Life's Journey...En Route

Again?

2011-08-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

So, I started my first day of RN school today. LPN school was hard enough so, we'll see. I am greatful to even be in the program; there were 80 students selected and 1200 applicants...

UPDATES

2009-09-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

Lots going on since my last stupid post. Sorry bout leaving that there for so long.

Madeline started school at the beginning of the month and she absolutely loves it! She did not go back to the small private school she has been going to since she started school at age 5. As most of you all know, she has struggled academically. Especially, with her reading and math skills. Plus she has been receiving special services from the public school district including OT and PT. With her going into 3rd grade, I was worried that she needed more intense intervention and her father and I decided to place her in public school for the year where she would have more services readily available. So far, we are thrilled with that decision.

She was placed in a "non-graded" age/grade appropriate classroom that focuses intensely on reading and math. There are 8 3rd, 4th and 5th grade age students in her class as well as a special education teacher, a teachers aid and a one-on-one assistant. That is 3 full time staff in her class for 8 students and on top of that, she is getting OT, PT, and speech. She absolutely loves it and she comes home and does her homework willingly. she is already able to independently read at a first grade level. That is amazing.

Today she had to wear her bathing suit under her clothes because for the next two weeks she will be swimming for PE and APE (adaptive physical education). She is really excited about all the different things that she gets to do.

Oh, and just so no one misunderstands my position on the "school" issues... I still support Christian Education. Madeline just needed extra services that our small school was not able to provide right now.

And now, an update on... ME.

Andy and I are in the process of a divorce. It may seem sad, but really it is the best decision. Believe-you-me, it is not because we didn't try. We certainly did. It is a bit weird though because we are not fighting over anything and we still get along. This whole issue really deserves a post of its own so, I wont go into much detail.

I got a part time job doing local flu clinics for the next few months. On top of my other job, it is just one or two days a week in the afternoon/evenings and I signed up to do clinics that are local to us. It may even go into next year because the N1H1* is out this year too and that wont start for a few more weeks.

A year ago, I applied at the VA and they finally called me back. FINALLY!!!!! It is so hard to get in with them. The benifits are amazing and the $$ is much better then average salary in this area. The only problem is if I get/accept the position, then I am commiting to being a grown-up. Of course I will accept it if it is offered, it is just really scarry for me. Go figure.

Enough for now though. Maybe your comments will encourage me to post more and not be such a slacker in the blog world.

WHAT? HE DIED?

2009-06-26T05:39:00.000-07:00

When I got up this morning, I turned on the news and found out that M*chael J*ackson died yesterday. I am SHOCKED! He has been one of those familiar voices you never think twice about not hearing live again. It is very disturbing to me.

When all of us kids were young we used to listen to him on the radio all summer long. It wasn't something our mother approved of but when she was at work we would turn on the radio and there he was. I remember calling the radio station on our Mother's 30th birthday and asked them to broadcast it on the air. Of course, we had to leave it on when she got home so she could hear them announce her birthday to everyone listening and in the mean time... There he was, singing away: Just C*all M*y Name and I*ll Be There. I thought for sure we were going to get in trouble or have to turn it off and not get to hear them say Happy Birthday. I guess it was good it was one of his more kosher songs cause we didn't have to turn it off.

I always loved it when Wierd Al sang his spoof songs too. Just Eat It was such a cool version of MJ's B*eat It.

As an adult, I never got excited about hearing him but his presence was more nestalgic then anything elce. It always took me back to those rebellious moments of the 80's. Eesh.

75th %

2009-06-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Madeline just had another Dr. visit. She has been such a peanut most of her life... UNTIL NOW! Since February, she has grown an entire inch and gained 8.5lbs. I didn't believe her when she said the new (to her) shorts that her auntie Rachael just sent her were too tight. Thankfully not all of them are but, surprisingly some of them were and they are a size 10. A SIZE 10!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORI!

2009-05-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday lil sis! (I have to specify lil here cause Ryan left a comment on Natalie's blog about the 3 little girls and Lori.) I'm glad you were always older in a lot of ways cause think of all the things we would have missed out on if you hadn't skipped your Junior year in high school and graduated with me. I will always cherish that year that we were together. Having a sister like you was the next best thing to being a twin. Having a built in friend is priceless.

Remember being sent to the principles office for fighting over our babies. We had to carry around those dolls for mairrage and family (was it part of health or was it part of religion?) and our babies were identical cabbage patch dolls. You left yours in the trunk of the car and tried to steal mine which lead to a knock-out, drag-down fight during English class. Eeash! When we got into the principles office we started laughing while they got out the first aid kit and then we sang that song from the Barney sound trac You Are My Sister. Remember me begging you in class to help me with my homework assignment that was due and we were discussing it in "ARP"? Our teacher spoke "OP" but because it was the same idea, we were totally busted.

Oh, and getting our drivers license together. You passed your test first but generously let me get my lisence first so I could have mine before you. Nice job on your specialty: paralell parking. It must of been a good job afterall cause you passed!

Your are the best (18 whole months younger) sister I could have ever asked mom for. She sure did a good job filling my order. remember being really young and playing Debbie and Stacie? I forget who was who but we always ended up adopting babies that were left on the other side of our bedroom door and we would play House for three days in a row. I know we played alot with our 3 foot tall Kristy dolls that had really bad hair but we had little dolls too. It was so much fun.

Wish I could be there with you today. Have a fun day!
Love,
Shannon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB!

2009-05-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to the best Step-Dad and Grandpa in the whole world! You are such a blessing to our family. I wish today wasn't so scattered with Mom being gone to Oklahoma right now for Grandma Annie. We will have to celebrate as soon as she comes home.

For now though: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Love,
Shannon and Madeline

CHARLIE: WITH THE DETAILS

2009-04-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

WOW! Tomorrow sure did take forever; has it been 3 weeks already since I promised to post more tomorrow? Sorry about that.

So Charlie is a Labradoodle. The mother is 50% standard poodle and the father is 50% chocolate lab. And, is he ever adorable! He is right around 3 years old and weighs about 75lbs. Laying on the floor all stretched out, he is almost the same length as ms. Maddy Paige.

Madeline's school bus driver Cindy, (who has been transporting her back and forth for 2 years already) gave him to us. His name was Huggs when he came to live with us. Not keen of the name, we changed it. We asked her if she would be offended and she said it was fine with her.

Evidently, Cindy has 5 large breed dogs including Charlies' sister (a standard poodle). She recently had to downsize her living situation and could not keep all of them. Charlie is one of her favorites and she had not planned on parting with him but as fate would have it... An answer to prayer in more ways then one. Madeline was praying for another dog and Cindy was praying for help in deciding on what to do with her menagerie; a blessing all the way around. Cindy was able to find a good home for one of her dogs and we got an awesome pet. As a bonus, she gets to see him on school days too, because Charlie is outside in the mornings and in the afternoons waiting with or for Madeline. When Cindy opens the bus door, Charlie sometimes goes in and says hi to her (and everyone else on the bus). And the biggest bonus? He doesn't run out the door as soon as the opportunity is presented and he can be without a leash as long as I am out there with him.

OUR NEW DOG

2009-03-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

So, here he is: Charlie, our newest family member. Adopted 3/29/09.

ITEM 86

2009-03-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

Of course I graduated from Nursing School, but I still have to pass the NCLEX*. The official test date: March 19, 2009.

Preparing for the NCLEX*: an article I happened to read the day before I took my state Boards...

"Oh my, the computer didn't shut off after item 85-what will you do? The computer hasn't made a decision about your competency either way at this point. Therefore, you must continue your partnership with the computer. If the computer was sure that you weren't capable, it would have definitely shut off. Now all you have to do is prove on the next several items that you are capable of bearing the title. The average number of items on any candidates exam is about 110. Item 86 is your friend-do well."

THEN WHY DID MY COMPUTER SHUT OFF AT ITEM 85?!!!

Fortunately, it was on outdated article that I read and the official test gives a minimum of 85 questions. So, basically, this is what I went home with: Either I did really well and it only took 85 questions to know if I was competent enough or not... OR... I must be really stupid because the computer sees no hope of recovery, even by offering me 125 more questions. And, now I wait 48 hours to know.

I PASSED!!!!!!!!! I am an official Nurse! Whooh Hooooh!

(I know I waited a long time to take this darn test but I was REALLY scared).

COOPER

2009-03-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

With sadness, I gave the consent for Cooper to be cremated this morning. Madeline and I were just leaving the house for church when the phone rang. Madeline answered and it was the Humane society calling. She was super excited to tell me who it was and that they probably found our dog. Well they did but it was not what we expected.

One year ago yesterday was the day we brought our fox hound home from the shelter. Madeline did not understand why he did not have a "birthday" so she planned to have a party for him on his one year anniversary date. (She has me read my sisters blog to her and when she realized what "Gotcha-Day" was, she decided that thats what we would celebrate in place of a birthday). Madeline was so excited. We went shopping the day before and she bought him presents, a meaty bone, and a boquet of balloons. Some of her friends from school even made cards for Cooper.

Well, somehow, while we were at the neighbors house, cooper escaped out of their fenced yard. We still cant figure out how, but he did. We went looking for him but without luck. The next morning (Gotcha-Day) I called the Humane society to see if he had been picked up and if not, to let them know we were missing our beloved dog.

Well, he made it to the one year mark. No party though. He was hit and killed by a car last night not even 1/2 mile from our house and we never even saw him. It breakes my heart because we loved him so much.

I had Madeline go to a friends house this morning so I could go identify him. I hope she handles this better them I am or I might have a major melt down. I'm sure going to miss him.

POT LUCK OF SORTS

2008-09-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it has been over 2 months since my last post.

Have you ever had so much time on your hands that you decide to do something that you have been putting off for good reasons? Well, let me just say, this is the reason I have avoided the whole blog thing... I am OVERWHELMED!! I decided to clean the basement and the garage out before starting a job.

Now... Road trip anyone? I could sure use the help. I have junk all over the house and now I am not sure where to go next.

The job search is going well. I'm pretty sure I will be accepting a job offer by next week. The best choice is the one where I would be "squeaked" in on the day-shift. How awesome is that; to get a job as a brand new nurse on days?

I just found out that the funding for my license should be available to me within the month. Hopefully, I will be able to take the boards by Thanksgiving.

Madeline is doing great is school this year. She brought her homework home last night and showed me her papers on the President. If she were the President, there would be NO WARS!
She still does PT and OT two times a week.

I took her in last week for her physical and my suspicions were confirmed about how much she has grown. She started school last year in the 25th % for her age; wearing a size 5-6 and a 12 shoe. Now, she is in the 50th % and wears an 8 with a size 1 shoe. No wonder I keep washing clean clothes. She tries to wear clothes that don't fit her. Instead of putting them away or telling me, she takes them off and they end up back in the laundry. Now that I know this, I am putting them aside so it doesn't keep happening.

Last week, we had one of the scariest storms I have ever been in and it went on the entire night. The wind was relentless. It was so bad I thought our roof was just going to lift right off and fly away. Around 11pm Madeline asked me if I had a sleeping bag. Since she has one too, we should get them out and sleep in the basement. Madeline has never even been in the basement because it is unfinished and she is scared of it. We ended up going downstairs to sleep on the couch bed and it was still pretty loud.

We tried to sleep... about 1 AM I called Karoline (her husband was working nights). Since she was awake (imaging that) I told her I was putting Madeline and Cooper in the car and if we were not there in less then 20 minutes... send out the troops looking. I look back and realize that was probably not the best idea, the winds were 55mph+. But, misery loves company. We were all scared together. On the way home the next morning, I noticed two of my neighbors will be getting new cars. Huge trees fell over the night and their cars were crushed.

Back to cleaning... I have got to get this house under control!

MY SIX

2008-07-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

My sister Rachael posted today about a six word challenge: summerizing her life using only six words. After comming up with her six word summary, she then challenged other people who read her blog to come up with their own.

Here is Rachael's: "LIFE IMITATES ART: MINE IS FINGER-PAINTED"
(her blog can be found on my side line) Be sure to check it out as not to miss the meaning behind it.

When I read Rach's blog this morning I instantly thought of my life's motto. Longer then six words though. So, my life: Summerized in SIX.

"TAKING THE LONG ROUTE: NOT LOST!"

In more ways then one! I wrote one of my first posts on the original saying: "I don't get lost... I'm just taking the long route".

I often get grief from family and friends about the fact that I am directionally challenged. However, I'm not always sold on the label cause I usually always recognize something or have a general idea of where I am. It may take longer then usual, but I usually get there.

Now, go get your own SIX!

When I grow up...I think I will be Republican.

2008-07-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

Democrat? Republican? Who knows? All I know right now is that all the important men in my life for the past 18 years are definately Republican; which made me think that I was too. Well, recently, a very good friend and I were talking about politics and I said I was Republican. Of course, because I wouldn't vote for Hillary or Obama in fear of being rejected by all the important men in my life (plus, the fact that I don't like what they are campaigning). So, I was shocked to hear Alysia tell me that I tended to live more of a Democratic lifestyle. Hu? Well, I do kinda like equality here, ya know. Does that make me a Democrat then? I think I need to be a grown-up before I vote. Honestly, I think I at least want to be Republican.

Yesterday, Madeline and I got to meet Senator Hillary R Clinton in town. She was a couple miles from the house at a local produce market. Evidently, a couple weeks ago, a local orchard crop was destroyed by a hail storm. I had no idea, even though I was home the day it supposedly happened. It didn't hail at my house.

Regardless of the fact that I wouldn't vote for her, I still thought it would be neat to see Hillary in person. Kudos to her for attempting a run in the Presidency. Too bad she has screwed up education so bad and was planning to mess up the health care system as well. Otherwise, I probably would have voted for her. I think it would be awesome to see a woman president.

Madeline was too cute about being there. She thought it was pretty cool that she might end up on the local news (we were front row, waiting on her to arrive). Oh, and Lori... I did some advertising for your family farm while we were there. I was wearing my C******* produce shirt because it was what I wore when we picked strawberries earlier in the morning. (The whole reason she was in town was because of farm issues). Not very many other people were dressed up so it wasn't like I stood out looking like a bum. I didn't even know about the visit until about an hour before.

For the record, since I'm not sure what party I belong to yet, I wont be voting out of loyalty. But just incase you're wondering... I'm not impressed by either.

TAGGED

2008-06-02T04:25:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by a couple of family members to share six quirky things about me. Hmm...

1) I'm a "patt patter". Ever since I can remember, I have always loved to pat the arm of, someone; I will do it as long as they will let me. My Grandma Annie has the BEST arm in the world. I am also known to pat with my foot on people's legs too. Natalie always let me do it but Lori usually put a stop to it right away. Even still, I have to put my hand on an arm or a foot on a leg when I sleep at night. Lucky for me, Andy and Madeline don't mind at all.

2) I am not a morning person. Even when I am on a schedule of waking before 9am, I look forward to sleeping in. All last month I had to be up by 5am and I dreaded it. Fortunately for me, Madeline is a sleeper too. She would naturally wake around 9 or 10am if I would let her. Works well for me when we don't have morning obligations. I think getting her on the bus by 7am is worse then not getting to sleep in though. That is a HUGE daily accomplishment. She is miserable even if she goes to bed at 7:30 the night before.

3) I am a messy house keeper. My floors are almost always swept and mopped and the bathroom is scrubbed once a week, but you wouldn't believe how messy things can get around here. I pile things a lot. Interestingly though, my piles are quite organized. I can tell you how far down in a pile something is, even if I haven't looked at it for a few days. For the record though, Andy likes to have more order then the average person so, for his sake, when I know he will be home for the weekend, I make huge efforts to declutter. When he is home on a more regular schedule, he is really good about helping. Of course, he does have his own room. It just makes since, seeing as he needs space that is just his, with no clutter. I never go in there, so there are no piles. It doesn't bother me one bit.

4) I love old men. They just make me smile. Even the grumpy ones. Very rarely will you catch me missing an opportunity to say Hi to strange old men. They are just so darn cute the way they walk real slow with a walker or all hunched over. I especially love to greet the ones with a scowl, because it is so easy to make them smile. Oh, and what about the ones that are just happy all the time... the ones that play the harmonica or sing with no inhibitions. I just love em.

5) I still use hot rollers in my hair. They are amazingly easy to use and I can get away with an extra day of not washing my hair by using them.

6) I am a hypochondriac... what nursing student isn't though. They other day we were learning about STIs (the new politically correct version of STDs). Anyway, it is a good thing I know that the little annoyances on the bottom of my feet are caused from stress. Otherwise, I would have imagined I was getting a false/positive reaction to syphilis and thought for sure that I had some rare auto immune disease that was silently killing me. Turns out, it's just eczema. Good thing I already knew that one. Ha! (Not quite as gross as it sounds...my feet)!

I would tag other people, but like my mother said... Everyone who reads my blog has already been tagged.

2008-03-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

Just got back from visiting my Dad in Oklahoma.

Other then the nice greeting from Barbra, the visit was good. It went by very fast and I wish I had done a lot more then I did. The first day in town I went with my dad to put in some bids for his Rock company. When we were finished there, we stopped by the Preacher's Ranch and I got to meet him and talk to him about Uncle Charlie. Then, we stopped by the Lake house and I was able to see the devastating remains of what was lost in the fire. It was very sad. I think it was a really good day for my dad though because he was able to find closure on Charlie's death.

This is Dad burring Charlie's dog, Baby. We found him in the back of the house on the bed next to the window.

We did find out that the cause of the fire was because of a propane gas leak, between the wall, on the back side of the house. The leak had caused the wall to fill up with the gas and Charlie most likely was standing next to it when the fire ignited. It is believed that he was killed instantly.

A neighbor was outside when she noticed smoke coming from the trailer. She saw both vehicles were there and knew Charlie was home. She ran over and smashed all the windows out of the front of the house hoping to help him escape, but he did not answer her and she didn't dare go in. She said the house was completely destroyed in less then 5 minutes.

Not much left. Is there?

Dad said he is going to take the rock over to his house and build a sidewalk by his pool. I guess he is going to scrap as much metal as possible too. Not sure what is going to happen to the land. Probably nothing for now. It is still in Trust from Grandpa so I'm not sure anyone really knows. I've heard talk about it going to AireAnna. That makes the most since to me.

This is a top view. There is absolutely NOTHING left.
I cleaned out Charlie's truck and found a ton of important documents though. What was he thinking to keep all the property deeds, car titles to both cars, and a few other important documents in the glove box? I found them tucked in the back of his owner's manual. Hmm. Why there?
I also found his extra set of keys... hanging inside the door of his gas tank. It came in very handy to have them because Barbra sure did accidentally pick the originals up and take them to work with her. She called and told dad once she got to work because she didn't want me to drive it. She also said that the insurance company called her when they "heard" what had happened because she was listed as next of kin. Whatever! Evidently they needed to let her know that only her and dad were authorized to drive the vehicle. Have you ever heard of such craziness? She was pretty upset when she saw we had moved the truck (spare keys, remember?) and then I was sure to mention I had called my own insurance company and got permission to drive it. She was pretty upset that she didn't get her way. UGGH! She is so selfish and greedy.

With it being as late as it is, I am going to go ahead and publish this post. I will add more to it or just start another post in the near future. My Easter post should be up in a few days as well.

COOPER

2008-03-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

I have been putting off this post since Wednesday because I can't figure out how get my pictures to the desk top from the camera.

We have a new dog in our family! His name is Cooper and until our vet check today, we thought he was some hound mix mutt.

About a month ago I talked to Andy about getting a dog. An older dog, because I'm not so sure I have the energy or desire, for a puppy. I just wanted to have a dog that wanted to be lazy, and love us. For a while there I thought I was going to have to check the weekly obituaries in hopes of finding a recently orphaned one.

Well, I found Cooper, formerly called Buddy but officially named Andy. Funny, isn't it? I didn't know the shelter had named him Andy until after I had dicided to consider him. When I called Andy and told him about the perfect dog he seemed sceptical that I could find a perfect one in such a short time. Maybe he thought I was settling, or something? Then I told him I knew it was the one because of his name.

Two weeks later I took Madeline to see this dog. They took to each other really well and Madeline, although reserved, was very excited that we might bring him home.

About another week and Andy called to tell me he thought I should go and get the dog. He wanted us to have him.

We went that day and instead of turning in the paperwork and planning on another visit, the dog somehow ended up in our car and was officially ours. We call him Cooper.

He is such a good boy. I have yet to hear him bark. No messes when I leave him home alone in the house and I even leave the garbage can in the kitchen. I called my mom and told her he was so good I thought maybe he might be sick. He sleeps the whole night on a rug next to Madeline's bed, lets her walk him without a fight and is really sweet.

Okay, so I took him for his first vet check today because I noticed he wasn't feeling good on Saturday. He wouldn't eat, he could barely get up the stairs and he caughed so hard I thought he had asthma.

At the vet, I found out that he has bronchitis. I also found out that he is a pure bread American walker foxhound. Who knew? I thought he was a beagle mix. Kinda weird to see a 64lb beagle. Hey, anything can happen whith dogs these days. He sure has the face and markings of one though.

So, now I have a dog that can run for hours without tiring. (Running buddy?) The internet said they were originally bred for running with horses while hunting.

Cooper definately belonged to someone who spent time working with him. He is about 5 years old. He must have wondered off on a scent during hunting season and his owner couldn't find him. Lucky us!

I hope to have pictures up soon. If you can't wait, just google "foxhound" and they should have a good picture there. Cooper is tricolored.

Is spell check working these days? It said I spelt everything correctly the first time through. hmmh.

This is for you, Uncle Charlie

2008-03-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

I missed you before I got the call. When dad called me on Tuesday night and blurted the news that you were gone all I could think of was how thankful I was for the past few months between us. We had such a good time just talking about "stuff". Sometimes we would talk for so long that I wanted to keep it a secret from dad because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I just had so much fun. Even through my tears as I write, I am able to spontaneously laugh about how hard we laughed a few weeks ago about *******. Silly, I know, but it was so incredibly funny.

Contrary to what some may have thought of you, I think you were an incredible man. I wish everyone knew the side of you that I did. You had incredible strength inside of you, both physically and mentally. Hey, not everyone gets to brag about the fact that their blood has the strength of an Olympic swimmer or the intelligence to speak 3 languages fluently. Didn't you swim next to Mark Spitz in the 70's? Actually, I know you did. What a privilege it must have been. Your knowledge of history is somehow more impressive then the BS you have in physics, but your ability to read others was a talent greater then your strength and knowledge combined.

You are my blood. You understood me. I was just telling you the other night how hard it is for me to no not self sabotage my efforts when I get so close to finishing something. I was being so hard on myself and you put me back into reality. You told me how important it is to not let my intelligence scare me. (Intelligence? what?). You actually know I know better. I am smart and I will finish school. It was encouraging to hear that I'm not alone on being scared of myself though. Oh how I wish you had understood yourself more before you got into so much trouble.

You always got me because we are so much alike. Rebels by nature and obsequious almost to a fault. You said you mother was that way too. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all. It is amazing how we are so much alike yet we are so incredibly different. You said it was because of how amazing my mother is and how she did so right by us. I couldn't agree more!

Remember telling me about how much fun it was when all of us would stay with you. You had to promise to have us dressed and at church on time but it wasn't too hard. You had Rachael there to help you. You were always impressed with how much of a leader she was; down to earth, smart as a whip, and such a good leader. You never doubted she would grow up to be anything other then a doctor. Ryan, such a good brother. He could take all of us girls down at once yet when we would gang up on him he wouldn't even flinch. You knew he was going to grow up to be such a good husband and father. It takes a real man to hold back his own strength. You loved his wife Lisa too. Always praising her for being such a good wife to your nephew. Lori, you always saw as responsible and practical. You said she was a good sister for me to have so close because she keeps me in check. (I definitely agree). No hard feelings at all when you say you always thought of Francie as the prettiest. You remembered her as always having the most adorable face and the happiest spirit. She was always smiling and clueless of anything less then positive. Finally, you mentioned how much you missed of Francie and Natalie because they were the youngest. You just loved how much fun Natalie was. You felt like a kid all over again every time you saw her. You two were so hilarious at the restaurant we went to in the city when we came through to visit. She still thinks of you as being such a FUN uncle.

Because I know that your time was limited with us, I wasn't as initially shocked as I thought I should be. I thought I would have had more of a warning. The first thing I said to my dad when he called was "Dad, at least he didn't die of AIDS". To most people, that may seem odd. If you were here, you would have been proud of me. We all knew you have been living with AIDS for a long time. The worst part of the whole disease is the fact that the people you meant the most to, would have to watch you die. You wouldn't give into the disease though. You had such a zest for life that even a disease as powerful as yours couldn't win. Your doctors were so impressed with you too. As tragic as your death was/is, I am grateful that you didn't have to loose the battle. Even in death, you survived.

I will miss you more then anyone can possibly understand. You have been a window into my heritage and the information that you have shared with me is a treasure.

Less then a week before you died we talked about life and death. You said God must have a good reason for you to still be here with us. It was then that I told you that God is so generous that He gives us the opportunity to decide whether we will accept His gift of eternal life. I said He must be waiting for an answer from you. I truely believe your decision was made before the 4 days later when you were killed. I trust God and know that He respects our decisions. He was waiting for you Uncle Charlie. That's why you were still alive.

*Charlie died on March 3, 2008. He was inside his home with his beloved dog Baby when his house burnt to the ground.

PEOPLE BOOTS

2008-03-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

Our new PEOPLE BOOTS:

Madeline, at the age of 3, was putzing around minding her own schedule. Definitely, she was not listening to my pleading voice.

"Come on, hurry up! Hurry up! get your barn boots on, and lets go" I kept telling her. No matter what I said or how I said it, she continued to be in her own world.

"Madeline! Get your barn boots on and come on!...blah blah blah... Are you hearing your mother? lets go!"

"Mom!" she finally said.

"What?!"

"They are not barn boots."

"Then what are they?"

"They are people boots!"

And we still call them people boots. People boots are the best all around shoe in our house. They go on easy, come off easy, and are easy to clean. Madeline gets a new pair every year and this year they happened to have my size on sale too!

MOMMA SLEEPS WITH A GUN UNDER THE PILLOW

2008-02-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

I think my perception of fear may fall under the catagory of bi-polar. Sometimes I am scared, sometimes I am not and most of the time the fazes lean toward the extreme.

As most of you already know, Andy has been out of town for a couple weeks while he is learning to drive a truck. Yeah it suprises me too. Anyway, it is one of those things he thinks will be stable for him until I finish school. And, I can't fault him for thinking that way. He really does a great job at being head of household even when it means being on the road for awhile.

With Andy being gone, I have been in paranoia mode. It's not like I should be scared to be alone. Shoot, I did it for 3 years before he moved here to NY. Why all the sudden? It is bad though. I can't fall asleep at night so, I have to stay up real late trying to get as tired as I can. Just before bed, I boobie trap the stairs, and block my bedroom door, and sleep with the phone under my pillow with a flash light. I do such a good job at boobie trapping the stairs, no burglar stands a chance! ha.

Anyway, last week I absentmindedly, mentioned to a neighbor that Andy was out of town. Opps! I'm already scared enough, now the neighbors know. I tried to recover by telling them that before Andy left he was given strick instructions on not comming home without making sure I know. If he suprises me, I.m likely to shoot him.

The neighbors gave me look that said "Hey, I believe you, and I will spread the news". Now, at least if there is a rumor about me being home alone, it goes with the fact that I sleep with a gun under my pillow.

MY MOTHER IS SO SMART

2008-02-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

People often wonder how my mom was able to manage having so many kids, so close in age (9 years: oldest to youngest). In fact, some people might even think she was a bit crazy. I personally remember asking her the same question too. You know what she told me?
It was easy. You only cost $300.00 a piece.
Not exactly what I was wondering mom! I meant... Didn't we drive you crazy?

She says that from the time she was a little girl, she always wanted a bunch of kids. Not sure if she knew just how many or not, but from what I understand, the reason there are 6 is because she wanted each of us to grow up with a friend. If she stopped at me, I would have been lonely, so she had Lori. Then, came Francie. If she had stopped with her, Francie would be lonely and we wouldn't have Natalie.

You see, I'm kind of in a bind here as I only have one. Madeline, being an only child, dosen't have a built in friend, and for that, I am... CRAZY (or getting closer and closer every day). Siblings just know the boundries and usually work things out without too many battle wounds. Unfortunately, Madeline will never understand the bond of sisters or brothers (that she is close in age with).

I am so glad I am a product of such a smart woman. Maybe if Rachael hadn't taken so many of the 'smart' genes, I would have known better and had two. HA

I suppose I should be greatful for the next best option though. At least we only live 3 miles from my brother who has 4 children. Madeline loves her cousins and she is really close with them. It just dosen't help me when Madeline is at home and complains about being bored.

Disclosure notice: This post is not to be about me wanting more kids. It is me, venting about a very frustrating weekend of dealing with a bored, only-child. UGGH! Why? Oh, why?

MENTAL HEALTH DAY

2008-02-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

Madeline and I were very lucky that it stormed last night; it made the power go out just long enough to mess up the alarm clock. Instead of getting up at the crack of dawn, Maddy got to sleep in, on a school day, until 9:30am.

I realized at 10 till 7 that the bus had already come and gone. So, I got up, layed on the couch, and finally called her teacher and told her I would bring Maddy to school after lunch. I let her sleep until she naturally woke up. Then we putzed around, and did a whole lot of nothing.

We both needed a day like today. She was a much happier girl when I picked her up after school and we had a good evening together.

ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT RE: RUNNING?

2008-02-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

I was going to email my sister Rachael this morning in regard to getting a CD of her play list. It is in effort to motivate me from the couch to running. Instead of emailing her, I decided to go public with the fact that I want to start running. Maybe, just maybe, I will join the 10K that a couple of sisters are gearing up for in the spring.

Rachael, will you really burn me a CD? One strange request though: will you include at least one up-beat song from Brittney Spear's first album?

Now, as soon as I get that play list CD you can all inquire about my progress. Until then... I plan to think about it so it won't be such a shock to my system.

For the record though, I did go through basic training. After I got over the hurt of running, I actually liked it. While training continued, I would run 5 miles on a day off just because. Once I got home... Well, I've been rebelling ever since.

THANK YOU, LORI!

2008-02-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

I know, I know! It has been a very long time since my last post. It isn't because I haven't had plenty to blog about either. Time just got away...

Notice my new blog layout? I like it too! My sister Lori, suprised me with it over the weekend. It should make it alot more fum to write on. I started to add a few things to the side bar. Not finished with it yet, but it is a start. I'm kind of slow with the whole computer thing. It took me the amount of time it would have taken to write a new post (and then some). So, I thought it should count. Not according to Lori! She signed in under my name and told me I had better post or she might take back her design. Um, I thought about changing my password, but I have no clue how. Plus, it is nice that Lori can edit(or change) my blog when I get frustrated.

Thank you Lori! I really like it. I'll post something more fun tommorow.

Amongst Other Things

2008-01-02T18:09:00.001-08:00

In my last post I mentioned an online group called Free*Cycle that I joined a little over a year ago. Since I have had a lot of fun recycling community junk, I thought it would be fun to write about a few things that I have acquired as well as a few things I have let go of.

Some of the things I have offered range from the potty seat (see my last post), to lots of clothes, a broken microwave, shoes, and a wooden rocking chair that had fallen apart and a pile of lattice.

You wouldn't believe the stuff people are so excited about getting.

As for the received items, I must say that the washing machine takes the cake. However, I now have a deep freezer, a set of China dishes, a chandelier and a lawn mower that I gave tomy nephew. The stuff is totally FREE. You just have to pick it up.

The washing machine turned out to be the real steal though. I didn't have one because the town house where I lived didn't have the hook-ups for one. Now that we were moving into a house I figured I should at least try my luck and request one. I wasn't sure what would happen, but hey, you never know. Right? It made since that some lucky person would get a new set for Christmas and I would get their old one. That's exactly what happened too. Some Lady who had 5 kids got a new front loader and I was just in time to take the old one off her hands. It was a large capacity Maytag. Not new by any means, but I was never so excited to do laundry in my own house. The Machine was great. Never any problems.

I had been using the machine for about 6 months and planned to use it till it quit. Until the day I was at Lowe's, looking for inspiration of some sort. As I was wondering around the store, I happened upon the clearance appliances. Out of nowhere, someone came up to me as I was looking and said that the prices are always negotiable if I was interested in anything.

Not sure where the boldness came from when I offered $50.00 for the Whirlpool I was looking at. What was there to loose? I wasn't in the need. I was so shocked when my offer was excepted that I actually said "whoa, that was too easy, how bout $45.00?". When he said okay again, I kinda freaked out a bit.

The thought of a new machine for $45.00 was almost too good to be true, so I asked him why it was there and what happens if I get it home and it doesn't work.

Turns out that all appliances sold on the floor, come with a one year warranty The reason it was there at all was because it was dropped on delivery... Lucky me!

I came home, called a friend of mine, sold her my "free washer" for $30.00 and am the proud owner of my first new washer. Originally, it was priced over $400.00. In the end... It cost me a whopping $15.00. Last I heard, the "old" machine is still working too.

One Year Ago...Today.

2008-01-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that one year ago today was the first night we slept in the house we are living in today. Even harder to believe, is that we actually moved housing in the dead of winter. As unfortunate as it may seem though, it was rather perfect timing. I was on Winter break from school and the weather was unseasonably warm. Last year, we didn't even need a coat (okay, we were somewhat acclimated), whereas right now we are under a winter weather advisory until late tomorrow. Please, oh please don't cancel school tomorrow. I just need a day to myself!

It is kind of interesting how we ended up in this little town in the middle of nowhere. It is at least 5 or 6 miles to the nearest gas station, or grocery store, but we do have the convenience of the post office being directly across the street from us and the Church bells add such sweet melodies to the quiet neighborhood. In this town that is all we get: a Church and a Post Office. Ironically, I'm almost always out of stamps. The good part about where we are is that the location is mid point to both campuses that I was attending, I'm still only 3 miles from my brother's house and the Thru Way is about 10 miles closer then it was when we lived in town.

How we ended up here?

Andy and I new that we were going to need to move soon. We needed more space and something less expensive. Sounds pretty impossible doesn't it?

About the time we started looking for housing, I had joined a local online group called Free*cycle (sorry about the * but I don't want it to come up in a search). People in the community list things they no longer need or want or they request things they are in need of. The cool part is that everything is FREE, no strings attached. When you join, they ask that you offer or respond to a "Wanted" post before requesting something though. That wasn't too hard. Someone posted that they needed a child's potty seat. I happened to have one that Madeline had outgrown so, I offered it. Well it was a week or so before we were able to meet up and exchange this "potty seat" but that was okay, because we got to be friends a bit during that week. We are both pretty scattered which made it easy to understand why trading was such a chore. We never actually met though. I ended up just putting it outside and she stopped by to get it. We continued to email back and forth though. Then, because I knew the town where she lived, I asked her if she knew of any houses that might be for rent.

She emailed me a few days later with a name and # she had read about at the post office. I called, but the house was already rented. I asked him to take my # just in case. In case of what? He already rented his house and he only had one.

Several days later though, I got a call from him. He was surprised he didn't think to mention that the lady he was renting to, was moving out from across the street. He gave me the address, but didn't know if was going to be rented out or not. Well, I jumped on it. I drove right to the Post Office and asked who the owner was. Interestingly, the owner lived next door. Since no one was home, I left a note.

That night, I received a call and was excited to hear that it was very much a possibility if I was still interested in it once I looked at it. It had 3 bedrooms, a garage, and a basement. Plus, it was $150.00 less per month then what I was currently paying for a two bedroom townhouse.

The only problem? The owner hadn't been inside the house more them 20 min total in the 13 years she owned the place. Evidently, when she bought the house, she acquired it with Betty; the woman who moved in, 28 years ago. Betty was moving out because she broke her hip and needed a one level house. The condition was unknown, but I was still able to look at it if I wanted to. Of course, we (I) did.

What I saw was the most adorable old house that needed some paint and a family. What Andy saw was an old house that smelt like an old lady, a kitchen with canary yellow walls, brown paneling and lots of dust. No Way, he said when we left. I didn't say much about it after we left, but I quit looking for other places.

Time was running out and we needed to make a decision. Andy actually wanted to look at the house again, so we did. The owner told us she would give us an allowance for paint if we were interested and we left that evening with a set of keys. That was the first week of December.

This place has come along way. It is amazing what a can (or two or more) of paint can do to a room. My mom and step dad came out for a couple days and we got the walls, ceilings and cabinets painted in less then a week. The upstairs is still waiting... a year later.

So, thats what we did a year ago today. We moved in.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas*

2007-12-24T19:04:00.000-08:00

Tucked snuggley into bed under the tree Madeline, is awaiting Santa's visit. It has been tradition for her to sleep here on Christmas eve.

Every year, I buy her an ornament that she gets to open befor bed. I started this the year she was born. The plan is when she grows up and has a tree of her very own, she will have a tree full of ornaments that she has saved over the years.

The process (backwards of how it happened)
OUR TREE:

It looked so much smaller before we cut it down.

Good News... Bad News

2007-12-21T06:07:00.000-08:00

The good news is that I am still in school.

I haven't been slacking on my blog because of my identity crisis depression but rather, I have been extremely busy studying for my final exam.

The Friday post about my identity crisis was no small exaggeration. I truly believed the fat lady was singing. In fact, I had come up with an alternate plan over the weekend. On Monday morning, I was almost ready to leave the house when I got a call from the school and was asked to bring in what medical release I did have, and they would try to work with me. Shocking? It was for me, too!

I called the Dr. right away and was able to get a release with the only restriction being that I should not lift my arm to a 90* angle while applying pressure. Okay, who does that?

Although not nice about it, the director of the program said she was willing to let me back into clinical. However, she will need a "no restriction" release by February. Gee, I hope my Dr. can give me one by then. Plus, I have to make up 30 hours by the 3rd of January.

So, I took my final yesterday and scored a 90% on it. I finished the the first 1/3 of the program with an 88% overall average. I'm TOTALLY okay with that.

Now, for the bad news...

All of the clinical make-up time is when my sisters are going to be in town, and I will not get to spend as much time with them as I would like. Sorry Rachael and Lori. I am planning to spend the weekend with you guys though. I should be out to Mom's by Friday, early evening.

Identity Crisis

2007-12-07T15:44:00.001-08:00

So, now what? I just found out that I will not be able to finish this semester at school because of my shoulder injury. In order to go back to clinicals, I had to get a "no restriction" release from my Dr by today and my Dr. could not do that. When I left her office earlier this week, she had promised to call the director of the program I am in and explain that she can release me with a "limited restriction" but one that she felt I could do clinicals with.

Well, the director made it clear today when she called me at home. She would not let me into clinicals without a full medical release and she would not discuss the situation, my grades or any medical concerns over the phone with my Dr. I will bring in the full release or I will not complete this semester.

BTW: My shoulder injury happened a month ago and it is as good as it is going to get. I have almost 90% range of motion back and unless I elect to have surgery, it isn't going to get any better.

Guess I'm not a student any more. Now what.

Someone Has Hairy Legs!

2007-12-05T16:07:00.001-08:00

Tonight at dinner, Madeline, was rubbing up against my legs with her foot. She didn't know it was me, though.

"Oh, someone has hairy legs."

"No", I said. "Those are my socks."

"No they arn't. Those are not socks. These are hairy legs."

As I'm mentioning that they are socks (my alpacka socks), madeline looks under the table and says...

"Those really arn't daddy's legs. Are they?"

At least she didn't think they were mine like I thought she did.

Nothing new, just updates

2007-12-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

It has been just over a week since returning from our vacation to MI, for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was a fun visit with all 4 of my sisters who I don't get to see as often as I would like to. Lori is cute as a button with her big round belly that is due to expire today (her official due date), Rachael was busy with her new found hobby of sewing, Francie was generously filling my car with things she has decided to retire and Natalie shared her pottery so we could all paint together. There was more to the long weekend, like eating, shopping, eating, and... Well it did snow on Thanksgiving day. (I really hope I am not offending anyone here.)

Madeline spiked a high fever the last night we were there and it was the strangest thing. Uncle Adam stopped by Walgreen's and picked up some Motrine (and a stuffed dog, a barbie, a pretend cell phone)... let's hope he has boy's Natalie, or you might go broke, ha. Once Maddy took the medicine, she started to feel much better and by morning, you would have never guessed she was ever sick. The strang part is Jack did almost the same thing 2 days later. Only his started at school and lasted just 4 hours.

Yesterday was our first weather related day off from school this season. At first I was thinking how much stuff I was going to get caught up on. Then I remembered that Madeline was off from school too and I had a Dr. appointment for my shoulder injury.

I didn't get much done around the house because it took forever at dr.'s office; not including the time it took me to get myself and Madeline dressed for the weather, and clean off the car with one arm. She played in the snow at her cousins while I found out that the chances of my shoulder dislocating again is about 75% unless I have surgery. Yikes! Sucks for me. Thats another post though.

I hope that I get a call from my sister Lori today that tells me the baby is on his way. It is her 2 year wedding anniversayr as well as a special day for my sister Rachael. A year ago today, St. Petersburg, Russia, marks the anniversary of when she met her 6 year old soon-to-be daughter for the 1st time. Katya is such a special niece.

I do plan to post again soon. I just gota get going here before the big girl gets home or I'll never get anything elce done today.

And, its snowing again!!

The Tote Queen that I Am

2007-11-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

Have you ever gone a day too long before realizing your child's room has become a danger zone? I am hyper aware of how messy Madeline's room has become over the past week or so because I have to be oh, so careful not to fall and hurt myself right now (shoulder issues). Well, this morning I had had enough. If I don't fall and re-injure myself, someone else who is healthy just might. It was out of control! (For the record though, I have had my arm in a restrictive sling for over a week now and house cleaning has not been on my priority list.) Hurt arm or not, I was not going another day without getting her room put back together.

Where to start? I looked around the room and hadn't a clue. Then I called my sister-in-law and asked her how I should go about it. She gently responded to my dilemma in a pretty direct way, so I got the clue when I heard her day "Your the Tote Queen, just put everything in totes".

With just the right inspiration I needed, I was off to Wal Mart before Madeline had even gotten out of bed. An hour later, I was full speed ahead. Madeline has way too much stuff and not enough to space to organize it.

Madeline was trying to help me but what kinda help is it when I toss out crumpled papers or the likes and she pulls it back out of the garbage bag? Or, how 'bout the McDonald's Happy Meal toys that she insists on keeping because she swears she plays with them? I wasn't getting anywhere with this kind of help. I had to take her to Auntie Lisa's house if I was going to get the mission accomplished.

Five hours later...

Her room looks great! 4 labeled and full totes in the closet, the 2 long narrow ones with wheels on em under the bed and everything else in it's place. I'm exhausted though. My arm is throbbing too. But, like I said: it looks great. A job well done.

The Organized totes in her closer:
When you first walk in her room:

Her bed:
trust me, the other 2 totes are under it.
PS: This was by far one of the most frustrating posts I have done yet. It was erased twice and I had a terrible time getting the pictures on it. They are not in the order I wanted and there were a couple other ones I liked better. I'm done messing with it.

Baby B****

2007-11-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

In honor of my sister Lori, who is due with her 1st baby (boy), I thought it would be fun to write about how babies get their names. I'm only an expert with how my own daughter got her name, but I figured that whoever reads my blog might share their own personal insight as well.

Madeline Paige B**** is what we named our daughter 7 years ago. For the first three days she was called Baby B**** because I was so scared to pick the wrong name and had not fully decided on my choices before going into labor.

The first name I came up with was Kathrine Grace. I have a very dear Great Aunt who has this name and I liked it for that reason, but I also liked it because I love nick names and Katie was my favorite at the time.

The second name I came up with was Abigail Nicole. Lori helped me with the middle name and I really liked it but when Andy came back with Abaleen, I realized he was not fond of Abigail. I told him to be sure and tell me when he didn't like names and to not make them up. lol

Then, about two weeks before I went into labor, Lori called me and told me the name she really liked and wanted to use if she had to name a little girl. She decided to share it with me because her husband had already vetoed it just in case.

On the way to work that very afternoon, I picked up my best friend Amanda and she blurted out "What do you think of the name Madeline?" Was this a sign I wondered.

I had never heard it and it had a very nice sound to it. I kept thinking over and over in my head what I could use as a middle name. Madeline Rose? I liked it alot but wasn't completely sold. Then I came up with Paige. I loved it.

When I told my mother, she was like... "What do you think of Madeline Suzanne? Or, Madeline Louann?" Uggh! I cant please everyone and I really liked Paige. Hmm.

On the way to the hospital Andy looked at me and said "Honey, this is your baby, you name it whatever you like." That was a relief and alot of pressure all at the same time. Kina like contractions. Just kidding.

When she was born, I didn't think she looked like a Katie. I always thought of a Katie as a girl with blond hair. Hers was dark brown. That was out. Would I regret Paige?

One hour before I was discharged to go home I had to give the official name. I chose Madeline Paige. Andy made me look up the spelling, but I was glad to know he liked the name.

Anyway, that is how Madeline got her name. And, my mother actually likes it too.

How about any of you who read my blog? How did you come up with you're children's names? If it is a long story, then you can post your own blog about it, just please let me know to check your site.

My Right Arm

2007-11-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

I wish I could think of an interesting story as to why I had to give up my right arm but truth-be-known, the story is actually boring. I was laying in my bed waking up from a nap and the next thing I knew, my shoulder has dislocated. OUCH! This wasn't the first time it has happened though. At least the other times came with good stories. (Like the time I was driving down a ridge cut in Tn and I dislocated my shoulder reaching for a pacifier.) I had surgery 6 years ago in hopes that it would never happen again. Unfortunately for me though, it did. It was out for over an hour and now that it has been a week... I still feel like I got beat up.

Andy has gone above and beyond in trying to be helpful and patient with me. I have yet to go to bed with dishes in the sink, he gets Madeline ready for school and packs her lunch, and hasn't uttered the first complaint of a messy house. Impressive? or what?

I have a few other posts I've been wanting to write about, but with my arm stuck in some contraption that is more restrictive then a sling, it takes longer to type. Plus, even though I finally found my pictures from Halloween, I cant seen to find the cord to get them into the computer.

I took Madeline to get her hair cut a few days ago. She looks like Auntie Nay-Nay now. She had 12 inches cut off and she is sporting a stacked bob. Pictures of the new look are also stuck on my camera with no cord. Her hair was just getting so hard to brush through and I was tired of fighting with her every morning before school. She looks cute. She doesn't think she has to brush the back anymore now that she doesn't have much hair. Will I ever win on this one? Speaking of brushing hair... You should see mine. I haven't been able to brush it myself for a week so Madeline has done it for me. It looks quite cute. HA! lol at least it is brushed. I think her favorite part is telling me to be still and don't cry,

Sweatn'...Not to the Oldies Though

2007-11-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

Oh how I would have hated to be wrong this time!

About 6 weeks ago I bought a brand-new mattress and box spring set. Okay, Francie, this is for you... It was a $1500.00 set that I got on a great deal: lets just say it was a really great deal because I was able to pay cash. And to all of you who know me, you know it had to of been a GREAT deal! Anyhow, I finally got delivery confirmation for tonight and Andy kept telling me how it was not going to fit up the stairs and my great deal was going to be a waste of money if we couldn't get it up to the bedroom. I so knew it would fit, he just needed to see my skills. Well, I was confident it would fit until it actually got here. Ummh, how come it is so much bigger then I imagined? (It should be the same size as the one we already have.) Not that I made mention of my concern though because come hell or high water, I was not going to be wrong.

Well, Andy is asleep right now on our new mattress set and I am downstairs wondering how in the heck I am going to get the banister put back up. I made Andy and the delivery guy take it down because they just couldnt figure out how to turn the unbendable box spring just right and it kept getting stuck. Yes, although I did sweat just a bit, the new bed did in fact, make it upstairs.

On another note:
I have some of the cutest Halloween picture and others of sorts that I have been wanting to blog about, but I cant figure out how to get them from the file they are in, onto a CD. It should not be that complicated, but for some reason, it has really been a time waster for me. Maybe I'll ask for help from someone who knows more about PCs then I do (which shouldn't be hard).

School is still going well. Madeline is about to loose her front tooth and Andy has a wisdom tooth coming in and it seems pretty painful. He is so stubborn. I gave him some Advil yesterday and he finally "tried" taking one today. I say he "tried" because he wont take any more since it didn't help. He only took one 200mg pill. Not sure they should even sell them in such low doses. I guess it makes it look like you got a good deal when you buy 100 at a time. Not so much a deal when you gotta take 4 at a time though. Right? I should tell him that acute pain is really bad on the cardiovascular system and scare him into taking a higher dose so that if not for nothing...at least I might get some relief.

Well, thats it for now. Hopefully it won't take another 3 weeks to make my next post. Once I change the laundry, I'm off to sleep in our new bed. I really hope it is comfortable after all that work. G'night.

Some Survey...

2007-10-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

My sister Lori sent me this survey. It seems like good blogger foddle, so here goes...

What time is it?
7:33PM

Your full name?
Shannon Louann B****

What are you most afraid of?
The unknown

What is the most recent movie that you have seen in a
Theater?
Honestly, I cant remember... was it Knocked Up?

Place of birth?
OKC, OK

Favorite food?
Cold cereal

What's your natural hair color?
Blond

Ever been to Italy?
Nope

Ever been toilet papering?
No

Love someone so much it made you cry?
Yes!!!

Been in a car accident?
Yes 7 times or else I lost count somewhere -not all my fault though. The first one was two days before my sister Rachael's wedding and it was in her car. I pulled out onto a two lane highway and got T-boned by a small truck. She helped me pick glass out of my face just hours before she got married. None of the rest were my fault. I learned my lesson.

Favorite day of the week?
Friday. I love Friday night because I spend it quietly at home with my family and my house is usually clean.

Favorite restaurant?
Bamboo Garden in Seattle WA they have the best vegetarian food ever!! It is my sister Lori's favorite too.

Favorite sport to watch.
Gymnastics and cheer leading. They get me every time.

Favorite drink?
Diet Coke

Favorite ice cream?
Chocolate almond

Ever been on a ship?
Yes, I went on a cruise to the Bahamas last year with my best friend that I joined the Army with. It was so my idea (joining the Army). We didn't even know each other before then either. I just happened to work with her and while we were on break on day, I just said, "Hey, I'm thinking about joining the Army, want to join with me?". And, her reply? "Okay, sure." We've been best friends every since.

What color is your bedroom carpet?
I don't have any.

How many times did you fail your driver's test?
The written test? 3 times. My sister Lori and I passed our actual driving test on the same day though. I passed it the first time. As far as the written one... Who knew a bicyclist has the right of way. Lori clearly stated the "duh" that day and I never forgot it: "Well, its not like you can just hit em!"

Before this, from who did you get your last
email from?
Lori

Bedtime - Around 11:00pm

Favorite TV show –
It's a toss up between Desperate Housewives and Gray's Anatomy.

Last person you went to dinner with - Andy and Madeline just took me out to dinner tonight (It is my Birthday!)

What were you doing at age 31 and 32 –
I'm in school again.

What are your favorite colors –
Pink and brown

How many tattoos do you have ?
My mother reads this.

How many pets do you have?
None

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Chicken

What do you want to do before you die?
Be in a family portrait with at least 4 generations under me.

Have you ever been to Hawaii?
No, but I did go to Alaska. That is worthy of mentioning, Don't ya think?

Have you been to countries outside the U.S.?
Yes, Canada, Mexico, El Salvidor, Bahamas, Jamaica.

Time this survey ended?
– 7:52pm

Okay Francie... You're next. Oh, and Adam's mom.

YEA FOR ME!

2007-10-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it was a fluke that will never happen again or if it is the beginning of a new trend, but for the first time EVER, I got the highest test grade in our class today. The Unit exam was on Growth & Development and Immunizations. I'm still in shock with the 98%. Woo Hoo!

We started clinicals a couple weeks ago in long term care and today we moved on to acute care. Its really exciting, but at the same time it is a bit intimidating. I might consider working Med Surge for at least a year or two as an LPN while I finish the Associate program, (just for the experience though) because I haven't changed my mind about working in long term care. Eventually, I hope to get into administration, but that is a ways off.

THE BRAIN: AS DUMBED-DOWN AS POSSIBLE

2007-09-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight while I was putting Madeline to bed I asked her to give me her gum so she didn't choke on it. Then she asked me how her jaw knew how to move up and down so she could chew it. Uh, that is really quite simple... It gets a message from the brain and just moves. HUH?!

Okay, I told her. Think of your head as an upside down bowl. Inside the bowl is your brain. In order to send messages, your brain has to be plugged into the rest of your body kind of like a power chord.

How does it get plugged in?

It uses your heart like a battery charger and it just stays charged up. Then your brain sends it's power chord down the pipe in your back (the spine) and that is where all the plugs stay so they don't get all mixed up and tangled.

Then she started wiggling and doing all kinds of crazy stuff to see if her brain charger was working and she had enough power to tell her body what to do.

Poor kid. Think she'll have crazy dreams tonight?

I'm sure I left out a ton of information and probably

IT'S ME AGAIN... BACK TO BLOGGING

2007-09-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I decided to get back on the band wagon. I month ago or so, I though it would motivate me if I posted about stuff I wanted to get done. It so did not work! It just made me avoid blogging.

I did finish the bathroom project I was on a mission to complete. It took forever and made a huge mess though.

Madeline started first grade this year. She is doing really well.

I started the Nursung program after a year of pre recs at the community college.

I plan to write more and add pics, but I had to at least publish a new post before I drove myself crazy thinking about what to write about. Talk about pressure relief!

Until then...

A RED LIGHT AND THE TOOTH FAIRY

2007-09-04T10:16:00.001-07:00

Back in June just the week before Auntie Nay Nay's wedding, Madeline came to me and told me that her front tooth was loose. "let me just check it out" I told her. I couldn't really tell, so I told her not to play with it too much because we should try and make it stay in until after the wedding. It never did come out, so I guess I am not one to estimate whether or not a tooth will be coming out soon or not.

Well, a couple weeks ago, she came to me again and told me her two bottom teeth were loose and asked me to check them for her. Hmm, I said as I wiggled the first one. Then, before she knew what was happening, I handed her a tooth. She gave me a very funny look that turned even funnier when she placed her tongue where her tooth once was. Then she freaked out... "IT'S BLEEDING!".

She calmed down enough for me to tell her about the Tooth Fairy but would not even consider letting check the other tooth that she said was loose. I let it go, and that night the Tooth Fairy left money for her under the pillow. "I didn't even feel the pillow lift one bit" she said the next morning.

The next morning, she was very careful not to let me get close enough to check it because she thought I would pull it out the same way. She is rather squeamish about blood.

That same afternoon, Madeline and her friend were talking from the back seat of the car and her friend told her the second tooth doesn't hurt as bad when it comes out and she should just pull it out. "No Way!" Madeline said. So, I said she should just let me check it again. Surprisingly, she let me. Maybe because I was driving the car and she was in the back seat? Well, I'm good! I timed the light on red which gave me the extra second I needed. Within no time at all I was handing her the 2nd tooth.

Of course, she went through the "IT"S BLEEDING!" routine. I handed her a tissue and told her the Tooth Fairy would be back again after she went to sleep.

She hasn't told me about any more loose teeth. I can't imagine she will let her guard down the next time. What could be less threatening then having someone "check" a loose tooth while driving?

How does the Tooth Fairy stay in buisness? I used to only get a Quarter. Kids these days are getting between $1 and $5.

ON A MISSION

2007-08-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for a few days, but I'm on a mission. I'll have alot to write about in the next few posts. Briefly though, because of my sisters, I've been inspired by all the talk of paint, so I went to Lowe's and bought some for myself today. I'm painting the bathroom.

What was I thinking?

I took pictures of the "before" and when I'm done, I take some of the "after". I had no idea it was going to be such a project.

SPELLING AND GRAMMER

2007-08-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is a disclaimer that regards both past and future posts.

I realize that I have a few spelling errors in my posts. I also realize that I may not always be grammatically correct either. I just learned how to spell check so that should help. If I think about all the errors I have made and add them to potential errors... I don't think I could continue posting.

I think blogging is a fun way to document life and share it with others. If what I write is understandable, then I'm okay with that. If you personally know me and there is an OBVIOUS error... Will you please email me at my hotmail account?

I'm not excusing sloppy writing, I just want this to be fun, not stressful.

SURPRISE PACKAGE

2007-08-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

We live across the street from the Post Office so naturally we opted for a PO Box vs. a mailbox. It is just easier to get the mail in a more timely manor rather then waiting on the mail carrier. The only draw back is that we are in such a small town (maybe 35 houses, small) that when the Post Office is closed, so is the lobby. Its fine Monday thru Friday, but I hate to miss the noon closing time on Saturday's because then I have to wait until Monday morning.

I ran across the street this morning before leaving for church. Amongst the regular weekend junk mail, I found a yellow slip that usually means there is something for me to pick up behind the counter. I couldn't imagine what would be too large for the box, because I wasn't expecting a package from anyone inparticular. It was kind of exciting.

The Postal worker traded me the yellow slip for a white envelope. It had my old address on it and nothing more; it didn't even have the city where it originated from stamped across the top like an envelope usually does. Humph!...

Did everyone get a chance to read the comment section from my post, titled "The Long Route"? My sister Lori made a comment about trying to pass the Canadian border without a drivers license, a birth certificate or a pass port. Well, here is why...

I didn't have a drivers license or anything else for that matter. The wallet you are looking at was left on the top of our car after leaving the Cracker Barrel in the Detroit area. OOPS! I was pre-occupied with Madeline being in a car seat again (MI requires more weight for children then NY). In efforts of strapping our 7 year old into a car seat, I mindlessly placed the wallet on top of the car and forgot about it. We found out soon enough though; say about 40 miles down the road and past the point-of-no-return for escaping Canadian (or was it American?) customs. What a mess. We never even left the country and couldn't get back in. Go figure.

Why are you traveling between two countries with 3 passengers and 1 drivers license? Where are you comming from? Where are you going? Registration? Why does the only licensed driver have a FL license if you all live in New York? All these silly questions. Didn't we just mention I LOST my wallet? Where were you born (California and Oklahoma)?

That was it for questions at the main gate. We had to pull over, leave the keys in the ignition, and go into the white building to our left. Did I mention what mess it was becoming? Comm'on now, do we not look American? Andy has on his Boston Red Sox hat, I have on the same hat (the pink version though), and Madeline is chill'in with her Walkman player half on/half off. (We are not native to NY, and I am only a Boston fan by default of my husband. He lived a good portion of his youth in New England states and has been a fan since he was really young. I guess it did look kinda weird though.)

So how come we didn't fill out a police report? DUH! If I had known I lost my wallet before we crossed the bridge, we wouldn't have gone this way. Duh! I JUST REALIZED that my wallet was somewhere in Detroit. So, Why didn't I fill out a police report? IDIOTS! Isn't it a given?

Well, I eventually filled out a police report once customs released us and we back tracked to Detroit. I figured it was a good idea since I had my MC/DEBIT card in there along with our checkbook. Not a whole lota cash: thank goodness.

The most upsetting part of this ordeal for me was that fact that it was my Coach wallet and I couldn't justify replacing it anytime soon... Looking back though, that should have been the least of my concerns. Have you ever tried to replace the contents of a wallet? It SUCKS!

Anyway, the package I received today was the wallet I had lost back in Detroit some 4 months ago. And yes, I got my Coach wallet back. Don't think I'll be using it again. Did you see it? It wont even stay snapped. I think I'll save it for a while though. It was a nice surprise.

OH, PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

2007-08-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

Madeline has always been such a good "Little Helper" and the kitchen seems to be one of her favorite places to help me. I cant count the times I have rewashed dishes after bedtime, or gagged down egg shells with breakfast. I will tell you this though... it is worth it! She gets so excited when she suprises me with washing dishes or fixing breakfast, that I just cant tell her to do better yet. I really think she is doing the best she can do. Especially, since she is only 7.

A couple of days ago, the two of us decided to do something special with all the fresh produce we have from grandma and grandpa's garden and the lady who sends a basket home with Andy every few days. We agreed on making homemade spagetti sauce. Before we started though, she informed me that Grandma in NC taught her how to use a sharp knife and she wanted to cut the zuchinni. YIKES!

I relunctantly agreed to let her cut the squash, (oh my!) I was a nervous wreck. I thought for sure she was going to cut her thumb off, if not all her fingers, for that matter. I was so jumpy that she eventually called me on it. She held the the knife up as she matter of factly said "Mom, if you dont stop scaring me, I AM gona cut my fingers off. I'm doing a good job, now stop!". Yep, thats my 7 year old helper girl.

She didn't cut her fingers off, and the spagetti sauce turned out really good!... So, we were told.

It wasnt done by the time were supposed to eat and Andy wasnt home eighter. We decided to save it for when we could all eat it together. Then, we made zuchinni bread. It turned out SO GOOD! (I grated it though).

The next evening, I thought I would go ahead and pre make dinner because once a week, Andy and madeline are home all by themselves for an evening. Can you guess what I put out? Spagetti!

When I came home, Andy raved about how good it was. In fact, he said it was the best he had ever had. Then he asked me what I had thought of it. UM... I didn't try it yet. Poor guy! He thought Madeline and I had already eaten and because it was so good, he just finished it off.

Well, at least I made a good sauce and Madeline has all her fingers still.

THE LONG ROUTE

2007-08-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

Besides Lori, did anyone notice the web address for my blog? Your probably looking right now arn't you? Well I think I should explain how I came up with that saying and why I use it as my lifes' motto. Lori suggested I use it in my title, but I kina like the title as it is. The web address makes for a good post though.
When Andy and I moved to Florida in 2002, I was kinda nervous because neigther one of us knew anyone in the area. Plus, while we were there looking for the house we finally bought, I was too loopey to pay attention to my whereaouts. I had just had surgery on my shoulder and was under the influence with pain pills. So, paying attention to roads or landmarks was not on my priority list. All I knew was that our house was close to the beach and if I wanted to leave the neighborhood, I had to cross what Madeline called "The WEE Bridge".
We arrived in Fl on a Monday morning and it took most of the day to close on the house. Again, my whereabouts was not a priority. Then, two of my best friends along with Natalie (my sister) drove from TN to help me settle in. Andy still had unfinished business in TN he needed to get back to and after the four days it took to unload the truck, he headed back. I wasnt nervous about where I was yet because my friends or Natalie always drove. And, once my friends left, my mother flew in. It was all good! Until...
I was home alone in a strange land and the only person I knew, I had met at the beach with the pick-up line that goes something like... "So, are you on vacation or do you live here?". It worked well and my friend from the beach and I are still good friends. Not to get distracted from the story though, maybe I'll post about that story another day.
Anyway, I was finally home alone. (Madeline, and our dog Molly were there too, but that dosent count). I could'nt wait to start motoring. I ventured out to the mall, but didnt take into account that there might be one way roads involved, detours, and train tracks instead of interstate entrances. It took me a while to get home that evening, but I made it and I was more confident to get out again the next day. Some of you may be wondering why I didnt just get a map. Well my only problem with maps is that if I'm lost, a map does me absolutely no good. How are you supposed to locate your spot on the map if you dont know where you are? I figured out the area pretty well in record time though. There was bay water to the east, the Sunshine Skyway to the south, Franklin bridge to the north and Gulf waters on the west. How can anyone get "lost" once they figure that out? If you hit water, turn around. ha.
Okay, so by now it had been a while since we had lived in the area. Andy was driving and he seemed to be turned around. I confidently told him that I knew exactly where we were and he needed to turn right at the light and the freeway would be about 5 miles up. I could tell he wasnt convinced, so I confirmed I knew where we were by mentioning the only old fashioned McDonald's we would see if he would just trust me. Sure enough, I was right and it felt good. He asked me how in the heck I knew where we were when it was so far from home. Ah... I said "Honey, I dont get lost anymore... I just take the long route!".
There ya have it. The story behind the saying. And, it applies to more then just driving directions for me too. I'm sure for all of you who know me, know exactly what I mean. I tend to find my way alot by the trial and error technique.

PUTTZERS

2007-08-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

It was definately a defining moment for me when Madeline casually said "Mom, we're a couple of puttzers arn't we?".
Ever since Madeline was little, I have always used the word "puttz" to define our slow moving behaviors. We seem to have a hard time getting a quick move on alot of things and it is just something I have always said.
Now, its Monday morning and I woke up at 6:30 so I could get a jump on the day. This weekend went by too fast and when it was time for bed last nignt... well lets just say it wasnt the best way to want to start the week; the house has difinately seen better days!
I find it amazing what one can get done when the house is quiet and I just get going. Now that it is 8:30am I have time to relax because the house is back together, Madeline is still sleeping and now we have the whole morning to puttz. Once she manages herself out of bed (neigther one of us seem to be morning people) we can start out on a good foot. Maybe I should really try to do the early thing more often. Especially, since school starts for the both of us in a couple weeks. No time for puttzin' once that happens!

UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY

2007-08-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

I am fairly new to the BLOG world but, because I have 3 sisters who are already out there doing it, I didnt want to be left out. Plus, it is a fun way to document daily life and share it with friends and family.
My sister did promise to help me with getting started. Until I get comfortable with how it all works, some of you may get a bit frustrated. Not to worry though... I'll get it eventually.
Check often for future posts.