Happy 26th Birthday To Me!

I am going to be 26 years old at 4:55 pm CST today. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I'm not where I thought I would be at this age. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it's not.

It's amazing how much can change from year to year. The same Aunt and Uncle that I celebrated my birthday with last year, I hardly even talk to any more. The same sweet girl who wished me a happy birthday from the backseat, now lives with me.

The other day I made a tweet that said my life was going to change this week. I said that because we've been talking to my brother, trying to convince him to go to school to get a career. He was supposed to come down this week to spend a few days with us. NYEBoy has been talking to him about getting into c0mputer c0ding. We were hopeful we could help aim him towards the right direction. We were going to offer him a place to live, a chance at a better life. Life altering, but in a good way. His issues are completely different from my sister's. He's not going to be as much in the area of hand-holding.

While we were running errands, NYEBoy received a phone call from his boss. If you recall he told us in January he was going to start paying him hourly instead of salary. As if that wasn't enough to worry about every week, he decided to drop us a bombshell just in time for my birthday. He informed us the project NYEBoy was working on is being canned. As in, after 30 days, we'll no longer be needing you.

In the next 30 days, NYEBoy will be wrapping up his second full year of his P}-{D program. He still has 3-5 years left to finish, though. We can't live on what the school pays. That BARELY covers rent and utilities. That doesn't even touch car insurance, NYEBoy's health insurance, gas, food, phones, Internet, and other bills we have, which is more than double what the school pays. Even if I were to get a job, the gap would still be unattainable.

So, basically, we're fucked. NYEBoy is going to have to leave the program. At best, he'll only have to be out a year. Worst case scenario, he'll never go back. It's heartbreaking to see the man I loves dream being stripped away from him because of bills. It really, really fucking sucks. He deserves this so much, but there isn't a fucking thing I can do about it.

I'm not sure what the next 30 days has in store. We may or may not be forced to move to another city. It all depends if he can get a decent job in this small town. K's classes end on the 23rd, so they will be going back home for the summer shortly there after. K and A aren't moving away from us. They will be coming back to us towards the end of the summer, regardless of where we will be.

This is a hell of a way to kick off my 26th birthday, but it is what it is. I guess. If I'm going to make lemons out of lemonade, I'm going to need a lot of fucking vodka.

On a serious note, 2010 can OFFICIALLY KISS MY FUCKING ASS.

[PS: If you happen to be an IRL (in real life) friend, foe, or family member, PLEASE keep this news to yourself. We haven't told anyone yet due to an upcoming surgery for my Grandmother and some other shit going on back home. We'll inform everyone back home when we get a better idea of what lies ahead.]

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go snuggle up to NYEBoy and cry in my cupcake.

2 Years Ago

Two years ago today, Matt Logelin helped his wife, Liz Logelin, get out of her hospital bed to meet their daughter Maddy for the first time after having delivered her after five weeks of bedrest the day before. A few steps later, she died from a pulmonary embolism. Matt Logelin was faced with the reality that he was not only a first time parent, but now a widower. He's spent the last 2 years being an amazing father to an amazing little girl who looks like the spitting image of her mother. In honor of Maddy's 2nd birthday I'm hoping my readers will join me in making a donation to the Liz Logelin Foundation to help other families in similar situations.

If you make a donation, please leave me a comment saying so. I will combine the names of those who have made a donation and I will make an additional donation in some one's name I draw.


Speaking of donations, I would like to thank those of you who made a donation to 50,000 Shoes to help provide shoes for those in Haiti last week. I've made an additional donation to 50000shoes.com in Suzy's name. Again, thank you all for your help.

Show & Tell: Slap Bracelets

On our way home from the beach this weekend, we stopped by a souvenir shop hoping to get another hermit crab. They were out of them, though. Maybe next time.

While K and I were checking out with our matching initial bracelets A found this.







A slap bracelet! How cute is that? Ahhh..brought back some memories.

Fess up, how many of you 80's babies played with slap bracelets in the 90's?

I know, I know.. our's weren't nearly this fancy either. Kids these days...

All Things P

I'm drained. I'm not sure if it's the strep, our trip to the beach, or not getting enough sleep last night, but I'm tapped out. Hopefully, I'll get some energy back tonight or tomorrow so I can get a decent post out. Until then, I'll hold you over with a picture and some exciting news.

This is proof a Princess can and will get dirty. If they feel like it.

My exciting news? Well, it's exciting for me. After nearly 6 months, my period has arrived. I think. I hope. I saw red. I pulled out the box of tampons from the STORAGE CLOSET. A box from the stash of tampons I bought when A was just shy of 6 months old, 3 years ago. I hope it's around for longer than a day. involves more than one tampon and a cramp. For fuck sake, can't my body just be normal for once?

The 50,000 Pair Challenge

It's been 2 months and 1 week since the massive earthquake hit Haiti. The totally fucking awesomely amazing Wanda Sykes has teamed up with Soles 4 Souls to help donate 50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days to the nearly 3 million thought affected by the earthquake in Haiti.




So, I'm asking you, my readers, to donate $5 (or more, if you can) to 50000shoes.com. Your $5 donation will help 2 people get a pair of shoes. If you donate $25, you will be donating 10 pairs, plus you will receive a key chain. A $50 donation will be giving 20 pairs to the cause and you will also get a pair. For a $100 donation you will give 40 pairs of shoes to those in need, plus receiving a t-shirt for yourself.

But that's not it. For every $5 you donate, you get a chance for me to donate an additional 2 pairs of shoes in your name. After you've made your donation, leave a comment on this post or email me (link is under the Contact Me tab at the top) telling me how much you donated. On Tuesday I will draw and announce the winner's name.

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K had a follow up appointment yesterday to go over her lab results. Unfortunately, they seemed to have never done her physical blood work. So, she had to have her blood redrawn. We go back 3/30 for those results.

I'm taking the girls to the beach Saturday for a little family time. NYEBoy has lots of work to do, so it'll just be us girls.

I have a blog post or two I wanted to get up this past week, but my thoughts aren't coming out like I wanted them to. I'm hoping to get my thoughts and words together over the weekend to get them posted sometime next week.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Don't forget to go donate $5 to 50000shoes.com and enjoy the first day of Spring this weekend!

Show & Tell: Monopoly

I love playing board games. My favorite board game is probably Monopoly. I mean really, who doesn't love playing the banker? It all began when we got our first version of Monopoly, which was Monopoly Junior.



Of course coming next one we got was the original Monopoly.



Then, I got the 60th Anniversary edition for Christmas.



When they came out with the Here & Now version, I got that too.



This past Christmas I picked up Monopoly Deal, a card game version



and Monopoly Express, a quick dice game of the popular board game.



I also picked up the Seinfeld edition this past Christmas for NYEBoy since he's a huge Seinfeld fan.



I think my favorite version of my collection is the 60th Anniversary, probably because of the gold color. Although I know NYEBoy's favorite is probably this version...



It's German Monopoly. NYEBoy is half German, so when I found this I had to pick it up. It earned me massive points in the relationship department. Heh.

This about sums up my collection of Monopoly games.

What about you? What's your favorite board game? Are you as big of a Monopoly nerd as I am?

If you're as big of a nerd as I am, you can go read the history of Monopoly. I think you'll be impressed to hear why there seems to be many different ways to play.

**Updated**

I completely forgot to mention my 2nd favorite version...



Puzz 3-D style! How awesome is that? A monopoly puzzle game board!

The Crazy Shit She Says: Bitchin' Night

This conversation was between A and I in front of an old lady in the line of a store.

A: Hey Due

Me: Yeah, kid?

A: I had a bitchin' last night.

Me: *blinks* Do what?

A: I had a bitchin' last night.

Me: Hmm.

A: Yeah. *sigh* I had a bitchin' last night.

Me: Okay. You had a WHAT last night?

A: A bitchin'. You know, a dream, a bitchin'.

Me: Ohhhh. You mean A VISION?

A: Yeah! A BITCHIN'!

I'm sure the lady was just as mortified as I was at the beginning of the conversation. Glad we have things all cleared up now. It's a vision, not a bitchin', night.

Typical + A Favor or Two

It's so typical of me to say I want to make some progress on work, then something come up. NYEBoy and I went to Waffle House Friday night because I was hungry and it was pretty late. A few hours later, my stomach started hurting. I tried laying down to see if I could get some sleep, but soon after that I started feeling the need to throw up. Although I've spent the last few months feeling nauseous I usually only feel that way. Sometimes I'll dry-heave, especially in the mornings, but rarely do I ever actually upchuck.

Friday night into Saturday morning was totally one of those OMGI'veGOTToUpchuckNOW kind of nauseous moments. I tweeted about it. I paced the floor. I stared at the toilet. I looked in the mirror. I eyed the trash can. When the sun started coming up, I watched the sunset. All of this time, I tried convincing myself NOT to upchuck. I knew if I actually did it, I would probably feel better, but the thought of doing it just made my knees weak. I didn't want to. Don't maaaaake me. Please?

I finally decided to just do it. Afterwards, I still felt like shit. WTH? Then, I decided to try to get a nap. I had been up for 24 hours but I didn't want to go to sleep because I knew I'd be up all night. I knew I couldn't lay down with the nausea this bad, so I propped up two of our folding chairs. I slept upright for about three hours. When I woke up, I still felt bad. A longer sleep seemed to have done it. I woke up Sunday feeling a lot better. I even ate most of my dinner, which I rarely do even on my good days.

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I need two favors.

First up, I need carpet cleaner suggestions. I'd like to look into a good carpet cleaner over the next few weeks.

Also, Friday afternoon we got K's paperwork in the mail to get her breast ultrasound done. The lady at the doctors office that was helping us with the paperwork doesn't work on Friday, so we had to wait until this morning to go. They have a waiting list anywhere from a few weeks to a few months long. Her breast is still hurting even with the meds and lack of caffiene in her diet. I'm nervous. Her other test results will be discussed at her follow up appointment this week. Please pray we can get her seen soon and the results of all of these tests come back normal.

Krabby Patty

It's Friday. FRIDAY! How in the fuck is it FRIDAY? Normally, I would be so GLAD it was Friday, but this week is was Spring Break. I'm not ready to get back in the groove of driving, waiting, and picking up. I've enjoyed staying close to home. I'm so ready for the summer break.

I had plans to get a lot of work done this week, but I haven't really done much of anything. Between the nightly leg pain and swollen tonsils, it's been hard to get any decent sleep this week, too. Hopefully, I'll get a few things done over the next few days work wise before the crew goes back to school. I know if I don't get some kind of work done I'll be crabby next week, asking myself WTF I did all week.

Speaking of crabby, one of our hermit crabs died a few weeks ago. Mean Ass aka Mr. Krabs is our only crab left. I guess we'll be picking up another hermit crab or two when we go back to the ocean in a few weeks.



A calls him her krabby patty. Spongebob would be proud.

The Crazy Shit She Says: Boyfriend

A had this conversation while we were on Skype with my Mom the other night.

A: I hab uh boyfriend.

Gma: Oh yeah?

A: Yep. *happy sigh*

Gma: Where did you meet this boyfriend?

A: At the pharmacy.

Gma: Oh?

A: He was sick. So, I had to buy him some medicine. Yep.

My mom and I were rolling. In her own words, "you crack me up, kid."

Show & Tell: TaIIahassee Museum

This week the crew is on Spring Break. We were going to go take a river boat tour, but decided against it. Instead, we I decided to go visit the TaIIahassee Museum for the first time. We went kind of late, so we only got to experience half of what the museum has to offer.

The first area we went and looked at was the Old FIorida area. A wasn't very impressed with the buttons you could press around the different buildings to hear stories. (They scared her.) The adults on the other hand enjoyed listening to the history behind the buildings. As I walked around rocking A in the church, I imagined what it was like over 100 years ago in these same buildings. I imagined how hot the mothers must have felt holding their children during FIorida's summer heat.



After learning about the history of FIorida slaves, we visited the FIorida Wildlife area. I think this was the first time I've ever seen the American Bald Eagle up close



or been close enough to poke a white-tailed deer in the ass.



I have to say, so far, my favorite part was walking along the bridge over Lake Bradford to look at these trees. I felt like I was in Lord of The Rings or something mthyical. It was truly breath-taking.



A loved waving from the train, too. FAREWELL! SEE YOU SOON!



And yes, A was wearing a dress. WE'RE IN FLORlDA! Don't you just hate me?

We're hoping to be able to go back to see what the rest of the museum has to offer later this week once the rain leaves our forecast. We decided to get the annual family pass because it was less than the cost of two visits and we weren't able to see everything. If nothing else, it will be good exercise in nature with the family!

So, if you ever come down to TaIIahassee, you've got to check this out.

Let's Get Physical, Physical

With the exception of getting my yearly pap last spring, I haven't had a complete physical since I quit working and moved 18 months ago. I've been to the doctor a few times and the ER once during this time. Since I don't have health insurance I've only gone when I know I absolutely can't wait any longer. Actually, there was one time I probably should have gone, but I knew I'd probably have to be admitted for dehydration and I just couldn't bring myself to go for fear of the bill I would get.

I haven't been feeling very well lately. The headaches and nausea are still pretty persistent. The last bone scan I had before I quit working showed a decrease in bone density. I was supposed to start taking calcium supplements, but I haven't. My body aches come and go. Sunday night when I got into bed, I couldn't lay on my left side. I can tell there is something wrong with my hip. I've had a bruise for several months in the same spot on my ass. It's in the same area I was getting the steroid shots every few days in 2007 when I had pneumonia for three months.

I finally broke down and caved. I scheduled me an appointment for my 26 th birthday for a physical at the same place we've been taking K to. I'm not very pleased with their help, but I don't have much choice.

Speaking of not being pleased with them, we dropped by there today after playing phone tag with someone since Thursday of last week. They told us K needed to have an ultrasound of her breast done. We are waiting for an application to be sent to see if she can get assistance. This could take anywhere from a week to several months. (So much for their saying on "early detection saves lives". I've been trying to fight for appointments to get her breast even scanned since 2/15, almost a whole month.) A few hours after we left, the nurse called us again telling us she forgot K needed to get an abdominal and pelvic ultrasound. We went back and filled out paperwork to get assistance for that, and the wait for that is TWO TO THREE MONTHS!

I know I won't qualify for insurance because of some issues, but I'm hoping we can get K some insurance soon. This waiting game is no fun. I feel like a second class citizen.

On the bright side, A's pap came back normal. One less thing for us to have to worry about. THANK GOD.

Green Thumb

One of the downsides about staying where we are instead of moving is that I still don't get to start a garden! A little piece of me dies every spring when people start mentioning their gardens. I want a garden full of watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, cantaloupes, strawberries, and whatever else I can get my hands on.

So, when @kristencmcd asked if A and I wanted to help her fill up holes plant, I gave her a hell yeah! We grabbed lunch first, then headed over to her lovely house to play in the dirt.

We planted about 12 pots and filled up a hole in her yard with the left over cow dung. Afterwards, we chilled down with a glass of lemonade and a bowl of pineapple. Yum! Before I left, she gave me one of my very own strawberry and tomato plants. I didn't scream all willy nilly, but deep inside, I swooned over the fact that I get to try grow my very own strawberries and tomatoes!




I can't wait to share pictures of a dead plant our bounty of fresh grown produce in a few months. A told me today, she was going to sit and watch them grow for me. I am so glad I finally found a reputable babysitter that doesn't rhyme with Heapdog, Whore-a, or The Mesh Feet Canned.

What about you? Do you have a garden? What are you growing? Ah yes, gardening in early March, the joys of living in FIorida!

We've Moved!

Sort of.

As you all know, we've been looking for a place to move this fall when our lease is up. I don't know if my head is just too tired of looking at places or not, but last week I had an epiphany. I think we're making the decision to stay where we are at. We've looked at a ton of places, but none are in the same price range with the same amount of space. I'm oddly okay with this.

A starts Kindergarten next year and we really like the one she would go to at our current location. If we move closer to The Crew's school, she won't be at as good of a school. So, unless we find something in the same price with a lot more space, it looks like we will be stay put.

Having said that, things needed to change in the house. NYEBoy is a creature of habit. He doesn't do well with changes, no matter how simplistic that seem to some. He swears he's normal, but I swear he's not. I, on the other hand, am not. As a teenager, I changed my room every six months to a year without even thinking twice about it. Now, I can't do that. I have to ask, beg, and plea to move a box to move furniture.

Tuesday, I got the itch to move our bed and dresser. Except this time, I didn't ask. I just did it. I had a moment of it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. As I was moving the bed and furniture I realized how much room our bedroom really has. I asked a year ago if I could have the master bedroom to use as my office, but NYEBoy refused. I finally broke down and told him that he didn't have a choice any more. I've decided to move my office into the master bedroom and our bed and dresser into my office. I told him if moving everything in one room didn't help streamline things and help me get more listed/sold that I would move switch it all back. He wasn't very happy to say the least, but I feel it necessary to stand my ground on this one.

So, here's my new office and A's playroom. What do you think?










It may look a little unorganized, but I swear everything is where I can find it. I still have a few more things to organize on the outside wall of the closet, but there's 10 bins there.

Hopefully with everything organized (I still have a few bags of inventory downstairs to bring up.) and in one room, I'll be able to work better. I'm also hoping with the bigger space, A will be more apt to play so I can sneak in some work time during the day too.

Show & Tell: The Buried Life

Have you seen the show on MTV, The Buried Life?



If you haven't, you're missing out on an amazing show. Duncan, Ben, Dave and Jonnie made a list of 100 things they want to do before they die. They travel the country trying to mark off things on their list. As they mark things off on their list, they help a stranger mark something off their list. It never fails, every week, I end the show crying because of the things they have helped other people do.

On last night's episode, they took a man who had gone blind some years ago, to go ride a horse for the first time since he had gone blind. Seriously? Water works! On an episode a few weeks ago he took a girl from my hometown of M3mphis to see her mom's grave site after they were separated during Katrina. She died of an infection from being stranded. OMG. I couldn't stop crying. My heart was crushed that she hadn't been able to make it out to see her Mom being buried even though she had died several years ago.

The Buried Life is on MTV on Monday nights at 10 pm EST. If you're not able to catch it during that time, you can watch the episodes online.

Here's a list of 10 things I want to do before I die. I'm working on my list of 100. I'll add it to my blog when it's ready.

1. Become a Mom.
2. Have a successful business.
3. Surprise someone in need.
4. Go on a cruise.
5. Go to a theme park with my brother and sister.
6. Open a college fund for A.
7. Get a family portrait of us 'kids' and our parents.
8. Have a completely clean house with no chores left to be done.
9. Make a difference in some one's life.
10. Make amends with my parents (separately).

Which brings me to my Show & Tell discussion, what do you want to do before you die? Do you have a list?

The Crazy Shit She Says: His Card

This conversation happened as we dropped NYEBoy off for the day.

Me: Bye, I love you.

NYEBoy: Bye. I love you, too.

A: Bye NYEBoy! Hab uh good day. I love you!

NYEBoy: Love you too.

Me: *starts driving*

A: WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!! GO BACK!!!!!!!!!

Me: WTF? Why?

A: You forgot his debit card.

I almost always ask NYEBoy for his card as he gets out of the car, but that day I already had it. Apparently Miss. Thang knows we can't go run errands without it. Heh.

Discrimination Take Two

K found a lump in her breast two weeks ago. As I've mentioned before, we have family history of bre@st c@ncer in the 20's. K is uninsured and has been since she delivered A, three and a half years ago. Her school is a c0mmunity coIIege that does not offer student insurance, so I had to find a place to help. After calling a few places I was basically told that since she was under 50 there was nothing we could do except go to one of the two income based clinics here locally. I decided to go with the clinic we didn't go to last year because of the bad experience we had.

The lady on the phone told me we couldn't schedule an appointment until we came in to fill out paperwork. She said after that, they would schedule me an appointment for next month. I explained our situation and family history, telling her waiting until next month wasn't an option. I was told I could come in between 8 am and 6 pm as a walk-in, but they couldn't tell me how long I would have to wait. Having worked in a doctor's office, I understood and didn't mind. I told the lady we would be there two days later, on K's next day off of school.

I wasn't sure where the clinic was located because I hadn't traveled in that area before. When I got to the street I was supposed to turn down and found a roadblock, I was confused. I traveled in a square trying to find an entrance to this place with no luck. After asking two crackheads and a guy at an auto shop, we ended up at the health department, which apparently was not the right place. The nice lady gave us directions thinking we would avoid the roadblock and detour, but I still found myself running into cones and signs. I even called the clinic to ask for directions, but the lady told me she wasn't from the area and couldn't help me. I saw a lady running out of a cemetery and asked her if she knew where the clinic was. Luckily, she did. She told me to drive around the roadblock sign and take a right.

I drove by the roadblock signs but still couldn't seem to find the clinic. I finally decided to pull into the high school, hoping someone would at least be able to give me directions. I asked the first guy I saw if he knew where it was, he pointed down the hallway. What? A health clinic in a high school? Why didn't anyone tell me this as I was going in circles?

When I got to the front desk of the clinic I told the lady K was here as a new patient walk-in. She promptly told me I had to schedule an appointment to get seen. I could tell by her voice that she was the lady I had spoken to on the phone two days before. I told her I had called and was told by someone (playing dumb) that I could walk in between 8 am and 6 pm to get an appointment because of the nature of the visit and our family history. She realized who I was and told me so. Except, she said she never told me to come in between 8 am and 6 pm, she told me to come in and fill out paperwork. I told her I wrote down everything she told me because getting an appointment was very serious for K to me. She rolled her eyes as she told me "I didn't tell you that. Maybe you didn't feel like writing down what I told you." She handed me a clip board and told me to fill out some paperwork.

After I filled out the paperwork, which by the way caused flashbacks of my Mom filling out paperwork for three kids every year on school registration day, I handed it back to the lady at the front desk. She called our name after about 15 minutes of shit talking and laughing to her co-worker. She asked what we wanted to do. "Get seen", I said. It was then that she told me they only do walk-in's from 8 am to 11 am. "And you didn't tell me this on the phone two days ago because..." I asked. She told me she "wasn't are-gue-en wit me because I ain't try-en duh be rewd wit chew." I told her it was too late to be rude to me, you're lying to my face about what you said on the phone and it if was you're 22 year old sister with a lump in her breast with a family history of c@ncer you wouldn't want to be treated this way. During my rant, she rolled her eyes, huffed and puffed, answered at least seven phone calls without saying "excuse me, hang on" one time.

I finally said to hell with this shit, I want to talk to your manager. Funny, no one could find a manager. As I was waiting for the phone number, her coworker told me to come up. She told me she could get me in Wednesday, six days later. I told her to go ahead and schedule me and I would talk to the medical director between now and then. They gave me the phone number and I called him and left a voice message on his phone to call me, but it's been 10 days and I haven't heard from him.

We went to the appointment on Wednesday, but after getting K weighed and going over her medical history the doctor made the decision to have us come back two days later. They had K coming in for a lump in her breast, but felt it would be an injustice not to do a complete physical at the same time. She told me she didn't normally work on Fridays, but made an exception for us.

Friday we came in for the physical. She said it was only cysts and told her to cut out caffeine. She gave her two scripts and told her to come back next week to discuss her lab results. She has an appointment scheduled on March 18th (because apparently the front desk bitch lady said there aren't any appointments until then despite the doctor saying to come in next week for results). If there are any bad results, I'm sure they will let us know before then. They are also trying to see if she qualifies for an ultrasound to check her breast and abdominal area since she's been complaining of abdominal pain, too. On the bright side, her cervix looks good which we were worried about because she had precancerous cells shortly after A was born and we were worried the abdominal pain was from that.

I have to say, I am really fucking sick of being discriminated against at these clinics. The two times we take advantage of "help" when we need it and we get shit on while everyone else around us gets help. I have a feeling why, but I guess it's best left unsaid.

I do plan to try to get a hold of the medical director guy again this week. I don't appreciate the way we were treated, insured or not. It's unacceptable.