Friday

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We have enjoyed having some time off, seeing our families, and celebrating Thanksgiving. Walter is building a bird feeder for one of his sisters for Christmas and was working on it this week. Landen came to spend the night Tuesday night, so he wanted to build a bird feeder of his own.

When I brought him home Wednesday afternoon, he went out in his backyard and attempted to dig a hole to put his bird feeder in. It really looked pretty stable, but it wasn't.

Elizabeth & I went out to see it and she accidentally knocked it over! I could have chosen to try to keep her from knocking it over, but instead I decided to take pictures!!

Landen was extremely upset and again, instead of being helpful, I continued taking pictures!!

Eventually, we helped him get it to stand up again, but I'm quite sure it fell over as soon as we left!! Maybe Elizabeth's boyfriend will help him dig a deeper hole. Regardless, Landen was very proud of his bird feeder. He filled it with corn, so I'm not sure how many birds he will attract.

Here is a picture of Elizabeth & Mac. If he looks really big in this picture, it's because HE IS!!!

We went to Metairie, about an hour from our house, for Thanksgiving at Walter's youngest brother's house yesterday and had a great day. The weather was nice and we were able to spend most of the day outside. As usual, there was way too much food, but it was all really good!!! We didn't take many pictures, but here is me and one of my sister-in-laws listening intently to someone's story!

And then this is Keith - the younger one on the right. He probably doesn't look like someone who was about to have an emergency appendectomy, but yeah, unfortunately, by the time he got to his aunt's house in Baton Rouge where he was staying last night to go hunting early this morning, he began having really bad pains in his stomach and was taken to the emergency room in the early morning hours this morning. He had an appendectomy at 10:30 this morning and all is well. Walter & I visited him after the surgery and he is fine. But he wont be going hunting!

So, the only other news is that Walter & I are starting on a low calorie diet today and I'm not real amused about it. I've gained a few more lbs. lately and my clothes aren't fitting, so I will try this for a week or two and if that doesn't work, I'll go back to my no-fail low-carb diet.

Have a great evening!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

What I'm thankful for:
A strong relationship with God
A wonderful husband who is totally a family man
JP is alive and well
Cameron is a great kid with only minor attitude issues
A great relationship with Elizabeth and her boys
My extended family
Wonderful in-laws
An incredible job
Hard earned degrees
The best friends anyone could want
My dream house
Living on the river
My dream car
Memories that nobody can ever take from me
Being financially secure
Walter's job
My cats

What about you?? What are you thankful for?

And now for the latest news. I can't really say that it's bad news, because I'm not sure that it is. I don't feel like things were ready, and I sure wasn't ready, so maybe God isn't ready. JP's trial has been reset due to the shingles outbreak, as we thought it might be. Unfortunately, any reset ends up being a long way off, so the new trial date is April 24th, 2009. JP's co-defendant signed a plea deal for 40 years in prison and has agreed to testify against JP. The guy is a scary person and I hope he spends each of the 40 years behind bars, and then some.

I went running errands and visiting some friends yesterday. I wanted to see my co-worker's new baby and she is precious!! I visited a little bit, then picked up Landen from Elizabeth at work around lunch time. We stopped to visit my friend, Lesley and her sister, Lauren. We had a a fun visit with them and their kids, plus a few others! Then we came home and ate some delicious potatoe soup that Cameron talked me into making! I cooked it in the crock pot and it was really good! Cameron & Walter did some fishing and this morning are building bird feeders! Walter is making one for a Christmas gift, so Landen wanted to make one for Elizabeth. Here are some pictures. It is hard to ever get Landen to make a normal face! These are the best I could get!



I am taking Landen home in about an hour, then Walter & I are going to dinner with Cathy & Brent. We aren't sure where we're going yet, cause Hilltop is closed!!

I'm enjoying my week off a lot. I really haven't done very much, but being lazy is just what I was looking forward to. We are going to Metairie (close to New Orleans) to Walter's youngest brother's house for Thanksgiving, so I didn't have any real pressure to clean the house or anything!! My mom & step-dad are going to Houston for Thanksgiving with my sister now that the trial is off. We were figuring on a late Thanksgiving/early Christmas while we were all in Houston next week.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Monday

I was tagged by Kristin at A Family is Forever to share Eight Things About Me. So, here you go!!

8 Favorite TV Shows
*Everybody Loves Raymond
*Seinfeld
*Curb Your Enthusiam
*Friends
*Super Nanny
*Wife Swap
*Intervention
*King of Queens

8 Things I Look Forward To
*Sleeping late
*Knowing JP's outcome
*Eating at a restaurant
*Weekends
*Working with kids
*Spending time with my family
*Playing on my computer
*Reading

8 Things on My Wish List
*To bring JP home
*Clinique Happy perfume
*Cameron to be more motivated in school
*Clothes
*Help others
*Win the lottery
*To stay as happy as I am right now!

8 Things I Did Yesterday
*Helped Walter cook gumbo
*Had friends over for gumbo
*Laundry
*Played on my computer
*Cleaned the house
*Emailed last minute things at work before having a week off!!
*Decided it looks like I'm living out of my car
*Thought about cleaning my car

8 Favorite Restaurants
*Chilis
*Hilltop
*Albasha
*Texas Roadhouse
*Brewbachers
*The Great/Grand Wall
*Las Palmas
*El Meskal

8 People to Tag:
You!
You!
You!
You!
You!
You!
You!
You!

I am so excited that I have the whole week off from work!! I am really being pretty lazy today and I'm ok with that! Cameron should be coming home from his dad's today, but there is a chance he'll stay through Thanksgiving since he wants to go hunting with his dad.

Last night, Walter cooked gumbo for some of my graduate school friends. We had a great time and it was so good to get to spend some time together.

I haven't heard anything back from JP's attorney yet, but I'm really wondering how being exposed to the shingles would require you to be quarantined. I may have given the impression that he is still with the guy who has it, but that guy was taken out of the "tank," but the ones left inside are supposed to be quarantined for 21 days, so we'll see what happens. From what I've read, if you have never had the chicken pox, then you can get it from being exposed to the shingles. Other than that, I don't think you can carry the shingles virus by being around someone who has it. Tomorrow is the date for JP's pre-trial motions to be heard, something we've never had scheduled before, so I will know more by what happens with that. I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing! I'll keep everyone posted!

Have a great week!

Saturday night

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a week! Not too much has been going on. I had a really busy week leading up to having a week off for Thanksgiving. I am SO glad for the week off and plan to really enjoy it!

Today, I cooked vegetable beef soup in the crockpot and we had that for dinner. It actually came out pretty good! I have never made it before, so I was glad. Tomorrow, we are having some friends over for gumbo, so I'm excited about that and getting the house cleaned up.

I have heard from JP a few times lately. He is doing good. He called me tonight to say that someone in his "tank" was found to have shingles and the rest of them are on quarantine for 21 days. He is worried about what that will mean for the trial because they said the inmates can only leave the tank for an attorney visit or to go home (too bad you can't just pick that one!) I emailed his attorney tonight to see what that will mean for the trial.

I'm almost finished with my Christmas shopping and I'm glad about that! I don't have nearly as much to buy this year because my family wants to just buy gift for the kids/grandkids and I'm fine with that. I've also been shopping for the family I chose to help with Christmas this year. I always collect money and help a working family that is having trouble making ends meet, and that is a nice feeling!

I'll try to come back sooner!! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Things I've Done

I got this from Patti at Nonna's News. To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

It's only 1pm and I've been quite productive already today. I was asked to participate in our "parent's expo" for our school system this morning and work at our "Parenting Effectiveness Training" booth, which is a class that one of my co-workers teacher to parents of students in our schools. Walter wanted to come with me, so we both went and spent the morning there handing out information and letting people know about the program. The school system was expecting 800-1,000 parents at the Expo, but we only had 30 - 40 come by our booth. It was nice to be able to help out and be a part of what the school is trying to do.

My supervisor and her friend came by last night to drop off some brochures for us to hand out at the Expo, so we went to eat with them at Hilltop. I had a steak w/sauteed mushrooms and it was really good. We've been bored with Hilltop lately, but I was glad we went. We are trying to behave and not eat out this weekend. There was free Jambalaya at the Expo, so we had that for lunch and our neighbor gave us some vegetable soup and we'll eat that for dinner tonight, which will be perfect because it is downright chilly outside! I may even have to light my fireplace!

There's not much else going on today. Cameron got a 90 on that Biology test that I forced him to study for!! Yay!! We are also going to pick up my mom's electric piano for him tomorrow if he cleans out a spot in his room for the piano to fit.

Have a nice weekend!

Thursday

Happy Thursday!! I've had a busy week at work and am really glad that it's almost the weekend! One more week until I get a whole week off for Thanksgiving!! Yay!! Times like that are when I realize how extremely cool my job is!

Walter & I had a nice anniversary! We had lunch with my mom on Sunday and then spent a quiet evening at home. There hasn't been a lot going on at home. We went to dinner Wednesday with Cathy & Brent and believe it or not, we didn't go to Hilltop! We were all wanting a change, so we went to a restaurant down the street from us and it was a nice change. Walter & Cathy have a homeowners association board meeting tonight, so we went a day early. They also had the court hearing today for the crazy neighbor who wont pay his dues, and he did not attend the hearing!! He will be served with contempt of court papers and then arrested if he doesn't attend the next hearing. Some people sure are nuts!!!

I've been struggling with Cameron & his homework and study habits still. He had a Biology test today that he told me he studied and was prepared for and I found out at 8:30 last night that he knew NOTHING on the test!! I reviewed a few questions with him and he couldn't answer them. I sat with him until 10:30 and drilled it all into his head and he seems to have done ok on the test. I let him know that there will be consequences if this happens again. It would be one thing if he spent a lot of time studying or doing homework, but he spends the minimum amount of time that I make him! He also has to earn Accelerated Reading points by December and I'm forcing him to read 3 books (all John Grisham and he seems to like them) by the middle of December. He is finishing the first one tonight. He got his interim report card and all of his core subjects were Bs & Cs, but he has a D in a computer class and an F in speech. I'm most concerned about the core classes, but I'm getting in touch with the other teachers too to see what is going on there. Here is his school picture he got this week. People say he looks like Ringo Starr. We've cut the mop (hair) since the picture.

My nephew and his girlfriend had their baby girl this week - Caedence Capri. I wish I was more excited, but he has a 1 year old baby with another girl and doesn't take care of him (my sister has him 3 days a week!) and I'm just not thrilled with this decision, but I will love the new baby and treat her like all of the rest of the baby's in my life. However, I'm also sorry that her parents are drug dealers and drug users and hope they will not stick my sister with yet another baby. That doesn't sound very nice, does it?

JP's trial is supposedly still on. His co-defendant signed a plea agreement for FORTY years in jail this week and he deserves every year of it. The sad thing is that he got that deal for agreeing to testify against JP and try to totally discredit his story. I think the gold-toothed loser will help the case more than hurt it because the jury will see the guy and know he is the other person involved and will see that he is a bad guy. He has records for state prison time for armed robbery, manufacturing drugs, etc. JP has no prior record. Anyway, I'm still quite nervous knowing that the outcome might really be known soon, so please continue to keep him in your prayers. I only want the best outcome for him. He's called lately and is doing well. Check out this picture he sent me. I asked him how in the world he did this because they can't have colored markers, pencils, paint, chalk, etc. He said he takes his bed sheet and wraps it around his finger, then rubs some deoderant on it, then rubs in on color on a magazine or candy wrapper, then rubs the color onto the page! Good lawd!

Well, that's all for now. I want to read some blogs and catch up on everyone else. Have a great night!

Hollaback Girl

Happy Anniversary to us! We spent a nice, quiet, night home alone last night. Walter cooked chicken & sausage gumbo and we had a really nice evening. Today, we are going to Albasha's (Greek/Lebanese restaurant) with my mom & step-dad for my step-dad's birthday, which was last week. They were in Atlanta visiting my brother, so we had to wait to treat them to dinner.

We're also working in the yard today and doing some planning for our landscaping in the front yard. We got all the "stegaponds" planted and now are going to plant some Crepe Myrtles and put in some flower beds.

This is cute. I got it from Mere at The Babblings of Mere. By my answers, you'll see how varied my music tastes are!

1. Put your music on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the meme as well as the person you got the meme from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"Warm It Up" ~Kris Kross

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"The Chain" ~Fleetwood Mac (this one really cracked me up)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Hey Ya" ~OutKast

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"I'm Your Boogie Man" ~KC & The Sunshine Band

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE??
"Gangsta's Paradise" ~Coolio

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Goodies" ~Ciara

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"You Outta Know" ~Alanis Morisette

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"1234" ~ Fiest

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Big Shot" ~ Billy Joel

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Brown Shuga" ~Sir Mix-A-Lot (again, pretty darn funny!)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"The Humpty Dance" ~Digital Underground

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Tilt Ya Head Back" ~Nelly & Christina Aguilera

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"I'll Be" ~Edwin McCain

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Our Song" ~Taylor Swift

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Shoop" ~Salt-N-Pepa

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Over and Over" ~Nelly & Tim McGraw

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Tubthumping" ~Chumbawamba

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"I Don't Wanna Be" ~Gavin DeGraw

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"None of Your Business" ~Salt-N-Pepa

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Teardrops on My Guitar" ~Taylor Swift

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Ice Ice Baby" ~Vanilla Ice

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Old Flame" ~Alabama (I swear I didn't cheat and pick these answers lol)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"I Kissed a Girl" ~Katy Perry

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Pieces of Me" ~Ashlee Simpson

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"My Prerogative" ~Britney Spears

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
"Any Man of Mine" ~Shania Twain

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"That Don't Impress Me Much" ~Shania Twain

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Shadow" ~Ashlee Simpson

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Crank That"~ Soulja Boy Tell 'Em

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Hollaback Girl" ~Gwen Stefani

And then Karen at Surrounded by Sea Monkeys had this cute meme.

What is your husbands name? Walter, but we call him Mr. Wizard

How long have you guys been married? Well, here we say "y'all," but we've been married 7 years

How long did you date? 2 years

How old is he? 50

Who is taller? I am by about an inch

Who can sing best? I say me, but I'm sure he would disagree!

Who is smarter? He is the smartest person I know

Who does laundry? I do

Who pays the bills? We both do

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does

Who mows the lawn? He & Cameron do

Who cooks dinner? We both do, but I suck at cooking

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Neither

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first

Who wears the pants? We share the pants equally

Please consider yourself tagged on both of these fun memes! Have a great Sunday!

Saturday

I am always proud of my honesty, and I'll be honest now. I am a bit bored with blogging! I really enjoy blogging and until lately, have found myself anxiously waiting a chance to blog & read blogs each day. Blogging is only enjoyable if I do it when I'm looking forward to it and I don't want it to turn into a chore of some sort, so I'm going to be sure to blog when I feel like it, and spend my time doing something else when I don't. So, don't worry about me if I'm not posting as much, but hopefully, I still will! I really enjoy the friends I've made here and the glimpses into their worlds and that will keep me coming back, I'm sure!

I've still been feeling sick since earlier in the week, but fortunately am getting my voice back. I slept until 11 this morning, which is rare for me, but I could tell I was running a low fever, so I just enjoyed a lazy morning. Walter & I went to Subway for lunch when I got up and I've just been resting this afternoon.

I went to dinner with 3 of my friends from high school last night, Gail, Tracy, & Holli. We went to Chili's and had a really fun time. We have so many memories to laugh and talk about. It was really nice to see them and hopefully it wont be too long before I can see them again.

Work has been going good. I've been busy with meetings and that doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. It's been hard to get to see all of my kids since I'm out of the office so much, but I'm managing. The kids were relatively good this week and not so many suspensions to deal with. Even better -no new referrals!! I'm still trying to get permission to see all of the new ones over the last few weeks.

I haven't talked to JP but I did learn yesterday that the co-defendant accepted a plea for 40 years in prison Wednesday! I totally think the guy deserves it and am glad that a truly dangerous person will remain off the streets. He has served time in the past for armed robbery & manufacturing drugs, among other things and is a bad guy. JP is a good guy with no past record and I really hope that a jury will see things that way. He was also offered a plea deal for 40 years again this week and the attorney is out of town, but sending someone from her team to ask JP about it. He's had that offer several times and I know that he wont take it, and I don't think he should. It's his decision, but I hope he sticks with having a trial. The attorney said with a 4o year sentence, he would likely only serve 20 years. It's all numbers to them. I told her if he calls, I'll pass the offer on.

Tomorrow is our 7 year anniversary! We have been waiting for this anniversary to pass because both of our 1st marriages ended at 7 years!! But, no danger of that here!! We are going to go to dinner to celebrate tonight if I'm feeling better. We are also taking my mom & step-dad to lunch tomorrow for my step-dad's birthday and to celebrate our anniversary, so I'm looking forward to that.

My oldest nephew's baby is due today, but so far, no news. They are expecting a girl and I just hope they will be good parents. His other baby is pretty much taken care of by the mom (different girl than the new baby) and my sister with no support from my nephew. I really hope that my sister isn't left with this baby as much as she is the older one. She has him 2 - 3 days every week. He's 1 and as much as she loves him, it's hard to manage. She's already dropped out of graduate school that she worked so hard to get into this semester. But, it's her choice and this is what she chooses, so who am I to say anything?? Anyway, I hope the new baby is ok and that her parents will take full responsibility for her!!

Have a good weekend and see you when I can!!

Wednesday

Yesterday was a nice day off! I slept until 1pm and felt much better when I woke up, other that not being able to talk! Hopefully, my voice will come back soon! A counselor who can't talk isn't exactly doing the best job!! My friend, Kelly, was also off of work, so she asked me to meet her for coffee, which I did. We had a really nice visit! I miss her a lot and was glad to get to spend some time with her. Once I went home, Walter was off of work and we went to vote, or should I say, to try to vote!! When we renewed our driver's licenses recently, the lady registered Walter to vote in a nearby district, which deleted the correct registration that he already had!! Why did she do that, you ask? I don't know!!! So, I voted at our usual place, and we had to drive 30 minutes to where he was now registered to vote!!! But, we did it and he will get it straightened out, I'm sure! Then we went out to eat at the Chinese Buffet, then came home and watched the election results. While I am a John McCain fan, I totally respect Barack Obama and hope that everyone will come together and support him as the leader of our country. I will, for sure.

Tonight Cathy & Brent want to go out to dinner instead of going on steak night, so I am just waiting for Walter to get home so we can go. I was baking some chicken for dinner, but will gladly save that til tomorrow night. I am meeting with the parents of a student after work tomorrow, so I knew I would be running late anyway, so this will work out well for me and I wont have to rush home.

I was tagged by Gingerat Loves To Dream. So here are the rules:* Link to the person who tagged you.* Mention the rules.* Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.* Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.* Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.Here are some quirky things about me:

1. I can't eat if there are beans on my plate touching the rest of my food
2. I would be the crazy cat lady and have 100 cats if I could get away with it
3. I went to college for 17 years to get my undergraduate degree
4. I am terrified of geckos
5. I don't really like dogs
6. I could eat the same meal every day depending on my current obsession
I am tagging anyone who wants to play along and share their quirky things about themselves!!

I've had a few people ask about my Twilight reading and I'll just be honest. I loved the first book SOOO much, then struggled through the second one, and now I have been trying to read the third one for a month. It's sitting by my bed and I rarely pick it up anymore. I am not sure what the problem is, but to me, the first one was such a great love story, then it's just all about drama and turmoil since then. I'm going to try to finish the third one and start on the last one. But yeah, I think i've lost interest.

Well, I'm off to dinner! Have a great night!

Don't Forget to VOTE!!

The good news is that I have the day off today for Election Day!! The bad news is that I have a terrible cold and will end up spending most of the day in bed!!! But, I will get out and vote and will have the whole day to rest, so in the end, it's all good.

I had a good day at work yesterday and then had my social work supervision afterwards. That always makes it a long day, but I really get a lot out of it.

Mere asked for the whole story of Bryce. I've told bits and pieces of it, but i'm always open to sharing my stories, so here it is. Feel free to skim through it if you don't want the WHOLE story!!

We moved to some condos near our house in the summer of 2005 while we were building our house. People moved in & out of these condos all the time, sometimes in the middle of the night, and we quickly realized that while they looked nice from the outside, they were really a place where a lower class of people were able to afford to live. Dogs ran free all over the complex, people shared cable wires that were run in one person's window and out the other, kids were out all hours of the night, etc. We ended up living there for 2 years thanks to Hurricane Katrina and had many interesting experiences. Shortly after we moved in, a man and 2 young children moved in across from us on the 3rd floor. A young man from Cameron's class (this would be Bryce) came by one day and said this was where his step-dad (let's call him Timmy) was living (and yes, Timmy had moved in during the middle of the night). The 2 younger kids (4 & 6) pretty much ran wild around the place and could be found outside on many nights after midnight with no adult supervision. Bryce visited there several times, and before we knew it, he & his mother (let's call her Tracy) moved in. Tracy pretty much slept all day and the kids ran wild some more. After several weeks, Timmy locked Tracy out of the condo (keeping all her stuff) and told her she had to leave. Tracy had nowhere to go and left Bryce there with Timmy (who had raised him since Bryce was 3). Timmy didn't want Tracy to have access to the condo, so he wouldn't give Bryce a key either, since he might let his mom in. Bryce would come home from school and have nowhere to go. He was in 7th grade at the time, so probably 12 years old, and would have to ask people if he could have something to eat and use the bathroom. After witnessing this several times, I asked him to feel free to come to my place anytime (keep in mind that Cameron is not with us every other week) and hang out until Timmy came home. He took me up on the offer and would come over every day. I quickly realized that Timmy wasn't getting home until 9 or 10 at night!! I also realized that he was taking steps to ensure that Tracy was homeless, carless, etc. and I knew he was trying to get custody of all 3 kids, including Bryce who isn't his. On one occassion, Bryce missed the bus and Timmy told him that he didn't have to leave for work until another hour and wouldn't bring him, so I brought him!! I saw Tracy one afternoon, and although I really didn't know her, I approached her about having Bryce stay with me to avoid the continued neglect at Timmy's house, as well as her losing custody of him. She agreed and told Timmy that Bryce would be staying with me. After 2 weeks, she called and told me that Timmy had papers from the sheriff's office and that I was to send Bryce back home. I offered to wait until the sheriff showed up and let him know about the neglect, but she asked me to send him back, so I did. Before long, Timmy & the kids moved to another city and we saw Bryce once in awhile, but not too much. During the following summer after 8th grade, Timmy's new woman didn't want Bryce living with them, so Tracy was able to get him back, but still was unstable but seemed to really be trying to get herself together. She rented a beat up trailer in the middle of nowhere, but it wasn't in the school district where Bryce had been previously, so I offered to let Bryce stay with us until she became stable and could move into the same school district. He was able to start school in 9th grade at Cameron's school and rode the bus to & from our house. Things were going really well and he was staying with us even when Cameron wasn't here. Bryce loved the stability and even the rules in our house. Tracy met a real loser, let's call him Casey, cause that is his name. He moved in with her and the chaos began. He was quite a character. They were visiting friends on our street once and Casey was drunk and fell down on the side of the road. When he realized how stupid he looked, he decided to say he got hit by a car!! Yeah. So anyway, they were together for several months and Bryce was staying with us some and them some. I got a call one morning asking if I could pick Bryce up and bring him to school. I found out when I picked him up that Casey had stolen Tracy's car!! She had thrown him out and he left in her car!! She was scared of him coming back, so we let her spend a couple of nights at our house. She told us one day that he was supposed to be coming to get his things from the trailer and we offered to go there with her to make sure she would be safe. I was so scared that I called 911 to ask for someone to come there with us, but nobody ever showed up. We heard Casey pull up in a truck and then some other people pull up in Tracy's car. Tracy asked me to run out there and get in her car and drive off!! I couldn't do it for several reasons - there were people in it, Walter was still in the trailer, etc., so I told her no. So, SHE ran outside SCREAMING at the people to GET OUT OF MY CAR!!!!!!!!!! They jumped out as she drove off, leaving me & Walter alone with all the crazies!!!!!! Fortunately, Casey was scared that we'd called the police, which we had, and they all got in the truck and left. It was skeery. But Tracy rescued her car and parked it in our garage. She had recently began working at a new job, and within days decided to move in with her boss! He lived about 40 minutes from us, so Bryce was staying with us again, then once they got settled, they decided to come and get him after school each day. They got off work around 5 or 6, but then they wouldn't show up until 9 or 10 at night to pick Bryce up!!! I finally had enough of that and told her that it was time for her to make Bryce a priority in her life! I told her lots of things, including how irresponsible she was because she'd already let Bryce miss too many days of school to pass, but somehow she talked her way into getting some of the days excused. She shaped up after that and things had been ok. Tracy & the new man moved over the summer into a leased house about 7 houses away from us, so Bryce doesn't stay here at all anymore, but is usually over here whenever Cameron is home. I was bringing him to school when Cameron is here, but he hasn't asked for a ride in weeks. He has recently missed or been late 8 - 10 days at school. I get the calls when he's not there, so I know, and it really burns me up, but since I am not keeping him at all (and haven't since May), I don't feel like it is any of my business. I do expect them to have to move soon and ask me to keep him again, and I'm sure I would do it. I get aggravated because she never offers to send food or money for him, but honestly, I would rather know that he is being cared for than worry about the money. So how's that for a story? Never a dull moment, I tell ya!

And again, some memories of my JP! Please keep him in your prayers!

This is us in 1986!

This was the best times JP had in his life. He was drug free, dating the girl in the white shirt/black jacket, in college. What I wouldn't give to have those days back.

Yes, Walter had a Pee-Wee Herman doll hanging from the ceiling fan in the living room! And a cow skull/hat rack! He was a bit eclectic as a bachelor and it took a while for me to slowly move those things OUT!!! LOL

And if you look closely, the infamous blue stick that is frequently mentioned by my real life friends is actually in the background of this picture!!

Bad picture of my mom, but cute one of JP

Questions & Comments:

Mere said she hopes I enjoy my work and I really do. It is mentally tiring at times, but I really feel like I'm making a difference in some of the kids lives.

Laura asked about buying prepaid calling cards for JP. You can't send anything other than letters to him in the county jail where he is at. If he is sentenced to a state prison, I would imagine that you could send or bring other things, but where he is now is ridiclous and wont let them have anything. Also, she wants to know if I buy frozen daiquiris at Walmart!! I got a real kick out of that!! There are drive-through daiquiri shops all around town and I just picked one up close to the Walmart!!

Sunday afternoon

We didn't end up going to the state fair yesterday because the boys decided they didn't want to go. I say boys, but I mean Cameron, because I hadn't seen Bryce in weeks until last night when he came over. It's sad to say, but I don't think his mom is doing well again. He missed a week of school recently, for no apparent reason that I could see, and is late for school so often that a letter from the juvenile department came here for him. He's still registered in school as living with me, and I'm guessing that will stay like that because nobody seems to care that the school has the wrong phone number and address for his mom. I tell them when they call, but I know that they can't change it without her telling them. I wish he was living here, because at least he would be going to school and doing well. Cameron says that they have a laptop at Bryce's house now, so my guess is that's why he isn't leaving the house now and is probably staying up all night using it too. There are some things I have to let go of and unless his mother asks me for help or advice, it really isn't my business anymore. Poor kid. But anyway, we didn't go to the fair, so Walter & I went out to dinner and then ran some errands. We went by Walmart to see what was on sale from Halloween and we bought a lot of decorations for our "haunted garage" next year! Walter really goes all out with that sort of thing and I know he's been wanting to do it, but hasn't had time since we moved into the house last year. I also got a frozen daiquiri and enjoyed it immensely!!

I woke up with a sore throat this morning, so I've been taking it pretty easy. I spent the day doing laundry & catching up on my documentation for work. I have been too busy at work to get everything done, plus have about 10 new referrals for new kids to see due to suspensions. I don't mind doing some stuff at home, but it's starting to look like a pattern!! My co-worker had her baby yesterday, so I am taking on 6 of her students too, so it doesn't look like things will slow down any time soon!! She had a baby girl and wont be back at work until the end of January.

Questions & Comments:
Rhondalue asked me what age kids I usually work with. It depends on my school assignments, but this year my kids are pre-k through 6th grade. She also asked how the college students didn't notice our stink bombs!!! We ordered some on Ebay and apparently they weren't very stinky!!! We sure got some good laughs out of it though!! And she also asked (gotta love a good question asker!!) where I got the Spider Woman costume that was in the pictures. I am pretty sure it was at a costume/party type of store. We were having a party that year, so I went and bought something cute!!

My real life friend, Chelle, asked me what kind of candy I bought for Halloween. First, let me say that you should all go check out Chelle's page! She is an incredible Louisiana lady and I am honored to have been friends with her for over 10 years. Actually, I've lost count, but I'm sure it's more than 10!! And she said she buys candy that she doesn't like so that she doesn't eat it before Halloween. Personally, I have the opposite theory. I buy stuff that I do like so that I can eat it before and after Halloween!!!! And no, that is not a good thing!!! I bought the big bags at Walmart of mixed things - Snickers, M&Ms, Hershey bars, Milky Ways, Smarties, etc. In all, I bought 6 bags and probably had 1/2 bag left when we were finished.

Another real life friend, Kimi, who doesn't have a blog, but should, asked why it costs $20 for JP to call me for 20 minutes and only costs $3 for him to call my sister. It is because she is in Houston and there are no long distance costs associated with the calls. I'm not sure why he never told me that before because he could have called when I was there visiting! He can't call cell phones, but he could call me at Donna's house or maybe the hotel.

Please leave me a comment so that I can come visit your page too!!! I love meeting new people!

November 1

With just 30 days until JP's fate is decided, I continue to ask for your prayers for the best outcome for him, and also, I will let you get to know him a little bit through some old pictures. Most people never have to think of this, but I haven't been able to take any pictures of him for the 18 months he's been in jail, so I don't have anything too recent! I can't give much detail on my blog due to the fact that anyone can find a blog online, but I will say that JP was with a guy who killed JP's friend and he is being charged with the same crime as the guy. They were all involved in drugs and this is usually the outcome of that sort of thing. JP has a drug problem but has never done anything to hurt anyone that I've ever been aware of. My prayers are for him to get a second chance and get help with his drug addiction as well as mental health issues. At this time, the lowest offer he has been given is for 40 years in jail. He is 24 years old. Yeah.

This is JP & I attempting to take a Christmas picture when he was 18 months old. We had already tried sitting with Santa, which did not work well enough to get a picture!!! Rudolph wasn't much better!! But it's always been one of my favorite pictures. Rudolph looks a little pouty & scared too!

JP at 4 years old
JP at 8 years old

JP has always been a wonderful brother to Cameron. They are 9 years apart and have always been really close. They fought a lot when they Cameron was little because JP knew him well enough to push his buttons! Even today, they are still very close and it means a lot to JP to try to be a better role model for Cameron if given a chance.

This is JP playing "pin the tail on the donkey" with the little kids at Cameron's 2nd birthday party. He really cracked himself up!!

Brotherly love :-)

On to a different subject, my cute little niece, Daphne! My parents are in Atlanta visiting her this weekend and I got some new pictures. The first one is my mom, sister-in-law, & step-dad with Daphne trick or treating last night. Notice in the second one that she is using that cute little bag I won as her trick or treating bag!!


We are doing some things around the house today and then hopefully taking the boys to the state fair tonight. I think I've finally talked Walter into going! I told him that the boys will run off to have a good time and I'll be left alone with the carnies!!! AHHH!!!

Have a fun weekend!!