All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

As soon as Chris' bus picked him up Even and I were off to Salida so I could start work at WyoCowgirl. After tearing myself away from him at the sitter (he's with a stranger! Ack!) I tracked down Kersten's place. It was actually a fairly pleasant afternoon. I spent my time adding new customers and orders to QUickBooks, so pretty mindless stuff. The hardest things were getting the hang of her freaky iMac mouse and learning the merchandise. Tomorrow I'm supposed to pack and ship stuff, and I'm interested to see everything. I really enjoy it there so far, Kersten seems real nice. If she was able to grow fairly quick and add to my hours, I'd be very interested in sticking around for a good long while.
Home again for a quick dinner with the boys then off to Yolanda's for her PH party. We had 7 people there and only 4 orders for $150 sales. I can't say I'm not disappointed. For once my presentation seemed perfect, was only 30 minutes, and everyone seemed excited and interested. Normally I can pick something that should've gone better, but this time I thought I'd done everything right. Hopefully Yolanda will find some orders tomorrow or Friday, and I'm going to make some calls tomorrow. I really want to at least get her her margarita glasses, which she can have for free if we hit $200. She also likes the fantasia tumblers, so that'd be a plus.
Was I supposed to exercise tonight? Whoops! I got chatting with some guy from HoN while I checked my mail and just lost interest. Though I feel guilty, I don't feel quite guilty enough to get off my lazy arse and push play. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll do S&6P or something. No really major dizzy spells today, but I had that constant dull pain in my head. Doc Gibb thinks me coming in is easier than catching me on the phone. Suppose he'll pick up the copay?

A day late and several dollars short

Well, we're back tracking here. I haven't found the time in a couple days to sit down and "blog". Wow, is that a verb now? It's freaky what the English language does! And what technology makes it do ;o)
So Monday was the first day of school, not something I expected to be emotional. Ack! We took Aerrik to school around 8ish and bought him lunch tickets (go me), then found his classroom halfway down the *big kid* hall. His teacher was all smiles but didn't have much to say to the parents coming in. She seems nice though, and I've heard great things about her. There's a 4th grade mtg next Tuesday, so I'm hoping to talk with her more then. Aerrik had some trouble following directions as to how to get his desk settled, but it was easier to roll my eyes and leave then to keep telling him to read the board and follow directions. He's Mrs. Enck's problem now from 8-3! haha Chris didn't start until 12, so we stopped in to get him a haircut at 11:30. Rita wasn't working, but I was desperate, and Shannon didn't butcher his head this time so that worked out well. He was the coolest looking kindergartener there, if I do say so myself ;o) When we got into his class, he ditched his bag and headed straight for the Legos, no attachment problems here! I think it was Miss Hutchinson's first day of kindergarten too, because she looked more nervous than most of her students. I felt the need to hang out so I stayed 10 minutes or so and made friends with some of the kids. Larry will be the noisy one and Riley is shy, this is what I know so far. I was surprised to find that I didn't want to leave, but I did. I've set my little one loose on the world! I was so excited when they came home that I ran outside to meet the bus! When asked how they're day was, Aerrik was all chatty, but Chris said it was boring. He did like recess though ;o) He brought home a copy of the alphabet and grabbed a piece of paper so he could copy his letters. Now Aerrik has an awesome homework system, and it's really going to help him keep his assignments straight. All the kids got 3 ring binders. In there is a homework scheduler, which I initial each night and it goes towards his social studies grade. I have to initial his reading calendar when he reads 20 minutes a night and that goes to his reading grade. He has mad minutes that we correct and send back, and that's for his math grade. I like how involved she expects parents to be and how organized they're teaching the kids to be. It's working out really well so far :o) Oh, and he also has a calendar that gets colored in each day to show his behavior. Two green days so far!
Work on Monday was *interesting* Tisha was being super bitch and had apparently decided she ruled the world. Well good for me, I was in a bitchy mood too. I don't know if she rubbed off or I just didn't like a 16 yo trying to control me, but we were at each other's throats all night. Well that backfired a bit (which I knew it would, even while it was happening). Mike and Joyce were tres unhappy and had a sit down with Trisha and I separately. One of those be nice or you will no longer have a job talks. I made it out alive at least. Plus before Mike talked to me, Trisha pulled me aside and we apologized to each other and patched things up. Last night was a ton better and we all talked a lot and made sure everyone had the help they needed. We were so sweet to each other it was sickening, but we're on the right track ;o) One other issue Mike had with me was that I'd left work early Monday, leaving Nick to finish close. It was 9:25 when I left and they were just finishing mopping. Well everyone said I left at 9:10, so that caused all kinds of problems. My word against the three of them (Brooke, Nick, and Trisha). But I still have a job ;o)
So why, you may ask, did I leave early from work on Monday? Well around 8:30, I had such a horrible wave of dizziness sweep over me that I almost fell over, followed by an absolutely HIDEOUS headache. I kept getting waves of dizziness every couple minutes, some so bad I had to lean on something for support, and that headache wasn't calming down. Well frankly, I freaked out. I hadn't had a bad spell in many days, so I figured the infection or whatever is causing this was going away. So I left early and even called Russ to help me focus on the way home. I went straight to bed but that headache and just worry kept me awake for a while. Then when I finally did fall asleep Russ went on a fly killing bash (but that's a whole 'nuther gripe). I called Doc Gibb yesterday to review what Mr. Bill had told me, but he didn't call until I was at work and Aerrik took the message. Russ was supposed to tell him to call me at work, but Aerrik didn't know. I'm going to call him again today and leave my cell # too. Yesterday I had a constant though not bad pain in one spot in my head, it's still there ein fact, and only occasional mild dizzy spells. But I did drop a few things last night, which bothered me. I don't know if I was being clumsy or it was a symptom.
On a baby note, Even is making progress on his mobility attempts. He can now roll himself to a goal haha Every now and then he scoots a knee under himself, but never goes anywhere that way. This morning he scooted backwards on his belly using his arms. Also, he holds his arms out consistently when he wants picked up now :o)
I am proud to say that after work last night I popped in SIU. My muscles wanted to move SO bad so I got going! And it felt so good! Today I'll be moving up to RIU, and I'm excited to see how I do. SIU was already bringing on quite a sweat!
Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans/Mississippi on Monday. I've been checking out the pictures on CNN, the destruction is just amazing. It's kind of morbid, but the pics of the streets filled with water and the destroyed houses are fascinating. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY feel for all the people affected, but how often do we see stuff like this? Gas prices are skyrocketing since we get 1/4 of our oil from that area, and NO is under water, 20 feet in some places as Lake Ponchetrain empties into the city. The Mississippi coast was completely destroyed, that as such a gorgeous area when we drove it 5 years ago. I loved the mansions on the gulf highway, even dreamed about maybe having one someday. And now those house are literally gone. Wow.
Today I start my job with WyoCowgirl. I need to remember to call her and tell her what time I'll be there. The bus picks Chris up later than I'd expected and I still need to drop Even at the babysitter. Hopefully she won't mind too much, and if so we'll just make different arrangements in the future.
On a crawdad note, Monster Crawdad and Phillip were getting it on this morning, so someday we may have babies. According to Gage's site, the colder the water, the slower the gestation, and the water isn't heated at all. But this post should help me keep track.

Why am I still awake?

It's 10:15 but I figured I'd throw this post in since I'm awake and online. Need to hurry to bed though, tomorrow is the first day of school and Aerrik wants me to drive him. I'm so happy because last year he took the bus the first day. I'm also hoping to squeeze in a haircut for Chris before he goes to school at noon. Then just me and baby for 4 hours! Aw sweet bliss of non-argument!!!
Today was pretty non-eventful, just work. Brett and Trisha were getting into it because she was stressing on grill when we got busy and he wasn't helping, probably because he was busy too, but we all live in our own worlds during a rush. Well I told Nick someone needed to be removed, so he suggested I kick Trisha off grill. Well I went over and took her by the shoulders and said Smile and breathe! Then I explained that she was starting to upset people and she needed to calm down. She quickly explained that Brett wasn't helping. So I said well we need to fix this quick, I'm happy to help you or I can do grill and you can help me. I wanted to make sure I wasn't ordering her around or anything. Well she happily shoved the spatula at me and we had everything caught up very quickly. Brett was pissy the rest of the day though since he got knocked to ice cream. Then the two of them took an hour and a half to wash dishes, so me and Nick wasted about 30 minutes waiting on them since we couldn't really help. But that's it, I'll never complain about dishes again because they take me 45 minutes!
Russ got all pissy tonight. It's a good thing he's not a violent guy because he sure has a short temper! We argued about my finances and that trailer, even though I haven't even seen it or decided if I wanted it, I just mentioned it to him. Well he took off for a bit and came back being pissy still, but we argued for a few then talked calmly, and we ended up going over numbers and jobs and such together. I didn't really get any good advice, but now he knows what's going on with me and I have a different perspective to look at things with. Now I just need to figure out what to do. I'd be betting on a lot of ifs between work, hours, and pay if I did move out, and not sure if I would hold out past October. Think I'll sleep on it.
I really need to get another letter off to Gene, even though I'm still waiting on his. I promised to write down everything with Becky, but haven't gotten to it yet. It's been bothering me lately, so it must be time.
On a health note, I did SIU tonight, yay me!!! I sweated hard and was mega tired when done, but I did it all! I'll figure out my starting stats tomorrow so I can post them to the group. As far as chocolate goes, oops! hehe. Nothing too bad, just a couple little chocolate chips in some cookie dough ice cream. But I definitely had WAY too much IC today! Gotta stop that :oP

Who the hell invented 4AM?????

Yesterday we did indeed wake up at 4am. Well, okay, it was more like 4:15, but why pick nits when it's that ridiculously early? The boys woke up surprisingly well and since they were making noise, the baby woke up with a smile on his face. We got out of the house at the appointed time but were still late for the balloon. This was the 6th annual Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival and dad says it gets bigger every year. We were in the line to get into the reservoir for a good 45 minutes. Luckily we could see all the balloons from right there though :o) The drivers were definitely stupid, there were people cruising up the other lane, then waiting for someone to let them in near the front. They got so aggressive they were actually forcing people into the median if they weren't let in. Dad's big Expedition nearly took off a lady's mirror, but she was out of her lane so I don't have a lot of sympathy for her. Anyway, the festival itself was neat, the balloons are so much prettier in person than just in pictures. We walked around and the kids collected a few cards, and dad got them each a blow-up balloon toy like last year. I got a flag for the window of my car, one of those that clips on to the window. It used to be such a big thing and now you never see them, but I've wanted one a long time to show my support for the troops around the world. In fact I think I'm going to start my own Any Soldier section on my site to connect soldiers with penpals.
I was able to sleep a little in the car on the way back to Dad's, but still opted out of going to pick up his new car in Ft. Collins. The logic was that if he took Aerrik and Chris, I could get some sleep when Even napped. This didn't work out as well as it could've since the baby didn't nap much, but I got maybe an hour of broken sleep, part of it while the baby played on the floor and watched Sponge Bob. The boys were gone for 3 or 4 hours and dad came home with a 2003 Nissan Altima. He misses how big his old car was, but he won't miss the gas bills since he was paying about $18 a day to get back and forth to work.
We left not too long after that. I would've liked to stay longer, but it was almost 4 and I have to work at noon today, so staying another night wasn't a good idea. We would've had to get up way to early to make it back in time. I'll have to figure out when we can get back down. I was hoping to go down for dad's birthday the 11th since he'll be 50, but he already made plans. I told him to let me know if they fall through. We left in the middle of a huge lightening storm, there was even a strike in a field next to us as we were coming up on the highway. Talk about loud! We got home without incident though, I didn't even get overly tired, so that was good.
Last night we order pizza and watched Weird Al videos (heehee) We also saw Sin City, what a strange movie... It's like a live comic book done in film noir style, bad monologues and all :oP I finished my CA and it came out nice. I even took a pic, so once i get that uploaded I'll send it to the group. I worked on Sarah's afghan, but ran out of yarn for it so I'll need to pick up a couple more skeins when I have the $.
Even was a pain last night, he decided to wake up a couple times, then got up real early this morning. Well I was having none of that so I just let him play on the bed while I went back to sleep. Russ and he are trying to nap right now, and I need to get to work in about an hour. The first day of school is tomorrow and I'm definitely more excited than the kids are about it :oP I need to remember to find all their paperwork when I get back from work today, and I'm taking Aerrik to school in the morning, so I'll have to be awake early.
Oh, on a health note, I was having a lot of dizzy spells again yesterday, but I'm not sure if it was just because of how tired I was, so I'll have to wait and see. I'm also planning on trying Doc Gibb's 555 diet again. So starting this week, no more chocolate. I've done that before with nearly no problem, so I figure it's a good place to start. I really need to start exercising again too. Augh :oP

Little fingers

So here I am at Dad's house, it's been a nice day except that the older boys have still been whiny. No problem though because they're finishing up with their baths and getting to bed early. Of course, this is because we have to get up at 4am, ugh! But we got down here this afternoon and went out to Red Lobster for dinner. We discovered Even likes onions and Aerrik likes lobster. Weird kids :oD
Butterfly, I have two new things to add to my thankful list. While I was driving I looked into my rear view mirror and saw Even's little fingers sticking up in the air. Normally I can't see him at all behind his rear-facing infant seat. It was hard not to stare at those tiny fingers while trying to drive. I'm thankful for baby fingers. Also, I was smelling his sweet hair as we walked through a tire store today, and it just gave me the warm fuzzies. I'm thankful for the smell of baby shampoo and fresh rubber.
I talked to Betsy for a couple minutes via Yahoo tonight. She was eating too much and I gave her some tips about drinking water rather than eating. I should follow my own advice. When you feel like snacking, drink 8 oz of water. If you still feel like your snack, take a bite, then take a big drink of water. Pause, then take another bite and another drink of water. Repeat as necessary. Don't deprive yourself, but make sure you really want/need it.
Well Even needs to go to bed and the boys need their snacks, then we'll call Russ up at the lake and say goodnight. Tomorrow is going to come way too early, but we should have fun. I was hoping to finish my CA tonight, but I don't think I'll get to it, it's already 8:00 and I wanted to get to bed early tonight. Maybe tomorrow :o)

Yay weekend!

Finally a day off! Once I get done checking e-mail and getting my site updated I have a couple quick chores to do, then pack and we're off! I'm excited about the balloon festival, but more excited to see dad since we haven't had much time to visit since I came back up here. I worry about him a lot and I think he really needs the company. It's a shame I can't stay longer, but there's no way I'll make it to work on time Sunday if we don't come home tomorrow afternoon. I want to do something for his 50th birthday, but I'll have to check with him and see if he minds. Maybe Rocky and Katie already have plans with him, and that'd be good.
The boys are already argueing today and I just don't want to deal with it in public, so I think we'll skip the zoo and just go to Dad's. The baby is a little fussy too, but he could be worse so I'm not gonna complain!!!
Russ took off to go fishing for the weekend since he didn't have to work today. The kids wanted to go with him, but wanted to see the balloons too. Since the ballooons are a once a year thing, we made the decision for them.

Another day....

Almost bedtime once more! Yay!!! Who knew a king size bed and a pile of blankets could be so fun? Today I interviewed ((kinda)) with Salida Family Dentistry. Actually, the secretary is screening resumes, then she'll review them with the doc. Then he goes out of town and they'll do real interviews after Labor Day. Well since I start working for Kirsten Wednesday, I'm not ure if I should tell her I might be up for something else or not. Cuz if I don't get it it's a non-issue, and I wouldn't want her to just drop me because of a just in case. I probably won't tell her, but you never know with me...
Work wasn't too bad today. We had a tremendous dinner rush, but all was slow after that. I breezed through dishes by 9:20 by Nick and Trisha and I didn't get out until 9:45. And I'm really tired of being the only one who's willing to scrub toilets. Must just come with changing diapers.
Speaking of diapers, the boys have been driving me nuts! Aerrik and Chris have alternated between bickering, whining, beating each other, and not listening all day long. At least Even was in a good mood all day. He ate his lunch really well and talked and played all day. He didn't nap very well in the afternoon, but then his schedule was thrown off because of the interview. Shoot, I need to start looking for a sitter for him for next week!
I'm excited because we're going to Denver tomorrow for the balloon festival Saturday, I just hope the boys are ready to behave themselves. We're hitting either the zoo or museum tomorrow, I'll let them pick. Membership is a wonderful thing!
Oh, and Marie has a trailer available! She was asking $600 but will give it to me for $500. If I can talk Russ into paying the first month, I can use dad's check for the second and within two months, surely I'll have my finances in control! And it didn't sound like she'd ask me for a deposit since she's known me so long. It's 3 bedroom and right by the park, I'm going to see it on Monday.
Also, the boys had me take them by the cemetary today and I discovered Gerry Delaney died. She must've been 90 or more, so it's about time she joined up with ol' Andy in the here after. :oP

Cinderellie

This is Cinderellie! Last night I was sitting at my computer about 10:30 and heard this loud squeaking. It was driving Bonnie crazy and I finally got up to look for the source. My search led me to the other side of the king bed where a little mouse sat stock still in the open, squeaking. Crystal was about 6 inches away just relaxed and watching the poor little thing, she wasn't even playing with it or getting ready to pounce or anything. I was slightly amused by this sight but I grabbed the glass off an oil lamp and plopped it over the poor thing. Using a not-so-appropriate book as a bottom, I picked up the whole thing and rescued her from the not-so-interested kitty. Well I named her Cinderellie because she reminded my of the song off Cinderella. If there's on thing we have plenty of it's tanks and cages, so she got a comfy spot on the dining room table for the night. This morning she was still shaking and scared, so after discussion with the kiddies I decided to set her free. I imagine Crystal will just bring her home again, but atleast she'll have a little free time. She looked kind of young, and wasn't very skittish when touched, but boy could she jump!!! So this afternoon we had to stop by Poncha Pets and price fuzzy critters, like 4 crawdads, 5 goldfish, a cat and dog aren't enough! Chris wants a rabbit and Aerrik wants a dagu, which looks like a gerbil the size of a rat. I want a dwarf hamster ;o) No money though. But wouldn't you know it, someone in the paper is giving away 2 gerbils complete with cage, food and bedding. Wonder what the catch is? I'm gonna call later tonight and find out more :o)

Good morning world!

So I was reading a lady's blog today and she was complaining about people publishing her crochet patterns and she's getting into litigation etc etc and I thought Hey! Here's a medium where I can say anything I want and no one cares HAHAHA Plus I've been meaning to journal anyway, so why not here? So here I am world! Wahahahahahaha!
~JR~