Origami Originals

Yesterday, we got a package in the mail from Momma Tooz. What fun stuff was inside! Jamie was especially excited about the origami books Tooz had included. He'd done a little bit in art class, apparently. So he pounced on the origami books right off. Here's a picture I snapped of him folding away. Of course, I didn't tell him this, but everything he made looked exactly the same, regardless of which set of instructions he was supposed to be following. However, he was happy, quiet and allowed me to do my homework, so I left him alone. I then had to wrestle the books away from him to get him in the shower and to bed.

I was going to digitally edit out the messy state of my living room, then decided I'd be honest and let you all see how trashed my house has become. Be glad I didn't take the picture in the kitchen - you'd be shocked and amazed at the number of dirty dishes in my sink and on my counters! (This is what happens when you're never home. The dirty dishes multiply like rabbits! I knew I should have had them all neutered! That's my story and I'm sticking too it - I didn't do it, the dishes just multiplied!) LOL!

Rachel and Destiny are coming over tonight. The kids are going to check out the playground newly installed at my apartment complex, and Rachel and I are going to take chairs and books down there so we can do homework while the kids play.

Another cute thing - remember before how Jamie was sooooo bothered by Destiny? He admitted the other day that he's missed seeing her. Now that Rachel works days, we only have to keep Destiny every other weekend. We'll have Destiny this weekend, and Jamie asked if we could put one of his old jersies on her to wear to his soccer game. That's a far cry from the little boy who was worried that people would "know" Destiny was with us last time! Now he wants her around and wearing his old clothes. LOL!

Slug Weather

Today, we're experiencing what I call "slug weather". It's raining a bit, just enough moisture to pull the slugs and snails up out of the ground to lie all over the place, disgusting me with their squishy, slimy selves. This is why I could never eat escargot, people. Bleck! I also call it "slug weather" because it makes me feel like I just want to lie like a slug in bed all day. I didn't want to come to work today, but since I had already taken a vacation day yesterday, I didn't think I could take another day off. Then it would have been even harder to get motivated to go back to work.

In other news:
- Rachel was able to get her schedule at work changed to daytime hours three days a week, which means I will only keep Destiny every other Saturday.

- Instead of getting to take my planned Chicago vacation this past weekend, it was spent in study and family time. Yesterday was spent helping Rachel find a car. 9 hours and 250 miles of driving from car to car later, we found her a decent 1989 Honda Accord in her price range. It still has a few quirks to fix, but Hondas have an excellent reputation.

- I finally got my grade for the exam I took 10/2/06 in my US History II class. Despite the fact that I didn't even get to read the last three chapters covered in that unit, I managed to get a "C". Apparently, I remembered just enough from Chip's classes in high school to not totally disgrace myself. I've vowed never to go into an exam that unprepared again though, so I'm spending more time on history, less on blogging. Sorry guys. Studies and family's going to have to trump the blogging. I'll still try to post at least twice a week, though.

- Jamie's team lost again on Saturday, but it was a victory in a way. The team we were playing is really good (the best in the league). They have ridiculous amounts of weekly practices and the coach spends every preseason recruiting players (even though you aren't supposed to). Our kids were able to score a goal against them (Jamie had another "assist"), which no other team in the league so far this season has been able to do! Yay!!! We were also able to keep them from scoring several goal attempts. Final score was 3-1, in their favor. The other team kicked the ball to the goal about 15 times, but our kids kept the ball out all but three times. Way to go, Wizards!!!

- My first paper for my criminal evidence and procedure class got an "A"! The entire course grade is based on four papers and your responses to weekly discussion questions. I have full points for all discussion questions. So as it stands now, I have "A"s in three classes and a "C" in my history class. I'm going to try to pull up the history grade to an "A". It's based solely on four exams. Overachiever that I am, I want straight "A"s in all subjects, as I don't see working full-time and raising Jamie full-time as an excuse for less than my best. Gee, maybe this is why I get burned out so quickly every time I try to go back to school! LOL! Can't help it. Guess I'm a Type A personality (forgive the bad pun, there).

I'm Sorry, But That Was Just Plain Stupid!

I was reading the news online the other day, and noticed a quote regarding the tragic Amish school shooting earlier this week. Basically, the quote read something like this:

"Such-and-such person, a truck driver, barricaded himself in the school with the students. It is not known whether or not he is Amish."

DUH! If he were Amish, he wouldn't be a truck driver, now would he? This led me to contemplate some other highly stupid things that have been said by well-known people or written as headlines in our newspapers:

"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history."
- Dan Quayle

"We all get heavier as we get older because there's a lot more information in our heads."
- Vlade Divac, Basketball player

"Most lies about blondes are false."
- Headline

"Fiction writing is great, you can make up almost anything."
- Ivana Trump, on her first novel

"You can't just let nature run wild."
- Wally Hickel, former Alaska governor

"Lack of brains hinders research."
- Headline

"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
- Lee Iacocca, Chairman of the Chrysler corporation

"And now the sequence of events in no particular order."
- Dan Rather

"They misunderestimated me."
-George W. Bush

"It isn't pollution that is hurting the environment, it's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
- Dan Quayle

And my personal favorite:

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

Freak Out!

I'm freaking. Really truly freaking. In 21 days I'll be 30. I know I've been mildly freaked for some time that is date was approaching, but now that it's October, I'm REALLY freaking out! Why can't I just stay a kid forever, like on the Toys R' Us commercials?

I don't wanna grow up,
I'm a Toys R' Us kid
There's a million toys at
Toys R' Us that I can play with!
I don't wanna grow up
'cause if I did,
I wouldn't be a Toys R' Us kid!

When you're 30, you aren't supposed to do silly immature things like go to a midnight screening of Rocky Horror Picture show (not that I've done that in a loooooooooonnnngg time, but I might have the urge to do it soon), or seriously enjoy meals such as hot dogs and Spaghetti O's washed down with strawberry Kool-aid. Heck, I guess when you're 30 you're not supposed to hold your son down so you can fart on him, either, are you? While Jamie might enjoy the reprieve from that particular family ritual, I'll miss it greatly. It's really fun to watch him giggle and squirm and try to get away from me, pretending like he hates it but laughing so hard he's gasping for air (or is he gasping because I farted on him? Can't really say for sure). And did you know that after the age of 30, a woman's chances of having a meaningful relationship drop to about only 20%!?! So, I don't want to be 30 yet. Can I just refuse to acknowledge that Oct. 22 exists? Can we skip from 10/21/06 to 10/23/06 without that other day in between?


In other news:

1) Jamie's team got trounced in Saturday's game. There hasn't been a sporting event like that since the Romans stopped throwing Christians to the lions. Halfway through the third quarter, Jamie strained a muscle in his side and had to sit out the rest of the game. He's better today, but he's still sore. On a good note, though, he managed to get through the month of September without getting his pyramid down at school, so he earned a reward. He decided he didn't want to go to Build-a-Bear this time, so he picked out a new Avatar: The Last Airbender toy for his treat. I was happy as it was less than half the cost of a trip to B-A-B.

2) My first exam is today, and I am in no way ready for it. At least if I get a bad grade today, I'll have three more exams in that class to bring the average up.

3) I discovered yesterday that, despite the fact it had been 15 years since I last tried to do one, I can still do a cartwheel, straight as an arrow. Jamie was feeling better and was trying to do a cartwheel outside while I walked the dog, but was not being too successful. He looked more like he was trying to impersonate a hermit crab. I couldn't help but giggle, so he got all huffy and said he'd like to see me do one. Well, I did! I don't know who was more surprised, Jamie or me! (See, that's another reason why I can't be turning 30 yet. 30 year olds aren't supposed to be doing cartwheels out on the lawn, are they?)

Have a good day everyone!

For a Few Dollars More

I'm smiling, and I can't stop. I know life isn't all about money, but it sure makes it easier sometimes. Today I had my year-end review; I was kind of scared due to the semi-recent fiascoes which had occurred. Instead of it being bad, it was pretty good. In fact, I got a bigger raise than what I was expecting. Instead of the 50-cent an hour raise that was promised in my contract, I got a dollar-an-hour raise! Whooo hooo. And my lunch with the bosses wife lasted more than 2 hours! Thank you Jesus! This has been a WONDERFUL day!

Gotta get back to work now!

My Place in the World

I've been asking a lot of questions of myself here lately. "Why am I here?" is the big one right now, followed closely by "What is my purpose in life? What place do I fill in the world? Who, what and WHERE am I supposed to be?" I firmly believe God has a plan for all of us - what I don't know is if his plan is set in concrete, aboslute terms or if he has a general, vague conception of where he wants each of us to be. Whichever it is, I'm totally lost and have no clue how to discover it.

I've been feeling like the lines from one of my favorite Concrete Blonde songs here lately

like a book with missing pages
like a story incomplete
like a painting left unfinished
it feels like not enough to eat.
"Little Conversations" - Concrete Blonde

I'm overwhelmed and bored at the same time. Overwhelmed between school, work and kids; bored by my job and impatient to see what's around that next corner. I know what I want, but I have to figure out if that's also what is meant to happen, or if it would just hurt everyone involved and cause a disaster of nuclear proportions. And there' are other things clouding the issue - my fear of rejection, the logistics of what I want, figuring out if anyone else is wanting the same thing I am, etc.

It has me feeling confused and adrift lately, so I have therefore been questioning every major event in my life, trying to figure out if the key to the future is in my past, or if my past is just so much baggage that needs to be thrown off the train. Trying to figure out where I am supposed to exist in this world, what sort of impact (good or bad) I'm having on Jamie, if I've done all that I should have done, etc. Your typical late-night "Dear God, please don't let me have messed things up too badly and what do you have planned for me" kind of anxiety, mixed in with a bit of "please don't let this be all there is to life because if it is I don't know if I can stand it much longer" whining.

I feel as if there is something essential that I'm missing, or haven't understood, because I don't feel as though I'm living wholly in the world anymore, and I don't have the whole story. Maybe I'm the book with missing pages, but I don't know what I'm supposed to write on them. And if I don't know what to write on them, how can I tell Jamie how to complete his story as he's growing up?

Bringing You Up to Date

Wow, it's been way too long since my last post. How did four days get past me without me realizing how long it's been? A LOT has happened since then.

First of all, let me say that Jamie's soccer team won their second game! Jamie played goalie and did a fantastic job! Secondly, Jamie's coach awarded Jamie the "player of the game" medal for his defense skills and "assist" on the goal in the first game. All the kids get one for some reason or another throughout the season, but Jamie was very proud that he got it for the first game. Two other kids got medals for the first game, too. Coach White usually gives a medal for best defense, best offense, and best all-around for each game. They get actual soccer medals, and the kids are so proud and just light up when they get one!

Destiny got to witness her first soccer game this past Saturday. She stayed at our house from 6 p.m. Friday night until about 10 p.m. Saturday night. Rachel had to go from school straight to work on Friday and had to work until past 9 p.m. Then Rachel had school first thing Saturday morning then work right after that until after 9 p.m. again. So Destiny got to be my little adopted daughter. It was fun (but exhausting). She was especially excited that she got to wear Jamie's soccer jersey from last season to the game. It was so cute to hear her yelling "Go, Janie!" (she can't tell the difference yet between the "n" and "m" sounds) and "Go, Wizzawds!" She absolutely adores Jamie and runs after him like a little sister would. Jamie is at a stage where girls are kind of icky, so he treats Destiny like she really is his little sister. I spent a lot of time refereeing them, as Jamie was getting upset and yelling "Mom, she's touching my stuff!" It was actually pretty amusing. As you can see from the picture below, she's ecstatic over how she's dressed, and Jamie isn't amused at all! LOL!

In other news, school is still truckin' right along, and the pace at work has let up some. I actually got to study for two hours at work on Friday, and should have some time again today. My one year anniversary at work is next week, so my boss' wife is taking me to lunch on Friday to celebrate, which is really nice. I'm supposed to have my end-of-year review sometime this week, and, recent fiascos aside, I'm fairly confident the overall tone will be positive.

Well, time to do my morning tasks, then do some studying. Hope you all have a great week!

My New Love

I'm in love. Really, truly, I am. Let me tell you a little bit about him. He's white, has a super sharp "brain" and "thinks" really really fast. Faster than any other I've ever had. He's trim and sleek, and does whatever I ask of him without balking. All I have to do is stroke him a little, and he does it. His name is Mac, well, iMac, actually, and he's the laptop I received late Tuesday night from my brother.

Ha ha! Had you going there for a minute, didn't I? Those of you who know me know that I wouldn't abandon my affections for a certain (albeit clueless) person! But I couldn't resist telling how much my new computer ROCKS! Thank you, Bubby! He even pre-loaded it with all the Mac versions of the MS Office programs I need for school, as well as web design software I'm going to need for work, and Photoshop, which I use for work and the PTA newsletter, as well as for posting cute pictures of Jamie and Ziggy on the web. I can't say it enough: THANK YOU BUBBY!!!!!

The only problem I seem to be having with my Mac is that I can't get my printer to work on it. I even went online and downloaded an "open source" printer driver that's supposed to work with my ancient HP Deskjet 632c. Alas, it does not. Looks like I'm going to have to add money for a new printer (maybe with a scanner and copier, too?) into my budget. Perhaps I could justify it as my birthday present to myself. Or, you all could e-mail me if you have any suggestions, and I try that to see if I can get my current printer working.

Anyway, I didn't blog yesterday for myriad reasons:
1. Jamie was home sick yesterday. He was up all night Tuesday night with ear pain. We went to Wally World in the middle of the night to get some soothing ear drops for him. Took him to doctor yesterday. Diagnosis: Ear infection caused by sinus drainage attributed to ineffective allergy medicine. Got a 'script for him and he's back at school and I'm back at work today.

2. I have a huge paper due Friday, as well as several assignments in other classes due tonight, and I haven't finished any of them. As it says on a T-shirt I saw at Wally World the other night - "Procrastinators, Unite... Tomorrow!"

3. I was having lots of fun playing with my new toy, and didn't want to quit playing with it to blog about it.

In other news...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANN!!!!!

Now I must catch up on work missed yesterday. Thank goodness my boss' wife filled in for me yesterday, so I don't have too much to do today. I might actually be able to do some homework today at work. I brought my schoolbooks just in case.

Completely Unmotivated Today

Today, I am completely lacking in motivation to deal with tedious paperwork. I babysat Rachel's 2 year old daughter, Destiny, yesterday so that Rachel could go work at her new job (yay, Rachel!) But I'm not used to hyperactive 2 year olds anymore, so I'm totally exhausted. Although, it was fun to give her a bath and do girlie things like fixing her hair, etc.

However, today, I'm out of steam. No juice. Nothing. I wanna go home and go back to bed. In fact, I feel about like Destiny did yesterday after I picked her up from her babysitters...

Maybe the fact that she got a 30 minute nap on the way home is what gave her all the energy to run me ragged. Jamie was a really big helper and played with her. After she left, it was funny, because the minute Rachel went out the door with Destiny, Jamie swiped the back of his hand across his forehead and said "Pshew!" LOL

Wizards 1, Rangers 0

Jamie's team won this morning! YAY! It was a very exciting game, as Jamie's team didn't score until the last quarter. Wizards got the ball, took it down the field. Jamie was waiting by the goal. Stephen passed the ball to Jamie, Jamie kicked it toward the goal. The Rangers' goalie got it but lost it when he half-sat on it. Jamie distracted the goalie by making a feint toward the ball, which allowed Stephen to swoop in and kick the ball in the goal. YAY! GO WIZARDS!

Jamie played three quarters, so he's understandably tired, especially considering he was so excited about the first game that he didn't fall asleep until after midnight! Game was at 8:30 and we had to go to the store beforehand to get the after-game snacks. So we got up early! Jamie's watching cartoons now, and I wouldn't be surprised if he took a nap.

Okay, so that's my update on the soccer game. Hopefully soon I'll get a good camera and be able to post some pictures of a game.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kick-Off is Tomorrow

The kick-off of Jamie's soccer season is tomorrow. This should be interesting, as I'm one of those moms that hollers and yells encouragement and generally deafens the people in front of me. However, I still don't have all my lung capacity back and still cough quite a bit, so it should be interesting to see if I can make it through the whole game without making myself ill. Guess the inhaler better go with me.

My dad's laptop is doing just fine for me to have 'net access at home. I just had to go out and buy a ethernet adapter for it. Thank you, Bubby, for helping me figure out what the heck to buy. I haven't bought the router he told me to yet, though, as it's more expensive than my budget allows. For now, this works. Once I have to link up several computers at once, then I'll get the router.

Gotta get back to work now.

I Love It!

Gotta love this sign! The caption said it was from British Columbia, Canada.

Sasquatch

I don't by any means have a dainty foot. But either my foot is small, or Jamie is the next incarnation of the Sasquatch. As evidenced below, I can now wear my son's shoes. A little tight, yes; but the fact remains, he's 8 and I can wear his shoes. Does that mean when he's a teenager I'll have to have his shoes special ordered? What's the biggest size one can find men's shoes in your average store? Should I start saving money now so he'll have an adequate "shoe fund"? Will the rest of his body grow to be proportionate to his feet, or will he be hobbit-proportioned? I now understand what my mother meant about it hurting sometimes to watch your kids grow up. But not only does it give you a pang emotionally, but it also kicks you in the wallet! Needless to say though, I think he's worth every penny. (And no, I haven't said anything to him about the size of his feet. I don't want to give him a complex!)

OK Go - Watch this Video!

I'll never look at Treadmills the same way again! This video is fun! I think I've found my new favorite band. They're called OK Go. They remind me of what used to be fun about rock and pop.

Watch this video here

What, Me, Coyote?

This has definitely been an interesting weekend. Friday night I got to play barefoot soccer in scrimmage with Jamie's soccer team. Coach wasn't there and assistant coach got stuck in traffic, so me and some other moms got the kids started on some drills, then had a little scrimmage. I had worn pink flip flops to work that day, so I had to kick them off in order to be able to run around and play soccer. When it was time to go home, I discovered the shoes had landed in a fire ant hill, and ants had infiltrated into the soles and lining of the shoes. Well, I've developed an allergy to the little twerps, so I couldn't put the shoes on. I also didn't want a car full of fire ants, so the shoes went straight into the garbage. And they were my favorite pair of shoes, too!

Friday night, Rachel and Destiny spent the night to make it easier for me to watch Destiny the next morning while her mommy went to class. Destiny is the little blonde, two-year-old diva I'd talked about before, and she's funny! I walked out of the bathroom at one point, and she squealed "I'm so proud of you! You went pee pee in the potty!" It seems she has been getting positive reinforcement from her mommy during potty training, and decided she'd reciprocate! I laughed so hard! About 9:35 Saturday morning, I started to wonder when Jamie's next psych appointment was, as he was running low on medicine. At 9:40, I found the appointment reminder slip, only to discover we were already 10 minutes late for his appointment! It was supposed to be that day! OH NO! I hadn't had a shower yet, was still in my pj's, I had a two-year-old in tow, and the doctor's office was only open until 11:30. So I called to try to reschedule for the next Saturday, but they were booked. They were kind enough to say that if we got there before 11, they'd squeeze us in. So, I took a quick shower, got dressed, brushed Destiny's hair and teeth and we flew all the way over to the other side of town for his appointment. We got there at 10:45 and were out of there by 11:35.

But then we had to drive downtown for an orientation for one of my telecourses. The kids had to go in with me, so I told them both they had to be quiet. There we were, lined up like little soldiers. Jamie in the back desk, Destiny in front of him, and me in front of her. Jamie was quiet as a mouse and such a good boy. Destiny stayed quiet for about 10 minutes, then I could hear her revving up. She then turned around to Jamie and in a loud whisper started telling him, "You have to be quiet, okay? Your mommy said we have to stay quiet, so don't make any noise, okay?" With each word she got louder. It was the type of "whispering" that only a toddler can do! I thought it was funny. The professor didn't, so he allowed me to leave early. LOL!

Then, we met Rachel back at my apartment, where I put in a load of laundry and then we all went to lunch at Ryan's Buffet. Got back to my place, Rachel and Destiny gathered up their stuff and headed to their place to take a nap. Jamie and I got ready to go to Dad's house, where I locked myself in the bedroom with the air on high and did homework. Jamie and Dad did guy stuff in the garage. Then I open a certified letter addressed to me from the Department of Homeland Security. It would seem whomever bought my old Saturn at auction never registered it in their own name. The car was seized at the border in August. Whomever was driving was trying to smuggle in illegal aliens. Since the car was registered in my name, the border patrol thought I was a coyote and were notifying me of pending legal action!!! What, me, a coyote? Hellooooooooooo? I've NEVER been to Mexico, people!

Sunday morning, we get home and get settled down. I do more homework for a while, then call Joel to walk me through installing a new operating system on my computer. Well, it worked, but it messed up my ability to access the internet. And I couldn't fix the problem without getting on the internet to download an update. So... drag Jamie to my work to do homework on the 'puter. I also had to finish the PTA newsletter. Get all done that I can, then print out everything else to work on at home. Get back home, and get Jamie showered and ready for bed. We played a very short game of Monopoly, then he hit the bed at 9:00. I went looking for his agenda to sign, and it's nowhere to be found. The little squirt left it at school. No agenda means he'll get his responsibility pyramid piece taken down. Pyramid coming down means no Build a Bear workshop trip for him at the end of the month.

So, I took him to school this morning so we could find his agenda and I could sign it. I also had to turn in the proof copy of the PTA newsletter. Then, I get in to work about 30 minutes early and call the border patrol to inform them that I'm not running a one-woman smuggling business and fax them a copy of the bill of sale proving the car is no longer mine. Then I got busy on reports and such. Is it any wonder I'm already exhausted? I think that old Chinese curse is soooo true, "may you be cursed with an interesting life." I'd settle for less interesting and more smooth!

Today after work, I'm driving down to Dad's to get his laptop to use until the Mac Joel is sending gets here. Something tells me I won't get much homework done tonight, as it's a one-hour trip one way. By the time we get home, it will be time to throw Jamie in the shower and get ready for bed!

Zzzzzzzzzzzz... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

I'm REALLY sleepy today! I think I've been in a sleep-deprived state since school started. I'm sitting here at work, fighting off falling asleep at the desk. It looks bad to clients when they walk in the door and the first thing they see is the secretary face-down on her desk drooling on the desk blotter...

My ingrained procrastination and usual over-achievement-seeking is spanking my butt right now! After much debating with myself, I have decided I am going to drop one of my classes. But I can't do it quite yet, as I have to get a consortium agreement between the two colleges which I am attending, and the head honcho I have to talk to about it isn't in the office this week. In the mean time, I have to keep up with my coursework, just in case for some reason H.H.-dude says "no".

Jamie is ecstatic that soccer has started back up for the season. His first practice was on Wednesday, and he was giddy with joy at seeing his coach again. This is his third season with the same coach, and his sixth season playing soccer. He's getting to be quite the good defender. Coach would even like to see him playing goalie more, but after Jamie's experience as goalie last season, he's really having to work at it to not be afraid of the ball when it comes to him.

Saturday, I'm babysitting Destiny, the sassy little two year old who's simultaneously in love with both my son and my dog. It's usually a toss up on which one she greets first when she comes over. She loves to play fetch with Ziggy. About a million times a visit, I'll hear her say "Go gitit, Siggy" (she can't make the Z sound yet). Then she'll go looking for Jamie, asking Rachel "Where's him?" if she can't find Jamie. 9 times out of 10, Jamie's hiding from her. He claims he's trying to play hide and seek, but I get the feeling sometimes he's just hiding, period! But for the most part, he's really good with her and plays really well with her. He doesn't like to admit it in front of his "macho" friends, but he loves playing with babies and little kids.

So far, Jamie is off to a great start at school. He still hasn't gotten his pyramid taken down at school any and his grades are all A's and some high B's. That's quite the change for a little boy who about six months ago was getting in trouble several times a day every day and had D's and F's! I'm very proud of the little booger!

The booger has soccer practice again tonight, and I'm seriously considering taking a nap in the car during practice. I've got more homework to do tonight, and also have to copy everything on my computer I want to keep. Joel is going to walk me through wiping my operating system and installing a better one, then I've got to re-install all the stuff I actually need and use on a daily basis. That consists of maybe 3 or 4 programs for me and about 20 education game programs for Jamie!

Love and hugs to you all!

Quid Pro Quo

Okay, you all have been sharing such wonderful stories about what's going on in your lives, but I have been woefully absent from the blogfest. So now it's time for me to ante up my anecdotes.

First, a couple of random quotes from the weekend:
"Mommy, what did this used to be?" - Jamie, upon finding a mysterious green and fuzzy object in the back of the fridge. I must confess, I didn't know the answer to his question!

"Pick a [cloth] heart out of the basket. Rub it on your left elbow, rub it really good against your funny bone so your new bear will have a great sense of humor. Rub the heart against your forehead, so he'll always know what you're thinking. Now hold it up against your heart so he'll always know what you're feeling and that you love him." - Jami, a Build-A-Bear Workshop employee, instructing my Jamie on how to stuff his new bear. After this little ritual, Jamie got to pop the heart inside the bear, then watch as Jami (getting confusing, isn't it) put a tube in the hole in the back of said bear and filled him with stuffing.

"There's a hole in this underwear. Let's get another one." - Rachel, upon examining the underwear selections for the bears at Build-A-Bear Workshop.

"Um, Rachel, that's for their tails." - Me, pointing out to Rachel that there are supposed to be holes in the underwear.

Now for the update on Life in Hacker Haus:
This week is going to be kind of crazy. The first PTA meeting is tonight at 5:45. I won't have anything to report, but I'll be there, anyway. Then Jamie's soccer season starts tomorrow night with practice at 5:30. Thursday is the due date for many of my homework assignments (which, sadly, I haven't completed yet). Friday Jamie has soccer practice again at 5:30. Saturday morning I'll probably be watching R-'s daughter D- while R- has her first Saturday class. Then Saturday afternoon we'll be going to Dad's and I'll be taking more homework down with me.

I got a little upset with Jamie over the weekend. All last week, he talked about how he was running for student council. All I heard every day was "student council this and student council that." He even went to all the trouble to get his teacher recommendations and everything. Then when it came time for us to buy the poster board and stuff to make his campaign poster, he started crying and said he didn't want to do it, but wouldn't tell me why.

After 45 minutes of me badgering him, he finally admitted he was afraid to make the required two-minute speech on camera for the whole school to watch on the classroom TVs. I told him I would help him write it and practice it. He just cried harder and said he didn't want to. Sooooo.... he quit. Just like that, he gave up. I told him fine, he could give up, but once he made the decision he didn't want to do it, he had to stick to it. There would be no changing his mind at the last minute. And that's the last I have heard of student council.

It's very frustrating for me. I'm a very stubborn person. I try not to give up easily. I usually dig in and fight until all other options are exhausted. Only then do I give up. But he was sooooo excited, then just... gave it up. How can I teach him you can't just give up when things get hard? That you can't just quit when you're scared? I would have thought that what I'm doing day by day would show him that. Maybe not. Anyway, any suggestions on how to teach Jamie that you don't just quit when things get hard? It seems my talking to him about it just made things worse, not better.

And, lastly, Ziggy is still a sweet silly puppy who loves us all very much. He was very happy to have all the attention this weekend, and ecstatic over the extra day at home with him. He was very upset this morning and tried to keep me from leaving the house. He wanted Mommy to stay home and play with him some more!

I'm Guilty of Blog Neglect

As much as I nag (yes, I used the "n" word) ya'll to post, I've been woefully lax myself. I was gently reminded of this via e-mail. However, I would like to plead my case as a busy mother before you.

I have been devoting a lot of time to my studies and my job this week. Added to that, yesterday, my friend R- came over and helped me get some order to this chaos that was my apartment. It was a HUGE task. She was here from noon until 11 p.m. And we still aren't done, but the apartment is at a place where I can handle it on my own now without being overwhelmed by the mere thought of what all had to be done. Let me put it to you this way, R- found so many dirty clothes that I have already done about 8 loads of laundry, and I know I have at least that many more loads yet to do!

Then today, Jamie had to get his promised reward. Jamie didn't get any pieces of his behaviour pyramid taken down for the whole MONTH of August (okay, so it was more like three weeks. You get the idea!) This was a massive accomplishment for him. So, as I had promised him, I took him to Build-A-Bear Workshop to make a small bear (short month = small bear. Next month is a longer month, which = bigger bear). So, Jamie had a blast picking out what bear he wanted to make, how much stuffing needed to be in it, what clothes to put on it, etc. He hasn't let go of the bear yet since he got it (even took it in the bathroom with him!) So, I would like to you all to meet Jamie's new best friend:

Jamie absolutely fell in love with the oufit from Toy Story. You know which space ranger this outfit represents. Jamie got to name his bear and print out a birth certificate. He couldn't think of a name for him, so I got to name him. He's called "Fuzz Lightyear." Pretty clever, even if I do say so myself!

Tomorrow is a day for more schoolwork and visiting Dad. Pretty much I'm taking my school books out there with me and locking myself in the bedroom with paper, pencils and books to read and take notes. Jamie and Dad will go out to the shed to do boy things or whatever.

My love to you all!

Okay, I Want to Teach Ziggy How to Do This!

Okay, I know this probably qualifies for Letterman's "Stupid Pet Tricks", but this is hilarious! I want someone to teach Ziggy how to do this one! I wonder what made him learn how to do this trick...

What makes it so funny is that this dog is obviously very proud of himself, and seems to be rubbing it in the face of the dog on the other side of the fence. Look how perky his walk is, how high he's carrying his tail - this dog KNOWS he's cool! LOL!

Okay, That's Just WEIRD

Last night, I was walking the dog after dark. While walking the dog, I came upon a strange and eerie sight (no, not the same kind of sight described in my parody of "The 12 Days of Christmas"). In an open area between my apartment building and the next one was a circle (yes, circle) of about 12 cats, all facing inward, all sitting there silently with tails twitching staring each other down. When Ziggy and I passed by, they didn't even spare us a glance, they just kept staring at each other. The only evident movement was that of their tails randomly flicking, then falling still again. They were still at it about 5 minutes or so later when Ziggy and I came around the building from the other side, and they still ignored us. I'm no cat expert, but to me, that just seems weird. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Needless to say, I urged Zig-fried to hurry up and do his business so we could get back inside. I didn't want to look up and realize we were suddenly very interesting to the cats. Images of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "Pet Sematary" were dancing in my head!

I'm MAD!

There are some screwy people in this world, and they make me mad! My friend R- has been totally misused and abused by said screwy people. R- is a struggling single momma who is working her way through school. Things were already tight before, but now they're worse.

Yesterday, R- was fired from her job. She recently transferred to a different store (but still worked for the same company). Two weeks ago, there were several voids on the register R- was using, which is understandable considering that it's a different type of register than the one she's used to. That same night, one of the security cameras was malfunctioning. The company decided yesterday that R- must be behind the two coinciding events and must therefore be a thief - even though they did inventory and no merchandise was missing and no money was missing from the register.

So they called up R- and asked (well, demanded really) that she meet the district manager at the store. She gets there, and they have a police officer there. They tell her that they think she's a thief. Then the police officer tells her she has to pay the store $200 right then and there or else he's taking her to jail. He then says "And you know you'll lose your kid if that happens, right?" Remember, they have no evidence which indicates money or merchandise is missing, and are making her pay back $200, even though the total amount of the voids is $150-some odd dollars. When she asked for a concrete reason for her termination, they told her because it "looked suspicious."

So now I'm mad. I know R-, and while she's human and therefore has faults, she IS NOT a thief! I told her to consult the labor board and file a grievance. Her dad is friends with a district judge in Bexar County (where she - and I - live), so her dad is going to talk to the judge about it to see what her legal recourse should be. It's my personal opinion that they were mad because 1) she started back to school so was unable to work every time they snapped their fingers at her like she used to, 2) she's the only single momma working for that particular company, and 3) she's young and expendible.

So, the point of this long rambling rant is to please pray for her! It was already tough on her going back to school to begin with, but now it's darn near impossible. And what with them demanding she pay $200 right there and then, she now doesn't have any rent money for September. So please, pray for R-!

Love you all. Sorry for the five day absence.

One day, three different posts

Just a quick little note to let you all know Jamie and I will be hunkering down at home tomorrow. I had to go pick him up from school on my lunch break today. He was running a fever and has been coughing like me. I took him to the doctor this afternoon. The verdict? Strep throat. He (and I by default) get a three day weekend.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Totally way off subject from the other post I did today, but these pictures would best go in the "WTF?" category...

This poor little car... It's cute, but I bet if it could, it would bite the people who drive it every day.

Unanswered Prayers

There's a country song that's been around for a little while that I really like. However, I don't know the title of it, and I don't know who sings it. But one of the lines of the chorus goes something like:

Thank God, for unanswered prayers...

That's what kept running through my mind last night and today as I read The Brown Baby Blog. Thank you God for knowing in Your infinite wisdom what is best!

Accessi Cognitio

The enormity of the task I am about to undertake is sinking in. True, it's not nearly as enormous as the task to raise a child (welcome to the world of parenthood this Wednesday, Lyds and Geron!), but since my child is a part of what I'm undertaking, I'm starting to sweat it.

Starting a week from today, I will be attempting to work full-time, attend college online full-time (through six online courses at two different colleges no less), raise my child by myself full-time AND I'm a PTA volunteer and the Newsletter editor at Jamie's school this year. I think I must be trying to drive myself crazy. But, I think, this will work for me for one main reason: I am not wired to do things "the easy way". Before, I tried to go to school full-time only. Well, pure laziness and procrastination derailed those intentions. I would always put it off, thinking I had plenty of time to do my assignments, until the due date was upon me and I hadn't put the first line on the page. Same with my housework. "I'll do it tomorrow" became my catch-phrase. Now, I don't have "tomorrow" to do things. I have blocks of time which must be dedicated to this, that or t'other.

So, I'm thinking if I get up every morning between 4:30 and 5:00 (which I've done the past four or five days - including the weekend) and study and clean house, then wake up Jamie and get him ready to roll, then study a little bit more and clean some more before I get ready for work, then get ready for and go to work, I can then pick up Jamie and get home, fix supper and clean up, check over both of our homeworks and get ready for bed, and I should be okay and get everything done. I'll just have to designate a day of the week to study each course, and take copious notes.

Plus, I'll have weekends to study. And I can study while Jamie is at soccer practice (but not during games. I have to watch him play and scream my durn fool head off for his team!). I even have permission to study at work when I'm not busy with reports and other work-related items. But I'll have to carefully manage my time. Oh, and did I mention that I'll also be helping out with his soccer team this year?

But, because I don't have time to procrastinate, I think I'll do better this way. I keep thinking back to all the different things I participated in during high school. It seemed like I was always rushing here, there and yonder, but I got good grades (once I quit being lazy) and always had my homework done on time. I just had to learn to manage my time. For me, that means having every minute of every day planned. And if I want to visit friends and/or take a trip, I'll have to budget that time in and plan for it in advance.

So, if I'm not blogging as much as you're used to, please feel free to rub it in. After all, I've pestered all of you enough about blogging. However, I may just have to pencil that time in, as well, to make me even busier. After all, I DID say I worked BETTER in a time crunch, didn't I?

Have a great week everybody! You know you'll hear more from me before the week is out.

Min. elementary algebra score required by TWU: 63

My elementary algebra exam score this morning: 80

Going back to college: PRICELESS

MORE PICTURES!

Okay, I know it is said that people and their pets start to take on the same characteristics, and therefore start to look alike, but this is a bit much! My question is, who's copying whom here?

I bet you guys are going to get REALLY tired of all these pictures, huh?

PICTURE PAGES!

This is a picture of a self-portrait Jamie painted for school last year. I'm darn proud of it; it hangs in a place of honor over the computer...

Here's a picture of Jamie mugging for the camera...

My friend R- and her daughter D- came over to go swimming. Later, D- saw Jamie's sunglasses and put them on. I snapped this picture before she noticed. Looks like D- should stand for "Diva!" in this picture. She's a cute, sassy little thing! She also has very good taste - she LOVES Jamie!

WHEEE!... Zzzzz... Zzzzz... Wheeze!

Went to the doc (again) yesterday. My regular doc wasn't in so I saw her partner, Dr. Hernandez. I don't have infection any more, but he's concerned about my loss of lung capacity and general difficulty breathing (believe me, he isn't as concerned as I am, though!)

Both times I've been to the doctor, they've made me do an airflow test. The first visit, two weeks ago, came back with the result of 450 (but I don't know what the unit is. 450 psi? 450 mm? 450 cm? Who knows!). The one yesterday came back at only 400. The normal for someone my age and height is close to 500! So, he says that's not good. I will be going on Saturday to get a chest x-ray to see if there's some sort of scarring on my lungs or anything he can see that would be causing me to have so much trouble. After he looks at the films, he'll call me to come back in.

He prescribed me a stronger, better cough medicine to help me sleep at night and make me stop coughing. He said, "Not only will you not cough all night, you'll go to sleep with a smile on your face!" He wasn't joking! That was some powerful stuff! About 20 minutes after I took it, I started giggling. Then I kept saying "WHEEEEEEEE!" because I felt like I was flying. Then I conked out and said "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" all night with NO COUGHING. Then I got up this morning and was still flying pretty high. Shortly thereafter though, I quit flying high, the medicine wore off, and my fun times of "Whee!" and "Zzzzzzzzzzzz" merged and I've been wheezing ever since. And coughing, too. And I'm really sleepy. Methinks I'll go to bed early tonight.

But I did discover something else to put on my grateful/thankful list: really strong cough medicine!

I Need to Enter a Rehab Program - I've Become a "Whine"-o!

Becca and I went to college with a really whiny girl named Lucia. We'd see her coming and groan, because we knew she was going to start whining (I mean, honest to goodness baby-fied whining) about whatever was going wrong with her that day. Reading over some of my recent posts, I thought "I've become a 'whine'-o!" Is there a 12-step program for that?

Okay, so the first step is admitting you have the problem. So, here goes "Hi, I'm Jennifer, and I'm a 'whine'-o." Pshew! That felt good. But, see, the problem is, I feel this incredible urge to whine some more. See, my cough won't go away, and it's getting worse, so I'm going back to the doctor this afternoon. And that butt-wipe co-worker? Well, he left me a snide note about how I keep "losing" his packages, and how my boss needs to come up with a quality control procedure for me to follow. Hello? How did I go to the UPS facility and forcibly remove his package? I gave him proof showing how the package was lost by UPS, but it's still my fault. Aargh!

Okay, so now I got the whining out of my system. So I need to balance out this post with a list of things for which I am grateful and thankful:

1. I'm grateful and very thankful for such wonderful friends as ya'll!

2. I'm grateful and thankful for first days of the school year (only had to whisper in Jamie's ear "It's the first day of school" to get him up, instead of having to jump up and down on the bed and yell "Up and At 'Em.... Atom Ant!!!!!!!" If he wasn't up by the time I finished saying "ant", I'd fall on him. This strange ritual is a legacy of my own mother.)

3. I'm very grateful and thankful for my wonderful son.

4. I'm very grateful and thankful for my silly puppy, Ziggy.

5. I'm grateful and thankful for Sunday and/or Wednesday night telephone conversations.

6. I'm grateful and thankful for silly, long-distance lunch-break conversations with my brother.

7. I'm grateful and thankful for all those little inconveniences during the day that add up to keep you humble.

8. I'm grateful and thankful that I woke up this morning. (Because it would really not be good if I didn't. LOL!)

9. I'm grateful and thankful for all the gifts the Lord has given me, even if I don't immediately recognize them as such.

10. I'm grateful and thankful for my father, if only for the fact he is teaching me how NOT to treat Jamie when he grows up! No, seriously, Dad can be sweet, too; but only when HE wants to be.

11. I'm grateful and thankful that God has a plan for me, even if I don't know what it is yet. I'm grateful that He knows where my life is going, because I sure don't!

12. I'm grateful and thankful for God, his glory and the blessings he's put into my life. I've never been homeless, which is a grace in and of itself, because Jamie and I have been very close on several occassions! So I KNOW God is watching over us!

13. I'm grateful and thankful God graced me with a sense of humor, even if it does get rusty sometimes. I have a tendency to take myself too seriously, and forget to laugh at myself. (But I don't seem to have too much trouble laughing at others! LOL!)

So, there's the cheese to go with my whine. Hope you enjoyed today's tasting. Next week, we'll explore the many flavors of the California vineyards.

Oh, No, Not Again!

Here we go again. UPS lost one of "Butt Wipe's" packages, and he's sending out his paranoid vibe again. No one else is in the office but me and him, and I have that sinking feeling in my stomach that he's going to come yell at me. My ulcer is churning in my stomach. I feel like I'm going to be sick. I was originally planning on staying late at work, but now I don't think so!

He can't yell at me too much, though. I printed out proof that UPS is the one who lost the shipment. So far as we can tell, nothing fell out of it, they just lost it at the sorting facility in Houston, TX. So, he can't blame me for this. Although, the last one wasn't totally my fault either, and he still tried to get me fired. In my paranoia over the last episode, I had been using my camera phone to take photographs of the samples when he gives them to me and when I send them out. Unfortunately, the one they lost is the one that I couldn't photograph because my cell battery died. Isn't that always the way it works?!

Dear Jesus, please help me to not lose my temper, and to not be eaten from the inside out by my ulcer. Please, Lord, help this person to see that he shouldn't be blaming me and trying to get me fired. Please, take the burden of this stress off my shoulders, and help me to remember that no matter what happens, You are always with me. Instead of cringing and crying over the past, please help me deal with the present and look forward to the future. Please help us to resolve this matter with the minimum amount of recriminations and histrionics. All these things I pray in Your name, Amen.

One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

Okay, so yesterday was a step back, and this morning I felt icky still. But now I'm feeling better! YAY! (Finally!) I seem to have coughed up as much gunk as possible, and with the help of my new inhaler, it's easier to breathe. So, that's good!

I have to take a test Saturday for my math skills in order to go to college again. So, tonight I will break down and buy McDonald's for supper, go straight home and get studying! I bought a Cliff's Quick Review on Algebra 1, just to brush up my pitiful math knowledge. Although, I remember relatively a lot considering it's been almost 15 years since I took a math class! So, keep me in your prayers, please, as I need all the help I can get. Don't worry Ann, if I get stuck, I'll call you - but I'm more of a "visual" learner, so going over it over the phone wouldn't help me a whole lot. But I appreciate the offer sooooo much!

Love you all, Jamie sends his love, too! He's excited because his school starts on Monday. I'm excited because his school starts on Monday and I won't be burning up so much gas to take him to and from the babysitters! YAY!

Have a good day, and you slackers need to get bloggin'! (LOL!)

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Went home at 10 a.m. this morning. Was coughing so hard so much it kept making me throw up. Gee, I wanted to lose weight, but not like THAT! So, I came home, crashed on the couch, and my friend R- was nice enough to bring Jamie home at 5:30 so that I could get some rest without having to take care of him. I'm very grateful!

I'll be back at work tomorrow though. I can't take a whole bunch of time off. They need me too much (whether they realize it or not. LOL!)

A Little Perspective

Next time I start complaining about the heat in San Antonio, remind me of this article. I don't have it nearly so bad! Besides, we've had a cool front come through today. It's only supposed to get up to 90 today, and the highest this week will be 98. So I shouldn't complain!

Sunday Funnies

Here's the comics I was talking about in e-mails to some of you. There are two that appeared two Sundays ago that made me think of some of my fellow bloggers.

This one made me think of Everett:
The Mr. Peabody part is what made me think of him, not the whole "crankshaft" thing. LOL!

This one made me think of Becca, just back from her vacation. It also made me think of vacations!

Cough, Hack, Hack, Cough, Wheeze

Okay, I know that I have to cough up all this crud out of my lungs in order to get well. But it's interrupting my sleep, giving me a headache, and generally all-around making me feel icky. But, I shudder to think how I would be feeling now if I hadn't listened to my boss and gone to the doctor when I did.

Just wanted to post a quick update, since I've been conspicuously absent from the blogs of late. Tried Geron's crock pot BBQ from R.O.U.S. and it was delicious! Thank you so much for that recipe! It is destined to become a Hacker Hau staple! But my dad's crock pot cooked it on low in five hours. That is one seriously hot crock pot!

I was lying on the couch yesterday when my friend Jackie called. Her babysitter hadn't shown up, and she had to be at work in 30 minutes. I told her to bring Christopher on over, but warned her that I was sick and the house was a wreck. She said, "Girl, how your house looks has no bearing on how good of a momma you are!" That made me feel better. So, Christopher came over and played with Jamie, while I slept on the couch in a codeine and phenergan induced haze. Then I got up and fixed the boys hot dogs and tried out Everett's cheesey elbow pasta recipe, and that was really good too! The boys loved it! Everett, I really think you should sue Kraft, though, as they are selling something remarkably similar in the grocery stores. They must have seen the blog and decided to market it! LOL!

Well, I'm going to get off here and do some work now. Love ya'll!

OH, I almost forgot to mention this!
We were watching the "Skateboard Big Air" Competition on the X-games last night. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's kind of like a huge half-pipe, but the starting end has a 63foot drop, then they jump over a 7-foot trench, then they go up about 30 feet on the other side of the pipe and come back down. They showed a camera shot of a "skater's eye view" of the first section of the pipe (the 63-foot drop). Jamie looked at me and said, "Mommy, they're nuts!" Secretly, my heart rejoiced at the thought that maybe he isn't such a little daredevil after all! Especially when they started showing footage of when Danny Way jumped the Great Wall in China with his skateboard! Jamie just shook his head. LOL!

Codeine Killed my Cough

Okay, went to see the doctor. The diagnosis? So-called "walking pneumonia." Seems my allergy-induced sinus crud has settled down in my lungs causing bronchitis and borderline pneumonia, what Dr. Beth called "walking pneumonia." I got to take the rest of the day off, and she wanted me to take tomorrow off, too, but I couldn't do that to my boss. Not to sound conceited, but they need me too much. So I went and got my 5 prescriptions filled - an inhaler, codeine cough syrup, an antibiotic, an allergy pill and a decongestant. The best is the cough syrup! Not only did it kill my cough, but it's making me feel REALLLLLLLLLLLY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! LOL. And it's also making watching "X Games 12" really interesting. Gives a totally surreal quality to watching Shaun White on skateboard vert. Can't wait to see the half-pipe! I really enjoyed watching him do snowboarding in the Olympics. Believe it or not, I really like the X-games events. Now, when Jamie decides to try stuff like that on his skateboard and bike, it may be a different story! But "boys will be boys", so I'm sure I'll handle it just fine. Just like my mom would handle it when she caught me and my brother on the roof of our three-story house in Mt. Sterling, sword-fighting with 6-foot long cane poles while walking the roof ridge line. I was 9, Joel was about 12. Yep, there's a bit of the daredevil in me, so I can't fault Jamie for inheriting that same streak. Now I'm going to go watch Shaun White shred on the vert, then I'm going to walk the dog, go to bed and have codeine dreams! Talk to ya'll tomorrow.

I Admit Defeat

I have surrendered to the inevitable and am going to the doctor today at 2 p.m. Couldn't get an appointment, but 2 p.m. is when they start taking walk-ins. Hopefully they'll say I have to stay home the rest of the day today and all day tomorrow. I want to stay home and watch cable all day with my dog, slurping down cough syrup and having weird Nyquil-induced dreams! (I've already experienced the weird dreams part of being sick! LOL!)

Somebody Please Shoot Me

Okay, not really. I wouldn't really like to be shot. I've heard that it hurts a little bit. But my feeling "icky" has gone from bad to worse. My boss brought in a whole bunch of holistic remedies for cough for me, which was really nice, but it isn't helping. He's been hinting around all day that I should leave and go to the doctor. For him to tell me to go to the doctor is a big deal - he hates doctors. Calls them "quacks" most of the time.

Last night, I was up most of the night coughing. The Mucinex is helping me get rid of a lot of the crud in my lungs - unfortunately, it would appear that my body is just making more to replace what's being coughed out. I've coughed so much that my voice sounds a lot like Lauren Bacall's - really husky, and deep. What they used to call a "whiskey" voice. Kind of sexy, I'll admit. LOL! But it also hurts to talk. Which made me mad last night, as I was eager to make a phone call up Chicago way. But seeing as how it hurt to talk, I didn't think it would be very conducive to a nice, chatty phone call. Hopefully, all will be recuperated enough for me to make said phone call Sunday night (if you'll be home, that is!)

I'm glad, though, that Jamie isn't home for me to have to take care of while I'm sick. It's almost a luxury for me to be able to be sick when Jamie isn't home. Because there are things he can't do for himself that need to be done - like set the shower running for him and fix dinner for him (I've literally been eating heated-up canned-soup for lunch and supper every day since Monday. It's about all my throat can handle, and it's easy to fix. Dump in bowl, pop in microwave for 1 minute, 45 seconds. Eat with spoon. How's that for a recipe for R.O.U.S.? LOL!) Plus there's the fact that I don't have to go running all over creation to take him to daycare and pick him up. I live about two or three blocks from work. So all I have to do is get in the car, drive not even five minutes, then I'm at work. Then I get in the car, drive not even five minutes, and I'm back home. But I still have to walk the dog. Maybe I should have left him at Papaw's too!

I watched "The Greatest Game Ever Played" last night. I don't like golf, but I like Shia LeBouf, so I really enjoyed it. He has enormous acting talent (in my opinion). True, he didn't get to display all of it on "Even Stevens", but I won't hold that series against him. It was harmless fun that gave him a good start in "the biz". I expect we'll be seeing more and more of him in the years to come! God bless you all, and I'll type at you more later. Gotta get back to work now, and decide whether or not to go waste $30 at the doctor's just to hear her say it's a virus or something.

I Feel Icky

Allergy drainage has settled in my lungs and trying to turn into bronchitis. I feel icky. What kind of person gets bronchitis in the middle of summer? I've been coughing for a week straight. I'm coughing so much I sound like a seal barking; if I'm not careful, someone's going to call Sea World and tell them one of their animals got loose! Nyquil isn't helping; ditto for Dayquil. Any suggestions on a good OTC remedy for nasty, congested-chest coughing? I'd really rather stay away from the doctor's office, though!

I'm just glad I'm sick when Jamie isn't here. I don't have the energy to chase him around! Speaking of Jamie, he was crying again on the phone last night. Since I'm sick anyway and won't be going out with friends as previously planned, I told him I'd come get him Friday night instead of Saturday. He's fine during the day, but at night he misses me "terriblesome" as he says. Poor baby!

Manic Monday

I've always loved The Bangles song of the above title. It sums up exactly how I usually feel on a Monday morning: I have to drag my self away from my dreams (although I've never kissed Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream), then I struggle to wake up enough to get ready for work, then I rush to get to work and only barely make it on time (and I only live 5 minutes away!)

But I figured I better post something, lest I be accused of having, like another Blogger who shall remain nameless (but his name begins with "E") a "case of the Mondays". But I don't have much time, as this is a busy day for me (last day of the month = payroll reports, end-of-month financial reports, mileage logs to be updated and turned in, etc), plus the usual work of making sure everything in the office runs smoothly. So... here's a brief update on Life with Stinkbumps.

Jamie is at Papaw's this week. It almost didn't happen that way, though. On Saturday evening, Jamie and I went for a bike ride. When we came back in, Jamie went to the refrigerator to get a drink. Dad has a rule that Jamie has to ask before he can get in the refrigerator (otherwise Jamie winds up with about 5 drinks open all over the house at the same time). Well, Jamie forgot to ask first. Dad pipes up with "Weren't you supposed to ask first? Go put it back." Which I'm fine with. But then, Jamie put it back, waited a few minutes and then asked if he could get a drink. Dad said "No." Well, I'm sorry, but we'd just been riding bikes out in 100-degree weather, and we were both hot and thirsty. So then I told Jamie he could have my drink. Dad had already made his point by making Jamie put the drink back in the first place. I thought Dad was taking it too far.

So, typical of my father, he gets all mad and says pack up your $h#t and get out. I looked at Dad and said "How typical of you", calmly got all our stuff together, packed up the car and dog and started to leave. All the while Dad's grumbling about how it was his d@mn house and his f---ing rules. I told Dad he had already made his point by making Jamie put the drink back the first time, and that carrying it further was merely being childish. Then I told him to have a good week, and Jamie and I went out and got in the car and started backing out. Dad came running out and said "come back in". I told him he had told us to leave. Then he apologised and asked us to please come back in. So we did.

Poor Jamie though started crying then, because he had wanted to leave all along. It ripped my heart out, but I had no babysitter for today. And I've asked Jamie over and over again why he doesn't want to stay with Papaw, and his answer is always that he's bored. Well, sorry baby, but you can't always get what you want in life. If Dad was harming Jamie, then of course he wouldn't have to stay. But just because Jamie is bored - well, tough cookies. I can't afford to pay a babysitter all the time. Jamie just has to tough it out for now. But I did concede that if things got too bad, I'd come down and get him one day after work this week. But he had to have a really, REALLY good reason for it. I don't want to ask him point-blank if Papaw's done anything to hurt him, because then he'll get the idea that he can lie about it and I'll take him home. But I've also made it clear that he can tell me ANYTHING. So, we're now at an impasse.

Got to get back to work now. I'm done rambling on about Jamie. Ya'll probably get tired of me writing about our little dramas and such.

Everett - I hope you had fun with the church group this past weekend. Tooz - I hope your knee is feeling better. Ann - Good luck with your new job! Lydia - PYFU and don't forget to drink plenty of water! Tara - I hope Aidan is going to bed when he's supposed to. Becca - I hope you aren't being driven crazy by your job (it's hard when you first come back from vacation!). Julie - I'm sorry you and your kitty had a bad weekend. Suze - I'm glad you're enjoying your parents' visit! Joel - Love you, Bubby! I hope you're having a good day. I'll try to call you sometime this week on my lunch break.

And Now We Come to #33

Well, I'm amazed that I've reached an item number 33 on my list of things about Hacker Haus. So, I'll jump right into it...

33. Somewhere in the world I have a half-sister named Natasha Josepha Natalya something-or-other (or is it Natalya Josepha Natasha? I can't remember). Apparently, my dad had a relationship (or was it a marriage?) before he met Mom and they had a little girl. When Mom and Dad got together, the woman sent Dad some papers to sign to allow the woman's new husband to adopt the little girl. I still have a baby ring that purportedly belonged to her.

34. Even though Dad once acknowledged that this story is true, he now swears that it was a lie fabricated by my mother.

35. Dad has been telling people down here that he is a widower and that he and Mom were married 31 years before she died. This makes me very angry, even though it isn't really hurting Mom any. It just bothers me that he's using this to play on other womens' sympathy. They assume he's a really sweet guy and that he's hurting and they want to comfort him. HA! Mom's the one who needed comforting because of the horrid way he treated her (and us)!

36. Okay, as evidenced above, I still have some residual childhood issues to work through! LOL!

37. I have new respect for my mother since having a child of my own. It took enormous strength for her to keep putting one foot in front of the other day by day. She lost two of her children. I love Jamie so much, it would kill me if he died. I don't see how Mom found the strength to go on after so much heartache.

38. Little boys apparently have hollow legs which must be filled hourly with copious amounts of food (of course, with Jamie this begins at about 7:30 p.m. because that's when his medicine wears off).

39. Jamie's favorite Disney movie is Treasure Planet. I think he identifies with the fatherless boy, Jim, in the movie. But that could be too much amateur psychology on my part.

40. Those sappy Hallmark commercials make me cry.

41. I'll be 30 in less than three months.

42. I'm an excellent cook - but only when I don't let having company over make me a nervous wreck in the kitchen. Then I'm a complete dunce. But if I'm comfortable enough around you, and not determined that I HAVE to make everything perfect, I make REALLY GOOD stuff.

43. I'm terrified of the dark. I keep a nightlight on in my room and the bathroom adjoining my bedroom.

44. I have no night vision what-so-ever. It's gotten so bad that I don't often drive after dark. This bad night vision may be part of the reason for #43.

45. Once I get to know you, I'm very outgoing and gregarious. But when I first am getting to know you, I'm very shy. For this reason, I hate large crowds. I feel like I'm going to smother in them.

46. At my sister's funeral, the person giving the eulogy kept saying our last name as "Hatcher". My mother had to practically sit on me to keep me from getting up and yelling at the preacher to get our name right. I guess I've always been pretty outspoken, even at the age of nine!

47. I haven't seen my brother in several years. He sent me a picture recently. I was so happy to get it! We're going to see him in March! YAY!!!!!

48. I don't like small, enclosed spaces. I once got stuck in an elevator at EKU when I was in middle school band camp. We were in there for what seemed like hours. I don't remember how long we were really in there, but I do know by the time we got out of there, I was alternating between laughing hysterically and crying.

50. Jamie's feet look just like his grandma's.

Now that I've reached 50, it will be a while before I can think of anything else to write.

I Want to Be a Clone

Well, not really. But I just had to use that song title. I love Steve Taylor! I grew up listening to his stuff - my sister was a big fan. I recently downloaded a whole bunch of his stuff off i-Tunes, and it's funny how you remember song lyrics long (at least a decade) after you last heard them. Or maybe I'm just a music geek. :-)

I may not want to be a clone (at least, not of anyone else), but I would like to have a clone or two. I'd let them work on this nasty, complicated report. I thought I was done with it yesterday. But then my boss complained that he didn't like the way the pictures turned out. He was nice about it, but I still wanted to wring his neck. He doesn't understand that in a report as large as this, you must decrease the file size of pictures, or else it will make my computer keep crashing (oh, how I long for a Mac!). So, since my boss insists the pictures in the report must be 3.5" x 5.25", I had to decrease the pixels-per-inch to around 125, otherwise the pictures were going to be about 2 MG each. When you have 10 pictures at 2 MG each, then you have another larger picture that is about 3 MG due to the intricate detail and photo-illustration, plus five pictures that are 1 MG each, plus several imported documents, then you wind up with a report that is so big that, even when it's PDF'd, it's more than 10 MG, and most e-mail programs won't accept a file that large. So I was trying to reduce the file size. So, I've spent all morning working on these photos - trying to keep the file size down, but still highlight flaws on certain areas (we're talking infinitessimal cracking). I've been "unsharp mask"ing, deepening shadows, oblique lighting and increasing contrast all morning. I wish I had a clone to do this for me, I'm getting a headache! Whew!

Speaking of headaches, the engineer with whom I don't get along is still being a butt-munch. However, I've been covering my tookus on-the-job. Every time he leaves a sample on my desk for me to ship, I take a picture of it with my camera phone. Then, when I get done packaging it, I take another picture. That way, he can't claim I didn't do it right or that he put it on my desk in one condition when I know darn good and well that he didn't! I'm a little bitter about this still - guess I need to keep praying for God to help me get rid of this anger and resentment. One thing that puts it in perspective for me. One of the techs told me to just ignore the engineer when he's being ridiculous, as he isn't the one who signs my paychecks! That's some pretty good advice.

So, now it's lunch time. I'm going to go home and eat left-over meat loaf from supper last night. If I have time later today, I'll post the recipe for it on R.O.U.S.

In Absentia

I am not updating due to a large (50+ page) report I'm compiling for my boss to present to a client on Thursday. Much intricate details, much photo illustrating, much headache!

Hugs to you all!

More Items Regarding Hacker Haus

Well, I don't have much to blog about, other than that school is rapidly approaching for both Jamie and myself. Thank you, Jesus! I long for school to start so I can get Jamie back into a routine where he isn't driving me so nuts. I know it isn't totally his fault, but he is driving me absolutely insane. The child does not do well without a routine, and unfortunately, there has been neither a routine nor any hope of one due to the childcare situation. August 14 can't get here fast enough! August 28 is when I start back to school, as well. That should be interesting!

Anyhoo, for lack of anything better to write about, I shall continue the 100 things list I started. However, I doubt I will get to #100.

14. Incompetent people in positions of power make me twitchy. (Maybe that's why I get a tic in my left eye anytime the name "George W. Bush" is mentioned.)

15. When I was a teenager, I swore I would never have children. Now I wish I had several more than just the one!

16. I was a bone marrow donor for my sister when it was still an experimental procedure.

17. My favorite dessert in the whole wide world is cheesecake. Better yet if it has chocolate on it. I could live off chocolate and never tire of it.

18. I will gladly stay up all night to finish a book. No matter how tired I am, I cannot put it down until I know what has happened.

19. There are several books I consider to be "old friends" which I re-read just about every year. These titles include: The Harry Potter series, the Anne of Green Gables books, Little Women, LOTR (although it's been a couple of years since I delved into that one), the J.D. Robb ...in Death series, most anything by Nora Roberts (yes, I know she and J.D. Robb are the same person, but the tones of the books are different. And yes, I realize these are romance novels. I'm a softie at heart, okay?), Sue Grafton's Alphabet mysteries, Lillian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who... series, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels, Piers Anthony's Xanth novels and his Incarnations of Immortality Series, and that's all I can think of right now. Books are friends in my world.

20. I love to read/watch/listen to/absorb anything by Shakespeare and even like some of the recent movies inspired by Shakespeare.

21. I enjoy mythology and lore from all over the world.

22. The name "Jennifer" is a derivative of "Gwynhaefar", the original Celtic version of "Guinevere". It means "the white one".

23. If you took Jamie's real name and divided it into its two root words, his name means "Strong Supplanter".

24. Zig Zag Scalawag was so named because he never walks straight and he's so mischievious.

25. I miss my Sunday night telephone conversations.

26. I love my father, but I don't like him at all, at all.

27. My bubby e-mailed me a picture of himself, as I haven't seen him in several years. We're going to see him in March during Jamie's spring break.

28. If I had my druthers, I'd spend the rest of my life in school learning everything about everything.

29. I dream of one day going on an archeological dig.

30. Jamie's favorite color for right now is green. A few weeks ago it was blue. No telling what it will be next week.

31. Jamie's foot is already almost as big as mine. He has a pair of sandals I can actually wear. My toes hang over the edge, but the fact that I can actually fit my foot in them is scary!

32. My heart breaks every time I see my boy stare wistfully at a father and son when we're out in public.

I'm Finally Giving in to Peer Pressure

Suze has informed me (several times, I think) that it was my turn to do a "100 Things-About-Jenn" or something similar post. Since my blog is about me and my family (which includes my son and my dog), this list would have to include tidbits of information about them, as well. I'm finally giving in to the peer pressure and doing such a post. I don't know if I have enough data to create a full 100-item list, but here's items 1-13, anyway. Please don't snore so loud you wake the other bloggers.

1. I am a slightly neurotic sole parental unit to a similarly slightly neurotic 8 year old boy who also happens to have ADHD.

2. My son and I are so much alike that I sometimes think I would make more progress if I merely beat my head against the wall, as arguing with my son is like having an argument with myself. Nobody wins!

3. I also have a "four-legged son", Zig Zag Scalawag. His call-name is Ziggy, but he actually knows his full name. He thinks (and so do we) that he's human.

4. Our city of residence is San Antonio, TX. One of its nicknames is "The River City". It should have been nicknamed "The Cesspool City" as the river is filthy and people think nothing of throwing litter on the ground, in the water, etc.

5. I'm going back to school this fall over the Internet to get my bachelor's degree in General Studies. Once I get that, I'm getting the heck out of Texas (well, I have to get a job out of Texas first. Which means I have to decide where I want to live). Then I'm going to pursue my Master's of Library Science over the Internet.

6. I'm the youngest of four children. Only my brother, Joel, and myself are still living.

7. My son was almost named Jareth after the Goblin King in my favorite movie of all time, Labyrinth.

8. His middle name is Lowell after my favorite uncle on my dad's side of the family.

9. My eyes change color based on what mood I'm in. Jamie's eyes do the same thing.

10. I was born a blonde, but my hair darkened over the years so now it's a medium reddish-brown. Jamie was born with coal black hair that all fell out when he was a couple of weeks old and grew in white blonde. His hair has darkened to a dirty-dishwater blonde shade slightly lighter than mine was as a baby. However, his hair is lighter than mine was at his age. I'm thinking his hair will stay fair longer than mine did.

11. Jamie's top pinkie joints are each crooked. They point in toward his other fingers at almost exactly 45-degree angles. I think they make him very unique, but he's embarrassed by them when other people notice them.

12. Jamie looks almost just like a very young version of my brother. On a recent trip to Georgetown, an old high school friend of Joel's and mine saw Jamie and said "It's Joel!!!" My brother looks just like my mom's side of the family. Jamie does, too. Thank God Jamie apparently inherited nothing from his biological father. (Is it possible his genes were only so much genetic "filler" in Jamie's DNA code?)

13. When I was two years old, I shocked my Granny into near-apoplexy. My granny came to stay with us when my mom had to stay in the hospital for surgery. I calmly announced to my grandmother - a devout "old-school" fundamentalist-type Christian - that I was going to be a stripper when I grew up. I had heard the word somewhere a few weeks earlier and asked Mom what it was. She said it was a dancer. I loved (and still do love) to dance, so I decided I would be a stripper when I grew up!

Utopia

Based on my experiences just since I moved to Texas, I'm beginning to see why some people are attracted to a hermitic lifestyle. I'm realizing that, although I've always professed to be a "people person", I'm really not. I'm more of a "people on my own terms" person. If you add to that all the questions and controversies going on about how commercial food is hormonalized, pesticized and super-sized, my idea of Utopia has changed a bit.

One day, I would like to have my own bit of land. I'm not looking for "40 acres and a mule" (I refuse to have any donkeys - one Jenny on my property is enough!); I merely want enough to provide for me and my family. Five acres would do nicely. Even 2.5 would be enough for self-sufficiency. Then I would be able to have a garden (and why not a greenhouse for the winter months while I'm dreaming?) where I could grow vegetables and such without pesticides or hormones. I'd also like some apple, pear and plum trees so we could have fresh fruit.

The more I think about it, the more my childhood home in Nowata, Oklahoma, comes to mind. We actually had about 20 acres. We had a large garden where Mom grew vegetables and gourds. One of my earliest memories of that place is squatting down and using my pudgy little fingers to push the seeds down in the soil. Then I vaguely think I remember Joel coming behind me to cover the seeds with dirt (I think he wound up playing with the worms more than anything), then Jodi came along behind us - supposedly to water the seeds, but really to make sure we had done it right. More often than not, we hadn't.

We also had a minature orchard of apple and pear trees. I think we even had some plum trees, too. We'd climb up in the trees, pick apples and peep out at our kingdom through the boughs. We'd try to hide up there, but it seemed Mom always knew where to find us no matter how dense the foliage. More often than not, between kids and birds, there wasn't much fruit left on the trees but Mom always managed to find enough to make yummy pies, cakes and cobblers. We always loved helping her out in the kitchen, then we'd fight over who got to lick the mixing spoon, who got to lick the beaters and who got to lick the bowl. The bowl always had more batter in it, but it was more fun to try to lick the beaters before the batter dripped all over you!

The majority of our property was a pasture. We raised our own cows for meat. Some of our friends (the ones my mom called "poor underpriviledged city kids") were horrified when they found out we raised the cows from calves, named them and petted them, then ate them when they grew up! I'll admit, sometimes I'd get upset. We'd have steak or hamburger for supper, and I'd ask "Is that Buster? Is that Butcher?" Mom would reassure me that it wasn't, but I'd still go out to the pasture the next day just to make sure all the cows were still there.

Our house on Sooner Drive was our playground. We only were allowed to watch Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street and The Muppet Show - or at least I was only allowed those shows. Jodi and Joel got to watch other things because they were older. But for the most part, Mom told us to go outside and play. We had an Irish Setter named Chevis and a kitten named Smokey. Chevis was the best dog in the world. I believe I've heard Mom tell a story that I learned how to walk by holding on to Chevis' tail. I don't know if it's true or not, but I can believe it. I climbed all over that dog and he never once complained. He'd merely let out a really big sigh, look at Mom, then go crawl behind the couch where I couldn't get to him. Later on he'd come back out and I'd crawl on him some more. He patrolled our bedrooms at night, too. He'd lay down on the floor between my and Jodi's beds (we shared a room), then he'd get up and lay down in Joel's room, then he'd get up and lay outside Mom's bedroom door. He'd do this all night, guarding his people, making sure we were safe. He even saved us from a Cottonmouth Water Moccasin once.

Enough rambling. The point is, that is my idea of Utopia. A veritable world of my own for me and my family. Food I personally grew and/or tended on the table. Of course, with today's sky-high prices, I'd have to add solar panels to provide electricity and our own well to provide water. Maybe even some windmills to help draw up water (and because I think they're pretty). I'd also have to have a job to pay for all this stuff - telecommuting would be nice! LOL!

However, I wouldn't want to isolate myself completely. My Utopia would have to be within an hour's drive of a city - a real city. I want museums, theatres, stores, good schools, etc. I want to be around other people sometimes, but as I said, I want it on my own terms! It will be a long time before I could do all this anyway. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get to do this when I'm a grandmother.

Texas Summers

Okay, folks. It's hot! I mean, it's REALLY HOT! If Satan lived in Texas, he'd have to go to Hell in the summer time just to cool off. We officially hit three-digit temperatures yesterday, and the weather man this morning said we can count on being in the 100's and 110's for the foreseeable future. When it "cools off" after the sun goes down, it's still in the high 80's and low 90's!

This means I am now even more grateful for Druscilla, and that we don't venture out of doors unless we absolutely have too. I sat down in my car yesterday to go home for lunch, and the sunlight coming through the windshield had heated up my seat so much, that I got a butt-burn through my pants! Now, THAT's hot!

Poor Ziggy growls at us every time we try to take him outside for a walk, because the ground is so hot and dry the little pads of his feet get burned - even on the grass. So he walks really wierd pulling his feet up really high as he steps. He reminds me of the famous Austrian military high-stepping horses when he does that!

So, we're all just kind of laying around and being slugs this week. It's too hot to even eat! (But I still haven't lost any more weight. Seems like if I'm not eating and it's really hot out, I should have pounds melting off. But I don't.)

So, for those of you living farther north, be very grateful!

Water Boy

Jamie and I went swimming today. The weather was hovering near three digit temperatures, so the water felt really good! Jamie has learned how to doggie paddle quite well, so I stole his boogie board as used it to help me float around the pool quite contentedly. We were in the water so long we both had wrinkly fingers! A fun time was had by all. Here's a picture of Jamie enjoying the water. I wouldn't let him take a picture of me. :-)

And now I have to go. I'm going to try Ann's recipe for spinach curry, but I'll make some substitutions in order to use what we have. Like, we have ground ginger, and ground cumin, and ground chili powder, and garlic powder and dehydrated onions. And we don't have any tomatoes, but I'm going to try to see what happens when I use carrots instead. We have some old one that need to be used before they go to waste. I may have to call Ann and ask for her help as I'm cooking though!

HOORAYYYY!

JAMIE'S COMING HOME TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mentally, I'm doing cartwheels. I used to be able to do them physically, but I think I would tie myself up like a pretzel if I tried to do one now. My baby's coming back today! I'm so excited! But now I have to endure the hours until work is over and I can go get him!

YIPPEEEEEEEEE!

Oh, and this is a picture I took of Jamie last weekend when we were putting UV film on all the windows of Dad's house. Don't you just "love" the headband he's wearing to keep the sweat out of his eyes? Should I call it "The Next (Next) Karate Kid"?

The Chronicles of Illness: The Woman, the Soup and the Ice Cream!

Last night I was feeling a mite peak'ed (as my Granny used to say), so I curled up on the couch and watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Pay-Per-View with a large bowl of chicken noodle soup - Jamie calls it Chicken Doodle soup. After the soup was gone, my throat still hurt, so I chased the soup with some Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide ice cream. I'd never had it before, but was sure that anything that combined coffee, Irish Creme liqueur, chocolate chip cookies and gooey fudge HAD to be delicious. I was right!

Anywhoo, back to the movie. I have always justly stated that movies cannot do justice to the books they are attempting to "bring to life". As if your imagination can't do that when you read! However, I also try to enjoy the movies on their own merit and try not to compare the two. That being said, I wonder why so many people (and apparently the movie studios) completely skip over the first book The Magician's Nephew. Well, regardless, Chronicles was greatly enjoyed by me last night. In fact, I think the movie brought home to me more the symbolism deeply entrenched in the book. And yet, my fingers were itching to find my set of the books to go back and read them. However, they are still in a box somewhere, I was feeling bad, and knew I would only feel worse if I stayed up all night reading. So I left the books in the box. But somehow I still didn't make it to bed until almost midnight.

Sorry this one is so short, folks. Today is the day I have to turn in all the payroll stuff, so I have to concentrate lest I mess up anybody's paycheck. I'll be around throughout the day, though!

Calling All Chefs!

Okay, so I've neglected this blog today. I was busy working on getting the recipe blog up and haven't had time to do much with this one. Believe it or not (despite all my commenting and posting on various blogs today) I've been quite busy at work. I'm just getting really good at making my blogging breaks miniscule and my typing supersonic!

I don't have much to report today, other than that those who have been M.I.A. here lately need to let us know what's going on in their lives...nag nag nag! I'm taking a CLEP math test tomorrow in hopes I will get a high enough score to get 3 credit hours and not have to take an actual math course. Math and I are bitter enemies, and the less I have to deal with Math, the better!

So, since I have a BIG test to study for, I bid you adieu!

Random Observations

1. There are some people in this world who absolutely refuse to entertain the notion that they could be wrong, no matter how clear the evidence to the contrary.

2. Based on how people drive, there MUST be driver's licenses given away in cereal boxes.

3. Watching World Cup soccer is entertaining; it's even better when you're watching it with someone who actually knows the rules (even if they're on the telephone with you, and have to squelch their own reactions due to a 4-second feed delay)

4. There are still people in this world who assume you don't know what you're talking about just because you're a female

5. Doggies (and little boys) give great comfort when you've had your feelings badly hurt

6. Blogging is much more entertaining than my job

7. Two days off work generates two weeks of playing catch-up

8. Watching a strange little cartoon boy talk about poot is vastly cheering

9. A swimming pool on a 100-degree-plus day feels like heaven

10. I'm out of Texas the second I get my bachelor's. I'll worry about the Masters once I'm out of here

11. Families of the heart are priceless

12. There needs to be more love in the world (which is why I haven't ripped the face off the person to whom I refer in numbers 1 and 4! LOL!)

Zig Zag Scalawag

Here are some more current pictures of Ziggy I just took tonight with my new camera phone (best thing about it was, it was free when I switched networks!
Ziggy is laying on Jamie's "blankie" pouting that Jamie isn't home right now to play with him.


Ziggy's still pouting, but now he's wondering why I'm sticking my new phone in his face. He doesn't like things to be pointed at him!



















Ziggy's guarding the door so I can't go anywhere and leave him home by himself!

Very, very, VERY FUNNY link!

If you want to see something incredibly funny, especially to those of us who have children, please click on this link! The longer version is a lot funnier, but they don't have it on the website yet. And yes, this is "clean". No dirty words or visions here! But you have to have speakers so you can hear it!!!

So, to see something very funny, click here.

OH! I just found another portion of that link. It used to all run in one piece, but they split it up into two parts. Find the rest of it here!