I have survived!

I have officially finished my semester of post-bac (bring me up to speed) work and will start grad school in Jan. I am FREE (except for work) until Jan. 11!

First, for those of you who don't facebook *cough Mom #1*, here is a recap. If you do facebook, feel free to scroll on down.
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Nov. 21 - 8:26am - I'm off to Keller to watch Cooper play football and Cason play baseball.

Nov. 22 - 10:12am - Had a lovely day in Keller yesterday visiting family and friends. Cooper "Sand-Man" Sanders did a great job and his team won. Cason's game was canceled so I'll have to see him play another time. I also finally got to taste a Chuckie burger.

Nov. 22 - 1:49pm - I did not do so hot on Test from Hell: 2nd edition, but oh well, I still have a 'B' in the class.

Nov. 23 - 10:03pm - KJ and I just got home from seeing "New Moon." I saw "Men Who Stare at Goats" yesterday. I think 2 movies in 2 days may be a record for me. Thank goodness Olene gave me movie passes.

Nov. 25 - 10:44am - I'm off to work. Ho-Hum.

Nov. 25 - 10:18pm - Picked up cheesecake that Olene ordered for tomorrow - check, have fruitcakes to Audie from Olene - check, have bag of clothes and toys for Carson from Rachel & delivered by Olene - check, bought the rolls I'm supposed to bring - check - KJ and I leave at 7:00am for Wichita Falls!

Nov. 27 - 9:10am - Had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! KJ and I will be heading back to Waco this afternoon.

Nov. 27 - 9:34pm - I'm home with big plans for the weekend. First priority is to do something about the stinky dog, Curly. Next priority is to unstinkify everywhere Curly has stunk up. Third - clean the rest of the house, and lastly - put up the Christmas decorations!

Nov. 27 - 11:54pm - One task down - Curly has been given a haircut, bathed, oiled up (skin problems), given a doggie breath mint and denta stick, and no longer smells...at least for a little while.

Nov. 30 - 12:30am - The house is more or less clean, definitely much cleaner than it was, and the inside Christmas decorations are up. Unfortunately, all that cleaning and decorating made my back hurt too much to sleep which is why I'm on here after midnight.

Nov. 30 - 7:31pm - I just took my turkey out of the oven. I bought two when they went on sale after Thanksgiving. I LOVE turkey.

Dec. 1 - 9:47am - I was changing out a framed photo of KJ when I discovered this hiding behind his picture. **Eeeek**




Dec. 2 - 10:33am - I'm turning in my last three assignments today and then all I have left to do is STUDY for finals. Yay! On that note, I was reading out loud last night (helps me focus) from the Dive Physiology chapter in Animal Phys and Sammie fell asleep before I finished half a page. Guess he's not interested in the subject.

Dec. 4 - 5:27pm - I have officially registered for the Fall and am REALLY glad I only have to take 9 hours to be full-time.

Dec. 5 - 2:29pm - Well, today is a first. I'm taking KJ to a bar. Actually, his band is playing there this evening. When he asked me if it was okay, I said, "you do realize I'll be there the ENTIRE time." He agreed so I get to play chaperone tonight. He's the only one under 18, but only one member of the band is 21 or over.

Dec. 7 -10:49am - One more class to go and then classes are OVER...just have to survive finals. I only have one really hard one, but it will be a killer.

Dec. 7 - 8:00pm - Ever leave the house wearing pajama pants, T-shirt, and house shoes, because you will not be getting out of the car...and then have to get out of the car? I was dressed this way to run KJ over to a friend's house to study for a final they have tomorrow. It turned out that the power was out in that part of town so no studying. On the way back to our house, KJ suggested renting a movie from Redbox which I agreed to (after he studies of course). Our nearest Redbox is at a gas station so there we stood, both in plaid pajama pants, me in hot pink hot shoes, KJ in checkered vans renting our movie. The kicker is that we went INSIDE to get sodas. I told KJ we were doing a white-trash impersonation.

Dec. 9 - 11:28am - I've been fighting a sinus-triggered migraine since the middle of the night. I'm up to a total med count of 2 Fioricet, 4 Advil, and countless reheatings of the bed buddy across the left half of my head. It has finally receded some, but the vision in my left eye is all blurry. This sucks.

Dec. 9 - 2:33pm - Headache is pretty much gone which means the studying can resume. I went to bed studying dive physiology (which may have something to do with the resulting migraine) and am now on to circulation. I'm working my way backwards through the semester.

Dec. 9 -6:50pm - Circulation chapter is going slowly...

Dec. 10 - 12:06am - I now know about circulation in mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. I'm done for the night.

Dec. 10 - 8:44pm - Tonight's review will be respiration. See ya in a few hours...

Dec. 11 - 11:14am - 1 final down, three to go.

Dec. 11 - 10:27pm - Disco Elves

Dec. 11 - 10:31pm - Hip Hop Elves

Dec. 11 - 10:33pm - Country Elves

Dec. 12 - 8:46pm - I'm trying to relieve stress with comfort food. I cooked a 12 pound turkey today and just ate a pile of turkey with a pile of mashed potatoes, all covered in turkey gravy (kind that comes in a jar).

Dec. 13 - 1:16pm - Slightly less stressed since I just realized I only need an 80 on my Statistics final to keep an 'A' and only need a 40 for a 'B'. This means I can keep studying for Vert Phys instead of switching over to Stats.

Dec. 14 - 10:43am - 2 tests down, 2 to go.

Dec. 15 - 1:37am - 7:00pm-1:00am = studying with a friend at library. Home now and heading to bed so I can return to library by 5:30.

Dec. 15 - 11:52am - The final from hell is over!!!! I have one more tomorrow, and then I'm done.

Dec. 15 - 10:56pm - *sigh* Staying up late studying and napping in the afternoon has screwed with my sleep pattern. I'm WIDE awake.

Dec. 16 - 11:48am - I'm DONE! I'm still waiting on one last grade, but so far 3 A's and 1 B.

Dec. 16 - 6:53pm - Crap, crap, crap! I had two tests of 100 each and a class participation grade of 95 in Evolutionary Biology. I bombed the final (don't know how, I thought I did decently- it was open book and I looked up most of the answers) which dropped my average to 89.75 and he DID NOT round up to 90 so I got a &%$ 'B' in the class. *fuming* (This is something I added in my comments to this. This professor is a great lecturer and one of my favorites. I knew he did not round since he said so at the beginning of the semester. I was just mad, because I expected to have an 'A'.)

Dec. 16 - 6:55pm - On top of all that, my great-aunt was giving me a hard time earlier today, because I had made a 'B' and did not get straight A's. I was happy with THAT 'B', just not the second one. *still fuming*
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Now that everyone is up-to-date, on to new stuff.

I spent quite some time last week volunteering at the Scholastic Book Warehouse Sale. I spent that book credit on KJ a pile of books and a few for my nephews. KJ and I are going to volunteer again in the morning so I can finish my shopping for the nephews and for my youngest niece. We have some friends coming over for Christmas cookie decorating tomorrow afternoon.

My parents are coming down Christmas day and are bringing a car for KJ. He is beside himself with excitement! It will certainly make things easier on me schedule-wise.

I'll blog more regularly now, at least until school starts back.

updates from facebook

Nov. 8 - 9:10am - No sleeping in for me today. The man who sometimes mows my yard (when I've let it get away from me) was here at 8 to finish up from last week when his lawn mower died. Sammie hates strange men and spent the entire time running from window to window barking his fool head off.

Nov. 10 - 8:47pm - Breath in, breath out, breath, breath out...I'm trusting KJ with a little more independence and am now sitting here wringing my hands waiting for him to call.
Edited to add that KJ was allowed to drive to Hillsboro at 9:00 at night. He made it okay.

Nov. 13 - 8:34pm - It's been a l-o-n-g week full of tests, projects, and homework. One more busy week and then things slow down until finals. I can hardly wait until Thanksgiving.

Nov. 14 - 11:00pm - Long, but productive day today. I did some work related stuff, visited with a friend, took KJ to Guitar Center in Killeen since it was the closest place for a part that broke off his bass drum pedal, did laundry, vacuumed, sprayed for fleas, bathed Curly, actually cooked lunch and supper, showed KJ where the fuse boxes in the car and how to tell if one has blown, and did a little more work on my 3-D farm project.

Nov. 15 - 1:03pm - I'm off to work at store #2 today. Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho....

Nov. 16 - 12:21am - The farm project is done! I can now have my dining room table back.

Nov. 16 - 12:21pm - 100% on my farm project, thank you very much.

Nov. 16 - 11:00pm - Had a wonderful music-filled evening at the MCC Rock Band Concert. I had to restrain myself from standing up and yelling, "That's my baby rocking the drums!"

Nov. 17 - 1:03pm - If I top off a healthy lunch of tuna on whole wheat crackers with Schwan's Peppermint Stick ice cream, that would make it a "balanced" meal, right? Right?

Nov. 17 - 5:03pm - This is what Sammie and I do several times a day. If I don't, he is not tired enough to sleep at night.

Nov. 18 - 7:55am - I was fighting a headache yesterday evening, took a migraine pill and laid down to rest for a few minutes, and woke up 3 hours later having missed study group. Then, however, I was wide awake and stayed up late reading my animal physiology book and now, I'm sleepy. I need a better routine...

Nov. 18 - 11:08pm - Emily's new favorite spot now that's it's getting cool enough to light the heater. Please ignore the large amounts of dog hair. I'm too swamped with school stuff to sweep.



Nov. 19 - 6:52pm - I got into grad school! Woo Hoo!!! I have not been officially informed, but found out today that I'm IN!! *happy dance*

It's been so long that I don't know where to start.

Let's see, I left off with the impending test from hell. It went fine and I got a 'B,' which means I can still get an 'A' in the course. School-wise for me, things are going well. I have A's in all my other classes, did decent on the GRE, and am pretty sure I'll get into grad school for the spring. My mentor professor/advisor seems to think I won't have a problem.

School-wise for KJ, things are improving, but could still be better. After his father and I spoke to KJ's psychologist, we agreed to try KJ on a prescription med for his ADD, for this transistional time anyway. Meanwhile, KJ will work with his psychologist on organizational skills. KJ had his first dose yesterday and said it helped tremendously. He felt much more relaxed and focused.

Social-wise for KJ, he is in a new band. I believe it is "death-core metal" or something like that. It's loud and has a screamer. Thank goodness, they do not practice at my house! The other young men seem nice enough and were gracious enough to not smoke around KJ or even in their cars with the windows down. Of course, KJ had not bothered to tell them this...I finally called the main guy up after listening to KJ's cough get progressively worse. He felt bad that he had not known it was an issue for KJ and things have been fine ever since. KJ had a girl he liked be a total bitch, and say some really mean and uncalled for things to him. Seriously, I have NEVER heard of a girl treating someone this way. Times have changed. I went into mama-bear mode and it took everything I had not to call the little hussy up and take a piece out of her 17 year-old behind with my 40 year-old foot.

On the home front, the house is currently a disaster area that only seems to stay clean for an hour before the dishes start piling back up and everything becomes coated with a layer of dog hair.
Work-wise, things got nuts right after Halloween with me working a total of 11 hours last Sunday, taking down Halloween and putting up Christmas. I alternately hate and love my job depending on when you ask.

Dog-wise, I am also battling some kind of mutant fleas that refuse to die. I've just about poisoned myself along with my dogs and they just keep coming back. It would take a whole other blog post to describe putting on my bathing suit and giving Sammie and Curly a shower to try and make sure I got all the flea shampoo off. I always have a hard time getting their undersides so I held them up in the shower. Neither one liked it at all. The most recent flea battle plan is respraying the yard, the dogs got Frontline yesterday since the last topical stuff (Bio-Spot) did not work, and I've sprayed the carpet and Curly's bed with a different flea spray. I had been dusting them and the bedding with something that I've forgotten the name of, but it did not work. They both had a flea bath 3 days ago and I can't bath them again for a week to give the Frontline time to spread through their system.

A couple of weeks ago, a pit bull broke into the back yard by ripping the chain link away from the frame and pushing it up to make a dog-size hole. It attacked Sammie and charged at me. I called the police who came out and waited for animal control. The dog left while he was waiting so the officer followed him, but lost him down an alley. Animal control thinks he was trying to get to Curly. She has been spayed, but he said female dogs could still put out an odor. Who knows? A man came up as they were leaving and spoke to both officers. I think it was the dog owner. Either way, the dog has not been back. Sammie had a pretty good puncture wound on his head, but has recovered fine and the landlord fixed the hole in the fence. I still have a large walking stick and a sword by the back door in case the dog shows back up.

I have to head to class so ta-ta for now.

I'm alive, just drowning in schoolwork. I have the test from hell on Thursday and would appreciate any prayers, good thoughts, positive energy, lit candles, etc. for me during that time. I promise to have a nice long catch-up post after Thursday since things will settle down some until end-of-semester tests and then finals.

9/23/09 - 8:46pm - I got an "A" on my statistics test. Miracles never cease.

9/23/09 - 8:50pm - Sammie and I just returned from Petsmart where he was a perfect angel and helped me shop by picking out the chews, bones, and toys for him and Curly. He let me get the turtle food, aquarium filters, dog food, and cat food on my own. He really was hilarious on the chew/bone aisle, sniffing different packages until he found one he wanted. Edited to add: Sammie actually picked up a HUGE expensive chew, but I made him compromise with two little chews.

9/25/09 - 8:41pm - I'm going to kill KJ. He took my car to work at 4:00. I just got a call from him. He decided without asking, to go to the Waco High football game to see some friends. Somehow, while there, he LOST the car key which also has my house key on it. This is the ONLY key we have for my car! He's had an announcement made over the PA, and is calling Pop-A-Lock on the off chance he left them in the car.

9/25/09 - 9:52pm - I had a friend pick me up and take me to the stadium. The keys were not in the car and so far, no one has turned them in. We brought KJ back home and I'm calling the dealership first thing in the morning to see what can be done. KJ has to repay me for Pop-A-Lock and any costs for a replacement key. The stadium said for me to call the office Monday in case the clean-up crew finds them.

9/26/09 - 6:24pm - Got my car back. $41 to Pop-A-Lock, $55 to tow to the dealer, and $204 for a new key (it's a special anti-theft key). KJ already owed me $100 for his half of a bass drum pedal so now he owes $400. All McDonald's checks will be turned over to me for quite some time.

9/26/09 - 6:25pm - He also now has a giant D-ring to clip his key chain to his belt loop.

9/9/09 - 7:45pm - FYI - to those who call me on my cell phone - The touch screen has died so while I can answer the phone, I can't get to texts or voice mail.

9/9/09 - 11:02pm - I got only one piece of mail today...a postcard saying a high risk sex offender has moved into my neighborhood. Actually, he's 1 street over and down 5 blocks. Big frickin' deal. Ask me if I care.

9/11/09 - 10:27am - In the library at Baylor chilling between classes. Vert. Physiology kicked my behind today...totally lost, but never fear, I'll figure it out over the weekend.

9/12/09 - 10:52am - 2 chicken breasts, 2 slices of cheese, 4 toasted buns, Bacon-Ranch dressing, and sprouts = a chicken sandwich for me and 1/2 each for the dogs = lunch.

9/15/09 - 11:01am - Thanks for the birthday wishes, everybody!

9/16/09 - 12:12am - Note to self: If I feel the need to eat a a large handful of chocolate covered espresso beans, do it in the MORNING.

9/16/09 - 7:15pm - We had free Dr. Pepper floats in the science building today. Yummy! (no apparent reason, but I don't question free sweets) Homemade chili for supper - life is good.

9/17/09 - 5:25pm - I feel very strange emotionally right now. The FBI agent just left after delivering all our computer stuff. It's closure...I guess.

9/18/09 - 11:54pm - I'm regretting letting Sammie finish off my chili last night. He has the WORST gas!

9/20/09 - 9:43pm - After reading lots of posts, I think I must be the only person who did not watch a football game today.

9/7/09 - 10:05pm - KJ has a "the world revolves around me" attitude lately. He had band practice at a friend's house today so I let him take the car thinking he would be back in about 3-4 hours. He was gone 7 hours! Upon arriving home, he tells me that m...y car was sputtering and he barely made it home so the car is out of gas. Turned out that it was just idling hard and NOT out, but HE thought it would be okay to run it out!

9/7/09 - 10:06pm - FYI - the gas gauge works. The car was low, but not past the red yet.

9/8/09 - 8:17pm - I am mad and sad at the same time. Someone close to me has been treated like scum on the bottom of someone's shoe.

9/9/09 - 7:04pm - Home from statistics hell, aka: a statistics group project assigned this afternoon, impossible to finish in class, and due Friday. We're done now, though.

You can keep up with me easier on Facebook.

I just don't have time to regularly blog anymore. I plan to keep the blog, because I like to put pictures here, as I prefer this format over Facebook's. For those who want to keep up with my life more consistently though, look for me on Facebook. Search for Rebel Sanders Hart.

I have homework to do so I'm copying my recent updates to here.

8/20/09 - 12:09am -I can't sleep which is odd, because I can ALWAYS sleep. Lots of anxiety, I guess.

8/20/09 - 3:28pm - FINALLY (I hope) got the rest of KJ's financial aid worked out. I'm in the process of buying books on ebay. So far, I've bought 2 books for a combined savings of $165. University bookstores are such a ripoff. If I win my auction that ends in 20 minutes, I'll save another $35.

8/21/09 - 5:49pm - About to take a last minute trip to Wichita Falls.

8/22/09 - 11:01pm - We're home after a lovely whirlwind visit.

8/23/09 - 5:13pm - KJ took the car to work and should be starting home any minute. I'm paranoid, because it's about to start storming. He's driven in rain, but not bad rain.

8/24/09 - 5:46pm - KJ and I both had good first days of school.

8/24/09 - 6:00pm - Based solely on what I experienced today: Wildlife Ecology - easy class, If I show up and pay attention, I should have an easy 'A'. Statistics - not too difficult, but lots of homework Comparative Vertebrate Physiology - fascinating, but to...ugh class. I think it will be my favorite, but I'll have to bust my rear studying. Only 2 classes tomorrow so we'll see how they go.Read More

8/27/09 - 1:00pm - I have a new job!! Woo Hoo!!! I am now a part-time merchandiser for American Greetings. Thanks Debbie.

8/28/09 - 1:50pm - *sigh* Only the first week of school and I already had to miss two classes. KJ is coughing up blood so I took him to the doctor this morning, ran to pick up his prescriptions, stopped by one of the missed classes to show my doctor's excuse, made... it to my last class for a quiz, am back home briefly to pick up KJ (if he'll ever get out of the shower), and then we're off for a chest x-ray and some bloodwork.

8/28/09 - 5:59pm - KJ's not dying or anything. It's just a bad asthma flare-up due to him deciding that taking his Symbicort was just a suggestion, not a requirement, and him hanging out with the smokers at school. He WILL be taking his meds regularly now as ...I will be watching him do it AND he will wait for his smoking friends to come back inside after a smoke break before talking with them.

8/28/09 - 6:05pm - On a funny note, when KJ returned to the waiting room after getting his x-ray, he was carrying a disk. Apparently, he talked the Rad Tech into showing him how she sent the digital images off to his doc and the radiologist, and she even burned KJ a co...py. How much do you want to bet that I hear, "Wanna see my x-ray?" every time a friend is over?

8/30/09 - 11:33pm - Finally finished my homework.

9/4/09 - 1:58pm - Started my new job yesterday and it went well. I'm going in for a few hours in the morning and taking the rest of the weekend to catch up on homework, housework, and RELAX. I've been fighting a sinus infection and migraines all week or I wouldn't be behind to begin with.

9/4/09 - 2:01pm - KJ doesn't have class on Fridays and usually has to work 11:00-7:00 so he dropped me at school and took the car. Thank goodness for free WiFi!

9/4/09 - 8:04pm - KJ ended up having a 101.5 fever and missed work...again. He was negative for swine flu, thank goodness.

Oooohh, I feel brainwashed...NOT

Obama speaks to children.

These are a few pictures from my nephew's birthday party last Sunday. It was a pool party held at my brother's apartment complex. If you were at the party, but are not in any of these photos, one of the following applies:

1. I did not happen to catch you in a picture. (Dad, Mom)
2. The picture you were in had bad lighting, was blurry, or I cut the top of your head off. (McKenzie, Casey)
3. The picture you were in was of good quality, but was very unflattering of you, and you would kill me if I posted it. (Casey, Staci)

Here is Cason, the birthday boy who turned the big 8.


Here is big brother, Cooper, making a silly face. He was making a silly face in EVERY picture I took.


Cason is licking icing off a wrestling figure.


Here is my niece, Emily, getting ready to eat some icing herself.


Here is my brother, Tracey, with a "you've got to be kidding me," expression on his face.


Emily is wondering if anyone is EVER going to give her some birthday cookie.

KJ - "Seriously, how old do I have to be before you will stop taking my picture?"

Update

Yesterday was my last day of my full-time job. The hours were just not compatible with 16 credit hours of college that starts a week from Monday. I'll most likely have a part-time job lined up in the next week or so. I've sent in my resume for several work-study jobs and for one awesome off-campus merchandising job. My friend, Debbie, works for American Greetings merchandising cards, but needed more hours. She is keeping one small store with them and taking my magazine job. I, on the other hand, need fewer hours so she put a good word in for me with her boss and I'm hoping to hear back from the boss soon. On-campus or off-campus, either way, it's all good.

I'm spending next week doing some visiting, school clothes shopping (for KJ), buying textbooks for us both, arranging transportation (we're sharing my car) and finding my classes.

School-wise, job-wise, friend-wise, KJ and I-wise...things are going well. Marriage-wise, however, things are not going well. David and I will be officially divorced in a couple of months. I can't get past my lack of trust in him so our relationship can't survive. To make matters worse, I recently found out that my lack of trust is well-founded. I won't go into details, but I spoke with both detectives with whom David had been chatting, received a call from the FBI, and had a long chat with his probation officer. I will no longer accept being lied to. David is very angry and feels betrayed that I am choosing to believe law enforcement over him. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

KJ and I are heading to my nephew's birthday party in Fort Worth tomorrow so I'll have pics for you.

Those aren't magazines I READ! I merchandise magazines at Wal-Mart and people of a certain religious persuasion flip them over, because the covers offend.

misc. pics

KJ loves his new job, just doesn't like having his picture taken.


This is my "f - you" to the people who flip my magazines over, because they don't like the covers. I used to put these in the back.


Coolest shoes ever. I'm saving my pennies.


KJ and I are CHEAP about movie refreshments. I took the straws out before I shut my purse.

I'm excited about starting school.

I'm not sure if I have enough time to keep up the blog anymore.



Another quick summary of life: Sammie got REALLY sick last week and had to have water forced down his little throat every hour for 24 hours. He got spolied since he was getting chicken broth and bits of meat while he recovered. We thought he was going to die, but he pulled through and is back to his old onery self.

I still like my job, but the hours are longer than I anticipated while I get used to being by myself. Last Friday started at 6:30am and finished at 9:30pm. (I did take 30 min. for lunch and 45 min. to run KJ and a friend to a concert.) Monday took me 10 hours, but the other days have been more reasonable.

KJ got his license and I've allowed him to take the car alone for short jaunts. He got hired by McDonald's, had orientation last night and starts in the next day or so.

My house seems to be turning into the place KJ's friend's come to hang out. It's not unusual to have 4-5 boys just showing up for a jam session. It's one of the advantages to living in the center of town. I don't mind, because at least, I know where they are and what they're doing. I just try to stay stocked up on Kool-aid, ice cream, and chips.

KJ and I went to a free concert here last night to hear Sloppy Joe and Fabulous Freak Brothers. He decided the world was not coming to an end, because he was out with his mom, that I had a GOOD IDEA in suggesting it, and that he even had fun. He drew the line however, at allowing me to get up and dance. Hey! It was 70's and 80's rock and pop. How can you not dance?

In other news, I started my job with The News Group today. I like it. It's even kind of fun. Over the course of a week, I merchandise the magazines in 5 stores.

Lastly, my dad, sister, and I have been playing FarmTown together. Apparently, none of us have enough to do.

Birthday and graduation party

KJ will be 16 on Monday and has now graduated from highschool. *sigh* Last night, we had a gathering at our house to celebrate both events, plus it was a chance to relax with friends. I gave away or sold most of my homeschool stuff which was kind of bittersweet. I'm happy, but nostalgic. We still have a little work to do in preparation for college since he wants to CLEP a course or two, but for the most part we're out for the Summer. KJ has orientation for MCC on June 9 and then he'll be allowed to register for his classes. His classes will be

Math - yet to be determined based on a test score

Commercial Music Theory I

Commercial Music Sight-Singing/Ear Training I

Piano Class

Survey of Music Buisness

Small Commercial Music Ensemble - Cont. Christian

Applied Music Lesson

for a total of 13 hours.

In other news, I've found a job for the Summer which I'm hoping I might be able to make work in the Fall also. If not, at least I have a job for now and I'm supposed to work 20 hours a week on the Baylor work study program in the Fall. I've also registered and gotten all my financial aide taken care of. My classes are

Ecology

Foundations of Evolutionary Biology

Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy w/ lab

Organic Chemistry I

Elementary Statistics

for a total of 16 hours. After that, I can enter the graduate program in the Spring.

I'll end this with some pictures from the party. By the way, KJ buzzed his hair so he is the one with REALLY short hair.

KJ and I are doing fine. I'm just really, really busy and haven't had time to blog.

No jail

David's case was plead out on April 17. He was not given jail time which is good. However, his probation and sex offender registration restrictions are such that he can have no contact whatsoever with KJ (or any other child for that matter). KJ has been staying with his dad since then, but we found our own place and moved most stuff over yesterday. The electricity won't be on until Monday so that is when we'll spend our first night there.

There is a lot more to tell regarding David's probation (10 years) and sex offender registration (lifetime), but I need to get out working.

Not for children to view

I got this from a homeschool message board I'm on. I think it's hilarious.

Dad - this is my reply to all the political emails you send me. *manical laughter bwahaaahaaa*

Thinking of having a tea party to protest?

Want to support marriage between ONLY a man and a woman?

This is beautiful

I'm sure most of you have watched this by now, but it is hands down one of the most fantastic things I've ever seen. I was so happy for her that I was bawling like an idiot.

I'm feeling much better after throwing my fit. Everything will be over next Friday when the case is plead out.

I finally got the letter detailing my needed course work that Financial Aid requested. The director of graduate studies in Biology was very nice and helpful.

Yes, the Thursday and Tuesday court dates have been cancelled. The case was assigned to a different court, different judge, and different prosecutor. Got bad news from the lawyer today though, I have the mother of all migraines, and just want to lay in bed and cry. I know it will make my head hurt worse though. Yesterday, I heard about the cancellations and got what I thought was good news from the lawyer. Today, that good news had bad news attached. He is still trying though. If you are family and reading this, don't call, because I'm not answering the phone. I'll burst into tears if I do.

Still here

I'm still here, just swamped. I had 35 hours of census training this past week which meant I had to do extra PCKidz classes the week before. I'm playing phone tag with the professor who is head of the graduate program in Biology. I can't move forward with the financial aid department until I get a letter from him stating the classes I'm taking will go towards entrance into the graduate program. I packed KJ off with assigned school work to different places all week so he wouldn't have to stay by himself everyday. My friends took him to MCC for me. Thank goodness for good friends. Work-wise, this week will be MUCH better since I get to make my own census hours. Unfortunately, David's pre-trial conference is this Thursday and I'm a nervous wreck. I feel like my stress levels are at their breaking point.

Good news - David got a raise at his new job. I'm going to be making enough at the census to finally get caught up on bills. I happened on a yard sale yesterday where I got the CUTEST clothes. I practically have a whole new summer wardrobe for $23. We found a tire place where we can get factory tires that were pulled off new cars when the buyer wanted a different kind. Yay! My car no longer pulls to the right or shimmies.

Fuller is feeling emotionally needy today

She has been missing her buddy, KJ, while he is at my parents for Spring Break. After much meowing and trying to get into KJ's rooms, she decided that David would do.

A few pics from the party

Photo credit - These pictures from Kelsey's party were taken by Kelsey's mom.

KJ and the birthday girl. He gave her flowers and a stuffed animal.

In other news, KJ has a new girlfriend...again.

Hi, my name is Rebel and I'm addicted to Facebook.

I've been enjoying facebook so much that I forgot to blog. Sorry.

I finally took the plunge and sent in all my stuff to start Baylor in the Fall. The plan is to spend a year taking some needed math and science (didn't get enough with a music degree, who'd a thunk it?) and then transferring into the Master's program for environmental biology. This is, of course, contingent on me getting enough financial aid to go. I had always planned to go back to school when KJ could drive and he turns 16 in 3 1/2 months. He'll go to the community college with a little supplemental education at home.

KJ is officially in a band (besides MCC Rock band). They are still working out a mic problem that will make the vocals louder, but you can check out their first recording on their Myspace.

In school news, we finished ancient Greece and have moved on to ancient Rome. I've also hired KJ to help me teach on Wednesdays and on Friday mornings. He gets some work experience and I get home sooner, since we can double up classes.

The last few days in pictures

I've done lots of dishes,


and vacuuming. Sammie has just ripped apart his newest stuffed animal.


I still have a huge pile of laundry to fold.


David and I moved one end of Sammie's dog run...


all the way up to the house. It makes it much easier to snap him on so he doesn't run off.


He likes the run MUCH better now. I've thrown many, many frisbees for Sammie.


These are two of four.

I cleaned this aquarium...

for this frog. (Twitch)

Also cleaned this one...

for this turtle. (Fred)

Add in teaching preschool computer classes 4 days a week...

plus a grumpy teenager with the flu (strain A)...

and I am exhausted.

Why you shouldn't follow your dog into the woods after dark

Last weekend sometime, David was working, KJ was at his dad's, and I was home by myself. I let Sammie out to use the bathroom, but he took off down the driveway. I was on the phone at the time so I finished up my call before heading out to holler for Sammie. I could hear him barking in the woods across the street so I started down the driveway while calling his name.

Now, it wasn't completely dark yet so I could still see somewhat. When I entered the woods though, it was immediately darker, but I could still see the trail so I didn't go back for a flashlight. Roscoe abd Curly (the GOOD dogs) showed up, but I could hear Sammie tearing through the woods barking his fool head off. By this time, I had decided I would HAVE to go back for a light when my neighbor drove his truck over and partway down the trail so we could use his headlights. He said he heard me hollering for Sammie and was seeing if I needed help. I told him that I had just been thinking I needed a light and that since Sammie was obviously chasing something, following him into a dark wood was probably not real smart of me. (considering we have a bobcat, coyotes, foxes, not to mention rabid raccoons and skunks) I should have just waited for him to show back up in his own good time.

At that moment finally Sammie ran up to us. He KNEW he was in trouble, and was slinking along the ground with his ears down and tail between his legs. I snapped the leash on him and that was when the skunk smell hit. It was definitely close! Neighbor man ran for his truck while the dogs and I ran for home. I put Sammie on his dog run, stripped out of my clothes, tossed them in the wash, and jumped in the shower. I scrubbed, gagged, scrubbed, and gagged some more. Finally, the smell faded. I think it was more in my nose than actually on me. Sammie eventually got to come inside later that evening for a bath and some lavender oil.

The 80's are back

David and I went shopping with KJ today. He had some money burning a hole in his pocket. While shopping, David and I were musing that style-wise, the 80's have returned; Skinny jeans, mesh gloves, bright colors, tight shirts, wrist bands, etc.

Here is KJ in some of his new stuff. He also got his hair trimmed this evening.

Book-a-Week in 2009 - week 3

Book update: week 3, Jan. 15-21

I read Antigone by Sophocles and reread Seven Up by Janet Evanovich.

FYI - If you're sensing a theme with my reading, KJ and I will also be reading Lysistrata by Aristophanes and watching videos of Electra by Sophocles and Medea by Euripides. Guess what we're studying?

Book-a-Week in 2009 - week 2

January 8-14 (forgot to update earlier)

I read Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.

Tidbits from our week

In no particular order, a few tidbits from our week.

On the day Grandmama died, KJ and had only planned to be gone a couple of hours, so Sammie was left in the house without being confined to the kitchen. After we got the call, we headed straight up to Denton without returning home first. By the time, we got back to Waco, picked David up from work, and returned home, Sammie had been in the house for 11 and a half hours. No, he did not poop or pee in the house. He managed to hold it until we got home. What he did do however, was eat half a bottle of B12 vitamins, unlatch KJ's bedroom door to get in there where he found and ate about 12 tiny chocolate santa clauses, and knocked over the trash. Sammie was racing around so fast outside that he looked like a whirling dervish. He was wired! His eyes were so big and he seemed to be vibrating. I did some fast internet research and found out he would not die, but might have an upset tummy. Needless to say, he is just fine.

Yesterday, I took Sammie with me to get David from work. While I went into a convenience store to pay for some gas and grab a snack for Sammie, he climbed into the driver's seat and proceeded to beep the horn at me.

This morning, David put his newly rebuilt starter on his car. Woo Hoo! He can take his own car to work now. I don't mind taking him, but picking him up at 11:00 at night was getting old.

David got a new job which he starts next Thursday which is another reason we needed to get his car working again. He'll make more money, be in a MUCH better work environment, work during the day, and have room to grow with the company.

On Monday, after the funeral, KJ drove all the way back to Waco from the cemetery. It was about 3 and a half hours, his longest drive yet.

KJ started his Rock Band class at the community college this week. He LOVES it! On the home school front, things are going extremely well. I feel like we're back in our groove. I changed up my original plan for the semester somewhat. We're covering the same stuff, but I'm taking a more thematic approach.

Grandmama

Edited to correct her age. (though I still think she was 93. :-)
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Growing up, my earliest memories of Grandmama are just little snatches of memories. I had to have been very young, maybe 2-4. I remember her giving me a bath in about 2 inches of water. I'm not sure if she thought I would drown or if they just had a limited water supply. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with Grandaddy while Grandmama cooked up a HUGE country breakfast. I can still smell the bacon frying... I remember being terrified watching her chop a tarantula into pieces with a hoe. I thought she was so brave. I remember lying on their big bed with the nubbly bedspread at nap time. I would stare at this black cat figurine with sparkly eyes until I finally fell asleep.

When I was older, Grandmama started showing me how to do things. I learned how to weed in the garden, and how to pull up the potato plant and shake the dirt off the potatoes. I learned how to remove the bones from canned salmon (though this was usually Grandaddy's job) and make salmon patties. God, those were good with ketchup! Most importantly, she showed me how to make deviled eggs. I use her recipe to this day. Grandmama didn't talk much when Grandaddy was alive. HE was quite a talker and could tell stories for hours. As an adult, I found out that Grandmama was on psychiatric drugs that pretty much knocked her for a loop. Grandmama had some mental health issues and back then, medicine hadn't evolved to the point it has now.

By the time I hit adult-hood, Grandmama was on better meds and really started to come out of her shell. I remember one day when I was visiting just before I got married the first time, she decided to give me the "sex talk." She knew I knew about the birds and the bees. THIS was about sex in marriage. She was still teaching me about things...

About 10 years ago when I was living in Pennsylvania, I got a call that Grandmama was going to die and the doctors said to call the family in. My sister flew me down to Texas for a week so I could say my good-byes. I returned to PA depressed and waiting for the call that she had passed on. Grandmama, however, proved everybody wrong. She rallied back, got a new doctor who quit overmedicating her, and lost some weight. After that, Grandmama was spunky! I got the feeling that she had decided that at her age, she could say whatever she damn well pleased, and to hell with what people thought.

Grandmama moved in with her oldest son who hired a live-in caregiver for her. Meanwhile, we moved back to Texas so I saw her more regularly. She loved telling raunchy jokes, much to the embarassment of my dad and uncle. I thought she was hilarious. After I married David and Grandmama met him, she was in love. She sang love songs and recited love poems to David. If I would just get out of the way, SHE could marry him. All this was done in fun of course.

Last January, Grandmama was admitted to the hospital with a heart attack, and once again the family was called in as she was expected to die. My sister and I spent the night with her there, because we didn't want her to be alone if something should happen. She kept us in stitches with stories and dirty jokes complete with obscene gestures. Nobody had told her that she wasn't expected to live and consequently there would be whispering in a corner. Grandmama had radar ears and I think she knew anyway, but she loved messing with the whisperers by saying, "When you whisper, I can't hear you!" Once again, Grandmama rallied back, did NOT die, and was released from the hospital. The doctors said that with her congestive heart failure she would have a big heart attack which would kill her. They said it would most likely be within 6-8 weeks.

I called Grandmama regularly, expecting each phone call to be my last. Weeks turned into months and Grandmama was still going strong. When everything happened with David in April, I stopped calling. I was afraid she knew and I was embarrassed to talk to her. I heard she was getting weaker and was in a wheelchair after taking a bad fall. I called then and gave her a hard time about scaring people. Phone calls with her were getting more difficult as I had a hard time understanding her. I called less and my last call was on her birthday in September. I will always regret that I got so immersed in my own problems that I didn't make time to go see her.

Last Thursday, my sister called to tell me Grandmama had a massive heart attack and was at the hospital on life support. She had a living will so the docs would be taking her off. Staci and her husband were on their way up there. KJ and I dropped David at work and headed for Denton ourselves. Through phone calls, my sister told me that Grandmama was still breathing on her own, but had been unresponsive the whole time. When KJ and I arrived, Grandmama was still breathing. Staci and Casey were the only family besides me and KJ that had been able to get there so far. Grandmama took her last breath about 5 minutes after we arrived. It was so peaceful, that we didn't even notice at first. She was 92 and will be sorely missed. KJ said it best when talking to me later. "I feel kind of privileged to have seen her die. It is like the ending to a really good book."

Book-a-Week in 2009

I'm participating in the The Well-Trained Mind's message board's Book-a-Week 2009 challenge. For those that also want to participate, here are the rules.

Read an average of a book a week - 52 books in 52 weeks
Re-reading a book counts--as long as you first read it before 2009
School related books don't count (unless you want them to)
You can start reading on 1-1-09 at 00:00:01AM

This week (1/1 to 1/7) I'm reading, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul.