Jacob: Daddy, I want to buy lunch at school on Fridays because they have pizza!

Chris: (sighs) Okaaay... I'll send money with you to put on your account.

Jacob: You can also put money on  my account online!!

Chris: Nah, I don't want to do it that way because they charge extra money.

Jacob: How much extra?

Chris: $2.50 extra - the price of a whole meal!

Jacob: Oh man!  I bet if they charged ten million dollars extra they'd go out of business!!

Took me forever, but I finally found this song for download :D

On top for forever
A fantasy, oh no never
Just wait till you hear the chorus girl

A snow drop with sun stroke
A love song to make you choke
Wait till you hear the chorus girl

There'll be no waiting limos
No cocaine and discos
I gave that all up for the chorus girl

You tried to ignore her
Derided those who adore her
But soon you'll come round to the chorus girl

Look out of the window
The people move down below
Each one is in love with the chorus girl

The poor become wealthy
The sick become healthy
But don't crucify the chorus girl

At night all alone
With my microphone
I never get close to the chorus girl

I'm waiting for you now
There's nothing to do now
But save your breath for the chorus girl

(boys sword fighting with mini American flags)
Me: Cut it out!  You're either going to hurt each other or break your flags!
Jacob:  Oh, that's OK, Mom!  They were only 99 cents each, so we'd just have to find one hundred and ninety-eight pennies to get new ones!

(Jared dropped a penny down the register vent in my bedroom)
Jared:  Uh-oh!!  It's gone!
Me: It went down the vent?
Jared: That's OK!  We can buy a new penny at the store!




 

A couple of days ago, I overheard this conversation between my sister and Jared:
Rebecca:  Jared, you're sooo handsome!  Do you know what "handsome" means?
Jared:  Orange!!!

Just heard this conversation between my two boys:
Jared:  Ack!  Spider!  Kill it, Jacob!  Kill it!
Jacob:  No, it's an ant, Jared!  Just an ant!
Jared: Kill it!
Jacob:  No, Jared!!  It might be somebody's mom, or dad, or grandma!

I've been chronically sleep deprived for the past 6.5 years of my life (ie, since the birth of my first child, then my second child, and now raising them while working second shift at a nutty job), and I think it's starting to affect my dreams (among other things, like my ability to think clearly and remember to breathe ;), but this is the most recent change). 

For the past two nights, I've had these really nutty, nonsensical segments of dreams - not complete dreams, or even 2/3s of a dream - just little slide show versions of dreams - maybe five, six, or even seven different bits of dreams throughout the night, usually closer to waking up.  So bizarre.  I can hardly even remember them, which is odd for me since I always remember my dreams in vivid detail.

All I can do to describe them is make a random list of words or partial sentences:

- Gianfranca came to visit, riding on tiny clown-sized motorcycle (took pics of this on my cell phone camera in my dream)
- My kids peeing on a playground and other parents being upset with me for not controlling them
- Fynn and Clover coming over to play with Jacob but then Jacob got sick and started vomiting all over, so I was trying to get Fynn and   
  Clover home before they got too close to him, worrying that they'd get sick too
- Some group of Mormons trying to convert my children in a weird building
- Trying to call a co-worker and hearing their voice but they couldn't hear mine
- Other stuff I can only remember hazily... climbing up some building to get in?  I don't know!

If it all sounds like I feel generally out of control of my life, I do!!!  Ha ha!!  

Hit up the Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale today with my sis (and kids in tow).  Awesome bargains on all kinds of yummy stuff.  Afterward, Chick-Fil-A milkshakes :)  Jared is now passed out in bed and Jacob is playing Diddy Kong Racing.  Methinks I might be able to sneak a nap in before work tonight!

I keep forgetting to post about this!!!  One afternoon after Jacob got off the bus during his last week of school, he excitedly told me about what they did that day:

Mommy!  Guess what!?!?!? Mrs. Edrward's brought her punani to school today!  And we hit it and hit it and hit it, real hard!  With a stick!  And then when it was Kaleb's turn, he hit it so hard it exploded and candy went flying all over!!!  

::facepalm::  Ohhhhh!

Piñata!!!

Hello?  Anyone out there awake?  AOL is sucking ass tonight and telling me that I'm not connected to the internet when clearly I am.  No chatting tonight :(  Oh well.  :::Hi Kristen!!!:::

I'm never able to come home from work and go straight to bed... it just does not work that way for me.  It was insane at work for a while and I really thought I'd be there forever because I got such a late start on the close, but I somehow managed to get it all done by 11:00!!!!!  I'm starting to get really frustrated by how short-staffed we are after 8pm - there seriously have to be more cashiers who can stay until 10:30 or 11:00??? 

Mary, though, takes the cake.  Around 9:30 I got a call from her asking me if I could give her a "generic set of numbers" so she could sign into the other register at the gas station.  Before I could ask her why in the world she would need such a thing (there is no such thing as a generic et of numbers!), she went on to explain to me that since she was logged into her register, she couldn't log into the other one at the same time in order to change the money (from today's money to tomorrow's money).  I told her to just sign out of her drawer and then into the other, change the money out, sign out, and then back into hers.  Silence.  Then, "But, I can't do that, there are people in my line!"  WTF?  Have them wait, or wait until you get a break, I suggested.  "Oh, but I can't do that!"  :::bangsheadonwall:::  For the love, Mary!!  My six-year-old could do this!!!  So I sent Steven up to take care of it -- I was already very short-handed and had long lines and irritated guests so this was just really a huge pain - not a good time to have to send someone to the gas station for something that stupid. 

But, hey!  At least nobody crapped their pants tonight :D  

  

Yes, it's true.  A cashier shit her pants at work yesterday.  It was... quite the event. 

Your answers suggest you are an Innovator The four aspects that make up this personality type are: Summary of Innovators Energetic and creative taking inspiration from everyone they meet Enjoy flexible work environments with few rules and many opportunities for fun Think of themselves as imaginative, sociable and sympathetic May not think logically about their ideas More about Innovators Innovators are fun-loving, creative, sensitive people who enjoy developing their ideas by discussing them with others. This group supports the people around them and expects the same in return. Others are drawn to Innovators because of their love of life, caring nature and openness. Innovators are most likely to say they do their best work when they start at the last minute, according to a UK survey. Innovators are good at spotting opportunities and recognizing potential in people. Innovators put all their energy into new projects and their enthusiasm motivates others to support their plans. In situations where they can’t use their talents or are unappreciated, Innovators may become rebellious and unfocused. Under extreme stress, Innovators may become preoccupied with meaningless details. Innovators may over-extend themselves or put a night out with friends ahead of more pressing commitments. Innovator Careers Innovators are drawn to careers that require teaching or counselling, where they can work with and help encourage the development of others. It's important to remember that no survey can predict personality type with 100 percent accuracy. Experts say that we should use personality type to better understand ourselves and others, but shouldn't feel restricted by our results. Overall results The graph below shows the percentage of people with each personality type out of everyone who has taken this test. Big Thinkers Counsellors Go-getters Idealists Innovators Leaders Masterminds Mentors Nurturers Peacemakers Performers Providers Realists Resolvers Strategists Supervisors

Human body homepage The mind homepage Psychology tests Spot the fake smile What's your millionaire potential? Sensation-Seeking Careers test Morals test Disgust Reading faces 1 Reading faces 2 Interactive lonely hearts ad Interactive body Brain map Facts and features Personality type Flavour and personality Moral maze Seeking perfection Brain Psychology in sport Personality tests and job interviews The British Psychological Society Relate Myers Briggs OPP: Personality at work The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Read about the 16 personality types from the What Am I like? Personality test:

Big Thinker,Counsellor, Go-getter, Idealist, Innovator, Leader, Mastermind, Mentor, Nurturer, Peacemaker, Performer, Provider, Realist, Resolver, Strategist and Supervisor.

I was not tagged, but saw someone else post this meme and decided I'd like to do it, so here is my list :)  A lot of the books that first came to me are from so long ago - I think Bridge to Terabithia was from 4th grade or something like that.  Then a few are from middle school, and the rest from high school, except The Politics of Breastfeeding - the only book on this list that I've read as an adult (for the first time).

I tag whomever is interested :D

15 Books Meme
You're not supposed to think too long or too hard on this one. List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you -- list the first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes. Don't take too long to think about it!  Tag 15 friends.

1. Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain (11th grade)
2. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (11th grade)
3. A Separate Peace by John Knowles (9th grade)
4. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (12th grade)
5. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (never assigned reading, but read in 10th grade)
6. Bridge to Terabithia (4th grade)
7. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (8th grade)
8. The Inheritors by William Golding (9th grade)
9. My Antonia by Willa Cather (9th grade)
10. The Politics of Breastfeeding by Gabrielle Palmer (read in 2006)
11. 1984 by Geroge Orwell (10th grade)
12. Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (6th grade)
13. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4th or 5th grade)
14. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (4th grade)
15. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (never assigned, but 6th grade and then again in French in 12th grade)

Today I dug up the (very big) roots to the Holly bush I cut down last week (it was deformed and annoying to look at).  Now I have dirt shoved so far up my fingernails that not even picking at it gets it out.  :::shrugs::: 

Then I moved my largest day lily from its original spot to another, larger spot.  I swear to you the spot where I originally planted this day lily is magic... or something.  Three summers ago, I planted a hardy mum in this very same spot.  I neglected to water it through the summer and it died.  I dug it up and threw it out.  That fall, the dead, dug-up mum came BACK, bigger than any of my other already well-established mums.  Hmm, OK.  That was cool.  Eventually it got so big that I needed to move it to a new location with more room.  Just last summer, I bought four yellow day lily plants from a local nursery.  They were all exactly the same type of day lily, the same age, the same size, etc.  I planted one of these four in the spot where the mum had been and then the remaining three in the same plot of dirt but along the front curve of the plot (bear with me, this is hard to describe!).  This spring the day lilies came up on cue, but the one I had planted in the spot where the mum used to be came back much bigger than the others - a good three times bigger than the others.  Seriously.  It looked a bit crowded, so I transplanted it this morning.  I doubt it was the optimal time to move it since it is still in the middle of flowering, but we'll see.  

Jared planted two watermelon seedlings in the front where the Holly bush used to be (there is no more room in the back garden) and I planted the last seedling in the front where the supersized day lily had been.  This little watermelon seedling is the smallest of the half flat that I bought.  I almost threw it away... it was so tiny and hardly has any root to it.  Then I decided I'd plant it in the magic spot and see what happens.  Maybe I'll get a great, big, juicy watermelon :D

I thought I was about to be witness to a beatdown at work tonight! 

This frazzled-looking old man started yelling really loudly about the lines being long (we had three 2nd shift cashiers call off and had only two lanes open at 8pm - it was very backed up).  He got out of his line to come up to the desk to yell about calling a manager about the situation.  I had my own long line at the service desk, so the couple he jumped in front of started raising their voices at him, telling him to get back in line.  He yelled back and pretty soon these three were swapping profanities left and right.  Meanwhile I was on the phone with my manager explaining why her presence was requested at the front, trying to get a return to go through, and doing my best to keep from losing my mind because I hate situations like this... I mean, really... these guys were yelling all kinds of stuff at each other- it was just crazy.  The older man was really angry, really LOUD, and not going to calm down until the manager showed up.  I really did understand, but there was nothing I could do about it and the way he was carrying on about it was rather nuts and caused everyone to get all distracted which made things take even longer.  The couple I was trying to wait on at the desk kept getting closer and closer to him and telling him things like "Hey, we've been waiting in this line too and do you see us throwing a fit like a 2-year-old?"  And then when he said, "But I have a right to talk to the lady!  I have rights!!!  Rights!!!  Just like you!!!!" (I was the "lady" he was referring to), they said, "We got here first and don't give a shit about what you want so get in line and wait your turn!"  OMG ::facepalm:: 

I finally spoke up and said something like "Ok, woah, hey... everyone just listen for a minute!"  They actually stopped hollering at each other and looked at me... so, um, yeah.  I can't believe that actually worked.  I somehow managed to help them both simultaneously, no one else in line threw a fit about being "cut in front of", and then my manager finally showed up and talked to the older man for a bit... and all was well.

:::PHEW:::

I've never been a very big fan of Sponge Bob (didn't dislike it, perse, but just never found it engaging), but the episode I saw last night (which Jared is now re-watching) was absolutely hilarious. 

For those of you, if any, who are somewhat familiar with the show, it's the one where Squidward tries to start up a marching band.  After a series of antics and total failure of the group to become competent at playing an instrument and/or following basic directions, they go up in an aquabubble to a football stadium on land and put on a miraculously perfect show... and for some reason Rachel finds the entire episode tear-jerkingly hilarious. 

What's more, Jacob and Jared are now into pretending to be in a marching band/rock band and putting on a show complete with air guitar, flashing lights (thanks to the light-up swords Grandma and Grandpa got them when at the circus a few months back) and, of course, Elvis dance moves.

Ahhh, it's been fun :D

Rachel is: feeling incredibly frustrated and disappointed :(

I met with my academic advisor this morning down at the hospital :D 

I now have a good idea of the classes I will be taking this Fall semester, but don't know what time slots I'll get since I'm in the 3-year track and don't get to register for classes until after all the 2-year students register.  That means that it's very likely that the time slots I prefer will be filled up by the time I get to register :(  Oh well.  I will take what I can get and work with it as best as possible!

I really enjoyed my meeting and am feeling very excited about starting classes in August.  At this point, I have no idea how everything will work out with child care and other finances, but I'm not too worried.  Something will work out :)

I'm listening to Dave Matthews right now.  It's been a long, long time since I've really listened to good ole' Dave, and I'm loving it right now.  

Jared and I are going to get our dance on ;-)

Mmm, there's nothing like having an ice cream sandwich at 1:00 in the morning :)

Chris and the boys left for Indiana this morning.  I'll miss my boys, but I've got a kid-free weekend! 

I have a lot I'd like to get done, but I don't know if there will be enough time.  I'm working from 2:30-11:00 today, 3:00-11:00 tomorrow, and then 9:00-5:00 on Monday (woo hoo, holiday pay!).  I mowed the lawn this morning right after they left and that took up my entire afternoon!  Just got out of the shower and now am going to get dressed for work before my bed starts calling me any louder than it is... I can't fall asleep now or I'll be way too tired to go to work :(  

I've managed to lose 4lbs somehow... have no idea how that happened, but that's cool with me!  My work pants are fitting a wee bit better now :)  I'm much more active when the weather is nice, so that might have something to do with it.

I'm enjoying a few new songs I've downloaded (I love Matthew Barber and Patrick Fiori!) and some new-to-me Finnish folk music on last.fm. 

I meet with my academic adviser on Tuesday at 10am and after that I'll know my schedule for the fall semester!  I'm very excited about that :)  It'll make planning preschool and daycare so much easier!  

I've been participating in a NVC group with about eight other women every other Wednesday and have been really enjoying it.  Theresa Horan-Sapunar is leading the group out of her practice in Sharonville.  I'm quite happy to have found an affordable and nearby way to delve deeper into NVC.  Very awesome :)

Ok!  Time to iron my pants (they've air dried outide), pack a lunch, and get going...



 

In this moment, I am feeling incredibly grateful to be the mother of my two boys :) 

I'm often so busy with life and with all the chaos that being their mother often entails that I neglect to really feel how wonderful it is to be with them.  I was just lying in bed with them, snuggled in between their toasty, warm bodies.  Jacob's arm flopped over my shoulders and Jared nestled up to my chest and sighed.  It was such a beautiful moment.  I'm sure there have been so many of those moments, yet most of the time I'm too "elsewhere" to take them in.  Tonight, in that moment, I was really present, really there and able to take it in.  I am so amazed by how much I love them and by how happy and grateful I am to be their mother. The love I could feel flowing through our bodies was so powerful that I wanted to immediately hop out of bed and write about it here... but I didn't.  I lay in between them for a while and stayed with the feeling, letting it get as big and as enveloping as I could (and then had to pee, so I did get up!).  

I love them both so, so much.  I cannot imagine life without them and am so grateful that I get to live my life with them, knowing them, learning from them.  

My greatest hope in life is for them to know, to feel, how much I love them.  Above all else, that is what I want.  To have a deep connection with them is the greatest experience I can have.  To love them and really feel it, feel it so strongly that it's a warm, musical current running through me is the best feeling in the world.  When I am truly present with that feeling, nothing else exists around me. 

It's a beautiful place to be.

It felt as though I was talking to them without words...

Taught Jacob the basics of CPR this morning first using a pillow as a mannequin and then with him as the "victim".  His obsession with being a firefighter has been taken to a whole new level :D

I've just discovered Matthew Barber.  Absolutely fantastic.  I cannot believe I'd never heard his work before!!!  Canada never ceases to please me :) 

Where The River Bends for your listening pleasure.  I think pretty much every track from Ghost Notes is awesome. 

Je me suis brûlé les ailes
A force de planer
Et j'ai mis le feu au ciel

Je me suis trompé d'amour
A force de parler
Cassé les colliers de perles

Je me suis fané un jour
Pour une goutte d'eau
Dans un vase de cristal

Et je me noie comme un fou
Emporté par les mots
Du fond de ta spirale

Et j'en ai mis du temps
Et j'en ai pris du temps
Avant de comprendre
Que les livres ont raison
Que les gens qui s'en vont
Ne sont pas à vendre

Et j'en ai mis du temps
Et j'en ai pris du temps
Avant de comprendre
Que les livres ont raison
Que les gens qui s'en vont
Ne sont pas à prendre

Et je t'ai cherchée trop loin
Sur des mauvais chemins
A vouloir te retrouver

J'en ai dormi des matins
A glisser pour rien
La main sous ton oreiller

Je me suis noyé un jour
Jusqu'à devenir fou
Au milieu des prières

Et j'ai lu jusqu'au bout
Des pages de poussières
Pour trouver la lumière

Et j'en ai mis du temps
Et j'en ai pris du temps
Avant de comprendre
Que les livres ont raison
Que les gens qui s'en vont
Ne sont pas à vendre

Et j'en ai mis du temps
Et j'en ai pris du temps
Avant de comprendre
Que les livres ont raison
Que les gens qui s'en vont
Ne sont pas à prendre

Je me suis brûlé les ailes
A force de planer
Et j'ai mis le feu au cie

I scored 14 out of 15 possible points on the English Placement Exam.  Only a score of 9 was needed to test out of English 101.  I guess that means I'm exempt from that class :D 

Now I'm wondering what made me fall shy of a full 15 points...  Oh well.  The class average on the exam was 60% and I came in at 93%, so I shall worry not. 

I love/hate my job.  I love/hate working as much as I do.

I'm so tired.  Today was SO LONG that at several points I kept thinking it was Monday already.  Nope.  Still Sunday.  Today some guy decided to steal a bag of charcoal.  He looked us straight in the eye and walked right on by the GM u-scan without paying.  Yeah.  Go get 'em, tiger!  Steal that bag of charcoal!  Woo hoo!!!   

I'd really like to go to sleep, but I need to wind down a bit still.

Onyx goes home tonight or tomorrow :( 

We've enjoyed having him for a week - and I think Jared is entirely in love with him.  He sleeps with him, eats with him, plays with him, wants him to ride in the car with him everywhere, gives him his food and water, cries when I can't take the dog with us into a store... I mean, really.  The boy is in love with this dog. 

Jared has not slept through the night for me once in his life, but ever since we've had Onyx with us, he cuddles up with the dog at night and stays with him until morning.  When one of them gets up, so does the other.  It's just too adorable!  And what am I going to do when Jared does not have his bed buddy?!?!?!  Oh, I so cannot get a puppy.  No.  No.  Don't let me, people!!! 

Oooooooooh!!!  :::Rachel discovers Last.fm:::

Barenaked Ladies now have their own Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor!  How cool is that? 

Jacob presented me this morning with a drawing he made for me for Mother's Day.  It was a picture of me, and I could see I had very long, black lines protruding from my hands and feet. 

I grinned as he explained his drawing to me:  "Mommy, this is you.  You looked so silly with yellow toe nails, so I made them black.  I love toe nails so much I just had to give them to you!!!"

I would post the picture here, but my scanner is not cooperating at the moment :(

I feel so very grateful and loved today :D

No wonder I've been living in a mild state of depression ever since moving back from Finland!!  The United States did not even make the top 10.  That does not surprise me. 

Have you ever been so exhausted that you're giddy? 

Well, that was me at work today - until about 10pm when I crashed.  Then I was loopy, like I was all drugged up on something.  It was tragic.  I got to work for two hours out in Garden Center today, which was so lovely.  It was a beautiful day.  Other than those two hours, work sucked.  It was a very draining day.  I did have a few fun moments at the desk with Danika, though.  None of it would be funny now if I wrote it here, so I won't.  But it was funny then, and I needed to laugh.

It's Mother's Day tomorrow.  Or today, I suppose.  It's officially Sunday.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, PEEPS!!!

Jacob made me the most adorable "journal" in school.  I so love to see stuff that he makes for me when he's away at school.  It's so awesome.  He wrote a little journal about all the things I do and under each thing that I do, he drew a picture of it.  I was so happy and so touched.  It was the best Mother's Day present ever, ever, ever. 

I'd write more... but I'm so tired and so sore.  Must sleep!!!


  

Got the kids water balloons thinking that'd be a bit hit.  Oh, wrong, wronger than wrong. 

Their fingers are not quite nimble enough to stretch the balloon opening around the faucet themselves, so I had to fil them up for them (this was supposed to be something they could do while I take care of something), but I figured once I got all of them filled up, we'd be good to go.  They took them outside (while I managed to keep the dog we are sitting for the week inside) and then threw a few of them on the ground.  They broke, of course, but I guess they didn't realize that this was the purpose of water balloons... Jacob freaked out because he didn't want to get wet and Jared was mad because his favorite orange balloon was broken into pieces :( 

They both threw a huge crying fit, called water balloons "stupid heads" and abandoned them.  They have now resorted to another classic childhood passtime - jumping on the bed. 

But first some kid funnies:

Jacob, donning my bra over his t-shirt: Look mama, I'm wearing your breasts!

Jared, after passing gas: Heeee!  My love the sounds that come out of my butt!!!


Work was CRAZY last night.  Never shop at Meijer on the eve of a full moon (a certain person I know would say never shop at Meijer, period, but I love the place!).  I was the only SC, so I worked my entire shift with no break.  Joyce was the only one at the desk, so no break for her, either.  It seemed that everyone was crazier than usual last night - not my co-workers, the public.  About half-way through my shift, I stopped to catch my breath and thought to myself, Why has everyone been such an asshole tonight? Then it dawned on me... the moon was full, and in Scorpio, no less. 

There were really only two major whack-jobs: Pharmacy Asshole and Crazy Acapulco Guy.  The rest of the incidents were rather minor, but there were just so many incidents.  It was one thing after another.  My portable store phone rang off the hook, and I could hear the phones ringing nonstop at the service desk, too.  Poor Joyce :(   We were poorly staffed, more like how things are on Tuesdays.  It sucked.  My lines were backed up and guests were getting upset about it but there was NOTHING that I could do other than offer to help them through one of the self-checkout lanes... and then I'd likely get called away to do something else, leaving them to contend with a mechanical cashier on their own, which they clearly did not want.  I personally love the self-checkout lanes, but they're easy for me because I have worked with them so much that I know of their ideosyncracies and can get in and out of there very easily.  For most people, though, they can be a nightmare if they're in a hurry.  I was trying to help everyone as best as I could and as fast as I could.  I was also trying to do the close.  I got about a half hour late start on swapping out all the tills, but managed, miraculously, to finish the close by 10:45.  Yee haw!!  I did it :)  I was actually sweating by the end of the night.  

I'm glad I'm off tonight!   

It's a BEAUTIFUL day.  Jacob has just been swooped up by the big yellow bus and it's just me and Jared.  I'd love to head out to a park with him now, but he seems intent on watching TV.  We'll see how convincing I can be...

My third and final essay is complete and has been submitted.  Now I just have to until the 18th when results will be posted... :::still holds breath:::

Two out of three essays written, proofed by two unbiased readers, and submitted electronically. Phew!!!  Only one more (the longest) to go.  I have until 6pm tomorrow (er, today) to finish and electronically submit the last essay :::worries a little:::

I've had since the 24th of April to get all this done, but of course I'm pulling it all together at the last minute!

I must say that I am impressed and pleased with the college's online homework set-up.  I don't know if every class I'll take will use this feature, but I'm happy to be familiarizing myself with it through this English placement exercise.

Time to get back to that third essay... :-\



 

English placement exam due on Sunday --- AAAACK!  I have three essays to write.  I've started all three of them, one is close to being finished.  The other two still need a lot of work, but at least they are started, which is more than I could have said this morning.  

Each essay is worth a total of 5 points, and I only need to score 9 points to test out of English 101 (which I've already taken, but over ten years ago, so they won't count the credit unless I pass this exam).  I really, really, really hope I test out of English 101.  Really.  Have I ever mentioned how much I despise English classes??  Well, I do.  I hate them.  Yes, yes, I love to write and I'm the daughter of an English teacher.  Who cares. English classes are just pure torture for me.  I cannot stand being told what to read, and I hate even more being obligated to write about what I've been told to read.  I hate being told what to write!  I hate it.  So here's to hoping that I can get through the torture of writing three essays for this exam and that I ace it so I don't have to deal with an English class in school.  Please!  I will still have to take a speech class, but that's not as much torture as English. 



 

Jacob:  "Hey Mom!  How do you split 17 race cars between two people?  You can't!  One kid will always have one more than the other!"

Cool.  He's getting math concepts on his own!  After he shared this revelation with me, we talked about even and odd numbers and how to divide odd numbers - like cookies.  If we had 17 cookies, each kid would get 8 1/2 cookies since cookies are easy to cut in half.  But we decided it was best not to try to cut the 17th race car in half.  I suggested we put it away for a while and divide the other 16 evenly, but his solution was to get the extra car since he's the oldest ;-)

I really enjoyed this article over at NYTimes:  What Are Friends For? A Longer Life

Know what really sucks?  When you lose your cell phone somewhere in your messy house and don't have any other phone from which to call your cell phone.  That sucks.  Especially when you KNOW you just had it in your hands a minute ago. 

But you know what rocks?  Penny was online and did me a huge favor by calling my lost cell phone (from work, bless her) so I could find it... hiding in a toy bin with about four hundred Hot Wheels :D

Yes, yes, I know.  If I kept my cell phone in the same place all the time, I wouldn't have this problem.  This I know ;-) 

Another rainy day.  Another day at home with a 3-year-old who loves to make messes and throw things.  I hear it's going to be nice out on Thursday.  Here's to hoping I can make it until then!

This evening at work, the Store Director In Charge (Amy, who is really the General Merchandise Team Leader, but had the role of SDIC tonight) asked for help back in the Housewares department and I waved my hands around in the air saying, "Oooh, oooh!  Pick me!  Pick me!"  So I got to help in Housewares, which is the first time I've ever done work for a department outside of my own (Service).  My assignment was to organize two rows of general merchandise.  ( Read more... )


      

Um, yes, hello.  I'm here.  It's late.  My brain hurts.  If you want to skip my life/nursing school update and jump right on over to Ed being named an honorary (or honourary, as they write in Canada) colonel, make with the clicky!  I have Google Alerts to thank for such random bits of information concerning my ladies ;-)

( Otherwise, read on... )

 

Yesterday I finally got around to viewing the latest YouTube sensation. 

I admit I was amazed (her voice blew me away!), but I also felt a bit sad, too, because I would have liked to have seen her taken more seriously before she opened her mouth.  Our media-induced train of thought is, "If you weigh more than 120 lbs and don't groom your face and hair like a super model, then clearly you'll suck, therefore I have a right to laugh at you until you prove otherwise!"  The audience and the judges clearly thought it was going to be a big embarrassing joke (think repeat of William Hung from American Idol's 3rd Season) until she belted out the first line (my favorite song from Les Mis, by the way :D). 

So I felt conflicted...

I found this article later (today) that reflects very well what I was thinking about the matter.  I agree - I, too, would have liked to have seen people see Susan's inner beauty before she proved herself through her voice.  But then I guess that's what all the rave is about - our culturally ingrained shock over the "impossible" really being possible.

Right now I'm trying to imagine a life where the world at large took *me* seriously.  I'd like that very much :)

"Yay!  I have horns!  I'm a donkey!"  ~ Jacob