Ha! So, I figured out what happened with my space here. Somebody reported me for having "pornographic material" here... a link to it, anyhow, since there's really never been anything drastically offensive posted here (a cartoon, some fruit pictures, but nothing outright pornographic). I figured it was the link to that disgusting 2 Cups thing, but MSN told me it was something from two years ago.

Okay, so I deleted the "offending post". No big deal. Except... I just went to the website I had listed there and you know what it is??? IT'S A COUPON SITE!!! That's right...I was kicked off because I had a link to a friggin' COUPON SAVING SITE!!! Never mind that I had a link to an actual disgusting/offending/barely pornographic video posted (only because if I had to see it, I wanted someone else to be as grossed out as me...), they sited the reason for closing me down being linked to a blog entry posted two freakin' years ago that went to a coupon savers site.

So, what I'm guessing is that someone reported me because of the link to the "2 girls, one cup" video...except I didn't have the actual link posted anywhere. I had it hyper-linked to a word. All the people at MSN knew was that there was reference to the word "cup", so they searched my entire site for something that had that word in a link...but they never actually checked the site out. Absolutely NO ONE at MSN did any kind of research except to scan my site for anything with "www." and the word "cup". How ignorant is that? Seriously.

The "offending" site they sited? "www." "a full cup" ".com". No spaces, of course. No quote marks. Check it out and tell me if you find any pornography there. I didn't.

Grr... it pisses me off! It's one thing to get shut down if they actually get the reason right...but to not even LOOK at something deemed inappropriate? Give me a friggin' break! How dare they sit at their desks, decide my site needs to be shut down because some anonymous person (to me, anyhow) found something offending, and then not even have the decency to find the actual offending thing??!!

What about all these retarded messages we're getting from young girls who "want to be your friend", and direct you to check out their sites? That's just fine and dandy, I suppose. But don't you dare put anything on your space that someone might get offended over...despite the fact you're not asking anyone to even look at it. Jesus H. Christ! I really don't give a flying monkey's ass if some stranger happens upon my space and is offended...just like you can change the frigging channel on your TV if you don't like a program, you can just not come back here!! It's as simple as that. And if it's a kid...where the hell is your parent??? It's not my job to make sure somebody else's kid doesn't see what they're not supposed to see.

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I wrote all that on Friday...I've since calmed down. A little. Still really pissed about it. I'm done here. I have a space on wordpress that I'm gonna start using...  click here to get to it. It's empty as I write this, but it'll be up and running soon enough.

I've spent the weekend pretty much doing nothing else except going through my archives and copying all the articles and comments that have meant the most to me. There's so much more I want to write, but not here. Not now.

Doubt I'll completely delete this site. Not right now, anyhow.  I'm just.... so incredibly upset by it all.

Anyhow, love you all. I'll still be visiting, hope you do the same at my new "home". Been a busy weekend, I'll write about it at the new place...tomorrow or Tuesday.

It's been a blast...

bye

OH! What a day!

We waited for something really bad to happen because too many great things took place today.

#1 of course - my sister moved out. You have no idea how wonderful it was to come home and she wasn't here. I was so happy about it, that I rushed around at work today to get everything done so I could leave a little early...just to come home. Then I looked in the spare bedroom and what I saw was amazing. It's an actual "spare bedroom" again. Ah, lovely.

Then I listened to the messages on the machine just because Sister had said that she'd call and leave the number for where she is. No message from her, but there was a message from the lawyer handling Bryan's Dads' estate. Good news on that front.

So, that makes two good things.

I pull out my cell phone to call Bryan, make sure the lawyer got hold of him at work. First thing I see is a message on my screen saying I have 4 missed calls. I look at the missed call list and they're all from "Restricted". There's also a voice mail...so I listen to it and it's from some lawyer who says she's calling about a "legal matter in Michigan". Uh oh, that can't be good. Since there's no number and she says she'll call back, I let it slide. Get hold of Bryan, and  yes... his lawyer got hold of him.

Then Bryan told me that The Storm actually came to his bank and signed off on this house. Finally.

That's three things.

Then, we're talking about all the wonderful things that have happened already... besides the fact we'd made plans for this afternoon already, when my cell phone rings. "Restricted" again. Thinking it probably has to do with something I'd rather not deal with, wasn't sure I wanted to answer...but decided what the hell? It's a phone call, I can always feign a bad connection if it's something I don't want to deal with.

Are you ready for this? It's the fourth good thing... The lawyer informed me that Mr. Wonderful has filed for divorce and she needed my address to send me the papers. When she told me he had filed for divorce I said, "Yay!". Then I gladly gave her all the information she asked for.

I told Bryan that this is the happiest Mr.Wonderful has ever made me. And it's true.

Anyway... that's been my day. And we had a really good...no, GREAT, steak dinner. Mm Mm Good!

Hope y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow!

Wow... Within seconds of sending out an e mail to most of you (those whose e mail addy I have), telling you why my space was unavailable, I decided to check spaces home so I could click on the spaces of those of you whose addy I don't have...and to my surprise, my space was once again available. I'm not sure  when any of you will be able to read this, but at least I could get to it to do what I needed to do. Then I checked my e mail and there, waiting for me, was a response from customer support letting me know that I had 48 hours to remove all offensive material and links.

For those of you who did not get my e mail: MSN closed me down -  thankfully just temporarily. Seems I had some "pornographic material" here that violated the code of conduct. I was sure it was the link to that stupid 2 Cups thing, but that's not the one they highlighted in their follow-up letter to me. The highlighted one was from 2 years ago... and I'm really not sure where the link leads... I remember it was a members only thing, and for some reason I received 92 hits in one day from that site (no, I didn't remember that... I just read it before I deleted it). Anyway, it's gone. All links I could find that might be offensive, are gone (but in nearly 3 years of writing here, there's no way I could look at every single entry to be sure.... although most have no links of any kind in them). Any pictures that might be offensive, are gone. A couple links in my lists are gone. I think I got it all... but if this space disappears again I guess it means I missed something.

I don't have a problem with MSN shutting me down if there is something here that shouldn't be.... I do, however, have a problem with them not letting me know it was done or why. If you ever have problems with your space...go to The Space Craft to find out what it is. They're pretty quick getting back to you. Anyway, I'm glad I was given 48 hours to clear it up...  there are just too many memories here to lose. And too many friends.

Lesson learned here, people: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU POST....there really is someone watching.

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On another note: my sister is moving out Friday. She should be gone before I get home from work. Bryan and I already had plans to go out, but now we really have something to celebrate (besides  HIS day). It's going to be so nice to come home and not see her sitting on my couch; to not smell microwave popcorn.

OMG...speaking of the detestable microwave popcorn: she went to her doctor Tuesday and had to get weighed. Remember me mentioning she was supposed to be on a diet? Yeah... she gained weight. Her reasoning was "I'm bloated" (no... you get bloated BEFORE your period, not during, and not after.. duh). I said "Well, it could have something to do with you eating at least 2 bags of buttered microwave popcorn every night after I get home from work." "NO! I only have ONE!" Whatever. I didn't mention the candy and cookies she eats, too. Or the chips she's not supposed to have.

Anyway, we've got the house to ourselves for a week before the boy and his friends get here... yay!! And after that.... ahh. Just me, Bryan, and Mac. The way it's supposed to be. Damn...once you get used to "empty nest syndrome" it's great.

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That's about it for today. I'm just glad to be here.... and hope I get to stay.

Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow!

I was sittin' on the terlet when I got the idea of what I could blog about that wasn't bitching. Well, it kinda is, but yet isn't. And quit laughing at the fact that I got a writing idea while on the toilet. You get some of your best ideas there, too! I mean, seriously, what else is there to do? Crossword puzzle?

Anyway, it was when I was thinking about something and it occurred to me that the same four words, whatever they were, were repeating themselves. Like that thought was on some crazy loop. And I thought to myself: Self, this can't only happen to you. Why, I bet if you put it out there, you'll find that lots of people have the same thing happening to them.

So, I'm asking: does that ever happen to you?

I remember watching some yoga show years ago... or maybe it was trying to teach the art of "zen", who knows. The thing is, the instructor said "Clear your mind", and even then I was of the thought: how the hell do you clear your mind? Seriously... how do you empty your head of all thoughts?

See, I've always (at least since being a grown up)thought of my mind as being in at least three main parts with several sub-parts in there for fun. There's the front part, up near the forehead, then the middle, then the back near the neck. The front part is where you have your main thoughts: the things you think about consciously - the idea house, so to speak. Then there's the middle part... the nagging house... that's always reminding you of things you have to do, places to go, whatever. The back part is where all the white noise is kept... like the stupid song that gets stuck in your head, the things you need to remember but the nagging house doesn't deem as important as something else, things you need to know but aren't things you need to know right NOW. So, with all that going on, plus the little stuff that just kind of floats around, how the hell do you clear your mind?

See, then the thought occurred to me: oh my God! If it's this bad for a normal person, being schizophrenic must be horrible! They have even more thoughts going on in their heads... and they probably hear ALL three parts of their brains, plus things that they think belong to other people. I would, probably quite seriously, blow my brains out just to shut it up.

Sometimes I shouldn't be allowed to think.

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Found out my lovely sister was rejected for the house she'd gone to look at. However, she's going to look at another one this week and could, with luck, be moving out next weekend. Cross your fingers and toes, people. I'm getting ready for a major meltdown.

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My youngest son and two of his friends will be here over spring break, in just a couple weeks. I'm starting to stock up on food and drinks. He wants another tattoo and is trying to talk Bryan into getting one, too.

He and I were chatting the other day and the subject turned to Mr. Wonderful. Alex had planned on inviting him to his graduation, but he won't answer or return any of Alex's calls. So Alex decided "fuck it." and isn't going to invite him. He said "his loss" and I agreed. We both agreed he's getting a better, improved, and upgraded version. Step Dad v.10, the ultra deluxe package.

He says he likes Bryan because he's a great guy, but he respects him because he takes care of me.

oh, and on a side note: he's decided he wants to be a cop. He's got the paperwork for the academy, so we'll see.

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Me and Bryan had a "date night" last night. We went to see "The Bob & Tom Comedy All Stars" at the Pageant. It's a great place to see a concert. We had standing room only tickets, but they were still great. In fact, we were probably more comfortable sitting on the bar stools at the back of the room than the people were who had seats up closer because they were squished together. Anyway, even at the back of the room we were probably only the equivalent of thirty or forty rows back, if that far.

The Pageant is in a part of town known as "The Loop" on Delmar. Google it, it's pretty cool. There's shops and cafes and a theater, bars -including Blueberry Hill, where Chuck Berry performs quite often. The Pageant is at the far end of the Loop, almost the very end. But we decided we were going to have the whole experience of The Loop last night...

It was cold. Very, very cold. The concert started at ten, second show. We got there around 6:30, had to park at the metro station, just a block or so behind The Pageant. We decided to eat at this place called El Miguey (something like that)... almost at the other end of the strip. At least six blocks away. So we walked... and froze. For the most part we were the only heterosexual couple in the small eatery...but the food is great! I definitely want to go back there again.

Anyway, the concert was great. Let me see if I can remember who all was there: Kristi Lee, David Crowe, Patty Vasquez, Greg Morton, Donnie Baker, Greg Hahn, and... there was one more...oh, yeah! Costaki Menopolaus. Yes, I've probably  killed the spelling on a couple names, but oh well. They were all funny... very very funny. Most of them I've heard on the Bob&Tom show on my way to work in the morning, but the only one I had ever seen before was Greg Hahn on Comedy Central.  The show was definitely worth the forty-five minute wait outside in the frigid near-arctic cold.

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Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Okay, the storm is over, past, history. In fact, most of the snow is gone, now too. We here in our little 'burb have the distinct honor of winning the award for the most snow in the metro area though. Go us! What's funny, is this go-round, all the places around us that usually get hit with every flake that's in the atmosphere over the entire metro area and beyond, got nothing from this last storm.

So, as promised, I have pictures. This is the patio table on our back patio... Bryan put it out Saturday when it was nice out and I sat out there Sunday, when it was 80 degrees here... 24 hours later it was covered in snow.

First picture, taken at around 11:30 Tuesday morning - roughly 5" of snow on it:

Second picture, taken at 9am Wednesday morning - 10.5":

Third picture, taken around 1:45pm Wednesday afternoon - no snow:

And this is the way it is here. We get it, we have it for a few hours, then it's gone.

No school again today, so I guess I didn't need to do all that shoveling I did last night. Hells bells, this afternoon when I went to the store, people were running around without coats...nearly 50 degrees. The drive way is bare, the snow that I threw into the back of the truck was almost all gone.

This is why I don't complain when we get snow here. Now, rain...sleet... cold... yeah, we get enough of that crap that I feel it's okay to bitch and whine about it. But snow? Why bother?

Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Seven inches in the last 3 1/2 hours. Snow.

Yep, that's right folks, we're in the midst of a real nice little storm right now.

We knew it was coming, so it's not like anyone was caught off guard. Sleet yesterday from about 2 pm until around 5 or 6, maybe earlier...then quiet. Some school cancellations last night, but not enough to say WOW.

I forgot to set my alarm last night when I went to bed. Woke up about 20 minutes before I was supposed to be to work. I looked out my window and saw that the ground was still pretty bare, but thought I'd check for school closings, anyhow. I have the three major school closing stations bookmarked on my computer. Checked the one we're usually on before the others... not there. Next one, not there. Third one, holding out hope... and whew! I'm not going to be late for work because there's no school! Go back to bed.

Bryan's alarm goes off and he says "Honey? Aren't you-" "Snow day" "Oh" he grumbles. Twenty minutes later he sits up and I hear "I wish we had snow days." "Sorry," I say as he goes about getting ready for work. He comes back to the bed five minutes later and laughs. "You're not sorry!" he says to me. Really, I am.

I crawl out of bed around 8:30, look out the window. I think to myself: oops. looks like there's gonna be some school officials pissed off at themselves for calling a snow day! It's still clear out there, just a dusting of white from the sleet Monday afternoon. I look out the window about 45 minutes later and it's snowing, just covering the ground. Hour and a half later I let the dog out and the back door is pushing snow... probably 5 inches on the ground.

It's just before 1 pm right now. Bryan is on his way home... he left work around 11:30. It's usually a 25 minute commute. I've had time between when he first called and when he last called to go out and make the drive way passable so he can get the little car in. As soon as I cleared an area down to the asphalt, it was covered again, but I'm pretty sure he'll still be able to get in. If he can get out again doesn't matter...  But there was no way little Nigel could plow his way in had I not shoveled... and there was no way he could be left on the street.

I took a picture of the snow piled up on our patio table...then discovered I still had pictures on the camera from the last snowfall. So, when I get around to uploading them, I'll post. Just as proof that yes, we do get snow here, lol. See - we get significant amounts at one time, then it goes away, but we do get it.

Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow!

UPDATE: 

AS OF 4 PM, TOTAL SNOWFALL IN MY BACKYARD: 10 INCHES. So far, school has not been canceled for Wednesday, which means I'm gonna wind up being late because I'm gonna have to get up and dig myself out. Would have done it tonight, but the snow just stopped and I napped for a couple hours... it's dark out there, lol. I hear a neighbor out there with a snowblower, but I don't have one and I already shoveled the driveway once today.

Good news - the temperature has risen 5 degrees since the snow quit.   ~later ~

Update:

I shoveled the entire drive way...and dug out the truck. In the dark. And now I'm sore and know it's gonna be even worse tomorrow. Yes, this is me whining.

All the schools around me are canceled, but we'll probably be open. Damn.. I'm just too sore... ah well.    ~later~

Holy shit, people! It's 78 degrees here right now! March 2nd! That's 2 degrees shy of 80!! Holy mackerel, Batman! Is Mother Nature confused, or what? I would expect this at the end of the month on the rare day, and definitely at the end of April going into May...but on the second day of March??? Not even here.

And, tomorrow night we're under a winter weather advisory... rain/sleet mix turning to heavy snow overnight into Tuesday. Yay.

Just thought I'd share that with y'all. Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

So, spring is finally almost here! How do I know this? Well, yesterday on my way home from work I saw one of these:

 And today when we got back from our workshop I saw one of these:  

Okay... first the bad news: I don't think the afghan will be done this weekend despite the fact I have only one panel left to cross stitch. Unless I get it done tomorrow. See, we got up this morning and went to our workshop for St Louis Writers Guild; it was, as expected, informative and the speakers were very personable. Then we went to this little sports bar/grill here in town and I had the best ever homemade chips! As soon as we got home, I changed into some grubby clothes and went outside.

Oy vey! I wasn't out there all that long, but I sure did get a nice little workout. I pulled out most of the little timber thingies ( you know what I'm talking about... they're used for landscaping: one tall piece, one small, you put them around flower beds or other areas and they look like little tiny posts). I have them sitting around the house so if it rains they can get cleaned. Plan on reconfiguring the landscaping plan around the house so it'll be easier to mow this summer, then re-use them for the border.

I also moved two of the big vases (or are they called urns?). Had to use the dolly to get them from the front yard to the back deck, where they actually don't look so bad. I have two big milk cans that I've had painted various colors over the years. Right now they're painted the same terra cotta color as the vases, but they'll be getting a new paint job this spring as well... after I paint the door and the trim. The vase/urns have a basket weave design that I plan on painting two colors... after I decide which two I want.

We have a nice wooden play set in the back yard. It has a couple swings, a slide with a little playhouse platform at the top. Nice, heavy construction. The only problem is that Bryan's daughter is 11, is rarely here, so she doesn't use it. The youngest grandkids are 5 and 8 (I think) and they've never been here (at least not since I have), so they don't use it. Their mother said she wanted it for them, but so far hasn't come to get it. I think if she doesn't take it by next month maybe we'll put an ad out somewhere to sell it. It's really nice - heavy wood construction. It's just that it's silly for a middle aged couple with no little kids to have a nice play set in the back yard that is never used. Besides that, if it isn't going to be used, then we could have more backyard area (would need to be seeded, more lawn to cut, but I can live with that). It would be a great spot for a lawn swing. Or a hammock.

Anyhow, I wound up taking a nice long nap when I came inside. So no work was done on the afghan. However, except for attaching the bottom row (which is still missing one panel) it's all together. It takes approximately 4-6 hours to cross stitch each panel, though. Once I get that panel done, though, I can have it completed in probably less than two hours.

The good news: while we were out this morning my sister actually did a job I was  not looking forward to. She cleaned out the refrigerator.  When you opened the door it looked like we had a lot in there...mostly styrofoam containers of different things that Bryan brought home from work, but some other crap that got put in there and was forgotten. Anyway, it's all gone now. All set for more crap to get put in and forgotten.

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On the work front: the natives are restless. For a couple weeks it was pretty quiet, no fights in the cafeteria. But then we had the 2 snow days the week before last and when we got back on Monday it was like all the kids were crazy. Fights on Monday and Friday (one involving the 2 same girls); kids getting mouthy with the teachers and us. It was like a week in Hell, I swear. One of the most frustrating moments involved a boy deciding that because he dropped his milk he could just grab another (as petty as it sounds, food costs are involved, but more importantly, it's the principle of the fact)..anyway, Andre told him to get away, the teachers on cafeteria duty told him to go sit down.... then the 8th grade principal came in and let him get his milk (I think she paid for it, but that's beside the point... the point being he was belligerent and rude to all of us and wasn't following the rules).

Anyhow... if you have kids in school and you scoff at the "zero tolerance policy" that might be in place at their school... DON'T!  It's needed. I don't believe we have one in place at our school; or, if we do, it certainly isn't enforced. These kids are supposed to have a uniform policy: khaki or black slacks and either a red or white polo shirt. Not enforced at all. Well, about 80% of the kids wear at least something close to it, but one day I saw a boy wearing a pair of blue mid-calf pants that were cut at the cuff to look like rags (think 1950s movie about a cast away).

Every day it's worse. The kids are disrespectful, lippy, and out of control. A couple of the teachers really try, but when they aren't getting support from administration, it's more than a little frustrating. Especially when the kids they try to discipline are basically  just given a slap on the hand and told not to do it again. It's like the kids are running the school and the teachers are there for ornamentation purposes. I have seen kids slap and punch teachers and they're back in school the next day.

When my son was in tenth grade he got suspended for two days because he accidentally hit a teacher...more like he grazed the teachers arm with his knuckles. Some kid had punched my son and he was swinging back and didn't notice the teacher stand in between them. He even apologized to the teacher. But, he was involved in a fight and that was the punishment... he was also grounded from several things once he got home and I found out about it. Anyhow, my point is that that's not how things are done at my school.

At the high school when the kids get in a fight, the police are involved and the kids face criminal charges. Maybe, and this is just conjecture, but maybe if they faced harsher punishments at the junior high level there wouldn't be so many fights in the high school.

I miss corporal punishment in the schools. I know we had it when I was in school.. at least through sixth grade (it was the 70s when the whole civil liberties thing began... which had it's good points, but like so many things has been taken to extremes)...anyway, when you knew you were gonna get a swat with that wooden paddle if you misbehaved - or even if only one kid misbehaved and we all got the same punishment because we sat idle and allowed it to happen- you didn't get out of line very often. And if you got in trouble at school your parents were called and then you really got in trouble when you got home.

Anyhow, that's my rant for this evening.

Y'all have a good day and a better tomorrow.

Did you know that if you don't pay your trash bill not only do they not pick up your trash, but they take the real cool bin, too??? I never had a real cool bin until I moved here to the burbs of STL... in Detroit you had your own trash cans or bags. Anyway.. it's true. Yep, indeedy. No pay the bill; no trashy pick up.

So I showed them! Yes, I did! Not only did I pay what was owed, but I paid for most of the next six months as well! So there, Waste Management People! I showed you! Ha!

I only mention this because it explains why there were two trash bags sitting on our back deck the other morning. And the having of the trash bags on the back deck explains why I was greeted by a furry little fella on my way out the door Tuesday morning. Or maybe it was Monday. One of them. The important thing here is that when I opened the back door to leave, I thought I saw a cat scurry off. I was wrong. The furry little creature came back through the gate and just waltzed across the deck like he had every right to be there.

I said: "Go away. You're supposed to be scared of me! Shoo!" But I didn't yell or anything because I didn't want to get bit. I understand rabies shots hurt. He looked at me like I should be inviting him in... in fact, I thought he was gonna try to walk in. He looked kinda like this:

I repeated: "Go away. I have to go to work." So, he obliged by retrieving a hot wing bone from the bag and scurrying off. The only problem then was that I had to go behind him to get to the truck and I was a bit afeared he'd be hanging around under the truck and would get a little annoyed that I had the audacity to follow him.

So, I showed him! I went out the front door. And I used the key bob to make the truck honk a couple times. Then I hurried in and quickly shut the door behind. me.

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What else is going on? My wonderful sister is still here. Hasn't started packing or cleaning "her" room.

Hey, if you're diabetic and your doctor puts you on a 1800 calorie diet... do ya think it's a good thing to eat 2 - 3 bags of butter microwave popcorn and candy and chips every day? And to have your only form of exercise getting up to let the dog out once a day and walking five feet from the sofa to "your" bedroom to get soda? Okay, okay.. sometimes she does a wee bit more than that, but not much.

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And, can I have a drum roll please? By this time tomorrow night or Sunday night at the latest, the afghan will be finished! I have only one panel left to cross stitch; weave two rows together, then weave them to what is already weaved; then crochet a border around the whole thing. Done. Ahhh...  feels good.

Then I can start on another. But one far easier. I think the next one will be a patchwork design. Maybe. Not sure yet.

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Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow!

Sometimes, I swear, I don't know myself at all. I really thought that knowing she's leaving, that it's a matter of days now, I'd be able to cope with having her here a little better. I was wrong.  If anything, it's worse. Because I want her gone TODAY. Right now.

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It's the end of February. That means it's time for my annual feeling of being trapped inside. Just like every year before, I know I'm not literally trapped. I get out. But I can't work in the yard and I just really need to do that.

Working in the yard is soothing and relaxing. Hard work. And there are so many things I want to do with our yard, both in the front and in the back. When we moved in here last August I couldn't really do much because, if you recall, it was over 100 degrees every single day in August. Here. Then, in September it was too late to plant flowers for spring and summer....duh.

So I - we- have pretty much decided what we - I - am going to do. It's going to be "our" yard... I want it to look absolutely nothing like what it looked like when The Storm lived here. I've done that on the inside... amazing what a little paint, different furnishings and artwork, and adding you're "flavor" to something can do to transform it. I'm just tired of pulling in the drive and seeing the house the way it's looked for over a decade... time for some sprucing up...and I can do it.

I can do it as soon as I can get outside and work on it, that is. Throw a little paint on the front door and porch trim;  re-arrange some landscaping; get rid of a couple things I don't like (okay, Bryan...we'll move them to the back patio and give 'em a new color and flavor); and it'll be almost like a new house.

The one thing I absolutely HATE are these vases... The Storm asked for one of them, I suggested to Bryan that he take them all to her.  However, they hold some weird sentimental value to him... something about them being the only thing he picked out that she didn't bitch about. To me, they're hideously ugly and represent a life that is no longer. They need to be gone. Especially the ugly plastic flowers that are in them.  HOWEVER, if he insists they be kept, I will just change their appearance.  And get rid of the horrid plastic flowers (seriously... no one should have plastic flowers anywhere).

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Found a great lotion for dry, chapped, cracked skin. Walgreen's Shea Butter Creamy Petroleum Jelly. It's a little over three bucks for a 4.5 oz bottle, but it's working better than anything else I've tried. And my hands are awful! When I was weaving the afghan pieces together, the yarn would snag on my fingers because they're so dry. The best thing is that just a little dab goes a long way.

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Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow!

This is for Caroldee, who asked this, concerning the fact that I work in the kitchen of a school: "Guess your boss lady kinda knew school would be called off. SAy what happens to all the food you throw it away. GOOD LORD.. what a waste of money.. Some damn superintendent should think of that fact.. do they just write it off or what?? "

As a starter, Andre, the kitchen manager had been sick Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as the previous weekend. She had mentioned that if the weather was turning bad, she wasn't going to work Thursday. Well, the weather went bad. First time since Big Boss has been there (3+ years) that Andre has ever called off. It just turned out that because school was called off she didn't really have a "sick" day.

Now.. about the food and waste. I don't work for the school directly. Meaning, I work AT the school, but my paycheck comes from a company that has contracted with the school. So the superintendent has nothing to do with us. We are not employees of the school district (if we were, we would probably get paid more but without the unemployment being paid over holidays and breaks). Our company is a catering company that specializes in doing school breakfast/lunch programs.

As for anything left over and whether we toss it: every day we fill out paperwork based on reports generated from the program we use in the computer. Our most important paper is a "production analysis".  This paper has listed on it every food item used for the day.  Then, to the right, there are columns where we write in : amount prepared; students served; adult servings; ala carte; amount left; and then there are spaces where we write in what the temps of the food items were, what time the temp was taken, and who took it...twice.

At our school there are just over 500 students. Because of the production reports, we know that on average we serve between 50-60 students breakfast every morning and between 420-440 students lunch every day. We also know that on average, one or two teachers will have breakfast and around a dozen will have lunch.

Every day there's a choice of either a "hot" breakfast or individual cereal, and juice. At lunch there are always at least three choices; two main entrees or a chef salad. Janie takes a list of students requesting a chef salad for the next day, then adds a couple more to determine how many to make each day. As for the other entrees, it's mostly knowing what the students like the most that determines how much of each to make. For instance: every Wednesday we have chicken patties, mashed potatoes, gravy, a vegetable, and hot rolls, plus another hot meat (either turkey, meatloaf, or salisbury steak, usually). We know that 80% of the students are going to eat the chicken patties, so we prepare accordingly.

The elementary schools do it slightly different. Every morning the teachers write down which student wants which choice and it's sent to the office. Someone from the office then brings down a list of how many students have ordered which entree. At my old school, let's say 200 students wanted the #1 and 75 wanted the #2 and 10 wanted the #3: we would make 210-215 of the #1 (for students who came in tardy and missed the count, and for any teachers), 75, and 10, plus a few peanut and butter sandwiches to serve the kids who owe too much to qualify for the other choices. It was very rare to have anything left over...most days, if anything was needed, it was to make more of something before the last classes came in).

The high school is done even more different, although I'm not sure exactly how. They have an ala carte menu, where the students can have different "side items". Instead of having what's on the menu, they can have a side of wings or fries or whatever else is served...or they can have the menu item plus whatever sides they choose.

What do we do with anything that's left over? Usually we wrap it, date it, and either put it in the freezer to use the next time it's served, or put  it in the cooler and use it the next day.  It's rare that we actually ever toss anything out. Food costs to consider and all, although I did actually just have to toss a dozen strawberry milks out Thursday morning because they were outdated, and I'll have nearly a case to toss out when I get back to school Monday for the same reason (I cancelled getting that particular flavor from our order on Wednesday).

And that is the 411 on the school lunch program, because I'm sure all kitchens work pretty much the same, even those that are employed directly by the school district.

Anyway, it's a whole lot different from when I was in school. Hardly any kids bring in "sack lunches" anymore; it's not a stigma to have "free lunch"; the lunch ladies are sometimes men; and nobody just slops down what looks like canned dog food on a tray and slides it to you. The truth is that most of the food we serve is restaurant quality.

Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow.  

I am exhausted! It's 3 am, I need to be sleeping...

No school Friday. That means I worked a whopping 2 days this week. Well, almost 2 1/2 since I did go in Thursday morning only to be sent back home again. Anyway,  not to let the day be a waste, I worked on my afghan. Finally. From around 10 am until 2:30 am....with the exception of when I watched a movie  (Blind Dating... pretty contrived and predictable) and a couple hours total for eating and just giving my eyes a break. And now, except for weaving the top two rows together, it's half finished. Yay me!  Three more panels to cross stitch, two more rows to weave, then weave it all together and put a border on it... DONE.  Yeah, that probably won't happen for another month, lol.

Anyway, just wanted y'all to know I haven't been a total slacker.

Bryan just got home from one of his jobs a few minutes ago, so I'm gonna visit with my Big Sexy and get some sleep.

Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow!

The house phone rings at 4:45 this morning. I'm deep in dreamland and think it's something else. Then I hear a voice saying: "KIm, it's Andre. Call me back at 555-1212". So, I wake up, listen to the message again, then go across the hall to listen yet again (gotta love a phone that lets you listen to your answer machine messages on the handset) so I can write the number down and call her. I call her back and she tells me she's not going in to work, can I come by her house and pick up the keys? Okay, I write down the directions and go back to bed for a few minutes.

I get up, get dressed, go start the truck, thinking it's going to be real cold outside. Surprisingly, it didn't feel as cold as it has the previous mornings. It's 5:30 and no bad weather yet. In fact, it was pretty decent while I drove toward work, then looked for Andre's house. I pull into her drive-way and it's starting to snow, but nothing serious at all. I get the keys, go the rest of the way to work.

Almost as soon as I park the truck, Big Boss pulls in behind me to let me in, not knowing that I've got a set of keys. We chit chat, I get the latest on what's going on at my old school... Lillie is trying to stir up some shit. No surprise. We get stuff out I need for breakfast, she leaves. I get everything going, Gladys shows up at quarter 'til seven and starts cooking what we'll need for lunch. I pop my head out the back door to get a couple puffs and am amazed by what's happened since I got there, forty-five minutes earlier. The ground is covered in a sleet/snow mixture. The truck is already iced over!

By seven-fifteen, everything is in place and a couple kids are actually in line (usually I have to make a big announcement and cajole the kids into having breakfast that soon... most like to wait until 7:30). I put three or four kids through the line and Gladys comes to the window and announces that Big Boss just called: school has been called off.

There were about 20 kids in the cafeteria. I looked at them and said: "School's called off, y'all can go home." I have never seen a room empty so fast!

About ten minutes later, while Gladys and I are cleaning up and putting everything away, the 7th grade principal makes the announcement. Anyhow, we were out of there by 7:30. Even after stopping at the store, I was home by 8:15.

I am pleased to announce it was a productive morning. I cleaned my kitchen, got my bedsheets in the washer and dryer, cleaned our bedroom and the den. All by nine-thirty!

*****************

Good news: my sister went to look at the group home and liked it! Her paperwork is being processed and she told me that it could take 2 weeks to a month, but she's moving out! Yay!

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As you may have noticed, yesterday was Bryan's birthday. A not so great day for him... some big disappointments from his co-workers and family. His stupid ex-wife called him, bitching about the fact my kids were here at Christmas... she seems hellbent on believing whoever told her that Bryan bought their train tickets and it bugs the shit out of her. I bought their tickets, like I always do. She just can't let go and face the fact that he has a life that doesn't include her, so she's grasping on to anything, no matter how far-fetched, and using it as an excuse to gain some control over him. She'd left a voicemail, so he called her back..  yelled at her and hung up on her. Then he looked at me and said "It feels good to yell at someone." She called him back.

We went out to dinner and to see "Jumper". I was slightly disappointed in the movie... only because it wasn't as action packed as I had thought it would be. The action in the previews is pretty much what there is. It was still a good movie, just not exactly what I thought. Here's my quick review: it's a love story about a guy who can teleport; he's being chased by a group (mostly one guy doing the chasing, though) who are fanatics about killing "Jumpers". There's a couple twists, but nothing where you go "OH!".

*************

Just took a peek out the window. If this keeps up, like it's being predicted, then I probably won't be back to work until Monday. The storm warning is in effect right now until 6pm tomorrow evening, but with the crazy weather we've all been experiencing this winter, it could take a turn and go around us here before this afternoon. So, I'm not gonna plan on another 'snow day'. I am, however, going to make me some banana bread today.

Y'all have a good day, be safe, and have a better tomorrow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!  I LOVE YOU

I think this one will be short, sweet, and to the point. My sister may give Bryan the bestest birthday present he's gotten in a real long time: she's going to look at a group home tomorrow with her case worker. There's a bed available right now. If all her paperwork goes through, she could be outta here by this weekend!

I don't wanna get my hopes up too high just yet, but lordy... it would be so nice!

Then again, every penny we have spent on her... kiss it good bye. Well, we pretty much have, anyway. And just having her out of here will be payment enough.

How sweet it will be to not seeing her camped out on my sofa when I come home. To not have the smell of microwave popcorn permeating the house. To not hear her voice! No more interruptions when I'm writing (except from Bryan, but that's okay.. I can bop him upside the head). No more worrying that she's listening to every single damn word spoken in this house.

Bryan will be able to sit around in his underwear again... as a man should be able to do in his home. We can leave the doors open again.

************  I sometimes refer to Mac as "retard"... when he's done something stupid or pissed me off, he's Bryan's "retard".... so he's started referring to my sister as mine. Yes, it's mean... but it's also pretty damn funny. Whenever I have to go let Mac in or out, I remind Bryan that at least "my retard" can open and close doors by herself...  unfortunately, that's one of her few talents.

Okay, that's it for the first entry tonight. I think.

We're under a winter storm watch until 5am Wednesday...then again from Thursday thru Friday. S'posed to git purty dern cold in dese here parts tonight, though. Yippy Skippy.

Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Bryan's birthday is Wednesday, the 20th, so this week my blog is gonna be decorated for him.

Some little odds and ends things...

Before Big Boss could tell Lillie she was being offered a demotion, Lillie told her she had a doctors excuse and would be off for the next two weeks. Big Boss told her fine, but when she comes back she will no longer be the kitchen manager...anywhere. Guess Lillie told her that she was "over-qualified" to be a baker at the high school, to which she was told "either accept the position or I'll accept your resignation". It's not going to be pretty.

Bought a new kitchen faucet. It's one of those with the arc neck - goose neck, whichever you'd like to call it. Brushed nickel. Very nice. Bryan put it in today. Yay. No more water spitting and sputtering out of the faucet now. And it adds a new look to the kitchen.

This summer  I'm gonna do something with the backsplash to make it pretty. Had considered putting up stone tiles, but decided they wouldn't look right with the counters because the countertop has a short built on backsplash. I'll probably just paint it a neutral color. So, after that's done and I decide what kind of window treatments I'm putting up, the kitchen will be complete!

It's weird, almost. I have a sense of permanency here that I've never had before in all my adult life. Not just here in St. Louis, but here, in this house. Before, even with a 30 year mortgage on a house I liked, I always knew it wasn't forever, so anything I wanted done to it I always felt a sense of urgency to get done. Now, we can talk about things we'd like to do... the garage, a "florida/ 3-season room" in the back, landscaping projects... and I can see it all getting done, provided we don't change our minds before we get around to it. I don't feel like anything has to be done RIGHT NOW or I won't get to enjoy it.

Same thing with Bryan. Total foreverness, until one of us drops dead. That's right, honey- you are stuck with me forever. Who knows... if I drop dead first, I know I'll stick around even dead, and I'd like to think he'd do the same. Anyhow, when I was married I knew going in that it wasn't going to last ten years...then I was surprised I stuck around five. With Bryan, I can see us being old and decrepit together, bitching and whining about "the good old days", and reminiscing about the good times. I can see us with the grandkids  (the ones not born yet)... at least, I can see us with my biological grandkids, because Bryan will be their grandpa as much as I'll be their grandma...with his, I think I'll always be "grandpa's wife".

So, how many more days until Spring? This crappy cold, rainy, rain/snow stuff is getting on my nerves.

Ah well, it's past the middle of February already, so I can hang in there.

Y'all have a good day and a better tomorrow!

Today I met the case worker. She's a nice young woman.

I knew she was coming over today,  and I hoped I'd be here when she arrived. Had I not had a half day I would have missed this golden opportunity that presented itself. Had that been the case, well... better to not think about it.

Anyway, I was in the den when I heard my sister let someone in. I stayed back here for a few minutes, letting them talk. And yes, I was straining a bit to hear... not because I'm nosy, it's just that with all the bullshit she's put us through, I desperately needed to hear what she told other people. She must have suspected I was trying to listen because although I could hear everything the case worker said, my sisters responses were muted. After about twenty or twenty-five minutes of sitting back here, debating on whether to do what I knew I had to do, and figuring out how I was going to say it, I heard the session coming to an end and knew it was do-or-die time.

I got up, walked out of the room and up the hall, where the case worker introduced herself and I did the same. Then I announced that I had a question: what are her other possible housing options?  I stood at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall, my sister only a foot away from my side. And I knew the question probably caught her completely off guard because she didn't have a clue that she's wearing her welcome out.

I made it clear to her that I wasn't kicking her out... at least not yet. I did, however, explain to Case Worker that I had let Sister move down because she said she wanted to find a job and it was supposed to be temporary. After Case Worker explained that there were group homes available in the area  that could be a viable option, we both went on to explain to Sister the advantages of living in one. I didn't really hold anything back... how all she does here is sit on the couch all day, that she wants to talk and I don't (I do love to talk, but not to her... I need conversation with a little more depth and intelligence... yes, that sounds snobby and bitchy, but have you ever tried to have a conversation with her? That's what I thought. So quit judging me.)

Anyhow, from the tid bits I picked up after I left the room, Case Worker is going to check into one of the homes and get back with Sister about it.

There was one thing that disturbed me - Case Worker kept saying "when her SSI kicks in"... as if she's a shoe-in for disability. Why??? She's physically capable of doing work.  It just pisses me off to no end when people who have "mental issues" can sit back and collect SSI with no hassles and other people, like Bryan's cousin who is incapable of physical labor anymore because he actually HAS a disability, have to fight for it.  I have a cousin who has been collecting it for years... she has Crohn's Disease and has had surgeries.... gee - I, too, have Crohn's and I've  had surgery and was given a zero weight restriction, but I still manage somehow to work. Hmm. Something just doesn't add up here. I guess, if you know the right doctors and have figured out how to play the system, you can get whatever you want from the government. Oh, as long as you've suckered someone in to taking care of all your needs while you wait.... and sit on the couch eating popcorn all day. Argh!

Okay, over it. I have to concentrate on the fact that hopefully within a couple weeks she'll be out of here. Maybe a month... but no longer. If she's still here by this time next month she's going to be kicked out. I've passed my limit on how much bullshit I'll put up with from her. She's even pushing Bryan's threshold, and it's a lot higher than mine.

A certain someone that I used to work with was supposed to have been offered a demotion today. Still waiting for that outcome. It matters mostly because it will result in more shake-ups and people getting moved around... and I hope I'm not one of them.

Staying on topic of work: I had to get finger printed. I think it was supposed to have been done not long after I started..or maybe even BEFORE I started...but I never got the cards until a month ago. Then I kept putting it off until I got my Missouri license so I'd have proper ID with my real address on it. Anyway, got it done today.

I called for information about it last night and was told to call before going in, to make sure the jailer wasn't too busy. So as I was leaving work today I called and was told it was a good time to come in. Took me fifteen or twenty minutes to get there from work and by that time there was a criminal being booked so I was asked to wait "about twenty minutes"... which was closer to an hour. Ever been fingerprinted? It's not easy giving up control of where your hands go and what they do... and that's what you have to do... let someone else smash your fingers on an ink pad then smash them on a card.... six times per hand, per card. And it leaves a mess on your hands that doesn't come all the way off even with the super-duper-hand scrubbing stuff they give you.

And that about sums up today's edition. Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow.

First things first: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Yeah, it only doesn't suck when you're with someone you love who loves you back and you're both into the sappy happy crap. Otherwise, Sucksville. Thankfully, I'm with someone I love who loves me back, yadda yadda, blah blah. In fact, I would like you all to take a look at what he made me for me... it's on his blog and can be found here. You might not have the same exact reaction to it I did, and if not, you need to get your humor button recharged.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, onto other stuff of much less importance and/or interest. To you. To me, it's obviously of some importance and some interest. I refuse to believe I could possibly be as boring as I might be.

I've noticed that many of us have been talking about the weather lately. This is gonna be another one. So, Monday we were under a winter weather watch/advisory thing. Thankfully, the crappiest of it only barely glided in...just enough to make the afternoon and evening a bit hazardous. By nightfall it was better...at least for me, you know...because by then I was inside and not driving anywhere. Actually, by the time Bryan finally got home, the advisory had been lifted. For the rest of you, who got a full dose of it...  sorry.

Tuesday was just really really cold. Took a good five minutes to scrape a peep hole in my windshield with the motor running and the defrost on for five or ten minutes before I started scraping.

Today was much better. The sun was out and it was pretty and except for where the sun didn't hit directly, the little bit of snow we had is all gone again. You couldn't tell at all that the roads were super slick Monday afternoon.

Not much of anything else  going on. We have half day of school Friday and are off Monday. Yay.  Oh, and staying on topic of work, I had to go to the high school today to pick something up and I saw one of my ex-co-workers there. She'd been the part timer at the other school, but had been off since the end of October... she came back to work Monday and was sent to the high school. Lillie has lost everyone who started there in August.

Unless I go into a diatribe about how much I hate having my sister here, and I'm tired of doing that, that's it for today's edition.

Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow!

 It's official now: I'm a resident of the state of Missouri. After living here nearly a year and a half and having 3 different addresses and 2 different zip codes, I'm official. I'm even registered to vote now! Yeehaw, yahoo, zippidy doo da! I'd been putting it off mostly because I was petrified that I'd either have my license taken away or go to jail over that speeding ticket I got in Indiana nearly 2 years ago that I never paid. That's right folks, I'm an outlaw...I'm a rebel and I'm never gonna change.

So, it was with bated breath that I walked into the license office and awaited my number to be called. Then, when I was at the counter and visiting with a very friendly clerk (we bonded. I swear we did! Her best friend lives in Ypsilanti and I got to hear how they met and everything), my nerves were all a tingly. She kept putting information into the computer and re-entering the exact information ("if I put even one number in wrong, it will make me start all over again. Guess it's all about identity theft.") and I kept waiting for her to tell me that my license had been revoked months ago or something just as awful. She didn't. I signed and dated a paper then went to sit down to wait to have my  picture taken; then after that I waited for my license to print out.

One of the nice things about a Missouri license as opposed to a Michigan license, at least compared to the last time I got a Michigan license, is that this one is good for six years. It expires on my birthday in 2014. By then I'll be a member of AARP, or at least old enough to be. Wow. Anyway, in Michigan, licenses are only good for 4 years. License plates are different here, too... you can buy a 1 year or a 2 year, depending on the year you get the plate (ie: your car is an even numbered year - you buy your plate in an even numbered year and you can buy it for 2 years;  buy it in an odd numbered year, you can only get it for one). Oh.. another thing that's different... here, when you change your address, it costs 12.50 and you get a whole new license; in Michigan, they just put a sticker on the back of your license and it's free.

Anyway, it feels odd. Not odd in a bad way or anything... just odd. All my life, nearly 47 years, all my official stuff has been from the state of Michigan. No more. This was the first thing. The next official paper from the state of Missouri should be my divorce decree.

I meant to go get the papers for that last Wednesday, but shit happened and I couldn't. If you read Bryan's blog you'd know what went on and why that was way more important. It's not like I was going to file the papers this week or anything... but soon. From what I've read, I'll file the papers with the court and Mr. Wonderful will be served either at home or at work. Then he has 30 days to sign them and send them back. Should he not sign and return them within the 30 days, there's a 30 day grace period following. However, if the papers are not returned in 60 days, that's it. I get divorced without his signing and the divorce becomes final when the judge says so. Whether he signs them or not, the whole process should take between 60-90 days from the date they're filed with the court. Hmm.... maybe I should have gotten them and filed - 3 months from today is my birthday, and what a great present that would have been! However, secretly, I would just get a giant kick out of it all if the divorce became final on June 8th, which was our anniversary. That would be completely fitting. Or, how cool would it be if the divorce became final on July 17th, which was when Bryan's divorce was final last year.

Enough on those subjects. After we left the license office, we went to lunch/brunch. One very important thing came out of a statement I said... "She has to go," I said after making a remark about my sister, and for the first time since she's been here, Bryan shook his head in agreement when I said that. So, now I have to have a sit down with her and explain that although she'll always be welcome to come back to visit, she needs to seriously find a new place to call home. And I need to give her a time table in which to do it. The good thing is that I know my parents won't be upset that I'm putting her out... they know it hasn't been easy; they know what she's like.

Her birthday is this coming Wednesday. Because Bryan has to work Thursday, Valentine's Day, he wants to take me out that evening instead. This will be her 40th birthday. I don't want to completely blow it off or anything, but I'm not about to throw her a big party, either. Bryan suggested we take her out someplace... and ... wait for it.... we both, at the same exact moment said "and leave her there." Anyway, now I'm torn between wanting to spend the evening with my perfect man (which will win, hands down) and doing something out of the ordinary (ordinary: ignoring her)for my sister. Can't bake her a cake because she's diabetic and isn't supposed to have it...but she'd eat it anyway. Maybe I'll just get her a box of microwave popcorn (which I never want in the house again after she leaves because I am sick and tired of hearing her shake the bag after it pops and I'm sick of the smell of it in the house) and put a bow on it. Argh.

Another conversation we had while we were eating concerned the names of the kids at my school. They're doozies, that's for sure. Not a lot of weird stupid names, just stupid names. Precious Hart. No kidding. In fact, there are two girls with the name "Precious". There's also a girl named Realiti. Diamonique. At least a couple dozen boys named Marcus... spelled that way and also as Marquess, Marquise, and some other odd spelling. There's a couple boys named Tyree. A few Kevin's and one Kevon. Kendravian (a really cool little chubby boy). Kenny Loggins. Johnny Johnson. Demeco and Deneco, brothers (if they're actually twins, they're definitely not paternal).Then there's Kali, which she pronounces Kayla. Like I told Bryan, I usually just ask the kids how to pronounce their names.. even the ones that look normal. Then there's my favorite kids: the ones who are "special"... Eulandice and Gene and Latisha.

At the risk of sounding racist, what surprises me the most is that most of the kids have every day normal  names. I think it's just that in the past it seemed the black community was so into naming their kids "tribal" names and trying to make them unique by at least making their names unique, that to see this trend back toward mainstream names is ... refreshing. Or, maybe it all goes back to years ago, when I had a black boyfriend and we were talking about names for kids... I told him what I wanted to name my first son and he said "that sounds like such a 'white' name." What I find most amusing about that statement is that at least two of the boys in my school have that name, and their skin is way too dark to be called white by any standard of the definition.

And on that note, y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Ahhh.... got my federal refund today. What a nice feeling. It's not huge, not enough to jump around and have a party or anything, but enough that we'll get caught up on the bills, put a little aside for the trip to Michigan at graduation, send some to the boy for his Prom, and splurge a little.

I feel like I splurged A LOT today. And yet - not really. Bought some essentials we needed for the house, some small essentials Bryan and I needed (why do men like to wear underwear that's full of holes where there shouldn't be?), and then a couple things I have been putting off for a while.

There's a vertical blind in the living room window. I think it's the same one Bryan and The Storm put in when they first moved in many years ago. It's ugly. And I think the only windows vertical blinds should be on is sliding glass doors and business windows... like doctors' offices. It's also very dirty. And there are missing slats. I think when it was new it was blue. But now it's a dirty gray. It's going down tomorrow. I bought curtains and a new curtain rod! Yay!!

The window is 80" wide. Everything I've read says you need to double the size of the window to get curtains that will fall nicely. So... I found one panel that was 54" wide and I thought: wonderful! I finally find something I like and it's not enough. Then, looking around some more, I found one more. I was okay with that. Two panels, each 54", that's wider than the window. But... I wasn't thrilled. I thought to myself that I'd pick up a couple panels of sheers to put in the middle. So, while looking for two panels that were identical and would go with the curtains, I happened upon another panel like the first two. Then, luck staying with me, I found a fourth. Can you tell I wasn't shopping at a specialty store??? There's this store called Old Time Pottery not far from us; it's a big store with a lot of stuff in it - 60% is crap (that, not so surprisingly, my sister liked. She has incredibly tacky taste). However, some of their prices are pretty good. I bought the curtains, curtain rod, and a set of four glasses for less than a hundred bucks.

This means: one window down, two to go. The kitchen windows. They have nothing at them right now. Just two bare windows. The one window I had to tack heavy towels over in August because the sun shining through made the kitchen unbearably hot. Here's the problem I'm having with the windows: the side window is going to be covered after we build the garage..or it's just going to look out into the garage. I've been toying with the idea of painting it with stain glass paint (like I did the window in the back door and nearly every door window everywhere I've lived for the past ten + years), but then I don't know if I want the same design and colors as in the door or something different. Or, do I want to put some sun filtering tint on it and just go with a regular pair of kitchen curtains that will match the valance I want to put on the window over the sink? The only thing I do know, beyond a doubt, is that there has to be something on that window before the sun starts making things hot around here. And besides that, the kitchen just looks and feels unfinished with the windows left bare. The other problem I'm having with this issue is that I just can't find curtains I like... I don't want "kitchen" curtains - with sunflowers or cherries or apples or roosters or whatnot. Nor do I want plain solid color curtains. And I'm not so sure I want anything plaid or striped. See? I just don't know what I want... except that when I find them I'll know.

Okay... and the other thing I splurged on was a vacuum cleaner. Desperately needed a new one, which bothered me because Bryan had just bought me a perfectly fine one our first Christmas together. That one just wouldn't make a dent in this carpet, though.

I love my dog, wouldn't give him up or trade him for anything. I do not love the fur he leaves behind everywhere. And our carpet had a very thick layer of dog fur over it. I was forced to use a straw broom to sweep as much off as I could, then do a one foot area at a time with the vacuum cleaner and it would still look nearly as bad when I finished as it did when I started.

Let's back up for a couple minutes, though... when we moved into the house last August, the carpet was horrible. The ex-renter had left 2 vacuum cleaners behind. They both worked, but not on this carpet. I've already established that my little Dirt Devil couldn't handle it, either. I used the Hoover that was at his dad's house and it did okay, but not great. Then Bryan's friend Kim (not me, the other one...Bunny) said we could borrow her Dyson. Of all of them, it did the best job. There is no way I would ever spend that much on a vacuum cleaner, though. I hate carpet.

Okay, back to present. Went to Target because when I was looking at the cleaners at K-Mart, a woman told me she'd just bought one at Target yesterday for under 50 bucks, liked it, worked great. I thought, okay, I'll go have a look. Didn't like the one that was on sale, it looked very similar to my little Dirt Devil.

Found a Bissell I really liked... mostly because it was called "the pet hair erasure". Just what I was looking for! Let's face it - if you have a dog that sheds, you can burn the motor out of a vacuum cleaner pretty darn fast. However... they were out of stock. So... I looked at the other models. There was another Bissell that specked out okay and it was on sale so I picked it up. Before I left the store, I asked a manager if I could bring it back if it didn't clean the way I needed it to and he said yep, so I was okay.

Our "den" is actually a bedroom. It has the worst carpet of the three bedrooms...worn down, paint spill (not from me, thank you..it was there when we moved in), and it looked like the nap was never coming up again. Even the Dyson couldn't raise it. It was also the room with the most hair on it. Perfect room to test the new cleaner.

People, let me tell you this: Bissell is getting a letter from me! I paid $75 for this cleaner ($84 when not on sale, so not a great sale price, but a savings is a savings)...and it worked better on this crappy carpet than Kim's $400+ Dyson! In the den alone, I had to empty the container twice, but the carpet looks so good it's amazing. I was positive I was going to have to rent a commercial cleaner to have it looking decent again, if even then. The nap is up again and it's almost a pretty blue as opposed to the gray/blue I thought it was. It even feels better under bare feet. "Bissell Clearview". Works great.

Big Boss came in to our kitchen today to give us our evaluations. Mine was exactly what I expected. She asked me if I'd checked my e mail last night. I hadn't. However, when I got home today I did. Basically, it was pretty much what she told me during my evaluation: there's an investigation going on and I'm going to be asked some questions by our HR manager; I'm to be "brutally honest" in my answers. I am not, however, supposed to mention any of it at work. So don't tell anyone, okay?

I have, I believe, rambled enough for one evening. Y'all have a great day and a better tomorrow.