Catch up

I've been on blogging hiatus. Mostly because when something is truly bugging me, I avoid my blog in order to keep myself from whining on it. I'm still having issues with the management at my job. The charge person on my shift is great, no problems there. We have almost identical schedules, so we probably work together more than any other two people on our shift and we have a good repore and work well together. I don't have authority issues, and I think I take direction pretty well, but when someone dictates to me that I have plenty of time to add this that and the other thing to my duties, and I try to explain to that person that what is being asked while not impossible will require back up from the other 2 shifts, and said person cuts me off without letting me finish a sentence, I get a little irked. Disrespect bothers me to no end. I may be the new person, but this woman has been absent for most of my tenure at my job, so to shut me down like I'm lazy and looking for an out was almost it for me. Good thing the economy sucks, or I might have walked away. Said person is the supervisor for my building and I think she has lost touch with reality, and what it is like to be in our (the human services assitants) shoes. Then there is our area supervisor. She is the one who does the interviewing and hiring, and does the schedules, approves leave and what not. She has said out loud that she will not be approving any leave for third shift for the foreseeable future. It's not like we are all asking for blocks of long term leave here, we just want to take our holiday comp time. One day here and there. If you aren't going to give me comp time, then pay me double time for working on a holiday. Scratch that, EVERY holiday since November. I'm living up to my end of the bargain as far as what is expected of me in my employment, they need to live up to theirs. Ok, and this is nit picky, but neither one of these people can write out a coherent sentence. No, I mean it, every time I have to read something either one of them has written, I have to go over 3 or 4 times. I don't have a full college education, but I learned most of my writing skills in highschool, and that is a requirement for any position held at the center.
In other news.....
Wes had a birthday on January 11th. Here's his "cake":

He wanted brownies instead of a cake.


Also, the kids got their report cards and both did really well. Mackenzie came home with all A's and perfect attendance. Joey once again missed two A's by one point each, but I'm still proud. Mackenzie's school has started an after school sports program for A/B honor roll students. It's very intense: kick ball and cheerleading. She did cheerleading last trimester, so she is trying kick ball this time. Joey wants to play baseball for his school this spring. He's looking forward to that starting in a couple months. For now we're braving the cold weather we've been having, but have so far warded off the snow. Thank goodness for small favors! Joel continues to do his own thing. He sleeps in, even though I wake him up most mornings to drive Joey to school, wakes me up for breakfast, then passes his time on nick.com or playing the Wii until his brother and sister get home and he can go outside.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my new recipes. The kids weren't big fans, but then again, they cringe at anything new. Wes and I loved it, and Joey said it was "pretty" good. I also did tuna melts the other day, but didn't have batteries for my camera yet, so next time. I put a little too much chicken, so it was more stew than soup. I had been multi tasking (really this time!) and had asked Wes to cube up the chicken for me. I swear I said it was too much for the soup and that we could save half for later, but he must have missed that. Oh well, it was super yummy anyway.

Is it all just a hoax?

My kids had an extended holiday weekend, today was a teacher work day. Ok, but at about 1pm, I got an automated call from Joey's school saying that school was letting out 2 hours early today due to impending inclement weather (it MIGHT snow). Um, wasn't there no school today? But, there are 30 kids running around outside, so now. So lets talk about this snow thing. First of all, the traditional snow panic is in effect. Everyone is lining up at the store for milk, bread, and batteries. I've seen about 5 snowflakes so far. It may still hit some time overnight, just in time for me to drive home in, yay! I'm not worried about driving myself, but all the other crazies out on the road have me worried. Then again, it may do absolutely nothing. Either way, it's extremely cold out there. Can I call out sick?

I used to....

There was a time before I was a single mom that I did meal planning, and was a much more careful shopper. I was pretty good at it. Well, I'm taking a page from Rachel's book and starting to do that again. I've started with ivillage.com. I've gone there before for many different things. They have messages boards for just about every woman's issue/concern/interest you can think of. So now I'm going to them for recipe ideas. I'm a decent cook, but I don't enjoy cooking. I like it when I can pull something off that's a hit with everyone, but I never expect it. And I certainly am no good at coming up with new ideas. If it were left up to me we'd have spaghetti, sloppy joes, grilled chicken, and grilled pork chops with the occasional steak thrown in over and over. But I'm making a new effort! And I figure by posting it, Rachel and I and anyone else that wants to join in my new resolve can help each other out, share cool recipes we've found. Kind of like a work out buddy, but we're we aren't professional chefs but still need variety buddies. At least I hope, lol.

I did it!

See? I did it! Thanks Rachel for the offer, I didn't want to bother you with a house full of sick kids, so I gave it one more try on my own. If this hadn't worked, then I was gonna bother you. Thanks so much for the offer though!

Memories part 3

Here is a crowd pleaser! How many hours did I waste sitting in a Denny's drinking a Coke? And eating mozzarella sticks? And trying to develop a taste for coffee (wasn't gonna happen). It was the meeting point, the hangout, the round up at the end of the night. And sometimes even the hideout. Or just the place to sit and laugh about the night's adverntures (like tp'ing someone's house....), or the place to go when you've been on a plane for several hours and your friends tagged along with your parents to meet you at the airport and you're pregnant and starving. I miss Denny's, we don't have any out here, but we do have Waffle House. Not quite the same, but still a good place to go at the end of the night.

I feel like an idiot

Ok, feeling like an idiot isn't new for me. Happens quite often actually. But, I've been trying to change my blog background and no matter how carefully I follow the directions, I just can't do it. I mean, obviously I changed it, but that's because I went with one of blogger's templates. I want a cool, colorful, fun to look at background and I just can't seem to get it right. The thing is, I kind of "get" html and its purpose and what not. I don't "speak" it, but I get it. I understand what is being asked of me when I'm changing it, but everytime I click save, then view, what I get is no where near what I was going for. Now my head hurts. I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow.

Tagged by Melanie... 29 random things about me

1. I love Abba music
2. I can be extremely moody. By moody I don't mena bitchy (which, that can be one of my moods) but that my mood can change at the drop of a hat.
3. I've lived in 3 different countries, 4 states, 10 towns, and 12 different houses.
4. I still have the stuffed animal my grandma gave me when I was a baby.
5. I love to dance around my living room when no one is watching.
6. I'm addicted to Coke.
7. I hate coffee.
8. I'm a slob but...
9. My drawers and closets and cupboards HAVE to be organized or I go nuts.
10. I'm very obsessive about how my laundry gets done, and how its folded and put away (see #9).
11. I know a smattering of 4 different languages (besides English), but couldn't carry on a conversation in any of them.
12. I put almost everything off to the last possible second.
13. I don't ski, I don't rock climb, and I'm not a big fan of snow but...
14. I miss the mountains.
15. I feel totally superior that in the midst of all the Twilight craze I can say that not only do I know where Forks is, I've been there...more than once.
16. I like the work I do at my job, but I'm becoming disillusioned with the management at my job.
17. I've held 13 different jobs since I turned 18.
18. Someone recently told me I'm artistic, but I couldn't disagree more.
19. I'm addicted to solitare, I even downloaded it to my phone.
20. I'm a master at procrastination.
21. I really hate shopping at Wal Mart
22. I LOVE Target, but have to shop at Wal Mart these days.
23. I'm looking more forward to the Daytona 500 than the Super Bowl.
24. I'm terrified by the fact that as of July 31st I will be the mother of a teenager.
25. I have a serious weakness for chocolate - of any kind.
26. I haven't checked my email in over a month.
27. I used to be able to nap on demand, but can't now that I could really use it.
28. The one thing I was always good at in school was spelling.
29. I think math is evil.
Ok, so I tag Rachel, Amy (that's 2 now), and we'll see if we can rouse Danielle.

Creeque Alley

I got tagged by Rachel so here it is.
Let's see what your music has to say about you...
Here are the rules:
1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS
1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? Welcome Me - Indigo Girls
2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? Fatihfully - Journey
3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Treat Me Right - Pat Benetar
4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? Happy New Year - Abba
5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? You an Me of the 10,000 Wars - Indigo Girls
6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? Janie's Got a Gun - Aerosmith
7) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? It's the End of the World - REM
8) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen
9) WHAT IS 2+2? Get a Job - The Silhouettes
10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? On and On and On - Abba
11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
12) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? WHeel in the Sky - Journey
13) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Buttons - The Pussycat Dolls
14) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys - Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
15) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You - Heart
16) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? Armageddon It - Def Leppard
17) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Our Last Summer - Abba
18) WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? California Dreamin' - The Mama's and the Papa's
19) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? Rocket - Def Leppard
20) WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? Crazy - Patsy Cline
21) HOW WILL YOU DIE? Lights - Journey
22) WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET? Material Girl - Madonna
23) WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? Dog & Butterfly - Heart
24) WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? You Really Got Me - The Kinks
25) WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? Picture - Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow
26) WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
27) DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU? Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
28) IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? Magic - Olivia Newton-John
29) WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? Tainted Love - Soft Cell
30) WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS NOTE AS? Creeque Alley - The Mama's & The Papa's I am tagging: 1) Amy 2) Melanie 3) Brittany
Don't worry, I'm posting this on Facebook as well

A lesson learned

So a couple of days ago, one of these was in front of my house. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
I believe it was last Friday. I was in the garage when Joey comes up to me and tells me there is a fire in the woods behind my house. At first I'm thinking, a bunch of tween boys, one of them thought they'd try a camp fire that got out of hand. I turned the corner of the house, and oh boy had it got out of hand! Some of Joey's friends had tried putting it out. I'm yelling for them to get out of the woods, and knowing most of them have cell phones, asked if anyone had called 911. They hadn't, but as I was headed inside to call myself, here comes the fire truck. Apparantly most of the neighborhood had seen the smoke. Where had I been? I hadn't seen a thing and it was directly behind MY house!
A fire extinguisher wasn't enough, so they actually had to pull out a hose. Thankfully it only took about 30 minutes for them to declare that it was out and they were leaving. They didn't investigate or anything. I think they assumed that the bunch of kids standing around had done it.
Here's my problem, 2 days earlier it had been super windy, and it has been pretty dry lately. If it had been then that this fire had been started, we're talking houses here.
One of the older teenage girls in the neighborhood asked around and the concensus was that it was a boy that does not hang out with Joey's crowd that had been back there. So, the lesson for that day was 1) if there is a fire in the woods, quit trying to put it out and call the professionals, and 2) if you see this kid anywhere near my house again, I am to be informed immediately.
Wes had been working late that day so he missed the excitement and thought I was messing with him when I texted him to tell him the fire department was here. Until I sent him the picture.

Memories part 2

Mine was blue, but here she is, my not always trusty, kinda rusty (not really) little highschool car.
Being a priveleaged teen with her own car came with some obligations. Like saving as many friends as I could from riding the bus to school. Or being soley in charge of getting everyone including me home before curfew.
It had a suprising load capacity. I'm pretty sure I exceeded the human capacity more than once. And I used to load useful things to, like my trunk when I worked at camp one summer.
Say what you want about the old girl, but chances are, if you knew me back in highschool, she was your ride home at least once!