Why, it's #17! Anniversary, that is!

Wow, #17! Feels like we were just tying the knot just recently, not that many years ago. So much has happened over these years, I'm grateful we survived and came out the better for it. Some years were easier than others, but none as easy as now. That's rather ironic, because from a financial standpoint, this has proven to be the most challenging year (the whole paying for 2 households, blah, blah, blah thing), but on many levels, the easiest so far. I guess that speaks volumes, "it's a good thing!"

The best part of being married for so long is that I have such a beautiful and fun family...


We like to go out for our anniversary each year, but this has been a "sick week" for the family. As in, VERY sick, which is also no fun. Let's just say, this was almost a wasted week in every sense of the word. Several folks were interested in our NM home...but no contracts. It's almost like a tease, or a cruel trick someone wants to play. Then, several interested in leasing to own, no contracts. A couple folks interested in leasing, but they want the (already reduced!) price reduced even further. People want Everything for Nothing! No thanks. Did I mention that I feel like SH*T, and people want us to give them our house for nothing?

The redemption, and best part, of the week was Christopher's first concert/recital! There are over 120 kindergartners in his school, so they sang in two sections. Here is his group, he's in the 2nd row from the back, the sixth one from the left. He did a great job!



Continuing on a BEAUTIFUL NOTE...the weekend is perfect!
I woke up this morning to a cute and cuddly boy who was in a great mood. A husband who tried to sleep in but freely gave up hugs and kisses and anniversary wishes. Delivery man brought a gorgeous arrangement of a dozen red roses, which look fantastic in our house, and a lazy day ahead. No cares, no concerns, at least not for today!

Facebook, you say?

Of course, besides the compelling and alluring -- and yet highly addictive -- qualities of the internet and computers that can easily become a sad replacement for what's really important in life....

Facebook has a LOT of T.O.S. aspects that are disturbing! did you know they "keep" your account long after you close it (which also means your pictures and personal info). And that they "own" your information. Among MANY other things. Does anyone read the fine print?

Then again, google has pictures of your car in your driveway, for the world to see, and they also keep your search info and internet history for 6 or 9 months, which is months less than what the mega-monster Microsoft does. Besides taking up a LOT of resources for companies like this to perform and maintain the backups (i.e., an expensive and unnecessary "hobby" for any of these companies), it also means your electronic footprint is forever entrenched in the ether-world.

Sure, having information at the fingertips can be fun and helpful, but beware! It comes with a HEFTY price. A price that many don't understand, or see, or perhaps they just choose to ignore it and the potential ramifications.

Big brother keeps on keeping on...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For me, Facebook (FB) is confusing and exciting at the same time. Exciting, because it could potentially open up communication on a new level between some that have been searching for a way to connect. Sound too vague? It could be that some people are unable or unwilling to (1) call on the phone, (2) visit, (3) tell you in person that they really like you or something that you do or did, or what they need, or (4) that they really mean to tell you to go to hell -- but they can safely lurk on in an online neighborhood such as FB. They can then send messages or engage in imaginary interactions (such as "throwing food at this person") that can spark reactions on an odd level, or it can be a haven that prohibits deep and meaningful relationships. Perhaps for many, it is an easy and fun way to find lost souls you once knew, some you are related to, and perhaps some you were curious about but didn't "really" want to get back in touch with. Do you send the invitation to join you, or do you resist? FB may be a vehicle for more stress and dilemmas in a lives that are already in the midst of chaos. Unorganized lives, unfocused lives, lives that may not honor truth and the sanctity of the home unit. Seems like it could be a catalyst for the inevitable. Perhaps that's a "good" thing, as in hurry up and get to the point, why delay what's gonna happen anyway? I don't know. It's more confusing than exciting. But, I've been wrong before. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe I'm too careful or been burned to many damn times before and will before ever doomed to being cautious or eyes wide open to be tricked. Which steers me, persoally, Back to Confusing.

It is also entertaining, in the sense that the online neighborhood is always changing, you can see pictures and comments between various people and you can add in your own comments and such. I do like to see glimpses in the busy lives of people I know, that I like and some that I know and like, and love. For that, I say thank you.

Confusing, because WTF! Have we lost all sense of face-to-face or voice communication? What happened to the weekend bbq at a friends house or planning a reunion. Not that all of our family "believes" in reunions, or course! Are we willing to spend hours upon hours online and in a make believe neighborhood in lieu of making a project in the garage with our kids or baking cookies, or going to a museum? Perhaps we can do both, but considering the "highly addictive quality" of the internet and places like FB, it can be a precarious situation.

Confusing, because why the hell do people I don't know want me to "be their friend"? Are they so starved for being the center of attention that they must have 500 friends to be "OK"? I use this example, because it has happened twice in the past week. "Friends" of someone on my list...guys I do not know, will probably never know. And, they never answered my comments to them about "do I even know you?" Are they unintelligent? As in, just smart enough to request a connection, but too stupid to reply to a direct question? Or are they embarrassed to being called out? Are they afraid of the truth? What do you do when that "former friend" comes knocking, or a former co-worker or neighbor that you once tolerated but was glad to leave in the dust? For me, it's easy, "Ignore". But FB is invasive. You can see the friends of friends of friends of friends. Which keeps the lurking aspect attached.

And...if you have any investigative tendencies or skills, places like FB are like hitting the jackpot.
Did I mention about how employers often visit places like MySpace, LiveJournal, FB, and such, digging for info? I know they do, I have friends who are required to do this as part of their jobs.

Maybe I'm jaded because I've worked too many places, and moved a few times, and have picked up and left behind those I've liked and those not so much. With those I like, I welcome the reconnections! That's the fun part. FB is a venue opportuntity for everyone who wants to be anyone. I just really don't get the part about needing 500 "friends" that include me, when you don't EVEN KNOW ME and you never even met me. I'm sure if I thought about a minute, I could find another hundred reasons why this is such a weird social experiment thought up by someone with nothing to do and a desire to make a lot of money.

Confusing, because I have a habit, of which I've been accused, of "thinking to much" about some things. But, so what! That's what makes me who I am. I think, and therefore I am Virginia. I have to question that which crosses my path, and I seriously question FB. And other online resources. Even this blog. I know it's available for the world to see, but at the moment, it has a very limited viewing audience. If weirdos started to flock to it, I'd shut it down.

But back to FB. Lucy recently said, "Yes they are very creepy indeed. Reminds me of jars with brains in them lining a scientist's shelf in one of those 1940s science fiction horror flicks -- and they all talk to each other." I have to agree with her!

So, we are all part of an involuntary science experiment. Whether we participate in FB or not. Whether we read blogs or journals, or not. Whether we resist or dig in with all our hearts. We are just some freaking science experiment. All that someone else needs to do is mention your name or do something like write a story about you or include you, and there you are! Part of the fun.

If I had my druthers....If I could influence the actions of others...
I go back to my old standby, the mantra of my life: live the truth! Stick with the truth, stick with love, and you have nothing to worry about. It's not a joke that "the truth will set you free" and that "love is central to all that is". I welcome an online neighborhood that is void of all manipulations and judgments, whether by friends or family, or by strangers. For, really, who CARES what I think? And if no one really cares, then let me BE! So WHAT if I think too much? So WHAT if I find humor in things that you find serious, and vice versa. So WHAT if I make life decisions that make no sense to you, because they either work for me, or I live with the consequences and learn from any mistakes. You live, and I live, and be as happy for me and my possibilities as I am for you. If I need help, I will ask, and I assume the same for everyone else. The truth is this is not how things work out, because everyone likes to carry around unnecessary baggage. However, it is how I roll and how I will continue to roll. I hope our paths can cross in the physical world, and in the ether world, as it is meant to be, and that it all at the highest truth of the moment. No baggage for me, I want no baggage from anyone else.

And now, that doesn't mean things can't be discussed, or worked out, or, God forbid, LAUGHED about or cryed about, for that is part of a journey to anywhere. And anyone who knows me, knows...I just might write about it.

I think I'm just really tired now. It's been a LONG and TIRING weekend! Sick boy and all. He's resting now, before the next dr. appt, but doing better, thankfully!

The Art of Looking For Employment

Leaving the job market in 2004...scary
Dropping the family income by 50%...more than scary
The experience and results of being a stay-at-home Mom...Priceless

And now: trying to re-enter the job market...scary

Let's see, how do we do this? Historically, it's been easy! Find an ad in the paper, apply, interview, pick from job opportunities for the one you like best. At least, that's been my experience.

Where we live...there are NO job listings in the Sunday newspaper. Well, okay, there are "some" but very limited. All jobs are re-directed to www.dailypress.com, where they are further re-directed to www.careerbuilder.com.

All jobs require an online application, and a resume, sometimes more. All job applications ask the same questions as provided on the resume. Redundancy at its finest. I filled out a job application today that took over 90 minutes to complete. That was just one application. Several applications have taken more than an hour each, none of them was less 45 or 50 minutes, and all equally redundant. For some jobs, I believe it is companies that are just "fishing" to see what the market is producing in terms of potential employees, with no intention of ever hiring. Yet just one of the reasons I NEVER apply for a job unless I know who the company is. None of the generic and unidentified applications, no thank you. You'd be surprised how many companies out there hide their identity. Who wants to work for a company that is so secretive and underhanded, anyway? What, are they advertising to replace someone who hasn't been fired yet? Again, no thank you!

I applied for a secretarial job back on December 12 for a job with the City of Newport News. It would have been a foot in the door, excellent benefits, and okay pay. Turns out our next door neighbor also works for the city, so I got an unofficial update from her just last weekend. Seems that they received over 150 applications for this one job, and the pile was eventually whittled down to 25 potential applicants. She saw that I am included in the smaller pile of 25, but I only know that because my friend checked and told me. Here it is two months later and no official news. Now the unofficial word is the City is "sitting on jobs until the economy picks up". Hmmm, there is no information about this on their webside, so applicants are expected to wait around? My guess is that most of the applicants will have moved on by the time the City gets around to interviewing.

The first job I applied for happened soon after we first moved here. It was for a part time job in a document management company, but when I interviewed with them, found they were looking to fill a full time position for tech support. Not what I wanted at the time, and while the interview process was successful, interesting and relevant, I never heard back from them. I assumed they needed someone fulltime. I called them two weeks ago to inquire about the part time job, which has been re-posted recently, only to find out that they, too, did not hire for their FT position. Instead, they re-organized their employees to cover the urgent problem position, and then never hired for the advertised position. Of course, I wouldn't have known except I called them for another reason.

Now, some places are saying they are hiring, but to apply, you have to fill out pages and pages of applications, redundant information.

So what is the lesson here: the job search has shifted, the methods that once worked fabulously may or may not work well now. Either way, the applicant must persevere. At the very least, keep taking pokes in the dark. More realistically, it's a lot of work looking around and selling yourself...on paper and online...and hoping to be creative enough to be noticed.

Online, you say? What happened with going fact to face? Well, even the temp agencies I've contacted, first want all applicants to register online and to post a resume and online application. The occasional company asks for an email and a fax.

And, of course, this means that I'm "putting my business out on the street", so to speak. Each time I submit my resume, it becomes a situation where it is "out of my hands" and they can do with it what they will. Sometimes a company will hold onto resumes. Sometimes they keep them for future jobs. Sometimes they trash them after a few months, which would be the prudent thing to do. Sometimes they end up in a filing cabinet for years. For the next person to rustle through. In small towns, this can be amusing when people come across resumes of other people they know. This is the situation where it weirds me out the most...sending out my resume to have it sit in random cabinets or on unknown desks, out of my control and range. Too many people are now in my business, based on my own actions of giving it out. Based on my quest to re-enter the work force.

Now, if we had been able to sell our house.... but no, the housing market has tanked.
No sense in doing any of the "if only"'s As in, if only we could have held on until after the summer, so I could take Christopher on a road trip to meet one of his Grandma's before it's too late. After the summer, so I'd be done with school and NOT be trying to go to school FT while working FT and while trying to take care of a 6-yr old and ALSO trying to keep a house and bills paid. Jeez!

So, back to the online applications...in the morning!
Wish me luck. I'm not concerned, just having to stretch my imagination. Just call me the Queen of Creative Financing, Mother of Trying Not To Be Stressed.

Never a dull moment, that's for damn sure.

Now, THAT's a Strawberry Cupcake!

Okay, now we've tried this recipe about 5 times now, and 5th time's the charm!
They taste as good as they look!
I will modify the original recipe posted last month, to reflect the accidental changes we made.
First, there was too much flour. Then, we made with less flour. Tasty and good.
But then...we accidentally put in TOO much yogurt, AND ran out of strawberries, so we used strawberry jam instead. Jam works okay, but fresh strawberries are best.

This time: less flour, slightly more yogurt, and fresh strawberries. Topped with berries.
Mmmmmmmm!
Almost like a muffin, but better than a muffin and better than a cupcake.

Shout Out to My Cousins in St. Mary's & Pocahontas

This is a shout-out hello from Christopher to "all my cousins"

HI!

Danny, Cindy, Elaina, Patrick,
Tyler, Amanda, Tristian,
Dylan, Alyssa,
Branden, Scott, Nathan,
Carter, Sam & JR

Lost: another tooth! Oh, and check out the Awesome Valentines!

Okay, the little guy is dropping teeth like there's no tomorrow. I think this one is #7. He lost one of his front upper teeth (to the left of his two front ones) about 10 days ago when he was playing with some friends and got hit in his mouth with a head by accident. It was already loose, and the head banging just sealed the deal. It bled, then 5 min. later it fell out. This current one was on the bottom right, and was also loose 10 days ago, but not loose enough to fall out. Then, we noticed it was getting taller in his mouth, being pushed up. Well...still not loose enough.

Okay, the truth is I'm a wimp, and never pulled a tooth, have nightmares from when we had ours pulled as kids (sorry, Mom & Dad), and I'm not pulling any now. Many have tried to convince me otherwise...ain't happening, so save the attempts. Mike had tried to help him get it out several times the past week, but it was never all the way ready. Well, by last night, this one was really rocking like a hinge! When Christopher got up to get water after going to bed, Mike took a tissue and helped him knock it out, we were afraid he'd swallow it while sleeping, it was that loose. It came out quickly now, bled a bit, but was mostly painless. Now, check out that ROOT! No wonder it wouldn't pop out! It was deeply rooted in and not about to let go voluntarily. I've seen some odd shaped teeth, but this root is almost as long as the tooth itself, wow! Poor Chris, but at least now it's out (oh, and his tooth money is quickly accumulating, too). Sorry, the pictures below are not in focus. Did I mention we need a new camera, one that can take better closeups would be extra sweet.


And, so the Tooth Fairy was commissioned for yet another midnight date! Christopher was pretty excited to put his little tooth in the tooth box and hide it deep under his pillow, in between his little arms that must have been under his pillow to protect it once he was sleeping.

Box of Rocks:
On another note, check out the Awesome Valentines that my little cousin, JR, made with his Gramps and Doc this weekend! It amazes me the ideas kids come up with, and I just love to see adults help them bring those ideas to life. (I "borrowed" these from their website) Kudos to Gramps & Doc, and check out more pictures here! Kids really are the secret and the key to remembering what is important in life...
ALSO, be sure to go there to check out updates on Maggie's puppies, they are growing fast, and are such cute balls of fur. Eyes are opening now, and they are starting to be more mobile. Dean just got them drinking from a bowl this weekend, which should bring a little relief to the poor mama who is constantly nursing them. I just love puppies!

Speaking of Poison Ivy...

The little guy has been staying in his bed all night the past few days...yay, so we can SLEEP! He sometimes waits until he hears our alarms start to go off in the mornings and then joins us. This morning he bolted in bright and cheery and the first thing he says, before even climbing in was, "Papa! Want to hear something special?"

Then, he proceeds with a new poem he learned at home yesterday. We only talked about it for a little while, then went on with our day:

leaves of three
let them be
berries white
poisonous sight

Everywhere he turns, there has been a reference to poison ivy, and he is still determined to have us show him some in the woods at the earliest opportunity. Even Curious George (the cartoon monkey) had a run-in with poison ivy this week. And one of the library books he brought home last week was called "Hogpatch", which was about a piggy that was caught by a wolf, but she tricked the wolf into going and picking "green three-leaves" to go in the pig soup he was making and to put all the leaves inside his clothes. When the wolf didn't let the piggy go, she put a spell on him that would make him get red and itch.

Poison Ivy everywhere! Oh thank goodness it's not in or on us!

The bigger picture here is I love his fascination with how things work, how they go together, what the consequences are when you do something, and how to find things. He has a great memory, as most kids have, but his focus on things he is interested in makes us very happy parents! Keeps us on our toes, as we constantly scan for things to teach him and share with him.

Look! It's Poison Ivy!

If I wasn't such a procrastinator, or sick with a cold (dang sore throat and runny nose), we'd have had more groceries in the house. Yesterday I was trying to be creative to find something to put in the lunchbox for the little guy. He could always buy a hot lunch at school -- he's had over $10 on his account since October -- but he doesn't want to spend his lunch break waiting in line, and asks to be "a lunchbox boy".

Well, no juice cups, and I haven't arranged to get a small thermos yet, so I had to scrounge to find an empty water bottle (that wouldn't leak) in one of the vehicles Monday morning to put a drink in it for him. Ok, good for lunch for Monday. Going to the store Monday to get groceries. WRONG. Didn't work out, long story, uninteresting to the world.

So here it is Tuesday morning and no snacks, no drinks for the lunchbox. I tell Christopher that I will bring him his lunch today, not to worry, and he says okay. He tends to worry if things are out of sequence or if he's unsure what is going on, we found it best to just tell him up front whenever possible.

And so started my day: bath for Christopher, breakfast, hook Maya to her leash, and all to the bus stop on time. Maya LOVES her job of going to the bus stop each day, and she even gets up to greet each of the kids as they arrive.

Then, online to fix up my silly little electronic farm experiment (that is temporary!), off to the grocery store, then the school, then to the medical lab to give blood for my annual exam that I had in October. Oops, I didn't go right away in Oct, then had to get a new Rx to get the lab work, then finally got to go today. Perhaps because I am NOT a fan of the needle, it may explain some of this story of procrastination.

Anyway, I got his lunch items, and fixed up his lunchbox and took it to school. When I arrived in his classroom, there was a sub in charge for the 2nd day. All the kindergarten kids were sitting in order at their little tables practicing their writing and were listening to the sub. About 5 of them, in a collective singsong and unison voice called out, "Christopher, your Mommy Is Here!" At that time he looked up with this uncertain expression, as if he wasn't sure why I was there, and what was going on, what was expected out of him. So I showed him his lunchbox and told him I brought it for him, and he smiled. Then, I gave him a kiss goodbye and told him to have a great day, that I had to go for now. He seemed okay with that and waved bye to me with a smile. No jumping up and running around or loud noises, or crying or any other disruptive behavior that we had become so used to in pre-school. Our little guy is maturing and growing up before our eyes.


Last night he even wanted to play school with us with his doodle pad. He was the teacher, and he did a MATH problem on the pad for me to solve! There was a whole process involved in doing this project. First, you have to write your name on the top of the page. So, I did. Then, you have to trace the first number, which was 2. He actually wrote his number nice and neat! YAY! So, I traced it. Then, you have to trace the number of items above, which were hearts he had drawn. Next, trace the next drawings after the "+" sign and then count them up so you know what to write in the next box, then write it in. Once ALL that is done, then you can count the first box of drawings and add to the second box, and THEN, you can write the correct answer on the line he provided below. We did several of these. The next drawings were bowling balls, all with 3 holes in them, and he had 3 + 4 of them. Well, we are excited about this, too! He loves to play school, but this is the first time he's wanted to do math! Woo Hoo!

And, now back to today, after dropping off his lunch in his classroom. I was walking down the hall and passed a little blond girl with cute, but messy curly hair and big smiles. She was carrying her agenda, a spiral notebook all the kids have that tracks their daily homework and communications between the school and the home. She looked at me and said hi, then stopped and said, with a big smile:

"LOOK! I've got Poison Ivy!" as she bent her little neck down so I could see the shiny rash on the right side of the back of her neck. Looked like the school nurse had just put some neosporin or other cream on it and sent her back to the classroom.

I had to smile, it was not anything at all that I was expecting to experience on this morning, and it was just too dang comical to resist. So I told her not to touch it, so it wouldn't spread, and she said okay and continued on to her class. I had to wonder, though, where she might have been playing to get poison ivy at this time of year. It's all over the woods, so you have to be careful if you go hiking. Christopher has been reading a couple books that mentioned poison ivy, so he's been asking us to go show him what it looks like, and asking if each and every plant in our yard is poison ivy. I'm just glad this little girl was not in his class.