Sunday, December 30, 2012

So, what did you do for the holidays?

Well, not sure this is going to be a holiday for the record books. Mostly because I have spent the holiday working on projects. Incessantly. The Real Estate book, the real estate class, the stupid Global Business book and, my personal disaster of my finances, organizing and paying my taxes AND trying to find a home for Rowdy.

Quite frankly, I'm a little worn out. I'm taking a minute to blog because I'm working on encoding videos for the Global Business book (which is turning out to be a total pain in the ass.) I just want to get it done.

I've watched an inordinate amount of mind numbing TV as I've worked on the computer day after day.

I am praying that when I return to school I will have reduced most of the pressure on me by getting these projects done.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

I love me some memes

I tried to do a little research to determine how memes got so big on the internet and such. Didn't really find what I was after. Needless to say, I find them wildly amusing (feel free to study my pinterest to see the many memes I've pinned.)  I downloaded a meme making app and now I'm really having a good time ; ) 













And then there were four

So, I continue on with four dogs. After Rowdy jumped the fence the other night, I was able to renew my will to find him a home that is not filled with vicious wildabeasts.  Poor thing.  I have attached the images below to further remind myself of what poor Rowdy is going through. Please note that Buddy, Gracie and Dixie seem to be ok, they snuggle up, they get close. They are adorable.  Notice poor Rowdy is always alone....alone....alone. Poor thing. He is so sweet, but the wicked ones won't let him near me. 




Wednesday, December 12, 2012

And you're happy with this??

I went back to the psychiastrist that has been kindly writing my Vvyvanse script. Truthfully, I think she is a little on the dippy side. Maybe she just sees so many damn people she can't keep up with what's going on, but I digress.

So she tells me that I was supposed to complete a form when I first came about my ADD experiences, but she was going to go ahead and have me fill it out now on the meds. I took the form. Yup. I've filled it out before. So I start answering questions.

Do I find myself interrupting people? Sometimes
Do I have trouble focusing on what people are saying? Sometimes
Do I have problems getting things completed? Sometimes 

and on, and on, and on. Almost all of my answers were sometimes. I think 2 were rarely, and only "Do you forget appointments?" was Never because the calendar on the phone with reminders is A GIFT FROM GOD.

She took it back, looked at it, and said, "And you're happy with this?!" In what I can only call an incredulous tone.

Hell yes, I'm happy. It's a hellofalot better than where I was 8 months ago.




Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Why I love Home Shows

"So, what do you think the house is worth?"
"$440,000 that's what we listed it for last time."
"But it was on the market for a year, and it didn't sell. What makes you think it is worth that now?"
"Look, we have a really big back yard."

God bless the dumbass home owners of America. People are just crazy.


Friday, December 7, 2012

Tic Tic Tic

Pretty sure I'm about to hit critical mass on a nervous breakdown. If I had time, I would sit and try to think about what is going on, what is stressing me out the most, and what I can do to avoid this from happening. Don't really have time (sure I'm blogging, but that doesn't count. I type super fast.) Don't have time to think about it, sure as shit don't have time to actually have a nervous breakdown.

Probably need to be prepared to deal with the emotions that come with dealing with this much stress.  And if I really trying to list out my ducks and get them in a row I'll REALLY realize there are too many effing ducks and I can't keep them from pooping all over the place let alone get them in a freaking row.

The dogs are actually getting along a little better. Gracie is still a holy terror and mean to everyone, and Buddy still occassionally goes after Rowdy, but they are all sleeping in the bedroom at night. So, I guess that's something.

I did realize as I was driving home tonight that as much as I need money, I cannot just do anything that offers me money. It is making things worse, not better. For instance, I agreed to work all day tomorrow at school supervising the girls that are trying out for the dance team.  I don't know how much I'll get paid, but I know it isn't worth it. 

Don't have time, and yet, that's what I'll be doing. I'm just praying that I can get some work done while I sit there all day.

As a side not, my face hurts. The squished face of a stressed out girl.

Double side, I think that Rowdy may have a new home. I'm really sad. I want to cry. Alright, fine. I cried when I read the email. I haven't confirmed with the lady with the rescue organization, and I know he will be much better off being loved by a family. I have 2 hands and four dogs desperate to get the affection. It's an impossible situation. But to be clear, he is the sweetest of the four. OK, Dixie is really good too. Mine, I'm realizing, are horrible shits.


Monday, December 3, 2012

Pet Adoptions 101

So this past week was a bit of a beating. I'm just going to focus on the pet adoption portion of the week. I'll have to catch you up on the rest later.

First, the whole thing was a little loosey goosey. Teenage girls aren't quite clear on  a lot of topics, and I have to say the officers in this organization get good grades, but there are a couple that are just going to have to marry well if they are going to survive in the world.

I was doing everything I could to get the word out. As it turns out when you announce you are having a pet adoption it means everyone wants you to take their pets too. Go figure. So I had a message midweek from a friend that had found a dog and was trying to find a home for him, but had not been able to do so. So, I said bring him down.

In the meantime, on facebook I find out about another dog. Totally tragic. 3 legged over weight beagle (didn't realize the overweight part until I saw her) her companion dog had died and her own died of cancer last week. The owners son was going to put her down ????? (Find out Saturday owner's son is married to a vet. Are you kidding me? Nice way to remember your mom...killing her dog.)

I was trying to get him to come down so she could be at the adoption. Of course he shows at 12:30 after the whole damn thing is over.

In the meantime, as we were setting up I told the girls to get a water cooler for the water they brought from the gym. Next thing I see they have a cooler for dispensing water. Ok, fine. Empty the water out and then fill it with the bottles. I turn around and they are opening the bottles of water and pouring them into the cooler. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??? I almost lost it. Who am I kidding. I did lose it. I could not believe that they thought that was a good idea. OR even better that they think I'm such a dumbass I would think that was a good idea.

So, end of the adoption event, I am loading two dogs into my car. Big Dogs. I take them to the house. I get them out of the car. Buddy and Gracie lose their shit. Rowdy and Dixie RUN. I catch Rowdy almost immediately. Dixie...well, let's just say for a fat 3 legged dog, she is stunningly fast. I'm barefoot. (Long story, don't ask) chasing her madly. Car stops. Opens door. Dixie wiggles her fat butt in. I try to get her out. Thank the Lord, the passenger says can I carry her somewhere? Why, yes, yes you can. So we go back to my house where I put them both in the car.

I go inside. Set up the kennels that I have. I can't even remember what happened next, but it was mostly mad chaos. So I get Rowdy outside. Lock the glass door. Buddy in a kennel, Dixie in a kennel.

I go to the pet store. Guy is totally nice to me, helps me get 2 kennels and checks me out. Others are pissed. I'm seconds from crying. I get home. Get them set up and toss all dogs into kennels. Deep Breath. Now I start cleaning the kitchen floor. (Gracie, my precious darling, still likes to randomly pee in the kitchen.

So, most of Saturday is spent with me trying to keep Buddy and Gracie from attacking the other two. Poor Rowdy got bit at some point and I realized it when I saw blood drops all over the kitchen. Stop to perform medical care. Clean floors again.

Everyone got a Benadryl. I put them all in kennels for bedtime. I slept alone for the first time in a very long time. It was nice.

Sunday I fed them one at a time, walked them one at a time and continued to watch for bad behavior. I cannot have 4 dogs. Poor Rowdy is so sweet and submissive. I feel like he is getting scarred by being with Buddy, literally and figuratively. Dixie thinks I'm trying to kill her through starvation (seriously, she looks so sad when she gets her food. that's it????)

My nerves are totally shot right now. I have Dixie and Rowdy in kennels for their own protection, and someone coming to let them out at lunch.

I did not mean to become the crazy dog lady.

Friday, November 30, 2012

I need to date James Bond

I saw Skyfall last weekend. And, oh my, but that James Bond is delicious. I really want a piece of that pie, but I digress....

I have decided that I need to date a James Bondesque kind of guy. He’s really the perfect man for me.

Good looking, but not insanely handsome. I’ll admit it, I like a pretty face. If a relationship is going to last, I need a face I delight in seeing.

I’d like the guy I date to be taller than me (even when I wear heels), but I realize too much height might be wasted. So a 5’10 man is plenty tall for a girl that stands at 5’4. (That would be the Daniel Craig James Bond, the others were admittedly taller.) Taller is ok, shorter really isn’t.

Knows how to wear a suit and looks good doing it, yeah, I’ll take that.  Looks great in swimming trunks. Looks great naked ; ) Um, yes, please.

Who wouldn’t want a guy that knows how to handle himself and knows how to handle a gun (this is Texas after all.) I bet he can fix shit too. That is sure to be useful. 


The man likes his vodka. Yes, I prefer a Cosmo, but how sweet is the martini, cosmo love connection? 

He also doesn't mind spending money. I like that in a man, and near as I can tell, James Bond is paid very well by her majesty. He probably wouldn't even notice my propensity to spend too much money. Perhaps he even has someone to do the accounting for him. Even better.
Never married. The more I date, the more I think I’d rather have them never married.  I’d like a man with no weird ex-wife baggage and no weird kids baggage. And n weird I just got divorced baggage.

I’m not objecting completely to the baggage issue. I know we all have baggage of some sort by this time, but I’d like the baggage to be leather and nice looking rather than a bunch of plastic bags of trash, if you know what I mean.

That James Bond. He’s not desperate to get married, not even close. So if it turns out I REALLY DO have commitment issues there will be no pressure there. And he’s very independent, so I don’t have to worry about him being clingy. What’s not to like?


And THAT is why I need to date James Bond...or someone very much like him!!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

I'm making plans to take over the world.

Alright, not exactly. I've been at a Journalism Convention for 3 days. Some of the sessions have been terrible, some ok, a couple have been GREAT.

Currently I'm the yearbook adviser trying to keep the newspaper adviser and her staff from destroying the Iphone app and website part of the program. I'm here with the video tech teacher who would be willing to do things, but she has kids that look down on broadcast (they are making films. Not really. They talk about it, but they don't actually produce much, but they have attitudes.I'll tell you that much.)

I went to a session about merging the programs. They took the newspaper and turned it into a news magazine. (Quite frankly, I think it will be much better received and a great way to improve coverage.) The newspaper and yearbook classes are actually taught as Media. I LOVE that. It is what is going on in the real world, it would better prepare these kids for college. It would make our programs better.

I sent a note to the principal's secretary requesting a meeting. Told her it wouldn't take 30 minutes, I just was planning to take over the world and thought I should give him a heads up. Mooohhhhaaaaaaa


Friday, November 16, 2012

Fall JEA Convention

Traveling with 12 kids, Blondie and I arrived in San Antonio yesterday afternoon.

Today is a day of workshops as is tomorrow. The kids are doing a good job of splitting up and taking notes so as to get maximum benefit from our time here. I'm doing a great job of well, fiddle farting around.

I did go to an indesign session that wasn't really well organized and was all over the place. He was a presenter that could use some ADD meds if you ask me.

 Blondie and I have gotten some work done trying to set up our new asset management system that we hope to use to keep track of the all of the equipment for which we are responsible. We've had it on the library system, but they got fitty and threw us off. So, we are setting up new.

There aren't sessions in the late afternoon, so my kids have gone to the mall for a bit. Hopefully they won't find themselves trouble...just a bit of entertainment. In the meantime, I still have 8 million questions trying to figure out how to do these massive projects I've taken on utilizing Indesign and the magic it holds ; )

 I also checked in on the dogs. Gracie was sleeping in the Zen Den with all of the old dogs. And Buddy, well once again, Buddy was in time out. This time, he DID start the fight, so hopefully he won't be booted completely for being a bad seed. A little time out never hurt anyone...

 Back on Sunday to the regularly scheduled chaos. hahahaha

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Playing with Fonts

Some how through all of the shenanigans of learning HTML code for the website and learning all this other crap for indesign interactive documents and epubs...I've started playing with fonts.


So a nice font different from the usual could go here (ribeye in this case) and the fact I can't get all of my fonts to work properly... that only makes me a little crazy.

Sadly, I can't get the rest of my cool new fonts to work. So I'll have to deal with it later. It's Later. haha. Near as I can tell I need to use one word fonts for it to work.For instance, Kristi a lovely script.

Condiment is a casual font, almost like a hand writing.

Unkempt is a nice clean font, and it has a bold option. I need to remember that it will really slow down load time of the blog though. Hmmm.

Pompiere is a lean tight font.

Combo is narrow. I like how different fonts give our words different feelings.

Schoolbell is a fun name. If I can match the right font with the right words, think about how much more impact the words can have.

Redressed seems like a good font.

Sevillana is a very scripty font.

Ranchers is a nice thick font.

Montserrat has a regular and bold option too.

Alice is a basic serif font, but different from the usual fonts on blogger.

And in other news

Yesterday, Blondie and I had a moment to chat. It was while we were waiting to get a call back on fixing a computer program that I shouldn't have had to purchase and that we aren't actually in control of, but I digress.

We started talking about dating. I find it to be a beating. People are weird, and when become intimate they become weirder quite frankly. The more you know about someone ...the more you realize the number his parents did on his psyche. Not kidding.

The key, per Blondie, (and I think she may be right) is to date in the here and now. Literally to date for the free meals and, if I'm lucky, mildly interesting companionship. I know that sounds terrible, but to date with any thought of long term is setting oneself up for disappointment.

Once again...it comes down to expectations are a problem. Literally to have expectations is to set oneself up for disappointment. And I'm actually getting pretty good at not having expectations, but I guess they are still there in the back of my mind.

I am the queen of the short term relationship now that I think about it. 3 months IS long term for me. And the ending of the relationships... there's another one that is foolish to expect anything but the worst of behaviors. Let's see... I've been told I'm boring, just had a guy disappear with no call or anything, been dumped via text (fairly recent with the side of it's not you it's me, and you deserve better. Come on now, you can do better than THAT).

I wonder if there is a form I could make potentials fill out. Like a contract of good behavior. THEN my minimal expectations would be listed out. No surprises, no questions. Just this is a minimum standard of good manners if you want a piece of this ; )

Gotta go...I'm starting my contract...




Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Feeling Weird

As always, I have an inordinate amount of work to do. Yet, I sit here with my desk pretty much cleaned off staring at my computer. So, I figured what the hell, might as well write.

Only I'm not sure of what I want to write. I think I have heart burn. My life is giving me heart burn.

Thanksgiving is approaching, so everyone is asking what I'm doing. Nothing is the answer. Am I seeing my parents? Doubt it. They haven't talked to me in about two months. When I called them last. To ask a question about meat. And then I got off the phone before my mother could say something condescending. Usually along the lines of "You don't have enough money to buy meat. You should pay off your bills first." Or something else equally insulting.

It feels weird. I admit it. On the other hand, it is impressive the way she can take any topic and make it be about money and my being an idiot. It's a talent really.

It's a little weird the way people get freaky about the fact I'm not doing anything for Thanksgiving. Makes me feel like a loser, which I don't feel like in and of the fact I'm not doing anything. I'm ok with it, but it seems to upset others. Kind of the way most of my life goes now that I think about it.

In the meantime, I have piled on the projects that all require immediate attention, and as it turns out skills with Adobe Indesign I don't quite possess. So, I am watching a ton of videos all day and reading my books ordered from Amazon in an effort to figure out HOW to do all of these various things.

In other news, my yard is a full out leaf zone. Needs to be raked desperately. I raked for about an hour yesterday, got 6 bags of leaves covering maybe 1/4 of the front yard and then showered and took Benadryl in an effort to stave off the allergies and sneezing that follow on the heels of yard work EVERY STINKING TIME.

So, I'm still sitting here. Thinking about everything I need to do. Not wanting to do any of it. Feeling guilty for not doing it, but knowing. Today? Nothing else is getting done. I've now moved on to watch Elementary on the computer.


Monday, November 12, 2012

I can rock 11:30 like nobody's business

Well, it's true, and we all know it. I'm not a night owl. Lord knows, I can go to bed at 8pm and be perfectly happy. I might get up pretty darn early, but it's more of a self-preservation thing. I have to have alone time at  school to get my brain wrapped around the day or I'd kill someone. (Ok, well, that is also preservation of others, so THAT's necessary any way you look at it.)

I will say that once my day starts, the wheels come off and I am running like a mad thing until the end. Seriously. I can't keep up with everything I am trying to do. Unfortunately nothing seems to be going away. It just keeps piling on...and on...and on.

Ug. That's all I have to say on the subject.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Tempus Fugit

Alright, so I'm not doing all that well at blogging every day, but at least I'm thinking about it more and getting back into the swing of things. As such, I stopped this morning to think about my life as a blogger.

I started blogging April 19, 2006. So it's been a while. Pretty impressive. This is my 803 blog post... probably not that many if you average it over six years, but Lordy have I covered a lot of ground.

I've always wanted to be a journaler... but I was never very consistent. Turns out, blogging was more of my thing, so once I discovered journaling online, I became better about writing. And it is cathartic. It feels good to think about my life, my believes and my choices in the context of reflective ponderings. It's also a nice way to keep up with the big things that have happened.

I've lived in 6 places in 6 places in 6 years. Sold 3 houses. Had my heart broken a couple of times. Buried 5 pets (that doesn't sound very good for the pets, does it?!) Traveled to Japan, Europe at least 4 times, gone to the Virgin Islands and multiple destinations in the U.S.

I've overseen the completion of 5 yearbooks and written a coffee table book as I work on the 2nd edition of the coffee table book, another yearbook and a Centennial celebration book for the district.

I've made friends, lost friends, fought with friends and learned to be a better person because of my friends. I've had an online stalker for a couple of years who I very much hope has gotten her own life by now, but there is really no telling.

I've taught hundreds of students. Mostly girls. And I pray that I have done more good than harm. I hope I have taught them how to be strong independent women. How to stand up for themselves, how to ask questions, how to problem solve and to never quit.

Yep, time has been flying by. If my calculations are correct, I have about 10 years until I retire. Hard to imagine. Probably won't. What else would I do? So, here's to the future. Hope it is the ride that I've had so far. Cause it's been pretty damn good.


Friday, November 9, 2012

All this learnin' is starting to hurt my head

There are a couple of projects going on in my world that are requiring me to put great thought into the process.

In addition, I am using Indesign in multiple ways that I have not used it before. Expo facto my head hurts. I am watching video tutorials ALL DAY LONG. It's unbelieavable. I'm excited about what I think we'll be able to do with everything once I figure out how to make it work, but in the meantime, it is killing me.

Everytime I take a step forward...I'm writing down something else I have to figure out before I can actually move forward, if you know what I mean.

If I spend too much time thinking about all of the freaking projects I am actually trying to complete, it makes me twitchy. So, I'm going to go back to watching my videos. And trying to figure out what the hell I am doing.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Netti Pot

I  have a Netti Pot. I loath the Netti Pot. For one thing, after using it in the morning, if I bend over at any point during the day, salt water runs out my nose. Not attractive. For another, I'm just never all that certain that it really works. I'm just pouring salt water up my nose for no good reason.

All that to say,  I don't use it regularly. I use it when I'm sick, and I'm trying to get well. I've been sick since last Sunday. I mean sick. I've been taking everything I can get my hands on. That includes using the netti pot.  This morning I used it. For about 15 minutes. For about 15 of the most disgusting minutes ever. My nasal cavaties are a cesspool of infection. It was unbelievable. I should have taken photos.

I'll be going to Minute clinic this afternoon for antibiotics.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Reality is harsh

If you know anything about education these days, you know that there are one hellofa lot of testing days. It means the entire faculty gets moved about to be testing administrators never in our own classrooms. Don't know why that is, but it is.

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a room staring at a poster for about 4 hours. The poster basically said, "Reality can be harsh. It can be cruel and ugly...What is important is not to be defeated, to forge ahead bravely."

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was true in almost every arena of life, and it is so important for the kids to appreciate the truth of it as soon as possible. Applying to colleges, joining sororities, failing classes, dealing with coworkers etc etc. are all opportunities to learn the truth of that poster.

The world doesn't owe us anything. Life isn't fair, and you can't always get what you want. How often have we heard these phrases? One of the most important lessons we can learn in life is how to meet adversity with dignity and move on. How we handle defeat and adversity says so much about who we are. The very core of who we are reflects our abilities to deal with the harshness of reality.

Reality is sometimes we don't date in high school, it's not until later in life that boys appreciate who we are. Sometimes we don't get asked out by the guy we like. Some times we get into a big ole raging fight with our friends. Sometimes things just don't happen the way we would like for them to happen.

We pick ourselves up, we dust ourselves off, and we live another day.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Already blown it

Well, hell. It's Sunday, so that means I missed writing yesterday. Honestly, I need a more interesting life for this to work. I also need to not be sick and praying for death. Hard to have deep thoughts when one is constantly contemplating which part of the body is most miserable.

So, in my defense, I've sick since last Sunday. I've been taking everything I can get my hands on all week. I'm better, but i still have a bit of a headache. My voice is still scratchy. I do not feel so great.

Being ill is definitely messing with my plans to stay on schedule with alllllll of the things I'm trying to do.

Watching bad TV all day yesterday and today was not part of the plan and yet, I can't stop myself.

Currently, I'm watching Million Dollar Rooms. It's making me salivate. I really miss having a decent restroom. Let alone a fantastic one.

Ok, maybe I can do better tomorrow.

Friday, November 2, 2012

This is not easy

Here's the thing. I don't necessarily mind committing to blog every day, it's just I don't have a life that supports blogging every day. I mean, come on, let's face it. I can talk about my gastric issues daily, but I can't imagine that is reading material anyone wants to see daily.

I could write about things going on at school, some of which is fairly juicy, but I'd rather not get fired.

I could write about the house...except I haven't done a ding dong thing since the last time I wrote about it, so you are pretty much up to speed there.

I continue to try to balance the multiple projects that I have in the pipe...not sure of how well I'm doing there.

And I'm recoving from a nasty little allergy/illness/sinus infection.

I can go out and try to stir up trouble so that I have something to write about, but that seems wrong.

Maybe I'll get into a contemplative mood and write about profound topics of interest... or not. We'll see.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

NaBlPoMo

Hmm, Day one of National Blog Posting Month. I have nothing interesting to write, and yet, here I sit. With fingertips on keys. With nothing to say.

I'll go with a short pithy story.

When I started my current job, I followed in the footsteps of a woman national known in scholastic journalism. She had basically been fired for things that appeared in the yearbook. It didn't help that I'm pretty sure the principal at the time loathed her.

She threw a pool party for the yearbook students the night before they were meeting me on the first day of school. I really, really don't like her. I think she did a lot of crappy stuff that made my life more difficult because she was pissed at the school.

Recently she started following my school twitter account. Really? Couldn't believe it.

Then I got an email that said she would be coming to visit me last Thursday to talk about the publishing company for whom she now works.

I ignored it. I was busy, I had stuff to do, and I was going to be out Thursday anyway.

Would you believe? She freaking showed up that Thursday. Unbelievable!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Metaphor Monday

So upon occasion I have been a bit of a dog with a bone. I have found myself in another one of those situations. In fact, when I was telling my tale of woe and angst to my friend PR, she told me "We can't all be Germanic." I told her I'm not German. Apparently that wasn't the point.

Soooo, the new journalism staffs are always chosen in the spring. They are always posted the Friday before spring break (Many would say because of tradition. I tell you it is because we are chicken and want the kids to have a solid week away before we have to face any sad or mad faces because they didn't get the position they want. More specifically, we want a good reason why we refused to answer the phone and/or call their mothers back.)

Back to the story, last spring the newspaper adviser (Red) told me that the Bagpipe kids felt they could handle the website and didn't really need "double" leadership. They had it, no need for yearbook kids to do it. Ok, I said, no problem. One less thing for me to worry about. HA.

I went about my merry business (Yes, you smart asses often my business is merry, I just keep it inside so others aren't jealous.)  Long about the end of September I finally got around to looking at the website. Holy crap I said to myself. It looks terrible. It hadn't been updated since LAST SPRING. There had basically been no tweets. (The 2 football games had been tweeted, but the young man in charge both times failed to tweet the end score. Seriously??) The Facebook page? Only update was to read the Bagpipe. The only thing being updated was the calendar, which thank you very much, was being done by one of my kids.)

I said something to Red. She gave me some answer about oh dear, and her editor had trouble working the website, gee could someone help. Within a couple of days I had Mr. Magic out (guy who works for procomputing. He helped us fix the website from what the idiot we hired originally did, and he is a great teacher. Super nice. Always happy to answer questions, etc.) He sat at my desk, as I took more notes, we printed examples of how to do things yada yada.) Because the editor wasn't sure of how to work the top slider bar (Feel free to go to HPHSmedia.com to see (requires password, so you have to direct msg me to get the password, sorry.), he needed a photo to show her. Since we would be updating everything immediately, he grabbed a picture from my computer.. a photo of my dog Gracie to be exact. He then just typed in fake text to show her the bits and pieces.

Great, she says. I can do it, she says. ...fast forward two weeks later. I get on HPHSmedia to see... NO UPDATES. That news slider? STILL AN EFFIN PICTURE OF MY DOG.  I almost lost my ever loving mind. So I sent an email to Red. We have to talk I say. Have you seen the website? Her answer "I'm aware." huh. really? You are aware???? She agrees to meet with me Monday.

At this point steam is coming out of my ears. I am pissed. Beyond pissed. Going off the rails unhappy. I gather my editors and say I know it's not fair and you weren't expecting this, but I need y'alls help. The website, it can't look this crappy. So my kids start working on stories.

By the end of the day Friday, there are at least 3 new stories on the website. The dog? She's still there all weekend, which is probably good because when I sat down with Red, it was nice to go to that first and ask Are you kidding me?????

I had already talked to one of my managing editors about being in charge of the website, and to a couple of others about doing things too. It was some time over the weekend as I was going off about my kids would never pull this crap of just not doing anything and thinking it was ok that my friend told me we can't all be Germanic. Germanic my ass. It's about having standards. It's about knowing how much money was spent on this website and the iphone app. It's about knowing my name is all over the stupid website and I'm not interested in being embarrassed. It's about knowing that any kids that want to go into journalism have to understand convergent media and how it all works.

Oh, and in one week, my kids have done more for the website etc than her kids have in 8 weeks. Not kidding.

ANNNNDDDD Friday the newspaper came out, so I spent the whole day listening to those kids laugh and have a great ole time cause their work was done, while I worked all day with my kids on stories etc that we need for the website. What's wrong with this picture????

Saturday, October 13, 2012

It's a shame that no man is an island

I spent most of yesterday incredibly frustrated. People are a beating.

1. I had a woman remind me that she would really like her senior ad to be correct, after all her kids names were spelled wrong on the name stamp of their books last year. I told her that when the book wasn't being done by teenagers and the administration let me do everything, then it would be perfect. Until then we would just have to try to do our best.

2. 5 weeks ago I got on the hphsmedia website and was horrified. (This is after last spring when the newspaper adviser told me that her kids wanted to be totally in charge of the website and we didn't need double leadership. Ok. They haven't done crap. And they are probably getting 100's. Cause that's the bullshit that goes on. I had a guy come in two weeks ago to help "review' how to do everything because that was the problem. Got on yesterday. Still horrible. So horrible that there is a photo on the front page with my dog. Cause we used it to review how to add a photo two weeks ago. Sure. Why not.

3. Set up a time WEEKS ago to go shopping with a friend because I need help figuring out a couple of outfits. She told me last night she forgot her sister was coming in, so she couldn't do it.

I wish I was an island. It would be easier.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Fun news

So, this week good news.

I got the tax bill from the City of Dallas. Yes, I officially did manage to get my taxable value of my property dropped by $50,000.

In other news, the house directly behind mine is for sale. The house is the exactly the same size as my house. It has two crappy bathrooms (yes, like my house.) Admittedly, it does have flooring whilst I have plywood floors in the living room and halls. However, it is on the market for $225,000. That's right, on sale for $50,000 more than I purchased my house.

No, my house is not ready for sale. Yes, there is still more work to do. And yes, I am very, very happy. Just thinking about it makes me gleeful : )

Stupid stories from the life and times

From today....

I am one of two sponsors of Hi-lites; a girl's service organization. We have 2 dances a year, girls ask the boys. A mom calls and asks if girls from other schools are allowed to ask boys to the dance. No they aren't. She says that her daughter asked a boy, but the boys mom said that he was asked by a girl at another school. And every person involved in this stupid story has a different story about what happened. Bleh.

Student A gets yelled at by her editor student B. A says something to her boyfriend as she leaves the class. Her boyfriend sees boy 2 and tells him A called B a bitch.; boy 2 tells girl B (his girlfriend) about it. She laughs but tells me.

Gets back to A who tells me that boy 2 told her that student A hates her. OH EM G. Are you kidding me???? Stupid drama with a boy in the middle????? What has my life come to?

Today I get a call from my dr who wants to see me again. The doctor who suggested I get blood work done but didnt' mention it was $1500 worth of blood work. And please remember this is the dr who I understand about every third word because she's from someplace south of here and she has a lovely but thick accent.

Stupid drummer who I am desperately trying to get rid of forever by not having him do the programming for the directories any more. He sends an email asking if we can meet for dinner so he can talk to me about the class at the high school that is going to take over to be sure that it will work. I told him I would try to get the number of the teacher because I'm not the right person to answer if they can do it or not. How does he not yet understand that I want NOTHING to do with him? Dummmbassss

Coworker gets pissed at me over honest to God a fairly stupid issue. Of the many things in this world to get upset about, trust me when I tell you this was minor. And easy to fix. Didn't matter. Completely unable to see outside of her own point of view. It's just exhausting. God knows life can be shitty enough, but life is short, and getting upset over something that is relatively easy to fix and or change seems like a waste.

Oh, and I am in the middle of a trillion ad appointments with parents. They make me tired. Very tired.

Yeah, that sums up my world. Tiresome. Irksome. The Usual.




Monday, October 1, 2012

Do you know how I know no one reads this

I've had a typo in my last post's headline for over a week. This is a blog getting zero traffic. Good thing I amuse myself to no end.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The chiropractic magic

So I went to a chiropractor a couple of weeks ago, and he took "film" of the spine etc. Yesterday I went back and got to check out said film. It wasn't pretty. I have scurvy. Well, not scurvy but my spine bends in ways it shouldn't. No wonder I can't get any dates. You can at least see my neck on the left...note the black line shows how the neck should go...notice my neck, not on the black line. The photo on the right basically shows the same thing on my lower back...quite the arch going. I slump. A lot. Apparently.

He, of course, offered a fabulous 8 week course of visits to improve the back situation. I will say, he managed to crack my back twice and my neck. Rather magnificently I have to tell you. It made my back feel immensely better even if it did worry me that with the wrong crack I could end up permanently disabled.  I'm trying to figure out how to pay for the regiment since I don't want to die early with a weird bent forward head and wacked back.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Soooo happy

Well, every part of my body hurts, most especially my poor arms, and I had to clean a hell of a mess, but the master bed room is now done, so I am happy. The wretched border is gone, (totally failed to get pictures of the mess that taking down wall paper causes.)

You can't really tell, but the walls are a pale blue which looks quite lovely behind the curtains which are FINALLY up since I have gotten the border down and painted. It just makes me so damn happy.

On the other hand, now that I fully appreciate what a misery wallpaper removal is, I look around the house and want to sob quietly...big kitchen...green bathroom...master bath. Sigh. Hateful. Truly hateful.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Back in the shark tank

Truthfully, this time I might have fallen backwards into the tank. Strange. I met up with PR this week at a local watering hole. She is much more friendly and talkative to people than I am (this is where we reference the fact that although I may have started life as a fairly friendly outgoing extrovert these days, I just don't really like people.)

At any rate, guy across the bar was eating food we thought looked pretty good. Before you know it, he's moved over to our side and is chatting it up. Very nice guy. From out of town, moving to Dallas as soon as he packs up his worldly possessions and returns. At the end of the night, he asked me out for last night.

As a side note, I woke up yesterday in mortal pain. In fact, I had to call PR to be sure I had only had the usual 2 drinks. Not more. It felt like I had more. A lot more. Like a whole lot more. At any rate, we met back up last night and had a very lovely evening.

That's all I'm giving you for now. Oh, let's just call this one the Salesman. And I don't mean in that swarmy fake way. More in the charming, good looking, why did I just buy that when I didn't need it way.


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The medical community should be guilt ridden

So, I went for my wellness check up last week. I'll admit it's been a while since my last one, but since I was reminded recently that we get one FREE wellness checkup a year, what the hell. While I was there, the doctor asked if I wanted to get some blood tests done. Since I'm a girl without a gall bladder, I thought it might be a good idea. Make sure everything is working the way it should.

I got a blue cross benefits explanation today. I'm not totally positive, but I'm pretty sure my blood went like two different places and cost about $2000. With the possibility of  my paying about $400. And by the way, I'm fine. Perfectly healthy. Except for the heart attack I wanted to have when I saw that bullshit.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Living in total squalor. Total. Squalor.

It's actually impressive. There are bits and pieces of  recently destroyed toys all over the place. Gracie, it turns out, although utterly adorable. Potties inside. A lot. Thank God I have laminated floors. They are being put to the test. It's tiresome. I adore her. But it is tiresome. How do you teach a four year old dog to NOT potty indoors? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

The kitchen is a total disaster. There is food that has just plain gone bad in the fridge, but I can't throw it out until trash day. Trash day is Friday. That's a long time from now, especially because it partly depends on my remembering to throw the bad food out.

I could be cleaning right now. Instead I'm sitting on the comfy chair with Gracie draped across me watching TV. Not doing anything worthwhile. Just watching TV. I'm gonna regret this later. I'm sure of it.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Now totally determined

So we are a high school filled with tradition and school spirit. One of the things that makes the school unique is our Pipe Band with kilts. The plaid of the kilt is actually registered in Scotland. It was made for them, and only the band at the school can order the material. Pretty cool, right? 

About 10 years ago, as part of our yearbook concept we borrowed the kilts and had different leaders of the school pictured in the opening of the book wearing the kilts. 

Last spring, we knew we wanted to do that again. Only this time, I have been getting the run around. At first it was that everyone wants to borrow them, so no one gets to. But we had already borrowed them before. Then it was I can order the material and have non official piper kilts made. Ok.  Then it was no. And just find a pattern that is similar (harder to do than you might think) AND I'm being told no one will really notice that it isn't the right tartan. HA. It will absolutely be noticed. 

At this point, we have to change what we are doing for the yearbook. Fine, we'll do something else. BUT I am not done with this.

Causee now I'm pissed. So, I went online. Found the registery. And I have contacted a company in Scotland about having an official school tartan registered.  Yeah, yours truly will be the keeper of the control. BAM. If I do nothing else before I retire, I will make it so that the NEW tartan is the one everyone associates with the school. PERIOD. 

As a side note word on the street is that it will take a long time to get it made and it will be very expensive. Good thing I don't retire any time soon and I have a large budget at my disposal. 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Puppy Love

The first day of school is great fun, but always exhausting. I was tired yesterday, but by the time I was ready for bed, I had a mother of a headache, so I got an icepack to put on my head. Sweet, sweet Gracie snuggled up to me and shared my pillow. My hand is strategically placed to keep her from kissing me any more. It is difficult to go to sleep while getting wet puppy kisses.


Monday, August 27, 2012

yard, walls and colors

 I'm sure I've blogged about all of this before, but honestly, if I'm gonna spend all this time admiring my yard and wrapped around the axel thinking about paint colors, why shouldn't I let you be a part of the fun? Seriously, look how good this looks!! Pretty flowers, mulch, it's a good looking back yard.
I love the flowers!!

Love a lawn getting some water. Still could look a little better, but way better than how it looked. 

Still love this back area. 

I can't remember what these flowers are, but I totally love them. 
My goal is still to have the back be a lovely greeting to any visitors, so I'm not there yet, but I'm getting close.  
The metal electricity box offends me. I'm trying to figure out a creative way to hide it. 
I love the plants in the pots by the house. I laid the mulch down between the pots. It looks very good if I do say so myself. 

Ok, so now that I have the backyard looking pretty good I am ready to move on to painting the interior house. It is very stressful. I don't like having to choose.
So this is an insanely bright coral color. My friend Aimee thinks I should paint the living room this color. I'm kinda down with it. What the hell. The dark brown will be the trim and doors. 
Master bedroom colors. I can't decide between the blues. I'm leaning towards the light blue. We'll see. 
So, these are the colors I'm looking at for the house, far left is living room, greenish color is the kitchen, cream is hall, grey is the TV room, cream is the hall, but it doesn't look that bright in the hall, blue for master, browns for the guest bathroom .... I stare at this boards often. Thinking. Contemplating. Stressing. 


Hallway colors. They look dark don't they? I can't decide. grrr. 

First Day of School

Yes, I should have stood up straighter and held my stomach in, but what the heck. This is my first day outfit.

Just to reassure everyone out there, yes, I took my medicine, and the world agrees it makes a world of difference. Although I am totally congested, and I have a bit of a headache. And I have a ton of stuff left to do. So, I have to get my work done.

Kids were good. Day was very busy. Think it's going to be a good year.

Friday, August 24, 2012

My summer TV shame

Yes, I admit it. This summer I have managed to find myself addicted to more terrible shows than you can imagine. I can mock them gleefully, but it is true, I am mocking shows that I am dedicated to watching.  First, of course, there was Hoarders

But it hasn't been on in a while, luckily A&E helped me out with Hoarders: Buried Alive. Sure, sometimes it is shocking how much crap have and how much filth people are capable of living in. Some episodes I just watch in disgust. But other shows, other shows scare me. Because they aren't living in filth. They just have an inordinate amount of STUFF. There but for the grace of God go I. Hoarders helps me clean. And get rid of stuff. 

Hotel Impossible. I have no idea of how I found this show or why I find it so addicting. Never the less,  I can't stop watching. There are some dumb ass shleps owning hotels in America. I mean no sense what so ever. And to be clear, I have no plan to own a hotel or run a hotel, but I will say I know what to look for if I'm trying to determine if a hotel is clean. So, there's that. 

In June I started watching Ice Road Truckers. Again, no idea of why. It is literally watching 5 guys  driving on icy roads. I will say it is very cool when they show the truckers driving on the iced up rivers and lakes. Crazy. There is nothing useful about this show in my life. Maybe it's that crazy tug of death...there's always a chance the one I don't like will crack through the ice... 

Then, I discovered World's Worst Tenants. I love this show. First, the 3 stars crack me up. The guy in the middle used to be in the military, so he's pretty tough. Yet he still acts horrified and shocked by the stupid shit that these tenants pull. Second, the stuff they end up dealing with and the crazy people they meet are unbelievable. I just watch that show open mouthed. People are NUTS. 





And now? I have Mike Rowe Dirty Jobs. It's a show about nothing, yet I can't resist. It pulls me in. I do think he's cute. Anyone know if he's single?

There you have it. My dirty little bad TV secrets. It's terrible. I have no time to be watching TV as we all know, let alone BAD TV.

I think I'm in trouble

So today I made a list.

Things I'm doing right now:
  • Journalism I curriculum
  • Journalism I in HPISD curriculum format ASAP
  • Real Estate Classes 5 classes by Nov 1
  • Reformat The Book to be published by Oct 1
  • The Directories 


Gotta tell you. Looking at it in print makes me want to throw up. And gets my eye twitch starting. And makes me feel like I'm stroking out. First, the Journalism I curriculum. I'm not even teaching the stupid class this year, but I feel an intense obligation to get it all in order and make it neat and organized for the new dude. He strikes me as a bit of a douche canoe. Still working on a nickname. Positive he'll be "earning" himself a good one.

The Journalism I HPISD curriculum format? THAT is a total beating. Every teacher can tell you that no one looks at lesson plans written in this BS format. Yet, I'll be spending an inordinate amount of time turning the work that I've already done (for at least a functional purpose) into a totally nonfunctional purpose just to make some admin in the district happy. Yuck.

The real estate class. Why, oh why did I do this to myself? I desperately want to get the classes done and check that box off. But the taking of the classes is a beating. Hateful, hateful stuff.

Reformatting the real estate book. You'd actually think that this one isn't all that difficult because I did create 240 pages of the book 5 years ago. The problem is that they are adding 10 pages to the book in the first dozen pages of the book...that means all the page numbers are changing, and all the links are going to have to have their page numbers changed. And all the colors are changing. And there are still 2 more spreads to be created plus all of the new advertising to add in and the other miscellaneous pages to add it. It's a lot. Trust me.

And the directories. Oh, the directories. 7 to be exact. Only one is totally done by me, but it's 7 different PTA directory chairs yapping at my heels for the next 5 weeks needing me for one reason or another.

And, before we start what is sure to be a whirlwind of a school year...the Hi-lites picnic. For 2 hours, Sunday afternoon. In the heat. Ug. I shall dread it all weekend.

Oh, and the fabulous drugs I now have a prescription for so that I can keep my act together? I keep forgetting to take them. Oh the irony. I finally got them in my purse tonight so that I can at least have them when I remember that I haven't taken them.

In other news, the dogs are still adorable.


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Catch up

It's been 19 days since my last post. A lot can happen in 19 days. Sadly, for me. Not  in this case. So, I can catch you up fairly easily. 
The yard: My work here is through. Mostly. The front yard still looks like shit, but the back, the back looks pretty stinking good. I need to mow though. 

I love Amazon, and I'm ready to be a shut in. Do you know what this box is? It's groceries. It's groceries that I didn't have to go to the store to buy. They just showed up on my front porch. I love AMAZON. 

Yeah, Gracie is adorable. Sometimes she gets really excited and starts running around. Unfortunately that usually means she's gonna run into something, but she bounces back pretty well. So there is that. 

Part of my summer activities? Cleaning the cabinets in the garage. They were disgusting. I am happy they are now clean. Probably signs of a sick mind, but what the heck. 

The cabinets that used to be between the kitchen and the TV? Gone. And it looks soooo much better 

You can't tell. And obviously if you haven't used the terrible toilet, you can't appreciate how AMAZING this one is, but trust me. It's a new toilet and it totally rocks!!!



 Inservice began Monday. I loath inservice. It is the terrible entrapment of unwilling teachers into a room trapped into awful learning sessions. I am more than ready for it to be over.

Of course I started running again and fell apart again. So, I need to GET BACK ON THAT HORSE. I think it may kill me.

I'm trying not to think too much about the fact this is the year of completing 3 250 page books.

As a side note, if you, my reader (please note that is singular) have a request of subject matter, please let me know. xoxo





Sunday, August 5, 2012

Smooshed boobs, drugs and take-out

I worked like a dog in the yard yesterday. (Well, not my dogs. My dogs loll about and sleep. Other people's dogs. Working dogs. Alaskan working dogs, yeah, that's the ticket.) That resulted in my wanting to die by the afternoon from heat stroke. In addition, I am completely positive that I am allergic to the tree in the front yard.

This morning I got up and put on my running clothes. As a side note, running clothes are fairly comfortable EXCEPT for the bra. The bra is designed to smoosh everything down so that when actually running, the boobs don't bounce around in a most unpleasant fashion. Sometimes to do a job well, it means that there is a certain level of discomfort...ie it's hard to breath.

I was going with the theory that if I was dressed to workout I might ACTUALLY work out. It was a working theory that I can now say didn't pan out. I had a mother of a headache this morning, so I finally caved and took some Benadryl which meant I passed out for a couple of hours this afternoon.

I have been starving all day. I have no food. The irony of this is that I spent $170 at the grocery store a couple of days ago. What can I say, I have lots of fluids and some staples, but I pretty much have already eaten the good stuff. Sigh. So, I have ordered Italian. It should be arriving any minute. That is a very good thing because I'm so hungry I might start gnawing on one of the dogs legs!!

Needless to say, I have accomplished zip today. Nothing. Total loss. The very long list that I have? Yup. Still there. Still long. Let's see if I can do a better job tomorrow on checking things off....

Saturday, August 4, 2012

You never know when you'll hear greatness

"Everyone has their own limitations. You have to accept them to break them," Stacy London.

Yeah, still watching What Not to Wear. Re read that quote. Think about it. Think about the truth in that statement. And it's not just I have fat thighs, so I need to accept that and dress to minimize those suckers.

It's accepting who we are period. Fear of being seen as ignorant or a deep desire to please everyone. We have to admit who we are and what are insecurities are first before we can either work on changing the things we want to change or work within the confines of who we are.

There are things we can change, and there are things we just have to accept. Either way, we really can't be free until we accept who we are.




What NOT to wear



















I adore this show. I have probably posted an easy dozen times on it. I totally believe in the importance of dressing well. I KNOW that what people wear says a lot about who they are. I have met too many people who I think are amazing in part because they dress so well.

The girls seem to fall into 1 of two categories. Either the "I want to disappear into the woodwork because I don't like how I look" or the "I want to be young again so I'm going to dress like a slut all the time." And I totally believe that the idea that we can dress to 'blend in' is total bullshit. It just makes us look fatter, more tired and less put together than we could look otherwise.

Obviously I am more on the "I want to blend in with the walls" side more than the "let me be a slut side." I know I changed my entire appearance losing weight. Without a doubt it is easier to buy clothes now that it was when I was bigger. But what I know is that inside. Still a fat girl. I can still look in a mirror and think I look terrible. I also know, that there were outfits I wore even at my fattest, that I looked good in. And there are clothes I can put on now and look terrible in. So no matter what size I am, I still have a shape, and some clothes look good and some clothes look bad on me.

I love this show because no matter which side a person is on, literally in one week, Stacy and Clinton CHANGE THAT PERSON'S LIFE.  It's incredible. How cool for them that they get to do that? And how many of us could change our lives if we just paid attention and did this for ourselves?

I mean really. Go to the Bobby Brown counter (or Ulta, or Sophoria or WHATEVER) and say, I want a make-over. This is the look I'm after. And learn how to do it.

So no one is giving us a $5000 credit card. Save up money and do it with less. Buy what you can and get rid of one thing for every new piece. Then do that once a month for however long.

If we can watch this show and SEE the difference looking good makes in someone elses life, how is it possible we are unwilling to do this for ourselves?

I feel like I really don't get clothes and I don't know how to put outfits together, but I watch this show and take notes, and I know that what I wear matters and that I need to think before I get dressed.

I think of my friend who totally say she has no style etc but she finds outfits (usually on mannequins) and buys them. It's kind of cheating, but at least she is doing something.

A girl just said she would love to have someone say to her"Oh, you have an awesome outfit." Yeah, or wow you look really nice today. How nice is that? What a great ego boost. Everybody should be able to feel good about themselves. No matter what her shape or size.

Really, if I won the lottery, I would love to take some of my favorite people and make them be on a non televised version of What Not to Wear!!

My precious babies

Buddy and I just brought another member into the family. Between my friend PR who just got a new puppy and my friend D who just adopted a third dog, I have had the fever. I have gone online quite a bit checking out doggies. I knew that it would probably need to be a girl, and I really wanted a dog I could pick up. And quite frankly, it would need to be a dog that would fit on the comfy chair with Buddy and me. The new addition would also have to be sturdy enough to not be smooshed when Buddy decides to back up and sit on him/her for misbehavior. 

I saw a Boston Terrier online that was so cute I couldn't stand it. Her name: Gracie. Her little bio said she was 4 years old. Born blind to a breeder, who bred her 4 times and then dropped her off at the shelter. I know the blind thing is a little worrisome, but I figured what the heck, it would probably make her couch potato like the two of us. 

I met her on a Monday and knew immediately she would be a perfect fit. Buddy did spectacularly well with her. She arrived Wednesday. We have since pretty much been couch potatoes. I mean we are snuggling fools. She sleeps on the bed. So cute. I made a little border of pillows on the right side of the bed just in case she falls, but so far so good. 

I found a box of cinnamon strudel. Yum. I had to run and get some milk to make the strudel. By the time I got home the strudel box was history. I cursed him soundly. But honestly, he has been great. And in the meantime, Gracie has learned how to use the doggie door. She is learning her way around the house (in between naps). I've only left a couple of times, and she is really good about going in the kennel when I'm gone.