the usual...another monthly update

It looks as if I didn't keep up my goal of posting more regularly on here but that is okay..life is crazy right now. As of October 26 I work two jobs now and I didn't go looking for the second one, it found me. It isn't as bad as it sounds because I really really enjoy my newest job plus it is only 8 to 10 minutes from home and I don't have to get up at 3am. I still work at the market one or two days a week but after Christmas I am letting that job go. A friend of mine, we will call her Mrs. S, owns a very nice consignment shop. She and I attended church together until my family and I started going to another church a couple months ago. Anyway, her employee found a higher paying job so Mrs. S called me and the rest is history. She deals in children's clothing, equipment, and maternity clothes. I have to tell you this is the nicest consignment shop I have ever been in, it is more like a boutique. Working in clothes and equipment is a lot better than food.

Other than the new job everything and everyone is great. We did get wonderful news Tuesday when I took Bethany to the orthodontist. In the beginning the estimated time for Beth to wear braces was two and a half years which put the removal date on April 14,2011 but Tuesday her orthodontist told her that her teeth moved faster and better than they thought so her braces will be removed on December 16, 2009. Her total time of wearing the appliances will be 14 months and 2 days. We are very excited!!!

Chesney is a senior this year and we put her order in for cap & gown and all that a couple of weeks ago....whew..wanna talk about a shocker. I am thanking God that each child only graduates high school once.

I guess I better wrap it up here, I have some pecan pies to make and some other preparations in the kitchen because tomorrow I am cooking a small Thanksgiving dinner for my mother-in-law. She is having surgery on Monday so she won't be able share in the eating of the meal on Thursday. I couldn't stand the thought of her not being able to have Thanksgiving so we are doing it tomorrow.

Hopefully I will be able to post again before Thanksgiving but if not I hope you all have a blessed day with your loved ones.

a small update

Obviously I haven't been around for a while and it isn't because I forgot about any of you. I have been without internet for the past month and a half. We had our internet through our local cable company until we received a bill for an ungodly amount for Pay-Per-View and OnDemand movies that we didn't purchase. The cable company does not want to remove those discrepancies from our bill so we took our business elsewhere. I wished we could have purchased our internet through AT&T because I use to have their FastAccess DSL when we lived in the rental house before building our current home and I loved their DSL but the port in this area is full so I had to view other options. We use Verizon Wireless as our cell phone provider and it just so happens that they have a new wireless device called MiFi that you can not only use at home with up to 5 computers but you can also take it with you and receive WiFi anywhere you go so long as you get a signal on your cell. Since both of my daughters have IPOD Touches and Laptops this is a great device for us however, the only down fall is that it is a bit more expensive than a cable modem or dsl, at this point the price is worth it to me.

Anyway, my son had a birthday since I last posted so HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY Ty! The last time I posted was on Bethany's 14th birthday and I am still in shock that it has been so long. I have to get with the program again because I miss everyone here in the blog community. Chesney, our oldest daughter, has been trying to decide between two different colleges for next year. I can't believe my baby girl is almost 18 and will be graduating high school on May 17, 2010....where did time go? I am so very proud of her and her accomplishments.

As for me, aside from working and football I have been trying to get the house the way I want it, you would think after two and a half years I would have it the way I wanted but not so. I sold all of my office furniture and we are going to build the next set because we are going to have an office/library instead of an office with a big bookshelf in it. I can't seem to find a style that I like that has everything I need so we are going to create it, what is better than customizing to fit your needs? Mr. B is getting really busy with work so I may have my very first big solo project ahead of me, either way I mean to get it all done soon.

Well I need to get off of here. It is a beautiful day outside and I am wasting it while I tap around on the keyboard. You all have a wonderful day and I will be around later today or tomorrow to catch up.

Take care!

finally, the wait is over

Hey all! Wow it has been so long since I have been on here. When I have more time I will explain why I have not been around but right now all I will say is "I don't much care for the cable company anymore and after today they won't much care for me either." Anymuhoooo.....I hope you all are doing well and I am excited to be back online. Until next time y'all take care!

back to school they go....

Hey all! Wow it has been a while and I apologize but things have been busy around here. Today the kids returned to school and I think it is way too early for them to be going back. Today is also my daughter Bethany's 14th birthday and what a happy birthday to her. Bethany loves school so she was excited to go back even though it is her birthday. I can't believe how time flies, Chesney is a senior this year, Bethany a freshman, and Ty started middle school......where did the time go? I am ready to get this first week over with and start next week so that we can find that normal, or as close to normal, routine.

Yesterday we found out that my cousins step-son was killed in Iraq on Saturday. You can read about it here if you want. I can't wait until they pull our troops out of that place, it will not be soon enough.

For the past few weeks I have only been working on Wednesdays and that is fine by me. I had a very rough time there for a bit and had to decrease my hours but now our business, along with most others, is slow.

This post is a rambling one but I thought I would take some time this morning to play catch up on here. I have so much to do today that I still haven't figured out how I am going to get it all done by the end of the day and still make it to Ty's football practice before it is over, I am Team Mom so I have to be there at least for a few minutes today to collect the final fees and paperwork to turn in. Bethany has been asking for a laptop for about two years now and today is her lucky day, I am going shopping for her requested "red" laptop. Actually Friday might be her lucky day if I can get a better deal then because we are having "tax-free weekend" next weekend and they usually have killer deals on computers.

So how have all of you been and what have you all been up to? I hate to cut it short but my dryer is buzzing and with everything to do I have to fold those clothes and get them put away before leaving the house this morning. Y'all have a great day and take care!

a bit of catch up

It has been a while since I have been here. The last time I was here I was hoping to be around more often but that hasn't happened, I still have hope. Thanks to all of you who have stopped by to comment, I promise I will be by sometime soon to catch up on you. Y'all take care and for those of you that pray, say a little prayer for me...things are a bit difficult for me right now and I don't even really know why or how.

weekend post...

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mothers who read my blog. I hope all of you have had a good day moms, dads and non parents alike. Today was a good day for me starting off with a huge surprise, I was supposed to work today but after getting up at 4am (we open an hour later on Sundays) and driving into work I found out that we are closed for the day...YAY...except I could have slept four more hours. My manager tried to get in touch with me but my cell phone has bit the dust, something is up with the speaker because people can hear me talking but I hear nothing..oh well I will get a new one in a few days when I have time but for the time being I will just use our third line or "spare" as we call it.

I normally don't post on the weekends and right now I should be in bed but the time I could have been doing laundry today I was sleeping instead and I needed that worse than I needed to do laundry. After church my family and I decided to watch a movie so I grabbed a blanket and snuggled up in the recliner to try and get warm and I fell asleep, actually to be honest I hit that level of sleep that is like a coma when you hear nothing and know nothing because you are sleeping so heavily. I never sleep like that but today I did and I sure feel better.

I don't know about your area but around East Tennessee the grass and trees are so pretty, they are very lush and so green from all the rains we have been having. Today is the first day in over a week that we haven't had at least one torrential rain storm move through and the sky is all cloudy and stormy looking right now so we may get rain before midnight arrives. We desperately needed the rain because we were still in drought levels in most areas from lack of rain the past two years. The kids are almost out of school, the 21st of this month is their last day. I can't believe that Ty is graduating 5th grade and Bethany is graduation 8th grade, this time next year Chesney will be graduating high school...sniffle. If ever I could give anyone advice it would be to those who have small children and those who do not currently have children but plan to one day..the advice would be.....enjoy them while they are small and under your feet because all too soon they will be driving and growing up and you won't know everything about their lives and where they are at all times.


Y'all have a great Monday tomorrow and hopefully I will be back with another post in a day or so.

long time no blog....

Hey all! How are all of you? Wow it has been over a month since I was last here to blog. I have been very busy with the new job and adjusting to my new time schedule. To those of you who left birthday wishes in my comments thank you! Friday Shawn and I celebrated 16 yrs of marriage. I am still wondering how those 16 years have flown by so fast, they have been great years and I am blessed to have Shawn. It has been crazy around here, it seems every night I am averaging 2-3 hours of sleep then getting up at 3am and working 8 hard hours then coming home and doing house work, softball, church, and anything else that pops up so it is hard for me to hit a regular routine right now and that is why I haven't been in blogland lately. I am hoping to get around to all of your blogs tomorrow because I will be home earlier than usual. Ty has an appointment with his doctor so I will not be working a full day tomorrow.

I miss stopping by all of your blogs and hope to be back into a regular routine that allows me time to do just that soon. Y'all take care!

update

It has been while since I have posted here and visited your blogs. Some things around here have changed since then. First of all on March 18 I started a job and I have to get up at 3:15AM so that I can make it there by 5AM. By the time that I get home each day and cook, clean and do all those lovely little wifely/motherly duties it is already time to go to bed and start all over, I am not getting much free time these days and when I do I try to use them wisely. Since posting last my eldest daughter, Chesney, turned 17 on March 18. Today I am off and we are going to buy Chesney a car because her Toyota Camry has died on us, several months ago actually the Camry wouldn't start and so far none of the mechanics we have taken it to can figure out what the problem is, I thought Toyota's were supposed to live forever? This evening I get the pleasure of taking my 13 yr old daughter, Bethany, and her friend prom dress shopping. I am willing to fork out the money today for the dress because I am sick of hearing about it, prom is over a month away.

With all that being said, I have to go now because I am wasting precious time that I could really use to get everything done. Y'all have a great day and I will be back soon!

A Celebration

Today is my husbands birthday and I wanted to give him a big shout out just to let him know I love him and I am thinking of him on his special day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWN, I LOVE YOU!!

Y'all have a great weekend!

a day with no appointments....

Good morning! I have been super busy since I posted last Tuesday so I thought it was time since I have today at home with no Dr. or Orthodontist appointments.

Last week is like a blur to me because I was very busy with all kinds of appointments and errands. Friday Ty went for his yearly well check-up and to talk about getting back on the medicine for ADHD, he has been off of the meds for 1 year and 10 months. We decided to take him off the meds for the summer of 2007 and use natural foods, exercise and physical activities to keep him active and give him an outlet for all that hyperness he has. By the end of summer he could still sit and read a book without fidgeting and moving around, his concentration level was right on so we chose to keep him off the meds as long as possible. In the past few months we have noticed some of his "tics" coming back and in the past three months almost all of the "tics" have returned, his concentration level has took a nose dive straight down and we are seeing a lot of irritation, frustration and hateful attitude which stems from not being able to concentrate. We have worked even harder with him on school work and have even got him into math tutoring but still there are too many problems to over look plus the grades in his weekly folder and progress reports are really starting show how much of a struggle he is going through.

Since Ty has been off of meds for more than a year he had to have a physical before restarting the meds and our insurance company wouldn't pay for the physical until one year had passed since his last well check-up. The insurance also wouldn't pay for the ADHD meds until he had the physical then our pediatrician had to do the entire Insurance approval on the meds. Ty's Dr. asked about the Daytrana patch he was using before and I told her that would be great because I have more control over how much of the medicine goes into his body where as with a pill I have no control over the amount in the body. What really impressed me was when she turned to my son and started talking the meds over with him to find out what he would prefer to take and what had made him more comfortable, of course he answered "the patch." As of right now we are awaiting the insurance approval then we will be back to meds again. I am not real happy that we have to incorporate the meds again but we have to do what we can because of his education. I don't want him to struggle constantly and even though I don't like him taking the meds, we have done all we can to help him and none of that is working anymore. I thank God that we have such a wonderful pediatrician to keep an eye on the entire situation. As far as the well-check up goes....he is as healthy as can be, a bit small still but not unhealthy small. The only Ty complained about after the check-up was the four vaccinations he had to have. Both of the girls had their well check-up on Monday and both received some vaccinations as well. The Dr. also sent the girls to the lab to get their blood drawn so that their choloesterol level could be checked and she ordered that both of them be checked for diabetes. Both high cholesterol and diabetes run on Mr. B and my side of the family.

We only have two more days of Spring football practice then we won't practice again until July. It has been fun especially since the temps have been in the mid to upper 70's. Yesterday we broke our record high of 78 when we hit 79, the bad thing is that tomorrow our high will only reach 45.

Bethany had an orthodontist appointment yesterday and as usual got raving reports on how well she is cleaning her teeth and how well they are moving with the braces. The tooth that was impacted in her upper gum that we had to have the tissue removed from has already moved down and taken it's natural spot amoung her other teeth, that was a huge surprise to me because I didn't think it would move that quickly.

I will try to stop by your blogs sometime today to catch up on all I've missed through my busy time. Y'all have a great day!

suggestions please

At church I teach the teens Sunday School class, I have noticed here lately that no matter what I do it seems my students aren't paying complete attention. Sunday was a bit different and gave me some serious encouragement because I have tried to create lessons of interest to them and I always try to get them involved so that I am not the only one speaking throughout our class time, sometimes they are up for talking and sometimes not so much. Sunday my lesson was titled "Living in the Sunshine" and my point was how we can live a positive life in such a negative world no matter what is said or thrown at us, I used Proverbs 15:13-17 for the first part of my lesson and Philippians 4:6-9 for the last part. I was so surprised when immediately after reading the scripture to them they started talking about incidents they have had in their lives that relate to the lesson. By the time the bell rang I still had about five minutes of teaching left but was out of time. The best part about Sunday was I only had two students in my class and they were my daughters. On those rare days when I am getting the students to interact my girls will say a little and that is it, they mostly let the other students talk. I have talked to my Pastor a couple of times about this and told him that maybe someone else needs to be teaching that class since my daughters were in there and I felt like they weren't interacting because I was the teacher and maybe they didn't want to say anything about what they deal with to me. Don't get me wrong my kids talk to me about things they deal with but there are some things where the advice from others would be put to use instead of my advice, my Pastor said to hang in there and continue to do as I was doing and if God wanted someone else teaching the class he would send them in.

Yesterday while cleaning I was thinking about that class and what I could do to get interaction out of them every Sunday and while thinking I noticed that the students have been more attentive the past couple of Sundays so that lead me to wondering what had changed for them and I started backtracking over previous lessons building up to this last one. Three Sundays ago the lesson I done was called "Stay Sober." The point in that lesson was the damage that can be caused by substance abuse of any kind and included in "any kind" I used the world as a substance that can control you. I talked to the class about staying in control of their mind, body, and soul and being alert so that they are ready to deal with what comes their way. I don't think that lesson was what made them start paying more attention, it was what happened when we went upstairs for the message. Once everything was done and it was time for our Pastor to stand in the pulpit to deliver his message my students, who all sit near me upstairs, were settling in to listen halfway then the Pastor read the title of his message. I have to say I was surprised myself and it gave me goose bumps. The title of his message was "Stay Sober." The Pastor used different scripture but the message was exactly as my lesson had been and my students were sitting there with big eyes and their mouths agape. I turned to them and whispered "isn't it amazing how God works when He really wants someone to hear something", from that moment on those students didn't hardly move, they were all caught up throughout the entire message.

The classroom that we are in was used as the Young Couples class a year ago until all the young "married" couples started splitting and going to the Womens and Mens classes. At that time I was teaching my class in the small balcony upstairs in the auditorium. In May or June I was told to start using the classroom that the Young Couples had used. There wasn't that many decorations in that classroom and since I didn't think it was a permanent room for us I haven't done much to remedy that but my students have been talking about wanting to decorate it and I have came up with an idea that I think they will enjoy, this is where I need suggestions/advice or whatever you want to offer. I want the class to get involved with decorating the room and I don't want to use ordinary art for the decor. My idea is to go buy some 5x3 or 4x6 unfinished wood frames that the students can paint themselves. I want each student to write down their favorite verse from the Bible and their favorite color then at home I will type up their verse and print it on colored paper to put in the frame, I also want them to write their names with paint on the frames and after a year they can take that frame home and we will do another one. Another idea is to also have them write about a time that they were dealing with a problem and how God came in and worked in their lives, these would be printed on printed stationary paper of their choice, matted and framed so that it can be a reminder to them and their classmates that God is real and He works on His own time not ours.

If any of you have any suggestions for decorating the room I would appreciate it. With that I am going to sign off and get busy. Y'all have a great day and thanks for listening to me go on about my Sunday School class.

it's March...almost Spring

I am waiting for warmer days because if winter doesn't pass on through I think I might freeze to death before it is over. I have been colder this year than any before so I am very ready to walk outside without the jacket/coat, jeans, long sleeves..etc. I know it will take more than a month for those warmer temps to get here and stay but at least we are closer than we were.

In news this weekend we all heard that Radio Legend Paul Harvey passed away, my prayers go out to his family and friends and to radio as well.

I am going back to work this week or next, with the economy the way it is and the fact that my husbands hardwood flooring business isn't that busy right now there couldn't be a better time for me to go back to work. This job kind of found me and I am looking forward to starting and getting in that routine. I will be working the perfect hours 5AM-1PM, yes I will have to get up at 3:30AM but I am a morning person so I am not worried about that. I won't have that much time to blog and that will probably go unnoticed since I don't get that much time currently. The good thing is that the flooring business is starting to pick up but the economy scares me so off to work I go and I am looking forward to it.

It seems that everyone around us got lots of snow this weekend and usually I would be wanting the white stuff as well however I am over it and thankful we didn't get any. Jackson, Tennessee which is about 4 1/2 to 5 hours West of us, had 12.5 inches dumped on them as well as many others East of us and the storm is still moving up the coast if I heard the forecaster right. Last night our church had a gentleman out of North Carolina scheduled to sing but he got stuck in Asheville, NC because of snow. We also have our yearly "Thaw Out" revival scheduled for tonight and tomorrow night, the preacher for that lives in NC also and we are hoping he can make it across the mountain in Asheville to get here for the revival.

Speaking of church, we have already ordered our VBS curriculum which means that VBS isn't that far around the corner...actually it will be here before we know it if time continues to fly as it has been.

This May I will have two graduations to attend, my son Ty will be graduating from the 5th grade and my daughter Bethany will be graduating from 8th grade, I can't believe that this is the last year I will have a child in elementary school. Chesney will be a senior next year and I have no clue how I am going to handle all that. Don't get me wrong I am very proud of my daughter but it feels like our time with her has been short, time has seriously flown by and now she is a young lady making plans to further her education and setting goals for her life. It seems just yesterday she was a tiny baby girl coming into my world.

Well, the floors aren't going to clean themselves so I need to sign off and go take care of my house work. Y'all have a beautiful safe day and God Bless You!

just for laughs....

Good evening all! Today I bring you a joke that was emailed to me, some of you may have read this before but until today I never had...ENJOY!

***********************************************************
(please note that this is not meant to offend anyone, I simply thought it was cute. Nor is there a meaning towards my husband, I love my husband very much and I am blessed to have him, snoring, farting and all I love him just the way he is and wouldn't change him if I could)

INSTA​LLING​ A HUSBA​ND

Dear Tech Suppo​rt,​

Last year I upgra​ded from Boyfr​iend 5.0 to Husba​nd 1.0 and I notic​ed a disti​nct slow d​own in the overa​ll syste​m perfo​rmanc​e,​ parti​cular​ly in the flowe​rs and jewel​ry appli​catio​ns,​ which​ opera​ted flawl​essly​ under​ Boyfr​iend 5.0.

In addit​ion,​ Husba​nd 1.0 unins​talle​d many other​ valua​ble progr​ams,​ such as Roman​ce 9.5 and Perso​nal Atten​tion 6.5, and then insta​lled undes​irabl​e progr​ams such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs​ 4.1.

Conve​rsati​on 8.0 no longe​r runs,​ and House​clean​ing 2.6 simpl​y crash​es the syste​m.​

Pleas​e note that I have tried​ runni​ng Naggi​ng 5.3 to fix these​ probl​ems,​ but to no avail​.​

What can I do?

Signe​d,​ Despe​rate


DEAR DESPE​RATE,​

First​,​ keep in mind,​ Boyfr​iend 5.0 is an Enter​tainm​ent Packa​ge,​ while​
Husba​nd 1.0 is an opera​ting syste​m.​

Pleas​e enter​ comma​nd:​ ithou​ghtyo​ulove​dme.​html and try to downl​oad Tears​ 6.2 and do not forge​t to insta​ll the Guilt​ 3.0 updat​e.​
If that appli​catio​n works​ as desig​ned,​ Husba​nd 1 .0 should​ then autom​atica​lly run the
appli​cations Jewel​ry 2.0 and Flowe​rs 3.5.

Howev​er,​ remem​ber,​ overu​se of the above​ appli​catio​n can cause​ Husba​nd 1.0 to defau​lt to Grump​y Silen​ce 2.5, Happy​ Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1.
Pleas​e note that Beer 6. 1 is a very bad progr​am that will downl​oad the
Farti​ng and Snori​ng Loudl​y Beta.​

Whate​ver you do, DO NOT under​ any circu​mstan​ces insta​ll Mothe​r-​In-​Law 1.0 (it runs a virus​ in the backg​round​ that will event​ually​ seize​ contr​ol of all your syste​m resou​rces.​)

In addit​ion,​ pleas​e do not attem​pt to reins​tall the Boyfr​iend 5.0 progr​am.​ These​ are unsup​porte​d appli​catio​ns and will crash​ Husba​nd 1.0.

In summa​ry,​ Husba​nd 1.0 is a great​ progr​am,​ but it does have limit​ed memor​y and canno​t learn​ new appli​catio​ns quick​ly.​ You might​ consi​der buyin​g addit​ional​ softw​are to impro​ve memor​y and perfo​rmanc​e.​ We recom​mend:​

Cooki​ng 3.0 and
Hot Linge​rie 7.7.


Good Luck Babe!​

Tech Support

You all have a great day, be safe and stay warm!

results from the x-ray

Upon being x-rayed and examined several times the doctors told me that Bethany has what is called an avulsion fracture on her iliac crest which in laymens terms means that she has a tiny hairline fracture on her pelvic bone from tendons and ligaments being overextended while running, they also said that some of the muscle has pulled away from the pelvic bone. Treatment requires 600mg of Motrin, which acts as an anti-inflammatory and helps the pain, every 6 hrs or as needed and lots of rest for the leg. The doctors excused her out of gym until March 2 if she has a doctors note saying that her person healed completely and she can return to full activity in gym. Bethany was not happy that she will not be doing the activities in gym and that surprised us because during Christmas break all she talked about was how bad she dreaded doing gym this semester but once the semester started it turned out that she is one of the top 5 fastest runners in the eighth grade at her school.

I don't know about anyone else but I am so over winter! Spring could arrive anytime and I wouldn't argue a bit. Since I am wanting Spring I am going to remove the Valentine template I now have and "Spring" up my place here so that I can have that wanted season now even if it is in Cyberville only.

Since it is Friday evening I am going to cut it short here, actually I can't quit sneezing so I need to sign off. I hope each and everyone of you have a wonderful weekend, be safe and stay warm...God Bless!

Y'all come back now, ya hear!

blah blah Wednesday...

Good Wednesday morning! Is it just me or does it seems that almost anything you try to do concerning a doctors office you have to go do 20 other things before you can even get an appointment in that doctors office? This is about the third time in the last 6 months I have tried to make an appointment with our pediatricians office for one of my children and have been told to take them here or there for this test or that then call them back and they will make an appointment. Bethany, our 13 yr old daughter, has injured her side and is having a rough time participating in gym class at school. I have written repeated notes that she is not to participate until the doctor has seen her to find out what exactly is going on but to no avail. Her gym teacher is aware that there is a problem but up until Thursday she had no sympathy and what caused her sympathy after class Thursday was that she saw Bethany limping when she walked, so she told Bethany that she wouldn't make her participate in gym on Friday and to make sure that Bethany was not pushed into doing the activities I kept her out of school until after gym class was over, gym is Bethany's first period so she was at school before 10AM. I called the Dr.'s office twice last week and was told the first time to call back on Friday because she was out of town until then. When I called back on Friday I was told to call back on Monday because there were no appointments available throughout the day or during the sick clinic in the evening. I called back Monday and was told to call back today because of the schedule being full, Monday I let the appointment desk know just what I thought about all of this "call back" crap. This morning I called and of course the regular day schedule is full so she will have to be seen in the night clinic then I got transfered to the night clinic appointment desk , had to leave a voice mail and almost an hour later I finally received a call back and was told that I have to take Bethany to Children's Hospital for X-Rays before her pediatrician will see her. Needless to say, at this point I am passed pissed over all this calling and still no appointment. I told the nurse before hanging up that I would take her to Childrens for the x-rays and that by the end of the night they would see her in the pediatricians office or I was calling the main dude over the office, hospital and anybody else I could get in touch with.

What really has me puzzled is that our pediatricians office is in a hospital, University of Tennessee Hospital to be exact so why can't they make an appointment and do the x-rays there? As I told the nurse, my child will be seen in her pediatricians office before the night is over or I am going to sling more stink than a sewage truck emptying at the end of the day. It is so frustrating because I have been trying to get my child seen for a week now and still no one has checked out her side. Another thing that upsets me is that because of insurance purposes I have to put up with this run around because I can't just take her to the ER or I will be charged the complete bill plus another fee if it isn't considered a life threatening emergency. The insurance has always been wonderful but they are in the middle of making changes and that is why I am having to put up with the run around. Either way my child will be seen today or I am going to put my mean mom face on and take care of business.

Anyway, I didn't mean to post a venting session but that is really all I have for now. I hope all of you have a great day and I will be back tomorrow with better news concerning Bethany and her injured side. Wish me luck!

bad storms, superstitions, and a bad tempered bus driver

Wednesday we had some very severe storms to move through, the same string of storms everyone from the midwest to east coast saw either on Tuesday or Wednesday. We were under a high wind warning all day Wednesday into early Thursday morning. I am sure that a lot of you got to experience these winds and know exactly what I am talking about. Around 10:30AM Wednesday I was sitting on the couch folding clothes when I heard this awful shattering, crunchy sound. For a moment I sat there praying and listening because I knew the sound had come from a tree falling somewhere very near to my house. Once I realized that nothing had hit the roof I jumped up to see what tree had fell. About 20 feet from our back door the top of a big tree was lying there. For the rest of the day I was a bit worried because I knew the wind was only going to get worse and I didn't want to be sitting here alone and have one of the big trees fall through my roof on me so I kept an eye out and thankfully even during the worst of the winds later on there were no more trees blown over that close to the house.

Around 3:00PM things started heating up in areas northwest, west and southwest of us. Our school system closed about thirty minutes early so that the kids could get home before the storm hit but Bethany doesn't get home until 4:30PM each day and the storm rolled in here before she could get home and that is why I was standing outside taking pics, I was watching for the bus. The first pic is of the storm coming in, the wind was starting to really pick up right after I snapped this one. This view was taken looking west over my neighbors garage.














This second pic is right before all hell broke loose. The area that looks similiar to a funnel cloud isn't, although we had a tornado warning on us and rotation had been detected by doppler radar. I was on the porch when I snapped this pic where as in the previous pic I was standing in the yard beside the house. Within two minutes after this pic we had horizontal rain and winds that were wicked. Thankfully no major damage was done in our area and no one was hurt.














It is Friday the 13th and I am not very superstitious but I am married to an Irishman who will say he isn't but his actions prove differently. If we are driving down the road and a black cat runs in front of our vehicle Mr. B will mark three tiny x's in the top corner of the windshield, no matter what building/house/store..etc. he enters, the door he enters through is the door he will leave through, even though Mr. B does hardwood flooring and is on construction sites often he will not walk under a ladder or scaffolding no matter how far he has to walk out of the way to get around it. It is funny because he says Friday the 13th doesn't bother him however he doesn't get out much when it is Friday 13th, other than work of course and he tries to get that wrapped up early. Mr. B's birthday is March 13 and next month it will fall on a Friday, he will be a bit reluctant to go out and eat or do anything else until the next day.

My sons class is having their Valentine's party today at 1:30 and I am going in early so that I can chat with the principal about Ty's bus driver. This week she has chosen my son to pick on and I am fed up with it. Everyday this week she has had something hateful to say to my son and I am done with her. Wednesday Ty was trying sit down and the kid behind him kept pushing through and as Ty was trying to pull his foot out of the way the boy rushed through and tripped over it then said Ty done it on purpose when Ty's bottom hadn't even hit the seat. All the other kids on the bus tried to tell the bus driver what had really happened but the ill tempered woman wouldn't listen. She yelled at my son to tell her what he was doing and when he tried to tell her she screamed "shut up" before he could say five words to her. It really hurt Ty's feelings and he tried to appologize to the other boy even though he hadn't intentionally tripped him but the boy and the bus driver both yelled at him so by the time Ty entered through the back door of our house he had watery eyes and was very upset, he also had four neighbor friends with him who were right behind him and wanted to tell me what had happened. Yesterday when Ty loaded the bus to come home the bus driver started yelling at him again telling him he had better behave that day and then she grabbed Ty by the arm and told him to look at her when she was talking to him. When Ty got home he told me that the woman was either blind or dumb because he was looking at her when she roughly grabbed his arm. So, today I will be speaking with the principal about this woman and if something doesn't get done then Ty will no longer be riding the bus with this idiot as the driver.

Bethany, my13 yr old, rides the same bus Ty does except that she is picked up after the elementary kids are dropped off. She said this woman driving the bus is crazier than an outhouse rat and has written everyone on their bus up at least five times this year and some of the kids didn't do anything to get wrote up. Bethany said the driver was telling one young lady not to do something anymore and the young lady answered "yes M'am" and the bus driver yelled at her saying she was being a smart alec. Evidentally this driver has some problems and today the principal and I are going to address them because she isn't going to yell at my kids and grab them, I am not having it and that is the end of it.

I hope y'all have a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I'm ready for Spring...

I always want snow every winter but it doesn't snow here much anymore. We might get a couple of dustings and sometimes, like Monday, we get maybe 2 to 2 1/2 inches which isn't enough to be called snow in my book. Monday the forecasters said that it would start out raining and by late afternoon we would have flurries and a possible dusting but when Monday came things were completely different. By 10 AM it was snowing so hard that I could barely see my neighbors house and every flake was sticking. They called school out at noon because roads were getting slush covered and slick. The kids finally went back to school this morning and I am happy about that but I am wondering when our next system will come through that will keep the kids our for two or three days. The weird thing is that Sunday it was 60F and very nice outside then Monday the cold and snow came but by this weekend we are supposed to be back up to 60F. All I can say to this is if it is going to snow it needs to do so, I am talking like 8+ inches and get it over with then I want Spring to come rushing right in here.

As a kid the cold temps never bothered me but now it doesn't take much to make me freeze, must be the getting older thing even though I am not that old. I am ready for Spring. I want to smell freshly mowed grass and blooming buds. I want to be able to throw my windows open and let the house breathe, hang my bed sheets out on the line to dry in the sunshine, take long walks, and last but not least I want to wear the lighter clothes that comes with warmer weather, all of this heavy winter garb is about to strangle me to death and I won't even mention the static that zaps me every time I touch something. When I go to the grocery store I am sure that people find me weird because before touching cans or opening the cooler/freezer doors I always clap my hands first to discharge the static that has worked up in me, I do the same before pumping gas but I am not the only one doing that.

I don't know how much I will be around in the next couple of weeks, not that I am around a lot now, because things are going to be very busy here for a little while but after that I should be able to get on regularly.

I hope you all have a good day and stay warm!

you never know what you're gonna get

Good morning all! And what a morning it is. Believe it or not we woke up to temperatures of 60F this morning but by the time evening rolls around we will be 40 degrees colder and have snow flurries. You really never know what you are going to get when it comes to East Tennessee weather, from mid to West Tennessee it is my understanding that they are blanketed in ice along with 25 other states surrounding us. The forecasters said that we barely missed the ice and I am happy that we did. If you think it is weird that I seem to mention the weather a lot in my posts it is because the weather has always facinated me. I have thought about going in to meteorology but my problem would be that I couldn't work in an office, no sir, I would have to be one of those people they call "storm chasers" yep, I would have to be right in the middle of the action.

I have been a bit lazy where this blog is concerned, not really having the get up and go to log in and post. The kids were out of school for a week due to bad weather and since then I have been enjoying my alone time here at home and using that time to get things done. I have also been spending time on MySpace goofing off with friends and family. Normally I don't frequent MySpace but for some reason here lately that is where I go when I am bored, I have made several new friends there which is a good thing. Another reason I haven't been posting is because I have really had nothing to post about, it happens to all of us from time to time so I am not going to worry over it.

I will try to make it around to all of your blogs by the end of the day today, if not then I will get by tomorrow or Friday.

Y'all have a great day !

it's been a long weekend.....

Thursday evening before lunch our county, among surrounding counties, started closing school for Friday due to the cold temps that we were expecting. I think the main factor that caused the closure in our county was that so many kids have to stand outside in the cold waiting for the buses to come by. Another major factor in the decision to close the schools was not wanting a repeat day like we had last year. Last year everyone went to bed expecting ice over night but when we woke the it was rain only and the temps hadn't dropped but within an hour which just happened to be the time everyone was getting their children to school the temps plumeted and it started icing. I remember that morning going out to start the van to let it warm up, there was just cold rain then about ten minutes later as I was taking the kids to school it started icing hard and heavy. Since children were either at school or on their way the county decided not to cancel school for the day because they thought that the temps would warm up in an hour or so but contrary to what they thought, the temp didn't warm up...it continued to drop a few more degrees through out the day and by 1 that afternoon the roadways were an icy mess. Needless to say there were a lot of weather related traffic accidents/problems that day and the county had a bigger mess of ticked off parents to deal with. All other counties closed schools when the ice started but ours went against the grain and they paid for it. Our county is always the last to announce a closure anyway unless it is actually snowing/icing/flooding and problems are starting, that is the only way they will close schools before the 11 o'clock news comes on.

With the extremely cold temps that we had over the last few days there were bound to be some problems arise, we woke on both Friday and Saturday morning to frozen water, actually the water had not only frozen but also burst during the night. Shawn is no plumber but he knows enough to repair small problems and I felt so bad for him because he worked so long repairing the burst pipe on Friday then even with precautions and extra steps the pipe done the exact same thing during the wee hours of the morning on Saturday. Finally around 4 PM Saturday afternoon we had water and since then there have been no problems. I will tell you that you don't know how much you use water until you have none, I am thankful that we have other places close to us to shower because there is no way I am going an entire day without a shower....ewwwww.

I will try to make my way 'round to all of your blogs some time today to catch up.

Hope you all have a good day and stay warm!

hey, hey, hey and a meme..

I am feeling better and I am caught up with most everything after being sick so I thought I would stop in and drop a few lines. I don't know if I will have time to stop by all of your blogs today or not but I will try. Today will be a very busy day for us because we have errand after errand to run when Mr. B gets home from work.

Bethany had an appointment with her orthodontist Tuesday so that they could install the wire to the tooth that was impacted but was exposed by the oral surgeon and also for a normal tightening. While in there she caught a glimpse of her file and her estimated date for removal of the braces was moved up to April 14, 2010 which is 6 months before the original estimated removal date. They told us that she would have to wear the braces for 2 to 2 1/2 yrs but surprisingly her teeth are moving quickly so I am thinking that maybe we can even beat the April 2010 date if the teeth continue to move as they are now. Within three days after they removed her wisdom teeth we could tell a major difference in the bottom teeth and it is really unbelievable at the change her teeth have made. Now she is beginning to see what I have tried to tell her all along which is everything she is going through now will all be worth it in the end, she is no longer embarrassed to smile and show her teeth and that is awesome if you ask me!

Over a month ago I was tagged by Peachz to do a meme, I promised her that I would do the meme in a few days but with the holidays then sickness I didn't have the chance so I am going to do that now.

7 weird/random things about myself, I will not be tagging anyone but if any of you would like to do the meme please let me know so that I can come over and read it.

1. (One of my many pet peeves) I can't stand to hear someone pronouncing a word wrong. If they do it once or twice big deal but to constantly continue doing it really hits my nerve endings so I almost always say the correct pronunciation, don't get me wrong I don't always pronounce words correctly either but if I am not sure when I say the word I will ask if that is the correct pronunciation.

2. (I'm a crier) I have watched commercials that make me tear up. Seeing people extremely happy sometimes makes me cry, it just warms my heart. My favorite movie is The Color Purple and no matter how many times I see it I still cry just as much as I did the first time. It's weird because sometimes my feelings can get hurt so easily but other times you couldn't hurt them with a sledge hammer.

3. (Grocery shopping) I am not much for shopping but more than that I detest grocery shopping especially if I have to do it alone. I always make sure that Mr. B is free so that he can go with me to the grocery because I figure if I have to suffer I am not doing it alone (insert the "misery loves company" line here)...heehee.

4. (Checking out at the grocery store) When I am ready to check out at the grocery my items have to be put on the conveyor belt in a certain order like boxes with boxes, cold foods with cold foods..yada yada. With this weird little thing about me Mr. B is the wrong person to be taking food shopping because he puts the food on there in whatever order the items hit his grasp as he reaches into the cart and expects the bagger to seperate it all. When you get the food home it is so much easier to put your items away if they are organized before bagging.

5. (Building a sandwich) When I make a sandwich there is an order that I follow and I am really weird about it. I do not like for my condiments to be in between the meat and veggies or the meat and cheese, I want the condiments between the bread and the meat so that I don't have to chase every bite then repair the sandwich as well as possible before starting the process over. I also don't like to mix my condiments, for example put the mayo on top and the mustard on the bottom. When eating out I will ask whoever is taking my order to place the condiment(s) in this order.

6. (IPod ear buds and little ears) For Christmas we bought both of the girls an IPod Touch so Bethany gave me her IPod Nano. I found out very quickly that my ears were to small for the ear buds and because of my small ears I had to go to Wally World and purchase a pair of ear buds to fit my ears and they were not cheap. I am sure the cashiers in the electronics department laughed their heads off at me when I left because I had to try some of the ear buds to make sure they would fit, I was told they had never had anyone with the same problem before. With the original ear buds it doesn't matter how you put them in my ears, they pop right back out and in order to get them in my ears you have to cram them in there then after all of the effort put forth they pop right out. Both of my girls have tried to get the ear buds to stay in my ears to no avail and they thought it was hilarious that I had to go find a smaller pair to fit.

7. (Random Public Acts) I love to sing! If I hear music I will explode if I can't sing along so I am forever embarrassing my offspring by randomly bursting out in song where ever I am. When we are in a place that has no music playing it is like God installed an IPod right inside my brain and it is on shuffle because all of these songs start playing and of course I have to sing along. I have to really be careful if I am out in a store and I am really paying attention to what I am looking at because I will sometimes get going a bit louder than is appropriate for public.

Once again I will not be tagging anyone but feel free to play along, just make sure you let me know so that I can check it out.

You all have a great day and stay warm!