Happy New Year

My stepdad came home from the hospital yesterday. It's great having him home. He can't go back to work for at least 6 weeks and I know he's going to get cabin fever. He's thinking about going on permanent disability but he hasn't made up his mind. He doesn't want to end up back in the hospital for this stuff again so he's decided to keep to his diet and do everything the dr. told him to do. Thats great to hear. Now we just have to get some people in the house to stop smoking. That isn't good for anyone's health.

Nothing else has been going on. Tomorrow is New Years Eve and I have no idea what I want to do. I'm supposed to go to Maggie's dad's house but I don't know if I want to especially since Longo is being a total jerk. Doesn't sound like it'll be a lot of fun. I was also invited to Heidi's but I don't know what the deal is going to be with that either. I might just stay home...Sometimes I think its best that way. And since we didn't spend Christmas at home, I think it might be nice to spend at least one of the holidays there with family. I think its a good idea...whether other people do I don't know.

Tonight is the family get together on my dads side. I really don't want to go. The people there make me uneasy. I know they're family but I see them once a year and I feel bad because I don't see them all the time and they really don't know me. I mean my dad doesn't really know me I don't think either. I don't talk to him all that often and if I do, the conversation last literally under 7 minutes. I've timed it. I don't know if its the huge generation gap between us or what. We just don't have a lot to talk about. We never have. I'm just closer to my moms side of the family rather than my dads. Besides, there is always some sort of drama going on and this year isn't any different. My dad and my aunt and uncle had a falling out over the summer and they haven't spoken to each other since. I don't think thats going to change. I hate when families fight like that. Anyway lets get away from the negative and look at the postive.

This is time of year almost always means a fresh start for people whether it be personal, professional, whatever. I have nothing but positive thoughts for the upcoming year. I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year.

"Old Time Rock n' Roll"

This morning on the way to work I heard "Old Time Rock n' Roll" by Bob Seger and it triggered something. I remember when I first heard that song. I was in 2nd grade music class at St. Stanislaus. My music teacher, I can't remember his name for the life of me but I remember what he looked like, wrote the lyrics on the chalk board and said that this was one of his favorite songs. He has us sing along to it and he played it on the radio. I remember sitting on the olive green carpet with my classmates watching him sing along and all that. I think that was the only year he taught there. I believe after he left, music was taught by one of the nuns. I dont' know because I don't remember taking music again at that school. I think that was my first and last music class while I was there. I transferred to another school right after 3rd grade.

Then I remember one of my classmates, Jordi. Her name was really Jordan which back then was different especially for a girl. Her mom, Miss Melanie, was my kindergarten teacher and she used to talk about Lionel Richie all the time. That was her favorite singer and her favorite song by him was Truly. (I can't stand that song for some reason) Anyway the kids used to roll their eyes when she would talk about him and all that.

I remembered a lot of things from when I was there. I've been passed the church and old school a couple times in recent months. The school is pretty much abandoned and I don't think the church is still in use. I know they used it for an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street once. But when I looked into the parking lot which we used as a recess yard I remember playing The Farmer in the Dell and just running around playing with my classmates. I looked over at the entrance to the school and remember going in there everyday and walking upstairs to my class. If you went downstairs where the pre-school was, you could smell the playdough before you hit the classroom. I remember they would hold a Christmas bazaar there every year and all the old Polish ladies would make things like crocheted air freshener covers and these little crocodiles that would hold a hershey kiss. Everything was really cheap so you could buy Christmas presents for your parents.

I remember sitting at a table and Alan brought in a snake and jumped on the table when it got out. I was petrified. Chris, one of my best friends used to like to eat rubber cement. I don't know how he pulled that off but he did. There were 2 Brians in my class; one could speak Polish and was really smart and the other could do long division was really smart but wasn't very nice. I remember my best friend, Kristy, who lived in Little Italy and how years later I would learn that she was hit by a car protecting her little sister. She didn't die but she was in a full body cast for a while. I remember the last day of 2nd grade we were allowed to wear regular clothes and I was talking to Jordi and she asked me if I knew who the Bangles were and what I thought of them. I remember saying to my best friend on the last day of 3rd grade when she got off the bus that I would see her next year. That was the last time I would ever talk to her. I transferred to public school for 4th grade.

When I was there last I looked over at the old Rectory and remember having to go there for Confession class and Communion class. I remember Father Thomas asking us all what our favorite color was and Jordi said black. He said black was the devils color and she said I don't care I like it. I remember my first confession. My Uncle Buddy had to take me because my mom had to work. I didn't like him, he wasn't a very nice person, so I really wanted my grandmother to go. She met me there.

I can still remember the daily routine: Hang up your coat, put your lunch away, sit at your desk. When the tone rang, we would stand up say the pledge, the Our Father, and the Hail Mary and we would sing one patriotic song. On Wednesdays we went to Mass. I didn't like the smell of the church. It smelled funny to me. It was probably the incense. I remember at the end of the school year, our teacher would have us wrap our hands in masking tape and have us crawl around on the floor to get the big pieces of dirt up. I know thats weird but thats what they had us do. I remember every single one of my teachers. Mrs. Critcher for 1st grade, Mrs. Schatz for 2nd, and Mrs. Fredericks for 3rd. Unlike my sisters, I didn't have any nuns for teachers except for religion class in 3rd grade. Since Mrs. Fredericks was Lutheran they wouldn't let her teach us about religion since it was a Catholic school.

I know this was a long entry but things just kept coming to me. I remember so many things. It's a biproduct of aging I suppose. Its so weird the things that you remember and what triggers it. All it took was an old song to make all those years come flooding back. This is just the tip of the iceberg....there are so many things I remember about that school and one day I'll write again about it. For now though I'm going to think about some of the people I used to know and about what they could be doing now.

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Things were a little somber this year considering the circumstances. I gave my mom and my sisters their presents yesterday morning. They really liked what I got them. Then we went to Christmas breakfast at my cousins house. That was fun. The girls were so happy so see us and show us their new toys. They'll probably hate me in the future but I got them books again this year. I try to get educational gifts for the kids in my life. They get enough of the other stuff so why not think outside the box right? I ordered the Leapfrog Little touch leap pad for Andy....he got 3 of them not including ours so I'm going to sell it on eBay or something and get him some baby Einstein things. I suggested that originally but my stepdad scoffed at it. I got a gift card from my sister and a picture of the girls with Santa from my cousin. It was nice. After we ate and visited, we headed to the hospital and spent the day there. My sister wound up in the emergency room with a severe anxiety attack. She gets them worse than I do and is on medication for it but since they only planned to stay the day on Saturday didn't bring her medicine so she wound up skipping a dose. That sort of triggered it along with how many people were in the hospital room. They gave her her medicine in the emergency room and then she was ok. At around 6 we left the hospital and headed home where we ate dinner.

All in all it wasn't bad. I got my Christmas wish in that my stepdad pulled through the surgery and he's doing remarkably well. They say he might be home by the end of the week. He's still really sore but thats to be expected...he had open heart surgery.....thats going to hurt. They say he still might need a transfusion to get his blood pressure back up but they're going to wait and see. After work today we're going back up to the hospital to see how he is. I'll tell you this....I hope I don't see the inside of a hospital for at least a whole year. I've been in a hospital more than school this year. Speaking if school, I got my math grade. I wound up with a B. How great a feeling that was. Yeah I wanted an A but I knew I wasn't going to get it. I thought for sure it was going to be a C. I just wanted to pass. I think I'm going to work extra hard next semester to get all A's and not slack off like I did. School doesn't start for a couple weeks yet so I'm not going to push it. I finally finished "Sense & Sensibility" over the weekend. Great book. And I started on "Pride & Prejudice". So far that one is good too. I think it moves a little faster than "Sense & Sensibilty" but maybe I'm just getting used to her style of writing I don't know.

Well thats all for now. Better get back to work. No one is here. I think there is only one other person in the building. Its strange but I like it.

Postponed for Now

Well my mom couldn't find the courthouse so she and my stepdad aren't getting married tomorrow like they wanted to. They're going to wait til he's out of the hospital to do. Maybe even do it on New Year's Eve....that way he won't forget their anniversary. He has his operation tomorrow at 7 am. The doctors said it would take about 5 hours. I was supposed to come into work tomorrow but I don't want to leave my mom up there by herself so I might just go up there with her. I asked my sister if she was going and she said yeah but she didn't know what time. Since I haven't gone up the past 2 nights, I'm going to go up this evening.

My aunt and my sister had a blow up of sorts. After we left her house yesterday, my aunt called my sister and starting yelling at her telling her all sorts of things. When we got home, my sister was reduced to tears....My aunt really let her have it. She said a lot of mean things that I don't care to repeat but some of the points she made were true. She just went about it the wrong way. Now my brother in law is all sorts of mad and wants to call Aunt Sam up and tell her what he thinks of her. I just wish people would let it go. Yeah I know if it was me I would be upset too but this is not the time to be pulling stuff like this. I'm hoping that soon it'll be water under the bridge. My mom and my aunt just starting talking again two years ago after 6 years. They had a huge fight over my sister, the same one coincidentally. People just need to let things go. There are times you need to stand up and say something....this is not one of those times.

Anyway....nothing else is going on personally but in the news there are a couple things of interest that are happening. One is that the Senate blocked the propostion for drilling for oil in and Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. Good job Senate! Another issue, this one not at all favorable, was the extension of the Patriot Act....on the upside its only extended for 6 months. Hopefully with any luck it will be defeated and there will be no more Patriot Act. Another one that is really deplorable is that the government will be cutting several federally funded programs, the hardest hit areas being Medicare and Medicaid. I was so disappointed when this happened. I wish people would realize that some people need help and sometimes it's our social responsibility to help those people. I know there are people out there who take advantage of the system but there are infinitely more people that really need it. I hate hearing how some people are forced to live. It just doesn't seem right when there are so many wealthy people. Once again the rich were still be given tax breaks...that doesn't seem fair does it. I mean the government takes over $200 per paycheck...I don't mind....why can't the rich give up just a little bit more. It's not hurting them any is it?

ok I'm going to step off my soapbox for the day. Merry Christmas!

Someones Getting Married

No....not me....my mom and stepdad. I call him my stepdad because he and my mom have been together for 20 years. They broke up for a while when I was in middle school but have been together ever since. They have their ups and downs and he did move out for a while but they stayed together. Well in light of his health problems and the fact that they just never got around to getting married, he brought it up yesterday and they decided that Friday depending on when his surgery is and how it goes, they're going to get married right there in the hospital. Yeah I know it sounds tacky and suspicious but its what he wants to do. She was afraid yesterday that he was going to regret it later but he said he wouldn't. Anyway...thats who's getting married. I don't know if I'm going to be there though since I have to work. I just hope everything goes well and he comes out of it ok.

I got to work almost an hour late this morning. Not intentionally, I woke up late and thought it was earlier than it was so I got here a little before 8. I'm among the first to get here so it wasn't really a big deal. My mom is still taking things pretty hard but my stepdad is trying to find her a doctor that will give her something to calm her nerves. She's been drinking a lot but nothing I do or say seems to make her stop. Maybe if she got something for her nerves, she would stop. It's unlikely but one can hope. If it doesn't then my cousin and I are going to plan an intervention. She's had an issue with alcohol before. She tried to commit suicide shorty after her and my stepdad broke up back when I was in middle school. My sister was the one that found her and called 911....luckily they were able to save her but she had to seek psychiatric treatment and attend AA. She didn't drink for years but now she's back to doing it all day everyday. She drinks as soon as she wakes up and on the way to work and after work and at home. I wish there was something I could do to make her stop but nothing seems to work. I really think she's trying to kill herself and everyone, myself included, is afraid to say something to her...hence the planned intervention.

Wow! I feel so much better now that thats off my chest. I've been kinda at a loss here lately with everything going on. I wish people could learn to relax and try to think positive. I know its hard to do that sometimes and I don't do it all the time but when stuff like this happens it doesn't help to think the worst. There is almost always a silver lining.

Gotta Make The Most of It

Good News, Bad News time....Good News: my stepdad didn't have a heart attack and he's being well taken care of. Bad News: he has to have at least a triple bypass if not a quadruple.

We went to the hospital directly from work yesterday so we could know what was going on. When we got there they still hadn't taken him back but were going to do so within the hour. So they took him back and in a little while, he was back out. The doctor came over to us and took us into the consult room and gave us that bad news. All of his stents are failing. They're blocked which means blood isn't getting to his heart. ALL of the bypasses are bad so they're deciding what to do next. He's to meet with the surgeon this morning. At least he's in a hospital where they know what they're doing. I was so angry when I heard all of this. It was like a million emotions going through me at once. I'm so glad he followed his instincts and called his doctors. They had him come over to the hospital right away and that when they found all this. It took a lot for me not to go up to Upper Chesapeake and tell them what I really thought of them. The nurses were really nice but I never once saw a doctor come in. I guess he had more important things to do than care for a patient. So Christmas isn't going to be all happy this year. Thats ok as long as he's ok. I don't care about presents and all that stuff. I just want him to be healthy and happy and things go alright, you know?

My mom isn't taking this news well at all. She's never been able to though. I mean she's an absolute mess. This is almost a replay of last year except worse. At least last year he was home for Christmas. It looks like we'll be there for the holiday. I've never spent a holiday at place other than a house. It's gonna be weird but we'll make the most of a bad situation.

Not AGAIN!

Over the weekend, my stepdad went into the hospital. He was having chest pains and wanted to make sure it wasn't his heart. He has a history of cardiac problems. He's had at least 2 heart attacks and almost had one last year. So they kept him over night at the "Dog Hospital"...Thats what we call Upper Chesapeake Medical Center. I don't know why he didn't have one of us drive him to St. Joe's but he didn't. Anyway they said that everything came back fine and he could go home. Now my mom came over to me a little bit ago and said that his cardiologist and primary care doc feel that he needs to go to the hospital now. They are waiting for him. They're very upset that Upper Chesapeake, knowing his prior medical conditions, didn't check out his stents and all that (those are little cages that prop open the arteries) So he's headed over there now. He wanted to drive; luckily a guy he works with talked him out of it and is taking him over. They wanted to take him by ambulance but he didn't want to do that. I wish something could be done about Upper Chesapeake. That hospital is perhaps the worst in the state. I've never seen such neglect. They took all the quacks from Fallston (that was the old hospital) and transferred them over to Upper Chesapeake. It's just uncalled for. They should think about restructuring before that hospital is sued for malpractice or worse. It's just really really upsetting that they sent him home last night and something could have happened and he could have died. That is if everything doesn't turn out well with the test they're getting ready to do. My mom doesn't take this sort of stuff well so I have to be the cool calm one. Sometime I get really upset with my sisters because they don't seem to care and don't want to help mom

I don't know what to do anymore. It's just really stressful and with the holidays this week I'm at my wits end. Too much crazy stuff going on.

On a brighter note, we made a ton of candy this weekend. The girls were covered in chocolate. I wish I had the camera but it was at the hospital with my stepdad. Anyway it was a good time for all.

Working For the Weekend

No, not the terrible 80's song....I have to do some work over the weekend. Man I really don't like that song at all...I have it on a CD that I haven't listened to in forever; probably for good reason. Anyway over the weekend Heidi and the girls are coming up to make candy and cookies. I think I might be more excited than they are. They keep saying "Are we going to Nana's still?". Nana is my mom....she isn't their grandmother, she's their great aunt but when my cousin Christopher was little, he couldn't say Mary...it came out Nana and it sort of stuck with some of the kids. Anyway it should be a lot of fun.

Because of the weather yesterday, I didn't have time to get to the stores to get some of the supplies that I needed. So today I'm going to have to run out and get them. It won't be too bad I hope. I don't have to go to the mall which is always a blessing so I shouldn't run into any traffic issues. I also have to finish up some of the Christmas shopping that I have left. I don't have a lot of people left to do but I have a bit. Most people are getting gift cards from me either from Barnes & Noble or Toys R Us. I wish we had a Borders closer to us. I don't care for Barnes & Noble....they don't carry a lot of what I like to read. A couple years ago my friend was looking for a specific book for me and they said they didn't carry it because it was considered left-wing. I didn't know that book stores were so political. They closed the Bibelot they had up here years ago because people were going into Barnes & Noble instead...that was a great book store. You could find just about anything in there and their coffee shop was better than Starbucks. Starbucks is so hoity-toity that I hate going in there. I grin and bare it every one in a while to get a hot apple cider or something.

So its a packed weekend. School is over so I don't have to worry about homework for the time being. I still don't know when the grades are going to be posted. I think they should be posted by next week sometime. As far as I know, most of the finals are done and over with the exception of the classes that were supposed to take them yesterday. School was cancelled because of inclement weather. Why couldn't that happen to me on Tuesday? :(

Favorite song at the moment: "Soul Meets Body" Death Cab for Cutie. Great song!

Good Idea

Since Christmas is right around the corner, I'm coming up short on good gift ideas. I have most of the "important" people done. Important being my family. I've explained to friends that they might have to wait til after Christmas for gifts because of a shortage of funds. Seems like everyone is tight on cash this year for various reasons. This brings me to an idea that I got from something my sister asked for for Christmas. A couple years ago we had a mutual friend living with us and she had this herbal pillow. You could put it in the microwave for a couple minutes and it would heat up and smell really good. I've been looking for them on and off since then. My sister asked for one this year. So I figured why can't I make them. All they consist of is material for the actual pillow (breathable material like cotton), flax seed, rice, or beans for the filling, herbs and oils. Not to bad. Then I was thinking where am I going to get the oil and flax seed. The local farm and feed store (yes I live in a place where they have not one but three within driving distance) sells flax seed so that's once down. Now where to find oils. I thought maybe Michael's or Joann's might have them but they didn't. I did a little more research online of course and found that the Natural Food store sells them. These can be a little expensive mind you but you are only using a couple drops to scent the flax in the filling. I figure if I buy a lot of flax seed which is relatively inexpensive and couple different oils, then I can make a couple different pillows for people and it won't cost me a lot except in time. Not too bad though considering since school is out for the moment, I'll have quite a bit of time on my hands. So this weekend I'm going to go to a these stores and buy the stuff I'll need for it. I also need to go to Joann's for the fabric. There are recipes that you can find online as well that will help you find the right combination of scents for different things. They have one for babies and expectant mothers, they have some for when people are sick....all kinds. It's really interesting. These things go back hundreds of years. So once I get all the materials together, I'm going to make a couple different ones for people for Christmas. I thought it was a good idea. And they're a really good stress reliever too when heated. They can also be frozen.

Now on to the other issue that is "plaguing" me. I had my math final last night. It wasn't pretty. I don't think I did all that well but I tried. A lot of the test was on what we did last week. Unfortuanately, I missed last week due to my tooth. It's not good at all. I froze once I got the test. I couldn't remember the simple stuff either but it eventually came to me. I just wish he would have done less on that chapter and more on the other. I tried though, I hope that counts for something. I'm not looking for a super grade or anything. I just want to pass and I hope by next week I'll know. It's over now...there's no use getting too upset over it. If anything I'll have to take it over again (I'm realy hoping that I don't have to) but it's ok. It wouldn't be the first time I had an issue with a math class. I'm a total dunce when it comes to math so when I started college I had to take remedial algebra. I failed the first time because I couldn't understand factoring. Now that I look back on it, factoring was super easy. But at the time I thought it was hard. But I eventually worked through it and passed with a B last year. So it wouldn't surprise me if I had to repeat this again. I know there'll be a lot of people repeating it from my class because they audited it this semester and said they were planning on taking it again as long as they didn't get the same teacher. Anyway school is over and once I know how I did (whether or not I passed) I'll post it. Like I said I already got my results from my other class and I didn't have to worry about that at all. She said she liked my paper and that I did a good job researching a tough subject. I wish I knew what other people wrote about though. I have no idea what they could have written about aside from environmental law which is an awesome subject. I hope next semester my anthropology class is as good as this one was. I'm really looking forward to that. I can't wait.

Well, thats it for now. Just wanted to relieve some of the thoughts that were swirling in my head about the final last night and maybe give someone a good idea for a Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa present. I don't know if presents are given on Kwanzaa...I'll have to look that one up and post about it.

One Problem Solved

Well today I got my wisdom tooth pulled. It wasn't too bad though. I'm not afraid of needles I just didn't expect him to come at me with it like that. Any way the third one is the only one that really hurt and it was done in less than 10 minutes. So now I just have to wait for it to heal. I go back to work tomorrow...I just hope I can answer the phone and people can understand me. I sounds like I have a wad of cotton in my mouth, which I do.

Jason came up for the weekend. I was glad he was here because I needed a distraction and he helped me out a lot. He's always a lot of fun to have at the house. I baked cookies this weekend too. I baked a batch of chocolate chip, a batch of chocolate chip pecan, peanut butter, and gingerbread. I have to make more this coming up weekend along with the candy that Heidi and the girls are coming up to make. I can't wait....its going to be a lot of fun. I know it'll be a mess but it'll be worth it. I have to finish up shoppping this weekend too. Just lots of stuff going on at once.

Tomorrow is my last final. I think I'll so alright. I got a 98 in research writing. I was relieved to learn that. I knew I was doing well I was just glad that on my final paper I got a 147/150. I was so so happy. So one more to go until next semester. I can't wait til I can go back full time. It'll be hard but it'll all be worth it. Things are going so well with school it makes me wonder where I would be if I didn't mess around the first time I was there. Oh well you live and learn.

Thats all for now. I gotta get some sleep since I have to go back to work tomorrow an the pain medicine is starting ot kick in.

Dazed and Confused

No not the movie however it is a good movie. A young Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey stay in it. Very funny, if you're bored or just want to watch a silly movie about high school kids in the 70's, then you should definitely watch it.

Thats beside the point. I am dazed and confused. My wisdom tooth was really hurting on Tuesday when I woke up and it got worse from there. The side of my face swelled and I could barely move my mouth to talk. So I made an emergency appointment Tuesday for Wednesday and got to the dr. pronto. I got there all prepared for him to take it out but he couldn't. He said it was infected all the way to the bone and has spread to my sinuses. Not good; so he couldn't take it out. It would be too risky so I had to reschedule for Monday at 9. In the mean time though he gave me some antibiotics and some pain medicine to help me out. Hence being dazed and confused. This couldn't come at a worse time. I have a final next Tuesday. That should be interesting. I'm probably still going to be hurting after I get it pulled on Monday and then I have to take a final. Not fun at all.

The same old same old has been going on. Nothing interesting or fun. I should make plans to have some fun soon. It's been a while. We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. The storm we had earlier this week wasn't nearly as bad as everyone thought so thats probably whats going to happen tomorrow. It's been bitterly cold though the past couple days. My mom who is perpetually hot, drives with the heat off and the window down a bit so I've been freezing. Maybe thats why I have a cold right now.

Ok that's enough complaining...I watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith yesterday when I got home from the dentist. I thought it was pretty good. What I saw of it anyway. I had to make dinner and all that and get Christmas cards done. The holiday is coming up too fast for me. Seems like it was last week when it was Thanksgiving. I still have to bake cookies and all that. I'm not going to bake as much as I did last year but I still have a lot to do and no time to do it. Ugh! I hate complaining! I'm going to stop where I am so that I don't complain any more.

Maria Full of Grace

I saw a really really good movie over the weekend. It's called Maria Full of Grace. It's about a young girl that becomes a mule. It tells about why she becomes one and tells of some of the problems that are facing people in South America. She's 17 years old and pregnant by her boyfriend who she is no longer in love with and vice versa. He doesn't want to take responsibility for the child unless she marries him but she doesn't want to be in a loveless marriage. (Hmm...thats food for thought. I know some people that did this and it never worked out for them. ) She was suffering from morning sickness and while she was at her job at a flower plantation, she threw up on the roses she was de-thorning. I know thats disgusting but it lead to her quitting her job because her boss wouldn't let her go to the bathroom and humiliated her in front of everyone by forcing her to wash the roses off. Like I said she subsequently quit her job. She was supporting her mother, her sister, and her sister's baby. All the responsibility fell on a 17 year old. Could you imagine having to support your entire family on wages that barely got you by. I know a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck but imagine being 17 and having to do that. Anyway this leads her to becoming a mule.

Once again it was a foreign language film. You have to put the subtitles on if you don't speak spanish but it's still a really good movie. It really gives a new perspective on why people become mules and how circumstances can change the way you live. Now it's not a pro-drug movie at all. Actually it shows a lot as to why people shouldn't become mules and the danger that is involved.

If you can tolerate subtitles or are fluent in spanish, it's definitely worth the time and money.

Final Draft Done

I just finished my final paper. What a relief that is. I don't know how I'll do on it but I think I'll do fine. This paper makes up 30% of my final grade. Thats a lot of points! Anyway I'm just glad its over. I can't believe how fast this class seemed to go compared to my math class. That one will be over on the 13th. I can't wait til that happens. I still have to catch up on the homework and I have the paper thats due on Tuesday to write yet but I'll probably get that done today. I can do that with my eyes closed. I better not get too cocky about that....it'll probably come back to bite me later.

Nothings really happening at the moment. Everything is quiet. I have to go shopping later for Andy...I can't believe he's a year old. It doesn't seem like its been that long. He's adorable though. Thats all I have planned over the weekend at the moment. His birthday party tomorrow and thats it. I have to get out to get my haircut though. That I'll probably do tomorrow before the party. I need to do a little Christmas shopping too but we'll see how things go before I make plans to do that. I have some bills that need to be paid first.

I'm one step closer to getting my license back. I got it suspended for something I did years ago that was really irresponsible. Don't worry it wasn't drinking and driving or anything like that. I didn't realize my insurance had lapsed and was in an accident. So I have to pay for the damages and I'm getting there. I'm hoping by the end of next week I'll have it back. I can't wait. That'll be a load off my shoulders. I have a lot of stuff that I need to get done and having my license will make it all that easier.

Well I better get back to work. I'm just glad it's Friday and the weekend is almost here. It's starting to feel like winter unlike the beginning of this week where it was feeling more like spring.

Long Week

I'm starting to feel like I haven't slept in years again. I'm sure this is because things are a little hectic at work, school, and home. But I'm thankful that I can keep busy right now. I don't want to be stuck sitting somewhere being bored to death. Well, at work I am for the most part but then when I get home I have a ton of stuff that I need to get done.

School will be over for the semester on the 13th. Thats when my math final is. I'm dreading that day for sure. I think he's giving us a review sheet though which will be great. I could really use it. I asked him how I was doing and he said that I have a solid B which for me is good in something I hate. Well I don't hate it I have a strong dislike for it. I will never again use algebra in my life unless my future kids ask me to help them. That's enough for me to keep up with it. I wish I had someone in my house that knew how to do algebra. I might not be where I am now if I had gotten a firm grasp on what it was all about. But thats in the past and there's no need to complain. At least I'm learning it and sort of understanding whats going on with it.

At home I'm still working on getting the house together for the holidays. I hung the stockings up last night and put the rest of the garland on the tree. I still need to get a tree skirt but my mom is being picky. No one cares about the tree skirt. No on really sees it. But they see the metal pole that is propping up the tree. I have cookies to bake and candy to make too. The candy will be made in 2 weeks. I'm going to have Morgan, Zoe, and Jeffery come over and do some so they can hand them out to their class. I thought that was a nice idea so that they didn't have to go out and buy things. They're going to make Christmas cards too. I should probably ask Heidi if their are kids in the class that might not celebrate Christmas and make the appropriate adjustments. It'll be a lot of fun though once it gets going.

My final paper is almost done. I have to add a couple things to it to make it longer but other than that its finished. I still have to catch up on the math homework. He gave us a take home quiz for this section which was great. I got a 93 on the last quiz. That really helped my grade a bit. I think I'm going to do the extra credit though just for insurance purposes.

Other than that nothing else is going on...the same old same old. Yesterday was my stepdad's birthday. I got him a digital camera for his birthday/Christmas present. He really liked it. He's already going around taking pictures of just about anything. I'm glad he's enjoying it though.

Well I got a lot more scanning to do so I better get with the going. One day the scanner will be "Office Space"-ed.