I bought an iPhone back towards the end of October and I really love using it. Apps are quite nifty, you know! And I really enjoy having Facetime with my husband when he's on the boat. It's a wonderfully useful device! Much better than my old Samsung flip phone.

However........

The woman who had my cell number before I did failed to notify her folks that she got a new number. I've been getting several calls for her ever since I got my new phone. Some are from bill collectors (and were polite enough to realize I wasn't the person they were looking for). Some calls have been from her friends and they were also pretty nice once I told them I was NOT her.

But I've had some rather unpleasant calls from her landlord and brother (who is a certifiable moron). Early this morning (around 2:30) I received a total of 16 calls from her drunk brother. I told him I wasn't the person he was looking for and he bloody kept calling me!! Finally I called my husband (who is currently on the boat) for help. While we were talking, that idiot called me again. So I merged his call into my husband's call. And Scott told him in no uncertain terms that his advances were quite unwelcome.

And the idiot kept calling.

So Scott got a bit short with him and the moron gave up eventually. I suppose he finally got the message that I wasn't the one he was looking for after all. What an ultramaroon!

We know quite a lot about this woman actually. We know where she goes to college, what her profile is on Facebook, where she lives, that she's on foodstamps, that she's on the honor roll at her college, and more. Scott messaged her on FB this afternoon and hopefully she'll read it. And maybe realize that if she doesn't contact all her folks about her new cell number, a lawsuit might be in order. What she doesn't seem to realize is how badly it could go for her if I were to get nasty to her creditors and bill collectors. Which I may have to if she fails to take any action in this matter.

Yeah, I'm getting fed up with all these wrong numbers. If worse comes to worst, I'll just change my number. But I'll give this woman the benefit of the doubt first. Maybe she's genuinely a nice person and just forgot. Or maybe she's devious with some nefarious plan up her sleeve.

Only time will tell.

And if her idiot brother calls again, I'm going to pull out all the stops and go into Weirdo Mode. I can out-weird anyone. I don't think he'll be able to handle it either. *evil grin*

 

Sometimes I feel like an old dog learning new tricks. Quite an old phrase, but it's apt in my situation. For many years my ex-husband treated me like I was an idiot. And he was truly into playing mind games with me. Somehow it was always my fault he drank and stayed away. It was my fault he had affairs. I was the one who was crazy, according to him. He was the real victim.

So you can imagine what a different world I live in now. I have a wonderful husband who supports me emotionally and actually encourages good changes in the way I deal with situations. Changes that sometimes take more than a little courage.

Take the way I interact with my kids. For years they were a team with me. Their dad showed no interest in helping raise them. So I had to be both parents, to take up his slack. And somehow through that, I managed to let their opinions dictate how I dealt with them. I let them have more control over decisions and I really should've stood up for myself more. But I was afraid of hurting their feelings and I was afraid they'd come to hate me if I said no.

Yep, a common parenting mistake. I know that now.

Scott had to be the one to point it out to me. He encouraged me to be firm in my decisions. To be the mom in charge and not let them railroad me. He let me know it's okay if I piss them off once in a while. And I have been doing that lately.

You know what? It feels good to be the one in charge!

Eric has been especially agressive in telling me what he's going to do, everyone else be damned. He's only 16 and I know his actions/words are normal for kids that age. He's also showing signs of control issues, just like his father. I've been trying to point them out to him when he starts doing it.

It's an ongoing process, to learn how to undo those bad habits. But I've got Scott on my side. And he's so logical and rational about things. That really helps me. He's always quick to offer words of encouragement when I need them. And if I start making a questionable choice, he'll discuss it with me calmly, pointing out something I might have missed. I love that about him.

Charlotte is a different matter. She's not so much like her brother that she wants to do it her way all the time. In fact, I think she's a little more mature in that aspect. She seems to know life isn't always about her. But she does have her own moments.

And whenever she gets mad, she'll be snippy, full of snide comments meant to wound emotionally. She knows exactly how to push my buttons with that sort of behaviour. But when she tried it with Scott, I think she bit off more than she could chew. He didn't yell at her and call her horrible names (like her own father used to). In fact, he kept his temper well under control, even though I could tell she was getting to him (she's talented like that, I know from experience). Every time she popped off a remark, he came back with facts. I think that really annoyed her. And maybe scared her a little. She was expecting to be called names, not faced with common sense.

So it is a different world we live in now. And we all are learning to adjust. Both Scott and I have had our own share of not-so-good past relationships. And we have come to realize that yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
 

I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband. He means the world to me. And I can't wait for him to come home next week.

"Where is he?" I can hear y'all asking.

He works as a cook on a quarters barge. And that means he has to be on that barge for 4 weeks (or longer sometimes) at a time. He does get to come home for two weeks, usually. I got lucky the last time he was off the boat though. I had him for nearly a month because he used his vacation time for us. It was really nice too.


Having an iPhone helps me (and him) a lot while he's gone. Just this past weekend I actually had a small bout of depression creep up on me and he was right there on Facetime, helping me through it. I can truly count on him for emotional support, as he can for me.

I'm doing better with my depression. But it was scary to wake up with that lethargic, sad feeling that I haven't experienced in such a long time. And I was weepy too. Something I really despise. With Scott's help, I started feeling better again.

See? I am married to a truly wonderful man!

In other news, I've got an appointment set up for my daughter to start getting counseling. She's 13 now and already I can see the signs of depression showing up in her. It scares me and I don't have the right tools/methods for helping her like she needs. I want her to be able to cope with it better than I did at her age.

I don't want her to turn to self harm like I did. That is an issue I still have to deal with sometimes, believe it or not. I don't have the urges like I used to. And I stay away from things that may trigger such episodes. Being on the right meds also plays a huge part in my recovery. Yet it WAS an addiction for me. And I accept that it was. I am stronger now and in a MUCH happier place, mentally and emotionally.

*sighs*

Is it December 14th yet?

No??

Damn and blast!

I want my husband back home again. Yeah, I'm greedy that way.

Not much longer now........
 

I don't really wear a Miracle Ear. But I'll be the first to admit my hearing isn't what it used to be. When I was married to Robbie, he used to get really annoyed when I misheard anything he said. He would accuse me of being a smartass. Of making fun of the way he talked. I just didn't always understand what he was trying to say.

Thankfully my husband Scott sees my quirk a bit differently. Though I don't always hear everything perfectly (and who doesn't sometimes?), he finds my "Miracle Ear" moments hilarious. One of our first ones was where I misunderstood him saying "oops". I thought he said "boots". When he burst out laughing, I knew I'd goofed up. It wasn't long before I was laughing too, once I realized what he was really trying to say.

Now he's got a whole list of my moments of miscommunication on his iPad. Some are more funny than others. And some of them are his (I think I'm rubbing off on him, lol). He says one day he wants to make a story using them all. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with. I know he can do it too, he's VERY creative.

In other news, I've finally started to create art again. It's been since early August that I've really made any effort towards it. You could say I was a bit.....distracted by life. It sure feels good to slap some paint on an art journal page or doodle some loose lines in my sketchbook. I've even got access to a scanner (!!) once more. So it seems I'll be able to post new stuff to my DeviantArt gallery. And not have to use a cropped photo!

*sighs*

I've also come to terms that I have a slight book addiction. I didn't realize it fully until I made the move from Arkansas. Once I started packing, did I discover most of my boxes were labeled "Amy's Books". The majority of them are non-fiction (art books, reference books, various craft books, drawing guides, and tons of others). And the sad part is that I did try to thin out my collection before I moved!

Just one of the reasons I try to stay away from Barnes and Noble or Books-a-Million. I have this addiction to books and magazines, you see. There've been times that I couldn't leave those places without spending a hundred dollars or more. And then that started to get me in trouble financially, so I quit going to bookstores. Cold turkey. And it hasn't been easy. I'm sticking to it though. Paying bills kinda takes precedence over frivolities, y'know?

The same thing goes for Hobby Lobby and Michael's Craft Stores. They possess too many temptations for me to resist once I enter their doors. So I stay away from them. Seems I've got a serious weakness for scrapbook paper, rubber stamps, beads and hundreds of other crafty things. I've determined that I need to use up what is in my own arsenal before I purchase more.

None of this resisting stuff has been easy. But nobody said it would be. Just gotta stay strong.
 

I was going to start the whole "it's been way too long since my last post" thing, but I thought that's been overdone elsewhere (and even in my own blogs). So yeah, I'm back.

Where to begin? Hmm....

I received a friend request back in mid-August on Facebook. It was from my childhood sweetheart Scott, whom I haven't had contact with since we were 14 (when I broke up with him over a miscommunication that could've been prevented had we been better at talking about stuff but hey, we were 14). Of course I said yes to the request and it was like we'd never been apart.

We got married on October 31st of this year.

I'm now living in the beautiful state of Tennessee with him and my children. Life is wonderful and I haven't been this happy in years. He's a truly amazing man and I am honoured to be his wife. He treats me with respect and patience (of which I need a lot of sometimes, lol). Scott is honest too, which I really appreciate after having spent years married to a man who was not. I trust my husband completely and I know he trusts me. He has all the values that are extremely important to me. We get along great and have quite a bit in common.

I love him so much.

As kids we used to do everything together. We'd ride our bikes all over the place, spend the night at each other's house (when we were about 10 or 11), get into trouble together, and just enjoy each other's company. I remember I could talk to him about anything and he wouldn't judge me like my own family would. We weren't just boyfriend and girlfriend, we were BEST friends. And the most awesome thing about that is we still are.

For the past 23 years we'd been apart, we've both had to learn some difficult lessons. I'm not going to divulge any of Scott's details out of respect for his privacy. But y'all know a good bit of mine. I've had to learn how NOT to be treated in a relationship. And how to ask for help when I need it. How to be responsible for my own happiness. I've learned all of this and more. So I'm very confident we've both got the tools we need to make our marriage a happy one. And we both know communication is key. I totally learned that lesson.
 

I've only just realized it's been June since my last post! My word, I've been busy.

We went to Missouri for our annual holiday. Stayed a few days in St. Louis, doing all the touristy stuff. We visited the Arch and went up to its top. Explored the St. Louis Transportation Museum (it made my little steampunk heart go all pitty-pat!) and took tons of pictures. We even went to Six Flags and rode a few roller coasters! Yes. I really did. And was delightfully terrified by it. But then we got rained on and were ready to leave as the sprinkling turned into an outright deluge of water.

We drove on all of old Route 66 through Missouri and Kansas. Got to walk over most of the Chain of Rocks Bridge that spans the Mississippi River (was way cool, the bridge makes a 45 degree angle near the middle!). Saw lots of old ruins from the glory days of the Mother Road (nickname of old Route 66).

All in all, we had a great time on vacation. Next year we're still trying to decide between Colorado (which I miss terribly) or Michigan (where I've never been but looks quite interesting).

In November, me and my buddy Cathy will attend another anime convention up in Fayettville (the A2F). And we'll be cosplaying characters from the anime "Rozen Maiden". She's going to be Suigintou and I'll be Kanaria. It's a cute anime and so are the characters. The convention in March was a lot of fun and it's going to be at the same hotel again in November. My kids are going too, they loved the last one.

There's a gaming convention coming up next month in Little Rock. I'm not planning on cosplaying for it. Just going in my normal steampunk gear. I'm sure my son will be going, he's our local gamer .

And speaking of my son, he's joined JR ROTC this year, his freshman year of highschool. He's going to join the Air Force when he graduates. Which I'm okay with and quite proud of him. He's inspired by my dad, who is a former Air Force member (and a Vietnam veteran).

My daughter is in middle school this year. She's taking choir and she seems to enjoy it. I think she'll do really well, she loves to sing!

*sighs* My babies just keep growing up on me.
 

I'm having a mermaid summer. Dreams of salty waves and powder soft beaches have commanding center stage in my mind lately. Even though I'm not planning a seaside vacation this year, my brain has been flooded with images of mermaids. So I've decided to go with it and create artwork based on this maritime madness.

Several ideas for art journal pages, mermaid artifact boxes, and even shower curtains (yes, shower curtains I say!) have been on my radar. I've even made a mermaid necklace or two with matching earrings. Can't help it, just my latest obsession (or a past obsession resurfaced).

I'm also quite vexed about the oil spill in the Gulf too. But you won't hear any rants here. Griping about it doesn't make the waters any cleaner.

Right now I'm listening to my playlist called "Mermaid Mix" as I type this entry. It's got songs I've culled from my personal CD collection. Some of them are:

*Followed the Waves by Melissa Auf der Maur

*Ocean Breathes Salty by Modest Mouse

*Lhiannon Shee by Mediaeval Baebes

*Oceanic by Bond

*Down to the Sea by Robert Plant

*Thimble Island by Rasputina

Just a few of the songs on that playlist. I've made others too. There's a werewolf one, a vampire one, a steampunk one, and several others. I wonder if anyone makes up their own playlists like this.
 

It seems we've shifted from winter directly into summer here in Arkansas. The weather has been in the 80s for the past couple of weeks. And all the oak trees are in full bloom. That can only mean one thing.

Allergy season is upon us.

It never bothered me as a child. I was in my twenties before I ever noticed I had an allergy to pollen in the spring. And my poor car has been suffering too. Only because I don't have a garage though. My normally fire-engine red HHR is now an odd shade of greenish-yellow.

What I really need to do is take some photos before all the blooms and blossoms are gone. The wysteria behind my house is so pretty and so are all the bearded iris in my flower beds. Maybe I should take some stock pics for my deviantArt account. That would be fun.

*puts on subject turn signal*

The library is an interesting place. I've got my headphones on and the lady at the next table is chattering like a magpie to her friend about how she met this man in Ghana and how their relationship is developing online. These twits aren't EVEN trying to keep their voices low.

I tell you, it's just as bad as those nutters on their cellphones in public. Blabbing about their latest venereal disease or some other embarrassing topic. What ever happened to manners? To tactfulness? I suppose it's gone the way of the dirigible.

Anyway....


 

I'm beginning to wonder if the Powers-That-Be at my job are trying to eliminate clinic clerks all together. There's just me in Geriatrics, one lady in Primary Care and maybe two or three clerks in the Appointment Center. And they're refusing to hire on any more.

Makes me really think. I'd like to know what they plan on doing once all the clerks are gone, if my theory's correct. Will the doctors and nurses be responsible for all their own clerical issues? That sort of workload is very impractical. And if I lose my position, what will happen to me?

Sometimes I wonder if this all isn't just a big hint from the Goddess that I should be moving on in my career. Probably is.

What really stinks is that I've got nearly 200 hours of annual leave saved up and I can't bloody use it! There's absolutely no one to cover for me if I want to take a week's holiday! So my summer is all shot to bits.

We usually go somewhere by way of roadtrip every year. Have done so for about nine years now. But this year, I'll just have to settle for an extended weekend here or there, if I'm lucky.

I'm quite fed up. And I feel so helpless.
 

I try not to think about the logic behind my employer's motives. It makes my head ache. And even if I did find out why, it wouldn't improve my situation.

Back in August, the powers-that-be took away my co-worker. They're still using her for the so-called "pilot program" that they are working on. And I've been the sole clerk in my clinic ever since. I'm left on my own to answer ALL the phone calls, take care of making/checking in and out appointments, and about a million other duties. By myself.

It didn't take long for me to get behind in my work. Some days it's all I can do to keep the phone calls under control. And my boss has the audacity to ask WHY. I personally don't believe she's ever worked a busy clinic in my position. Or any clinic for that matter. The Peter Principle comes into play at this point. You are probably familiar with it and don't even realize.

To summarize: People are promoted to their greatest peak of ineptitude.

Yeah. That about sums up all the bigwigs at my workplace

What kills me is that when I ask why more help isn't hired on, I'm told there's no money in our budget. We just can't afford to do it.

Uh-huh. Pull the other one. It's got bells on it.

Everyday, I get emails from the Grand Poobah of my place of employment (they're a mass email to all employees) raving over how much money (in the millions and billions) other facilities get to improve their buildings, build new facilities, etc. And I personally think the government would do well with hiring more folks on at my workplace (which, by this point, you know I'm not gonna name as it'll probably just get me into heaps of trouble).

I think my workplace would run much smoother if we had enough people. To make one person do the job of two and then NOT pay them extra for doing that just doesn't seem fair. I believe what remaining employees we have are going to become burned out because they work so hard. And they don't see much in the way of reward for their efforts.

What's the point of saving the government money if the employees can't do the job they were hired to do? How is this helping my patients?

I've had numerous complaints about how difficult I am to reach by telephone. The main reason is that five to twelve people are all trying to call me at the same time. And when I do answer, the patient will keep me on the line for a long time (10+ minutes sometimes), thus making all the other people waiting to talk to me that much more irate when I DO get to them.

Bless their hearts though. I work in a Geriatric Clinic and most of them simply can't help it.

*sighs*

I just wish I had some help.