Christmas Cards, Etc.

Hahahaaa! (in case you couldn't tell, that's my maniacal laugh)
I actually have my Christmas cards done already! Right after the tree was put up, I took some pics of the kids, went straight to the computer, created and ordered my cards. Now, when I'll have time to address them is something else all together.

Saw a news story about an atheist billboard in NJ. Nice to see another point of view out there.

Hey! I've got a great idea for celebrating Christmas! You should totally adopt a dog! Please visit the Almost Home Foundation to find furry faces that need homes. Like Plum, an adorable little chihuahua who's being fostered here in Chicago.

Hey, I've got another idea! You should volunteer at local soup kitchen, Boys and Girls Club or maybe someplace close to my heart like the Maryville Crisis Nursery! I can't think of a better way to celebrate your own good fortune than to share it and help others :)

I Could Do Some Damage

Tuesday I start my new job. New job means new clothes, right? A little back story - a few years ago, Hubs and I stopped using credit cards, and we're STILL paying off old balances. The only one I kept was a Bloomingdales account, and I used it once a year for the charity shopping event that the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation was involved in. So yesterday Hubs suggested that for once, I not worry about money, and use my Bloomies account to pick up some clothes. So out of curiosity, I checked the credit limit on it.
Oh my.
I could do some damage there. I see a nice new pair of boots in my immediate future.

*Muahahahaaaaa*

On Music and Maturity

I had quite a revelation listening to Jodeci from a married adult’s perspective.

“I’m sorry I left you, I left you crying, since you’ve been gone I’ve been all alone.” Well, yeah, dumbass, you left me crying…

“Tonight, let’s start out love again, tonight we can be more than just friends” What? Tonight? And tomorrow it’s back to crying? Forget it. I don’t have time for this.

Another Cringeworthy Moment

Attention parents of male children:

In the beginning, you think, I'm having a baby, it's great! He'll learn to walk, and talk, and learn his ABC's, and to ride a bike.....
And you have all these dreams....
but you stop dreaming long before your young man hits puberty. Because no one fantasizes that they'll have a little boy, love him and nurture him, and then catch him sneaking porn.

SO today Hubs walked by Daimean's room - which has no door, which is a story for another time - and said child closed out whatever he was looking at on the computer. Which is right in front of the open door, facing the door, so there's not much room for privacy, you see. Hubs, being a curious kind of guy (and a dad) checked the browser history and found animated porn having titles which included phrases like lap dance and blow job.

This is the first time it really occurred to me that porn, in all it's raunchy glory, objectifies women in a way that I don't want my tender darling son exposed to. Previously, I'd have just said it's inappropriate, and leave it at that. But now, I see a bigger danger, one that has men looking at women like they're only put on this earth for one thing, and it's not our wit and humor. One that causes some men to misunderstand that no means no.

Dear lord that's terrifying. So Hubs had a talk with him, and then I talked to him when I got home. He was honest and said he was looking because he was curious and that he thought he wouldn't get caught. I dig honesty. I get it. So I laid it out, and had to explain words like misogynistic to my little man. Fun times all around.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....

Parenting is NOT for the weak.

But on a lighter note, Isaiah was invited to join a gifted program at school! How awesome is that? His teacher says that he finishes his work faster than the other kids, and then starts helping *them* with theirs, and explaining it like a little teacher :)

Another Boring Blog Post

Gawd! Aren't you tired of reading this whiny ass blog already?
Wah, school is hard! Wah, work sucks! Boo hoo, I want something more!

Well, whine no more! Me, not you. I mean, you could stop whining, too, if you want. But I'm getting off topic.

I quit my job.

Of course I have another one, but the point is, I've accepted an offer of more money for less work. I'll be going back downtown to a "real" office, with a real job title. I'm excited.

I've noticed, and not for the first time, that my World History West professor's pants are too short. He's a tall guy. I shouldn't see his socks. Doesn't he feel a draft? Or has his wife not told him that he's buying his pants too short? Ooh he's looking at me again. I should probably get the hell off my blog.....

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Well, it *is* a dark and stormy night, and I'm avoiding homework like it's the plague.

Last night, Hubs and I had a date night, and since the kids were at my brother in law's house, we had no reason to rush home. So we decided to go to the lake, like we did back when we were young. We picked a beach, drove around the barriers (since the parks/beaches close at 11pm) and went in. We got to a spot near the water, parked and got out.

We left 5 minutes later.

Now, I am not a superstitious woman. Don't believe in ghosts or spirits or psychics. If someone tells me how they FELT something when someone 7 states over died, or that they SAW a face somewhere they damn well know they were alone, well, I'd just laugh and mock that moron. So it's all the more serious when I say something was off out there last night. Something was very wrong. We walked toward the water, and stopped, looked around, and realized it was absolutely, totally abandoned. Even when there's 3 feet of snow on the ground, there's *someone* out there. Walking a dog, sneaking Boone's Farm with nefarious intentions, late night bonfires.... but last night, we were the only...ones...there. It was deserted, and quiet, and, and

Okay, maybe I watch too many horror movies. It's possible.

Either way, we both felt it, and we didn't stick around for the zombie horde to come after us. I swear my heart rate didn't return to normal until we got home 15 minutes later, and it's possible I had a small heart attack just crossing the back yard from the garage. I've never ever ever in my whole life felt that way. Anxious, no, scared for no reason whatsoever.

Besides my tiny neurotic episode last night, here's what's new:
Mom is stopping chemo 2 treatments early. She says she just can't do it anymore. As much as I'd like to argue with her, I just can't. I see what it's done to her, and how it's worn her down. We'll talk to the doctor on Friday, and as long as he doesn't say, "Celeste, you will die if you stop chemo right now." then I'll support her. She just wants this to be over.

Oh yeah, school. Um, that 500lb gorilla in the room that I've avoiding right this moment. It's progressing, like flesh eating disease progresses.... slowly and painfully.

Isaiah turned 7. Still not sure how the heck *that* happened.

Hubs told me that I have a tendency to be a tad dismissive of other's feelings. *snort* Took him 12 years of marriage to get around to telling me that?

Isaiah had his first overnight away from home. See creepy date night above. Was my apprehension at him being away somehow tied to my outright fear last night? Hmm....
Nah.

I'm pretty sure I could think up a few more, but these books are staring at me with disdain, and if I don't finish my homework, I'll just be up all night tomorrow doing it. Damn.

Celebrations

Today is Isaiah's birthday. My "baby" turned 7, and had all of his OWN friends there to help celebrate. Gone are the days when his parties were filled with the children of my friends, although, some of them were there, too.
My little Zen baby, my father's namesake.... he's so big, and still so small at the same time. Quite a paradox - but one that all parents understand :)

About my friends being there... with each year that passes, I'm more thankful for the extended family we've made.

Too tired to write anything prolific, or even funny today. Back to work on one of many midterm assignments, and that's been eating my time like a fat lady at an all you can eat nacho bar. Back to Central American history, and my explanation of how economic developments affected the political and social developments of Central America and the Caribbean...