Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE FLU!!!

Dan brought home the flu this weekend. We all went to the doctor on Saturday, but Smoo and I had negative flu test results. They put us all on tamiflu though....very expensive by the way. After we started taking the meds, we both started running fever and feeling horrible. We are much better today though. I have never had the flu before, but if it is anything like the way I felt this weekend...I never want to get it. I have only had one flu shot before, and that was last year. The shot made me feel really bad too, so I decided to opt out of getting one this year. I think next year I will get one just to be safe.
We have to get better though, seeing as moving day is THIS FRIDAY!! I feel pretty good about the amount of stuff that I have packed already. But if you have ever moved you know that moving day is always a pain no matter how prepared you think you are.

Friday, January 25, 2008

SmooPic!!







Blogaholic

Hi, my name is AL, and I am OBSESSED with celebrity gossip blogs. I read several different ones, and I check them all the time to see if they have been updated. I am a smut reader. I guess it is just interesting to see how those people live. Also, I usually don't have anything better to be doing anyway. I can tell you what Britney Spears did yesterday, and all the latest details on her trainwreck of a life. At the same time, I think it is ridiculous the way the paparazzi follow them around and try to get pictures of their every move...but I guess they are just trying to make a living and entertain people like me. Maybe I should protest by not reading them anymore. Nahhh!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Dan the Man

This is my man. Like is said before, we have been together for a little over a year. He is a really great guy. He is so sweet, handsome, caring, funny...just a doll. He loves to fish! Like loves it more than life itself. He loves to cook too, and cooks for Smoo and I most every night. I am such a lucky girl to come home to dinner on the table everyday practically. And he is a great cook, much better than me. He and Smoo are the best of friends. They wrestle each other for the "World Championship" everyday (which Smoo wins 99.9% of the time) They have their language that they speak. He is a very smart guy, a scientist at heart. He is a very good friend to me. He is so caring and sensative. He is more than I could have ever hoped for. I am so blessed.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Rainy Tuesday

Not too much going on, but I wanted to post anyway.
We got a little snow this past Saturday, and by little I mean 0.50 inches. It didn't stick, but it was nice to see anyway. It has been several years since we have seen any in our area.
Only 10 days until the big move. I steam cleaned the carpet this weekend, and packed some. I packed Smoo's closet, which was probably the most daunting task. We managed to weed out alot of toys for goodwill. He is a very giving child, and when I told him we were going to give his old toys to kids that didn't get anything for Christmas he wanted to give them almost everything he had.

Friday, January 18, 2008

War..huh..good god y'all what is it good for...

I am not trying to offend anyone or start anything with this delicate subject, but it is one that is now close to home for me. I have always been pretty non-political, but with my brother being in Iraq I pay alot more attention to what the presidential hopefuls have to say. I want to hear their solutions for the war on terror. I really wonder if this war can be ended or resolved. I fear that as soon as the troops are gone that things in the middle east will get worse, which might result in troops going back. My brother has an 8 year commitment with the Marines, and though he will be home soon I doubt that it will be his only tour over there. After 911 I thought that going after the people who did that was the most sensible thing to do. Just like Pearl Harbor, there is no way that the American people would have just stood by after that and not have retaliated. But this time it is different, we aren't fighting an army. We are fighting individuals. Any "Joe Blow" walking down the street could be the next terrorist. An army can't fight like that. Now my brother is just sitting over there, thousands of miles away from his home and loved ones, with nothing really to do. Trust me I am grateful that there isn't alot of "action" over there, but it also makes me mad that they would send him away when they don't really need him. So, basically what I am wondering is when will this end? When can our brothers, sons, daughters, and husbands come home? Or will there ALWAYS have to be a millitary presence there to make sure that all the work we have done and changes we have made for those people not be undone as soon as we are gone? And who's to say it is our right to even try to change their way of life?
Anyway, that is just my thoughts (or questions rather) on the matter.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

qwerty


As I have mentioned before, I am trying to get into school to be a court reporter. The career sounds perfect to me. You would essentially get to be a "fly on the wall" in court cases, depositions, and other things that most people don't get to experience very often. For someone, such as myself, who loves to hear the latest scoop, I think I am a match for this job. Court reporters are self-employed. Most go through agencies that set up your jobs for a fee. The money is pretty darn good too. HOWEVER, to pass the state mandated test to receive your accreditation you have to type 225 wpm. That is freakin flying! Granted I would be typing in short hand and I will have just completed 4 semesters of typing classes, that is still something that weighs heavy on my mind.
I have always been an average typer. I haven't ever really paid attention to my speed until I decided that I want to be a court reporter. Well, I wasn't as fast a typer as I remembered myself being the last time I was actually timed. So, I sit at work and since I have nothing better to do, I do typing tests. All day. Everyday. I have improved my speed a good bit, like 25-30 extra wpm. That's good, but it is still not even close to 225 wpm. I guess now I am afraid that I will get into the classes and the instructor will pull me to the side and say "Are you really sure this is what you want to do? Maybe you should try something that doesn't involve typing." I am willing to try anyway though. I haven't been in school in 9 years, but I am going to give it my all anyway. I am tired of being under paid and under appreciated. I feel I have too much potential to just be the girl that answers the phone for the rest of my life. I want things out of life that I can't afford on my current salary, and if I have learned anything in life it is that I am the only one who can get me the things I want.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Movin' on up...

Today I am signing a lease on a new place. It is in Clinton. It is bigger than where we are now, which is very exciting! We are crammed into a tiny place right now, so this will be great. This is where I am moving so I will be closer to school in the fall. It will only be about a 10 minute drive for me. This is also where Smoo will be going to school next year as he enters kindergarden. We are moving on the 1st of Feb, so I have alot of things to do before then....like packing! Yuck!

Friday, January 11, 2008

SMOO



This is the Smoo. He is 4 and a 1/2. He is the sweetest, most handsome, thoughtful, funniest, kindest, smartest youngin in the world. He is the light of my life. The ying to my yang. I am the luckiest mother in the world. He has been nothing but a joy his whole life. He potty trained himself in 3 days y'all...it doesn't get much better than that. He harldy ever gets in trouble. He can spell his name backwards. He dreams of being a super hero so he can fight the bad guys. When I asked him what his super hero power was, he replied " I don't need super powers mama, I just need my ninja skills! " He loves rock and roll! He knows most of the words to most AC/DC songs. Everyday when I pick him up from school he asks me " How was work today mama? " He notices if I get a haircut or a new shirt and always compliments me on it. He likes older women...his girlfriend is 6! Last Valentine's Day he took his own $ to the store and we walked the aisles for quite a while until he found the perfect stuffed dog that he knew she would love. He has never met anyone that he didn't like. He brings a smile to everyone that he encounters. I am so blessed to be able to have a place in his life. I thank the lord for him everyday.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Mac Attack!



The title of my blog is from my favorite song on earth. The song has meant so much to me. The first time I heard it, I mean really heard it, it brought me to tears. Never before had music spoken to me like that. There were lots of songs that I liked, but none that had ever reached down into my soul and shaken me to the core like that. So of course they are my all time favorite band b/c they are the band that really turned me on to music. If you have never listened to them you should really give them a try. There songs are like poetry set to music.

2008

I am a couple of weeks late but here are my resolutions:
1) Get back into school - after about 9 yrs of being out I am ready to go back. There is a court reporting program at a local community college that I want to enroll in. I am going to set up a meeeting with a counselor for this month and see what kind of grants and stuff I can get. It is a 2 year course, so hopefully I will be done before I am 30.
2) Lose weight (of course) - last year I started the year out rather slim, but managed to gain back all the weight that I had lost to become slim. I guess it is a combination of bad eating habits, no exercise and being comfortable in a new relationship with a man who cooks really well and all the time.
3) Be more responsible with $ - as a single mother, I don't have much to begin with, but I usually blow the little bit that I do have. $ just burns a whole in my pockets and I really need to have some in savings to fall back on. So far this year I have saved up a couple hundred to help with moving expenses that are coming at the end of the month, and I have been really pleased with myself for that. I hope to keep it up and have a good chunk in savings at the end of 2008.

I am really excited about this year, I think it will be a year full of good changes. Smoo will start kindergarden this year, and hopefully I will be starting about the same time. We are moving to a new place that is bigger and nicer, and I am really excited about it. My brother will be coming home from Iraq. Dan and I will hopefully have a great 2nd year together. I am hopeful and looking to make positive steps forward for the first time in a long time. I hope this will be the year that I take control of my life, instead of just letting life happen to me.

New to this

I am AL. I am a 27 yr old single mother. I have a 4 yr old that we'll call Smoo. I work a boring desk job that drains the life out of me. I dream of going back to school and am trying to make progressive steps in that direction. I have a boyfriend, Dan. He is great and we have been together for a little over a year now. My friends have been doing blogs for a long time now, but I feel like I want to give it a try now and see if anyone actually cares what I have to say. I guess we will see.