Bye, Bye 2010

2010 is almost over, people!

I am very excited about this.

2010 wasn't/hasn't been a great year for us and so to see it amble off into the sunset will be a joy.

In the spring we had crazy, freaky snow that delayed classes and all that jazz. But it was a good semester-I ended up with 6 "A"s. Then it was tornadoes, then rain, then the seizure and flood combo.  And it was right about that time that I fell into the rabbit hole.

The summer was OK. Constant Dr.'s visits, physical therapy, crazy work hours/schedule with the Census.  The kids visit was fun as always and definitely livened up the apartment.

Autumn we had to make some hard decisions (decisions that I am having a harder time dealing with that I thought I would) and I started school again.  It was going to be a challenging semester and I kinda gave myself an out.  I dropped one of my hardest classes to make sure I passed my math class.  So, instead of 7 classes I only had 6.  Which resulted in 5 "A"s and 1 "C".  The "C" was in my yoga class and was due to missing 2 classes.  Yeah, you heard me, 2.  I got bronchitis around midterm and had an on campus doctor note and everything but apparently in activity classes there are no "excused" absences.  I thought about fighting it but decided to move on.  I still made Dean's List and got a 3.85 for the semester. And the best part is I not only passed, but aced, the one and only math class I have to take. Yay for no more math!

Thus far winter has been really annoying.  I enjoy the snow very much but since school is out I am locked in a smoky cage with a troll for very long days.  The holidays were alright.  I tried to make Thanksgiving special and don't think my effort was noticed.  I really thought long and hard about gifts for people this year- partially because of money and partially because I really love tailoring gifts for people.  Again, I don't think my efforts were really noticed.  I honestly felt like when the troll opened her gifts that if it had been a six pack or a bong and she would have loved it more.  And that saddens me.

Now, we are so close to the end of the year.  I survived though I am not sure how long it will take me to heal.

I want to be better than I am, than I am expected to be, and be better in spite of the chaos around me.  I think 2011 will be better and I think I am moving closer to my goals- just not as quickly as I'd like.

Tomorrow night I am making a special meal and for afterwards we've got hickory farms treats, chocolate covered strawberries, Arrington's 2010 Blackberry wine, Skyy lemon vodka, and Martini & Rossi's Asti and some cheapo poppers and noise makers.  We are going to kiss 2010 goodbye in a blur of good food, alcohol, and dancing in the kitchen.

Starting January 3, 2011 I am going back on the part-time job hunt.  I will still be a tutor on campus for the soccer team but am looking for something else to haul in some extra cash.  My gift to myself for completing this goal will be a dog-baby.  I am super excited about this prospect and think it would be great for me.

So, here's to 2011.  More school, less doctor's visits, a dog-baby, and happiness- fingers crossed!

Amanda's Event Wish List

1. Attend the Nashville Symphony: Almost checked off the list! Got the tickets during the Thanksgiving sale. Going 2/17/2010.

2. Go see the Impressionism Exhibit at the Frist: I swear I will get to this exhibit. Thank God it is here through Jan 23.

3. See Taylor Swift in Louisville in July (with Dwayne and Kalli- as Kalli's birthday present): I am stalking the website like I did last time. No sale date yet. We loved Louisville and those tickets will be mine....and Kalli's...yeah, it's all for the girl, totally.

4. See Lady Gaga in concert:  This should be listed on a big-freaking-chance-never-happen list. Tickets went fast and are being resold at majorly inflated prices.  Prices that I can't justify. Maybe one day.

5. See Les Miserables in production: This could be happening after the in-laws gift us with Christmas money.  SFAM taking me to the one-night-only event just fanned the flames.  Surprisingly, Dwayne wants to go with me.  That is a pleasant surprise and doubles the chances it will happen. Yay!

When I grow up.....

Yah, its been a while.

Things have happened and more are happening now. 

Rox is married now. Dwayne is another year older. He went to visit the kids in October. Halloween has come and gone. 

And November, too.  Black Friday shopping with Jamie. So cold, made two new random friends from Kentucky.

Oh yeah, um.... it's December now.

I am sitting at my on-campus job (I got that,like, in October, did I tell you?) and am being totally lazy.  The girls (freshman on the women's soccer team) are busy doing their own thing and I trust them to be doing what they should be.  Most of them (5 of the 7) are like me and take school pretty seriously.  The other 2 on the other hand..... well, lets just say that no matter what they do at this point (end of the semester) they are just SOL.

The semester is winding down and I am so freaking excited to have a break.  I have been so exhausted lately and Dwayne says he thinks I am a zombie because I have been sleeping so much lately.  He says he has never known anyone to enjoy sleep as much as me.  I think he is just being dumb.

I have been looking for a part time/seasonal job to just bring in some extra cash but with no success.  Truthfully, I haven't really looked that hard because with my classes and tutoring my schedule is kinda limited.

This semester all I have left is.......

Yoga pose Test 12/7
Math Final 12/10
Art Final 12/15
Psychology Final 12/15

The only one I am really stressing is the math final as it is 20% of the grade and is comprehensive. Ugh. I hate comprehensive exams. I am stressing it because it is math, 20%, and because I am so close to an "A" in that class.  And since I had just very low goals for myself going in (gimme a "C" and I'll love it) and have exceeded my expectations- I would HATE to get thisclose to an "A" and then not get it. Believe me I would bitch about it for the rest of my life.

But all in all the semester is going well and I am on target to make Dean's List again this semester.  My pal Jamie asked me how I do it and Dwayne just happened to be in earshot and said, "She is a machine.  All she does is study and yell at me." 

I am over 50% done with the Christmas shopping that I plan on doing. Yay!  At least, over 50% of the Christmas money is gone.  Ooops.

Oh yeah, I made Thanksgiving dinner at my mother's house.  I made a turkey, oyster cornbread dressing, yams, and gravy.  The gravy was just nasty. I'm going jar next year.  And since I did all that cooking from scratch for Thanksgiving I am not cooking a damn thing for Christmas.  We might just go to Cracker Barrel.

2010 isn't over yet and my new 2011 calendar is already filling up with things.  I have a major problem, OCD almost, with planning.  So, I filled in all the birthdays,anniversaries, important dates for MTSU, doctor's appointments, holidays, etc in on my calendar and it was like eating a big bowl of joy.  I loved it. Something is seriously wrong with me.

Tyler is graduating in 2011. Crazy to even think of it.  We got online access to his senior pictures a couple of days ago.  He is just a gorgeous boy!  When we get them I will have to share them and see what you guys think but I really think he could be a model. (Do I sound like that crazy mom whose kid is just beyond ugly but they insist they are beautiful?)  So, we are planning a monster trip to TX to see him graduate at the end of May just as my spring semester is winding down.  Should be interesting and I hope it is fun. 

My spring schedule is going to be pretty packed so it might be a good thing I don't have even a part-time job.  (Other than my campus job, I mean.)  I was asked back as a tutor for the spring so that is cool.  I have 17 hours scheduled and since I am getting closer to graduating the classes, I've heard, will be more intensive. Plus, I am starting my foreign language.......... wtf am I doing to myself?

Spring 2011
Research Methods
Data Analysis
Data Analysis Lab
Abnormal Child Psychology
Criminology
Elementary Spanish I
Self Defense

I am on track to graduate Spring 2012.  That is with me taking 2 courses the summer of 11- which I will do in order to not get stuck with an entire semester for 2 classes and to make my goal of graduating when I am 30. (I'll be 30 years,7 months,24 days old- thank you very much!)

It is still snowing outside.  This is rambling and I am sleepy.  Only one girl left to watch........

P.S. I know my title has nothing to do with anything I typed here... it just happened to be the title of the song Pandora was playing when I signed in. Sue me.

Story #2: Oh, shit. Did I just do that? HELL YES I DID!

Ok, this story was sort of like an out of body experience for me.

I can write some bad ass, scathing emails and leave mean voice mails but I'm not a fighter.  When I argue in person I kind of stall and think of something mean afterwards and I've only been in 1 physical altercation in my whole life....when I was like 10....with a cousin. (I won if that scares you, bitches.)

So anyway, as I get older I'm becoming more like Kathy Bates in Steel Magnolias and stuff pops out of my mouth and I do things before I can catch them.  And I kinda like it.

My birthday was 9-11 and my love and I went to the Avenues to browse and take in the sun, cookies, and book smell of Barnes and Noble.  (A quick digression if you will allow it: I spent my birthday mainly in two different parts of Murfreesboro. One part is clearly know for being more affluent than the other, The Avenues/Cason Lane/Blackman Farms area and the other not so much, Northfield Blvd/Mercury Blvdish. And I must say I had more fun in the "poor" area of town...the problems only arrived when I went to the more posh side of town.)

So, we are at The Avenue. Went to Best Buy, browsed, nothing great so we head towards Barnes and Noble. I notice an "American Cookie Company" next to the Smoky Mt. Fudge place and immediately want a clamwich.  (Ok, 2 things here.... if you don't know what a clamwich is you are seriously missing out and #2 they have clamwiches at the American Cookie Company in the Stones River Mall...a.k.a. the poor Murfreesboro mall.)  Cuz silly me, I thought that if it had the same name it would have my beloved clamwiches.  So, I go in, no clamwiches, but I'm cool with that, sort of.  I get two diet cokes and a regular sized cookie monster (basically a large clamwich but with no cute face on it) and leave the store.

I stop at the edge of the raised, paved, pedestrian walkway to let a car pass and begin walking. I see another car behind the one I let pass but figure they would know the etiquette, right?  So, I'm walking, they keep coming, I keep walking, and those bitches keep coming.  They finally stop when I am probably half a foot from their passenger side door. No clamwiches, and apparently these whores don't recognize the difference between the road and a RAISED, PAVED, PEDESTRIAN WALK.

I decide to help them by screaming "WALKWAY!!!!!! WALKWAY, HERE!!!! I'M A PEDESTRIAN ON A PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY- SEE THE CONNECTION????" While shouting I point to the walkway to help illustrate my point.

The driver threw her hand up and tried to communicate in some way.  I am not sure what she was saying and that is probably a good thing. Then the two young ladies in the SUV decide to keep going.  I think that is the point where I flew out of myself. I thought "If I had something to throw......" (I have often thought this at Wal-Mart, some mall parking lots, and frequently while driving.) And then something in me clicked. "I do have something to throw! OMG! THROW IT!" And it was like I was watching myself....my right arm went up and I threw the poor, overpriced diet coke I had in my hand and I watched it until it make a satisfying noise on the window of their passenger side window.

The car paused momentarily and the Bates part of me thought, "It will only be a misdemeanor. I hope they get out because I've got a clean record. Let's go you bitches!" But they went on and when I looked up I saw a horrified Dwayne standing by our car.  His face was priceless.

I was so full of adrenaline I was almost shaking as I walked to the car.  We ate our cookie and shared the surviving diet coke in silence.  Until I said, "I can't believe I actually did that." We started laughing and high tailed it back to the poor part of town.

Story #1: U-Haul makes me want to tell them to U-Stuff-it

This story went on for days then weeks and culminated in a mad internet search for corporate contact information. Since it took me almost 2 hours to write the e-mail to the CEO I am just going to post it here and add an update at the bottom. Enjoy.


Emailed 9/9/2010 at 6:54 p.m.

Dear Mr. Shoen,

My name is Amanda Mills and I have a major problem with my local U-Haul location and since I can't get them to help or even call me back I am throwing myself at your feet and begging for help.

I am a 29 year old college student who is pursuing a degree in Sociology and Psychology. I hope to be a guidance counselor once I complete my Master's level education. My husband works very hard in a local book warehouse and is the only income we have coming into the household. Back in May my husband had a very unexpected illness that left him out of work from 05/02/10 until just this past Tuesday. With the lack of income, medical bills, and waning hours at my part- time summer job my husband and I were forced to vacate our apartment and move in with family. This decision was not easy for us and was not one we took lightly. We decided to rent a U-Haul truck from our local dealer (#772067, 1420 NE Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro, TN 37129) to help us with our move.

I had never rented any kind of truck from any company so I called and spoke with a woman named Stephanie, who I later found out was the manager. She answered all my questions and recommended truck sizes, etc. I made a reservation with her to pick up a 14 foot truck at 10:00 a.m. on 08/26/2010. Everything was wonderful on the phone and all my fears had been put to rest.

My husband and I arrived to pick up our rental at I was greeted by a sales associate by the name of Jacob Ramsey. Jacob seemed to have trouble locating my reservation (Contract # 85676408) and asked for all my information again. He then told me that if I were to secure the rental with a credit card there would be no charge up front and I would just pay the amount owed when we brought the truck back. He said they needed the information just in case I decided not to bring the truck back or there was damage. I swiped my card and Jacob asked me to follow the directions on the screen. One of the questions I was asked was "Is this the card you will be using for final payment?" Due to our financial difficulties I had family members helping me out and we were merging two households into one so this question was a problem. Essentially, our method of payment depended on the final bill. I explained this to Jacob who had me hit "No" and assured me that there would be no issue. We get to the end of the transaction and Jacob asked me for $100.00. I asked him why it required a $100.00 deposit if I was just told there would be no upfront costs and his response was, "I'm not sure." We tried the transaction again and the same thing happened. I was extremely frustrated by this point and told Jacob to cancel the reservation and left the store trying to figure out what I was going to do.

My husband offered to go in and speak with someone about this,since I was now crying in the parking lot, and see what we could do. My husband spoke with Jacob and was told the same thing about there being no up front fees as long as a credit card secured the rental. With the help of another employee we finally, miraculously, were able to leave with a truck around 10:41 a.m. We verified with Jacob that as long as we returned the truck before the original reservation time of 10:00 a.m. the next day we would only be charged for one day's usage and we could pay the amount owed in cash.

We returned on 08/27/2010 at 9:00 a.m. We spoke with an employee named Tasha Miller. She pulled up our reservation and checked us in. She then asked for $95.04. I asked her why it was so high and she advised us that we were in the system to return the truck by 7 p.m. on 08/26/2010 so therefore we were being charged for 2 days of rental plus equipment fees. We told her of our conversation with Jacob in the parking lot and she promptly corrected the system. She asked for $59.02. This amount seemed in line with our estimates and I paid her $50.00 cash and had her leave the remaining $9.02 on the card my husband had given. We got a receipt and as we headed for the door I noticed a problem. We had been charged for the use of 2 dollies instead of 1. Tasha verified with the employee who had checked in the truck and confirmed that we indeed only used one dolly. Luckily, Stephanie was standing by and heard the confusion. She had Tasha pull the $50.00 from the drawer and then refunded the $9.02 electronically to my husband's card. The new, correct, amount was $51.12. I managed to find $1.12 in change in my purse, paid the new amount all in cash, got a new receipt and we left.

We left the U-Haul to go to the laundry mat to tidy up items that were being moved to storage and needed cash. We headed to our bank and were told that we were $45.40 overdrawn. We had our bank pull up the transaction history and there was a charge of $82.89 pending for U-Haul. I looked at our original receipt from when we picked up the truck and sure enough, there in smaller print was a notice that $82.89 had been held on our account the morning we got the truck. I took this print out immediately to Stephanie and she assured me that this was just an authorization and not a charge. The charge would fall off that Monday, 08/30/2010. This was rather inconvenient to us since it blocked our access to the last $30.00 we had available but we said it was fine and left.

On 08/29/2010 the $9.02 charge and credit appeared on our account, as did the $82.89 pending transaction fall off, but something else also showed up. My husband's card had been charged the full amount of the final cost- $51.12. So, not only did the U-Haul location get paid in cash they also got paid via his card! I immediately called the location and asked for Stephanie. I was told that Sunday was her day off and when I asked to leave a message for her or get one forwarded to her I was told that, "Well, usually when we call her she never calls us back. You will just have to check in with her on Monday." Not being pleased with this answer I located a corporate customer service number and filed a complaint and was given reference #56540 and then given the number for the Regional Traffic Office, 615-860-2999. I was told my complaint and situation would be forwarded to the location and regional hub and given priority but that I needed to understand that, "this is a busy weekend for U-Haul."

I called the regional traffic office at least 5 times and never once did I get an answer and I never got a call back from Stephanie.

I waited until 08/31/2010 to try again. I called in-between classes, asked for Stephanie and was put on hold. I waited for a couple of minutes and hung up. I called the regional traffic office again and actually got an answer. I spoke with a woman who said she was Stephanie's supervisor, explained the situation, and she said she would have Stephanie call me ASAP. I got a call from Stephanie when I was in class and she left a message assuring me that she would get this corrected and that she was sorry that "we kept missing one another". I found that last part funny since she hadn't once called me or returned messages. I called her back immediately and she told me that she discovered the error but had to wait for the month end postings to correct it but that I should have it back around 09/03/2010.

09/03/2010 came and went and there was no credit. I waited until 09/07/2010 to call Stephanie back about this issue hoping that perhaps it was just delayed due to the Labor Day holiday. I spoke with her and she advised me she was not in the office but would check on this first thing 09/08/2010 and call me with a status update. 09/08/2010 came and went and no credit and no phone call. Today, I called and left her YET ANOTHER message telling her that I didn't appreciate the way this was being handled and that although I am sure there are other customers she has to deal with I feel this should be given priority.
Tomorrow it will be 2 weeks since I rented my first U-Haul and I am still dealing with this. This is not acceptable to me. My family and I do not have the time to deal with this, nor should we have to make call after call after call to get this fixed, and we most definitely do not have an extra $51.12 for U-Haul to keep for 2 weeks. I have found the customer service at the local, regional, and even corporate levels extremely lacking and at this time am requesting a FULL refund. I want my double- charged $51.12 back and in addition I'd like the cost of the rental, another $51.12 back, to compensate me for my time and effort. I had never rented a truck from U-Haul before and I certainly will not ever again. I have also let every one of my family and friends know about this and have found out, now, not so surprisingly, that others have had the same experience with this same location.

I have receipts, bank records, phone records, etc that I would be more than happy to forward if necessary.

I apologize for the length of this email but am hoping that someone at U-Haul will take pity on me and be a bit more responsive and fix an error that was never mine to begin with.

Tired, frustrated, and a lost customer,
 
Amanda Mills


****Update:  I heard back from Mr. Shoen on 9/10/10 around 1:30 p.m. He forwarded my email to one of his fix-it people, Mr. Foster, and told them that my money should be returned THAT DAY. His text is below:

Joe Shoen writes:


Please get this customer her money back today. Why did this happen? How can we not do this in the future? Joe
 
Mr. Foster investigated and found out that the location didn't process the refund until, get this people, 9/8/10.  9  motherfuckin 8 !!!!!!! But assured me the matter was corrected. And it was.  The same day I got a response from the CEO was the day the $51.12 refund hit our account.  They didn't refund the actual cost of the rental as I requested and I'm not going to argue with that-due to me being over it and especially due to the timeliness of Mr. Shoen and Mr. Foster's replies and effort.

P.S. I still haven't gotten a call back from the manager, Stephanie Clark.

Ahhhhhhhhh! (In the good way......)

So, today I put on my 29-yr old panties.

Doesn't feel so different from the 28-yr old ones. (Perhaps just a bit more lace.)

It has been a long time since I have updated everyone in the blogosphere so bear with me.....

Dwayne got sick in May and I was working part-time for the census.
Kids were here and the census was in a quiet period.
Kids went home and the census biz picked back up for a bit.
We realized that with Dwayne's STD money, my waning part-time hours at the census, and school coming up that we would drown financially if things remained the same.
So, we made the very painful decision to move back in with family.
Between August 28- September 7 Dwayne and I moved in with my mother, I started school, AND Dwayne began work part-time.
Crazy doesn't even begin to explain my world lately. (I'm sure everyone can relate.)

The good news is that Dwayne is back to work. He is easing back in working 20, 20, 30, and then 40 hours the last week of September.
I have 7 classes and they are all going well. I am worried about a couple just simply because they are going to require me thinking and remembering things at a time when I am quite frankly exhausted.
Abnormal Psychology, Orientation to Art, Orientation to Computer Science, Math for General Studies, Yoga, Water Aerobics, and Sociological Theory.
I would avoid my math requirement until the last possible second but can't go further in my major until I have a math credit- (FUCK!)- so this is the semester. I just want a "C" and to get on with my life. Can I pay someone for it? Like the "Buy it Now" feature on ebay?

So, we moved in with my mother. A smoker, and I have smoker friends and love them, BUT my mother smokes like a chimney. We had to wash the walls with soft scrub with bleach, clean the carpet, get an air purifier, and there is still a lingering smoke smell. Oh well, FML!

Today is my birthday. I finally did something I have always wanted to do.
I threw a drink at a car. It was awesome. Epic, even and I am so proud of myself.

There are many more things that are just super long stories. (you know me, I love to give every tiny detail.)

Some of them are......

The death of a loyal cell phone at the most inopportune time.
The attack of the greedy U-Haul location. (SFAM, this one has one of my famous self righteous emails at the end of it- you would love it.)
The discovery of the pot smoking momma.
The go-kart disguised as a car.
The G-mail hack!

If you would like more information..... text me, call me, email me. Too lazy to type it all here.

I am excited about Rox's wedding and things finally returning to a sort of (new kind of) normal in my life.
I am also excited about Taylor Swift's new CD coming out....can't wait. And am thinking of buying nose bleed seat to see Les Miz at TPAC- my god I just want to be in the building- far back enough that I can belt out the songs and sob like a freak.

I am also thinking of getting my 4th tattoo. A bluebird in honor of my Aunt/Grandma (it is complicated, people) Connie who died of cancer last year. I got a bluebird pin of hers after the funeral and that was the first thing I thought of today when I woke up. Bluebirds symbolize happiness, prosperity, good health, and the arrival of spring..so maybe today on my bday I was being sent a message. Gotta wait till the end of the semester after my water aerobics is over but I am pretty keen on the idea.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes today. I am now off to drink a bottle of my most favorite wine and do things only seen on the internet to my sweetest love. I love him.

xoxoxo

Fireworks

Sometimes, I feel like cheap Chinese fireworks.
The dead promise packed in an easily lost wrapper.
Designed to take a small flame and explode as hope against a dimming timeline of family.
Twine not quite wound tightly, the payload just slightly left of center and the circuit isn't complete.
I look around for an explanation and find the fingers pointing to me.
Someone should have said something.
Someone, right?
Someone should have warned me.
But cheap Chinese fireworks don't hold the attention span for long.
The next pack is opened, lit, and becomes imprinted on the sky until the sun arrives.
And I'm left picking up bits and pieces from the grass, alone.

So much to say....

Dwayne has a compression fracture in his back. Essentially, his L5 vertebrae "buckled" under the pressure of his seizure. Yay. Still not sure when he will return to work but we are continuing physical therapy and maintaining a positive attitude! This was taken the Sunday morning after the kids left. My camera date is all screwy so just go with me here.
Tyler, Noah, and Eddie getting in touch with their guido side on 07/08/10 (Kalli's actual birthday.).

Brooke, Eddie, Kalli, Noah, and Tyler striking a pose on Kalli's birthday. I think this was the 4th cake we'd had at this point.

Dwayne took this lovely picture of us on the 4th of July. We decided to park next to the Jack in the Box in Murfreesboro and enjoy a "free" activity. Which truly ended up costing me around $15.00 in milkshakes and more than a little drama with Kalli as she wailed that we were, (insert whiny, dramatic, 13 yr old voice here) "Wasting the 4th of July!"

Athena, bitches. We had a great visit to the Parthenon until Kalli decided she was bored and her brothers were "gay" for enjoying the visit. Smile everyone!

The Parthenon.

Is it wrong that the idea for this pic was mine? Or more wrong that they were totally up for it?

The Mills clan picnic as snapped by the lifeguard on duty. No one died during the taking of this picture, FYI.

Heather, the most gorgeous niece in the whole world and her boyfriend and bass player of The Shockwaves, Nick!

The grandkids- I love this shot.

Chihuly and Couture at the Frist- Amazing.

The group at Chuck E. Cheese. Eddie's birthday and cake #1.

Chuckles from Toy Story 3. Loved it and am very disappointed there are no chuckles items for purchase.

Tyler, the buff dude who is upper left. Three days of football camp. Crispy doesn't even begin to describe how much I burned. But Tyler got an invite to another camp called Top Gun as one of the top 1200 high school players in the country- yay!

We did pottery, saw a couple of movies, ran here and there, and everywhere.

My hair is very dry and I am peeling from the football camp still. (Amanda jerky, anyone?)

Now things are settling back to normal....normal being physical therapy, doctor's visits, and work.

Perhaps now, I can post more often? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Quick thought....

Ever notice how much you can get done when everyone else is asleep?

Handmade chicken tenders- breaded and baked.

Home made honey mustard- ingredients mixed and now being chilled.

Handmade potato wedges- cut, seasoned, and baked.

New bathroom shelving thingy- put together and items switched over.

Burning myself- checking on those damn potato wedges.

Now it is time to wake the beasts and see all my work go bye-bye!

Bleh? Nay! Meh.

Working... panicked calls from my supervisor's supervisor....then 10 minutes later everything is cool....at least until the next panicked call. I am fluid, I am fluid.

Doctor's Offices..... seen a lot of them lately. Dwayne had a follow up today, needs an MRI on his back, and 8 more physical therapy visits. Co-pays are flying out of my account and EOBs are flooding my mailbox.

Family Crisis..... My sister-in-law was up for a visit this past weekend and ended up at StoneCrest with heat exhaustion. 3 days in the hospital with no definitive answer and a very mean nurse.

Cooking...my cooking has slowed down due to lack of prep time but also because of the disappointment of the meals I did manage to cook. "Tangy Fish Tacos" sounds very yummy but the reality wasn't. And the delicious (I thought) chicken potato skillet meal wasn't well received because it was "dark" meat. I need regroup and go back to some basic meals that I know are great and tweak them where I can.

Kids..... the first one lands 36 hours from now. Searching for and being extremely creative with free yet fun activities.

Tired....enough said.

A desire for sausage and more beefy goodness!

Feast your eyes ladies and gents! I made this. ME. I made a freaking roast beef!

Let me explain as I clear the tears from my eyes what an accomplishment this is for me.

I saw this on Cook's Country (NPT on Saturday mornings) and it looked so amazing that I had to try it. The episode was classic roast beef and gravy....... I drooled so much during that show that I had to do it.

So, I took notes and signed up online for access to their recipes and set out looking for the perfect piece of meat for my roast beef.

I found the closest thing I could to the beef I needed and could afford (top sirloin was recommended but is like a gagillion dollars a pound- so I opted for a sirloin shoulder roast- who knew such a thing even existed?) and followed the directions.

I followed the directions, people- do you hear me?!?! All of them- even the ones that I don't normally follow cuz I feel like they are dumb- because I am much smarter than any damn professional t.v. chef.

So, I took my raw meat, patted it dry and then tenderly rubbed in 2 tsp of salt all over. ( #1 I have never before rubbed raw meat with anything and quite frankly find it disgusting.)

Then I had to let the meat marinade for 12-24 hours. (#2 any recipe that involves me having to wait for any crazy amount of time like um say, over 5 minutes, really annoys me- I'm trying to make this food now- not next week!)

Then today I turned up my Paula Deen skillet, dribbled in olive oil and waited for smoke. Then braised the meat on all sides. (#3 another dirty dish for 8 minutes of cooking.... ugh. perhaps this wasn't a good idea.)

Finally, I took my little braised meat and put in on a rack at 275 for 1.5-2.0 hours. (#4 i cooked it the full 2 hours because i didn't want mine to be as pink as Cook's Country showed)

When the oven opened I was disappointed because mine didn't look as beautiful as theirs but I stayed on track and let the meat rest for 30 min under tin foil. (#5 more waiting- yeash!)

I had no idea what the hell "cutting against the grain of the meat" meant so I just picked a point and went at it.........

AMAZING, PEOPLE, AMAZING!

So good.....and I made it.

Had to share.

And in other, non beef related, news..........

I didn't realize that I hadn't given an update on Dwayne since I talked to KB today.

Dwayne is doing much better but is still not 100% or back to work.

During the seizure he injured his back and now can't walk or sit too long without back pain.

So, he is starting physical therapy tomorrow to help heal/strengthen his back to get him back to normal.

He has also been officially diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. (I told him so!)

Apparently, he stopped breathing 33 times and hour in his sleep study.

So, we went back for another and tested out a CPAP machine and are picking it up tomorrow.

They are pretty sure that is the root cause of all of this because not breathing for 33 minutes out of an hour causes your brain to wake up and send signals to your throat to relax which keeps it active all night which means no rest/restorative energy which leads to all kinds of bad things.

He is on blood pressure meds and a low salt diet and is enjoying having all 3 meals cooked and delivered to him on his couch. I have purchased 3 different low salt, low fat, light, etc cookbooks and have been trying to completely eliminate some things and adjust others.

He has been doing extremely well on his diet and has lost almost 8 pounds so far just with diet. The Dr. thinks that when he is able to walk for longer periods of time it will just fly off.

He does miss sausage though....in fact he told me just yesterday that he has a "desire for sausage" which caught me off guard but that is the man I love.

We have been working, going to appointments, calling about benefits, arranging camps for the kids, booking tickets, etc..... and things seem to be back on track.

Busy as always but things are returning to normal.

More later.......

News and No News

A couple of definitions to begin:

Things I wanted to tell everyone and might have, or forgotten to tell, or forgotten I told= News

Things that are pending, awaiting a follow up, etc. = No News

Ok....here we go.

Background Info for News:

Dwayne had a seizure on May 2.
Before that our 15 month old computer died.
Before that I got a summer job working for the Census doing payroll and junk.
And even before all of that I was going to school full-time.

News!

Dwayne got out of the hospital on May 4th. Has had a follow up EEG and sleep study. Good news- no brain tumor. Has been resting and getting better every day. Memory loss has faded and he is almost back to normal. So normal in fact that we have argued (well, really, me yelling at him) because I think he is doing too much too fast. We have a follow up visit with the neurologist and a dentist appointment this Thursday. Then go back to his new PCP on the 27th. So far, so good.

I called Dell and placed a ticket in to fix our computer. Surprisingly, this Dell experience was amazing. They were very nice and said they'd have someone come and fix it. I guess it was the fact that I was still under warranty? Anyway, the guy came out, fixed it up, yay. It is alive again. I managed to get most of our stuff (including 2200 songs- thank god!) off of our external hard drive. I haven't tackled itunes or loading the printer stuff yet- that is another battle for another day.

Still working at the Census. It is kind of crazy because some days I'll go in and it will be all hands on deck and then they will say no overtime. They will call me in early and I will go and sit and wait with nothing to do. But I will not complain because they have been extremely helpful and flexible when dealing with Dwayne being sick, the crazy weather, and me being sick for about 3 days recently. I am grateful and it is enjoyable work.

School finally ended and not a moment too soon. The flooding caused finals to be canceled and rescheduled and Dwayne's hospital stay caused me to miss one completely. But I talked to all the professors and got everyone squared away and it is over and grades are out. I got "A"s in all my classes and made the Dean's List! My rusty old GPA is now a 3.48. I hope to celebrate one day when things calm down. Probably sometime in July after we move from this medical hurricane to the kids hurricane.

Flooding. Yeah. That was insane. KB had some crazy flooding but other than that I don't think I know anyone who was directly hit...so yay. I am glad everyone came out unscathed- for the most part. That was super crazy but I will say this is a moment where I am actually proud of Nashville and the Volunteer state for rising to the call of people in need. I am sad that Serpas is leaving- I liked him.

Kids. Got the dates and flights nailed down early this year. June 19 the first one will land. Then on June 24th the second, and finally all 3 will be here June 28. They will all return to TX on July 10th. Not sure how much vacation time Dwayne will have left when they get here but we will make it work.

No News!

Dwayne had an EEG what feels like forever ago- no call, no nothing. So, that is good right?

We still don't have a release/return to work date for him yet....might get one this Thursday.

That is all I can really remember right now.... I hope everyone is well and I'm sorry I haven't been in touch. I will do my best to do better when things get settled again. Thanks to everyone for the texting and checking in and help- it means a lot to me and is keeping me sane. Again, once things settle down a bit I am going to try and plan a get together to celebrate multiple things and events and friends. Hang in there with me!

Every Little Breath

This is Dwayne and super-murse, Erich, yesterday at MTMC. He was getting to walk around (to help get some strength) in that crazy outfit because they thought he had MRSA. Turns out he didn't but that is a whole 'nother story.

Saturday we stayed in and watched the Derby and avoided the storms. Dwayne wasn't feeling too well and was very hot to the touch. I pulled out my handy-dandy standby remedy of two equate aspirins, a vitamin, a vitamin "c" tablet, and some Gatorade. He took that and fell asleep on the couch. I also apparently fell asleep and when I woke up it was around 2:30 and I put us in the bed.

I wake up around 6 because Dwayne is making a crazy and scary noise. I look over and his eyes are wide open and his hands are in the air, fists clenched, and he looks like he is in terrible pain. It looked like someone who was being electrocuted and couldn't let go of the thing electrocuting them. I shook him thinking maybe he was having a bad dream. Shook him and said his name again. I then realized something was indeed wrong. I started screaming his name, dialed 911, and went to his side of the bed.

His arms were at his side and he was convulsing, he spit up and still his eyes were open. The 911 operator told me to stop screaming so she could hear me and dialed an EMS operator. I gave them the address in between sobs and took deep breaths like they told me to. Repeated things when I got too upset for them to understand me. I knew in my heart that when he stopped convulsing he would be dead. I was waiting for it. After all, we've all seen it in movies and on shows, the convulsing, the spitting up, and the sudden end.

Dwayne did stop convulsing but didn't stop breathing. Instead he sounded like an animal who had just run a long way and was in need of a break. I followed the EMS instructions and pinched the inside of his arm to get a reaction. His head just rolled around, eyes wide, pupils completely dilated, staring into space. I tried the sternum rub- I dug my knuckles into his chest as hard as I could but still no response. I could feel his heart through his chest and it was racing. I begged the EMS operator to please hurry and I hung on Dwayne's every breath.

The firemen arrived first and gave him oxygen and talked to him trying to get him to wake up. There were little sounds of waking and even at one point he sat up and did a double-take at all the people standing in our bedroom but still no connection between where he was and what had happened. The EMS arrived and they continued to talk to him and ask him questions and managed to squeeze the gurney back into our room and got him ready for transport.

"I need to get up because my back hurts," were the first words he said. The EMS tried to help him get up but his knees buckled. "Whoa," he said. They helped him back onto the bed and ended up sliding him onto the gurney over the foot board. As they pushed him out of the bedroom he looked at me with a concerned look and said, "It will be OK. Don't cry." Even though he had no idea what was making me cry or really what all this commotion was, he was comforting me.

In the ambulance they asked him if he knew where he was. "Murfreesboro." That's right but where specifically? "Foothills Dr." (His parents address.) As we drove to MTMC the paramedic told me he was in a postictal state and from all indications he had had a seizure. This confusion was normal and he would be alright in a few minutes. This did not comfort me.

In the ER Dwayne began coming closer and closer to normal. An I.V. here, a push of anti-seizure meds, crying parents, insurance forms, etc. He says he doesn't remember anything except waking up in the ambulance and wondering who this guy was asking him questions he didn't have answers to.

I was on the phone will 911 for a little over 8 minutes. He was in a full blown seizure for about 4 minutes of that and it took him about 20 minutes total to become cognizant of his surroundings. We spent Sunday and Monday night in the hospital and he was released today. CT scans of his abdomen and head are clear. MRI is clear. Blood/Urine testing clear. All indications are pointing to a perfect storm of very high fever, high blood pressure, and anxiety all caused by an undiagnosed sleep apnea. The theory is that his brain was starving at 6 a.m. Sunday and went into survival mode- sending out impulses to get the oxygen it needed.

He has some more tests to do in the next couple of weeks but is expected to make a full recovery. He is very weak and is not able to drive for the next 6 months. Luckily, my employer, his employer, and my professors have been extremely flexible, helpful, and understanding. So, we are on the road to recovery. In fact, he is asleep on the couch behind me right now and I'm here and I'm still hanging on every little breath.

Quickly....

Got a part-time summer job to keep me busy and bring in some cash while school is out.

Technically, it isn't out for about 2 weeks- FINALS TIME- perfect time for me to get a job, right?

Since I can never make things easy on myself here is an example of today's schedule:

Got off work at 11 p.m. last night
Homework/Study till 2 a.m.
Sleep from 2 a.m. till 7 a.m.
Homework/Shower/Leave for school at 8:30 a.m.
School from 9:10 a.m. till 1:00 p.m.
Making meatballs/Homework/Call Dell/Get ready for work/leave at 3:15
Work from 3:30 p.m. till Midnight

Oh yeah, another most awesome thing to happen was that the desktop we bought only 15 months ago has died. Hard-drive disk failure. So pissed.

Never mind the fact that I have all my speech proposals and junk on there....whatev! Luckily, we are still under warranty so we just have to squeeze in a time to meet with the tech and then we can have a working computer again. My laptop has really saved my ass right now. The only annoying thing is my printer is so old it won't work on it so I'm printing at the MTSU library.

Ack! Okay-gotta go- meatballs done, gotta eat, and pack tonight's work survival kit.
More later..... I think.

So. Amazing.

This is so amazing to me. I mean, I'm blown away by the clicky straws that come with the mini-tropicana o.j. boxes but this....... makes me kinda teary eyed.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36232647/ns/health-health_care/

Sweet Revenge

Please, please, please click on the name of the blog and listen to this file.
I made a freaking podcast out of it...and to do that I had to look up how to do it, find a hosting site, and follow more crazy directions!
But if you listen to this... you will see why it was so worth it.

Remember that waxing I got?
Well the bastard who did the waxing got a taste of their own medicine!

Bikini waxes and cuss words.....

apparently go hand in hand.

My no-cuss week ended shortly after it began.

And now a breath.....

I made it!

Woohoo!!

Hell week is over!

The tofu meals didn't happen but I did make some yummy turkey concoctions. I guess you have to pick your battles.

This semester isn't over yet and I'm already getting excited about the Fall semester. I will be taking some Sociology classes and since I've finished all but one gen-ed class, I'll be taking some "elective" courses. The ones I've picked out so far are Intro to Archery and Water Aerobics! YES!!! Meaningless classes! Love it! The Fall semester will be an interesting mix.... statistics, abnormal psych, and archery!

Now that my crazy test/speech week is over... I just have to wait for the grades. Seriously, the worst part of all of this.

Oh yeah! I made some sweet potato parmesan fries that I actually chopped the potatoes into "fry" forms..... I took pictures but I'm not sure what I did with them. Trust me it was a pain in my ass but they were very yummy.

And I've started a self-improvement campaign to stop cussing (Starting after that last sentence, of course.) For all of you that know me well know how much I really love cussing so this will be hard but I am looking forward to using colorful and interesting "substitute" words. We will see........

Spring Mania!!!!!

It is spring break!

I'm supposed to be studying like crazy and catching up/getting ahead like the responsible me said I would. My responsible me is freaking out because March 22-26th is going to be BAT SHIT CRAZY!!!

March 22- Political Science Test
March 23- Astronomy Test
March 24- TN History Test
March 25- Speech #2 and Astronomy Night Lab 2
March 26- Astronomy Lab 10

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!

But my irresponsible me just wants to run around outside and enjoy the weather and try new recipes!

I'm going to cook 2 meals- count 'em- 2 meals- with tofu!! Who the hell am I and what did I do with my old self? I don't even really know what tofu is. It is kinda creepy because it comes packaged in water and you have to "press" it- and there are like 15 million ways to do that...well, really just 4.

I made a deal with Dwayne... it was either him try tilapia or tofu- he chose tofu. I am still thinking of sneaking in the tilapia in on him, though.

Oh yeah, below is a dessert masterpiece that I made with those pyrex bowl thingys.

My Mona Lisa....

It is Tuesday and I'm only cooking one "new" meal this week.
I am taking a rest because I realized that when you "cook" things it creates dishes. And I'm kindof a messy cook anyway...so for me it created lots of dishes. And there are really no words to describe to you how much I hate doing dishes- except for the fact that I wish all dishes were disposable/recyclable.

Plus this is that point in the semester when all those projects/papers that you got assigned in January (Oh, good- It isn't due until April.) start roaring for attention. (Oh, shit! Today is March 1st!)

Monday's dish was an awesome success and was wonderfully yummy- I was so proud I almost called people to tell them about it.

Enjoy:

Mini Taco Salads with Homemade Tortilla Shells and Spanish Rice: (A++)
I stole this recipe from my cookbook! Who knew there were so many recipes in there? This one gets major points for two reasons... #1 I used tortillas I already had and #2 baked them in cookware that I bought JUST for this occasion! Oh, man I need my own show- I actually bought cookware for a specific dish! (Pyrex bowl thingys-I'm sure there is some official name- but for now they are bowl thingys.) I baked the tortillas for 15 min until they were crisp and then filled with shredded lettuce, chopped cherry tomatoes, ground beef/kidney bean/corn/taco sauce mix and topped with cheese. VIOLA! (Pics of this magnificence are below.) Side Note: I read about Smart Balance Sour Cream in Women's Health- picked some up at Wal-Mart for $1.50 and it is SO good.

Oh yeah, I bought those just for this.

No cheating here- they actually stood on their own!

Um, can you say yum-town?

Ok, off to finish all those things I said I wouldn't wait to do......

Cookin' Mama

I've been trying to channel my inner Martha lately.
My foray into crocheting has failed miserably- I really think I can't use my fingers like a normal person.
To make up for this domestic deficiency I've been trying new things in the kitchen.
I have been skimming magazines like Ladies Home Journal, Women's Health, etc. for yummy and relatively healthy recipes. This week was my busiest week of cooking thus far... with 6 or 7 new recipes! So, since I know you all are so very interested I've made a list and graded myself for each effort and how the dish turned out.

Chicken Flautas and Spanish Rice- (A+)This one was very easy and turned out great. I lifted the flautas recipe from Women's Health and the rice was bag but still I wouldn't say I totally cheated on this one because I chopped fresh red onion for the flautas, then rolled them with chicken and cheese.

Turkey Wrap- (D) This one was an after school lunch for me and it didn't turn out as yummy as it seemed in the picture. I think it was because the recipe calls for honey mustard and I didn't have it so I used dijon. Oops. Plus it said use 2 laughing cow wedges on one tortilla and that was just too much damn cheese. I don't think I'll repeat this one.

Onion Burgers and Fries- (A+) This one was amazing! Lipton onion soup mix, water, and meat and viola! Fries were frozen but I get full credit for patting out my own burgers. Besides this is 2010 and you aren't going to catch me over a damn potato machine shooting out fries.

Ham & Cheese Calzones and Leftover Fries- (C-) This recipe came from my pampered chef connection and the failure was all my fault. I love onions and I think I over estimated how much I love them cuz this damn thing was basically an onion in a pizza crust. Another problem was my easy bake oven. The top of the crust was cooked but not as wonderfully golden as the bottom and sides. I've heard that means your oven is off-temp or something like that and you can correct it by covering the fast cooking parts with foil....or is it the non-fast cooking parts? Hell, I don't know- I'm not that advanced. Not sure if this one will be attempted again.

Zesty Ravioli Skillet and Bread Sticks- (A++) This one was freaking amazing. This was one that my pampered chef connection actually cooked for me and it was so good then and I actually managed to recreate it! Woohoo! It is a very nice tomato sauce without being spaghetti saucy. Three cheese ravioli, spinach, diced tomatoes. Extra points on this one because I used heavy whipping cream for the first time ever AND managed to get Dwayne to eat some spinach with the promise of sex. I am happy to report that we both got what we wanted.

French's Onion Chicken, Oven-Roasted Vegetables, and Onion-Roasted Potatoes-
Chicken Grade (A), Veggie Grade (B-), Potato Grade (C)= Overall (B-)
I hate that damn French's Onion commercial where the lady bribes her kids to the table by saying "it's french's onion chicken" and I was like whateva lady- they aren't going to eat that! Well, I am going to type my apology letter to French's as soon as I am done posting this. That chicken was freakin good! Very easy...crush the french's onions, egg, flour if you like, bathe the chicken and 20 min- done! The Veggie's came out a little too "limp" for me... I like crispy veggies. I think I over estimated the abundance of veggies I chopped ( zucchini, squash, onions,green pepper, mushrooms) and added a lil bit too much oil. The potatoes turned out to be a pain in the ass- the recipe didn't tell me to spray the pan and I thought the oil on them would be enough- wrong! Talk about sticking. The bad score on the potatoes is leveled out by the fact that I bought squash and zucchini for the first time ever.

Most of the problems are my fault cuz I suck. But all in all I'd say it has been a pretty successful cooking experience. One thing that makes it even better is that I actually used all the items I bought- not one thing went to waste. I used the small left over amounts of mushroom and spinach in an omelet this morning. Yum. Now I just have to find some recipes I'd like to tackle for this coming week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news-

1. I got a tattoo!! My stars are awesome. I will have to post a more recent pic after I study- which I am supposed to be doing right now.

2. Is it bad to keep secrets? Even for just a weekend? Our tax money came in Friday and I haven't said anything to Dwayne about it. I'm just letting it sit there quietly for the weekend. I feel like I'd like my account to rest for just a little bit. Is that bad?

3. The following is an example of the people I go to school with. (And this concerns me because I'm worried about the "value" of my degree....)
In my speech class we are currently evaluating great speeches to pick out main ideas, supporting details, transitions, etc, etc.
Friday's assignment was the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. We were supposed to read it individually and then get in groups of 4 and discuss. I outlined the speech as I read because I rock and noticed quite unhappily that no one else in my group had written down anything. NOT ONE OTHER PERSON. Omg. So, here is what happens from this point on- all of which I will testify before God that this is true-

Me: Does anyone have any other ideas, other than the ones I wrote, about what the main points of the speech are?

DumbGirl#1: Well, he mentions a check and it being returned insufficient funds, and about the "bank of justice" being empty- so the banking system must be a big issue to him.

*crickets*

Me: Um, well actually, the "check" is a metaphor. It isn't real. He is speaking about a promise of racial equality.

*DumbGirl#1 Blank Stare*

DumbGirl#1: Oh, ok.

DumbGirl#2: Amanda, can you be the one to write this? I mean, my vocabulary is really small.

*crickets*

Me: Um, ok. I guess I will just figure this out on my own.......

DumbCountryBoy: Sounds good to me!


4. We have been watching the Olympics like non-stop. Love them. If you aren't watching the Olympics, especially Ice Skating, then you are a terrible American. Seriously.


Well, I think that is all for now......

Argh!

Yesterday after I posted my last blog I decided to look at tattoo ideas.

I've really, really, really wanted another tattoo recently and I think it goes well with my theme of doing whateva I want for 2010.

I did find a pic of a tattoo I'd really love to get (posted at top) and am going to price it Friday night. The Absolute Ink by MTSU shop minimum is only $40.00- yay! I can go beg my momma for $40.00- whateva- I do what I want!

So, anyway- right after I found that pic......disaster strikes!

My computer goes into massive meltdown and I can tell it isn't good.

So, I pull out my trusty laptop and do some research and discover that I had apparently stumbled upon a virus/worm. Something called bankerfox.a and win32/nequel.e?

It gets into your system and replicates itself over and over.... won't let you connect to the internet, won't let you open any file, application, and in my case wouldn't even let me turn the damn computer off.

This computer is not even 1.5 years old yet so I call Dell. I have a 2 year warranty- so I'm thinking the Dell gods will fix this. After sitting on hold and repeating the same information several times I find out that my warranty is HARDware and a virus is SOFTware. So, I get transferred to a "technical specialist" or something like that- yay, help is coming.

After repeating my information about 5 more times and before they even want to talk to me about what is wrong I am informed that this service is a "premium software service" and thus there is a fee. Of course, why didn't I see this coming?

The lovely technical specialist tells me he can offer me this deal for $129.00 or for a year he can cover my desktop and laptop for $239.00.

I start to bawl my eyes out.

I am in school full-time, no job, and I seriously do not have this cash. And I want to throw this damn computer out the window. (I knew I should have gotten a MAC!!!!!!! <---- was yelled several times.)

But in doing research on my laptop I learn that this is a pretty nasty virus and the only other way to get rid of it is to reformat and start over with a Windows reinstall. Do you have any idea how much music/movies/stuff we've put on this computer? And that back-up I've been meaning to do..... yeah, didn't happen.

After being assured by the Dell guy that this service is guaranteed and that guarantee includes the statement that I don't have to lose my data..... I paid the Dell gods.

So, after 2.5 hours on the phone, some tears, and $239.00 my computer is fixed. Yay.

Want further evidence that the universe hates me? OK- no problem.

Dwayne and I play video games. I like video games. We love the Xbox 360 game Bioshock. He is the muscle and I am the navigator. We kicked this game's ass and have been stalking the sequel for a YEAR. A year, people.

Viola- it came out, we had it delivered same day. We've been kicking ass and taking names. We did about 3.5 hours of play, brutal, killer, badass play on Monday. (Woohoo- snow days!) That put us about 1/2 way through the game.

I go to load the saved file to relax a little bit today to celebrate my 93 on my political science test and what I feel like is the very successful completion of my Tennessee history test today- and it isn't there.

I look again.... and it still isn't there. ALL the work on Monday is gone. Apparently, I didn't save it or the Xbox ate it or something. I probably forgot to save it cuz I didn't realize we hadn't hit an autosave point or something. Cuz I am a dumbass, of course.

ARGH!

Misc.

There are times when I dream of bubbles.
I want to encompass everyone I love
and protect them from their troubles.

Perhaps we'd live in a commune
and grow our own vegetables.
We'd also raise beef that was naturally immune.

And if one of you made me sad and cry;
I'd pop your damn bubble-
and watch you fly!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes, like when you broke my favorite cow plate......
I really want to punch you in the eye.

I don't trust you in the kitchen by yourself...
Really, dear, how much butter do you need?

But there are other times, like when you waited with baited breath as I read your Christmas poem.......
And when you held me close and just let me cry....
That I know that I am where I am supposed to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think of escape plans for all occasions.
(Do you think this chair could break this window in event of an emergency?)
And when I think of floor plans I always add secret rooms and panic buttons.
(What about a secret panel in the closet that leads to the attic?)
We'd all slip out the backdoor and into safety.
(Everyone accounted for.)
The thieves can have it all.
(Books, blankets, and things.)
But they can't have us.

So......

This is how devastated I was/am about the Superbowl debacle.

And that is all I have to say about that. (I screamed most of what I had to say during and immediately after the game.)

The big wheel of school keeps on turning and I keep churning out the papers/study guides/note cards.

I've had my first speech, B+, had my first astronomy test, A, took my first political science test, grade tba, and my first history test is Monday. So far, so good.

I'm supposed to be working on a reaction paper for sociology right now- and as the mom voice in my head screams at me to get to work the kid part of me says- I KNOW, MOM- GAH!

The best part of all of this..... I found out that after this semester I will actually be a Junior-progress! FINALLY! I'll be a year 4 junior! Woohoo!

I made a most amazing hashbrown casserole last weekend (yummy recipe, KRB!) and followed that up with a not so successful attempt at Maryland steamers. They are a Northern version of sloppy joes- more ketchupy.

Realized that I am old and over lunch with the blonde tried to pinpoint when it happened but can't. It kind of happens and before you know it you go from keggers to wanting to wipe makeup off of a stranger's face. But I think I am Ok with being old- when I think about somethings I did or thought/said when I was younger- I laugh. Now I realize I have no clue. I'm just enjoying the ride.

Bad News....Good News

Got a cold this past weekend......... for the first time in almost 3 years it didn't turn into Pneumonia!

Lots of dishes for me to do........ I made homemade potato salad for the first time (and it didn't suck!)

Had to give a speech in my Communications class...... got a "B+"!

EA Sports predicted the Saints would beat the Colts 35-31 in the Super Bowl.......EA Sports is a dumb, stupid, not-real, game.

Awesome

Below is a link to an awesome letter on www.lettersofnote.com.

Check it out... it is great!


You

I am so happy............

Colts are #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SUCK IT, JETS!!!

PINK!

I have always wanted to put pink highlights in my hair.
But I've always had a job where I couldn't or was just too scared.....
Not anymore!
This year is about being fearless and doing what the hell I want!
So, today, my fav redhead turned me into a 17 yr old again.

Step 1: Bleach me up!

Step 2: Pink all over me.

The Final Product! (I'm totally sexy in this pic.)

It is kind of hard to see in this pic but the blonde and the pink highlights blend nicely with my "natural" color.

We are going to re-pink it this Saturday to make the pink pop a bit more- I picked a lighter shade of pink thinking I was saving myself from going stripper pink- but alas- I need stripper pink to get the pink I want.

The point is- I DID IT!

I'm freakin' out!

I love, love, love school.

I love getting my papers organized in new folders, color co-ordinated, getting pens, pencils, and stuff together.

School started on 01/14........

Fundamentals of Communication (Damn those new gen-ed requirements. My teacher is a TOTAL bad word-first words out of her mouth were "i usually teach k-12 but i've discovered college students are a lot like 5 year olds" ugh. disgruntled face.)

Astronomy (my prof has 4 undergrad degrees and 2 grad degrees- he started working for NASA at 19- and he LOVES Harry Potter- how awesome is that?!?)

Fundamentals of Government (gotta get rid of a bad grade from eons ago- prof seems cool, tough but in a good way)

Tennessee History (teacher is SUPER nice, will make this seemingly ultra boring class ok)

Social Problems (love the prof.- class is discussion based-woohoo!)

Astronomy Lab (will meet on 01-22)

I've been in school for 2 days, spent roughly $260.00 on books, untold $$ on shiny new folders, pens, pencils, and a 3-hole punch I just had to have and a new backpack. I am ready to kick these classes ass!

Until I got home and realized how much reading was to be done. Then panic set in. Funny how panic doesn't take long to surface. WTF have I done?

Oh, god.

But luckily between a discussion with Dwayne ( "you don't have to do everything on your syllabus RIGHT NOW") and some texting with a strangelilman- I started to breathe again and realized that I can do this.....I just have to remember to take it a day at a time.

I had my follow up with the dentist and everything looks wonderful. As for the extended healing time I'm having...his only advice was for me to be patient (bottom teeth were extra deep, trauma to your body, etc, etc.) RIGHT. I am trying to take over the world here, doc!

My plan for tomorrow is to read. Read and make outlines..... Read, make outlines, take quizzes.... Read, make outlines, take quizzes, and not panic!

ughhhhhhhh.....

Recovery day 4: My bruises are horrible looking. My face is still swollen. Dwayne was told that since my bottom teeth were "deeper" (is that ever a good thing?) than expected my recovery time would take a couple more days. How in the hell did I ever get convinced that I should do this?

Some other things:

getting pink highlights this weekend (hopefully- if i don't die from pain first)
jimmy fallon is growing on me
i really,really, really want a cheeseburger right now
school starts Thursday

off to slip into a drug induced sleep for a little bit..........

Chipmunk cheeks and tossing my cookies.

I had my wisdom teeth (all 4, impacted) removed Jan. 8, 2010.
Check me out in all my glory below.

This was the 3rd and 4th (the successful one) of getting my drip to start.

This is a picture of attempts 1 and 2 at getting a vein to get me into lala land.

Bloody gauze tastes icky.

Okay, I'm off to eat yogurt and take a nap.