Category: Day-By-Day

I survived another work week.

It’s starting to get easier. I think I’m getting it. I hope I’m getting it. I didn’t have to correct AS many mistakes this past week as I’ve had to.

I’m behind. Just not AS behind as I was.

I’ll take what little encouragement I can get.

I’m learning the ropes for outlying clinics. The office lead went out of her way to drive me to the Branson clinic this past Wednesday. I thought that was really nice. (She likes me. But seriously, who WOULDN’T like me. HA!) She showed me how to set up the laptops in the exam rooms, then how to check patients in, make sure they sign the correct paperwork, collect any co-pay, if required, and of course, I know how to check them out – I do that every day.

The day went by fast – sort of. Since I sat and watched the entire day, I was a bit bored and the day dragged on a bit, but after I make myself some notes, I’m pretty sure I can handle outlying clinics in the future.

I rode back to Springfield in the van – with the doctor, his PA, his nurse and MA. It was awkward, but the doctor was super nice and after chit-chatting for a few minutes, he ended up sleeping the rest of the way back to town.

I can’t blame the man. I’m betting he doesn’t get a lot of sleep to begin with.

We got back to the Springfield clinic around 2ish. And I stuck around and worked the rest of the day. In fact, I ended up working until 5:30 (I’m THAT dedicated. Actually, I just don’t want to get that far behind because 1. I don’t want my superiors to think I can’t handle my job and 2. patients are counting on me to get them set up for tests that the doctors ordered so they can proceed with whatever treatment results from those test).

I think they want me to work the Harrison clinic on December 9th. That will be with the other doctor I schedule for. I’ve never met him, so I’m more nervous working that clinic, I think. His nurse is super nice though and I’ve talked to her on several occasions.

One of the gals I work directly with is going on vacation this week – she’ll be gone until Wednesday of next week. I’m not really nervous to have her gone, but it will make my job a little more difficult. I ask her A LOT of questions and though there are other people close that can answer my questions, I don’t feel as comfortable with them. It’s a sink or swim moment, I think. I hope she has a really good time, she deserves the break (they were SUPER short handed before I got there), but at the same time…

*SCREAM!!!*

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We got Jazz’s saxophone back from the music store this week. We took it in because it was growing this funky green stuff all over it and it was quite disgusting to look at. They ended up taking it apart, soaking it in a chemical bath and putting it back together again. Now it looks brand new again. I’ve been watching videos on YouTube on how to keep it clean and I will make sure Jazz watches these videos and stays on top of his maintenance in the future.

We can’t afford to pay to have that cleaned every year. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought it might be, but still … it’s something that we can do ourselves.

Or Jazz can do, I should say.

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Kevin and Dude are one year older – Kevin turned the big 50 and Dude is 19. We didn’t do much – the guys wanted to eat at Lamberts (the home of the throwed rolls – yes, they really throw rolls at you) and though I like eating there, I HATE the wait time. They are always so stinkin’ busy and Friday night was no exception. However, we got there early enough that we only had to wait about 20 minutes.

It’s a fun place to eat – but the portions are HUGE. I ended up getting the pulled pork sandwich (*drool*) and all three guys got the fried chicken. We went back to Kevin’s parents’ house afterward and had cookie cake.

I didn’t want Dude to feel left out, so I bought him his own cookie cake:

He didn’t mind.

It’s been a challenge trying to celebrate both Kevin and Dude’s birthdays on the same day without making one, or the other, feel left out. When Dude was younger, I used to run around with my head cut off trying to decorate, pick up presents, and get the house cleaned up so we could have a party for my guys. Now that they’re older, it’s not AS big of a deal.

I can’t believe I’m married to a 50-year old. Kevin neither acts, nor looks, 50-years old to me. Not that 50 is old, it just SOUNDS old, doesn’t it?

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Dude is officially enrolled at OTC. He went up to OTC on the 17th, by himself, and attended some sort of seminar for new students. He got his student number and was at the bookstore when Kevin met him on campus. They turned in his high school transcript (because Dude wouldn’t ask questions and find out where he was supposed to turn them in) and Kevin was supposed to help him register for classes. But somehow, Dude talked Kevin out of that plan and they ended up coming back home. Kevin then told Dude to get online and register for his three classes (because he had the capability of getting online and doing that since he attended the seminar) while he went back to work. When he came home, Dude still hadn’t registered and Kevin sort of lost it with him.

Welcome to my world.

I’ve told Kevin, from the moment our oldest graduated from high school, that he would have to push Dude EVERY. STEP. OF. THE. WAY. into his future.

And I was right. Dude will take the easy road, every time. And if it even SEEMS like it’s going to be an uncomfortable, and/or new situation for him, he will simply procrastinate and do nothing until we end up losing our temper with him and MAKING him take that next step. I’ve had to push that boy all his life, and I’ve gotten very frustrated with him over the years. I would give him the chance to do whatever it was he needed to do, on his own, first, and when it didn’t happen, then I would have to step in and twist his arm until it DID happen.

I don’t think Kevin really understood what I was talking about until recently. Now that I’m working and unable to hold the boy’s hand anymore, Kevin has had to step up and take charge. He’s A LOT more relaxed than I am, which is better in so many ways, but still, even Kevin has limits. And when he came home and Dude STILL hadn’t registered for his classes, he got pretty angry with him.

And because Dude procrastinated so long that day, he ended up not getting a class that he wanted because it was full by the time he finally committed to registering. He has an English class, a math class and some stupid computer class that he could probably test out of but won’t because he’s afraid of his own shadow and Kevin and I simply don’t have the time to MAKE him do it.

*sigh*

But. The boy is registered and classes start January 17th. He will go from 9:00 to 11:00 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday leaving Tuesday and Thursday free for him to catch up on homework and work – whenever he gets a job.

And that’s another thing.

Kevin and Dude went laptop shopping on Friday. Kevin needs a better laptop because he landed a pretty big client and has to work at their offices for the next four months. They went to a computer store and after Kevin made his selection, he asked them if they were hiring. He actually talked to the owner. And the owner told him, (and Dude), that in order to work in his, or any, really, computer store, Dude would need his A+ certificate. (Some computer thing).

So. We are going to push Dude into getting his certificate because that is his ultimate goal – to work with/around computers. And what better way to start than in a computer store?

Right?

When you ask Dude if he WANTS to do that – he makes a noncommittal sort of sound. But here’s the thing – Dude doesn’t WANT to do anything. What Dude WANTS is to hide in his room and play video games all day because it’s easy and it doesn’t require any effort on his part.

Because the boy is 1. shy and 2. lazy.

Um. NO.

So. We have to push him – for his own good. Because when you ask Dude what he wants to do, or what interests him, he simply shrugs. Since he’s not making a commitment to his future, then I guess we’ll have to push him to that commitment.

I have to be honest. I will breathe easier once Dude starts taking an active interest in his life and starts taking the initiative on DOING something with himself. It’s exhausting always being the bad guy. I know he’s young. I know he probably doesn’t KNOW what he wants out of life, but hells bells, if we wait on him to make up his mind, he’ll be 30-years old and still holed up in his dark room, with his over-sized headphones on his head, completely lost in his cyber world.

Um. NO.

I love my oldest son something fierce. But I’m REALLY ready for him to start living his life.

Without us.

Soon.

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I think I’m going to have Jazz drive to school tomorrow. With me, of course, because he doesn’t have his license yet. But I’m not entirely sure he’s READY to drive to school, in morning traffic, yet. He really hasn’t practiced all that much – he’s only been on the busy roads about half a dozen times, but I’m getting impatient for him to learn to drive. It’ll be SO MUCH EASIER when he gets his license.

But if I push him too hard too soon, it will scare him off driving entirely and we’ll end up taking one giant step backward.

*sigh*

Patience is not my strongest suit.

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I bought two Christmas albums yesterday: Michael Buble and Glee.

I know!

I’ve already burned both albums and I will be posting the songs from those albums very soon. Buble’s voice is so smooth – he’s sort of a cross between Frank Sinatra and Harry Connick Jr. And of course, the whole Glee cast is fun and different. I had thought I might put our Christmas tree up this weekend, but I’ve just been too sapped of energy to even think about it. I have a four-day weekend coming up, so that will give me a chance to get some stuff caught up around the house and to get the tree up.

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I started my Christmas shopping today. I buy everything online because 1. I have NO time to shop and 2. I would rather avoid the lines and simply have it delivered to me.

Only. I don’t trust our mail service anymore (because NetFlix didn’t receive yet another movie and I’ve now resorted to dropping our movies off into an actual mailbox instead of leaving them in our mailbox), so I will have to have our packages delivered to either Kevin’s office, or order my stuff from Wal-Mart and just pick up my stuff from them.

Which saves me on shipping but UGH, PAIN IN THE BUTT.

I know this crappy economy has put people in dire straits and you can always tell when things are bad when people start stealing movies out of your mailbox or break into places to steal copper so they can resell it, but still! It’s not an excuse.

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And lastly …

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138343101042405376

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138343359109537793

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138344131725508609

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138344854706061312

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/138345992448782336

There. I feel better since getting that off my chest.

It’s like I sit down to write something and then think, “Eh. I’m too tired to deal with it.” And then I see that more people actually come to read my silly blog when I DON’T write and I think, “See? Absence really DOES make the heart grow fonder.”

I can’t believe I didn’t write anything this past week. But rest assured, Internet, I’m getting used to this new pace and I will do better.

Maybe.

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It makes me sad just how many people are in pain.

I have to deal with a lot of people in my job. And given the nature of my job, I deal with a lot of people who are in a lot of pain.

It hurts me to talk to them sometimes. Some of them even break down and cry when I talk to them because I, or my doctors, simply can’t do anything for them.

It’s sad and humbling at the same time.

It also makes me very thankful that I’m healthy. My family is healthy. And that we have health insurance. Some people are self-pay and they have to work out a payment plan before they can be treated.

One woman just broke my heart this past week. I went above and beyond the call of duty to help her and was able to plead her case to get her in sooner to see the doctor. I’m not telling you this to pat myself on the back but because it was the right thing to do. Because I’m compassionate and helping people is THE reason I decided to bite the bullet and dive head first into the health care field.

And I’ll tell you something else – I now have a bird’s eye view of what all of the health care insurance hoopla is about and I’m telling you RIGHT NOW, ObamaCare is not going to work. In fact, it’s going to hurt a lot of people. And though I understand that ObamaCare was well intended (well, sort of), it’s actually going to be counter-productive. Because doctors didn’t go to med-school and willingly put themselves in debt, or in a high-stress profession, simply to do the work for free. They want to be paid. They deserve to be paid for their time and talents. And though I won’t argue that our health care does indeed need a complete restructure, it does NOT need what Obama just crammed down our throats.

I’m telling you now – mark my words – if we don’t repeal this disastrous law and replace it with something that is reasonable and fair to everyone, there are going to be A LOT of people who won’t get the health care attention they need and deserve.

It’s a convoluted mess and we need some realistic, steel-spined individuals in there who will not be afraid to make the changes that we HAVE to make in order to save our health care system.

I’m now in the thick of this health-care mess – it’s not pretty, friends.

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/135460826063708160

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Kevin forwarded me an email this week. It was a receipt and a thank you note for donating to Herman Cain’s campaign.

That’s right – we donated money to Herman Cain’s campaign.

Do I like Herman Cain? I do. And mainly because he’s not afraid to stand up to the Republican “establishment” and say what we’re all thinking. He’s got cajónes – and we need someone in the White House with cajónes.

That’s right, I said it.

Is he my favorite out of all the Republican candidates? Right now, yes. But I still wish we had someone like Cain but with more political experience. And the fact that he scares our media enough for them to viciously attack him and throw all sorts of crazy allegations at him is enough to get my attention. Because if the media doesn’t like him, then he must be a threat. And that’s pretty much good enough for me.

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http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/135459033279758336

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I didn’t tell anyone at work it was my birthday. Not even after Kevin’s attempts to force my hand by having flowers delivered to my cubby hole.

(I just told people that my husband is awesome and sent them “for no reason.” Yes. I’m a stinker).

It was a quiet, and unassuming, day – just like me. (Stop laughing).

Though my co-workers sort of figured it out after the fact and one gal brought homemade red velvet cupcakes to celebrate on Friday. (*DROOL*)

I was supposed to get the flowers before noon and with a big “Happy Birthday” balloon, but the flowers came about 2:00 and they didn’t include a balloon.

Kevin was pretty ticked off. (He complained, by the way. Because if you’re going to pay extra for the extras you should get the extras, right?)

My birthday has never really been a big deal to me. I mean, it’s nice to have people acknowledge the day, but I would honestly prefer if they wished me happy birthday and be done with it.

I know it sounds strange, coming from me, but I really feel uncomfortable being the center of attention. (Stop laughing).

I had to stay after work and return a few phone calls. (I’m always about ten phone calls behind – I’m getting used to it, actually). I didn’t get home until 5:30. My folks were already here and waiting for me and they gave me a Bath and Body Works gift card (SCORE) and my mom made me a beautiful neck warmer. (I would model it, but I’m looking a little rough right now and I’ll spare you the horror. You’re welcome).

I had put a pot roast on earlier in the day and we had hot roast beef sandwiches with The Pioneer Woman’s DELICIOUS mashed potatoes. (Seriously. I could LIVE off those potatoes alone). We didn’t go out to eat because I hate going out to eat. By the time we get through the meal, it’s two hours later and we’re about $100 poorer. It’s such a waste, in my opinion. We stayed home. Relaxed. And saved moocho bucks.

I was a happy girl.

Kevin DID surprise me with a gift, though. Four tickets to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra!!!!!! Which is TONIGHT, by the way!! I’m beyond excited. I’ve been watching YouTube videos and we’re all really looking forward to seeing their show. Hopefully, I can sneak a little video to show you later.

I’m not making promises.

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We finally got Jazz’s car back from the mechanic’s yesterday. It had been leaking a lot of oil. Apparently, not only was the oil thingie rusted through, but there was a lot of thingies rusted through and they had to replace them.

We’re now $600 dollars poorer. OUCH. However, there is a bright spot in this story – the mechanic said that after fixing this? It’s actually a pretty solid little car so hopefully we won’t have to pay for any more “fixes” for quite a while.

It’s STILL worth not having him learn to drive in my car.

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We dropped Jazz’s saxophone off at the music store to have it cleaned the other day. They called to say that there was so much gunk built up that they were going to have to take it apart and soak it in a chemical bath before putting it back together again.

I braced myself to hear how much that was going to cost – but luckily, it was much cheaper than we thought it would be. I’m looking forward to getting it back – it’s going to look brand new. AND, we’ll make sure that Jazz keeps up with his maintenance duties in the future.

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http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/135459119250423809

(NOT my picture. Puh-lease. I wish).

What a beautiful day! ………. To stay in and get some chores done.

*sigh*

I didn’t want to. I had to. Since we’ve been gone these past three weekends, my house was looking like something out of a horror movie – only with more color and fewer ghosts. But I prevailed, ladies and gentlemen, I got everything on my to-do list done this weekend.

Laundry
Bathrooms
Dry mopped the hardwood floor
Mopped the kitchen floor
Straightened up the bedroom (which really means I put MY laundry away. Kevin always puts his away).
Blogged

Wait. As I’m sitting here writing this I’ve noticed one thing I didn’t get done today – my desk. Is gross. And I WILL get MY corner cleaned up before the end of the day.

As God is my witness, I SHALL clean this corner up today! (Just channeling a little ‘Gone with the Wind’ there).

Anyway. I feel like I actually accomplished something today, which is more than I can say for MOST of my weekends, thank you very much.

We have one more band weekend coming up. We’ll be making a one-day trip to Columbia Missouri next weekend -that’s Jazz’s last band competition. It’s at Mizzou and hopefully our kids can take 1st place. We’ve done really well this season, but it would be the icing on the cake if we brought home a 1st place trophy.

I’m sort of glad the season is winding down (I bet you are too). Though I have SO MUCH FUN traveling around and cheering them on, it’s exhausting. Especially when you start a new job in an industry you know nothing about and are trying to focus and learn as much as you can in a short amount of time that your brain is mush by the time you come home and it’s all you can do to keep your eyes open to finish dinner with your family.

So. Yeah. The job is going well.

😀

No really. An email was sent out to the clinic on Thursday letting everyone know that I was “ready” to take charge of two doctors. This means I’m in charge of these doctors’ patients and anything schedule related comes to me. I’m getting all sorts of voicemails from patients wanting to either cancel appointments, reschedule appointments or, they want to make an appointment, which requires research on my part before I can make those appointments. For you see, I work for a group of neurosurgeons and they are not like primary care physicians – you can’t just make an appointment to see them for every little ache and pain, there are certain things that I have to look for in order to make that appointment. And if those things are not present, then I have to “flag” the nurse (which is like an instant message system) and ask them if it’s okay to schedule them.

Because I’m a peon and am only paid to do what I’m told. Which is FINE. I’m OKAY with that. I just have to be careful how much initiative I take on.

So I’m learning a lot about this medical field and picking up new terms and learning about new procedures and tests every day. I have to say, it’s damn interesting and no two patients are alike as far as what they need done. It’s challenging and completely absorbs my focus and attention and I really love it.

And I’m not just saying that – I really do LOVE my job.

I’m starting (and only JUST starting) to get a handle on my new routine. My energy level is starting to slowly catch up with my duties and I’ll be used to this new lifestyle in no time. The one thing that I have the hardest time with is the fact that I’m isolated from my family. It’s like I’ve been sequestered and I’m quite literally stepping into a whole new world, separate from them and definitely out of my comfort zone.

But it’s exactly what I needed. I felt like my brain was going soft and it feels SO GOOD to be using my brain again.

Or what little brain matter I have, that is.

Even though my shift starts at 8:30, I’m going in at 8:00 for the next three mornings to make up for the time I’ll have to take off Thursday morning to get my tooth fixed. (I broke it last weekend). I’m thinking I’m going to regret making my appointment for so early in the morning because this means I’ll have to go to work with a numb mouth and will likely be talking weird.

Oh well. I’m getting used to coping with obstacles, what’s one more, right?

Update on my guys:

Kevin has been on a mission to get Dude out in public more. Dude is still going to the office every day and they go out to lunch twice a week. They go shopping at various places whenever they go out – they even went out to the driving range and hit some golf balls. (I have a video of that coming soon). Dude is a very introverted individual and Kevin is hoping that by getting him out and around people more, he’ll loosen up a bit and not be so freaked out whenever he gets a job. He hasn’t had any more interviews but it hasn’t been for lack of trying – he’s been applying someplace nearly every day and Kevin keeps track of his spread sheet and makes him re-apply at places. It’s just a matter of time before the kid gets a job. But it might not be until this crappy economy turns around and I’m predicting that won’t happen until Obama is voted out of office.

*ahem*

In the meantime, Dude has been getting his documents ready to submit to a vocational college. He’s planning on taking two computer classes next semester, so that will be enough to keep him busy until he gets a job. It’ll be interesting to see how he juggles his schedule whenever he gets a job AND is going to college.

Kevin is pursuing some client leads and has been doing well. The word is getting out and he’s becoming more and more busy. It’s just a matter of time before his business really takes off the ground. If you know of anyone who needs a good accountant, give him a buzz! He specializes in elder care, so if you have an elderly person in your family that needs some accounting help (not just taxes, but paying bills, etc), he can help! (http://kkacct.com)

Jazz is finishing up the first quarter. He’ll be getting rid of the following classes: History of Baseball (which he actually enjoyed, believe it or not) and Math Functions, which is a pre-Calculus class. I’m not sure what classes are coming up, but the kids really seem to enjoy switching out classes every quarter and semester. Our school district is considering getting rid of the 4-block schedule set up and I think that would be a HUGE mistake! Having only four classes per quarter is a lot more manageable than having the same SEVEN classes all year long. We’re only one of two high schools in our district that is set up this way and everyone has really loved it. It would make a lot of parents and students upset if they eliminated it.

So. All of this to say, we’re doing well.

This has been a busy and emotional week.

I spent all day last Monday (that’s not an exaggeration – ALL DAY), painting the boards for our new pergola. Then Kevin and Dude put it all together.

We LOVE it!! It really turned out nice. We’ve been shopping for patio furniture but have been a bit discouraged with the price tags. We went to Outdoor Home and looked around and they have some GORGEOUS stuff, but, BUT, I’m having a really hard time justifying spending $400 + on one chair.

ONE CHAIR.

Um, no.

So we went to Lowe’s. And the prices there weren’t much better. So now we’re thinking we’ll just put some folding chairs and a card table out there and call it a patio.

Okay. Maybe not. But we’re definitely going to hold off on buying any sort of furniture until A. there’s a sale, and/or B. it’s off season and the prices just naturally come down because OMG, I can’t spend $2,000 on furniture we won’t even want, or get, to use but once in a while.

UPDATE: Kevin went out yesterday (before the severe storms blew through here – and while we’re on that subject, can I please request some prayers for the poor folks in Joplin, Missouri?? Joplin is a mere 75 miles west of Springfield and EEK, too close to home, ya’ll!!) and angled off the ends. As usual, he did an excellent job and it looks fabulous, darling. Now I need to paint the bases and do a few touch ups and we SHOULD be done with the pergola. Next? Landscaping.

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Tuesday was graduation day. I’ve already written about that and won’t go through that again, but I swear, I have been an emotional zombie ever since. It’s just so WEIRD to have Dude home now. I don’t have to drag his butt out of bed every day (well, I still have to drag his butt out because if I didn’t he would sleep all day and um, NO, that ain’t happening while he’s still living at home), but at least it’s not as stressful as it was when he needed to get up, around and awake enough to drive him and his brother to school every day.

I’m finding myself floundering a bit because I feel like my role in my household has changed – again. I know I’m still Dude’s mother, I mean, duh, but I’m having to consciously remind myself that the boy is 18 1/2 years old, is now a high school graduate, and though we’ve given him free reign to relax and enjoy a few months off before looking for a job (let the nagging begin August 1st), I’m having a hard time ALLOWING him to enjoy this time. I think I’ve just been on autopilot for so many years, the end goal being graduation, that now that we’ve reached that goal, I feel … confused.

Exactly what is my role now?

It’s so weird because just when I force myself to emotionally step back from the mothering gig, Dude will go and ask me a question, seeking my advice about something (which HELLO, is weird in and of itself anyway), and I will suddenly be transported to the mom who had a tight rein on this boy’s life and was used to being in control.

But then in the very next instant, he’s taking his cousin back home to Willard (which is about 30 minutes away) and I’m emotionally forced to swallow my mothering instincts, smile and wave as he takes off like it’s no big deal.

My emotions have been all over the board here lately and I’m feeling a bit dizzy. I know I’ll find my equilibrium at some point, but for now, I feel like a child’s top that is slowing down and on the verge of toppling over.

It’s disorienting.

I shudder to think how I will feel when Jazz reaches this point in just two short years.

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Dude’s reception was really fun.

I was expecting the weather to be rainy, but it actually ended up being a perfect day. The sun came out, the temps were pleasant and there was a slight breeze.

I found out, late Friday afternoon, that Jazz wanted to go to a leadership seminar on Saturday. Well. He had to go to this seminar if he wanted to try out for a leadership role in band, which he did, so I spent Saturday morning putting the finishing touches on the house, getting cleaned up, taking Jazz to his seminar, and then the rest of the morning running errands – Wal-Mart, picking up the cake, and picking up the taco bar we had Qdoba cater.

I got all of this stuff home but didn’t have time to set it up before picking Jazz up, so Kevin had to finish up for me while I went to get him. He actually didn’t leave until 12:15 and we didn’t get back to the house until 12:30 and by then, everyone had arrived and were nearly finished eating.

Talk about awkward! Hostess is late to her own party.

But it was all good and you know, when you have kids, and they want to get involved in extra-curricular activities, you sort of have to roll with the punches.

Kevin did a great job setting everything out. He had moved quite a few chairs out to our new patio, which thankfully, we were able to enjoy because of the unexpectedly nice weather, only, I had a “Class of 2011” balloon loosely tied to one of the chairs because I had planned on tying that balloon to our mailbox, but when Kevin took the chair the balloon was tied to outside, *POOF*. It came untied and blew away.

*sigh*

It never fails – something always has to go wrong when you host a party. It’s like an unwritten law or something. He felt really bad about it and though I was annoyed, I didn’t fly off the handle (Hello! Emotional maturity!) and meh, it was just a balloon.

I think Dude had a really good time. His best friends were there and all of the family showed up, and we all had a really good time catching up, laughing and stuffing our faces. Hosting parties always overwhelms me a bit because I don’t want anyone to feel left out or awkward, so I spend a lot of my time making the rounds. I hope no one thought I was ignoring them or being weird, but it’s hard dividing your time between all of the guests.

My youngest nephews were there. My brother and his wife drove down and I hadn’t seen the little boys in, oh gosh, a year I think? There was one moment, when it was me, both of my sisters-in-law, my niece, my mom and my dad were sitting around talking, when my brother walks in with my youngest nephew and he stands in the middle of the room, as proud of as a peacock, and exclaims in a very loud voice, “I go poop!!” We all died laughing and began clapping because who can’t relate to that moment?? It was really cute and his facial expression was priceless.

Even though I had put on the invitations that the party was going to be from noon to 2:00, everyone stuck around until nearly 4:00. We were totally FINE with this as it made us feel like everyone was enjoying themselves and didn’t want to leave. I never want people to feel obligated to stick around one of our parties if they don’t want to, so I tend to make the invitations pretty informal to begin with. So the fact that everyone chose to stay was really nice for me and Kevin.

Kevin had put pictures of Dude growing up in a slideshow and it was fun to look back on his little boy days. We’ll have to chop the show in half and upload the two parts to YouTube so you can guys can watch it. It was really fun to point out various locations as we watched the slideshow. We’ve been to a lot of places! And it warms my heart to think that the boys will be able to look back on their childhoods and talk about all the cool family vacations we’ve taken together.

My mom made the cutest chocolate mortar hats:

I won’t even tell you how many I ate. (But if you guessed all but two, then you’d be, erhm, really close. NOT all in one day. Okay, maybe all in one day. I TOLD YOU I HAD A PROBLEM WITH JUNK FOOD!!)

Dude’s cake turned out really good. I went through the same cake lady I used to go to when I threw birthday parties for the boys when they were little. To my utmost surprise, she remembered me!! (Or at least, she acted like she remembered me. Maybe she was just being nice. Oh well).

It was a really fun reception. I think Dude had a good time and it was really nice that everyone was able to come.

And that’s it. Dude has graduated. He’s out of school. And we’re all trying to adjust to a new normal.

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We had a parent band meeting this past Tuesday night. We’ve already been through this meeting twice before (8th grade, then 9th grade), so we knew what to expect. But what we were really waiting for was to hear what the show would be for next year and to see the new band uniforms.

I believe the school has used the same uniforms for the past ten years. They were looking rough and a little frayed around the edges. Still, they were pretty cool.

If not a little space-suit-ish.

But the new ones … WOW. Love them!! In fact, I like them better, but Kevin said he likes the old ones more. Anyway. I don’t have a picture to show you now, but when he gets his uniform assigned to him in September, then we’ll take the traditional “pose by the tree” shot.

The show also sounds good – though it will be interesting to see how it comes together. It has something to do with directions … and that’s all I can tell you. 🙂

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We had to take Jazz to the walk-in clinic last night. He’s been having some trouble with his toes. He had been wearing leather-top sneakers and apparently, the suckers rubbed a sore stop just under each big toe toenail. This area swelled up and was quite tender for a while. He squeezed the pus out and they looked better for a while, but then his toenails started turning yellowish and they looked like they were infected with fungus. He used toenail fungus stuff for a while, but that didn’t seem to do any good and yesterday, he came to me after school to show me they were bleeding.

We threw in the white towel and took him to the clinic.

The doctor said they are definitely infected and prescribed some antibiotic. We’re also soaking his feet in Epsom Salt twice a day. In the meantime, we have to call a podiatrist because she said considering both toes were in the same shape, it would be better if a foot doctor took a look at them. They’re supposed to be calling us today with a referral so … I’m sure I’ll have more information when we find out what the next step is.

I’m thinking he will probably have to lose both nails. They are looking pretty nasty and Jazz says they feel loose, so, it might be for the best. I’ve lost a fingernail and a toenail before and it’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s just hard skin under the nail and it eventually grows back.

EVENTUALLY. As in .. ABOUT A YEAR.

*sigh* Looks like Jazz won’t be wearing flip-flops or sandals this summer.

*UPDATE: The clinic just called – they made an appointment for Jazz at The Foot Doctors. I had no idea we even had a facility dedicated to just feet. It’s next Tuesday, at lunch, so I’ll have to take Jazz out of school, but it’s the last week and they won’t be doing anything, anyway. Will post more when I know more …

UPDATE 2: My bad. The appointment is next Thursday, after lunch, and Jazz will be taking finals. So I’ll have to reschedule.

This is pretty much how I feel right now.

We are currently on our FOURTH straight day of rain.

Luckily, it hasn’t been pouring the whole time – it pours, then drizzles, then stops just long enough for the excess to drain off before the next round hits. It could be so much worse, it could have been pouring this entire time. Our sump pump has kicked on a few times, and I’m betting it’s been on quite a few times today (I’m at the office right now) – I dread opening up our crawl space door to see how much water has collected under the house.

Watching radar, you can see it redeveloping and it follows the same path, which is right on top of us. The whole state of Missouri is one big sponge right now.

I hate when we’re in this weather pattern. We’re stuck on a Gulf Stream or something and bad weather just keeps developing and dumping it’s fury on us. It sucks. This is what happened that one year when we had the ice storm. We were stuck on some kind of weather cycle and it iced for days leaving 5 inches of ice behind before the winds shifted and it finally moved off.

I don’t hate rain, but this much rain depresses me. I’m ready to see some sunshine – which, according to our forecast, won’t happen for a few more days. *sigh*

I never realized just HOW much weather affects my mood.

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Easter was quiet at our house. We went to my in-laws. My MIL cooked chicken, ham, and roast beef along with potato salad and mashed potatoes and green salad. I brought rolls. Because they don’t trust me with anything else.

HA!

One of my sisters-in-law wasn’t there because they found out that her husband’s mother was going to be alone on Easter and they didn’t want her to be alone on the holiday. I thought that was sweet.

Since most of the “kids” are now grown and off living their lives in other states (in some instances, different COUNTRIES), there weren’t that many people there. My in-laws invited someone from their church, who is from Russia, and who is extremely nice. It’s so interesting to talk to him because he tells us how different Russia is from America. They are very strict in his country. They aren’t allowed to play Rock-N-Roll music and they are very suspicious of tourists. He was telling us how he couldn’t get over how everyone was so nice in our country and helped each other out – FOR FREE. He said if tourists were to ask someone from his country directions, they would either get a haphazard answer just to get rid of them, or they would only give them the information they needed for money.

He also said that it was crucial for tourists to have their passports, and other paperwork on them at all times, because their police were notorious for arresting people for not having the proper documentation. However, the tourists could get out of being arrested if they bribed the officer and gave him cash.

Everything is super expensive and they have a huge problem with public drunkenness. In fact, he said it was pretty unusual to see people sober where he came from.

He also said that they view America as their number one enemy and they are thisclose to being taken over by China, if China ever decides to go that route.

It was very humbling to listen to him talk about his country. Again, Americans just have NO IDEA how good we have it over here. We honest to God don’t. I didn’t know how good we had it until talking with our Russian guest. I really wish, and I’m being completely honest here, that the people who preach socialism and want more government in our country could go live in a socialist society for a few months so they would know, first hand, what it’s actually like. Everything sounds great IN THEORY, but when people are actually forced to live like that, it’s suddenly not a very attractive alternative anymore.

Our Russian friend just shook his head when we talked about how there are some people in this country who push socialism. He was just flabbergasted that they would want to live the life he was so desperately trying to get away from.

I would be interested in knowing how many foreigners from socialist countries in America would actually PRAISE their government structures. I’m betting not very many.

Hence the very reason they are here, in America, and not at home. They are here because they want to escape their governments strangle holds.

At any rate, America is so spoiled. We have no idea how fortunate we are. And we shouldn’t be ashamed of that fact. But we should also not take it for granted.

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Dude is supposed to get his cap and gown on Wednesday. YIPPEE! I can’t wait to take pictures of him wearing it. I’ve already warned him that he’ll need to just get used to everyone giving him a lot of attention and taking a lot of pictures of him when he graduates. This is a big deal and I’m going to spoil him (even more so than I do now) because HE DESERVES IT. Thirteen long years of school is finally over for him and we’re gonna PAR-TAY, my friends!

I’m addressing graduation announcements as we speak and I went out and bought some party invitations for his reception today that I’ll stick in with the announcements. I also bought him a really cool, personalized, wooden frame that I plan on displaying on the food table at his reception with a picture of him in his cap and gown in it. Kevin and I are still throwing ideas around as to what sort of gift we want to give him, but right now we’re sort of leaning toward putting some money into a checking account for him. He needs a checking account and he needs to start saving some money for the day when he moves out on his own.

Who knows when that day will come.

I LOVE planning parties. They’re so fun! I just pray the weather is nice that day so we can get together on our new patio.

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I have the scanner set up in my office and I’ve been busy scanning old pictures. I’ll be posting some of my favorites in the coming days.

For example, this one is fun:

(I posted this one because I knew my parents would get a kick out of it. 🙂 )

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This is kind of random, but this is one of my favorite tweets this week:

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/61848913459679232

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Okay seriously – enough already.

Kevin is making some major progress on our patio.

He finished digging the space out this past weekend and in fact, got the gravel poured in yesterday. He is going to rent some sort of compact contraption so he can smash the rocks down, then he’ll buy some sand and we’ll spread that around. We already know what pavers we want and in fact went to Lowe’s yesterday to order them, but figured we’d save ourselves $65 bucks delivery fee and all four us can work as a human conveyor belt and pass them off to each other.

This is really coming along nicely! I wasn’t too thrilled at first (mainly because of the cost – gotta watch that money, don’t ‘cha know), but now that it’s materializing before my eyes, I’m getting excited! I saw a patio set at Lowe’s that would look really nice in that area …

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Oak pollen has skyrocketed. It was over 700 particles per blah-blah-blah (I have no idea how they measure pollen) and over 300 today.

That’s enough to cover everything in sight. We’ve reached that point in the season where you go out to your car only to find it covered with a lovely green dust.

Jazz is holding up well. He’s been coughing, but it’s pretty minor and I plan on keeping it that way. I’ve been drugging him up these past few weeks – Singular during the day, Zyrtec at night. He’s also been using nose spray (though only sparingly, you have to be careful with nose spray) and I’ve been possibly OD’ing him on vitamin C.

My eyes have been watering, which is sort of unusual for me. I don’t usually have a problem with spring allergies (now Ragweed is a whole different monster).

Hopefully, we’re peaking on this spring allergy thing and levels will start dropping very soon.

Did I mention I HATE this time of year??

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I’m a bit upset with the makers of the video game Portal 2. I personally haven’t played it, but I’ve watched the boys play it and it looks pretty cool.

And I HEAR about the game every, single. cotton-picking. day. from the boys.

Well. The second installment of the game released at midnight – last night.

ON. A SCHOOL. NIGHT.

*MAJOR GRR*

But that didn’t deter the boys. OH no. Not at all. Jazz got up at 4:30 this morning and Dude got up at 5:00 this morning to play it for a few hours before they had to go to school.

I can’t even begin to tell you how WEIRD it was for me to get up at 6:00 only to see their lights on. Normally, I have to virtually drag them from their beds every morning. (In fact, I have to physically stand at Dude’s door and wait for him to sit up before I can walk away – otherwise, he goes back to sleep. *MAJOR GRR*).

It was hard to tear them away from their computers and push them out the door for school today. And I’m quite sure that neither of them concentrated on school today, but what are you going to do.

But the fact that the makers of the game picked a SCHOOL NIGHT to release their game, well … I can well imagine I’m not the only irked parent out there.

I’m sure the boys will have more adrenaline to play their game when they get home today. And I’m quite sure they will be cranky and pretty much jerks at dinner tonight because they will be:

1. Tired.
2. Grumpy because they want to get back to their game.
3. Grouchy because as per usual, I will turn the internet off at 10:00 p.m. tonight to yank them from their internet trance.

Oh yeah, fun times.

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Jazz text me today and asked about his English grade. Since I didn’t have an ID number to access his grades online, I wasn’t able to help him.

The kids are given travel privileges during “C” time (if I give you the name, you can tell which school they go to, which, whatever. But I would prefer not to willingly divulge that info at this time). Only today, Jazz wasn’t allowed to travel (Dude can travel all the time because he’s a senior – senior privileges rock) and because he wasn’t allowed to travel, he was worried it was because of something to do with his grades. So he contacted me to ask me about them.

Only, I couldn’t access them without the ID number. (Lost yet?)

To put his mind at rest, I went up to the school at lunch time to get assigned an ID number. (I was planning on going anyway, this just pushed the issue).

When I gave them my name, the gals behind the desk both smiled and said, “You do our website! OH, we just LOVE our website and brag about it all the time.”

It makes me feel SO GOOD to hear things like that!!! Though it also embarrasses me.

I’d like to pack those ladies up and use them as my portable testimonies. ha!

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So the short hair thing is … going.

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/59700980035489792

I had a pretty fierce moment of regret the other night after I worked out. I sweat something awful whenever I work out, and I wear my ball cap mainly to keep the sweat out of my eyes.

Anyway, after I was done working out, I took that ball cap off … and nearly cried. I mean, granted, NO ONE looks good after working out (unless you’re just eye candy and don’t work out enough to break a sweat – but I don’t do that, when I work out, I mean BUSINESS), so I wasn’t expecting to look like something out of a SHAPE magazine or anything, but with my flushed face, my raccoon eyes, and my sweaty, matted, BOY hair … well, like I said, I nearly cried.

“What have I done??” I thought.

http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/60072534019817472

But, BUT, I’m getting used to it, I think. I’ve been playing around with it for the past few days, using more products than I think I have EVER used on it (root lifter, thermal protection for when I use my new one-inch flat iron [I use it like a curling iron], shaping spray and finally a stiff hairspray). It’s pretty easy to fluff since the gal used a razor to cut it, it’s all sorts of textured and I love it on windy days (like today) when it virtually doesn’t move (which could be a bad thing, too, I suppose) but still … I feel so … exposed.

Which is funny because the salon gal said something about me hiding behind all of that hair which … COULD be possible, I suppose. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but she might have some psychological insight right there.

I KNOW I’m going to love it when it grows out a bit more, but right now? I feel like a boy and if it’s not “fixed”, I think it just looks hideous.

Oh well, I’ll live.

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http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/59997107565768704

The school opened up summer school registration yesterday. I registered Jazz for TWO summer courses – poor kid. But I sort of have to because of his insistence on taking Jazz band class. Which takes up slots that would otherwise be used for required courses.

Hopefully, if I played the cards right (and assuming he’ll actually get the classes I registered him for), he won’t have to take ANY classes next summer.

Right now, he’s registered to take Personal Finance in the morning from 8:00 to 11:00. (It’s a required course, but pretty easy – it’s a class that teaches you how to balance a check book, etc), and his last stupid P.E. class from 11:30 to 2:30.

He’ll have 30 minutes for lunch.

The kicker? The classes are not at his school – they’re at another high school. They switch off schools every year.

So … I talked to Kevin and Dude last night and depending on what is going on and work schedules, Dude may very well be his taxi this summer.

I also told Dude that even though he’ll be out of school, he still needs to get up with the rest of us in the morning because I’ll be damned if the boy sleeps all day and stays up all night while living with us.

Ain’t gonna happen, Jack.

At any rate, Jazz will also have band camp the first and last weeks in June. So this means the first and last weeks of June for Jazz will look like this:

8:00 – 11:00 – Personal Finance
11:00 – 11:30 – eat lunch
11:30 – 2:30 – P.E. class
2:30 – 5:00 – take shower, have an early dinner
5:00 – 9:00 – band camp

He’s going to be one busy boy. And we’ll be busy carting him around.

He’ll have the month of July off and then it’ll be a gruesome and intense seven days of band camp from 8:00 5:00 the second week in August.

Since the Portal 2 game came out and that’s all Jazz can think about right now, I thought it might be cruel to make him study for his driver’s permit test this week, but next week, he’s going to hit it pretty hard and we’ll get that permit so I can teach him to drive this summer.

Now I need to make sure Dude stays busy and out of trouble. I have a feeling THAT is going to be my biggest challenge.