Still alive and kicking!

I am still alive contrary to the rumors of the death of my blog. I have just been very busy trying to keep up with the Squirrel, deal with Big Red finishing up the odds and ends of name/title changes of the divorce, suffering through Mother's Day, the not-so-new job and the trials of life in general.

Maybe I just need a new layout to get interested in this again...new colors...new information.

Oh wait I have stuff to blog about...just lack the time to do it...And the squirrel thinks my keyboard is too loud so he "shushes" me when I type...

Did I mention Big Red got married a couple of weeks ago? Yeah maybe there will be more on that later...

Whew....

The events of late in my humble abode have left me exhausted to say the least. Dealing with our little squirrel with issues of medication switches, shake ups of homes etc has taken a toll on us all.

The slightly odd note here is that Squirrel has begun refering to me as one of his parents. I find this odd. I have made no secret of my misfortune in the child producing area of my life.

However this past weekend it dawned on me that I am old enough to be the parent of every young girl sitting at my table on Sunday mornings. Most of them were born the year I graduated from High School.

WOW.

I do still have every intention of Adopting someday. God's timing ...not mine...

The new job...

There is someone who was hired at the same time as myself for the same position only Part time.

The problem I have is that she sleeps....yes at work. She is only in her 20's!

She even plans this into her day! "I will just do XY&Z and then sneak in a nap before lunch..." Our supervisor is aware of this but has been SO BUSY he hasn't had time to address this issue with her. I am not implying that this is an excuse for him...we literally have had people walk out and quit, pass away and other issues like flooding at his home etc. All major issues.

I hope this is taken care of soon or at least addressed...the rest of us are tired of picking up the slack. We are only picking up things that reflect on us as a group, her indivdual responsibities are hers to screw up. Which will become abundantly clear in the next several days.

I am tired and will be curling up in my nice warm bed away from the evil wind outside soon so I bid you farewell.

I am tired....

Have you ever had one of those conversations that lasts literally for days?

The Squirrel has literally told me every fact in his brain about planets, volcanoes and a certain foreign country that his Father is in right now.

For the last 4 days......nonstop......several times....over and over and over and.....

well you get the picture...

You can't tune him out either. If you do not respond in the right time frames he will say the same thing over and over raising his volume slightly each time. Followed with a harsh little comment of, "Geezs would it kill you to offer a simple OK? so I know you are listening???"

The speech that follows about respect isn't worth it because he will just start over the entire conversation about the planets etc because he is "not sure which parts you heard".

One way or another you will hear what he has to say...

So I might as well listen half heartedly the first time and throw in a "uh huh" and a "really" every couple of minutes.

In fact I am surprised this post turned out this organized because I have a tendency to type what I hear and he has talked nonstop since I picked him up from school...

Of course I am not as tired as a fellow employee is as she sleeps half of the day every day at work . The boss is aware and I am sure plans are in the works to fix this problem....but more on that a different day....

The hunt is STILL on

The job hunt is an ongoing process....

Sigh......

I had 1 interview today and another on Thursday with a different company.

Right now my job is...finding a job...at least that's what Dr. Phil would say.

The thing I like right now is that I can sleep in until 7:00am, take the Squirrel to school and grab a cup of coffee before I start the search. I sure don't miss the phone calls at 5:00am when someone called in sick and the mad rush to get there before the first child arrived.

I do however need a job so I can move out and give my nephew his own room. Not to mention that the money would come in very handy with Christmas approaching.

Oh Wait! We just had our Christmas and Thanksgiving combined up at the lake in a restaurant because Mom and Beau are leaving for the south of the country this Thursday. This Thursday. I am not sure when they return but I am thinking someone might have mentioned April?

I still want a job so I can move out and feel like a grown up!

Some interesting facts I have learned on the World Wide Web:

Earthworms have five hearts

SCUBA divers cannot pass gas at depths of 33 feet or below

More than 90% of plane crashes have survivors.

Watching television can act as a natural painkiller for children

Iceland has the highest concentration of broadband users in the world.

The two most famous actors who portrayed the “Marlboro Man” in the cigarette ads died of lung cancer.

Men with a certain rare medical condition can breastfeed babies

The largest pumpkin weighed 377 pounds.

On an average work day, a typist's fingers travel 12.6 miles.

On average, a 4-year-old child asks 437 questions a day.

Nondairy creamer is flammable.

More American workers (18%) call sick on Friday than any other day of the week. Tuesday has the lowest percent of absenteeism (11%).

Average number of days a German goes without washing his underwear: 7.

The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are useable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

The average person will spend two weeks over their lifetime waiting for the traffic light to change

Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because he didn't wear pants.

Tokyo has had 24 recorded instances of people either killed or receiving serious skull fractures while bowing to each other with the traditional Japanese greeting.

My agenda

My agenda for the next week or two (hopefully not that long) is to find a job.

I am not really picky at this point because I just need to find a job and move out so I can be a grown-up again. Ideally I would rather use my office skills rather than my kid type skills.

I have a few leads but nothing promising enough to get my hopes up.

I do have more to say but I need to get back on the hunt for the elusive Greenback Bill...He is an endangered species around here right now.

The cleaning frenzy

Due to me losing my job...why do they call it that? I didn't lose it...I know right where it is, they are the ones that lost it went... crazy and decided that 1 mistake was not acceptable...

Anyway...what was I saying?

Due to some unforeseen circumstances Mom, Beau, myself and an Aunt have been cleaning, sorting and hauling all of my Mom's JUNK out of this house. This has been interesting to say the least. At last count they have taken 4 trailers of stuff out of here of my Mother's things...Trailer like the size of a U-haul truck type trailer.

And did I mention that it did NOT include any furniture...just paperwork and all of the stuff she has hoarded all of these years.

The ironic quotes of the week so far have come from the Aunt:

"I have known your Mom for over 60 years and I have just now realized just how much stuff she hoards!"

She went on to tell me how apparently my Mom has also been complaining to her about the house being a mess and how it is all MY fault for the way it looks.

"One4JC you do not even have a fourth of the items in this house! It took you ten minutes to clean your stuff out of the living room and days for her to get her stuff out!"

However I am excited because I now have a dresser in my room and we cleaned all of her things out of my closet so I have places to put things.

It is no joke when I say we have been working nonstop since Saturday getting this place cleared of her stuff and getting things more settled around here.

And the real kicker is this:
Beau walks in yesterday morning and has the nerve to say,"So have you gotten a job yet?"

Silence.

I stumble out a "No not yet I have been a little busy around here helping you guys."

He then goes on to tell me he thought maybe something would have fallen into my lap by now etc.

Crickets chirping.....................................................................

So off the computer I must go so that I can look for a job and be a productive member of society again...LOL

Not so Priceless...

Working 60 + hours a week

Working the last 4 Saturdays and part of a Sunday as well

Being paid a salary for 40 hours

Not being paid well for those hours

Working in a classroom 7 hours a day with children because my board won't let me hire a replacement for the teacher they had me fire

AND trying to be the boss at the same time

Making 1 mistake...

That was corrected before any ill effects had taken place

Not so Priceless...

NOW...

Not being able to move into the long awaited apartment

going back on the hunt for a job

Uncertainty

Changes

Patience

Waiting on God

BUSY...BUSY....BUSY

I'll be back soon....moving, packing and working are keeping me very very busy!!!

Whew!

These last 2 1/2 weeks have been enough to make me want to start smoking again!

Here are the highlights (or lowlights depending on your perspective):

I have written up an employee...suspended her...and now at the request of my supervisors fired her because of her actions. Talk about a nice start to the day at 6:30 am!

I have come precariously close to losing a major funding source. I think I managed to pull that one out of the crapper in the nick of time.

I am in the midst of completing a 9 hour online training so that I can test out of it on Friday.

I informed my Mom today that an apartment has been chosen and the move in date is a week from Saturday! I am trying to talk her into selling me the washer and dryer from the current house to take with me but....

I have worked several 12 hour days (oh the joys of being on salary!), worked the last 3 Saturdays and one Sunday (for a few hours) and been told that I needed to put in more overtime to get things done.

Hmmmmmmm....

The thing that bugs me about this is I could go to a Department store and make what I do now (if not more) and only work 40 hours a week. BUT this happens to be my passion and where God wants me right now.

Ugh!

This pretty well sums up my day.


Picture Day at work...


Trying to get that many children to smile...


Bullheaded, obstinate employee...


Board meetings...


Tuesday HAS TO BE better....

The fun this week

Work was NOT fun this week! I had issues with employees. I had issues with funding sources. I had issues with my office.

I also am trying desperately to locate and lease an apartment within my price range. Mom and Beau have been here almost every day. I have managed to avoid them purely by coincidence. I have put in so many hours at work that by the time I get home at 7:00pm or later they are gone for the day.

In fact I will spend most of the day tomorrow at work as well trying to play catch up from being in a classroom. I had teachers suspended, sick AND in the hospital this week. I do have an appointment to look at an apartment at 4:00pm and then probably to the laundromat to do the daycare laundry for the week.

The sooner I can get out of this house and into my own apartment a lot of my stress will be gone. I need to feel independent again...that is something that Big Red took from me in the divorce.

Once I get past this month at work and get my staffing settled a bit it will be less stressful there as well. What with Picture Day coming up, a retirement of an employee and appointing a new Assistant Director all this month it is no wonder things are a little tense in the building...

I never did manage to get a motorcycle this summer. I seem to have run out of time as far as the weather is concerned.

As you see I played with the layout a bit. I am not done but I am growing tired so alas maybe I can get back to it this weekend.

Actions have consequences...

Actions have consequences even if you apologize. An employee this week learned this the hard way where I work. Yes One4Jc is fairly laid back and easy going BUT I do have my limits. She is the first person to push me far enough for serious consequences. Being "written up" is not good but an actual unpaid suspension is a sure sign that you have pushed too far.

She is appealing the suspension but it doesn't look good for her. Several of my supervisors thought she should have been fired over the incident not just suspended.

My actions have consequences as well. I missed a deadline and I am paying the penalty for it. It is repairable but time consuming. I got too caught up in enrolling new students, staffing issues and other paper work and the deadline whooshed up on me today and the items are not ready. The kicker is that I got a letter of "recognition" of my mistake today...before the actual deadline had passed...so did my boss. Whoops.

The last actual day off I had was Labor Day...I have been working through the weekend to play catch up on all the things I have missed by being bogged down with other stuff like ...oh say....staffing classrooms. Looks like I will work through this weekend as well.

And my Mom wants me to get this apartment when???????

The dreaded temper tantrum

I know you have all seen a temper tantrum...a fit, if you will.


Here are a few definitions:


a loss of mental balance or composure, esp. by an outburst of anger or irritation; a violent demonstration of rage or frustration;

a sudden burst of ill temper....a display of bad temper; "he had a fit"; "she threw a tantrum"; "he made a scene"

Being in the business of daycare I have seen more than my fair share over the years.

I am sure you can visualize a child stomping feet, crying, yelling, shaking and maybe even throwing himself on the floor to spin, shake, spit and just generally writhe around on the floor.

Those I have seen...

I believe I witnessed my first adult temper tantrum this week...maybe we can call it a hissy fit.

When did it become acceptable to throw a fit at work?

I would post the details for the sake of venting but I wonder if she has discovered this blog somehow on the enormous web.

I am intimidated by her now. I never thought twice about it until this incident. She did not hurt me or threaten me but she approached me in an aggressive way that made me cringe on the inside. I don't think she will last much longer...if she even comes back...I don't know...

Just rambling I guess...

If it could go wrong....

What a week and it is only Weds. morning! I stayed at work until almost 9:00pm last night trying to get some uninterrupted work done. I did get a lot accomplished but man I'm tired today!

We have had several children pushing the limits at work this week and just lots of little stuff that has snowballed to make an UGH kind of week already.

I sent a child home yesterday after he bit 2 teachers and myself...scratched 3 different teachers, threw toys at other children and slapped a child so hard it left a red hand print on their cheek. He's 4. Old enough to not get away with this stuff.

Of course we have had the general fevers, runny noses creeping crud kind of stuff...oh and Hand, Foot and Mouth.

Lots of paperwork to be completed. Annual inspections to be completed and returned to the correct agencies, cleaning carpets in the "new" room and getting it set up and organized for use.

I have a cover to build for an A/C unit, testing to be done on several levels for staff because it was deemed "unreadable" as the bottom 3 millimeters (LOL) were cut off the bottom of some of the pages....I tell you they have to find something to issue a citation for don't they?

I will be running one of the corrections pages downtown to save time today and then back to work I go...I am VERY ready for this 3 day weekend.

Yet another new experience...

Last night was awful! Yesterday was not the greatest day ever but I had no idea what the night had in store.

I am a person who on occasion has nightmares. They have gotten much better since I have grown older and well... all those years of counseling have helped tremendously.

Last night I had a hard time falling asleep to begin with because I could not get my mind to "turn off" for the night.

It seemed like I had only been asleep minutes when I sat straight up in bed with THAT feeling in my stomach.

You see I had been having a horrid dream that I found to be truly upsetting.

I woke up so upset by this dream that before I was even conscience I found myself running to the bathroom.

Now a little side note here would be that I detest vomit. Once upon a time I was so skinny that I was constantly accused of having an eating disorder. I would laugh at them...I hate puking that much...no amount of weight loss could coax me to purge.

Of course after the "event" I felt fine. I couldn't go back to sleep because I was scared to have the dream again but I felt fine.

I basically have been awake since 4am and have been eating things slowly just in case but so far no problems what so ever.

I did skip church today so that I could try to sleep in but that didn't work. I will be doing a load of laundry so that my nephew will not get the "kitty sniffles" tonight when he sleeps over and then I am off to a softball game with the young lad later this afternoon.

I pray for good sleep tonight as missing work tomorrow to sleep all day is not really an option.

And so it goes...

So I am continuing the interviewing process...I have a full time person in mind that is only waiting for the board approval but I am still looking for the part time afternoon person...It would be so much easier if I could just throw them in a classroom and see what they do but Noooooooo that would violate so many rules...LOL

I have a new(er) computer!

So after fighting with my old computer and battling a virus (and being off line for almost a month) I am back!!!!

My computer guru sister has assembled a new computer system for me and after much debugging, defragmenting and fine tuning I am finally up and running! I think she got me back online to help deal with the REALLY ODD emails that our Mommy Dearest has been sending :o)

I have so much to say but I will start slow and catch you (all 4 readers I have) up over the next several days.

THE UN-ANNIVERSARY:

So earlier this month I would have had my 6th wedding anniversary. It happened to correspond with the Women of Faith conference this year. This helped tremendously. The theme was Amazing Freedom and that is what I was trying to grasp onto as this day rolled closer.

I am Free.

I am free of Big Red. I am free of the pain he has brought into my life. I am free to live my life according to God's will. I am free to date. I am free to hold onto God tightly as my Rock and source of courage and strength. I am free to be me!

It is a lot easier to type that out than live that out. But I try.

I have been reading a lot in the Message version of the Bible lately. This has caught my eye:

2 Corinthians 5:17

16-20Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.

It is hard to be a light when the "F" word abounds...

I have learned many things while sitting at a strange place checking my email.

One of which is that teens swear....a lot....

They can swear and put some of the military men I have known in my life to shame.

I do have many many many things to post about but until my computer is internet ready you will have to wait with patience...

I just passed my First wedding anniversary as a divorced woman....Women of Faith was awesome....I am hiring at work again....we are opening a new room to deal with our high numbers of new students....

But alas until my computer guru from yonder visits you will need to wait...

Annoyed

I have been generally annoyed the last few days. I am not sure what the deal is...but a few things I know have contributed to my mood...

I can't get my scooter started. Yes it has gas , the battery is charged and I have checked all the filters etc which is about as far as I can go without taking the chance at seriously messing it up. My knuckles are sore from tinkering with it today.

The fireworks going off until 2 in the morning are wearing on my very last nerve. My cat is not thrilled with them either. Those screaming bottle rockets are about to get shoved somewhere the sun doesn't shine.

Sometimes working with a group of women can be wonderful. They can be the most supportive and caring people you will ever meet. Sometimes they only look out for themselves and can be the whiniest, nasty, caddy people you can ever meet. The whole "cycle" at the same time thing can really get UGLY.

Sometimes facing a problem can be heart wrenching.

I don't want to do that which I know I must do.

Be warned...Whining coming

After tying almost 300 balloon yesterday and then helping my little clown prodigies turn them into animals I could care less at this point if I ever see another balloon EVER again.

My fingers hurt.

My uterus hurts. Yes you guessed it PMS has struck and I am feeling evil today.

This however did bring a slight smile to my face:




13 things that PMS stands for:


1. Pass My Shotgun
2. Psychotic Mood Shift
3. Perpetual Munching Spree
4. Puffy Mid-Section
5. People Make me Sick
6. Provide Me with Sweets
7. Pardon My Sobbing
8. Pimples May Surface
9. Pass My Sweatpants
10. Pissy Mood Syndrome
11. Plainly; Men Suck
12. Pack My Stuff
13. Potential Murder Suspect

As always the little APS thing has made this an interesting weekend.