I'd Like to Kill Her

When I came home from spending the night at my dad's house, my suspicions were confirmed. My fink roommate moved out the rest of her stuff and left me her key. I immediately text messaged her to let her know that, regardless of if she's actually living here or not, she still signed a lease - which means she still has to pay her portion of the rent for December and January, and she owes me her half of the pest control bill. I'm calling the rental company on Monday and giving them the address where she moved, and informing them I'll pay my portion of the rent directly to them, they'll have to get her portion from her. I knew this would happen. She hooked back up with her ex-husband, which - hey, that's great if they can work it out. But what ticks me off is that she decided she didn't need me anymore, so she left me in the lurch. I'm really tired of so-called friends merely using me until some better patsy comes along, especially after all the ways I've bent over backwards over the past two years to help her. I wash my hands of her whole two-faced, back-stabbing family.

Thanksgiving Near-Disaster

Jamie & I celebrated Thanksgiving just the two of us, so I really didn't see the point in cooking a big meal for just us. I remembered at the last minute last night that I had a Cracker Barrel gift card that had been given to us back in January, and we still had two movie passes left over. Dinner and a movie for Thanksgiving? Great!

We have been eating at Cracker Barrel for years with no problem regarding Jamie's food allergies. All we've ever had to do was tell the server about his fatal food allergies, and they've been really vigilant about keeping nuts away from our food and warning us about foods that contain nuts. Well, last night - being Thanksgiving - Cracker Barrel was serving a Thanksgiving dinner that included turkey breast, stuffing, cranberry relish, sweet potato casserole, a side vegetable and pumpkin pie. Well, the casserole and the pumpkin pie had pecans in them, but the server - once I explained the situation - said it was no problem to substitute and that she would warn the kitchen staff about his allergies. I even saw it written on the ticket that neither plate could come in contact with any nuts. Jamie and I both substituted baby carrots for the casserole, chose okra for the side veggie, and substituted ice cream for the pumpkin pie. No big deal.

Our food comes, and there's pecans in my carrots! It looked like they had gotten sloshed on from another dinner. I didn't see any on Jamie's plate, but it freaked me out enough that I sent his plate back to have a whole new plate prepared for him, then I went and found the manager. I told him what had happened and that I was very upset, and explained to him in great detail just how severe Jamie's allergies are, as well as how just the tiniest contact with the allergens, even on someone else, could trigger a fatal reaction. I then went to the rest room and scrubbed my hands, as I had touched the pecans to get them off my plate (I still wouldn't eat the carrots, but I had taken the pecans with me when I talked to the manager).

About ten minutes after I returned to my seat, the manager came up to our table and apologized, then said something to the effect of "Well, we can't help it that your son is allergic." I went off on him then, explaining that we had been eating in Cracker Barrels all over the country for years, and this was the first time we'd ever had a problem. I further pointed out that restaurants are instructed to make accommodations for persons with disabilities, and that there are several government agencies that include food allergies in the list of disabilities (of course, I didn't mention that the only one I could think of was the USDA as it oversees the school lunch program). He then apologized again and stated that our meal was on the house.

Now, while I would not recommend near-fatal brushes with food allergens as a means of getting a free meal, it was still nice of them to do that. And fortunately, the rest of our evening was a lot of fun. We used our tickets to see Bolt in 3-D, and got home around midnight last night. Then I did homework until 3 a.m.

So, last night wasn't a complete disaster, and we had some fun. Now I'm doing laundry and getting ready to go to my dad's. Tomorrow I'll be fixing a big Thanksgiving feast for us.

Tweet, Tweet

Thank goodness for a handy little doodad like Twitter! Jamie and I have both been sick with the nasties for the past week and a half, so I haven’t been doing much in the way of blogging. Plus, I’m working like mad to dig my way through the end-of-the-semester assignment clog, plus keep up everything else. So, Twitter has been a great way for me to keep my blog updated. All I have to do is text a 140 character or less update to Twitter, and they post it in the sidebar of my blog. So, if you’re wondering what I’m up to, but I haven’t had time to post, more than likely you’ll see my little “tweets” on the right sidebar. I’ve also found they are an endless source of entertainment. I’ve subscribed to several people’s twitter updates. So far, my favorite has been a user who calls himself “Holy God”. His last update read: “Attending a deity conference. I'm the only one here.” I laughed out loud when I read it. This person also posts things like “Waking up half the world and putting the other half to sleep,” "Chillin' with the saints" and “Just a little reminder to everyone that adultery is a sin and a very bad one at that. Worse than cursing.” He (she?) also randomly tweets things such as “The Bible is my favorite book. Is that conceited?” I enjoy this person’s tweets very much.

Wednesday Eye Candy!

I was going to wait until Friday, but I decided I couldn't wait to show off my boy!

Here's Jamie's Fall 2008 pictures. I couldn't afford the $40 the school photogs wanted for school pictures, so I took him to Wally World and paid only $16, and got more photos and more poses.

He loves the violin so much he insisted on having some of his pictures taken with it, even though they hadn't even starting bowing yet in practice! He amazes me more and more every day.

Why, Yes, I CAN Procrastinate!

I'm supposed to be doing Spanish homework right now, but because I feel like crapola (thanks, Jamie, for giving me your virus!), instead I will fill out this meme I stole from Steph, who stole it from Feral Mom.

Three Things You Want To Do Before You Die:
1.) Write a novel
2.) Tour Europe
3.) Fall in love

Three Names You Go By:
1.) Jenn
2.) Juniper
3.) Jenny (only to family)

Three Physical Things You Like About Yourself:
1.) my chameleon eyes
2.) my full lips
3.) my strong, flexible hands and fingers

Three Parts Of Your Heritage:
1.) German
2.) French
3.) Irish

Three Things That Scare You:
1.) Hypodermic needles
2.) The current economy
3.) Commitment

Three Of Your Everyday Essentials:
1.) French Vanilla Coffee
2.) Sleepytime Tea
3.) music

Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1.) jeans
2.) white t-shirt
3.) Geek chic glasses

Three Of Your Favorite Bands/Musical Artists:
1.) Simon & Garfunkel
2.) Canadian Brass
3.) OK Go

Three Of Your Favorite Songs (at the moment anyway):
1.) OK Go, "Let it Rain"
2.) Pink feat. Steven Tyler, "Misery"
3.) Simon & Garfunkel, "Sound of Silence"

Three Things You Want In A Relationship:
1.) Laughter
2.) Respect
3.) Love

Two Truths And A Lie (in no particular order):
1.) I've never been married
2.) I *love* living in Texas
3.) My boy is the center of my world

Three Things You Want To Do Really Badly Right Now:
1.) Drink a bunch of Nyquil and go to bed
2.) Win the lottery
3.) Watch all six hours of A&E's "Pride and Prejudice" mini-series

Three Careers You're Considering/You've Considered:
1.) Actress
2.) College professor
3.) Journalist (Okay, that's cheating, as I actually WAS one, not just considering it)

Three Places You Want To Go On Vacation:
1.) Ireland
2.) Italy
3.) Prince Edward Island, Canada

Three Pet Names You Like (not sure if this means affectionate names for humans or names for companion animals, therefore these are affectionate names for my companion animals):
1.) Triptych
2.) Maestro
3.) Jazz Man

Three Ways That You Are Stereotypically A Girl:
1.) I have 30 pairs of shoes
2.) Go all gooey inside when I get to hold a baby
3.) I don't understand the fascination with cars: if it has four wheels, runs, and gets decent mileage, who CARES what it looks like?!?!?!?

Three Ways That You Are Stereotypically A Boy:
1.) Major potty mouth
2.) I love to play with tools
3.) Hate doing housework

Stubborn Old Man!

Dad wouldn't let me pick him up this morning, nor would he let me take his dog home. He insists on driving himself to the hospital. He doesn't want me to take the dog because he doesn't want me "spoiling" him. Don't worry about Buddy (the dog) though, I made sure he had plenty of food and water, and he has a doggie door so he can go outside when he needs to. However, I don't think Buddy will be lonely because I personally think Dad won't go at all. I tried coaxing, arguing, guilt trips - everything in my arsenal, but the stubborn old fart would not let me come get him. Grr!

He's supposed to call me when he gets checked in and tell me what room number he's in. Like I said above, I personally don't think he'll go. He thinks if he doesn't know about it, it can't hurt him. Like an ostrich, he wants to put his head in the sand and hope when he emerges the threat will have gone away. Doesn't work that way, Dad.

If by some miracle he does go, I'm going to tell the doctor she better keep him sedated, or else he'll get mad about something or other (like he always does), get dressed and leave before the testing is completed. If he's sedated, that also means I'll be able to go visit him and take his keys to his truck away from him. Kind of hard to leave somewhere if you don't have the keys to your car, yanno? As for the dog, I have a key to Dad's house, so I can go down and pick him up at any time if Dad does go for the testing, and they find something that needs to be treated right away.

Stunned

How is it that, despite having watched closely as my sister, grandmother and mother wasted away, I am still stunned when I learn that yet another case of cancer may have reared its head in my family? I'm on auto-pilot right now. I'm kind of numb, and feel like I'm walking in a daze. This morning, I got a call from my father's oncologist. I didn't even know he HAD an oncologist. Apparently, Dad had gone to his cardiologist for his regular check-up on his pacemaker and complained of difficulty breathing and rapid weight loss (~10 pounds since I saw him 2 weeks ago).

So the cardiologist ordered a CT scan, and discovered a large mass in Dad's neck that also appears to be fused into some of his spinal cord, shoulder and brain. This led the cardiologist to send Dad to the oncologist. She met with him yesterday, and called me this morning to talk to me about Dad being admitted to the hospital for 2-3 days for intensive testing. Mind you, Dad didn't tell me a word about any of this.

She also confirmed that Dad does indeed have Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a degenerative neurological disorder that is fatal, usually within six years of onset. Based on his medical history, he's been displaying symptoms for the past two years. She also stated that Dad should not be living on his own anymore, and definitely should NOT be driving himself anywhere anymore. So, I'm taking Monday morning to go pick up Dad and his dog, drop the dog off at my house, take Dad to the hospital, and check him in. Then the oncologist wants to meet with me and Dad to discuss his living arrangements. I don't know what to do about that. To protect my child, I really can't have my Dad living with me. He can be violent, he's mean, and the emotional damage to Jamie would be great. I also don't have the ability to take care of everything he needs for the PSP, much less if he has cancer as well. I have no idea what to tell the doctor, much less while Dad is sitting right there with me.

That same day, I have to take Jamie to start his vision therapy for the convergence insufficiency. It took me a month to get an appointment, I can't reschedule it now. Sometimes it really sucks to have no one physically in your life on whom you can lean when you need help. I need to be 10 places at once, and somehow manage to do it all - including not missing any work, or else my boss won't wait until January to terminate my employment. This. really. sucks.

I know I complain about my father - A LOT. I also know I've said a million times that I love my father, I just don't like him very much. And this is true. But I wouldn't want to see my worst enemy waste away like what will happen to my father - whether by PSP or cancer. Either way, the prognosis is not good, and he's going to need a lot of assistive care. And knowing my father, he'll be kicking and fighting the whole way. God help us all.

New Recipe on R.O.U.S.

I posted a new recipe on R.O.U.S.

Go check it out! Just click on the title of this post, and you'll be there. Go on! Go!

:-)

I'm a Bad, Bad Mommy...

.. because I failed to tell you all that Jamie sprained his wrist last Monday while playing soccer at recess. The nurse thought it was broken, so I had to leave work and take him to the ER for x-rays. Turns out, it was just a sprain, but bad enough that he had to have a hard brace and no P.E. or recess (or soccer) for the rest of last week. I was told Jamie could play in the soccer game on Saturday, though, as long as he wore the brace.

Well, wouldn't you know that Jamie fell in the exact same way during the game and reinjured his wrist. Now it's another week of no soccer, recess or P.E., and the wrist looks worse this time around. I may have to take him back to his doctor if it doesn't get better soon. I'll keep you informed this time, I promise!

You can barely see it because one of the rungs is in the way, but Jamie has a huge ice-pack on his left wrist in this picture. This is what pain, boredom and the trance-like state that "Spongebob" induces looks like!

Maybe Surrender was Premature...

Hello again. Time for me to bore you with more degree puzzlings and angst. I was about to surrender and go back to a BGS degree. BUT - then I noticed something. All the classes I've liked in both sociology and government have been law-and-society type courses. Criminal Law (gov), Constitutional Law (gov), Criminology (soci), Global Inequality (soci), etc. Just about every class I've elected to take has had to do with these type of courses. So, guess what! They all are also required courses for a B.S. in Criminal Justice. If I switched to this major, I would graduate in Fall 2009. That's only one more semester than the BGS degree. I can handle that. I was just getting frustrated with the Soci major because not everything was offered online, which meant I would have to take the courses at another institution and transfer them in; there's also a residency requirement which meant I would have had to take two or three semesters of electives just to be able to graduate with the correct number of in-house hours. But the CJ degree is offered 100% online at my school! I wouldn't have to worry about the residency. Also, I was going for a Soci major and Gov minor. The CJ degree is a perfect blending of the two. Also, many of the jobs I would ultimately want require either a sociology degree, social work degree, or criminal justice. Am I crazy? Or should I go for it?

I Surrender!

Those of you whom have read this blog for a while know that I was originally in school pursuing a Bachelor of General Studies degree with concentrations in Sociology and Government. Earlier this year, I switched to a Bachelor of Science in Sociology with a minor in Government. The idea was to start this past summer taking additional sociology classes from another online school to transfer to Texas Woman’s University. The way I had arranged it, it would have only involved an extra year of schooling. BUT – that was before Jamie’s health issues this summer flared up to the point where I couldn’t handle a full-time load, before my job was at risk, before my roommate decided to ditch me.

SO – I’m switching back to my original plan of getting my BGS. This way, I’ll graduate next semester (go me!). Then I can start applying to grad schools. Now my only problem is deciding what program to which I want to apply. I’m enjoying my sociology classes up to a point. But I’ve enjoyed all my government classes more. Heck, I got nominated into a history and government honors society, for goodness sake! But, I’ve also always had a dream in the back of my head of being a teacher for the deaf. And TWU offers both a Masters in Government and a Master’s in Deaf Education. Both programs are online classes. The only thing additional I would have to do for the deaf ed. would be to take sign language classes here locally. And one of the colleges I already attend (San Antonio College) for my prerequisite courses offers sign language classes. I want to get my Master’s from TWU because I figure – hey, it’s their BGS degree! They can’t exactly turn it down as inferior, can they?

So, anywho, I give up. I surrender. I cannot take another whole year of school to graduate. I’ll go insane! So, I’m taking the easier way out. Am I making a big mistake?

I Don't Have to Move to Canada After All!

OMG OMG OMG!!!! I can't stop smiling. My cheeks hurt, I'm smiling so much!

I was so afraid this day would end so much differently. We all know how the elections have gone in the past - GOP. But this!

Oh! I don't have the words! I have hope again!

To quote some dear friends:

"Woooohooooooooo!"

Today's Guest Blogger is Jamie!

Hi i'm jamie. last week I went to Jon knocks rach, itwas fun!!!!! 1 thing I did was fine the cabin. My cabin name was limestone. It was cool and amazing. I sleep on top. My room mat's were remo, cj, and chaperone. Then we went to the meeting house we had fun. Then on day 2 we went canoeing,and fishing and we went bird watching and saw 1. Then on day 3 we moved ash juniper trees, then we left. I had a lot of fun!!!!! Thank you Ms. Tiffany for makin it possbel for me to go!