I finally made it to the dr's!!

I got a very stern lecture from my dr today for letting my UTI go so long. She wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic but since I let it go so long I have to be on it for 10 days instead of the normal course of 5. I got the standard if I'm not feeling better to come back, if it returns after the antibiotics are gone, to come back, and gave me the standard drink lots of water.

I was in and out relatively quickly and since my MIL didn't have to be anywhere today she let me take the extra time to get the prescription filled on the way home. I was even able to take one early enough in the day that I can take a second one tonight before bed. I should be getting some relief by tomorrow...I hope. At this point I'm super uncomfortable. I had been using an OTC pain reliever called Uri-Stat. She asked if I had taken it and I had. She asked how long I had been taking it. I confessed at least one dose since the pain started(8 days). She was most unhappy. She said you are only supposed to take it for a couple of days, 4 max, so no more for me, I just have to wait until the antibiotics kick in but I'm not sure if I can last that long. They did cut me a deal. Normal charge would of been $70, they charged me $50 and my antibiotic was only $10 so what I thought would be around $100, was a bit less.

I'm peeved by the fact that Dh knows I'm sick, he knows I felt cruddy as heck yesterday, knows I didn't sleep well last night, and what does he do? Goes out for drinks...grr...With her...grr, grr...Again. He just did this a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night. The next day him and the boys went to her office to help her sort out some networking issues. After that they all went to lunch(I was at a GTG and wasn't told this until *after*). I want to be the cool wife and all but it still bugs me, sometimes, no, all the times. I told him how much pain I was in but that was almost 2 hours ago.

I have a goal!!

I got an e-mail yesterday announcing that Silkweaver is taking entries for their showcase. I'm doning my Christmas Flourishes on one of their hand dyed fabbies. Entries are open until the end of the year.

I made pretty good progress on my CF until about mid summer when my stitching kind of took a back burner. Now that the kids are back to school and Dh is back to work my schedule is back in place and I'm finding time to stitch. My goal now is to have this finished by the deadline and to enter it into Silkweavers contest(shh, don't tell me it doesn't have to be completed). Here is my latest progress picture:



Christmas Flourishes designed by Nora Corbett, copyright Mirabilia designs, stitched on 32ct "sapphire sky" by silkweaver

I think I'm at about the halfway point, or at least pretty close to it.

I didn't make it to the dr's yesterday. Money is so tight and we didn't have it for the office visit. The thing I don't get if I walk in with insurance they bill my insurance $60. My insurance will pay them $20 or so bucks and my dr's office says fine. You try that on your own and it's a no. Doesn't that seem a bit backwards? Last year when I went without insurance they knocked $20 off the visit and didn't charge me for the one test. I don't want to count on that. We found someone nice enough to lend us the money until pay day. There was also a snafu with borrowing my MIL car. She forgot that my FIL had a dr's appt yesterday afternoon. My appt is today and in a way I'm glad to put it off a day. Yesterday was a 1/2 day at school so if I had gone, I would of had to take both them with me. Today I just have to hope that I can be done by 2:15pm so I'm home in time to get the kids off the bus. My appt time is 12:30 so you would think so but you never can tell with dr's. I'm looking forward to it though. I'm in a wee bit of pain today and starting running a slight temp last night. I hope whatever antibiotic I get, it works quick!!

Things I learned today:

1. friends are good, good friends are better
2. letting a UTI go a week can be bad and can cause constant burning, spending a lot of time in the bathroom, an upset tummy, and a slight temp.
3. having a UTI means you can take a bubble bath without worrying about getting a UTI
4. raspberry vodka in cranberry juice makes said juice better(yummy)
5. someone I don't know and that I couldn't tell you anything about or their lives, considers me an enemy and someone that bears watching(I'm still scratching my head over that one)
6. my mere prescence on the WORLD wide web is so distrubing to so many
7. in an entire community of over 500 people, not a *single* person likes me
8. there are rules to blogging that I've somehow violated
9. unplugging the phone makes for a less stressful day
10. logging on the computer can bring the stress right back
11. some people can really hold a grudge
12. if you don't invite everyone someplace, the left out people assume you are talking about them
13. saying something a dozen other people told me they thought too makes you self centered
14. talking about *you* in *your* blog makes you even more self centered
15. expressing any feeling in your blog other than complete and utter bliss makes you sniveling
16. people think I have more power than I do
17. the Tv show "Bones" is bad, not going to get better
18.attractive shirtless construction workers are good
19. attractive shirtless construction workers make it hard to get anything done(except stare out the window).
20. today was the first day of Autumn(I love Autumn!!)
21. you should never give up on morning glories, they will bloom, not until the first day of fall but there they were finally
22. a happy husband is good
23. thai food for dinner it good
24. asking for help, and getting it, is good
25. given enough time and patience Donovan can make his numbers/letters the right way
26. insulting your kids and your parenting is not above some
27. most people will assume the worst long before the better
28. having a dream right before you wake up that your favorite pop star gave you a big hug and whispered what a beautiful person you are in your ear before singing your favorite song to you can make a really great way to start the day
29. having a spider attack you in the shower first thing is not a good way to start the day(didn't happen to me)
30. finding a bag of m & m's you forgot about in the cupboard can stop you from bursting into tears
31. organizing something can often cause a bigger mess
32. finding one item that I lost means that 1 other thing will go missing
33. discovering that you own 15 pairs of scissors is good
34. having a good memory associated with every pair is even better(some I got as gifts, others were bought when I with friends)
35. I'm 10 days away from the next michigan stitchers GTG!!
36. kitty hair as it grows back in is kind of scratchy. No wonder my kitty is licking his tummy so much
37. some people can't resist baiting you and when you don't respond they get all confused
38. the weahter on friday is supposed to be nice which is good since we are going to the last Friday night game baseball game of the season(cheap seats) and for fireworks after
39. The family I have is priceless
40. not only can't I spell, but I can't count either.

Who is this Jason you keep talking about?

I hear this a lot. He's only what I would call semi-well known. He's had one huge hit, several minor hits. Admittedly I listened to him a good 6-8mths before could pick him out of a crowd of one. I fell in love with him from watching the last minute of a video I saw of him on MTV. I wasn't even looking to watch a video but paused on that station to answer the phone. When I came back he was there. The beauty and power of his voice compelled me from just that mere 60 seconds to buy his album. From there I found his website and his BB. There a whole new world opened up for me. I found archive.org and live concert recordings. I was hooked and I'm happy to say I'm the proud owner of about 32 hours of just live concerts of his. He's only had two albums but surprisingly has a catalog of over 200 songs he's written(or co-written) and performed since his old coffeehouse days. I think I can safely say I own at least one version of every song, some songs I may have over a dozen since he never plays the same song the same way twice.

Jason and his music to me are like a glass of wine at the end of the evening. His music is soothing at times. It reminds me not to worry so much, not to take things so seriously, that love and friendship are important, hanging out and having fun is important, and that we only get one go around on this planet once so we need to enjoy every minute of it. He helps me to connect to that inner part of me. Not the mom part, or the wife part, but me, who I was before kids, and the person I'm becoming now. He makes me content when I listen to him. The fact that at times he makes me swoon with a wink or smile is a bonus. It's his words that I *lust* for in my heart(sorry DH). And it way it's kind of funny because he's so similar to my DH. They are the same height, similar builds, same color eyes, same kind of curly hair, only the hair color is different. They have very similar attitudes about life and Dh is forever telling me to relax more, have more fun, don't worry so much. I joke that I feel in love(and I use the word love very loosely) with a younger, more artsy version of him. He's a good guy and puts up with my teenage like obsession...

So this is leading up to a small plug(and I've never done this before). If you have heard me talk about my love of Jason and are perplexed you should check out his website at www.jasonmraz.com. His journal entries are always a marvel and I usually find some kind of nugget of something in it that speaks to me. He recently spoke of a trip he made to Hawaii and a camping trip with his buddy. He was so descriptive in it I swear by the end of it I could feel the Hawaiian breeze across my face...Ok, maybe not but pretty darn close.

Today they added two new videos to his site that are free to watch. The link is on the first page which takes you to the multimedia section, then click record company clips and then look at both The Remedy and Wordplay that was taped live in Japan(I think both were in the last few weeks since his last journal entry talked about his trip there to record some new material).

These are supposedly his two biggest "hits". While neither of the songs are amazing compared to some of his lesser known songs these live versions are excellent. This is the Jason that I *love*. Not the guy on the album, with a full band, background singers, but with just him, his guitar, and is longtime buddy Toca. The two of them together is magic, IMHO.

Feeling cruddy today!

I have a UTI and I have to go to the dr's without medical insurance, which when we are done will cost us about another $70 bucks. I thought about just omitting the fact that we no longer have insurance when I go but that wouldn't be right so I told them the truth on the phone. They did say to talk to the dr when I'm there and maybe they might have some samples around to give me to at least save the cost of the prescription. I'll see tomorrow when I go. I'm just frustrated with my body for getting another one. I've been plagued with UTI's my entire life. As a kid I couldn't have soda or take bubble baths and had to extra careful about going to the bathroom as soon as I thought I had to go. I even had to take a note in from my dr. At the beginning of each year to the teacher excusing me to the bathroom if needed. I didn't get a lot of them but enough that by the time I hit my teenage years they did a bunch of testing. The basic answer is I was just built wrong, too many things, to close together and bacteria is easily transferred. I follow a whole list of rules: white cotton panties only, no thongs, no baths(bubble or otherwise, though I do occasionally indulge), at least one glass of cranberry juice a day, going to the bathroom before/after sex(and this is hard cause sometimes I can't go twice in a 30 or so minute time period). Still once a year, despite my best efforts, one appears. The funny thing is, is last year I got one at about the same time, in similar circumstances(no medical insurance). I'm going to ask if I can have a double prescription in case this pops up again before we are re-insured. I will probably be denied but I can try. It's also frustrating that even as a long term, good patients, that I can't get them to prescribe to me over the phone. I do understand the reasons, I do, but it's not like I'm trying to cope major drugs, just a tiny little antibiotic. One look at my chart over the past decade will show you that UTI's are my Achilles heel so to speak.

It also means having to borrow my MIL's car. We did at one time have two cars. Our second car, my car, was a 20 year old jeep that guzzled a ton of gas but was serviceable for a few trips to the school, grocery store, library, the bus stop if it was raining. Last April the steering pump developed a leak. The part was minor it was getting to it that was a problem. So we parked it. At that time it wasn't too horrible because Dh was less than 10 miles from home. He could take a break, pick me up, I could take him back to work, do what I needed to do, go back and get him at the end of the day. He was also often home as early as 3pm, I could do stuff then and still have plenty of time for dinner and bedtimes. He is now 35 miles away from home so taking him to work is not really and option at this point. He also gets home much later in the evenings, often to late for errands, dinner and still be home in time to put the kids to bed. I now find my weekends filled with errands. I really hate doing things on Saturdays since things are so much more crowded.

I had held out the brief hope that maybe we could somehow find a way to fix my car. That dream died a couple of weeks ago when we discovered our "main" car needed about 1,000 of suspension work(that was the work quote for parts and labor). My BIL is a mechanic and we traded the Jeep for the price of parts and he will put the stuff on for us. It's something we have to do with the distance that DH travels in a day. It was a fair trade and it's cutting us a deal. Maybe down the road we can buy it back....

I also feel the need to clarify some of my credit cards woes based on some feedback I got. I *do* accept responsibility for getting myself in this spot. I was frivolous with it at times(though I tried to correct that in the last few years). I also understand we should of prepared for DH being out of work. We did have a nest egg and were somewhat prepared the first time. Because of that first lay off and really a winter plagued with a bunch of unforeseen mishaps that got eaten away so when he got laid off again we were not in good shape.

I also can totally see my credit card's point. I made an agreement, I'm not meeting that agreement, and I'm sure they hear a million sob stories a day. They are a business and have to run it like one. If they made allowances for me, then they would have to do it for lots of other people, next thing you know they are out of business and all their employees are out of a job. I get that.

But what I don't get is how is hounding me 3X a week going to make me pay them? Seriously, if I'm telling you on Monday that I have no money, do you think that has drastically changed by Wednesday? This was true of over the summer when Dh wasn't working. Even if he got a job on a Tuesday, after I talked to them on Monday, do you think by Friday he would have a paycheck? Most places can take at least a week for the payroll process. The two biggest examples of what were they thinking was the fact that last Friday I talked to 2 people, 2. At at 8 something Monday morning they were back on the phone asking me for money? What do you think happened over the weekend? I won the lottery....Another example was I made a payment online, before noon, cause they say if you pay by noon on a business day, your payment will be credited that day. Not two hours after I made the payment they were calling me asking if I could send more. Um, don't you think if I had more I would of? Seriously.

Still I'm trying to take it in stride. I will continue to pay them what I can, when I can. Dh's last job really taught us a lot. It may of paid well but it was sucking the life out of him. He was having chest pains, heart palpitations, he was sick twice in that 7mth period(he's *never* sick) and had a bunch of abnormal blood count results. Emotionally he was just cold, distant, snappy, hardly laughed and really just disconnected from most of the people around him. He just wanted to come home and watch TV. It was a hard thing for me to understand at the time because he didn't tell me how bad it had gotten(he didn't want me to worry). I've never seen anyone more relieved to lose a job in my life. Even now with him back to work he's not nearly as stressed. He likes the pace of the office, likes the people he's working with and is really excited about the chance to really help this place reach it's full potential. I'm just happy to see him laughing again and to chase the kids around(and chase me around more often too ). That is worth so much more than money. I'll field a few more phone calls if it keeps my happy husband around.

And I've come to terms with the fact that I will probably be paying this debt for the rest of my life...Or close to it. Unless I win the lottery!

I like to blog!!

I really like to blog. I like being able to put my feelings on to paper. It helps me sort through my feelings, helps me clarify things and at times allows me to say things that I can't say out loud. I like the fact I can pour something out, a frustration, a fear, and then let it go. I feel like these outlets allow me to be a much more calm, rational, sane person in real life. I think if you met me IRL people would be surprised at how upbeat I am. I seem to make a lot of people laugh. Some of my humor doesn't always translate to typing. I got the same kind of release when I did a handwritten journal. I don't do that so much anymore. This is much quicker and much easier to read later. The fact that anyone reads this or even missed me was a bonus!!

I also love the contact of the BB world too. It allows some of the same thing. I can vent about something that my hubby wouldn't understand(a Tv show, cross stitch, Jason) and know someone understands what I'm saying. I've met a wonderful group of people through them. Through that community I've made good friends with 5 incredible women. We all live close and all share our love of cross stitch but if it wasn't for the computer we never would of met. Life is so much more fun since I met them!

As a bonus I made friends all around the world. Some I got to meet, some I consider a computer friend I just haven't seen face to face, but still consider them friends. I've witnessed births, deaths, marriages, break-ups, stitching happy dances and all other stuff in between. There a few I think of in my real life, many I've said a prayer for during hard times, and some I've shared my stash with.

In all good bunches however there are a few sour apples that spoil the bunch. It's a shame that people have to be so petty and mean about things. They can never just walk away, they can never just let things drop, but continue needling you on and on. A coincidence happen today in the BB world. I blog about something and suddenly *poof* one bad apples has a *friend* :wink, wink: with a similar problem, only instead of being sympathetic to said friend she put them down and the whole tone was "she's lying". Ok, maybe I'm paranoid, but I doubt it. It's also not the first time this has happened(I blogged, a topic magically appeared elsewhere about the same thing). I just find it way, way to coincidental today.

And what is the point of said person? Supposedly she has a life, a great life, which she will tell you often and loudly, and in lots of words if you take the time to listen....personally since I don't really like this person I tend to avoid her posts(though it's hard sometimes since she seems to have so much time to post) I also don't bother to read her blog, why would I care what she is up to. What confuses me though is why would she take the time to read mine? She only could of gotten the info in 3 places, either by me personally(no way), this blog, or one of my friends(who I know wouldn't of said anything). Whether she is actually reading my blog or someone is pointing it out to her I still can't help but wonder WTF? At first it was quite upsetting, it then moved to annoying, and now it is just darn right pissing me off.

I understand that this(and the BB) are a public forum. Anyone could read them. I'm sure there have been people who have wandered by here, read my personal thoughts, formed an opinion and moved on. That's fine, a risk I'm willing to take and honestly I wouldn't put anything down here I wouldn't say to some ones faces(ok, maybe some of rants about my DH I would word differently if I was actually talking to him), but those people keep there feelings to themselves, or leave a comment and move on. This person suddenly thinks if she doesn't use my name, cloak it under the guise of a "friend" that somehow I'm too clueless to figure out. It may be the WORLD wide web but over all some communities are very small. Did she think I wouldn't read it or that I might not know someone who would read it?

I guess I should admire their tenancity to hold a grudge. Must be nice to have time in my day with my kids, and husband and house and big powered, fancy job that I can nurse a personal vendetta. You know I might consider it a compliment but since I'm not the first, nor by any means the last person she has treated this way I can't.

The fact that this has continued on for over a year is just mind boggling.....I have heard that said person is really nice and warm in person and that just left me scratching my head over.

Sorry for the meaningless, rambling, self indulgent post but I had to say some of that out loud or explode.

Credit card debt-an object lesson

About a year before I stopped working to stay home with Donovan, I got a credit card, in my name only. I did it for a couple of reasons: I wanted credit of my own just in case, and it gave me a sense of freedom. In all this time I've never been late on a payment and not a single payment has been for the minimum amount only.

Now I will admit at times to using it frivolously and they played along by slowly but surely upping my limit. Next thing you know balance is more than I would like. About a year ago I put the card away, never to used it, and I haven't. I continued to pay it, trying to whittle it down but as money got tighter, payments got smaller, and it seemed like it never went down.

Last October when the company Billy worked for went out of business I really feared we would be in big trouble. Thankfully he went back to work right away and we only stumbled a little. I still managed my payments but they were much, much harder to make.

This time around when Billy was laid off I knew there was *no* way I could keep the payments up. It just wasn't possible, not with $327 a week unemployment, 4 mouths to feed, and a mortgage. I called them that day. Asked if there was something we could work out, maybe defer a couple of payment, break them up to smaller chunks, something, anything. I mean really doesn't nearly a decade of on time payments mean anything? Nope, not a thing. Every unemployment check Billy got, I sent something to them. Sometimes it was as little as $5 but I had believed if you show and effort it would count in your favor.

This went on all summer long. They'd call, I'd explain. Both of us desperately looking for work and trying to keep things going. We decided early on to try to preserve Dh's credit as best as possible. He's the main wage earner, has the best marketable skills, and a decade of experience. Employer's look at credit ratings now a days. We also hope to sell our house and move in the next few years so we wanted his rating to look the best since it's going to be his earnings that will secure the loan. I thought it was sound thinking.

Something had to give and it turned out to my credit card. For the most part I have to say everyone I spoke too, with the exception of two, have been more than nice and understanding. They could be a lot meaner about it and I've been nothing but honest with them and upfront, from day one.

As the summer has progressed the calls have of course become much more frequent. In the last 4 weeks they are basically calling every other day(M,W,F), won't leave a message on the machine and will call all throughout the day until a "human" answers. If Billy takes a message and I don't call them back within 24 hours they are back calling so ducking the calls or letting them go to the answering machine does no good. The calls continue.

Finally on Friday I was given a number of the "special collections" department( I'm still perplexed while it took an entire summer to even be told I had another option. The rep told me maybe it was because it was noted on my account I was in a hurry the last time they called and I hung up abruptly. Yeah, I had to get my kids off the bus. If I wasn't there to get Ds #2 off the bus, they won't let him off, send him back to school, I get charged for a day of latchkey care and walk 1 1/2 miles to the school to retrieve him since DH wouldn't be home until after 6pm). I guess this rep finally realized that financially I really *don't* have it and this isn't just a case of someone trying to duck the bill. She made it sound like they had more control over making payment agreements because up to this point the only payment agreements I was given were well beyond our reach. I had hoped now with a weekly paycheck we could pay small chunks of it weekly.

I called the special collections office. After 20 frustrating minutes I hung up in tears. They offered me the same deal, a huge payment, that can only be paid once a month, that I have to have automatically deducted from my checking account, and only on the day the specify. When I explained that a weekly chunk is better and that that big of a payment at the beginning of the month was going to coincide with our mortgage payment I was told too bad. It is now noted on my account that I "won't" enter into a payment agreement. They never once asked what our monthly income is now, or what or mortgage payment is, or anything. It's X amount of dollars or else.

They also informed me regardless of a payment agreement or not I have to pay a certain amount of money by 10/6. This will only hold by account briefly at what they consider 2mths past due. Even if I'm a dollar short of that amount I move on to the next phase of collection and days will continue to rack up until I'm turned over to outside collections at the 6mth mark. That doesn't mean 6mths without any kind of payment but without enough of a payment.

I think the thing that was the most frustrating is she made it seem like the effort that I had made up to that point meant nothing. They also made it seem like a good history up to that point meant nothing. They made me feel like a complete deadbeat even when I was on the phone saying I can pay you this, every week, from now until I die. She also talked about how much over my limit I am now, like I went out and charged a bunch of stuff on the card when in reality it's all fees, overage charges etc. The card hadn't been used in forever!!! I feel like every day I owe them more than last and I'm afraid I'm never going to get out from under it...

I just don't know what to do. I spoke with my BIL who a couple of years ago lost his house and filed bankruptcy and he assured me I have awhile before they sue me for anything. He said that maybe outside collections might be a good thing for me. They are normally more willing to make deals, some and maybe by then we will be in better shape. He was also not sure what exactly they could do to me in the long run anyways. I have no income, I don't own a car anymore(and the one I did own was a 20 year old jeep worth about $500). I have a checking account but right now the balance is $7.83. The high balance for the month was $57.83 but I sent $50 to them.

A friend suggested credit counseling but at this point I'm hesitant to do that. I don't want to "wreck" both credit ratings for the same reason stated above. We only have a couple of other credit cards, one is closed, two have balances but they are not to bad, and both cards are for emergencies(one is for Home Depot, the other Costco). What is really killing us is the cost of living is going up daily while our income hasn't really. And honestly I think it would be hard for *anyone* to take a 30% pay cut for awhile. Within a year he should be back up there but we need to hang on until then.

The phone rang at 8:15am, guess who? My credit card company. I hung up, and turned the ringer off the phone. I have nothing more I can say to them.

It's Friday!!

TGIF! It's Friday!! Yeah!! It was the first full week of back to school and I'm looking forward to the weekend. As far as weeks went it wasn't too bad. Donovan is adjusting so much better to school this year so it's not such a struggle in the morning to get him off to school. We had a bit of whinnying on Monday but I think that was just after the weekend. I think it helps now having DH home in the morning to help get him to the bus stop.

Speaking of that I have to say it's been a bit of an adjustment having DH home so late in the morning. For the last decade at least he was often out the door long before I woke up or at the very least left as I was getting out of bed. For the most part he was on his own when it came to clothes(usually the first thing he laid his hands on) and food(usually nothing). Now in the morning I find myself making breakfast and laying out clothes for everyone. I like sending him off in the morning knowing that he has had a little something to eat before starting his day. It's been an adjustment though, I'm not much of a morning person, and having to chat took a little getting used to but now I like getting a chance to talk to him before he heads out for the day. The getting home later is taking a bit of getting used too but even that's not so bad.

Gaelan was a little annoyed this morning when he realized that he had to go to school today. Last year he only went to school 4 days a week and Friday was a day off. I don't think he likes the idea of having to go to school today but he'll get used to it.

I'm looking forward to my few hours of silence in the afternoon. The first few days were hard and I wandered around wondering what to do with myself. After a few days though I found a way to enjoy it. Last year I used the time to take a nap. That was when Dh was working his wacky 3am-whenever schedule. He'd go to bed at 9pm and I would be left to my own devices. I found I reverted to my old night owl ways and stayed up late reading or stitching or watching TV. I would often be up past midnight and then up at 6am to get the boys to school. I don't have that problem now and I find it hard to nap so late in the day. I've been using the time to stitch and it' s nice to watch "One Life to Live" completely uninterrupted.

Speaking of TV I'm happy to see the new TV season starting up. Tuesday night was "Gilmore Girls". Luke said Yes!! And I'm glad they resolved the cliffhanger within minutes of the show starting. I really love this show and glad to see new episodes.

After that I checked out the new WB show "Supernatural". I liked it. It wasn't amazing but I can see the potential and I think it could fill out the void left by Angel/Buffy no longer being on the air. The two guys who play brothers aren't too hard on the eyes either...But man, they are young!! I look forward to seeing next week.

I taped the new show Bones. I hear it's not good but with Angel in it I figured it deserved a look. I still have it on tape and really need to watch it.

Last night was the premier of "Survivor". I thought it was Ok. It wasn't the most compelling first episode I've seen. I had heard a lot of buzz before hand so the addition of Stephanie and Bobby Jon was not a surprise to me. And shocking, they voted the oldest person off first ::roll eyes:: I hope it picks up from there.

After that I turned the TV off. I know, I should of watched the president. I have just hit overload on the the whole Katrinia coverage and my blood pressure goes through the roof whenever I hear all the banter back and forth and the finger pointing. It's just reached such an absurd level that I just can't take it anymore. I could probably fill quite a few pages with my musings but I won't. It's a horrible tragedy that has been made all the worse with the politicized of it. The boys school are doing drives to send school supplies and clothing to the kids down in Houston and for the schools there. I've donated some money to that cause and this weekend will help both classes fill backpacks w/school supplies and duffel bags w/clothing.

I hope to post a picture soon my progress on my Mira piece. For awhile there I stopped stiching but have been back out it the last few weeks. I've hit that slow part of the project, the point where you have come so far, but you feel like you have sooo much more to go. DH unplugged the camera from the computer the other day and I have no clue how to plug it back in so it will have to wait until then so I download the picture. I still really love the fabric color I chose but that 32ct hand dyed fabbie is hard on the eyes in the evenings. I've been breaking it up with a small hardanger angel by Emie Bishop. I'm also starting to get all my stitched ornaments together and getting them ready for finishing. I'm trying to be a bit more organized early this time around instead of waiting until a week before Christmas and 20 ornaments to finish.

Maybe next week I'll share the story of how I injured my one remaining kitty......

Here I am back again!!

It was pointed out to me this morning that it's been awhile since I've written, and I guess it has. I stopped writing mainly cause I was boring myself. It seemed to be the same things over and over again. I also was enjoying my time with Billy and the kids and we all got completely off schedule. Just about everything went downhill and we became real bums there for awhile. We stayed up late, got up late, played all day and just enjoyed each day being together.

Now Billy is back to work and the kids are back in school so we are back on schedule and things are starting to get done.

Since I've last posted a few things have happened. Billy and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary in August. With has rocky as the last year has been we felt it important that even with the finances the way the were we needed to celebrate so we went out to a nice dinner. The last year has been tough on our marriage and I was happy to celebrate the day. Looking back we found quite a few things to laugh about though...

Donovan turned 8 on September. 6. We celebrated his birthday a couple of days early. We had a small family party with a few kids from the neighborhood. He wanted an army man birthday cake. I gave it a shot and he ended up with what was supposed to be a camouflaged colored cake but looked more like a map to me.
Still he was happy with it. He had a good time on his birthday and he got the guitar he has been asking for. We are trying to find someone to give him lessons. Still he likes to strum on it everyday and he talks about the songs he's going to write on it. Could I have a future Jason on my hands?

We had to our our beloved kitty Gwen put to sleep two weeks ago. She was very old, nearly 17, and had not been doing that well most of the summer. She was still eating and getting around but you could tell she was getting old. Over night practically she went completely downhill. She wouldn't eat, couldn't go up the stairs anymore and just looked worn out. Billy and his brother took her to have her put to sleep. I should of gone with them but I just couldn't, it was too hard. I cried for two days. I miss my sweet girl. We had had her and her brother(who passed away two years ago) our entire marriage and it was really sad to let her go, even though it was time. That leaves us with just my baby kitty meepers and our dog Anna. The kids took it pretty well. G wanted to buy some stuffed animals for meepers to sleep so he wouldn't be lonely now that Gwen is gone and he's the only kitty left.

Donovan started the second grade. This year so far is going so much better than last. His kindergarten teacher is now teaching second grade and Donovan was placed in her class. Granted I didn't love her when she was his kindergarten teacher(I think she babies them too much) but Donovan loves her. His class is much more equal boys/girls and he just all around seems much more comfortable.

I'm amazed at how well his reading has become. I knew he could read but his willingness to do it and how much easier it seems to be for him now is great to see. He can also spell like I can't believe. Such a quick memory!! His weakness seems to be math. He's writing a lot of his numbers backwards. I spoke to a friend who is a math teacher and she said to give him a bit more time. It could be a leftie thing and it's still normal for him to do it at this point, but he should stop doing it by the end of this year. If it continues after that , it could be a problem.

Gaelan started Kindergarten this year. He goes in the afternoon and so far he likes it. He gets on the bus and loves riding it. I like his teacher so far. She is very matter of a fact, no nonsense teacher, which I think G needs to keep him focused. He's having a hard time adjusting to going to school in the afternoon and it seems like all morning he asks "when do I leave for school?". It's a bit of an adjustment for me too but I kind of like having the afternoons to myself. With the bus schedule and a little extra time he spends in class I have nearly 3 1/2 hours alone.

I see from my last blog entry I was really harsh on my beloved Jason and his sophomore album. I have to say my opinion has changed a lot since then. The album has grown on me and I do like it. There are a few songs I still can't listen too but there are some that I just love. He is going on tour soon and I'm bummed that the closest he's going to be is either Chicago or Cleveland. Both are weeknight too so not at all possible. I'm holding out hope that maybe on his second leg he will be closer! I know I would love to see him.

The best thing with the release of his new album was a flurry of press so lots of fun interviews to read and a lot of hot pictures of him. Here is one of my new favorites and my current desktop:



And this one just made my heart flutter:



Yummy!!!