Eye Candy!

It's been a bit since I posted any eye candy on here, so - for your viewing pleasure:

Jamie's getting tired of me putting cameras in his face...

Here he's riding the "West Coast Choppers" bike Papaw got for him to ride when we're down there.

And here's a field a bluebonnets I spied on the way to Papaw's house one weekend.

The Tooth Fairy is Going Bankrupt

Jamie lost another tooth yesterday - and it wasn't the one I knew was loose. THAT one still hasn't fallen out yet, but I'm sure it will soon. So, that will make three teeth lost in less than two weeks. At $1.00 a tooth (inflation, you know), when you factor in the fact that his pre-molars are popping out like crazy, it's getting expensive. Also, when you consider that once all the baby teeth are gone I have to take him to the orthodontist for braces...well, you can see why I'm not really looking forward to all his baby teeth coming out!

In a related note, Jamie had a dentist appointment on Tuesday. No cavities (yay!) and everything looks good, except for the fact that his x-rays show most of his adult teeth will probably come in crooked (a fact confirmed by the orthodontist five months ago). Jamie's dentist said she was surprised his pre-molars are already falling out - he's about two years ahead of schedule on that. (Yes, his dentist is a "she". Make something of it, Mr. Anonymous, and see what you get!) I told her it isn't surprising at all when you consider he was born with a tooth already growing in!

As for an update on school, I have one last assignment due tomorrow, which I plan on wrapping up tonight, then I get to study for my final exams. My first final exam is on Tuesday, May 1 for sociology, then Saturday, May 5 for math (ugh!), and my last final exam is on Monday, May 7 for geology. My government class is based entirely on assignments; there is no final exam for that class. Then, hallelujah!, I get a blissful month (almost) off before summer session starts. Hooray!

Dragons - 3; Black Vipers - 1

Fair warning to all who tread here: Lots and lots of bragging about my kid about to commence!

Jamie's team won its soccer game today! Woo hooo! Jamie played goalie the whole game, and only let one slip by him. He rocked! Also, we had some major hustling going on with the strikers. It was kind of funny, though, because the game was at 8 a.m., and it was soooo obvious at the beginning of the game that many of the players from both teams just were not awake yet. However, they finally woke up and it was an exciting game. This is the first year we've had a team that won more than one game in a season. Yes, I know winning isn't that important. However, the kids get discouraged when they lose or tie every single game over and over again all year. So, I'm really happy for them. They have another game tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully they'll do well again. I just hope they don't get too cocky.

Another exciting piece of news. Last week's game, Jamie blocked, to quote his coach "a gazillion goals". So, at last night's practice she announced that Jamie had won player of the game for last week's game. He got a cool medal and everything. He's really stoked about it!

Okay, enough about winning games and blocking goals. You want to know my proudest moment today? Just before the ref blew the whistle for the half, one boy from the other team had tripped and fallen as he tried to make the goal against Jamie. Jamie blocked the goal, then the ref blew the whistle. Everybody started to leave the field, except the one boy that missed from the other team stayed laying on the grass. He may have been crying, I couldn't tell. Jamie stopped, turned around and noticed that the boy was still laying in the grass. When all the other players from both teams just walked around (and in some cases just stepped over) the other player, Jamie went back to him, knelt down, helped the other player up then shook his hand. It was only after Jamie made sure the other player was okay that Jamie joined his team to get his half-time snack. That was one of the proudest moments I've had of my boy.

Updates

Most importantly, Jamie is feeling better and finally back at school today. He still has a cough and a sore throat (the latter is probably caused by the former), but no more fever and headache. He's pumped up because he has soccer team pictures this afternoon, which necessitated his wearing his soccer jersey to school today. He was very eager to get to show it off to his gym teacher, especially.

On the job front, we aren't going to be losing any of R.T.'s clients. Seems he's completely changing career paths to environmental engineering and moving to Oregon! The bad part about that is that will leave my boss with even more stress and clients on his plate. So now we're going to start conducting a search for a new metallurgist, as well as an experienced technician. So, if anybody knows of a metallurgical or materials engineer who'd want to move to San Antonio, tell them to drop me a line here on my blog. I'm sure my boss will appreciate it!

103.8

That's how high Jamie's fever has been so far, despite having had Tylenol 1 hour earlier and Jr.-strength ibuprofen an hour before that. That's when I stripped him down and put him in a lukewarm bath. Not cold, just lukewarm. Luckily, the bath helped long enough for the meds to start working. He's now in a codeine cough-syrup induced state of unconsciousness and sweating (for now). I'm sure he'll be blazing hot again with a screaming headache by midnight. Jamie's doctor told me to expect stuff like this from this virus. He is to stay home tomorrow, and by default, so am I. I'm not sure how much homework I can get done though. Most of my time today has been spent in comforting him. Poor baby has had a headache that sounds a lot like the migraines I occassionally get. Sensitivity to light, even a whisper kills his head. He whimpers just when the a/c kicks on in the house. That little "whoomp" noise hurts his head. Then just the noise of him coughing hurts his head so bad that he cries. I ask him why he's crying and he says, "the coughing bangs my head and it hurts!" I'm glad he's sleeping (for now). I feel so helpless when he's sick and there's nothing I can do but pray for him to feel better soon.

NEWSFLASH!

Two items of great import to report here today.

1. Jamie got sent home early today with a fever over 100-degrees and a severe headache. His doctor's appointment is at 3:30 this afternoon. Obviously, he won't be going to soccer practice today. Until it's time for the doctor, he's laying in his bed watching "Robots" on DVD. I'm hoping he'll take a little snooze, too. This will give me the opportunity to do some homework, at least.

2. I have one major piece of news about which I'm not sure how to feel. On a personal level, it makes me joyously happy. On a professional level, I don't know how major of an impact it will have on the company. Rat-tail turned in an open-ended letter of resignation. He may leave as early as May 1, he may stay a little longer. He didn't say for sure when he's leaving. Naturally, he chose the worst possible time to resign, as one of the partners is going on vacation next Monday and won't be back until mid-May. I think Rat-tail timed it this way on purpose. While I find this person beyond intolerable on a personal level, he did bring a lot of business in to the company and generated a lot of revenue. I'm not sure what the unwritten rules are about clients, whether they stick with the company or the engineer. I guess we'll see what happens, and if I still have a job after he leaves. I'll just pray about it and see what God has in store for me. Of course, this may be a great boon, as I had been debating what I would do after I got my undergrad next spring, anyway. This may be the impetus which shows me what direction to take. It may be just one event in a long string of events which will shape my choices. All I can do now is pray, dig in to what work there is and do my best.

Long Work Hours, Soccer Game, Time Warp Trio, Tooth Fairy

I'm not a happy camper, folks. The past four work days I've come in to work anywhere between 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. (regular work day starts at 8:30 a.m.). There have been way too many reports to do, plus payroll, plus last minute "urgent" demands that have required me dropping everything else and starting on that. Then I have to try to remember where I was and what I was doing in said reports before I was interrupted. Plus, I had payroll to do last week. SOMEBODY who shall remain nameless (but has an annoying rat-tail) decided to wait to come in until noon on Thursday and announce that he'd be out of town on Friday. Then he dumped about 5 last-minute invoices on me to do that day before he left around 4:30(!!!). This was on top of everyone else's reports and invoices I already had to do. And if that wasn't enough, he then gave me 18 chemical analysis test results to type into a report. Sheesh! I know y'all are very tired of hearing me gripe about my job. I'm sorry. I have to vent somewhere so I don't explode. See, I feel better now.

Anyway, moving on to this weekend's soccer game. Jamie played goalie for the majority of the game, and he was smokin' hot! He blocked 10 goals from going in! 10! Unfortunately, we lost 2-0, but the referee came up to us afterward and complimented our team. The kids we were playing were HUGE (like, one looked like he should be playing tackle football, not soccer!) and the kids were 10 and 11 years old. Jamie is one of the oldest kids on our team at 9, the rest are 7 and 8 year olds! The ref said he'd refereed that team before, and they usually trounce their competition by 10 points or more. He was very impressed that the game wasn't more one-sided than it was. Then he told Jamie that he did a "fantastic" job! Jamie was so happy he was beaming. Then one of the parents from the other team came up and complimented our team on how fast they were, and (again) Jamie got complimented on his goalie skills. There were times he was the only defense we had, and he rocked!

Tooz sent Jamie a Time Warp Trio t-shirt recently. Just to let you know how much he loves it, Tooz, he had to wear it to school Friday (even though I hadn't washed it yet), then he wore it to church on Sunday (I had washed it that time), and wanted to wear it to school today. Obviously, he loves his shirt!

And, while at church yesterday, Jamie was eating a Tootsie Roll and got a surprise. One of his baby molars came out when it stuck to the candy. We didn't even know it was loose. So, Jamie got to put it under his pillow last night for the Toothy Fairy. Jamie's friend Josh went to church with us yesterday, and I had to threaten him with bodily harm, though. When Jamie said something about putting it under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy, Josh piped up with "Aw, you still believe in that?" Luckily, Jamie at just that moment ran off to show his Sunday School teacher and didn't hear, so I bopped Josh (lightly) on the head and reminded him that Jamie is a little younger than he is, and that it isn't nice to infringe on the fantasies of others. Then I whispered in his ear that if he told Jamie the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny wasn't real, I would "whoop his butt." Josh and I have had to have private discussions before about respecting other people's rules and beliefs. I've also had to kindly remind him that if he cannot follow my rules at my house, he can go home. Overall he's a decent enough kid, just very exhuberant.

Anyway, that's my recap. Better get back to work now so I can go home at a decent time today and not have to come in early tomorrow.

I Promise I'm Not Dead

I'm just very very very busy. I've gotten more responsibilities at work (oh, joy - not), more reports to do than one person can handle, homework out the wazzoo, and of course the kids are acting out more than ever (could it be they sense my and Rachel's stress levels are high? Methinks so!). I've been going in to work at around 7:15 a.m. and not getting off til 5 p.m. or later. I feel like I'm working so hard but not getting anywhere. Rattail fink is being his usual "lovely" self, and I've been seriously considering a change in work environments. I promise, I'll blog later to explain more and let y'all know what's been going on.

In Which I Should be Doing Homework, but Instead am Interviewing More Bloggers

I think the title says it all. So I'll just jump right on in...

For Tooz
1. You're given the opportunity to travel back in time and choose any other major any college you want other than teaching. Would you do it, and if so, what would you choose?
2. What's your favorite thing you've ever sung in choir?
3. If David ever offered to take you anywhere you wanted to go on vacation, regardless of where it is or how much it cost, where would you ask him to take you?
4. Where's your favorite place you've ever been on vacation? Least favorite?
5. What's your favorite childhood memory?

For Tara
1. What's the funniest thing each of your children has done?
2. What's your favorite memory of when you and your husband were dating?
3. What's your favorite thing about the town you live in now? Least favorite thing?
4. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
5. What do you most wish for each of your children when they grow up?

For Becca
1. What's your favorite speech/drama memory from high school?
2. If you were offered the chance to go back to college and finish up your degree, regardless of subject matter, what would you study and what would you do with that educational background?
3. What's the funniest thing C.J. has done so far?
4. What's the most romantic thing Tom has ever done for you?
5. What's your dream job?

I'll get to the rest of you soon, I promise. I just need to stop procrastinating and go do homework now. (and if you do your interview, please post a comment on here to make sure I go read your answers!)

Divine Flatulence

How do you answer the question "Did Jesus fart?"? I was recently asked this question by my dear and darlin' son. My response was, "Well, I would assume so, since he was in human form, he had to eat, and humans fart sometimes mainly because of what they eat." Of course, I took this question very seriously while discussing it with Jamie. But later, after I was alone, I could only giggle, as the term that popped into my head was "divine flatulence". Yes, I am irreverent at times.

Hi, Joel!!!

Methinks I see a little red dot on my ClustrMap that just may be New York City, which suggests to me that my brother, Joel, stopped by to look around and see what's going on. So, even though you can't see me, I'm waving enthusiastically at you, Bubby. Hi, Joel!!!!!!! I miss you, and I'll call you soon (maybe today on my lunch break). And, I'm still working very hard to find a way for the Jamie and me to come see you this fall. Love you great big bunches!

In Which I Interview Other Bloggers

I warned ya'll that I'd interview you, even if you didn't exactly ask. But first, I'll interview someone who did ask:

For Ann
1. What's the best thing about being married?
2. If you could go back in time and change one moment in history (either your personal history or the history of the world), what would it be and why?
3. You've been ordered to evacuate your apartment for an indefinite amount of time, possibly for months. You're allowed to take three personal items with you. What would they be and why?
4. What's your favorite and least-favorite thing about your new town in Tennessee?
5. If you could live in any other era in history, which would it be and why?

Now for all my other fellow bloggers who didn't ask to be interviewed by me but whom I'm interviewing anyway:

For Everett
1. If you could temporarily phase into one person during the Battle of the Alamo, who would it be and why that particular historical figure?
2. A ravenous horde of giant termites are attacking your home. By your estimation, you only have enough time to grab five books out of your personal collection before everything you own is devoured. What books do you choose and why?
3. What do you think is the greatest invention ever made?
4. What is your favorite and least-favorite thing about your job?
5. If you could live anywhere in the world at any time, where/when would it be?

For Lydia
1. What do you most look forward to Cora grows up? What do you most dread?
2. You're offered $1,000,000 to do with whatever you like but there's one catch - you and your family have to move to the other side of the world. Would you do it?
3. What's your favorite and least-favorite thing about your job? Is there a dream job you'd rather have?
4. Which TV show was better - The Brady Bunch or The Partridge Family? If you could be a member of the family of either show, who would you be?
5. If you could live one year of your life over again, which would it be and why?

There are more of you I want to interview, but I don't have time right now. I have to do stuff for work. So be warned Tooz, Becca, Suze, Animal, Julez and Tara, I'll be interviewing you all next!

In Which I Respond to My Interview Questions

Well, I'll get right to it since I have a lot to write and it's after midnight...

To Answer Suze's Questions:
1. We were not only band geeks but flute-playing band geeks in middle and high school together. What was the best part of band (if any) and the worst? Don't hold back :)
I was going to write something else, but I just spared you all the torture of looking into my twisted psyche and I'll give an answer that is only part of the truth: I loved being wrapped up in the music, in having it take over my mind, body and spirit and letting me help craft something that is beyond the everyday drudgery of life. Music can manipulate emotions, can take you into realms in your heart and soul you didn't know existed. That's what I loved about it. I also loved being in the flag corps. I got to be a physical embodiment of the music. I love to move to music; I can't sit still. That was awesome.
What did I consider the worst part? All the cretins who were only in band because they thought it would be an easy "A". I used to get so mad when we'd be working on something, and it was nothing but spitwads flying, people obviously not practicing, etc. Then I got to the point where I didn't care anymore, because it was obvious the band instructors didn't care enough to make the students care, etc.

2. Name one aspect of Texas culture you have absorbed, whether you meant to or not.
The pronunciation thing. Back in Kentucky, I would use Anglicized pronunciation no matter what. Down here, I'm starting to learn the proper TexMex pronunciation. One thing I'll never do that they do, though, is call my son or daughter "Daddy" or "Mama". That drives me nuts.

Oh, and I listen to a LOT more country music now!

3. What's the nicest thing someone's done for you lately?
Today, two women I don't know came up to me in church and prayed for me to have the strength to forgive myself, love myself and have the strength to stop dwelling on mistakes I've made in the past, and instead look ahead and live for the future. All they knew was that I came up during prayer/fellowship at the end of the service. What's awesome (and I mean that as "awe inspiring", not some gnarly thrasher-speak) is that I didn't say what I was coming forward for, just a request for prayer on an unspoken subject.

4. If you saw Bill Gates drop a $100 bill, would you keep it, or give it back to him?
I'd be sorely tempted to keep it (I mean, c'mon! He's Bill Gates! He's got so much money he won't miss one measly bill!), but then my conscience would point out that an omission of telling him he dropped it is the same as a lie, so then I'd have to give it back (drat!).

5. If time and money were no issue, what hobby would you pursue with the most enthusiasm?
I have to choose one? Okay, if I didn't have to split my focus between work and school, and had all the time and money in the world, I'd start collecting degrees. I'd keep going back to college over and over again and get different degrees - archaeology, anthropology, sociology, drama, art, music, Russian, American Sign Language Interpreting, musical theatre, dance, latin, english, egyptology, library science and information processing, medieval history, women's studies, early childhood education, law, psychology. Shall I go on with the list of things I would study? And while I was a student, I would audition and be in every theatre production they have. I miss acting!

To Answer Animal's Questions:
1) If your dream job existed, what would it be, and where?
That's a really tough question! As of right now, my career goal is to be Director of Children's Programming in a public library setting. This way, I get to use my acting skills when I put on readings and performances for children, I get to make them think about new things (What would happen if an elephant sneezed?), and I get to introduce them all the all the wonderful books and words that exist in the world. The only thing better than that would be to write the books myself.

2) You get to sit front row at the concert of your choice; who are you going to see?
Any concert? There's a lot of great music out there, dude! But I think for pure entertainment purposes and so I could marvel at their inventiveness, it would have to be STOMP. The only thing better would be if STOMP teamed up with Savion Glover. Now THAT would be cool!

3) What do you dread the most about Jamie's teenage years?
The first time he works up the courage and enough anger at life in general to blame me for the fact that he's grown up without a daddy. Oh, and trying to teach him how to shave.

4) Give a short list of discs you'd want if you were stranded on a desert island.
Well, assuming I'd actually have some sort of power generator that I could actually listen to them, I'd choose - Green Day, Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde: The Gothic Musical Thriller, Carmina Burana, Sugar Land, The Dixie Chicks, OK Go, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, baroque music in general, The Cranberries, Metallica, Chicago, Steve Taylor, Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, The Ramones, Concrete Blonde, David Bowie, Les Miserables, Gershwin, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Brian Setzer Orchestra/Stray Cats, Cyndi Lauper, Thompson Twins, Duran Duran, Guns N Roses, Poison, Velvet Revolver, Cole Porter, U2, Simply Red, UB40, Celtic music in general, Eminem, Beastie Boys, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones (classic stones), Twisted Sister, Shakespeares Sister, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Skid Row, Live, Pink, Aretha Franklin, The Four Tops, Beach Boys, Beatles... oh, wait, you said a SHORT list, didn't you?

5) How did you first develop your relationship with Jesus?
In little fits and spurts. I'm still developing it, actually. I have a problem with being able to love myself and forgive myself enough to think anyone else could find me significant enough to love. But I'm learning. So I guess you could say I'm still learning to open my heart enough to let Him in so we can have a relationship.


If anybody wants me to interview them, drop me a comment here and I'll try to squeeze in time to oblige you. (Oh, and some of you are getting questions even if you don't ask for them!) But for now, it's after 1 a.m., and I have to work tomorrow (today?).