My Weekend, part 2

After we finished eating, we headed home. It took longer than usual, but we didn't run into any unusual obstacles-other than seeing a lot of flooded yards, including our local park.

In an effort to relax, I decided to take a bath. I couldn't get the water to heat up! It was luke warm at best. Not knowing anything about the pipes or workings of the house, it didn't make sense to me when Josh ran frantically to the basement door.

I figured it out pretty quickly--our hot water heater was in the basement, which was flooded up to the fourth stair from the top, about 6 feet or so. Not only was the hot water heater under water, but it was FLOATING in the basement, along with a lot of other things that I don't even want to think about right now.

We rent our home, so Josh called the landlord and left a message. It went something like this, "Um, the water in the basement is almost to the top. I'm not sure what to do. I've never had a flooded basement before." Well, the landlord didn't call back until the next afternoon, so he wasn't much help. We called the fire department to see if they could come pump the basement before it came into the rest of the house. They said that they could not-we could call them back if we needed rescued or evacuated.

Josh went to Home Depot to see if they had any sump pumps left. They were turning people away at the door. So, my brilliant husband bought one of those decorative pumps that go in fountains. They pump water too! He got the pump up (down?) and running around 8:00pm Saturday. It rained until around 6:30pm Sunday. The pump ran the whole time, other than maybe about 4 hours that Josh took to sleep.

On the news, we saw video of a mobile trailer on the INTERSTATE; it had floated about 3/4 of a mile in the flood to the road, where it crashed into cars and semis.



What we went through was nothing compared to so many of the people who live in the area. Most of our damage was Saturday night; We spent all day Sunday wondering if we were going to have to leave our house because of the nearby river, but we were fine. Josh's quick thinking Saturday night saved us from the disaster that it could have been.

Monday, everything everywhere was closed. In fact, the schools in Metro Nashville STILL aren't back in session. It took us most of Monday and Tuesday morning to get the basement completely cleaned out. Pretty much everything was ruined. Josh did manage to save some of our wedding pictures, but pictures from high school (Australia!) and college are gone. Baby pictures of Keira are gone too, but I think we have some of those on the computer. Cleaning up was hard to do because it reminded me of what was down in the basement. It would've been better for my soul if someone else could've cleaned our house and we could've cleaned theirs!

We are almost back to normal now, though. We do have a huge (okay, three huge piles) pile of junk on the curb waiting to be picked up. And, our air conditioning is still out because the ducts that were in the basement were soaked through. The only other problem is the SMELL. Our house stinks like mildew-it is raising out of the basement and part of the carpet in the den where we carried our soiled goods.

I'm going to go light some candles and spray some Lysol. Not in that order-because then we might have another disaster on our hands.

It's Been Awhile...

It has been so long since I have been here that my blogger account was disabled! What does that mean? Why'd they disable it? I'm here; I'm here!

THAT DREAM

Have you ever had that dream where you are getting ready for work-you have a shower, brush your teeth, get dressed, etc, only to wake up and have to do it all over again?!

Well, last night I had an even WORSE dream! I dreamt that (for some crazy reason) we had a teenager staying with us, and we had set up a bed for her in our room. It was cuddle night, so I was trying to sleep with Night. Night and the other girl kept talking and arguing and keeping me up. WHAT A HORRIBLE DREAM-a dream that you aren't getting any sleep!

To top that off, the dogs actually DID wake me up at their normal time of 5:30am, begging to go outside.

How was your night?!

Makin' Mum Proud

Tonight, I made # 69 in Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats Cookbook, Garlic and Mint Lamb. Oh my gosh, it was delicious!! My host parents in Australia have sheep, so I'm always looking for ways to support them!
I'm actually kind of scared to cook lamb, since many times my meals don't turn out as planned. Lamb is an expensive meat to fuck up! Anyway, it turned out wonderfully, and the recipe made enough for about 5 extra lamb-patties, so we've got enough left overs to last a few days! I'm going to try to find some mint-jelly, which is almost impossible to get around here. It will just make it perfect.

Why is It?

That when I put the trash out the night before, the trash dumpster doesn't show up until 10:00, but when I forget, he's there promptly at 7:00am?!

Don't worry~I remembered last night!

Slowing Down

The purpose of my blog originated as a place to SLOW DOWN and reflect. I felt like my life was passing by so quickly. I wanted to take the time to record what was happening so that I could relish this time in my life.

I haven't been taking the time to slow down lately! I'm going to try to write at least 5 times this week. There is my goal; it might be boring, but it is my story!

So, this morning, I went to work at the restaurant.

It was a busy day, so the pay was good, and the time went quickly enough. I really enjoy my job as a waitress.

Then I went to Kroger and bought groceries. We used to make oatmeal pancakes 2-3 times a week, and we haven't had them in over 2 months. Night has been requesting them, so I got all the ingredients.

Then, I came home. Josh took a nap, I wrote lesson plans. Keira played on the computer, Night played on the Nintendo 64. We really strive for family togetherness on the weekends...

Josh woke up and started making the pancakes with the kids. I just finished my last lesson for the week (8th graders are learning negative exponents--tough) and sat down to play de Blob with Night while Josh finished up the pancakes. Then the blender broke. I ZOOMED to Target and bought a new one. I literally had 5 minutes to make my choice. I hate that! I walked out the door at 1 minute to closing. There were about 6 other customers after me, I didn't feel too guilty. I normally feel guilty for those kinds of things.

Then I came home. Josh finished making the pancakes. I'm waiting for mine.

That's my day.

I'm off to brush Keira's teeth (and probably get yelled at for something)!

I Shouldn't have Bought the Purse

Yesterday was a very weird day. So many weird things added up to what happened that I couldn't help but think of the book A Series of Unfortunate Events. It started off normal. I got up and went to work at the restaurant. We ended up being fairly slow, and one of the servers asked if I wanted to go home early. Now, I hardly ever give up a Sunday shift because they are quite profitable, so here lies event number one. I said, "Sure!" How nice to spend a weekend day with my family!
So, I went to MICHAELS and bought some fun Halloweeny type crafts to decorate the house, and I went home. Night and I had gone to the pumpkin patch on Friday with his school, so we had two pumpkins that needed baths. We then took our Mr. Potato Head parts and decorated the pumpkins for Halloween. As we were decorating, Night suggested that we all go to the YMCA. What a fantastic idea! (bad idea, event #2) Josh and I have been slacking in the exercise department, and this would be a perfect day to go. Since the Y's daycare closed soon, we decided to go to the Y then come back home and finish decorating.
The kids ran in and got their juice boxes while Josh and I got dressed to work out. We got in Betty (Ugly Betty is our Xterra). Night realized he left his juice box in the house, so I ran in to get it. I then remembered that we were out of dog food, so we should stop at Kroger on the way back; I grabbed my purse.
We had a fabulous work out at the Y, at least that is what we kept telling ourselves in between sets. My arms are killing me today, so I guess that is a sign of a good workout! We picked up the kids, about 2 minutes before the daycare closed, and walked out to Betty. Some stupid jerk had broken Betty's window and snatched my purse! We were only in the Y about an hour! We were parked in front of the windows where the cardio machines look out.
We filed a police report, and they took fingerprints. The Y pulled the video tapes; it seems the machines have been broken since Friday (did I mention a series of unfortunate events?). I am upset because my cash from the weekend was in the purse, but luckily I had taken all but our spending money out; I am annoyed because my cell phone (which I usually forget at home) was in my purse, but it was an old phone anyway; I am furious because two of my precious lomography cameras were in my purse and the photos from the pumpkin patch were on them. The bastard who stole my purse won't even know what to do with them! My phone wasn't worth much, so he (or she) is walking away with about $100, but it will cost us over $500 to recover. $500 is a lot of money right now!
We came home and finished decorating the house (after calling insurance etc). Josh is going to get me a phone today (btw, I don't have anyone's phone number, so if you have to call me so I'll have your number!), and they are coming to fix the window tomorrow. I guess everything will go back to normal then, but I can't help but wonder if I'd never bought the purse (Friday on clearance at Target for $11-it was big and green, so the thief probably saw it easier than my other purse)... or if I would have stayed at work... or if we would've gone for a walk instead of the Y... or if Night wouldn't have forgotten his juice... or if I would've gotten the dog food on the way home from work... or...

At least they didn't take this camera!

Voicethread

I'm very new at this.  I only found voicethread this afternoon, but it so cool!  I can't wait to find out more about it!  Try it!  

Time for a New JOB

Well, I guess it is time to update my header! I'm a teacher...again.

A couple of months ago, I went through a little bit of financial stress, which in turn became panic. I told Josh that I wasn't making enough money at my 2 waitressing jobs (working a total of 5 days at the time) and that we would be poor forever and that life sucked. After feeling sorry for myself (ourselves), we came to the conclusion that I needed a little break, so Josh got a job.

Josh got a fairly good paying job as a security officer. He hated the job, and he was working horrible shifts. It didn't allow for me to quit work-it just allowed for us to both be tired from working all the time--he'd work work the midnight shift; come home; then I'd go to work; then I'd come home; then he'd work second shift etc. We didn't want to put the kids in daycare, but we weren't making it well watching them ourselves either.

It was at this point that I decided I should look for something more stable than waiting tables, something a little more...um, stable. Since I have a teaching degree, and it is summer, typically when teachers get hired, I filled out some applications and sent out some resumes. At first, it was a means to an end--not have to be a slave to those old hags who would just leave me a dollar tip after running my ass off for them, no I'm not bitter. The more I answered why I am a good teacher and why I enjoy teaching, the more adamant I became about getting a job. I discovered that I really miss teaching.

Well, I interviewed at a nearby middle school for a Math position. I love Math, so this would be perfect. I have to tell ya'll that I rocked that interview. The principal told me that she would be deciding by the end of the week. Whoo hoo! Then, she didn't call. And didn't call. In fact, she never called. She didn't even tell me that I didn't have the job! I left several messages, I just wanted closure.

When the principal never called, I decided that it wasn't meant to be this year. By this time, we had decided that both Josh and I working was NOT working, so I picked up more waitressing shifts and told Josh to quit his awful job. It was less stressful for both of us if I was working 7 days a week with him watching the kids full time than if we tried sharing both kid-duty and work-duty.

Then, I got a call from an AWESOME private school offering me an interview for a part-time position teaching Science. Well, Science is not my favorite, and part-time isn't ideal, but it would work-I'd still get to teach. I would be able to supplement my income with waiting tables, so the part-time position would get my foot in the door, and I could hope for full-time next year. So, I went to the interview; however, I had NO time to prepare myself. I had to go straight after work one day, and I didn't have time to get into "teacher mode."

I pretty much bombed this interview. I didn't even bother following up with a phone call for that one--I spent the whole drive home wondering why I answered some of the questions the way I did. I didn't lie in my interview or anything, but think I came across as a dolt.

I went back to waitressing, and I changed my attitude around. Tips have improved as of late, and by working 7 days a week, our income has gone up steadily. I truly believe that attitude is everything, because I was happily going to work 7 days a week whereas a few months before I could hardly survive my 5 days.

This brings us to this previous Monday. At the end of my shift, I checked my voicemail, and the second principal (awesome private school) called and asked if I would be interested in interviewing for a full-time Math position. WOULD I? I love Math! I love full-time! So, I called her on my way home, and she OFFERED ME THE POSITION RIGHT OVER THE PHONE!

Whoa! Talk about whirlwind! I drove home, and told my family that I had a new job--even though I had stopped trying to get one, and it was for a perfect school for the perfect position! (Yes, I realize I am insane because I love teaching middle schoolers!) After work on Tuesday, I stopped by the school and SIGNED MY CONTRACT. The principal asked me to start the next day because they were doing a technology-training inservice. Well, considering I hadn't quit my 7 day a week job yet, I couldn't. She said I could start this next Monday instead, and there you have it. I'm a teacher again.

My awesome private school is based on Howard Garner's Multiple Intelligences, which is amazing, but overwhelming because I have a lot of familiarizing to do before those kids show up next week! So if you need me, I'll be reading and lesson planning and studying. I am not giving up my weekend gig, either, so stop by the "other" restaurant and say howdy!

I Have a Famous Stalker!

When I was about 10 years old, my parents took my sister and I on "vacation" to Florida. We stayed in a really fancy hotel, only because my parents were having a convention there. There were about 3 pools and a shopping mall, all in the basement of this fancy hotel.

One of the speakers at the convention was Terry Bradshaw. I remember that he was a speaker because I rode downstairs in the elevator with him and his entourage. I think he patted me on my head, but I may be getting him confused with another celebrity that I rode with in an elevator in my formative years-Robert Young. I was on my way to the pool of course, and he was on his way to a meeting.

Now, 21 years later, who should walk into my restaurant today? Yep. Terry Bradshaw.

To the Woman at the Gas Station

Dear Woman in the van at the gas station,

What is the purpose of your "Jesus First" license plate?

Is it to let me know that you are putting Jesus first? Is it to show me that you are following his principles and making this world a better place because of it? If so, I really don't think that Jesus appreciated your cutting off this heathen. That definitely is following the golden rule. Cutting me off from the pump when I was obviously there first DID NOT make my world a better place. It pissed me off.

OR

Is it to remind yourself that you need to put Jesus first? If so, you really need to put it somewhere INSIDE your van so you can see it.



Irritated,

Mari

Spanish

When I first log-in to blogger, it is in Spanish. If I click on random people's profile pages, it is in Spanish.

Have I somehow done this? Or is Blogger going through a Spanish phase?

How do I fix this? I speak UN-POKITO Spanish...

Jericho

Originally, I had been super-excited for tonight to come. Big Brother 9 starts tonight. I know-I should be embarrassed that I am looking forward to such a trashy show, but I am.

However, the less advertised and even more exciting event for the evening comes on after Big Brother! JERICHO IS BACK!!

The story behind Jericho's return gives me goosebumps! After what the producers (or whoever it is that decides these things) were less than impressed by Jericho's first season, they canceled it. Canceled it after a cliff-hanger. They were just going to leave us hanging--and let us fall.

The fans of Jericho heard of its demise and brought it back to life! In order to protest, fans of the show sent almost 10,000 pounds of nuts to CBS. It was a reference to one of the lines in the show. You'll have to catch up in order to understand! I believe that every episode from season 1 is available to watch at CBS.COM, and I highly recommend it. I just finished watching the season finale in order to get pumped for tonight, and it worked!!

Lost?

Yes. Yes, I am. Excellent title for the show, by the way. I thought the survivors were the lost ones, but it turns out it is the viewers, at least this one.

LOST

No spoilers or theories here. I just want to say that Charlie looked good, damn good for... oh wait no spoilers. He looked good.

Hypothetically Speaking

Let's say you went to the gym in the morning before work, and as you are getting dressed, you realize you left your clean panties at home...

What do you do? You don't have time to go home before work, so that is out. You can either put on your nasty, sweaty panties that you have been wearing since the day before (through the 45 minutes of cardio sweat as well), or you can go without.

Both choices have their disadvantages, but neither is a great alternative to those nice clean panties sitting at home in your panty drawer; yet, you have no access to those beauties. Dirty panties are gross and stinky, but they'd dry...eventually. Panty-less isn't too comfortable or hygienic.

So, what do you do??



I chose commando, hypothetically speaking...

The Cat Saga Continues...

As previously mentioned, we have two beautiful cats that we can no longer have in our house. About 2 weeks ago, after trying (unsuccessfully) to give them away, we decided that they could be outside cats. They are spayed/neutered and still have their claws. We have a nice garage set up for them, and a wonderful yard in which to play. Our neighbor Mary has cats too-what fun for them! They are young and healthy-they'd love being outside, getting to play and whatnot, right?

A few nights ago, Nashville had an unusual cold spell and got down to--I don't know--really cold. Wanda and Orson sat outside our door and cried, so we let the inside for the evening, 2 nights in a row. They had to go out during the day, but they were with us at night.

Wanda was SOOOOOOOOO cuddly when she was inside. Before, she would only cuddle a little bit, but as if trying to win us over, she bombarded us with lovin' during her brief stay in the house.

Well, it has been two nights, and the weather has warmed quite a bit (it is supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow). We are no longer worried about our little babies being too cold, but our little babies want to come in the house anyway. So much in fact, that Wanda has become a stalker. She climbs up the screened door, just to where we can see her, and she cries! If we leave the room, she finds another window that is near us, and she climbs into it and cries. Loudly.

Last night, Wanda sat outside my bedroom window. When I left the room to get some water, she followed me to the nearest window. Then back into the bedroom. Around 3:00 this morning, I had had enough of the meow-ing. I got a water bottle and squirted water at her through the window, thinking it would teach her not to sit in the window, or at the very least get her to shut the hell up. She didn't move. She just looked at me with those sad eyes as if asking me why I was being so cruel.

I guess I'm either going to have to let the cats in and deal with their hair (and Josh's allergy, which is getting worse), or give up sleep. Good-bye sleep. I already gave most of it up for the kids; I might as well quit cold turkey!

Juno

I love love LOVE Juno. I cannot remember the last time I left a movie feeling so... fulfilled. It is humorous and witty, sad, cute, heartfelt, and whatever fun adjectives you can think of.

I seriously am in love with the characters and actors in this film. I usually leave movies "liking" them, but I would have paid for another ticket and turned right around and watched this movie again. That is a compliment. I usually wait for DVD release--on clearance at Blockbuster before I watch a movie; or at the very least-I go to a matinee; but I came right home and purchased the FABULOUS soundtrack on itunes (paying full price is practically unheard of in my house), and would definitely go to see the movie again at the theater.

Go see it. It is wonderful. (think Gilmore Girls)

Kitty Cat Problems

We love our little (okay BIG) Wanda cat and even bigger Orson cat; however, we are tired of their cat hair being all over the house. I mean ALL OVER THE FREAKIN' HOUSE. With all the animals and the kids, it is impossible to keep our house clean, and that just makes everyone depressed, so something has to be done. After making a very difficult decision to give the cats to someone else, I posted an email on www.freecycle.com. Nobody replied.

*side note* I would like to know why when I post something (which rarely happens) to give away, NOBODY wants my stuff. But when someone else posts something and I try to get it, EVERYBODY AND THEIR BROTHER has already gotten it. NO FAIR! NO FAIR! *end side note*

It was hard enough to decide that we were going to get rid of our babies (just the cats-we'll keep the human ones for a while-but they need to watch out if we decide to become clean freaks-they aren't very clean either...), but then when nobody took them, it was even harder to try to give them away again--it is kind of like the gods were telling us that we should keep them,but I don't really believe in gods, and the hair was sooo overwhelming...

So, I told Josh to try Craigslist instead. BIG MISTAKE. Have any of ya'll looked at the pet section on Craigslist?? There is a safety-type warning at the beginning that talks about selling the animals instead of giving them away because they might be used in fights or to be fed to snakes or all kinds of horrible things. (this gets even worse) THEN, when you look in the classified ads, you see lots of ads for PAWS. These ads have beautiful pictures of dogs who need homes RIGHT AWAY or they will be put to sleep. PUT TO SLEEP.

As Josh is showing me the warning note, I think to myself, "Oh, the cats will be fine. These things don't really happen... but am I really willing to take that chance?" Then he moves on the the posts with the pictures. My next thought is, "CALL PAWS! CALL PAWS! We need to save all of the animals. We need more dogs in our chock-full two bedroom house. What's a little hair?

So anyway, does anyone want some wonderful kitties? We have some here that need to go to someone else. They are beautiful cats, and if our house were bigger, we'd keep them. How about some dogs? You can't have ours, but PAWS has a lot of cute ones!

Oops. Sorry

Sorry to whoever it was that googled "pooping black girls." I'm sure that you were disappointed when you got here!!