Escape!

Do you ever wish you could just run away from all responsibilities? Or hide under a blanket and hoped that everyone would leave you alone? Usually I love people and love being around them. But since starting work, it seems that the only time I have to myself is the evenings because the hubster works the night shift. But he's the one I would like to see and never do.

I have a sis-in-law that bugs me constantly! She calls for the most silly reasons and keeps me on the phone even after she has run out of things to say. Sometimes, with caller ID, I don't even bother to answer her calls. But then I feel guilty and end up calling her back within a few hours. She doesn't have many friends and she is plenty different. A lot of that is her upbringing and I do feel sorry for her, but why am I stuck with taking her under my wing? It seems to me that I should be able to choose my friends and not be chosen by someone who can be such a pain in the a$$!

Hardly anyone in hubsters family likes to be around her. She lies and you never know if what comes out of her mouth is the truth or not. And I don't tell her anything of importance because she repeats everything she hears to all other family members. And when I know she is coming over, I have to go through the house and make sure all and any paperwork that is regarding our finances or medical histories or any communications between my children, sisters and friends are put away in a locked cabinet. She has a tendency to pick things up and read them with no thought that they are none of her business! Really bugs me when she does that! And the sad part is, she has two daughters who are turning out just like her. Very needy and overly touchy feely!

Winter Wonderland on Second Day of Spring!

Photo by Ahren Hildenbrandt

Well, it is now the third day of spring according to the calendar. Obviously that means nothing to 'Mother Nature' as she has played a very early April Fool's Day joke on us here in southwest Michigan. Yesterday, Good Friday, we received about 9 inches of new snowfall. Beautiful......yes, of course! Welcome........not so much! There was supposed to be an Easter Egg Hunt in the local park for the little kids today that had to be canceled and re-scheduled. It was re-scheduled to Sat. March 29TH. What fun is an Easter Egg Hunt a week after Easter? I'm sure there will be some disappointed kids today. Perhaps they're not tired of the snow and can get outside and build one last snowman for this season!

But I know that Easter is about other things than springtime weather and Easter Egg Hunts. It is about our Lord, dieing on the cross, being buried and rising from the dead to save us all from our sins. And what a gift that is! This is a special time of year for all of us to celebrate the verse John 3:16: "That God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Praise God for this gift to us and His promises!

I wish you all a Blessed and Happy Easter!

This is Amber trying to light the candles on her birthday cake. A most difficult task as her Dad, Doug, was blowing out the lighter before she could get them lit. It ain't easy being 13 and dealing with a Dad who is a prankster! She managed to get them lit...........lucky for her we had a number one and a number 3 to make the '13' or she never would have gotten them all lit at the same time.

There were only 3 pictures of her party on my camera. This working stuff doesn't leave much time for anything. Yeah, I know it's only part-time, but I worked all day today and half days Monday and Tuesday, so it isn't feeling like part-time right now. They wanted me to come in tomorrow too, but Tom has to take my car tomorrow so I won't have transportation. Besides, Doug dropped off Harley and Hunter and asked if they could spend the night. I think he has an appointment this evening (or maybe it's both of them) with some one who is working at helping him gain custody of Hunter and Boo. And it will be a late appointment.............too late for them to stay up after being in school today so they will spend the night here and he will pick them up in the morning.

I do like my job. It is not boring and it is very interesting. This week I was able to see the results of some ads in the Southwest Advance that I helped prepare the paperwork for in getting them placed in the classified section or the display section of that newspaper. I had no idea what all goes into the preparation of the Advance Newspaper before it is delivered to my door. Except, I get the Pennasee Globe which is what the paper for the region I live in is called. Cascade and Ada and East Grand Rapids get the Cadence; Wyoming, Byron Center, Jenison, Hudsonville get the Southwest and I can't remember who else gets what. They produce 7 papers in all. It used to be 14 but a few years ago it was cut back to the 7 editions. And I believe the Advance Newspapers is owned by the Grand Rapids Press...............but don't quote me on that one!

Anyway, I still have to wash supper dishes. Harley and Hunter have had baths and are in bed sleeping already and I also am in my jammies. I need to build a fire in the fireplace and make me some French Vanilla Coffee and relax.............as soon as the dishes are done and the morning coffee is made and on the timer. Oh.........and the laundry is all done. I am washing the kids home clothes in case they don't have time to take them home and change them before dropping them off at school in the morning. See, I don't know how you working moms do this day after day after day! I think you all ROCK!!!

All's well that ends well!

Update at bottom of this post:

Well, Boo is set to have her sutures removed today and her lip has healed up quite nicely. I haven't seen her for a few days, but last time I did see her, the swelling was way down and she said her teeth didn't hurt much anymore either. The dental x-rays showed no damage to her permanent teeth........thank goodness.

I spent Monday and Tuesday afternoons sitting in a Sec. of States office trying to get titles and plates transferred to different vehicles so Doug and Virginia can purchase my '91 Chevy Lumina and have decent transportation for a while. They can't afford to pay all at once for it, even though we are only asking $500., and we are willing to take payments from them. It really gives them the break they need right now. They are trying so hard to blend this family and make things work, while fighting for physical custody of Doug's two youngest children. Virginia has two also, and Doug has one older one, Amber who will be celebrating her 13th birthday on St. Patrick's Day. I can't believe that she will be a teenager already! And Doug and Virginia are expecting their first child together this fall, so I will have grandchildren ranging in age from 19 years to newborn. And the funny part is, it will be our 19th grand child! Quite ironic, eh? But I got way off track here, I was talking about cars and how everyone will now have a working vehicle. With that said, I'll move on.

I have applied for Social Security. I can take the benefits at age 62 and it will be a reduced monthly amount from what it would be if I waited until I am 65, but who knows what will happen with the Social Security by then. So I opted to start receiving it as soon as I'm eligible in May. Of course the first check won't arrive until July.........you know how the government bureaucracy works. And wouldn't you know it, after applying and being accepted, a job I had applied for months ago and didn't get (they hired a younger gal) is going to be open again. Seems she isn't working out well.......not enough experience! Just goes to show, you can't judge a book by it's cover, eh? It is only part time which is all I want at this stage in my life, but they do have to offer the position internally first. So I should know something by the end of this week or the beginning of next. I'll be sure and write about the outcome when I hear something.

UPDATE
March 5, 8:28 PM: Boo's sutures were removed and the doctor wants to send her to a Plastic Surgeon for follow up work. Perhaps that piece of skin should have been taken off. In any event, Medicaid does not cover Plastic Surgery as it is considered cosmetic. Please pray that they find a good doctor that will take small monthly payments from them so they can have it fixed. I haven't seen it, but from what they say, she will feel very self-conscious about the way it looks as she gets older.