I love you Mom!
Miss you!

Giggle

A camel is a horse designed by a committee.

I hate being mean, but sometimes I think you just have to, to make people get up and shake a leg.
We are totally rained into our house. I can't walk my dog without rolling up my pants and wearing flip-flops. My kids are not going to be able to get to the house when they come home from school today. My yard is flooded clear back to the shed. Joel called the park manager and was nice to him, and the manager said, "thanks for letting me know." That just was not enough for me, so I called him back and said, "no! I want to know what you are going to do about it!"
I didn't get any dates it would be fixed by, but he was whinning, "give me a break, I've only been here a month!" It could have been fixed in that month. Grrrrrrrr. Then I chewed him out some more.

Jake gets his cast off today, and he is so excited. He has to wear a boot around for a few more weeks. He doesn't want to, but I'm going to ask the doctor how important it is that he does.

My house is falling apart, and it's making me crabby. I need a maid service, seriously. The kids aren't much help and as soon as they clean stuff they mess it up again. I don't have time to keep up with it all. I need more hours in the day, or to find a better way to study. Or maybe I should get off here and get to it.... bye!

Let us observe a moment of silence

<3

in memory of Mom's sanity...

Well, it's happened!

I really thought when I started school last year that I would be able to take the summers off to spend with my kids, but feared that something would come up that wouldn't let me. All this time I have been working towards the summer, when I would have a break, and be able to play with my kids, and go places whenever I wanted, and not have to plan around a schedule. But the other day I got an award letter from the school saying that if I took six credits of classes this summer I would receive over $1,300 in Pell grants. How can I pass that up? It took awhile, but I found two classes that fit into my degree requirements, to take during the summer. One will be a class that's entirely online, and educational psychology class. The other class is a math class, and I will have to go to school every morning, except for Fridays.
My choice was to either take a math refresher course and try to test out of the class, and have no other classes this summer. Or I could take the class I was trying to pass out of, and take a second class and both would be free, and also there will be money left for books. So, I guess I'm opting for the second choice. Free is good. That does kind of bum me out, I do value my freedom in the summer, and lack of schedules.
Last week I had three tests in my classes, and after being sick all weekend and on medications and lacking serious sleep hours, I thought for sure that I would not do well. I was very surprised to see that I got a 92%, 89%, and an 88% score on those tests. Yay! We only have 2.5 weeks of school left. I'm getting at least a B in every class. I am hoping to keep them up through the finals projects and finals week.
Wish me luck!

My phone takes crappy pictures.

And now that I got that off my chest I want to share some recent images I have take with my crappy phone camera...

But first, a moment of silence:

I was sad to see today that little "Jason" the black bear cub died a couple of days ago :( No word yet on why.

And now onto the crappy phone pictures. Here's a picture of what my kids have been up to the last couple of days... seriously, I don't know why we don't just buy them big boxes for birthdays instead of toys....

But the problem is, we only have two boxes that size, two skateboards and three little kids.

Tonight Joy helped me by making the bread for our dinner, that ended up being ruined anyway because of some bad cream, so we had McDonalds instead. Bread will go with tomorrow night's dinner.

And besides buying the kids boxes for birthdays, I don't know why we don't just get them a bunch of Pillsbury bread cans for Christmas...

WARNING! If you don't like doggie butts, don't read this post further....

I warned you.

Ok I have been meaning to post about this latley, but haven't gotten to taking a picture of it until the other day. This is either just plain weird, funny or cute. It makes me giggle almost every day. My dog has the funniest spot for two cowlicks.

I'm laughing now.

Quick update before I run out the door!

Jake had surgery on his ankle this morning. He seems to be ok for now. Heavily sedated and foot propped up on a foam plank. I couldn't be there with him because I had a test and a class that I can't miss today. I might skip my class tomorrow because of him, we'll see. The doctor said everything went well. He has to wear a cast for a couple of weeks, but can put weight on it, then he has to wear his boot for another 4 weeks, and then have a final check on the leg and be given some physical therapy exercises. I hope that he feels good soon and that this won't be anything that will hinder him on a mission, or make it hard to walk a lot or ride bikes. We don't know how much it's going to cost us in the end. Minnesota turned us down for assistance, but the hospital is trying to do some other stuff, so we'll have to wait and see. But for now he's resting comfortably and I have to run to class. Bye!

Mood ring: Blue

Yep, that's the color it is tonight. Not like the pretty green in the picture (and mine was only $2), but a very bright and happy blue, which according to the website means that I am either very relaxed, calm, or happy. This is the exact ring I have, funny that I found that online. I bought it when the kids and I were at the Audubon Center in Sandstone Minnesota. I think it is fun to look at throughout the day to see what color it is. Usually it says I have mixed emotions or I am lovable.

The weather has been so beautiful this week, and sadly, I heard it will be raining this weekend (that's OK because I will be at Time Out for Women). I really wish I was outside tonight playing in it instead of talking to my blog, but before talking to my blog I was stuck studying for a test that I have next week, and now I need to go find a lesson for my children on Sunday, and am also trying to finish up a session I had last fall so that the senior has pictures for his graduation. I also need to get my own seniors pictures done, it's a matter of wrangling him, tying him up, sedating him, or hypnotized him, to get his pictures done.

I have such strong spring fever right now that it's really hard to contain my mind and concentrate on the tasks I need to do. It's days like these that make me wish that there were more hours in the day. I'd like to take the dog for walk in the park, I'd like to take my camera out to play, I'd like to go for a bike ride, I'd like to have a bonfire, make some smores, but right now I have to go make some fajitas. Ciao!

Out like a Lion

RAWRRRrrrrr! Haha. Ok, it's been months (actually since October) since I colored my hair last. So a couple of weeks ago I colored again because my roots were getting to be about 2 inches long. I went to school one week, and then the next week my classmate came in and said, "whoa!" when he saw me. I said "what?" and he said, "your hair." I explained to him that I was wearing my wash and go look, and that I had finally got around to coloring my hair, to which he said, "What made you choose that color?".... wow, way to make a girl feel great.

So here is my new lions mane look I've been sporting since I've decided that nobody cares how I look and I'm just too tired and worn out to care myself, lol.

A new toy

I have a new toy! It is so cool! I am making this post by voice. Woo Hoo!!! This is going to make my life so much easier, I hope. I think it will make writing papers go so much faster, and give me more time to play with my kids after I do my do my homework. Why didn't I think of getting one of these sooner?

TMI

Ok, this might all be too much information (TMI) for you so go ahead and close the window to my blog and come back another time when I've made a new post.

Ok, this is your last chance!

Ready?

Set?

ok, if you stuck around, just remember that you asked for it!

I think I am having perimenopause symptoms. There. I've said it. It's too late for you to turn around now! Hey! Get back here! Now that you know what's wrong with me, you have to listen to why I think that.

Yes you do.

I found a list of 25 symptoms of menopause.

No, I didn't just decide tonight that it would be a fun idea to find out how close I am to my last period (although I think that would be a really cool thing to know, and man would I really look forward to that day even marking it on the calendar and throwing myself a great big party, or at least I'd buy myself a three layered chocolate cake). Ahem, back to my story....

There's a reason. The reason is, I've been having symptoms. More than 17 symptoms to be exact.
How many symptoms should I worry about before I think it's a good sign that I'm beginning the stages of menopause?

Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
Irregular heart beat
Irritability
Mood swings, sudden tears
Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods,
shorter cycles, longer cycles
Loss of libido (see note)
Dry vagina
Crashing fatigue
Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
Disturbing memory lapses
Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
Itchy, crawly skin
Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
Increased tension in muscles
Breast tenderness
Headache change: increase or decrease
Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
Sudden bouts of bloat
Depression
Exacerbation of existing conditions
Increase in allergies
Weight gain Yeah, but that happened 6 years ago, and it really had to do with the last baby I had, so I don't think they will let me count that.
Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair Thank heaven's not this yet!
Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
Changes in body odor Please, if anyone notices this, let me know!?
Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head
Tingling in the extremities
Gum problems, increased bleeding
Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor And uh, let me know about this one too, k!?
Osteoporosis (after several years)
Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, 'whooshing,' buzzing etc.

And many of these symptoms are VERY not pleasant and persistent and bothersome. Especially the one where I have periods in between periods, or the tingling in the extremities and the bloating.

What's a girl to do?

I don't want to go to my doctor for ... yet.... another thing. I've already seen her this year about the migraines and the depression... do I really have to keep visiting her and telling her a new sob story every time I go? Why can't, for once, I go to the doctor when nothings wrong and I have nothing to complain about? We could hang out, I could tell her my funny school stories, she could tell me some funny doctor/patient stories and then I could go home, without a prescription, without a big bill and without having to pour out my guts, or have a reminder that this is the year I turn 40. That'd be great. Thanks.

You asked for it.

Crazy Crunch!

Crazy Crunch with nuts
Crazy Crunch plain

Courtesy of my dear mother, a wonderful memory from my childhood, and now part of my own children's memories :)

Set aside in a greased bowl-
14 Cups of popped corn
1 1/2 C. mixed nuts

In a large pot on the stove bring to a boil-
1 1.2 C. Sugar
1/2 C. dark Karo syrup
1 1/2 square butter (3/4 Cup)
3 T. water

Boil until hard ball stage (checking in a bowl of ice water, you pour a little into the bowl and can use your fingers to form a solid ball). Remove from heat.
Add 1 tsp. vanilla when it's at hard ball stage.

Pour over popcorn and mix.

Dump out onto greased foil or wax paper to cool.

Enjoy!

I have a little bit of time here, while I wait for my highlights to take effect. Today is coloring day. I haven't colored my hair since that scary day in October when I decided that I wanted a warmer darker color for winter. It didn't turn out so great. I've been scared to go back to my old color, but afraid to go forward with another color and so I've been sitting and waiting and letting my grays grow long. I finally caved this week and bought a bottle of my old color. It's almost spring so I'm over the urge of wanting warmer colored hair.

This week is spring break for all of us in our schools. The kids are already bored out of their minds and Josh has a cold coming on. I hope he's well enough to spend the weekend up north with us. We are taking the little kids up to the bear and wolf centers. Jake is staying behind to take care of the dog and hang out with friends. I'm making my mom's Crazy Crunch to go with us. The kids are excited about that!

I did have homework during break, I have to put together a speech for my speech class. I got my power point about photography put together yesterday. Not exactly something I want to talk about, but also, it's something I know about so I can talk about it with relative ease and low script.

Well, I have to say things kind of suck since Jake turned 18. He's gone all the time. He's out very late on weekends. He is cutting the apron strings. Boooo. He also kept putting off registering for the draft so he was a felon here for a week. I hope they accept his late registration and don't fine him. I also hope it doesn't interfere with his qualifying for student aid or aid with his surgery. I hate letting go of control.

Ding! Time to wash! Bye!

Time for another update, I suppose :)
This morning, in a little bit, we are headed out to puppy play time at the Humane Society. Buddy loves chasing around little dogs. He's afraid of the bigger dogs so we have to be careful what playgroups we take him to. My husband, I'm sure, thinks I'm crazy to spend money to let our dog play with other dogs, but I think it's been important for his socialization and will help when we go out walking and run into other dogs on the path.
I'm volunteering 4 hours a week, through the end of March, in a couple of special education classrooms and it's been a really great experience so far. I'm learning a lot from observation and finding what kind of setting I would like to teach in, if given the opportunity.
Jake is still waiting on surgery for his ankle. He's scheduled for April 13. It feels years away, and that is hard. I wish he could be fixed sooner.
This week I have a presentation to give with my group in my drugs and alcohol class, about a visit we made to an AA meeting. We have this lady in our group that is seriously difficult to work with, so I hope things go well with our presentation. She likes to overpower everyone and is wanting to make our presentation into a lot more than it should be, or that the teacher has asked for.
We are expecting about a foot more of snow in the coming week. I am so sick of snow! I am ready for spring and color and walks and warm sun on my face! I was actually looking at scooters on Craigslist the other day. When we visited Utah last summer my sister took my kids out on her scooter and they had so much fun. I didn't realize they can get 80 miles to the gallon! I think I'd like one to get back and forth to school on, but Joel wants a motorcycle. We would never be able to agree on a motorcycle. He's into choppers and Harleys and I'm not. I don't want a big heavy thing. I want something light weight and easy to move around. Oh well, guess I'll just keep dreaming about my Jeep and the day I don't have kids to drive around so I can have one.

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to my sweet hubby. Love you babe!