Space for Rent

I have space for rent -- in my head -- I must have really needed a long weekend, as I can't think of much to say! Duncan headed to Charlotte on Saturday to spend a week w/Dot Dot. After he sent his precious gameboy swimming in the toilet, we managed to get everything but that game working again -- whew! I cleaned his room today; it's probably a good thing he wasn't here. I swear, I don't know how he walks past all that stuff. Plus I found the library book I just paid $9.96 to replace sitting right on top of his dresser in plain sight. Both he and Charles assured me they had looked and looked for it. Grrr!!! I also found a whole hamper full of clothes spread from one end of the room to another.... yet I am the one who sets "unreasonable expectations" in our house? Readers, am I the only one who thinks it's reasonable to expect the laundry fairy to clean ALL of the clothes, and remove ALL of the trash? I cleaned Connor's room yesterday -- and found a tied-up bag with a dirty pullup in it -- he hasn't worn a pullup in almost a month, yet that room has been "cleaned"...

OK, I didn't get on here to be nasty, but apparently I have some aggression to work out somewhere -- we don't have our next counseling appointment for about ten days. I'll go contemplate that and come back when I have more upbeat stuff to write.

Thursday Diversions

Well, you know what happens to the best laid plans... I got a call at 4:00 p.m. informing me our family had a "picnic date" with the Tomihiro's at their church playground. We got there about 5:30 p.m., and it was after 7:30 p.m. Cool, sunny, beautiful evening. Bob made deviled eggs (YUM), we had sandwiches & chicken, goldfish, chips & dip, watermelon, strawberries, flavor pops -- it was a great meal, and a nice diversion.

I spent the last hour playing ToonTown Online with Duncan, and now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my quiet evening!

Wednesday Tidbits

I am so very ready for 2nd grade to be OVER. Duncan had a wonderful time at his class picnic on Tuesday, but he was so tired Tuesday evening he was ill tempered. He fell asleep shortly after 7:15 on the couch. Tonite he's already asleep on the couch -- not sure what wore him out tonite, but he's o-u-t.

A couple of funnies to share -- we had our latest family counseling session and a long discussion over the potty troubles in our house, and left with a commitment to just let them be no big deal. Well the kids had been at Kid Spot during our session, and Connor had one accident there. They start tattling on each other in the car, and I give my usual speech about how we worry about ourselves. Well, the one-upmanship continued, and suddenly they are asking what kind of trouble their brother would get in if they pooped in their brother's pants.... it was sooo hard not to laugh. Both kids were pretty tickled at themselves. The other funny -- Charles and I were talking quietly last night when Duncan (asleep on the couch) suddenly started "roaring" in his sleep -- it was hilarious -- and then he sits upright with a sudden jolt. We laughed and laughed.

My "Dealing with Difficult People" class today was good -- more of the soft interpersonal skills but good stuff. Last night I vegetated in front of the tv watching American Idol and Rob and Amber Get Married. Tonite I'll watch the American Idol final results. Work is getting busier -- I picked up another project from a teammate and it's gonna kick my butt for a while. I got my 15th anniversary-at-wachovia present yesterday -- a new set of luggage (my choice from the gift catalog). Saturday we take Duncan to Charlotte for a week with Dot.

I might have more to say later, but I'm trying hard to write in this as close to daily as I can, so I simply sat down to write even if I hadn't thought my whole day through. Thanks for reading!

Short Thoughts

Summer crazy season is already here, and it's not even summer. Duncan couldn't find his glasses this morning so I finally got him to put his new glasses on. He has a picnic field trip at school today that I can't go to because I have to teach a class. I'll write more by tomorrow, but I didn't want my loyal fan (or maybe there's two?) to feel neglected.

Twice In One Day

OK, wow, two posts in one day. I had shared my day lily about to bloom a bit ago, well it's bloomed and here are the pictures!

Sunday Stuff

I can't believe it's Sunday already -- last week flew. Duncan started his new medication on Wednesday and I see an improvement. He's taking clonadin -- it's supposed to help his ritalin LA by giving him better impulse control. It also has a side effect of making him sleepy -- a bonus I think because he's never gotten enough sleep. I see a definite rebound about 6:00 p.m., but otherwise he's much calmer. We'll see how things go.

Connor continues on his overdue potty training journey. Today marks two weeks since the last pull-up. We're having LOTS and LOTS of accidents, but I do find it's getting easier to not crumble in the face of urine soaked clothes or worse. He has to clean himself up, deposit his clothes in the proper places.... Charles isn't handling the extra laundry gracefully, but then he's home w/him during the week. Connor has woken up dry several times, so I keep praying we're gonna get there SOON.

Duncan will be heading off to Camp Dot Dot next Saturday after school ends for a week. Connor isn't eligible for Camp Dot Dot until he's potty trained, and we've told him this. While I'm in Charlotte we're gonna stop by Penny's and deliver some hand-me-downs.

Tomorrow marks my 15th anniversary with my employer, Wachovia. Wow, so very hard to believe. This is only my 2nd job since college! I got to choose a "gift" out of a catalog -- I'm tired of not having luggage so I picked a 3 piece set of luggage. I hope it gets here soon!

I'm off to update my webpage -- since Geocities "ate" it I've barely gotten the page back up, mostly due to lack of time. I am now using the url Susan had, www.thefodels.com, so come check it out!

Confessions of a Reality TV Fan

OK enough everyday blather. Let’s talk about something fun. I freely admit I’m a big reality tv fan. Tonite marks the next-to-last episode of America’s Next Top Model on UPN. I enjoy it on two levels – being able to see what being a model is really about, and watching the coaching/psychology aspect of selecting a winner. I frequent a message board that talks (read bashes) a lot of different reality tv shows. They whine constantly about how some of the eliminated girls would have made better models. Perhaps, but that’s not what this show is about. Cover Girl and Ford Models are the primary sponsors of this show. This is about who would be the best girl to represent the sponsors. If you really study the critiques offered by the judges, they talk a lot about the girls learning the modeling industry lingo, players, expectations, skills… there was an interesting challenge a few weeks back where the girls had to critique each other. It was so very obvious that Kahlen & Naima knew a lot about what the photographers were looking for, and what kind of expectations there were for the model’s behavior & knowledge. Brittney was drop dead GORGEOUS, but this wasn’t a job to her, it was having fun taking pictures. Guess what, she’s gone! Keenyah always presents herself so intelligently in person, and takes lovely pictures, but she’s gained 10 lbs since the show started, and I’m guessing she’s going home tonite. I can’t see where Cover Girl wants a representative with no self control when she’s being paid $100,000/yr.

Tonite is also the results show for American Idol. I started watching when Clay Aiken was on, and while Fantasia’s music isn’t always my favorite, I still get chills listening to Summertime. Last night we saw just Vonzell, Carrie & Bo. Finally, FINALLY we saw performances that left you amazed – well at least finally since Constantine was eliminated. Bo did three amazing songs – he’s my bet for the next American Idol.

Survivor ended this past Sunday – my Thursdays are free again, as will all my nights be after next week until Big Brother starts up. I really like this genre of tv – it is such a wonderful people-watching opportunity. I’m learning a lot about how people interact by studying some of these shows.

On the Horizon

Our friend Stacy is planning on passing through in June – she and her new husband are moving to China with his new job sometime soon. They will be there for 6 years, and I am so envious of her adventure. Duncan has field day today, and then his class picnic next week, and then 2nd grade will be OVER and summer vacation will be here. Connor had his last Gymboree play class this week – Duncan can’t attend, so we’re taking the summer off. We are pondering plans for Memorial Day weekend, but nothing is firm yet. I have to take the car today and have the brakes checked – we’re not sure if they need work or not, and then the kids have their dental cleanings today. Busy afternoon!

I may have to rethink daily entries -- weekly is sounding much more feasible, at least today. I am busy jotting down notes for Duncan's appt with Dr. Hoover tomorrow -- since we went back on the Ritalin LA, he's having lots of "accidents" with his toileting. It was Charles who noticed we didn't have that problem on focalin. Hmmm, that's the #1 issue for the pyschiatrist. He's also still talking incessantly, and about topics that have nothing to do with the task at hand. On the plus side, his anxiety is down quite a bit, and his fine motor skills are showing noticeable improvement (they had deteriorated on the focalin).

We had a hot weekend -- the air conditioning stopped working last week. We called the repair folks, and they came out yesterday. I was relieved when they knew immediately what the problem was -- the capacitor cylinder was shot, and it was in dire need of a new filter (the old one was black). I'm now $205 poorer, but the house is much more comfortable.

On the outside of our house, my quest for a better lawn continues. It's been a little over 2 weeks since we put the Scot's Turf Builder on the front yard -- the grass is growing more, but I'm not sure if the weeds paid any attention. My day lilies are about to bloom -- here's what they looked like about 2 weeks ago: . Dad sent them home with me last year, so I was proud of getting them to grow in MY garden. The neighbors planted some flowering bushes on the strip between our driveways, so those should be pretty this summer too.

OK, I've babbled enough for today -- see you later in the week!

Time Challenged

Ack, I missed another day! I got really busy over the weekend in some activities on my favorite message board, and Sunday just slipped away from me. More tonite!

Fluoxetine, Greek Food, and IEPs

I missed a day -- I'm so sorry! Friday was a really hectic day. Duncan's eligibility for services through the school system's exceptional children's (EC) department has to be reaffirmed every three years, and we had that meeting Friday. It was supposed to be 30 minutes, lasted two hours! After the chinese fire drill last week with compliance sticking their nose in, I was pleased to get it signed.

We also passed another milestone on Friday -- we started some family counseling. There are just so many issues with Duncan and other stuff between Charles & I - we agreed it might be time for some help. I also finally got my prozac refilled -- I didn't mean to let it slip, but when I saw the last filled date ... our next appointment is on Monday 5/23. Duncan sees the pyschiatrist again on Wednesday 5/18 -- I think he's definitely better back on the ritalin LA, but we're still missing some areas of help. School has noticed a turn for the better, so did Kidspot, but we've regressed in an area or two. Hopefully Dr. Hoover will have some ideas.

This weekend was the annual Greek Festival here in Winston-Salem. We met some friends and went over for dinner. Wayyy too crowded, but the food was yummy. Charles had a gyro, I had souvlaki. We sampled two desserts, baklava and a donut thing (starts with an L), and then headed home. Connor tried the souvlaki, but promptly spit it out. He's such a good eater, and rarely complains even when he doesn't like what he's served. I figured why waste the yummy food on him.

Today my favorite scrapbooking forum, Scrap Addict, hosted day one of their National Scrapbook Day activities. I played bingo (lost), am actively working on a project as part of a photo scavenger hunt, and as soon as Duncan & Charles go to bed I'll be working on a canvas project.

I am truly hoping tomorrow is a cooler day. Our air conditioning isn't working, and the repair folks won't be here until Monday. Our neighbors planted some new bushes today, and we need to get out and mow the grass & work on weeding my flower beds. My day lilies are starting to bud, so I hope I have more flowers soon.

Not Much More

I promised I'd write more tonite, so here I am, but I'm not feeling very wordy. My stress level has knotted up my back once again, so I am looking to try and get an anti-stress massage tomorrow. We'll see if the new masseuse I found has time to accomodate me. My local scrapbook store, Scrapbook Traditions, had a "ladies night" last Thursday and offered free massages -- which of course I got there early to sign up for.

Tonite was the next-to-last episode of Survivor: Palau. I'm going to miss it, but I'm kinda glad all the reality tv shows I watch are about to end for the summer. Less temptation to sit and vegetate. I haven't touched my scrapbooking stuff in weeks, and I need to get back in the groove. This weekend they are celebrating National Scrapbooking Day (which was last Saturday) on my favorite sb website, Scrap Addict, so I plan to play bingo and work on some challenges. Saturday night we are headed out to the local Greek Festival with another family.

Sorry to let you down with no interesting content -- but I'm determined to make this journal writing a habit again, and I had to write *something*. See you tomorrow!

In short...

Not a huge amount of time this morning -- I will write more tonite. My personal webpage has moved from Geocities (and I WILL have more to say on them) and is currently located at http://cfodel.gullum.net. It will not be going back to Geocities. Duncan fell asleep on the couch last night so I'm hopeful he'll have a better day today with some good sleep. I still didn't sleep great last night but I feel alot better today. Tonite is Survivor, and then I will finish getting what's in my head down in the blog. Have a great day!

"If you're gonna be stupid, you need to be tough." W. Dinkins

I thought the above quote summed up life pretty nicely! Duncan got in trouble at school today for throwing dirt, which really surprised me -- he isn't normally a behavior problem. I am SOOOO ready for his medication to get straightened out -- we see the pyschiatrist again on 5/18 and if needed we'll add something else -- we're currently considering risperdol & clonadin. (Thx Stacy!) His allergies have been acting up again since the weather turned warm as well.

Charles is feeling a wee bit better with his sinus/infection & bronchitis, but he still feels pretty lousy. We cheated on dinner tonite and just made sandwiches. I did buy the kids some canteloupe, and added some of the strawberries from this weekend to their plates. Neither one came begging for food around 7:00 so maybe it filled 'em up?

Any American Idol fans out there? I watched tonite, and was amazed at how much Anthony has improved from last week. It will be a tough call to see who goes. I've got The Amazing Race on in the background -- I haven't watched it all season, but I'm curious to see who wins.

This is gonna be a boring one tonite -- I want to share a little bit about our IEP excitement from Friday, and comment on American society a bit after they arrested one of the fathers of the two murdered 8 yr olds, but I'll save it for later in the week.

Opportunities

"Opportunity is often disguised as hard work, which is why most people don't recognize it." Ann Landers

Ahhh, one day done, four more til Friday. Our new employee Barri joined us today -- I had alot of work to do sorting out her access, getting the order for her PC approved, etc. I feel very disorganized -- hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Duncan had a good day at school today -- after such an emotional train wreck yesterday, it was quite the relief! Second grade ends on May 27th -- hard to believe for me. Connor has two more weeks of Gymboree Play left -- that will be a sad week for him when he doesn't get to go to "class". It was positively gorgeous here today -- high was 82 and it was sunny and beautiful. Weather like this can restore your faith in the universe.

I have to thank everyone who got an email with my blog address this morning -- whether you've visited to read our not, it felt very liberating to pen the last few entries. I think I've really missed a creative outlet. Scrapbooking has done that for me previously, but lately I can't seem to get started with any pages. I've also been taking tons of digital pictures lately -- and that seems to be filling that creative void as well.

On a different note, work is repeating a really fun event we had last year -- International Feast Day. It was a fundraiser for United Way sponsored by our diversity council, and we had "booths" of food from Africa, Germany, Italy, France, Mexico, Greece, India, Australia, Southern US, and I'm sure a few I forgot. I'm considering trying to get a team together to do a lebanese food booth -- a teammate is going to check and see what's going on tomorrow and let me know. We'd probably need five or six of us, so we'll have to see. It's been a goal for a while to learn to cook a few of the lebanese dishes Charles grew up enjoying so my kids can appreciate his cultural and ethnic background. So far I've only made tabouli, but this may get me to try some more.

Charles' week has started out poorly -- he finally caved and went to the doctor today. He has bronchitis and a sinus infection. The PA said he probably won't feel much better until Thursday; I am optimistic for a quicker improvement.

Monday Musings

Yep, you noted the time right -- it's 1:14 a.m. Somehow little things like my laundry didn't get accomplished today, and I couldn't sleep either, so I'm trying to multi-task until I can put my clothes in the dryer.

Today should be a really busy day -- we are getting a new employee at work. I'm not sure when she'll get a computer, she has access to NOTHING because she's new to the bank, and I've been out of the office for four days, so it should be a crazy day. Bonnie is on vacation this week so I'm pinch hitting. Also on the list to accomplish this week: copy all the missing paperwork from Duncan's school file for his teacher, reschedule his IEP eligibility meeting (that's a whole blog entry by itself), go shopping for the items I need for Saturday's National Scrapbooking Day exercise on Scrap Addict, copy the bowling pictures from Duncan's field trip onto a CD for school, copy the pictures from Connor Tomihiro's birthday party onto a CD for them, catch up the gift albums I'm working on for Christmas... a never ending story.

Mother's Day, Self Worth, and other topics

Happy Mother's Day ladies! I woke up at 7:00, and decided to be extra nice -- Charles is always asking to sleep in, so I checked on Connor and sure enough he was awake. He's now happily playing ToonTown Online behind me on his dad's computer. He is such a gift -- happy, curious, smart, loving -- everything a mother could ask for. Duncan was awake until almost midnite so I expect he'll be sleeping in this morning.

Charles brought me flowers Friday (roses) as an early Mother's Day present. We had recently sent flowers to a mutual friend having a hard time -- she cried when she thanked us. While I get on him about being money concious, it is nice to get fresh flowers sometimes.

I really am glad Deanna shared her blog on Scrap Addict with me -- writing a journal is such a good way to clear your head. I started our family web page back up again recently, but I think a general update on our lives is more appropriate there than a brain dump. I've added a link to this blog there, so we'll see where it goes. I've taken a bunch of "soft skills" classes thru work in the last year or so: 7 habits of highly effective people, Team Building, Career Reflections. It has been very enlightening about personality types, what motivates you, and understanding how you interact with others. It certain has generated alot of bandwidth in my thoughts. The one I finished this week, Team Building, talked alot about your intrinsic self worth and your extrinsic worth. Basically -- you have worth as a human being, and you shouldn't let feedback or criticism of your work impact your self esteem as a person. I found this really profound. I've had a hard time on some of the msg boards I participate in -- Scrap Addict being one -- over the last year. It really started back at last year's National Scrapbooking Day. I was sooo excited getting ready for it, but by the end of the day I felt so excluded. In my opinion (that and 75 cents will buy you a cup of coffee), this community is very oriented around getting published and being on the cutting edge. There are some wonderful ladies there who are wonderful regardless of their "toot" status, but I still feel like I'm only allowed on the perimeter. Case in point, there was a thread about critiquing/praising someone else's work back in February. I joined it and commented on Annette's work, which meant the next poster would comment on me -- and the thread died. I had been very hesitant to join the thread -- wasn't sure I wanted to hear what others said about my work, but decided that input was good -- and then I felt snubbed about it. I don't now -- part of the training this year points out the only person I can change is ME. Yet I still ponder why I want to be part of that community -- National Scrapbooking Day activities are coming up next weekend and again, I'm eager to participate we'll see.

OK, now my mother-in-law is up too, so I guess I'll sign off for now. Have a great Sunday!

Do You Blog?

I stole the title of this post from Deanna's question on Scrap Addict -- I have blogged before (gee, wonder when this will hit Webster's), but it's always been more of a newsletter. I thought perhaps it might be nice to have a spot to scribble and babble. Welcome!