New Year's resolutions...

It has been forever, I know, but it took me a while to get the hang of working full time, parenting, and going to school all at once. Then, I was asked to make a Christmas present for a relative. I didn't mind doing it, but it was also very time consuming.
Now the holidays are over, the semester is over, and I have the hang of things now, at least I hope so, since I added a class this semester and I'll be taking 2 instead of three. Amongst my classes this semester is an Algebra class. A remedial Algebra class. I know, I know, but seriously, it's been 20 years. How many people do you know that still remember what they took in high school math? I never needed to use it, didn't practice it, so need to take it again. No total loss. I have 2 more math classes to take after this and I think I'd rather have a refresher before I go into them.
Christmas was fun. We got the kids a Wii. They like it, and my husband and I are also playing a bit of golf or tennis with it ourselves. My only beef with it is that I'm left handed, and while it does allow you to set it for lefties it seems to have some trouble reading the controller when it's in my left hand.
But I could just be so used to doing things right handed that I'm doing it wrong left handed.
But I digress. We had a ton of relatives here, of all ages, from grandparents to teenagers to a 3 year old. The house was packed, noisy, kids were running all over. It was great.
Vacation ends Monday the 4th, and my new semester begins the 21th. So, the kids get back into the grind and then I start a few weeks after. Into the new year we go!

Going back to school.....

Me, not my kids. I made a decision and if I can get it worked out I am going back to finish my degree this September. I have two days off from work during the week and a computer, so there is no reason why I can't do this.
Yes, for some reason I'm terrified. It has been very easy to just shrug off the fact I never finished, but it has bothered me for a long time. So, I am commiting to myself that I will do it. At the very least my kids will see that I have homework to do and consider my education as important as theirs, instead of thinking I'm making them do something I couldn't be bothered too.

The Local Wildlife and Weather

So, 2 weeks ago when I was finishing up at my old job, I got a call from my daughter telling me what we were going to have for dinner. I was not happy about the interruptions, but I bit anyway. Her answer?
Barbecued rattlesnake.
I have to admit, that got my attention. "Where did you find a rattlesnake? Is everyone okay?"
Everyone was fine, my younger daughters went out to water the garden and Sarah walked around the outside looking for asparagus that was long enough to cut when she heard a rattle from inside the fence. She saw the snake coiled in the corn, and ran screaming for her father, Danni running after her as soon as she realized Sarah was yelling rattlesnake. DH went out and killed it with a shovel and then Casie called to tell me about it.
Then, later that night, we found a scorpion on Casie's bedroom floor. It was a tiny little thing, but it just goes to show we are still adjusting to living here in the desert.
Another charming thing about living here, (and I mean this, I'm not being sarcastic at all, really) is the Arizona Monsoon. We get rain, heavy rain and thunderstorms a few times a week. Everything cools off, I don't have to water the garden, it's wet enough to weed it. However, (and you knew this was coming) I like it much better when the house doesn't have power surges that knock out 3 outlets, a phone line, and fry our security system. I do enjoy telling the story though, but that also happened while I was at work. I just walked in the door that night to "Mommy, guess what! Daddy got struck by lightning" He didn't, he was holding a doorknob and got a shock, but I might have gotten a bigger one walking in the door to that news!

Another week begins tomorrow and I feel like the last one never ended. We went to see Up! on Friday, to my dad's on Saturday, and today my DH and the older two kids went on a long bike ride, getting home in the late afternoon, which kind of shot the rest of the day. I just felt all blah today, not like doing much, and I feel like I didn't have much of a weekend. The movie was cute though, I recommend it, it has a plot that grown-ups can get into, at least I did.
We discovered yesterday that the gophers (my mortal enemies) are drinking out of the dog's water bowl at night. So, no more water bowl, we have a thingie on the hose that lets the dog use it as a drinking fountain, and I think that's better, now he'll have fresh water all the time, not just when the bowl gets filled in the morning.
Shortie and I were out in the garden yesterday and she was getting a big kick out of cutting asparagus for dinner. Nothing else in the garden is edible yet, but she is loving the Asparagus. She also keeps checking the apple tree, and gets very frustrated when I won't let her pick the green apples.

Summer Fun

Last night I spoke to a friend in California who is coming for a visit when her kids get out of school in a few weeks. We were trying to figure out what there is to do here besides hang out in the yard. We don't have a pool, so we planned on a visit to the public one in town and looked into a few things worth seeing, like a local zoo and museum, and finally we settled on going tubing down the Salt River. Between that and getting to play paintball (in our backyard) they should have a pretty good time.
While we talked the issues of schools and stuff came up. My friend doesn't want to send her sons to the local high school, they're too overcrowded, just for a start, and I know that when I lived there the thought of sending my kids to those schools bothered me, that's why we were homeschooling our as soon as they hit middle school, we just moved before anyone else got there and here we are fine about sending the kids to the public schools here.
But I digress, what else is there to do here in the summer? I guess we could go to Phoenix to Castles and Coasters, or to other places, like Sedona or Jerome. There's plenty to do if you just go do it. There's always some of the national parks, there are several around here where you can see how the Native Americans lived.
And then there's the fact that they can actually go for bike rides around here, or walk to the store for ice creams or candy, and play water pistols and hang in the tree house. It's just a little more old-fashioned fun, from before video games and movie channels.

working Moms vs Stay-at-home Moms

I used to be a stay at home mom, I worked while my kids were at school for a couple of years, but that was about it for a long time. Now my kids are all older, the youngest is nine, the oldest 15, and I'm trying for a new job that will mean I will be out of my house for 10 hours a day. My current job is short on hours and even when I get 40 it's stretched out over 6 days and the hours are very flexible, which is why I decided to do it in the first place. My husband has a very flexible schedule, and so far things have worked out well, but this new job, if I get it, (and I want it) has me worried. I would have set hours and be home for dinner every night, but not home when my kids get home from school most likely. They get off their bus around 4, so they wouldn't be home long and the older ones are competent babysitters who know the rules but I still feel a bit of trepidation. Probably because for a long time I felt most mothers didn't have to work outside the house and should have saved the money they spent on day care and stayed home. I am working because I have bills to pay, not because of some misguided "men are evil you must take care of yourself" thing. I have gotten jobs, even after being out of the workforce for several years, with very little effort on my part. So I know that at least some of the "keep working or you won't get hired again" is, to a degree, false.
Now I'm faced with the fact that I need to work at this time, and while I know I have good kids and a solid support system of a husband who works from home part of the tie and who can arrange his days around emergencies, (not that I couldn't) and most likely be home when they get here, I still worry. I'm the mom. I'm the one who has 15 years of running a household. How can he do it? Why am I not doing it?
I have to get it through my head that now we do it together. Dear Husband can do everything in the house but laundry, and all the kids except the 9 year old know how to do that. All the kids have chores too, it's not like I do it all.
Most women who work look at their career and family and think they have it all. I can't help but look at my family and wonder, if I get this job, what I'm going to miss.

Last week of School

School lets out this week! Yay! I get 2 months of not having to get up at the crack of dawn to get my kids to school 30 miles away. I really don't mind the drive, just getting out the door by 7 AM.
Another bonus is that most kids with Juvenile Migraines can go off their meds in the summer, so there's a possibility that there will be no headaches for my son. I think his having a few months of remission will do wonders for him, although he's been doing very well since his last medication change. Also since the grade books closed.
The kids are all looking forward to their vacation. We have friends coming to visit for a fair amount of the summer, as well as my in-laws. I think we will be pretty busy. The kids will have plenty to do too, between helping with the garden (we got it out of the pots and into the ground) and playing around the yards and the tree house. We usually have a mandatory reading time during the day, when it's hottest out they have to come in and read for a while. Some days we do movies. The only thing they haven't realized they will be able to do is play with the hose; but they might have written that off since you CAN NOT run around in bare feet around here because of the goat heads and other thorny things. I guess they forgot about their surf socks. I guess I will have to point that out to them. Just another fun thing to do. I should probably pick up some water pistols too.

Summertime cometh

So, school will be out in a little over a week. My kids will be running free for 2 months. We have some plans, friends coming, paintball games, frisbee golf to play, and a huge house to cool. We are thinking of using our swamp cooler, now that we are in a place where we can, but when Monsoon comes it will be to humid. However, the rains cool everything off, so maybe we won't cook.
The end of the school year always seems busier than any other time, we have school things to go to, activities are ending for the year and have things to give the kids closure. We have been out a lot in the last few weeks for band concerts, school fairs, and we still have a Girl Scout function and maybe a sports banquet. (same night as GS) If that's the case we will have to tag-team it.
Now that we love out in the wild, we have to think about more things to do at home. It's 60 mils round trip just to get groceries, so we can't just run off every time we et bored. We have to figure out how to stay entertained. It seemed easier when I was a kid. We didn't have all the things kids have now, and I don't remember being bored that much. Maybe I just need to introduce my kids to roller skates and a radio.

A wild life with local wildlife

The joys of country living! Since we've lived in the new house, I have seen, in the wild, Javelinas, gophers, quail, roadrunners, gophers, jackrabbits, and something that was too small to be a rat and to big to be a mouse that crawled out of a flooded gopher hole. We also have toads hopping all over after dark, and apparently we will be seeing pheasant soon. We have the little cottontail bunnies here too, but I haven't seen them in the yard yet. I like seeing the rabbits, and as long as they stay out of my garden, which the previous resident thoughtfully closed in with about 2 feet of fencing under ground level, we will get along fine.
The wild pigs were a surprise. We were driving out and one was standing by the roadside while his cohorts ate a neighbor's flowers. Of course we saw them after the hype about the swine flu hit, not that I think they carry it or anything. It was just very funny timing that we see them while the world is hysterical about getting the flu from pigs.
I planted my garden last week, in pots for now, to be moved to the garden patch when they are big enough. I planted corn, zucchini peppers, pickle cucumbers, regular cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes, pumpkins, and radishes. I think the kids will have fun with the pumpkins.
The fruit trees are doing okay, despite the fact the gophers are trying to eat the roots. I'm trying to get rid of them, but it's not easy. Ran a hose down a gopher hole to try flooding them out and was surprised when whatever it was crawled out...it wasn't a gopher. My youngest came out and was looking at it, when her dog ran over, grabbed it and took off. I think they heard her screaming in Phoenix. I told her to go get her dad, (I knew he couldn't do anything but at least she wasn't screaming at me) and the dog took off every time I went after him. (I may not like rodents, but that's a horrible way to go and I don't want the dog to get sick) After a while Shortie calmed down and asked me to flood another gopher hole. Go figure. I don't think I'll be doing that again, but I want to knock down the gopher population. I don't like the holes in my yard or that the dogs think of them as snacks. That's just too gross for me.

Adjusting to new places

So, we have been in the new house for a week. It's a big adjustment, since we are taking our kids to their old schools, since the ones close by aren't so hot. It's a very small district, so anyone who wants their kids to have access to honors classes has to drive to the next one. A lot of the parents here do that.
Most of the boxes are unpacked, and we are almost completely out of the new house. All we have to do now is clean it up.
The kids are enjoying the property. With 5 acres and 2 dogs they are outside a lot, except for the oldest who is recovering from the flu. She's looking forward to being out in the yard when she has the energy.
Right now all I want is to get to that point where the trash collector catches up to the empty boxes.

Reading problem solved...I hope

My youngest daughter has a problem with reading. She's never been real good at it, and this year, her reading grade tanked. Obviously something is very wrong.
What is wrong, it turns out, is something called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome or Irlen's Syndrome. It's where you seem to have a problem processing what you see, and a clear colored overlay can help.
It's funny, I asked my daughter if the letters were moving when she read, and she told me no. I thought she might be Dyslexic. She was tested for this, and she came home and said "Mommy, the letters stopped moving" I asked her what she meant, since she had told me they weren't. What she said was telling. "Mommy, I didn't know they were moving until they stopped." Huh.
So, now I need to find out all I can about this, so that I can help her catch up. She came home today and we read the Ramona book we are working on and she didn't get tired of reading 5 minutes in. There's a whole list of symptoms, like trouble tracking, losing your place, headaches, trying to read in dim light. It's really odd. There's no medical test for this, you have to be screened by someone who knows what they are doing, and apparently this diagnosis comes with some controversy.I don't care. She's reading better. It works for her.

Stress, moving, mothers-in-law

Ever feel like everything is happening at once? It is. This is not your imagination, it is a fact. Take this week, for me, for example. We are moving into a new house, my mother-in-law is visiting, my kids are taking their state tests at school, and one of our cars has decided now is a good time to leak oil. It never ends. I know we all think that times like this are few and far between, but they really aren't. Last month my oldest daughter started to date, my son had to see a specialist for headaches,and another car was doing badly. Before that my hours were cut at work and we found out another kid might have learning problems and needs to be tested.
So, if you feel like your life is a never ending cycle of emergencies and big decisions, it is. That is life, and life is fundamentally unfair. No one has it easy. Money doesn't matter. Good kids do not matter(although I'd rather have them than troubled ones, the point is that they don't make life any easier) . Nothing worth doing is ever easy, and let's face it, life is worth doing, therefore it can't be easy. You have to work at it and take things as they come the best you can and look for the bright sides. My bright sides? The new house is bigger and we have plenty of time to get our things into it. My Mother-in-law will be here to help with the kids, and if the car dies we were going to get a new one soon, now we just have to do it sooner and it's more likely I'll get what I want. When things calm slightly and I have a moment to breathe, I'll wonder what I was so worried about in the first place. Then something else will break, someone else will get sick, or someone else will visit and things will be moving at the speed of light again.
I'm not sure I'd want it any differently.

staying seperate from your spouse, married independence,

Today my husband and I hit some garage/yard sales in the area. One we stopped at had an older printer for sale for $5. Why would I want this? Only because my oldest daughter's laptop won't run a newer one, or at least that's what I have been led to believe. This, however, was the second $5 printer I have bought in an attempt to get her one. The last one was missing the power cord and turned out to be a wasted $5. I made sure this one had all the parts, but Dear Husband was NOT happy that I was walking down this road again.
Most of the time, I will defer to him if I think what he says has some merit, but if this has happened a lot he gets irritated by it. So, today, when he told me he thought it was a bad idea, something in me snapped. I bought it. Just a few days ago he was telling me to make a decision about something, and today he didn't want me to, or so I thought, so I made a decision I knew he'd disagree with. In discussing it later, while he was giving me a hard time about doing something stupid, (and yes, it was stupid. I can't get it to work) I told him to bug off because "you get upset when I won't make decisions, so you have no right to be upset because I made this one." I told him I felt a need to assert myself. I also pointed out that a $5 purchase was better than the time my mother did what amounts to the same thing. She bought a car. That was 30 years ago and I think my dad is still a bit bugged. I know he NEVER sent her to the dealer to buy a part for him again.
So, how do you keep your autonomy 15, 20, or 50 years into a marriage? You have got to make decisions together, and know when to defer them, and know when to make your own. How do you decide this? Personally, I make then when I feel they're important. Most of the time I just don't care where we eat, or what we do for fun. When I care a speak up, and if it works out, okay. If not then, next time. We take turns choosing movies, and we take turns choosing what to do when we go out, or where we go with the kids, and other things. There are things we just do my way, and there are things we do his. I put up with his family, he puts up with mine. I can decide to work late if his mother is visiting, and he can decide to play video games while my father is here. He does things he doesn't like for me, and I do things I don't like for him. Sometimes we choose not to.
At least I've never gone out and bought a car to prove it.

Duggars, Duggars Everywhere.....

The whole wide world has heard about Jim-Bob and Michelle Duggar, a couple from Arkansas who have 18 kids and a show on Discovery health. Every once in a while I do a search on them, and every time I do that I am astounded at the amount of hatred and condemnation heaped upon them. It looks to me as though they are raising some good kids, and they don't have any debt, nor to they get help from the government. They had 14 kids before the media took an interest, and those early shows were quite popular. If you don't think the Duggars should have a show, don't watch. I have yet to hear anyone complain about people exploiting their family if the go on Wife Swap or Supernanny, and you know that the Duggars would still be having kids even if there wasn't a reality show.
Another point many of the haters seem to make is that this one family of 18 is depleting the world's resources by having this many kids. Oh, come on. Are you going to limit everyone to a set amount of kids? Fine. I know a nice country in Asia thats doing that right now.
Another item of unfair Duggar hatred involves their son's "no kissing until marriage" stance and purity rings for their daughters. If you have read my blog in the past I think you have a good idea how I feel about the whole topic. The kissing thing is something I haven't touched on though, so I will attempt to say what I think here. While I don't think a peck or two is going to hurt anyone, I can see how they would want to avoid temptation. Everything starts with kissing, and then you want to go further and further. I know I tell my daughter (at least the one that's dating) that you can't just shut off those feelings, so it's better to just not go there if you aren't ready. Yes, this is an old fashioned view, but being old fashioned isn't always bad. I also thing the way their oldest son courted and married his wife was very sweet, and I think that kind of sweetness and romance is sadly lacking today, as well as the sheer practicality of choosing someone you can realistically live with for the next 40 years.
Okay, enough Duggar defense. This is a free country, they aren't imposing their will on anyone, so just SHUT UP everybody.

Octomom again

So, now her Daddy has bailed her out and she has a new house, and Angels in Waiting will help her with the babies. Doesn't Gloria Alred have anything better to do?
Haw is it that Daddy can buy a house while Mom has one in foreclosure? We are in the middle of a housing crisis and some bank just gave him a mortgage for $500,00, when his wife and daughter can't pay for the smaller house they are in. Doesn't his wife's credit issues extend to him? Or are they divorced and the finances separate. I would kind of like to know.
I know many there are many women who could use skilled nursing for their kids while they are at home. Why isn't anyone looking for them and helping them out? Are they not famous enough? Is there not enough press? Or do they not exist outside of LaLa land.
Bear in mind, I moved to AZ from CA, (all you AZ natives, don't hate me, I ran from CA before it sucked the soul out of me.) Anyway, I find I have very little patience for many of the lifestyle quirks in the state. Things like people buying huge houses, bigger than they will ever need, like 5 bedrooms and 4 baths for 2 parents, 1 kid, and no pets. My favorite is the one gal who drove a huge SUV and told me how people who ate too much meat were causing to many greenhouse gasses to be emitted. At a wedding several years ago, some guy sitting next to my husband told him all about how eating meat was killing the whole human race.
I know we get some interesting outlooks her, just check out Sedona and you'll know what I mean. But here in AZ I think social services would be doing more checking whether or not Octomom was capable of caring for her kids, rather than CA's attitude of "it's all good"

moving

We are going to be moving to a new place in a few weeks. We are loosing a garage, but we are gaining a family room, a laundry room the size of a family room, a few other rooms, a barn, and 5 acres.
So, now the big questions are where are we going to put everything? A lot of the house is just bigger, we have a walk-in closet the size of a bedroom, a storage room that's small but is still there, and a sun porch that may or may not be used as one. I want it to be a sun porch, it even has ceiling fans and would be great for our patio table, but it might be another place for the things we need a garage for. I guess we will see.
The kids will be changing schools over the summer, and some of them are very excited and some are not too happy. My oldest is upset to leave her friends, my son is happy to be getting out of his school, and the other 2 are undeclared, other than than they like the fact we will have a lot more room.
So, we are working out logistics and where to put everything and everybody, like who's going to share rooms, what room will be shared, where to store our books. (We have a LOT of books) and whether or not to buy a tractor mower or just use a push mower on what's absolutely necessary.

Garage Sales and Thrift Stores

Let's face it, everybody is out of money. Jobs are going, expenses are going up, and some people are still struggling to keep their houses during this mortgage mess. It's not a pretty picture.
While it's getting pretty bad, there's a part of me that is beginning to see this recession as a positive thing. Many people began to get expectations that were way to high, borrowing against houses for toys we once thought were for the very rich, getting their kids clothes and toys that cost a fortune to but and use. That can't really happen anymore. We are being forced to learn to live in a manner we can afford, and continue to afford. This is not a bad thing.
For example, not long ago, when people found out that I got the majority of my kids' clothes at thrift stores or garage sales, they wondered why I didn't just charge them or shop sales. I still get asked why I don't shop sales. The truth is that if I am careful, watch labels, and haggle, I can get good clothes at a fraction of the sale price. Exibit A, a pair of American Eagle jeans, with the $80 price tag, for $5. Not kidding. I do shop sales for groceries and other things I might not be able to find otherwise, but overall I stick to used.
Besides, for those who like to shop, thrift stores can be a lot of fun. My daughter and I routinely hit one of our local stores and usually find a few items worth bringing home, like and Eddie Bauer shirt dress or a pair of slacks with a matching vest. My daughter wears that to school on a regular basis and everyone tells her how cute it is.
I do buy some things new. For example, I get sneakers new a lot, since kids tend to beat them up pretty badly before they outgrow them in the sizes I need. I get my son's jeans or pants new....He's tall and weedy, and I don't see pants long enough and skinny enough for him to wear very often, I do buy them when I see them at thrift store or yard sales, but it's rare.
Certain things are just gross to buy used. Trust me on this.
Books are better used. I'd much rather pay 25 or 50 cents for a book than $12. (I do buy the odd book new though.)
Just imagine what we could save just with an open mind, and the money we'd have for things that we think are more important. There is a difference between needs and luxuries. (14 kids through in-vitro is a luxury. End of Story.) Getting your nails done in acrylics and their upkeep? Luxury. $80 jeans luxury, unless you find the deal I did.
Ironically, I bought my middle daughter a pair of jeans at a garage sale recently. They wanted $8 for them. I asked them to take five. The woman looked at me and said "I paid $75 for them in Phoenix." My response? "Okay" and walking away. I got the jeans at my price. Plus 2 books, a cute evening bag, and a tote bag for my other daughter. Total cost: $12 . Getting your kid the bag she wanted to get at Disneyland last year at a cost of $2? Priceless.

Girl Scout cookie

Cookies cookies cookies. I am sick to death of Girl Scout Cookies. I'm swimming in them, and I can't eat them. I want to continue to become the fit, thin , Mom I know is lurking inside. It's only 40 pounds away, but getting there is a journey filled with peril.
I try not to obsess about it, what it comes down to for me is making smart choices about what I eat and making sure I watch my portion sizes, but sometimes I worry that being careful is making everyone around me worry about what they are eating. All I'm trying to do is stay away from junk food.
On the GS cookie front, I'll be happy when they are all gone and the check's gone to council, the the girls and I can decide what to do with the money. They had a lot of good ideas, but they depend on how much money we made.

Saturday

Went to lunch and a movie with DH today. Saw that Mall Cop movie. Overall, it's very cute, but the first half-hour or so is almost painful. It's worth waiting to get to where the action starts, and things wouldn't make sense if you miss the beginning.
For me it was funny in another way. I grew up in NJ, where the movie is set, and the neighborhood the Mall Cop lived in was so much like the one where I grew up it was a nice walk down memory lane, as it were.
The movie go me thinking about something though. One of the running gags is that Paul (Mall Cop) takes his job way too seriously. While it was funny in a lot of ways, it's sad that it was funny. Once upon a time it was a good thing to take pride in your work, no matter what it was. Now it seems like it's only important if the job seems important, and I thinks that's kind of sad. Maybe if more people took their jobs more seriously they'd be happier in their work. Certainly they would do a better job, and that might even help a flagging economy, or at least keep some people in business. Especially if they are in customer service.
Other than that, it's been a slow day around here. The most excitement we had was when my daughter's snake got loose. It was back in tank within 15 minutes, safe and sound. I'm just glad it wasn't the taratula.

How do idiots find each other?

Stupid people shouldn't breed. I see this every day. How do these nitwits find each other? Is there a handshake or does some dumb woman find a guy and say "gee, I'd like to have kids with this unemployed, drug-addicted looser." Then, they realize that this looser isn't good enough, and they go find another and have more kids.
My daughter came up to me a few days ago and said "Mom, you know, you and Dad are really weird." Since she's a teenager, I was ready for this, or so I thought.
"So, how are we weird?" I asked her.
" You and Dad are married, you had all of us together,not with other people, and you got married before you had any kids"
What kind of world do we live in where the natural order of things is weird?
Not that I am slamming single mothers OR blended families. Sometimes marriages or relationships don't work. What I have a problem with is a casual-sex mentality that has many of the women in my area having families where there are 3 or more dads, and Mom doesn't get any money or support from them, and keeps choosing the same kind of man. Things like this make me think my Dad's worn-out saying of "Why by the cow when you can get the milk for free" has some merit. It used to be that a guy had to show some character, have a good income, and be able to support a family to get married, and since you had to get married to have sex, you worked towards this. Now, since the sexual revolution, all you have to do is be somewhat compatible and you get laid. Most of the time there are no complications, but lots of times there are. When you put sex before the relationship, you have nothing to fall back on when these things happen, be they babies or STD's. What's really scary is the amount of pregnant middle and high school girls there are around here. The reason, so I'm told, is that there's nothing else to do.
Back to how they meet. Do their dealer's introduce them? Do they meet in court, or at the drug testing center? Do they share a parole officer? Or is there a place they all hang out that the rest of us don't know about? any ideas?

Octomom

So she's in hiding. Good. She should be. I mean really, 6 kids, on food stamps, but children are so important to her that she has enough savings to have more. What about feeding the ones she has? California taxpayers will end up footing the bill for the babies hospital bills, for embryos that Nadia really couldn't afford to implant.
I realize that this is a medical procedure, and it probably can't be legislated the same as adoption is, but shouldn't you have to prove you have the means to raise that many kids before you are assisted in having them? I'm not talking about reproductive rights, I'm talking about how ethical it is to implant 6 embryos in an unemployed woman with 6 kids, even when she has the cash to pay the bill.
I find it very ironic that she could afford to have this done but can't afford to feed the kids she has without help from the state. Aren't those kids important to her?
Maybe I'm odd, but if I was unemployed, and on food stamps, I'd be hanging on to those savings for something important, like maybe keeping a roof over my head. The house Nadia lives in hasn't had a payment made on it since May 2008, and she and those kids are going to be homeless if they don't figure a solution soon. 14 kids will be out on the street, 8 of them infants, and no money.
But Mom had enough money to give the 6 kids she has 8 baby siblings.

Sunday, Rain and Snow.

Or at least they keep telling us there will be snow. The last time they forecast snow we didn't get a single flake.
So, sitting around watching old movies in TCM, and reading or flipping through magazines. It's one of those days where you just want to stay home and sit by a nice warm fire.
A note on the red-light issue. I was sitting at a red light, at the front of the line, and when the light turned green I had to wait for no less than 6 cars to get out of the way. 6! and the light was already green for me!
Tomorrow I have to go about 30 miles from home for work, and there is a very real possibility that it will be snowing part way home. If it does I have a place to go and wait it out, I just don't like being on a freeway with big trucks, snow, and grades worse than the Grapevine.
I may stop at my favorite place after work though...the dented can store. They sell overstock and cosmetically damaged stuff from the big chain groceries. I can get a full cart of groceries for $40 or less. Right now, with the economy the way it is, I make it a point to save any way I can.-Wait. I already do that.

Thursday Thughts

If I had a nickel for every time I had to wait for a red light runner before going into an intersection I'd be retired on a beach somewhere. Really, is it that hard to stop when the light is yellow and you have enough time to? Is it really going to take that much time out of your busy day to not risk death, dismemberment, and higher insurance rates? By the time the light is green for traffic the other way you have had ample time to stop. A light cycle takes what? 2 minutes? C'mon people. That's not going to throw you're whole day like an accident will.
Yes, I was waiting for a light and had to wait for the runners to finish before going. It just annoys me, first, I wait for the light, then I had to wait to go because they are all running the light. What about my busy day? Is it less busy because I stopped?
Okay, rant over. Time to move on.
It's Thursday, so tomorrow is Friday! Yay!! I am looking forward to the weekend. I worked 7 days straight last week with 1 day off before starting this week and I really need the time to recharge. I'm looking forward to sleeping late and not having to deal with work at all. I personally would love to go out dancing or something, must mention this to DH...make this weekend mini-vacay...fun only.
I'll be going nonstop until tomorrow night.

Feb 3, 2009

Valentine's Day is coming! Are you ready? It's time to get the stuff your kids are going to pass around at school so that there are hundreds of kids in sugar shock, right as the last of the candy canes have been eaten!
Valentine's Day drives me nuts. I have no idea what to get for the man in my life. I hear that from friends too. One has a guy she's sort of dating, and she doesn't know what to do. I think if she does something to expensive it will look desperate rather than cool.
Here in the middle of nowhere, there isn't a whole lot to choose from. We have a mall, and a couple of chain stores, and that's pretty much it.
And, let's face it. We never get what we'd really like, jeweler's commercials notwithstanding. Most guys go for the big stuff birthdays and Christmas. Not that I blame them.
SO.....
What are you ding for V-Day?