Search This Blog

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Ok, I think things are settled down now

It took me about a week to recover from that trip to AL. As soon as the following Monday rolled around I hit the ground running trying to get my youngest child registered into a new school. Fun? No. Educational? Somewhat. I learned a new kind of patience and I'm still getting lessons on it.

So what's new? I haven't actually talked to the child that I left in AL for a couple of days but she has a Facebook page so I know that she's okay. The youngest child has accepted that she is definitely, without any question going to the school I'm working so hard to get her in whether she believes it will be good for her or not. I will not accept underachievement from her. It's a good school, nothing like the last couple of schools she came from and I don't believe I will have to worry about her safety (as much...kids seem to have gone loco these days). My oldest child will be returning from CA...yes, that's an intended pause. LOL

I had gotten used to the idea of having just two of us in the house. That meant that once she graduated and I shipped her off to college then I would be in the house by myself. That was a pretty sweet outlook for me. Still young, no kids in the house, possibly more traveling in my future to see my friends who still have young kids and can't travel as well. Yeah, that was my dream. So my oldest child coming back changed the picture somewhat.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love all of my children and I want them all to be with me if that means they will be happy and safe. To be truthful, I was more worried about her not being with me probably because I couldn't really see where she was progressing. I want to see and hear about progress, I think all parents do once their children are out of the home. And if those children come back you still don't expect it to be permanent. I, expect that I will help to guide her into becoming more independent, self-sufficient and she will want to leave and explore the world like I wanted to when I was her age. I loved my mom but I did not want to be with her any longer than I had to (around 19 I was ready to go).

So this event will also change how their bedroom will be set up. The middle girl shared a room with me. I don't know why or how that happened but I'm grown now and I would like my own room. LOL I've been sharing rooms with people since I was born, from the cradle to sharing a room with my sister up until she had her firstborn and not too soon after that I had mine and then I was sharing a room with a husband and a baby. I'm not saying I want to be alone right now, I just want my own space. I'm screaming ME! ME! ME! So my mission is to purchase or somehow get a bunk bed to place into their room. They are teenagers and I'm sure they don't want to sleep together anymore than I do.

Other than this, my next objective is to get my laptop fixed. It crashed on me, I don't know if any of the docs I had on it can be recovered and that sucks for me in so many ways. I'll have to rebuild my spreadsheets and my calendar. I'm thinking I backed up my stories and pictures to my flash drive and some CD's so hopefully I'm safe there. But this should be a lesson to me to back up every time I make changes instead of every once in a while like I had been. It also means that I have to spend more time at the library, maybe having to wait for a computer if I don't get there early enough.

I don't really have the money for the repairs right now. I'm getting rent, lights and misc. together before I get kicked out or my stuff gets repossessed/shut off. I do know, however, that the Lord has my back so I'm not worried about it, it's just something I have to do on a monthly basis. I'm thankful to have creditors who are willing to work with me and let me make partial payments. I'm trying hard to clean up the mess that is my credit after years of neglect. After all, if I'm gonna be doing all this traveling I'm dreaming about, I can't be worried about if I'll have a place to come back to or a vehicle to drive there in.

So as my friend Percy likes to say at the end of a conversation, Peace and Blessings...yes, I want them both please. ;-)

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Good Morning Sunshines


Yeah, right. None of my kids are that right now (sunshiny that is). As a matter of fact, I doubt that any of them noticed I was awake even though I was talking to them. They are zonked out in bed as I sit here at the dining room table thinking about all the stuff that needs to be done. Anyways, I found this cute little plate at a thrift store for a dollar and couldn't resist buying it. I know just where I'll put it once I get it home.

First thing I have to take care of once I get into my vehicle is my tire. Yep, that same pesky tire that refuses to stay inflated so I'll be going into town to see if I can get that fixed up or just replaced. I'll have them check the other tires as well while I'm out there. I have to go to the post office. I'm still washing clothes. If I feel up to it we'll go and see if my daughter's room mate is in the dorm. No since in her bringing a ton of stuff to the dorm (appliances) if her roomie has them already and is willing to share. And if she doesn't then I'll be willing to lug those things into my van and take them. But the plan is not to move anything in until Friday morning. Today we hunt and gather and conserve both my fuel and energy from having to run around.

I'm going to attempt to make me some oatmeal for breakfast and maybe also eat some fruit. I'm really beginning to miss my coffee pot back home. Coffee is about 2-3 miles down the road and it's McDonald's coffee...I'm not impressed or desperate enough for caffiene to go there right now. I'll get some later if I can't take it any longer. Ohhhh, how I miss my Dunkin Donuts. My GPS showed a DD on the grid but when I called the number it was disconnected and my cousin confirmed for me that they had closed down. What kind of mad mad world is this?

Well, I'm outta here for a while. Time to get my list going, I also have some phone calls to make. My not so favorite thing to do in life, not for business anyway. ;-p


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Well, That Part Is Over With


I woke up this morning (barely moving) and prepared myself mentally for the long lines I knew me and my daughter would have to stand in to get her registered for classes. In the end, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but the process was tiring and so I'm glad to be able to sit still for a moment and just relax. The balance for her education (1st year) is $2636.00 that can be paid in eight installments between now and June of next year.

I'm excited for her. I didn't get the chance to go out-of-state for school, I was too busy tending to children and being a wife. She's going to major in Biology (wants to be a doctor) and I'm sure she's going to excel in everything she does. I can't wait to see that degree and even more I can't wait until she reaches her goal and she has the title she seeks.

It hasn't all hit me because we haven't moved her into her dorm room yet. I'm sure that as I'm putting into place the last item we bring in for her room and I give her that last hug that my eyes will get all misty. She's spent plenty of weekends away from home, she's even gone on some trips that may have lasted a couple of weeks and I know I'll see her this winter for the holidays but there's something to be said about leaving your child at a learning institution for months on end. Especially these days when so much seems to be happening and she's the first one to go off to school too so it's a whole new experience for me.

So now I'll have three in another state and one that I have to hurry up and get registered for school when I get back home. Even that should be interesting seeing as how I'm sure they didn't send all her records over from her last school. I used to count down the years when they would all be out of high school and I would be free to travel. Of course, when I dreamt that, I was beautiful, rich and in love. In order for it to come true now I'd have to find me some money. ;-p

Monday, August 10, 2009

So far, so good.

Well my trip to Alabama has been quite wonderful, despite my broken A/C in the van. In 90+ degree weather we survived the stop & go of construction on the highways and we made it in good time. It seemed like I wouldn't be able to get much done, as far as registering my daughter for school but even that moved more smoothly than I initial believed it could. But tomorrow will be the real test of my patience as we move from line to line to get her classes picked out and get her, hopefully, moved into her dorm room.

Today we did some shopping at a few thrift stores and just like in any store where I have to try on clothing, it was very interesting but I did get a couple of outfits and some shoes. I'm not a shopper so I saw the task as something to be dreaded, but unfortunately, the clothes I brought with me are not adequate for this kind of weather. I'm used to the cooler MI weather, even when it had gotten hot it wasn't like this so I needed something "cooler".

We also had lunch chinese food at a nice buffet and after all the shopping and errand running we went for a swim before the rain came. My cousin cooked a delicious dinner (I love my family, they can cook...LOL) and in a few moments I will check out some info on the web, gather my children to me and then we will head back to my other cousin's house where we are staying for the duration of our trip to get ready for bed.

It's been a full day and I'm satisfied.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Preparing for the Road Ahead

First it was a chore to wake up this morning. I'm not sure why but for the past four or five days I've felt like I was glued to my bed and trying to get out of it has been extremely hard. But that wasn't the teeth gritting part of my day.

I woke up to a flat tire. Yeah, I was not happy about that seeing as how I just got that tire replaced. It only leads me to believe that they guy who changed the tire was totally inept at his job. I mean, he had to keep getting another guy to help him and when I pulled off from the shop, I was about a mile away when the indicator came on that the tires needed more air. I was thinking to myself, didn't he even know how much air to put in the tires? Arrgghhh! I think my teenage daughters could have done a better job and they've never changed a tire a day in their lives. So anyway, I woke up with the flat. I live too far to go back where I got the tire from and my funds are dedicated to another purpose so I had to figure something out. I called my bank and found out I had more funds that I previously thought so I was okay. I had the feeling that things were still working for the better good and so I wasn't tripping out about it.

I walked to the nearest gas station and bought some Fix-A-Flat. After I put that in the tire I drove the van to another gas station a little farther away. You see, when you use that stuff you have to drive the car for a couple of miles so that the liquid can spread evenly within the tire and then you add more air to it. So that's what I did. I filled up my gas tank and headed back home to pick up my daughter.

An hour later, maybe a little more, we head out to take care of some more business and my car won't start because the battery had run down. Wha...well that was a bit much at the moment and I said some things I probably shouldn't have said but really I was totally and utterly shocked by this occurrence. Up until that point I was positive, no matter what but that tripped me up and all I could do was walk around the car in disbelief. Here it is, three days until I have to make a road trip and my vehicle is seemingly rebelling against the idea. I made sure I had tires, I had my oil and other fluids checked, my belts are fine and so I thought my battery was ok and then that? Wow. In the end I had to assess that it was better to have all these problems at home rather than on the road.

So we see a neighbor and my daughter asks if he could give us a jump. Good thing I have cables. He does and we went on our way. Vehicle didn't have a problem starting at any of the other places I stopped at today and my tire pressure was holding steady. Tomorrow I'll take it to my TRUSTED mechanic and have him give me a once over, tires and all. I'll never go the cheaper route again, I don't want any more surprises. I also need to finish my list so that I can make sure I don't leave anything that I might need. I sure do miss the old days when I was just a passenger riding in the vehicle and not the one having to plan the trip. Now I remember why I don't do road trips that much anymore.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Call Me, But Do It Before Midnight


It's 11:31 p.m., I could take my sleep meds right now and still be on schedule. The deal is that I go into the sleep clinic every once in a while to get hooked up with fifty million wires so they can monitor my brain wave patterns as I sleep and when I wake. While there I take my meds at 11:30 p.m. and then its lights out at midnight. It was determined that, on average, I go to bed around midnight or shortly thereafter. And so I try to follow that pattern as closely as possible when I'm at home. If I decide to go to bed at 10 p.m. then I could also take the meds a half hour before, but the trick is to take them everyday when I know that I can get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. I missed last night because of the brownies.

I think it might also help if people stopped calling me at night. I guess that would be easier for them to understand if I didn't answer the phone but when my children call from the west coast, if I'm awake it's only right for me to answer the phone and see what they want. I'm always curious though when someone local calls me. My mind thinks the worst at first, like someone got hurt, there's an emergency and I need to get dressed and rush down to the hospital. I'm usually relieved to find that nothing is wrong. On the other hand, they knew I was awake so they wanted to catch me before I went to sleep. They need to find out what my schedule for the next day is because it fills up fast, even when I have nothing planned.

There was a study that revealed people retained more of the information they learned if they took a nap afterwards. Well, that's not the case with me, I'll still forget whatever it was I was told. Half the time I look at my caller ID, call that person and ask them what we talked about. Anyhow, it's now five minutes to midnight. I just got off the phone with my oldest child who needed information from me. This information would require me to go to my files, which are in the other room and dig through things to find what they needed. One, it's too late at night for me to care. Two, it's not urgent enough for me to stress myself out trying to find said information. Three, I don't want to do it anyway so my motivation is nil.

It's time for me to turn off the radio now. Lionel Richie is singing to me, telling me how close he wants to be to me...he wants me to take his hand. ;-) Time for me to take my dinner plate and rinse it off. Brush my teeth, take the pill I should have taken 30 minutes ago and climb into bed. If anyone calls I won't be quick to answer. I'm sleeping or trying to people. Help me out.


Girls with Hair & Me...Oh my!





Today started out okay, seeing as how I didn't go to bed until some time after 4 a.m. I woke the kids one by one, starting with the one who is the hardest to get moving. There was a kid in every room. Showers were taken, teeth brushed, and clothes put on. Things were going smoothly until it was time for the girls to do their hair. I always groan when it comes to that part.

Not only does it take forever for them to decide what style to wear their hair in, often the chaos of those decisions are evidenced by the things left behind. My bathroom sink, which really can only hold the toothbrush holder, the rinse cup and the liquid soap dispenser, is often overrun with hair care products. Spritz, oil sheen, combs, brushes, rubber bands, head bands and any other number of things that perch precariously on the edge of the counter. Things that can't find any available space on the counter might end up on the floor next to the sink or bath tub. Did I mention that my apartment is very small? My bathroom accommodates two people very uncomfortably, unless that other person is standing in the bathtub.

If only it would end there...the hair things spills from the bathroom and ends up in my room, their room, the living room and EEK!, the dining area. Ugh. That sends me on a rampage of the major league kind. But do they care? Heck no, all I get are looks, sighs and the response of "Mom, I'm gonna get it, just chill." My once clean and somewhat tidy apartment then looks as if it were invaded by aliens disguised as hair care products bottles, can, jars and whatnot's (my own version of Decepticons). It takes a while before I can unclench my jaw as I try to take deep breaths through my teeth. They call it OCD, I call it keeping stuff contained to one area, and especially out of areas where people eat.

So anyway, after all of that and them picking up after themselves ever so enthusiastically, we got out of the house 15 minutes later than we needed to be. I tried my best not to drive down the highway like a mad woman because I talk about drivers like that. I'm doing my best not to be the kind of driving I rag on. We make it to the appointment 6 minutes late and once I kick everyone out of my vehicle at the door, then go park, I can finally breathe normally.

Can you believe after all of that they still didn't finish what they had planned to do for their hairstyles? When we get back to my place they intend to break out the curling irons, flat irons, straightening combs and all the things I had fussed about before. I think I will take that opportunity to take a walk with my nephew. We can go to the local library or park. Anywhere, as long as there aren't any girls there doing hair.

Still Awake...Not good.


I figured I'd be asleep by now. I had no intentions on being up at this hour and yet here I am. But I'm determined that I won't see the sun rise. Like a vampire, it's not a welcome sight. ;-p

I couldn't take my sleep meds because I ate like, five brownies that my daughter made for dessert. I don't usually do chocolate but I do have a weakness for brownies. It's a good thing they didn't have nuts in them because I probably would have eaten half the pan. I can't even say this is insomnia at this point. I really believe that I'm choc full of caffiene and who can I blame? Only myself, because had I not messed around earlier, I would have had a nice cup of decaf and that would have quelched any desire to eat the brownies; or so that's what I'm telling myself.

So here I go. I'm going to drink a little water and go lie down for about what, five or six hours? Even without an alarm I'm going to wake up a few minutes before 8 a.m., so that's about right. It's a good thing my first appointment for the day isn't until 2 p.m., I can't imagine having to drag my sorry behind out of the house before noon at this rate.

I have started yawning in the past ten minutes so I must be getting sleepy. I read an article that yawning doesn't necessarily mean boredom or being tired. It can also be a sign of arousal. I kid you not. I read it in a magazine, it has to be out there on the net somewhere. I can't really see that in my case though. I mean, I was thinking about someone but for Bob's sake, it's 3:25 a.m. and there's absolutely nothing I can do about seeing that special someone so I'm gonna say I must be excited about going to bed.

Once again, goodnight and pleasant dreams. ;-)


C'mon is it really an addiction if I like it?


I have a pain in my neck and I would suppose that it's from sitting in front of this computer for the past few hours. I got caught up playing a game, then someone starting instant messaging me (that made me fall behind in the game). Then it was time to eat dinner and I got a phone call and then people decided to chat online with me. I guess I could have ignored them, but I was happy to hear from them. I decided to continue playing the game and even gave my uninterested niece and daughters some pointers on how to successfully win at the game. I was so into it that I forgot to make myself coffee before it got too late in the day.

So let's talk about addictions. I don't do drugs although I did enjoy taking my friend Vic Odin for a while when I had hurt myself moving. I'm not an alcoholic, don't particularly care for chocolate or shopping and I'm not a sex addict either. But you have to understand that I really love coffee. When I was younger I couldn't understand why my grandfather would drink it all the time. Morning, noon and night I remember him drinking coffee. Once he gave me a sip and I did not like it at all! Now I can't understand why anyone wouldn't like coffee. If I don't have coffee I feel like something is missing from my life. Doesn't really matter if it's regular or decaf, I love the flavor. I'm a DD fan, Dunkin Donuts baby! Toasted almond with two creams and three sugars is my favorite. Two cups a day is all I need, on those really stressful days, maybe I'll have three.

My real addiction is to a certain FB game (Facebook). I love this particular game, I think of strategies as soon as my mind is clear enough. That's usually after a few sips of coffee in the morning. I can't wait to touch my keyboard and mouse to play it, I check it like a school girl waiting for a phone call from a boy she has a crush on. Some of the language I use when I find out that my butt has been kicked is very similar to the language I use when I'm on the road and some idiot driver does something that makes me wonder how they even got a license. I've been given "the look" several times by both friends and family when I mention the game. I was thrilled to find out I could follow it on Twitter and I actually look forward to decimating as many players as I can. I have a Napoleon complex in this game, doesn't matter how big you are, I'll still pick a fight with you.

My confession, if you can call it that because its no secret to those who really know me, is that I've even convinced my children to sign up so that they can help me. I harass my family and friends to join my group online so that I can gain more money and move up levels. (I'm under M Kristen Troy, if you want to look me up and add me as a friend...put VC in the request and I'll send you an invite for the game.) I've even asked friends of theirs to join me, it never hurts to ask, right? I suppose I ought to be ashamed of myself but I figure its better than drinking and not as bad for my health. Maybe a little harsh on my eyes but that's why I turned down the brightness on my screen and my bifocals work just fine when I wear them.

Well folks, it's past my bedtime now. I have appointments in the afternoon, I have three teenage girls and one 8 year old boy that I have to contend with in the morning. Seeing as how I can't seem to drag myself out of bed before 9 a.m., it'll be fun trying to get them up and at 'em. My insomnia seems to have eased up, I don't stay awake until the sun rises anymore, but I still wake up two or three times during the night and wake up a few minutes before 8. I have family and friends that like to call or text me first thing in the morning and I have to keep reminding them that I'm not really coherent so any questions or answers I may have or give will be subject to review.

So that's my post for this evening. I'll try to do better tomorrow. Goodnight and pleasant dreams.