Heeeeeeee-eeeey, don't I know you from somewhere?

Yeah, I know...it's been a long time. I tell myself all the time, "Dude, self, you need to get back to blogging. Maybe once those fingers get moving on the keyboard you might remember what you have to say." And then one of the kids bellows, or a customer wants to yell at me because it's my fault that she can't afford her medication, or my weary husband needs some attention....yeah, what's a blog?

So there really has been a lot going on. Both of the girls recently participated in the science fair at school, and both did great. Beth got an A for her project on what happens to cornstarch peanuts in water/vinegar/acetone. And Catey took first prize for the fourth grade for her project on which environment a salt garden would grow best in. I'm so stinkin' proud of them, and yeah, a bit smug because I TOLD THEM that they could do great once they applied themselves. Bethany's grades have improved exponentially, and I'm thrilled. Catey's have actually dropped, but it's because the twerp doesn't turn in her work. It seems like I ask her daily what the point of doing her homework is if she's not going to turn it in and GET THE CREDIT. She'll get my point, someday, right? RIGHT? *scared that she'll turn out just like me*

Matt keeps busy in his rockin' cool kindergartener-ness. His teacher made me tear up a little bit at his conference a while back. She said that he's the sweetest, most tender hearted boy in the class, and is always going out of the way to help the kids that have disabilities. The other kids had started off ostracising the two little boys, but Matthew took them under his wing and NOBODY dares pick on the boys now. When they try, Matt tells them that they have to be nice to HIS friends. *pride* He spends every waking moment that he can with his best buddy, Ryan, who lives next door. I swear, sometimes it seems like he eats more meals over at Ryan's house than he does here. Meh, at least he's eating, right? (I should probably pitch in on Trish's grocery bill, though!)

Brian is pushin' on at work. He's the head of Wing Training, and makes sure that all the airmen go through their required courses to keep up on...AirForcey stuff. It's not his dream job, but he's working toward that. Hopefully he'll be able to go to one of the courses that's required for him to be able to DO his dream job, in February. If he does he'll be gone the entire four weeks. It'll suck being without him, but he'll be taking that next step to be able to do what he really wants. Seeing that pride in himself and satisfaction in what he's doing will be worth it. He's also been doing the Mr. Mom thing quite a bit, since I'm on such an insane schedule at work. On the nights when I have to work late he's the one making sure they eat, making sure homework is done, trying to prevent fights, coralling toward bed, answering the incessant..."Daddy, I want you!" Yeah, he loves it.

As for what's going on with me...I was promoted to team lead back in April, and since then I work a rotating schedule each week. First week is 7-4, next is 8-5, all the way to 1-10. The late shift SUCKS, thankfully, one of the other leads hates coming in early so we trade quite frequently. Especially lately. Starting next week, though, I'll be supervising a team of contracted employees. (Nice speak for TEMPS.) This will be my first time supervising a team, so it's great for my resume. I'm not worried, since it's pretty much everything that I'm doing right now, it's just people that don't know me. And in all reality, it's probably easier with people that don't know me as opposed to the people on my team right now that went through training with me. It was unnerving at first, going from peer to leader and staying on the same team. I'll be supervising this contract employee team for their full time with the company, and once they leave at the end of January I'll likely be leaving as well.

This was a really hard decision to come to. I absolutely love my job, and was really looking forward to applying for the supervisor position that's coming open. However, what with the issues of Catey not turning in her work, Beth thinking that it's OK to float through life like a dumb blonde, and Matt's whining...it's time for me to be back at home. They're adding a 2-11 schedule at the end of December as well, and the new supervisor is going to be required to work that shift for the first 6 months. That's just not feasable for our family. Brian has also essentially put his career on hold so I could work. The few times he's gone anywhere has only been for a short period, and we've had to ask friends and neighbors to help with the kid roundups when I couldn't make it home from work in time. Now that my sister has moved away I have even less support, and don't want to take atvantage of neighbors. So since Brian is going to a new training course for February and I need to go back to WA for a visit in March, January 31 seems like the perfect "quit date." A few people at work know already, but I'm keeping it on the quietish side. I still want to do this contract employee supervisor thing, and I know I'll do well. I don't want to give my manager a reason to think that I'd give it anything less than 100%. (And I'm REALLY not looking forward to telling her about it.)

So what do I plan on doing with myself once I quit? Matt will be back at home with me in the mornings, since he'll no longer be in daycare, so we'll do the general housework & laundry, and go on mom & boy dates before school. While he & the girls are in school I'm going to start working on my photography again. My hope is to do "living portraiture" and stock photography. I'm setting up some shoots with some co-workers so I can use their photos in my portfolio. This summer we'll hit the museums & library, have campouts in the backyard and do the things that we really missed this past summer. As much as I love my job and I know I'll miss it, I'm really looking forward to being a stay-at-home mom who's never home again.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...now you're pretty much all caught up. One of my goals is to get back to blogging, at least once a week. Most of the time it feels like I have nothing to say, but the words pour out anyway. I don't even know if anybody reads this blog anymore, but it really isn't the point. I need to get that part of myself out again. I was seeing a therapist for a while but it seemed like everything she & I talked about is something I've blogged about in the past. Might as well just put it "on paper."

Anyway...I need wine. And I think there's part of a bottle of Cranberry Bog left over from Thanksgiving that's calling my name. YAY WINE!!!

I love books.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the public library is great in theory, but I never have time to get down there. Besides, I always end up having an anxiety attack in the library. The same for big bookstores. I can't do it. It's too cluttered. (As I guiltily glance at the clutter here on my desk. Apparently my own clutter isn't as bad as public clutter.)

Anyway, I haven't indulged my love of books recently, so I went on a mini-spree on Amazon today. Somehow I managed to keep it under $100, yay me!!!

So here's my reading for the summer, to be read in the order I receive them...



OK, so I ordered Breaking Dawn a while ago, but it's not due for release until August. One of the girls at work got me hooked on the series though, and since I don't get to look forward to any more Harry Potter books, this was a great substitute. It's about a girl that moves to Washington (*sigh, I miss those trees!*) to live with her dad. She meets an unusual family, and falls in love with one of the boys. Come to find out, he's not quite human. Adventures ensue, and now we're waiting on book four, the last one. Stephanie Meyer is an incredible writer, and has a knack of drawing you into the story so you feel like you're really in the forest.


It seems like the plot will be more of the same old feel good chick movie, but the reviews were great. The lead character wakes up one day and only remembers her past, not what's going on in her life now. It's been done so many times before, and so many of those attempts were worn out and trite, but hopefully this journey on the same path will be different. HOPEFULLY.


I read Baby Proof from Emily Griffin, and it was cute. Not too deep, but a different take on the eternal conundrum of the working woman, whether or not she really wants kids, and what she's willing to give up to stick to her guns. I like books that come from a vastly different point of view, even if they are a bit shallowly written. This one is taking the view of looking back on what could have been. Who out of all of us has never wondered what would have happened if we had stayed with that one person?



I loved The Devil Wears Prada. I was a vicarious New Yorker when I read it. That was enough to get me to read Chasing Harry Winston.

Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass LookBig, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer

Seriously, with such a fabulous title, why WOULDN'T a pretty, fat, narcissistic chick want to read it? Besides, the note that she's got on Amazon just speaks to me.

"To whom the fat rolls…I'm tired of books where a self-loathing heroine is teased to the point where she starves herself skinny in hopes of a fabulous new life. And I hate the message that women can't possibly be happy until we all fit into our skinny jeans. I don't find these stories uplifting; they make me want to hug these women and take them out for fizzy champagne drinks and cheesecake and explain to them that until they figure out their insides, their outsides don't matter. Unfortunately, being overweight isn't simply a societal issue that can be fixed with a dose healthy of positive self-esteem. It’s a health matter, and here on the eve of my fortieth year, I've learned I have to make changes so I don't, you know, die. Because what good if finally being able to afford a pedicure if I lose a foot to adult onset diabetes?"

I soooooooo can't wait to read this book!!!



Gossip of the Starlings is going to be my serious read for the summer. It's getting great reviews, and it hits in an area that's coming up in my life. Teenagers, drugs, peers...the joys I get to look forward to now that I have a pre-teen.



I try not to judge books by their covers, but I'll absolutely pick one up for a great title. (As evidenced above!) So when I saw the title on this one, I had to get it. Besides, Chelsea Handler has left me in fits of giggles before, I love her. I love what one of my other favorite writers has to say about Chelsea, "Chelsea Handler writes like Judy Blume, if Judy Blume were into vodka, Ecstasy, and sleeping with midgets and nineteen-year-olds." It's just so wrong in all the right ways!!!





I can't wait to come home and check the mail over the next few weeks!!!!

For James

I found all of these on one day out & about when we lived in Okinawa. I wish I had had my camera with me the other times I found butt-vacuums, I don't think any two are the same!



"The cigarette butts are always more noticeable when I'm walking my dog."


"Inhaled. Burned. Thrown away. If it were anything but a cigarette, it would surely be crying."


"Smoke is billowing from a stand ashtray. If it were my home, I wouldn't be so calm."


"My cigarette always points toward others, never toward myself."

I wonder if there's a deeper meaning here...

We were adopted by another cat this weekend, raising our familial feline count to the nice round number of THREE.

On Saturday I was on my way home from work, talking to Brian on my cell phone, and as he walked to the front door he said, "Hey, there's a dead cat on our porch! No....um....wait, it's resurrected, nevermind." The poor cat was just grabbing a nap wherever it could. He stepped outside and the cat started winding it's way around Brian's legs. Animal lover that Brian is, he gave the cat some food and said to the cat, "I shall call you SKELETOR!"

I got home a few minutes later and found the cat laying under the neighbor's truck. I sat down to check Skeletor out, and we visited for a few minutes. I got up to walk away, and the cat has been following me like the PuppyCat he really is ever since.

This cat is seriously the saddest, most pathetic animal I've ever come across while it was still alive. he had to have been loved in his life, because he's great with everybody. He even lets Matt dance with him. He's not afraid of dogs at all, and only hisses and backs away from my other cats, which tells me that they'll all warm up to each other in no time. But SO SKINNY. We could count the ribs, and see the vertebra poking out of his back, and his hipbones jutting out. It's just heartbreaking that somebody could love an animal like that and just abandon it, helpless.

As we were getting to know each other I gave the cat a good checkover to see if there were any injuries that needed immediate attention, and I realized, "wow, Skelator is a girl." Now, as cool a name as Skeletor is for a cat, it's just not a name for a GIRL cat. So I started thinking about what kind of name would suit this sweet little girl that was purring her way into our hearts. She's just so freakin' SKINNY. Sack of Bones just doesn't suit her, though. She looks anorexic. Hm...Annie-rexic. That's just kinda funny..."I shall call you ANNIE!" And Annie she is..

Now here's where the deeper meaning comes in...

Our boy cats are named after food. Queso and Carne. In essence, my boys are Cheese and Meat. Caitlin says that if you put them together you have a Cheeseburger.

I have just named my new cat after an eating disorder.


Um...Yeah...

And I'm overweight.



Dude, we've got issues.