturday or Sunday....That way no one has to go to summer camp and Justin can still come down...Does my boss rock or what???!!!!!

Manisa is also speaking to her best freind and we are going to see if she can come over a couple times a week so I don't have to work every night, but can actually have a normal day...I hope so....

I realize that in the grand scheme of things it's only for 2 more months (We hope!!!!) so it's easier to work with me and Mike with our schedules, but I do know that they didn't have too...There's a lot they didn't have to do for us but they are and I think that's pretty cool of them...So at least for 2 more months, I will still get a normal paycheck and still have my benefits...not too shabby I would say....

So Justin will still be able to come down and get away from it all...I talked to him last night and he's just busting at the seams about it...He's got $108 dollars saved up to come down don't cha know??? hahaha I can't wait to see him...He turns the big "10" today!!!! Mike and I are treating him to the Rapids Water Park when he gets here....

But at any rate...that's what has been going on here....I've just been really really busy at home and at work...Work especially...I may have one day where I can actually breathe...then I get swamped....Oh well...I count my blessings where I can.....

And on that note...off I go!!!!!!!!

You all take care now.......Have a great weekend!

Think I'd look good in Black and White Stripes???

2005-05-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

Well.....You know....there are stupid laws and there are stupid laws....According to a story on MSNBC.Com...Mike and I are not allowed to live together...It's against the law in the state of Florida...Yup...you heard me right...Florida is one of 7 states that still has a law like that on the books...

And here's another kick in the head...According to what I have been able to find out...Landlords can refuse to rent to us if we are not married...and it's all perfectly legal...

I wonder what the penalty is if we're "brought to justice??"...wonder if we'd be allowed conjugal visits??? LOL! Considering how many people live together in Florida, I highly doubt that this law is enforcable anymore....But it was interesting to know...

Would love to catch up with all of you...cause there is a lot to catch up on...but time is short today....Just thought this tidbit needed to be written about....

Take care all!

Hello out there!!!!!

2005-05-03T09:50:00.000-05:00

Been a while I know...Life's been interesting to say the least with me...Since we started the consolidation of our department it's now down to me and a co-worker to keep up with the rest...I had absolulty no idea how much other stuff there was that ran thru this department...sorta knocked me over a little and right now feelign slightly overwhelmed...UGH! I hate that feeling!....

The boys and Hayley are getting excited about Justin coming this summer, That's a done deal as my Dad was able to get the tickets...YEAH!....Talked to my sister and Justin's already doing the countdown on the calendar until he goes...Too funny...He's going to put Wesley thru his paces as he's one active kid...Stays outside and on the go! All the kids want to see that new Herbie Movie coming out in June...Seen the previews, looks pretty good actually...Called "Herbie-Fully Loaded"

Wesley came home with a form to enter a summer workshop at the Palm Beach Opera...Called "Swing and Sing"....It's a 3 week course where in the morning, they teach you golf and in the afternoon...you learn all the ins and outs of putting on a production...everything from set design to makeup and performing...He really wants to try to get in...You have to write an essay on why you should be picked...I told him that I would help him write it...I hope he gets in...That would be wonderful for him!

Speaking of my sister...She's starting to hold her own...It got a little scary for her for a while but she's starting to stand tough...I'm so proud of her...She's still going thru financial woes but she's starting to get a handle on that as well..just going to take time is all...

Well I would love to write more...but I have way too much crap on my desk that needs my attention...Need to try to find time at home to write this....

Day late and a dollar short!

2005-04-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

Okay Okay.....So it's Wednesday and not Teusday.....shoot me as lately I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached to me!!!!

I miss Kairi so much guys....Just got off the phone with Manisa...Kairi had her shots yesterday and I wanted to see how she was handling it...She's cranky but that's about it...Tiny fever as well...

As far as the trip went...It was nice but I don't think I would do it all in a day again....It was long!!!!! And to boot the day before I left I felt tired and sure enough come the morning I was to leave it was a full blown head and chest cold....UGH! Try driving with that! Walmart Daytime cold in hand, lots of soda's and cough drops and we were on our way....We actually made good time considering all the stops we made to let Kairi have time out of the car seat...Mapquest put the trip at 13 1/2 hours and we made it in 14...Pulled into Patrick's about 7pm with leaving at 5am that morning...Made a trip to Super Walmart (It's only 5 minutes from his apartment) to get stuff...He's a guy and had not going shopping....had all guy stuff in the bathroom and for Manisa and I ....that so would not do! Didn't make that a long trip as I knew that both Manisa and I would be heading there in the am to do major shopping...This was just for shampoo and stuff...plus Nyquil so I could knock myself out as I felt like total crap! The cold preceded to hang on for the entire time I was there which was a bummer as it made me really not want to go anywhere...

So needless to say in the AM the next day...it had really settled into my chest...UGH again! But we trudged forward and Manisa and I headed back up to Wally World to go food shopping...and also ended up buying hanger's galore and towels....Patrick evidently thought having only 2 towels to his name would suffice...Not so!!!! hahahaha....I bought him 6 more bath towels and washclothes...After that I pretty much stayed home and stayed on the cough nursing Orange Juice and cooking all Patrick's favorite dinners...Made sure I made plenty so they would have lots left over....I had a really great time all in all....Patrick told me I could stay (With a smile on his face!) and keep right on cooking! hahaha...They are starter cooks but I am sure they will make thier way just fine...If any of you guys have quick and easy meals....Feel free to email them to me....Directions do need to be very precise (Starter cooks remember???)
Patrick tries to eat manly chicken and fish but will have pork and red meat on occasion (he can actually make hamburget helper)

At any rate....Like I said I had a wonderful time...I hated leaving Kairi, Manisa and Patrick monday...I really did....Made Patrick drop me off at the terminal so he didn't see me ball my eyes out...while they are still debating about Manisa comeing back in September...I am really hoping she does...She going to try to do her best to send photos and video but I know Kairi keeps her hopping...

The flight home was uneventful as well but I hated the layover in D.C....but thankfully I had brought Patrick's portable DVD player so it wasn't a total loss...I got into DC about 12 noon and my next flight didn't leave until 3pm...so I sat my butt down with "The Exorcist-The beginning" for a horror show it was actually pretty okay...Ending was not the best...could have been better...but it kept me busy for the 2 1/2 hours I needed to keep busy...

But let me tell you guys I came home to a mess! OMG....MEN! You could tell he was a confirmed bachelor for the time I was gone! (Especially over the weekend when the kids were gone!) Laundry was overflowing, house work piled up...since I was still not feeling good this didn't sit well with me...the other thing was Asha...Mike and I have racked our brains to think of what she could have possibly gotten into but Mike let me know that Sunday she had diarrhea in a major way...sounded like she exploded everwhere....She was absolutly pitiful when I saw her...She knew something was wrong...and she still had it in a bad way...Put her on the brat diet and it seemed to somewhat get better (kinda like 1/4 better) but it never quite went away...Took her to the Vet's on Monday...The Doc said they had been seeing this alot lately...even with indoor dogs and gave her some medicine...Happy to say she's perking up and has that happy ol grin back....My poor Miss "Center of the Universe" (yes Steph she still is!) Asha is my baby...no doubt about that...Lisa, Steph and Stacy all know how I feel about that little dust mop I have...She was well aware that she wasn't supposed to be messing in the house but she also knew that she couldn't help herself...She always had this little pitiful look on her....But she's back to being bright and happy again! All is right in her world...Just gotta keep giving her the medicine for the rest of the week....

So that's basically it in my world...We had part of the migration of my department at the beginning of the month so now it's just me and another co-worker and my desk is a mess....And on that note!!!! BACK TO WORK WITH ME! hahahaha

Take care all!

SORRY SORRY SORRY!!!!!!

2005-04-18T09:50:00.000-05:00

OMG! Life has been way too hectic....

Will post more tonight or tomorrow I promise! But the long and short of it is...The trip went well...but the cold I caught wasn't good...I miss Kairi like crazy! (Pat and Manisa too!) Came home to a sick dog and my desk explode when I was out...Dog going to vet and I am trying to find time to breathe....Will make it a point of posting about everything later! But all for the most part is wonderful!

Take care !!!!!!!

Tomorrow is Trip Day!!!!

2005-04-05T07:54:00.000-05:00

Yup....Tomorrow at 5am in the morning...Manisa, Kairi and I will be leaving for North Carolina...I am excited and sad...I will miss the both of them tremendously...Mike spent the better part of last night loading up the 4 Runner...And let me tell you...that man knows how to pack...Okay the high chair is in peices and packed in various parts of the truck but it's all in there! I am looking forward to the trip...Checked the weather and it promises to be sunny in all parts...that's good...I am glad for that...I hate driving in rain...Not sure if I can manage to get on here while I am up there...but I shall try...if not I will certainly tell you guys all about it on my return...Til then...

On a sadder note...My darling daughter Hayley lost her dear Grandpa...Doug (Hayley's dad) had recieved the call Saturday afternoon that he was fading fast...So Doug left with Hayley in tow for Massachusetts...They managed to make it in time to say goodbye...Hayley's Grandpa left this world at 12:40am Monday morning...

Jim....You will be missed by all.....

Take care all....Till next week....have a good one......

Rest In Peace Terri...you left an impression on us all...

2005-04-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

This case...without a doubt...has indeed left an impression on us all...Most of us that read the daily news bulletins to see what was the latest took sides for the husband or the family...

I am glad at least for the most part that there will be an autopsy...but one has to wonder that if it shows that she really did not have any hope or chance of recovery...will her parents accept it? Or will they demand to have thier own doctors look over the data...saying that they don't agree with what the medical examiner said in his report...The reason I say this is that thru out this whole drama her parents insisted that she wouldn't have wanted to die but yet not only her husband but 2 other people (It's in the court records) had heard her state her wishes...so from that...I can only wonder if they would accept the report showing she had no chance of recovery since they ignored everything else...Well we will know in a few weeks I guess...I hope that it at least puts this particular issue to rest....

But it does raise other issues...and valid ones...The Right To Die with Dignity...I personally think they need to really look at this issue and make some changes...While I sided with the husband and felt that the evidence supported that this is what she wanted...I really didn't like the method...Starvation...When our animals are old, haggard, health failing, etc...we never hesitate to make that choice and to put them down...We hold them as that needle goes in knowing that it will bring them to a better place...If it is good enough for them...why can't we do the same for us??? I mean think about it people...Is it really that bad? You have the patient that has terminal cancer...he is suffering tremendously and cannot wait for the end to come so he doesn't suffer anymore...What is so wrong with ending it before that happens??? I try and I try but I cannot see any logical reasoning for prolonging that life...To what end would it serve???

I am reminded of a Star Trek Next Generations episode...Counselor Troi's mother had fallen in love with a man from a planet where a age 65 you take your own life in a wonderous ceremony with your family and freinds around you to celebrate your life and help you in death...The idea is so as not to become a burden to your children and to go with dignity...You know what...There's odd logic there....While I don't think we as a world should try this but the idea is not all that far fetched...

Here's what I am suggesting...For those that choose to do so and this is what they want...let's let them end it with Dignity and grace...Yes I realize that there's s lot of questions that come into play...Who get's to choose if that person cannot speak for themselves and have no living will...Well if they are married...it the spouse who decides...Yes...the spouse...this is what they took vows to do...that right does not belong in the parents hands...(Or the courts for that matter) I am sure that there are other things to consider but you get the gist...For me...I can tell you that should I ever be diagnosed with a terminal illness...I will go while I can hold my head up high...think of that what you will...but the idea of Mike or my kids changing my bed or me...isn't how I want them to remember me...Let me gather them around...hold them and love them...say all the things I want to say....and say good bye......and smile as I go to the next world....

Only a Week and and Half left with my Angel girl....

2005-03-28T08:50:00.000-05:00

Yeah ......Bummed about that...Manisa and I leave on the 6th to take her up to North Carolina to be with Patrick...UGH! How sad is that???? You should have seen the look I got from Manisa when I said (Innocently enough mind you) that I would be more than happy to keep Kairi with me and she can go up????? I have no clue why she didn't go for it....hahahahaha....I am going to miss her but I am planning on long weekend trips to go up....I found an airline that hopefully....will at least keep prices reasonable for plane fare...Independence Air...or Flyi.com as it's called...I got a return ticket for the 11th of April and all told I only paid $109.00 for it...They are currently running specials for $58 dollars each way...while they don't fly everywhere....they do fly to Raleigh North Caroline and I can rent a car from there...I plan on doing that alot! hahahaha....I am going to miss her tremendously....She is such a joy to me...But Manisa needs to be with Patrick....I guess I can understand that....:)

I really hope everyone had a good Easter as well...We did things a little different this year...First off the traditional ham was changed to a Turkey...Mike loves turkey so I made a small one...We colored about 3 1/2 dozen eggs (for which will become egg salad as the week wears on!!!) But the biggest change we made was in doing the easter baskets...For the past 3 years Mike and I have noticed that Candy gets left forever at our house (don't ask me how it happens-I have no clue) but it does...I have a huge tupperwear container full of Halloween candy that is about to get chucked...The same thing happens with Easter Candy...We spend a ridiculous amount of money on candy and it takes months to get eaten...So Mike and I looked around and we got each child a pre-made one with toys in it....it had some candy in it but more toys than anything...You know what??? They were a huge hit...The kids loved them....Hey an at about $10 each kid...not to bad a deal for the whole kit and kaboodle...Ah Life is good......

Also....Some Good news about my job somewhat....While this is the week from hell...My job won't end on April 1....My boss had been realizing that she was going to need a couple of people to stay past migration until June 4th...(That's when the rest of it migrates) She had recieved permission to keep one girl but now has permission to keep 2...so I will be working here still until June 4th....Then I am actually taking the summer off...And having a house guest...Since my sister Diane is still having it rough...Dad and I are getting together (He's checking his miles as we speak) and going to get my nephew Justin down here for the entire summer...He's been told and he's is just busting at the seems to get down here...He loves to come down and since all this has happened with my sister he's been in the middle of it too and that poor kids needs some normality in his life...I am so excited about him coming down as well....If Diane can swing it she may come down as well but I told her let's just get a roundtrip ticket for him in case that falls thru....He is going to have a blast with my kids...The last time he was down here, he and Glen were like two peas in a pod...This is going to be a great summer for the kids....I will concentrate on finding a job when summer ends...I don't think that will be too much a problem....

Well...that..I think...pretty much gets everything up to date....I think...hahahaha...It's just really really busy here at work....Too much to do and no time to do it! hahahaha.....Oh well...Everyone is just hanging in there ready to supply the boss with drugs so she doesn't have a nervous breakdown!

Talk to you all later!!!!

A hard decision to make......

2005-03-17T08:39:00.000-05:00

I keep reading up on the Terrie Schiavo case...Now I see the House and Senate are both trying to put measures in to place to block the removal of her feeding tube...Her husband and her family have been locked in a bitter battle of what is percieved to be her wishes...I have issues with what is going on...After years of reading about what both sides are saying, what the doctors have been reporting, I actually side for the husband as I have talked with several of my freinds down here about this...I have asked them.."Does your family know your wishes and is it written down somewhere???"

You would actually be amazed at how many of these people have a: told their husbands what they wanted but not other family members and b: have nothing in writing...2 of these people I have spoken have families that would be in the same boat and in court fighting...

This case has prompted me to do exactly that...put my wishes in writing...for years I thought "I'm too young...I don't need to worry" but guys...everyone needs to worry...anything can happen at any moment in our lives...There has to come a time when we need think about what it is that we would want...how we feel about life saving measures, think about every concievable situation and come up with what you want done...talk it over with spouses, boyfreinds, girlfreinds, and family...

I did this and you know what???? There were some really hard choices to make...I had to ask my self those same tough questions...And then I sat down with Michael and Patrick and let them know what I wanted...Should I become incapacitated to where I am termed "in a persistive vegatative state" Don't let me hang on...I don't want that...To me that is no quality of life that I want to have...Please let me die....I also believe in (yes I actually do) leaving this world early should I be diagnosed with a terminal illness...I want to go while I have my dignity...Mike understood but Patrick didn't...I can understand that...he didn't want to deal with the prospect of my death...but I had to make him deal with it...and you know what??? I told him that he also needed to think about it as well...He had a family to think about...

I guess what I am trying to say here is...Think about it, decide and get it in writing...it's the best thing you can do for yourself and for your loved ones...You will probably be moved to tears as you think about it....You may go out and look at your children and ask yourself "What is the right thing for them....How much should I ask them to deal with?" (Yes that is a really tough question) What about my Family....What is the right choice....Only you can answer that...each choice is oh so very personal and priviate, and for each person....different...and one I think everyone needs to think about......

Take care all..........

The Lynn Issue

2005-03-14T08:37:00.000-05:00

Okay....It's time to deal with this issue...I need to and I need your help at how best to tactfully (or not as the case may be) to deal with her...

First let me explain...Lynn is married to my ex-Husband Doug (Doug is my Daughter's father and Patrick's Stepdad) I have never liked this woman, I have tolerated her...heck even tried to be friends with her but I got stabbed in the back one too many times...She will never allow Me and Doug to make any decisions about Hayley without her final approval...I have battled this for years and on most occasions have won...Yeah she gives Doug hell when things do not go her way...but I just say tough...oh well she needs to grow up...Thiers for the most part is a very rocky relationship and has been for years...(Since Hayley was about 4-she's 12 now...) I have seen and heard her do things that quite frankly make me always question her judgement...I do know that she will not ever do anything for nothing...If she does a favor for you...you better believe that she is going to ask you to do something for her....and if she tries to give just for the sake of giving...she will make sure that everyone KNOWS what she did...Take Patrick and Manisa's wedding...She was asked to do decorations...and she did...and yes she did a very good job...but she then (At the wedding) made sure everyone knew what she had done so she could get her kudos...I was floored when I found out...Yeah she went table to table...Couldn't believe it...Now she also couldn't understand that we weren't really doing a reception with dancing and such...She made Doug burn a CD of songs for people to dance to...now mind you...both she and Doug had been told not only by me...but by Patrick and Manisa that it wasn't that type of reception...we had the church for 2 hours, it didn't allow time to do all that ...it was just going to be wedding, eat, toast, congratulations and clean up...She was floored, and angry when nobody got up to dance after all the work she did...(She let everyone know...UGH) but this is Lynn and this is just a small part of the person she is....There's more...lots mores...Like I have stated in the past....She's not called Psycho Bitch for nothing....

Yeah Patrick bestowed that upon her when he refused to call her "Mom"...He would go up and visit Doug on the weekend with Hayley...Lynn argued with him all weekend...telling him that he had to call her Mom...She was his Mom afterall...She tried to do this with Hayley also...I finally had to step in cause my kids were really frustrated and tell her that in no way shape or form were they calling her Mom...She was not thier Mom...Hayley's stepmom maybe...but not MOM...trust me...she's tried every backhanded way to have Hayley call her Mom..it's not even funny...Hayley tells me about it..

Yes...that was her thinking...When she's confronted with the reality of the fact that she's really not anything to Patrick...(Cause I wasn't married to his Stepdad anymore-I am merely thinking technically)...She refuses to hear it...I have been told that she tells everyone about her Son who's in the Marines...she never tells them that he has a different Mother and it causes quite a scene I am told when it comes out...Patrick laughed when he was told about this...Like I said...he was less than impressed with her growing up...

Now you all have to understand while I have vented to my freinds and family...I have let my kids form thier own opinions...I did that with Patrick's father (his real one-and he was a not so nice person too...and I am being kind here) I would never utter a bad word about her to the kids...But the kids kept coming to me with stuff...Some I worked thru with them...some I actually had to intervene and call Doug over to my house...only him...never her...Some of the things the kids came home with made me cause to pause...and there have been issues that I have seen for my self...I could go on and on...

To give you yet another example of how she thinks...(Now please remember she has kids of her own...2 boys, 14 and 12 and a daughter 5) About 2 years ago..I went over to thier house to pick up my child support check (I don't have it go thru the system...the system looses it and Doug always pays) There was Lynn in a midrift shirt that went way up above her belly...and a THONG...Vacumning...with her children present plus my daughter! Needless to say I was pissed...I called Doug outside and told him that while Hayley was there..Lynn was to remain clothed at all times! He couldn't understand...she gets dressed and walks around NAKED in front of them all the time...WHAT?????? I politely told him that if she wanted to screw her kids up so be it...she was not messing with mine...and she had better remain clothed or it's back to court we go...I am told she had a hissy fit but decided to listen...So this gives you a tiny little insight into the world I have to deal with...I have often said that I have to deal with 2 children when I have to deal with Doug and Lynn...

Now since there have been issues all these years...needless to say Patrick was never very comfortable around Lynn...She irritated him mostly...He loves Doug and tries to tolerate her...but a lot of times it really doesn't work...so in the past 4 or 5 years he really doesn't go over there a whole bunch....

Now onto the present problem! (Wondered when I would get there right???) When Patrick came down when Kairi was born...Lynn was pissed that Patrick and Manisa didn't come over but a few times...Well the few times that they did come over Lynn made Manisa feel so uncomfortable it wasn't funny...Patrick was getting pissed at her...What Lynn failed to even try to understand what that they just became new Parents...they weren't going out unless they had too...They were too busy sleeping and getting adjusted! The straw the broke the camels back was when Doug's Mom came down (Whom Patrick loves very much) They again went over there...20 minutes into the visit Lynn said outloud that "They're only here cause your hear Carolyn" right in front of Patrick and Manisa...They pretty much left after that...Mansia really was in such a state...Patrick called me spitting nails...He had had enough of her...and he was going to tell Doug...Doug was due at my place in about an hour with Hayley and his Mom...I prepared for an interesting night...

Manisa and Patrick had decided that it would be better that Manisa and Kairi stayed with me until it was time to take Manisa up to North Carolina...This meant that Hayley would be sharing a room with them...or sleep on the couch/air bed in the living room...She was very excited about this let me tell you...it was like camping out...We had thought about bringing Manisa's bed down (it's a futon bunk bed) but nixed it cause we felt the baby would have kept Hayley up at night and she has school)...We were all happy with the decision....that is all except for Lynn apparently...but I will get to that...

So when they got there Patrick called Doug outside and preceded to tell him exactly what he thought of Lynn...how uncomfortable she makes Manisa and that it wasn't going to happen anymore...He went on for about a full 30 minutes...He came inside and then said Doug wanted me outside...Okay I went...Doug then preceded to say he didn't like the idea of Hayley out in the living room and to please let her come live with him and she can come home on the weekends...UGH....(This is not the first time he's mentioned Hayley comeing to live with him)

It was then that I had to tell him how Hayley had been feeling about going over there...For the past few months...She's been coming home venting about Lynn...now some I had to tell Hayley were pretty ridiculous... but she was coming home with some real issues...I have always told her that she really needs to talk to her Dad...she has tried ( I know she has) but it gets brushed aside...I knew her going over there was not a good Idea with the way she's been feeling about Lynn...This was after Patrick ranted about Lynn too...I told him that I felt his house had real issues that were not getting handled...and I told him what they were...his face fell when he knew that I really did know what went on there...Oh well...

I have to say I felt really bad...First Patrick and now Hayley...He said fine but he wanted us to bring down Manisa's bunk bed (I don't understand his logic but okay...I can get her earplugs) So we did that and all is well...I have no clue what happened when Doug got home...I don't know if he told Lynn or not...or what he told her...

Well Lynn apparently popped over to My house last Thursday unnannouced or invited...From what Manisa said she seemed like she had taken lots of Happy Pills (yeah she does have a history of taking happy pills) stayed for about an hour...Made Manisa feel uncomfortable again...and left with a promise to stop by alot more often...The look Manisa gave me was one of "HELP!" when I came home and she told me what happened...I thought about it...See...The problem is here that after everthing that has happened...I highly doubted that Lynn would understand that she should maybe call to see if Manisa is up to a visit, not taking a nap and that she's not doing anything else instead of just popping over uninvited....you know...the way normal people would do it...

So what I had opted for what this...We have an enclosed patio that can be kept locked during the day...while Lynn may come over...she would not be able to get to the front door...I don't (At least I hope not!) that Lynn is the type of person to stand out there and bang loudly saying "Manisa!!!!! I'm out here!!!!" (But then again....maybe she is) She can call but I have caller ID so if Manisa's asleep or otherwise busy she can let it go to voice mail...

Unless you all have a better suggestion....I open the floor to you guys!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

2005-03-07T13:22:00.000-05:00

Just a tad bit tired today....Kairi does like to stick to a nighttime schedule and it's every 2 hours!!! Not that I minded...I cat-napped on Sunday in between doing loads of laundry....it's hard to believe that tomorrow she is going to be 3 weeks old already...She's changed so much already! You can see her struggling to keep more awake...makes her cranky at times...but other than that...she is wonderful! Manisa is doing well and I really enjoy spending the time with her and the baby...all the knowledge that I had from years ago in dealing with babies comes right back to me...

And speaking of...I already posed this question to Lisa...but I'd like to hear what all of your opinions are...See Mike and Patrick think one way with Manisa siding with the way I think...No it hasn't started WWIII in our house but it's been discussed heavily....

I had always been told (and this is what I believe to be true) that in the first 3 months (aprox) you can never pick baby up too much...especially if she is crying...When baby cries...you can and should pick her up and reassure her...Crying is the only means of communication they have...but you check to see if she hungry...diaper needs changing or she just needs a cuddle...I do know that babies also cry for just about any reason but you won't spoil her by picking her up when she cries...In fact you are telling her that you are there and will take care of her...Obviously this is what Manisa and I think...Patrick and Michael think that it is okay to leave the baby cry as long as they aren't hungry or have a dirty diaper...(And let me tell you....Kairi is quite capable of Atomic Diapers! hahaha) They think that this is not good for the baby and you need to let them know whose the boss right away! (isn't it obvious they are men????? And are acting like it???? )

Ladies....What say you?????? and if there are any men out there...what are your opinions???

The Album's Completed!!!!!

2005-03-04T09:01:00.000-05:00

I have an online Photo album all done at Imagestation by Sony....Too forever to upload the photos! UGH....I have already send some emails for those that I have email Addresses for....If you want to view it you can email me at Lstremple@msn.com or my Work address Laura.Bourque@hcahealthcare.com

Sorry I haven't been around too much in blogland but it's been month end close this week and my house has been very hectic! (But in a good way ;) ) Kairi is spending tonight and tomorrow night up in My room so Manisa can get a decent weekend sleep....Believe me I do not mind not sleeping when it comes to that little baby! I did it last weekend also...it was a blast....Kairi decided that she wanted to be awake from 2am to 4am so we watched an old time episode of "Star Trek" (with a very young Captain Kirk) and then watched "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (remember that one????) She finally fell back asleep for a nice long sleep.....But I am sooo loving it!

Take care guys and you all have a wonderful weekend!!!!

Photo's will be forthcoming!!!!

2005-03-01T12:18:00.000-05:00

Not sure how I am going to do it though....I thought Hayley had her digital camera but she had left it at her Dad's....But last night Patrick and Manisa went out and bought a Sony Cybershot 5 Mega pixels...They already have lots of photo's to post .....I won't be able to do it tonight as I have to take Manisa and baby to the pediatrician for a check up...So I will try to do it tomorrow night...I have used in the past, Sony Imagestation and done online photo albums...I may try that again...if that doesn't work I may try to put some up here under that Hello Option...I hope it works...I think if I use the Imagestation...I have to send the link to everyone via email...not sure...will have to check it out....

On a Sadder note...Patrick had to leave today to go back to the Base...He has to be back on duty tomorrow...4 more weeks (The first week of April) and I will bring up Manisa and Kairi...We miss him already...But I promised Patrick that I will take very good care of his wife and daughter...Going to spoil both of them!!!

Kairi is doing wonderfully! She's truly a good baby...She very alert and looking around at all her surroundings...Everyone enjoys being with her...Her sleep patterns are starting to somewhat change around...I am sure that in time they will get better and better...She seems to sleep the longest between 4 and 5 am and often not waking until 10:30am...We just need to push that back a little bit!

Well that's about all I have time for! Take care all!

Of Diapers, bottles, wipes, ninny's and sheer happiness...

2005-02-21T08:58:00.000-05:00

Okay.....Ninny's is my term for pacifiers...dont' know where I got it from but I have always used it...

Kairi is just adorable! I look at that sweet little face and I just melt all over again! *Sigh* So far she's doing good but her schedule is all messed up....she seems to think that nighttime is for being up! hahaha...We'll get that taken care of...We also had to go out and buy her preemie diapers...She has such a little butt!!!! Sorry but she does!!!!! :) The regular newborn don't quite fit her and everything leaks out the side...(Grandma's been washing her clothes all weekend! haha) but all in all things are wonderful...She stayed in my room Friday night so Mommy and Daddy could get some much needed rest...I didn't mind at all! I am soooooooooo loving this...Waiting here a work til Patrick and Manisa show up with her so I can show her off...

Manisa has decided to definitly to stay with me until I take her up to North Carolina after her six week check up...That way she has lots of people around her to give her support once Patrick has to go back...So this week will be bring her stuff (just what she needs actually) down here...Hayley is going to sleep on the couch for the time being...she has no problem doing that...she just loves the idea of her neice staying here....She's already buying her things! hahaha

Well guys I have to run....I can say that this week...I am going to put Hayley's digital camera to good use and make up an album that you all can see....Should be up by this weekend...Til then!!!!

Life literally happens..........just as you make other plans...

2005-02-16T12:33:00.000-05:00

Kairi Rose O'Bryan
Born 2/15/05 @ 5:04pm
Weighing in at 7lbs, 6oz
20 inches long.........

She's just as adorable as can be!!!!!!!!!

Patrick and Manisa did make plans to have Manisa induced on Thursday to have the baby on Friday....Patrick put in his paperwork and was all set to drive on down Teusday....Kairi had other plans....She wanted to see her Mommy and Daddy....And she wanted that in a big way...Manisa had not been feeling so well Monday night...Phone calls back and forth and one from the Doctor, trip to the Hospital at 2am (And they let her go home!) turned into full blown labor by 9am...We called Patrick to let him know I was taking her to the Doctors who promptly told us to go to the hospital...She was dialated 4cm already...Called Patrick back who had just got on the road at 10am to let him know...With a promise to take good care of Manisa and to stay by her side through out...We headed to the Hospital....We had hoped that the labor would go very slowly but by 2pm in the afternoon Manisa was at 8cm...it was only a matter of time....by 4pm Kairi wanted out and the fun began....and hour later...I got to finally met my little angel girl...

And an Angel girl she is...I cannot tell you what it meant to me to be in that room with Manisa...I was allowed to cut the cord and everything...I still cannot get over it...Oh she's is just too adorable for words...I am sooooo going to look forward to spending time with her!!! Patrick finally made it to the hospital around 11:30pm last night...The look on his face...I won't forget that look...I think for the first time I was going to see my son cry for sheer happiness...

On a lighter note...I did make mention to the two of them that since Kairi apparently likes to do things her way...the two of them had well be prepared! I highly doubt this is going to be the only time she does things the way she wants them............. ;)

Later!

Well I have to go for now...

Some slight developments.....................

2005-02-14T12:16:00.000-05:00

My Son is apparently going off the wall....Have no clue why....he's only going to be a father here soon....

Manisa is looking into having the baby induced and set a date...Her due date is the 23rd but the more she and Patrick thought about it...the more they really hated knowing that Patrick might not be there...This way Patrick can go to his commanding officers and put the paper work thru earlier and come down with a couple days to spare...He's hoping to get 15 days leave...we'll have to see...

If they went the original route, which was me calling the Red Cross (From the hospital only after she gets registered in) they contact his CO's and get the ball rolling....So it still could be a day or two after that....they didn't like that and I cannot blame them one bit.....

Manisa has an appointment today to find out about inducement.....Will keep you posted!

HI GUYS!!!!!!!

2005-02-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

Just popping in to say HI!!!!! It's be a hell week....way to busy for my own good and other things going on....Time to stop into other blogs but no time for my own....Will catch up on this blog this weekend...Til then......

13 days (Give or take a day) until my Grandaughter arrives!!!!!!!!!

I'm just slightly impatient can't you tell??????

Later all!

Oh Mr.President Sir.........One moment of your time please....

2005-02-02T15:17:00.000-05:00

Get your head out of your butt...(Unless you like the smell) Heard thru the Grapevine that is the world of internet news that you were upset over the outcome of the Gay Marriage Ban for Idaho....The legislation failed to approve the ban....as it should have done! A freind tipped me off....I was glad for her...

You know what people...I am tired of this crap so I am going to rant...I may offend some of you....I am sorry in advance...I am entitled to my opinions just as you are...please respect that...

I can understand about 300 years ago (a rough estimation but you get the point) people didn't know what they know now....I can understand that in biblical times they had no clue either...Being gay scared the shit out of them...so now it is in the bible as a sinful thing...Yes...that is what I think...That which they didn't understand they made a law against...put it in the bible and guess what...people will followed it to the letter...

But we live (or I would really like to think-just let me have my little fantasy please) that we live in enlightened times...we now know that you are born gay...you are not made...you are the way you are...you cannot change genetics...oh I know that this is still debated about to this day...but I think that most of the studies I have read...you are born this way...

So that being the case...why all the stink about gay marriage bans??? If we live in a society that is supposedly equal rights under the constitution...this would fall into that category...they have every right...EVERY RIGHT...to the same equality that everyone else is entitled too....To descriminate against them based on thier sexuality is wrong...Oh yeah...it's in the bible that it's wrong...Ah....but we are supposed to have separation of church and state...that's Separation of Church and state people (and Mr. Bush sir .....thought I doubt you would read this little ol blog) So I am sorry people...While you have your beliefs in the bible...That's fine...we have a constitution that upholds equal rights for all people...Those that want gay marriage banned usually bring the bible into it...That's really the only thing they can bring in...At least in the conversations that I have had....People might not be religious...but you mention Gay Marriage and suddenly....it's all about what's in the bible..."Why it's just wrong!!!!" Gay people didn't ask to be born gay....just as I didn't ask to be born a woman...WE JUST WERE!...that all there is to it....

Now don't get me wrong...I am not in any way...shape or form....putting down organized religion....In fact...I myself have witness first hand how it truly wants to try to help people.....but...the fact remains....I have my own ideals about what I think of the bible, God and Jesus...It's a good learning tool but I have to take into consideration the mentality of the people at the time it was written and the time the church was formed....We've come along way since then...I want to think that...please let me and don't hate me for it...you won't ever hear me put you down cause your Lutheren, Catholic, or whatnot...All I am merely trying to say is this...While I respect people's beliefs....I do think that the Church needs to stay out of politics and the constitution is for everyone....Gays should be allowed to marry and enjoy the same benefits that we heteralsexuals have...nothing more and nothing less...

Now the reason for my rant...I have two gay female freinds...they are having a harder than heck time making sure that all is taken care of in the event of one or the other's death...why???? They have a son together...(those that want too...don't go there) With all the red tape they are trying to cut thru...and they will cut thru it...it's been hard on thier nerves...but they remain optomistic...they were told by an attorny that maybe they should consider letting the child be put up for adoption into a nice heteral sexual family...Now please understand...The son is the one freind's natural child by artifical insemination...it's getting legal guardianship for the other...Florida bans gay adoption...so they have to go about this in a round about way and they have come across every dead end imaginable...The child is now 5....well adjusted and loved....He has 2 mommies....He loves them both...This is why I am upset...for the umpteeth time...the paperwork came back rejected by the courts...it amounted to adoption...and that was a no go...UGH....Round 745 coming up....Right now the best they can hope for is in the event of the natural Mother's death before the child turns 18...Her partner can try to petition the courts but she better not mention that she's gay....AND that she was the Mother's significant other...Then the child is made a ward of the state...and adopted by the "right" Family...That's what they were told...This wasn't what they wanted...they wanted adoption...they are not ashamed of who or what they are and they really shouldn't be...

Like I said...this is my honest opinion...it will differ from yours...and you know what????? that's truly okay.....You're entitled to your opinion just as I am.....after all........It's a free country.......

Isn't it?????

We're in the home stretch.......

2005-01-31T13:56:00.000-05:00

February 23 is right on down the road here....3 more weeks....and my Granddaughter is here!!!!!! Everything is pretty much in place...well as in place as it could be considering that I am dealing with my son...who at the moment is being a butthead...I called to ask him if he and Manisa had decided where they were going to be when the baby comes....at Manisa's how or my house...He didn't know yet....OH...didn't know yet...I have only been asking him for the past month...I have to get my place in shape then for the arrival of the baby if they are going to stay here....that means I need to get all the stuff they are going to need to have ready at my place...you know..diapers, clothes, wipes and whatnot...I finally gave up and called Manisa....She and I decided that she will be here...Figured I would have to go thru the wife...hahahaha...I love Patrick but I am afraid he's in for a rude awakening when the baby finally does arrive...Life as he knows it will cease to exist....It will be filled with messy diapers, spit up, Doctors, crying and smiles.....Oh those sweet baby smiles.....and the way babys smell right out of the bath...I think he's going to put down the XBox cause Kiari Rose will be much more interesting....

But ladies...just so you know...I have been working on the curse...I have been saying it and repeating myself since Patrick was little...You know....the Curse that says I hope you have children that act just like you did??????? I will happily await that first phone call from Patrick....It will be the one where Kiari won't leave stuff alone..."Really?" I will answer happily...Or she's figure out how the child proof cabinet locks can be undone...Or that pea got stuck up her nose...One of a whole bunch of things....And I will sit there smiling, knodding my head knowingly....

Cause I know with when she's with me....She's grandma's little angel who doesn't do anything wrong and I can spoil her..............Yes....I am going to love this guys!

So glad that the week's finally over..........

2005-01-27T11:03:00.000-05:00

Get to sit at my desk for lunch instead of having lunch with Mike (one of the perks of working at same hospital) I am waiting for a phone call from Glen's teacher...I really need to discuss his homework issues with her...I like his teacher but I will say she's not a "Seasoned" teacher...you know...fresh out of college and doesn't know how it all works yet????

My sister, I think, is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak...As most of you remember her hubby fell off the AA wagon and thier lives had taken a downward spiral???? Well he is going to jail...in fact he reports Feburary 4th...Diane has been really trying to just deal with it until Mike goes...but it's not been an easy road...Mike got control of the money and stayed at the bar all the time...sometimes he'd come home...sometimes not...bills weren't getting paid and it was basically a nightmare...Hey I've been where she is....I know exactly how she felt...

She finally contacted Welfare (She hated to do that but she really didn't have a choice) and found out she's eligible for just about anything they could give her...So now she and Justin have Medicad and Food Stamps...and they called the electric, gas and water company and explained her situtation...so now she doesn't have to worry about anything getting shut off...I told her to find out how much basic phone service would cost and I would foot the bill for that...It should only be about $20 a month...It's just been really tough on her...I know that when Mike leave for jail...she will be able to get herself together and in shape...As for Mike going to jail...every one agrees that Mike needs some serious help...once the judge heard the whole story...he agreed and apparently the jail Mike is going to has tons of counceling, support groups and Psychiatric care for him...I hope that he utilizes it fully...Like I said...with the exception of last all this bullshit this past year...Mike is a heck of a guy...

Not sure what Diane is going to do...There' s part of her that wants to file for divorce but the other part that says give him a chance...They've been married for 10+ years so it's not an easy thing for her to do...I've told her that what ever she decides I'd support her whole heartedly...So has my family...who also has been brought up to speed on this...I was the only one who knew what exactly was going on...no one else did...I finally convinced her that the rest needed to know....she needed moral support...So I called the troops (if you want to call them that!)

I also asked Diane if Michael's ex knew about any of this...and she said...Of course she did.....she told Diane that "Well looks as if I got what I wanted...Mike will never see Lindsay again.." Can I smack that bitch????? UGH! That totally pissed me off...I hope she grows warts all over her face....or worse....

Lastly the only thing else that happened to Diane was she has to put her dog Delila down...She got hit by a car on Monday...Di was pretty tore up about this as Delila is to her what Asha is to me...and those that know me..know how much I love my little dustmop of a dog! She still has Samson (they were actually brother and sister) but Delila had that special place in her heart...So with all that mess...this had to happen....but she's doing okay knowing that next week Mike goes and she can start rebuilding....I personally think she's going to be just fine but I did let her know again that if she needed to pack it all up ...I'd come get her and bring her and Justin down with me....Sometimes knowing that you have a place to go....takes weight off your problems.....

Well Gang...Gotta get going here.....Ya'll take care now!

HI GUYS!!!!!

2005-01-25T08:58:00.000-05:00

Okay finally have a little bit of time to write until the courier gets here with our morning mail....GEESH! Have we been busy!

I've just had a lot going on lately...I've checked out other blogs but I have had writer's block when it came to my own...Oh well...I got over my slump...The slump I was in slowly got worse and last week I found myself wanting to cry all the time...I think everything in the book was setting me off and everything was getting to me...I blamed hormones for the most part as it also happened to be Mother Nature time...I told Mike I was just tired of the way things were going...(Not between he and I-just things in General) Something needed to change...Mike and I talked about how I was feeling and we came up with some solutions to fix the problems....I hope they work....

The first one was dealing with Glen's homework....I am at work from 7:45 until 5pm, come home, eat and then precede to spend the next 2-3 hours working with Glen every night to get him to get his work done...I am not kidding here...Glen is hyper and figets a lot...We have talked to his teacher and she has changed things in the classroom to make work more easier for Glen...it's when he gets home that the problems really start...Mike and I both agreed that I was the better of the two to handle his homework as it is heavy on English and that was my best subject...They are doing expository writing in class and he has to write something everyweek...When Glen and I sit to get his homework done....His focus is gone, and he constantly moves his body so most of the time I am trying to get him to sit still....Hence what should take 45 minutes to complete takes 2-3 hours...This was EVERY night...I just got tired....I love Glen but this was going way beyond ridiculous...Plus there were issues about how much I should help him with...Glen wanted me to hand him all the answers and I was not going to do that...He needed to learn how to think for himself and to do his homework by himself...This had been going on for several months...There was no way to get anything else done during the week and the rest of the stuff was suffering...Mike never realized how much I actually did until I couldn't do it...I was frustrated cause I wanted to but by the time I got done...All I really wanted to do was hit the bed....But like I said I hope we've solved the problem....We'll see...If not we may come up with something else....

So this is what we have done...They have homework help that Glen has been instructed to go to in aftercare...He bucked the system on this as it took away playtime in aftercare...We put our foot down and basically told him that his homework was his responsiblilty, he was to get it done before playtime...(That's what my kids did!) I would check it over when I got home for corrections...As far as the writing is concerned, he was to do that as well but on a separate sheet of paper for me to look over for mistakes...Then when I got home, he would re-write it...much neater of course...His teacher counts penmanship! YEAH!

We also went over responsibilty in doing his homework by himself....This was done for two reasons...first to make sure he knows he needs to get it done...If he doesn't do it in aftercare after this week... "I forgot" is not accepted, and there is a consequence for it as well...secondly to see if he is paying attention in class as far as knowing what to do...(For which I suspect is also a problem) If his work is done wrong then I will wonder if his mind is wandering and not focusing on class...That's a possibility where Glen is concerned...I have raised 2 ADHD children so I pretty much know what I am dealing with...We will keep in contact with the Teacher...For the most part Glen is on track in Math, science and social studies but reading and writing are his problems...I am also trying to get him to read more...I had a slight issue with his teacher as the reading homework he has during the week instucts the parents to read to the kids...I disagreed saying that Glen would hear the story but not pay any attention to the written words, He needed to read the story himself...She finally realized that it really made more sense to do it my way...Lastly we are trying to deal with his constant fidgeting when he is trying to do his homework...He needs to learn focus and control...This is essential for Hyper kids....and it starts at home...This is where Mike let me take the reins here as I have dealt with this before and he gave me his blessing...So now everytime that Glen fidgets....I deduct 1 minute from his bedtime and he goes to be 1 minute earlier and so on.......He can quickly loose a half an hour let me tell you! LOL....This is actually working and I do see him trying to keep still...

Glen is not happy about any of this but he has to deal with it...I told Mike to expect it to get worse before it gets better....that's usually how it goes...Last night was the first time that homework was finished and I could get other much needed things done around the house....

And speaking of that....(Femminists everywhere will send me burning bras for sure) This was another thing that Mike has been trying to change me on...And I have been bucking the system...So to speak...My Dad never taught me how a woman was to think...I developed that on my own...I may talk about Men helping out with the housework...laundry and all that...but when it comes right down to it...I actually feel guilty....there I have said it...Whew..wasn't that tough...I hardly let Mike do anything around the house...He works all week as well but he comes home and cooks dinner and that's about it...I really don't let him do anything else...If he trys to help fold clothes...I tell him to go and relax...I got it covered...I do all the other housework minus the bathrooms (The kids actually do those-and the dishes as well) I really never voiced how I felt about this primarily because I know that I shouldn't think this way??? That may not make a whole heck of a lot of sense but as I said...This is me...and this is how I think...So needless to say Mike has been trying to get me to realize that he can help out too....that I already do way too much and I should let him chip in...Guys...This has actually been really really tough for me...When girls talk about how men are...yadda yadda yadda...I chip right on in but the reality is I feel that Mike should not have to take care of the house....I should have to do that...Smack me if you want...but I am trying to change that...

I think that's why I was feeling so overwhelmed last week and near to tears...how I think was in conflict with what was happening and I really felt like I was failing him somehow..Well I had 4+ loads of laundry to fold last night and I let him help me get those done...for which I got a finger in my face cause I folded 3 loads and he folded one (SORRY...I just fold faster!!!!!) I'm trying but I gotta tell you...It's really hard to change your mentality.....

There's more to write about all this but that covers the main points....in the midst of all this with family...I was also dealing with my sister...Remember how I said on here that she needed your prayers???? Well..things have gotten steadily worse...I will go into that in another blog...there's a lot there....But please keep her and her family in your prayers guys....she really needs them right about now...

I think the only bright spot is that I now have a month left until I finally meet my granddaughter!!!! I have so been looking forward to this...you cannot imagine...Manisa has been feeling wonderful all throughout this pregnancy...she and I have pretty much gone over just about everything....I was also quite frank with her about post partum depression and I talked to Patrick about it too...I had it with both my kids...not bad of course but I wanted make sure she knew what to watch out for....I stressed to Patrick that he was going to have to find a way to make sure Manisa gets time for herself...to regroup and all that....I am glad that we can all talk so very openly with me about all this....

I think the only other thing worth mentioning is that my daughter Hayley finally told her father something that shocked and amazed me....For those that have known me for a while know that I am none to fond of the woman he married...Patrick at one point called her a "Psycho Bitch" and that's sorta stuck thru the years...Ah but this is what my ex left me for...At any rate...Her Father and this.....um....person....fight...and they fight alot....Last weekend I guess they had a whopper of one and Doug ended up walking home from a park...Hayley trotting right along beside him...She finally said "Dad....if you guys get a divorce...I wouldn't care at all"....(Steph...I really hope you weren't drinking anything! hahaha) I guess she then vented to him....and then to me....She's none to fond of this person either whom Hayley finds very controling and not at all like me...(as if she could be hahahaha!!!!) Now please keep in mind that while I have my own colorful opinions of Doug's wife...they have never been voiced to Hayley...this is all on her own...Love that child I do!!!!! After she vented we had a long talk.....it was really good.....

Well...I think that should do for now....I have way to much drama in my life...UGH!......

You all take care now.....And Stacy....if there's a way.....you can send me all the snow you want!!!!!

A little bummed out today......

2005-01-13T08:47:00.000-05:00

Just way too much on my mind today as I woke up....Kinda bummed me out but only slightly....

I only have 2 and 1/2 months here on my job...then it ends...HCA (They own the hospital I work at) has been slowly over the years consolidating certain functions...So far they have consolidated the business office (Patient billing in other words) purchasing....now they are consolidating Account Payable (where I am at) These departments now run out of Service Centers...Still owned by HCA of course...The problem is that where they are moving AP too...I do have the option of moving to the Service Center if I want...but it's just too far to drive...would take me over an hour to get there and to get back....2 hours a day on the road??? Also for the money it's not worth it to move and the area is not all that great...

SO...I have been scoping out other jobs at the hospital...I'd really like to stay here and not loose my benefits...I've been here 12 years...so I'd hate to loose all that time as well...Keep your fingers crossed that I find something here! They are paying us a pretty nice chunk of change when our jobs go away so that will definitly keep me afloat until I find something...I may just take 2 months off to just be a regular old housewife! I've been thinking about it! It would drive me crazy to take off more....I'm the type of person who needs to be working...I cannot stay home for long periods...but I do think I need a break! I shall miss everyone that I work with....They were a great bunch....We definitely had our ups and downs...especially between me and my boss!!!!

Then I am bummed about Patrick....He's been told (and this too may change-it has so many times already) that his unit will head to Iraq in September for 7 months...I am so hoping this changes for him and he stays...He is going to miss so many things with his new Daughter...He's won't be here for her first Christmas!!! (That really bums me out!) Her First steps...(I will be chasing her around the house armed with a camcorder!) Now don't get me wrong here guys....I am so very proud of him for being a Marine...but I gotta tell you that it is a hard life that our service men and women lead these days...Especially in Iraq....That scares the crap out of me...Now logic tells me that he works on C-130's (For those that don't know-they are the bug supply planes) and will pretty much be out of harms way but who can tell over there any more??? I am just venting I know....it's just been a really hectic past couple of days for me....I'll get over it.....I am looking forward to my Grandaughter's arrival! I think all we have to buy is a bassinett and we are all set...Manisa's closet is about to explode with all the stuff we have for her....

Ah well...I had better get going...Talk to you all later!

Okay this was cute!

2005-01-10T19:05:00.000-05:00

You Are a Beagle Puppy

Cheerful, energetic, and happy go lucky.
And your sense of smell is absolutely amazing!

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

I love beagles!!!!!

And this was oddly amazing too:

Your Famous Blogger Twin is Wil Wheaton

You're a friendly, funny guy (or girl) next doorWith more than a touch of geekiness

Who's" Your Famous Blogger Twin?

Considering those that know me know I am a Star Trek Fan.............

I got the "Back to Work After Vacation Monday Blues"......

2005-01-10T13:59:00.000-05:00

There's a country song in there somewhere.....and Tim Mcgraw is singing it........

I have to say that last week was very productive having the week off with the children.....We had a really great time New Year's Eve...Although I think Hayley and I ate too much shrimp (is that even possible???) I spent Sunday, Monday and Teusday mega cleaning...dusting...vacumning...doing up all the laundry and going thru all the crap we had accumulated the year before...I felt very good taking care of all that...no more dust bunnies....no more clutter!

Suffice to say I now have enough stuff to get rid of for a garage sale...We tried for one last Saturday but it didn't go very well...This Saturday we are going to the Drive-In where for $20 bucks you can have a spot and sell your stuff there...I hope it goes okay as hundreds of people flock there on the weekends for it...The Kids also have stuff they want to sell...I hope they sell everything!!! hahahaha....

Other than that...I finally started the boys on Guitar lessons...Their Mom had bought them each one of those "First Act" guitar's for Christmas...They are perfect for first guitars for Kids their ages and size...Monday found us at Marathon Music to pick up a pitch pipe and tuning of the guitars...I can keep them in tune afterwards and I upgraded the pitch pipe for an electronic tuner just this past weekend as I found out they were on sale! So finally we were all set for me to teach them! Now I will admit that I am rusty on a "Git-Fiddle" but I was amazed at how much came back to me while giving the boys thier lessons....I was even more amazed at how well Wesley did....We went over everything and he picked it up no problem at all! I was really impressed at his memory skills at memorizing the stanza's...I know it's going to get harder on down the road but he seems pretty determined to learn...I hope so...but I had also told the boys they could quit at any time....I was not about to force them to learn...so for now Wesley is enjoying it....I really hope he keeps up! Glen on the other hand....Well....er....Glen makes a really beautiful racket on his guitar....hahaha...But then he is 8, still a little guy....He wants to learn but he wants to play also...can't blame him there...So lessons are sorta playing around and maybe hitting a few notes....As long as he has fun! I will admit that I can only take them so far in lessons...if they surpass what I know...then I will get them lessons with an instructor....I mean I can play....I can play almost any chord/note on a guitar...it's the speed at which my fingers shift from chord to chord that has always been my problem...it was never quite there...A quarter beat between chords always ended up a whole beat....and while practice makes perfect...I don't think this was true for me...but I still loved it and may even buy me another guitar at some point...(I had sold my old Ovation a long time ago) But what I know is more than enough to get the boys going and playing...So when I work with one child I use the other childs guitar to practice along with them...I have to say...It's really been a blast! Hayley is excited too as I had told her that if she keeps up making the Honor Roll this year...She will get an electric drum set...again...the beginner's desktop ones WITH HEADPHONES!! Told her she was on her own learning as I know nothing about hitting the skins...but I have scoped out some really good CD-Rom's about learning how to play drums...

Now If I could just get Mike to learn how to play bass.............mmmmmmmm.....Mike playing bass.......Okay mind wandering there.....hehehehe....We'd be a regular Partridge family! "Hello World there's a song that we're singing...Come on get Happy!!!!"

Now does everyone have that song going thru thier head now??????

Take care all!!!!!!

Happy New Years!

2004-12-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

I know it's a day early but in the mess that is year end close at our office....I just don't see me posting to my blog until next week when I have the whole week off work...YIPPEEE!!!!

I hope everyone here has a marvelous New Year...all we are planning is snack foods and soda for the kids, prehaps a movie or two from BlockBuster, and falling asleep at 12:01am! hahaha....going to spend the next week cleaning the house...MAJOR cleaning.....and on that note...I shall leave you with the perfect way to clean a house....Take care all and have a Happy New Year!!!!!!

HOW TO CLEAN HOUSE

1. Open a new file in your PC.

2. Name it "Housework."

3. Send it to the RECYCLE BIN.

4. Empty the RECYCLE BIN.

5. Your PC will ask you, "Are you sure you want to delete Housework permanently?"

6. Answer calmly, "Yes," and press the mouse button firmly ..

7. Feel better?

Sigh It's all over.............

2004-12-27T10:06:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those perfect days that you really don't want it to ever end???? That was my Christmas.....just way to perfect....Hayley opened her presents up Christmas Eve...Had a blast with her new bike and Game Boy SP...Ate a really big dinner then She went to her Father's (She's gone the rest of the week until New Years Eve) and the boys went to Grandpa's for Christmas Eve...Mike had I put together the boy's new bikes, just munched on cheese and crackers, smoked fish dip, and spinach dip...cuddled up together until the boys got home around 9:30pm...We got up around 4am to put the gifts under the tree and then went back to bed until morning when the sounds of the boys woke us up!

Yes our livingroom had that "shabby gift wrap Chic" look about it when they were finished but the smiles on thier faces told us that this was the greatest christmas ever!

But it wasn't over yet...And this is just one of those reasons that I love Michael as much as I do...We took the kids to see "The Polar Express" Last monday night....Well let me tell you...Glen grilled us ever since...Do we Believe in Santa?? and a million other questions North Pole related...See he's only 8 years old and this is probably going to be the last year he believes...his class mates are already spilling the beans somewhat so he's really questioning us...Well at any rate...We took them all to this movie...Glen was really taken by the fact that the boy couldn't hear the sleigh bells until the end of the movie when he believed...He finally could hear the bells!!! This child also was chosen to get the first present of Christmas and all he wanted was a sleigh bell that had fallen off the ropes that held the reindeer...To summarize....he got the bell and until old age...he could still hear the bell as he never stopped believing in the magic of Christmas...

WELL....You had better believe that Glen hooked right onto that...Did we hear the bells??? Do we believe....the sheer worry on his face! It was really cute....Enter Michael...He had on Christmas Eve found large jingle bells....probably about as big as your fist...He got a foot of red satin cording, frayed the edges (to make it look like it too came off a sleigh) and put it in a little white box for Glen with a note that said "Hope you always believe and can hear the bells....Love Santa" .....it was the last gift Glen opened....but let me tell you....it was by far the best...That bell has not left Glen's side..I had to go and grab a kleenex as it really was very touching....

I am sure later on in life when Wesley and Glen have wives and children....they will remember what Mike did....I hope they do the same!

So that was my Christmas...From what I can read sounds like everyone in Blog County USA had a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas One and ALL!

2004-12-23T08:23:00.000-05:00

Well Guys...Today is my last day off work...off tomorrow to enjoy the holidays! I think we finally are ready....Got a few things to wrap and bikes to put together but that's about it......Have to work all next week but I have off the week after New Years....YEAH!!!!!

But I want to take the time to wish everyone out there in BlogLand.......

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Have a wonderful day!

Love Tig and Family

Ask and Answer time!!!

2004-12-17T21:27:00.000-05:00

Saw this on Julies Blog and thought it was kinda cool....a way to get to know people on these here blog thingybobbers.......:)

A) First, recommend to me:

1. a movie
2. a book
3. a musical artist, song, or album

(B) Ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want. Answers will be posted next week--great time for strangers to say hi.

(C) Then go back to your blog, copy and paste this allowing your friends to ask you anything; say that you borrowed it from me. I will try to answer as I go!

Y'all have a great time!!!!!

BBBBBBBRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

2004-12-15T08:42:00.000-05:00

It's actually 42 degrees outside and I am happily freezing!!!!!!!

Yes....you heard me...Happily....Smile on my face and all that!

I am originally from Medina County Ohio....That's about 20 minutes south of Clevland...I moved here in 88 with my son and my Dad...I so miss the changing of the seasons....To be able to go to the beach on Christmas day is still in 2004 a odd thing to me...so when the cold comes thru I am tickled! I can bring out my sweaters and sweatshirts and I am sooo happy! Feels more like Christmas to me! It's expected to get up to the 60's but back down to the 40's...YIPEEEEEE!!!!

And yes...you all can send me snow if ya want too!!!!!!!!

It's getting so much closer to Christmas and my kids are about ready to pull thier hair out! hahahaha....Mike and I are going to finish up the Christmas Shopping tomorrow night...His sister Darlene is coming over to sit with the kids...And we actually have an extra one for a week! (Found him on sale we did....hahahaha just kidding) Mike's other Sister Kathy is moving up to Virginia in January with her Husband....It's mostly for health reason for Hubby...Florida is not good to him....They are leaving tonight to go and find a house and her Son Christopher is coming to stay with us...He and Hayley go to the same middle school so he can ride the bus with her....Might have him with us until Christmas Eve as Kathy is going to drive back that day...The kids are all excited....

I am also looking forward to this weekend! I am comeing into the office Saturday morning to help Decorate the office...We have a decorating contest every year at the hospital...Each department chooses a Theme and decorates accordingly...We have outsiders come in and do the judging...I think I heard on of them is a Circuit Court Judge....That should be cool...Since I work in the Finance Department we are doing a "Fiscal Wonderland" We have Dollar bill Garland...Add Tape Paper Trees....Coin Stickers everywhere...A "Naughty or Nice" Vendor List with Photo's of Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Martha Stewart (In Prison Black and whites no less!) and a photo of our CFO....We're going to put a big Question mark by him so everyone can guess if he belongs in the Naughty or Nice Column...He's one of those CFO's that are really really good....detail oriented...anal retentive about figures and when Month End close comes around....will make everyone nuts! But with the accounting that Hospital's have to do now...you really can't blame him one bit...

Then onto Shopping with my Daughter in law Manisa!!!! I had put aside money for Patrick and Manisa, and it was decided that I was going to take Manisa shopping for Baby Stuff...I have one thing in mind that I really want to get her...it's called an Angelcare Movement Sensor with Sound....My sister Julie (the one with Twins) told me she loved it....Had one for Nathan...It sends off an alarm if it doesn't detect any movement (it's sensitive enough for monitoring breathing) in 20 seconds...What a wonderful thing! I well remember Hayley being on an Apnea Monitor for the first year of her life....I am so glad they came out with this....Manisa also has picked out the crib bedding that she would like so I think I am going to get that as well....Should be a wonderful day all in all...I am so looking forward to it....Manisa has also just about passed all her classes (With A's and B's) so she's at home after the Holidays until the baby comes....

BTW....I think....and again it may change knowing my son....She now has a name...Kiari...You pronouce it Ki-Ree (long I....long E)...Kiari Obyran....Sounds PERFECT!!!!! Now they just have to come up with a middle name...After the baby is born and after Manisa recuperates....She will be going up to stay with Patrick...I will help her with the move but you know that every chance I can...I will have to get up there! While I would rather have my Granddaughter near her Grandma....Manisa needs to be up with Patrick....This separation has really been hard on the both of them and they are looking forward to it ending and being a family....WWWWWWAAAAAAA!!!!!! Happy for them....Sad that it means moving away from me!

Can you bribe Marine Officals to transfer him down by me????? NO??? Rats! Oh well...I will just rack up frequent Flyer miles I guess.....hahahaha....

Well...I had better get going....You all take care now!!!!!!!!

It's beginning to look more like Christmas!

2004-12-13T09:12:00.000-05:00

Who's not ready for it yet?????? I'm almost there.....hahahaha

What a weekend! I am glad that I am at work so I can recuperate!

We picked up Taco Bell Friday for dinner...we usually get 2 of the 10 tacos for $6.99 and 4 orders of Nacho's...I love it...plus it feeds all 5 of us for $20..Then we dug out all the Christmas decorations...I preceded to sort thru them all...Where did we get all this stuff from??? And as always... I buy more each year! This year I started with the lighted houses...people, trees and all...looks absolutly wonderful! We managed to at least sit down to watch "Enterprise" (yes....Mike and I are "trekkies") then washed and folded more laundry so I could at least keep up with it....(I miss one day and it's over flowing)

Saturday found us up bright and early...Mike was taking Glen to the Santa's workshop that our hospital sponsors...they have a breakfast buffet and then you can do crafts and meet Santa...So Wesley, Hayley and I took ourselves off to Dunkin Donuts for some Peppermint, White Chocolate Rasberry Latte's (YUMMY), donuts and breakfast sandwiches...Got done with that, so we vacumned out my car and made a quick stop at Home Depot for some nails and then made our way to the Dollar Tree for wrapping paper and other knicknacks...

When we all congregated back at home, made sure we had everything we needed to take the kids Christmas shopping....We give them money (That they do chores for) and they in turn buy gifts for each other and other family members...Now Hayley had been bugging me for a while to go to Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall in Sunrise Florida...It's huge...I think every conceivable store is in there...So off we went....40 minutes to get there...It took us about an hour to just walk from one end to the other...Our game plan was to walk the mall, look at the stores, get some ideas...then hit the food court at the opposite end and formulate a game plan....WEEEEELLL.....That's not exactly how it worked out....But all in all it worked out...but by the end of the day...Mike and I were hurting and tired and snapping at the kids...The kids were wound up and needed to be snapped at....and we just wanted to go home and pass out...but all the kids managed to find all the gifts they wanted to get...plus they had brought any money they themselves had so that was burning a hole in thier pocket as well...Got all the kids settled down watching "Lord of the Rings " (Glen wants to be a hobbit now) And Mike and I curled up in bed to watch some TV until the kids went to bed....Mike lasted about 10 minutes as I heard him snoring almost as soon as he hit the pillow...I somehow managed to stay up til 12am watching the Discovery Channel...(I think it was the Discovery Channel) Watching a Special on Rameses the Great and his son...they think they found the remain of the first born Son...the one from the Moses story of Exodus...Don't ask me to pronouce his name, let alone spell his name! hahaha....but it was interesting...Then at 11pm they had another special on Cleopatra and did she really kill herself or was she murdered...Another interesting show as they concluded that there was no way she would have killed herself...This was a Queen who had grown up the most dysfunctional family around...it was as they put it in the show "Kill or be killed" who fought for everything she got so she just gave up and killed herself??? When they looked at what had been written down thru the ages...They did this from investigative forensic standpoint...They concluded that she had not killed herself but she had to have been murdered by Octavian...I just love these types of shows!!!!!

Okay got off track here..Sunday we again were up with the Sun...Cooked a big breakfast and then off to get a tree!!!!!! We found an wonderfully flocked one...I love Trees that have the flocking on them....makes them look amazing once the lights and decorations are up....And that's what we did Sunday....Decorated the tree and the rest of the house....We didn't sit back down until suppertime....UGH! But it was well worth it...

Now we just have to keep the kitten away from it! Asha doesn't touch the tree ususally but I know the kitten will...She was mildly curious about it....We are keeping her in Hayley's room during the day....We'll spring her when we get home....Should be interesting!

Now we just have to finish the shopping and we have that pegged for Thursday....then we should be all set....

As my Son says....."I'll speak words with you later!"

There are Idiots....and there are #@$%&*'s

2004-12-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

I need to vent...The smoke is still coming out my ears...

I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some soda....I came back out to find some idiot putting "Aryian Nation" flyers on the windshield of people's car and he had put one on mine.....

Wrong move dickhead......

I cannot and will not tolerate prejudice in any way shape or form! I yanked it off my car and walked over to him...I handed it back to him and told him that I don't need his &*#% on my car....He then preceded to yell that we needed to get "Those" people out of there....

Wrong move again dickhead.....

I blew up people....I really did....Hate is wrong! Just plain WRONG! You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out...I loved it when he yelled back..."But we were here first! This is OUR Country!"

"Oh....So you're Indian then?" I retorted.....

"No!" He said...

"I AM! And WE were here first! If you don't like it here then leave!" I yelled back at him..Go find a Fricking Island that all you guys can go live on and you can hate all you want...Just don't do it here....Now I will admit that that probably wasn't the best thing to yell back....My temper gets the best of me in these situations..And I will admit that I yell before I think! But I left off telling that I hated people with Hairy Moles on their chins (He had one) and that I personally thought that those types of people needed to be run out of the country and quick! They just weren't right in the head.

Our forefathers wanted a country were people could feel free to live here...free from oppression and tryanny....THEY WANTED THAT! That's what America is based on! What does it take to get it thru these assholes heads! Blacks, Whites, Asians, Indians, Mexicans,etc and so forth... We all live here in this land of the free...It's our right! Why do people have a problem with that?????

To hate someone just because they look different has never made any sense to me...And as stated I will not tolerate it....I think down thru the ages Hate had done nothing but damage...it doesn't cause anything but grief...Look at how it shaped our world....Look at the history Hate has left behind and let the facts speak for themselves...

The hate needs to end....We need to say Goodbye to prejudice...I don't look at this as a mere USA thing...I look at this Globally.....We have a planet to live on...it's the only one we got....there's no back up plan...We continue to let hatred consume us....what will our children have??? Not much let me tell you...More wars....More massacres...More destruction that leads eventually to No more world....No more people...I don't want that for my kids...I want a world where we've solved global warming...were we help countries...were we don't live under the threat of nuclear annihalation...Where people learn to respect other people and like other people...

Okay writing this has calmed me down.....

Back to work I go....

A Marine's Christmas Poem.......

2004-12-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

I heard this on the air on WIRK Country Radio....The DJ read it on the air...I had tears in my eyes....My son is a Marine...Proud to be one he is....And I could not be prouder of him.....Semper Fi my son....Semper Fi....

Here's the Poem I read on the air, that was written by a US Marine some 15 years ago...

Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,

In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.
I had come down the chimney, with presents to give,

and to see just who in this home did live.

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,

no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.

On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,

a sobering thought soon came to my mind.

For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen.

This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more,

so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.

And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,

Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,

Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.

Was this the hero, of whom I'd just read?

Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.

I soon understood, this was more than a man.

For I realized the families that I saw that night,

owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,

And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.

They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,

because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone,

on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.

Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.

I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,

"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice.

I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more.

My life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,

I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.
I watched him for hours, so silent and still.

I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill.

So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,

and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.

Then I put on his T-Shirt of scarlet and gold,

with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.

And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,

and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.
I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night,

this guardian of honor so willing to fight.

But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,

said "Carry on Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure."

One look at my watch and I knew he was right,

Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.

To all those that proudly serve our country both at home and abroad....

8 hours til the weekend!

2004-12-03T08:55:00.000-05:00

But First off let me say

Happy Birthday KCFLA!!!!!!!

Hope you have a good one.......CHEERS TO YOU!

I will be so happy to be home this weekend....Had to take off yesterday as Glen was still hacking up a lung and I decided to do the same...Add a fever to what I was going thru and WHAMMO....We made a pretty cozy pair sitting on the couch with a box of kleenex.....Glen is at Grandpa's today as he's still coughing....But thankfully not as much as he was...we're both on the mend....Hayley and Wesley has still not come down with it but poor Mike has...So We had to cancel the camping trip this weekend that Mike was taking the boys on....it's for the best actually so every one can recoup....We promised the boys that Mike would take them in January.....When Mike called his Ex-Brother in law we found out he was sick too...So it really worked out all around....Just planning on resting and taking it easy......

Hope you guys all have a wonderful weekend!

s

In a Family...You share love......And germs.....

2004-12-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

Yup.....I have the crude (as it's called down here) And my wonderful son Glen gave it to me....

But before I go there....I have to say that I am an Aunt again X 2......Yup my sister Julie had her Babies...They came into this world on November 23 at 1:45pm....I welcome Ashley Ann (5 lbs...1oz) and Adam Christopher (6lbs..15 oz) Adam had to spend sometime in ICU as he had fluid in his lungs but is expected to make a full recovery....Julie said they are both as darling as they can be! Nathan (The older 2 yr old brother-is very excited about the additions to the family) The only bad thing about the whole thing was Julie had to have a C-Section and poor Dror (Her hubby) could only be there for the births...Nathan apparently came down with a cold and they won't let him in...so Dror had to stay home with him...But all is well with the family!

Now back to the crude stuff....Our Thanksgiving was wonderful as we went over to Mike's brothers house to eat....His brother is very cool and we all had a wonderful time....Stayed home Friday and cleaned house so nothing major there....But Saturday poor Glen woke up with a headache....Hand to the forehead told me it was more than a headache and out came the thermometer...101.9 it read...Gave him some Tylenol and had him set down on the couch with a pillow and blanket and I sat right next to him...as the day progress the headache/fever turned worse and into a nasty cough and congestion...Switched back and forth from Motrin to Tylenol to combat the temperature that now was up to 102.2....He spent a very fitful night and Mike and I decided to take him into the pediatrician....It's wonderful that we have one that actually has an office open on Saturday and Sunday....Off we went...Bronchitis was the diagnosis...So they put him on an antibiotic....by Sunday night his fever finally went away....I sat on the couch with him all day that day too...We watched the Sci Fi channel all day....Mike stayed home with him Monday....Glen finally was perking up....That's when I noticed that I wasn't feeling so hot...and by today.....I feel like a semi has run over me more than a few times....OH well....We're just hoping the Wesley and Hayley don't come down with it...Glen is really on the upside now so that's good....Mike has a camping trip this weekend with the boys...plus thier cousin is coming down from Orlando to go with them and It would really suck if we had to cancel....They have so been looking forward to this.....

Well off to get myself a glass of cranberry juice and back to work.......

Take care all!

Happy Monday Everyone.....

2004-11-29T13:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah, Yeah....I know I know.....Mondays???? Happy?????

Then I will leave you with this Blog from my hometown newspaper The Palm Beach Post (I hope the link comes up!) It had me laughing as I am trying to get thru this week....Will come back to update later....Take care all....

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/tgif/content/custom/blogs/thompson/archives/001391.html

I will agree totally with number 32....AND I am proud to say that I watch "JAG!"

Harm's pretty cool if you ask me! (It's number 90 on the list)

Later guys!

From My House to Yours...........

2004-11-24T13:04:00.000-05:00

Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving. I'm telling you in advance, so don't act surprised. Since Ms. Stewart won't be coming, I've made a few small changes:

Our sidewalk will not be lined with homemade, paper bag lumieres. After a trial run, it was decided that, no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect.

Once inside, our guests will note that the entry hall is not decorated with the swags of Indian corn and fall foliage I had planned to make. Instead, I've gotten the kids involved in the decorating by having them track in colorful autumn leaves from the front yard. The mud was their idea.

The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy china, or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this IS Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the plastic Peter Rabbit plates and the Santa napkins from last Christmas.

Our centerpiece will not be the tower of fresh fruit and flowers that I promised. Instead we will be displaying a hedgehog-like decoration hand-crafted from the finest construction paper. The artist assures me it is a turkey.

We will be dining fashionably late. The children will entertain you while you wait. I'm sure they will be happy to share every choice comment I have made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims, and the turkey hotline. Please remember that most of these comments were made at 5:00 a.m. upon discovering that the turkey was still hard enough to cut diamonds.

As accompaniment to the children's recital, I will play a recording of tribal drumming. If the children should mention that I don't own a recording of tribal drumming, or that the tribal drumming sounds suspiciously like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, ignore them. They are lying.

We toyed with the idea of ringing a dainty silver bell to announce the start of our feast. In the end, we chose to keep our traditional method. We've also decided against a formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like. In the spirit of harmony, we will ask the children to sit at a separate table. In a separate room. Next door.

Now, I know you have all seen pictures of one person carving a turkey in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. This will not be happening at our dinner. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in a private ceremony. I stress "private," meaning: do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children to check on my progress. I have an electric knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win. When I do, we will eat.

Before I forget, there is one last change. Instead of offering a choice between 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small fingerprints. You will still have a choice: take it or leave it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!!!

Laura, Michael, Patrick and Manisa, Hayley, Wesley and Glen

Asha,Dakota,Sassy,Sky,Big Bird,Herman The Hermit Crab and Turtie the Turtle

The battles we win.......

2004-11-22T08:46:00.000-05:00

Well Guys.....I think I finally got thru to Michael on something that he and I have been going around about.....It was hard to make him see the light but I think I finally got thru to him...Let me explain.....

You see...Mike and those boys have been thru hell and back...how? Well...When he was married to his now ex-wife...It ended badly with Scars for all...Major ones...You see...Mike's ex has mental issues...We have been told everything from Borderline Schizoprenic to Bi-polar, depression and whatnot..(We're not sure how bad or how not bad-that's really a whole nother story).While they were together...She refused to get help...(That's a very long story-Lisa, Steph and Stacy-you know what I am talking about) but she literally abused those boys...That's what I call it...I am still sure to this day there are things that Mike and I don't know about...probably never will...At any rate...She would lock them in thier bedrooms and not take care of them...Mike ran ragged trying to do everything for them...It got worse going thru the divorce because the courts refused to get her out of the house...Had to wait til it was all over and done with and let me tell you...Mike went thru 3 attorneys before he got one that would listen to him, help him get custody (and then that got screwed up in the end-but we have since fixed that issue) But he finally won custody...But unfortunatly the damage to the boys was already done...Yes we have done counceling and will probably do that again at some point...But right now the boys are doing well..having a much stabler environment than before...Like I said...there's a whole lot here that I am not writing about....

But that is not without problems...Mike's oldest boy...Wesley...will overeat..He also inhales his food..(not kidding there-he doesn't stop-he can eat a full plate of food in about 5 minutes).He is heavy and the Doctor has said that he needs to loose weight.(Aprox 25 pounds)..Okay...we could do that...He is also highly emotional and highly sensitive and yes...the kids at school are brutal to him...I cannot begin to tell you all that child has been thru..I have worked with Wesley for the past 2 years to get him to slow down...I explained that eating that fast was not good for him or his digestion...Mike and I both know that this is directly linked to what he went thru with his mom...he never knew when his next meal was coming from...So he made sure he ate as much as he could....

But that's where the battle began....You see...Mike feels a tremendous amount of guilt for what the boys have been thru...So naturally he wants to make it up to them anyway possible...I can actually understand that...but when it comes down to Food issues and Wesley...I have had it rough going trying to get Mike to understand that is the ONE area you don't compensate for...Wesley is not active by any stretch of the imagination...We literally have to force him to be outside running and riding his bike..or anything...He will sit in front of the TV and watch cartoons all day if we let him...which I don't...Hayley and Glen are forever active and burn off all that they eat...so we don't worry about them...So that made it hard as well to work something out...I push fruits and veggies on them...Mike wants to let them indulge in chips and dips, cookies and whatnot.....When he gives them Ice Cream....He will (And I am not kidding you here) give Wesley a bowl that will be enough for all three kids...That's what the issue is...He will overload Welsey on everything...Why because he can eat it...Mike had no sense of portion control...He would overload his lunches...snacks...dinner and breakfast...I always felt like the bad person to want to have him eat a healthy apple vs. that big dish of ice cream...It was finally getting to the point where Mike and I would argue about it...He would always tell me that he was not going to deny Wesley anything..

Well we finally had it out this past Saturday and I don't know if it's the way I said it to him but it finally work...What I told him was this....I didn't care WHAT he fixed for the boys...I cared how much he gave them...Wesley didn't need an fried steak and egg sandwich made with 2 fried eggs and 4 Steakums (He really didn't need the sandwich at all but that's another issue) Make Wes's sandwich with 1/2 steakum, 1 fried egg...USE Pam instead gobs of butter to fry it in...That way he wasn't being denied the sandwich but at least I cut the calories down quite a bit...I also told Mike that his guilt over what the boys had gone thru wasn't going to do Wesley any good if he kept overindulging him...I told him that while I get the sugar free Healthy Choice Ice Cream (1/2 cup is only 100 calories-and practially no fat) that did not mean to give Wesley 6 huge scoops...that was defeating the purpose....That's what I try to do...Keep those kind of items in the house...I also said that one of the things Wesley gets teased about in school is his weight...you guys all know how cruel kids can be...But you know....Wes's 10 years old...how much connection can he really make between food and weight??? Yeah...he would love to eat all the fattening foods...he loves those...but most of the time we cannot let him do that and Mike would get so pissed at me for that...I explained to Mike that while we at are age don't care what people say if we have a few extra pounds on us...but Wesley does but he really cannot comprehend all the calorie/fat information just yet and I really don't want him to have to worry about this...I am trying to enact a change without really having to involve Welsey but I couldn't do it alone...Mike needed to work with me and not against me....

Well after about an hour or so of talking...I mean REALLY talking...I finally got thru to Mike and he finally admitted that he had no clue how much Wesley needed...I said fine...He did the cooking..let me handle the portions...Wesley would always have plenty to eat...I also told Mike that we needed to get Wesley outside more...Get the Wesley and Hayley cheap tennis rackets and let them go play...The courts are right down the road from me...well within walking distance...and it doesn't matter that he doesn't know...the important thing is that he's out there running around...get him out riding his bike more...swimming...ANYTHING....to get him more active...We would also have to both let Wesley know that he really didn't have a choice...he was not staying in his room siting in front of the TV set or playing video games (He's already limited to how long he can play those)...So we shall see if this works...if not...Anyone got a 2 by 4 I can borrow????? hehehe...It's just that I love those boys so much and I see all the scars they have...Makes me want to cry most days...They have come a long way from when I first met them...they have come totally out of thier shells and blossomed in ways Mike and I didn't think they ever would...but it's these other issues that now need to be addressed...Its a very fine line that I know I have to deal with...but that's what love is all about right????

Hey guys...thanks for letting me vent.....We'll see how this all ends up!

Take care!

What????? It's Friday already?????

2004-11-19T15:55:00.000-05:00

Where in the heck did this week go? It went somewhere I can tell you that much...Got an hour left of work...Not a whole heck of a lot to do anyhoo....

And not much to report on the homefront....Just a quiet weekend with Mike and the boys....Having Pizza and Movies tonight (after Star Trek "Enterprise" of course!!!!!) That's about all the excitment I am having for this weekend...So I shall leave you with this Joke:

GOTTA LOVE LITTLE BOYS
Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box
of Tampax and proceeded to the checkout counter.

The man at the counter asked the older boy, “Son, how old are you?”

“Eight”, the boy replied.

The man continued, “Do you know what these are used for?”

The boy replied, “Not exactly, but they aren’t for me. They are for
him. He’s my brother. He’s four. We saw on TV that if you use these
you would be able to swim and ride a bike. He can’t do either
one.”

Have a wonderful Weekend Everyone!

Happy Monday!

2004-11-15T08:33:00.000-05:00

And we are all set to do this work thing again right???? Yeah....right....hahaha

Not much happened over the weekend....it was kinda calm....I think the only excitement came when we took the Bronco out to the J.W. Corbett Area (It's a wild life reserve..you can go camping and stuff) Mike loves to go 4 wheeling thru the marshes so we packed up to spend the day out there...We built a campfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmellows....YUM! All in all we had a good time even though we got stuck in a puddle...okay maybe not a puddle cause the back end of the Bronco filled up with water up to the back seats...But a swamp buggy happened by and helped pull us out in a jiffy...If you guys are wondering what a swamp buggy is.... just picture an Air boat without the huge fan in the back end...lifted up about 20-25 feet and has at least 6 foot tires on them...they go thru everything! It's pretty popular down here...

But at least Sunday held something interesting....Now first I must tell you that I am a huge country fan as well as rock music fan....(I personally think they go hand in hand with what's coming out of country music these days!) At any rate....I was watching CMT Insider and I caught a glimpse of the Tim Mcgraw Wardrobe malfuntion at his charity ball game...Half watching while folding clothes the next thing I saw caught my full attention...Def Leppards own Rick Allen on Stage for the concert later with Tim! OH BOY! Since I didn't hear the whole thing (Mike was talking to me at the time....yeah yeah...I should have tuned him out! hahaha) but I looked up the article on CMT online....It seems that Robert Allen (Rick's brother) is Tim Mcgraw's Tour Manager! Imagine that! I thought that was pretty cool....I didn't know that! Anyway...according to the article...the whole lineup did some Def Leppard tunes such as "PSSOM" And "Rock of Ages" Let me tell you....I would have loved to see Tim doing those tunes! But can we get Joe to do Tim song "Real Good Man?" I wish I wish I wish.....Okay Okay....back to reality! hahaha

For those that want to read the article in it's entirety....Here's the link.....If for some reason it doesn't pull up...you can go to CMT.Com and look up the article under Tim Mcgraw News....

http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1493351/11022004/mcgraw_tim.jhtml

It's called Tim Celebrates a decade of Swampstock..........Man...I wish I could have been there!

Have a really great day!

The Verdict is in on Scott Peterson.......

2004-11-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

And the asshole was found guilty of murder in the first degree....

I am elated......now if we can only go back to the olden days and just haul him out back and have each of the family members shoot him...or string him up...or....tie a rope to each of his arms...legs...and head and then tie them to horses and have those horses run in different directions at the same time...I do believe the term is "Drawn and Quartered" Or...I could think of a hundred different deaths for him....but it won't bring back Laci or Connor...What will haunt me is that baby was about to come into this world when his life was taken...never had a friggin chance....so sad...so sad indeed.....

(But I will also hope that he gets put into a cell with a "nice" inmate and becomes his "girlfreind-with out using KY)

Sorry if this offends some people...but this whole case sickened me from the very beginning and I never doubted that he was guilty......I feel justice was somewhat served today....it will be served better if his life became forfeit as well....

For Terri and those who have lost someone dear to them....

2004-11-08T14:25:00.000-05:00

You may wonder why I feel compelled to write this down....I keep reading Terrie's blog and hear her pain and Jude's at loosing their Mother's...Maybe what I have to say will help ease some of pain...Some may think it's silly, they may not understand or believe what I say....My Ex husband will back me up on this....He was there......he knows too....My daughter is the testament to a Mother's love that crossed boundries that death could not hold...

I lost my Mother to Ovarian Cancer on April 6th, 1971...Back then...there wasn't enough known about it to fight it....She was first diagnosed back in October...went thru Chemo and Radiation treatments...She went back in March to have her "second look" surgery and that's when they found that it had spread all over...The doctor's basically told my Father to take her home...There was nothing more to do...She deteriorated fairly quickly and passed on April 6th...I was going to turn 6 the next month in May...I know she didn't want to leave...I know how much she loved us...Growing up I felt bad that I no longer had her with me but I had memories of her....not alot but memories that kept me warm and happy at night...I still to this day have a spotted dog that she gave me as a birthday present the previous year...Oh it's missing an eye...it's battered and worn and has a lot of sewing jobs on it...but it's been with me thru my growing up, my Son's bad dreams, my daughter and now Glen holds on tight to it at night....

I missed my mother terribly growing up...I heard everything from "Well God must have had better plans for her" to "You probably don't miss her that much now do you" Oh those were the good ones...I was angry at the sheer callousness of people who knew that I was raised by my father..."He ought to marry...you need a mother...not a father" Yes...I gave most of those idiots a piece of my mind...

I also had always known that I come from an Indian lineage...My Great Great Grandfather was the Cheif of his Villiage of the Seneca indians...His wife was the medicine woman...I met some Senenca's and I will never forget what one said to me when I told them of my mother..."Do not worry little one...she is the wind that whips around you so you are enveloped in her love...She is the star in the night sky...guiding you as you make your path in this world...she will always be with you...Just as you see the stars in the sky and feel the breeze upon your face...she is with you..." I don't think anyone has ever made me feel better about it...The indians that I had met truly were wonderful and insightful people...I guess that's why I have adopted so many of their beliefs....It has stuck with me always...

When my ex-husband and I decided to have a child...it took us a year to finally get pregnant...We were elated although it was a very tough pregnancy and delivery...We knew that Hayley was going to be a girl when I was 4 months along...We had tried to figure out a way to put my mother's name Shirley into Hayley's name...We just couldn't do it...We opted to use Mom's middle name instead...So her name is Hayley Ann...Doug knew just how much I missed having Mom with me...that I had grandchildren she would never see...

Then came the morning I will never in my life forget...Hayley was 2 months old when it happened...We both were jolted away 15 minutes before Doug's alarm was to go off...We both knew to check Hayley...we said it together at the same time...I ran and looked into her crib...she was blue and not breathing...I picked her up and did mouth to mouth a few times and she woke up...and cried....and cried...and you better believe I loved to hear that sound! Doug was so shocked that he had to stay home from work...She was put on an apnea monitor that very day...She continued to have episodes until just under a year old...

But that day struck me for another reason...It was only after Hayley had started crying that I noticed the smell....I hadn't smelled that smell since Mom and I used to curl up on the floor watching cartoons together...Mom's fragrant talcum powder...She loved to use it and I loved the smell....flowery and light...She was there...At that moment I could feel her all around me...I know this..I firmly believe that...She woke us both up...She saved my daughter...Her Grandchild...She was watching...

Think of this what you will...draw you own conclusions if you want to....but this is what I believe to be true...I think even now she watches over me and my children....

Back to work we go!

2004-11-08T08:56:00.000-05:00

Called Patrick over the weekend and gave him the list of names...he like Janelle and a few others....He said they are having such a hard time with this that they just might toss all the names into a hat and do it that way! I told him that when the right name comes up they will both know....

It was a totally wonderfully cool weekend...Got down into the 60's! I opened the screens and left them open....the breeze was something else...Mike went to do his camping thing this weekend and Hayley went to her Dad's for the weekend so it was just me and the boys...We had a good weekend together....I shoveled out their room (yes you heard me...shovel) took two huge bags of trash and then attacked my room...Washed all the bed stuff....did all the laundry...mopped and vacumned, all in all I think I threw out at least 4 or 5 bags of trash...with Mike camping for the weekend...I didn't have the normal "you're going to throw out that 1 inch peice of wire?" Yes I love him but he is the WORST packrat I have ever seen so I totally believe in out of sight out of mind....If he doesn't see it he won't miss it! hahaha...Glen is another packrat...taking right after his father....He keep everything....even if it's broken...he can use it for something don't ya know??? I had to laugh as Wesley helped me clean up the room and even went thru his stuff is record time...(he's the neat child-hates to be messy!) Glen hemmed and hawed until he finally came up to me and asked if I can do his stuff...I said fine as long as he didn't whine and cry and carry on about what got thrown out....He said he wouldn't and merrily skipped out of the room....

So I set about the task of cleaning out his toy boxes....yes toy boxes....These kids have boxes under their beds...in the closet...and whatnot....Then like I said I attacked my room....threw more stuff away....Straigthened out the closet...caught a kodak moment with our new kitten, Dakota, and Asha...found them sleeping in Asha's bed together....Truly wonderful to see!...

Oh I may have forgotten to mention Dakota....We had always been wanting to get a kitten...but were afraid cause the last kitten Mike had...Glen was very allergic too...My girlfreind Leslie (who is responsible for Mike and I getting together) told us that her cat had kittens and wanted to know if we wanted one...We were really really hesitant not knowing about Glen's allergies or not....So the 3 of us devised a plan...Leslie was going to have a family emergency and would we watch her 7 week old kitten??? We told the kids and they were estatic about it..."Baby Girl" (As Leslie called her) came on a Friday night and we stressed to the kids that we really wanted the kitten to be around Glen...so if he didn't sneeze or anything then maybe just maybe...we'd get a kitten on down the road...(We're sooo bad I know!) Mike had told us that he had stuffed up right away with the last kitten so we waited.....no sniffles....the kitten slept with Glen both nights....Nothing.....No sneezing or anything...We called Leslie on Sunday to let her know we were taking the leap and keeping the kitten...We told the kids Sunday night...OMG the shouts of sheer joy! Took us a couple of days to rename her "Dakota" (I came up with it and the kids loved it) I have to admit she is a totally cuddly kitten...thrives on attention and won Asha over really quickly....She's going to be an indoor cat totally...Right now she's in total kitten mode...feet are to be attacked when walking around at 5am getting your coffee....Asha gets whapped on the nose and woken up out of a sound sleep,when she wants to play and chase and she can get the whole house running to her when she starts crying cause she want's to be picked up and NOW!!!! hahaha....We're enjoying her immensly....I just had to laugh when Mike gave her a bath...She just sat there! Leslie had gotten her used to baths and we are going to keep them up...(Bi-weekly) but I have to admit that's the first cat I have seen that sat still for one!

Well that's my weekend in a nutshell.....I was soooo glad when Mike came home on Sunday...While I had a wonderful time with the boys....I missed him terribly! He missed me too....didn't let me go for a while...He had a good time but it wasn't the same as when he used to go 10 years ago....He didn't like going by himself...next time he wants to take the boys...I won't go cause I have seen where he camps...I need to have something a little more KOA style! I have seen pictures of another place where he has gone camping called Crystal River up by Orlando...Now I will go there....but not out in the marsh lands! Where he went is called the Corbitt Area....and that's what it is...Marsh lands...you have swamp buggy's, Monster trucks...You generally go there to hunt or fish...not to go canoeing or rafting...You don't want to go in that water! There be gator's in there! I missed him but I am glad he was able to go....When he was married he could never do those things....but that's another story and I think I need to attempt to get some work done today at the office....

Take care all!

The Naming Game........Sort of.....

2004-11-02T16:47:00.000-05:00

Only Cause I can't give a prize out! hahahaha.....Patrick and Manisa have asked me for suggestions for the name of their baby girl.....They would love to have an irish name but if something comes along they like better then they will go with it...I thought it would be fun to get your suggestions...I will pass them onto Patrick and Manisa......the current list is like this:

Madison (My personal favorite)
Ellie
Emma
Ciara
Kelly
Meghan
Courtney
Kira

I know there are more but I think these are the most talked about....

Any thoughts girls??????

AAACCCKKK.........IT'S MONDAY ALREADY????

2004-11-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

I guess it is.....Where did the weekend go? For me it just sped right on by me I think! hahaha....Friday night was Me and Mike's 2 year anniversary so we treated ourselves to the movies..."The Forgotten" was great! (But then I love the scary-sci fi flicks!) After the Movie, we went to Wet Willies, our favorite place for "Adult" Slurpee's...Frozen White Russian's are wonderful! Mike got up early to go to his brothers to work on his truck...but that didn't turn out the way he had planned....He needed to replace the back end axl but I guess what he needs is a whole new back end for the Truck...He's going to start pricing used ones...It's an 88 Ford Bronco so hopefully it won't be too hard to come by...he was a little bummed as he hopes it won't mess up his camping trip this weekend...He doesn't think it will...He's a pretty good judge of these things...

Saturday night we went to his brother's church for "Trunk or Treat"...About 30 people had the the back end of thier cars all made up for Halloween and kids went from truck to truck...trick or treating...They had a haunted house and other things for the kids to do...They also had the Chili Cook off and I am proud to say that while I didn't win...Mine was one of the first pot's gone! That made me feel really really good! We got home and Mike and I literally passed out in bed from exhaustion!

Got up Sunday and that's when I first noticed the pain in my knees....Babied them thru walking but the pain steady got worse...Ran up to my hip joints and down in front of my shins...UGH....So I guess walking in the morning is now out of the question...but I'll just beef up my Pilates to make up for it....Down to 12 pounds gone now so I do not want to get off track! I love walking but it's not worth the pain that I am in now...(OH is my orthopeadic Doctor going to kill me! hahahaha)

The rest of Sunday was spent shopping and arguing with my Daughter Hayley over blue jeans....What she thinks looks good and what I think look good are 2 different things.....I let her get a pair she wanted if she got a pair I wanted...UGH the joys of almost teenagers...NOT!....At any rate got that done...putzed around the house cleaning up until it was dark when we all walked around our area so the kids could trick or treat....I now have enough candy in my house to sugar shock the neighborhood and then some! LOL....But they all had a good time.....

Now I am just sitting here at work trying to make it thru the afternoon til I can go home and recooperate! Put my feet up and just chill out.....4 hours and counting!.......

Week really not getting any better......

2004-10-28T07:35:00.000-05:00

Oh man! I cannot wait for the weekend! It's just been one thing after another this week!....On Monday we got hit with 2 different sets of Audits...one is our internal Audit department that basically comes in checks out any and all details and tells us were we are screwing up majorly...or minorly if that's the case...Secondly because of Enron and it's wonderful accounting practices we also have Ernst and Young here to do another audit of our controls of the accounting for the hospital...You see...after the Enron snafu, corporations around the states had to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act of Accountabilty (Also called the "Sox's Law) so we have an outside company (Ernst and Young) that has to come in and basically see that we are accounting what we should be....it's quite complicated when you think about it...Just have to make sure our checks and balances are in place considering we also have Medicare to account too as well...UGH! So between the two different sets of auditors my department is going slightly bananas...PLUS we have hospital wide inventory going on (that's fun...counting syringes...bedpans...test tubes...)

Now if that doesn't make one nuts then having your ignition quit on you will...I was making my merry way with the boys to drop them off at school...stopped for Gas...went to turn the car off...the key wouldn't go all the way back....Hmm???...didn't worry too much about it until after I put the gas in...I got back in the car and started it...it started and died....tried again...died again...I did this about 4 more times and finally decided to call Mike....As luck would have it...tried one more time after I got off with him and it started and stayed started...Called Mike back and went on to take the boys to School and me to work....Mike came over and looked at it (Oh the benefits of us working at the same place!!!!!) Yup it's the ignition switch....Key will not turn all the way so I could take it out....yeah....I'm so happy....I can still drive the car and Mike's looking into the parts needed to fix it...Now Mike can fix just about anything engine wise and underneath but he's never done a steering column before...so if it gets tricky...then we'll take it in...I hope it's something he can fix! Cause something tells me the this would be an expensive thing if we have to take it into the shop....

This week really needs to get better AND SOON!!!!!!

On a better note though...the one bright shinning moment was when I went to the Doctor's office and found out that I have managed to loose 11 pounds and my blood pressure is back to normal....YIPPEEEE!! The diet and exercise is working apparently....I am so happy.....

On last note to KCFla.....You link is posted and I must say that is one cool picture you have on your blog! I love it!!!!!!

Take care all!

Can you have "Do over Weekends?"

2004-10-25T12:36:00.000-05:00

Well....I could have used one this past weekend....Oh it started off okay...but then went down hill on Sunday.....

Friday night was pretty much uneventfull as it's our "Sci Fi" Night (Star Trek, Stargate-you get the picture)...Saturday....we had Glen's 8th B-day party and I was so proud of my self for being a good girl and not overdoing it in the eating department....And that's hard to do with Mike's sister's special Chili Cheese dip! I had to laugh as his little freind Annie (his quote/unquote "Girlfriend") came and after having a blast with Glen at the party promptly announces to her Mom and I that she and Glen are going to get married! (but she at least agreed to wait until AFTER college!) It was sooooo cute....so was the smooch on his cheek that made him beam side to side....Glen has talked about her for the past 2 years.....Annie this and Annie that...just so adorable!

That brings us to Sunday......This is the day I really wish I could "Do Over"...See I had told the kids about the Black and White photos I was going to take.....I told them that we were going to the beach in the am....They were all wearing blue jeans and bright shirts...I told them that they were only to play in the sand...NOT in the water....Hunt shells and all that....I repeated this to them 4 more times (probably more)....

We get to the inlet and what do you think they did? Yup.....headlong into the water...the COLD water.....Manisa said I looked like I was going to strangle someone....I mean these kids are 8,10 and 12.....each one apparently had a hearing problem that day....or memory one....not sure which...I snapped of the roll of film and wondered mildly how to get soaked kids home in my car as I didn't bring towels as they weren't going to be in the water supposedly! Oh and they asked for one when we got going home...I asked them what was the one thing they weren't supposed to do...."Go into the water" and what was the one thing they did? "go into the water" They whined about being cold to which I replied...."Well if you all had LISTENED to me about going into the water in the first place...then you all wouldn't be cold now would you?"

But that's not all folks....as I am explaining all this to the kids as we are driving home....I am apparently driving a week bit over the limit and get pulled over by the cop...As soon as I saw him I glanced down at my speedometer which registered 40mph, thought I didn't know exactly what the limit was in that area...I pulled over.....He said that I was going 46 miles an hour in a 35 zone...I give him my license and registration....He comes back with a ticket for $80.00....He only wrote me up for going 9 miles over other wise it would have been $155....YIKES! He also tells me that while I had changed the address on my license I had not changed my registration....and promptly tells me that he could have written me up for that as well...it would have been a HUGE fine plus a court date (don't ask me why) but he opted not to as I had kids in the car (again there really wasn't any logic there either) So needless to say I was not in a good mood......I had some explaining to do with Michael as to why I had soaking wet kids in the car....I basically told him that it had to do with our anniversary but he couldn't know......Told him about the ticket and that I was going to go lay down til I am no longer ready to choke someone....I could hear him downstairs telling the kids (They wanted me for something or other) that it would be in thier best interests to leave me alone for a while.....I had a chuckle at that one......

Let's just hope the pictures I was able to take came out decent enough...Keep your finger's crossed! Then the aggravation would have been worth it!!!!!

Take care all and hope you guys had a better weekend than I did!

I finally straightened out my blog......

2004-10-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

All links should come up now.....When I looked at what I had done the first time...I had put one too many www and http's in the template....(Know alot about computers I do! NOT!)

At any rate...now that I know what the heck I am doing...I can add more links to those people that I read...If any of you want me to "hook you up" just give me a shout....

(what will really be funny is when I try to add more stuff...........hope my computer can handle me tinkering more with it!)

Later Guys!

Have a wonderful day!

Is it Friday yet?

2004-10-21T07:20:00.000-05:00

Cause I need it to be! WHEW! What a week! It started off good enough but I need the break already! Between the kids homework, cleaning house, calling/running around to find another PS2 for Glen..I am beat...

Glen had his 8th birthday on Teusday...We are having his party this Saturday but we let him open his gift from us on his day....Yup we got him a PS2...And let me tell you at least down here...they are hard to find...flying out of electronic departements as soon as they get them in...I finally found one at Wally World (AKA Wal-Mart) it was the last one they had...but the problem was...it wouldn't work...Oh we hooked it up right and all but the menu never came up as it should...Called the 800 number for Playstation and they basically determined that there was an internal problem and I could either send it to them to fix or take it back to Wally World and get another one...Yeah okay like they are going to have them....Called 5 Walmarts that are in our area, Called the 4 Targets, 2 K-marts, Circut City, Brandsmart...I finally hit the Jackpot at Best Buy....They had just got 10 of them in that morning and would they hold it for me...why yes they would! WHEW! Cause I couldn't really handle the look of dissapointment on Glen's face to have the Toy he wanted but couldn't play!!!! Poor kid....So off I go to take the defective PS2 back to WalMart and then when I got off work I scooted on up to Best Buy where the salesman basically told me that while they weren't supposed to hold it for customer's, he believed me about it being my son's B-day present and felt bad so he held it....the other 9 were already sold!

So I made Glen's day when I came home with a new PS2 and it works!!!!! He's all happy now...Playing Shrek 2...*Sigh* I felt better.

But the rest of the week besides that has been more hectic than I know what to do with..UGH! I want a nice quiet weekend.....Might have it on Sunday....Since Mike and I will be celebrating 2 years together this Halloween...I am taking the kids to the Beach armed with a camera that takes black and white photo's.....Going to make a collage of photo's of the kids.....I have seen this done before and it should be awesome....He'll love it! Just all natural pictures of the kids playing...nothing posed or anything....Should be wonderful....but then my butt is resting the rest of the day!!!!! hahaha.....

Well you all take care now! Gotta run!

I've hit the walking trail......

2004-10-18T14:34:00.000-05:00

I've taken back up walking again....(Though I really promise to take it easy on my poor knees!) I've basically had to as I have blood pressure/weight issues...I went to the ER a couple of weeks ago with a pulled lower back (hurt like a you know what!) and my BP was really high...Now I know that just being in the ER and in trememdous pain...you're blood pressure will go up but it's never ever been that high..So I went to my Family Doc who basically chewed me out, (it was still high) -He's been my Doc for years now so he can do that, wouldn't have it any other way, He told me I needed to make some serious changes! Now I had stopped walking before on my treadmill as my knees went out...and the weight came right back on over time...Oh well...I am taking it very VERY slow this time....not expecting fast results....Started that Pilate's for Dummies DVD also....

So now I am walking and contorting my body in ways it was never meant to be put....Well see what happens! hahahaha

On a better note...Manisa showed me the ultrasound results...Boy she's really starting to pop out there....5 months down and 4 more to go...We were happily walking thru Target to check out all the really must have baby things....I can't wait til I get my income tax check in January....It's getting spent on my granddaughter...Just haven't told Mike that yet! hehehe....Patrick and Manisa are leaning towards "Ciara" for a name...May not have spelled it right but it's pronounce Kira....I can live with that...We've been checking out all the Irish Baby names sites...that's what he wants...an Irish name...It's also easy for Manisa's parent to pronounce...They are from China but came over here before Manisa was born...but they still speak with a heavy accent...They are wonderful people all in all...

I seem to be rambling on and on today....SORRY!!!!

Better get going!

Take care all!

The ultrasound results are in!

2004-10-14T07:09:00.000-05:00

And it is a girl!!!!

Yup My Grandchild is a Granddaughter!

She is bringing the video down this weekend for me to see.....That is so wonderful! Baby is very healthy and is 7 inches long at this point...Due date is February 23rd.....

Called my sister and told her the happy news...Going to try to get her and Justin down here when Manisa has the baby....

Now we can get down to business with clothes shopping, baby stuff....OMG I am going to have so much fun!

Well have to go and do that work stuff they pay me for....Take care all!

UpDate on Sister.....

2004-10-11T12:58:00.000-05:00

She's hanging on......But she's going to try to remain in Ohio for Justin's sake.....

I know my sister will not mind me telling you all what's going on cause any advice you guys can give her...I'll see to it she gets it....

She has been married to a wonderful man for the past 10 years-Michael is his name....When they met....both were into drinking, pot and drugs...After they had Justin and got married (yup he came first!) they both had that wonderful moment of clarity and realized that they needed to change....They both joined AA and pulled themselves up and out....started a cleaning business that became very profitable....Bought a wonderful house, even bought a rental property...plus thousands upon thousands for equipment and such....They had employees to deal with, payroll...all that fun stuff....but it afforded them a lot...My sister didn't have work...so she stayed home and took care of Justin...

Michael also has a daughter from a previous relationship named Lindsay....I can tell you that since Michael had met Diane...he has fought non stop to get some kind of normal visits with his daughter....at every turn his Ex (Sue-AKA The Super Bitch-not the psycho bitch-but she comes really close!) The courts put out an agreement but Sue never keeps to it...A good example is this...The courts said that Lindsay was allowed to go to Church Functions even if the fall on Michael's visitation...Sue promplty signed Lindsay up for everything on every weekend so Michael couldn't have the full visit... she also guilts Lindsay into staying with her instead of going to her Dad's..This Sue has no freinds, no life, doesn't work...she only has Lindsay and she wants Michael totally out of it....In fact she had petitioned the court that she would drop child support so he couldn't see her...thankfully the courts wouldn't go for it.....From what I could tell it basically amounted to jealousy of the life Diane and Michael had...I've heard from Lindsay that Sue would want to hear every detail of the time she spent and the berate Michael for doing some of the stuff she did....it really was an insane ordeal and she put Lindsay in the middle of it...She never called to tell Michael that Lindsay wasn't coming...But Lindsay would have to call...The courts have asked her why she does those things and well.....that really didn't solve anything...I can tell you that I've even written letters on occasion basically letting Sue know that what she was doing was very wrong....Finally Diane and Michael said enough was enough and filed for custody... They had a vacation planned to the Bahamas and wanted to take Lindsay...She was all excited about going....but Sue said "No" even though the time fell on Michael's visit time....Lindsay was crushed....When Sue got the papers....she went off the proverbial deep end and stopped all visits and calls....I don't know what she promised Lindsay but all of the sudden her demeaner changed as well. She suddenly didn't want to see Michael as well...Not sure about what happened here....At any rate...Michael went up to see Lindsay at a skating party....Lindsay wanted to try to explain to Michael but couldn't as no sooner did she start talking she saw Sue walking across the skating rink towards them...promptly started to scream at Mike to leave her alone....Mike touches her arm and Sue starts yelling "CHILD ABUSE....CHILD ABUSE" a police report later basically side with Mike's version as Lindsay couldn't really get a grip on what happened but later that week when Sue and Mike had the custody hearing....it was a no go...While Michael was restrained from coming near Sue (Yeah go figure) he could still see Lindsay on a regular basis....okay that would have been fine expect that Lindsay was waiting out side and told him that she didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore....Diane said Lindsay was shaking like a leaf and kept looking at her Mom....

One thing I will say is that I have seen firsthand what kinda of control Sue has over Lindsay...Lindsay has even told me on more than a few occasions that she just doesn't "get" her mom or why the heck she's so jealous....I don't thinks she hurts Lindsay but I do know she guilts her into staying home on weekends....I've heard her in action before....it made me sick....I mean...I didn't get along with Hayley's Dad after we split but you can believe that Hayley never saw it....when she wanted to see her Dad...she saw her dad..I at least saw to that!....

I really do think that it all boils down to the fact that Mike and Diane had the kinda of life Sue wanted and never got...Tough! I also think she used Michael to get pregnant....cause since Day one she's never wanted Micheal to have anything to do with Lindsay....she just didn't count on Him wanting to be involved...Tough again!

But since that fateful day in the courtroom...something came unglued in Michael...I don't know if he's just pissed at the world or what....but since then...he's falled off the AA wagon and has been drinking...smoking dope...and generally spiraling downward...Spending money like it was going out of style...getting into trouble...To the point where sadly he's now facing a year in Jail...he's also been doing all this in front of Justin and Diane...While Diane has been trying to sheild Justin...it's not been working too well....Justin is a wreck...She thought at one point over the summer Mike was trying to straighten out but that didn't last....he's spending what little checks they have coming in....Diane has managed to keep one hidden....Last thursday she has called me in complete hysterics as she had finally had enough...but she didn't know what to do and she was scared as things were getting turned off left and right...She was behind on everything....You know that sinking feeling that you get like you feel like you're drowing?? She had that in spades....

I told her that if she needed to pack Justin up and come down her...not to worry...she would always has a roof over her head as long as I am alive....she never had to worry about that....We talked some more and rang off...I cannot tell you how it tore me up to hear her like that...I was in tears the rest of the night with worry....I'm still worried....

I think that's what she needed to hear cause she calmed down after that....There was a light at the end of the tunnel...it just was in Florida! I had also told her that if money was the reason she couldn't come...not to worry...I'm good at laying on the guilt trips with my family and she'd have the money she needed and then some in no time flat!

Basically she's trying to remain there if she can, but she's making contingency plans if she needs to leave...We're both wondering if Mike lands in Jail it might be the "Bottom" he needs to hit...Not sure....To many things up in the air...Diane needs a break from the chaos that has become her life now....She does have a plan to remain up there should she stay...but she still may come down here...start over...She's just taking it one day at a time...concentrating on her and Justin and trying not to worry about Mike to much....She'll know in a few weeks if he's going to Jail or not...she's trying to hang in til then....I hope she makes it...In the meanwhile...I am checking in daily with her to make sure she is okay.....

If not....I think I can guilt my family into a plane ticket for me to come up and drive down with her?????? Yeah.....I am sure I can!

I want to thank you guys for keeping her in your thoughts...she's got it really tough right now...But like I said...she's my baby sister and she's is everything to me...She never thought that in a span of 6 months everything she knew and loved would be turned upside down and inside out....it's like the rollorcoaster ride from hell and she wants off!

Thanks again guys! I really appreciate it!

Calling all Freinds.....Help, Prayers and Loving thoughts needed!

2004-10-07T18:27:00.000-05:00

Just got off the Phone with my little sister Diane...Whom some of you know I am extremly close too.

Won't go into all the details but to basically put it...She's taking tonight to decide on whether or not to pack up her and my nephew Justin and come down here to me...Her life and Marriage have taken a downward spiral in the worst way...this has been going on for a while now...and frankly she's at her wits end or she's past it...

I am more worried than I could ever put into words here...She's my sister....family is everything to me....

Keep her and my nephew in your thoughts and may they keep her okay......

Just when things are going great.......

2004-10-06T12:02:00.000-05:00

You have to go the ER......at 6:30am no less....

I was actually in a fantastic mood Monday night....helped Glen with his spelling...buzzed around the house cleaning...dismantled a dresser (Glen's old one-it had out grown it's usefullness) snuggled with my honey until we both fell asleep....

Then at 2pm the fire in my lower back woke me up out of a sound sleep...I mean it was literally on fire...I figured I would shift into a new position and try to get back to sleep but that didn't work...Finally at 3am...I decided to take a Darvocet...I have those for chronic knee pain...but I figured it may help....I knew it wasn't my spinal column and more than likely it was a pulled muscle...At any rate the Darvocet didn't touch it....Called off work and went to the ER where I work....Doc examined me and Yup....I sprained my lower back...Have no clue exactly how...but that's what they said...Okay great....they are going to give me Percocet...but they forgot to ask if I had eaten anything....Percocet and me on an empty tummy doesn't work well...Oh the pain in my back was gone only to be replaced by my head spinning like I had drank one to many...Michael grabbed something for me to you know what in...but thankfully the Nurse came in...ran out to get the Doctor...Having declared that "I didn't look good" they then gave me a shot of Phenergen to combat the nausea symptoms....Now since both tend to make you sleepy...I was pretty much out of it by the time Michael got me back home...But thankfully I was able to sleep the afternoon away in relative comfort....

Back's sore and hurting and I'd rather be standing than sitting down...but not as much as yesterday...Doc says that's going to take a few more days....but he told me to maintain my normal routine to work the muscles out...Michael keeps telling me to lay down...I'm doing too much....(I was putting in a load of laundry!) Ah but that's the way he is...If I have a headache-he's ordering me to bed....Gotta love that...

How's everyone else's day???????

My Man.......

2004-10-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else besides me, ever have that perfect song that describes what thier man is like??? Well I found one in a Trace Adkins Song...With the exception of the cigar and skoal (oh and the girl named Kate) This is Michael to a "T"

Rough And Ready
by Trace Adkins

Mudgrips - white-tip
Cigar stickin' out of my face
Earnhardt racing sticker on the window
Banged up fender
4x4 - straight pipe roar
Primer and rust all over the door
Scarred up knuckles, Mack belt buckle
White t-shirt - Ain't afraid to work
Got a "what-are-you-looking-at-asshole" smirk

Cold beer, hot wings
Wranglers, Skoal ring
Get just what you see
Gun rack, ball cap
Don't take no crap
Ain't a pretty boy-toy
I'll rock you steady
Rough and ready

Work boots - one blue suit
Size too small - don't wear at all
Unless somebody kicks - gets hitched
That's a bitch - makes me itch
Up with sun - off on the run
Makin' money money - cause I wanna have fun
5 o'clock whistle - off like a missle
Got a hot date, girl named Kate
Think's I'm cool - 'cause I shoot straight
Ain't one thing about her fake
She's long and tall - and she goes great with

Cold beer, hot wings
Wranglers, Skoal ring
Get just what you see
Gun rack, ball cap
Don't take no crap
Ain't a pretty boy-toy
I'll rock you steady
Rough and ready

Well you are who you are
And that's all right with me
Well I am who I am
And that's all I can be

Cold beer, hot wings
Wranglers, Skoal ring
Get just what you see
Gun rack, ball cap
Don't take no crap
Ain't a pretty boy-toy
I'll rock you steady
Rough and ready
Rough and ready

Yeah...me and my buddies are all alike
We say hey watch this, you ok, that didnt turn out to good

What are you looking at?

Yea thats a real gun in that gun rack, no i dont have a permit for it.
Do you have a permit to ask stupid questions like that?
Yeah, thats what i thought!

This song is Michael through and through....Yup he's a good ol Country boy...But you know what? He's a totally wonderful man...Been thru hell and back but didn't let it drag him down....Loves going Mudding, Shooting...all that stuff....

And Yup...Cold beer and hot wings.....Those are his favorites!

Love ya babe!

Ahhhhh sorry so sappy....just in one off those lovey dovey moods I guess....

:)

See ya!

FRIDAY FUNNIES....TGIF!!!!!

2004-10-01T13:09:00.000-05:00

How do these people survive?

1. Recently, when I went to McDonald's I saw on the menu
that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken McNuggets. I asked for
a half dozen nuggets. "We don't have half dozen nuggets," said the
teenager at the counter. "You don't?" I replied. "We only have six,
nine, or twelve," was the reply. "So I can't order a half dozen nuggets,
but I can order six?" "That's right." So I shook my head and ordered six
McNuggets.

2.I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few
items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I
picked up one of those "dividers" that they keep by the cash register and
placed it between our things so they wouldn't get mixed. After the girl
had scanned all of my items, she picked up the "divider", looking it all
over for the bar code so she could scan it. Not finding the bar code she
said to me, "Do you know how much this is?" I said to her "I've changed
my mind, I don't think I'll buy that today." She said "OK," and I paid
her for the things and left. She had no clue to what had just happened.

3. A lady at work was seen putting a credit card into her
floppy drive and pulling it out very quickly. When I inquired as to what
she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept
asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM "thingy."

4. I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her
car. "Do you need some help?" I asked. She replied, "I knew I should have
replaced the battery to this remote door unlocker. Now I can't get into my
car. Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience store) would
have a battery to fit this?" "Hmmm, I dunno. Do you have an alarm, too?"
I asked. "No, just this remote thingy," she answered, handing it and the
car keys to me. As I took the key and manually unlocked the door, I
replied, "Why don't you drive over there and check about the batteries.
It's a long walk."

5. Several years ago, we had an Intern who was none too swift.
One day she was typing and turned to a secretary and said, "I'm almost out
of typing paper. What do I do?" "Just use copier machine paper," the
secretary told her. With that, the intern took her last remaining blank
piece of paper, put it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five
"blank" copies.

6.I was in a car dealership a while ago, when a large motor
home was towed into the garage. The front of the vehicle was in dire need
of repair and the whole thing generally looked like an extra in "Twister."
I asked the manager what had happened. He told me that the driver had set
the "cruise control" and then went in the back to make a sandwich.

7. My neighbor works in the operations department in the central
office of a large bank. Employees in the field call him when they have
problems with their computers. One night he got a call from a woman in one
of the branch banks who had this question: "I've got smoke coming from the
back of my terminal. Do you guys have a fire downtown?"

8. Police in Radnor, Pa., interrogated a suspect by placing a
metal colander on his head and connecting it with wires to a photocopy
machine. The message "He's lying" was placed in the copier, and police
pressed the copy button each time they thought the suspect wasn't telling
the truth. Believing the "lie detector" was working, the suspect
confessed.

9. A mother calls 911 very worried asking the dispatcher if she
needs to take her kid to the emergency room, the kid was eating ants. The
dispatcher tells her to give the kid some Benadryl and should be fine, the
mother says, I just gave him some ant killer..... Dispatcher: Rush him in
to emergency!

Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid.

Everyone have a safe and happy weekend!!!!!!!!

Can I smack someone??????

2004-09-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

The idiots are coming out of the woodwork now....and are they being full blown assholes (pardon my language)

Yesterday while driving home, I was listening to the radio...a gentleman called in wanting to know the number to file a complaint with FPL (Florida Power and Light). It seems that when the FPL trucks came to restore power to his house...they had to park on the swale in front of his house and OMG.... they tore up the grass and left tire marks....

WHAT????....Did I hear this jerk correctly????? Oh you poor man...I am so sorry that there are tire marks on the swale (which in most places is PUBLIC property) while they restored power to your house..*note the sarcasm*..I personally think that yes....FPL should go out and re-sod his swale........and shut his electric off until after the Holidays.......

My heart goes out to these poor FPL guys (and to all the guys from the neighboring states and countries that are here helping) that are out there working 14,16 sometimes 20 hours a day to restore power to the some 300,000 that still do not have power...they are exhausted and I am sure they want to go home to their families as well... but yet they have to put up with idiots such as these cause the power wasn't back on immediately following the storm...And that is just from this storm....we have had 4 hurricanes over the span of 6 weeks...They want this season over as much as we do....I mean think about it...First you had Charley....they came from all over to help with that...they then came down here for Frances...while still finishing up from Frances...Ivan struck....and while finishing up with Ivan....Jeanne hit us again....GEEESH.....They should be honored for all the extra hard work they are doing.....

I heard someone here at work saying "well...That's their Job-they knew that going in"

Yeah that might be true but there is no need for them to put up with the kind of crap that I have been hearing....

Orlando should give them a special weekend when all is said and done....you know...let the workers have a special pass that lets them in to either Disney, Universal, etc...for free...I think that would be a really nice thing to do....

Okay I am done ranting.........

For those that want to take a look....

2004-09-28T13:28:00.000-05:00

This is our local newpaper...they have a photo gallery of the hurricane damage...

www.palmbeachpost.com

Pretty interesting I would say!

Me? Blog?

There's really no appropriate title for this post......

Okay...Now the long version......If I make it that long

The short, short short version....................

Checking in......

Oh W-I-L-M-A!!!!!!!!!!! (Doing my best Fred Flintstone)

Tig's doing the "Happy Dance!"

Need to explain something to me.....

Wish me luck guys!!!

Tagged.......

Job hunting sucks royally.....

Country Vs. Rock at the Crossroads.....

A bright light is going out......

By George I think I got it!!!!!

Just another Day of Daily Grind.....

Back home......

Well I am here......YEAH!!!!

Tomorrow is TRIP DAY!!!!

Okay....it's stupid question time.....

We are all okay......

Battening down the hatches.......well sorta....

Patrick made it safe and sound......

The kids are back in School....Kids are back in School!!!

It just doesn't get any better than this....

My First offical day of not working.....

6 hours left.......And the odd thing is....

Only 2 more days left....

PISSED OFF!!!! NEED TO VENT!!!!!

I.C.E. ON YOUR CELL PHONE...

9 more days and counting down.......................

Please don't do this here.....

"Scotty" on the journey to "The Final Frontier"

RENTAL CAR AGENCIES!!!!!!

TGIF!!!! (Slowly coming out of my funky mood)

Just another Rant......Okay well Sorta......

What are we fighting for?

Eminent Domain

My dog is not a yo-yo...............

It's Catch up time!!!!

My Dog is snoring...................

Mini bikes are awesome.....Bushes are not.....

It's been a fun week so far.................

YIPPEEE!!!!!!!!!

There's lawsuits and then there's these kinds of lawsuits...

Here's the Scoop........

Think I'd look good in Black and White Stripes???

Hello out there!!!!!

Day late and a dollar short!

SORRY SORRY SORRY!!!!!!

Tomorrow is Trip Day!!!!

Rest In Peace Terri...you left an impression on us all...

Only a Week and and Half left with my Angel girl....

A hard decision to make......

The Lynn Issue

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The Album's Completed!!!!!

Photo's will be forthcoming!!!!

Of Diapers, bottles, wipes, ninny's and sheer happiness...

Life literally happens..........just as you make other plans...

Some slight developments.....................

HI GUYS!!!!!!!

Oh Mr.President Sir.........One moment of your time please....

We're in the home stretch.......

So glad that the week's finally over..........

HI GUYS!!!!!

A little bummed out today......

Okay this was cute!

I got the "Back to Work After Vacation Monday Blues"......

Happy New Years!

*Sigh* It's all over.............

Merry Christmas One and ALL!

Ask and Answer time!!!

BBBBBBBRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

It's beginning to look more like Christmas!

There are Idiots....and there are #@$%&*'s

A Marine's Christmas Poem.......

8 hours til the weekend!

In a Family...You share love......And germs.....

Happy Monday Everyone.....

From My House to Yours...........

Sigh It's all over.............