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 |  A continuation of my criminal blogging behavior. |
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IN THE WRITING.COM DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN Criminal Action No. 96-938-2 WRITING.COM Plaintiff, vs. Melissa is fashionably late!  Defendant. ************************************************************************ REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT (Trial to Jury - Volume 222) ************************************************************************ Proceedings before the HONORABLE The StoryMaster  , Judge, Writing.Com District Court for the District of Michigan, commencing at 8:49 a.m., on the 5th day of April, 2007, in Chambers C-234, Writing.Com Courthouse.PROCEEDINGS (In open court at 8:49 a.m.) THE COURT: Please be seated. The jury has informed that they have arrived at their findings and recommendation. I caution all present to avoid any reaction to these findings and the recommendation, either audibly or visibly. And if anyone violates that, we'll have to remove them. Obviously, it will take some time to read these findings, as the recommendation is the last thing read; so please be careful and comply with this request. We'll return the jury. (Jury in at 8:53 a.m.) THE COURT: Members of the jury, have you arrived at your special findings and recommendation? JURORS: Yes. THE COURT: If the foreman will please hand that to Diane , who will hand it to me.Members of the jury, you will please listen to the reading of your Special Findings Form A. These findings apply to all 1184 counts. Under Section I, Obsessive Ranting: The defendant intentionally ranted without ceasing for multiple blog entries. Answer: Yes. Section II, Repeatedly Beating A Dead Horse The deaths or injuries resulting in death occured during the commission of an offense under 18 Writing.Com Code Section 844(d), flogging a horse until death. Answer: Yes. Section III, Unnecessary Use of Curse words The defendant used language to be found offensive during multiple occurences and showed no regard for taste or appropriate expression of emotion. Answer: Yes. Section IV, Boring Daily Recounts Death or injury resulting in death occured during the commission of an offense under 22 Writing.Com Code Section 413(c), recounting daily activity to a point of extreme boredom. Answer: Yes. Section V, Pointless Entries The defendant shared needless details of her life via multiple entries, often multiple times in a row. Answer: Yes. Section VI, Contradictory Statements The defendant often confused her readers through contradictory statements. Answer: Yes. Section VII, Recounting Toilet Actions The defendant needlessly reflected on bathroom activities. Answer: Yes. Section VIII, Overdramatization Of Insignificant Things The defendant made several mountains out of single molehills. Answer: Yes. Section IX, Overreacting To Meaningless Gestures The defendant showed a propensity to fly off the handle for actions deemed appropriate and helpful. Answer: Yes. Section X, Unnecessary Temper Tantrums Death or injury resulting in death occured during the commission of an offense under 18 Writing.Com Code Section 312(a), throwing a temper tantrum in a public forum. Answer: Yes. Section XI, Cruelty Towards Animals, Superiors, Peers, And Inferiors The defendant showed no regard for life in general. Answer: Yes. Section XII, Repeated Bad Grammar, Spelling, And Opinionations The defendant shows no respect for her college education. Answer: Yes. Section XIII, Mitigating Factors (1) Melissa is fashionably late! believed herself to be in the right each time she commited one of the 1184 counts. Number of jurors who so find: 0.(2) Melissa is fashionably late! received encouragement and support from others to commit each of the 1184 counts. Number of jurors who so find: 4.(3) Melissa is fashionably late! is a reliable person in work and in her personal affairs and relations with others. Number of jurors who so find: 7.(4) Melissa is fashionably late! is a patient and effective teacher when she is working in a supervisory role. Number of jurors who so find: 5.(5) Melissa is fashionably late! is a good and loyal friend. Number of jurors who so find: 12.(6) Melissa is fashionably late! is a good mother and wife. Number of jurors who so find: 10.Recommendation, XIV: The jury has considered whether the aggravating factors found to exist sufficiently outweigh any mitigating factor or factors found to exist, or in the absense of any mitigating factors, whether the aggravating factors are themselves sufficient to justify a sentence of life in prison. Based upon this consideration, the jury recommends by unanimous vote that the following sentence be imposed: The defendant, Melissa is fashionably late! , shall be sentenced to a period in prison not shorter than 18 years and not longer than life.The Special Findings appear to be signed by all jurors and dated April 5, 2007. XV. Certification: By signing below, each juror certifies that consideration of race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, or sex of the defendant or the victims was not involved in reaching his or her individual decision and that the individual juror would have made the same recommendation regarding a sentence for crimes in question no matter what the race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, or sex of the defendant or the victims. Apparently signed by all jurors and also dated April 5, 2007. Mr. Foreman, was these and are these the jury's special findings and recommendation: JURY FOREMAN: Yes, they are. THE COURT: And so say you all? JURORS: Yes. THE COURT: Section XVI. Sentencing Melissa is fashionably late! , the court finds you guilty on all 1184 counts of blog criminal activity. You are hereby sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for a minimum of 18 years. Court is in recess. (Recess at 9:37 a.m.) ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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| The only good thing about taking a break is that I have plenty of things to write about to catch up here. I've talked about my kids a lot. That's mostly because they are the most important thing to me and of course I want to talk about them before anything else. There's more that's changed, though, in regards to life. You know, there's that whole job thing, and then there's the endometriosis. I have hinted at my endometriosis and the fact that it's not been in 'remission,' as my original doctor would like to think. See "Invalid Entry"  for the start of the whole thing and the sebsequent entries that follow for that whole back story, if you are new to this whole subject with me.It's been a difficult road to travel. Much more difficult than I originally ever thought. In some ways, it's very much like cancer, though it sometimes takes a lot longer to do anything that could be potentially deadly. It does have a "cure," if you can call it that, but I don't know many women who have been diagnosed with endometriosis who are willing to go that far unless absolutely necessary, nor do many of the doctors I have seen in regards to treatment use that as anything but a last resort. So, in January of 2008, I was diagnosed with endometriosis via surgery. I started on a treatment of depo lupron shortly after surgery to try to get rid of the cells they weren't able to remove during surgery. Things seemed good for a while. Then in February of 2009, I started having severe cramps and things like that which lead me to believe that the depo lupron wasn't successful. That's when the research really started. And I got a second opinion, because the first doctor who diagnosed the problem told me that the only way to be sure was to put me on a high-dose birth control, make myself fat (because that's what happens when I get on birth control), and that was how it was going to be. I'm not one to believe everything a doctor tells me. We're all human and we all can't possibly know everything there is to know, doctors included. I went back to my midwife because I figured that she would be able to give me some idea as to who I could see. She referred me to Doctor V-Webb, who is the doctor I am seeing now. I love Dr. V-Webb. She is no nonsense, she listens, but she's also open-minded. She specializes in pelvic pain disorders, so she does a LOT of research into alternative treatments and whether or not they are successful. One experimental treatment is the "endometriosis diet." It really exists, if you don't believe me. Google it. There are web sites and cookbooks dedicated to this diet. It sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo, for sure, but what could it hurt to try? So, over the next month, I cut a lot out of my diet: caffeine sugar meat eggs bread soy dairy alcohol fried food additives & preservatives This is a pretty restrictive diet, and really difficult to stick to if you enjoy any amount of foods that contain pasta or cheese, like me. I still have trouble sticking to no fried foods, no dairy, no bread, and no caffeine. I'm sorry. I just like cheese and Diet Coke too much to let them go completely. I have, however, cut back to 1 serving of dairy per day and 1 caffeinated item per week, sometimes less depending on whether I get my hands on rice cheese or not (it tastes OK - you have to spray some Pam or something on it to get it to melt and look something like cheese). I have cut meat completely out of my diet. Well, except for the occasional fish filet or shrimp cocktail. Sometimes beans get boring and I can only stand burritos for so often before I crave variety. See, the lack of soy substitutes really makes it difficult to eat much else. But let's go back to the specifics of the diet for a moment. I noticed changes when I cut certain things out of my diet. A) Red meat is the devil. It makes me feel terrible. It also often contains enough hormones for a whole other person to grow boobs. It's probably why half the male population in the US has man-boobs in the first place. B) Alcohol is another devil. I get terrible stomach aches from alcohol that I didn't know was related to it at all before. I sometimes still drink, though. Like when I have to be around my Dad for any extended period of time (read: more than 5 minutes), so I've just learned to not drink... much. C) Caffeine gives me bad abdominal cramps and worsens the pain tenfold. I avoid it as much as possible, but sometimes, just sometimes, a Diet Coke is what I crave. D) Dairy doesn't seem to affect me too much, so I have it in small amounts. I put skim milk in my coffee every morning because it's cheaper than buying rice milk, which you also have to drink within 7 days of opening and I rarely drink enough milk for that to happen. I haven't noticed a difference in my pain between my 2 Tbsps of rice and skim milk per day. I try to limit my cheese, because that is a HUGE temptation for me. I  cheese more than any other food on the face of the earth. I could eat it at breakfast, lunch, and dinner if given the opportunity. I try to limit it to 1 meal per day, but that doesn't always happen.E) You try to live without bread and pasta and be a vegetarian. Rice is good, but cous cous is better and while quinoa is the most delicious thing I ever discovered through being a vegetarian, sometimes I just want spaghetti. I try to stick to whole grains as much as possible, though, which is still way better than bleached anyday. F) Oatmeal for breakfast every day gets really old, even if it keeps you fairly regular. lol. Even with the diet changes, the endometriosis is still there, though. It is painful. It really puts a damper on my life at least 2 weeks per month, except when I'm on depo lupron. But I've already said how that's making me feel this time around, so it's still a damper. In October/November of 2009, the pain became too much. I kept having muscle spasms, really, really bad monthly cycles, stomach problems, and a number of other things that caused me to call my specialist again. They scheduled a laparoscopy for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. In the procedure, they found some scar tissue that they removed near my left ovary that was probably causing a lot of the problems because I don't hurt nearly as bad as I did, and some endometrial cells near a muscle in my back that they couldn't remove because of the location, which is why they put me on the depo lupron again. That, and she also thinks the endometriosis has spread into my intestines which is never a good thing. She estimates that I have about 2 - 3 years before a hysterectomy will be necessary. I told her I would like closer to 5 - 7, but she said there's no guarantees. I trust her wholly because of a few other reasons than just the diet recommendation. She wants me to feel better. She has called me if she hasn't heard from me in a while just to see how I'm doing. But she is also pretty sure that, even if I don't ever end up with a hysterectomy, my fertility won't last much longer because of the areas that have been affected and all of the scar tissue that I have around the other ovary/fallopian tube. It's all good, though. God has given me much and I know that He has given me this burden for a reason. I will take my lemons and make lemonade. Without sugar. But I can add Equal just this once. :) |
| We've taken to traveling as a family on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. We get up in the morning and pile everyone in the van, then drop the boys off, across town, at my mother-in-law's. Then we drive from the east side, where his parents live, to the north side, where Jason works. From there, I drive back to the south side to go to work. In all, it takes an hour. If I drive myself and leave from the house, it takes me less than ten minutes to get to work. It seems like a lot of unnecessary road time, but I don't mind it. First, I get to spend time teaching Cameron new words, like attention and splendid, which he learned this morning. He told Grandma both words when he got in her house. "Gramma, I pay splendid attention." Really, it was more like, "Gramma- splendid attention," but still so cute. The other plus side is that on these days, when I'm tempted to not go into work at all, and just enjoy my quiet house even though I've used up all my sick days with medical leave and won't get paid for these additional days off, I'm already up and at 'em so obligate myself to going in. Jason knows that's one of my reasons, so he's good about prying me out of bed early enough for the nausea to be bearable by the time we get to his work. ... I spent time going through my portfolio again, just to see if there was anything left that was unnecessary and could be deleted. So far, I found only one item and it was an empty folder. I did find this, though: "Invalid Item" but you sit alone so proud and I laugh with a broken heart at how fast time has escaped me and you and I realize that soon five months will be five years and I will yearn for days like this Man, I couldn't have been more right at the time. He weighed five pounds when he was born, and now he's close to fifty. Being his mother is so amazing, although I often want to pull my hair out. Take last night, for example. He was so tired. I mean... screaming, hissy fit throwing, frothing at the mouth, tired. But he absolutely refused the notion that he would feel better if he would just go to bed. So we dragged him there, kicking, screaming, frothy mouth and all. Eventually... like a half hour later, he gave up and fell asleep. Can we say, "early to bed tonight, too?" ... I also posted an actual static item yesterday! Can you believe that? My portfolio has something new in it for the first time in who-knows-how-long! "Invalid Item" . I also have to admit, the item numbers are freaking me out a bit. One million, six hundred thirty-seven thousand, two hundred seventy-one? Egads that's a lot of data!Along with the static item, I gave my first review in who-knows-how-long as well. I mean, I do the random reviews here and there, but I could tell you the last time that was. But yesterday's... Review of "The Overburdened Horse"  (Let's see if that works!) It felt good to actually give someone some feedback. :).... I've been thinking some more on that whole decision thing that has to be made. I know, if asked by anyone, I would definitely say I want another. The thought of going back to diapers and complete and utter dependence terrifies me, though. The mere thought of 9 10 more months of the stuff that this blog starts off with doesn't sound fun at all. The possibility of another child with colic or another crazy pregnancy with constant barfing or constant freak outs doesn't sound appealing at all. But then there's the whole up side of having another. You know, the watching them grow and teaching them things and those light bulb moments when you see them figuring something out for the first time. The unconditional love and endless supply of hugs, kisses, and I love you's. The snuggling, the total and utter dependence, the world of firsts, the new baby smell... Yeah, all of that is what makes the decision so difficult. There are a few logistics that also make it more difficult to say yes. Like our 2-bedroom house that would most certainly become too small with another body in its occupancy. And the whole me bringing in no money thing looming in the horizon in the next six months. And with that, our health insurance going back to Jason. And the fact that we can't move for another 2 1/2 years because of our FHA loan. I hate that this has to be a now-or-never type scenario. I guess I'll just keep praying about it and see what comes of it. |
| We'll see how long I can stay hidden in my office today until someone wants/needs something. It hasn't worked so far. The power isn't working on one wall of a classroom where there's a sub, so the computers won't turn on. Then the computers weren't turning on in another lab until I walked in the room. (I love it when that happens... totally makes the teachers feel crazy when my mere presence makes something work.) Then I accidentally printed to the printer in the library and, rather than wasting the paper, I walked down to get it. I've decided to make a new commitment in my day. I will come to Writing.Com everyday and write a blog entry and then read and review 1 newbie item. That way, I can at least feel like I deserve to be a moderator and I deserve to have been gifted the upgrades that have kept my portfolio alive. I'm wishing I hadn't given away all of my gift points now, though, because I could use them to keep my own upgrade, rather than rely on someone else for it. Financially, we're OK, but we're trying to save every penny for when I'm not working. If the car breaks down or the water heater goes out, we want to be able to fix it and not have to juggle things around. That means a lot of sacrifices, like no more Weight Watchers, no more kit of the months, no more $5-per-day for my skinny skinny mocha mocha coffee. That also means that if I broach the subject with my husband, he probably won't agree to any amount for my portfolio that I haven't used in a while. But maybe... if I can show I'm still using this and interested in writing, he will see the value in at least the regular upgrade. I don't dare to ask for a premium, even though I would if I could. Maybe if I get a part-time job, just to pay for my extras... but we all know that a mother's guilt will settle in and I'll end up using it for something else, instead. I really hate to spend money on myself when I can see it being of value elsewhere. Like our saving's account. Or Ethan's shoes, since he has gone up 2 pants sizes in 2 months and I'm sure it'll soon hit his feet. Speaking of Ethan, I can't believe just how big he's gotten. He's gone from this: He is starting to read and sound out letters to words he doesn't recognize. He is fascinated with natural disasters... tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes... and thinks sharks are really cool. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is his favorite show and he can tell you a short biography of each character, which is both impressive and mildly obnoxious when you've heard it 1234567890 times. He picks out his own clothes and dresses himself without even being asked most days. He goes to preschool 3 days per week and hates "doing projects" in class because it takes away time from his "boys." (Projects are the artwork and coloring and anything creative. I would swear he is not my child if I hadn't given birth to him.) His favorite color is blue and he loves his little brother and finds him annoying all at the same time. ("Can Cameron come with me?" "I don't want him to play with the toys there, though.") His favorite hobby is telling knock-knock jokes that make no sense whatsoever. (Knock, knock. Who's there? A lamp. A lamp, who? A lamp on the floor with the lightbulb on! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) Cameron is leaps and bounds ahead of where Ethan was at that age. He knows all of the alphabet, can recognize it and tell you what it is if he sees a letter, and can already read some words, mostly by recognition. He can count to 30 and says words that I can recognize like, "excellent," "marvelous," "spectacular," "wonderful," and some that I can't recognize yet. I go to work in the morning and he tells me, "I love you." I put him to bed at night and he gives me a kiss and tells me it is, "excellent!" He loves babies and has two that have no names. He is nurturing to them and still loves to cuddle and be rocked to sleep at nap time. He's had 2 haircuts now and his curls seem to be going away, which makes me sad because they are my most favorite part of his baby hood that is quickly turning into boyish charm. Just the thought of him not being a baby anymore makes me want to cry. I truly never thought that being a mother would be as gratifying and terrifying as it is. |
| Look! 2 days in a row! Of course, no one is really visiting me here, anymore, and that's OK. I love having this blog and the others I kept before it as a means of reflecting on where I have come from, and that life has had its moments in the sun and in the shade. I mentioned that I was on depo lupron again. Last time I took it, I had no side effects whatsoever. In fact, I loved what it did to me. It calmed my mind, made me a little less high strung, and best of all - no menses! This time, though... not so much. I'm only about a week into the first treatment, and I'm nauseated all of the time. I'm fatigued all of the time. I am getting the plus of feeling calmer and being not so tightly wound, but I'm not loving it. Not one bit. Part of me is also impatient to make a decision. Do we or don't we? Will we or won't we? Can I even? I guess I'll have to have some patience because it will be 2 more months before we are even to crossing that bridge. 2 months may not seem like a very long time, but 2 months feels like forever to me right now. |
| Ha... I was up the better part of the night reading my old blogs. I can't believe how much my life has changed in the years I've been blogging. I read my blog entries and I am amazed at some of the things that went through my mind last year, two years ago, three years ago, and even six years ago. Ethan is turning five at the end of February. It seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant with him, and now I have two children who can walk, talk, and carry on conversations. Cameron really picked up on talking over the winter break. He has an amazing vocabulary and is a total mockingbird. He is loving, nurturing, and laid back, but also a typical 2.5 year old who gets into lots and lots of mischief. He also seems to have opposable thumbs on his feet and can scale things like a monkey. The magnet grant is done at work this year and then I won't have a job anymore. Part of me is really looking forward to it. We have gotten ourselves into a financial position where we can afford for me to stay home with the boys for a bit and I am really looking forward to staying home with them for a while. Ethan will start Kindergarten next year and I really want to do some classroom Mom type of things, especially since Jason has been doing most of his co-op stuff for preschool. I last updated this blog 47 days, 2 hours, and 59 minutes ago. At least, that's what the email says. It's incredible how little things can change and how very much they can in that amount of time. I'm on depo lupron again because of the endometriosis. We've also been told that if we want to have baby number 3, we're going to have to start once the course of this treatment is over in March. The idea of having another baby is both exciting and terrifying. I think, once I'm home again, I'll have more time. Then again, I could be fooling myself. I was home all of Christmas break and I didn't even have time to do much of anything. I think I'm definitely fooling myself. |
| I'm off work because I had to have some surgery. I'll be back to work on the 7th of December. But of course I am too doped up to do anything as far as writing. I think if I tried to write, it wouldn't be much worth reading anyway, which is why I blog rarely and even my blogger blog is neglected. In some ways, I miss being able to have time to write and do the things I want to do. In others, I wouldn't trade this for the world. I love my two boys. I hope to maybe have another one soon - yes, three kids. Don't ask me why. The meds must just be that good. lol. Things are crazy insane and insane crazy around here most of the time. The boys keep me really busy. Concentrating on any one thing for any length of time is virtually impossible. I'll get back into the swing one day, though. I keep telling myself. Maybe it'll come true. You know, eventually. |
| No. I'm not a ghost, but I bet you think I am. It's just me and I'm still alive. Work is busy and the kids keep me busier. Not to mention that I threw out my back and have been unable to do much other than spectate as far as they go. It's frustrating, but it really makes me appreciate when my life is going well. I've been writing in a paper journal for a bit. Nothing too interesting. Just ideas I get and things like that. Maybe one day, I'll actually have time to sit down and develop those ideas. You know, when I have spare time again, if I ever get spare time again. lol. |
| Isn't that amazing? The only thing I've committed to longer than that is my husband, but even then we've only been married 6. (Together as a couple for 8.) Lots of things going on around here. I'm back to work next week after a fun 2 months off. I always have the intention of getting some writing done, but the boys keep me really, really busy and really, really tired. The chronic fatigue isn't helping matters, either and I'm fighting to get a diagnosis for it so at least it's more than just something my husband thinks is all in my head. hehe. Doctors are slow to diagnose anything without a zillions tests, though, and I'm not paying 10% for them. My insurance changes at the beginning of next month, so I will be more willing to get the blood tests and things required for this diagnosis. In the meantime, I just try to pace myself throughout the day and hope I can make it to bedtime. Most of the time I do, and then I get insomnia. Isn't that fitting? lol I still can't believe that I started on this site 7 years ago with a blog and here I am blogging about that day. That seems to be about the only writing I accomplish anymore; blogging. Life won't be this busy forever. I keep telling myself that. Maybe it'll come true one day. ;) |
| Thanks to the Angel Upgrade for helping me stay upgraded for another 2 months! :) And most of all, congratulations to Mariposa and Problematic Content on the birth of their sweet little girl! :) |
| I had a 5K on Saturday; the Kalamazoo Klassic. I ran with 2 other friends and one of the students at our school and his Dad also ran it. My first 5K was in May. I ran it in 36.54. This time, I did it in 36.50, which isn't much of an improvement, but this was an uphill course and also I hadn't ran for 2 weeks, so I was OK with my results. :) I have another 5K this Saturday at the zoo. There's a 1/2-mile stretch that is all uphill and that makes me nervous, but I'm going to train on long hills this week to get used to it. Summer break just started for me. I'm busying catching up around the house, doing all those things that need to get done but I don't have time to do when I'm working. Hopefully I can get some time to write in there, too. :) |
| I'm back at running again. School is over in about a month. I've made it onto 3 scrapbook teams recently. I was trying to give myself more free time, but it doesn't look like it is happening. We'll see how the summer break does me. I'm really looking forward to not having to wake up at 6:30 in the morning for a couple of months! |
| I deleted a bunch of stuff from my portfolio, including old images and Lots of Other Things. It seems I inadvertently deleted the header for my blog, as well. I guess that means it's time to make a new one. If I felt no attachment to it, I deleted it. I also gave every Gift Point in any group, as well as my own, to RAOK. I'm turning 29 on Sunday. That's hard to believe, huh? Just one step away from 30. I thought it was time to start New. I hope to get back to writing this year. I hope to accomplish more than just monotony. The same blog entry; the same portfolio; the same, same, Same. CJ is getting so big, but he let me snuggle with him in bed until 8 this morning. That was a nice change. I Spring Break. Hopefully it will give my mind the rest it needs to get back to the things I , other than Spring Break. |
| The endometriosis is back and has been wreaking havoc with me for the past couple of months. It's made it nearly impossible for me to have a pain-free day. I'm doing the best I can just to get through the work day. The week before my monthly is due, I'm in so much pain I can't function without painkillers. My membership has lapsed and I don't know if I will renew it. I'm spending a lot of money on doctor's copays and they've got me doing massage therapy and acupuncture to try to manage the pain without medication. I'm changing my diet to one that studies have shown to help decrease the pain associated with endometriosis, but of course it's going to require a higher grocery budget because not only do I have to try to buy the foods that are listed as "should haves" but I also have to buy the normal foods that my kids and hubby eat. Speaking of hubby, he goes back and forth between being loving, devoted, and supportive of my bad days and impatient, intolerant, and frustrated with me. I try to give him as much grace as I can because I know how hard it is for me. He isn't feeling the pain and has no visual cues that I'm having it until I tell him. Sometimes I think he thinks I'm using it for an excuse and sometimes I feel guilty that I'm too tired and in too much pain to do some of the things I want to do. I'm trying to not let it affect work and that takes so much energy. There have been a few days when I called in sick because I could barely get out of bed. I do the best I can each day. I hope Writing.Com and SM and SMs keep giving me the grace they have been giving. I won't be like this forever. At least I hope I won't. Once I get back to a point where I'm feeling like myself again, I will reevaluate myself and my time management and all that. |
| I thought, this time last year when I applied for my job, "Eh... it's just a few more hours a week than I'm already working. What's it matter?" Well, when your newborn gets to be 16, 17 months old, it matters a whole lot, since not only do I have a busy almost-4-year-old, but now I also have a busy 17-month old. I'm not complaining, mind you. I just never could have estimated just how busy life would be. I haven't written much. I haven't done much of anything besides scrapbook. Of course I scrapbook. It's much easier for me to be ADD when I can walk away and come back and not feel overwhelmed like I do with words right now. I hope everyone is doing well. One thing I'd like to do in 2009 is write at least one thing, other than a blog entry. Although, I don't have any room in my portfolio to post a new item. I need to budget a new premium upgrade in the new year. This regular upgrade is great, but I love my premium features. |
| One of my coworkers passed away last night. She'd had cancer and now her suffering is gone. Here, while the nation celebrated the welcoming of change, her family mourned for the biggest change of all. I was stunned by the news as I walked into the building this morning. We'd received news that she probably wouldn't make it until Christmas just last week, but we weren't expecting that it meant we'd be attending a funeral the following week. Grief counselors were onsight at the school today for both staff and students. It's so hard for these kids to process stuff like this. And then to offset the news of the election, today was a rough day for them. It was a rough day for all of us. |
| Big thanks to RAOK for the upgrade! I am definitely in need of the help for the first time in my entire Writing.Com existance. Tomorrow morning, I feel confident that I will wake up knowing that Barack Obama is going to be the next President of the United States of America. I feel confident in my childrens' future. I feel confident for the first time in years. |
| I took a short class today about using GPS in the classroom. It was a lot of fun, once I got a GPS that actually had positioned itself! Anybody out there recommend a brand for me to purchase for the school? I can see students having a LOT of fun with this! |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** My ransom will go to support RAOK! Please save me! |
| If my nose doesn't stop running and my arm doesn't stop twitching, I may very well go insane. |
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