First Day with MY Business...
Okay, so today was slow. In fact, there was HARDLY anyone at the flea market at all. I spent time with a little girl (mom & dad had a store site a few down from me) Cassi's age. I let her watch a movie because she was bored. Cassi didn't come until the afternoon.
The little girl's mom said that the slowness was probably for a few reasons:
1. the weather (hot then rainy)
2. there have been all kinds of festivals this month that people probably spent all their money on
3. it's the end of the month and people will have money in a few days
I realized I didn't really like the space I was in. But, I figured I would keep it and see what would happen. I went over to the office to pay my money for next week. Because I didn't start this past Saturday (birthday party of Rob's daughter), I had a credit. So, today, instead of paying for 2 days next week as you have to pay a week in advance, I only had to pay for 1 day. But, after leaving, I found out the other person who was my competition, for baby shower invitations, had left. The manager said she had to leave unexpectedly because of something with her husband. The only reason I could think of was that her husband was being called up to go to Iraq.
But, her loss is my gain. I am able to move to her spot (actually the one right next to her old one). I realized it was a nicer building and seemed to be a LOT cooler. The manager said it was almost 10 degrees colder. This is a bonus for me because of bringing and using my laptop. This will help keep it cooler. And, in this building, there are more crafty-type businesses. The people I was sitting near today all said that building gets less traffic. But, I think I'll do better overall. And, this spot is only $3 more a week. When Rob came and picked me up, we packed up everything because I get to go back tomorrow morning to setup.
But, alas, I made no money today. However, I did get a nibble on someone wanting Watkins Products stuff and a nibble on someone wanting custom-made magnets for her daughter's birthday. I've got the magnet stock that will print in my printer. Why not? And, the woman only lives about 15 minutes from me. I told we could turn around her needs pretty quickly. And, she looked at my tea bag envelopes and thought it was a good idea. She couldn't believe I am only charging $1 each (that's for the design, ink to print, paper, glue, and tea bag). When you get the stuff in bulk, it's really cheap to make them. The only time consuming part is the time to design, cut, and glue the envelope. If anyone is interested in a sample, just send me an email with your mailing address. I can send on to you. email: henneca@hotmail.com.
Okay. I'm going to close now. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep last night. I've got some laundry to fold before Rob gets back.
On the home front: I've been helping Rob paint the trim. Dan is going to help him, maybe tomorrow to put the trim up. Once it's up and the room is finished painting, it will be time to move the furniture back, bring my hutch up from the basement, and all the CRAP that goes with it. My time is coming quickly. Plus, I've got the flea market the next 2 Saturdays and Wednesday. Yep, they are open on July 4. Hopefully, it's crowded and people like my tea bag envelopes because I've got buko made that are American Pride themed.
Lots of Love,
Cathy
8^ )
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Email Forward from My Mom...
And DEFINITELY worth the read! If this was EVER true, this country could go bankrupt!
This sounds a good plan to me.
Becoming Illegal---------
(Actual letter from an Iowa resident and sent to his senator)
The Honorable Tom Harkin
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone (202) 224 3254
Washington DC, 20510
Dear Senator Harkin,
As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.
My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to 'illegal alien' stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone else figures it out.
Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.
Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.
Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.
Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.
If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative.
Thank you for your assistance.
Your Loyal Constituent,
Donald Ruppert
Burlington, IA
Get your Forms (NOW)!!
Call your Internal Revenue Service 1-800-289-1040.
Please pass this onto your friends so they can save on this great offer
Not a bad idea in theory. And, if this is ANY snippet true, can you image how many million people would no longer want to be citizens of the US?
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
This sounds a good plan to me.
Becoming Illegal---------
(Actual letter from an Iowa resident and sent to his senator)
The Honorable Tom Harkin
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone (202) 224 3254
Washington DC, 20510
Dear Senator Harkin,
As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.
My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to 'illegal alien' stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone else figures it out.
Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.
Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.
Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.
Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.
If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative.
Thank you for your assistance.
Your Loyal Constituent,
Donald Ruppert
Burlington, IA
Get your Forms (NOW)!!
Call your Internal Revenue Service 1-800-289-1040.
Please pass this onto your friends so they can save on this great offer
Not a bad idea in theory. And, if this is ANY snippet true, can you image how many million people would no longer want to be citizens of the US?
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Other Projects Going on at the House...
If the "Week from Hell" wasn't enough, we've got other side projects going on at the house.
First, we have decided to try to make our own home-made, yes, from scratch, soda. Our first batch was root beer. Our first and only problem seems to be the fact that I had light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar. Note: The next batch will have dark brown sugar as we have now acquired it. The soda took about 2 weeks to make and the batch made 7 16-ounce bottles. The taste was AWESOME. The only drawback, don't sniff in the bottle. Because the soda is made with champagne yeast, it retains the yeast-y smell. Kinda strong. But, if you pour out the soda into a glass and drink it, it reminded me of a root beer barrel piece of hard candy. So, we want Cassi to help us with the next batch of cooking and getting the liquid together. I think she'll enjoy cooking with us.
Then, we've got a batch of wine fermenting in the basement. The wine will turn out like the Amber Mist wine, which is fine with me. We're making a batch of Exotic Fruit White Zinfandel. Once it's done, Dan and Rob plan on making another batch. It's fun to watch the juice, yeast, and stuff go from individual packages of stuff into good tasting wine. We did this once when we first got married. We made about 25 bottles of wine then. Our last bottle was drank about 2 years ago. Now that we've got a basement, we can use it to make and store the wine. But, this time, I'll be making the labels for our bottles. And, if everything goes well with the final stage, the wine will be ready just before my mom's birthday that is on July 9. I think I will give her a bottle for her birthday. No, Marie, I don't know WHAT to get her for her birthday. I did just give her a pair of jeans I can't wear right now. She's down at least 1 size in clothes.
Then, I'm pushing my business. For those of you who don't know, I've been trying off and on for the past few years to get a business started. Yes, I tried the direct-selling business, but I just didn't like pushing those products. I sold Tupperware. Yes, the products sell themselves, but when you don't know many people it's tough. Right now, Rob and I run a Watkins business. You can look at the products at: www.watkinsonline.com. If you order online, they will set you up with a customer number. Just remember to tell them I sent you with my associate #342297 that way I will get credit.
They were the first direct-selling business, still in business since 1868. Before coming home one day from work and Rob telling me, "I hope we've got enough money in the account because I just started us in Watkins," I've never heard of it. I'm so glad I know now. In July, we'll be in our 4th year. The products are WONDERFUL. They carry over 350 products, dealing with seasonings, cleaning products, personal care products, and heritage medicinals. During the 1928 World's Fair, Watkins took GOLD MEDAL awards for their Vanilla, Pepper, and Cinnamon. If you looked in my kitchen cabinets, that's about all you'll find for the seasonings. I ABSOLUTELY adore the puddings. Since I started using them, and they are stovetop cook puddings, I refuse to use instant. Also, as a bonus, the pudding mixes double as pie fillings because they are so thick. The soup bases have less sodium than the stuff at the store, etc. Just shoot me an email if you want a catalog. I'll send you one and some samples of the lotions and seasonings I've got.
But, for as long as I can remember, I've been working on a computer. Even now, I've been on this computer off and of all day, doing stuff for my business. There is a flea market about a 10 minute drive west of me, called Jamie's Flea Market. They are open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I have a spot in one of their indoor buildings. This is a good thing because I am starting my Creative Services business. I have been doing lots over the past few years with regard to graphic design and desktop publishing. I have been putting together things like custom-designed tea bag envelopes. They are designed with the computer. I print them and cut them out. Then, I fold and glue the envelope together, putting the tea bag in before I seal it. I can design them for just about any occasion and can custom-design the standard ones I've already created. And, I can take your photo and REALLY customize it. I've got other stuff I'm going to sell dealing with kids' chore charts, reading list cards, etc. I've got many products. My cost to be there the 2 days? Just $28 a week, which includes a 50 cents a day electric charge. They've got outside spots I could be at, but the bonus here is that: 1. I can leave my stuff for the next day without having to setup and tear down every time, 2. I can bring my laptop and printer and work onsite where my prospective customers can see what I'm doing. I've been binding my sample templates to show my tea bag envelopes by their categories (halloween, birthday, american pride, etc.). I've also got a Web site that will have my custom-designed stuff on it to sell. The site is: www.cathysbargains.com. You can go there, but right now, you can't get off the main page. There appears to be technical issues going on right now. With ALL THE OTHER STUFF, we've been doing, we haven't been able to fix. However, once it's fixed, I'll post again.
So, my summer will not be dull one moment. I go back to school in August and have 3 classes, and will be at school Monday afternoon through Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, plus continue to run my business.
And, this Thursday, I have a meeting with someone about a Technical Writer position. Professor Mary, bless her heart, referred me to someone at the school who owns a business a couple of streets over from school in downtown Cleveland. I'm interested to talk with him more about the business, etc.
Plus, I've got all the paperwork to get ready for PTO this summer. Really, to be honest, the people who were in charge before didn't know what they were doing because, again, this is like running a business. The principal agreed. I am running a non-profit organization.
Boy, and did I think I would EVER be doing stuff like this 10 years ago? NOPE!
Ok. Gotta go. I've got to get up early in the am. Cassi and I are going to Jamie's. Monday's and Thursday's in the am are devoted to the inside sellers to allow them to setup, etc. I'm bringing some of my stuff, along with chairs and tables and a Watkins sign to hang up. In the afternoon, I'll be taking her to the pool as a treat. It's supposed to get really HOT!
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
First, we have decided to try to make our own home-made, yes, from scratch, soda. Our first batch was root beer. Our first and only problem seems to be the fact that I had light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar. Note: The next batch will have dark brown sugar as we have now acquired it. The soda took about 2 weeks to make and the batch made 7 16-ounce bottles. The taste was AWESOME. The only drawback, don't sniff in the bottle. Because the soda is made with champagne yeast, it retains the yeast-y smell. Kinda strong. But, if you pour out the soda into a glass and drink it, it reminded me of a root beer barrel piece of hard candy. So, we want Cassi to help us with the next batch of cooking and getting the liquid together. I think she'll enjoy cooking with us.
Then, we've got a batch of wine fermenting in the basement. The wine will turn out like the Amber Mist wine, which is fine with me. We're making a batch of Exotic Fruit White Zinfandel. Once it's done, Dan and Rob plan on making another batch. It's fun to watch the juice, yeast, and stuff go from individual packages of stuff into good tasting wine. We did this once when we first got married. We made about 25 bottles of wine then. Our last bottle was drank about 2 years ago. Now that we've got a basement, we can use it to make and store the wine. But, this time, I'll be making the labels for our bottles. And, if everything goes well with the final stage, the wine will be ready just before my mom's birthday that is on July 9. I think I will give her a bottle for her birthday. No, Marie, I don't know WHAT to get her for her birthday. I did just give her a pair of jeans I can't wear right now. She's down at least 1 size in clothes.
Then, I'm pushing my business. For those of you who don't know, I've been trying off and on for the past few years to get a business started. Yes, I tried the direct-selling business, but I just didn't like pushing those products. I sold Tupperware. Yes, the products sell themselves, but when you don't know many people it's tough. Right now, Rob and I run a Watkins business. You can look at the products at: www.watkinsonline.com. If you order online, they will set you up with a customer number. Just remember to tell them I sent you with my associate #342297 that way I will get credit.
They were the first direct-selling business, still in business since 1868. Before coming home one day from work and Rob telling me, "I hope we've got enough money in the account because I just started us in Watkins," I've never heard of it. I'm so glad I know now. In July, we'll be in our 4th year. The products are WONDERFUL. They carry over 350 products, dealing with seasonings, cleaning products, personal care products, and heritage medicinals. During the 1928 World's Fair, Watkins took GOLD MEDAL awards for their Vanilla, Pepper, and Cinnamon. If you looked in my kitchen cabinets, that's about all you'll find for the seasonings. I ABSOLUTELY adore the puddings. Since I started using them, and they are stovetop cook puddings, I refuse to use instant. Also, as a bonus, the pudding mixes double as pie fillings because they are so thick. The soup bases have less sodium than the stuff at the store, etc. Just shoot me an email if you want a catalog. I'll send you one and some samples of the lotions and seasonings I've got.
But, for as long as I can remember, I've been working on a computer. Even now, I've been on this computer off and of all day, doing stuff for my business. There is a flea market about a 10 minute drive west of me, called Jamie's Flea Market. They are open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I have a spot in one of their indoor buildings. This is a good thing because I am starting my Creative Services business. I have been doing lots over the past few years with regard to graphic design and desktop publishing. I have been putting together things like custom-designed tea bag envelopes. They are designed with the computer. I print them and cut them out. Then, I fold and glue the envelope together, putting the tea bag in before I seal it. I can design them for just about any occasion and can custom-design the standard ones I've already created. And, I can take your photo and REALLY customize it. I've got other stuff I'm going to sell dealing with kids' chore charts, reading list cards, etc. I've got many products. My cost to be there the 2 days? Just $28 a week, which includes a 50 cents a day electric charge. They've got outside spots I could be at, but the bonus here is that: 1. I can leave my stuff for the next day without having to setup and tear down every time, 2. I can bring my laptop and printer and work onsite where my prospective customers can see what I'm doing. I've been binding my sample templates to show my tea bag envelopes by their categories (halloween, birthday, american pride, etc.). I've also got a Web site that will have my custom-designed stuff on it to sell. The site is: www.cathysbargains.com. You can go there, but right now, you can't get off the main page. There appears to be technical issues going on right now. With ALL THE OTHER STUFF, we've been doing, we haven't been able to fix. However, once it's fixed, I'll post again.
So, my summer will not be dull one moment. I go back to school in August and have 3 classes, and will be at school Monday afternoon through Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, plus continue to run my business.
And, this Thursday, I have a meeting with someone about a Technical Writer position. Professor Mary, bless her heart, referred me to someone at the school who owns a business a couple of streets over from school in downtown Cleveland. I'm interested to talk with him more about the business, etc.
Plus, I've got all the paperwork to get ready for PTO this summer. Really, to be honest, the people who were in charge before didn't know what they were doing because, again, this is like running a business. The principal agreed. I am running a non-profit organization.
Boy, and did I think I would EVER be doing stuff like this 10 years ago? NOPE!
Ok. Gotta go. I've got to get up early in the am. Cassi and I are going to Jamie's. Monday's and Thursday's in the am are devoted to the inside sellers to allow them to setup, etc. I'm bringing some of my stuff, along with chairs and tables and a Watkins sign to hang up. In the afternoon, I'll be taking her to the pool as a treat. It's supposed to get really HOT!
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
New Template
By the way, in case you've noticed, I put my "American Pride" theme up. Hope everyone enjoys. This will probably stay this way until before Halloween.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Update on Nicole
In case you're wondering, Rob's daughter's name is Nicole. She turned 16 on Wednesday, and yes, that's just one day after mine. Yesterday, we went to a birthday party her mother gave her that was at a park on Lake Erie.
I hand-made 2 cards for her, one from us and one from Cassi. Cassi also colored a picture on the way to the party and gave it to Nicole. For her birthday, I noticed the following gifts:
I hand-made 2 cards for her, one from us and one from Cassi. Cassi also colored a picture on the way to the party and gave it to Nicole. For her birthday, I noticed the following gifts:
- cell phone with keyboard (like my phone and Rob's and Marie's)
- digital camera with memory card
- a box of Twinkies (I think this was a gag gift from mom's boyfriend)
She really enjoyed Cassi picture gift. The only issue with the cell phone is that it has text messaging. Well, I am not about to upgrade our phone plan to include unlimited texting. And, I told Rob this. He agreed. Right now, we pay enough each month for a share plan on the minutes. For our texting, Rob has the ability to send and receive 1500 msgs outside of the Verizon plan and I've got 500. I haven't needed to upgrade my and don't plan on it because ALL my texting is within the Verizon network. Hmmm? Wonder why I refuse to change companies? Even though everyone else might be cheaper? I'll keep Verizon. We've been with them since it was Airtouch (yep, that long). But, I digress. Luckily, with accessing our account online, I can keep track of how many msgs he's sent and received outside of the network.
But, Cassi had a really good time. They ordered pizzas and had a cake from Giant Eagle (local grocery store that has AWESOME cake). Anyway. Because it had been so cool, we decided not to let Cassi wear her suit to the lake. But, Rob walked with her on the edge, allowing her to get her feet wet and to let her collect sea shells. Yes, even though it is a lake, there are sea shells because it is a "salt" lake. One time, she came back with the bottoms of her shorts wet. Next thing we knew, she was soaked up to her hair. She was really having a good time with Nicole. And, Nicole watched her.
We stayed at the party about 2 hours. Then, because Cassi was wet, we went to mom and dad's house. Cassi stopped short of the door to make sure her feet were clean. Then, it was straight to the bathroom to get washed up. She decided she wanted to stay. Rob and I were working on the house last night and this morning and weren't going to go to church (yes, bad us). His grandmother will be here in a little over a week. He's trying his hardest to get everything done. Right now, the floor is done. Last night and today, Rob and Dan removed the floor trim. Because we have done so much to help Dan, and he's got a friend at a lumber company, Dan is going to pay for new trim wood for our floor. And, Dan's going to help Rob get it put in. Right now, I'm not doing much, but my time will come. Once the hutch comes back upstairs and the furniture gets back into the living room, it will be my job to populate everything with the "stuff" that's in the basement. But, last night, Rob did get to paint the ceiling and fill the holes in the window trim. Today, he filled the cracks in the walls. They should be dry tomorrow when he can come back into the living room and paint the walls.
So, Cassi stayed overnight. On the way home, Rob kept getting txt messages from Nicole. Because Rob was driving, he had me send the messages back and forth. One quest she asked him was the ability to spend time with him all by herself. Yes, that means no me, no Cassi. Now, you can all understand where I'm taking this line of thinking. It means that I'm jealous because I can't spend my time with my husband. The problem I have with this is that she asked him to take her out to dinner and a movie, "just the two of them." Here are my objections, that I told Rob:
- We don't have the extra money
- You don't spend time with OUR daughter by yourself
- WE don't get to spend time doing things just you and me because of issue #1
I told him, "How can you decide to go out with Nicole when we continue to tell Cassi that we can't go to the movies, etc. because we just don't have the extra money. Now all of a sudden you do because of her."
That just isn't fair. I told him if he starts spending time with Nicole, he ALSO has to make time to spend with Cassi alone. I understand he hasn't seen Nicole in 15 years, but he doesn't make the attempt to spend time with Cassi. And, yes, you can agree that I'm jealous that there's someone else in his life taking his time, time that would normally be spent with me. But, I just need time to get used to the new situation.
So, as I said, we came home and he painted. My part of the job was to watch the ceiling to make sure none of the areas were missed. And, even when he's doing the work, he enjoys my being with him to talk with him.
Overall, I felt very akward at the party. I didn't know anyone there, but the ex and Nicole. One of the ex's friends introduced herself to me, but I can't remember her name. I met the ex's mom. She seemed very brash and rude because of what she was saying during the party. Not many people talked to me. I was feeling akward because of the whole, "she's your ex and you had sex thing." For me, it's akward knowing that my husband has been with someone who will now be part of my life. He thinks I'm crazy. We've had this situation before where a friend of his wanted to be friends with me, but I chose not to because they had sex together. He added in the same conversation that, "Well, I didn't feel that way when I met your ex." For me, that situation was different because: 1. we were never married, 2. we never had a kid together, 3. he never stole money from me, 4. all the other reasons not directly implied about their relationship that Rob has told me.
I do like Nicole. I know she needs him and he needs her. It just seems like my needs (yes, it's all about me) and Cassi's needs will fall to second. Again, I'll keep you all updated on what happens. His parents and grandmother are coming in about a week and a half. Dan has already agreed to come get me and take me away from the house if the situation gets to be too much on me. But, I told Dan if I can't handle it, I'll just take a walk.
Oh, at the party, I spent some time walking around the beach, getting some nice pictures of the lake, with the sailboats, downtown Cleveland, and other pictures of the area. I'll post them after I upload them to my computer. Yes, and I'll even include the latest pictures of the floor.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
Silent Internet this Coming Tuesday...
Yes, my friends, on June 26, the Internet will be all quiet. We get the most unusual emails in our box from our business (more info on this to follow). However, here is an email about what's going to happen to webcasting on Tuesday:
The Day the Web Goes Silent
Jason Lee Miller Staff Writer
Not a moment of silence, but a full day of silence is planned by US-based webcasters, lots of them, in protest of the Copyright Royalty Board's increase in royalty rates. Internet radio stations argue the rate hikes are disproportionate and will shut down the entire Web radio industry.
Next Tuesday, June 26, thousands of US webcasters will go silent, including big names like Yahoo, Rhapsody, MTVOnline, and Pandora, as well as more local offerings like BluegrassCountry.org/WAMU.org and RadioMilwaukee.
Some webcasters will cut off their streams entirely while others will play static, ocean sounds, or similar fare with periodic public service announcements of what is happening.
"The arbitrary and drastic rate increases set by the Copyright Royalty Board on March 2nd threaten the very livelihood of thousands of webcasters and their millions of listeners throughout the country," said Jake Ward, a spokesperson for the SaveNetRadio Coalition.
"The campaign to save Internet radio - a genuine grassroots movement comprised of hundreds of thousands of webcasters, artists and independent labels, and Net radio listeners - has quickly brought this issue to the national forefront and the halls of Congress, but there is still more to be done before the approaching deadline of July 15th.
"On Tuesday, thousands of webcasters will call on their millions of listeners to join the fight to save Internet radio and contact their Congressional representatives to ask for their support of the Internet Radio Equality Act."
After July 15, the CRB plans to impose its new rates, a policy that is retroactive, requiring Net radio providers pay the new rates for the previous 17 months as well.
The complete list on Internet radio stations participating in the Day of Silence are as follows:
Yahoo! WPNA (Oak Park, IL),
Live365 stations, 60's Chicks Radio/Seasons &
Rhapsody, Celebrations Radio,
MTV Online, STAR 107.9,
AccuRadio, WRPS/WebRadioPugetSound,
KCRW (Santa Monica, CA) Puregold Rock 'N Roll,
Pandora, NeverEndingWonder Radio,
Radioio, RadioMilwaukee,
DigitallyImported, BAGeL Radio,
RadioParadise, Gotradio/100hitz,
3WK, KDUN (Reedsport, OR),
myMVY, GDRadio.net,
Wizard Radio, KQLZ (Los Angeles, CA),
Born Again Radio, KXPR/KXJZ (Sacramento, CA),
Pearadio.com, NiceNoise.Net,
Ear.fm, BlackLight Radio,
WGLI (Bablylon, NY), Pure Pop 24/7,
WMUK (Kalamazoo, MI), Smooth Jazz and More,
Head-On Radio Network, Reggae Nostalgia,
Zecom/Gemz Radio, WCH Radio/The Wave,
monkeygrip music cafe, WYGS Southern Gospel Radio
KFCF (Fresno, CA), Network,
LuckySevenRadio.com BluegrassCountry.org/WAMU.
Blue Power/Guitar Speak
Thought everyone might like to read what's going to happen on Tuesday when they can't HEAR anything on the net!
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
The Day the Web Goes Silent
Jason Lee Miller Staff Writer
Not a moment of silence, but a full day of silence is planned by US-based webcasters, lots of them, in protest of the Copyright Royalty Board's increase in royalty rates. Internet radio stations argue the rate hikes are disproportionate and will shut down the entire Web radio industry.
Next Tuesday, June 26, thousands of US webcasters will go silent, including big names like Yahoo, Rhapsody, MTVOnline, and Pandora, as well as more local offerings like BluegrassCountry.org/WAMU.org and RadioMilwaukee.
Some webcasters will cut off their streams entirely while others will play static, ocean sounds, or similar fare with periodic public service announcements of what is happening.
"The arbitrary and drastic rate increases set by the Copyright Royalty Board on March 2nd threaten the very livelihood of thousands of webcasters and their millions of listeners throughout the country," said Jake Ward, a spokesperson for the SaveNetRadio Coalition.
"The campaign to save Internet radio - a genuine grassroots movement comprised of hundreds of thousands of webcasters, artists and independent labels, and Net radio listeners - has quickly brought this issue to the national forefront and the halls of Congress, but there is still more to be done before the approaching deadline of July 15th.
"On Tuesday, thousands of webcasters will call on their millions of listeners to join the fight to save Internet radio and contact their Congressional representatives to ask for their support of the Internet Radio Equality Act."
After July 15, the CRB plans to impose its new rates, a policy that is retroactive, requiring Net radio providers pay the new rates for the previous 17 months as well.
The complete list on Internet radio stations participating in the Day of Silence are as follows:
Yahoo! WPNA (Oak Park, IL),
Live365 stations, 60's Chicks Radio/Seasons &
Rhapsody, Celebrations Radio,
MTV Online, STAR 107.9,
AccuRadio, WRPS/WebRadioPugetSound,
KCRW (Santa Monica, CA) Puregold Rock 'N Roll,
Pandora, NeverEndingWonder Radio,
Radioio, RadioMilwaukee,
DigitallyImported, BAGeL Radio,
RadioParadise, Gotradio/100hitz,
3WK, KDUN (Reedsport, OR),
myMVY, GDRadio.net,
Wizard Radio, KQLZ (Los Angeles, CA),
Born Again Radio, KXPR/KXJZ (Sacramento, CA),
Pearadio.com, NiceNoise.Net,
Ear.fm, BlackLight Radio,
WGLI (Bablylon, NY), Pure Pop 24/7,
WMUK (Kalamazoo, MI), Smooth Jazz and More,
Head-On Radio Network, Reggae Nostalgia,
Zecom/Gemz Radio, WCH Radio/The Wave,
monkeygrip music cafe, WYGS Southern Gospel Radio
KFCF (Fresno, CA), Network,
LuckySevenRadio.com BluegrassCountry.org/WAMU.
Blue Power/Guitar Speak
Thought everyone might like to read what's going to happen on Tuesday when they can't HEAR anything on the net!
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
Friday, June 22, 2007
Posts, part deux...
Okay. I've added 2 posts about my week from HELL and my birthday. I decided to delete the other post and start it new now.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
Posts...
I promise, I've got 4 posts that I have drafted and ready to type. I just need to find the time to do them. I'll try this weekend. I can't believe, I'm off school, Cassi's off school, and I can't find time to do ANYTHING!
1. Business
2. PTO
3. Keep Cassi busy
4. Start moving furniture back into living room
5. Go to step daughter's birthday (will talk about that in another post)
6. Clean house
7. Keep Cassi busy
BTW, part of Cassi's chores this summer will include:
1. putting her laundry away
2. making her bed
3. keeping her room clean at all times
4. swiffering the living room (has been wanting to play with it, so why not?)
Okay. It's 2am and I've got to get to bed. If you can believe it, Marie gets up for work at this time.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
1. Business
2. PTO
3. Keep Cassi busy
4. Start moving furniture back into living room
5. Go to step daughter's birthday (will talk about that in another post)
6. Clean house
7. Keep Cassi busy
BTW, part of Cassi's chores this summer will include:
1. putting her laundry away
2. making her bed
3. keeping her room clean at all times
4. swiffering the living room (has been wanting to play with it, so why not?)
Okay. It's 2am and I've got to get to bed. If you can believe it, Marie gets up for work at this time.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
My Birthday...
OK.
So, this week was my birthday. It was Tuesday, June 19 to be exact. I was born at 11:42 am. With that said, no wonder I don't like to get up early. If I could just get up at 9am every day, I would be just fine. Not to say that I'm not used to getting up at 7:30 am still from getting Cassi up and going to school.
Anyway, I spent my day with hubby. Cassi was at Dan's and Alexis's house. She spent the night Monday night.
For my day, I did something special. Instead of a usual cake, I made a strawberry pie. A few weeks ago, we traveled south to Amish country, where we purchased wheels of cheese that they make right on the premises. Also, we purchased a tube of strawberry jel. Monday night, we went to Super K, looking at the veggies and stuff on sale. The strawberries just didn't look good. After Cassi went to Dan's, I went to Costco. Monday, I received birthday cards from Rob's mom, Rob's grandmother, and Marie (thanks!). From Rob's grandmother, I got a $10 bill. At Costco, I was able to pick up 4 pounds of strawberries for $6.49 and a pineapple for $2.99. The total was $9.48, with 52 cents left over. Rob and I sent msgs to each other about how to spend the left over change.
But, I got my 2 favorite foods for my birthday. That night, I did a "blind bake" of a pie crust. I don't use graham cracker crusts on anything, only pastry crust will do. After the crust was ready, I put a layer of the jel in the bottom, then loaded it with strawberries. Then, jel on the top.
For my birthday, I wanted cheeseburgers and home made fries (from potatoes). We cut up the potatoes and made the fries. We took the pie over in the evening to Dan's and shared it with Dan, Mary Beth, and Alexis. Cassi didn't want any. The pie was the best. I didn't add any sugar to the pie. Whatever sugar was there, was in the jel. I definitely will get that jel again. It was thick, even thicker than the stuff you see at the grocery stores. Probably because it is made my Amish. It was almost as thick as licorice candy. Hmmm? LOTS of sugar.
Otherwise, my birthday was quiet. I know Marie tried to call on Monday, but alas, I think I was napping at the time.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. No party. Cassi kept looking for people to come over for a party. She doesn't realize that we really don't do that kind of stuff when we get older. It's just another day. If I had had a job, I probably would have been working.
So, this week was my birthday. It was Tuesday, June 19 to be exact. I was born at 11:42 am. With that said, no wonder I don't like to get up early. If I could just get up at 9am every day, I would be just fine. Not to say that I'm not used to getting up at 7:30 am still from getting Cassi up and going to school.
Anyway, I spent my day with hubby. Cassi was at Dan's and Alexis's house. She spent the night Monday night.
For my day, I did something special. Instead of a usual cake, I made a strawberry pie. A few weeks ago, we traveled south to Amish country, where we purchased wheels of cheese that they make right on the premises. Also, we purchased a tube of strawberry jel. Monday night, we went to Super K, looking at the veggies and stuff on sale. The strawberries just didn't look good. After Cassi went to Dan's, I went to Costco. Monday, I received birthday cards from Rob's mom, Rob's grandmother, and Marie (thanks!). From Rob's grandmother, I got a $10 bill. At Costco, I was able to pick up 4 pounds of strawberries for $6.49 and a pineapple for $2.99. The total was $9.48, with 52 cents left over. Rob and I sent msgs to each other about how to spend the left over change.
But, I got my 2 favorite foods for my birthday. That night, I did a "blind bake" of a pie crust. I don't use graham cracker crusts on anything, only pastry crust will do. After the crust was ready, I put a layer of the jel in the bottom, then loaded it with strawberries. Then, jel on the top.
For my birthday, I wanted cheeseburgers and home made fries (from potatoes). We cut up the potatoes and made the fries. We took the pie over in the evening to Dan's and shared it with Dan, Mary Beth, and Alexis. Cassi didn't want any. The pie was the best. I didn't add any sugar to the pie. Whatever sugar was there, was in the jel. I definitely will get that jel again. It was thick, even thicker than the stuff you see at the grocery stores. Probably because it is made my Amish. It was almost as thick as licorice candy. Hmmm? LOTS of sugar.
Otherwise, my birthday was quiet. I know Marie tried to call on Monday, but alas, I think I was napping at the time.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. No party. Cassi kept looking for people to come over for a party. She doesn't realize that we really don't do that kind of stuff when we get older. It's just another day. If I had had a job, I probably would have been working.
Monday, June 18, 2007
The Week from HELL!
I can't believe the last week (and now almost 2 weeks on 6/22) has been so crazy. And, it's all from one guy. Yep, my friend, Dan.
Last week (since it's now 6/22 that I'm writing thing), we kept Alexis, his daughter almost everyday. Along with Alexis, we also got Morgan for a day (his other daughter). Last week, he had finalized his divorce.
Monday, I spent all day at court with him, in case he needed me to testify. Rob, the dearest man in the world, worked all night. He came home and tried to keep the girls all day. We figured we would be done by lunch, but NO! At lunch, I came home to get the girls. He was so tired I had to take them with me back to court. To sit! They were so bored. But, there was nothing I could do. Rob couldn't make it any more. And, I didn't want them by themselves.
So, off to court we went, but side tripped at the park for an hour. You see, Alexis's mom and dad were never married. They live in separate homes, having joint custody of Alexis. However, both of their discipline style leaves a lot to be desired. Alexis was doing a lot of acting up at court. She just didn't want to be there. Mom kept warning her to stop or else. But, never doing the "or else." However, I didn't care which adults were there, since Cassi and Alexis were under my authority, I was disciplining both. And, it didn't fall on deaf ears of grandparents. Dan's mom and step-dad, step-mom, and step-sister all agreed that Alexis listens to me. And, believe me, she does.
I've told Dan if it came down to it, and I had to spank Alexis, I would. And, he backs me up 100%. But, I think he's worried if he does it, he would get in trouble with the court. But, I've never had to spank her. But, I have had to grab her once and make her sit in timeout where I wanted her to sit. She tried to run away in the opposite direction, knowing that I can't run very fast to catch her. In that one instance, I knew she was tired.
But, Tuesday was my birthday. Will talk about it in a separate post.
Because we spent the week helping out Dan, the third layer of poly didn't get on the floor until 6/20 (Wednesday). And, because Rob had to put off the floor, the can of poly crystalized and the brush was ruined. Luckily, because we did help Dan, he gave us the money to replace what was lost because of helping him.
Saturday and Sunday was spent at Dan's house. His ex-wife was coming to the house to get the stuff on her list that was hers in the divorce. I can't believe how petty she was. She was looking for over 7 pages of hand-written stuff. Let's just say she was looking for petty things like: tampons and jewelry cleaner. Saturday, they came with 10 people and expected to get into his house. Rob solved that by making sure the house was locked. But, the police came and called Dan. To our salvation, they were not allowed in the house. They had to take what was there.
Sunday, being father's day, Dan had both of his girls. And, like we thought, all the way to Morgan's house, a police officer followed him. They must have friends with that town's police department. They've got his license plate and his mom's plate on file to follow whenever they are in that town. But, Sunday, Rob, along with Christine (Alexis's mom) and Ryan (Christine's boyfriend), went to Dan's house to allow the ex to come into find whatever else she could find. And, again, she brought a crowd. Before anyone went into the house, Rob took pictures of the entire house. Then, he told them that only the ex, ex's dad, and two other people could enter the house. They weren't going to have all those people and only a few sets of eyes to watch them.
Of course, this didn't fly with ex. She immediately called her lawyer who called the police. When the police arrived, Rob explained to him what he told the ex. The officer agreed with Rob. That was not an unreasonable request. She was fuming. And, Rob also told the officer, there's china in the hutch in his dining room that just was acquired through his grandmother's death. He just got it in a will. The china would not leave the house. Agreed. And, Alexis has a bedroom at dad's house. In the bedroom are collectible Barbie dolls dad got her for birthdays and Christmas. Also, there were collectible Precious Moments figurines. He also said none of them would leave. The officer also agreed to that too.
She was so mad. I know she figured she would leave the house empty after coming. She didn't realize who she was dealing with. Rob and Ryan told her if they didn't follow the rules, the house would get locked up and they could resolve any issues through the court.
They tried to leave with a bottle of change. Nope. Rob made them return it because it wasn't on the list. There were a lot of items she took that weren't on the list. That night, we printed out all the photos for Dan that Rob took. And, I haven't removed them from the memory chip, still original in case they need them.
All I have to say is, I NEVER want to get divorced. But, I love my husband and would never want to leave him.
So, Rob finished the floor on 6/20. It looks beautiful. It's already ready to walk on, but we're waiting long enough for the poly to set completely before moving the furniture. Plus, since everything is still gone, and he's about half done, he's going to finish painting before putting everything back. But, he's just got next week to get everything done.
With that, I'll close. I'll get the final pictures posted soon.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
Last week (since it's now 6/22 that I'm writing thing), we kept Alexis, his daughter almost everyday. Along with Alexis, we also got Morgan for a day (his other daughter). Last week, he had finalized his divorce.
Monday, I spent all day at court with him, in case he needed me to testify. Rob, the dearest man in the world, worked all night. He came home and tried to keep the girls all day. We figured we would be done by lunch, but NO! At lunch, I came home to get the girls. He was so tired I had to take them with me back to court. To sit! They were so bored. But, there was nothing I could do. Rob couldn't make it any more. And, I didn't want them by themselves.
So, off to court we went, but side tripped at the park for an hour. You see, Alexis's mom and dad were never married. They live in separate homes, having joint custody of Alexis. However, both of their discipline style leaves a lot to be desired. Alexis was doing a lot of acting up at court. She just didn't want to be there. Mom kept warning her to stop or else. But, never doing the "or else." However, I didn't care which adults were there, since Cassi and Alexis were under my authority, I was disciplining both. And, it didn't fall on deaf ears of grandparents. Dan's mom and step-dad, step-mom, and step-sister all agreed that Alexis listens to me. And, believe me, she does.
I've told Dan if it came down to it, and I had to spank Alexis, I would. And, he backs me up 100%. But, I think he's worried if he does it, he would get in trouble with the court. But, I've never had to spank her. But, I have had to grab her once and make her sit in timeout where I wanted her to sit. She tried to run away in the opposite direction, knowing that I can't run very fast to catch her. In that one instance, I knew she was tired.
But, Tuesday was my birthday. Will talk about it in a separate post.
Because we spent the week helping out Dan, the third layer of poly didn't get on the floor until 6/20 (Wednesday). And, because Rob had to put off the floor, the can of poly crystalized and the brush was ruined. Luckily, because we did help Dan, he gave us the money to replace what was lost because of helping him.
Saturday and Sunday was spent at Dan's house. His ex-wife was coming to the house to get the stuff on her list that was hers in the divorce. I can't believe how petty she was. She was looking for over 7 pages of hand-written stuff. Let's just say she was looking for petty things like: tampons and jewelry cleaner. Saturday, they came with 10 people and expected to get into his house. Rob solved that by making sure the house was locked. But, the police came and called Dan. To our salvation, they were not allowed in the house. They had to take what was there.
Sunday, being father's day, Dan had both of his girls. And, like we thought, all the way to Morgan's house, a police officer followed him. They must have friends with that town's police department. They've got his license plate and his mom's plate on file to follow whenever they are in that town. But, Sunday, Rob, along with Christine (Alexis's mom) and Ryan (Christine's boyfriend), went to Dan's house to allow the ex to come into find whatever else she could find. And, again, she brought a crowd. Before anyone went into the house, Rob took pictures of the entire house. Then, he told them that only the ex, ex's dad, and two other people could enter the house. They weren't going to have all those people and only a few sets of eyes to watch them.
Of course, this didn't fly with ex. She immediately called her lawyer who called the police. When the police arrived, Rob explained to him what he told the ex. The officer agreed with Rob. That was not an unreasonable request. She was fuming. And, Rob also told the officer, there's china in the hutch in his dining room that just was acquired through his grandmother's death. He just got it in a will. The china would not leave the house. Agreed. And, Alexis has a bedroom at dad's house. In the bedroom are collectible Barbie dolls dad got her for birthdays and Christmas. Also, there were collectible Precious Moments figurines. He also said none of them would leave. The officer also agreed to that too.
She was so mad. I know she figured she would leave the house empty after coming. She didn't realize who she was dealing with. Rob and Ryan told her if they didn't follow the rules, the house would get locked up and they could resolve any issues through the court.
They tried to leave with a bottle of change. Nope. Rob made them return it because it wasn't on the list. There were a lot of items she took that weren't on the list. That night, we printed out all the photos for Dan that Rob took. And, I haven't removed them from the memory chip, still original in case they need them.
All I have to say is, I NEVER want to get divorced. But, I love my husband and would never want to leave him.
So, Rob finished the floor on 6/20. It looks beautiful. It's already ready to walk on, but we're waiting long enough for the poly to set completely before moving the furniture. Plus, since everything is still gone, and he's about half done, he's going to finish painting before putting everything back. But, he's just got next week to get everything done.
With that, I'll close. I'll get the final pictures posted soon.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
I Can't Believe...
It's been a whole week since my last post. Yep, Cassi's finally done school. I spent the day Friday driving back and forth to school. First, I brought the popsicles from my chest freezer for the 1st through 3rd grades. The school's field day was Friday. As a gift from the PTO, we bought popsicles. They've been in my freezer getting hard because I had over 400 of them. The little ones had their field day first. They were so grateful to get the frozen goodies right after they came into school. Then, I spent an hour confirming $1400 in money for deposit into the PTO account. Went home and came back at 2 for the 4th through 6th grades' popsicles. They enjoyed them too. Even the teachers enjoyed them. The weather started to get nasty though because a bad rain storm came through.
But Cassi is done. She went to Pa and Nana's for the weekend because Rob worked. This really helped because they were short-staffed and Saturday night/Sunday morning, he ended up being by himself with 50 patients. So, Sunday morning, I got up to get him breakfast because we hadn't had time to make din-din the night before. He was ready for bed immediately. I ended up going back to bed with him and slept until noon.
Just a tid-bit why our family rocks, etc. Sunday morning, after getting up, I spent some time texting Marie. Because she wants to help keep Cassi good for the summer, she decided to still offer her "if you're good" money. However, instead of getting it each month, she's sending it in one check and a little extra for mom and dad (that's us). She's paying for us to get summer passes to our recreation pools. So everyone knows, MARIE ROCKS!
Monday, I spent the day with at court with my friend Dan. He was going through his final 2 days of his divorce. It has taken 3 years to get to this point. It was so bad Monday. We all thought he was going to lose his house and all his stuff. She was so nasty that she wanted Alexis' bedroom set. (background: Alexis is Cassi's friend. Alexis is Dan's daughter from his first relationship with his best friend, Christina. They are still friends today.) That night, we (Rob and I) took the girls to dinner. Alexis just kept demanding that Colleen couldn't have her bedroom set. Rob and I explained to Alexis the difference between the "stuff" and what dad was doing to keep her and her sister together and to be able to keep their house. And, if that meant Colleen got to keep the bedroom set, dad would definitely get her a new one. It's more important to have dad's love than "stuff." After the way we explained that to her, she understood.
But, I had the girls on Tuesday. Dan was free! He has to give her certain things on the list (of 3 pages) that she demanded. The judge finally saw through her crap, especially when she demanded things like tampons and windex. She has to come Saturday between 12-6. Dan can't be there, but Rob said he would. This is his weekend off. He can't wait to be the "neutral" party to do this. Today, Dan was working to start taking all the stuff that she gets and put it all in his garage. He did have to go out and get a new fridge and stove. But, the new stuff is better than the old stuff. I agree!
Last night, Cassi had the opportunity to stay at Dan's overnight. Today, she stayed there while I went down to school. I got to meet with my English advisor and my transfer advisor. Dr. Larson explained to me about the graduation process and what will happen when my graduation petition gets to him. Because he has approved one of my lower level classes as transfer, I didn't have to take it. However, he has to sign off approval that I've got all my requirements to get my degree. Then, I went over and met with my transfer advisor. He started to tell me I still had 7 classes because I have to take 2 African American/Diversity classes. I told him, uhuh. I had my degree audit in hand. Because I have over 60 credits transferred in (I have an AA degree), I only had to take 1 class. He looked and agreed. Also, there's another gen ed requirement for writing that's 3 classes, but because of my transfer, I only need 2. But, I will have 4-5 when I'm done because of my English degree. But, next year, I ABSOLUTELY have to take full-time classes. That's 3 classes in the fall and 3 in the spring. The positive is that I have an opportunity to write a proposal to take an internship in the spring for 4 credits, if approved. I have the opportunity to work with Professor Nuala. That would help because I have 3 (yes three) English classes to take in the Spring. This next school year, I'm going to be trashed! Plus, President of PTO.
So, I've got my graduation application in hand. All I need is the $25 fee to turn it in. MARIE ROCKS AGAIN! She's coming before July 4 and is bringing it with her. I love my sister.
Tomorrow, I'll be back at Dan's. Because this is his day off, he does side yard work for extra money. He's got both of his girls tomorrow. With all the crap from this week and the divorce, he needs to do the side job tomorrow. So, since he kept Cassi for me today, I told him I would come over and watch the girls. I'm thinking we're going to go to Eat N Park for lunch. The girls will be $.99 each to eat.
But, with all that, I've got to go. I need to go grab food for dinner for tomorrow night. Rob's working tonight and tomorrow night. I need to cook dindin because I wasn't able to this evening. I need to shave my legs after and before I go to bed.
Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
But Cassi is done. She went to Pa and Nana's for the weekend because Rob worked. This really helped because they were short-staffed and Saturday night/Sunday morning, he ended up being by himself with 50 patients. So, Sunday morning, I got up to get him breakfast because we hadn't had time to make din-din the night before. He was ready for bed immediately. I ended up going back to bed with him and slept until noon.
Just a tid-bit why our family rocks, etc. Sunday morning, after getting up, I spent some time texting Marie. Because she wants to help keep Cassi good for the summer, she decided to still offer her "if you're good" money. However, instead of getting it each month, she's sending it in one check and a little extra for mom and dad (that's us). She's paying for us to get summer passes to our recreation pools. So everyone knows, MARIE ROCKS!
Monday, I spent the day with at court with my friend Dan. He was going through his final 2 days of his divorce. It has taken 3 years to get to this point. It was so bad Monday. We all thought he was going to lose his house and all his stuff. She was so nasty that she wanted Alexis' bedroom set. (background: Alexis is Cassi's friend. Alexis is Dan's daughter from his first relationship with his best friend, Christina. They are still friends today.) That night, we (Rob and I) took the girls to dinner. Alexis just kept demanding that Colleen couldn't have her bedroom set. Rob and I explained to Alexis the difference between the "stuff" and what dad was doing to keep her and her sister together and to be able to keep their house. And, if that meant Colleen got to keep the bedroom set, dad would definitely get her a new one. It's more important to have dad's love than "stuff." After the way we explained that to her, she understood.
But, I had the girls on Tuesday. Dan was free! He has to give her certain things on the list (of 3 pages) that she demanded. The judge finally saw through her crap, especially when she demanded things like tampons and windex. She has to come Saturday between 12-6. Dan can't be there, but Rob said he would. This is his weekend off. He can't wait to be the "neutral" party to do this. Today, Dan was working to start taking all the stuff that she gets and put it all in his garage. He did have to go out and get a new fridge and stove. But, the new stuff is better than the old stuff. I agree!
Last night, Cassi had the opportunity to stay at Dan's overnight. Today, she stayed there while I went down to school. I got to meet with my English advisor and my transfer advisor. Dr. Larson explained to me about the graduation process and what will happen when my graduation petition gets to him. Because he has approved one of my lower level classes as transfer, I didn't have to take it. However, he has to sign off approval that I've got all my requirements to get my degree. Then, I went over and met with my transfer advisor. He started to tell me I still had 7 classes because I have to take 2 African American/Diversity classes. I told him, uhuh. I had my degree audit in hand. Because I have over 60 credits transferred in (I have an AA degree), I only had to take 1 class. He looked and agreed. Also, there's another gen ed requirement for writing that's 3 classes, but because of my transfer, I only need 2. But, I will have 4-5 when I'm done because of my English degree. But, next year, I ABSOLUTELY have to take full-time classes. That's 3 classes in the fall and 3 in the spring. The positive is that I have an opportunity to write a proposal to take an internship in the spring for 4 credits, if approved. I have the opportunity to work with Professor Nuala. That would help because I have 3 (yes three) English classes to take in the Spring. This next school year, I'm going to be trashed! Plus, President of PTO.
So, I've got my graduation application in hand. All I need is the $25 fee to turn it in. MARIE ROCKS AGAIN! She's coming before July 4 and is bringing it with her. I love my sister.
Tomorrow, I'll be back at Dan's. Because this is his day off, he does side yard work for extra money. He's got both of his girls tomorrow. With all the crap from this week and the divorce, he needs to do the side job tomorrow. So, since he kept Cassi for me today, I told him I would come over and watch the girls. I'm thinking we're going to go to Eat N Park for lunch. The girls will be $.99 each to eat.
But, with all that, I've got to go. I need to go grab food for dinner for tomorrow night. Rob's working tonight and tomorrow night. I need to cook dindin because I wasn't able to this evening. I need to shave my legs after and before I go to bed.
Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Our Weekend Off in Amish Country...
So, Saturday was a good day for me and for us. Cassi went to Pa's house for the weekend. Rob was off work for 5 days (he only works a 3-day a week schedule). First, I got up really early and called the doctor. Rob got what I have been dealing with for 3 weeks. Stuffed up, then draining. Sore throat, coughing that won't stop, and overall tiredness. For me, when I started this, it was at the end of school and I actually lost my voice for a few days. Cassi got it too, but only lost her voice for 2 days.
But, anyway, Rob was able to get into the doctor. A virus. Rob got the z-pack and a cough syrup with codeine. Then, the lady at the front counter suggested I see the other doctor because I'm still coughing. Now, Rob has told me about these doctors he deals with at work who are only in the biz for the money they can make prescribing all these drugs to the nursing home patients. I just never had an opportunity to experience one myself...
Well, my wait was over...
First, he talks about his famous and rich kids, how they are going to pay off a $400k house in 2 years becuase they are realtors, etc. etc. You see where I'm going...
Then, he looks in my ears (after the hearing aides come off). He has me breathe. He asks me what I've been taking for the symptoms, which are Sudafed and Dimetap. Also, because Marie had allergy problems at the same time I got sick, I figured it was my allergies kicking in. Also, because I was continuing to just cough, I figured my asthma was starting back up. You see, I've got bad allergies and asthma, but the asthma has been good for the past year or so, without any flare ups. My asthma is definitely related to my allergies and heat.
So, he gives me this breathing test. Just 1 test to blow into this little machine to give a pressure number. Comes up normal. But, after I do this blow, I start coughing and can't stop. From one test, he decides, "No you do not have asthma."
Huh? Come again? I was diagnosed with asthma about 11 years ago. It's just not active 100% of the time; it's a more moderate form. I was hoping he would prescribe to me my ventolin again for the asthma symptoms. Nope. He prescribes to me the most expensive medication on the market, Singulair. Of course, this medicine is the best for asthma. But wait, he just said I don't have asthma.
Then, he throws me another loop. "Do you get indigestion?"
"Yeah, about once a week." Wasn't sure how to answer because it's not everyday. AND, I typically know when I'm going to get it.
"Well, your coughing is probably caused by GERD (acid reflux). The acid in your stomach is going up into your eusophagus and then going down into your lungs. That's what you're coughing. Not many doctors diagnose this."
HUH?
"So, I want a chest x-ray and blood work done. I want to see if you've got H Pylori bacteria in your stomach. And, I'll prescribe for you Prilosec. And, if the results of the tests come back negative, you'll have to go see a pulmonary doctor to determine if you've actually got asthma."
Rob had been turning his head the entire time. I know he wanted to deck this guy. We went out to the front counter. I told her I wanted to see my doctor this week. I got in to see her on Tuesday. She D/C'd all of the tests and meds he prescribed. We are pushing to not have to pay for the appointment. It was a waste of time and he falsely diagnosed stuff on me that doesn't need to be.
Anyway, back to the good day. The rest of the day was great. We picked up his medicines and came back to the house. Rob wanted to take camera with us. I suggested we pick up some cheese. MMMMMMMMM! So, we also brought along the cooler and ice.
We got down to Amish country and stopped at a furniture place. One of our goals was to price and find a color for our dining room table. You see, when we got the house, we inherited a HUGE dining room table. The only thing, the seller took the chairs. So, we are trying to find chairs to go with the table. But, the other problem is the coloring. At the 2 places we stopped at, they both told us that if we purchased the chairs stained from them, they could sell us the stain to re-do the table ourselves. One place said if we re-did the table first, as long as the stain was a spray, they would stain the chairs with our stain. Sounds good.
Then, we visited the cheese houses. There's one place, called Heini's (yes, we call it like the your butt). They have a HUGE cooler with dozens of types of cheese that you can sample. Hmmm. Lunch! I'm not a big swiss person, but their one brand of baby swiss is to die for. Then, we went into some of the shops. We enjoyed a bowl of homemade ice cream. (I really need to make some with Cassi this summer.) It poured a little rain while we were in a store. We found a gift to give to Dad for father's day. The Amish guy had this computer (yes, not all Amish are afraid of electric). On the machine, he was able to use a sort-of printer that burnishes into leather and cuts into wood. So, I found a nice money clip. The magnets are pretty strong. On one side, it says, "I Love You Pa From Cassi" and on the other side, a photo of Cassi will go into it. Marie, don't tell dad because it's going to be a surprise from Cassi.
I picked up an Amish cookbook. I'll share some of the recipes soon. I'm still reading it all. There's a recipe for twinkie filling and other goodies. They even have a recipe for home made root beer.
I bought a few sticks of taffy that I ate that day. Oh, and when we bought the cheese, baby swiss, bermuda onion, and co-jack, I also purchased a tube of strawberry filling. For my birthday, I'm making a strawberry pie.
After we were done, we headed over to our old campground to visit with friends. The one couple's camper we went to had the food. There were 3 of us couples there catching up with each other. We hadn't seen them since last fall when we left. We actually tried to get a spot again this year, but the owners decided not to reply to our email. Their loss. That's okay. We'll just go down to visit. And, our friends Bob and Betty who live in Wooster have offered for us to come stay with them overnight.
We had din-din and chat. Although, after a little while, we started getting eaten by the mosquitos. Time to go. We got home about 11pm. While in Amish country, we also went into an Amish-run hardware store. They had EVERYTHING there. We found supplies for making wine. We purchased a juice kit for making wine, although it will probably, more than likely make wine coolers. Mmmmm. Dan and Rob are working on the process together. It'll be fun for the 2 guys to work together.
Okay. I'm going to close this for now. I'm going to try to write about our floor project, along with pictures.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
But, anyway, Rob was able to get into the doctor. A virus. Rob got the z-pack and a cough syrup with codeine. Then, the lady at the front counter suggested I see the other doctor because I'm still coughing. Now, Rob has told me about these doctors he deals with at work who are only in the biz for the money they can make prescribing all these drugs to the nursing home patients. I just never had an opportunity to experience one myself...
Well, my wait was over...
First, he talks about his famous and rich kids, how they are going to pay off a $400k house in 2 years becuase they are realtors, etc. etc. You see where I'm going...
Then, he looks in my ears (after the hearing aides come off). He has me breathe. He asks me what I've been taking for the symptoms, which are Sudafed and Dimetap. Also, because Marie had allergy problems at the same time I got sick, I figured it was my allergies kicking in. Also, because I was continuing to just cough, I figured my asthma was starting back up. You see, I've got bad allergies and asthma, but the asthma has been good for the past year or so, without any flare ups. My asthma is definitely related to my allergies and heat.
So, he gives me this breathing test. Just 1 test to blow into this little machine to give a pressure number. Comes up normal. But, after I do this blow, I start coughing and can't stop. From one test, he decides, "No you do not have asthma."
Huh? Come again? I was diagnosed with asthma about 11 years ago. It's just not active 100% of the time; it's a more moderate form. I was hoping he would prescribe to me my ventolin again for the asthma symptoms. Nope. He prescribes to me the most expensive medication on the market, Singulair. Of course, this medicine is the best for asthma. But wait, he just said I don't have asthma.
Then, he throws me another loop. "Do you get indigestion?"
"Yeah, about once a week." Wasn't sure how to answer because it's not everyday. AND, I typically know when I'm going to get it.
"Well, your coughing is probably caused by GERD (acid reflux). The acid in your stomach is going up into your eusophagus and then going down into your lungs. That's what you're coughing. Not many doctors diagnose this."
HUH?
"So, I want a chest x-ray and blood work done. I want to see if you've got H Pylori bacteria in your stomach. And, I'll prescribe for you Prilosec. And, if the results of the tests come back negative, you'll have to go see a pulmonary doctor to determine if you've actually got asthma."
Rob had been turning his head the entire time. I know he wanted to deck this guy. We went out to the front counter. I told her I wanted to see my doctor this week. I got in to see her on Tuesday. She D/C'd all of the tests and meds he prescribed. We are pushing to not have to pay for the appointment. It was a waste of time and he falsely diagnosed stuff on me that doesn't need to be.
Anyway, back to the good day. The rest of the day was great. We picked up his medicines and came back to the house. Rob wanted to take camera with us. I suggested we pick up some cheese. MMMMMMMMM! So, we also brought along the cooler and ice.
We got down to Amish country and stopped at a furniture place. One of our goals was to price and find a color for our dining room table. You see, when we got the house, we inherited a HUGE dining room table. The only thing, the seller took the chairs. So, we are trying to find chairs to go with the table. But, the other problem is the coloring. At the 2 places we stopped at, they both told us that if we purchased the chairs stained from them, they could sell us the stain to re-do the table ourselves. One place said if we re-did the table first, as long as the stain was a spray, they would stain the chairs with our stain. Sounds good.
Then, we visited the cheese houses. There's one place, called Heini's (yes, we call it like the your butt). They have a HUGE cooler with dozens of types of cheese that you can sample. Hmmm. Lunch! I'm not a big swiss person, but their one brand of baby swiss is to die for. Then, we went into some of the shops. We enjoyed a bowl of homemade ice cream. (I really need to make some with Cassi this summer.) It poured a little rain while we were in a store. We found a gift to give to Dad for father's day. The Amish guy had this computer (yes, not all Amish are afraid of electric). On the machine, he was able to use a sort-of printer that burnishes into leather and cuts into wood. So, I found a nice money clip. The magnets are pretty strong. On one side, it says, "I Love You Pa From Cassi" and on the other side, a photo of Cassi will go into it. Marie, don't tell dad because it's going to be a surprise from Cassi.
I picked up an Amish cookbook. I'll share some of the recipes soon. I'm still reading it all. There's a recipe for twinkie filling and other goodies. They even have a recipe for home made root beer.
I bought a few sticks of taffy that I ate that day. Oh, and when we bought the cheese, baby swiss, bermuda onion, and co-jack, I also purchased a tube of strawberry filling. For my birthday, I'm making a strawberry pie.
After we were done, we headed over to our old campground to visit with friends. The one couple's camper we went to had the food. There were 3 of us couples there catching up with each other. We hadn't seen them since last fall when we left. We actually tried to get a spot again this year, but the owners decided not to reply to our email. Their loss. That's okay. We'll just go down to visit. And, our friends Bob and Betty who live in Wooster have offered for us to come stay with them overnight.
We had din-din and chat. Although, after a little while, we started getting eaten by the mosquitos. Time to go. We got home about 11pm. While in Amish country, we also went into an Amish-run hardware store. They had EVERYTHING there. We found supplies for making wine. We purchased a juice kit for making wine, although it will probably, more than likely make wine coolers. Mmmmm. Dan and Rob are working on the process together. It'll be fun for the 2 guys to work together.
Okay. I'm going to close this for now. I'm going to try to write about our floor project, along with pictures.
Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )
The Truth...
Okay. So, I think I've got some of the truth. Monday morning, Cassi's class had a "teddy bear" picnic outside next to their class during lunch time. She forgot to bring friends to class, so I came back with them just in time for lunch. Since I was there, I figured I would help herd the kids into the school who were buying lunch. As we were getting them together, I get a call from ex. I was a little winded from the kids, but the phone cut out. She called back and apologized that the phone cut out. She wanted to talk to Rob. I'm thinking something is wrong. I tell her, "I'm down at the school. Give me about 10 minutes to get back to the house and I'll have Rob call you."
"Oh, I thought I was calling the house phone?" she said.
"You are. While we're working on the floor, the house phone has been diverted to my cell phone." I said.
"Oh," was all she could said in reply. And, there was nothing else she could do. Rob's cell phone was in the office and he was sitting on his rump putting the first coat of poly (plastic seal stuff) on the hard wood floor. There was no way he would have heard the phone.
So, I get the kids into the lunch room and have to leave. I get back and tell him, "Call your ex."
Here, they wanted to meet him for lunch. But, he wanted me to go too. We met at McD's for lunch. They asked if Cassi was done school because Nicole was. Nope. This Friday.
So, we get there for lunch. We find out:
"Oh, I thought I was calling the house phone?" she said.
"You are. While we're working on the floor, the house phone has been diverted to my cell phone." I said.
"Oh," was all she could said in reply. And, there was nothing else she could do. Rob's cell phone was in the office and he was sitting on his rump putting the first coat of poly (plastic seal stuff) on the hard wood floor. There was no way he would have heard the phone.
So, I get the kids into the lunch room and have to leave. I get back and tell him, "Call your ex."
Here, they wanted to meet him for lunch. But, he wanted me to go too. We met at McD's for lunch. They asked if Cassi was done school because Nicole was. Nope. This Friday.
So, we get there for lunch. We find out:
- Nicole is in public school for the first time this year and just finished 9th grade, even though she's turning 16 on June 20 (must have been held back a year).
- Husband #2 did not die. They got divorced in February.
- Nicole does work part-time right now as a lifeguard at a camp ground.
We found out that, as the story goes, she has photo books with pictures of Rob and Rob's parents. She actually didn't ask about Rob. She asked about his parents and wants to see them. She'll be able to in July when they come for Rob's grandmother's dedication for a war memorial that they are honoring Rob's grandfather, even though he passed away a few years ago. The grandmother will accept the honor.
But, since we were meeting them, she didn't mail the letter, she just brought it along. In the letter, she talks about how she wants to get to know Cassi and do things with her this summer. Works for me. Cassi is SO excited about having a big sister. She talked about how she couldn't call Rob, "dad" because the man who adopted her is her dad. Works too and is understandable. Then, she talks about how she works because she wants a Chevy Cobalt. She has to make the money because her parents are strapped for money right now. Whoa! Hold it a minute! We don't have the money ourselves. She didn't come out and ask for the money, but the insinuation is there. I'll just keep this to myself for right now. I did tell Rob that if she asked his parents about buying her a car, they would buy her one in a heartbeat and pay cash to boot. And still treat Cassi like dirt. Yes, Marie, I know our family is the coolest, but I had to add the info for my 3 readers who need the background.
So, afterward, being as logical as I can, because if I'm otherwise, I'm worthless, I say to Rob that logically, we need to move my office to the basement and setup the room currently being used as my office as a bedroom. He said no. If she wants to come stay over, we will bring out the blow up mattress in the living room. We are not setting up the office as a bedroom. Marie agrees because that's just a sign that we want to become financially responsible for her. Not going to happen, especially with her adopted father paying child support for her.
We do have their address. She asked us not to just show up because only mom and mom's boyfriend (oh, didn't know she's got one of them now) know about them finding us. Ex (mom) told us she paid $60 to track us down. She knew where we lived when we lived in Grafton, but once we moved and recently, our phone number isn't available publicly. But, Nicole's grandmother would be livid if she knew Nicole was seeing Rob.
That's how the weekend went. I'm doing the "wait-and-see" thing to see what will happen. She did act nice to me on Monday and said that she likes me in her letter. Her birthday is the day after mine. My b-day is on June 19 and her's is June 20. We've been invited to her party that is on the 23rd, but Rob probably won't be able to go as that's his night to work.
With that, I'll close. I've got 2 more posts to add, but will draft them and get them ready tomorrow.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. I'm feeling much better this week.
Friday, June 01, 2007
My Life Can't Get ANY Better...
So, my life seems to SUCK big time. For all those who said I would get that job I interviewed for 2 weeks ago...
I was not picked!
No job. NADA!
Cathy
8^ (
I was not picked!
No job. NADA!
Cathy
8^ (
Thursday, May 31, 2007
So This Isn't Just a Passing Thing...
Nicole just called my cell phone this evening. It first came up restricted. She called at 9:46 pm. Then, she called again at 9:51 pm, which I decided to ignore. I answered the phone the first time to no one talking and then hung up.
The third time, I answer the phone.
"Hello," I said.
"Where's my dad? This is Nicky." she said.
"He's working," I said.
"Well, if you talk to him, tell him I called. Oh, do you want my phone number? ########" she said.
I hung up the phone and sent Rob a text message that his daughter was looking for him. Then a second msg that she called me. Then a 3rd msg with the phone number. Then finally a 4th msg telling him to call me after he was done talking to her.
This is not a passing fancy. Something serious is going on. Why don't people listen to me? I think she's going to have to move in here pretty quickly. I don't know what to think.
I do know one thing. This isn't just a passing fancy, especially if she is calling him dad. He hasn't seen her in over 10 years. As Lynda said, I am a good person. But, I don't have to be happy about it. I was starting to feel better today. Not now.
Not happy.
Cathy
Update: 10:40 pm. After Rob called me at 10:15pm, I asked him what she wanted. He told me she wanted our mailing address so she could send him a letter. But, after I told him how many times it took that she called before she would talk and how she talked with me, he was not happy. She did have an attitude when she said where's my dad? He didn't know what phone number she used to call me. I told him I kept the number in my cell so if she calls again, I know who it is. But, I asked him if I could read the letter when it came (open it). He said no, but we would open it together and read it together. I told him that I knew something was coming and it was going to be fast. I told him, "You just don't listen to me. I know." Marie, maybe this is my psychic powers working for me, just different that what you can do.
The third time, I answer the phone.
"Hello," I said.
"Where's my dad? This is Nicky." she said.
"He's working," I said.
"Well, if you talk to him, tell him I called. Oh, do you want my phone number? ########" she said.
I hung up the phone and sent Rob a text message that his daughter was looking for him. Then a second msg that she called me. Then a 3rd msg with the phone number. Then finally a 4th msg telling him to call me after he was done talking to her.
This is not a passing fancy. Something serious is going on. Why don't people listen to me? I think she's going to have to move in here pretty quickly. I don't know what to think.
I do know one thing. This isn't just a passing fancy, especially if she is calling him dad. He hasn't seen her in over 10 years. As Lynda said, I am a good person. But, I don't have to be happy about it. I was starting to feel better today. Not now.
Not happy.
Cathy
Update: 10:40 pm. After Rob called me at 10:15pm, I asked him what she wanted. He told me she wanted our mailing address so she could send him a letter. But, after I told him how many times it took that she called before she would talk and how she talked with me, he was not happy. She did have an attitude when she said where's my dad? He didn't know what phone number she used to call me. I told him I kept the number in my cell so if she calls again, I know who it is. But, I asked him if I could read the letter when it came (open it). He said no, but we would open it together and read it together. I told him that I knew something was coming and it was going to be fast. I told him, "You just don't listen to me. I know." Marie, maybe this is my psychic powers working for me, just different that what you can do.
The Story...
Ok. Here's the story. First off, thanks to everyone who read the last post and commented. It's nice to know you've got friends out there, even those you've never really met in person. That makes it extra special.
I'm feeling better today. Not including last night, over the past 48 hours (Tuesday and Monday nights), I got 6 hours of sleep (2 on Tuesday and 4 on Monday).
I'll start with the beginning. This will be a LONG post. Go grab yourself a cup of coffee, tea, CAFFEINE, and I'll explain.
IN THE BEGINNING...
I know I've talked about this about how Rob and I met, but I'll rehash. Just after Valentine's Day in 1997, I met Rob through match.com. We dated for 3 weeks. Our first date was to Lonestar (steakhouse) Restaurant and "The Empire Strikes Back" movie (that's when George Lucas redid the original 3 movies).
Our second date consisted of laundry at my house, dinner made by me at my house, and meeting my parents. The third date was his spending the night at my place. (Yes, everyone now knows that I'm a hussy!) By the third date, we both said to each other, "Let's get married." Then, I backed off and said, "Hey! I've never been married. If you want to marry me, you have to get down on one knee and ask the question." So, he did.
The day he came for the third date, I had to relocate my car. The apartment complex I lived in only had space for 3 cars. At the time, my parents lived across the street. So, this is where my car went. The next day, I went across the street after work to retrieve my car. I went upstairs to see mom and dad.
Dad says, "Er, I see you had company last night." (I didn't tell them I was bringing my car over.) "Where did you meet him?"
I say, "Through the Internet."
He says, "Oh, oh, you have to be careful. You have to watch who you meet through the Internet. Now, remember, if you look in his trunk and find a bowl and some flakes, run like Hell 'cause he's a cereal killer."
(everyone can laugh here)
At this point, I just KNEW Rob was the one. In the 4 years I dated "love affair," not once did my dad pick on him like dad just picked on Rob after meeting him on our 2nd date. You've got to understand, when you meet my dad, he's a smart ass. He likes to pick on you. If he doesn't like you, he doesn't pick on you. He obviously liked Rob.
And, as it's turned out, Rob is just like my dad, a smart ass back.
Rob was very honest to me in the beginning. He told me about his first marriage. According to Rob, the first week after going into the Navy, his now-ex-wife, decided to wipe out his savings and checking accounts. By the time they divorced, he was pretty much in financial ruin. He was living in an apartment when we met that was found by his parents, through a friend of his. He told me about his daughter and how he couldn't afford to care for her because of his ex-wife. But, his ex-wife got remarried about a year after their divorce and the guy asked Rob to adopt his daughter to which he agreed.
When I started living at Rob's apartment, he called his grandmother one day (Rob's mom's mother). She asked him if I worked. He told her that not only did I work, but I was making more money than he was. At the time, I was.
When my parents found out we were getting married, they were ok with it. They liked Rob and realized it was my life and couldn't tell me what to do. When his parents found out we were getting married, they absolutely shut Rob out of their lives. At the time, Rob was given a car from his father. Rob was continuing paying on the car, but it was still in Rob's dad's name. Also, Rob had a desktop computer that was an extra computer from his dad. They were so nasty about us getting married, they demanded that Rob take his car out of their name and give back the computer. This was fine by me because I had a laptop I was using from work. And, I had the money to pay for the transfer and taxes on the car.
We also got married because it was financially good for both of us.
So, we got married. We just got married quickly through the Elyria courts, with a judge. It was a 5-minute process and about $25 for the license, plus the rings and dinner after. At first, mom and dad couldn't come. My mom had a dentist's appointment and dad had to work. Mom then at the last minute changed her appointment but dad still had to work. Rob's parents refused to come to the ceremony. After, they completely shunned us because, since Mom decided to go, we didn't call them and ask them to come to the ceremony.
A month later, they apologized to us and gave us $100 in a card for our getting married.
Then, in 1999, I got pregnant. Now, you've also got to remember, through all this time, Rob's brother, Michael had a 2nd child. Since Rob gave up Nicole, his first-born child and also the first-born grandchild, Rob's parents continually guilt-tripped Rob for giving her up. In return, Michael's 2 girls were then the golden grandchildren of the golden child.
So, I got pregnant. By that time, Michael and his wife were then divorced. Through all those years, they continued to treat me like dirt. They had done some moving. Rob's dad got transferred to a Ford plant in Michigan; then he retired and moved to Florida. From those changes, they had to downsize their household goods. The first time, they gave a complete bedroom set to them. We got a recliner. The comment, "Jeanne has never had a bedroom set before." Ah, excuse me. In my ENTIRE life, I've never had a bedroom set, nor any room grouping of furniture that matched, EVER!
Then, after they got divorced, he immediately shacked up with a girl. When they retired, they gave a complete living room group, including big screen TV to them. But, with all the trouble he gets into, because of drugs and such, they no longer have any of the stuff.
As I said, I got pregnant. In October of 1999, at about 7 months, we moved into a house in Grafton, about 15 minutes from where we live today. Our phone number was unlisted. One day, after Cassi was born, I got a letter in the mail from ex-wife. She talks about how she's happy for Rob that he met me, that she's now found God and is at peace (of course she is for the she screwed him), and that she was happy he had had another child. I was SO upset. We asked all of his family who told her where we lived. No one fessed up. (Ironically, she told us Tuesday it was Michael.) I didn't want ANYTHING to do with her.
When Cassi was about 8 months old, she and I took a plane trip to Florida. I took a week off work so his parents and grandparents could spend the week with her. After 2 days I was ready to come home. The whole time I was there, all his mom could talk about was his ex-wife and how Rob gave up the "golden grandchild." To top it off, she told me how they got Rob out of financial difficulty with his ex-wife by paying off all the debt to his child for child support. And, basically, "We have no money for you." This is what she told me. And she has kept to her work ever since.
After Rob got into nursing, he was working at a hospital just south of the airport. One day, he stops at a Speedway gas station just off the highway for cigarettes (yep, he smokes. Yuck!). And who should happen to be there, but his ex-wife, working. Then, while working not once, but twice, he runs into ex when her brother has a motorcycle accident and her husband has had a heart attack. When the husband had come in, Rob asked ex if he could see his daughter. Not to tell her who she is, but have her come in to the hospital so he could see her even from a distance.
No. That was about 2003.
But, he found out where they lived. They lived in an expensive house in Strongsville. At this point, I don't know if they live there or not now, but I'm investigating.
NOW...
As you all know now, we've been doing renovations on our house. With the front room completely cleared and the entertainment center on the front lawn, Rob, with the help of our friend, Dan, is sanding down the hard wood floors. We got rid of the carpeting because we found gorgeous hard wood flooring underneath. And, as I've seen on HGTV, hard wood flooring will raise the value of your house 6%.
Anyway, I'm on the side lawn with Cassi, Alexis, Morgan (Alexis and Morgan are Dan's girls), Kendria, Jo, and Hailey (Kendria is mom to Jo and Hailey). All of a sudden this woman and guy walk up to Rob. Rob and Dan were taking a construction-worker break of smoke and drink. I don't know who these 2 are. He waves for me to come over. Before I can get there, I see a 3rd person standing behind the woman.
He says to me, "This is Tina. And, this is my daughter, Nicole."
To say the least, I didn't know what to say. Rob says, after they left, that Tina came up to him first because she didn't want him to say anything bad about her to me. Well, too late. I know it all. I guess she didn't want him to say anything bad in front of their daughter too.
But, the guy she's with isn't hubby #2. It's boyfriend. Huh? Rob thinks he died because he was so overweight, which is very possible. But, she looks very hard and old, even though she's younger than Rob and I. Come to find out she's on dialysis because of kidney failure and is on the transplant list for a kidney. Supposedly, mom and daughter have been talking. Nicole is going to be 16 this year and asked to find her father. Her birthday is the day after mine, on June 20. She has decided she wants to go into nursing. Another, huh?
This is maybe because of the fact that her mom is dying. Rob and I both agree. After they left, Rob asked me what my first thought of Tina was. "She's dying." I said to him. He agreed. Typically, people who go on dialysis like she did only live 4-5 years if they don't get a transplant. She started in 2004.
I looked at Nicole. She looks exactly like Rob. But even more, she looks exactly like Ann, Rob's mom. She was very quiet.
Cassi came up while we stood there. I didn't have much to say because I didn't know what to say. I told Cassi who the girl was. "Cassi, this is your older sister, Nicole."
Cassi IMMEDIATELY ran up to her and hugged her, wet body and all. Cassi was in the pool with the neighborhood girls. She wanted her to stay. Rob had asked me to get a notepad so he could give her phone numbers. At first, he gave her his cell and the house line. I told him to write down my cell too. But, I also suggested, get their number to which he replied it wasn't a good time yet.
And, they left. I immediately wondered how they found us. Rob told me because our old house number was public, along with the new one. They probably looked us up.
So, my life is IMMEDIATELY turned upside down. Here are my thoughts, in no random order:
I'm feeling better today. Not including last night, over the past 48 hours (Tuesday and Monday nights), I got 6 hours of sleep (2 on Tuesday and 4 on Monday).
I'll start with the beginning. This will be a LONG post. Go grab yourself a cup of coffee, tea, CAFFEINE, and I'll explain.
IN THE BEGINNING...
I know I've talked about this about how Rob and I met, but I'll rehash. Just after Valentine's Day in 1997, I met Rob through match.com. We dated for 3 weeks. Our first date was to Lonestar (steakhouse) Restaurant and "The Empire Strikes Back" movie (that's when George Lucas redid the original 3 movies).
Our second date consisted of laundry at my house, dinner made by me at my house, and meeting my parents. The third date was his spending the night at my place. (Yes, everyone now knows that I'm a hussy!) By the third date, we both said to each other, "Let's get married." Then, I backed off and said, "Hey! I've never been married. If you want to marry me, you have to get down on one knee and ask the question." So, he did.
The day he came for the third date, I had to relocate my car. The apartment complex I lived in only had space for 3 cars. At the time, my parents lived across the street. So, this is where my car went. The next day, I went across the street after work to retrieve my car. I went upstairs to see mom and dad.
Dad says, "Er, I see you had company last night." (I didn't tell them I was bringing my car over.) "Where did you meet him?"
I say, "Through the Internet."
He says, "Oh, oh, you have to be careful. You have to watch who you meet through the Internet. Now, remember, if you look in his trunk and find a bowl and some flakes, run like Hell 'cause he's a cereal killer."
(everyone can laugh here)
At this point, I just KNEW Rob was the one. In the 4 years I dated "love affair," not once did my dad pick on him like dad just picked on Rob after meeting him on our 2nd date. You've got to understand, when you meet my dad, he's a smart ass. He likes to pick on you. If he doesn't like you, he doesn't pick on you. He obviously liked Rob.
And, as it's turned out, Rob is just like my dad, a smart ass back.
Rob was very honest to me in the beginning. He told me about his first marriage. According to Rob, the first week after going into the Navy, his now-ex-wife, decided to wipe out his savings and checking accounts. By the time they divorced, he was pretty much in financial ruin. He was living in an apartment when we met that was found by his parents, through a friend of his. He told me about his daughter and how he couldn't afford to care for her because of his ex-wife. But, his ex-wife got remarried about a year after their divorce and the guy asked Rob to adopt his daughter to which he agreed.
When I started living at Rob's apartment, he called his grandmother one day (Rob's mom's mother). She asked him if I worked. He told her that not only did I work, but I was making more money than he was. At the time, I was.
When my parents found out we were getting married, they were ok with it. They liked Rob and realized it was my life and couldn't tell me what to do. When his parents found out we were getting married, they absolutely shut Rob out of their lives. At the time, Rob was given a car from his father. Rob was continuing paying on the car, but it was still in Rob's dad's name. Also, Rob had a desktop computer that was an extra computer from his dad. They were so nasty about us getting married, they demanded that Rob take his car out of their name and give back the computer. This was fine by me because I had a laptop I was using from work. And, I had the money to pay for the transfer and taxes on the car.
We also got married because it was financially good for both of us.
So, we got married. We just got married quickly through the Elyria courts, with a judge. It was a 5-minute process and about $25 for the license, plus the rings and dinner after. At first, mom and dad couldn't come. My mom had a dentist's appointment and dad had to work. Mom then at the last minute changed her appointment but dad still had to work. Rob's parents refused to come to the ceremony. After, they completely shunned us because, since Mom decided to go, we didn't call them and ask them to come to the ceremony.
A month later, they apologized to us and gave us $100 in a card for our getting married.
Then, in 1999, I got pregnant. Now, you've also got to remember, through all this time, Rob's brother, Michael had a 2nd child. Since Rob gave up Nicole, his first-born child and also the first-born grandchild, Rob's parents continually guilt-tripped Rob for giving her up. In return, Michael's 2 girls were then the golden grandchildren of the golden child.
So, I got pregnant. By that time, Michael and his wife were then divorced. Through all those years, they continued to treat me like dirt. They had done some moving. Rob's dad got transferred to a Ford plant in Michigan; then he retired and moved to Florida. From those changes, they had to downsize their household goods. The first time, they gave a complete bedroom set to them. We got a recliner. The comment, "Jeanne has never had a bedroom set before." Ah, excuse me. In my ENTIRE life, I've never had a bedroom set, nor any room grouping of furniture that matched, EVER!
Then, after they got divorced, he immediately shacked up with a girl. When they retired, they gave a complete living room group, including big screen TV to them. But, with all the trouble he gets into, because of drugs and such, they no longer have any of the stuff.
As I said, I got pregnant. In October of 1999, at about 7 months, we moved into a house in Grafton, about 15 minutes from where we live today. Our phone number was unlisted. One day, after Cassi was born, I got a letter in the mail from ex-wife. She talks about how she's happy for Rob that he met me, that she's now found God and is at peace (of course she is for the she screwed him), and that she was happy he had had another child. I was SO upset. We asked all of his family who told her where we lived. No one fessed up. (Ironically, she told us Tuesday it was Michael.) I didn't want ANYTHING to do with her.
When Cassi was about 8 months old, she and I took a plane trip to Florida. I took a week off work so his parents and grandparents could spend the week with her. After 2 days I was ready to come home. The whole time I was there, all his mom could talk about was his ex-wife and how Rob gave up the "golden grandchild." To top it off, she told me how they got Rob out of financial difficulty with his ex-wife by paying off all the debt to his child for child support. And, basically, "We have no money for you." This is what she told me. And she has kept to her work ever since.
After Rob got into nursing, he was working at a hospital just south of the airport. One day, he stops at a Speedway gas station just off the highway for cigarettes (yep, he smokes. Yuck!). And who should happen to be there, but his ex-wife, working. Then, while working not once, but twice, he runs into ex when her brother has a motorcycle accident and her husband has had a heart attack. When the husband had come in, Rob asked ex if he could see his daughter. Not to tell her who she is, but have her come in to the hospital so he could see her even from a distance.
No. That was about 2003.
But, he found out where they lived. They lived in an expensive house in Strongsville. At this point, I don't know if they live there or not now, but I'm investigating.
NOW...
As you all know now, we've been doing renovations on our house. With the front room completely cleared and the entertainment center on the front lawn, Rob, with the help of our friend, Dan, is sanding down the hard wood floors. We got rid of the carpeting because we found gorgeous hard wood flooring underneath. And, as I've seen on HGTV, hard wood flooring will raise the value of your house 6%.
Anyway, I'm on the side lawn with Cassi, Alexis, Morgan (Alexis and Morgan are Dan's girls), Kendria, Jo, and Hailey (Kendria is mom to Jo and Hailey). All of a sudden this woman and guy walk up to Rob. Rob and Dan were taking a construction-worker break of smoke and drink. I don't know who these 2 are. He waves for me to come over. Before I can get there, I see a 3rd person standing behind the woman.
He says to me, "This is Tina. And, this is my daughter, Nicole."
To say the least, I didn't know what to say. Rob says, after they left, that Tina came up to him first because she didn't want him to say anything bad about her to me. Well, too late. I know it all. I guess she didn't want him to say anything bad in front of their daughter too.
But, the guy she's with isn't hubby #2. It's boyfriend. Huh? Rob thinks he died because he was so overweight, which is very possible. But, she looks very hard and old, even though she's younger than Rob and I. Come to find out she's on dialysis because of kidney failure and is on the transplant list for a kidney. Supposedly, mom and daughter have been talking. Nicole is going to be 16 this year and asked to find her father. Her birthday is the day after mine, on June 20. She has decided she wants to go into nursing. Another, huh?
This is maybe because of the fact that her mom is dying. Rob and I both agree. After they left, Rob asked me what my first thought of Tina was. "She's dying." I said to him. He agreed. Typically, people who go on dialysis like she did only live 4-5 years if they don't get a transplant. She started in 2004.
I looked at Nicole. She looks exactly like Rob. But even more, she looks exactly like Ann, Rob's mom. She was very quiet.
Cassi came up while we stood there. I didn't have much to say because I didn't know what to say. I told Cassi who the girl was. "Cassi, this is your older sister, Nicole."
Cassi IMMEDIATELY ran up to her and hugged her, wet body and all. Cassi was in the pool with the neighborhood girls. She wanted her to stay. Rob had asked me to get a notepad so he could give her phone numbers. At first, he gave her his cell and the house line. I told him to write down my cell too. But, I also suggested, get their number to which he replied it wasn't a good time yet.
And, they left. I immediately wondered how they found us. Rob told me because our old house number was public, along with the new one. They probably looked us up.
So, my life is IMMEDIATELY turned upside down. Here are my thoughts, in no random order:
- they are coming to us now because she is dying and needs Nicole to come live with us.
- because she is dying, Nicole needs someone to pay for her to go to college.
- Rob is going to be screwed again. Tina screwed him financially once and will do it again.
Let's just say I didn't do very well Tuesday and all day yesterday. Rob called his parents. (this is another story too). Remember when I talked about the incident back in October about the Marshalls at my house coming to get Michael? Well, from that incident, Rob's mother called me a Bitch, a liar, and that all their family problems were because of me. And, after that incident, that's why we had to shut off our house phone and have our cell phone numbers changed. We got harassing phone calls from both parents and brother. She has never apologized.
Rob's parents are coming up from Florida at the end of June and bringing Rob's grandmother. They were coming here to visit. I told him flat out that unless I get an apology from her, she was not welcome in MY house. So, as he says, he did the dirty work and told her. She denied she ever said what she said. Rob told her, "Talk to grandma. She was sitting next to you when you said it."
This has made her very mad again at me. That's fine. So, they are not coming here. Hmmm. Seems to me that she means what she said and she's not apologizing for what she said.
But, after Tuesday, this is all going to change about coming. My thought then went, "Rob's mom is going to demand to come here to see Nicole. She is the golden grandchild. She'll bring all kinds of gifts for her and still treat Cassi like dirt."
Rob called his parents. They asked if he had taken a photo of her. No. In the utter shock, no pictures were taken, even though my digital camera was sitting right on our steps because I was taking photos of the rehab of the floor.
Tuesday night, I got 2 hours of sleep. Wednesday, I went to Dan's house, even with only 2 hours of sleep. Rob was helping Dan with his side business and I was watching his little one, Morgan for the day at his house. Also, she and I baked cookies at his house. But, with so little sleep and so many thoughts going through my head, I was mentally exhausted. Here are so more thoughts that I thought:
- What would I have done if Rob had to go to work. The time they arrived, he would have been in bed. I would have been waylayed by their arrival and not prepared by myself, even though I was DEFINITELY not prepared when they arrived and Rob was up.
- We will have to prepare this 3rd bedroom for her. After a year and a half getting the closet done for my business, this was all for a waste of time and money. Now, all the office equipment has to go to the basement.
- How dare she come to my house? and lots of foul language.
- She only wants to come to us now because of money.
- Rob's parents will come to visit. Rob's ex and daughter will come. Cassi will fawn all over Nicole because she so wants a little brother or sister. She loves having a big sister. I will be alone. There will be a family at my house, but none of them will care that I'm even there.
- If I cry, I don't think I'll stop.
So, after Rob and Dan got done with the side jobs, they came back to Dan's house. I was so depressed, I just couldn't smile for anything. I think Rob knew just to leave me alone. Dan kept Cassi with his girls while we went home. He knew how tired I was. I was to get a nap, which was only 10 minutes. Then another 10 at about 5:30.
But, last night I decided, "I want a beer." Dan had brought some Monday to our party. I drank that bottle of beer in about 3 minutes. I relaxed and played a new Shrek game with Cassi. She went to bed and we went to bed. I think I was becoming my logical self. I slept all night, like a baby.
This morning, I was very calm and logical. I told Rob what I was thinking. He said he didn't want to talk about it because there really wasn't anything to talk about. He doesn't even know if she will call him. And, as far as the closet is concerned and the office move, he isn't doing anything until the time comes that she needs to come here. Don't prepare for anything. And, as for the visit from his parents, if they want to see her, they'll go see her at her house, not here. He says, "I'll get their address and they can go there."
Ok, but didn't he say when I suggested about the phone number to not ask for it right now. That makes me think he has it but doesn't want to tell me.
So, for right now, everything is dropped. I definitely want him to have his time with her. But, I know what's going to happen. When issues like this happen, I have been right every time to their conclusion to almost 100% accuracy. But, I can't think about that right now.
And, Marie, no I'm not going to tell mom and dad about this right now. I'm concerned that dad will do EXACTLY like I did, except he might be worse.
Other than that, there's not much else to say right now. I did sleep all night last night. Rob and I spent the day together before he went to work early today. He's working a double, than will be off 5 days straight before going to work again.
And, I promise to have photos of the flooring and the tidbits I found that were removed from the room shortly.
Lots of love to everyone,
Cathy
8^ )
Now mother to 2, even if not legally yet.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
The Bomb Dropped...
I knew this day would come. Today, as we were working to sand the floor in our great room, Rob's ex-wife showed up at my front door. In tow was their daughter. Yes, you read that right. I have a step daughter who is turning 16 in June (June 20).
We've never told her where we live.
But, that's about all I can say right now. I'm too much in shock.
I'll talk more when I've come out of my shell shock.
Oh, and pictures of the sanded floor, which looks beautiful.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
We've never told her where we live.
But, that's about all I can say right now. I'm too much in shock.
I'll talk more when I've come out of my shell shock.
Oh, and pictures of the sanded floor, which looks beautiful.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Been Out of It...
Wow! I didn't even realize how out of not writing I've been this week. AND, I've thought of some doozies. Well, just goes to show you the power of school. When I'm in school, I write about it.
And write...
And write...
But, this week has been a little crazy. My poetry professor asked for 6 more copies of the class manuscript. I think they turned out beautifully. Got them to her and got 2 of the first set back. I've got to take the comb binding apart and put a new title page in them. Then, I'm going to meet her at school and give them back.
She's asked me for my help. Since she loves the way I put together manuscripts so well (I've had YEARS of training with putting together books) that she's asked me to come speak to her 2 summer classes about their class manuscripts, personal manuscripts, etc. Talk to them about the importance of getting your act together. I think I'll go Friday. That's the best day for me, but more about next week later. She also asked me if I have time and wanted to make some extra money if I wanted to help them put together their class manuscripts and charge them what they would be charged to go to Kinko's to get it reproduced.
What does everyone think? As of right now, I'm still jobless. (more on that later too) I could charge them $5 a piece because I still have the supplies for the binding of the books. There would be about 20 or so for both classes combined. Plus, Nuala would give me paper to cover the use of my own paper, for which I've gotten a case after doing the ones for our class plus money for the supplies I bought on eBay.
So, I'll give her a call tomorrow about coming in this week.
Rob was off a few days this week as he works 3 12-hour shifts a week. We finished taking the carpeting out of our living room and dining room. Pictures to follow in another post. Cassi's friend's dad, Dan (also the PTO treasurer) is going to help us on Tuesday after the kids go to school to sand down the floor. So, after we pulled up the carpet on the living room side of the GIGANTIC room, there, by the front door was this rectangular spot. I say to Rob, "It looks like another spot they never finished." As you can recall, I found where there was a corner cabinet where it also looks like the floor under the cabinet was never finished.
At first, Rob says to me, "No. That's water damage. What am I going to do about it?"
But, after stopping and looking a few times, he decides to agree with me. At my front door, as you walk in, to the right of the door, and on the floor is this rectangle spot. It looks like there was a half wall at my front door, which probably made an entrance way at the front door since it opens right to the living room. Well, subconsciously, I've been making this "wall" myself out of our new furniture, with the couch coming out from the wall. Very strange indeed. Plus, when you run your foot over the spot, the wood is raised higher than the rest of the floor, meaning it looks like the floor was refinished once before. We did find one problem in the coat closet. It appears wet shoes lived in the closet too long. There looks like there's a little mold on the floor. Hopefully, when the guys sand, it will help.
So, this is why I can't go until Thursday. And, I've got cookies to bake for Thursday as Thursday night is the school's picnic night. We decided we would bake cookies for the night to donate the dessert.
Friday will be the best day for me to go to the school. AND, Cassi's officially got 2 weeks left of school, this coming week and the next. Her last day is June 8. They're having field day that day. I've got popsicles in my freezer for them. Since I've got a LARGE chest freezer, I told them I would hold them in my freezer until then because they need 400 of them. I think the girl at Marc's thought I was crazy picking up 24 boxes of popsicles. Who cares? I bought them last year and stored them here. It was easy enough because the school doesn't have a freezer that's big enough for that many freezers nor does it freeze them quickly enough. So, if I'm not working by then, I'll be going to field day.
As for my interview, there's no news yet. This could be good or bad. Good because they haven't made their official decision. Bad because they might have picked someone else and I haven't gotten the letter yet.
Poll for the masses: Should I call them on Tuesday? I know they said they were interviewing until this past week, mid point. But, do I call them? Do I want to know? Yes, of course I do. I guess knowing ahead of time is better than nothing. Maybe they really wanted to look at my writing samples as I know they were going to print out what's on my site. And, maybe they wanted to talk with my references too.
But, until then, I've decided to start designing my tea bag envelopes again. I've decided to take them to the local flea market (where we got the floor tiles) and try to sell them there. We'll see. I just designed my American Pride ones. And guess what? I've bound the samples into a booklet. Hmmm? I think this comb binding machine is going to work out OK. I'm going to work on making new templates to bind of my other's already done while working on designing new ones. I've got for all the major holidays plus, birthday, American pride, new baby, wedding, friendship, thank you, get well, etc. If anyone has any suggestions for new catergories, just let me know. And, as soon as I get them posted on my online store, I'll let everyone know too.
Tomorrow, we're throwing a party. Can you believe it? My first official party at the house. We've invited Dan and his girlfriend, Mary Beth, Alexis and Morgan (Dan's girls), Dan's step-mom, and my mom and dad. Everyone will be EATING! Burgers, dogs, tater salad, salad, chips, strawberry shortcake for dessert, watermelon (from mom and dad), ice cream (if the kids want it), etc. I don't think anyone will be hungry when they leave my place.
With that said, it's midnight now. I've got to potty and go to bed. I'll watch a little of the boob tube to quiet down before bed. I'll be up again by 8 washing dishes, laundry, baking biscuits, prepping food for the day, etc.
Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. Since my husband is a Gulf War Veteran, and to all the Veterans reading this:
I am proud of what everyone in the military does to keep me safe and free!
And write...
And write...
But, this week has been a little crazy. My poetry professor asked for 6 more copies of the class manuscript. I think they turned out beautifully. Got them to her and got 2 of the first set back. I've got to take the comb binding apart and put a new title page in them. Then, I'm going to meet her at school and give them back.
She's asked me for my help. Since she loves the way I put together manuscripts so well (I've had YEARS of training with putting together books) that she's asked me to come speak to her 2 summer classes about their class manuscripts, personal manuscripts, etc. Talk to them about the importance of getting your act together. I think I'll go Friday. That's the best day for me, but more about next week later. She also asked me if I have time and wanted to make some extra money if I wanted to help them put together their class manuscripts and charge them what they would be charged to go to Kinko's to get it reproduced.
What does everyone think? As of right now, I'm still jobless. (more on that later too) I could charge them $5 a piece because I still have the supplies for the binding of the books. There would be about 20 or so for both classes combined. Plus, Nuala would give me paper to cover the use of my own paper, for which I've gotten a case after doing the ones for our class plus money for the supplies I bought on eBay.
So, I'll give her a call tomorrow about coming in this week.
Rob was off a few days this week as he works 3 12-hour shifts a week. We finished taking the carpeting out of our living room and dining room. Pictures to follow in another post. Cassi's friend's dad, Dan (also the PTO treasurer) is going to help us on Tuesday after the kids go to school to sand down the floor. So, after we pulled up the carpet on the living room side of the GIGANTIC room, there, by the front door was this rectangular spot. I say to Rob, "It looks like another spot they never finished." As you can recall, I found where there was a corner cabinet where it also looks like the floor under the cabinet was never finished.
At first, Rob says to me, "No. That's water damage. What am I going to do about it?"
But, after stopping and looking a few times, he decides to agree with me. At my front door, as you walk in, to the right of the door, and on the floor is this rectangle spot. It looks like there was a half wall at my front door, which probably made an entrance way at the front door since it opens right to the living room. Well, subconsciously, I've been making this "wall" myself out of our new furniture, with the couch coming out from the wall. Very strange indeed. Plus, when you run your foot over the spot, the wood is raised higher than the rest of the floor, meaning it looks like the floor was refinished once before. We did find one problem in the coat closet. It appears wet shoes lived in the closet too long. There looks like there's a little mold on the floor. Hopefully, when the guys sand, it will help.
So, this is why I can't go until Thursday. And, I've got cookies to bake for Thursday as Thursday night is the school's picnic night. We decided we would bake cookies for the night to donate the dessert.
Friday will be the best day for me to go to the school. AND, Cassi's officially got 2 weeks left of school, this coming week and the next. Her last day is June 8. They're having field day that day. I've got popsicles in my freezer for them. Since I've got a LARGE chest freezer, I told them I would hold them in my freezer until then because they need 400 of them. I think the girl at Marc's thought I was crazy picking up 24 boxes of popsicles. Who cares? I bought them last year and stored them here. It was easy enough because the school doesn't have a freezer that's big enough for that many freezers nor does it freeze them quickly enough. So, if I'm not working by then, I'll be going to field day.
As for my interview, there's no news yet. This could be good or bad. Good because they haven't made their official decision. Bad because they might have picked someone else and I haven't gotten the letter yet.
Poll for the masses: Should I call them on Tuesday? I know they said they were interviewing until this past week, mid point. But, do I call them? Do I want to know? Yes, of course I do. I guess knowing ahead of time is better than nothing. Maybe they really wanted to look at my writing samples as I know they were going to print out what's on my site. And, maybe they wanted to talk with my references too.
But, until then, I've decided to start designing my tea bag envelopes again. I've decided to take them to the local flea market (where we got the floor tiles) and try to sell them there. We'll see. I just designed my American Pride ones. And guess what? I've bound the samples into a booklet. Hmmm? I think this comb binding machine is going to work out OK. I'm going to work on making new templates to bind of my other's already done while working on designing new ones. I've got for all the major holidays plus, birthday, American pride, new baby, wedding, friendship, thank you, get well, etc. If anyone has any suggestions for new catergories, just let me know. And, as soon as I get them posted on my online store, I'll let everyone know too.
Tomorrow, we're throwing a party. Can you believe it? My first official party at the house. We've invited Dan and his girlfriend, Mary Beth, Alexis and Morgan (Dan's girls), Dan's step-mom, and my mom and dad. Everyone will be EATING! Burgers, dogs, tater salad, salad, chips, strawberry shortcake for dessert, watermelon (from mom and dad), ice cream (if the kids want it), etc. I don't think anyone will be hungry when they leave my place.
With that said, it's midnight now. I've got to potty and go to bed. I'll watch a little of the boob tube to quiet down before bed. I'll be up again by 8 washing dishes, laundry, baking biscuits, prepping food for the day, etc.
Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. Since my husband is a Gulf War Veteran, and to all the Veterans reading this:
I am proud of what everyone in the military does to keep me safe and free!
Freedom IS NOT FREE!
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