Emma makes me laugh

I am in Brainerd now, Em had a hockey game this evening in a nearby town, and a game tomorrow against Brainerd, so she and I and JP are staying in a hotel.

On the ride here, Emma was giving me such giggles, I had to write them down, so I'd remember it, so I could share... One of those (two, actually) "Kids say the darnedest things"

First off, she gets on the subject of Noah's ark, how she read about it and then says "It was HUGE". Me, not being a big bible reader (this is where she is getting her info from) I automatically refer back to the Bill Cosby stand-up routine I remember from my childhood... and I say "What's a cubit?" a la Bill in his Noah & God conversation.

Emma says (from the backseat, maybe she didn't hear me very well) "Cuban?"

Before I can correct her, she says "Isn't that an animal?"

Little later on, she's trying to stump me with... have I ever heard of a... kind of stuff. She says "Mom, do you know what a gnu is?"
me: Yeah, it's an animal sort of like a yak... cow family, right? (I look to JP for confirmation...)
Em: it's not a yak, it's a YAM
me: Emma, a yam is a vegetable... a tuber.
Em: No, a yam is a gnu thing, with horns... it's an animal
me: No, I can take you to the produce section of the grocery store and SHOW you a yam.
Em: do they sell yam meat?

UGH! She's so funny.

Workin' for a livin'

I've been putting in alot of hours at the bank over my winter break, holy crap, it's been nice. My supervisor talked to me today, and told me that as of January 1, I won't be able to work more than my "student position" allows, which is 17 hours per week, which I have NEVER done, and it will suck on the paychecks, but will be nice on the family time.

ANYWAY, she said that Monday is my last chance to get monster hours in, and would I like to work longer than she had me scheduled for? UM, YEAH, go out with a Bang, not a whimper!
So Monday end of day is the end of the pay period, and I will have (ball park) 65 hours on that check! WOO HOO! That'll help with holiday financial recovery! I'm planning on that check going entirely to my Target card.

My "excess" grant money after tuition will PAY OFF the Kia. That will show up in mid to late January.

My big check from the school for working at the bookstore for that week (I'll be doing that the 7th thru the 11th of January) will go to the Gander Mountain card... that JP opened JUST to get Alex's gun... and ended up getting his gun and this and that and the other thing and before you know it, HOLY SHIT! It will make a dent in the total, but nowhere near enough. Well, that's fine. I'll just chip away at it...

There's more to talk about, I got some GREAT "traveling in '08" news to yak about, but I think I will do that tomorrow after I get home from work.

For now, ya'll just had to be bored to tears while I figured out my financial plans... I was really just "typing out loud"... not a great post, but I'm making a friggin' effort, throw me a bone!

Ok, my New Year's resolution...early

I haven't posted since the 19th, that's bad.
My resolution is to be better.

I had a good Christmas here, I hope to do some detailed posts this week about different things, but here's a quick rundown:

Steven got his puppy, loves her, and best of all, SHE'S GONE!!
I got the BEST gift ever, from JP, an auto start for the Kia.
No more cold Kia after work and before going to classes! No more scraping frost off the windshield! He is the best, it is EXACTLY what I need!

I also got my final grades for the fall semester... another 4.0! This one feels better than the first 4.0 that I got last spring...maybe because this semester has been hell. The classes were just tough, either difficult to understand, or difficult to stay awake for. Now my GPA is up to a 3.95! I have 13 more credits, 3 classes, in the spring, so I'm actually hoping for a cumulative GPA of 3.97 or better, but honestly, I'm happy with what I've got. And I'm happy that I've only got 3 classes left before I graduate.

The kids love their Wii, they even got JP and I playing some WiiSports games for awhile.

Oh, yeah, they talked me into opening gifts last night... on Christmas Eve!! And when I say "they", I don't just mean the kids, JP and my mom were in on it, too! I had no chance... if I said 'no', I'd have been the scrooge. I have to admit, they made good arguments... the main one being that if they had all their gifts, then they wouldn't be knocking on my door at 5 am to open gifts then. And it worked wonderfully, I lolled around in bed until after 11 this morning, got up and ate a bit, then napped some more. I did not get out of my pajamas all day! We just watched a movie (Pirates III, kids got it for Christmas) and now I want to go back to bed. I have to work at the bank at 9:30 in the morning, it's going to be a long day. JP is off the rest of the week, so at least I don't need to worry about the kids being home alone and killing each other for not sharing the Wii.

This'll do for now, hopefully I can be a better blogger now that the stressful and frantic holiday time is over...

Magenta poodles shitting in my yard

Mom and I ran to Fargo this morning, finished up the shopping and had a celebratory lunch at Red Lobster.

We got home at 1, and I had to work at 3:30. I was exhausted, so I decided to lay down and try to take a quick nap... set my alarm for 2:30 and got into my footie jammies.

I had a dream... a bad dream that gave me a headache. It was happening right before the alarm went off, because I actually heard the music and WANTED to stay in the dream to finish what I was saying (yelling, really)

I looked out my window to see a large magenta poodle taking a shit in my yard. I opened a kitchen drawer, looking for something to throw at the little bastard. I found (I remember this very distinctly) a white and orange hand mixer. I ran out the screen door and hollered at the poodle " Get out of here you piece of shit" and I SWEAR, IT ANSWERED ME!! It yelled back "No" I threw the mixer, and was instantly pissed because I threw like a girl... only in my dream (nightmare) would I throw like a girl!
So I started running after this mutt, chasing it back to it's house, across the street. I was about halfway across the street when a sweet little old lady opened the door and the mutt scooted inside. She asked me (rather stern and pissy, actually) what I was doing chasing her sweet baboo! I started telling her that I was getting sick of her mutt shitting in my yard, I have 3 large dogs, I have enough shit to deal with!

And then I heard the music and my mind told me to wake up, but I so wanted to stay and finish ragging out that old bitty... who the hell dyes their dog MAGENTA??

I went to work with a headache.

getting it done

Well, I had a productive day!
I went in to school for a few hours, helped Michele clean out her office, then I came home and tended to Eric, who was "sick" at home. Then I ran out and got little gifts for each of the girls at work plus the gifts that Emma and Eric need to take to school for their parties.

Came home and wrapped all that, AND wrapped the gifts for kids that I don't know. There's a tree in the lobby of the bank, with paper ornaments with kids' names written on them. These kids are less fortunate, and each paper had the kid's sizes, age, and a few "wish" items listed. I took the ones I could find that were closest to my own kids' ages and sexes, too. Then we went and picked out presents for these kids. My children need to learn how fortunate they are, and they need to learn to care about other people. Of all my kids, I think Emma really "got" it the most. She was very concerned with getting this girl (think her name is Katherine, Katrina, something like that) the JUST RIGHT gifts... my Em is such a tenderheart.

I brought these gifts, along with the gifts for the girls into work, and after work we had a department meeting. That lasted until 7... long afternoon, but it was an additional hour and a half of pay, so I didn't mind too much.

I came home and yelled at the kids, mainly Alex, for being slackass little buggers who don't do their chores. JP called, and I had to tell him I'd call him back, I was in the middle of an ass-chewing!

Then Mom and I ran out to Walmart and picked up a few things, I got the kids even with their gifts, everyone has the same number of gifts to open. I also grabbed a couple of stuffers. I want to get some more, came up with the bright idea of stuffing their stockings with socks... socks in their socks! And I'm going to get them each a watch, too. No more of this "I didn't know what time it was" when they come home late!

Now I should be going to bed, but I have a ton of emails to deal with and online banking to do. Mom and I are going to run to Fargo tomorrow, finish everything up.

Steven and Mark are coming up on Friday, and Elphie will be gone on Sunday morning. I cannot wait for that! I love puppies and all, but holy crap, she's alot of work, needs to pee all the time and it is COLD outside. She's really doing well with the housebreaking though.

That's it, I have to get to those emails and crap... Goodnight all!

Bowling Night

I had a good night at the lanes.
My average was a 117 before tonight.
I got a 110 (not great) and then

AND THEN

I had a 146 and a 137!!

I had a few Mike's, and when I got home, I got to watch the rest of the Vikings game. Monday night football against the Chicago Bears. It was a great game. Of course I say that because they won. If the Vikings had lost in a close game, I would be saying how much the game sucked ass.

Well, I do have to go in to the school in the morning, Michele wants help with her office, sort of a spring cleaning project. What the hell do I care? I get paid no matter what I'm doing for them.

I'm off to Pogo.com to play a game for awhile before bed, I get to sleep in for an extra half an hour tomorrow, JP is getting the kids up and started! Yippee!

Vegtable Day

JP just called, he and Emma are on their way home, it's a 4 hour drive.
Emma's team made it all the way to the Championship game!!
They got a nice big trophy for 2nd place, and she sounds really happy.

It's a nice change, for those girls to be winning as much, if not more, than they lose. These last 3 years, it was all losing, and now they're getting a taste for how it feels to win. Even getting 2nd place in that tourney makes her pretty much over the moon happy.

I like it when my kids are happy.

I am trying to get things done around here, the living room is half done, I got my scrapbooking and school desk sorted through and packed up, it's a big living room, but I need to make room for the whole holiday stuff in there. So my table will leave for awhile.

Tomorrow when the kids go to school, I will bring out all the gifts that have been hiding in my room, and get them all wrapped. I just don't seem to have the ambition today to do much of anything, but I really should.

No, ya know what? I deserve today. The rest of my time off is going to be filled with work, and working at the school, and getting ready for Christmas celebrations, so today... today is MY VEGETABLE DAY!! I am going to be a veggie today!
I'm wearing my pajama pants all day, and my soft sockies, and a ratty sweatshirt that I got out of JP's side of the closet, and I don't think I'm going to do much of anything. I think I have earned a vegetable day... maybe I'll even go steam some broccoli...be a cannibal!

I did do one thing "productive" today! I counted my silver change jar. It's not quite half full, and there's $195 in there. Yeah, that'll do, that makes me happy. I still don't know what I'm going to do with it, but someday, I'll figure it out, and it'll be there. That's nice.

Holy crap, how dull is my life? Don't care... compared to a year ago, when my life was nothing near dull, this is great. I'll take dull and settled ANY DAY.

Flashback to 15 years ago

Fifteen years ago I was walking with my boyfriend in the mall. We were Christmas shopping. We came upon a Goodman Jewelers. I asked him, jokingly, "Do you want to see the ring I want?" We had been together for a year and a half, and it just seemed like the relationship was cruising along just fine without us having one of those "where are we?" talks. It was just common knowledge that eventually we would marry, you know?

So we walked in and I started browsing the ring area. They had these displays set up, little trays with like five rows of rings and each row had probably five rings in it. Just to freak him out, cuz I'm mean like that, I said "See the third one down, on the left end?" (It was GIANORMOUS, and very expensive!) His eyes got big and he said "Yeah?" with a kind of gulp swallow.

I grinned and said "Yeah, the one NEXT to it, that's the one I like!" I could literally SEE the relief wash over his face. I had chosen a simple 1/4 carat diamond solitaire, princess cut, just a classic beautiful ring.

About that time, a saleswoman came over and asked if I'd like to try something on... um, DUH! So she brought "my" ring out and I slipped it on and it was a perfect fit. Now that in itself is unusual for me, my fingers are... weird. Long and skinny looking, but in reality, pretty pudgy.

The saleslady asks if we were interested in financing. JP looked at me and then turned to her and said "Could we have a minute to talk alone?" I assumed he was going to ask if we could just do this some other time. We didn't really plan it, after all, we were just looking. Mainly, I wanted to show him the kind of ring I liked so someday SOMEDAY when he went to pick a ring for me, he would know my preferences.

After the woman walks away (I still have the ring on my hand here!) JP says "If I ask you, will you say 'yes'?" I love this guy. He never ACTUALLY asked me to marry him. That is so like him, just sweet and seems to not realize how wonderful he is. Of course I'd say yes!

I told him "Um, hon, I wouldn't be here if I was gonna say 'no'..."
He called the saleslady back over and we proceeded to pick out the wedding band, a 6 diamond wrap that fits around my solitaire.
That was the day we "technically" got engaged. December 12, 1992

Bowling last night

Well, I've hit a bit of a slump with my bowling. Yes, my first game was great, 129, but after that, it all went to hell. 110 & 102. Pretty rough night.

Today is my last full day of classes, tomorrow we have just the morning classes, then we are having a "party", complete with pizza delivered and Guitar Hero. One of the guys is bringing in his Playstation, and we are borrowing a TV from the AV geeks. Feels like the last day of high school, but it's better than prepping for a final exam!

Then next week, I will be in the school during finals week, being teaching assistant to 3 teachers, helping them get everything wrapped up for the semester. I should be able to get quite a few hours in, too, so that's a nice check coming right before Christmas.

I went into the bookstore yesterday to pick up my work study check from last week, and while there, Donna, the bookstore lady asked me if I'd work for her the week before classes start up again in January. That week is just nuts for her, everyone's financial aid comes through then, and they all come in to get their books for the next semester. I told her I would, that's another big haul of hours to add to my work study check! She said it would be great if I could be there from 8am to 2 pm Monday through Friday that week. Plus I work at the bank at 3 or so every day, that's going to be a nice chunk of change! Plus, it's nice that Donna went to Bonnie, head of the work study people and requested me, asked Bonnie to look into my schedule, see if I COULD work that many hours, if it were possible... Donna is a real nice lady, too.

That's all for now, maybe I'll post later today about my weekend, plus there's Macro tonight, LAST CLASS BABY!! He has told us that we can throw out our lowest test score, so when I do that, I end up with an A in Macroeconomics!! How the hell did that happen?? I'm very pleased.

spank me

I'm so naughty...bad, BAD blogger!

Ok, so maybe I just really want a spanking... whatever. But I do apologize for my lack of blogging. This last couple of weeks of classes have been a little nuts, plus trying to get the shopping done, and already starting with some Christmas get-togethers!!

Maybe I can chat more about this weekend after I go bowling. It was a fun time down in Southern Minnesota, I can tell ya that!

More later, got to go throw down some balls now...
hehehe... I'm funny.

Cell phone camera

I just took these outside between classes... not too bad for a cell camera.

Minnesota sucks sometimes, too cold, but it can be pretty.

Winter comes to Minnesota

It snowed significantly this past weekend. On Monday, as we were digging out and recovering, we hear that another storm is coming on Tuesday. And it certainly did, or IS actually. It started this morning before I got out of bed, it's now 1 in the afternoon, and it has not let up yet.

The public schools are closing in half an hour, and my college classes were cancelled as of 2pm... so that means NO MACROECON. TONIGHT!! Yippee.

Added to the fact that classes on Thursday will not happen, and my "days to go" is really getting short! So I am relaxing a bit before I have to get ready for work. Yes, the whole town could shut down, but NOT THE BANK. The one thing is, when the weather is crap, nobody thinks "Oh, I have to get to the bank before we get snowed in for a day and a half" Hell no, those people are hitting the grocery store, and hitting it hard. Glad I don't work there!

Well, that's all for now, I'm going to veg on Pogo.com for awhile... y'all go there? I recently discovered that they have Bingo there, and even though I suck and almost never win, it really is addictive. So that's the plan for the next hour or so... I can barely stand the excitement... I know y'all must be on pins and needles too.

sorry, that's all I got today.

Promises of better blogging

It's December, and I only have 2 weeks left of this semester of hell.

AFTER THAT, I think I will have more time and less stress, and I will be a better blogger, both posting and reading!

So technically, I only have 8 more days of classes, since I do not have classes on Fridays. THAT is encouraging. I can do 8 days.

If I can get through this weekend of 3 huge tests to do, I'm done with one, halfway through with the second, and I have a plan to get help on the 3rd tomorrow.

I took another Macro test last Tuesday night, got 100% on it (It was kind of a collaborative effort, the instructor gave us an early Christmas gift!) and I only have 2 more of those classes, one of lecture, and then one more test.

Just wanted to pop in for a second, on my homework break!

Christmas Q & A

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?Gift bags are SO much easier, and I'm all about being less complicated!
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial
3. When do you put up the tree? We usually try to wait until after my youngest boy's birthday, so he doesn't feel like his birthday is shoved into a corner because CHRISTMAS IS COMING!... his birthday is December 22... so it's often a quick tree-throw up...haha.
4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as possible...dogs, cat, it could get ugly if left alone too long!
5. Do you like eggnog? Ick...no.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? The Barbie Dream House... the original. That same year, I got Barbie's baby grand piano, THAT ACTUALLY PLAYED MUSIC!! That was a great year.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? No, not really into religious part of the holiday (yeah, yeah, I know, I'm going to hell, welcome to my world! LOL)
8. Hardest person to buy for? Usually, my husband... but my 14 yr old boy is running a close 2nd!
9. Easiest person to buy for? My mom, if I like it, she will like it, so it's like shopping for myself!
10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? My MIL got me a glitter Santa watch one yr... red fake leather band, HUGE face, it was Santa's face IN GLITTER. What did I ever do to her?? huh?
11. Mail or email Christmas card? People email Christmas cards? ewww. I mean, it's fine for Internet friends, but not for family and 'known' loved ones... I think emailed cards are...lazy?
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?A Christmas Story, with the Red Rider BB Gun (You'll shoot your eye out!!)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as I can afford it, Right now, I am ALMOST DONE! That's gotta be some kind of land speed record for me, usually I procrastinate!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Of course! No explanation, just YES.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Somebody always dips pretzels in white chocolate... I can always count on those, and I so love white chocolate, and the salty of the pretzels... just the perfect combo.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I prefer the classic white-only lights on the tree. Last year, we got a fake tree, PRE-LIT!! Less work, that sucker is ready to go!
17. Favorite Christmas song? The bells one... I don't know the name, it's just bells, no words or singing crap. Otherwise, I don't care for Christmas music.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? It depends on what day of the week it falls, if it's near a weekend, we usually travel 5 hours south to his family's. This year, we are staying home... Steven and Mark are coming up the weekend before. So finally, a year with NO TRAVEL, it's a rarity!
19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Yeah, I can... but I CHOOSE not to!
20. Do you have an Angel on top or a star? Star... an angel always makes me think of a "stick it up your ass" joke...
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning!! ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS! JP's family is screwed up, they do the Eve thing... it's just wrong.
22. Most annoying thing(s) about this time of year? Where shall I start? 1. My favorite radio station started playing Christmas music ONLY... as in 24/7 Christmas tunes!! within a week after Halloween. No more oldies, nothing good, just Christmas crap OVER AND OVER AND OVER. So I had to find a new station for the duration. 2. Shopping when there are children present. Not mine, I'm not stupid, mine stay home, I'm talking about other people's kids... loud, tired, cranky, LEAVE THEM HOME! 3. Those people who give you gifts that you weren't expecting to receive a gift from, and then suddenly they're standing there, gift FOR YOU in their hands, and you have nothing for them... and usually, the gift they give you is one of those generic bath sets, or some other crap that nobody needs more of!

OK, that's it, thanks to Steff for this, it was fun! If anybody else is going to take it, leave me a comment so I can come see yours!

No time to walk slow

I got told this morning that I walk too fast.
Really?
I guess I do, but I should. I don't have time to walk slow. I have shit to do, there's always something to be done.
I am walking with a destination, not just walking for the sake of walking, ya know?

As my grandmother used to say: "Places to go, people to meet, don't have time to sit on my seat"

I was going to say that "maybe someday" I can walk slower, but honestly, I don't want to. I don't want to NOT have something to do. I don't think I care for having THIS MUCH to do, but I don't think I could handle having NOTHING to do... time to dawdle and lollygag about... no thank you.

Other than screwing up on those "lost" bills, and feeling behind and lost in my classes, I guess I'm doing okay. Yes, I am done with my pity party, feeling better about it now.

Oh, and I believe I am going to quit smoking, too. Start out slow, cutting back, then I will start taking Zyban again (It worked before, but I quit taking it too soon) and other than the funky dreams, it was working very well. I wasn't smoking, AND I wasn't bitchy about it... well, okay, no more bitchy than normal.
So I think I will give that a shot. It's cold here, less than zero, with no relief in sight... and I do not smoke in the house. Cold is a good incentive to quit, I think winter is the best time for me to try this. No guarantees, but I have to give it my best shot.

Christmas shopping, comfortably numb

I left school early today, and didn't have to work. I ran over to Fargo, met JP (he was there all day doing a check-up at the VA Hospital, a requirement of his return...all is well, mentally and physically... my sound-minded stud muffin)

JP and I had follow-up dentist appointments, since we each had to have a filling. We decided to get started on the Christmas shopping before we got drilled though.

First we found the PERFECT gift for my mom... I am so proud of myself for thinking of it... she's going to love it! Then we went Wii game hunting. I had three specific titles in mind, one for each kid.
Alex: Bleach (some dumb Japanese anime thing)
Emma: Mario Galaxy
Eric: Lego Star Wars

I got the "expensive" gifts out of the way; the gifts that can't really be found here in our little podunk town. I still have "Christmas money" left, tucked it away, and I will be able to finish the shopping here... in all my 'spare time'..haha.

Then I got Novocaine, LOVE THAT, and got drilled... came home and found out that we have a name for the little puppy!!
After "consulting" with her son, because she was having difficulty naming "her" puppy, Mom decided upon this: ELPHABA. That is the actual first name of the Wicked Witch of the West, Wizard of Oz... have you read the book "Wicked"? or seen the Broadway play? Of course a gay man suggested a name from Broadway... Her registered name will be "Wicked Elphaba of the West" and we will call her Elfie on a daily basis.

It's officially winter here, the temps have been down to zero... sometimes I really hate Minnesota. Blowing snow, scraping windshields, it all sucks... but it is nicer this year, once we get enough snow to be shoveled, I know I won't have to do it this time! Just had another "glad he's home" moment!

3 weeks left, falling behind

I now officially have 3 weeks left of fall classes. I am so burned out. I'm tired. I don't remember it being this bad last fall, and back then, I was carrying 19 credits, whereas I only have 17 this time. Maybe it's because I pretty much HATE all of the classes that I'm taking, and I'm barely hanging on to understanding it, too.

I just really don't think this teacher is...um... TEACHING us anything. She's more worried about us LIKING her than she is about making sure we are getting the education we are paying for. She is easily pushed over into giving us a week to do a take-home open-book test in EVERY class instead of making us actually be prepared and taking the test in class. Of course, that style of test works with how we are learning the material, since she is a terrible teacher, we have to use the book on our own to learn the stuff.

I am falling behind in Computerized Accounting. I have no clue what's going on in Business Income Tax, Managerial Accounting I can "understand" for a minute, then she moves on to (not) teach something else, and I am lost again. My Intermediate Accounting class is going okay right now, but that's due to the chapter we are on RIGHT NOW. I can't say that the next will be as understandable.

I am considering quitting my work/study job. I know I won't be able to do it in the Spring, my schedule will not really allow me to have time. Maybe I can make it just 3 more weeks. I do like the paychecks, they do come in handy.

I will be happy when Spring semester starts, even happier come May, when I graduate! I never realized how nice it was last year, to NOT work while attending school. Now, when I get home from school, I have to get ready and go to work, and when I get home from work, I SHOULD do my homework, but I am just beat, and all I want to do is relax.

I'm just whining, don't mind me, I'll get over it soon... yeah, like in 3 weeks!

By the way, I got my score on my last Macro test, got a 93 on that sucker! WoooHoooo! Sweet redemption!

The Standard

"What I am thankful for" Post... of course



One year ago, the kids and I had fish sticks and tater tots for Thanksgiving.
I am thankful that my family is whole again. I am thankful that my husband is here this year to carve the turkey, being anal enough to separate the white meat and the dark meat on two platters, because that's how he is.

I am thankful that my husband and I can talk to each other about our differences and work out a compromise that neither blames or benefits either of us excessively. Our faults and our benefits are ours to share, and we do so because we are a team, and obviously, we are a team that works well together.

Oh, and the stuffing was really good, thankful for that, too.

Look what we got!!

This is Coober Pedie (it's a location from a few seasons ago of THE AMAZING RACE, can't remember what country it's in, but the name of the place made me laugh... Australia, maybe?)

But we can't exactly NAME the pup, since it's Steven's, and she's a surprise, but we have to call her something!

We went to pick her out and knew right away, she's got a stripped bit of white on her hind left foot. Zoey had a bit of white on her back foot, too.

Sometimes you just know.

Hailey and Kate seem okay with her, but Comet almost seems a bit afraid of her. Which is funny, since Comet is the biggest dog here. I think Kate's motherly instincts kicked back in, because when Hailey tried to play a bit too rough with Coober, Kate stepped in and said NO.

One month from tomorrow, this little bugger will be leaving us, and going to a very good home where she will be spoiled and treated like a queen...by a couple of queens! LOL, I am so damn funny!

Puppy shopping

We are headed North this morning to find a puppy. My brother-in-law wants to get my brother a puppy for Christmas, and with them living in the Metro area, of course they're more expensive than out here in the sticks. Steven has wanted a puppy for a long time, but Mark has been saying No, and giving all sorts of excuses for not getting one. The main reason, and I understand it, was that (is that) Steven travels quite a bit for his job, so any dog care would fall primarily on Mark. I guess he finally decided that it won't be such a bad thing.

Steven knows about the puppy shopping, he thinks I am getting one for Mom for Christmas. So he is terribly jealous, and when they come up on the 22nd of December to celebrate Christmas, Steven will be green with envy meeting "Mom's" new baby... until Mark lets him off the hook and hands over the pudgy wiggly soft sweet little bugger to him.

I will be taking my camera along, of course, and will post pictures later today...

hair cut

it's the best I could do, home alone, and used the bathroom mirror! And, no, I tend not to smile for pictures... at least not anymore... maybe I will after the metal comes out... besides, dontcha feel like a dork smiling all by yourself for a picture? Well, I do.

Now I am ACTUALLY happy for you!

Back in August, I posted this, pretty vague and without much detail. Today, I can be completely NON sarcastic and say how happy I am for my dear friend, who CALLED OFF THE ENGAGEMENT!!

She finally saw the light, saw what everyone around her was already seeing, and broke up with the slug. I could not possibly be happier for her. I was so worried that they would end up buying a house together (they WERE looking) and then she'd really be stuck. Like I said back then, all I could do was be there for her when she finally opened her eyes, and I'm doing that now.

Because no matter what, she DID have strong feelings for him at one point, and it does hurt to end a relationship (they were together for 2 years) but she sounds so good about it, she realized that she has grown and changed, and he never will, all he will do is continue to smother her and be a child that she can't take out in public for fear of what moronic and offensive thing will come spilling out of that hole in his face next.
Not anymore.

I am so happy for you, hon!

Been thinking about Mom

Alot lately.

She lives in my basement. I like her there.
Our relationship is so much more than just mother/daughter. She is my best friend. Truly the best person I know.
I would call her by her first name, after all, she calls me "Nik" not 'daughter', but we tried it once, and it was weird. So I call my best friend Mom.

I've been thinking some rather selfish thoughts of her lately. I want her to stay. She got a good job, she's making money again, and I assume that someday she will consider moving into her own home. Here's the selfish part: I don't want her to go. Ever.

For the past 2 years, hell the past 5, ever since the deployments started, she's been here helping me. She and I have been close ever since I started having kids (don't ask about our relationship BEFORE that, it wasn't always pretty) But when she moved in here, it felt like she became part of MY family, instead of me being a part of hers. If she left, I would feel like I lost a part of my family.

She has lost several members of her family in the past 5 years, in fact, the majority of them within a just under 2 year period. Her sister Diane is all she's got left of 'her' family. But she is a part of mine. She is a very important part of my family. She kept me sane when my husband had to leave, she was a shoulder to cry on more times than I can count. She made me laugh when I wanted to cry... often. She let me cry when I really needed to.

I feel like I am a better person when she is there to keep me grounded in what's important, she reminds me of what REALLY matters, what's real and really meaningful.

I want her to stay.

I am the 8th Dwarf

Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Sneezy, and Grumpy.

And then there's me... Forgetful.

I have started to feel the effects of working 55 to 60 hours in a two week period along with attempting to maintain a 3.96 GPA. Or, rather, my "thing" is being affected.

You know, everyone has a "thing" that they do, that they're good at, that they feel like they were born to do. For some people, it is raising a family, children, ya know? Nope, that's SO not my thing.

My thing is being organized and efficient. And that has started to fail. I misplaced two bills in the last month. The garbage bill, which we pay for 3 months at a time, in advance. It was due in the beginning of October. I just "found" it last week... and promptly sent off the check, along with a note of apology. And then there was the truck payment. Also due mid-October, also not paid. I honestly do not remember even seeing the bill for it. Because I know if I had seen it in the mail, the statement would have gone in the "bills" binder until payday. I have a 3 ring binder that contains the payment book for the van, the budget and all the bills that need to be paid on the next payday. THAT is my thing. THAT is what I do, and until recently, THAT is what I did well. I was on top of things, I was paying bills and writing checks either ON payday, or on occasion, the day before payday. So now I have to make two truck payments out of one paycheck. And that leaves us short. There is the money from Mom, but I don't want to use that, I said it was for Christmas shopping and I want it to stay that way. All the bills are paid, but it just leaves us a bit tighter than I prefer. JP and I both got paid, me on Thursday and him on Friday, and here it is Friday night, and the money is pretty much gone. I get a work-study check on Wednesday and all I can say is THANK GOODNESS, because instead of going to savings, that money will probably be very necessary for us to make it to the next payday.

I feel like I'm losing it. I know, I am just having a pity spazz attack, I'll be fine... but it bothers me.

Wham, Bam, Thank you, Ma'am

AKA: A Quickie

bad test score, better than my friends but still not my usual ass-kissing level, so I wasn't happy.

JP is off to a Guards weekend, he's leaving tonight, won't be home until Sunday... Emma's got hockey all weekend, one game on Saturday that JP and I will both have to miss, and the one on Sunday here in town, I will be able to go, but Daddy won't be back in time.

Hockey season brings with it such headaches and stresses. I thought (silly me) that having JP home would release me from that. I was wrong. Oh. so. wrong. Now we find out that she's got a tournament in International Falls, a 3 days tournament! These are 10 year old girls... playing in a tournament that's damn near in Canada, for THREE FRIGGIN' DAYS??!! JP is taking her up to that, I won't go. I would have to miss work on Friday and Saturday, my two best days for picking up hours. That tourney isn't until December, but holy crap, we are getting close to it, aren't we?

Yes, yes, I will get a picture of my haircut, as soon as I can, but not today, because I boycotted hair products this morning, so I look sloppy today... do. not. care.

details

No, I haven't taken any pictures, but here's a rundown of the shopping I did:

• 1 pair of shoes
• 5 pr of pants
• 10 shirts
• 6 sweaters
• 1 skirt

Most of it is mix and match, too, so the possibilities are almost endless, and it's going to be easier for my mom, too. She does my ironing... (Insert blush here, I do not know how to iron stuff) But before, I only had like 5 pairs of pants, and work 6 days a week, so she was ironing quite often for me. So really, one could say that I did all that shopping FOR HER. Plus, the money I spent on all these clothes came out of my savings account, which was stocked with MY paychecks, from the bank, and work study jobs... so I bought my own clothes, and that made me feel good.

I also got my hair cut...did I mention? I had them chop off enough so that I could donate my hair, which is something I've wanted to do for quite some time. So instead of just long layers that looked in dire need of a trim, I now have a short little bob. I like it except for one thing: my hair likes to flip out. It takes extra work (and 'product') to get it to curl under the way it's supposed to. If I just wash it and don't dry it and brush it under with the blow dryer on it, it will flip out and look stupid. So it's more work, but I really think it looks more professional, so I guess it's worth the extra time in the bathroom.

The kids have conferences coming up, and I won't be able to go to Alex's. His are tonight, and I have work. They don't give enough notice on the conference schedule for me to have asked for the night off. Next Monday are conferences for Emma and Eric (they're in elementary school, Alex is in the middle school) so I will have to miss bowling to go to theirs.

Bowling last night was pretty good, I beat my average and we beat the team we played 2 out of 3 games. It's a good thing, too, because we had a couple of weeks of really sucking, and we dropped down from 1st place. Quite a ways down in fact. There are nine teams on our league, and before last night's scores, we were down to 7th place! Oh, how the mighty have fallen, huh?

I'm looking forward to going to my Macro class tonight, I will get a test score back, and we are taking another test tonight. All of my friends did not do too well on the test (bastard teacher emailed them their scores, but NOT ME... fucker) so I am nervous about how I did...

Enough for now, maybe I will discuss more later, like after class when I get my score... or maybe I will not feel like talking about it, who knows?

shopping and bowling

I MAY post a picture or two of some of my new clothes, that will have to wait, It's about to become a busy week.

I did alright in bowling tonight, 134, 124 & 109. That makes my average for the night to 122, which beats my season average of 117, and THAT is a good night.

I will blog some details of crap tomorrow during my income tax class. I have to try to get some sleep, not sleeping well lately and not getting enough of it...

Wii would like to play

I just love those Wii commercials.
I went to Best Buy today and (GOT IN A LINE, CAN YOU FRIGGIN' BELIEVE IT?) picked up the "Santa gift" for the kids.

I will blab more later, but I'm coloring my hair right now, and I tend to lose track of time when I start typing, and I'd hate to end up with a funky color here. All I'm trying to do is get rid of the roots... roots that show my white hairs... I do not color my hair to change the color, I color my hair to keep my color.

I went shopping this morning on my day off (Thank a Vet...I did... wink, wink) and holy balls, did I get a BUNCH of stuff. All work clothes, but I really needed them, so I did a major spree, and I did really well, too.

More on that later.

Battle of the Bands

well, sort of.

Alex's friend Diesel is over, and he brought Guitar Hero III with him. The boys talked me into playing a little. Next thing I know, they've talked JP into playing, too.

NEXT THING I know, JP and I are having a play-off. The stakes?

Loser makes supper.

Alex and Diesel picked the song, something that neither of us knew, to be fair. They chose something from that stupid movie "Tenacious D & the Pick of Destiny".

I just know you're on the edge of your seats wondering who won, right?

Well, figure it out, I AM SITTING HERE BLOGGING!!
HAHAHAHAHA
I beat him, I beat him, I beat him!!
Not just by a little either... the stats at the end were Me: 93% correct, Him: 80% correct.
nanner nanner nanner.
I wonder what's for supper?

PS The deer count for the family so far is pretty meek... JP got a doe, Alex and I have nothing yet. But there's tomorrow... and I am known for procrastination...

May I be blunt?

Well, yes, I guess I can, with or without your permission, it's my damn blog...

But being blunt, that's my point. If you've ever read my profile, you'd see it right there, I don't mince words. I do not beat around the bush, and I have never in my life 'pussyfooted' around the subject. Not only will I NOT do it, I doubt very much that I CAN do it. It's just not me, it's not my nature.

However, one time only, I am going to try very hard to give it a shot. Why? To explain myself. Why? Hell, I don't know. But I woke up at 5a.m. thinking "I don't give a rat's ass what you think, because obviously you do not have any inkling of WHO I am, or HOW I am, so shut up". Since I was not able to get back to sleep after waking up to that thought, I decided to funnel those rebuttal thoughts here. It became obvious that I DID, in fact, give a rat's ass.

I do not 'like to kill' things (yes, I do, I cannot lie) but it's not as simple as that... of course it isn't. When some kid goes in and shoots up his school, it's never as simple as " the other kids didn't talk to me, or weren't nice to me" OF COURSE there were other things going on...hello? Kid had mental issues...

Not that I'm saying I have mental issues, well, ok, whether I do or not, it has NOTHING to do with me being straight to the point and honest. I'm saying that things on the surface are hardly ever just that. For the love of all that is good and holy, learn to read between the lines... K?

I do not mince words because I feel it is generally a waste of time. I'm talking strictly about the spoken word here, because I do love to write fiction, and as most of us know, fiction writing is full of minced words and tons of lily-gilding and oodles of pussy footers and bush-beaters... THEN, I can do it... in fiction, in (here I go, being me:) in shit that's not real. THERE, I can get all flowery descriptive on your ass... but not in real life, I just don't have the time for it.

I like to hunt because I love that adrenaline rush that comes just as I squeeze the trigger... and it doesn't matter what's in my sights, a paper target, a chipmunk, or a deer, the feeling is the same. (OK.. stop right there, that's not true, paper targets do NOT get adrenaline pumping, just live critters) It's a feeling of empowerment that probably goes back to when I was about 10 years old.

(insert flashback squiggles a la Wayne & Garth here)

My mother practically had to beg my dad to go deer hunting. Dad went every year with "Dick" (not his real name, but it should have been) so they let her go one year. Dick was a male chauvinist pig, really a jerk... well, a Dick. That year, my mother got the only deer between the three of them. I cannot express how proud I was and still am of her.
So I guess part of it is a "girl power" women's rights thing, Anything you can do, I can do better, I can do anything better than you. Hunting was something I grew up with as being something that 'the men' go out and do every year. Until my mom did that.
I am very proud of the gun that I bought this summer, I LOVE that gun. I love the fact that I can hit those sneaky little chipmunks, I am very proud of that. I am a good shot, dammit, and just saying (typing, duh) that makes me smile a sheepish, embarrassed grin. I do not go around spouting off my attributes, not that there are a ton to spout, but regardless, I do not spout. But there are somethings that deep down inside, I am very proud of... but I really prefer not to mention them most of the time. No spouting, no mincing, that's me.

But if it makes you feel better, here:
I love venison, so we go hunting...

Playing hookie tomorrow

Our hunting weekend was full of seeing deer through the trees, couldn't get a clear shot. But just looking at her through the scope on the gun was SUCH a rush! I swear my heart was pounding in my throat AND in my ears.

So tomorrow JP and I are playing hookie in the morning and going out to try again. Our season here ends next Sunday, so my opportunities are getting pretty short. I work next Saturday morning, so it'd just be Saturday afternoon/evening or Sunday. So I'm going to skip out of a couple of classes and see if I can kill something.

I do have one concern however. I have been, over the last week (I remember it "started" last Monday afternoon, so it's really just been a week) having "issues" with my guts. Now, I don't want to get graphic, but it involves not wanting to be too far away from a bathroom, let's just leave it at that, K?

Last Monday was rough, I even called in and didn't go to work. Again on Thursday was a bit bad, not as bad as Monday, but still, not fun. And now today, too. Last Monday I figured it was what I had for lunch (Chinese buffet) just didn't agree with me, since it hit me about an hour after lunch. But ever since then, it's happening WHENEVER it bloody well feels like it! Little concern about being out in the middle of the woods if my body decides to... liquefy my assets?

Gawd, I cannot believe the things I discuss here, I'd be embarrassed, but honestly, I just don't give a hoot! HA!

The deerhunter

So I whined last weekend about JP not getting me a new gun, he got himself one, and of course, he got Alex one for his birthday, but WHERE'S MINE? Well, in his defense, he didn't know that I REALLY want to go deer hunting. I have wanted to go for years. In the beginning of our marriage, he always kept me pregnant, or recovering from childbirth during deer hunting season. (No shit, my kids' birthdays are Sept 27, Oct 30 and Dec 22... coincidence? I think not)

But tonight we went out and got me a license. To kill a deer. Now, I get an adrenaline rush shooting a silly ass little chipmunk... a squirrel damn near makes me giddy... I cannot imagine what getting a deer would do to me... but I think, just to be on the safe side, I will bring along a change of clothes tomorrow... pants, at least.

I am not going out in the morning, I'm letting JP take Alex for that (Yeah, I'm the giver... hehe, I just want to sleep in on a Saturday for once, I DON'T have to work tomorrow morning!) But he's going to swap hunting partners about midday, probably do the same on Sunday.

So I will be posting pictures, either of my deer, or JP's... or Alex's. SOMEBODY in this house is going to kill a deer... I SO want it to be me!!

Beggars, sex toy parties and Italy

Beggars: tonight, my children are out begging for candy. They began the night by begging their Dad to go with them. I gave him "the look" that said "It won't be much longer, and they won't ask you anymore... you've missed enough. Go be with your kids" Yeah, one look CAN say that much. So he went. I worked on a bit of homework, and now I have the quiet house to myself...

Sex Toy Parties: I missed one last Saturday night. But Cheri gave me a catalog so I can still order. OH MY GOODNESS. How am I expected to pick among all these wonderful options? I wish I could have gone to the party, they pass around ALL the items, so you can... ahem, um, 'get a feel for it'. A little photo in a catalog is just not enough.

Italy. Hi, how are you? A comment would be nice... keep it anonymous if you want... just find it interesting and very nice to "see" you. Pop in and say hello... please?

Halloween bowling party

Since tonight was the closest bowling night to Halloween, we had a little shindig. Every team brought food, potluck style, and we were all encouraged to wear some kind of costumes. We had to be careful though, costumes that didn't hinder our bowling...

so here's our team: front row: Charity, Jenny and Darlene. Back row: Me and Rachel.We are sponsored by a company that makes kitty litter... yeah, yeah, I know, how icky, shut up. SO ANYWAY, we decided that we should be cats as a team.

We didn't win tonight, that was awful, but I beat my average 2 out of 3 games, and my nightly average was 122, whereas my season average is only 117, so I'm sure it will go up a bit for next week.

Movie Review, part One

With our weekend out of town, I only got to see one of the six movies we rented.

WE ARE MARSHALL.

Holy crap, I was in tears too many times to count, and it was funny (Matthew's character, the head coach was a KOOK!) and I really liked it alot. The only problem was that JP suggested we put the movie in about 9:30, as I was about ready to doze off to sleep. It kept me awake, kept my attention, UNTIL MIDNIGHT, so I guess one could consider that a plus, but I am tired this morning!

I bowl tonight, but when I get home I am determined to watch 1408 before I go to bed. These movies need to be returned by Wednesday, and I'd like to watch Shooter, too. So hopefully I will be talking about a few more movies in the coming days.

Tomorrow my first baby turns 14. Makes me sad. And proud. And old.

JP and I had a great weekend in Moorhead and Fargo. We went to a strip club with some of the other Guards guys and their wives, had a WONDERFUL night Saturday, poolside room at the hotel. The reintegration thing on Sunday was SO DULL, but I get paid for it, so whatever, it's fine. JP, of course, gets paid for it, too.

Now I have to run, I have to be across campus in 10 minutes to sit through another BORING hour of Business Income Tax... maybe I will use my time to post a picture I took the other night. The moon was full, and SO pretty. I don't know if my pics turned out good though... it was very bright...

Pay day and movie night

Today was my first pay day for my work/study job.
Just a little check, but it went right into my savings account. That's the plan, all my work/study checks will go to savings, but I don't know yet what I'm saving FOR. Just getting a savings account up and running is enough for now.

Tomorrow morning I have to work, and JP is going to go to Brainerd to get Alex's birthday present. Then in the evening we are going to Moorhead, we have a night in a hotel paid for by the Guards, and Sunday is the 60 day reintegration meeting. So my weekend is looking pretty busy.

We rented a bunch of movies tonight, so I can "review" them for ya.

Right now we are watching School for Scoundrels... so far it seems pretty good.

We also rented We Are Marshal, 1408, Shooter, Surf's Up and (something else, can't remember right now) When I get them watched I will let you know.
1408 is the one I'm most looking forward to seeing, I LOVE Stephen King's stories and books, and occasionally, they don't screw up making them into movies.

Stretching thin

I wish I were talking about my ass, or my thighs, or my abs. They are not getting thin. My time is, though.

I'm tired often. It feels like I am always rushing to the next thing. I have to find time to do homework. I have discovered that I don't do homework as well when JP is home as I did when he was gone. I used to sit in bed at night and work on it, spread it out all over the bed. I cannot do that now, because I have to share the bed.

So I have to find a time in my schedule to pencil in "Homework", because I am actually getting behind on some of it.

I am putting in a few more hours at the bank than my position allows, but my boss okay'd it with HR and with me, so I am getting close to 20-ish hours per week now. I am also maxing out my work study time, 10 hours per week, in fact, I think we may have to fudge this week, move a few "overage" hours from this week to next, to keep me at/under 10.

It will be hard, and it IS hard for now. It is mid October, and in two months, in mid December, I will start to see an improvement. That is when the Fall Semester ends. I have about a three week break, then in mid January, I start my (final) Spring Semester. Much better hours, easier to get things done, right? No night classes, off at 1 every afternoon, no Friday classes. I am just trying to hang on until Mid December, that's all. Just two months to go. I can do that... right?

One more picture that Alex took, just because I think he did a good job... I think the picture looks out of focus because it's taken through the backseat window, and dogs were back there breathing heavy and wiping their snotty noses on the glass...

Alex took pictures

They are back from their big hunting trip (didn't fire their guns ONCE!) and this is one of the pictures that I got downloaded off my camera, which Alex took with him. He also took some short videos, one of which I saved (I deleted the other 24 because they were just dumb). I saved the one because it is just funny. I will have to see if I can get it on here.

meanwhile, here's Katy and Comet in the back seat of the truck. Kate is the redhead closest to the camera, and Comet is her daughter, laying down with the red Kong toy.

So here's the video, it's real short, and it's important to have the volume on, and UP, and listen right away... Alex is so funny.

Here's the mail, it never fails

it makes me wanna wag my tail.
When it comes I wanna wail MMMAAAAIIIIILLLLLL!!

(Blue's Clues... the mail song...? nope? Well, anyway, take my word for it, it's very catchy)

I got the mailbox mounted up on the house, new and improved and goin' nowhere!
I also made supper, a yummy Chicken Alfredo with Penne pasta...
Then I sat down to count my change in my jar. I have a one gallon glass jar (used to be full of Spanish olives, got it from a bar) and I put change into it. I have a separate coffee canister for pennies, so the olive jar is just for silver. It's probably about 1/6th full, and it's already got $130 in it! I was happy about that. I'm going to keep it here until it's full, then take it in to work and cash it in. Since it's taken me about 3 to 4 months to get it this far, I imagine it will be quite some time before I am hauling it in.

I was ready to go to sleep at 6 pm. Now it's almost 9 and I can't believe I'm still up. I'm allowing myself to sleep in tomorrow, then it's laundry and Macro notes. And Managerial Accounting homework... homework that was due last week, that I didn't understand then, and still don't understand now... I'm going to have to get someone who understands it to explain it to me... otherwise it's going to be a very ugly semester. I really don't want ANOTHER B on my transcripts... I'm still trying to recover from the last one (the first one, the ONLY one). My GPA is at 3.94, and no matter what, I can never get that 4.0 back... but I can still try for a 3.99, right?

Well, that's it, it's 9, and I'm getting into my jammies and into my bed... alone... but he'll be home tomorrow.

Feels like nothing got done

My long weekend is almost over, and I feel like I accomplished nothing so far. I haven't touched my Macro notes (test on Tuesday night) I haven't fixed the mail box yet (stupid f*cker fell off the house, can you believe that?)

I'm going to fix that right now ( the lack of accomplishments, not the mail box, although that may end up happening, too)

But when I got home from work about half an hour ago, all I wanted was denim on my arse and my arse on my bed with my feet up!
Now I've had that for a bit, and I think I'm ready to go.
Except that I'm STARVING and I can't eat. It hurts too damn much. I had an Ortho appointment yesterday and my orthodontist actually used the word "torque" when telling the assistant what to do to my teeth... it didn't sound good at the time, and sure as hell doesn't FEEL good now.
Maybe I will eat some pudding and mashed potatoes and get down to my accomplishing!

Are you ready for some HOCKEY??

She is.

She's very ready.

We printed out her schedule of practices for the month, and (insert disappointed sigh and 'sad face' here) I won't be able to take her to ANY of them. All her practices happen when I'm still at work. She generally has to be on the ice at 5:15 (therefor, at the arena at 5) and I don't get out of work til 5:45.

So even if I WANTED to take her... sorry, can't. I was planning on boycotting practices for the year anyway, since I did my time for the last two years, but this way, I have a legit excuse that JP can't whine about.

As I type, JP and Alex, along with Kate and Comet are in the truck driving South. The boys decided to take a mother & daughter team of hunting dogs along on their father son hunting trip. Kate LOVES guns, and she knows the commands, but has never been pheasant hunting. Comet knows nothing other than she loves her daddy and will do anything for him, and she will follow her mom, Kate, anywhere. JP promised to call nightly with progress reports, on both the dogs, and how my son does with his hunting. JP missed Alex's first season of deer hunting, but Alex has never been hunting for pheasant before. I wonder how he'll do.

No sense worrying about it now, I have the entire bed to myself, and I do not have an alarm set for the morning. This is cause for celebration. How sad is it that my idea of celebrating tonight is putting on my footie jammies and curling up in bed with a good movie. Whatever makes a girl happy, right?

Five day weekend

My long weekend is officially started. Too bad it won't be much fun.
I agreed to go in to the school tomorrow for a minimum of 4 hours, doing the whole work study stuff for Marcus.

OK, fine, I volunteered.
But the kids will be in school, JP will be at work, Mom will be at work, I'd just be bored.

(I just reread that sentence... gawd, I am an IDIOT)
Then I have to work at the bank, of course.

Thursday though, THAT will be a good day. Nothing until 3:30 working at the bank. Since I usually work Saturday mornings at the bank, it's rare that I get to sleep in.

But the worst thing about this long weekend is that JP will be gone. I'll have homework to do, and another Macro test to study for, and work to go to, so I'm sure I'll stay busy, but when I'm not busy, when I have a bit of 'down time', it would be nice to have him here.

Well, I've taken some Melatonin, and am beginning to feel a bit heavy in the eyelid area. Off I go.

It was a great weekend

JP and I drove (in his truck, of course) about 2 hours southeast for a wedding reception. The groom was in Iraq with JP, and they actually got married about a year ago, while he was home on leave. They're just now having their reception!

I had never met the groom before, but he is one helluva guy. I really like him. He is the one who put in for JP's bronze star, but that's not why I like him. He's just a really nice guy, and his bride, Tammy, wow, she didn't know me AT ALL, but she talked to me like we were old friends, just good people, ya know?

So we had a really good time, JP and I got a hotel room, left the kids home with mom (Thanks, Mom, you're THE BEST!) On our way home, we stopped so JP could buy a new gun. He's taking Alex Wednesday night to head to southern Minnesota to do some pheasant hunting. Now, if I could just get Flat to share her recipe for cooking it, I'd be set!

I only have 2 days of classes this week, how nice.
This morning I got registered for my Spring Semester, all 13 credits of it! And the beauty of it, I only have to buy 2 books! Three of those 13 credits are my job, an "Internship", 3 of them are Intermediate Accounting II, which is the second half of the book I already own for Intermediate Accounting I for this semester. So, my (just over) $3K of grant money... I'll probably use about $2,000 of it for school, and TYVM, a check in my hand for the remainder...

So, other than bowling tonight, I've had a good few days.
Don't even ask about bowling scores, it was just FUGLY. My average just went in the pooper, I'll guarantee it.

Wednesday, I don't have classes, but the kids do, so I will still have to get up at 6:30 to get them off. Friday, I have an Ortho appointment at 8:10 am. And then I have to work. I still have to work Wednesday and Thursday, but not until 3:30. So Thursday is THE SHIT. THAT is the day I'm livin' for now. No getting the kids up, no getting my ass out of bed til I feel like it!

Gotta love a Thursday...

NaNo I don't know

Last fall, after I successfully completed a month of hell of NaNoWriMo, I was talking about it to a friend I have in Georgia, I know her through an MSN group I belong to. We have never MIRL, but we have talked on the phone. She's a real Georgia Peach. She loved the NaNo idea, had never heard of it, and she and I decided back then to try it this year.

She just posted a message about it on our board. Kind of a "Are you ready for some NaNo?" to the tune of that Monday Night Football tune...

Shit I am not ready. I bet I could be, but what kind of stress would that put on my job(s) and my schoolwork, and my family and my marriage. I had time to work on it last year because it did not matter how long I spent tapping away at the keys and how late I was up doing it. The dogs did not mind at all. JP might mind. JP doesn't get it though. He doesn't have any clue (I don't think) how important writing is to me. I think it's hard for him to grasp because writing and reading great books has never been high on his list of important things. I do this blog, just for the sake of seeing my thoughts OUT THERE... doesn't matter that it's not a novel, it's my thoughts, MY WORDS out of my head and into OUT THERE.

But things are just too nuts this year for me to even consider NaNoWriMo. I think next year, I could be ready, I could give it a real shot again. Next year I will not be a student, and I will only have work and family.

NaNo, I DO know. No.
Not this year. Yes, being a writer, being a PUBLISHED writer is a real dream of mine, but so is getting my degree. And having a great marriage. Some dreams have to be moved to the back burner occasionally. Maybe they'll stay there forever, maybe they will be moved up again some day. I just don't have enough front burners these days.

Week of health care crap

That's what I'm calling this week. My family never really gets sick, we don't really see doctors that much. But it seems that suddenly, everyone is seeing SOMEONE for SOMETHING...this week.

Yesterday JP took Emma to the eye doctor to get an exam and new glasses. I had to work, otherwise I would have taken her, but I am trying to delegate, so JP handled it. He did a good job, too, I saw the receipt, I know. But in talking with Emma afterwards, I heard that she picked out some purple frames. Ugh. Oh well, she's a kid, and if she wants to wear purple, who am I to stop her?

Today when I'm done with classes at noon, I am rounding up all the children and JP is taking the afternoon off, and we are all going to the dentist. We make these appointments 6 months in advance, and they just put us in their appointment book as "the Nikky family" and all 5 of us just take over the office for about 3 hours. We all really like our dentist, the kids think he's funny and nice (and he prefers to be called "Dr. Erik" and the kids think that's great) I really like him because he looks like Tim Robbins a la Shawshank Redemption... so cute. Plus, he's the one who I first talked to about getting my braces. When I was talking to him (every time I talk to him) he wears his little mask thing, and I said something about "I'm thinking about getting braces while JP is in Iraq..." He pulled his mask down and smiled real big: metal mouth! He said "It's never too late!" He's got his off now, and he looks great.

Then tomorrow I am taking Alex in for a general physical and to have his chest X-rayed. His breast bone is protruding and looks goofy. It happened about a year ago, and when it happened, it actually got a huge bruise right in the middle of his chest. We went in to the ER and they said it was nothing, they did the films then, too, and said they didn't see anything out of the ordinary. REALLY? Don't you think the fact that his breast bone sticks out THAT FAR is a little out of the ordinary?? Of course, this was "Dr."Blair Nelson, the horrible asshole doctor from the ER that I think I have mentioned before and vented about before. I hate him. He is a quack.

I filled out my expense report at work last night (finally!) for my trip to Grand Forks, so soon I will have a deposit of just over $400 in my account. Plus my first pay check in over a year is coming in on Monday, so I am pretty excited about that. I'm trying to figure out where to send that money, and then JP blurts out "Remember that Alex and I are going down south hunting next weekend" so he's saying that he wants me to not pay extra on some bill, because he wants to use it to go hunting. A little bitter at first, but in reality it is a good thing. I'm all for Alex and his dad going pheasant hunting, spending some good quality guy time together. So fine, bills can be paid, but not overpaid. JP's relationship with his son is more important.

So, with all this health crap going on, I'd just like to say that I'm so happy that we have insurance. I cannot imagine trying to raise a family without it. I will not get political, and I do not know enough about it to have a hard and fast opinion, I just think it's sad that so many people in this country do not have insurance. Cannot imagine.

Can we just talk about how SMART I am??

hehehe

Got my Macro test back today. I got an 88%. Yes, that is the second highest in the class. My friends called me a bitch. Of course, they all scored... a bit lower than that. Like 30% lower.

I'm just relieved to have it over with, so now I can concentrate on the next Macro test that's coming up in two weeks (I know! Already? Again?) But I figure if I actually study a bit for this one, instead of just skimming my notes between frames at bowling on Monday night, I may have a shot at the highest grade in the class.

I'm just happy that the two worst days of the week are over. For another week anyway.

Spring Semester figured out

FINALLY!
I hate it when things are up in the air, and undecided.
Yesterday I sat with my advisor and figured out my spring (FINAL) semester classes.

I will be taking a wussy little 13 credits (that's what a girl gets for taking summer classes for 2 summers!) I really only need 11 to graduate, but I couldn't find a 1 credit technical elective... but it's fine, as you'll see (yeah, I'm grinnin' from ear to ear right now, I'm so freakin' happy)

Monday through Thursday (just like this semester, I have no Friday classes)

From 8 to 10 I have Intermediate Accounting
From 10 to 11 I have Fund/Non Profit Acct.
From 12 to 1 I have R.A.P. review (that's Registered Accounting Practicioner, it's a test, and the class is a review/prep for that exam)

And then, (hehe) I have my Internship. Yeah, that's right, my new job at the bank will count as an Internship, it's 3 credits that I DO have to pay for (well, not really, it's all grants) but I do not have to sit in a classroom and I do not have to buy a textbook for. Plus, oh, yeah, that's right, my "internship" job PAYS ME!

It's just great to have it settled.

Now, on to other things: bowling!
After knocking out the old bitches last week, we were alone in the #1 spot. We knocked those grannies all the way down to 3rd. Last night, we were up against the team in the #2 spot. Yeah, of course we kicked their asses. Weird thing was, we were given a 19 handicap. Supposedly, these women were a bit better than us. At least, that's what their averages told us. (that is how handicaps are figured, comparing averages) but even without the handicap, we beat them ALL THREE GAMES.
My average before last night was a 120. Of course, I had two decent games and one sucky one. Ended up with a 140, a 138 and (ugh) a 92. I still beat my average though, so next week, I'm guessing it will be up from 120 to maybe 121 or 122. As long as I match it, I'm fine, but beating it makes me happy.

I have Macro tonight. I'm a bit worried about that. I took a test last week, everyone else took the test the week before (when I was in Grand Forks, missed the test) So I know how everyone else did on it, they whined and bitched, said it was SO HARD, and they all failed miserably. No kidding, some of my friends (smart girls) got scores in the 58% area. Yeah, that's a big fat F. When I took the test, I didn't think it was too hard. Yes, I admit, I'm certain I got a couple of things wrong, but I just didn't think it was that tough. Plus, I finished it in about half an hour, and the other girls were saying they spent a good hour to an hour & a half on it. I know I read fast, but holy crap, if you don't know the answer, it will NOT come to you if you sit and stare at it for another 20 minutes, I guarantee it!
So I'm nervous to see how I did on the test.

I started doing my work/study for Marcus this morning. I like him, he's fun. I hate the classes he teaches, but he's a funny guy and he's easy to talk to. He showed me a few things this morning, how to make copies THE WAY HE WANTS THEM, how to access his files so I can grade the assignments that students upload for him, different things, but it was not hard, and I think it will be a good second job for me.

Both my jobs limit how many hours per week I have have. The bank, I am limited to 17 hours per week, and the TA thing has a 10 hour per week limit. Yeah, not much, but every little bit helps when I am trying to pay off EVERYTHING.

Long post, huh?
Well, I don't have alot of time early in the week to sit at home with my laptop, so I have to wait til I get into my Business Income Tax class to play catch-up on emails, blogs (writing and reading) and occasionally, if I have time, I veg out with Pogo.com but I don't see myself having that kind of time today. I've babbled long enough in here for the day I guess. Now I'm off to read the lives of others!

Snogging literary characters!

Mrs. Who suggested that we discuss what characters in books we've read that we would consider... snog-able.

When I read her entry this morning, my mind went immediately to Sydney Carton. You know, from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

I first read that book when I was about 14, maybe 15. Certainly before any 'coming of age' activity. Well before I ever had a "real" boyfriend. In my mind, Lucie Manette was a fool. Sure, Charles Darnay was ok, a proper choice of suitors. But Sydney Carton was the one who made me swoon. Throughout the book, he was moody and usually drunk, and he didn't seem to care about his job or his future. The only thing he really seemed sure of was his love for Lucie. Bitch. She didn't deserve his pure love and devotion. She barely saw him as a man, she looked at him as a pity case.
I remember literally doing a *sigh* "I want a man to love me like that" when I read the end... "It is a far far better thing that I do, than I have ever done" Sydney gave his life so that the woman he loved could be happy. With another man. Hell, it still makes me sigh. If it'd been me, I would have dumped Charles, let him go to the guillotine and spent my life with Sydney Carton.

And of course, just for the excitement and darkness of it, I would also put Louis from Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire in the 'snog-able' category. Sure, he'd probably suck me dry and leave me for dead, but holy balls, what a way to go!

Hmmm, I think I have to add two books to my bedside table, I think I need to give each of those a re-read.

Playing catch-up

Saturday night for this boring middle aged married girl means a few Mike's and a blog entry about what's been going on, now that I have a few minutes to sit (and sip) and catch my breath.

So, I've been asked about my job at the bank. Well, the short version of it is this:I LOVE IT! I was born to do a job like this. The long version is that I work with a bunch of NICE people. I've never had that before... it's sort of intimidating the way these women are. They're not like me. They don't say "the F word", hell, I bet they wouldn't say shit if they had a mouthful. They have "nice" conversations about things like the Deli honey ham that's on sale today only at the grocery store. I don't have conversations like that. I have crude conversations, and raunchy funny conversations. So I feel like I have to watch my mouth all day long. I know, that doesn't sound like a great environment, but in reality, that is what I've always wanted. To me, it feels like the first REAL job I've ever had. I have a job that doesn't require steel toed shoes or safety glasses. But in some ways, it's alot like other jobs I've had... everywhere you go, people are idiots, and people are mean. We are supposed to call them "clients" but basically, it's the people who bank here, and they think the world either DOES or SHOULD revolve around them. No, not all of them, but the obnoxious ones always seem to stand out, am I right?

So my schedule is pretty full...

Mondays: classes 8-3.... work from 3:30 til 5:45.... bowling from 6:30 til 9:30

Tuesdays: TA for Marcus 8-10... classes from 10 til 3... work from 3:30 til 5:45.... MacroEcon (I have one night class) from 6:30 til 9

Wednesdays: Classes from 8-2... work 3:30 to 5:45 (and then I get to go home and STAY home)

Thursdays: TA for Marcus 8-10... classes from 10 til 12... work varies here, either I start at 3:30 or 2. and I'm off at 5:45

Fridays: TA for Marcus 8-12... work 2-6:15.

Saturdays: work 8-12:15.

Sunday is the only day that I have NOTHING to do. Except homework. and housework. and sleep. and errands. and shopping. and football. (although the Vikings have a bye this weekend)

ok, time to grab more Mike's and get ready for the next episode of America's Next Top Model (yes, guilty pleasure!)

I do it to myself...

OK, before I tell you, can I just remind everyone that

I SAID NO TO THE STUDENT SENATE

But I didn't say no to this:
Marcus requested that I sign up for the work/study program so he could "claim" me. It's a paid thing, roughly 10 hours per week. I'd be grading his papers, entering grades online, copying disks for him (He's a computer geek instructor...) stuff like that.

Anyway, I can fit it in pretty easily; after all, it's only 10 hours per week.
It doesn't pay fabulous, but more than minimum wage (by a couple of bucks) and with that few hours, it won't make me rich, but every little bit helps, ya know?

Well, gotta run (of course) I have to work at the bank in about 45 minutes.

Drawing a blank

I got nothin' today.

So... anybody want to suggest/ask something? Gimme a topic of some interest and maybe it will jar my brain.

Anyone?

Beuller?

Beuller?

Beuller?

Eat that, ya old bitch!

Bowling last night was wonderful.
My team is (was!) tied for first place... tied with "the old bitches" team. They're horrible mean old grannies. Shit you not, two of them are Lucy and Ethel. They're mean.
We played against them last night. We won two games and tied the third. That means that we are now in first place ALL BY OURSELVES!

I certainly did my part, most of the time, anyway. I had a 144, a 128 and (ugh!) a 105. My average before we bowled was a 118.

Last night was also my first real day of school and then work. It was nice, time seems to fly by at this job. The only complaint I have is that it is a killer on my feet. A little bit of stepping here and there, but mostly standing in one place. I have one pair of great shoes, feels like wearing slippers, and 2 pair of fairly comfortable ones. I need to get more of the slipper comfy ones though.

Other than being dead tired, and being a cranky bitch though, things went okay yesterday. I have to remember that he is here now and I don't have to do everything anymore, and I don't have to worry about everything anymore. He is my partner and he can take some of the responsibility so I don't have to carry it all anymore. It's hard to do, and it's hard to let it go.
But I need to. I'll work on that.

Thanks Flat!

Thanks to Flat, telling me how to get pics off my cell phone and sent to my email so I can post a couple.

These are the two that turned out the best, Lindsey first and then one of the bartenders (go figure, if you give a camera to a drunk, GUESS what you'll get pics of!!) I'm surprised I didn't have any pics in there of the several shots we drank!!

A few details

Tuesday morning, I arrived in Grand Forks ND and spent the day listening to a nice lady go over my bank's policies etc.

As we left for the day, another girl (there were only 4 of us there) muttered under her breath "damn, I need a cigarette" I felt the same way. You see, smokers are frowned upon, anyone who smokes knows that. I did not smoke during our lunch break that day, didn't want to get "that look" from Lori (nice lady from above) or the other girls.
So this girl and I got to talking as we lit up on our way to our vehicles. Her name is Lindsey, and she's SO NICE. She had an evening of shopping planned, because her branch is in a tiny little podunk town, and she needed to expand her work wardrobe. OK, fine, twist my arm, I'll come with you! She was staying at the same hotel as me, so we exchanged room numbers and went back to change.

We spent a couple of hours shopping, and it was just amazing and freaky how many things we had in common. We decided to go out to dinner (expense accounts!) On our way driving around looking for a place to eat, we found a bar... We went in and each had 2 drinks then left, we HAD to eat. Well, we found the Texas Roadhouse for supper (YUMMY), then headed back to the bar.

Great pool tables, what can I say? We even talked a couple of the bar's employees into hanging out after they were done working, and they played pool with us, and we danced awhile, too. I found out something interesting, turns out, bars in Grand Forks close at 2 am. For those of you who are saying "Um, yeah, DUH!" Let me tell you that it is not always the case. The town I live in, some bars close at 2 and some close at 1 (party poopers) BUT, this bar, "Buck's" was open until 2 am. Lindsey and I found this out when it was time to go home, and we realized that it was, in fact, 2 am.

Uh-Oh, we have to be at the bank at 9am, dressed nice, and AWAKE... well, we didn't do too bad, we recovered just fine. Well enough, in fact, to decide to go out again on Wednesday night!

More shopping for Lindsey, and then a couple of drinks at Buck's. Really. Like...3. We played a few games of darts, and then headed back to the hotel. We had a taco pizza delivered TO THE HOT TUB and just chilled out. It was really nice to relax.

Thursday night was the big rip it up night. They had a cover charge at Buck's because they had Deuce's Wild playing. They're these two guys, dueling pianos, really. It's a raunchy comedy show, and it was "ladies night", too. We paid $6 for these wristbands and drank all we wanted from 8 to midnight. Not to mention the shots bought for us by these creepy guys. One was a UV Blue, one was a raspberry kamikaze, and one was..hell, I don't know, it was in a test tube and it was yummy. Now, these wristbands did not cover my normal drink, Mike's flavors. I do not like beer, so my only real option was to drink Long Island Iced Teas... turns out I drank several of them. Friday was pretty rough...
But it was a good time, and even though all I've mentioned is the after hours stuff, the truth is, I did learn so much about my new job.

I never took pictures, but I wish I would have, it was a great hotel. I had a second story room, with a balcony overlooking the water feature filled lobby. It was really nice. I did take a couple of pics with my new cell phone, mostly at Buck's. I don't know how to get them off the cell and onto my laptop yet though.

There, that's it. That's all the details you're getting!

no internet, tired TIRED tired Nik

I have to go to bed, but I will be chatting a bit about my week. It was SO GREAT! Yeah, boring work training but it was fun, and let me tell you, you get two bank employees and throw them together with a pool table and a few (lost count) shots of... blue stuff...

Now, THAT is a good time!

details to follow.....

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.7
Mind:	7.1
Body:	5
Spirit:	6.5
Friends/Family:	6.9
Love:	9.1
Finance:	8.8
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Never thought I'd say this:

Bowling was SO EXCITING tonight!
We played a team that truly sucked, they had a 61 handicap. We beat them in the first game by 30-some pins. The second game was much closer, we only beat them by 11 pins.
But the third game... wow.

It came down to our last bowler, my friend Charity, in the final frame. She got a strike and then a spare, and we beat them by JUST ONE PIN!! I have to give it to Charity though, because I know me, and I would have buckled under the pressure.

Yeah, I know, what a dork, if bowling gets my adrenaline going, then I need to get a life!

Oh, and yes, Steff, I did make a list, and now I am almost done crossing things off of it. I just have some clothes in the laundry and some bathroom things that won't get packed until I use them in the morning.
Now I just have to stay up long enough to move laundry into the dryer so I can go down at 5 am and pack those last few things.

Packing or a lack of...

I'm done with classes for the week!
I have to get the majority of my stuff packed up now, because I have bowling tonight.
I figure if I leave by 6 am tomorrow, I should be fine arriving in plenty of time to allow for not knowing where the hell I'm going. I have to be at my bank's Grand Forks branch by 9 am.

I just don't feel like packing yet. I know, I know. Procrastination is one thing but this is getting silly. I really should have packed most of it yesterday, because that way, when I realized that I forgot something, at least I'd still be here. Now, I will pack up tonight and not realize until I get to Grand Forks that I forgot something.

And it's raining and I just feel "nap-ish"

OK, fine, I'm off to find my suitcase.
See y'all tomorrow night from Grand Forks.

the last full moon

The moon tonight is not full. But tonight was the first night I have noticed the moon since July. I've been too busy to see it. It's always been there, but I've either gone to bed before it had risen or it was cloudy, or I was just not paying attention to the moon.

I remember when I saw the moon in July. It was the full moon, and I remember thinking that it would be the last full moon I would see before my husband came home. I do not remember the date of the full moon in July. I don't think it matters. But I remember how I felt. It was as though the full moons each month had measured time for me, and I was finally seeing the last one. I felt like I had won. A long hard battle, finally come to a victorious end. I remember wondering if he had looked at the moon that I was seeing. I wondered if he thought of it as his last full moon in hell. I know that is how I saw it. My last full moon alone, my last full moon with a hole in my life.

Things are settling in to a way of life that I vaguely remember, one that I remember being content with, one that I remember for all it's difficulties and triumphs. It was a life filled with compromise and a life with meaning. A life that I longed for as I looked at that full moon in July.

Now I look at that moon, and all I can think is
Ha! We win. We will not be a statistic, we will be a standard by which others measure themselves. We will be looked upon with envy and with the best wishes of everyone who knows us, who knows what we have endured.

At the end of our lives, we will be seen as the ones who made it, and made it with such love and happiness. We will be seen as the life people long for when they look at a full moon.

I got to play with money today!

I volunteered to work this morning, and WOW, I am glad I did.

I got to play with money. I was in the drive thru all morning doing transactions. It really helped doing all that (BORING) watching the last 2 days though, I was already fairly familiar with what to do.

Now, I must say, I used to go through the drive through and it took them (what I thought was) a LONG DAMN time to do a simple deposit or whatever I was there for. Now that I've been on the inside, I realize why it takes so long. There's a lot more to it than you'd think.

I think it's like waitresssing... people who either are now, or were at one time, waitresses are good tippers. I think from now on, I will be a little more understanding waiting in line at the bank drive up.

Now I have the rest of the weekend to get any homework done, and get ready to leave Tuesday morning early to head to Grand Forks. I am driving separately from the other girl, Monica who is going from our branch, too. I don't have to work Monday afternoon, which will be nice. It's bad enough that I have to bowl Monday night, I guess I will have to use the time between classes and bowling to get packed.

I found out that the hotel I'm staying in has wireless, so at least I can be online after training hours... maybe I'll take a webcam and JP and I can have a "date" just like old times... hmm, that IS a good idea.

Oh, and my dad called this morning, I was at work, and he left a voicemessage. He isn't coming up this weekend, he still has hay to bale. Yeah... I know.