~my new schedule~

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~I'm savoring my last few days @ home with Ethan. It's such a hard thing to let go of, yet I know that I will get used to my new schedule. Why couldn't I be an heiress or something...you know, then I could stay @ home w/him all the time w/no worries. Ha!

~Looks like I'll start my GA position next Tuesday 1/6.

~My first day (night, actually) of classes will be Monday 1/12.

~Yay for MLK Holiday on 1/19...an extra day @ home with Ethan.

~Thank goodness it's only 3 days/wk because Mondays & Tuesdays will be VERY long days: 12.5 hrs on Monday and 13 on Tuesdays. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

~I don't have classes on Wednesdays so it'll just be a GA work day: 8am-5pm.
~It is going to be important for me to NOT procrastinate on any papers/projects this semester as I won't have the freedom to study at all hours like I had pre-Ethan. Discipline will be key in getting me through this.

~Last day of classes will be 4/21.

~Bummed that we won't be able to do play group anymore as it is held on Tuesdays.

~We will still go to Mother Goose though. It is every other Thursday.

~No plans for New Years Eve...I'll probably be asleep at 12am, just like last year (and that's just fine with me).

~Christmas Loot~

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Just thought I'd post my Christmas loot...while I am thankful for what I received, Ethan truly 'raked it in'....which is what I expected anyway. :)

My gifts included:
~GC to SBUX (umm, already used)
~GC to BB&B (for new cutting board)
~GC to Home Depot
~GC to Lowes (to get paint for kitchen)
~GC to Movies
~2 new cookie sheets
~2 new frying pans (desperately needed)
~new kitchen towels (color scheme to match newly painted kitchen)
~2 books (from Michele)

For a crappy economy, I think I did pretty darn well. Not sure what I'll use the HD gift card for yet, but hopefully we'll go to Lowe's and get the kitchen paint on Sunday. My mom and her hubs said they'd help me paint it so hopefully we can get it done before I start school on Jan 12th.

Oh yeah, and I got the offer for the Graduate Assistantship and will likely have to start there on Jan 6th. I'm hoping to line up child care w/an Hispanic woman (yay for Spanish) who is the mother of a guy that O works with. Hopefully she'll come to the house on Mon, Tues & Wed. I will be off on Thurs & Fri, which will be awesome for studying and Ethan-time.

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas.

-10 things: the letter M-

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OK - I'm playing along with Dawn (and others) on the "letter" list...she assigned me the letter "M" so here goes...

1) Mom-my mom and I have a great relationship and I am thankful for that. Back in high school, all my friends wished their mom was as cool as mine. She made a wonderful childhood for me. I'd go back in a second.

2) Michigan! They may have terrible winter weather but I grew up there and it will forever me HOME to me. Michigan has SO many things that I haven't found in all the other places that I've lived. I especially miss going ice skating twice a week...what a fantastic workout that is also loads of fun.

3) Movies! I don't go very often these days but I sure used to enjoy catching a flick or two-even by myself.

4) Margaritaville - the restaurant AND the song.

5) Milo - my crazy boy cat...I have to say though that I love Hula too, even though her name doesn't start with an "M".

6) Magazines - I don't have much time for them these days but I've always enjoyed reading Glamour, People and the scrapbooking magazines. Right now I receive American Baby and Parenting and I at least try to make time for those two!

7) Money - not in the 'all-encompassing' way, but I do love money in a way that allows you to adequately support a household and have a little left over for saving and maybe a vacation in there. The opposite end of this spectrum is not a nice place to be...been there too long now and I'm tired of it.

8) Milk Chocolate - I do love chocolate and yes, I had to add "milk" in there just to be able to use it here, although I don't care for Dark chocolate so I guess it's best to clarify. LOL. I even had to take this one from a suggestion on Facebook, I'm just having a hard time coming up with 10 things!!!

9) MAIL!! - how could I have forgotten this one?!?! I absolutely love getting surprises in the mail - well, not surprise bills though. I also love e-mail too of course.

10) Monitor (as in 'baby monitor) - I love it because it allows me to be in another room and attempt to get things done while E sleeps, yet still be there the minute he wakes up...yeah, so I couldn't come up with a better #10.

~a great BIG Thank You~

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Michele is the best!! She is an amazing, generous and thoughtful person. I got the best surprise in the mail today...she sent me two books from my wishlist and I am so excited to sit down and read them!!

I am so grateful and honestly, she made not only my DAY, but my Christmas a WHOLE lot brighter. Her gift will likely be the best one I get this year...it certainly beats out the cookie sheets I asked for. LOL!!

I think what makes her gift SO very very special is the element of surprise. I certainly did not expect it and what a pleasant treat when I opened the box today. I cannot explain to you how happy it made me. Thank you so VERY VERY much!!

A great 'pick-me-up' at a time when I really needed one.

Thanks Michele! You rock!!!

~bah humbug!~

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~It's SO not Christmas-y in this house...no tree, no lights, no decor...if I can't get any help, then it's not getting done. I'm sad cuz I would like to put the tree up, but I'm no dummy and once the box comes in from the garage, the remaining 99% of the job will be left for me...while juggling taking care of a 10 month old...so again, it's not happening. (In case you can't tell, I'm not getting much help around here and am feeling QUITE bitter about it right now...must be nice to have 3-4 hrs of UNINTERRUPTED time to watch TV @ night...I don't know the last time I had that opportunity but it was definitely more than 10 months ago).

~O had this bright idea today to go out and buy all the gifts/giftcards that we needed, charge them and then pay them when he gets his Christmas bonus. I was on-board w/this idea as it saves me from the chaos of doing everything in the last 4-5 shopping days. So, we are done shopping and I've wrapped about 1/2 of the gifts. It wasn't even remotely fun. It felt more like a burden than anything to be completely honest.

~I'm not looking forward to going to the post office either - I will probably have to alot 2 hrs for that task. Today we stopped there just to get stamps and there were @ least 30 people in line.

~I wasn't going to bother with Christmas cards this year, strictly for the cost savings, but since we had a family pic taken w/Ethan's 9 month picture session, I figured 'what the heck' - we got those picture cards made and printed w/our names so all I had to do was the envelopes (on my computer printer - mail merge...ick!!!), stuff them and stamp them. All done in one day! Hooray. I sent out 48, let's see how many I get in return...we have 2 so far.

~I'm such a scrooge this year that I don't even care what I get. I really didn't even ask for anything exciting. I was pretty much forced to ask for 'necessities' vs 'wants'...our cookie sheets are totally nasty and need replacing, so I asked for 2 of them. The pillows on the bed are nearly flat, so I asked for a couple of those...yeah, like I said, NOT very exciting. My aunt left her gifts for us here when she came for Thanksgiving and the child in me came out for a brief moment and opened up a gift early - LOL - yay for a SBUX giftcard...I have .65 left on it already. Shhhh, don't tell her.
~Talbots is desperate for help this week. I guess they must be having another big sale. A friend of mine offered to watch E for me and so she will have him Mon, Wed and Thur and my mom will watch him on Tues while I go take clothing orders from rich people all day. (Cuz I need yet something else to depress me these days). I am working 8 hr shifts everyday. I am also working 10-6pm on Sunday (tomorrow).
~I was so excited to do a December Daily album this year, to document the countdown to Ethan's 1st Christmas. Sadly, I made it only 7 days, Dec 1-7 to be exact. Turns out my life just isn't exciting enough to take pictures every day and document something. Now with working this coming week, well, even less chance of anything 'fun' to do...sad but true...

~I got approved for the student loans, now I just wish they would let me know about the GA position.

~I'm an idiot..I should have done it months ago and I did try a couple times but the phone line was always busy...I finally got thru on Thursday and filed for unemployment. I don't know if it will be approved yet, (since technically I quit) won't know for 2 wks. The lady said though that they will consider the entire situation w/the job offer/retraction etc. If it is approved though, then I just lost out on getting $275/week for the past 6 months! With my luck, it will be approved and then they won't pay me for this week (cuz I'll have worked @ Talbots for less money) and then I'll get the GA position and that will dis-qualify me from further unemployment. Could my life suck anymore? I really don't know. I didn't think I could get any lower, but it seems that I haven't quite reached the bottom yet.

~Oh, how I miss you~

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Remembering my grandma.

She passed 14 years ago today.

I remember it like it happened yesterday.

I would do anything for one more day with her.

~Is it 2009 yet?~

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~So on Saturday I caved and went to Best Buy and got myself than darn iTouch...I decided that I had waited long enough and w/no interest payments - how could I go wrong. Oh yeah, and then Oscar said he'd pay for it when the bill came - can't forget that part. I also picked up an iPod nano for his youngest daughter...who by the way, is coming for Christmas.

~Her aunt bought her a plane ticket to TN for her birthday - what her aunt failed to do was use her effin' brain when she booked the ticket -she has her flying into Nashville, which is a 3 hour drive. Her response "Southwest doesn't fly to Knoxville" - well, heck with that kind of answer why didn't you just fly her to Chicago then, we'll pick her up there (I'm joking). Yes, irritated...but then again this has been a pretty crap year so why should it get better now. On the bright side, I'm not going on the roadtrips to pick her up or drop her off.

~Last night while nursing Ethan to sleep (this is when I do my deep thinking), I started a list of things I want in my next house (not than a new house is even close in my future, but just in case, you know)...(1) a laundry room big enough to accomodate the cat box, (2) a place for a Christmas tree (there is NO room for one right now -it's gonna look funny wherever we put it) and (3) in a much quieter area...as cars w/o mufflers, noisy trucks & dirt bikes sounded like they were in my backyard as I was laying in bed.

~That's all I have to report for now. Back to playing "Everest" on my iTouch.

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~it was a hard day of teething~

~update~

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~NEWSFLASH!! The lawsuit has been filed! My meeting that was supposed to take place today was cancelled though. To be honest, I'm still not sure why it was even scheduled. His secretary called to cancel it on Monday afternoon and said that the lawyer would call me Tuesday (today)...guess what....he NEVER called. What a surprise! Anyway, the companies have until 12/26 to respond to the summons. We'll see what happens now.

~I'm registered for 2 graduate classes for the Spring term so far and will be adding one more as soon as I get over there and get an ADD slip -the course is full, but the prof said she would add me. As it stands right now, I will be taking (1) Substance Abuse (2) Cross Cultural Counseling and (3) Death, Dying & Bereavement. I am REALLY looking forward to these courses too.

~The downside of the school stuff is that I'm stressed about not having an income for quite a while longer. Hopefully the school loans come thru and that won't be a problem, but ya' never know. While I know the right thing to do is to finish this degree, it really freaks me out that I will not be able to work FT for at least 1.5 yrs. Hopefully I can get a PAID internship, which will help, when I get to that point.

~One thing that might make things a bit easier...I am interviewing for a Graduate Assistantship position. Normally there aren't any available in the Spring term, but it turns out that the person they currently have is dropping out (she's a new mom too-gulp!) because it's too much for her. I sure hope I don't end up feeling the same way. I have a 2nd interview on Thursday @ 3:30pm. If I get this position, I will get FREE Tuition and will only have to pay for fees and books. I will have to work 20 hrs/wk and will also get FREE health insurance (SCORE!) and a whopping $850/month stipend.

~If I get the GA position, I hope I can work Mon-Tues-Wed and have the other days off for Ethan and studying. It would work great because my classes are Monday night, Tuesday morning and Tuesday night. It would be perfect to only have to be on campus for 3 days.

~A couple of job opps have also come up over the past couple wks...one has already faded - due to budget/economy I guess. I found out they cancelled their Christmas party and aren't giving raises, so surely they aren't hiring either. The jury is still out on the other job, which is a Staffing Asst Mgr position. I figured I would pursue both work and school in case one didn't work out but the more I think about things, I really need to just do this school thing. I don't want to look back 5 yrs from now and be without work again and wish I had finished my Masters degree.

~I need to keep repeating to myself "job stability" "job stability" - there is MUCH more of it in Mental Health than there is in Corporate America and I don't want to be struggling for a job when Ethan is 5-6-7-8 years old. I want to be able to support him and myself w/o having to worry about making ends meet. I don't want to have to rely on anyone else.

~Tell me I'm doing the right thing....

~dark & twisty~

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I haven't been blogging lately because I really don't have anything good to say. I figure those who read this MUST be sick of my complaining and negativity by now.

I've been having a (very) rough last 10 days or so, lots of stress coupled with lots of crying.

I often wonder how bad things have to get before they'll get better.

My aunt & cousin came in from TX for Thanksgiving. This is the 1st time we are seeing each other since the big falling out last July. Things seem to be fine and I am glad about that. I was stressin' about it.

Still no progress on my lawsuit. In fact, he was supposed to call me last week but blew me off instead. I called his office this Monday and basically let his secretary know that I'm getting very stressed out and quite unhappy and why has he told me 3x that he's filing my case (that day) when it really hasn't been filed @ all. She called me back later Monday and said he wants me to come into the office for a meeting....WTH? Can't this be done over the phone? She said that she is 99.9% positive it is good news....how can there be any good news when nothing has been done. I'm sure he's not going to hand over a check for my lost wages, embarassment, humiliation, lost benefits, etc. Needless to say, I'm losing a bit of sleep over this meeting. It is scheduled for Tuesday 12/2 @ 10:30am. He better not tell me he's dropping my case, or I may have to drop kick him.

OK - I'm really, really, really, really depressed about the holidays. I could care less about them and I hate that I feel that way when it will be Ethan's first Christmas. I'm also quite upset about the fact that I cannot go out and ENJOY doing Christmas shopping. It feels like a burden really.

It drives me nuts that O counts his chickens before they hatch. Absolutely NUTS! He is counting on a healthy Christmas bonus from his company this year. Last year he rec'd $500. He is thinking it will be WAY more than that. I am getting tired of reminding him that everytime he has thought this company would reward him financially, they have let him down, i.e. a whopping .50 (annual) raise!! So we'll see what happens, but I'm not counting the chickens right now....I'll wait 'til they hatch.

Speaking of O's company...we have the company Christmas dinner on Friday 12/5. It was totally lame last year...only iced tea and water served with dinner! Blech. Geez, give me a diet soda at least would ya'?!?! Anyway, we don't have to pay anything for the dinner, but the employees have to give $26 to contribute for a gift for the owner, who by the way, just happens to be a MILLIONAIRE...WTH? So basically, it's a $13/plate Christmas dinner. You can probably guess that I really don't want to go.

And to cap off my oh-so-wonderful life...I worked a whopping 4 hrs on Monday. That will get me a whole $36. Whoa. I used to make that in 1 hour! Now, wouldn't YOU be depressed too?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!?!?!?!?!?!

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I swiped this from Katrina's blog...the idea is to simply bold the items you have done -easy enough for a Friday. I had to make mine Orange because the BOLD wasn't really showing up.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (one of my kid's toys)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

~My Destiny: Poverty~

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~So there are a TON of shifts available this week @ Talbots and I have no one to watch E.

~Mom is too "busy" with her husband. This really hurt my feelings as she knows that we are broke. I can't afford to pay a sitter since the pay is crap, so she's really my only option.

~Today they opened it up to any 4 hr block of your choice. Figures it's one of the nights that O has class after work and won't be home 'til 730pm. Otherwise I could have worked 5-9pm and still been home to put E to bed. They don't usually offer a 5-9 shift either, so that would have been perfect.

~I've been really depressed this week watching my savings account trickle down and down. Not being able to work a little just adds to feeling crappy.

~just stuff~

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~So today I met with the Dept Head @ the university to discuss returning to finish my Masters degree. I have 27 of 60 credits completed, so almost 1/2 way. It really would be ashame to not finish and waste the time & money I've spent so far. If you don't finish in 6 years, you lost everything you've done. I have 'til Summer 2011 to finish.

~I'm pretty sure I'm going to go and finish. It just doesn't make sense not to do it. I guess my only hesitation is that I will have to take out more loans and I really, really, really, didn't want to do that, but there are no other options. I will look for a Graduate Assistantship, but they are hard to come by. If I got one, tuition would be free. Then there is always the issue of childcare. I'm hoping my mom will step it up for me as she's been pressuring me to finish, so hopefully she's willing to watch E more than usual. I guess we'll see.

~The best part of it all is upon completion, I will for the first time ever in my life have true job security. There are always people in need of Mental Health services whereas companies don't always need Recruiters.

~The way the Prof mapped it out, I would finish in Spring or Summer of 2011, depending on how many hours I put into the Intership each semester. I have about 6-7 classes left to do and then the Practicum, which is 100 hours, and then the Internship, which is 900 hours (basically a FT job for 2 semesters). I guess my 40th birthday present to myself will be completing this degree.

~Then to add to the excitement of finishing this degree. During my last semester I would have to take "Comps" (a huge essay test over everything you learned in the program) as well as the NCE test (Nat'l Counselor Exam), which is required and is the 1st step towards becoming licensed. Why am I stressed out about these already? I worried about them when I was taking classes previously too.

~The fun doesn't end there...after I've graduated and am in the workplace, there are 2 more tests to take before being able to be Licensed....oh yeah and I forgot to mention the 3,000 work hours I need to obtain as the last step to finally becoming licensed. That 3,000 hours usually takes 3 years...so it looks like by 2014, I'll be an official Licensed Professional Counselor. Dang, that's a long way away.

~That's the plan for now.

~On the legal front, I spoke with the lawyer today...he actually exists...LOL. I guess the complaint will be filed this week and he actually said that if the company wants to settle vs. going to trial, that he thinks we could be done by Christmas. I'm not going to expect that because he's made a lot of timeline comments that have proved false again and again. It'll either be a really nice Christmas or a really crappy one...it all depends on how fast my lawyer moves.

~9 months and grumpy!~

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These are posted in the order in which they were taken, so you can see we 'gradually' got better, but then @ the end he was like "Mom, can we PLEASE be done with this?!"

Even though I wanted 'better' pictures -these make me smile now and they will be great to share with his girlfriends when he gets older. LOL!!!

~9 months~

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~Whoa...9 months ago today I was about to be wheeled into the OR for a C-section. Seems like yesterday.

~I was grossly unsuccessful at getting some 'good' pictures of E in his 9 month onesie. I will post later, but it was quite a struggle. This mobile thing is quite the challenge. LOL!

~I've decided that he is the most INCONSISTENT sleeper in the world. Just when I start thinking maybe he is taking longer naps or sleeping better@ night - he regresses to his old ways.
~Yesterday was a rough afternoon...he has 3 front teeth coming in @ the same time and his gums were bleeding on and off thru the afternoon. He was not a very happy camper.

~E quickly cheered up when his girlfriend, Mirra brought her parents over for dinner. They played 'til 9pm and he was one tired dude. No book and out in 10 minutes.

~Dad is coming over today for a visit. O is working. We'll go grocery shopping later. That is our Saturday.

~regularly scheduled programming~

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~We are back to our regularly scheduled blogging, for those who are still reading. Maybe I pissed everyone off, who knows...

~Anyway, nothing much new with us here anyway....I remain jobless, at home with E, going to play group and Mother Goose.

~I actually had a phone interview/screen for a Recruiter position a few wks back. The 'lovely' recruiter I interviewed with said I would have a phone interview later that week with the hiring managers and asked of my availability. I never heard from him to schedule it and when I contacted him, he replied via email saying they were still reviewing resumes. Turns out the job has now been filled. I was slightly annoyed that he firmly TOLD me that I'd have another interview, when in fact that was not the case.

~Ethan turns 9 months old on Saturday. Whoa -time flies. We have his 9 month doctor visit on Monday...no shots...yay!!

~We have our 9 month photo session on 11/19 @ 6pm so we can include a family picture. I wanted the picture taken outside but it will be too dark by then and my lovely photographer wouldn't accomodate us on another day so we could have a nice outdoor shot. You would think after the truckload of money I've given to her (wedding & baby pics) she would find time to squeeze us in for a daytime picture, but no! How nice.

~My new favorite past time activity is going to various stores to get price adjustments on things I've bought for Ethan...it's not really that fun, but it seems like everything I've bought him recently has gone on sale days later so I've had to return to the store to get my money back. We are going back to GapKids today for that very reason. :-)

~Talbots is having another sale/promotion this month so I'm signed up to work a whole 3 days this month, starting this Sunday. Hopefully it won't get cancelled.

~My dad has a timeshare and traded this year for Gatlinburg - nice and close so Ethan and I will head up there with him on the 16th and come back on the 19th for our pictures. Oscar has knee surgery on the 20th and then all 3 of us will go back up there until the 23rd. It should be nice to get away and relax.

~That's about all here...have a lovely day!

~dreadful~

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Well, last night was a complete nightmare...I usually don't get too 'into' elections, but this one got me interested a couple months out. I guess I'm missing something because I DO NOT see AT ALL what is so wonderful about Obama, in fact, I cannot stand to look @ him. I even went to bed before it was over because I didn't want to see people dancing on tables etc. Great history making!

Crap, this debacle has robbed me of sleep as I'm up @ the crazy hour of 5am...hopefully the shock will wear off and I'll be able to sleep once again...

First of all, the words "Democrat" and "taxcuts" don't come in the same sentence. Look @ political history-Democrats NEVER give taxcuts, they raise taxes - how do you think they pay for all those people to be on welfare?

Any American who works hard needs to understand that Obama wants to take your money, and give it to the non-productive part of society. You can’t give tax breaks to people who don’t pay taxes in the first place. It’s called welfare.

Also, since when did middle class America become those making between $100,000 to $250,000...or whatever number they've decided to make it today. That's a lot of money if you ask me and that's a lot MORE than what the 'middle class' makes. It means I'm living in SHEER POVERTY!!!

Read the book "The Appeal" by John Grisham...it will explain clearly how an election can be bought, just like this one has.

Speaking of buying an election, take a look @ this. Yep, nothing like complete disregard for online security, in a time when identity theft is rampant. The Obama Campaign turned off certain security features on their online contribution page, which basically enables anyone in the world with a Visa/Mastercard to make donations in almost any amounts. So, yes, my friends, his campaign was largely funded by foreign contries, including those who you would likely consider our enemies. Lovely!

Still don't think he's a Muslim? He was registered as such during his school years. Did everyone forget 9/11? Apparently so.

Oh, and I MUST have missed where Obama said he was giving free scrapbooking supplies to all who voted for him, because it seems that every scrapbooking blog I read is supporting Obama...blech!

And for those people who say "our country has come a long way since the Civil Rights act" - no it hasn't...this election was bought and there are people (corrupt) behind Obama who made sure he would win. It has NOTHING to do with civil rights advancement.

Thanks his biggest supporters-the media, of course!

Another media-puking example. Nice try, Diane Sawyer! Completely irrelevant!

It's a sad day when a completely INEXPERIENCED person wins the White House and a man who has served his country and government for countless years, including the horrific experience of being a POW is left behind. Sad, very sad. The feminist in me is also saddened.

This is all I'll say about this. It is my opinion, we all have them. It has little worth to others I'm sure, but I don't care. The election won't come up again on my blog and hopefully the next 4 years go by really fast!

OK - I'm getting down off my soapbox. I would say the damage is done, but I'm afraid it's just begun.

~happy halloween~

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~political humor~

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Political humor is needed right now...

~I miss...~

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Just a random list of things I've been missing lately...

~Summer trips to Chicago

~Ice skating rinks @ almost every corner

~Playing softball

~A good nights rest

~Seeing a movie in the theatre

~Fall in Michigan

~Detroit Tiger ballgames

~Detroit Red Wing hockey games

~The beaches of Mexico

~NYC

~my friend in NJ :-)

~WDW, 8 yrs is too long!!

~sitting in Barnes & Noble for countless hours

~girls weekends

~the majority of my wardrobe that still doesn't fit me. Argh!

~shopping for baby!~

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~I thought that E was all set for clothes 'til about the 18 month mark, but as the cold weather has creeped in, it seems that we are slightly short on long sleeve onesies. It's kind of where I fall short in clothes too...either have stuff for the dead of winter or the scorchin' hot summer...nothing much for that in-between time. We have some long sleeve shirts, but the onesies are great for play dates and those times when he's crawling all over the place-they stay tucked in and they'll keep him warm.

Sooooo yesterday we treated ourselves to a trip to GapKids (not our usual shopping stop) and picked up a few to get us through....
This last one is my favorite, especially right now, as he is teething like a madman. Poor baby, he has a top tooth coming in already too.

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~It's 8:53pm and for some crazy reason Ethan is not tired. I just read him a book and tried to put him to bed, I nursed him for about 15 minutes and then he just rolls over and pops up like "ok, I'm all fueled up and ready to go, what's next?" He usually goes to bed closer to 8pm so I thought FOR SURE he could conk right out...guess not.

~My mom and her hubs came over today and we got my office furniture all moved around. I'm back up and running w/most of my stuff in place. Yay! It seems so much roomier too...strange really, since we really just 'swapped' walls where the the desk and couch each were.

~I put a post on our subdivision Yahoo board to let people know I can be available for babysitting in my home...not really my first choice in 'part time work' but it can be fun. I had one lady respond and went to meet with her today. It wouldn't be any regular babysitting, just hit and miss stuff. Heck, the going rate these days is around $10.00 per hour!!!! I was shocked!! That's better than working retail...LOL.

~Speaking of retail...I'm striking out all over the place on jobs...found out that Bath & Body only pays $7.25/hour - that's REALLY REALLY low, so I'm not going to bother with them. B&N claims they aren't hiring and I still need to talk to the guy @ Borders-I guess they'll be hiring for the holidays only. I'm thinking that I won't have much luck since my availability isn't too great...but I am willing to work all day Sunday and living here in the Bible belt, maybe that'll help if they have a lot of people not wanting to work that day.

~On the brighter side, Talbots will be having another sale in November, so they'll need more temp help. I already signed up for the Sundays and my mom said she can watch E on Mondays, so maybe I'll get some Monday shifts too, which will help. I haven't seen what shifts are available yet, so I hope there are some that'll work for me. It's excruciatingly boring work, but it's money and I'm a pathetic desperate soul @ this point. and broke too!!

~This is a pity-party paragraph...skip it if you like...I'm dreading the holidays because I don't feel like they will be that enjoyable since I cannot buy many gifts for my family. I'm also bummed because my Aunt will be here for Thanksgiving and wants to go shopping on Black Friday (is that what it's called?). I haven't been able to go shopping on Black Friday for years and it's something that I TOTALLY enjoy-I love all the chaos etc. So now I have the TIME to go, but no freaking money and that sucks. Going along just to go 'window-shopping' is NOT my idea of fun.

~A high school friend of mine told me she was fired from a job years ago when the company found out that she was PG with her first child. She sued and got $100k!!!!! I have no idea how much I can get, but I've started to (dangerously) daydream...I really shouldn't, but I can't help it.

~I wanted to take Ethan to the "Boo @ the Zoo" here this week...so I looked it up online tonight, only to discover that tonight was the last night. Bummer...next year!

~And I desperately need a new banner...but I can't think of what I could take a picture of to create said banner. Any ideas?

~OK - I'm going to try to put Ethan down AGAIN! Wish me luck!!

~mid-week update~

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~Ha! As I typed the title, I accidentally put "mid-weeD"....I may have to resort to drug dealing to make ends meet...just kidding.

~Got an email from the recruiter butthead. Says they are still doing phone screens. I think he's full of it.

~I've been feeling desperate this week about money and getting a job, any job, well, almost any job.

~Mary reminded me about Barnes & Noble. I applied there a few months ago, they said they wouldn't be hiring 'til later in the year...maybe now? I will call tomorrow and see.

~I also applied @ Borders a few months ago. They weren't hiring @ the time, but I'll call and check there again.

~I put in my application @ SBUX the other day - a different location, but I think my former mgr will sabotage that effort.

~About 13 yrs ago I worked the holiday season at Bath & Body -back in Michigan- I suppose that's another option, but honestly, I would be terribly embarrassed to work in the mall, especially when a former co-worker sees me there - then I'll be completely humiliated. I think I'm already feeling pretty low, I don't need anything to make me feel lower.

~It seems I have a snowballs chance in hell of getting a job ANYWHERE.

~Tomorrow (Thurs) E and I have "Mother Goose" @ 10am and then we are meeting my mom for lunch. From there, we are all going to the mall. Mom needs some stuff. I, of course, will only be window shopping, which is NO fun...in case you were wondering.

~the good, bad & the ugly~

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Good: I made $242 in my garage sale on Saturday.
Bad: I sent $140 of it to the new computer bill.
Ugly: The remaining $98 has already been spent.

Good: We've gone for a walk both Monday & today with Michele, our neighbor (& news anchor). 2.5 miles each day.
Bad: My lawyer is a turd. (putting it lightly)
Ugly: That *&^%$# recruiter still hasn't called me back, I don't think I'll be hearing from him.

Good: The new carseat seems to sit better in my vehicle...so far.
Bad: I'm really tired of being poor.
Ugly: I'm often in a bad mood because I'm poor.

Good: Mom's husband is out of town this week so we are spending lots of time together.
Bad: We will be moving my office furniture this weekend, to eliminate cords/wires laying across the room as a certain someone thinks they are part of his toy collection.
Ugly: The desk furniture weighs about 45,290,823,409,709,234 pounds!!

Good: I've been contemplating returning to grad school to finish my Masters.
Bad: I cannot seem to make a decision.
Ugly: I don't want more school loans!

Good: For the billionth time, I completed one of those Target surveys. I then began to daydream about how wonderful it would be if I won.
Bad: I will probably not win the $5000 Target gift card.
Ugly: I never win a damn thing, so why now?

~lawyers suck~

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~Emailed my lawyer last night requesting an update. Four wks ago he said my case would be completed and sent to me to review. I haven't seen a thing yet.

~He has not written back.

~What a &^%$#@&* turd!

~Lawyers suck!! (not you, Amy)

~btw a rock & a hard place~

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~A few wks ago I applied for a Recruiter position that came available in Oak Ridge (same town I worked in before).

~They called today. Did a phone screen. Will likely have a phone interview on Thursday or Friday.

~If I make it to a face to face interview, I will have to prepare and present a 45 minute talk on any topic within "Staffing" WTH? Weird!!! Not looking forward to that! Did I just go back to college or something?

~Honestly, I have HUGE mixed feelings about this.

~After being home for 5 months, I REALLY REALLY don't want to go to work full time anywhere.

~Yes, we could live better w/more money but I'm really enjoying being w/Ethan and it's time I'll never get back! We are in a Play Group and we go to Mother Goose (rhymes & songs) every other week...I will really miss that.

~I know it's still early, maybe I won't even get the job offer, but if you know me, you know I worry very early.

~I guess I have to sit back and just say "if it's meant to be, it will be"

~the pumpkin patch~

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I didn't get the pics I anticipated. I expected to see a slew of pumpkins all together and have nothing but a great big orange pumpkin background with Ethan sitting in front of them...instead the pumpkins were spread sparsely through this gigantic field and then E wouldn't look @ the camera because there was way too much to look at!! Anyway, here's what I got...

~in the pumpkin patch~

~waiting for hayride~

~on the hayride~

~check out the grumpy old man face~

~thinking happy thoughts~

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~If we can't go to the cider mill in Michigan, I'll have to settle for the Pumpkin Patch here...we are going on Sunday. Can't wait to take pics of E & the pumpkins!

~Having a garage sale next Saturday 10/18. Hoping to make a good chunk of change to put towards some bills.

~8 months old~

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In an effort to keep him still...

~a few pics~

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~the BRAND NEW boots I scored @ the Consignment Sale...I had been looking everywhere for them!~

~ a messy cookie~

~my new ball~

~only bad luck here~

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Remember me mentioning that the TV was acting up and I thought it was on it's way to TV Heaven?? It has passed on.

So we are in the middle of watching the debate last night and it dies - scared the crap outta me because it started making some loud cracking sounds and I thought for sure it was gonna blow up or start a fire. Freaked me out! We cut off all power to it. We sat in the LR for about 5 minutes, sort of in shock and thinking "well, crap, now what?!"

Apparently the gods of misfortunate are after me. First the computer. Now the TV. I sure as hell hope my car doesn't break down.

For the first time in a LONG time, we are living paycheck to paycheck (which sucks, in case you wondered) and all these things happening surely make it more difficult. Lovely!!

~up and running~

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~Woohoo - I am back up and running now after my computer died a slow death on Monday. It hadn't been running very well for a while so I'm not surprised it conked out on me. Thankfully I had just put all my pics on my MyBook (external storage) as well as all my iTunes songs.

~Setting up a new computer is a pain though, especially going from XP to Vista. I had to get all my drivers online because the CDs that came w/them were not compatible with Vista. Vista is gonna take some getting used to - it's a bit funky.

~I got a cute little 'slim' HP desktop. I was going to get a laptop but when I saw this cute little thing and that it had A TON more space/speed than the laptop AND was the same price, I had to have it. It also has wireless capabilities so I may change over to wireless here @ home and then O and I can surf @ the same time. I need to call AT&T tomorrow on that.

~I no longer have Word or Excel -ugh. I have a 60 trial but get this...I can't save anything I create...what's the use of the trial?!?! I'll probably contribute to the improvement of the economy and purchase the MS Office Student version when those 60 days come to a close, unless I find I need it sooner. Amazon has a great price on it and no tax and FREE shipping - can't beat that!!

~I didn't have my bookmarks backed up...no big deal I suppose but right now I've only got 14 bookmarks saved and I know I had WAY MORE THAN THAT on my old PC. :-)

~Tomorrow is our 'playdate' - never thought I'd be doing that, but here I am. It's pretty fun too.

~There is a HUGE consignment sale starting tomorrow night too. They only do it for one week in the Fall and I think again in the Spring (not sure though). Anyway, they only take REALLY NICE stuff and I get to go tomorrow night @ 7pm because New Moms get first peek!! Gotta love that!! I hope I find some cute stuff for E.

~I am not scheduled for any hours right now - wish I was though. I signed up for this Sunday, so I hope I get it. Basically that's gonna be the only day I can work now - after what happened last Friday night, I know O won't want to be home alone w/E @ bedtime. My mom is going out of town from Oct 5-15 so I'll have no (free) babysitter and since the pay is soooooooooooooooo low, there's no sense hiring a sitter. *sigh*

~That's all for now.

~50 things~

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Swiped this from another blog...

1) Favorite object in your room?
Bed.

2) Have you ever smoked?
Tried it as a teen...ew!!

3) Do you own guns?
No! Don't plan to either.

4) What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?
Cherry

5) Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Not usually.

6) What do you think of hot dogs?
They're best @ the ballpark.

7) Favorite song?
"When Tears Fall Down" by Heidi Newfield (former lead singer of Trick Pony)

8) What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Orange Juice

9) Can you do push ups?
Just a few...I used to be able to do 13 w/o stopping, but not anymore.

10) Can you do a chin up?
Umm, No.

11) What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
All my watches - I collect them.

12) Do you like blue cheese?
Oh yes!

13) Ever been in a car wreck?
Yep!

14) Pudding or Jello?
Pudding.

15) Saving or Spending?
Neither since I have NO freakin' money!

16) Middle name?
Kathleen

17) Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.
I'm broke. I hate it. I'm bored.

18) Name 3 things you bought yesterday?
Didn't buy 3 things yesterday....remember I have NO money!!

19) Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
Water, Diet Orange Pop, Iced Chai

20) Current worry?
Finances

21) Current hate right now?
Pleading the 5th.

22) Tape or Glue?
Usually tape.

23) How did you bring in the New Year?
Sleeping.

24) Where would you like to be right now?
A beach or WDW.

25) States Visited?
Quite a few...maybe 18 or so...

26) Do you own slippers?
Yes, they are navy blue w/snowmen on them. So warm!!

27) What shirt are you wearing?
A yellow "Life is Good" t-shirt...I should probably change...LOL!

28) Satin sheets?
Nope. Cotton.

29) Ring Size?
7 I think.

30) Mac or PC?
I really want a Mac, I think.

31) Would you be a pirate?
Definitely...life on the water...no problem!

32) What songs do you sing in the shower?
I don't have time to sing in there.

33) Favorite girls name?
Riley Alexis (if Ethan were a girl, this was the name I had picked out).

34) Favorite boys name?
Ethan....although I really like Jacob except it doesn't translate in Spanish very well...sounds really corny!!

35) What's in your pocket?
Nothing.

36) Last thing that made you laugh?
Wish I could remember that...it's been a while.

37) Best bed sheets as a child?
Flannel with penguins on them. I wonder what happened to them.

38) Worst injury you've ever had?
Cracked my head open and got stitches.

39) Do you love where you live?
Somewhat...I've lived in places I've loved more.

40) How many TVs do you have in your house?
2

41) Who is your loudest friend?
I really don't have any 'loud' friends.

42) How many dogs do you have?
None.

43) Does someone have a crush on you?
Doubtful.

44) Lost and Gone?
huh?

45) What is your favorite book?
I really liked "P.S. I love you" by Cecilia Ahearn...I'm about to start reading "Love Walked In" by Marisa de los Santos and I think I'm really going to like it. :-)

47) Favorite Sports Team?
The ever stinky Detroit Tigers....last place in the American League Central Division - turds!!!

48) Where is the next place you want to travel to?
London would be good...but so would Spain...of course the most likely location will be Gatlinburg...a whole hour away...whoopee!!

49) What were you doing 12 AM last night?
Sleeping I think.

50) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
Which time I woke up?

~separation anxiety~

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~Yep, E definitely has the separation anxiety going on. Combine that with the sleeping dilemmas and O called me @ 9:30pm last night saying I had to come home because E had been crying for more than an hour and he could not get him to calm down (or go to sleep).

~I told them I had a family emergency and left. I also cancelled on working today. I feel bad about bailing on work but in the grand scheme of things, all the stress and heartache isn't worth the uber low wage I was getting anyway....although some money is better than NO money.

~Going forward I guess I will only work short day shifts on Sundays...if they don't get cancelled. Oh well.

~work!~

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~Ugh...so I know I was sort of complaining all week about how my shifts kept getting cancelled, well, tonight I'm @ work and I really don't care to be here. I'm on my 15 minute break right now. It's actually slower than it was last Friday so I'm surprised that my shift wasn't cancelled. I am on the 'to leave early' list so I'm hoping they boot me outta here. I can't stand just sitting there waiting for a call to come in.

~I had to go into the showroom to look at some garments for a caller. I should have taken a drool rag for myself - absolutely gorgeous sweaters in there. I'm a sweater junkie. Love them. Can't get enough of them.

~I even have to work ALL DAY tomorrow. 9am-5:30pm. Now, that shift I REALLY wish would have been cancelled because E will be @ my mom's all day and he's been a bit of a fussy booger the last 2 times she has watched him. I think he's got that 'separation anxiety' going on because he's been a bit of a 'momma's boy' lately. I'll definitely get on the "leave early list" again tomorrow.

~Well, my 15 is up. Ciao!!

~ripped off~

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~I ordered a few sheets of cardstock back on 8/31.

~Found a website called Jackkyll Scraps. They had REALLY good shipping rates so I placed my order and paid via Paypal. It was $10.53 total. Small order.

~A few days later, I am contacted via email to say that she has to order the color of cs I want and my order will be slightly delayed but I should receive it the following week.

~Here we are 3+ wks later and I still have no cardstock. I have sent 3 emails and called the phone number on her website, only to receive a msg that the mailbox is full and cannot take more messages. This infuriates me.

~I have filed a claim on Paypal, but how ridiculous is this....I mean, if you want to rip people off, why not go for more than $10!!!!!!!!! What a dumbass!!!

~stuff~

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~I am absolutely LOVING going for walks outside with Ethan now that it's cooled down out there. It will be part of our daily routine. (yay for more exercise).

~I haven't worked since Friday. I was scheduled to work this Wed night from 6pm-12am. They called today to cancel. I pretty much expect their call now. Let's see, I'm scheduled Friday night 6pm-12am....we'll see what happens. If I don't get scheduled, I won't have any hours this week. Bummer!

~There is not a wide VARIETY of toys for 6-7 month olds if you ask me. They are all pretty much the same...make music, shape sorters and blocks. We wanted to add to Ethan's toy selection, but it seems he's got the basics of what's available. Ugh.

~The SATC Movie came out today. I *SO* wanted to buy it, but I restrained myself. :-( Now I'm sad. If you're gonna buy it, it's 15.99 @ Target 'til Saturday. It's more expensive @ Walmart!

~Actually spoke WITH my lawyer yesterday. He admitted that he had a trial that sucked up a lot of his time. He apologized and said he'd finish my case today and I'd have it to review. I didn't get an email so I guess he didn't finish it...but maybe, just maybe the end is in sight? It would be nice to have some extra Christmas money.

~crazy stuff~

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~O will receive his 3rd NEW debit card next week in less than 1 year...why you ask? The first time because he lost his wallet, the 2nd time because he THOUGHT he lost his wallet and now last night -the 3rd time- because he AGAIN THOUGHT he lost his wallet. Talk about frustrating. I won't even get started.

~While @ work yesterday -which thankfully was busier than Thursday- the staffing agency called to say that the company decreased their numbers and cancelled my shifts for Saturday, Sunday AND Monday!! Geez!!! Just 2 days ago they had about 6 shifts to pick from for Sunday. How crazy!! So next weeks check will have a whopping 9.5 hours on it!! Whoopee!

~I decided to start giving Spanish lessons and sent out email to some local friends to help me spread the word. I already have my 1st client. Yay!!

~Oscar recently decided that he wanted to take on a 2nd job and especially now that my temp job has been so inconsistent with hours. He has an interview to work mall security today at 1pm. He loves all that 'law enforcement' type stuff...plus it pays more than my temp job, so why not. He loves me being home with E and really doesn't want me to have to work - so that's cool. Although, he would not be opposed to me working if I was dying to have a full time job (which I'm not).

~Well, that's it for a Saturday. Not much going on here today. O went to work and E and I are being bums for now.

~random, random, random~

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~Random is the word of the week. LOL!

~Today was my 1st shift. 7am-11am. Picked it up @ the last minute. In the first 40 minutes, I only had 2 calls, so I'm not quite sure why they called for extra people. By the end of the 4 hours, I had taken about 26 calls...still not very many if you ask me. The bummer is that you can't read a book/magazine or do anything while you are waiting for calls to come in...so that gets quite boring. I drank 2 huge bottles of water and ate 2 small boxes of raisins in the 1st two hours because it was so slow. Oh well.

~I work tomorrow too. 1pm-6:30pm. Saturday 8pm-midnight. Sunday 2pm-6pm. Just picked up the Sunday shift. Phew. But since the work is only 'til Oct 3rd, I figure might as well cram in as many shifts as I can. Right?

~Went to Old Navy to return a couple items tonight. I grabbed a pair of the Sweetheart Jeans in a size smaller than what I am currently wearing and was SO EXCITED when I got home and tried them on. They fit!! I am officially down 1 size...1 more to go (more would be better, but I'm taking baby steps here)....odd thing though...the weight is still not coming off. I'm wondering if the nursing is keeping me where I'm at?!?!?! Time will tell.

~I'm trying to run at least every other day but the last couple runs have really hurt my back. It didn't used to hurt while I ran and now it is, so it seems like that is not getting better and probably not good that I continue, but I desperately want to drop the lbs...so I keep running.

~I had picked up two really cute 3/4 length sleeve shirts @ Old Navy and when I tried them on, they were so SUPER DUPER clingy that they looked absolutely disgusting on me, so of course I returned them. They were XL too. I refuse to buy XXL. They would have fit perfectly pre-baby. *sigh*

~There is a book 'club' thing here in Knoxville, partly sponsored by Dolly Parton. I just learned of it and signed E up...he'll get a FREE book every month 'til he's 5 yrs old. Wahoo!!! It's funny cuz I've seen some of these books @ the used book store...they are .75 there and they are good stories. Yay for FREE books!

~Goodnight!

~and yet more randomness~

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~E got up at the crazy hour of 6:40am today. Ok, it may not be crazy early to those of you who work, but it's crazy when you don't have a job to get up and go to.

~Yep, my 10-6 shift got cancelled today. Oh joy! The poorness living continues.

~Next I'm scheduled for 1-5 on Friday. We'll see if that happens.

~It's not even 8am and I'm eating a Hershey's Chocolate Bar...not good....well, it tastes good though.

~I think I'm typing this simply for myself to read because I'm not so sure anyone else is reading.
~Trying to decide if we will remain homebound today. I really need to go to the Post Office and Kroger. I wouldn't mind stopping at Old Navy too - baby clothes 40% off and E needs a winter coat.

~My wireless mouse is dying and in the process it is wearing on my very last nerve. So frustrating.

~Signing up for the Komen race. It's on 10/11/08.

~Not going to Michigan. Totally bummed.

~more randomness~

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~Because randomness is all I have...

~Day 3 of the Homebound project. No work tonight, therefore not going anywhere. My car has sat for 3 days now.

~I am scheduled to work 10-6 tomorrow. It will probably be cancelled as they cancelled the 10-6 shift today and just extended the 9-5...oh great!!

~I was going to take a road trip with Mom up to Michigan. We both want to see friends. My BF had a baby boy last year on 5/5 and a baby girl this year on 4/30 and I haven't seen either of them. Obviously, she hasn't seen Ethan. I also wanted to go to the Cider Mills and take cute pics of Ethan in the pumpkin patches - I guess none of this will happen. Being the boring, responsible person that I am, I feel that I should spend what little money I make on bills and daily living expenses instead of overpriced fuel and hotels. We calculated it would cost at least $80-100 in fuel each way and $100 per hotel night and we were planning to stay 3-4 nights. I probably won't even make that much money anyway....especially if they keep cancelling shifts.

~Even if I don't work tomorrow, we aren't going to playgroup because I (1) had to RSVP already as if I were going to be working and (2) it's a lot farther away than the other homes where playgroup has been held.

~The playgroup is rotating at different homes and honestly, I'm not too excited about having it @ my house. All of these women have BIGWIG husbands with FAT CHECK jobs which equate to BIGA$$ houses. They all have 4 BR, 3 car garages and the lovely "bonus rooms"...so in other words...tons of room for the kiddos to play etc. I only have carpet in E's room and the office, both of which are pretty small to cram in 7 women and 7 kids...if everyone were to come. Clearly, I am the 'low man' on the totem pole - as they say.

~I guess that's all for today.

~randomness~

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~Haven't done a randomness post in a while....

~Having MAJOR issues w/my computer. I really need it to last at least another year, but I also really want a new computer.

~Considering getting a MAC when this PC kicks the bucket. I need something with awesome photo storage and heard that iphoto rocks. Will have to investigate. Also need to find a way to pay for it. If I had my job back, I could go get the darn computer right now. Argh!

~We are on Day 2 of being homebound. Gas is $4.99/gallon here - insane. For some reason though the local broadcast says it's $4.65 in the area - ha, I haven't seen that price for days now. Many stations are OUT of Regular Unleaded and they say it'll be 9 days before they get more.

~I got a little fidgety @ the end of the day yesterday...being 'cooped up' all day doesn't work well for me. So far I'm doing ok today, but yes, I really would like to go SOMEWHERE!!

~O mentioned that they asked him @ work if he would be willing to go out of town. Apparently they do work in 8 other states. Then he said that E and I could go see him there...I told him to try to get a job in Florida!! Yay!! We'll see if that comes through or not.

~I quit ChaCha.

~Hopefully I will work 3-4 days/nights this week @ the call center. It's taking catalog orders for an upscale clothing company, so I shouldn't get too many irate people. Yay!

~I managed to scrape up some motivation to run today. Hadn't ran in 6 days...eeks. Ran 2 miles.

~ I would like to sign up for the Komen Race. It will be on 10/22. I will likely not run the whole thing, but it would be nice to put up a time that's not too embarassing. :-)

~carseats!!!~

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Warning: this post will probably bore you to tears unless you (1) have struggled endlessly with a carseat at some point or another or (2) simply enjoy reading about carseats!!!

Today E and I drove to the Knoxville PD for a FREE Carseat Installation Inspection. We recently purchased a Convertible Carseat as he had outgrown the Infant Carrier. No, the carseat is not for a Convertible car either...LOL!

Anyway, I was not convinced that it was in right to begin with because when he would fall asleep, his poor little head would fall forward and it looked oh so uncomfortable. It really bothered me. O showed me how he installed it and that it was according to the directions, so we assumed that was how it was supossed to be.

This is where it gets crazy....after waiting 1 hour 15 minutes in line, our turn finally arrives. We pull into the HOT garage with big (not so helpful) fans and the lady comes over to help us. Bless this woman, she was patient, kind, fun and amazing yet had to be unbelievably frustrated with my car & carseat.

Turns out that choosing a carseat for YOUR car is sort of like choosing a mate. You must find the correct match or it's a terrible marriage. In my case, or that of my car I should say, it's not a great marriage btw the Ford Escape and an Eddie Bauer Kingston Convertible Carseat. Now, we did not pick out a bottom of the barrel carseat either so for the price we paid, you would certainly think that it was a lot easier to install and would be nothing less than PERFECT. Wrong!!

As I was waiting in line, I wondered what the big box of Pool Noodles was for... I quickly learned that they cut them into pieces and end up using them to get the carseats into their proper position - which is a 45 degree angle in the rear facing position. WOW did this look different when they finally got it in place.

This whole process took 2 hours!!! They worked on MY car WITH me for 2 hours - did I mention this was a FREE service! Wonderful if you ask me. E is much safer now when we are in the car. I am disappointed though that we cannot use the Latch system in the car and instead must use the seatbelts - ugh. If the carseat wasn't going in the middle, then we could use the Latch system, but since we have only 1 child and the middle is the safest spot, then we must use the seatbelts.

Sidenote...did you know that the govt regulates the price of tomatoes?? They don't regulate the price of gas though...which by the way was 3.69 here on Thursday and is now 4.99 with most gas stations already completely OUT of regular unleaded. Thank you Ike! We are not going anywhere Sunday, Monday and if I don't get scheduled to work on Tuesday, we aren't going anywhere then either. My car will sit as long as possible. They say it will be at least 5-6 days 'til they get more gasoline..anyway, I digress...my point is that CARSEATS should be regulated. The box that my carseat came in should have said that it was suitable for XYZ cars and not so well for ABC cars...then I would not have had such a problem. Of course, this will likely never happen, because it would cut into the almighty 'bottom line' I think I'll still send them an email though! :-)

Did I mention we are on diaper bag #2 with this one already falling apart...it is also Eddie Bauer. I called them the other day. I'm getting a new one FREE in the mail. Yay!

a good friend?

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Just curious....what is YOUR definition of a GOOD friend?

~my not so good week~

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~went to 'interview' on Tuesday...it was 20 minutes long...she said she doesn't have anything for me and gave me a list of websites/companies to look @ for jobs....uh, I could have done that (and already have) on my own. thanks anyway!

~went to renew tags on my car. discovered that TX never sent the title to TN and I never should have gotten plates last year but someone messed up. had to call TX bank to request title. ended up with 'temporary' tag 'til title arrives. spent way too much time there.

~called the lawyer. case still not filed. I asked how long it takes to prepare & file a case. can't get an answer but it's been @ least 3-4 wks now. secretary says she's making lots of copies of other cases to back mine up so I guess something is getting done, just at a much slower rate that I would have liked. it would have been nice if they could have given me some sort of timeline for this preparation.

~had a little drama at playgroup yesterday. it's actually funny really. there's a neurotic mom who doesn't want other kids to drool on her kids toys...well, then what the heck is she doing @ playgroup? we are hoping she quits coming! playgroup is for sharing toys! duh!

~just found out that I did not make Top Guide list this week on ChaCha which bumps me DOWN to a whopping .10 per search. I am forced to do 200 (or more) searches @ that rate in order to 'qualify' for TG the following week to go back to .20 There is all kinds of 'drama' on the ChaCha message boards about this as it seems many other people also have UNPROVEN drastic drops in their Quality scores which prevented them from making TG as well...smells like a scam to me...ChaCha doesn't want to pay us. I haven't decided if I'll continue or not. I really wanted to reach $500 by Sep 14, but that will definitely NOT happen now @ a measly .10 - I'm currently @ $206 or so. Ugh! I may have more time for scrapbooking pretty soon...

~I'm really bummed about the ChaCha thing since it was at least giving me a little money (very little) -better than nothing. I guess the only good thing is that I've picked up a 3 wk temp job in a call center starting next week - they have afternoon/evening hours so I won't need daycare...again crappy pay, but better than nothing.

~If I had the body, I'd be tempted to take up table dancing for a week or so...well, maybe not, but it sure would be good money.