Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop

I was told yesterday that, in order to keep my job, I would have to take a pay cut. They are hoping that it is temporary, but I'm not sure how we can afford a cut when we can barely pay our bills as it is. Oh well, it's better than unemployment, I guess.

Now I'll just sit here and worry myself half to death. Man, 2008 can't get out of here fast enough. I was hoping for great things in 2009, but it looks as though it will be off to a slow start. Argh!

Christmas Eve

I love Christmas, but this year has proven to be very challenging. I know it's that way for a lot of folks. We are not alone. But, damn, it seems like every time I turn around, somebody is pissin' in my Cheerios! I'm so ready to take our little camper and go to the middle of nowhere.

Ok, enough of that. Self pity never helped anybody. Best Christmas wishes to all and a better year in '09. It's the only thing that keeps me going these days!

I'm From The South

Kyran writes about her disappointment in the Southern states in the election and also about the many changes made in various states to deny rights to homosexuals.

I can understand how it looks. But I also know that there is change happening here. Florida voted blue this time. North Carolina too. Of course, here in Florida, an amendment was passed that defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. I don't think anyone even fought it.

The point I would like to make is this - I was raised by a man who was born in southern Alabama. I used to joke to my friends that he was Florida's version of Archie Bunker. I've watched him mellow over the years. And I'd like to think that some of that was the influence of his two daughters. I believe that he and my mother are finally understanding that race doesn't define a person. That a bad person could be any color, and that one day, we'll all look the same anyway.

My husband and I have a grand-niece who is biracial. She is treated the same as all the other kids in the family. Of course, that's on my husband's side of the family, so my parents don't have to deal directly with it. But I think they see it through my eyes and realize that there's no reason to treat her any differently.

I think that people who are raised as racists and bigots will remain so if they stay in the same place. If they move away from that daily influence, progress can be made. I'm sure there are pockets of hatred all over the US, they're just a little larger and a little more concentrated here in the south. But we're making inroads, and I think President-Elect Obama will cause a lot of them to soften a little more. At least, I hope so.

What Now?

I am inspired by President-Elect Obama to get involved, to "start the hard work", but I don't really know where or how to start. I want to work shoulder-to-shoulder with him to lift up our country, to show that Americans can and will work together to straighten this mess out, but I don't know what to do.

I did not volunteer in his campaign, because I am not a talker. I don't like talking to strangers and I'm not very good at it, so I certainly didn't see myself knocking on doors or making calls (I really hate talking on the phone). So I did nothing, except talk to some of my friends and family about my support of his cause.

Now, I want to do something. I'm sure something will surface that I can use my talents for. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Grumpy Old Men

So, I was not looking forward to the office today, because my two bosses are staunch Repubs. Surprisingly, they weren't quite as bad as I expected. I think they may even give President-Elect Obama a fighting chance. Don't get me wrong. At the first hint of blood, they'll be on him like nobody's business.

For now, I'll take what I can get. ;)

Nauseous

All the problems being posted on this page do not make me feel very comfortable. C'mon, Florida, can't we just get this thing right?!

I just looked at it again and the map isn't even working! Gah!

More Camping Talk

Camping is one of our favorite things to do. We started out as tent campers, but several years ago my dad rescued a little fiberglass camper from being sent to the dump. We used it and fell in love! So much better than sleeping in a tent.

So, anyway, the little camper stays under our carport now. Our kids have outgrown it, so when we camp, our son has a tent now. The tiny bunk beds are way too small for him. But it's perfect for our granddaughter. We just need to get her completely potty-trained before we take her with us.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures of our little "egg" soon. Anyone out there love camping too? If so, I'd love to hear your stories.

Fall Camping, Anyone?

We started a new tradition last Thanksgiving. We, along with some friends and family, spent the long weekend camping at a local county park. It's heavily wooded and quiet. Close to home makes it even more appealing.

We're going to have a great time!

I Voted Early!

That's what my sticker says! I think this is the first time I've left the voting booth with a shit-eating grin on my face. Can it happen? I hope so!

If you haven't yet, VOTE OBAMA!!!!!

Status Quo

Weeping. I just lost an entire post. Gah!

I'm A Worrier

Our son has been struggling the last two years. He pretty much threw away his junior year of high school, and even though we've laid down the law, he continues to have problems. He and his father do not see eye to eye on much of anything. He's always been very sensitive and my husband tends to think of him as a "mama's boy".



Apparently, yesterday morning the husband noticed something about the son's bedroom window, before leaving for work. When he came home last night, he took the boy out and proceeded to read him the riot act about climbing in and out of the bedroom window (he's been grounded for weeks). They had a huge blowout in the back yard. Sooo nice!



I'm afraid our son is bordering on depression, and he needs to speak to someone on a professional level. I don't even know where to start. He's too old for his pediatrician, so I can't go there for help. Maybe I should talk to his guidance counselor at school. I'm not sure what to do.



Maybe I just need to talk to him one-on-one. It's killing me.

Out of Sorts

I'm sad today. We have a cat, she was a stray that decided she would live with us about a year ago. She has six toes on both of her front feet. So cute. Anyhoo, I'm a bad cat mom, not to mention poor, and we never got her fixed.

So she had a litter of two kittens several months ago. The friendlier of the two disappeared at about eight weeks. We think some of the kids that walk past our house on the way to school may have scooped her up. The more reserved one, we gave to our nephew's little girl. So she (Daisy) lives at my sister-in-law's house.

Our girl eventually got preggers again (I know, I'm a really bad cat owner!) and was probably about 3-4 weeks from delivering when my husband discovered her miscarrying under the carport one day. We found three little bodies that day, but didn't really know what had happened.

A few days later, after she had cleaned up some, my husband noticed what appeared to be a a hole in her backside. It was already healing up, but looked as if someone had shot her with a slingshot/marble combo, or something like it.

By this time, she was eating and seemed to be getting better. Over the last few weeks, she seems to get a cold or infection and gets sick, hacking & sneezing and not eating. This time it looks as though she won't bounce back. She hasn't eaten in days and we think she's close to death. I wrapped her in a towel this morning and placed her in her favorite box.

Needless to say, no more cats for me. Unless I hit the lottery and can buy a place out in the middle of nowhere. Then we'll need a cat. I'm so sad and I feel so bad for her. She's suffering and there's nothing I can do (that I can afford).

Not Sure What I'm Doing

I haven't quite gotten the hang of this yet. Considering that I don't really have a confidante, and that I talk to myself incessantly, you'd think this would be a great outlet.

Maybe I'll think of something to air here, before everyone runs away screaming.

She's In My Head

And she says it so much better than I ever could.

Absolutely Nothing Novel Or Unique

Weekend? What weekend?

So yesterday we had the joint birthday party for our son (he turned 18 last Thursday) and our granddaughter (she turned 3 last Friday) in the local park. The whole weekend was a blur, since both we and our daughter are down a vehicle. I spent Saturday chauffeuring her around for last minute needs for the party and then yesterday, it was all about the party itself.

Of course it was fun watching her open her presents, she was very funny. And the son was excited about the book store gift we gave him. I have to go to BAM today at lunch and pick up his pre-purchased copy of the new book in the Eragon series.

So, last night, I told my husband that I didn't feel like I'd had a weekend at all. Hopefully, next weekend, we won't have any plans and I can just putz around the house. At least I can hope.....

This Is Important Stuff

My first attempt to embed a video. It's so very important that it gets out there, though, I had to try.

I'm Thinking of Buying A Horse

So, I'm sitting at home waiting for a tow truck to pick up our sad little car and take it to the shop. It died Tuesday when my husband was on his way to work. If it's the timing belt, as he suspects, it's going to cost a little over $700 to fix. We don't have it, so I'll probably have to get a payroll advance from work. This is how things are, and I'm grateful that I can count on my boss to help us out on this.

Our dogs are confused that I'm still here, so they're watching out the window expectantly, waiting for something to happen. They'll go ballistic when the truck gets here.

When It Rains, etc., etc., etc.

I've had so much crap happening lately, I decided I needed to start a blog just to have somewhere to vent. I won't go into the details now - maybe later, ok? I'm a 40-something grandmother with a high school senior still living at home. My husband and I struggle to make ends meet, like most everyone else. He (and his father) taught me to enjoy NASCAR (I know, I know) and we like to go to events from time to time.

We have a 20-something daughter, who now has a daughter of her own, and our son is now an 18-year-old high school senior.

Oh well, that's enough intro for now. I suspect that it will take a while to get into the habit of writing my thoughts, considering that I usually think I'm losing my mind, but we'll muddle through and see how it goes!

Thanks for listening.