I’m simply addicted to reading. That’s all there is to it. Ever since I received the Kindle I can’t put it away. I brought my lunch two days this week so I could read and ran downstairs and got something and brought it back today so I could read again. I’ve given up lunch with people…for reading. In fact, I haven’t watched hardly any tv. Casey and I watched a couple shows last night but I was still in bed by 8:30 to read.


We have had quite the week with Madison. She lost a tooth yesterday which Casey attributes to her bad behavior at school. I think she’s brought home a Red every day this week (which is NOT good). We have tried everything short of stringing her up by her toes on the light pole and NOTHING is working! It’s so frustrating. I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that she’s smarter than all of us and there’s nothing we can do. And she’s a sneaky little thing. She stole some poor kids cheerio’s two days ago (which she’s not supposed to have because they have gluten) and then this morning she snuck into the kitchen and tried to pilfer the candy corn. She’s also continued her fascination of picking the paint off her bedroom walls. To that I have also resigned myself. Now I’m trying to figure out what I can put on her walls that she can’t pick at. Would it be bad to have a childs room that has metal walls?? A nice sheet metal?? Surely she couldn’t pick through that…right?? And of course everything she picks at goes into her mouth. Apparently purple paint must taste SUPER GOOD because she has eaten enough of it to paint a whole other room. Ahhh the joy of children.

So last night I decided to perform surgery and it went very badly. The reason for the surgery in the first place was because my momma said it was very hard to hear me on the phone. I agree with this because at my old job someone had the phone that I am currently using and I hated talking to him on the phone. As a result of this, I decided to resuscitate my first Blackberry…since the last one took a swim. This was supposed to be an easy procedure…outpatient if anything. All I had to do was take off the screen, blow the dust out, and put the screen back on. I saw a dude do it on youtube and it looked like a piece of cake. Apparently, I am no dude on youtube because as I tried to pry the screen up, I ended up scratching the inside screen. At this point, I now realize that the phone was no longer salvageable, so I moved it into my phone morgue and started dissecting it for research. Well in the course of opening the phone up…the plastic sliced my finger open. Casey came to my aide with a Super Mario Bros. bandage and all was right with the world again. Now it’s Casey’s turn to perform surgery as I have a phone from work that was given to me that I could use to replace the piece of crap phone I have now…but it needs a new operating system…so if Casey can fix it then I’m good.

Not much to report this week...as you can tell by the lack of bloggage.  :)  I'm awake at 8:27...that right there is something to report.  Little girl wet the bed so she and I are hanging out.  Actually she's eating dry cereal and I'm writing this. 

One thing new is that Casey bought me a Kindle.  I LOVE it.  I didn't realize how bad the IPod made my eyes hurt.  I do remember thinking several times when reading books on my ITouch that I thought my eyes were getting bad.  I admit.  I was skeptical of the Kindle.  I thought it was silly...until I realized how much easier it was for me to read a book electronically.  For those that have never seen a Kindle, it's kind of impossible to explain.  The pages looks fake.  It looks like a real book.  In fact, when I turned it on for the first time and the screen came up I tried to peel what I thought had to be a sticker off the front becasue there was no way that it was the actualy screen.  It's amazing!!!! 

I am at my wits end with Madison.  No, not with Madison...more with Madison's mom.  Two weekends in a row she has come home with a small rash right on her chest.  Now, a rash could be anything...but I suspect it's a rash from having been fed either something with gluten or casein...and that will typically cause a rash on the child.  I have seen soooo much progress in her from before we started the diet.  She's a totally different child.  Before she wouldn't eat, or even try ANYTHING that wasn't hot dogs, chicken nuggets, or french fries for dinner.  She did eat vegetables, and fruit but she wouldn't dare eat spaghetti, pork, grilled chicken, etc.  Now she'll eat whatever we give her.  Granted there is often still hesitation...and a lot of the time she doesn't like what she's given.  She is not a fan of hummus or sauerkraut but she would eat it.  She doesn't stare off into space like she used to.  She will maybe a little bit but she is much more in the present and far less in a fog.  Before the diet she would run home and change into her pj's.  She refused to wear her normal clothes when she was home.  She definitely wouldn't sleep in clothes.  Now she keeps her normal clothes on until bath time and she sleeps in clothes.  Before this diet she wouldn't take cough syrup (I can't blame her there...I won't either), or any medicine unless it was mixed VERY well in a drink...and even then she'd spit it out half the time.  Now she'll drink it straight out of the cup...again, she doesn't like it but she does it.  She's talking so much more now...and her pronounciation is far more clear.  Her dark circles are not nearly as bad as they used to be...and they're usually only bad when she hasn't slept - ie: when she goes to her mom's house.  So the changes are outstanding.  Now, that being said...keeping her on this diet is very hard.  We have to read every single label.  It's time consuming and expensive since most of the things she can eat are way more pricey than a normal processed food.  Her supplements are expensive.  If we gave her every supplement she needs we would easily spend between $100-$150 a month for her supplements alone.  This is a lot of money...which we have no problem paying for the betterment of Madison...however when I feel like her mom isn't following the diet it makes me want to quit.  The diet is no good to Madison unless its followed 100% percent, 100% percent of the time.  If you give a child that's allergic to peanuts, peanut butter guess what...it's going to have an adverse affect.  Would you give a diabetic a candy bar?  Would you give a recovering alcoholic a beer??  Well the answer to all these questions is no...not if you want them to live, and you want them to be healthy.  If only I could shelter her at all times and keep all the bad things away...this would be a lot easier. 

Well I guess that's all I have for right now. 

Weekend...

This weekend we don’t have Madison so I really wanted to do something special. Oh crap…that requires money…and robbing a bank is hopefully not in my immediate plans. So…that means no traveling, or mini-weekend vaca. But in an attempt to make the most of the weekend regardless we will still have fun stuff to do. For starters…Casey and I will have our weekly Friday date night. Normally this just consists of going out to dinner. But we’ll probably stop at Longs and get our weekly crème horns too. I told him that we can’t keep spending $20 in pastries but maybe as a tradition we can each get 2 and we can enjoy them all weekend. There’s a little (and I mean LITTLE) hole in the wall place called Heine’s Famous Roast Beef. We were going to try it last weekend but decided on Texas Roadhouse instead thinking we’d go there Sunday. Well Sunday it was closed. So we’ll do that, and then get our pastries…and then…I’m going to bake. Yes, bake. A girl at work brought in a Heath Bar Cake for someone’s birthday tonight and I carried it for her. She’s lucky it’s still in the pan because I was pretty sure I was about to demolish it. So now I have to try to make it. My momma has made it and OMG it’s amazing!!! Yep…WW will be calling me for a membership when my weekend has concluded!!!

Then Saturday we’re driving up to Tipton to see my bff Michelle and her kids. Tipton’s about an hour away, so I guess it’s a mini road trip. It’s the Tipton Pork Festival. Yee Haw!! Do you know what this means???? It means LOTS of carny fair food. I can’t wait! Fair food is the best!!! I must consume at least one funnel cake, one buttered ear of corn, and I reckon one pork chop sandwich…since it is the PORK festival. Oh yeah…and I can’t forget that I will also be eating some cake!!! Seriously, I’m going to be the next Jenny Craig spokesperson after this weekend.

Who knows what Sunday will consist of? I have so much laundry to do. I’m pretty sure my laundry is procreating. It’s ridiculous. Maybe I’ll do some corn crafts now that I have a tiny strainer to help with my painting corn plan. We’ll see. I could stand to clean the house. And after all that is done, I will continue on my quest to read. I’ve kind of been addicted to reading lately…although this next months book for book club is kind of sucky…so I’m trying to power through it so I can read a book I actually want to read. I don’t know what that is yet…but I will figure it out if I ever get there.

I created a monster in Casey. I made the mistake of saying he should watch Lost on Netflix because he said he had watched the first 2-3 episodes of season 1 when it first came out. So now he watched all of season 1 in a week and is almost done with season 2. Its nuts!!! He’s addicted!!! I just want him to hurry up and get to Season 5 where I left off so I can catch up.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Word of the day rant...

Word of the Day…Sabateur.



Definition: When you and your boyfriend put your little one on a special diet that includes no Gluten or Casein (Dairy) and the grandmother makes muffins, with butter…which last time I checked is a dairy product…and then gets mad at the son because who won’t let her have them because in the grandmother’s way of thinking “a little bit won’t hurt her.”

Grrrrrr. What part of NO is so darn complex.


Second Word of the Day = Frustrated
Definition: ME!

Stay tuned for more fun words of the day, I’m sure!!

At what age should a child be able to write their letters clearly? Madison can’t write her letters at all. Okay, she can write them, just not well. And let me say, it’s not that she CAN’T…its that no one has ever made her do it neatly. After Casey and I sitting with her for an hour working on the letter “A” I can’t help but feel like her school, and her teachers are failing her. Granted she’s in a special education class, but she’s not incapable of learning and I feel like her teachers really must feel like these kids are never going to learn anything so why try…let’s just get them through school. Now before I go placing all the blame on the teachers, it’s equally our fault because we haven’t worked with Madison at home. I’ve been so focused on getting her to talk, and pronounce her letters that I haven’t even bothered to notice that she can’t write properly. It’s so frustrating. She needs to be in a specialized school…oh wait…that requires money. So I have decided if the school won’t teach her, we will. I think the part that gets me the most angry is the fact that I KNOW how smart she is. She’s so capable. But, she’s a 7 year old that is going to try and get away with doing things half way. What 7 year old doesn’t?!?! 


Yesterday we went out in the corn field and picked up the corn that wasn’t collected. I’m going to try my hand at decorating. We de-kernelled the corn and it’s all in a big container. My idea was to get several fall colors of paints and dip them in paint and then fill glass jars with the different colors. However, I can’t figure out how to bring my idea to life. I was originally thinking of getting a sieve, like the kind you would use to sift powdered sugar so that the paint would drip off, but not too much…but I don’t have a sieve. Hmmmm…now I’m perplexed. I hate that I can see in my mind what I want the end result to be I just can’t figure out the equation to get there.

Why is it with every good thing, there’s a downfall? I quit smoking. Yay. However the pills I take to help me quit give me a headache, so I have a headache ALL DAY LONG. I am going on my 4th day of a headache. And I haven’t had any cravings, accept the first day, so I feel “cured”…but I don’t know if I stop taking the medicine if the cravings will come back. I was told by someone at lunch today that I need to take it for at least 3 months.  Let's see...paying $65 a month for a medicine that makes me want to cut my head off.  Good plan. 

I started my next months book club book. It’s called A Stranger Like You by Elizabeth Brundage. I’m not sure how I’m going to feel about it. The first couple pages were just okay…but I should probably give it a little more than a few days I guess. At least I finished my first book club book…which is a feat all in itself!

So about two months ago, I decided to break a behavior that I've had my whole life.  I have been a habitual nail biter since the beginning of time. If there was any white on the nail it didn't really stand much of a chance at existance.  It's a nervous habit...and yes I realize how disgusting it it.  And for two months I have done so well.  But...I am not sure how much longer I can go without smoking, biting my nails, and trying not to pack on 50 pounds from quitting smoking. 

Fall is finally upon us.  Although I guess technically Fall hasn't fallen yet.  I am loving the weather, I just wish we had some rain. The trees are going to skip the pretty fall leaf step and go straight to the falling off tree stage.  That's one of the best parts of fall is the colors on the trees.  It's bitter sweet, the ending of summer.  While fall is great, it means that the warm weather will be going away and the cold will be here before we know it.  Such is life I suppose. 

And for once in my life…I’m completely at peace. Maybe “peace” isn’t the exact word, but I can’t really find any other that’s a better fit. I am finally at the point in my life where I want to be. I have an amazing boyfriend that would do anything for me. I have FINALLY found the man that I want to spend the rest of my life with. For better…and for worse.


I also have acquired a darling daughter-ish. While she’s not my own child, I raise her just like she was. She has made me question my ability to raise a child…which is one of two dreams I’ve had my whole life. It’s so much harder than babysitting.  It's an every day challenge, and she tests me every single step of the way.  Despite that, I really want me own...in addition to her.  That whole biological clock ticking thing isn't just a myth.  It's true.  I just want to experience it for myself. While having Madison is wonderful, and I love her like she's my own daughter I think, in fact I know it would be different if she was my own.  It's hard with Madison because I have no real say.  Casey is great about listening and taking my opinions into consideration, but in the grand scheme of things, I can't really control much of anything.  I'm not her real mom.  It's a frustrating battle. 

Reese is still great...although she has a new favorite parent.  She has totally taken to Casey.  I'm pretty convinced she loves him more than she loves me.  :(  Then again...he is the one that always lets her lick his plate...so how can a dog that's obsessed with food not love him.