My Single Mom Life

Ok, so, we know that I have a hormone issue, low testosterone. (should be between 30-50 for healthy women, mine is 15)
This is causing some side effects like migraines, fatigue, extreme PMS symptoms like very bad cramping.
Something else that I'm going to talk to this really expensive, no insurance taking, hormone specialist is, if it causes skin problems, like itchy skin.

See, for the last several months, right before the bad cramping and stuff starts, my skin itches for days, really, really bad itching, until my period starts, and then it goes away.
I could not figure this out for the life of me.
I would start itching, (like I am now) and just be crazy for a few days, and then it would go away.
I would think every single month, do the cats have fleas?
Are there fleas in the house?
Did I walk through poison ivy or oak?
Am I allergic to the soap or laundry soap?
How about that new shampoo I bought?
Every. freaking. month.

Then the doc told me about my hormone issue, and I still hadn't put 2 and 2 together, until tonight.
I was sitting here scratching, took a shower, and was driving myself crazy again with the above questions, when it hit me.
Hormone problems!

So I went searching on google. (self medical diagnosis is fun)
I found out that low levels of estrogen and testosterone, can lead to bloating, cramping, acne, heavy menstrual cycles, and skin itching.
The way some doctors treat these problems is through HRT, (hormone replacement therapy) and one of the ones they prescribe most often is progesterone.
It has some side effects.
Acne is a major one, but one of the other most commonly stated side effects by users is itching skin.
Fabulous!

I plan on telling the hormone doc about my skin itchies before he prescribes an HRT.
I can't freaking stand it.

Posted by Kat at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Mark tried to call Mikey. It rang and rang, and then this message started playing saying it wasn't a valid phone number or group contact.
I tried it, got the same thing.
I tried to call the operator to ask them to check his line or mine for issues, and got the exact same recorded message.

So I called th 1-800 business number to speak to customer service.
Mark just wanted to talk to his friend, that was all I wanted.
Please note the time I called Verizon residential customer support was 4:54pm on a Friday of a US holiday weekend.

The rep came on, I explained to her the situation, asked her to check his number, and if his number was fine, to please check my line because I got the same message trying to call the operator.
She puts me on hold. comes back, and tells me there is a problem.
The time is now 4:58 pm.
I said, "A problem with my line or his?"
"A problem with your billing. That's why you can't make any calls."
Huh?
"I'm transferring you to our 24-hour customer billing department."
Holding on the line thinking, billing problem? I paid the bill. I don't owe them a penny. How has Verizon decided to fuck me again today?

Verizon billing comes on the line, she asks what the problem is, I explain it all to her and ask what my billing problem is, why can't I make any calls? (Which I know is stupid because I just talked to my sis 5 minutes before Mark tried to call Mikey, and duh, I called Verizon)
She tells me there is absolutely nothing wrong with my billing. I'm paid in full and oh my, it actually has a credit of $38.00.
"So why would the rep tell me there's a problem with my bill?"
"I don't know ma'am."
"Oh I know. I called at clock out time on the Friday of a major US holiday. She probably wanted to go home."
"*giggle* Maybe ma'am. As for why your son can't call his friend, I have no idea. I'm not showing any problems with your line at all. I'm transferring you to repairs."
Holding for repair.

Tech comes on the line, I tell him the whole problem from start to finish, which is now a really long story instead of can you please just check the lines, and he puts me on hold while he checks it out.
"Ma'am. Your sons friend's phone line is being worked on. It looks like a wire is knocked down in that neighborhood, and repair is working on it."
"So that's it? That's all it is? I've been transferred twice, told I had billing issues, and all it is a line down in his neighborhood?"
"Yes ma'am."
"O-kay! Well, tell me this Scott in tech and repair, would the first rep have been able to tell me what you just told me?"
"Yes ma'am. We all have access to the same database. She simply would have been able to type in 941-924-38XX, and it would have told her that line is being repaired."
"So obviously she didn't want to do it then huh?"
"Ma'am, I wouldn't know about that. Did she give you her name?"
"Yes, she said her name was Stacy."
"Thank you ma'am, I'll add it to the call notes so the supervisors can see you were unsatisfied with the level of service you received this evening."
"You do that Scott in tech repair. And while you're in there, check off those boxes that say YOU provided me with outstanding customer care this evening. Stacy on the other hand, check off the boxes that say she fucking sucks."
"We don't have boxes that say that ma'am, but I can type that in for you minus the expletive."
"Thank you Scott in tech repair, and have a great weekend."

I swear, Verizon has it in for me.

Posted by Kat at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

And I will tell you the next fun story with them after I eat.
Right now, I'm feeling sick to my stomach, thanks to not eating all day, and because some asshat on a forum posted 2 up close and very detailed pictures of a brown recluse and a wolf spider.
With no warning in the thread title.
I am pretty sure my heart stopped beating, I almost threw up and fainted.

bastards.

Posted by Kat at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you've been following along in the Verizon saga, or you're new to this, I'll give you a brief update.
I have Verizon DSL, they require that you pay by credit card every month, so I did.

I have had so many problems paying this bill, you simply would not believe one person could have this many problems trying to pay the bill.
This isn't me trying to get out of paying the bill, this is Verizon seriously fucking up my shit for months starting way back in November 2006.

They told me it was my credit cards fault for about 4 months, so when I got my new paypal debit card in March 2007, I switched it over.
I finally thought it was settled, and it has been since March 28th 2007.
But here we are in August, and when they went to bill me on the 28th, it failed again.

I just called them, sort of giggling from the insanity of it all, and I repeated the whole entire fucked up story.
They said ok, and that they would put it through again.
The money is there, it's been there, but apparently here we go again having a problem with automatic monthly billing.
So the guy I'm on the phone with, says he ran it through, and I check my paypal account while I'm on the phone, and they took $1.00.
Again
I'm hoping that at some point over the weekend, they take the remaining $36.95 for the rest of the bill, if not, I'll be calling them up on Tuesday, (Monday is a holiday) and asking them to fix it again.
And while I was on the phone with him, I got another email telling me that billing had failed.
I told the rep that, and said "Look, it just took $1.00, so I know you are able to bill it, but for some stupid reason, it's bouncing my card again."
He said, "Oh, that's odd."
*grrr*

I just get this strange feeling that I'm headed down the same path with them rejecting the card every month again for automatic billing.
Every month, I'll have to call them up, tell them to run it again, it will take $1.00, and then eventually, it will take the full amount.

I don't know what the hell is wrong with Verizon's auto billing feature, but I'm getting damn tired of playing this game with them every few months.

Posted by Kat at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Jimmy is having a huge party tomorrow night at his house. He has a pool, food, pong table, BBQ grill, the works. Now he just needs people to bring more chairs or bar stools. That's the one thing his house is lacking in.
Sitting places.
It's just him and his son living there, but when he has people over, we end up sitting on coolers and whatever objects we can, just so we don't have to stand the whole time.
I'm still not sure if I'm going. I want to, but I don't really feel like a night of bad for me food mixed with alcohol, and sleeping in Tampa.
The drive home after a night like that on 75, is a total hangover nightmare.

Posted by Kat at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I did the laundry this evening, more of it.
It seems I am doing laundry every single day here.
Well anyway, I washed my sheets and was putting them back on my bed, when Shahiro came in.
Usually she just loves to lay on the clean sheets, all 3 of the cats will hop up on my bed when the clean sheets are put on.
They walk around sniffing it, find a spot, and lay down.

But tonight as I was putting the sheets on and straightening them out, Shahiro got a little bit frisky.
She was hopping all over the bed, sniffing, jumping, rolling around, and before I knew it, I felt a sharp ripping pain across my fingers.
She got me.
She must have thought I was playing while smoothing out the sheets.
She got me on my middle and ring fingers of my right hand, and even somehow got a claw right down the side of the nail on my ring finger.
Can you see it?
On the right side of my nail on my ring finger, it's all red and bloody.
Doesn't look bad in the picture, but let me just tell you, that fucking hurts like you can't even imagine.
I'm going to have to pin her down wrapped in a towel, and clip those suckers.
Dayum! It stings! *wah*

Posted by Kat at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Well, for the time being anyway.
After Mark went for a walk, he seemed to come back calmed down quite a bit.
He's frustrated, and I understand that, but it is his doing, and he has to face the consequences of his actions now.
I think he finally realizes that mom can't fix it for him this time, and all he can do is his best, and try as hard as he can to make them see that he is dedicated this year.

Posted by Kat at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Because Mark is an at risk student because he's done poorly in the past, the teachers are watching him like a hawk this year.
He's not happy about that, but as I tried to explain to him, he brought that on himself by being a slacker.

See, yesterday, Mark put his head down on his desk and the teacher thought he was sleeping.
Because he has fallen asleep in class in the past, they are on him like white on rice this year, and snapping at him as soon as they see past bad behaviors.
Then the teacher spoke to the guidance counselor, who then turned around and called me.

When he came home, we talked about it.
He swears he wasn't asleep, another student even told the teacher he wasn't asleep because they had been talking to each other the whole time, but again, they see him doing anything that looks like bad behavior, they are on him.

He's really not happy with me or the teacher right now.
He started being really physically upset, saying that he is trying, he is doing his work, and they are yelling at him.
I explained again, they are watching him because of what he did in the past which caused his grades to suffer.
He says he's stressed out, but he is really trying.
I told him his only recourse now is to prove everyone wrong. To get good grades and do all the work, to show them that he can do it, because they are looking at his past, and basing everything he does on that past.

We pretty much ended up yelling at each other, he mad at me because I yelled at him for falling asleep in class when he says he wasn't. He says I don't believe him.
It's not up to me to believe him and defend him.
He has to prove to the teachers he's not doing anything wrong, or they'll keep calling me.
If they call me, he and I are going to be having talks the whole year.
I said I don't want the phone calls, I don't want these talks, but if you are slacking off, that's what's going to happen.
So he pitched a fit threw some toys at the wall and broke them.
Not my toys so, it didn't hurt me any.
I just told him not to break anything of mine or his brothers.
If he does, he'll be in more trouble.

Right now he and Sebastian went for a walk to the store, to calm down, and get a soda to drink.
I'm hoping he comes back in a better mood.

Posted by Kat at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

2. The school called. Mark is going to get yelled at. I'm going to get the F-U face again.
3. I had the most bizarre dream last night. I probably should avoid large gatherings of people for awhile.
4. Michael Vick found Jesus. Of course some of us are not convinced. He's invoking Christ in hopes that people will forgive him for what he's done. It's amazing how many people upon fucking shit up, suddenly find God. It's like they think that somehow it makes it all better.
Where is personal accountability?
He plead innocent right up until he learned the other 3 guys ratted him out. He knew he was fucked, so he quickly finds Jesus, and hopes it will give him some sort of leniency in sentencing.
Depending on which judge he gets, it probably will.
5. I was hoping today would be an early payday like the last 2 weeks. So far it's not.
Bummer.
6. I'm still debating the Vegas trip in November. Between hotel room, airfare, and food and entertainment costs, I just don't think I can swing it.
7. I'm really tired and run down today.
8. I got a huge envelope of coupons from my mom in the mail today. Thanks mom.
I didn't get any of the things I was waiting on.
9. I really need to take a shower, but I can't move very well today. I just want to sleep.
10. The last day of Passions is quickly approaching. I hate you NBC.

Posted by Kat at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I was doing the laundry tonight, and I always try to check everyone's pockets because I'm sick and tired of washing pens, coins, dollar bills, etc.

I checked Mark's shorts, felt a papery substance, and pulled it out.
I tossed the shorts in the wash with all the rest, started the washer and closed the lid.
I decided to check the paper, it may have been homework or a graded paper, who knows.
He tends to just shove things in his backpack or pockets.

It was a note.
From a girl.
"Do you like this class? I kinda like it. The teacher is boring tho. Do you like me? I like you."

Wha? Who is she?
I almost fainted.
No!! Not yet! No girls yet!
She better not be some trampy little thing.
I will have to meet her, and if she comes over in a skirt so short I can see her thong, she's history.

Posted by Kat at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

I had restarted my pc, went to the kitchen to make dinner and when I came back, I opened FF.
Well, my header wasn't appearing.
Then I logged in to MT, and it was all crazy mixed up colors and displayed wrong.
So off I went searching for the answer, when I had the answer all along.

I remembered that the same thing had happened to me back in March, so I used my sites search feature, and typed in Firefox.
There it was, clear the cache.
I cleared the cache, and voila all back to normal.

D'oh!

Posted by Kat at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*eyeroll*

The trash goes out on Monday nights, gets picked up Tuesday morning.
They left the cans and recycle bins there Tuesday after school.
I reminded them to do it.
"We will!"
They went to school today, came home, left the cans and recycle bins again.
I reminded them to do it.
"We will!"
They didn't, so I did it.
Then I said there will be no games today until the lawn gets mowed and the other chores are done.

They both gave me the face.
Moms, you know the face.
It's the "I hate you, F-U, I hope you die face."

Wait till I tell them I want to watch the movies that came from Netflix today.
Heh.

Posted by Kat at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I may feel like one from time to time, but I'm not one, and I'd appreciate it if the AARP and other senior companies, would stop sending me all their crap.

Apparently, seniors make up the majority of disabled citizens in this country or something, because as soon as I started receiving medicare, and getting disability payments, I also started getting bombarded with AARP mailings.
Every week, I receive no less than two pieces of mail from them, and at least one other piece of mail from some other agency on aging, and health care stuff.

Every article in the magazines, have pictures of people over 50, and the articles themselves state that "AARP is a membership organization leading positive social change and delivering value to people age 50 and over through information, advocacy and service."
I'm not over 50.
I'm not a senior.
I don't need membership in your organization so you can advocate for my old age.

Today's mailings contained another membership application outlining the benefits of joining AARP, a magazine on exercise activities for people over 50, and a magazine full of healthy recipes and news updates on all the various medicare part D drug coverage plans through different insurance carriers.
I've requested both in writing and by phone, that my name be removed from their mailing lists.
Several times.
I guess they don't care, or maybe they figure I'll be 50 eventually, so they screw you and keep sending them anyway.

Posted by Kat at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Weeds on Showtime, is a seriously awesome show.
I said last week, that I watched season 1 & 2 on DVD, while I was sick.
I was hooked! (ha!)
I don't have cable, but I can wait for season 3 to come out, maybe get a friend to tape it or whatever.
Anyway, it's got some serious drama going on, but it's also hysterically funny in parts.

In season 2, Shane, the 10 year old son of Nancy, (the main character and single mom dope-dealer) is growing up, starting to notice things about his body.
Well, he's been using his tube socks to masturbate into, and then flushing them down the toilet.
This causes some major plumbing problems in the house.
Nancy calls a plumber who tells her he found about 12 tube socks in the pipes, asks if she has a young son, and tells her that perhaps her husband should have a talk with Shane, or he'll be back to unclog her pipes every few weeks.

Nancy's husband died of a heart attack, but luckily, or sometimes unluckily, Judah's (her husband) brother Andy has come to stay with the family.
After Nancy gets done with the plumber, she tells Andy to talk to Shane about masturbation.
Andy says "I'm on it!", and this is the talk he has with Shane.
I was crying laughing watching this scene.
Uncle Andy rules.

*Warning*
If you are sensitive to discussions involving masturbation, do not watch.
If you watch this and get offended, you can't say I didn't warn you.
For the rest of you with a sense of humor, men, young men, mothers of boys with a sense of humor, this is going to have you in stitches.

I freaking love this show!

Posted by Kat at 2:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Kailani is having a contest where the winner will receive a new Texas Instruments TI-84 calculator.
All you have to do is link her contest in a post like this one, and TI, and leave her a comment, and you'll be entered.
Better hurry though, the contest ends September 4th!

I could totally use this. Sebastian has all those tough math classes this year, as well as a science class that does a lot of graphing stuff.

Posted by Kat at 1:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I didn't tell you about the weird doctors office call today.
The new hormone doc's office called to confirm my appointment for tomorrow.
I was all huh?
They said I had an appointment.
I said, no, we never made one.
Doc F.'s office told me you'd call to schedule an appointment.
You're calling to confirm one for tomorrow, which I cannot do because you don't take insurance, and I'm sorry, but I don't have a spare $150 today.
I won't have it tomorrow either.

"Oh, I thought you knew they scheduled it for you."
Nope, they didn't tell me that, but I do recall telling them I couldn't afford to do it till next month because of the whole no insurance thing.
"Oh. Ok, well, when can you do it?"
September 12th or later, but preferably the 12, 13th, or 14th.
"Oh, that late?"
Yes, that late. I will not have money until then. Not that kind of money any way.
"Oh. I'll have to call you back."

They haven't.

Posted by Kat at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dear Ms. Cooper:

Several donations have been made to The Montel Williams MS Foundation in your name.

Because of people like you, we have funded research at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden that has identified an MS gene, MHC2TA. Important gains, like that one in Sweden and others across this nation, give hope to those who are afflicted and affected by MS.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to redirect 100 percent of your donation to the nation's top research institutions working toward a cure.
Every dollar counts.

Sincerely,
Johanna MacKay
Foundation Assistant

Thank you all again so much for sponsoring me and donating to help find the cure.

Posted by Kat at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was able to get a free dog tags to review, and it came today.

Dog tags are a pretty cool way to label your kids back packs, jackets, and other items.
It's small enough so it's not this huge flashing sign that says your kids name, but right there to be able to figure out if the item is your kids or not. So many kids all ave the same identical back packs and stuff, you have to label them so they don't get lost.
They can be used for a lot of different things too, like small awards for playing on a team and doing a good job, maybe even a little academic award.
Kids like them because they look cool. It's a pretty unique thing to give out.

The ordering process was really easy, but I messed up and didn't pay attention to what I was having engraved on mine.
As you can see, it has the sport lacrosse on it.
I think I was sick that day last week.
It's still very cool though, I like it.
But they shipped it super fast. I ordered it on Tuesday, and it came today, so that's pretty fast shipping, and the prices are really good too.

Posted by Kat at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bucky tagged me for this, so here goes.
1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (month and day).
2. Write down three events, 2 births, 1 holiday and tag 5 friends.
3. There are five slots in the Birthday Meme. As you are tagged, you have to remove the name in the first slot and bump everyone up so that your name can be added to the bottom.
(Um, I don't tag people. I'm sorry. people can do this if they want) *Bad blogger, bad*

Birthday is March 1.

Three events that happened on this day.
1562 - Over 1,000 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.
1932 - The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, is kidnapped.
1954 - Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.

Two births that happened on this day.
1445 - Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter
1944 - Roger Daltrey, English musician

One holiday that is celebrated on this day.
Iceland - Beer Day - This day in 1989 beer was allowed again

Posted by Kat at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have to go to the store.
I'm having one of those mornings where I have so much to say, want to say, but I refuse to play this game with all of these people who thrive on this crap day in and out.
Whatever.

Posted by Kat at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sebastian and I installed my new blinds this evening.
So there you see my plain empty window, I forgot to take a before pic of the canvas blinds I had up.
You wouldn't have wanted to see those anyway. They were all covered with cat hair from all 3 cats constantly going in the window to lay in the sun.
The new dark cherry wood blinds were so easy to install!

We got them hung up and installed no problem.
It took us maybe 15 minutes to remove the old blinds and install the new.
So easy!
We did have a small snag.
When my blinds were packed for shipping, they were pulled up tight.
So tight, that when I pulled the cord to lower them, they wouldn't budge.
I tried everything. I pulled and pulled.
I took them back down, looked at all the pieces, pulled the cord again, and they still wouldn't budge.
So I called Blinds Chalet and spoke to an awesome guy named Jason.
He told me to take them down, and place a small screwdriver, or something flat, up against the pin, and then pull the cord to loosen the blinds that first time.
After that, pulling the cord would work as expected.
They just weren't budging due to being packed so tight.
Seeing as I already had them down, I just placed a flat head screwdriver up against the pin, and then pulled the cord.
Voila! The blinds came down.

I pulled them back up a bit so I could hang them up again, and then I released the cord.
I could not believe how gorgeous they were, or how dark they made the room.
Perfect!

They look so amazing in this room. They match my coffee and end tables perfectly, they also match my sofa and love seat, they keep the room totally dark when all the way down and the panels are closed.

And they allow just the right amount of light in when opened up.
They are so amazingly pretty!
Thank you so much Blinds Chalet, and Jason, for helping me figure out how to get them down.
They are just simply gorgeous in here, they really do tie my whole room together.

Posted by Kat at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

I just ate a container of yogurt I bought a month ago, but as you can see, the sell by date is September 17, 2007.
Normally, if I know I bought it a month ago, I won't eat it, I'll throw it in the trash.
I'm absolutely terrified of eating food that has gone bad, especially milk products.
But they say that yogurt has all those healthy bacteria in it, so I guess it's pretty safe to trust the dates on the bottom.
Maybe the bacteria just gets stronger over time, and the sell by date, is the date that the bacteria go from being healthy and good, to icky and bad.

I am actually surprised that I ate it.
I once opened a yogurt that hadn't reached it's sell by date yet, and it had chunks in it.
And it smelled nasty.
I almost barfed.
So the first thing I did with this yogurt after checking the date is, I opened it, smelled it, and then stirred it around and lifted giant spoonfuls out, to check for chunks.
No chunks, no smell, so I ate it.
If I get sick from it, I'm gonna be pissed.

Posted by Kat at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I was awake again pretty much all night. I went to bed around 4:00am, back up at 5:45am, and then dozed till 7:00am when my second alarm went off.
I spent most of that time last night discussing the video in the post below, politics, home schooling, and stupid, stupid girls, who are having unprotected sex and wanting to get pregnant, all while they take heavy narcotics several times a day.
And her boyfriend has the writing abilities of a 3 year old, and wanted to know if they had a miscarriage because she was bleeding after they had sex.

"Cuz when she want to push out my cum, she whipped away ther was lots of bloods coming out."
These people are having sex.
They are trying to procreate.
Society is doomed.

Then I decided to go for my morning walk and on my way home, I saw the above.
Have you ever backed out of your garage with the door still closed?
Those people obviously did.
It's stuck like that, so I'm assuming the car is still in it.

I have a lot of emails to answer now, and then catch up on a lot of other things.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This is a great video called Stupid in America, a special report by John Stossel from ABC.

It talks about how our public schools are failing our kids.
Teachers and schools say that more money is needed, that money is the answer.
He talks to several schools who spend far less than what some schools are asking for, and out performing the schools who do spend more money.
He also talks to schools in other countries, where those students also out perform our kids.

It's about 40 minutes long, and it's an excellent watch, a must see for parents who want their kids to get a decent education.
It's an eye opener.

Posted by Kat at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

You know those new Prego commercials where they have all these famous people trying to figure out what other spices can be added to the Prego sauce?
Well they all end up saying, no, it's in there, nope, can't.

I buy and use Prego, because of all the spaghetti sauces out there, it does have the best flavor, it is thicker, but I can add more to it and I always do.
I always add more basil, more oregano, and more garlic.
I also add a half cup of sugar to cut down on the bitter from the garlic, and it adds a sweet flavor to the sauce, and, it also cuts way down on the heartburn.

So yes, while 'it is there', there's always a need for more to make it absolutely perfect.
Sorry Prego.
My spaghetti owns all.

Posted by Kat at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Like I said yesterday, I got my new blinds for my living room window.
They are dark cherry, and so gorgeous, I cannot wait to put them up!
But they are going to have to wait.

I woke up this morning with my shoulder on fire.
It is so sore, it hurts all the way down into my ribcage.
See, I'm still on that lift restriction of 5lbs, and I pretty much ignore it completely when my nieces come over.
I cannot help myself.

My nieces are so cute, and they always want Auntie Kat to pick them up and sit on my lap, and read stories. They also need help washing their hands after using the bathroom, so I have to lift them up to the sink to do that.
I lifted them up, I played, I bent over to tickle them, help them color, and jump over things, and held their hands while they jumped on the beds, and now I'm sore like I got hit by a truck.
I wouldn't have changed all that fun for any reason though, it's just going to take me a day or two to recover, before I go trying to lift my arms above my head to install the blinds.

They are going to look so good in here though!
My coffee and end tables are dark cherry, and the blinds are almost the same color, slightly lighter, but they are just going to tie the whole room together so freaking nicely!
Hopefully tomorrow after school, my shoulder will be rested enough that the teens and I can put them up.
I've read all the instructions, it shouldn't be that difficult at all.
I will take before and after pics too.
I just know they are going to be perfect in here, so much better than what I have right now.

Posted by Kat at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So we all know Bill Keller is an asshole and a fraud, and Bill Keller has finally been kicked off of a tv station for being a fucking dick.
CW44, formerly known as UPN44, finally pulled Bill Keller off the air.
The station says it was a programming decision, made by tv execs and Bill Keller, but Bill Keller admits that it was because of pressure from CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations.

In a May 2 broadcast, the televangelist said Islam was a "1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell" and called the Prophet Mohammed a "murdering pedophile." He also called the Koran a "book of fables and a book of lies."

"I'm saying nothing now that I haven't been saying for five years," said Keller, who plans to hold his last broadcast on Aug. 31. "Ultimately, it was pressure by CAIR that intimidated these people into taking me off the air. It was not mutually agreeable. They told me they were taking me off the air, period."

For those of you who have never heard of this so called man of god, here's some of the things he has done in just the 8 years he's been preaching the word of God.

Since he began his Live Prayer Internet ministry in 1999, he has skewered Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Scientologists, calling them false religions and cults. He also speaks against abortion, calls Oprah a "new age witch" for embracing diverse religions and says megachurch pastor Joel Osteen is a "gutless wonder."
In May, Keller raised the ire of Americans United for Separation of Church and State when he wrote devotionals on Liveprayer.com saying that a vote for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney equals a vote for Satan. The group asked the IRS to investigate Keller for a possible violation of tax laws, which prohibit tax-exempt nonprofit groups from engaging in partisan politics. Keller, took the debate to a national audience on The O'Reilly Factor, where he sparred with host Bill O'Reilly, who called Keller's words "irresponsible, un-Christian, uncharitable and flat-out wrong."

Bill Keller has also served some time folks.

While at Ohio State however, Keller began a successful computer sales business. After earning millions of dollars, Keller was eventually caught up in insider trading and spent nearly three years in prison.

Posted by Kat at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I thought I'd post up some of my fave blogs by women.
These are blogs that as soon as I see their names in my feed reader, I know I'm going to be greeted by real life, down to earth, funny, and honest, and totally rocking posts.
I like each of these women and their blogs for varying reasons, and I hope you stop and check them out and think about adding them to your blogroll or feed reader.
Each of them make me smile, laugh, cry along with them, and just sit in awe of all that they do.

Sheltered Sanity
Diane's Journal
The Reality of a Brat. (Psst, she's having a contest)
Five Dollar Shake
Devilish Southern Belle
Inner Dialogues
Julie's Journal
Katespot
Mindy's Soap Box
Table 4 Five
Twisted Chick
Hip Momma

I may come back at some point and add more kick ass girl bloggers to this list.

Posted by Kat at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

So my girls are here, and oh man, I thought I was tired before?
Ha!
I'm freaking dying!
But anyway, we had McD's again cuz they love it, and it is tasty, but I can already feel it oozing out of my pores.

We are coloring and making a mess, and jumping on beds, and screaming, going potty, washing our faces, doing our nails, taking our shoes off, drinking from straws, tickling the teens, and getting bit by fake stuffed dogs, and in serious need of a minimum of 10 band-aids.
But we're having so much fun.

Posted by Kat at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I really did not sleep all night, went to lay down at around 8:03am, and was back awake at 11:08am.
I have to go clean my house now, and get ready for my girls (nieces) to come over and play for a few hours tonight, so sis and hubby can have date night.

I also got my new blinds for my living room window. I cannot wait to put them up!
It's going to have to wait till tomorrow though, too much going on today.
Later days!

Posted by Kat at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's been one of those nights where I just couldn't sleep.
I just had so much on my mind, I couldn't rest.

I get really annoyed with people to the point I become consumed by it.
The person who is the cause of the post below, is a new acquaintance, met through blogging, through a fellow blogger, and I guess I should have cut things short right from the start.
I should have recognized a problem from the very first email that was kind of out of order, I would say.
It wasn't really the kind of conversation that a brand new person to your life, would discuss.
I should have recognized the signs.

Do you have any idea how awkward it was for me, to get an email from another practically unknown person, discussing the situation with person #1?
Person #1, had actually discussed with someone else, our email conversations, how they felt, how they upset me, how they needed to fix it, and along comes person #2, to try and patch it up.
It was so un-adult behavior, I was a bit taken back. I explained to person #2, that person #1, had obviously taken things very differently from how they were intended, and I was not responsible for how they felt.
I cut off communication with person #1, but they kept leaving comments, some of them inappropriate, and when they were, I replied and said so.
The emails kept coming.
Long, strange emails, full of professions of feelings, after just a week of barely on correspondence.

That last email, was the last straw.
I refuse to be spoken to in the manner in which I was.
I refuse to allow this person to behave, or think, they have some sort of relationship with me.
There is nothing.
Not even a friendship, which I did try to keep in line, only to have their misunderstood feelings thrown at me, like I was to blame for how they felt.
They had some sort of imaginary relationship with me, must have thought that because of that imagined, that it was acceptable to speak to me the way they did.

The emails were confusing to say the least.
One line insulting me, calling me a hypocrite, and another line telling me how very much they like me, and want this friendship to grow and see where it leads.
Then another line, insulting me again, putting me down.

Now maybe this kind of abusive talk has worked for them in the past.
Maybe they were able to gain control over women in this way, by putting them up on a pedestal one moment, and then knocking off one of the rungs the next.
Keep them confused and in place.
Does he like me?
Does he hate me?
He says I'm beautiful and intelligent in one breath, and in the next, calling me names.
Typical abusive, dominant behavior, by a man thinking we have some deep bond which is all in his head, and has been from the start.

Then I think back to the email from person #2, where they laughed off how he drinks too much, but means no harm.
A friend of mine asked me how I knew him, I explained we met through a friend, that was the extent of it.
She then begins to tell me to watch myself, that he gets drunk on the weekends and spends hours sending long strange emails to women he's met on line.
Heck, in one of his own emails to me, he confessed he bothers women on line.

Now maybe someone will think me cruel to be posting all of this information, but no one but myself, person #1, person #2, and my friend, even know who I am speaking of.
But this is my blog, this is where I write out my thoughts, and this is a subject I've been thinking about since that first email 2 weeks ago.
I could slap myself for not seeing the signs, for not paying close enough attention to the words, the questions asking for information, the innuendos, the compliments mixed with put downs.
I should have just cut it off right from the start.

I really don't know where I'm going with this, but the whole thing has me upset.
Being talked down to, and being talked about with someone else. Then having that person come and try and patch it up like it was a spat between high school lovers, and they were the mutual friend, passing notes back and forth, trying to get the couple talking again.
It just seems that no matter how I said no, there is nothing, stay on topic, no I will not discuss my romantic side with you, none of what I said sank in.
And perhaps it is how my friend and person #2 said, that he spends his weekends drinking and sending out long emails like this.
It was Friday night after all, and I received no emails during the week.
It was only once the weekend came, and a topic was right for picking a war, on a subject he already knew where I stood, to start off with a insulting comment, and an email with insults and compliments mixed together, asking for forgiveness after knowing full well he had just insulted and offended me.
And even more insulting and offensive, he asks me why I always want to fight with him.

I feel like I'm in an emotionally abusive relationship, and I don't like it.

Posted by Kat at 5:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I received a comment earlier that I have not published, because I know it was done to antagonize me.
I know this because it is clearly negative in tone.

Interesting how you extol "Christmas"
I had to read it twice to believe you had the nerve.
I still have hope for you. The smarter they are, the harder
they...whatever.

What the fuck are you talking about? How I extol Christmas?
Atheists can't celebrate giving presents? Is that what you're hinting at?

Let me ask you this, Ms. Atheist - what do you care about Christmas at all?
Are you just trying to find an association in time to make yourself feel good about yourself to give presents? You are the most self-contradictory person I've ever met.
Psst....why not extol March 11, or February 15, or May 2nd, or November 13th. What difference does it make to you? Nothing! So any response from you that accuses me - let it.
I never said you couldn't ride on the sleigh horse for giving presents.
For the rest of us, it is "Christmas." That means something.
If you want to celebrate, go ahead. Atheasts can give presents. Of course you're doing it for a purpose you don't believe. And if that offends you, the truth, well - there it is.
Think about why you are mad, as though you are not "deserving" to give presents for Christmas. Well - facts maam. You are not. The best I can say for you is that you condone it and arrange a mental yearly deep breath for the fake it all is - and yes, you can give presents too.

My family, my sons and I, do not celebrate the Christian Christmas. We enjoy the gift giving of St. Nick. Not Santa Claus, but the real St. Nick who made and delivered toys.
We have a tree, we watch silly holiday movies, and sing about winter wonderlands and snowmen.

I'm not contradicting myself at all. I know what my family does, how we celebrate, and what traditions we do. Unlike you who is quick to make assumptions about someone you barely know.
Maybe instead of attacking and insulting me, you could have asked how we celebrate Christmas.
Wouldn't that have been a better approach?

As for the day I extol, I explained it above. Pagan holiday and St. Nick.
It does matter to us as well. It's our day just as much as it is your day.
As a matter of fact, it was OUR day first.
You don't get to own a freaking holiday even though you'd like to think you do.
I'm thrilled it means something to you, but you still don't own the day.

Atheists can give presents for reasons we believe. Pagan holiday, St. Nick again.
I don't believe in your reason for giving presents, but I'm not going to stop you from commercializing the birth of your savior.
If you want to get super technical, you should not get any presents for Christmas because the gifts were for Jesus, not for anyone else.
But now us pagans and atheists, well, we can buy any old thing we want and hand it to whom we want, because we are not celebrating the birth of any savior.
We like presents. Lots of them. Especially stuff we can play with.
And if you want some truth about your day, well here it is. And if that offends you, I'm not particularly caring at the moment.

Who the fuck are you, to declare that I am not deserving to give presents for Christmas?
Again, do you own the fucking day? Do you even understand the history of the day?
You celebrate it on that day because there is no evidence to actually support the day your savior was born, so that day was picked. More evidence points to Jesus being born in the spring, or even possibly September, the time when the census' were actually held.

I don't take a yearly mental deep breath for all the fake that it is. I know your story is fake, but the Pagan holiday, the feast of the Son of Isis, was celebrated on December 25.
Partying, feasting, and gift giving, were traditions of this event.
We also had the Romans who called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. This was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ.
In ancient Rome, they had people who went around costumed and singing, and dancing. They were called the Mummers. The tradition of caroling came from this.
The pagans of northern Europe celebrated their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.
What day is that?
December 25th.
In 350, Pope Julius I, declared that Christ's birth would be celebrated on December 25.
It was done so it would be as painless as possible for pagan Romans who were the majority at the time, to convert to Christianity. They accepted this because it meant that their feasts and traditions would not be taken away from them.
The earliest recorded history of a tree being used in a Christian celebration was in 1521, in Germany.
The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again.
The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies, while surrounding and worshiping huge trees.

So please, don't tell me I have to take a yearly deep breath for all the fakery. It is others who took the holiday from the non-Christians, and used it, because they had no evidence of the day their savior was born, and they needed to try and convert people over.
It is you who needs to understand the history of Christmas, and not go around attacking others who are not like you.

As for the rest of your email and your personal attacks, I already told you, don't contact me ever again.
Your comments if you leave them, will never be published. Your emails will be deleted.
And ya know what else?
I'll say fuck whenever the fuck I want to.

Posted by Kat at 1:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Ok, so I got my new issue of Cosmo, and in it was one of those sample pages of L, a L.A.M.B Fragrance by Gwen Stefani.
So I ripped it open and sniffed.
It smelled halfway decent, so I took another whiff.
Now, I'm gagging, I can taste it in my mouth.
It doesn't taste good at all.
It gave me like an instant headache.

Posted by Kat at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Christmas!!
Need christmas gift ideas?
I am planning on getting at least two more canvases from Canvas on Demand.

I want to get one of the boys for Great Grammy, and one of the girls for sis.
I'd also like to get one for myself of the boys, or just redo the one of the boys and my nieces, for me to have.
I loved the way it turned out so much. It was so gorgeous, and I know my mom and dad love it, so Great Grammy would love it too.
I just need to save up more money, and then do like one a month for the next four months.

Posted by Kat at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Couey, the animal that murdered 9 year old Jessica Lunsford in 2005, gets the death penalty.

The only other sentence Couey could have received was life in prison. The Miami jury that convicted Couey of Lunsford's murder also recommended death by lethal injection, but under Florida law, judges make the final decision as to what the sentence should be.

Posted by Kat at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I don't have a baby, but I have a friend having one, and I am giving her one of the most gorgeous baby slings I've ever seen.
I don't have a baby, but I used big fat cat Nova to try out the sling, and Sebastian helped me by being my model.

The sling is in a print called Katherine, and it's absolutely gorgeous! The colors are so bright, the pattern is classy, yet fun.
The colors are raspberry, turquoise, and green, with just a touch of orange.
It's so pretty!
It's made of stretch twill, and has leg padding for your little one.
It's very lightweight, but also very sturdy.

I love it, and I know my friend Nicci who is getting it, is going to love it too.
Her baby is due in a couple of months, so I'm going to lint trap the kitty hair out of it, and place it back in the cute little storage bag it comes with, and give it to her.
She has 3 cats herself, so a stray hair won't bother her. I already told her I tried it out with a kitty, and she said, "No big deal, I have 3 cats, it'll be filled with kitty hairs in a week!"
Even though it's a gift, I had her help me pick out the color and size, because the mom has to measure her bust in order to make sure it's a good fit.
It's just such a nice sling, it almost made me want to have a baby just to use it. *laughs*

Posted by Kat at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This week.

That's how I woke up the teens at 5:45am this morning.
I was all happy and giddy, "It's the last day of school! Get up! Wake up!"
They were so confused, then I slipped in, "this week."
Hee hee.
They are totally greatful it's the last day though. The first week is a huge adjustment for them.
They made it though. Now they get to stay up late, play video games, and help me clean the house tomorrow.
Hey, if I'm paying all these subscription fees, they will be paying for them somehow.

My nieces may be coming over tomorrow to play for awhile, so we have to go through and remove all small objects etc.
I forgot how touchy little ones are, and we just leave pens and nail clippers, my earrings, laying around on tables and stuff.
Plus Susan has a thing for a really clean bathroom.
I wish the teens did.
But, that's why I make them clean it.
I don't pee standing up, it's not my pee on seat!

Posted by Kat at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It was total link bait.
Ashwin is a liar and a cheat.
His link has been removed from my blog, you should remove him from yours.
What a freaking scammer.
He doesn't even deserve a new link to his post where he declares the winner.
The winners blog was started the day before the contest ended, and has only two posts, no identity, nada.

You can get the lowdown here, at Contest Blogger.

You know, when you have a contest and offer a prize, you follow through with it or your reputation goes down the drain.
I had a small contest a few months ago, and had some serious issues with the mail.
I went crazy above and beyond, making sure my two winners got their prizes, because I promised those prizes.
I gave my word the winners would get them.
Even with all the trouble with the mail, both my winners got them.
As a matter of fact, because of all the mail issues, both winners received both of the prizes.

You don't hold a contest as link bait.
That's cruel, completely twisted, and evil.
Ashwin has closed off all comments on all of his posts.
He must know that every blogger who entered is onto what he did, or soon will be onto what he did, and he knows they would be leaving comments telling him what they think of his nasty link bait trick.

So find your entry to his blog contest, and delete his link and republish the post.
Take away all those links.
He used all of us to get his technorati under 10k, and get a ton of incoming links which would help his PR.
Seeing as Google has not done the PR update yet, we still have a shot at removing all those incoming links, which would be helping him get a decent page rank.
yank your links down now before the update.

If you hold a contest, follow through and declare a real winner.
Not one you made up the day before just to fuck over 567 bloggers.

Posted by Kat at 1:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I just learned of another cool add on for Firefox, IETab.

This is a great tool for web developers, since you can easily see how your web page displayed in IE with just one click and then switch back to Firefox.

It pretty much rocks.

Posted by Kat at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The Lil' Squirt sponge for baby boys, is a "cup" shaped sponge, to place over your baby boys penis when changing him, so you don't get pee'd on.

They retail for $9.99.
Seriously, someone is making bank on a pee catcher.
I used to place a folded up washcloth over it, and it did the same job, but someone goes and makes a cup shaped sponge, and is probably raking in millions.
Or not.
Read some of those reviews, like this one;

When I saw this product, I had to register for it! Especially after hearing all of the stories of little boys tee-teeing during diaper changes. I have tried to use this during diaper changes but my son squirms too much. It is a really good idea but it doesn't seem to work. When I got this at my shower it was a big hit, so if you are looking for a cute gag gift for anyone having a little boy, this is the perfect gift.

Tee-teeing? Never heard it called that before.
I've heard it called the fountain of golden showers, the fountain of youth, and the pee geyser.
Tee-teeing? *laugh*

Posted by Kat at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In order to go to Vegas, I need a new piece of luggage!
I have a small travel size suitcase, but for the amount of time, and the weather, I will definitely be needing something slightly larger.
I just have no idea if it's going to be super hot and I'll be needing shorts, or if it's actually cool there, and be needing pants and sweaters type weather.
Does it get cold in Vegas in November?
Does it get cold there at all?

Posted by Kat at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I saw this in the store the other day.
It's UF* Gators cereal. Frosted Flakes to be exact.
Personally, I think they should have gone with a capn' crunch type cereal.
Ya know, gators bite and all that.
It was just a weird thing to see, to me anyway.

* Ok, I was told by Colleen, that I was wrong. It's not the USF Gators, it's the UF Gators.
UF - University of Florida, Florida Gators - Gainesville - Orange and blue.

See, I hate sports, mostly I hate football, (I know! So un-American!) and I can't tell you who's who, what team they are on, none of that shit.
I think that's why this cereal struck me so odd.
I guess Florida loves the Gators or something, so they made a cereal. *shrug*

Are they going to kick me out of Florida now for not liking football or knowing who the Gators are?
I like hockey. I like to watch people slam into each other, but don't ask me rules or who's on what team etc, I don't really care or pay attention. I wait for fights to break out in hopes of blood.

Posted by Kat at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I went searching through some Wilmington NC real estate ads today.
I was just checking home prices, school zones, real estate values etc.
It's interesting to see the big differences in home prices in other states.
This neighborhood I live in, was very cheap when I first moved into this plex 9 years ago, but now the prices in the whole area have increased drastically.
New home prices are crazy outrageous, but the prices of both new and pre-loved home in NC, aren't bad at all compared to this part of Florida.
Not sure what they will be like when Mark is grown and on his own, but right now they aren't bad at all.

Posted by Kat at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It would have been awesome to have one of those portable water filters for my bottle I took with me today. I ran out of water while waiting on the first bus, so by the time I got to the docs office, I was dying of thirst.
The water from their fountain, tasted like crap, but I filled up my bottle anyway for the ride back.
I had to stop at the pharmacy, wait on my scripts, then walk home.
I bought a bottle of soda while waiting for my scripts to get filled, because that water was making me gag.
It tasted so bad. Blech!

Posted by Kat at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Aaaarrrggghhh!!!!

Ok.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
*inhales deeply*
*exhales deeply*

Apparently I was already sick on Tuesday at the time of the blood tests, because my white cell count was through the roof again.
I tried explaining to doc F., that every single blood test I've had in the last year and a half, has shown elevated white count, but he was all nope, you have an infection somewhere and we need to find it.
Ok. Fine. No problem.
But I am not having another tube shoved down my throat and up my ass again.
No more scopy anythings!!!

And my hormones are all outta whack, so now I get to go see a hormone specialist who does NOT take insurance.
YAY!
*grrr*
It's going to cost me $150 per office visit.
Guess I need to start working more eh?
That really kinda sucks because there are just some paid blogging gigs, I just will not do.

But anyway, my testosterone is extremely low.
My testosterone level is at 15. It should be between 30-50 for women.
This means I have to take a testosterone supplement of some kind. I guess the new doc will decide which way it's going to be delivered.
Either patch, pill, or monthly injection.
I'm really not looking forward to that, because my hair already grows like a mofo.
Can you imagine adding more testosterone to me?
I'll be having to shave my legs every hour instead of every day.
That's going to suck.

But he believes that because my levels are so low, I have an increase in pain.
He gave me a bunch of stuff to read where it does say that low testosterone levels can cause pain levels to increase, can cause extreme fatigue, and can also cause feelings of depression.
I tried explaining to him that yes, I am always tired, and yes, I have high pain levels, but I'm not depressed.
He asked; "Why then did you put off having these blood tests done?"

I said; "Because I'm tired of doctors. Put yourself in my place.
For the last 5 and a half years, I have seen 21 different neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons. I have had over 100 x-rays. I have had 15 MRIs. I have had so many blood tests, I lost count. I spent 18 days in the hospital for surgery, then spent 4 days in the hospital for my stomach, and they did a ton of blood tests, barium x-rays, a barium cat scan, and the endoscopy and colonoscopy.
I'm sick and tired of being in doctors offices and hospitals. Yes, I postponed the blood tests, you ordered 23 of them! They took 9 vials of blood! I'm sorry doc, but I'm sick of being poked, prodded, and having things done to me. When does it stop for me?!
That's not depression, that's fucking fed up! And now, I have another new doctor, who's going to take more blood, more urine, do more tests, and put me on some new meds to add to the shit ton of meds I'm already on, and he doesn't take fucking insurance!!"

He was all, "Kat, calm down. It's going to be ok. We just need to get to the bottom of what's going on with you, and your testosterone levels being so low, we are this much closer to figuring things out. Your high white cell count concerns me a lot. We need to know what's going on there. Do you think you might have a UTI?"

Me: "No. I don't think I have a UTI, unless I do and I'm not showing any symptoms. It doesn't burn when I pee, I am not having any pain in the bladder area etc. My white cell count has been high since surgery. But after the blood tests on Tuesday morning, I came home, feeling like I got hit by a truck, and am feeling sick. Maybe I was already sick on Tuesday morning and it was just starting or something. Please doc, no more tests today. Please?"
I was near tears.
I'm just so tired of testing.

I know, suck it up.
But I don't think many people who have not been through all that I've been through, can even possibly begin to understand how tiring it is always having something wrong with you, and no matter how many tests they do, they can't figure out what's wrong with you.
They know something is wrong, but they can't nail it down.
It just really sucks, and it's frustrating having so many tests and having to take so many medications. I have 7 different pill bottles here. I have to take all of those daily, and some of those, I have to take multiple times a day, and now, I get to add another one.

Posted by Kat at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Today is my doc appointment, the one I did all the blood tests for.
I am so sick, I don't want to go, but I have to. You don't postpone these appointments.
I'm so sick and out of it, and I have to ride the bus in the heat.
Hindsight being 20/20, I should have saved that money I spent Tuesday, but I had no idea I was going to get this sick.

I'm unable to reply to comments, but I did read them all during my multiple awake times last night.
I slept for like 15 minutes at a time, awake for an hour, grasping at sleep in the minutes they came.
I feel like death.

But at least I had good things to watch while I laid around.
I had seasons 1 and 2 of Weeds to watch.
That's a really great show.
Wish I had cable now so I could watch it all the time.
But I can wait for this new season, 3, to come out on dvd.
Ok, time to get ready to leave.
If I end up feeling better later, I'll try to get on and reply to stuff etc.

Later days.

Posted by Kat at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not feeling very well today.
It started last night. I just feel like shit, so I'm laying on the couch and/or bed.

Posted by Kat at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

9 vials of blood.
9.
My doc had ordered 23 different tests, and that required 9 vials.
They should have just had me donate a pint.
Christ.

So anyway, I ended up taking a cab from docs to the high school, because it was simply too hot out to wait for buses today.
I had been drained, and hadn't eaten anything, so I was all dizzy and crap.
Cabbing it was easier, so that was a$20 well spent.

I came home, ate, and then passed out till the teens came home around 2:30.
They had a good day at school, things are taken care of, all is right in our little part of the world again.

Posted by Kat at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

So yeah, day 2, attempt 2, at getting these damn labs out of the way.
It's the second day with nothing to eat or drink after midnight, but allowed just enough water to swallow this mornings meds down.
I love gagging on my pills.
I feel great let me tell ya. *eyeroll*
If my pills washed down on an empty stomach, wasn't already making me nauseous, then the low blood sugar will certainly do the trick.
Yee haw!
I'll be leaving in about 15 minutes, just have a few things to take care of before I leave.

The teens got up and dressed, and left, without a single problem this morning.
After I finish at the lab, I'll be heading to the school with all the paperwork, and to sign everything.
Ok, time to go finish getting ready, and getting all my other stuff ready to go.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

But instead, I'm sitting here feeling bad about stuff and I shouldn't be.
I also seriously need to look at new modern desks, and find something that can handle everything I have.
Right now, things are a huge mess again. I have file folders everywhere, I have papers that need to be filed, I have papers that need to be signed and filed, I have papers that need to be signed and mailed back.
But I can't do it because my table is a mess again, and my desk isn't really set up for paperwork stuff. It's strictly a computer desk with only 3 drawers on the left for stuff.
What I need is a corner desk, with at least 4 drawers on each side. I need shelving and cabinets above the desk. I need a place for the computer, and a pull out for actually doing paperwork.
I just have too much to do, don't want to do it, and no place to do it.

Posted by Kat at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I swear, there's a whole group of twisted little people out there, taking some heavy duty stuff, and in dire need of drug rehabilitation.
My life is mine, and what I do is my business.
I do not appreciate people going around posting as me, stating things in my name, to stir up trouble and net drama for I am guessing, fun.

Do not post as me.
Do not use my name in any of your games.
You have no rights to discuss anything I may or may not be doing.
Leave my name out of it.

Posted by Kat at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Mark's classes are all finally sorted out, I just have to bring all the documents to school tomorrow after my labs, and sign stuff. He's good to go now.
He also has no special supplies to buy.
yay!

Sebastian's first day was good, but he's tired.
He does have special stuff to buy.

A Spanish dictionary. (bought this last year for Mark, teacher kept it)
A 1gig flash drive. (bought one for Mark last year, teacher kept it)
Lots of paper, dividers, highlighters, etc.

This year, the flash drive will NOT be handed to the teacher for "safe keeping".
Sorry.
If I am spending my money on flash drives, I'll be getting them back.
It annoys me that these expensive items we have to buy, usually don't ever come home.
Last year, I had to buy Mark a headset with a mic for his French class.
The teacher kept them in her class for safe keeping, but allowed students who couldn't afford them, to use them.
It cost me $50.
At the end of the year, she tried to keep them. She didn't want to give them back.
Knowing I had another student who would need one this year, I asked for it back.
She said she needed it.
I said, "Well, they cost $50. You can either pay me the $50, or go buy one. I have another student who will be needing it."
She said she'd send it home with Mark.
She told Mark some other kid must have taken it by accident.
He found it in her closet, still in the bag with his name on the bag, and his name etched into the headset.
So he took it and brought it home.
I paid for that, etched his name in it myself, and she tried to keep it.
That will not be happening this year.

I know school teachers don't get paid a lot, and I know this city wasted millions on freaking statues for downtown, and a new bus depot, and all kinds of improvements to downtown.
They also rebuilt 2 elementary schools, and have been rebuilding the parking lot at the high school for 2 years now.
But this does not give teachers the right to hold on to our electronics for safe keeping, and then try to keep them.
I know they have no money, but I have no money either.
I can't keep buying these expensive electronics for school, to have a teacher try and keep them.
Hit up one of the rich parents.

And the reason I feel loopy is because I went for a walk, and it was super hot, and I haven't been able to cool down since. i feel a bit sick actually.

Posted by Kat at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

They finally sent him to class about 20 minutes ago.
They fixed his schedule, but haven't found his paperwork yet.
So tomorrow after I get done at the lab, I have to go to the school with everything so they can copy it all again, and I can sign everything again.

What a rough first day for both of us.

Posted by Kat at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So yeah, it's almost noon, and we still don't know anything.
The last person I spoke to in the guidance office a few minutes ago, said that they cannot locate any of the paperwork we signed on his orientation day, or the papers we signed during his summer school.
Maybe they need some new collaboration software.
That company offers a free 30 day trial, they could try it out, find my sons' missing documents, and get him in his classes.
They obviously need some help integrating their backend system, and making it easier for the guidance office and other staff, to use and locate a students school history.

They lost his paperwork.
I'm flabbergasted!
You have no idea how many things I had to sign over the course of the summer, to keep him in school.
Mark is an at risk student.
I'm not ashamed to say that.
He gave up and started failing. He had to do summer school and get placed in an at risk program.
We had it all worked out, all his classes, he passed his classes over the summer, he was feeling good about going back to school.
He was determined to buckle down this year, had a goal.
This is a kid that messing up this kind of stuff on, could cause a slight setback.
I don't want that. I don't want him feeling like he can't do it, I know he can, he just has to try harder.

If I have to go up there and sign stuff, I will, I just need to know if that's what they need.
I can bring all the documents with me, if they need to photocopy the custody agreement again, I can bring it.
If they need his SS card and birth certificate, I can bring that again too. I just need to know what they need to fix this.
The guidance lady said they have him sitting in the office right now filling out his classes that he signed up for. Again.
We did that during the summer.
This is so frustrating.
And I can't just go to lab and wait for them to call, because labs are downtown, I have no car, and the school is only about 5 blocks from my house.
If I leave to go to lab, it would take me a min of 2 hours to get back to this side of town by bus.
I keep calling them to ask if they need me up there, and they said they don't know yet.

Posted by Kat at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

You fucked up my whole damn day!
I was supposed to be at the lab this morning!

I'm on my way out the door at 7:30, and the phone rings.
It's Mark.
I've now been sitting here all morning, waiting to find out if my student is a student or not.
He calls me every so often to let me know he's still sitting there.

Seriously!
How the hell can you people fuck shit up so fucking bad?!
I had shit to do this morning you stupid, incompetent, ignorant, disorganized, complete fucking asshats!!!!

Posted by Kat at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I asked you nicely not to fuck up again after your completely disorganized orientations, but you did.

Mark is sitting, has been sitting, in the guidance office since 7:20am, waiting for you to figure out what happened with his schedule.
It appears the one you gave him during orientation is not correct, or probably not even his, even though it has his name, address, and other important information on it.

It's 9am, and he's still sitting, waiting for you fuck ups, to decide where he's supposed to go.
He showed up to his first class and was told to leave because he's not on their student list.
He went to guidance only to learn, he's not on any list.

Thank you so much for fucking up his first day of school, and not even having him listed as a student.
That's just fucking brilliant.
Good job RHS.
Great. fucking. job.

Posted by Kat at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Go here and vote for #13!
That's #13!!
I just need to stay in the top 5 and it does allow you to vote once a day. The voting ends at noon today, August 2oth, EST.

Pweeeease! *laughs*

Posted by Kat at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

was thisclose to needing some incontinence supplies, when I read that Anne Rice had become a Christian.

Yes, that Anne Rice.
She was one of my favorite authors. I loved all the vampire novels, Lestat and Louie, Armand and Akasha.
Some of my most beloved characters were penned by Rice, and now, now she writes books with titles like Christ the Lord, out of Egypt.
She's a born again, and while that is her choice, it leaves me kind of sad.

I know people go through changes in their lives, and it's not my place to judge or even question, but I can't help but wonder what brought about this change in her.
She wasn't a devil worshiper by any means, she was an atheist who wrote some fabulous books about vampires, and kept us awake at night turning page after page.

I guess this happened a little while ago, but I just now heard, and well, it just sucks.
Not much I can say, and nothing I can do, it just sucks is all.

Posted by Kat at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

School starts tomorrow.
Oh man, I'm so excited. *laughs*
It's been an incredibly long summer trying to keep 2 teenagers entertained I'll tell ya, but we all survived, and now it's back to class.

Backpacks are packed and ready, the alarm clocks are set, breakfasts are ready to be eaten.
It's time, and we're ready.
Ok, I'm more ready than they are, but it's go time and I couldn't be more excited about it.
Seriously, I've laid out the new clothes, organized their backpacks for them, got them set to go.
Oh I can't wait! *laughs*

Just thinking about coming home from the lab to a quiet house is giving me chills.
I think I may even celebrate when I get back. *laughs*

Posted by Kat at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

He and I had a long talk the other day about where he wants to go to live when he grows up.
He said he wants to see leaves turn red, and snow etc.
He was all, "I"m moving back to Maine mom."
I'm all dude, no way!
You don't have to go that far to see snow and leaves change color. Just look into some beaufort nc real estate, and you'll see changing seasons.
The Carolinas get changing seasons, they get fall, winter, spring and summer. They get some snow and cold in winter. But a house either in north or south Carolina, and stay close to mommy.
I may have guilted him a little bit, made sad faces and sniffles, so he'd want to stay as close to me as possible when he decides to move away.

Posted by Kat at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Go to Foul Mouth shirts, and help me pick out a new t-shirt to wear when I have to answer the door.

This is one of my faves, but I would actually like to pick up at least two new ones, so help me out!

Posted by Kat at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Mark's Big, George, just came to pick him up and take him and Sebastian out for lunch.
He brought a small cooler with him with something inside we're all going to eat later.
He said I should probably put it in the fridge.

So I opened up the cooler after they left, and this is what I found.

I'm still trying to digest the Chinese food and the cake I bought. I'm going to need to get some diet pills by the time this birthday is over. *laughs*

Posted by Kat at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Friday afternoon while I was chatting with sis on the phone, planning the time to meet for our dinner, my cell phone rang.
Not recognizing the number, I ignored it and kept on chatting.
They called again within a matter of minutes, so I made Mark answer it.
It was my pain management doctor calling about the labs I still haven't done.
Oops.
She said I absolutely, positively, had to do it Monday, because my appointment is Thursday.

So Monday morning when the boys leave for school, we'll all leave together, and I'll catch the bus to the lab, and get all the blood work done, and let them do the pulse oximeter tests, and urine, and hormone testing, and all that other stuff they have planned.
I've been avoiding it like the plague because truth be told, I'm sick of doctors, sick of tests, and damned tired of having them say that something might be wrong, let's do more tests.

There's no getting out it now.
I have to go get it done.
*sigh*

Posted by Kat at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been very bored today.
Not much of anything is going on anywhere.
Still.
I have a ton of emails to reply to, and then I think I'll burn a new disc for my mp3 player cd thingy, and just go lay down.

I love to just lay there in the dark and listen to music, relax, think, and day dream.
The teens are playing their new game, the cats are all snoozing in their fave spots.
It's just that kind of night around here.

Posted by Kat at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm so tempted to buy concert tickets for 2 upcoming shows.
On 9/14, we have Alice Cooper and Queensryche, and then on 10/6, Velvet Revolver and Alice in Chains.
I would love to go to both shows, but if I had to choose, I'd be all over Alice Cooper and Queensryche.
I mean come on! The Alice Cooper. Damn. It would be an amazing show.
Plus! It's also Heaven and Hell.
That's Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice.
That's freaking awesome!
Seriously, that's just an incredible line up for that show.
I'm probably just going to have to do it.
Maybe I can get Jerm to go with me. I know he loves that stuff too.

Posted by Kat at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is my hair. I love my hair.
It's waist lentgh, it's naturally thick and naturally curly.
That color isn't natural though, hasn't been since I was 16 and got tired of people calling me toe head.
Sure, most other women would have killed for naturally blond, almost white hair, but during my teen years, blond meant bimbo or dumb bunny.
I was neither, and being constantly called untrue names, well, I did the only thing I could do.
I died it brown.

But anyway, this isn't really about the color of my hair as it is about the products that you make.
See, when the second or third ingredient in your shampoo and conditioner is Cetyl Alcohol, YOU are responsible for drying out my hair.
Yes I'm talking to you Pantene, Nexxus, Aussie, Loreal and all you others, who claim your hair care line is the best.

See, with hair like mine, thick and curly, I've tried all of your brands, all of your products.
Every time you announce some brand new, break through line guaranteed to make our hair awesome, I'm the first woman in line buying up the whole line, only to find myself completely disappointed a week later, when my hair is dried out worse than it was before I started using your "awesome new stuff."

Why?
Cetyl Alcohol.
Alcohol is drying by it's very nature, yet you all use it within the top 5 ingredients of all your stuff.
You sort of make sure we have to keep buying new product every few weeks, and constantly switch up our regimen.
You are drying out our hair!
The only products that do not contain cetyl alcohol in any of their products, is Infusium.
Not a single drop.
And what's incredibly amusing about Infusium and your products is the price.
Infusium is no more than $5.00 at my grocery store for any part of their line.
Nexxus? That was $32.99.
I've had other women rant and rave about Nexxus and how awesome it was for their hair, they go through bottles and bottles of the stuff.
Cetyl alcohol is the 2nd ingredient listed in all of their shampoos and conditioners, and it costs 6 times as much as Infusium.
That's crazy.

But if you decide to invent a new line of amazing conditioner for thick curly hair, and not use a drying agent in your stuff, let me know. Shoot me some sample bottles, (not a 2 inch packet please) and let me and my head of hair tell you if it's worth that huge price tag you're slapping on the bottle.

Posted by Kat at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's so quiet on line today. Nobody is blogging, forums are dead. Did everybody die? Am I the last one alive?
Woo Hoo!
I can have the total run of the place!
I could go to the mall, and swing from the giant chandeliers they have hanging in the middle, I could splash around in the fountain downtown and steal all the money, I could drive any car I wanted to wherever I wanted.
You guys ever see Night of the Comet?
Those 2 chicks take over the mall and stuff?
Yeah, cheesy movie but it looked like fun anyway.

Posted by Kat at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

That's just a short version of a line from a movie, but it rings true.
I love AC. I have it set really low, so low, the teens are usually wrapped in a blanket.
But some of the meds I take increase my body temp, so I'm always hot.
I stepped outside to go to dinner this evening, and it was so humid and hot, I was so glad sis' auto air conditioning was working perfectly.
I got in, buckled up, and turned the little vents right on my face. Then set my side of her minivan AC unit, to like 69. She keeps the whole car at like 72, but lets me switch mine because she knows how hot I get.

Oh my gawd! This one time, I went on a date with this guy who came and picked me up. He had a really nice mustang, black, really pretty.
Anyway, as we're pulling out of my driveway, he tells me the AC doesn't work.
I'm thinking wtf, but I just smiled and said that's ok.
I didn't want to be rude ya know?
So anyway, no AC on a date, going all the way to freaking Tampa for a party, at the beginning of summer.
By the time we arrived, I was a mess.
I practically ran into the house, and begged for a drink, and asked if they had a fan.
I was dying!
I could barely breathe, my hair was a wreck, my make-up had run, and I was just sweating to death.
The woman having the party was like what the hell happened? Did he attack you or something? Kat! You look awful, calm down, take deep breaths!
Another one of our female friends came into the bathroom the girl brought me into with a huge fan in it, and this massive AC vent in the floor.
They were both worried he had attacked me before bringing me to the party.
I told them my "date" drove us from Sarasota to Tampa with no AC. Even with the windows down and going like 90 all the way there, it's nothing but hot ass fucking steam blowing on you.

This is Florida! You cannot go without AC in your cars here!
I mean you can, if you're a fucking sadist!
But for gods sake people, get your damn AC fixed if you're going on a first fucking date and driving for an hour!

Needless to say, that was our first and only date.

Posted by Kat at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I just noticed my office chair has several kitty scratchings in it from Shahiro.
She's the only 1 of the 3 cats who is not declawed, and no matter how many scratching posts I give her, she seems to enjoy my chair the best.
Now I have to go office furniture shopping to replace my chair.
Ugh.
This is a high back, leather chair. So damn comfy too. I love this chair!
I'm going to keep an eye on her, try to keep her away from it, and maybe find a way to keep her off of it when I'm not sitting in it.
Maybe some double sided tape or some cat "NO" spray. That stuff worked for Kali when she went through a phase where she liked chewing on electrical cords, maybe it will help Shahiro to stop scratching my chair.

Posted by Kat at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Joana, I call it Ninese food because my 2 and a half year old niece, and my 4 year old niece, can't say Chinese food. *laughs*

Me: Susan! Where are we going to eat for Mark's birthday?
Susan: Ninese food Aunty Kat! I love Ninese food!
It's just silly kid speak, and it's so cute to hear them say it is all.

We had an awesome buffet dinner at the Oriental Buffet. There is a reason they have won best restaurant in Sarasota for the last 10 years. Not just for oriental cuisine, they win in overall best.
The food is incredible, the prices are extremely reasonable, and the staff treats you exceptionally well. It's always clean, and the food is so hot and fresh, oh my god yum, I should have gotten a box to go. *laughs*

So dinner was great, then we went to Best Buy so Mark could pick up that Phantasy Star Universe game that they have been playing the demo of for the last 2 weeks.
And now, I'm paying another subscription fee for a game.
*sigh*
They need jobs to pay for all this stuff they have.

But now we're home and I'm chillin' out relaxing. I wrecked up my shoulder again.
See, I'm still on a lift restriction of nothing more than 5lbs, I have been having pain in my shoulder for a few weeks again, and I picked up my nieces again.
I can't help it.
They're too cute and always wanting me to pick them up.
I know I shouldn't, but I can't help myself.
I need to get cracking on my emails and I have some work to do now.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I love watching shows like Maury Povich when he does the whole who's my baby's daddy thing. Some of them are just downright comical. The young girls end up with sometimes, up to 8 different guys, all needing a DNA test to determine if he's the father.
We just watched one where this young black girl had 9 guys tested, and not a single one of them was the father.
Now I know that most of these shows are fake and the people are just actors, but when Maury first started doing them, they were real people.
The style of these episodes became so popular, he just ended up creating more stories to keep people watching the show.
Fake or true, they are a blast to watch.

Posted by Kat at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tonight the teens, sis, and the girls and I, are all going out for Chinese food to celebrate Mark's birthday.
He's feeling 100% today, so it's time to go out and do this right.

Not much else is happening today though.
It's been a very quiet day so far.
I don't have a lot to say right now so.
Later days!

Posted by Kat at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Halloween is coming soon and it's getting near time to start thinking up some creative costume ideas.
At one of last years parties, I saw many, many girls wearing sexy lingerie costumes like pirates, naughty school girls, and other fun ideas, walking around Ybor and at a bunch of home parties.
One of my friends Kelle, was the hottest girl pirate evar.
She had the sexiest costume I had ever seen, without it revealing too much of her.
It helps that she has the most amazing rack too.
If I had her boobs, I'd be all over low cut pirate or wench blouses, with a waist cincher too.
It was hot.
See?

I have no idea what I'm going as yet. I usually get a wicked brainstorm idea about a week before Halloween, then run around putting it all together.
Have you thought of yours yet?

Posted by Kat at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Mark was feeling better, so I made him the home made hot wings I was supposed to cook for his birthday last night.

All I do is dump the wings on a cookie sheet, sprinkle them with a ton of cayenne pepper, and dump a whole bottle of hot sauce on them.
I bake them for about 45 minutes till done.
He ate the whole cookie sheet himself, (about 30 wings) except for those last 4.

Last night when Sebastian and I walked up to 7-11, this is what we saw upon entering the parking lot.

Four police cars. I thought the place might be getting robbed or something, but no, they were all (8 officers in total) just standing around inside drinking slurpies and coffee.

Do you think it's time for a haircut yet?

Posted by Kat at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

While I was taking a shower this afternoon, I was doing some more thinking on the whole "fix me" thing I talked about earlier.
I want to fix me for me, not to please others.
I've learned over the years that you cannot, and never will, be able to please everyone.

You're going along nicely in your life, and you meet someone who likes you, but thinks you could be a bit better if you changed this one flaw about yourself.
You want to be loved and liked, so you get fast to work on changing that perceived flaw.
It worked, they love you now.

Then some day later in your life, you meet a new person who likes you, yet feels you could be a bit better if you change this other flaw.
Well, you want to be loved and liked by them too, so you get fast to work fixing that flaw.
It worked, they too love you now.

This cycle happens throughout your entire life, people come and go, all offering their wisdom and advice on how you could be so much better, if you change all these little flaws you never noticed before.

Then one day you wake up and look in the mirror, and there's this stranger staring back at you.
You don't recognize your own refection anymore.
You've become bits and pieces of all the different things people asked you to change for them.
You didn't change because you wanted to, you changed because they said you'd be better, and more loved and liked.
You wanted so much to have their approval and love, you changed who you were, what made you, you.

I've done that. I'm not some young thing who thinks I know everything, but I know enough about myself, and how I've changed myself over the years for other people, and along the way, I lost who I really was.
So I've been evaluating myself, and who I am, finding me again.
I realized that if I spend all kinds of time changing to make others happy, I'm not happy.
People will always have advice, and tell you how to make them happy, but they never stop and ask you what makes you happy.
They want you to fit in this cute little package of what they think would make you a better person, but never stop to see the amazing and unique person you already are.

So every morning, I'm getting up and looking in the mirror and seeing all the ways I've changed myself to be liked and loved, and accepted by others, when I should have just been myself and asked them to try to see me as I am. And if they couldn't, then maybe they were the wrong kind of people for me to be around.

I don't want to change others, I don't want to change others perceptions of me, I want them to see past those first glances, and see me as I am, if they want to.
I can only do that if I get back to who I am.
I won't always be liked or loved, I won't always be accepted, but I shouldn't have to change for others.
I'm slowly finding my way back to myself, and people are pushing against me, not wanting those changes to happen.
And that's ok.

Posted by Kat at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I have been listening to some life coach cds lately, and also reading a few books on the subject.
I have been on a 'fix my life' kick, so I am looking to find ways to get myself, and my life back on track.
The cds are from Clay Nelson, a business and life coach, who has spent years developing and mastering techniques to help people and businesses, make better choices, be more productive, and find their purpose.

I need to find my purpose, and create my purpose statement in my life.
I don't really have one.
One of the tag lines of this blog which has generally described my life for many years is, trying to stay alive and do the best I can.
What the hell kind of purpose statement is that?
In order to find my purpose, I need to ask myself two questions.
They are;
What am I present to?
What am I missing?

Hrm.
I am present to my family. My sons are what keep me going most days.
They are the reason I do many of the things I do.
I work as much, and as hard as I can, to provide for them, make sure they are taken care of and have what they need.

What am I missing?
Ha! A lot of stuff, but I know that's not really what Clay means.
Or maybe he does.
Hrm.
I am missing my mobility, my ability to earn a decent income, which would make my life and my sons' lives so much easier.
I am missing someone to share life experiences with.
I know that having someone to share my life with is dependent on being 'ok' with who I am first, and I know I'm not.

Clay talks about looking in the mirror, and not just looking at our features, but at 'ourselves'.
There are days I cannot stand looking at myself, and it has nothing at all to do with how I physically look.
There are things about the way I speak, which others find troublesome.
I am often accused of being cold hearted, mean, and bitchy.
I am not though. It's an incredible assumption about me that has always been said about me, but is so terribly wrong.

I speak to people in a very direct and blunt manner.
I do not sugar coat anything for anyone, and it's so often mistaken as being a bitch.
Maybe I need to learn how to smile while speaking, maybe then, when I'm being incredibly honest, they'll think I'm being nice instead of a bitch.
I wonder if there's a cd on how to speak to people so they think being direct isn't being bitchy.
So perhaps their perception, their view, would be made to come across to feel better for them.
I'll have to look for one.

The second cd in the series was about fear, and not only how fear holds us back, but how it can also be a great motivator.
I've listened to it twice now, and will probably listen to it again and again.
It's clicking and making so much sense for me.

The cds are helping me to open my eyes, to really take a look at who I am, what I want, where I'm going, and where I am.
If you'd be interested in learning more about Clay, his cds, or his radio program, you can check out his site, Business and Life Coaching.
I'll be off listening to his cds again. The fear one, really is making so much sense, it's kinda scary.

Posted by Kat at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I've been up for hours, even after staying awake till a little after 5am, and still have nothing much at all to say.

Mark woke up last night around midnight, stayed awake for about 40 minutes, and went back to bed.
He's still sleeping.
Hopefully, he's sleeping off whatever it is that's got him down for the count.

Possibly this evening, sis and the girls are coming by to go to the traditional boys birthday Chinese buffet dinner.
We do it every year on each of their birthdays.
We started doing this when the boys and I first moved here in 1997, we'd take them out to eat wherever they wanted to go on their special day.
Every year, they have chosen the Chinese buffet.
There are a ton of restaurants here, yet they love that one place.
It's ok with sis and I, we love it too.
What's great is, even with all the various food allergies the girls have, there are so many choices there, that the girls can eat too.
The girls love "Ninese" food. *laughs*

Off to find things to do to occupy myself while my brain works out other things to say.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally there is an Alexa toolbar for Firefox.
For the longest time, the toolbar was only available for IE, but there is finally an extension for FF.
Alexa measures the traffic of sites on the net, and then ranks them according to the amount of traffic they receive.

With it only having been available for IE, not many people were using it to help gauge a sites traffic.
I now have it installed on my browser, so my site and all the blogs and sites I visit every day, are being counted by Alexa.

I have so many tools on my bottom toolbar to measure stats, it's starting to get a bit crowded.
But with blog stats being important to monetizing your blog, keeping track of your rankings helps you be able to better monetize and market your blog.

So what's down there on my toolbar?
Well the new Alexa bar, Search Status for counting Alexa traffic and other useful tools, the Compete Profile extension, and the Technorati extension.
All of them are useful little gadgets located in the bottom bar, that help me see the traffic and ranking of various sites.

And then I just have little things that help make my browsing easier like Fasterfox, which shows you how fast a site loads and allows you to tweak many network and rendering settings such as simultaneous connections, pipelining, cache, DNS cache, and initial paint delay, and also the Gmail extension, which tells me when I have new emails.
But this post is really about the Alexa toolbar. *hint get it hint*

Posted by Kat at 1:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I often wonder why Mark.
Why is he the one who gets sick so much?
On returning home from the store, Mark said he wasn't feeling well.
His face was pale, his eyes glazed over, and he was slightly warm.
He went and laid down, and he's still sleeping at almost 9pm.

Is this my fault for all the trouble I had during my pregnancy with him?
I had gone into early labor with him 3 times, and each time had to be stopped because he was too small, not developed enough.
I was doing everything I was supposed to, not smoking, not drinking, and I was eating right, and still, I had problems.

At one of the early labor times, I was given a choice between being helicoptered to Boston Children's Hospital, or all the way to Central Maine Medical Center.
They were the only two hospitals equipped to deal with a preemie his size at just 6 months along.
I chose to stay in state instead of the six hour drive to Boston.
Little did I know, it was six hours to CMMC as well.
I was scared, confused, just wanted him to be ok.
It was so frightening.
Was it my fault?
What had I been doing wrong?

The doctors kept assuring me that it wasn't my fault, that sometimes this happened.
Every time I had been rushed to an ER for early labor, I would be bombarded with my past health history.
What do I have, what did my parents have?
I knew what was wrong with me, but I was adopted, I knew nothing of my bio-parents health history.
Was this their fault?
What had they passed onto me that was causing my baby to have so many problems?
I would lay in the hospital beds with monitors attached, bags of medicine dripping down into my veins to stop the labor, and cry.

In the beginning of August 1991, I had early labor again, they said if he came now, he'd be ok, I had made it the 9 months.
Then it stopped on it's own.
Then on August 13th, the labor started again, and off to the docs I went.
But I wasn't dilating at all, so they sent me home.
Two days of off and on labor pains, slowly leaking water, mild contractions.
The real labor didn't start until late afternoon of the 14th.
When he finally arrived on the morning of the 15th, I was so relieved when they said he was healthy, he passed the Apgar perfectly.
But just 9 months later, he got really sick.

I almost lost him to pneumonia.
He had a little baby cold, he was put on amoxicillin which it turns out, he's deathly allergic to.
The medicine caused him to get sicker, he caught pneumonia and had to be rushed to the hospital where he had such a high fever and he was barely breathing.
I was so terrified I had to leave the room.
I couldn't stand looking at my tiny little guy with catheter tubes and wires, heart rate monitors, and an oxygen mask covering his whole face.
I could barely breathe looking at him.
A room full of nurses and doctors all racing around, all doing different things to his small body.
All their faces looked tense and worry filled, so concentrated on their tasks.
It was some serious business in that room, and I couldn't watch it.
I couldn't do anything for him, helpless.

I was so upset and scared, my mom who had raced us to the ER, sat me down in a chair in the hallway and told me to breathe, and she went in the room. She stayed with him.
I don't know how she did it. I don't know how she could be so strong.
My baby boy was on this huge table with no less than 10 medical personnel doing all sorts of things to him, and saying huge words that scared the life out of me, and my mom held it together, not a single tear fell from her eyes, and here I was, bawling like a baby who lost their blanket.

It's so easy to tell when Mark is sick, his face always shows the same as it did when he was that 9 month old tiny baby.
His face turns pale, his eyes gloss over, he gets so tired.
I should have seen it this morning while he was laying on the couch listening to my mom and dad sing happy birthday to him.
He had that glossy look in his eyes.
I asked if he wanted to go to the store with us, at first he said no, he was tired, then he slowly got dressed to go.
I should have known he wasn't feeling well, I've seen that look so many times.
It just sucks that he's sick on his birthday.

We'll save his cake and other things for tomorrow when I hope he's feeling better.
For now he can sleep and get a lot of rest.
It's just a cake.

Posted by Kat at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here's an update to the whoopie pie/cakester entry.

I found them in the cookie aisle while shopping today, so of course I bought them.
$2.99 for 6 packages, with 2 cakesters in each.

They are no bigger than a regular Oreo cookie.

First bite, very dry. I mean, very dry. The cake stuff was sticking to the roof of my mouth.
The taste? Like an Oreo cookie exactly.
It's the same exact flavors, only in cake form.
But the dryness of them makes it kinda hard to enjoy them.

Oreo cakesters - 0
Whoopie pies - 3
Whoopie pies still rules.
They have a better name, flavor, and not as dry.

Posted by Kat at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I get back from shopping, and I'm sitting here chillin' out watching Rachel Ray while I relax, and they have like this beauty makeover stuff going on.
Myths and stuff like mayo in your hair.
Then they do this segment on some much older woman who always wanted long hair.
This lady.

So Rachel helps get her some extensions to give her long hair.
They do it, put her in this below the knee, grey and black tiger print dress, do her makeup, and give her hoop earrings.
They made her look like an old hooker.
Doesn't she?

Seriously, this is awful.
Awful!

It's just terrible.
She's a mature woman, she looked better with the short hair.
Now she looks like a hooker who's been out there on the street for 50 years, with a few STDs.
Nasty!

Posted by Kat at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Bucky, over at the WVb, that's short for West Virginia Blogger, gave me the nifty daily blogger award you see below.

These bloggers get up every morning, get their creative juices flowing, and start unscrambling the alphabet into words, sentences, and phrases. Rain or shine, just like the postal service, they are hard at work delivering their messages to you.

I need to get up my get up and go, and take a shower, and then head to the grocery store.
There are canned food supplies to grab, and a certain teenage boys birthday cake that he said he didn't want, to pick up.
Too bad, he's getting a cake.
The mother will be humored dammit.

My mom and dad called this morning to do the traditional singing of happy birthday. It always makes the teens smile.
No matter how old the get, that phone call instantly puts a huge smile on their faces.

I hear there's a new update for MT. MT 4.0 or something. It's going to have to wait.
I can never install that stuff correctly, and I just don't have the money to have someone upgrade me right now.
Back to school special lists come home on Monday, so money will be going towards those items, not upgrading my install.
It can wait.
There's also some php thingy I need to read up on, on my hosting company. They are ending support for something, so I need to read that, then have someone translate it into non geek speak, and then figure out what I'm supposed to do.
I'll probably just contact support and ask them to explain it in non-geek, and tell me what to do.
ICDsoft is good about that kind of stuff.

Ok, time to get in gear.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

At 2:43 in the morning, after close to 2 days in off and on labor, and a very difficult pregnancy,
my first born came into the world.
I knew nothing at all about being a mother, I had no idea what I was doing, he was so damn small.
And needy.
He needed me to do everything for him, and what a frightening realization that is to a young 21 year old girl.
Here I was, supposed to take care of his every need.
I fretted over everything.
He would sneeze or hiccup, and oh, I thought the world was crashing down.
I think I called my mother every single day, at least 6 times a day, to ask her what color good poops are supposed to be, or call crying because his umbilical cord fell off while I changed his diaper, and "Oh my gosh mom! Did I hurt him?!"

I slowly got better at it, started learning the mom ropes, and even discovered my owns ways to raise and potty train a boy.

I was a girl, what did I know of peeing with a penis?
I threw Cheerios in the toilet and told him to "Aim, sink the alien spaceships so the aliens don't get us! Aim boy! Aiiim! Shoot them! Shooot them!"

Together we both learned that it was ok to play with laundry baskets and race them around the house.
He taught me that it was ok to play with him, that he wouldn't break like some china doll.

I should have paid attention to all the early warning signs that he was going to be a connoisseur of all things edible, and started learning how to cook for an army.

I don't know who cried more that first day of kindergarten, me or him.
He was fine till he got on the bus, then all hell broke loose, and the tears fell from both our eyes.

And now here we are, 16 years later, arguing over how late he sleeps in, and to please take out the trash. He's learning to drive, and has just 2 more years left of high school.
The time went far too quickly, and I know, all mothers say that, but it's the truth.
The last 16 years have blown by so fast, I wish I hadn't blinked as much as I did.
I know I missed some things in there.
I had to have missed some, he grew up so big and so strong, smart, sarcastic, and with a wicked sense of humor.
Somewhere along the way, I had to have missed seeing some great thing he did or said, and I can't get it back.

This young man is taller than me, at times smarter than me, (shh, don't tell him I said that) and just an incredibly awesome young man.
Time still goes by too fast, and I'm keeping my eyes wide open for the rest of time.
I don't want to miss out on a single second of his life.
I know he's going to do great things someday, and I want to see them happen.
I want to be sitting in a chair in some audience, applauding the loudest, crying the hardest, and beaming with all the pride a mother could have.
He's my son, my friend, and one of my biggest supporters.
I want to be his mom, his friend, and his biggest fan too.
I already am all those things, but I want him to know he can do it all, have it all, and I'll be there for him no matter how many times I have to ask him to turn it down, mow the lawn, clean his room, I'll still be the person clapping the loudest at every one of his life's achievements.

Posted by Kat at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

This is seriously, probably the catchiest, get stuck in your head song ever.
I love me some spinning Pete Burns!

If I, I get to know your name
Well if I, could trace your private number, baby
All I know is that to me
You look like you're lots of fun
Open up your loving arms
I want some,want some

I set my sights on you (and no one else will do)

And I, I've got to have my way now, baby
All I know is that to me
You look like you're having fun
Open up your loving arms
Watch,out here I come

You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round round round

You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round round round

I got to be your friend now, baby
And I would like to move in a little bit closer

All I know is that to me
You look like you're lots of fun
Open up your loving arms
Watch out, here I come

Posted by Kat at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Shahiro is our kitten, she's not exactly a kitten, she'll be 2 years old in November, but she's still this tiny little thing.
Anyway, she needs a playhouse or cat house as I think they are called. I found some really nice ones on a site that sells pet supplies.
The prices aren't bad at all, and they have a lot of cool designs, shapes, heights, and different materials they are made from.

Shahiro runs all over the house. Up and down and over, every single piece of furniture. She likes to hide under the tables, and then attack whoever, or whatever cat or person walks by.
Unsuspectingly.
Ouch!
She would love a cat house!
I think Nova and Kali would love it too. Nova likes to hide under blankets and in boxes all the time.

And looking over the rest of that site, they have a ton of other very cool, very nice products for dogs, cats and other pets.
You should definitely check out the internet pet emporium if you're in need of a cat house, dog house, or other pet need.
When I get some extra money, maybe for Christmas, I'll get the kitties a cat house to play in.
Maybe then Shahiro will stop hiding under the tables and making my toes bleed as I walk by.

Posted by Kat at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

They can call it an Oreo cakester all they want, but it is a whoopie pie and we all know it.

See that above? That's a whoopie pie.
They've been sold for years.
They've been home made for years.
It's not a cakester, it's a whoopie pie.
My Nana would be kicking Nabisco's ass with her cane right now, for calling it that gay cakester name.

Cakester.
Cake-ster.
Gay!
Now say this, whoopie pie.
Whoop-ie pie!
Whoopie!!!
See? Whoopie pie is a lot more fun to say, AND! it's the products real and rightful name.
The name cakester sucks.
SUCKS!!

Posted by Kat at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I have had a migraine the entire day, and I do mean the entire day.
Today was rotten pretty much from the get up and go point.
I woke up feeling sick, my entire body was in agony due to a t-storm we had early this evening, and people were generally just complete asshats all damn day long.

I'm still very upset at how an entire group of people were treated today.
Yes, we are independent contractors, we know damn well how expendable we are, but it would be nice if when speaking to us in the future, we could be spoken to with a little more respect.
If someone, or a small group of people, are doing things you don't like, address them, do not lump all of us in the same category, and accuse all of us of doing this thing you do not like.
I also do not like being lied to.
Honesty holds a big piece of the earned respect with me, so if you lie to me repeatedly, it chips away at how much respect I'm going to give you back.
And oh how I do love how it's thought that money can fix how we feel.
Just so you know, it can't.

But back to my migraine.
It's been with me all day, every noise has made it worse, every irritating problem has made it worse, and all I really wanted to do was lay down the whole day, and try to end how bad my head was hurting.
I'll be going to bed soon and hopefully it will be gone by morning so I can get back to taking care of the things that are really important to me.
But first, I need to at least attempt to catch up with all my reads.
The entire day was wasted dealing with bullshit and lies, and it shouldn't have ever gotten to that point to begin with.

Posted by Kat at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The teens and I ventured out one day, to do some shopping, and on our way home, we got to talking about our littlest kitty, Shahrio, and how she needs to be fixed.
Sebastian doesn't think it's humane to strip her of her girly bits, so Mark started talking about inventions for cats, and for other people who might find it (spaying and neutering) cruel as well.

Now, you have to understand my teens are creative, witty, and slightly twisted.
They get this from me.
Sorry about that.

Mark came up with a brilliant idea in a matter of seconds.
"Kinda like the roomba" he says, "only for cats in heat."

The little cat robot would be on it's little charger stand and waiting to sense when your female cat has gone into heat.
Once it detects the meows from your precious furball in heat, it's robot eyes open and scan for the tell tale signs of the cat doing the belly shuffle across the floor with it's butt up in the air.
Then the cat robot would remove itself from it's charging base, and proceed to caterwaul to the female cat, seducing your fur baby.
The female cat will want it so badly, she won't care that it's a robot, heck, she's tried to have all your other pets, your shoes and the table leg, "help her out", why not a cat robot?

The cat robot is equipped with the anatomically correct size male cat parts, and proceeds to mount your darling cat.
It does it's thing, your female cat thinks it's been properly pleased, and goes out of heat.
The cat robot then goes back to it's charging base, and goes into hibernate mode until it detects the next heat cycle.

Now, while I laughed myself silly at this on our way home, it got me thinking, this could be useful to people who are truly against modifying their pets natural state.
Not only would people who find spaying and neutering cruel, possibly find it useful, but it would also prevent the accidental litters of kittens that no one wants, and the entire reason we spay and neuter in the first place.

We call it the Auto-kitty Roomba.

For the record, Shahiro has been fixed since the time that this conversation and idea actually took place.

Posted by Kat at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It's definitely a Monday alright.
No doubt about it.

Posted by Kat at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's just tomato soup with crackers.
Ok, a lot of crackers, but an old friend used to call it blood n' band-aids in a bowl, every time they would see me eat it.
Just made me have a funny memory this morning, so I thought I'd show you my breakfast.
Blood n' band-aids in a bowl.

I woke up feeling completely nauseous this morning, so I'm trying to fight it off by eating.
I usually don't eat breakfast. I barely ever eat lunch.
I just never feel like eating when I wake up, so I don't bother.
Then by the time I realize I haven't eaten all day, it's dinner time.

I should be skinnier eating like this don't ya think?
Nope, stomach still all puffy and weird looking.
That shit better go away eventually.
I hate the puffy double stitched puffy thing they created on my body.
Bastards.

Yes, rambling now.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I have to go to the store in a few minutes, just poking in to say I'm here and I'll get to all your emails and stuff in a bit.

I'm in kind of a funky mood right now. It hit me about an hour ago.
I have a lot on my mind, I don't like feeling like I'm being pressured to answer things and stuff.
I feel pressured.
Press-sured.

My mind is like drawing blanks, but not.
Like I could totally go off and blog a 2,000 word entry, easily.
I have a lot to say but don't want to say it.
Funked.

Posted by Kat at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My niece Susan is 4 years old now.
She's come such a long way since she first came into all of our lives as a foster baby.

She's growing up so fast, is so super smart too!
She's funny and witty, I love her wicked sense of humor.
Today sis and Susan came over to pick up her birthday present, and then head on home for a nap and then her party.
They are going pony riding, and playing in the pool, cake and ice cream too.
The boys and I got her a cute little tea set, because she loves to play like she's cooking and having people "over for dinner and tea."

She was thanking the boys in this pic, and then she hugged us and had to go.
She's such a cutie.

Posted by Kat at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

One of the other things we bought while out shopping on Friday, was some of that new Suave 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner for men.
They requested it.
None of the shampoos or conditioners currently in our bathroom have perfume scents, or fruity scents, I have scent allergies, practically everything I buy comes unscented.
But they wanted it.
I obliged.

Later on at home, I asked the teens as we were putting our purchases away, why they wanted that shampoo when we already have 2 in 1 shampoo that they picked out the last time.
They had me buy some Pert Plus like 2 weeks ago.

They said, "Because it smells manly mom. We want to smell good."

"So why didn't you just ask me to get you some cologne or something?" I asked.

"Because most colognes smell nasty mom. You start sweating, it ends up smelling funky. Like sweaty cheese. This is shampoo, it gets you clean, so it is clean, and it adds a manly smell" Mark said.

"Oh. My bad" I said.

They might smell a whole lot better if they would stop farting all the time.

Posted by Kat at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I had been washing dishes about an hour ago, and when I finished, I went to help Mark put away his new school clothes.
I have long natural nails, and I'm not wearing any polish on them right now.*

I was ripping open a package of t-shirts, and my left ring finger fingernail, bent backwards.
All the way.
Fucking ouch god dammit! @!##%$@!!$%#@!!!
My hands were dry, but you know how soft fingernails get after being in water for any lentgh of time.
They just get all bendy.
It freaking hurt man.
It still hurts.
Amazingly though, the nail didn't break or split where it bent.
There's no splitting at all.
See? I still have my nail!

*I plan on doing my nails tomorrow. I got a new kit of Nubar nail polish in the mail yesterday, and I can't wait to try it out.

Posted by Kat at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's difficult living life outside the flock.
A lot of people think being an atheist means I'm a heathen, that I live with no rules, I surely must lie, cheat and steal, ruin marriages because I have no respect for relationships, can't possibly be a good person because I don't have a higher power guiding my every move, and making me be a better person.

One of the things that always comes up in the beginning of a new friendship or relationship, is what my view is on religion.
It always comes up, somehow, someway, it always does.
Over the years I've learned to just get it out of the way, just have the talk and be done with it.
I don't like wasting my time or any one else's time, and they don't appreciate their time being wasted either.
I'm talking about time being wasted in the way that it does when this new relationship is starting out.
Two people meet, start talking, sharing stories, laughs, doing things and going places.
Days and weeks go by, and then the inevitable happens.
The religious discussion.
I don't know why it always eventually comes up, but I've never been wrong about the talk happening sooner or later, so I just get it done and over with these days.
Save both of us the time that could have been spent finding someone like ourselves.
Opposites do attract, but rarely on this issue.

While getting it out of the way does save both parties some time, it's usually quite a shock to the other person, that I am not a believer.
I usually get the 'wow' reply, followed by something along the lines of what their beliefs entail.
Sometimes, the other person can get past my lack of belief and still be able to have a long lasting, worthwhile relationship.
But usually, that doesn't happen.

I don't have the talk to offend people, I do it to spare us both the uncomfortable and awkward feelings that come up when it's finally discussed.
The pain of having to end said relationship, because we just cannot mesh after learning about where I stand.
Most people are probably thinking I'm full of crap right now, that this can't possibly be true, that no one would end a friendship or relationship over this, but it always happens.
I've lost countless friends, have had budding romances end abruptly because as much as he digs me, his family would never be accepting of someone who doesn't believe.
Which is partly true, but the real truth is, that he can't see himself with someone who doesn't share the same belief system as he does, and he would be embarrassed to have to explain to his family why his new girlfriend won't be joining them at church this Sunday or any Sunday.
Ever.

I've had the talk with someone recently, just laid it all out there, because it's pointless to go any farther with this friendship if it eventually is going to come crashing down.
I got the 'wow'.
The wow will probably be followed up with some kind of talk, and possibly even be able to talk for a few more days to a few more weeks.
They will try to figure out if there's some way I can be changed, some way they can look past the huge road block of not having this in common, and eventually the communication will just fade away.

I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't bother me that it ends, because it does bother me, but I cannot be changed on this.
I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't hurt me, because it does hurt me.
But it cannot be changed, and so it really is best to just have the talk, let it play out like it always does, and then close the door.

It would be so much easier to just believe like so many millions of people do, but I can't.
It'd even be so much easier to lie about it and just say yes, I believe too, but I can't.
So while all of this saddens me, and causes the both of us to lose out on possibly some great shared experiences, and the possibility of having a great friendship or relationship, it is what it is and I accept it.
I'm used to it.
Being used to it doesn't mean I like it, because I don't, but I accept it and move on.

Posted by Kat at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Th teens asked for chicken flavored pasta for dinner.
That's it.
They just want pasta.
Okey dokey boys, pasta it is!

I think they want easy food because they are so wrapped up in this new game called Phantasy Star Universe on the Xbox360, and don't want to have to stop playing to cut any meat or use anything more than one utensil to eat.
Cuz ya know, having to stop playing and cut food or pay attention to what you eat is so not cool mom. *eyeroll*
I really don't care, it's Saturday, we're all being lazy and just goofing off a bit, so I'll make the pasta, they can inhale it without chewing, and stay focused on game play.
They go back to school in a week, so one last carefree, stay up late, play as many games as you can until your eyes are blurry, and your fingers get calloused, is ok with me.
When school starts, it's absolutely no game play until all homework and chores are done, they know the rules and are good about it.

Posted by Kat at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Once again, I didn't make it to the end of the incredibly shiteous movie that is Battlefield Earth.
It is actually still playing on the CW, goes off at 2:30, but I just couldn't take another minute of it.

I've never made it through the whole movie.
Has anyone ever made it through the whole movie?
I've tried multiple times now, every time it's on, I give it a go, I think I even rented it once.
But nope, I can never, ever make it to the end.
Does it end?
How does it end?
No, don't tell me, I really don't give a shit.
Just once I'd like to say I finished watching Battlefield Earth and survived.

It has got to be the worst movie ever made in the history of movies.
Has to be.
I was attempting to finish it this time, I only had 30 minutes to go, and Sebastian says to me, "Mom, if you hate it so much, can I play xbox? You hate it, it's gay, stupid, sucky, shitty, horrible acting, did you hear that line? Dear god mom, let me shut it off and play xbox!"
So I conceded and let the boy play.
I wasn't going to make it anyway.
I was cursing the screen, yelling at Travolta, laughing at how bad it was.
But one of these days, I will make it to the end, and I'll make myself a t-shirt that says I watched the flaming piece of shit known as Battlefield Earth, and Lord Xenu is a fucking joke.

Posted by Kat at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I was sitting here half assed watching the truly terrible Battlefield Earth, and a Ron Paul for president video on youtube, (I was really paying attention to that) and a knock on the door nearly scared me half to death.

I had no clue who it was, so I didn't answer it, (I often ignore the door and the phone. If it's important, keep trying! LOL) instead I peaked out the window to see FedEx pulling out of my driveway.
I opened my door, not expecting any package or anything, to find this huge envelope sitting between my doors.

It said T. D.
Hey! I know those people!
I ripped open the package, and found 2 t-shirts, 1 to rock out like so;

And 1 to keep for ever, because it's signed.

Yeah sure, I could Ebay it, but yo, it's personalized.

JG said, "Sorry it's not a black shirt", and Keith said, "Kat, you rock!"
I think Derek is calling me Bloggy McBlogger, and Tony said, "Thanks for all your hard work."

You guys are so welcome, and thank you!
You guys so rock, and I'm happy to be a part of their blogging team.

People are gonna die to see me wearing white. *evil laugh*

Posted by Kat at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Do hot tubs only do the hot water thing? Like can you have a hot tub that bubbles cold water?
I want to know.
See, a hot tub would really be awesome, they are great for aching backs and sore muscles, but it's so dang hot, (Yes, we all know it's hot out, but complaining about how hot it is, brings us together as a community with a shared experience. We are one my peoples. One.) that a hot tub would actually make you hotter.
But if a hot tub could be a cold water hot tub, all bubbling up and stuff, it would be ideal to sit in an relax those sore, aching muscles away.
Kinda like taking a cold shower, but sitting.
And bubbling.

Posted by Kat at 1:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I received a small box early this evening with a nice product in it, but it was packed with those styrofoam peanuts.
I hate having to dispose of them, especially if they are not the kind that degrades, because then I have to bag them up, feel guilty, etc.

So as I was unpacking the box and getting ready to bag up the peanuts and then break down the box, Sebastian tells me these are the kind that degrade.
I'm all no way, how?
"Like this!" he says.*

Step 1, dump peanuts in the sink like so.

Step 2, start running water over the peanuts.

Step 3, watch as peanuts completely dissolve in water. (hot or cold, doesn't matter)

I thought that was pretty cool indeed.

Yes, I am just now learning that these peanuts degrade.
I've been bagging them up for recycling for a long, long time now.
D'oh!

Posted by Kat at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Melissa, has taken over the Boobiethon after Robyn and Lisa could no longer do it.
They all assure us that the goals and ideas of past years will continue, and I am proud to say that once again this year not only will my rack be on the site, but I'll be helping by donating my time to do photo editing during the thon as well.

For the last 5 years, the Boobiethon has raised over $35,000 for breast cancer research. That's amazing!

Melissa is looking for volunteers folks. She needs the following help for this years thon coming up in October;
1. People who can record donations in real-time (you'll get pledge amounts and names / e-mail addresses e-mailed directly to you during 2-3 hour shifts and will then pass along your data to the donation coordinator at the end, which will be added to our donation totals and donor names pages on the site)

2. People with Photoshop experience to edit submission photos (sorry but guys edit guy submissions - girls edit girl submissions - no crossovers for safety-reasons - even though the guys whine about this not being fair every year) - then you'll pass these photos along to photo coordinators.

3. Schedule coordinators for donations and photo editors to help fit the volunteers into the daytime, evening and overnight shifts that work best for them - requires making the schedules and sending out shift-reminders.

4. Donation coordinators responsible for collecting all donation records from donations editors and posting donor lists and donation totals to the site at least 3-4 times per day

If you can help out, please get in touch with her by clicking on her name above, and help a great cause.

Posted by Kat at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm talking about announcements for bridal or baby showers, weddings etc.
In the last 5 years, I've only received 2 formal, on paper, announcements and invitations through the mail.
Everything else? Sent through email.
Yes I actually got invitations to 2 baby showers and 1 wedding, through email, in the last 5 years.
Maybe because computers are so widely used these days, that people feel it's perfectly ok to send these kinds of things through email, but me?
I prefer good old fashioned on paper announcements and invitations.
Is it acceptable to you?
Have you done it?
Has someone done it to you?

Posted by Kat at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

They each got 3 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of jeans, 4 solid black tees, 2 printed tees, 10 pairs of socks, 6 boxers, new shoes, new backpacks, pens, pencils, 4 ringed binders each, 6 packs of college ruled each, 3 wired notebooks each, index cards and highlighters.
I also got myself a new pair of shorts and some new tees, and picked up my niece Susan a birthday present.
All for under $200.
Go me!

I came home, put everything away, added all the friends requests, and am now chilling out until I have to go make dinner in a little bit.
I'm tired now. *laughs*

Posted by Kat at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

George, Mark's Big, is going to take us shopping.
Yay!
It's so freaking hot out, and while they were out eating, Mark told him we have to go shopping but sis can't take us. George was like no way are you all going to stand and wait for a bus, it's far too hot.
So he and Mark went back to his house to get his minivan, then they are coming back here.
He had come to pick up Mark is his sports car, so they had to go back for the minivan in order to take all of us.
He's such an awesomely nice guy.

Oh yeah, while I was cleaning up my sidebar and stuff, I found my list of all the social networking sites I currently belong to.
Feel free to add me to any of these that you have, and I'll add you back.

My Facebook
My-Myspace
Kat's Pownce page
Kat's Blogcatalog profile
Kat's cre8buzz page
My Single Mom Life@ Tumblr
Kat's Twitter

There are so many social sites like these, and it's sometimes difficult to keep up with them all, and I supposes that's why I'm not a member of too many.
But they do help building contacts and blog readership, so it's kind of worth the time and effort it takes to keep up with them all.
And if you know of any I'm not a member of but should be, invite me!
I still also have a few invites left for Pownce, and when I get some for Cree8buzz, I'll post it up so I can send invites to those of you who would like like one.

Time to get dressed to go!
Later days!

Posted by Kat at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Either today or tomorrow, I have to go and do the dreaded school shopping.
I do not have supply lists, will probably get those the first day of school when I'll be broke again.
So it's going to be the basics, clothes, shoes, backpacks, and some notebooks, pencils, pens etc etc.

Right now Mark is gone out with George, so that's why I said today or tomorrow. I have to wait and see what time he gets back.
I think they are going to lunch and a movie. Not really sure.

I did some cleaning and organizing of my blog here. Cleaned up the sidebar as much as I could wanted to.
I moved a lot of stuff off to the links page. It was just cluttering things up around here.
Moved my Blogads back up to above the fold where they should be, moved other stuff down, deleted some stuff entirely.
It's so easy to fill up the sidebars, whether you have one or two, with a lot of crap that shouldn't be there.
I'm sure I still have some non-important stuff there, but it's cleaner than it was.
Every now and then, you should clean out your sidebars.
Build some static pages if you just can't part with all those buttons completely.
It makes the home page a lot neater looking.

I put my Netflix movies out so they can go back, did some dishes and folded all the laundry. I've been productive so far this morning.
I have no idea where the burst of get 'er done came from, but it worked out good so I'm pleased with myself so far today.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Source
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has developed a screensaver to help find missing kids.

Developed in partnership with a private software company, Global Software Applications, the rotating screens display a missing child's picture and profile, tailored according to the region of the United States where the computer user is located.

Ron Koning, Global Software's vice president, hopes the screensaver will be used everywhere from police stations to office buildings and "any area with high traffic," he said. "Where it will catch the most eyes."
Since the milk carton advertising of the 1980s, the organization has tried working with private companies who fax and regular mail the pictures. Any method to get the pictures to the public works. One in six children featured has been found as a result of someone seeing their picture.

It's incredible to think that the milk cartons and the mailers you get in your mail box, are actually helping to find missing kids, so yes, do anything that it takes to get their pictures out there and bring home missing kids.

Posted by Kat at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The teens and I just finished watching Black Snake Moan, you can read it on Twisted Psycho.

In my review, I said I would not recommend it for anyone under 16 because of graphic language, sex and violence, but yes, I watched it with my teens.
They are very mature and can handle this type of movie, but I know other parents would flip out over this kind of film.

What this film really is though, is not what I expected at all.
I'll let you read my review and make your own decision on whether or not you'd watch it yourself.

Posted by Kat at 1:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm going to go lay down and watch Black Snake Moan.
I'll let you all know how it is.
I had been wanting to see while it was in the theater, but never made it.
I have heard from friends it was good, so I'll be sure to report back.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week you sent us home a letter detailing what time orientations started, fees for lockers, consumables, schedule pick-ups etc.
Last night, all parents in the county, received an automated phone call from the school phone server.
In this call, the principal said the orientation schedule has been changed, from 3:30pm on Thursday for the freshman, to 3:00pm for freshman.

At 5 minutes to 3, there were over 100 parents with their students present, waiting in line to pick up schedules.
You then had some teacher or guidance counselor, tell us we were all a half an hour early, and that we had to go back outside, form a new line, and wait for 30 more minutes.
We all go back outside, form a new line, and wait in the heat.

Then you labeled the lines for schedule pick up like this;
G-L on the left, A-C in the middle, and D-F on the right, and M-Z in a completely different room.
Oh, and the signs for these lines, were at waist level and only at the front of the lines, so new people entering the cafeteria, had no clue where to go.

Then after we managed to get through the schedule pick-up lines, we were shuffled into another part of the cafeteria, to pay for lockers, consumables, and senior parking.
Then we we routed to the other side of the cafeteria, to buy t-shirts we don't want, yet you wouldn't let us leave.
Then you told me I had to stay for the lecture in the auditorium.
No, no I don't.
See, I cannot sit in those chairs because they are hard plastic.
I cannot stand for an hour long lecture either.
Not to mention, the smell in the auditorium.
What is that, cheese? Fungus? Jockstrap sweat?
Whatever it is, it's nasty, and perhaps you should have that entire auditorium professionally cleaned before you invite parents to sit down in it.

It was complete chaos in there. There were students all over the place throwing balls, running everywhere, teachers with no clue what the hell was going on, and telling parents to go this way, when they actually should have gone the other way.

RHS, I hate your orientations every year.
I hate how disorganized everything is. I hate how you think all of us want to buy your t-shirts and other crap.
Not all your students give a rats ass about school pride. They don't want a t-shirt or a yearbook. They want an education, and it's practically impossible to pick up student schedules, and if they are wrong, it is impossible to get them corrected.
Please do not let the crap that happened today, be any indicator of how the school year is going to go.

Sincerely,
Kat Cooper

Posted by Kat at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I have to wake them up soon, have them take their showers, take my shower, and then get ready for orientation day at high school for Sebastian, and pick up Mark's schedule.

I hope they both get the classes they want, and that it's going to be ok on Sebastian. He's a freshman, and freshman year is always the hardest.
New school, bigger school, lots of classes placed all over the campus.
Plus I need to find out about the book thing and figure out what to do with all of that.

Posted by Kat at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Click for bigger

Seriously y'all, it is just too damn cute and funny.
They are telling scary stories? Isn't that so funny?
Yes, I am bored. Why do you ask?

It's another late night for me again, almost 3am, wide awake.
It's not for a lack of trying either.
I want to go to bed, I need to go to bed, but I just can't seem to fall asleep.

Oh yeah, another thing sis and I discussed is opening up a bank account for Sebastian.
He needs one.
He has some money sent to him as a gift, and it's something he and I both agree he should put away and save, so sis is going to help him get an account at the CU where she has her account, and then he can start saving all his birthday money and other stuff.
Same for Mark. It's time they get accounts, and learn how to save money instead of just earn and spend like they do now.
Granted, they are very good with their money, they save it until they have enough for what they want then they buy it and are so good at calculating tax and stuff, they get their purchases down to the penny.
I think they'll appreciate money more if they can start seeing a balance grow too.
It's cool to check your accounts and see the interest adding up.
I guess I'm gonna try and get some sleep again.
I have a lot to do tomorrow.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 2:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm so easily amused by it's cuteness.

Click for bigger

I keep checking it at various times throughout the day, just to see what frog and ladybug are doing.
It's too damn cute for words.
I wonder what they do on holidays.
hrm...

Posted by Kat at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was talking to sis this afternoon about the school stuff. She agrees with me that it's absolutely crazy to expect us to be able to buy all those books and other items they want us to have, but it's because of the value of real estate here.
This community is very wealthy, they have million dollar pieces (each) of art work downtown, they built a new $6million bus depot, they rebuilt one of the elementary schools, they are rebuilding one of the high schools, so obviously, they are out of money and need us to make up the difference and buy more stuff that our taxes should be paying for.

Posted by Kat at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over at Ashwin's blog, you will find one crazy blog owner!! You can win $2500!! To enter just copy this text and paste it in your blog!! But hurry, this competition will not last long! So get posting!

Yup, it's totally legit. All you have to do is post the above on your blog, leave a comment and you'll be entered to win $2500 bucks! The winner will be chosen on August 20th and paid through paypal.
Can't hurt to enter!
Saweet!

Update!
Ashwin is a total fucking scammer, and his link has been removed.
Fuck you, you piece of fucking shit!

Posted by Kat at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I finally activated iGoogle. I selected my theme and layout, all that stuff, and it's kinda cute.

Click for bigger.

Anyway, the theme is cool. It changes depending on the hour of day and the weather, based on the zip code you enter.
The frog and the ladybug do all kinds of different things I have noticed.
They have picnics, play lawn ball, make smores over a fire at night, have water balloon fights etc.
Have you set your iGoogle yet?

Posted by Kat at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As I was making the donations in the boys names, and for my parents, I was greeted with gift choices.
Thank you gifts for making my donation to the Montel Williams MS Foundation.
Dog tags, a cd, a t-shirt, or a catalog of paintings.

I chose no gift.
Sure, all the funding is underwritten by Montel, so the costs of these items and cost of shipping these items, comes out of the administrative funding, but it's money they can use elsewhere in finding a cure I thought.

In past donations I've made to other charities, I have taken the gift.
I've gotten t-shirts and cds before, I think one time I even got a t-shirt and a cd together.

Do you take the gifts when making donations?

EDIT*
If you sponsored me and have not gotten the email to now make your donation, this is what is posted on the Blogathon site;

Every year it happens. Doesn't matter how we send thousands of emails, just the act of doing so lands us in the spam heap for some folks. So please, be sure to check your spam folder for sponsor emails. They will say blogathon.org, and may also say cornerhost on them, as that's the server we sent from.

Posted by Kat at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'm wide awake now that my head stopped pounding, so I paid all my bills for this month, figured out a budget for school supplies, and have just been goofing off on line.

Sebastian has his orientation for his freshman year Thursday at 3:30, so hopefully they will give me a supply list.
Last year, we didn't get any supply lists till the day school started.
That was a huge pain in the ass
I want to go school shopping once, not twice.
The good news is that the school finally smartened up and now provide the expensive T-180 calculators the kids need. So many parents complained about the high cost, the school is finally going to provide them.
But.
There's always a but isn't there?
You can't have a good without a bad.
This year, they are making students, I mean parents, buy the textbooks or some kind of book, because so many books were being destroyed or not returned.
Mark tells me the cost is $10 each.
I have 2 students in school with 5 classes each, each quarter.
That's $100 I will have to pay for books 4 times a year.
$400 dollars folks.
Plus consumables for the teachers, plus all the pens, notebooks, locker fees, reams of paper, graph paper, composition books etc etc.
I certainly hope they have some kind of scholarship program, because that is something I cannot afford.
No way.
I do not make enough money, not even with all the on line work I do, to afford $400 a year plus all that other stuff.
I started panicking as soon as Mark told me about the book thing.
I just cannot afford it.
I'd have to do a ton of paid posts every single day, just to cover the book fees and other supplies.
I would end up writing all kinds of crap on here about hair transplants and mortgages, when I obviously don't need a hair transplant, nor do I own my home to write about mortgages.
I refuse to take those kinds of jobs because honestly, they don't fit my blog or who I am.
It would be stupid.
So on Thursday, I am going to find out about it, and hope they aren't really doing that, and if they are, find out if there's some kind of financial aid I can apply for.

Well, I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day for my head, so I can get things done, catch up with everyone, and do the things I need to do.
I need to go to the store and buy cat food, cat litter, tp, all that kind of stuff.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 2:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I have had a massive migraine all day long, and then I was dealing with stupid people, which made my head pound even more.
Why is that?
Why does someone else stupidity make my head hurt more?

Anyway, I will get to emails when I can stand sitting here staring at the monitor for more than 5 minutes at a time.
It's blinding me and making my head throb.

But I got my new ring today. I'm completely hooked on the silver jewelry club. I need an intervention.
But check it out, it's so pretty and it's high. I love this one!

Mother of pearl and sterling silver basket ring.

Posted by Kat at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm on Pownce now, and I have 6 invites, so if you want one and I know you, post up!
Kat's Pownce page

Posted by Kat at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

You know, you use bathroom time to make phone calls, or someone calls you while they are using it, ya know, pee chatting?
What about going to the bathroom as a group?

I personally can't stand it when people call me while they are using the bathroom and they feel the need to tell me they are peeing or pooing.
I also hate it when groups of women share the same stall at a nightclub or restaurant.
They say they are all girls, all friends, saves time, not a big deal.

No, I'm sorry, it is a big deal.
I do not want to share the stall with you even if there is a big line waiting.
I'll wait.
It won't kill me to wait.
I have no desire to see or hear you pee.
What about you?
Are you a pee chatter?
How about a bathroom buddy?

Posted by Kat at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

USA Today

A Florida woman has been awarded $11.3 million in a defamation lawsuit against a Louisiana woman who posted messages on the Internet accusing her of being a "crook," a "con artist" and a "fraud."

In a related story;

The case reflected how blogs - short for web logs, the burgeoning, freewheeling Internet forums that give people the power to instantly disseminate messages worldwide - increasingly are being targeted by those who feel harmed by blog attacks. In the past two years, more than 50 lawsuits stemming from postings on blogs and website message boards have been filed across the nation. The suits have spawned a debate over how the "blogosphere" and its revolutionary impact on speech and publishing might change libel law.

Posted by Kat at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This is the first look at Dragonforce's song, "Through the fire and the flames", for Guitar Hero 3 Bundle, which is available for pre-order now, and is being released on October 21, 2007.
This is incredible and damn near impossible.

This is the real song, for comparison.
It comes with a custom Les Paul with changeable face plates, so you can customize your guitar.
This is the legends of rock edition, and is looking to be loaded with some bad ass songs.

1. '3's and 7's" by Queens of the Stone Age
2. "Barracuda" as made famous by Heart
3. "Cherub Rock" by Smashing Pumpkins
4. "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" as made famous by Blue Oyster Cult
5. "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
6. "Even Flow by Pearl Jam
7. "Knights of Cydonia" by Muse
8. "La Grange" as made famous by ZZ Top
9. "Lay Down by Priestess
10. "The Metal" by Tenacious D
11. "Miss Murder" by AFI
12. "Mississippi Queen" as made famous by Mountain
13. "My Name Is Jonas" by Weezer
14. "The Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden
15. "One" by Metallica
16. "Paint It, Black" by The Rolling Stones
17. "Paranoid" as made famous by Black Sabbath
18. "Raining Blood" by Slayer
19. "Reptilia" by The Strokes
20. "Rock and Roll All Nite" as made famous by Kiss
21. "Rock You Like a Hurricane" as made famous by Scorpions
22. "Sabotage" by Beastie Boys
23. "School's Out" as made famous by Alice Cooper
24. "She Builds Quick Machines" by Velvet Revolver
25. "Slow Rideas made famous by Foghat
26. "Suck My Kiss" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
27. "Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce
28. "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses
29. Another song by Velvet Revolver from Libertad
30. An original song composed and performed by Slash of Velvet Revolver

AC/DC and Led Zeppelin are also in discussion.

Posted by Kat at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wide awake again, sitting here contemplating the on line events of the last few days.
Not that any of it is truly serious in the grand scheme of things, but when you blog, and have been on line the amount of years that I have, that line of truly life important and internet reality, tend to get blurry.

I want to thank Janice for all her hard work, the package arrived and it was better than I had anticipated.
It was also quite nice just chatting a bit yesterday morning about family and things. I don't think we've ever really talked much, so that was kinda cool.

Every now and then, a new person pops into your on line life, and you're not quite sure what to make of the whole thing.
The attention, the joking, the oddness of it all.
I blog, so a lot of my life is right here. A lot of people know me very well, and others don't know much of anything but think they do.
I read something a few minutes ago that said bloggers should be more personal with their readers.
Well yeah, I can kind of agree with that, but I'd also caution people not to be too personal.
There's a lot of hazards with being on line, things you should never post and things you should just never say, but for the most part, it's ok to get a little personal with your readers.

I'm sort of rambling here.
Not really sure what I'm trying to say. My mind is a flutter with all the events of the past few days.
So many things have happened in various communities, and it's been tedious keeping up with them all, keeping it all straight, answering email after email, and trying not to go crazy over some of it.

I dunno.
I think I'm just really tired and worn out, and needing a mini-vacation where I can just go someplace super quiet, no computers or phones, and just zone out lounging around on a couch watching really bad movies and napping on and off for a couple of days.
I need to sit and just have a good cry too. I think it's time to let go of the hurt and anger, the frustration and fear, I have been holding close inside for so long.
It's time to release it all and be at peace with everything, know I did my best, and did what I had to do, but let it all out, and have a private little celebration of tears and laughter, all by myself.
I'm just so tired, and closed off, I really can't do anything but sit wide awake and stare at these keys.
Maybe I should just go to bed.

Posted by Kat at 3:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This means I get to make dinner late.
We went to the store, all 3 of us walked there and back, in the heat.
Gah. I want it to be February again. 70, breezy, perfect.

I picked up the stuff to make my most awesome enchiladas at the request of the teens.
They absolutely love that recipe.
It is so incredibly tasty.
But I'm sore and stiff now from the walk.
It takes me like 45 minutes to get un-stiff once I come home, so I'm just sitting here replying to emails and reading stuff I needed to catch up on.
I really want to just get out in that kitchen and make them.

And yes Creech*, I'm baking again, not using the microwave.

*Warning, has a song selection on auto-start so the page loads a bit slow.
Hint, hint Creech. *wink*

Posted by Kat at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's super hot out, and I don't want to go walking all the way there and back, sweating my ass off.
Not just yet anyway.
I'm going to wait till like 5:30 I think.
I still have a lot of stuff to take care of around here anyway.

Posted by Kat at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Woke up, scanned emails, read through some stuff, teens are still sleeping, need to answer emails.
I'll be around off and on, need to go to the grocery store too.
It's gonna be one of those hurry up and get stuff done days because I slept so late.

Later days.

Posted by Kat at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My teens are gamers, they play on line games on the pc, they have a Playstation 2, and an Xbox360.
A few days ago, a friend on Xbox live, (Xbox is live play for many games. You can chat with other players, send messages, talk to team mates etc) invited the boys to play the Xbox version of the popular card game UNO.
We didn't have this game, but in the Xbox live marketplace, you can buy it for 400 points.
Points are purchased at the Xbox.com live site using a credit card, and then using your controller, you can shop the marketplace for games, expansion packs for games, and even movies to rent and watch.

The boys had about 800 points left from the last time I purchased points to rent a movie and buy some new maps for Gears of War, so I let them buy the UNO game and download it so they could play with their friends.

They played it most of the afternoon, had an absolute blast with it and their friends.
Some of the other gamers, (not their friends, just other on line players) had web cams, and were using their cams as their player avatars.
It was kinda cool, they could see who they were playing with.

We had all stayed up very late the other night, the teens playing GoW, LOTR BFME, Oblivion, and UNO.
It was very late, approximately 3:30 in the morning. None of us could sleep, so at least I had company during my bout of insomnia instead of sitting here in dead silence like I usually am.

They were playing UNO at this late hour, and 2 of the 4 players in the UNO match, had web cams. Every thing was going fine, laughing, chatting, playing the family fun card game.
Then it happened.

One of the web cam avatars changed from the mid-20's aged man playing, to a girl in his room.
She took off her shirt revealing her bra.
The boys went silent.
I sat silent.
I think I may have uttered something along the lines of; "that bitch better not strip."
Then she took off her pants.
Then she took off her bra.
The teens were giggling uncontrollably at this point. I said there was no way this could be happening live, just no way. The guy has to be watching porn or something, and aimed his web cam at the tv.
There were 4 players, Mark, 1 other guy with a web cam who was sitting with his jaw dropped, and the guy with the nearly naked chick, and another kid about aged 13.
All 4 players were still playing the card game, Mark was doing fairly well, 2 cards away from being able to call UNO. The 13 year old was laughing like a lunatic, and the other guy was still jaw dropped.
Then it happened.

Suddenly the girl started performing fellatio on the mid-20's aged man while he still continued to play his hand.
Sebastian was red faced, Mark was silent and kept looking at me, and I had hopped from the chair to my pc to go to xbox live and find a way to report this.
I mean, kids were playing a family card game, and some chick was giving a guy a blowjob live.
I kept telling Mark to get out of the game, leave, leave now! There's no way to quit mid-hand unless you just shut off the console.
If they shut off the console, I couldn't report the user.
Luckily, the guy finally shut off the web cam and his screen went black.
The 3 other players including Mark, were all "dude, did you see that?!"
"Yes! OMG! I saw that!", followed by all of them dying with laughter.
Sebastian hollered out he just saw his first real life blowjob, and Mark was still laughing, looking at me, going silent, then laughing again nervously.

I was not pleased to say the least.
I reported the user, and told the boys that from now on, UNO cannot be played after 11pm no matter what.
People obviously take advantage of the live features of the games, and do stuff like that.
It was quite an awkward moment for me.
I know they are young men and growing up, and eventually will deal with sexual situations, may even watch some type of pornography with their male friends while at college or when staying at a friends house, I know this stuff will eventually happen.
I just wasn't prepared to see it happen in the safety and comfort of my own living room.
And not with me in the damn room.

I'm still quite shaken by the experience.
I may be an unconventional mom, I allow them freedoms other kids don't have, we have an open door full honesty policy here, but I was not ready to handle live sex just yet.
I think other parents who have an Xbox360 and the game UNO, and children who may have the xbox unit in their bedrooms or stay up late at night, need to know what kinds of things might happen.
Like this.
So parents, if your kid has this and may have the game in their room or you let them stay up late playing, you might want to check on them every now and then.
You never know what other players might do during what is essentially, a very family friendly game.

Posted by Kat at 2:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you don't know what I'm talking about, a bunch of rockin' girl bloggers have decided to have a get together in Vegas in March '08. (This date is totally not confirmed yet)
They have dubbed the festivities, Blogasm '08.

I am already planning a trip to Vegas for this November for a blogging con, but this isn't a seminar, this is a get together for a party.
Tasha from HipMomma sent me the invite, and I'm currently down as a maybe because I need to see a finalized date, and calculate finances, but I totally want to go.
The list of confirmed girl bloggers is awesome, and the maybes are rockin' too. The invitees who haven't responded yet are pretty cool too.
This could be the most kick ass rockn' girl bloggers get together ever!

I am so totally loving this idea, even more now that one of my longest and closest blogging girl friends is thinking about going too.
Can you just imagine me and Devilish Southern Belle, loose on the streets of Vegas together?
Oh shit son! It would be on!

I love their buttons too.
What happens in Las Vegas... gets blogged about the next day.
And the header for the site just totally cracked me the hell up.
Why just BlogHer when you can have an earth shattering Blogasm?
Hahahah!
So anyway, I'm totally thinking of going, have you heard about it? Are you interested in just a few days of partying, and hanging out with a ton of the coolest blogging chicks on the planet?

Posted by Kat at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.

The Duggars pictured above.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar welcomed their seventh daughter into the world Thursday.

Jennifer Danielle weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces.
Thirty minutes later, the Duggars were talking about having number eighteen.

All the children's names start with the letter J. They're home-schooled and range in age from 19 right down to the newborn.

There are two sets of twins in the brood. Jim Bob is a 42-year-old former state representative. Mama Michelle is 40.

The Duggars' talent for having children has not gone unnoticed. The family has been featured on several programs on cable's Discovery Health Network.

Discovery Health's Web page says the Duggars have gone through an estimated 90,000 diapers so far.

There are so many jokes about this family on line, they all involve the word vagina and a clown car.
Wanna see just the last two?

That's when they had 13 kids.

This is now, with 17 children.

Eventually, she needs to close her damn legs, and he needs to buy stock in Trojan.
This is freaking crazy!

Posted by Kat at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today, August 4th 2007, marks the start of tax free week for school shopping.

Governor Crist and the Florida Legislature have approved Senate Bill 1456, which provides that the 2007 Tax Free Days for Sales Tax will begin at 12:01 a.m., Saturday, August 4, 2007, through midnight, Monday, August 13, 2007.

Senate Bill 1456 provides for a sales tax holiday on:

* Clothing and related items with a sales price of $50 or less
* Books with a sales price of $50 or less
* School supplies with a sales price of $10 or less
_________________

I won't be going shopping till next Saturday the 11th, but just letting the rest of you know that it started today.

Posted by Kat at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been chatting with a dear friend blogger over the last few days about her blog, her content, and making money from her blog.
In the last few days, a lot has happened with her and her blog, people telling her how she can make money from it.
When I say how, I don't mean 'hey, here's how you can monetize your blog', I mean 'hey, don't do it that way, do it our way.'
Telling her how she should run her blog.
This upset me.

There are ton of ways to make money from blogging these days, and some work better than others, and some are loved, some are hated, and some think just think they are better than all the others.
One such company actually says that you can do product reviews if some get sent to you, but the total value of that product cannot exceed $40.00, or we'll remove you from our program.
They also don't want you reviewing cheap-ish products.

Whoa, wait a minute.
So if some advertiser were to send her a product to review, (she does have a review blog specifically for products) that it's value were say, $50.00, they would scold her and then dump her from their program.
Um, what?

I have done reviews of products that were valued much higher than both those figures.
I recently did a review of a portrait canvas valued at $89.00.
It was a personalized portrait, my sons and my nieces were in the photo. They took my photo and blew it up and put it on a 16x24 canvas.
It was gorgeous. I sent it to my parents who absolutely love it. The week and a half I had it in my home, I looked at it daily, loved it, showed it off to every one who came over. Told them all what company did it for me.

This uppity company would have kicked me out of their program for that.

The point is, who has a right to tell you, simply because you run an adblock, what you can write about, and the value of a product to review?
Is it really any of their business how much a product cost?
I mean, if I was a member of this program and they asked me what the value of any product I reviewed was, I'd probably tell them none of your business.
That would be my polite answer.

This friend of mine is in turmoil.
She doesn't want to lose readers, and they are telling her that she will lose readers, if she continues to work for a particular company.
They want her to work for them, running these particular adblocks, not review any products whose value is more than $40.00, but also not review any product they consider cheap, and they want her to delete some posts she's made for a company where she was paid to write about a product or service.
They basically want control of her blog.

The things I have read some of the people who do work for this uppity company say over the last few days, makes me sick.
I've seen them throw insults around, not just at bloggers who write for various companies, but also those companies themselves.
Some of those companies gave out a ton of free products recently, which many of these bloggers happily took.
I mean free swag is free swag right? *eyeroll*
The companies products are good enough to accept, yet not good enough to write for apparently.

I did what any good friend would do, I talked to her every single time she contacted me, let her vent, let her discuss how all this was making her feel, then I offered her a way to run an adblock system on her blog that does not have any of those gay rules.
If you get sent a product to review that costs $5.00 or $500.00, they aren't going to tell you that you can't take it and review it.
I hope she takes me up on the offer, because I hate to see her being spoken to in the manner in which I've witnessed them do over the last couple of days.
She has a great blog and it appears that they want a cut of the potential advertising revenue stream she can generate, and they also want to dictate exactly what she can do on her blog.
That's so wrong, it's HER blog.

I myself have several more product reviews coming up, and their value is far higher than this $40.00 limit that this company imposes.
I'd rather do these reviews and get some great products while I'm at it, than work for a company who would dictate to me what I can accept, what I can review, and it's over all value, and what subjects I should talk about.
I wouldn't last 5 minutes with that company.
I'm glad I actually read the ToS they have last year when someone told me to sign up, because I would have just signed up, agreed to all that gobbledy gook, and then screwed myself out of writing for some truly amazing companies, with truly amazing products, and I have been able to earn myself return advertisers who pay me for adblock space now.

Posted by Kat at 3:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I did.
While in Tampa, I fell down and hurt my knee pretty bad. My left leg gave out on me, nothing new there.
My left leg still has issues even all this time after surgery, it still goes numb, my left foot goes numb, and it sometimes gives way, and I go boom.
I usually catch myself, but not this time.
Some guy in a 3 piece, gave me a serious look, had his cell phone out, and was headed my way faster than New York personal injury lawyer.
I was ok, I told him I was ok. I didn't slip on anything, or trip over any cracks in a sidewalk, nothing like that.
Just me and my screwed up nerves that haven't grown back all the way yet.

And speaking of nerves, my back was itching so bad the other night, I thought I was gonna scream from how bad it was itching.
I asked Mark if he's scratch my back with the shower back brush, just for a few minutes.
It's soft bristles, but a lot of them, so a few passes over my whole back, and the itches were gone.
Then I had him rub on some skin md for me to help keep the itchies at bay.

Posted by Kat at 1:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The teens and I watched an incredibly moving and heartbreaking documentary tonight.
I have mentioned this film here before, it's called Deliver Us from Evil.
I wrote up my review on Twisted Psycho, and I hope you all go read it, maybe even watch the movie.
So sad, yet makes you so angry.

Title from the song by Johnny Cash, God'll cut your down.

You can throw your rock, hide your hand,
Workin in the dark against your fellow man.
But as sure as God made black and white,
What's done in the dark,
Will be brought to the light.

You can run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time,
Sooner, or later, God'll cut you down.
Sooner, or later, God'll cut you down.

Posted by Kat at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've posted this recipe before, it's one of the boys favorites and mine. (I took pics this time to show just how easy this is)
Why mine?
Well not only does it taste good, but prep time is literally just a few minutes.
Like less than 5.
I timed it.

Cheesy chicken (stuffs- what we call it) bake.

Here's what you need;
9x13 baking pan
Aluminum foil
chicken breasts (4-6)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 8oz package shredded sharp cheese
1 6oz box Stove top stuffing

Line pan with foil (easy cleanup)
place chicken breasts in pan (these are still frozen)
cover with both cans cream of chicken soup (spread it out covering the chicken)

Cover with shredded cheese

Cover with stuffing

Cover with foil

Bake at 375 for 50 minutes, removing foil for the last 5 so the stuffing can brown.
Voila! Dinner is done man.

Posted by Kat at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Why the hell didn't the rest of you mommies tell me I can clock out every day?
I'm really disappointed in y'all.
Kate asked me if I got the memo from the Union.

No Kate.
No I didn't.
I'm filing a claim for forcing me to work over time without adequate breaks or pay, for the last 16 years.

Posted by Kat at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

You ever watch a movie with the closed captioning on, on purpose?
The boys and I do this sometimes for fun.
Just to see if any mistakes get made between what's being said, and what's printed on the screen.

I actually don't mind captioning though. There are some movies that while watching and reading along, the director has done such an amazing job, that it blends in seamlessly and you don't even realize that you're reading and watching at the same time anymore.
Pan's Labyrinth was like that.
So well done, so gorgeous to look at, I completely forgot I was reading the movie.

Posted by Kat at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Oh holy hell it's so freaking hot out there!
Sebastian and I just went for a walk to 7-11 and back, and oh my god, 2 seconds out the door, and we were both drenched in sweat.
Sebastian is taking a shower, and when he's done, I'm going in.
Holy sticky sweaty icky!

Poor Mark.
He has to mow the lawn today.
It's super tall grass, and it's wicked hot.
So I told him to go do it at 7pm, when it starts getting slightly cooler.
If it rains again like it usually does in the afternoon's now, he won't have to.
So guess what he's hoping for?
You guessed it, a huge t-storm to hit! *laughs*

Ok, he's almost done and then it's my turn.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I received my new locket in the mail today, and it is so gorgeous!
Let me show you!

The outside:

The inside:

Those are my boys laser engraved picture, inside the locket.
It looks just like the picture I sent to Pictures on Gold.com!
They took a picture I sent them, where the boys were standing side by side, they manipulated the image so Sebastian is standing in front of Mark, and then they engraved it on the locket, which is made of sterling silver, my fave kind of jewelry.
Isn't it gorgeous?!
I love this so much, I added it to my sterling necklace already with all my other pendants, that I wear daily.
I have a few pieces with the boys birthstones, and one of mine, that I wear all the time, and now I have this beautiful locket to go with it.
I can't get over how pretty it is.

Pictures on Gold, uses advanced engraving machinery to engrave your favorite photo pendants and picture charms. Your photo pendant and picture charm can be done in 14k gold or sterling silver.
They do amazing work. Just look at that!
It came with a gift box and a polishing cloth too, so I can keep it super shiny and free from tarnish.
Because it's not a paper picture, it's 100% waterproof, so if I accidentally get caught in the rain or forget to take it off before showering, the picture will never get ruined.
That is so cool!
It only took about 4 business days too, so if you have a birthday or holiday coming up on you really fast, you can get a gorgeous keepsake gift made for mom or grandma, or the graduate, and even dads.
They have the coolest photo cuff links I've ever seen.
Imagine the man in your life getting cuff links with his kids pics inside of them.
That's such a neat idea.

You have to go check it out. They have so many different pieces of jewelry and other items that can be engraved like this, and the work is outstanding.
I'm going to be showing this off to everyone.
Thank you so much Pictures on Gold!

Posted by Kat at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

My feed was broken, I have no idea for how long, but it was.
But I have fixed it now.
I am using feedburner now to control my feed, so if you want to correct feed, the one that doesn't make the images disappear when you read it, the one that posts the full entry and not a partial entry, then click here to subscribe to my feed for this site.
How much you wanna bet my feed for Twisted Psycho is messed up too?

I also figured out the category selection for this version of MT.
The old one I had, you had to choose your main category first, then after you published you could go back into the entry, and assign multiple categories.
With this version, you can select multiple categories before you ever publish.
Way wicked cool.

Posted by Kat at 1:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Collab #42:
We all had them, those dreams of what we'd be "one day" when we grew up. Who we'd marry, what kind of wedding we'd have, how many children we'd bring into the fold (what we'd name them), etc.
We want to hear your childhood dreams. Maybe one from when you were five or fifteen.
Give them to us!

Hrm, my childhood dreams?
Yikes!
Well like most girls, I wanted to get married when I grew up, but I wanted to marry a rockstar, I wanted to be a rockstar myself. *laughs*
Then that changed, and I wanted to be a radio dj. Now most radio sucks ass, they play the same damn playlist of 30-40 songs on shuffle, every single day, and most of the programming is well, programmed.
It's mostly done by computers now except for some morning shows, and the occasional locally run stations that have actual dj shifts.
But they still run playlists bought by record companies.
*Boo hiss suck*

Then, I never really figured out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
I had my heart set on doing radio and when that dropped, I was left with a big empty space of no plan.
I did go and take some college courses in business, English lit, and some other stuff, and then dropped it to get married.
I did go back to school off and on to finish a few classes, but never got my degree.
Then I became a mom full time, and took whatever jobs I could get to pay the bills.

Dreams - 0
Real life - 1million

Posted by Kat at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Ok, I have a Facebook account, here's mine, Kat's Facebook, but um, what is so great about this thing?
There's not really a whole helluva a lot you can do on it, so what gives with this thing?
Anybody out there know how to work this thing to get the most out of it?
Wanna give me a crash course? *laughs*

Posted by Kat at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The boys are sitting here howling with laughter over Ed and His Dead Mother.
The movie was made in 1993, and it stars Steve Buscemi as Ed, and Ned Beatty as Uncle Benny, and Miriam Margolyes as mother.
You may most recently know her from her role as professor Sprout, from the Harry Potter films.

But anyway, Ed and his dead mother is a hugely funny movie.
I remember seeing it back in 1993, and laughing my way through it, so I added it to my Netflix so the boys could see it.
They have just been cracking up at all the jokes, the way she tries to eat small animals, and Ned Beatty's facial expressions.
He has the best looks on his face throughout, not to mention some of the funniest lines in the whole movie.

It's a sick, twisted movie, definitely not for everyone, but there's no over the top blood and violence, just implied.
You never actually see the bad stuff.
Has anyone else but me, seen this movie and loved it?
Did you see it and hate it?

Posted by Kat at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Christine wrote this post about 5 songs she likes to sing along to, so I figured I'd play even though it's not a meme or tag, some things are just fun to write about.

So here are my top 5 songs I can't help but sing along to.

1. Hooker with a penis by TOOL.
And if I'm the man,
Then you're the man, and
He's the man as well, so you can
Point that fuckin' finger up your ass.

2. The Pot by TOOL
Who are you to wave your finger?
So full of it
Eye balls deep in muddy waters
Fuckin' hypocrite

3. Some kinda hate by the Misfits
Theres some kinda love
And theres some kinda hate
The maggots in the eye of love
Wont copulate

And its a whoah oh oh oh oh
And its a whoah oh oh oh oh
And its a whoah oh oh oh oh
I said whoah whaoh oh, oh oh oh

4. I wanna be sedated by The Ramones
Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just put me in a wheelchair get me to the show
Hurry hurry hurry before I go loco
I can't control my fingers I can't control my toes
Oh no oh oh oh oh

5. Dancing with myself by Billy Idol
So lets sink another drink
cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
And Ill be dancing with myself

What are your fave 5 songs you can't help but sing along to?

Posted by Kat at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Nice title eh?

Anyway, I have been up for a few hours, been busy dealing with several issues here on the home front.
Every thing is fine, just stuff needs to be dealt with today, getting it all situated.

I have 18 days till school starts, and I haven't started school shopping yet because the school, once again, has not sent out any information on any of the items they need.
I'll probably get handed a list on Sebastian's freshman orientation night, a mile long, full of supplies for the teachers again.
Sorry, no can do.
See, they make us pay $10 for a lock for a locker and $15 for consumables (?), which I am assuming is paper or something? I have no idea what consumables are, because lunch is an entirely different fee that we have to pay.
So, any one have a clue what consumables are?

I need to take them clothes shopping too. This should be fun.
Not.
Boys are just as bad as girls when it comes to clothes shopping.
It has to be a certain color, style, etc.
Mark isn't too bad to shop for, he likes khaki baggy shorts, with black t-shirts.
He likes to wear the same exact thing almost every day. He will occasionally mix it up by wearing a concert t-shirt of mine.
Sebastian prefers cammo shorts, or jean baggy shorts, and whatever t-shirt he can find. He's not super picky, but he likes shirts that say stuff on them.
I have to get them new sneakers too.

But hey, 18 days till school starts!
W00t! *laughs*
It's been a long hard, boring summer here.
It's been too hot to really go anywhere, and so we've all just hung out and played video games and watched a ton of movies all summer.

But anyway, it's time for lunch, and then back to work taking care of stuff.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yeah, another late night for me here.
I'm absolutely wired and couldn't fall asleep if I even wanted to.

I decided to go for a walk about 40 minutes ago, just got back.
The teens are still awake, so Mark stayed here playing games, and Sebastian went with me.
We just walked around the block, through the cul de sac across the way, and back.
It was nice to get out and walk a bit, attempt to burn off some of this hyper energy.
Didn't work obviously. *laughs*

It started raining again on our way back, but it felt good.
I think it was the perfect ending to a whoreanus day to be honest.
It was just a really bad day for me.
I was up all night last night, stayed awake till about 7:30am or so, slept till about 10:30am, and then things just went downhill after that.

I do feel better though. I know my last post was like freaked out, but I was, and I felt like I was going to explode.
I emailed back and forth with a few friends, calmed down, and then went for a walk.
Sebastian and I talked on our walk about a bunch of different stuff, but he's a great listener, and he just let me vent everything out.
It's really cool having teenagers you know.
I know a lot of people complain about teens, and I agree, there are some teens who are just downright rotten human beings, but my sons are really cool people.
For being just 14 and (OMG! Mark turns 16 in 13 days!) 15, they are incredible young men.
They are smart, caring, empathetic, good listeners, and good advice givers.
Sebastian listened, and then told me his thoughts on the issue, and it made me feel better to know I did the right thing in his eyes.
I'm doing right in my kids eyes.
That's all that matters to me.

Alrighty, I'm outta here, I have some emails to reply to, a lot of blogs to catch up on, and other stuff to take care of.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 3:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why do people have to take stuff and repost it other places?

I am so frustrated right now!!!!!
There are people out there right now who are publicly posting information on a person who has caused a lot of us some problems.
They seem to think, tit for tat is ok.
That what they are doing is no worse than what he has done.
It's the same.
And it's wrong.
It is NOT helping at all, and I am so freaking upset over this right now.

Maybe they just don't understand the severity of this shit. Maybe they don't realize that doing what they are doing, is actually going to cause more problems for some of us.
I don't know why they are doing it, but I really wish they would leave me the hell out of it.
I have enough problems with this person, and they are creating more problems for me than they even know.
Don't people understand what this has been like for me?
Don't they have a fucking clue that this isn't a game for me and my family?!

Fucking jesus h christ on a fucking pogo stick! Why the fuck are you people doing this!?
This is not fucking helping anyone at all!!!
I don't want to have to deal with the emotional fucking baggage from this shit anymore. I don't want it, don't need it, but I'm sitting here, heart racing, barely can breathe.

Posted by Kat at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I am not a crafty, make my own sweaters or clothes kinda mom. My friend Shell knits and crochets, a lot of bloggers I know do as well. They also sew.
My knowledge in sewing is one china jacket made in the 8th grade. It was cream with blue satin trim. And a pillow made in 10th grade. It was a huge green frog.
Don't ask me why I made the frog pillow, I just did.

I have no sewing supplies at home at all.
Ok, that's a lie.
I have one of those little plastic case kits you get in the laundry aisle at the grocery store.

I have always wanted to learn how to use the new machines, and have seen some really nice sewing machines that I would adore to learn how to use.
They look so mom-like ya know?
I'm such a non-traditional mom, that I feel bad I don't know how to crochet hats and scarves, and I don't have a sewing machine to hem pant legs and stuff.
Anyone remember the wedding fiasco with Mark's pants at George's wedding a few years ago?
Oy!

I mean what's wrong with me?
All moms are supposed to be able to, at the very least, sew!
Right?

At the bare minimum, I should at least have a real sewing kit right?
I like this one. It looks like it would have everything a beginner sewer should have.
Not to mention, a mom should have.
Man, I am such a non-mom kinda mom.

This also reminds me.
I need to get band-aids at the store tomorrow.

Posted by Kat at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

First, I hate it when I leave a comment on someones blog and they have the subscribe to comments box checked already.
It should be unchecked by set up, and allow your commentators to check it if they want to.
I made a few comments today only to get flooded later, with a subscription to comments on some popular posts, and then have to figure out how to unsubscribe.
A-nnoyed!

Second.
I know you have content that I could put on my blog.
I know you have a lot of news feeds let's say, that I could put on my blog, like videos and such.
I do NOT appreciate you leaving me a comment telling me about the content I could put on my site from your site.
It's spam.
SPAM.
SPAAAAAAAM.
I deleted that part of your comment.
Just letting you know, although I'll doubt you'll come back to read this because obviously, you were out SPAMMING bloggers today, not actually giving a hoot what I wrote on my blog.

Later days.

Posted by Kat at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last night I received an email from Rob, calls himself #1 Dad, and ya know what?
I think he is a #1 Dad.
Why?

I went through the divorce thing about a year ago, and I have two wonderful children with my ex. All of a sudden I felt like I was cut out of the loop when it came to things that were happening in my kids' lives. Before I moved out, we had a calendar on the fridge that had all of the upcoming events and appointments posted on it. Seeking to replace that, I built a web site for my ex and I to use to share events and stuff and to see them along side our custody schedule. We can also build a shared parenting guide, send mail to each other and receive text messages when the calendar is updated.
The site really helps keep arguments down since we don't have to talk to each other so much. I am really proud of it. So I spiffed it up a bit and opened it up for everyone to use for free.

I created an account so I could see all the features, and I do believe this is the ideal way for newly divorced parents who are still touchy when it comes to having to talk to the ex, to actually talk to the ex.
Communication is key when you have kids, they need to know that things are going to be ok, that mom and dad, even though they no longer live together, have a plan and will take care of them.

You setup your account, and plug in your custody schedule, you can leave notes for the other parent, and there's a parenting section, just for the two parents, to discuss "issues like bedtimes, discipline, chores and homework requirements can be posted here with each parent's take on the subject. The resulting parenting guide can help insure that both parents are on the same page as much as possible."

In the custody section, you post the rules of the custody agreement, and the exceptions.
Ya know, like holiday schedules that change from year to year, vacations, overnight stays that just come up from time to time, stuff like that.
There's a calendar that shows the custody schedule, and a mailbox so you and your ex can use one website to stay in touch about all things custody related.

The way it works, is you login and enter your info, your exes first name, and all the custody stuff from the legal papers, and then send the ex an invitation to use the site.
Now both parents have one single website to use to discuss all things custody related, they don't have to speak on the phone if things are still at that angry, painful part of divorce, no one has to be the one to make the first phone call about visitation or other issues.
All communication can be done through the site.
Hopefully, after enough time passes and the hurt has eased up, then the parents could start talking by phone again, be cordial to each other.
Divorce is ugly, and when you have kids, it can get even uglier because there's always one parent who thinks the other parent, parents wrong.
This site could help lessen the tension during the rough first year of divorce and custody.

I emailed Rob right back last night and told him;

If only you had been a divorcing man 14 years ago, maybe my ex and I would have been able to use this site to communicate, rather than the way we ended up.
Sorry to say, there are no visits between my sons and their father, nor emails, holiday or birthday cards, phone calls, etc etc.

If you are a newly divorced parent, or going through a divorce now, check out Custody Planner.
It may be the way to help you and the ex, be the best parents possible during the very hard time of divorce.
And did I mention it's free?

Posted by Kat at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Does midnight count as today, or does it still count as yesterday?

Anyway, you are gonna laugh.
I've been up all night long. I have not slept, I'm wide awake.
Hahahah
I could have done another blogathon!
So, I made myself some breakfast, and am doing my morning routine.
I may go lay on the couch and watch tv for a few hours, maybe I'll fall asleep for a small nap.

I hope you all have a happy day, get lots done, feel inspired and say I love you at least once.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)