Thoughts on the school district

We've always had a joke that when something happens, we say "That's ok, I graduated from Barstow". Yes this is meant as an insult!

Now that I work for the school district, I can honestly tell you that I understand why that saying has always been around. The district sucks! Not only do I, as a paraeducator, know more than most of the teachers that are getting hired on, but there is so much BS that's going around. For an example, with all the cut backs that's going on in the state, Barstow is now thinking about closing down two of our elementary schools. That means that those kids who go to those schools will now be adding to the over crowding at the other schools that are going to stay open. All school employees got a raise in March, but for some reason, they have decided to take the raise away from the classified employees (I'm one). That means even though our check was a little bit bigger in March, it is short in April from the deduction. I could understand it if all the employees got docked, but the superintendant got a big fat raise and he didn't volunteer to give his up for the cut backs. Instead he hit the little people who make the schools what they are...teacher- aides, janitors, lunch workers...I have a huge rift about that - teachers are not the most important part of the school! Like I said, I've had to teach teachers how to teach the kids correctly in math.

Now I find out that because I'm out on sick leave, I am being terminated from my current position and being placed onto a list, so that when I come off of medical leave, I will be offered the next available position. WHAT??? That means, once I'm healed, if no position opens up for half of next year, I will still be jobless. The only benefit I can see out of that is that I may be placed in an elementary school, instead of the Jr. High school. But then again, I may be put in the High School. :( If I turn down the position that they give me, then I will lose my job permanently. Then to make things worse, my mom put in her leave request for when I have surgery and remind you, this isn't until May. She thought she was doing a good thing by letting them know in advance. Well we got our paychecks today, and she was already docked for the time she'll be taking off next month. How can they dock her before she takes the time off???

Barstow school district sucks!!!!

"Sick" by Shel Silverstein

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

Saw this on the forum and thought it was cute

How to use Your IRS Rebate check...

As you may have heard, each of us will be getting a tax rebate check to stimulate the economy. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China. If we spend it on gasoline, it will go to the Arabs. If we purchase a computer, it will go to India. If we purchase fruits and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras & Guatemala. If we purchase a good car, it will go to Japan. If we purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy.

We need to keep that money here in America!! The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it at yard sales, since those are the only businesses still in the USA!

Caffeine withdrawal.....owww!

I admit it...I'm a coke-a-holic!!! Ok, maybe I should rephrase that...I'm a soda-holic. I usually have one or two a day, nothing serious. Yesterday I decided to break my habit (AGAIN), and I didn't touch one sip of caffeine. I've gotta headache today! And it's one of those that won't go away easily. I need to stay away from the "stuff", or at least pick a brand that doesn't contain caffeine. I've never been huge on coffee or any of those other jittery drinks (Except occasionally at Starbucks, or when the mood strikes), but soda is something totally addictive to me. Too bad, that I can't get addicted to things that are good for me. Oh well, I should have known better....

Empty nest syndrome

Well, things didn't turn out great with the kittens. Try as I did, I just couldn't make things work. I don't think I was experienced enough to raise newborns, and I fear that I might have been over feeding them. By Friday, all three had developed diarrhea and I couldn't get it to stop. I decided on Saterday that I needed to hand them over to a rescue because they were losing weight. I called and she couldn't take them till Sunday morning. Went to bed Saterday night and all three were doing fine. They started crying at 2 am, and when I went in to check, the little black one wasn't doing great. I woke Mark up and had him make me some sugar water and shortly after giving it to the little guy, he perked back up a little. The other two were fine, but they all seemed cold so I turned the heating pad up. At three, one of them was crying, so I got back up (after just lying down) and the little black and white one was pretty muchly lifeless. But he was really warm. I gave sugar water to him too, and sat rubbing him for a little bit. Then he began to come around again. But I swear he knew something was wrong because he wanted to be held the remainder of the night. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I took my pillows and a blanket to the couch and laid them right next to me. I read my book for the remainder of the night, until around 5:30 when I dosed off. Not even 40 mintues later, the one who almost died started crying again, so I ended up holding it the rest of the morning. At 8:45, I sadly said goodbye to them and watched Mark drive away. :(

I feel really bad because the woman who took them is already hand raising 18 other kittens. But I just couldnt' sit and watch these ones die. I tried everything, spacing out feedings, giving pedilyte, and kayopectate. Nothing worked, so obviously I wasn't doing something else right. I did give the lady $100 to take the three of them though, so I think that sweetened the deal for her some. I know she could use the money for the animals she has, and I greatly appreciated her taking them. But now, I feel lonely and I keep listening to see if I can hear them cry. I tried not to become attached, but I think I was, from the moment I touched them.

We've got eyes!

The past couple of days have been really stressful for me. I guess the lack of sleep from the night feedings, and then when they refuse to go back to sleep and do nothing but cry (I have definately decided - no kids for me!!! Geeze, I'll be going through this 2 months tops, I couldn't imagine it being for a year and longer).

Anyways, one of the babies (the black one who wouldn't eat very much) had a swollen bottom, and we noticed that he appeared constipated. On Tuesday, his little belly bloated up so badly, it was rock hard. I gave him a little mineral oil and some baby gas drops. Then I spent the evening and half the night massaging his tummy area. Around midnight, he started passing. By yesterday morning, he had blood coming out too. But his appetite has picked up to where the other ones are and his bottom isn't so swollen (just chappy).

Then the date of surgery is only like 19 days away, so I think that's also playing a part with stress. Then yesterday, I had to go in to the dentist for a crown prep, and they decided that right then, right there, they were going to do a root canal on the tooth next the one I was initially there for. So I had two teeth worked on and was in there for just over 4 hours. Yep..."4" hours. I was really uncomfortable, because I guess the way they had me laying flat was rubbing my stomach wrong. I wanted to cry, but not because of my teeth. The dentist was awesome though, he kept rubbing my temples, and calling me "friend". Then he wiped a tear from my eye when I tried to smoother a yawn (he thought he hurt me), and called me brave. I have to say, he did a really good job because I wasn't in much pain, nor am I in too much today.

Then last night, before bed, I was cutting Q-tips in half and I actually cut my hand with the scissors (in between the thumb and pointer finger...that sensitive area). It hurt! And to top it off, it wouldn't stop bleeding. It was like hitting your funny bone, I wanted to cry but I couldn't. I came over to my mom's to get one of those really sticky band-aids, and when I went home, Mark asked me "Did you go over and cry to your mom too?" I know he probably didn't mean it the way it sounded, but I took it really wrong and I broke down crying.

On a brighter note, two of the babies are opening their eyes. I figure they are about 10 days old today. I'll try to get some pictures and post them later on. They are soooooo cute! And we think the little black one is the runt, and he sure loves to cuddle with you. I have no idea what we're going to do with them. I don't wanna get attached!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Random thoughts

Just sitting here today thinking (babies are asleep), and wanted to share some random thoughts.

Have you ever gotten the sensation that you've been seen, when you hadn't even known that you felt invisible?

Has a shared interest ever turned into full-blown love?

Have you ever thought about how incompletely we know one another, no matter how close we may seem?

Have you seen how desperately hard every person in the world is working to get what they need?

Have you felt the redemptive power in little things, like a smile or a shared secret?

"If" is truly the eternal word of regret.

"Revenge" is knowing that by letting a slight go unpunished, you encourage a repeat performance.

And how about this....to make sure that the FDA, along with the pharmaceutical companies get more money, they have termed more and more things as diseases. Think about it.... you used to get heartburn, now it's called Acid Reflux Disease. People used to be shy, now they have Social Anxiety Disorder. Kids who used to be rambunctious and spoiled, now have Attention Deficit Disorder. An alcoholic, is no longer an alcoholic, he now has the disease of alcoholism (funny thing is...being a drug addict is also a disease. When Mark had to attend those meetings, the people in charge would ask him how he has been controlling his disease for the past 12 years. He told them, that it was his choice to do drugs, not a disease that made him. They didn't like that answer because it meant that people are in charge of themselves). And finally, I am no longer considered overweight, I now have the disease of obesity. There are lots more. I just found it funny, that everything has a medical name now, so that they can give you prescriptions to "over come it".

What's love anyways?

I'm so tired of seeing people switch their animals like they switch their underwear. Seriously, what kind of life is that for the animals that never seem to settle anywhere long enough to feel like they have a home? There is a HUGE difference of fostering animals long enough to rehabilitate them, and then try to locate a permanent home for them. And I understand if you get an animal, and it doesn't work out for what ever reason (personality clash, more than you can handle, too expensive). Or if you are forced to get rid of your animals. I guess this is mainly geared towards horse owners because I see it with them all too often.

For those people who buy a horse, keep it weeks, months or a year tops, then sale it to someone else....what the hell is going on in your minds? I'm so tired of seeing people say that they love their horse, yet that animal is not a "member of the family" so to speak. How can you "love" an animal and sale it to someone else for profit or because "you're changing your breeding/showing plans"? That is so unfair for the animal!

Be a responsible person and do the right thing!!! I'm so tired of "experienced horse people" telling prospective or new horse owners to research horse ownership before going out and buying one! As far as I'm concerned, those "experienced people" should have taken a longer look at what plans they had for their horses before running out and buying them too. Obviously if your horsie goals are going to change in the next few weeks, months or years, you didn't take near the amount of time to research either!!! If it isn't going to be something you want to own in a year or two (or even three)...then don't buy it now!!!!! And most importantly, STOP REDICULING the newbies, when you're just as bad (if not worse) as the people you're rediculing!!!

Horses are living breathing things......stop trading them off like their pokemon cards!!!!!!

It's a bad day!

I got very little sleep last night, I guess with the kittens on my mind and all. Went to bed well after midnight, was up at 5:30. Tried to feed them, they did not want me to do it. So I took them over to my mom's at about 6:00, and she fed them. Not like I'm taking that personal or anything. Lol.

6:30, it's windy and freezing outside, but I take the babies out to see if momma will accept them back. HA! She was there waiting, so I figured that was a good sign. She walked up to the box, looked inside, and walked away. A little bit later, she went back up, looked back inside, sniffed the blanket, and walked off. Shortly after, she went back to where she hid her other 3 babies, without any of these ones. I fed the horses, and she never came back. Not so much as a glance over her shoulder. After a half an hour of making them freeze outside, I brought them home. Looks like I'm fostering them. :(

I have several complaints. First of all...it has been gorgeous whether outside for the past week, but the days I get stuck with babies that I want to return to their momma, it's horrid out. Secondly, I don't need this right before my surgery! Either I have really terrible luck, or someone is trying to make me concentrate on other things.

I did get two to eat for me around 11 this morning. Then the little black one, who we're most worried about because he doesn't seem to want to eat much, ate for me around 3:30. I pray that they will all survive, though I have no idea what I'm going to do with them while I'm in the hospital. They should be almost a month old by then? We watched a funny episode of "South Park" not too long ago, and we've been joking about this every since because I always call everyone "Buddy". It's a conversation between three different people......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUfts9dfZ9I
So, I decided that I'd call these little one's "Buddy", "Guy" and "Friend", although I have no idea who is who. I don't really want to get more attached than I have to, and I kinda feel like they're fish at this point....if you name them, they'll die. I've bottlefed baby kittens before, but never when they were only a couple days old. My mom did when she was younger, but that was so long ago. :O

Anyways, that's my update as of now. They sleep alot, so that's good. But then, when they're awake, they are beyond noisy and it's hard to put them back down to sleep.

WHAT A DAY!!!

Day started out kind of slow. Found out that the horses ruined their hay holder (what else is new?), then went down town to do some shopping. Got home and Mark worked on a cart for Kip. Kip is my 15 year old dog, who has arthritis and is getting to the point where he doesn't want to get up and walk around very much. He has also lost some of his appetite. :( I hope that it doesn't have to come down to a decision of whether or not I have to put him down, because truthfully, I've always been against animal euthanization. But I am also seeing that if an animal is in extreme pain, it isn't fair to make them continue like that. I've tried all the medicines, and so far, we haven't found anything that seems to help. His back end is getting weaker, and he has a hard time walking more than a few steps. BUT when he is up, he wants to play with our 7 year old Lab. So that tells me that he still has some life in him.

Anyways, Mark came up with this idea of building him a little wheelchair, so that it can support his back end. It's such a good idea and probably one of our last chances at giving him comfort. It's nothing fancy, but he sure was able to get around. :)



Then, my elderly neighbor told us that a cat had kittens in a barrell in her front yard. She said that if she didn't find someone to take these kittens, then she'd take them to the humane society (which destroys newborn kittens). I do NOT need anymore cats, so I was really trying NOT to take them. I came home, called the vet's office to see if they could rehab the babies, and they told me no. I don't know of anyone who would want to take care of kittens so young, so I went over and got them. Unknownst to her, I ended up taking them back over to her back yard, where I knew their mother was. She ended up taking 3 of the 6 to another area, and after 3 hours of her not coming back, I now have the 3 left in my possession. :( Had to go back to the store and buy some formula. I could not get them to eat, so I had to have my mom do it. It's cold and windy outside, so I figured that once it got dark, she wouldn't be back for them tonight. I didn't want them to freeze to death, so now I'll be on baby duty all night. First thing tomorrow, I will be taking them back out and I hope that she'll take them. I DO NOT NEED THIS RIGHT NOW!!! Damn my kind heart!!! I am trying NOT to get attached, but they are only 4 (or younger) days old. I know this because 4 days ago, their mother was as big as a balloon and I told my mom that she'd pop any day. Sure enough, here they are.


LOOK AT THE SPOTTED ONE!!!!


Let's hope that momma cat comes back to get them tomorrow.....or I don't know what I'm gonna do!

Well I'll be darned!

I got online a little bit ago, and an email from Classmates.com said that someone signed my guessbook. Of course curiosity got the better of me, and I had to go and check it out. The new signature came from a guy I liked when I was in 8th grade.

I don't think he ever even knew I liked him. It was just odd that he got on there and looked up MY profile. I wasn't exactly popular back in those years. I was friends with his cousins, but I swear he never even knew I was alive. Apparently I was wrong. Lol.

I just thought it was odd and wanted to share.

Sickening

Why is that my family and I have to work our asses off to make a somewhat decent living, and yet politians, doctors, lawyers, movie stars, singers, etc. make "millions" for a couple months worth of work??? There is NO WAY that they deserve all the money that they make. Why is America or individual states hitting the poor and middle class people who actually "make a living" in their pockets, yet the rich keep getting richer? If they started paying these "big time" people decent wages, or taxed the shit out of the weathly, then America would in no way be in a deficit.

The reason for my little rampage? I just read that David Hasselhoff has to pay his ex-wife $21,000 MONTHLY in their divorce settlement. And his kids get an extra $4,000. That means this man is forking out $25,000 monthly to his family and ex-wife. I have so many problems with this kind of thing. First of all, him and his wife are divorced...why does she deserve anything that he makes? That money should be child support, to help support the kids. Not to give the wife extra shopping allowances. The only way I would EVER want allimony from a man, is if he left me for another woman. And then it would just be out of revenge, not because I felt he owed it to me. Ok, if you can actually afford to give someone else $25,000 a MONTH, then boo-hoo, you have to give up some of your money. How the hell do these people live? Thats a shit load of money, it takes Mark 8 months to make $25,000. It's no wonder these people turn to drugs because they've literally bought everything else their hearts desire.

Even doctors...that day I spent at the hospital for a ct scan and ultrasound...i got an invoice in the mail saying that if my insurance didn't pay for it, then I'd have to pay $9,000. WHAT??? Does it seriously cost $9,000 just for two little tests? If you have 5 people in there, in a day, that had what I had done, then they made $45,000. Does it really cost that to run those mechines, or are people getting screwed? I know for a fact that a $5 prescription, will cost you close to $45 (or more) at the pharmacy. Why is it legal for places/people to screw others over? I'm sick of seeing these poor people who have to struggle to make a living, yet others flaunt their money like it's toilet paper, just because they had better circumstances or a lucky opportunity. START TAXING THE RICH and leave the poor people alone!!!!!!!!

THAT'S TALENT!

Last year, I had the priviledge to see (twice) and meet Darren Hayes. Ok, just a little background. I developed the biggest crush on Darren when I was 16. The first time I saw the video to Savage Garden's "I want you", I realized that he was the most beautiful human being...both physically and emotionally. I had a chance to see Savage Garden perform in 2000, but Mark was told that if he took time off of work, he'd be fired. We couldn't chance that, so I passed the opportunity up. Sadly, that was their last tour before they called it quits.

I followed Darren's career over the years and have collected as many of his songs (both released and not released) as I could. I have spent hundreds of dollars. In June of 2007, after 10 years of waiting, I finally got my chance to see Darren perform solo. It was magical, and there is no way I can possibly describe what it meant to me. Then in November, I got to attend an accustic show, where he signed autographs. I actually got to meet him and shake his hand. It was awesome! And a truly wonderful experience. He was everything I expected and so much more. He signed my CD booklet "To Sara, the poet in my heart, Love Darren". My brother and Mark were also there and all he signed in there's was "To so and so, Love Darren". I ended up seeing about 20 other signatures he signed to both men and women, and he only wrote the short version to them too. I feel beyond priviledged that he took the time to write something special in mine.

I had a friend of mine do a woodburn of one of the pictures I took from his first concert, so that I could treasure it always. This is the picture I sent to her....

And this is what she was able to make for me. Shawna is so gifted, I wish I had an ounce of her talent.....


I just wanted to share it with you all because I just found it on my photobucket list. :)

Holy Marshmellow!

Went to the grocery store last night, and saw a bag of these bad boys. WOW!!!



And they're "only" 95 calories A PIECE!!! Jeeze, one of them is enough fat, to almost make up your daily allowance. But man, I can't wait to roast them!

Can you believe it?

I didn't have anything to write about yesterday. Just cruised the internet for a while, and then spent some time with my brother. Nothing exciting really happened. Had no deep thoughts or amazing stories to share. Oh well. Maybe today...........

I've never seen it like this before!

I am a HUGE fan of Disney. Disneyland is my most favorite place on earth. I have been there countless times over the years and I can honestly say that I have never seen it at this angle before. Interesting stuff.

http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=12&Z=11&X=518&Y=4676&W=1&qs=disneyland+drive%7canaheim%7cca%7c&Addr=S+Disneyland+Dr%2c+Anaheim%2c+CA+92802&ALon=-117.9239537&ALat=33.8034839

And just for fun...

http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/Disneyland/

Pump up the volumn

Has anyone seen that movie? Well this blog has nothing to do with it. Hahahaha. Actually, as promised last week or the week before, I added my 80's music log on here. I should probably go through and update the songs that are no longer working, but right now, I feel too lazy. I love listening to it. I love the 80's so much, I paid one of Mark's friends' 16 year old daughter $50 to download 260 some songs of the 80's onto an Ipod for me. Not quite sure how to do it on my own without paying a dollar a song. Any other way, seems illegal, and I'd be the one person who got caught doing it. :P

So I hope you guys enjoy listening to it.

Ick!

Just came back in from doing a sheath cleaning. For those of you know don't know what that is, I pray you never have to know. And for those who do know what it is...I know you feel my pain. Spent quite some time out with the horses, and got a lot accomplished. I also cleaned Zoey's utter, played with her feet, brushed them out and dewormed them.

On a sadder note, I JUST got the call back from my surgeon's office. I answered my cell phone and the lady said "You're going to have the surgery Friday". I was like "WHAT!?!" and she repeated it. I started panincing, that's toooooooo soon. So I told her the only thing I could think of...the surgeon wants me off of all my supplements 2 weeks before the surgery. I haven't been off of them for 2 weeks, and that's exactly what I told her. So she told me that I could have it done on May 2nd, and I said "That's too soon". And she said "Ok, how about the 13th?" And I said yes. I don't quite think it's set in yet. I don't feel scared, just nervous. I know it has to be done and that's what I keep telling myself. But that doesn't stop the fear. No time yet, but she said she'll call me back in a day or two, to set up the pre-op and the actual surgery.

Now if I end up in pain between now and May 13th, I'm gonna be pissed because it could all be done this Friday. I could be pretty muchly healed my May 13th! But then, if I was to die on May 13th, then I want to have another month to live. :) Ok, depressing myself now. Better go and let everyone know that it will be on that day. Let's hope that it's a good "13". :P

As finished as we're gonna get!

I wanted to wait and post clipped pictures, until the horses were all finished. Looks like they are now all finished because I'm so sore, I don't think I'll attempt Zoey's legs again. On a brighter note, I did locate someone who lives about an hour away and professionally clips horses. I think that I'll hire her to do it for me next year. At least on Zoey, if I can't get her to calm down first.

Anyways, I wanted to share the before, during and after with you all. I think I'm pretty happy with how they look. Maybe a bit thicker than I'd like, but at least they weren't too skinny coming out of winter. Plus, they aren't down right fat, so how can I complain? They definately need to get in shape though!

Here's Gideon......




And here's Zoey (notice her fuzzy feet in the last one!)..........




It's hard to believe that they looked like this the day I got them. They've grown, and matured so nicely. :) (The date is wrong in both of the pictures).

(Gideon was rescued a week earlier, from an auction)

Interesting morning

Just had a big scare. I was back at the horses and for those that don't know, I board at a neighbor's place. I live in a duplex, and my mom is my neighbor. We have two seperate apartments behind us, which neighbor's the horses. Anyways, I was walking back from the horses and I see a sheriff driving by really really slow. He stopped infront of my mom's house, then reversed. Then he pulled into her yard. Luckily, she was outside watering the yard.

I didn't know what to do, I've heard that if you walk up to a sheriff while they are on a call, they can arrest you because they don't know if you are going to do something or not. He was talking to my mom, and I walked up as he was reversing. She said that he was looking for one of the places behind us. I know one of the neighbor's, so I began to worry. Then another sheriff pulls up, and I have to point back to where the other one had just went. They were back there for about 5 minutes, then came back up and sat in my yard. They sat there for about 10 minutes. I couldn't take it anymore and I was really worried about my neighbor. She's from the Philipeans? and doesn't speak really good english. And her husband is older and handicapped, but I knew he wasn't home. So I called her, to make sure that she was ok home alone.

She told me that her husband has a doctor's appointment today and she was trying to reach him. She couldn't get in touch with him, so she tried to call the doctor's. Instead of hitting 411 to get the number, she accidently hit 911. She saw/heard "Emergency" something and hung up. Of course, when they called back and she told them, they didn't believe her and they sent officers out. She said she still didn't know if the officers thought she was telling the truth. But at least they showed up to check on her.

I hate that....they have 911 which is easy to dial and remember. But then they have 411, which is to contact the phone assistance place, and to call my phone company, all I have to do is dial 611. There are waaaaaaaay too many "11" numbers. It would be really easy to accidently hit a "9" in there instead of another number. Why don't they change some of those numbers, so they don't have so many problems with accidental emergency calls?

I'm so worn out!

Yesterday, we tried to finish clipping Zoey. Lol. I guess she showed us! My black and blue leg is finally beginning to fade, and I should have been more careful, but I think we were getting impatient with her. Mark suggests holding her leg to clip. What a funny man he is! He picks up her leg on her right side, she swings to her left (where I am) and she straight out flattens me. She hit me in my lower stomach (not a good place...where I'm gonna be having surgery) and I fell straight on my butt. I weigh at least what she does, if not more, and she had no problem knocking me down. Yes people, even at their tiny size, they can and sometimes do, cause pain.

I guess we'll need to try to set up some kind of cross tie station in our yard, because having her tied to the tree just isn't working very well. It was the third day I've worked on her, and we still don't have her finished. And it's just her lower legs. :( She looks funny though. I would have expected it from Gideon because he's always been more skittish. But Gideon only showed a little resistance on his ears. He used to be terribly head shy, so that's totally understandable. But once he knew we weren't going to hurt him, he settled down.

At this point, I think my pride is more hurt than my butt.

The magic of nature

Recently, I have become a HUGE fan of Colloidal silver. I use it for all cuts, bumps and bruises. And it does wonders for dry cracked skin, bug bites and pimples. I've been looking into natural remedies, rather than prescription meds, because I believe that for most things, God has supplied us a means of healing it. To me, the C.S. has worked wonders. I wondered why I've never heard of it, or been told about it by one of my doctor's. And I guess there are 2 very easy answers to that.

1. The pharmacuetical companies would go under if people could cure themselves. The FDA would not allow that to happen, as the Pharmacueticial companies make a lot of people rich. Think about it...doctor's prescribe antibiotics for EVERYTHING now, even if they aren't fully sure what you have. It's common knowledge that anitibiotics don't work on virus', and that your best defense against the common cold is lots and lots of Vitamin C (among a few other herbs). Yet, my mom and brother were both recently prescribed anitibiotics for the common cold. Is that a ploy to make more money? Or to make the customer feel better that they got "something from the doctor"?

2. Most doctor's are only trained to give antibiotics. They do not have a knowledge of anything natural. Everytime I see my doctor, I ask her about this or that, and she asks me what it is for, and how it works. She's clueless. Yet she can tell you anything you want to know about antibiotics.

I find it amazing. We're led to believe that antibiotics are our only hope. But how many of those antibiotics are losing their potency? Germs are becoming resistant to medications, and truthfully, medications destroy our immune systems. I wish I would have started looking into this a long time ago. I've been on countless antibiotics through out the years, and have you ever noticed that if you read warnings on the leaflets, alot of the times, the side effects are even more dangerous than what the medication is supposed to be used for?

Anyways, I ended up finding the C.S. and I have been using it on everything externally. I am still a little scared to take it internally, until my cyst is gone, but I hope that it will also have promising effects. Here's a little background on it that I found interesting......(and just incase someone at the FDA sees this, no I am not a licensed healthcare professional, and this is not meant to be used to diagnose or treat diseases, yadda yadda yadda).........

The historical use of silver to preserve and extend the life of food and water is long and indisputable. For thousands of years, it has been used for the same reasons we are using it now in our mineral and water supplement form. From mankind's earliest history, silver has been used in the making of food and drink vessels, as well as eating utensils. Here is an anecdote from the writings of Herodotus, the Greek philosopher, before the birth of Christ. The Greek historian Herodotus, called the "Father of History", is one of our prime sources for information known about the fall of Babylon. Herodotus lived a century after the time of Daniel and traveled widely in the East. In his "Histories", we learn of the campaign of Persia's King Cyrus against Babylon. The details include the fact that no Persian king, including Cyrus, would drink the water of any stream other than the Choaspes, a river that flowed past the Persian capital of Susa. Wherever the king went, a long train of four-wheeled mule wagons followed him transporting silver jars filled with the river's water. The water in silver jars would keep fresh for years during the long campaigns.

The Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and peoples around the world used silver in one form or another to preserve food and water. In Europe during the "Dark Ages”, silver utensils, cups and bowls were utilized to aid in protecting the wealthy from the full brunt of pandemics. The expression "born with a silver spoon in their mouth" comes from these “Dark Ages”, when the wealthy gave their children silver spoons to suck on to ward off diseases." In the days of the settling of the American frontier, pioneers commonly used silver coins to retard the spoilage of milk and water.

The use of some silver preparations in modern, mainstream medicine has survived until this "Modern Age." Among them are the use of dilute silver nitrate in newborn babies' eyes to protect from infection and the use of "Silvadine," a silver based salve, in virtually every burn ward in America to fight infection. A silver coated nylon material was patented as "Silvalon" and licensed by FDA as an anti-microbial bandage. Clearly, silver has historically been one of man’s most reliable tools in supporting the immune system against various maladies, even before he knew what caused these maladies.

Today, silver is also being used in swimming pool filters, food cutting boards, bandages, and water filters for NASA. Scientific research and evidence indicates that if silver comes into contact with one-celled organisms, they will not survive. Evidence indicates that one-celled organisms do not have an intrinsic resistance to, nor can they through mutation or natural selection, acquire a resistance to silver's anti-microbial actions, as they are often able to do with “patented” products. This is why silver has historically been one of man’s most reliable tools in supporting the immune system against various maladies, even before he knew what caused these maladies.

Just some background - Silver was the main antibiotic used until the 1930's, when the government decided to find cheaper alternatives to use (Pennicillian). And yes, silver can have bad side effects, just as any other antibiotic. Mostly, it has been said to turn people who ingest too much of it blue (Argyria). Funny how if it is such a dangerous thing, doctor's put it into newborn babies eyes, to prevent infection. Hmmm...

A distortion of Beauty

I find this absolutely appauling, yet mesmorizing at the same time. On one hand, what is this teaching women? That we don't look good enough in our natural state, that we have to primped and pampered to be something better? On the other hand, I can't help wishing that I had this make up team, and computer program!

No wonder why people look flawless in magazines...it isn't them at all...it's what someone else creates! I think it would have been good enough to just show a difference of before/after makeup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT4dpFpiTgk

"The Wind" by SMV

The wind is power
It is free.
Sometimes when all is quiet
I can hear it calling me.

It talks of it's journies
over the land and seas.
It tells of it's strength
to push the clouds and brustle through trees.

The wind has a face
you're unable to see.
The wind has a voice
as soothing as can be.

It whispers gently
like a lock finding a key.
It whispers softly
to comfort me.

The wind whistles
with a slight plea.
To get my attention
and talk with me.

You've got to be kidding!

I was a HUGE fan of New Kids on The Block in the late 80's. Everything I had was either horses or New Kids. I even had a sleeping bag with their faces and a cute little nightgown. Now that I think about it, that's a little creepy. Lol. My cousin, being a typical young boy, used to laugh at me and call them gay. He was just jealous and it didn't sway my love for them.

I was sooooooo sad when they broke up. I was right there for them a few years later when they started up again as "NKOTB". Of course they didn't last long because they were men at this point and they wanted to venture out and do their own things. Besides, times had changed and the musical industry was more geared towards rap, grunge and sex music.

I've followed their careers as closely as possible over the years...Donnie we all know is a big movie star, Jordan and Joey still sing, and Danny and Jonathan pretty muchly faded into the real world. I saw a show on VH1, where they were trying to get old bands back together again to perform for the show. Three of the guys were interviewed, and the others said that they were not interested in doing the show, and that if New Kids On The Block ever got back together again, it would be for their own reasons and not for a show.

Well on April 4th, the guys announced that they are indeed getting together again. I am soooo jazzed!!! I was watching them on an early morning show and unfortunately, their interview got cut short because of a broadcasted funeral for a fallen firefighter. So I didn't get all the details. BUT they did say that they will be recording soon and doing a few shows. I wanna see them!!! Third time's gotta be a charm, right?

Anyways, I listened to their older cassette (yes a cassette!) that I hadn't heard in about 15 years, and surprisingly, I still remembered all the words. I'd say that I am definately ready to become a fan again!!! :)

I HATE writing this!!!!!!!!

But I can't hold it in any longer. I have made a special point to never ever discuss this on here, but it seems like it just keeps building up inside of me, and I can't take it anymore.

I guess I'll start from the beginning. I have always liked boys! My mom remembers when I was four years old, I had a huge crush on a family friend named Brian. She said that I would follow him everywhere and wouldn't leave him alone. Truthfully, I remember Brian, but I don't remember my crush on him. As I got older, I was boy crazy. My first real crush was on a boy who lived by me, named Patrick. I was in love! And come to find out just recently, he actually liked me too all those years that we knew each other. I remember he had a friend ask me out once, but I thought they were just playing. Besides, I was never ready for a boyfriend.

I can't even begin to count how many boys/guys I liked over the years. My friend and I used to joke that I changed my crush as often as my underwear (daily, haha). When I was younger, I had a thing for those little nerdy guys (Martin Short, Paul Simon, Eugene Levy). Truthfully, I've always seemed to go through phazes because I've liked chunky guys (Steve Harwell, Uncle Kracker and Kevin Smith), macho guys (Vin Diesel and Arnold Vasloo), and guys of all nationalities (Chris Smith, Robin Shue). But my favorite has always been mexican guys. There's just something about them! Yes, I've liked white boys and guys (Paul Walker and Jonathon Rhys Meyers) but I've just always been attracted to hispanic guys.

Through all my crushes over the years, I never fell that hard for any of them. Until my Sophomore year of high school. I had seen this boy around for weeks, and never felt ANYTHING towards him. Then one day on the school bus, I was close to him and he was talking to this other girl. I looked up and when I looked in his eyes, I swear they saw straight into my soul. I had never experienced anything like it. I was hooked and madly in love! I asked a friend about him, and next thing I know, him and all of his friends know that I like him. It was horrible...I was shy and I wanted it to be a secret. I was told right off the bat that he'd never date me because his parents only spoke spanish. But that didn't seem to affect the way I felt about him. I fell and I fell hard. He lived down the street from me, so I'd make a special point to be outside when he'd drive by, so that I could wave to him. And he waved back. I never worked up the courage to talk to him though.

During my Jr year in high school, I still liked him. I just couldn't stop. Then one day, he began dating a girl I hated! I was on the school bus and my friend had just looked at me after she looked out the bus window. I saw her expression and she told me not to look. I did anyways, and he was kissing this girl. Not a very nice way to find out he was dating someone. I should have listened to my friend, she was my best friend, but when someone tells you not to look, it's a reaction to look. I went home and cried. He was the first and only boy I've ever cried over. In the weeks that followed, he flaunted her infront of me. He walked her by me on purpose (not knowing I hated her) and would look right at me to make sure that I saw them. That should have been a warning.

As luck would have it, my friend and I ended up seeing his girlfriend in Walmart and she was arm in arm with another boy. I wrote another friend telling her, and he ended up grabbing the letter away from her while she was reading it. Not a very nice way for him to find out that his girlfriend was cheating on him. They ended up breaking up shortly after that. Then I stood by while he dated two more girls. I was soooo stupid to have feelings for someone who would never date me! But he was everywhere and I couldn't even escape him while I was at home. He smiled at me or waved at me, and I was lost. Most of the poetry I wrote during those years was based on feelings I had for and because of him.

It's weird because I credit him for the reason I am still alive today and maybe that has something to do with how strongly I felt about him. I was having some really hard times at home, and after I fell for him, I got out of the house more, instead of sitting in my room contemplating suicide. The poetry also helped me to release everything that was bottled up inside. During my senior year, I ended up getting a class with him. It took me a couple of months to work up the courage, but finally I did. I walked right over to him, sat down and we talked. It was magical, I only wish I could have enjoyed it more, instead of trying to swollow my heart the whole time. I found out that he had just lost his job, so I told him that I'd see about getting him a job where I worked.

It took some begging, but I did get him that job with me. He worked evenings most of the time, and I worked afternoons, but we saw each other for a couple of hours inbetween. We began talking to each other more, and in class, we worked on projects as partners. If I was having a bad day and didn't say hi to him when he came in, he'd tap his pencil on his desk until I did. I thought my dreams would finally come true. Then he began ditching class more, and come to find out, he started dating someone else. I was furious! I realized that I needed to move on and I began looking elsewhere. Then one day at work, I missed my ride and since he lived right down the street from me, I asked if he could give me a ride home if he didn't think his girlfriend would mind. He said he didn't care if she would, and he gave me a ride. I still remember how ackward that ride was.

I was being so stupid. I had 6 guys that I know of, who were chasing after me and yet, I wouldn't give any of them a chance. I finally said enough was enough and went out on a date with Mark. It was only to make this guy jealous, but it turns out that I ended up liking Mark. This guy ended his relationship with his girlfriend, but I wasn't ready to end mine. One time when Mark was going to pick me up from work, this guy asked me if I wanted a ride home. I TURNED HIM DOWN!!! :(

School ends, and a month later the guy I liked stopped coming to work. So I quit my job and found another one. It's funny because my mom still worked where we had, and shortly after I quit, he came back to work. Had I known that, I don't know if I would have quit afterall. A couple of years go by, I'm still with Mark, and I still wave at him when I see him drive by. Then one day my mom comes home and told me that he was asking how I was and if I was still with Mark. Of course she told him yes.

Another week goes by and I find out that he lost his virginity to a friend of mine, who he met at the job I got him! Him and her weren't even dating, but as my friend told my mom...he was ready to lose his virginity, and he knew I was still with Mark. I WAS CRUSHED!!! I never talked to my so-called friend after that because she knew how I always felt about him. And to top it off, I was kind of appauled that he would chose someone I knew, that he wasn't even dating. Is there no other girls out there??? Berna was short, fat and bi-sexual. Not even the girly bi-sexual type, she was the butchy type.

I'm sad to say it, but had I known he was even a bit interested, I would have called it off with Mark, even though we had been together for almost 3 years. In fact, alot of our troubles those first years, was because I was in love with someone else. I think that up until the day that I took my vows, if he had asked me not to marry Mark, I wouldn't have. I love Mark with all of my heart, and I feel like I've hit the jackpot with him, but "I love him"...I've never been "in love with him". Over the years, I've talked to him maybe a whole 3 times, but I've been cursed with his parents still living down the street from me...so every now and then, I still see him drive by. Many years have passed, and he's married now with kids, but I still remember those years past so well. The second time that my MySpace account was hacked, I ended up getting this guy on my friend's list, who was convinced he knew me. I never sent him the request and let's face it, this guy could have been anywhere else in the whole world, but he kept saying that we went to school together. It turns out, that it was the guy I had those feelings for all those years ago. We caught up a little, then that was that and we haven't talked or seen each other since.

Last night, I had one of those dreams that last all night (even after you wake up) and he was in it. Why oh why do I still dream about him!?! Is this someone's idea of a very cruel joke??? I don't have any feelings for him anymore, but it brings back how I felt back then, and it still hurts!!! I even saw him not too long ago, and there's no attraction whatsoever. (Ok, so I keep telling myself that!) It's just not fair. Maybe now that I've written about it, my mind will be a little more at ease and I can finally forget him!!!

"Rain, the soother of pain" by SMV

I always love sitting here
and watching the downfall of rain.
It always soothes my soul
and takes away the pain.

I love listening to the sprinkles,
as they hit the window with little splatters.
It blocks out the sound of my heart
as it painfully shatters.

I love looking up
and seeing the dark gray skies.
Nobody knows the thunder
is my heartbreak in disguise.

I wish the rain
will continue some more.
So no one will see my tears
as they continue to pour.

Oops, I forgot!

She's found a home! My mom asked her ex-boyfriend if he wanted a cat. He was hesitant, but she told him that it would be good for him because he lives alone. He thought about it and agreed that maybe a cat was a good idea. He hasn't had one for the past few years, so we told him that we'd buy him everything that goes with getting a cat.

She was hanging around outside like normal, and all we had to fo was put her into a carrier. It took us nearly 30 minutes to accomplish that. She did not want to go in it. Poor thing! We went to walmart, bought a potty box, a pooper scooper, a rug (to go under the box), some food and food dishes. Then we took her to her new home.

Robert was excited. He let her out, and instead of her being scared and running to hide, she rubbed against him and his couch. I think she's going to like it there. We told him that if it doesn't work out, then we'll take her back and if I can't find her another home, then we'll take her over to the adoption place. I REALLY hope she works out there. I think they'll be good for each other. :)

100th post

Ok, for my 100th post, I thought I'd do something special. This song backwards is hilarious! But you have to listen carefully.

http://blog.adonias.cl/archivos/Flash/Jingle_Bells_Reversed.swf

Happy 100th, and to many more!

What's in your laundry???

Wisdom

A time comes in your life when you finally get it..........when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out...ENOUGH!

Enough fighting and crying and blaming and struggling to hold on. Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes. You realize it's time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon.

You realize that in the real world there aren't always fairy tale endings, and that any guarantee of"happily ever after" must begin with you... ..and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance. You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are... and that's OK. They are entitled to their own views and opinions.

You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself... and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval. You stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you - or didn't do for you - and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.

You realize that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say, that not everyone will always be there for you and that everything isn'talways about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself... and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties... in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness. You learn to open up to different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for. You feel the power and glory increating and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" looking for your next fix.

You begin to experience that principles, such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.

You realize that you don't know everything. It's not your job to save the world, you can't teach a pig to sing.

You realize that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake. Then you learn about love. You look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn that alone does not mean lonely.

You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO. You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.

You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul.

So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen.

You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom. ........ life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think you deserve, sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people... you learn not to always take it personally.

You realize that nobody's punishing you. It's just life happening. Suddenly you can admit when you are wrong and learn to build bridges instead of walls. You feel that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you.

You become thankful and to take comfort in many simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower....

Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever settle for less than your heart's desire. You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind.

Finally, with courage in your heart, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best you can.

Whoa is that a "sea" horse???

This is the most funkiest head I've ever seen on a horse!!! It looks more like a seahorse, then a horse. Poor thing! I can't believe that someone would actually use it as a model!

Anybody want a cat???

We have this cat that showed up, and I do not need another one! She's gorgeous! And very loving. We try to ignore her, but she won't leave. We've made a special point not to feed or touch her, I've caught her sneaking into the backyard and eating our dogs food. She sits outside and meows at us, the second she sees or hears us. She'll come up to our screen door and call for us, and I've caught her running on the roof several times, and sleeping on my car seat. :( She sat at my mom's feet on Sunday, for over 30 minutes, just being content that she was in the company of humans. I'm scared that she's going to end up getting hit by a car or killed by a dog, so I'd really like to find a home for her before it's too late. So if anyone is interested in a house cat, or knows someone, please let me know. I'm sure they will not regret it, as she CRAVES human love.

Here she is...she has orange in her fur, and the pictures don't show it very well, but she has orange stripes too. She also has five perfect stripes on the back of her neck, and two black rings around her throat. And very talkative! It's like she knows exactly when we are talking about her.

Yesterday was fun

even though we had to go to the doctor's on our anniversary. We ended up going out to Sizzler's, and then to the drive-in to see "Nim's Island" and "Drillbit Taylor". Both movies are really good. I love going to the drive-in. You're in the comfort of your own vehicle, and can have the sound as high or low as you want. Plus it's cheaper then the movie theater and you get to take your own food/drinks. We took pillows and a blanket, and we snuggled. It was nice quiet time for us, with no animals. Haha. Anyways, this was us on our day. And no, we did not intend to match!!! :D

We have eggs!

Easter's over, I know! Tell that to Draco. She's decided to grace us with a lack of hunger (and the worry that comes along with it), her lovely territorial behavior, and about 24 eggs so far. I have to be honest, up until this weekend, I had doubts that she was even female because she was supposed to start laying eggs about 2 years ago. Well, she proved me wrong!

Last Friday, I was misting her down and I looked down, to see a white thing that looked like a piece of packaging popcorn. I couldn't figure out how in the world it got in there, and then it dawned on me...it was an egg. And a big one at that.

She's been laying every day since. And at last count, we had 24 of them. Here's the last picture I took of them, before we had to throw them away. There's only 16 in the picture.

Hard to believe that this little monster can have soooo many eggs in her.

When all is said and done...

I am soooo getting a different physician!!! I can't stand my doctor anymore. Yes, she's nice...but her office sucks!!! I think the problem is...they have waaaaaay too many patients and not enough staff.

Ok, so here's my complaint for the day (and hopefully the week). I've called her office several times for emergency type things. The receptionists say that they'll take down your information and give it to her, yet you NEVER hear anything back. What tops the cake is that last time Mark was put on a prescription antibiotic, he ended up breaking out in blisters on his arms, lower legs and starting on his face, after taking them. We knew immediately that he was having an allergic reaction, and I told him to call them to get onto something else. He did, and they took his info and told him she'd call back. Common knowledge says that she would have come to the phone for a minute since it was only his life we could have been talking about, or that one of her employees could have saught her out and asked her about it. Nope, we never heard anything from anyone. Mark was smart enought to stop taking the antibiotic, but still!

We went in there yesterday and he told her about his allergic reaction. She asked him why he didn't call them and when he said he did and who he talked to, she said she never heard anything about it and that she was really sorry. When a doctor has to apologize for her staff, there's a problem. And this isn't the first time that she hasn't "gotten a message". It took me 3 tries to get my high blood pressure medication refilled. Three weeks later, I said enough was enough and I called my pharmacy to have them contact the doctor's office. Thankfully they got it done!

I understand being busy. Believe me, I do. But when she's jeopardizing her patients lives because she can't respond to someone, there's a problem. I'm just thankful that Mark didn't have a deadly sickness and was relying on antibiotics to save his life or organs. Seeing her personally, takes forever! She is booked up for a month at a time, and let's face it, a nurse practicianer just doesn't cut it (not that I wouldn't do it if I was desperate enough, but it sucks when you go in everytime and the doctor doesn't even remember you from the 5 times before). And whenever I ask her questions, she never fully answers my questions. She's always beats around the bush and basically restates my question. It drives me insane. I always feel like I know more about my problems than she does. But I can't change doctor's until after the surgery, because it takes a month of transitioning time. That sucks! :(

Nine YEARS!!!

Is how long Mark and I have been together. Today is the big one for us. :) Ninth year together and fourth year married. It's crazy! It doesn't seem like we've been together for that long...and truthfully, after the first 4 years of our relationship, we shouldn't be together. Those first few years were a doozy, and I don't know how we ever made it through them. I've always heard that the first years together are the best because you're still fake. It's once you start getting to know the real other person, that things start to unravel.

Hahahaha, well I guess Mark and I jumped right in to the latter one. I really didn't like him those first couple years...he was arrogant, and to be truthful, a complete asshole. But there was still something about him that kept me with him. I guess I rubbed off on him, because now, I can't find any of that Mark in him. I'm sure that I wasn't a piece of cake for him either. Our personalities clashed, and I was not willing to bow down to him. I guess we saw each other's bad qualities up front, and worked our way through them. We've grown, and become totally different people over the years. But one thing has stayed the same...I continue to love him more each day. And now, I know that he is my other half and that I would be lost without him.

There's something special in having your spouse as your best friend. We do EVERYTHING together, and still give each other space when one of us needs it. I would rather sit at home with him doing absolutely nothing, then to go out with the girls. Although every now and then, going out is fun too. And I know he's the same way...although sometimes he enjoys going fishing or out quad-riding, and since I won't do either with him, he has to go out with one of the guys. I'm just so thankful, that I was able to meet someone who I truly believe was made for me. Hopefully, I'll still be saying that in the years to come. ;)

Here's to nine whole years

What on Earth...

Is going on with our schools now days? Students are out of control! I just found out that our local high school had a stabbing on Monday, and there was supposed to be a gun brought to the school yesterday. Apparently it was gang related. Last month, my mom said that a 4th grader had brought a loaded gun to school (where she works), and was showing it to a friend. Then Tuesday night, I saw on the news, that nine 8-9 year olds planned to hit their teacher on the head with a paperweight, then handcuff her and then stab her to death with a steak knife. Just because she scolded one of them. What in the hell is going on? Your elementary kids are getting to be just as dangerous as your teenagers.

When I heard the story about the teacher scolding the student, I saw a red flag...that child is probably not accustomed to scolding from adults. I think that's where most of the problems lie. You have parents that don't give a rat's ass about their kids, and these kids are running wild. Be it that the parents just don't care, or they feel that their parental rights have been taken from them by the government. I don't know. It's just a scary thought that these kids are our future. I once heard that kids are supposed to get smarter as the decades pass, but truthfully, they aren't getting smarter, they're getting wilder. Kids now days don't care about school, adults or even themselves.

A study showed that the majority of kids now days aren't graduating from High School. To top that off, I know first hand that the "no kid is left behind" policy that our dear Governor Swartzy has made, is total bullshit. We have low level 8th graders in Algebra, and none of them are passing. They're stuck in these classes, doing math that they don't understand or want to understand, and once they feel defeated all they do is slack off in the classroom, making teaching that much more difficult for teachers. Yet, these kids will be passed up to the next grade with all their other classmates. What you have is a domino effect....these kids are expected to know things they were taught in 8th grade and to be able to learn the things in 9th grade. But if they didn't learn anything from 8th grade, the things they are supposed to learn in 9th grade, makes them feel that much less smart. You mix their low self esteem with a lack of parental control, and you have your next generation of trouble.

What the schools need to do is to start ticketing parents for their childrens bad behavior. If parents can't control their own kids, then how are we supposed to have order in the schools? If the government started holding parents accountable for what their kids are doing, and gave them back their parenting rights, then maybe things would get better. If a child can't cope in the classroom, and keeps getting into trouble, then the school needs to start holding parents responsible. Maybe if they start hitting parents in their wallets, we could start restoring the deficit this stupid war has put us in, instead of making cuts in the schools and social security.

I once had a child tell me that his mom won't punish him because she's scared of him. WHAT??? How does a parent ever become scared of their own child? If you teach a child rules and respect from a young age, you should never find yourself in that situation! I saw a post a few days ago, where a woman was posting that she needed parenting advice because her 2 or 3 year old refused to eat anything other than crap food. He also refuses to use plates and bowls, and will throw food he doesn't want on the floor. I've got the answer but I don't think she'd like it! GROW A BACKBONE and stop allowing your little monster to control you! She needs to stop buying junk food, and enforce using plates and bowls. If he throws a tantrum, swat his little butt. It doesn't have to be hard or excessive, it only has to be enough to teach him that his actions have a consequence.

Here's one better for you...I have a family member who has children. She's religious and takes her kids to church. But as soon as they aren't in church, those kids run wild. They do what they want, say what they want, and when I asked her about it, she said that by law, she can't touch them. She's afraid that they'll call the cops on her and these kids aren't even 10 years old. WHAT??? First of all, for being religious, she should know that God says "Don't spare the rod" when dealing with your children. I just don't understand it!

And to make matters worse, they give disobedience a medical term. "Oh my kid's not spoiled, he has ADD." What shit!!! I have known countless ADD cases, and I always find it funny how they act out whenever their parents are around, but the second you have control over them and practice a little authority, that ADD is much less extreme. If it was truly a medical condition, they wouldn't be able to turn it off and on according to who's in charge. And ADHD? HAHAHAHA....yes I do feel that kids can have a hormonal problem, and it can affect them, but I think that doctor's are just giving a medical name to bad parenting. They're making excuses and prescribing medications to help parents take control again. It's sad because the only ones who suffer are the kids and the people that they'll be around when they grow up.

I know someone who was recently accused of molesting a child. I had this man as a teacher when I was in school for a couple of years, and I have to say, he never looked at any of the female students in a way that would have suggested something. Now, unless he's changed dramatically, I can honestly say that I don't believe that he did what he was accused of. But if you think about it, any child can accuse any adult of doing anything to them. And who are the authorities going to believe? Even if you are found innocent, you will forever be branded as that. It sucks! It almost makes it so you don't want to be a school employee because you may be accused of something "bad", or killed by an irrate student at any time. I've made it a rule to never ever be alone in a classroom with a child, or to never touch them, unless there is another adult present to witness that it is not in a bad fashion. You have to be so careful now days.

You have to stop and wonder what the future is going to hold...are these youth really going to grow up to become the president, government, doctors and lawyers?

Lorenzo: the flying french man

I actually got reepy when I watched this. Being a horse lover, I can see that "hard to get" bond this man has with his horses. Even non-horse people should enjoy it. :)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x19nep_lorenzo-the-flying-french-man_events

It's the final countdown....

I don't know why but when I think of my upcoming surgery date, that song pops into my head (that should be a bad thing!). I got my letter of approval from the insurance company yesterday, and let's just say that I have mixed feelings about it. No date has been set yet, but I know it will be soon. I can't wait to go on with my life, without the worries of dying in pain if I move wrong. Plus the fact that the surgeon says my biggest worries are torsion or septicemia, doesn't exactly float my boat. But I'm also terrified of the surgery and afterwards. I'm trying to think positive, and I think I'll just have to have everyone slave over me for the weeks following the surgery. :) That should cheer me up, it sures sounds good right now. Lol.

Anyways, I haven't been posting as much lately, because I've become addicted to a stupid PS3 game...."Pixel Junk Monsters". DON'T PLAY IT!!!! It will only make you obsessive. We play it on the 42" tv now, and I swear, it makes my eyes hurt which leads to a headache. But I just can't stop. I go in and pop a couple of advil, wait 10 mintues, then go right back to it. I can't stop! I finally see why guys get so into their gaming.

Not too much has happened since the last time I wrote. Yesterday made 9 years since Mark and I's first date. I remember it like it was yesterday....he picked me up from work, and we went to the movies to see "The Mob Squad". Then he dropped me off and we hugged goodbye. It took him three days to call and ask if I wanted to go out again. But don't feel bad for me, I wasn't sitting by the phone waiting. Haha. Our official anniversary is on Monday (our 9th year as a couple). It's also our 4th year being married. How time flies. It's hard to look back and realize that I've been with this man since I was 18, and for nearly 10 years. Where did all that time go, what have we done during all that time? It's weird. But I hope that in another 9 years, I'll still be able to sit back and wonder where those last 9 years went.

I guess I've been lucky in my life. I've been blessed with wonderful and loving family and friends, a man who loves and worships me (as I do him), amazing fur-kids, and I've accomplished everything that I've really wanted in life....getting horses after 25 years of waiting, and meeting Darren Hayes after a 10 year dream. I couldn't really ask for more. I can even say that I've been able to find an inner peace with myself. Then again...maybe a little more money couldn't hurt. ;)