Thanks, Renee

A web friend of mine sent this to me. She had no idea how much I needed that very sentence at the very moment I opened her email.

"Worry looks around, Sorry looks back, and Faith looks up."

It All Happened So Fast

I really hate not having the time to post on here. It seems every waking moment is consumed by something that takes me away from my former life. My life of blogging every day, getting the dishes done before we run out of spoons (which is saying a LOT because we have like a gazillion spoons) and getting the laundry not only washed and dried, but folded and put away! Those things are temporarily a thing of the past. Maybe some day I will look around and say "Hey, I remember it here. Here is nice. Here is gooooood."

Hola

I had some fabulous weekend. I spent it in Branson. Sick. I woke up Saturday morning feeling mighty poorly. I overheard Shael telling her Dad that every time she went into my bedroom she found me either on the pot or asleep in bed. I couldn't help it! We were suppose to meet my Mom and MIL at the beauty shop at 4:00 and we actually made it there on time. But once I got there, I started feeling even worse. I spread out on the floor for a minute and when I got up Mom said she wanted to pray for me. Man, I couldn't hardly stand up for her prayer. I knew what was coming and where it was coming out. I started getting extremely hot and I was tearing off my hoodie as fast as I could as I was walking to the bathroom. I got the bathroom door shut just in time to bow at the porcelain throne.

Funny, I felt better after I threw up. That always makes me think of Dr. Chestnut back when I was pregnant. She was my Dr. and I was not feeling well on one of my regular monthly check ups. I was getting dizzy and feeling like I was blacking out. Things started going dim and they checked my blood pressure and found it to be extremely low. I finally got up and stumbled over to the sink (the closest thing I could find) and threw up. My blood pressure went back to "normal" and I felt so much better. Dr. Chestnut laughed and said her brother always said "No wonder I was so sick, look at all that vomit I had in me!"

Yeah, no wonder I was so sick.

I still had problems the rest of the day, but I kept myself loaded up on Imodium A-D. That stuff really works!

*

In Branson, we decided to go to the Sunday afternoon show instead of the Saturday evening show hoping that I'd feel better by Sunday afternoon. I'm glad we did, because I did feel better. Not 100% back to normal, but well enough to enjoy Kirby, The Prince Of Magic. And his lovely wife Bambi. It really was a great show. I will probably be going back to see him again in the near future with Mike because I know it is one he would enjoy. Out of all those shows in Branson, I have found one that I know Mike will like.

*

Shael can be such a funny girl. When she's not trying to be, mostly. We stayed at these condos that have a big master bathroom off the big master bedroom, but for some weird, stupid reason, there is no door between them. There's a big wide door way, but no door. There's a door to the bedroom, so if you want privacy, you have to shoo people out of the bedroom, shut the bedroom door and lock it. Well, my priceless mother in law didn't lock the bedroom door and when Shael went to walk into the bedroom, she found her grandma sitting on the pot. Making a face. LOL. Then, the next morning, when Shael woke up and opened her eyes, the first sight that greeted her was her grandma pulling the shower curtain back, getting ready to climb in. Shael said "She was butt naked!" My mother in law laughed and said "Well, I'm not going to get into the shower with my clothes on!" But that's not something anyone would want to see when they first open their eyes in the morning. Their Grandma standing naked in front of you. At least she didn't mention "wrinkly old butts" or something. LOL.

*

Well, I've got 4-1/2 hours before my next class and I have some work I need to get done on High Point.

Adios!

P.S. Here's a picture of Kirby and Bambi. I'm telling ya, he's as pretty as she is.

Oh, Man!

Things just never go as I think they will. What is UP with that?
The school's Internet was down and I wasn't able to do much of anything that I had planned for yesterday. But, oh well. Roll with the changes.
I'm at work right now so I need to hurry this up real quick. I just wanted to put something in here real quick before I forget. It was something so funny.
I went into the playhouse to get next to this girl to try to get her to go to sleep for nap time. I crawled in, scooted around to get comfy and farted. Oops! I kept my cool and said "Woops, excuse me" and never made a big deal out of it. Like a full minute later, after being completely silent all this time, I start feeling this little girl's shoulder's shake with laughter. I said to her "Do you have the giggles now?" and she started laughing real loud and practically yelled out "YEAH!"
Oh, it was funny.
Well, gotta go. More later. I'm going to Branson this weekend with my Mom, my MIL and Shael. This should be interesting.
Ta!

Take The Red Eye

Last night when I got home from work, Shael met me at the front door and stuck her face right in mine. She said "Look at my eye" in this firm tone. I'm at that age now where I had to back my head up several inches to be able to focus in on what she wanted me to look at. Her whole right eye was blood red. Beyond blood shot, but red, like it could anytime start bleeding. It was just a couple weeks ago my Mom had the same thing happen to her and her doctor told her it was caused from never taking her contacts out and cleaning them. So, she told Shael to make sure she took her contact out to avoid the same disaster. Then look what happened anyway! She'd had Mom pick her up from school early because she was in so much pain. Today, I took her with me to my first class, which we ended up leaving early (long story), then I took her to the eye doctor. He said yes, it was an eye infection, and no it wasn't pink eye, so it wasn't contagious. Also, he said it was probably caused by her contacts. All it takes is a tiny bit of bacteria to get under it and presto, she's got a full blown eye infection. My mother in law met me at the doctor and she was able to wait with her for her prescription while I went back to school. Then Mike said he'd pick her up at his parents house on his way home from work. That worked out nicely. Poor Shael, missed two days of school. She will go tomorrow, then she's off two more days for fall break. Yeah, poor Shael. One full day of school in a whole week. You know how devastated she is about this, don't you? LOL
*
I took my first 0 in a lab for my science class last week. First of all, I never had time to work on it, and when I tried to squeeze it in, I couldn't understand it. I locked myself away at home and was going to take it to my Mom's to fax it in before 9:00 Thursday night. I got in there and read it, re-read it and re-read it like 40 times and never could make heads or tails of it. I started bawling and Mike, after all these years together, still doesn't know what to do with me when tears start falling. It's like I've turned poisonous and to be near me could be fatal. Then he yelled and cussed at me (with the big F word, TWICE!) over some stupid peaches that I totally lost it and went to my bathroom in a big ol nasty heap of tears and snot. Shortly thereafter, Mike came to my bathroom, apologized for "being a jerk" and "saying those horrible things to me" and that "the peaches weren't really that big of a deal". Did you hear me, people? Mike said he was sorry! Please write this down in the annuls of history. I swear, I was like the two year olds at work, as soon as those nice words were uttered, my tears magically dried up and I was fine the rest of the night. I felt this slight anxiety about that missed lab, but I tried to look at it in the big perspective of life. One missed assignment isn't going to kill me. Hopefully it won't fail me, either. I have to have a least a C. Now where's the over achiever? HUH?
Well, I've gotta go. That 6:00 class should be starting right about, uh, NOW!
Ta!

Insert Witty Title Here

I
Am
Stressed

PAULA ABDUL
"Opposites Attract"
I'm M.C. Kat on the rap so mic it
Here's a little story and you're sure to like it
Swift and sly and I'm playing it cool
With my homegirl, Paula Abdul
Baby seems we never ever agree
You like the movies
And I like T.V.
I take things serious
And you take 'em light
I go to bed early
And I party all night
Our friends are sayin'
We ain't gonna last
Cuz I move slowly
And baby I'm fast
I like it quiet
And I love to shout
But when we get together
It just all works out

::Chorus::

I take--2 steps forward
I take--2 steps back
We come together
Cuz opposites attract
And you know--it ain't fiction
Just a natural fact
We come together
Cuz opposites attract

Who'd a thought we could be lovers
She makes the bed
And he steals the covers
She likes it neat
And he makes a mess
I take it easyBaby
I get obsessed
She's got the money
And he's always broke
I don't like cigarettes
And I like to smoke
Things in common
Just ain't a one
But when we get together
We have nothin' but fun

I take--2 steps forward
I take--2 steps back
We come together
Cuz opposites attract
And you know--it ain't fiction
Just a natural fact
We come together
Cuz opposites attract

{Repeat Chorus}

Baby ain't it somethin'
How we lasted this long
You and me
Provin' everyone wrong
Don't think we'll ever
Get our differences patched
Don't really matter
Cuz we're perfectly matched

{Repeat Chorus Twice}

How Wonderful

Oh, my, I could hardly sleep at all Saturday night. I kept thinking "What have I done?" Thinking kept me up half the night. Sunday morning dawned and I got up and cooked for our pastor appreciation day. This year was much easier for me than last. It was the second without brother Leon. We also showed my parent's anniversary slide show for my Mom's birthday. Of course, it didn't go smoothly, what in life does? My friend Vicki told me that when I finally find the secret behind making everything run smoothly that I had to tell her before anybody else. Yep, she's number one on my list, then I'll let the world know.
But, it all worked out, just not the way I had envisioned. Once again, what in life does? Something was wrong with the computer they used to show the slide show and it faded all the pictures out to where you could barely see them. In fact, some of them you couldn't see at all. That was very disappointing. The color pictures were better than the black & white. But, even some of the color pictures didn't turn out. But, oh, well. Shit happens, and it always stinks.
My overall objective was met, though, so I'm satisfied, even though it didn't take the road I thought it would or should. The church acknowledged my mother for all she's done over the years at that church, and they all celebrated with her for her birthday. I made a brownie/cake and decorated it all up with fall looking decorations and placed a big "6" and big "0" in the center. I didn't put it out with all the other desserts and it was saved for just us family. I lit the candles and the family sang for her, all surrounding her in a little group while the rest of the church ate their lunches, oblivious to the little ceremony going on right under their noses. I didn't mind. In fact, when we started singing happy birthday, most of the church crowd joined in, one at a time, until the song was over. She blew out her candles, my niece, Emily had a song she wanted to play for her Grandma on the piano, so just the family went back over to the sanctuary, and listened to her play. Then my sister gave her a birthday present, she opened it, then went back to the kitchen and started cleaning up after the entire church. I thought it somewhat anticlimactic, but, that's my Mom. She's only consistent in her inconsistencies. Kind of like someone else I know. Someone with the first name initial of Stacie.
*
Then yesterday I started back at J&J. It seems the bad case of herpes really hasn't changed much. I thought that since the person I had the biggest problem with no longer worked there it would be a better, much friendlier work environment. I was wrong. I have replaced Ms. X with Ms. Y. She is no better that Ms. X. She yells at the kids in a hateful way. I yell, too, but not because I'm being hateful, but to be heard over the loud roar going on in the room. I seriously want to measure the decibels in that place. I'm sure it's over the limit for ear safety. I don't yell things like "Get over here, did I tell you that you could take that car over there? No! Now, bring it back, give it to me and you are done with playing with that truck from now on!" or "HEY! I don't want to hear you talking to me that way! That is stupid and ridiculous and you are being stupid and ridiculous when you do. You can just sit over there because of that hateful attitude and nasty word!" You curious to know the nasty word? Brat. Oooohhhh, that's baaad, I know. This was actually addressed to Ms. Y's own daughter, and it made me want to ask Ms. Y, "Um, if you talk to your daughter that way, in what way do you expect her to talk back?" Kids only speak what they hear at home, I'm telling ya!
When I got home last night, Mike asked me how my day went. I looked up at him and was speechless. What could I say? But, Mike summed it all up for me in three simple words:

Same Old Shit.

*

I've got tons of homework that it due tonight and tomorrow, and since I will be working tomorrow, I have to get all of it done today. So, I'm off! I have 2 hours left to work. And lunch to eat. Gotta run! I hate feeling this way. If I wasn't unhappy before, than I am now.

Bikes, Blues, and Barbeque

That's where Mike is off to this weekend. He told me he would come home in time for Mom's birthday Sunday. He told me he would go to church with us because the whole family is going to be there. So, this morning when I asked him when I should expect him home and he said Sunday night, late, I almost got mad. But, I calmly reminded him of Mom's birthday being Sunday then walked away. He went outside and I was saying out loud to myself "Don't let him get to you. You know he's just trying to get a response out of you. You can tell by the grin on his face when he said Sunday night, late. If he doesn't come home in time, then you can deal with it then. But don't borrow trouble." So, we'll see what happens.
Well, Mikey didn't go buy that $800 thing that he wanted. I was surprised, yet not really. If that makes sense. He said he really wanted it, but didn't want to shell out the money right now. He's pretty tight, ya know.
Hopefully, that won't foil my plans for getting new tires and my car fixed. He did tell me to leave the car at home Monday so he could come get it and work on it when he gets home from work. That alone shocked the peewaddings out of me.
*
It's just me and Shael tonight. I think we might go out and eat pizza. I'm trying to decide to do that tonight or wait until tomorrow night when her cousin is spending the night with us. Maybe I'll make Shael's favorite meal tonight then we can go out for pizza tomorrow night. Yeah, I think that's what I'll do. Glad I thought of that.
*
Well, I've got lots of things to do today. I'd better get on it. I came into the school thinking I had a quiz, but nope. Not until Monday. Oh, well!
Ta!

HI!

I think I'm having a manic moment. I seem very cheerful, even to myself, today. I dont' know what started it. First thing this morning, Shael wakes me up with a phone call asking me to bring her binder to her that she'd left at home. She'd spent the night with my Mom and had left her binder at the house. So, I got up, ate a bowl of cereal, got some clothes on and went to Wyandotte. As I was leaving, though, the back right tire of my car locked up and I skidded to a stop (which it has been doing since, oh, I GOT THE CAR!!). But when I let off the brake and applied the accelerator, it was still locked up and I was literally dragging that one tire. I backed up back into the driveway and took the trusty old Suburban to Wyandotte. I was going to drive it to school later until I remembered that Mike was using it tonight to go to a car auction. I was tempted to tell him to swap cars with me so he could get a taste of what this car does to me every day. But, I didn't. When I got home from Wyandotte, I got myself cleaned up and then drove my car to school. It locks up every time I come to a complete stop. It won't lock up until I am nearly stopped, then it drags that back tire for the last 6 inches or so until I'm stopped. More if I'm on a gravel surface.
I did call Mike and tell him all about it. He is going out of town tomorrow and won't be back until either early Sunday morning or late Saturday night, so he told me to take it to the garage and let my uncle take a look at it.
To avoid any kind of confrontation with Mikey, I waited until I had called and made arrangements to go back to work at J&J. (Yes, the place is like a bad case of herpes, you just can't get rid of it) I didn't want to tell Mike about my car troubles, then hear him go on a rant about how he "just can't get ahead!" and how "You need to get a job!" and that he "just can't do it by himself, he needs help!". Because, not only does my car need something done about that back wheel, it also needs to be aligned in a BAD way. And because it needs to be aligned in such a bad way, my tires are ruined and I need four new tires ASAP. My tires are shot. It vibrates like a....well, use your imagination (my imagination says "like a sex toy with new batteries" HA, could not resist putting that in there, and I even tried not to!).
Anyway, after telling Mike about the wheel locking up, he didn't even go into any rant! After I had it all figured out and everything! Living with the man keeps me on my toes. As I was getting ready to hang up, he said the famous "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to tell you" thing. I found out why he didn't go into a rant. He wants something. He is going to buy something. Something he doesn't really need. Something that cost $800. Something he already had his mind set on when I called and something he is going after tonight before I even get home from school. Oh, boy, I am SO getting new tires out of this deal. And my car aligned. AND I won't have to be the one to go get it done. That, in my opinion, is the husband's job. That's the way I was raised, that's my story, and I am STICKING to it!
So, here I am, almost gleefully happy, and I can't really pin point the reason why. I just finished printing up a resume for one of my classes and it looks pitifully slim. I don't know what the heck I'm going to pull out of thin air for supper tonight. I haven't done my Algebra homework he doesn't pick up until test day (next week) and I haven't finished my lab for science, which is due in a couple hours. Yet I feel nearly giddy.
Is it because I got some last night? Maybe.
Is it because I have my Power Point presentation done a week early? Maybe.
Is it because I will finally have some money of my own after next week when I start back to work Monday? Maybe.
Is it because I'm getting new tires? Probably.

I WANT TO SING!

"Sing A Song"
I want to sing a song for You, Lord
Lord, for You I want to sing a song
And I want to lift my voice to Heaven
And listen to the angels sing along
A song of Your faithfulness
A song of Your grace
And of Your loving kindness
To the glory of Your name
With everything that's in me, Lord
Listen to me say
I want to sing a song for You
I want to sing a song
I want to live my life for You, Lord
Lord, for You I want to live my life
And I want to praise the name of Jesus
And Pray above all things You're glorified
And I sing about Your mercy
And I sing about Your love
Your goodness, Lord
Your righteousness
I want to sing...
And we'll sing holy, holy, holy
We'll sing holy, holy, holy
We'll shout holy, holy
Are You Lord almighty

Anal Stace

I don't know when it happened, but somehow along the way, I've kind of turned into this very anal person about my school work. I want it done and I want it done early. None of this waiting until the last minute crap that I use to be known for. So, you can imagine my dismay when I checked on an assignment for my Exceptional Learner class and found not just one, but TWO observations that were due today. When I saw the due date on them last night, I tried my best not to wake up Mike and Shael with my "CRAP!!". I could have sworn they were due next week, but noooo, I messed up, they were due today. I hadn't even made one of the observations! I was suppose to observe an "exceptional learner" in the class room. I hadn't done it and there was nothing I could do about it at 10:30 at night at home. So, I fretted and stewed about it in bed for about 30 minutes. Then I got up, tired of trying to sleep when I knew I wasn't going to, and got out my Bible. I read and did my usual way of studying it. I pick out a word or phrase that speaks to me at the moment, look in my concordance (I have an amazing one in my NIV translation) for every mention of that word or phrase, write down the "address" of each of the scriptures, then look each and every one of them up. The ones that really grab my attention, I circle, then look up in a different translation. If they are exceptionally perfect for my mood/situation, I write them down. So, last night, my word of the day (or night) was HOPE. I had about 25 or so references to that word in my NIV alone. And yes, I looked them all up. Some of them were absolutely for me at that very moment. Some of them not so much.
Here are my top eight. Yes, 8.
1.) He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy. Psalm 147: 10, 11.
2.) There is surely a future hope for you and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:18
3.) If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning - Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Ps 130:3-8
4.) Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy. Ps 33:18
5.) Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You. Psalm 33:22
6.) My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Psalm 62:5-7
7.) Have you not known? Have you not heard? the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
8.) I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I will remember them and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:19-23
*
By the way, I got those observations done by noon today. They aren't due until 6:00 tonight, is that still an over achiever? I've been called that frequently here of late. Hmmm, I think I kind of like it because I don't think I ever was one of those before! LOL
*
This morning I was remembering back to a year ago. I had just lost my job, me and Mike were still patching things up, and I had these three big checks all arrive on the same day. My normal paycheck, my two week severance pay, and my check from the tribe for being "laid off". What did I do, but pack my bags and head to Maine. *Sigh* I would LOVE to do that every fall. In fact, I'm having a hard time with the fact that I can't go this month. Poor me!
*
It's time for me to get the heck out of here and go to Algebra. Oh, yay. Today my career ops class was canceled so I had this huge gap between noon and 4:30. It's going to be that way in a couple weeks because that career ops class is only an 8 week class. Here's to a big ole 4-1/2 hour gap between classes! Hip Hip Hooray!
Ta!