Walking the Long Road

End of Nick's 1st week of school (he started 8/11)- he brought home a cold for all of us to share. It took me the longest to come down with it, but alas, I did succumb after 1 week of fighting it off.

While I've been ill, I've realized...it's official...yep...I'm a big baby. When I get sick, I get sick, and don't function for days. All I want to do is go to bed and sleep for ever and have no one bug me. Too bad the kids don't believe in that ideal of mine...Hurmph!!

So I've been the bouncy mom (beds are so much fun to jump on when mom is sleeping, look at me bounce); the question & answer mom ("mom, what does this card say", "mom, what does this add up to", "mom..."); the story-time mom (you want to read "Sam the Cat" again); the look mom - "it's Dora..Diego...(or any other favorite cartoon character of Kiarra's)" said in a excited and high-pitched voice only a 2 year old can achieve; and the dead-to-the-world mom (while you sleep, I proceed to get into everything in your bathroom and bedroom and have fun).


Positive - I've only missed Tuesday and Wednesday at work.

Negative - missed first day of school Tuesday 8/26 (did drag my butt out of bed for 6 hours of mandatory orientation for field classes on Monday - but only because "key word" mandatory.) Also missed some orientation with my field placement that I have to make up next week.

So I've decided, I have to change somethings - not sure what yet - maybe diet, vitamins, sleep, moving to a new place, or something else, so I can stay healthy. But in the meantime, I'm back to bed again - for a few more hours of sleep - then it'll be time to get Nick up for school and out the door by 7:15 and then back to bed for a few more hours of oblivion until I have to be in at work at Noon.

How You Life Your Life

You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside. You tend to avoid confrontation and stay away from sticky situations. You're open to new people and friends, which makes you a pretty popular person. You have one big dream in your life, and you never lose sight of it.

Your Psyche is Red

You are bright, bold, energetic, and intense. Your upbeat, zany energy inspires those who are down. Spontaneous and playful, you also have a courageous and fearless side. When you are too red: you are angry, overprotective, and truly scary. When you don't have enough red: you are depleted and lifeless.

Your Gemstone Says...

You are at peace with your life and your place in the world. You are not greedy or materialistic. You are generally free from desire. You bring calm to environments. You are a good mediator. People consider you to be good luck.

Your Birth Month is May

Unique and creative, you seek your own path in life. You love change and are able to adapt to any situation. Your soul reflects: Sweetness, joy, and a complete life. Your gemstone: Emerald Your flower: Lily of the Valley Your colors: Yellow, red, and green

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 30% Conservative, 70% Liberal Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

You Have Good Karma

In general, you like to do the right thing when it comes to others. Your caring personality really shines through. Sure, you have your moments of weakness - and occasionally act out. But, all in all, you're karma is good... even with those few dark spots.

Your Power Element is Metal

Your power colors: white, gold, and silver Your energy: contracting Your season: fall You are persistent (and maybe even a little bit stubborn). If you see something you want, you go for it. You have a lot of strength, and it's difficult to get you down. Very logical, you tend to analyze everything going on in your life.

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

You Were Born Under:

You are solid, methodical, and you do things right the first time. Even when no one else does, you always believe in yourself. You tend to see the world in black and white, right or wrong. A good memory and eye for details means you tend to thrive at near impossible tasks. You are most compatible with a Snake or Rooster.

Your Personality Cluster is Extraverted Thinking

You are: Organized and logical - a master at puzzles Competitive in almost any arena of life Objective when necessary, but passionate about what you truly love Intolerant of excuses and incompetence

You Are An Atheist

God? No thanks. You're not buying into any religion. They're all bunk to you. You rather focus on what you know is true. You may be a passive non-believer or a rabid atheist activist. But one thing is for sure... no one's going to make you go to church!

You Are 5: The Investigator

You're independent - and a logical analytical thinker. You love learning and ideas... and know things no one else does. Bored by small talk, you refuse to participate in boring conversations. You are open minded. A visionary. You understand the world and may change it. At Your Best: You are sharp, inventive, and creative. You have the skills to lead the world. At Your Worst: You are reclusive, weird, and a bit paranoid. Your Fixation: Greed Your Primary Fear: Being useless or incompetent Your Primary Desire: Being competent and needed Other Number 5's: Bill Gates, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Bjork, and Stephen Hawking.

Your Inner Color is Purple

Your Personality: You're a dreamer and visionary. You believe you were put on this earth to do something great. You in Love: You're very passionate but often too busy for love. You need a partner who sees your vision and adopts it as their own. Your Career: You need a job that helps you make a difference. You have a bright future as a guru, politician, teacher, or musician.

Your Life Path Number is 8




Your purpose in life is to help others succeed

You are both a natural leader and a natural success. You are also a great judge of character.

You have a head for business and finance. You know how to make money.

A great visionary, you can see gold where other people see nothing.

In love, you are very generous - with gifts, time, and guidance.

You love to inspire people, but it can be frustrating when they don't understand your vision.

Great success comes easily for you. But so does great failure, as you are very reckless.

You are confident, and sometimes this confidence borders on arrogance.

You've Changed 60% in 10 Years

You've done a good job changing with the times, but deep down, you're still the same person. You're clothes, job, and friends may have changed some - but it hasn't changed you.

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

You Are An ISTJ

The Duty Fulfiller You are responsible, reliable, and hardworking - you get the job done. You prefer productive hobbies, like woodworking or knittings. Quiet and serious, you are well prepared for whatever life hands you. Conservative and down-to-earth, you hardly ever do anything crazy. In love, you are loyal and honest. If you commit yourself to someone, then you're fully committed. For you, love is something that happens naturally. And you don't need romantic gestures to feel loved. At work, you remember details well and are happy to take on any responsibility. You would make a great business executive, accountant, or lawyer. How you see yourself: Decisive, stable, and dependable When other people don't get you, they see you as: Boring, conservative, and egotistical

You Are An INTP

The Thinker You are analytical and logical - and on a quest to learn everything you can. Smart and complex, you always love a new intellectual challenge. Your biggest pet peeve is people who slow you down with trivial chit chat. A quiet maverick, you tend to ignore rules and authority whenever you feel like it. In love, you are an easy person to fall for. But not an easy person to stay in love with. Although you are quite flexible, you often come off as aloof or argumentative. At work, you are both a logical and creative thinker. You are great at solving problems. You would make an excellent mathematician, programmer, or professor. How you see yourself: Creative, fair, and tough-minded When other people don't get you, they see you as: arrogant, cold, and robotic

Why does it seem a lot of different people, from various backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, cultures, ages, and genders only do the bare minimum at work?

Why do I feel a sense of urgency and others don't, especially in a deadline driven field?

I'm so frustrated...I have a really hard time seeing a need and not filling it - even if it isn't in my "area" of responsibility. So why don't others?!?!?!

So...should hold others to my standards or am I just filling up my bag with rocks that don't need to be there?

Why does this bug me so much?

Why do I even care?

Should I even care?

Somethings for me to ponder more.

Me

Here's Nich showing off his finished school project. It's Saffy - A Bengal Tiger he is going to show off tomorrow night at his school with the rest of his class (04/17/08). He did an EXCELLENT JOB!!!!

He helped Todd and I kneed the modeling clay to make it brown, made 3 deer out of it, and painted the box. All Todd and I had to do was guide and assist with the plants. He even let me make 1 deer too for his scene. Then Nich and I sat down and wrote his report. Here's a copy of it:

Recently, in all 3 of my blogs, I posted my thoughts and feelings about conflict amongst friends, which I have both seen and experienced - with different friends, at different times, in my life.

What I found fascinating, were the very different responses I received from friends regarding this particular post.

One replied to my post via a vile and repugnant voice message on my phone. Another posted in one of my blogs attacking me for what they thought was post about them. Lastly, one replied to my post and said the best kind of friend is one who is honest to you when you need it and stands by you while you figure things out, and that my friend should be glad to have me as a friend and a resource.

So I'm left to wonder....

Why would friend(s) lash out at me instead of asking for clarification if they felt I made a post about them? Why would another take it for what it is, a post of what's in my head and heart?

So I'm off to ponder more...and post again soon.

Almost as bad as giving a kid some medicine...

1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right fore-finger. Hold mouth shut for a countof ten.

5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call friend.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get friend to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down remove ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered Doulton figures from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get friend to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to friend's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw Tee-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.

13. Tie cats front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed, hold cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet of steak. Hold head vertically and pour pint of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Get friend to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15. Arrange for SPCA to collect cat. Ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.


Enjoy!

33

85%

67%

60% Geek

63%

356 WATTS Body Battery Calculator - Find Out How Much Electricity Your Body is Producing -

63%

94%DRUNKARD

2,516,640How Many Germs Live On Your Keyboard?

93%

61% Geek

60%
326 WATTS Body Battery Calculator - Find Out How Much Electricity Your Body is Producing -

54%

45

68%

So what does one say to a friend who has been lied to and betrayed...?

Even tougher, what does one say to a friend, who has been lied to and betrayed, by a mutual friend...?

I say this…

I am a person who really tries to find a positive in each and every situation, but I cannot find any in this one. This mutual friendship is lost and it really hurts. This friend, I really respected and admired for many reasons, but no longer.

They gave it all up because they would rather be in a "relationship" with someone who is continuously conniving, deceitful, sneaky, controlling, hounding, harassing, condescending, belittling, inhospitable, rude, domineering, and insecure. A “relationship” that is at a minimum, unhealthy, unbalanced, and dysfunctional, and at a maximum, abusive.

This “relationship” is creating lasting negative impacts on relationships with their family and other friends. How much more do they have to lose?

I wish this person would wake up and see it for what it really is. But I am not optimistic they will before it is too late and too much has been lost.

It's unfortunate that this friend fails to understand that everyone, including them, deserves to be treated with dignity, honesty, and respect - always!

So I am standing up and saying enough is enough. No matter how destructive they wish to be with their own life, I will not stand by and watch another person suffer the consequences for it.

Unlike you, I will do what I am able to do and assist a friend and together, we will all move forward. Life is not a destination, but a journey.

Karma happens. What comes around goes around.

Here's to a new adventure in blogging.
Me