I’ve been working and spending some time depressed and morose. Alright, that may be an over exaggeration, but you get the idea. On Friday I heard the same ‘ole same ‘ole once again. “You interviewed very well and were our runner up, but we went with someone else for the position”. A bitter, spiteful part of me hopes that they have nothing but trouble with the new teacher and spend the rest of the school year in regret. The rest of me hopes that they’ll remember my resume and excellent interview when they have another opening.

Ugh.

Enough.

Changes at SC I thought was going to reduce my hours. Then one of the CSR left unexpectedly (and unwillingly) and I ended up with his hours. Worked out OK.

Subbed for Bunco last night and it was lots of fun. Especially as I finally Buncoed! Woot! Matter of fact I got 4 buncos. I guess when it rains it pours! I really just enjoy hanging out, laughing and talking, but I’m not adverse to taking home some extra cash!

This week end is supposed to be our week end at the lake. The boat and the hotel are reserved. Hopefully it will be warm and the kids can get wet, otherwise we’re thinking about cancelling the boat. After all six hours on the lake with no swimming or using that slide is not going to be fun for the kids.

Lately my youngest has been having “getting up” issues. It causes grumpiness in generally. She’s pissy because she’s running late and has to hurry. Ducky is pissy because they are running late and Ladybug gets pissy when asked if she’s ready. It’s a vicious circle. I think I’m going to have to step in for a week or so and create a new situation. Of course that means I have to get up early, even when I don’t have to work and that just might make me pissy!! LOL

Question of the day:

What do you do to get yourself out of bed?

Alright since I chose to do the Featured_Grownups post first – when I got to this one I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Here is what I want in a leader:

Walter for President Part 2

He’s got good foreign policy, he’s honest, up front and well liked. Vote Walter for President 2008!

For more serious entries please stop by the Kween’s site and read about great leaders.

I love to laugh. I believe it’s genetic, as my whole family is a family of cut ups (as described in my post about my mom and dad at Laff’s). My sense of humor developed young and I often use my sarcastic thoughts teemed with humor to lighten a situation. So what makes me laugh? Everything!

Morons driving – and attempting to do something else.

My daughters sharing their days (with their inherited wit and humor)

My dreams.

My easygoing, amusing hubby.

My pets – like messing with the cat for ½ hour just by pushing the open / close button on the remote for the DVD player.

I love humor, I love comedy and I love anything that makes me laugh. Frankly, I’m a cheap date. It’s not hard to impress me; I don’t have really high standards. You don’t have to be intellectual, politically correct or frankly even that funny. Just trying will amuse me. I love Monty Python. I grew up watching comedian greats like Red Skeleton, Bob Hope, and W.C. Fields. I laughed at Laugh In and chuckled along with the pranksters at Candid Camera. I rolled on the floor the first time I saw Bill Cosby: Himself, and then felt the urge to share him with EVERYONE. Watched Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor, George Carlin and yes, I admit it, even Andrew Dice Clay.

I was a regular Saturday Night Liver — and an avid stand up comedian fan.

Chevy Chase and slapstick comedy tickled me for awhile.

Nowadays I love Jeff Dunham with Achmed the dead terrorist, Walter, Peanut and the rest of the gang, SILENCE!! I Keel you!

Dane Cook and of course the old favorites of Bill Cosby and George Carlin. I also enjoy the redneck offerings of Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy. I believe that all stupid people SHOULD wear signs.

My all time favorite though is Eddie Izzard. I LOVE Eddie Izzard. Yes, he swears, a lot. Yes he is completely apolitically correct. Yes he bashes Catholicism (my own religion) along with just about every other thing, including his own country. But a transvestite in heels and make-up doing a bit about Darth Vader – now come on. That’s funny. We find him hysterical. I’ve found you have to look for the funny parts of life. There’s a time to be serious. This is usually not it. I can’t get to serious, I’ll just get depressed, so I laugh instead. Eddie – he makes me laugh. So here’s a little taste of Eddie, so you can laugh too.

Question of the day:

What makes you laugh?

For more hilarious entries be-bop over to Featured_Grownups and check out the rest of the great entries.

I’m OFF! Woot. Happy Labor day to all.

This morning we went and watched Hancock – at the dollar theater. Since it was Monday and we had a family of more than three we got in for 50 cents each. With popcorn, sodas and candy we spent $21.00. Not bad. Hancock was good, and I totally didn’t see the twist coming. I knew she knew him, but couldn’t figure out how. I won’t spoil it, but we did enjoy it.

Afterwards we went to Wallyworld to get some things we needed. I’ve noticed the last few days that people seem to be in a bad mood. On Friday I ran into of bunch of grumpy customers. Same for Saturday except even more so and throw in some rudeness. Sunday  was even worse – with grumpy customers, bickering stylists and just general grumpiness. Today I’m afraid I was one of the grumpy ones.

Although I managed to not take it on anyone. I could feel it bubbling up though — so I’m glad I’m home safely ensconced in front of the tube getting some much needed rest and relaxation.

I hate being grumpy. I get grumpy when I’m grumpy. It’s a vicious circle.

I’m looking forward to going to the lake. I think it’s just what I need to combat the latest case of grumpies. We are renting a pontoon boat. We are going to spend the day at the lake, maybe stop by the mineral springs and soak and relax. Just generally enjoy the week end. I hope the water isn’t too cold – it’s been cooling off quite a bit. Hopefully we can still make use of the slide. My mom and dad and niece and nephew are meeting us there. I think it will be lots of fun. I haven’t been on a lake in some time. Maybe my grumpy will be under control by then… let’s hope!

Question of the day:

What do you do to combat the grumpies?

Wednesday I met up with Terrific58 and we hit the zoo with cameras in tow. It was a great morning. Nice and cool, good light and great company. We finished off our picture taking expedition with lunch at Route 66 Diner – where I blew most of my remaining weekly points. This week has been rough on my points! Hubby took me to lunch on Saturday – which was very nice. Then Sunday they picked me up from work after they went to church and we went out for a family dinner. That was nice too. These days it seems like the time I spend with the family is way too limited! That’s what happens when you work two jobs though. It’ll be worth it in the long run.

Also on Wednesday, Ducky and I went to my birthday concert. She bought me Black Sabbath tickets for my Birthday gift. Of course they were touring as “Heaven and Hell” but we all know who they really are! They were here with Testament, Motor head and Judas Priest (the headliners). It was a great show and I remember why I love heavy metal so much! Something about the energy and rhythms that you can feel in your chest while an electric guitar screams out the harmonies. It always gets my blood moving and the my excitement meter pegged! I still like classic rock, and easy listening, Jazz and pop – but my heart will always lie with heavy metal I think.

This was the culmination of my heavy metal teen trifecta. In the last year I’ve seen: Rush, Scorpions and Black Sabbath. They were hands down my three favorite bands growing up. I couldn’t stop grinning all night, although I paid the price yesterday when I had to get up at the butt crack dawn to go to work, and then I worked my second job in the evening. Whew was I beat last night! I slept in today and then cleaned up the house. I have to work again tonight but I’m much more ready for it today!

It was hilarious to people watch at the concert. I loved the 80s – mostly. But I left them behind a long time ago. There were A LOT of young kids, but a lot of folks my age too. Some were like me, just enjoying a trip back in time, without feeling like we had to act 17 again. Others – had never left the 80s. There were middle age guys with beer belly’s and receding hair lines in long metal hair and leather vest. There were older ladies in halters and leather boots, the typical hair band groupie type attire — but with too much make up and too much – well everything. There was one chick my age dressed like a 16 year old. She didn’t quite pull it off. LOL People watching was half the fun! It was a great show and a great crowd. Thank you Ducky for a great BD present!

Well I’d better go get ready for work. I’m hoping I get less hours at SC next week – this week I had 37. That’s a lot for a part time job! Especially since I’m starting to get sub jobs now. Although hey – the paycheck will be good right?

Question of the day:

More hours or less pay?

First sub day back. Yuck. Not a good way to start the year.  I really hate subbing. I wish I could just get a teaching job and move on with my life. I’m considering other options. More and more these days. I know that I’m going to stick it out for one more year. Sub and work at SC – and then we’ll see. After this if I don’t get a teaching job, I’m moving on. I just hate subbing too much to do it for ever. It makes me want to cry (literally – my eyes start welling up, and my throat closes) when I think about abandoning teaching, but I also know that I’m getting more and more unhappy about subbing. I watched my dad work a job he hated for ever – and he was never happy about it. I don’t want to live like that.

Scratch that. I WON’T live like that.

Looks like hubby will be heading to HI at least once in the next couple of months, possibly 3 separate times and 3 separate islands. To say I’m jealous would be an gross understatement. However, it will be really good for him – help him alleviate some stress. It’s so funny because I was reading Angrocamp’s blog and she was talking about all the things she didn’t like there – and they pretty much matched my least favorite parts of island life….

Now, I  just miss the ocean. The island breezes, the plumeria and red ginger, the green everywhere and the blue skies and blue water. And the rainbows. And seeing whales. Swimming with turtles. Black lava rock and white sand. and star filled skies.

*Sigh*

I’m not helping myself here.

Well I’m off. I’m wiped out and I have a zoo date tomorrow and then Ducky is taking me to see Black Sabbath tomorrow night. It will be a busy, busy day. The concert will complete my teenage rock-n-roll trifecta though — Scorpions, Rush and now Black Sabbath. Hard to beat that!

What’s your musical trifecta?

While I thought my week was wide open, I ended up taking a bunch of hours at one of the other stores and worked my butt off. Today I worked 9-7 and tomorrow 10-6. It’s tough working that much, especially nights and week ends as I don’t see the family that much, but it’s nice come payday! I have one sub job lined up for next week and a couple for the following weeks. Hopefully I’ll start getting more of those and can work less hours at SC.

As for the bite, it’s much better. They do think it was a spider bite that I had a reaction to and developed an infection as well. The treadmill stress test was because I spent last Saturday in ER with chest pains. They diagnosed it as costochondritis, but wanted a stress test to double check the rest of the tests and make sure there was no cardiac involvement. And the results so far look really good. It’s just another weird ailment that I managed to get. Go figure! Gave me some Naproxen and Vicodin for that.

In better news – I’ve lost almost 20 lbs so far! Woot. I was very pleased! Hopefully by November I’ll be at weight I’ll be happy to take some pictures. I wanted to have some family portraits taken this year. Shh… don’t tell anyone, it’s a surprise! LOL

I finally started (and finished) Breaking Dawn. It was weird, before it was released I was so anxious to get ahold of it. Then when we got it, I couldn’t get motivated to read it. Once I started though, I had to stay up late and read and then got up early to finish. It was great! A fairly anticlimactic ending, I was hoping for something a little more — I don’t EARTH SHATTERING? It was good, although I predicted most of it with her use of foreshadowing… but excellent none the less.

Along that line we FINALLY got to see Dark Knight. I have to agree with everyone else, Heath Ledger gave an AMAZING performance.  I also loved the plot line. But I have to say, I wasn’t as impressed as I would have hoped to be. I think it was  a case of too much build up. That often happens when I don’t see something completely amazing right away — I listen to all the hype, build my preconceived notions and then end up disappointed. I dislike that fast camera angles and dark settings. But overall –I was happy and thought it was fantastic. Didn’t like the chick who replaced Katie Holmes, and didn’t like the Rachel character in this movie, but like I said overall a great movie!

Alright, enough rambling. I need to get some shut eye, I have to work all day tomorrow — Question of the day:

What was the last movie you saw at the theater?

I had this whole entry on how bad my week has been. But I’m so sick of listening to myself complain and list my ailments that I deleted.

So there. It no longer exsists. Hah.

Right now my life is oh so not fun. Nothing major, just life crap. I just need to spice it up some. Get out of my rut. Change things up. Yep. That’s exactly what I need. Hey Terriffic58 – I’m off all week – photo outing?? I’d love to go to the zoo, haven’t been there yet. Pick a day. I’ll make my self unavailable and we’ll do it!  *edit* actually, I now have a treadmill stress test tomorrow in the morning, and orientation at RRS Wednesday morning — I’m free afternoons and Thursday and Friday – what’d you say???

Sound familiar??

This week marked the beginning of one new era, and the end of another.

On Tuesday my baby started High School and on that day, it was the last first day of school for my oldest.

Oh sure, she’ll have a first day in college. But odds are that I won’t be there for that. She’ll head out on her own.

I’m so proud of my girls. Of course some days I want to choke the crap out them – like on Monday. My only day off and the house was TRASHED so I spent the majority of the day cleaning. But for the most part, they are intelligent, beautiful, unique and confident (well, mostly confident, who is REALLY confident at that age?). They are funny and caring. As with all things, there are goods and bads, but so far the goods far outweigh the bads. That’s a lot to be grateful for.

Ladybug got her hair cut before school – and I do mean CUT! Then we colored it black and purple on Monday night. Let’s just say there’s no mistaking my kids and they are fairly easy to pick out of crowd. So just to demonstrate here are some pictures! 

First: LadyBug’s new hairdo:

Now here they are first morning of school.

I love this one – notice Ducky is standing one step higher? That’s because LadyBug is now taller than both of us and Ducky refuses to accept that little bit of truth. ha ha ha.

In this one LadyBug is holding Ducky’s hand to prevent her from making gestures above her head — what a couple of jokers!

Unfortunately LadyBug’s hair looks mostly black in these pictures. The front has purple streaks and the back is mostly purple with black streaks.

What’s Eating Azcason?

This is what else I’ve been dealing with.

Monday night I noticed I had a bug bite. Thought it was a mosquito, but Tuesday it bothered me all day at work. It was hurting and itching. I got home took a good look and ewww I was not happy. Took some Benadryl (which for me is the same as hitting me on the head and knocking me out) and hoped it would be better.

Yesterday I woke up to the unpleasant fact that it actually looked worse! I huge red circle, about 8cm diameter was surrounding the bite site. Also the whole area was hot to the touch. yuck. Called the nurse out at base and since I had no other symptoms they told me just to treat it at home – with Benadryl creams etc. and to go in and get seen if I started having any number of symptoms which she ran down for me.

Jump forward to about 12:30 I started getting nauseous and had a headache. By 3:00 I was feeling light-headed and had pain in my arm, along with the nausea, so I had Ducky take me to urgent care. The doc there (though he didn’t seem concerned by my other symptoms and my extremely elevated blood pressure) said it might be infected and that I was having an allergic reaction. He gave me antibiotics and told me to take Benadryl every 6 hours (which is like telling me to sleep for the next couple days!). This morning it looks much better. The red circle is much fainter although there appears to be some bruising on it now??? Why?? I don’t know.This is on the back of my elbow and I can only assume something took a little nibble of me on my Monday cleaning spree. Aren’t I the lucky one?

The fun just never stops! I have a doctor’s note for yesterday, as well as today. But I’m going to go ahead and work (just have to skip the Benadryl) and then I’m going to go sub for Bunco. I think I’ll make it. I’d better! I’m looking forward to getting out of the house for something besides work! You know what’s odd? I spent 3 years in the insect paradise. I managed to avoid all the spiders, most of the mosquitoes and even the centipedes which regularly found there way in to my house and even have crawled across my bare foot in the bathroom. 1 year in NM and BOOM. Something nasty gets it’s venom in me. Darn it. LOL

Alright enough rambling.

Question of the day?

What’s eating you these days?