Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Discombobulated

I'm feeling "discombobulated" today. That's one of my grandmother's words. It means "having self-possession upset; thrown into confusion."

(For some reason, that word makes me think of Cinderella's fairy godmother. "Bippity, Boppity, Boo!" Yes, I'm random this morning.)

The world has turned upside-down yet again, and I woke up in a panic in the middle of the night. I know it's just my subconscious just trying to adjust to another continental shift in my world.

But, never fear, it's a good one! But even good adjustments are still adjustments.


The Big News is:
I have found gainful employment, and will start working full-time as of August 23rd.
This will be very good for us in the long term, as it will relieve a lot of the financial pressure we have been struggling under.  But it will require significant changes, obviously, in our day-to-day life.  DS will have to be in child care all day, the dogs will have to be cooped up in the house all day, and I will have to get used to commuting at rush hour in one of the most congested traffic areas in New Jersey outside of a major city.  

New Jersey is much too populated for its own good.

And of course it will put a damper on many of the family activities we have hitherto enjoyed due to my flexible part-time teaching schedule.  But we are explaining to DS that if I do this, we will be able to do some of the things we have been talking about for a long time but couldn't afford, like going to Disney World.  And I have promised DS that DS he's been asking for.  A Nintendo DS, that is.  We got him a PSP for the better graphics and bigger screen but all the other kids at school have DS's, so our DS has no DS with which to play interactively with the other kids in after care.  So this way he can participate more.

By the way, this morning I looked up how to program the PSP for the internet lobby mode in which he can create his own games and interact with other players on the Internet.  I seem to recall that at his age I was making doll house furniture out of toothpicks, jewelry boxes and scraps of fabric.  ???

I am nervous about how this new job will affect my ability to write.  But, truth be told, I may actually have MORE time if I'm not spending my weekends crafting lectures and grading papers.  I would like to strangle the person who told me what a great family-oriented career teaching is.  B--- S---!  You may be physically home at the same time your family is, but you have to spend that time doing so much extra work that you might as well just have a regular office job.  And this office job pays three times the salary of my teaching. Which is just wrong.

This new job looks very interesting and challenging, but not as stressful as my pre-DS career was.  I am branching out into a new specialty and learning new techniques.  I will also be working pretty much independently, creating my own position as I go. It's going to be a nice change to do things my way and be in charge. 


And of course this is all happening just as I am about to be "invaded" by family members for a week-long visit, so I only have a few days to prepare for their visit and for the new job.  I say "invaded" gently, because I am very much looking forward to their visit. It's just that there is always chaos and confusion when you have six people and two dogs jostling around in our little "cottage."  That's how I romanticize our small home. It's an American "cottage."

But that's life... never a dull moment. I'll be fine, I know it.  It's just a matter of coping with a little discombobulation.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

100 Followers Contest

Hello Everyone!  I have a very special announcement: The Writer's Hole, my spin-off writing blog, is growing steadily.  I am having a 100 Followers Contest with some really great prizes.  Please stop by and enter today! 

The Writer's Hole Contest

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Ninety Nine Candles

We had a very special celebration this week.  My grandmother turned ninety-nine years old. This is what the cake looked like.  I was drafted by my mom decorate it.  She insisted we put 99 candles on it.  I think she's evil.


This is my grandmother, blowing out her candles.


Grandma is most cheerful and contented elderly person I have ever known, bearing old age with grace and dignity.  She still lives at home, with my sister and her kids, and still does a little light housework. She also has knitted countless baby blankets for the local chapter of Birthright, an organization which helps unwed mothers. Even with failing eyesight and athritic fingers, she still knits on. 
She is constantly "reading" novels, that is, listening to them on tape. Mom says she takes out about 14 audiobooks a week from the library for her!  She is a huge baseball fan.  She never misses an Indians game.
 

Isn't she fabulous?  I hope I have those genes.

And, there was another special event: my cousin Dave was in town. He plays bass guitar for country singer Justin Moore.  Mom and I went to see them perform, and then he joined us out on the lawn while Brad Paisley played.  This photo was taken just a short while before the torrential rains started!  Argh!
But it was still a great night.  Any time I get to spend time with Dave, it's a great night.


Tomorrow, Mom and I are taking the kids to Cedar Point. My unfortunate sister has to work and can't come with us. I am the designated Roller Coaster Riding Auntie.  I can't wait!


Saturday, July 24, 2010

Not Cute

So.... The Cutest Blog on the Block decided to remove my background and leave me (and thousands of other users) out in the cold did they?

Not Cute. 

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Some Gardening Photos

Falen posted some photos of her garden, so now I have a serious case of garden envy and am posting a few of mine.  This is the front walkway border.  It faces south and is the main flower area.  This is how it looked towards the end of May, when the raspberry peonies and hybrid sage were in bloom.


This is how it looks now. Unfortunately, the lilies are done. I had some gorgeous pink, orange and yellow ones.  The butterfly bush (tall plant by the flag) has a few blooms on it but I expect it will be prolific quite soon.  The sage just finished blooming, but I trimmed it back and it will rebloom.  Everything has been getting lanky in this heat and I've been cutting it all back severely.

Petunias and gerbera daisies on the porch.











Some snapdragons from along the driveway, and the blueberries and raspberries we picked at a local farm on July 2nd.
 
The first harvest from our Cub Scout garden. No, that beautiful, tan, dark-haired woman is not me, but Sara, who allowed us to use her yard for the garden.  I don't have a good photo of the garden, as it's just sort of a messy plot by the road, but I've been quite surprised at how well the plants are growing.  Sara and her son have been taking excellent care of it for us.  It's been hard to get all the scouts in our den together to tend it regularly.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.
~ Oscar Wilde

Monday, July 5, 2010

"The unexamined life is not worth living. " -Socrates