Vacation time

I just wanted to warn you that you won't see a post from me until after the new year. I'm visiting family who don't have internet access, and don't really understand it. My mother told me that she finally has an email address that my brother set up for her, which I thought was great. I told her I would email her some pictures, since she is always geting on my case about not sending new pictures. I figured that she could ask my brother for help to figure out how to open an attachment.
"So what's the email address mom?"
"It's P-------"
"Ok, but what about the rest of the address? You know,the @aol.com, @gmail.com, etc."
"There is more than just the name?"

I'll be bringing hard copies of the pictures for her to look at!

Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year!

Stressful time of year

This time of year is very stressful for me. Along with the holiday hooha, it is one of the busiest times for my work. I work at a college bookstore, where we try to buy back many, many, many used books so we can sell them next semester. We also have to get in all the new books that we will need. It is my job (along with several others)to check in all these books, verifying ISBN's, correcting misships, tagging, pricing, etc. Unfortunately, it seems as though it is my job alone, where in the past there was always at least two people, sometimes three. We're growing as a store, yet my boss keeps hiring fewer and fewer people. It is very confusing and frustrating for me.

Today, someone actually asked me if I had a textbook in. I looked at her and laughed (yes, very unprofessional). I have literally over 500 boxes to open and process, 1000 buyback slips to go through, and she wanted to know if her book would be on the shelf by the next week. Ha,ha,ha,ha. As it is, my backroom looks like a maze a mouse would be forced to navigate for a piece of cheese at the end. You even have to crouch down to get by some of the boxes, since the pallettes have taken on a "Leaning Tower of Pisa" look. I have other college employees who come by just to laugh; because unlike me, they are getting less and less work to do since the holiday break is coming up. Let me try to sing a Christmas tune to bring my spirits up again. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

First, still no keyboard fix, although I'm almost tempted to try Envoyette's suggestion; afterall, it can't get worse than what it is. Hubby still wants to fix it himself; but really, if there is a chance it will get broken shouldn't we take it to a professional who will have to pay for the cost of repair?

We finally put up our Christmas tree yesterday. In my neighborhood, we are one of the last. Thanksgiving day is the day to put up your decorations, since I guess it takes that long to get in the holiday mood with the warm weather we have. I was reluctant to put up any decorations, since we're going out of town for Christmas, back to New England to visit the relatives. Alas, the men in the family won out and up went the artificial tree (much easier to care for, no dead branches catching fire due to a short in the wire caused by the bunny chewing on stuff he shouldn't be chewing on). Out go the holiday table clothes and we get to see the coffee table in all its naked glory for a brief moment (so that is what the furniture looks like when it is not covered in junk).

Off tune singing is started while I put up the lights on the tree. I really don't like to put up the lights, but I grumble the least while doing it. Hubby puts on the garland and then everyone does the ornaments. "We are not putting out your box (from childhood) of ornaments, are we Honey?" There is a place for a L'Eggs egg decopage decorated egg, but it is not on my tree! Ok, ok, ok, I know they have sentimental value for my husband, and that I should embrace the happy memories they bring forth, but a half decorated, sequin covered Styrofoam ball just is painful to look at. Besides, we have my son's homemade ornaments that need to find a place on the tree.

Our angel tree topper seems to have disappeared, which is odd since she is always stored in the holiday closet. All I can think of is that is the closet we were prepared to live in during the hurricanes and she must have been displaced somewhere along the line. That leaves a bobble headed, floppy handed, reglued three times angel from Hubby's past to put on the tree top. You know, it doesn't look too bad with a bare top, we'll see how that goes.

spelling errors

As you may have noticed, my last few blogs have had many spelling errors. This is not because my mind is going but because my son spilled juice (laptop is at the kitched table) on my keyboard last Saturday and the keys are getting more and more stuck as the week goes on. Any ideas on how to clean it out?

Tone of written word

Have you ever been incredibly frustrated by an individual but still had to work with them, so that every time you talked to them or emailed them you had to be very careful about what you said/wrote? I'm having that problem right now.

I volunteered to be my school PTO's treasurer, which entails jobs like paying invoices. I received an email from one our committee chairs saying the following:
Mind you, she sent this to me today DECEMBER 1.

Hey ,

I wanted to let you know that I put the initial bill
in the PTO box. I've actually had it for awhile so you might need to act on it
pretty quickly. Sorry about that.



So, I go to the school and see that it was actually due NOVEMBER 1. This is the deposit for our yearbooks. No money = no yearbooks. I was rather upset with her, since if the yearbook doesn't get done in time I can be blamed for not paying the bill on time. So I wrote back the following. Now I tried, tried my best, to be professional and not let my emotion show through:

Hi ---,

I picked up the invoice today - it was due NOV 1 ?!? I don't know how long you have had it, but if we are late on paying them our yearbooks may be delayed in being published. We try to maintain a professional relationship with these companies so that they want to continue to do business with us in the future. Plus, with large checks, I have to have 2 signatures, so I need invoices as soon as you get them. I know this is your first year doing yearbooks, so you probably didn't realize this.
I just want to stress the importance of that, especially since we'll be ordering more with the renewed sale of yearbooks.

If you talk to ---- Publishing, please let them know the check should be in the mail by the end of the week.

Thanks for your help on this,

ME

But then she wrote back. I guess I didn't hide my feelings very well. Read on.

---,(No hi, hello, just my name)

I think you could've gone about stressing how important you think being prompt in paying them is in a much less condescending way. I certainly don't need a lecture in being professional but I'll keep these things in mind in the future.

Thanks,
---

I wrote back again and apologized that she took my email the wrong way. I certainly don't want to ruffle people's feathers. I've already decided I won't do this job again but still... What do you think - was it condescending? How could I have written it differently?

Overstuffed

I can finally fit myself behind the computer again, now that Thanksgiving dinner has finished digesting. It was a very nice time and even though it was at someone elses home, with none of the food I grew up having for Thanksgiving, it was still delicious. Plus we had good company with whom to enjoy the meal. I'm thankful I have our friends who invite us to every family holiday get together they have. We would be very lonely without them. I have got to make sure we don't piss them off, especially around the holidays!
I did not get to go out "Black Friday" shopping until much later in the night. Hubby had to work and I had to do taxes for the school PTO. OK, I am never being the treasurer again for any organization. 21 forms printed out by the time I was done, and I'm not sure if I did all tax forms I was supposed to do. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Then, on the next to last page, the server of the sight I was using went down. Arrgh! Luckily, I'd been saving all along, but I couldn't finish until today.
Time for a break - I think there is some leftover pie calling my name.

RAD kids

While I've been at work this week, the little monkey I call my son has had vacation. Luckily, the college I work at offers a "Discovery Kids Camp" which has all sorts of courses for the kids to do. Besides cooking and computers, the kids are learning what to do in dangerous situations, like attempted abductions.
Today, I got to watch the demonstration of the skills that my son had learned. He did a very good job defending himself, remembering to aim for the eyes and to kick at sensitive areas while screaming "no" and "you're not my dad". However, as I watched the padded "attacker" go after my son, lunging at him and grabbing him, I had such a feeling of distress. I assume it was similar to the feeling I would get if my son ever actually was attacked. I was close to tears. I felt so silly, yet I couldn't stop myself from felling that way. It is funny how the "mama bear" instinct kicks in, even when you know things are perfectly safe.

Snow day

Here in southern Texas, we do not get to see snow, it is just too warm. However, one day out of the year our home owners association has a "snow day". They truck in a machine like the ones that are used by ski resorts and make snow for the kids to enjoy. It usually is for only a few hours, since by the end of the event the snow has tuned to slush.
Today was snow day. There are different types of joy one can experience during his life, and I think playing in the snow ranks high on the list. We moved here from New England, so we are used to feet upon feet of snow, but to see the smile on my son's face as he ran to the small 2 inch layer of icy slush snow was priceless.
Never have I been one for snowball fights, as a child I was the one who would run and tell mom when my brother and his friends were throwing snowballs. However, today I could not have been happier than when I was being pelted by icy snowballs. Hearing my son' evil manical laughter just before the thump of a snowball had me laughing hysterically. Even the snow down the back of my pants (a tradition in our family - get snow down other members necks and pants), which made me look like I had a bladder control problem once it melted, was almost enjoyable.
To follow the theme of a cold winters day, the HOA also provided hot chocolate, coffee and lemonade. While we were waiting in line, I heard the server tell the folks in front of us there was no more hot chocolate. As I was preparing my son for this disappointment, mentioning how lemonade would be just as good and that we could make hot chocolate at home; one of the servers said to us "I think there is enough for one more cup if you are willing to wait a moment". So the little guy got his hot chocolate after all. It was a really nice ending to a great time.

Veteran's Day

Today, I honor my father, my husband, my uncles, my friends. They have all served proudly in the military, although if you say to most of them how proud you are, they will shyly demure and state that the real vets are those who have been injured/killed.

Growing up, I knew my dad had done his time in the military, but not in detail. Only after I married my husband, listening on one of their conversations did I find out he had been a drill sergeant (if you knew my dad, you would know how humorous this is). Not until last year did I learn that he actually qualifies as a veteran, since he was called back to duty during the last stages of Vetnam. I joked with him that this would have been very helpful to know when I was applying for scholarships, since so many exist for the children of vets. However, since he never had someone shoot directly at him, he does not consider himself a veteran and therefore did not feel that he or his family should benefit from these programs, his belief that there were others who more greatly deserved them.

Bing bang boom

Today was not a good day for me. I was at work, gathering boxes to put into our recyling bin, when "WHAM" a 15 foot medal ladder hits me in the head. Whomever put it back last did not put it back properly. So, with my movement in the general area, the little bit of vibrations I caused in the floor disturbed it enough to cause it to topple over on top of me.

It was behind me, so it was completely unexpected. Do you remember those Tom & Jerry cartoons were Jerry would hit Tom over the head with a wooden mallet? Stars and little birdies would circle his head? That is exactly how I felt. For the next two hours every time I went to walk a straight line, I wobbled a bit to either side. If it was a sobriety test, I would not have passed.

No I didn't go to the emergency room. I stuck an ice pack on it and took some Tylenol. My boss (well temp. boss - the other one is on leave) wanted me to go as did my district manager who was around today. Yes, I did do the paperwork for workman's compensation in case it gets worse, but I hoping it doesn't.

School joy

The other day I got a note home from my son's teacher. The very first words of the typewritten note "Today **** yelled at me" What?!? My son is yelling at the teacher, what the heck is going on here? Then I continue reading. He didn't start off yelling. It seems they were doing some editing work, and he spelled "when" incorrectly. They correct the papers in class, and he thought he heard the other student spell it "wen". So when he teacher approached him, he told her "I did not spell "wen" incorrectly". Ok, that is being disrespectful to an adult, and is not acceptable. What followed was also not acceptable.

This teacher then decided that the class, yes the whole class, should spell "when" for my son. That is when he yelled "I'm doing it now". Let's see, embarrass my child in front of his peers, that'll get him to do the work. Plus, he has an educational modifications in place, called a 504 plan, in writing which states that he is to have "private discussions regarding his behavior". To not follow this plan is breaking federal law.

The teacher then states that she was going to take him to the office, but didn't have time so she sent him to the reading corner. "While sitting there he finished his work and came up voluntarily and gave me a very nice apology. Therefore (she) did not take him to the office." Another part of his plan, he is to be allowed a "cooling off period" which she inadvertently provided which works as you can see from his behavior after the incident. This teacher drives me batty. She has stated in the past that she does not have time to give students (these are 2nd graders) individual attention. She has expressed reluctance in providing my son any modifications, even though they have been instituted with both the vice-principal's and the principal's knowledge and recommendation.

Part of the problem is that my son is very bright, which she knows and therefore believes should overcome any of his emotional/physical problems (his ADHD and immaturity - he is the youngest in his class). The other problem is that she has a mindset from how she was raised as a child and believes that it is the only way to go. She told me that she can not believe how fresh children are today and that when she was a child she would have "gotten a pop on the mouth for being that way". She quickly added that she wouldn't do that to a student, but boy it sure sounded like she wanted to do it.

She did apologize the next day to me, after my husband and I sent a scathing note to her about her lack of professionalism. Her excuse? She and my son are very much alike. (She has the mindset of a 7 year old?) and that she needs to be more professional. It is going to be an interesting school year.

1000 visits

I have had my 1000th visitor today - Whoopee!! True, if I take out all the times I've visited looking to see if anyone left comments (I'm a comment junky), I'd probably be on visitor number 312, but I won't, so yeah for me.

"Who is the 1000th visitor?" you ask. Again, it was probably me but if I take myself out of the running it looks like it was a dear friend in Miami (whose phone never gets answered as of late - what happened to your answering machine? Did the hurricane wipe it out?).

Gosh, I feel like I should be putting up some deep thoughtful posts in order to keep you visiting...it's not going to happen to don't hold your breath. Maybe I'll put up a few of my short stories, you can give me your opinions on them. I just have to figure out what "safe" storage spot they are in. I had better start looking.

Ghouls and goblins

I must rant about the quality of trick-or-treaters I saw at my door this year. The first person to ring my door - two teenagers, neither dressed or even pretending to be anything. Halloween is a holiday for little kids to get dressed up in costumes, not for older kids to demand candy as if it were their God given right. We had about the half the number of people come by as they did last year, which could be because there was a cold rain falling.
Still, if you ring the door at my house you need a costume, or quick imagination if you want some candy. I would pose the question and statement, "What are you? You are not getting anything if you can't at least come up with a good excuse." (I do this every year and have been lucky not to be egged by anyone as of yet.) Some, since they had their letter jackets on, said they were athletes, which although a lame idea, is at least an idea. One kid was with a friend who did dress up. The friend was Zoro, and the kid in regular clothes? He was Zoro's secret identity. I gave him 2 pieces of candy for that.

For the birds

Yesterday, my son and I decided to enjoy the glorious weather and go for a rollerblade/bike ride. The roads aren't too busy on Sundays and it is a perfect time to practice our bike safety rules, hand signs, etc. To get him motivated, I mentioned a nearby playground that he had not had the opportunity to visit since before this he would not ride his bike. So, off to the playground we go, me on my blades and him on his bike.
We arrive safely at the park, where he gets to play on the swingset while I explore the "tricycle" path that this development uses as a selling point for perspective new home owners. I start along the path that is adjoined to the playset. It's relatively smooth, with a few ups and downs so you can easily pick up some speed. Then there is a rather steep hill that leads up to a bridge that overlooks the playset. Oh look, there is the little monkey. "Hi sweetie, mommy is going to go down the hill, come watch" I'm ignored, but that is ok, since I've just now looked down the other side of the hill. It is not a straightaway, but an "s" curve with a severe hairpin curve at the bottom. This is a tricycle path, I'm sure it was designed with the little children's safety in mind.
Here I go. Made the first curve, lets put a little break on..whoa whoa, I'm not going to make that turn, I'm going to skid out...oh oh oh..crash.
I actually didn't skid out, but managed to launch myself over the earth berm at the edge of the hairpin curve. Luckily, the ground must have been watered recently since there was some give upon impact. After finding my glasses, which had flown off my face with my less than graceful landing, I was able to do a visual survey to see no real damage was done. The impact on my knee was on the scar from my last rollerblading accident, so that skin was already toughened up; my wrist seems to be moving ok and the shoulder I landed on just had a few more creaks and pops to add to the ones it already had from the first time I had separated it many years ago.
By this time, my son had wandered over and decided that it would be cool for him to give it a whirl (how Mommy on the ground, groaning in pain, is an incentive, I don't know). He with all the recklessness and invincibility of a 7 year old, went down that hill at Mach 3, missed the turn, did a jump in the air and managed to land safely on the grass some distance away. Was he afraid to go again after missing the turn and almost crashing? Of course not. Off he went again, to go faster around that curve, to prove that he could do it. And he did.

Fall is here

Ah, fall weather has finally arrived here in Texas. We have dry air with temps in the low 70's. I love this time of year. Even though our foliage does not change, it still is a fantastic time to get outside and enjoy life. It makes me want to bike, to run, to rollerblade everywhere. Which means, my blog suffers terribly. So, when you wonder why I haven't post, even though I do have things to say, it is because I'm out living life.

3am wake up call

3 a.m. and this is what I hear:
Knock, knock, knock,knock,knock, knock
plick, plick (stones against a window)
Knock,knock, knock,
plick, plick

What the #@&%?
I get out of bed and look out my bedroom window which faces the street. I don't see anything. I'll go back to bed.

Beebaw ,beebaw, honk, honk, beep beep.

A car alarm now? A rouse myself completely from the vestiges of sleep, puting my glasses on this time. (Without them I really am blind, there was no way I could see anything the first time I looked out the window, but I was still clinging to the thought that I would be able to go back to sleep.)It's my neighbor, the new ones who are renting the house on the corner. The kid sets the alarm off a few more times, knocks on the door and throws some more rocks. It's obvious he has managed to lock himself out of his home. It is not so obvious why he has chosen to not call his home to wake whomever is there to open the door.

I hear my son rustling in his sleep in the other room. Oh no, we are not waking him tonight, he is already short on sleep and I will not deal with a cranky kid in the morning. Hubby woke up too, but he has worked all night and really needs his sleep. Time for me to throw on some clothes. I storm downstairs, grab my phone and stomp over to the kid's car. Is he still in the car, I can't tell ...yes there, he's unrolling the window.
Me: Hi, what do you think you are doing?
Him: Oh hey lady, I locked myself out.
ME: I understand you are locked out, um hm, but you are waking up me and my husband and my 7 year old - cut it out!
Him: I'm trying to wake my Dad up, his bedroom is right there and must be jet lagged 'cause he doesn't hear me.
Me: Did you try to call him?
Him: Oh, no, my phone isn't working
Me: Hear (thrust phone into to his face). Call him.

The kid trys to call, but Dad doesn't wake up. He decides to try to call his brother on my phone, which appears to be long distance, and chats for a bit with him about how his father doesn't hear anything....I'm still standing there, waiting for my phone and the to go back to my cozy bed. The kid apologizes for waking me, gives back my phone, and says he will sleep in his car until his Dad wakes up. Good idea. It's a lovely night out for that, not to hot, not to cold. I head home, crawl back into bed, and stare wide-eyed at the ceiling for awhile. Guess who is the cranky one this morning?

Update: One of the sons used the "car alarm as key" trick again this morning.

Job update

I decided to stay with my old job instead of taking advantage of the fabulous new opportunities that were presented to me. "Why stay in a job you obviously dislike?" you ask. Simply put, my son. I asked him what he thought about going to daycare for a few hours a week and he did not want to go. He told me that he goes in the summer and that is enough, the kids are mean, it is noisy and they don't get to play outside.
Now, I am not a parent that caves in to my child's every whim, however when it may impact his development and progress in areas that he is already struggling with (ie. school)I do listen. Would my ADHD son have been able to do his school work in that chaos? What about when we got home at night, would it be too stressful, what with having to make dinner and do studying he was unable to do while in daycare? When would he be able to just play? When would fun time with us be? I couldn't do that to him. Being a parent does mean having to sacrifice and this is one of those occasions.

Job opportunity

I have a dilemma. I've been offered a permanent job from my sometimes weekend position of house sales assistant. That would mean leaving my current position, where I just received a promotion and there is plenty of room for advancement if I want it. The pro's the new job would have are a 50% pay raise with bonuses, I would work three days a week instead of 4, and I would be away from my current boss. The cons to this new job - it can be very boring, days of no customers coming in, I would be working until 6 pm which would mean my son would have to go to daycare after school. I asked him if he would like to do daycare after school, to see his friends and play. He said "no way". Hmmm. Plus, because it is in house sales, I would not be close to home forever - eventually all the houses would sell and we would move to a new location. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

Ant bite

Here in Texas everything is bigger, which seems to include insect bites. We have fire ant season, which last approximately 10 months out of the year. If you'll notice, the stuff that you buy at Home Depot to kill these ants says that it lasts a season. I guess it refers to a typical length season since my fire ants, having been gone for the spring and summer, have come back with a vengence and they are seeking revenge.
One teeny, tiny, little ant bit me between the big toe and second toe of my right foot. I can barely move that foot today, it is so swollen. I'm even contemplating calling into work, since it will be difficult to stand on it all day and I'm not sure if I can even get a shoe to fit on my foot. I probably still go in, I have to be really sick not to show up for work. But my foot really hurts and it itches like the devil too!

100 things about me, part II

51. I once stepped on a priceless kaolin pipe that I had discovered earlier in the day.
52. I've always wanted to shave my head
53. and pierce my nose
54. and get a face tattoo
55. Saner folks have convinced me not to do any of those things.
56. I lived in 6 states and two countries
57. I've visited at least 15 states and 7 countries.
58. When I was younger, my sister and I tried to get into the Guiness Book of World Records by see-sawing. We lasted all of an hour. We didn't get in the book.
59. I'm an introvert.
60. I've been told my twin and I had our own language as children.
61. I've always wanted superpowers.
62. Maple walnut fudge is my favorite type of fudge
63. Mowing the lawn and weeding my flower garden is very carthargic for me.
64. Baking brings me joy as well.
65. I am a "swamp yankee" at heart
66. living in a good ol' boy state.
67. Every temp. position I've had has resulted in an offer of a full time position
68. I have "failed" at only one thing in my life, everything else is still in progress.
69. Honda CRX hatchback; my first car, my favorite car
70. My guilty pleasure is to watch UPN "America's Next Top Model"
71. and am embarrassed to admit that
72. I am not a patient person when it comes to ignorant people
73. In emergencies I act, I don't just stand there.
74. I attempted to stop a ring of shoplifters once
75. I was not 100% successful
76. I saw my husband about 3 months out of 12 the first year of our marriage
77. The herb "lemon verbena" is incredibly aromatic and invigorating
78. I went an entire New England winter without once wearing a winter coat (it was cold, I was stubborn)
79. My childhood nickname was "Rocky"
80. My high school nickname was "Foof"
81. My college nickname was Snail
82. Deep forest green and brown are my favorite colors to wear
83. I am a morning person
84. I stay up too late most nights
85. I need one cup of coffee to get me going in the morning.
86. I will not lie to you if you ask me a direct question.
87. I will circumvent the truth and use "lawyerese" if I don't want to tell the truth
88. Seeing my son unconscious after surgery, not waking up easily, was one of the most painful moments of my life. My heart literally hurt.
89. I wore a MIA bracelet until the soldiers body was recovered and I had contacted his family. It was part of my wedding jewelry.
90. I am physically stronger than I look.
91. When I get an idea in my head, I want it done now, not in 5 minutes.
92. My friends are my family
93. I like to think the weatherpixie on my blog looks like me
94. She doesn't really
95. My soul mate thinks I am the smartest person he ever met (I was fishing for something to add to the list)
96. Bad grammar makes me cringe, but I totally understand bad spelling.
97. I like to buy gifts for people for no reason, but will hold on to them until a holiday comes up.
98. I must have a well stocked pantry - at least 3 types of sugar, 5 vinegars, numerous extracts; you get the picture.
99. I refused to change my maiden name when I got married(and it is a doozy to spell)
100. I don't mind strangers reading my blog; but if I know you I have to trust you completely to let you read it. Don't ask me why, it is a complicated thing.