Life is getting better & better...

OK, so I'm sure some of you have probably noticed that I have not been around too much the past 2 days. There's pretty good reason for that. On Friday, I had the intervew for the acceptance into my Phlebotomy class. I had a babysitter arranged to show up at noon so that I could run over to Smethport to take Dan to the bank while he was on his lunch break and we'd planned on getting a quick bite together while I was there. Well, 12:00 turned into 12:30 and still no babysitter. I was frantically calling to see if I could find someone else at such short notice. Low and behold, I get ahold of my husband's nephew to come sit with them until the actual babysitter shows up.

So I head over to Smethport. I get to Dan's work and find out that he's not there. His boss told me that he took off with the company truck. So I head downtown to search for Dan. I find him at the local grocery store and explain to him what happened and that now I don't have time to take him to the bank or get some lunch. He gives me some money so that I can grab a quick bite after my appointment.

So I head over to Shinglehouse. I head to my old Alma Mater to pick up a copy of my high school transcripts. While waiting for them to be copied, I run into my old Home Ec teacher, Mrs. Perkins. WOW!!! She looks fantastic. She has lost a dramatic amount of weight. So we catch up for a few minutes and I realize how old I am getting when she tells me that her son, Kayle, is now a Junior in college. I used to babysit this child and he's now a Junior in college???

From my old school, I head to Jason's house to visit with him for a few minutes before I had to get to my interview. I always love visiting with Jason. He just talks & talk & talks so all I have to do is just listen & nod. I love him & don't know what I'd do without him.

So, it's quarter to 2 and I'm heading to my appointment at BOCES in Olean, which isn't until 2:30. I arrive at BOCES about 2:15, reapply my lip stick and gather my things. I walk in, sign the sign in sheet and tell the receptionist that I was there for an interview with Theresa. She directs me to where her office is located. There is already a girl in there with her, which I happen to know, so I sit in the chair out in the hallway to await my turn. After about 5 minutes, it was my turn to be interviewed. Much to my relief, the interview wasn't really an "interview" per se, but just a couple of questions to determine how much I was really willing to put into this class & how flexible I was. So I spent about 15 minutes in Theresa's office and she tells me that I am accepted! I was sooooo excited & happy.

I leave BOCES and head over to the nearest Burger King to pick up a quick lunch, hit the drive thru & drive over to Bradford. I had to take the acceptance letter that I had just received from BOCES to PA Careerlink so that they can get my funding approved. I have to go back to PA Careerlink on Wednesday to get all the rest of the papers finalized.

So I head to Eldred to pick up the babysitter and then we head over to Smethport to pick up Dan from work. We go home & Dan gets ready for our "date".

We head to Olean and hit Aldi's for a few groceries before they close. (Nice date so far, eh? Just wait...it gets better! lol) We come out of Aldi's to a blinding snow storm and we all know how I get when the roads are bad! So, I think that we got our groceriesn, our next stop would be dinner. Wrong! Next stop...Advance Auto Parts! He had to pick up some things for his car, so I go in to see if I can find anything Tony Stewart in there like an air freshener or something. Nothing!

Now, I'm really getting hungry. I thought we'd go somewhere we hadn't been before, or at least somewhere we hadn't been in a while. Again, wrong! Into the Chinese Buffet we go. Told ya we were stuck in a rut! But it was nice to get away for a while and have some adult conversation.

So, all in all, it was a great day & night.

Groceries, auto parts, and chinese food......what more can a girl ask for?

Stay tuned for more........

Great News!!!

I have GREAT news to share. I stepped on the scale yesterday and found out that I have lost yet another 15 pounds! All together since I have been dieting I have dropped an amazing 48 pounds and 7.3 off of my BMI!!! I tried on a pair of my old pants that I used to wear and I can pull them down without having to unbutton or unzip them. What a great feeling that was!

Thank you to all my friends and family for their continued support during my weight loss journey!

How RUDE!!!!

Why do some people find the incessant need to be so completely rude? It is so totally uncalled for.

Dan & I are in the market to buy me a "gently used" car when taxes come in, so I've been shopping around on some of the local ISP classifieds. One that I use a lot is Pennswoods.net. They offer a wide variety of classified categories where you can usually find a little bit of everything for sale. Well, after I had my accident with the semi back in the Winter of '96, I have been petrified to drive in the snow since, so I was looking for something that would go good in the snow. I came across this 1996 Subaru Outback, which just happens to be All Wheel Drive. Perfect, I thought. So Dan has me ask the seller a couple questions about the car that are not listed. The seller emails me back asking if I could call him. Well, for one thing, I do not have any long distance and I politely told him that. He replies back to me that if I can't call him back, then I don't want the car that bad!!! So I "politely" replied back to him with some choice words of my own. I know that 2 wrongs don't make a right, but I feel that man was just down right rude to me for no reason. All he had to do was answer a couple questions for my husband about the car, but he felt the need to be mean instead.

He just lost my $1,000!!!

Words of Wisdom

Hello folks. I just have to pass this along. If you live in or around the Potter County area, or you plan to visit, be sure to read Solomon's Words. It's a great blog that is updated MANY times a day with a lot of useful and interesting information. It is written daily by Potter County resident, James Jones, who has written for many other distinguished medias such as the Buffalo Courier Express, Olean Times Herald, and First Place Editorial, just to name a few. So grab a cup of coffee and stop by to read some of Solomon's Words. You won't regret that you did!

Time for Change

Well all, I felt that my blog was in dire need of some change. Those old polka dots were driving me nuts! How do you like this layout?

Classes are going pretty good so far for me. I just started Unit 2 yesterday. This should prove to be quite an interesting term.

I made an appointment for my physical yesterday for my Phlebotomy class and the doctor's office can't get me in until the 13th. Classes start on the 25th so I hope that I'm able to get everything done in time.

Dan's work-work-working as usual. He's really liking working in the outdoors.

Hannah & Jacob are progressing very nicely on their potty training. If Hannah keeps waking up dry as she has for the past couple weeks, I will take her out of Pull-Ups completely. I think that Jacob is going to need a bit more time.

They both enjoyed "Silly Feet Day" at preschool this week.

I really am still on the face of the Earth...

Yes, everyone… I didn’t fall off. I’ve just been a bit busier than usual. My classes for school started up again, so I’m focusing on them a lot. This term, I’m taking Sociology, Social Problems, and Career Development Strategies. It’s hard to believe I only have 1 term left after this one and I’ll have my Associate’s degree.

I’ve also been taking classes through the PA Careerlink to help me get funding for my Phlebotomy course. That course starts on February 25th, so wish me luck with that. I’ll be taking 4 classes at 2 different schools! They’ll both be ending just about the same time. I really thought that I wanted to go into the Education field, but I keep finding myself being pulled into the medical field in some aspect or another. I think that I’ll be very happy with Phlebotomy. It’s something that I’ve always been interested in.

The kids are doing very well with their potty training. A few accidents here & there, but that’s to be expected. I’m very proud of them!

I also wanted to add a family picture. It was taken at our Christmas party.

A Poem to My Girlfriends

Someone will always be prettier.
Someone will always be skinnier.
Someone will always be smarter.
Some of their houses will be bigger.
Some will drive a better car.
Their children will do better in school.
And their husband will fix more things around the house...

So let it go, and love you and your circumstances.
Think about it!
The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart.
And the most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children.
And the richest woman you know, she's got the car, the house, the clothes~~~~ might be lonely.
And the word says, 'If I have not Love, I am nothing.'
So, again, love you.
Love who you are.
Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say,
'I am too Blessed to be Stressed and too Anointed, to be Disappointed!'
'Winners make things happen ~~ Losers let things happen.'

Be 'Blessed' Ladies

Happy 2008!!!

Well, so far, 2008 has been pretty good. We're starting things off with a bang around here. I spent New Year's Eve with my good friends, Kim & Jay. Dan's not one for drinking so he stayed home with the kids. I think Kim, Jay & I were just as lit as the ball that was dropping in NYC.

I also made a few New Year's resolutions:

1. Continue on my weight loss journey with more dedication.
2. Spend more "quality" time with Jacob & Hannah.
3. Get my marriage back on track.
4. Quit smoking!!!
5. Get Jacob & Hannah out of Pull-Ups

I started very intently working on potty training with Jacob & Hannah today. They were excited about getting to wear real underwear.

I gave them a bath about noon today and when they got out, instead of putting them in their Pull-Ups, I put them in actual underwear. I then took them to sit on the potty every 30 minutes afterwards. Jacob has gone "pee-pee" every single time with no accidents in his tightie whities "like Daddy", but Hannah, unfortunately, had an accident at about 2:30 this afternoon. So at about 3:00, I put them on the potty one last time and then laid them down for a nap. I put them back in a Pull-Up for their nap...just in case.

I can't believe how fast they are growing up!

Stay tuned for more.............

Hopeful...

I had a job interview yesterday in Emporium about the Head Start position. I felt that it went rather well (I hope). When I got to the place, I went in and waited to be called. I was told on the phone to look over the job description and responsibilities while I waited. I was about 15 minutes early, so this gave me plenty of time. I had just finished reading the description when a woman approached me for my interview. She led me down a hallway and then down a set of stairs. Yup...we were in the basement! I entered the room and there was a long table there with 3 women seated. The woman in the middle, Jodi, did the majority of the talking, while the other 2 women mostly just took notes on everything...and I mean EVERYTHING...that I said. There were only 2 other women there for the job, so I hope that gives me a good shot. I was told by the woman that held this position prior that they hire based on most education. From what I know, I have the most, so I hope that this gives me a nudge ahead of the others. My family and I so desperately need for me to get this job. We are struggling to no end. I'm sure that there are many other families out there struggling as well, but I feel that my case is somewhat extraordinary. Dan is the only one working at the present time, so we are living from paycheck to paycheck. He's only making approximately $500 every 2 weeks. Well, our mortgage alone is $355 every month, so one whole paycheck goes right to that. The other check goes to bills. What does that leave me for groceries? How am I to feed and clothe my children? Our gas got shut off because we couldn't afford to pay the bill. Luckily, Dan's brother sells Harman stoves and installed one for us. We had a couple pretty cold nights without any heat!!! Now, without any gas, we are without any hot water. We have to pack everyone up and either go to Dan's mother's house or to Kim & Jay's house. I am so thankful for Kim & Jay. They have been great to us in this desperate time of need. But I still would like to be able to bathe my children in their own house and not have to boil water on the stove to do my dishes. That's getting a bit monotonous!!!

Please just keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers as we are going through this hard time. Pray that God decides that it's my turn to help my family out and that I get this job.

Stay tuned for more.......

Now What???

I am sitting here bored out of my mind. This is the first time in 3 years that I have been without my children for an entire weekend. They are staying at my sister, Staci's, house so that Dan and I can get a weekend by ourselves to work on "us". Lord knows that we definitely need it as of late. It was supposed to be a surprise for Dan that we would get some alone time, and as he didn't know about it, he made plans to go hunting today with his friend, Carl.

So, here I sit. No kids. No husband. Completely quiet house. Too much quiet. I'm going insane.

Stay tuned for more.......

The Home Stretch

Sorry I have written in so long, but there has been absolutely nothing going on in my life and/or my household all week long.

Here is a cute little pic of my little ones...

I am approaching the home stretch of my schooling as I only have two full terms left. I should have my degree somewhere around the 24th of June, 2008. I have been looking through all the Help Wanted ads to see if there is anything out there in my field of study. I'm extremely interested in the one that I found a couple days ago for the Head Start in a nearby town. Here are the requirements for the job:

Job Title: Assistant Teacher Head Start

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Assist in implementing the NTCAC Head Start plans pertaining to the teaching staff.

2. Be prepared to assume the duties and responsibilities of the Teacher in the event of absences.

3. Arrive at the classroom well enough in advance to have the room prepared for the children's arrival - no later than one hour before the children's arrival.

4. Assist the teacher in providing an environment conducive to the positive social, emotional, intellectual, and physical growth and development of the children.

5. Assist in preparing written plans two weeks in advance of implementation.

6. Participate in all required training and meetings as requested, including on-the-job training.

7. Provide input into the monthly newsletter.

8. Prepare breakfast menus, and submit them one month in advance. Shop for groceries to comply with prepared menus.

9. Assist the teacher in completing the developmental profiles on all children.

10. Observe and record each child's behavior twice weekly.

11. Assist in performing a detailed inventory at the end of each school year.

12. Attend the second local Patent Center Committee meeting of the year and explain the education component with the teacher.

13. Make an initial home visit and at least one or more additional home visits to all children with the teacher.

Wish me luck. I talked to the teacher that held this position previously and she told me that I have a good shot at the job because Head Start hires those with more education, no matter if someone from within with more experience applies as well. I am 1 of 3 people that have applied for this position so far and I have the most education. I REALLY need this job so that I can provide for my children. They are the ones suffering...

Stay tuned for more...

Oh, Come on now...

Is Amie the only friend I got that is actually reading this thing???

Does Anyone Have...

...a good apple crisp recipe? I have been really craving a nice, warm bowl of this for quite some time now....especially since the weather is turning colder. I haven't had any since before my step-mother, Linda, passed away. She couldn't make much (without burning it), but apple crisp (and fudge) was a different story. So, if you have a recipe for this (that's fairly simple...seeing as how I'm a first-time maker of this) that you wouldn't mind sharing, please let me know. I'll be eternally grateful!!!

The kids are doing pretty well in school. They love it. Hannah is now able to count to 10 and say her ABC's up to G. This is NOvember 6th and they've only been going 3 days a week since October 1st, so I think that's a HUGE improvement on her part. Jacob is really trying. He is still talking with somewhat of a lisp when it comes to his "S" sounds (sissy is thithy). He's trying to count out loud when Hannah does, but he misses a number here or there, but even that is a major improvement for him. Dan's mother is worried that Jacob is going to feel inferior that Hannah is learning at a quicker pace than he is. I don't feel that way. I work with them both when they get home from school. I show no favortism towards one or the other. They both know that I love them as EQUALS!!!

Dan is really liking his job. He's learning some new parts to it today, which he was pretty excited about.

Me? I'm still in school and looking for work. I start my 5th term of college tomorrow. That's a good thing because I get bored when the kids are in school and I have nothing to do. You can only do so much housework or play so much Pogo, ya know? I have 3 more terms to complete and then I will have my Associate's. Time can NOT go fast enough.

Stay tuned for more...

Who Knew...

....that I had married a Daniel Boone? Today, Dan went out hunting and came home with 2 grouse. He shot them with a 20 gauge. Although this was not his first grouse kill, he said that they come very few and far between.

He jumped 4 more after this, but you are only allowed to get 2 per day. He said he also saw a turkey and a 4 point buck, but not one sign of a squirrel, which is what he was looking for. He's looking for another black squirrel to replace the one that he got a few years ago and his nephew's dog chewed up. He was so upset over that.

Not much other news to talk about today. The kids and I just stayed home and played games and read books today. Hannah watched some of "The Backyardigans" and Jacob watched some "Dora the Explorer" and "Bob the Builder".

As for me, I'm just patiently waiting for Wednesday to get here to start the next term of my schooling. I have 3 more terms left and then I'll have my Associate's degree. The long term for it is Associate of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with an Educational Paraprofessional Emphasis. It basically means that I will be a "highly qualified" teacher's aide, which is what the new laws of "No Child Left Behind of 2001" require. Then I'll have to go to an actual on-site school to obtain my Bachelor's degree so that I can be a teacher. I think that I am going to teach 2nd grade. Time will tell.

Stayed tuned for more...

Can You Hear Me Now?

Well, today I had to take Jacob & Hannah to Dr. Campbell's to get their ears checked. Their primary doctor thought that might have had something to do with their speech delay. Dr. Campbell put one of the children with the nurse and had me go in the sound proof room with the other child. First, we took in Jacob. He sat on my lap while Dr. Bob gave him a sheet of paper with some different pictures on it. He had to point at the pictures that Dr. Bob asked him to. Then, Dr. Bob put some earphones on Jacob and shut us in the sound proof room. He sat outside the room, but Jacob could still see him out the window. He asked Jacob to point at the pictures through the headphones to see if he could hear with them on. Then, we had to switch chairs in the sound proof room. There were 2 speakers on each side of us. On top of each speaker, there was a toy that made noise. Dr. Bob would play a toy on the left to see if Jacob would look left. Then, he'd play the toy on the right to see if he'd look in that direction. The last procedure he did with us in the booth was to make this 35 decibel sound. It sounded kind of like static on the TV when the channel goes off late at night. Maybe just a bit louder though. He let me know when he was going to do it so that I didn't jump out of my skin. Jacob jumped a bit when he made the sound, but didn't cry. Now, Hannah...that's another story. She named all the pictures perfectly and did great with the earphones. She liked the toys going off on either side of her, but when he did the static sound, she went NUTS!!!

After the sound proof room, we had to go into another part of the office. Here is where Dr. Bob looked inside their ears to check their ear drums. He said Jacob's was sucked in a bit in the right ear, but it was because that Jacob is a bit under the weather. Hannah's ears had a bit of a drainage and we're going to keep an eye on that. Dr. Bob said that could be why Hannah is always tugging on her ear and poking at it. The drainage could be making her ears itchy. We've been lucky so far (knock on wood) that neither Hannah nor Jacob have EVER had an ear infection, so I don't want to start it now. I hope her drainage is due to her just getting over a sinus infection and getting off of antibiotics. Dr. Bob said that could be it.

For anyone that doesn't know, we had to take our minivan off the road for legal reasons, so we put our old gray station wagon back on the road. We had it inspected while Dan and I were taking the kids out trick-or-treating and it was stickered when we were done. I get in the car and it's ticking like a time bomb!!! I asked Dan what that noise was and he said, "The oil pump is going bad, but as long as it keeps ticking, we're okay. It's when the ticking stops that we have to worry." So, the trip to Coudy was quite hair-raising this morning, to say the least. When the motor was cold, the oil was running at about 60psi, but as the motor warmed up, the psi got less and less. By the time I pulled into Dr. Bob's, we weren't registering anything on the meter at all. Talk about biting my nails. Here it is 40º weather and I'm hoping that I don't break down with two 3-year-old toddlers!!!

Stayed tuned for more...

Maiden Voyage

Well, I have decided to jump on the band wagon known as blogger. I had not started before this due to the fact that my life is such a routine day after day, that I thought that I wouldn't have anything new to write about on a regular basis. Now that Hannah & Jacob have started preschool, I think I'll be able to come up with something! Here's a picture, from October 1st, of their 1st day:I'll admit that the majority of these posts will be about the twins as they are my entire world.

Last night was quite an adventure. We took Jacob & Hannah out trick or treating for the very first time. They really had a lot of fun. Jacob was dressed as Superman and Hannah was a Dronkey (from Shrek 3). We tried to get them to say "trick or treat" at the houses, but all they could manage to get out was "treat", which the people thought was hilarious, and usually gave them extra candy for it. But I did make sure to have them say "thank you" to every single person. It was funny though....every time Jacob would tell the people "thank you", Hannah would answer him with "you're kell-come" which is her version of you're welcome. Here are their costumes:

Well, I hope that you enjoyed the maiden voyage of "Going off on a rant".

Stayed tuned for more...