Message in a bottle......

Here's hoping your Labor Day was as fun as ours! We met our good friends, The Gary's, out on the Lake as usual. We went to a different island this time, as they had spent the weekend camping. As we went cruising around the lake (a first for us) I noticed something floating in the water....




Yep, that is indeed a bottle with a message in it! Jody quickly pulled the boat around and fished out the bottle. When we reached Dreher Island, we opened the bottle to see what was inside.







So, we called the number listed on the letter. The mother answered the phone and was shocked to hear that her daughter had done this. And we were informed that her husband (a game warden!) would be "so pleased" to find out her daughter had been littering! It kinda made our day though..... What a fun idea, right?

This is Dillon. We took his mom (Ginger) and little brother (Drake) when we were going out for dinner on Saturday night. Dillon kept trying to get Jody to go faster! It gets kinda "choppy" on our boat, so we took it easy on him.


Drake. Isn't he a cutie pie? He loves sitting up in the bow and going fast just like his big brother.

We kinda left dinner a little late, so we were able to ride back to the dock as the sun was setting. THAT was a first for us too! It was so beautiful. We even managed to load the boat in the *dark* for the first time. YAY for Firsts!!! Especially firsts that go so well. =)




We figure we have a few good weeks left to hit the lake, and then it's time for winterizing and such. Not sure what we'll do once we have weekends with out boat time! I'm sure we'll figure something out.

Just sharing my weekend.

Our weekend home. (can't figure out HOW Danielle's head got chopped off)

They are growing up WAY too fast. Danielle and Jeremy.

Feel free to come out and visit any time.=)

UPDATES!!!!

Where to begin? Well, we got a boat, for starters! We went out on the lake with some friends a few weeks ago in their boat, and Jody HAD to have one. So he hunkered down, sold a camera system and installed it in a week so we would have the money to get a used one. We took it out for it's maiden voyage on the 8th, the same day that our friend was having his birthday party. Imagine about 10 boats "parked" and tied up to one another. We all hung out and had fun, Brian lit the bbq and cooked us up some hamburgers and hot dogs. Good times!

Jody was so happy in the water. I'm so glad that he was able to pull it together to get the boat.... unfortunately, it looks like there is a small leak around the transom, but he's fixing that and I think we'll be able to take it out this weekend! YAY! Danielle is supposed to join us for the weekend, to boot. I'm so excited!

Ok, on to other news.... I quit my job yesterday. Didn't even give notice. I've had it! Let's see... First they cut everyone's pay (I lost $.75 an hour), but that week the director went out and bought a cricut system. A few weeks after that, the owner of the daycare bought the director a new car... with daycare money.

Then, our work load increased. She stopped sending the "floater" down to help out, so the 3 of us had to cover each others classes as we got stuff cleaned up. Not a big deal until this week, when the teachers went back to work and brought their kids back.

The problem with that is I was left in a room with EIGHT (8) under 2's (3 were 18 months, 1 was 16 months, 3 were 14 months and 1 was 9 months!) for roughly an hour. What's the big deal with that, you ask? Well, my ratio is supposed to be 1:5! (another teacher in my building was over ratio ALL DAY LONG! ) Ok, on the first day, I could kinda sorta understand that the director was taken by suprise. (but she wasn't, she KNEW when teachers were starting back to work) But for 3 days? That's crazy. When I confronted her about it, she denied ANY knowledge of the issue.

So, I got fed up. I called Jody on my lunch break, and he told me to call Pam. Pam who owned the daycare I worked for for 4 days last summer and left because I "missed my babies". So I called her. She didn't even say "Hello"... she said "Gwen, I was JUST talking about you the other day....."

Needless to say, I went and met the "new" director at that facility on my lunch break, was offered a job (I start Monday!) and Q.U.I.T. OOOO, the bosslady was MAD. I can't blame her. But, I'm done. I'm done with covering her butt. I'm done with not having back up. So, time for a change! I had one mom tell me that she wished I was doing in home care, cause then she'd have me watch her girl and the new one on the way. *sigh* wouldn't that be NICE? I wish I could.

Not much else going on here. Will try to post pictures of our weekend with Danielle as soon as possible.

Myrtle Beach

So, we got a phone call a few weeks ago asking us if we wanted to go to the beach with Danielle and Jeremy. How could we turn that down?

We headed out Friday night, and met them at the hotel. We stayed about a block off the beach, pretty much right at the main strand.

Jody had to go work on Saturday, a client was having issues with their cameras. So, Danielle, Jeremy and I headed down to the beach to catch a few waves and some rays.


The weather was beautiful! It really wasn't too hot, the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze. YAY! Nice! Danielle and Jeremy spent a good deal of time in the water before Jody met us at the beach. His client never showed. *sigh* The three of them seemed to have a great time out in the water. I wish I could get over my fear of my face getting in the water and really enjoy myself. I did have a good time reading my book and people watching.

We went and grabbed lunch at Peaches Corner. Jody and I grabbed their famous footlong dogs. YUMMM. Was very good!

After lunch we went to wander around Broadway at the Beach. We usually walk around there when we come down. Lots of shopping, there's some really cool retro shops, and lots of restaurants. We wandered around for a bit, then Jody and I slipped on over to Fat Tuesday for a couple of frozen adult drinks. YUMM.



Jeremy and Danielle got a little bit too much sun and weren't feeling too good, so we headed back to the hotel to clean up and get ready for dinner. Jody and I went to the first restaurant we ever ate at in MB for our dinner that night, Danielle and Jeremy decided to stay in.

The weekend seemed to end WAY too soon. I hated to see Danielle load up in the car and leave. *sigh*

Not much else is going on... ;)
By the way.. Jody IS that tall! ;)

The drama is done... I hope!

So, I've alluded to things for a while now, but am finally getting things off my chest. Things have been pretty crazy at work, and in fact I threatened to quit, with every intention of doing so 2 weeks ago tomorrow.

Let me back up. My boss and her aunt bought the daycare about 18 months ago. MANY employees left within a short time frame, but there were a few that stayed around. There were 3 remaining employees that ended up staying with one of them that seemed to have a knack for stirring up trouble but looking innocent in the process.

H (the boss) moved D (the trouble maker) down to our building in December. Wow, most of the issues they had in the "main building" with insubordination and such disappeared at that point. Imagine that. Anyway, about the time D came to our building, the bad talking about H's management, the discontent started brewing. But it was hard at the time to put your finger on the issue.

Things have been boiling to a head, especially after we got rid of our floater. Firing her meant that we had to band together to clean our building ourselves. We have one employee that decided "on her own" that she should do ALL the cleaning. And that included cleaning part of D's room, too. Oh and who was supposed to watch the cleaning employee's class while she was out cleaning for 4-6 hours? oh.. that would be ME.

NOT happy about that... but mainly mad because A (the cleaning employee) fell for the manipulations of D. Also, since D has been down in our building, the other employees don't go and talk to H as often, or at all for that matter unless it's to complain about something.

So, it's all coming to a head, I was getting snide comments about stuff, and I was getting sick.of.it. By Wednesday, Jody was so sick of it, he told me I needed to quit. I dreaded getting up in the mornings, all I did was complain about my coworkers, and on weekends, I couldn't relax wondering what was going to happen on Monday. In short, I wasn't getting paid enough to be that stressed!

So, Wednesday rolls around and I have had it. I tell H I'm done. I can't do it anymore. H tells me that she would rather fire the 2 instigators than to lose me. BEGS me to stick around until our employee meeting the NEXT Thursday. A week and a day from then. *sigh* I tell her I will.

Coming into work every day was torture. Even knowing that H and A (the owner) were supposed to lay it on the line that Thursday, the verbal crap I put up with was just incredible. But I hang in there. I hold out hope.

So, Thursday night finally rolls around. The meeting is with just the "ladies" in my building. They kinda figured something was up when they walked in and it was just "us". A lays it out, saying that if they had a problem, they needed to tell it like it is. D jumps in and starts talking about how "Gwen breaks the rules...." so we asked her WHAT rules I broke... this is what she came up with:

1) about a month ago, D left for lunch with out making sure that her class was covered. (she says that someone was watching her class from across the hall over some half doors and a gate... and she says that makes it "ok".. NOT according to DSS or our "rules") So, I told H that I *thought* that this had happened, and she may want to check with the 2 other employees that were in there too.... It turns out that she did indeed leave the class unattended and so she got written up. D thought that she shouldn't have been given a written warning. (ok, so how did _I_ break the rules here?)

2) On the 4th of July, D and I were the last 2 people in our building (as usual, both of us are supposed to close at 6) when I was informed that I would have to go down to the main office at 5 because they needed me to cover down there. About 4:45, D informed me that she needed to leave early because she needed to get across town by 6. I told her I would send a message to H and see if she could help out. While waiting for an answer, I walked down to the other building and talked to AC. There was one child left there, and I got a message from H that she couldn't come back, and D would have to stick around until I could get back down there.

D wont answer the phones to save a life, so since AC had to take trash out, I asked her if she could PLEASE tell D that I was sorry, but H couldn't make it back, so she is gonna have to wait until all the kids clear out of the office building and I could go down there.

D takes this as I was implying that she would leave the children unattended.... so therefor I was breaking the rules.. again??? I don't think she's very rational.

After this A jumps in and starts in on me. *sigh* I was a literal punching bag. But, afterwards, the bosses pull me aside and tell me they are going to give me a raise if I would PLEASE STAY. If I feel like I have to quit, all I have to do is tell them, and they would get rid of the person that was causing the issue. I decide to give them the benefit of the doubt. Why? I dunno.. I love the babies in my room? That has to be it. Really.

So, Friday rolls around, and the atmosphere was horrible, but I still had hope that it would be ok. I avoid talking to D most of the day, trying to give her her space. 6pm rolls around, and she still has a child in her class. I am in charge of closing up the two buildings, and cannot leave until EVERYONE is gone. I have no choice in whether or not I go. I MUST STAY. D had the choice to leave. The parents are supposed to pay the employee that stays with their child after 6 (when we close!) $1 a minute. This parent is habitually late. I tell D she is more than welcome to go home. She states that she needs to talk with Mom. Ok..... No big deal. 6:10 rolls around, still no Mom. I call her, and she tells me that she was having car issues, but would be there in 5 minutes.

I relay this to D, and she still insists on hanging out waiting for mom. I will not invade her room and take over the care of the child, she has made it obvious that I was not welcome in her room. Ok.. that's fine. Mom finally shows up at... 6:40pm. yup. FORTY minutes late. She has wallett in hand and looks at D and I to see who she should pay. D immediatly jumps in saying that she was the one taking care of the child. I don't dispute that, but do mention that she chose to stay, I HAD to stay until every one left. I offered to split the money. Mom hands me $20, and I take it, saying thank you. She offers the other $20 to D, and D declines the money, saying.. get this... I chose to be here. then looks over at me and smirks. GRRRR.

I get everyone herded out, lock up and finally go to clock out. I'm waiting and waiting for D to come clock out... (ok, so it was only a few minutes!) when D walks down to the office and asks what I was waiting for as she tapes a note to her timesheet. Then informs me that she had already clocked out.... GRRRR. She couldn't have told me that she clocked out before I left the baby building? She knows I wait for everyone to clock out before I clock out. *sigh*

That was pretty much my final straw. She 1) tried to make me look bad in front of a family and 2) messed with my money.

Monday morning, I walked into the office asked H if we could talk.. and told her I CANNOT and WILLNOT work with D any more. I told her Friday was the final straw. I was done. I was calm, cool, non-emotional. She knew I was serious. H asked if I could hold out until she talked to A to see what she wanted to do. I didn't want to, but ended up having to work the WHOLE day with D. GAAAAA.

Long story longer... well, They fired D last night. After she went off on them for over an hour and a half, she handed them her resignation letter... HUH???? they fire her, she hands them her letter, screwing herself out of the right to sue for unemployment. BRILLIANT!

It's been slightly icy in the building, but my two coworkers have been nicer all things concidered. *whew*

So, that's been my drama. I think, I HOPE, things will be better now.

Next week, I'll let y'all know how my weekend at Myrtle Beach with Jody, Danielle & Jeremey goes. =) I get to see my girl!!!

Epic Float Trip

So... My friend Amy invited Jody and I to go floating down the Saluda River with her, her boyfriend and some of their (i.e. HIS) friends. The plan was to meet around 1:00 this afternoon, rent tubes and head down the river. We were both looking forward to the trip, and were ready to go.

As Jody and I were eating brunch, Jody let me know that his throat was hurting and he also started wondering about other peoples swimming skills, etc. He started acting leery to go. So, we gracefully (I hope) backed out, and Amy seemed understanding. We were a bit concerned about Jody spending a good deal of time in the water if he was fighting off something. (good thinking right?)

But, I was still a little disappointed that we weren't going to go. So, Jody went and picked up a 4person inflatable boat, borrowed 2 life jackets from friends, loaded up on Gatorade and away we (at least tried) went! We were going to be in a boat.. out of the water.. what could go wrong?

First off.. We tried to inflate the raft at home. Our friends were kind enough to loan up a pump, but it really didn't have enough juice to inflate the whole thing. So, it's nice and full, and Jody tries to put it in the back of the station wagon (don't ask me why...).. It doesn't fit, so he pulls it out.. and snags it. *sigh* So, we find the repair kit that came with the boat, glue NOT included. So, a quick trip to the store for glue, back home, and we fix the boat.

Drop off the station wagon over by the zoo for when we get out and drive on over to where we were going to put in. The boat was leaking a little bit, but we put some more glue on it and into the river we went.

It was so beautiful and peaceful. We saw an odd conglomeration of floats/boats/rafts up ahead of us, a few kayak's passed us, but we were pretty much alone on the river. The river was a little low, so we hit a few rocks.. no big deal. Right?

We ended up hitting a few more rocks, and actually getting "anchored" as Jody called it. We thought we heard a noise at that point, but we were only about halfway down the river, and there wasn't much we could do. At that point, we didn't seem to be losing air.

We keep going, seeing LOTS of turtles, a blue heron, some fish jumping. We'd been in the river for about 2.5 hours when we realize we were losing air, kinda quickly. We found a shallow spot, and we both hopped out, leaving the cooler, drinks and oars in the boat. We walk for a bit in the water, until we get to a point where we can't find the bottom. Oh yeah.. did I mention I can't really swim???? Yeah.. I can't. Fortunately, I have the life jacket on and I'm holding onto the side of the boat. We find ANOTHER shallow spot and Jody insists that I get back into the boat and he will tow it, with me in it.

I reluctantly get in, knowing that's way too much to ask of him, but not knowing what else to do. By this point, the main part of the boat sides are still holding out, but every time I move, I take on more water. Finally, I have to just lie still in the boat as Jody has the rope looped around his shoulder and swims. Jody swims and walks for about a mile or more, when we see a lady standing on the shore asking if she could help by this time.. well, the only thing that still had air in it was one channel in the floor of the raft, and the small side wall. It was crazy! OF COURSE we take her up on it. Who wouldn't by that point? I tried to climb out of the boat, but my legs didn't want to work. *sigh* I felt like such a doofus! We get to her truck, and ride in the back because we are both soaking wet at this point. Remember part of the reason we didn't go tubing was so that Jody could stay out of the water and {mostly} dry. That plan worked, right?

Let me say, Jody was a trooper! I cannot believe that he pulled me so far. I kept worrying about how the boat would drift over his legs and torso as he was pulling me.. I kept apologizing to him for it, and instead of getting upset about it, all he would say was "it's not like you can control the boat" *sigh* We certainly had an adventure!

All in all, it was a fun day. We would like to do it again.. in a sturdier boat that is!

Stay tuned for drama at the daycare.. I'll try and fill y'all in on Monday or Tuesday night....

Romantic Weekend...

Since I am going to be going out of town for over a week, Jody decided to take me to the beach this past weekend. He chose an awesome hotel to stay at, Oceans One, and it was amazing.



























































Dining room. The flowers reminded me of Kate.















The road side view from our balcony. There is a small amusement park down the road from the resort.
















Ok, so I really suck at taking pictures. I was sitting on the bed and decided to make you all jealous about our beautiful view... Just open the curtains and viola!















Like I said, Jody had planned this a few weeks ago. He reserved a room on the 20th floor, with a street view... Just to be different. So, we arrive late evening on Friday only to find out that someone had been playing around in the reservation system and moved our reservation to .. wait for it... SEPTEMBER! GAHH... it took awhile but they upgraded our room.. and we got a beautiful one. Oh how sad, the room had a small jacuzzi tub in it! Guess who FINALLY got to take a bath for the first time in a year??? That's right, yours truly. Hooked the iPod up to a speaker, added some bubbles and read my book... I turned into a prune... ahh, sweet bliss! The only downside was they had to move us the next morning... So, instead of baking on the beach, we reloaded the car and went shopping. Jody took me first off to "our" little place to have breakfast, and then off to the outlet mall.

We found some CUTE shoes for missP, and Kelsea. Wandered around looking for an outfit for me to wear to Penny's wedding (no luck) and headed back to the hotel to get our room again.... It wasn't ready yet. So we headed out to Broadway at the Beach for some people watching and more shopping. We went to Senor Frog's for a small bite to eat. We shared a order of chicken nachos and some sweet tea. YUMM!

We hit the hotel, once again, was able to get into our room, changed into swim suites and hit the pool. Good times! We enjoyed the water, then went back to get ready for dinner. We went to our other favorite place to eat, Original Benjamin. YUM! I ate my fill of crab for a change. We try to go there if we stay in MB for a weekend. We ate our fill, and then headed back for our ritual walk on the beach. The tide was out, so we had some hard sand to walk on. We probably walked a good 3 miles round trip, hitting the main strip on the way back. About this time, my tummy started feeling "funny", but I didn't think much of it.

We check out of our room Sunday morning, and start heading back home. I'm not feeling too hungry, so we get my coffee and start looking for someplace to eat while we are further on the road. By the time we get halfway home, I'm SICK. Nothing says "I love you and am going to miss you so much" like a wonderful case of food poisoning! YUP... I got sick.. VERY sick. Poor Jody! He got me home, into bed and took such good care of me. I wanted to not work on Monday, but had to go in because another co-worker was at her Grandmother's funeral. Ahhh, the joys of being adequately staffed! I'm feeling so much better now, and am thinking about just what I'm going to take with me on my vacation.

Why I <3 my job.....

The babies LOVE the bubbles. I LOVE watching the babies play with the bubbles. It's a win-win situation. =) There are days when I have to remind myself *why* I do what I do....But then I get to go look back at old photo's/videos and remember allll the good times. Lucky me!

Non-family Family Reunions

Jody used to work with a young guy named Clayton. They went all over the country (or the East Coast at least) doing installs together, and if Jody left one company, Clayton followed. Clayton ended up moving back up to DC a while ago, but they still keep in touch. (yes there is a point to this rambling!)

Clayton called Jody a few weeks ago. Seems like there was going to be a family reunion in Orangeburg, SC and we were invited. So yesterday, we loaded up the cooler, grabbed Kelsea and rode on down. We arrived in the country on the road where Clayton's grandma and a few other relatives lived. We could see the 3 big barbquers going with a huge tent set up with tables under it. The uncles had the hog on the fire since early that morning, and you could just smell that yumminess in the car.

We couldn't find Clayton when we got there.. He had taken one of the uncles trucks and went fishing. I guess he doesn't get much chance to do that up in DC. We went looking for Clayton's mom (I asked Jody what her name was, and he looked stunned for a second and then said... "Mom") by heading over to Grandma's house. There were pictures of one the aunts with her family at the white house, posing with: George H Bush and Barbara, Bill Clinton and Hillary and George W Bush and Lara. In the picture with GHB, Barbara was actually holding one of the children! Crazy, right?

We wait around for Mom to show up, she and some of the "girls" had to go shopping. =) After she arrives, we walk back down to the "party"... and that's when Jody points out the aprons a few of the uncles were wearing...

They had the White House crest on them, one of them said EXECUTIVE CHEF... Jody then mentions that most of Claytons family works as chefs for the White House, or are in the CIA. Kinda cool, huh? The food was, in a word, YUMMO! They roasted a hog, grilled up some chicken, there was some chitlin's (I didn't try that... ), lots of homemade mac and cheese, in a word, too much food to keep track of! I brought my Chocolate Pudding cake, but after finding out the White House Chef's were there, well, I'm not too sure how that went over (but I didn't see any of it get thrown away.)

We were enjoying ourselves, a few of Clayton's cousins took us under their wings and taught us (well, mainly Jody, cause by that time, i was a wee bit tipsy!) how to play domino's. Looks like it will be fun to play. The DJ showed up, and the music started blasting and the kids started dancing. Now I'm wishing I had let go of my inhibitions and just got out there too, but well, I really AM shy and didn't want to make a fool of myself.

All in all, we had a good time. We were made to feel like family, even though we most definently weren't. =) Emails and phone numbers were exchanged with our domino's group at the end of the night (they wanted us to go back to their home and continue the party, but we had to get home so Kelsea could get some sleep so she could get back to her house early this morning). We were invited to go to next year's reunion. How cool is that? Sorry I didn't take any photos, but well, I left my camera at home and wasn't sure how well an "outsider" would go over taking photos and then posting them on their blog. =) So you just had to deal with my rambling. What are your plans for this long weekend?

Woodpeckers, squirrels and DRAMA

So, Jody and I bought a suet feeder for the birds at the daycare. We know how much the babies love to look out the window and see the birds in the morning, and wanted them to see more than the finches that show up. The other day, THIS is what we saw. Pretty cool, huh. I'm guessing she's female, because the crest is missing. She doesn't come by often, but at least I was able to get a semi-decent picture on my phone. After I snapped this picture,I remembered I had my actual camera with me, zoomed it in, to get a real nice shot, and NO LUCK. She wouldn't come back! I was sad. =( So far, I've seen some kind of jay (it has gray coloring, and no blue to be found!) wrens, finches, chickadees, cardinals, woodpeckers, A dove, and some rust colored tiny bird that I can't quite identify yet. We put that feeder up for a variety of birds, and we sure got it! If the babies are fussing, we take them to the widow to see if the birds are out there... that usually quiets them down for a little bit. It's kinda cool.







I was trying to describe the squirrels antics. I could sit and watch these silly things all day long. =) Our babies love to watch them, call them "keey-hee". It's so hard to sound out the noises that the babes make when they are trying to talk. These guys can clean out that bird feeder in a day and a half! YIKES! It's a good thing Jody loves those babies too. He's the one that pays for the bird seed to feed the critters, because he knows how much the babies enjoy them.


So, there was some drama at work yesterday. It shouldn't be too surprising that you get drama when working with just a group a women. I hate it that we have lived up to the stereotype. Here's the deal:

DSS (Department of Social Services) requires that all children go outside for at least a half hour daily. Outside, in the sunshine....not ouside on the covered porch. The one exception is the baby room. (whew, we aren't equipped to do that!) Anyway, down in my building that hasn't been happening with all the children. If you get down to the nitty-gritty, it's because it's starting to get hot and my coworkers don't want to be uncomfortable. AND, I do have to admit, it's kinda a pain to get the kids out there. HOWEVER. As the building director, we've had a few parents ask if their children were going to be taken outside to get their daily dose of vitamin D or not. I assured them that I would talk to the teachers/the director and see what could be done about it....

I mentioned it to the teacher that was having the problem getting the kids outside. I got the whole "I'll do it when it's convienent, not too hot, blah blah blah" line, so took it up with the director. (I mentioned it casually to the coworker, without saying a parent was having a concern, because she would know which parent was asking and make a HUGE deal out of it!) H assured me that she would send out a memo, not pointing fingers, but reminding teachers that kids need to be out side for at least 30 mins a day. The teachers read the memo and automatically assumed that it was for our afterschool teacher, because she too was having problems getting the kids outside! After hearing them bash her, I told them that from my understanding it was a program, wide problem, and that the ALL the kids needed to be taken outside.

That started the whine fest, and all the reasons they couldn't take the kids out... I told them to make a list of what they felt needed to be done in order for them to be comfortable taking the kids out side, and I would pass it on to H.

Here is a sampling of THE LIST:

*cut grass
*sand flees
*sticks pick-up
*trees need to be cut back (by trees, they actually meant bushes, and I was supposed to read their minds!)
*mosquitos

(yes, i tried to remember THEIR spelling!) On top of it, I was asked why H didn't know this stuff already because the former owner, Lara walked the playground everyday and took care of stuff, blah blah blah (every time someone has a complaint, it always goes back to what the former owner did/didn't do). They KNEW this list was going to H.

So, I called H and gave her the lowdown on THE LIST. Ok, this was something that I asked for so I could give her the lowdown. Needless to say, she was kind of upset about the whole thing. And I did ask her why she didn't walk the playground everyday, like the previous owner (told her that was a question asked!)

So, all HECK breaks loose. H calls her aunt, the new owner of the facilty. They have had it. Usually A is very much "keep the peace, I'm sure they didn't mean it the way it sounded" type of person. Well, she shoots off a memo to them, addressing ALL their concerns about the playground, why she and H don't walk the playground, etc.

The girls (I say this lightly, one is 25, another is my age, and the oldest is in her 50's) in question get their memo yesterday morning.... OH MY GOODNESS! You would have thought that they had been accused of abusing the children or committing treason. They start yelling at me because I told H what they felt needed to be done. The "matriarch" of the group started talking to me while I was in my room and she was in another, about how some things needed to stay in the building, and not be talked about with H. WHAT? THEY WROTE THE LIST! THEY ASKED THE QUESTIONS!!!! Holy Cow! Well, I was ready to walk out, but I didn't.. I called H and told her what was going on, FORCED Jody to take me to lunch, and tried to have a decent day. I'm just hoping that things will blow over by Tuesday.

Anyway.. I'm just glad we get a 3 day weekend. *whoot* Jody and I are taking Kelsea to a party/bbq/family reunion with Jody's adopted family today. Should be a good time! I'll post pictures and tell stories later. I'm hoping to take a drive up to Concord and see Danielle. I wont even anticipate seeing Adam, he is still avoiding me like the plague. I know, I know... he's young.. he'll grow up. I keep holding onto that hope.

Anyway... Not much of an update.. more of a gripe session, huh? sorry!

Mother's Day 2009 (yes it's taken me nearly a week to write this!)

I figure since it's been a few weeks I should at the very least post an update. We've been on a pretty even keel these days, I'm still working and Jody has been doing camera installs for Charlie. Yeah Charlie! They are mainly doing installs in (on???) shopping centers these days, which is nice, except when there is bad weather. :(

Ahh, Mother's Day. Jody and I received phone calls from Tansy during the week with problems with her car overheating. Jody suggested some things she could try, but they didn't work. So, we got up fairly early and headed to the junk yard on our way up to Durham. You know, Durham, that town where Tansy lives... and is on a good day 4 hours away? Yeah, that Durham. Well, there was no luck with the radiators at the yard, so we went to the parts store and picked up a radiator, and got on the road.

Did I mention that Durham was 4 hours away.. yeah. We finally get up there around 3:00pm. Jody immediately gets to work taking out the old radiator and installing the new one. Doesn't take him long. He starts the car and water starts squirting. NOT GOOD. Looks like a blown head gasket. We decide that *maybe* this product will help get her limping along until we can get the car down to us. Go to parts store, invest $25 in this crazy looking goop, go back to her apartment, dump it in the radiator, and Jody drives off. He didn't get too far when the car starts smoking, he drives it back, and breaks the bad news. Best case scenario, blown head gasket, like we thought. Worst case scenario, blown engine. It's something that will have to be worked on down here, or in a garage somewhere. I told her she needed to talk to Vicky (David's mom, who *owns the car*) and see what she would like to do.

Yes, it's something Jody can do. The timing really stinks though! Jody finally has the work rolling in so "spare time" is at a premium. HOWEVER he says that he doesn't mind working on it (as long as she promises to keep on maintenance from now on!)

We then went down to Concord, hoping that we would be able to see Danielle on the way home (and oh yeah, pick up the cargo trailer!) No such luck. Danielle was hanging out with her boyfriend.

Happy Mother's Day!

Jason (George's son) sent me a text yesterday to wish me a happy mother's day, I got to see Tansy and Danielle called me. Adam? Well, Adam still isn't talking to me. I guess I'm still on his hit list.

OK OK OK!!! So, I started that Sunday night, it is now Wendsday night, and I haven't posted this. I guess I need to wrap it up, huh? One more story then I'll let you go.....


I have a window in my room at work. There is a bird feeder hanging outside said window, and for the longest time the bird feeder hung empty. I did some exploring and found a barrel of birdseed in the pantry. Needless to say, we now get visited by birds and squirrels.

The babies LOVE the squirrels. MissP (remember her?) calls them "kit-eee". The kiddos know when I'm due into work, because they start watching for me, and hanging out by my door so they can RUSH my window and look for the squirrels. So, we've run out of birdfood. What do "Uncle"Jody and I pick up after our dinner tonight? Not only do we get some sunflower seeds for the squirrels, we get ANOTHER feeder for the birds! Sweet, huh? Nothing is too good for the babies. =) Don't even get me started with the bubbles. That's another story for another day....

It's been awhile....

So much has been going on, and I don't even know where to start! There are some things that I would LOVE to talk about, but can't, because it's not my story to tell, and others that I should that would just reveal all my insecurities. So, let me just say, this past month has been fairly enlightening, but I really don't want to repeat it. Ever. Again. EVER!


Jody and I went to Pinks All Out yesterday up in Concord. Jody's birthday is on Thursday (he'll be the big 40) and in order to celebrate we got tickets a month or so back. We were planning to have a HUGE party for him, but he was like "Most of my friends would miss my party to go to Pinks.. Heck, I'D miss my party to go to Pinks".

We got up early Saturday, loaded up the coolers, and headed out. Got to Zmax Dragway by 11ish. They were already running cars for time trials. By the end of the day, they had run over 400 cars. There were 35,000 people in the stands. It was CRAZY! You know what??? I LOVED every minute of it. I know it's not quite the same event as what Chad does... but man, I GET IT. I understand what they love about it. And there is something to be said about building your own car, making it go fast, and blowing peoples minds.











We didn't leave the track until 1130pm.. Yup, nearly 13 hours at the strip. The day was beautiful, warm, not too hot, dry. We were pretty smart about applying sunscreen and keeping hydrated. No sunburn (well, a few red patches, but nothing major.) It was such a nice night that we took the top out and rode to get a moon-tan.

Today? Well, we spent lazing around, downloading pictures to facebook and doing laundry. NICE weekend.

So, there is my boring life.

I've been....tagged!

So, Kate tagged me and I guess I should follow through.. I'm really good at caving into peer pressure. So, the rules are:

1. Go to your pictures on your computer
2. Go to your 6Th folder
3. Go to your sixth picture
4. Post it
5. Blog about it

(I have to admit, I'm a little afraid of what I might find....)













So, Jody and I decided to take a day trip into the mountains back in October. We were hoping to see some fall color. We were off by at least a week, but we did make it to the old mine shaft where Clemson University developed their blue cheese. There was a nice little hike through the mine, and then, down the mountain a little ways (in the same park!) there was a trail by a waterfall.. ABSOLUTLY stunning.

Not much is going on in my life right now. I've started taking belly dance classes on Wednesday nights, Jody is going to be working a 3 month stint for the census bureau tomorrow. My Jeep is coming together, and I will post pictures when it's all done. :)

I'm supposed to meet up with a new friend (that I met at bellydance class) to go do some kind of "touristy" hike type thing. I'm kinda excited. Went out Salsa dancing with her too.... Well, let's just say we went to a salsa club Friday night, we got on the dancefloor once, and ATTEMPTED to do a few moves that our instructor showed us in class... but still, we are stepping out of our comfort zones, and it's a good experiance.

So, I have a dilemma. I have to get a car, and actually have found out that I have a choice of 2 cars, both of which only cost $500. Yes, both are fixer uppers, but Jody is perfectly capable of working on both.


So, Jody was working in the junk yard and came across this little beauty. It's a 1997, and only ONLY has 87,000 miles on it. Again, it would only cost $500. Kelly Blue book is about $2000, it looks like it needs some new wheels (which he is taking care of) and a fuel pump (again, he's taking care of it!). Not my first choice in a car, but it is kinda cute, right? AND it would actually be the better/saner car to get because of the mileage on the motor and such.



We would have room to tote stuff around in, and could tow stuff too. It's not quite what I saw myself driving around in, but hey, it's a car right, and it would be fun to go offroading in at some point.


The other one is just like Jody's old "wagon". Small, cute, HONDA. Needs a new motor, which Jody would put in for me. The wagon is a early 1990 model,with over 120,00+ on it though... however, Honda motors can last for 300,000 miles or more. I kinda fell in love with the idea of having this little car for my own.





Cute huh? I think so. We hadn't had a chance to go talk to the gentleman about the car yet, he was out of town last weekend, and we weren't able to pick it up..... So, my problem is, I don't know which car I *really* want......BUT I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be getting the Jeep.


Not much going on here. The weather is CRAZY! I just got a text on my cell phone saying that we have a winter weather advisory in effect for over the next 24 hours. It's over 60 degrees outside right now!!! GAAAA. But we are possibly going to have snow tomorrow. Humm... it's a good thing I did laundry today, so if we lose power for what ever reason, I have clothes for the next week. I just have visions of ice storms and power lines breaking. I guess my time in North Carolina took it's toll on me. :)

Small things

Have you ever thought about the small things that make life so much easier? Take for example, the ability to run (Let alone PLUG IN!!) your washing machine and dryer at the same time. I know it sounds a little silly, but oh man, for about 4 months we've been without that ability. We would have to run a load or two through the washing machine, and then start drying. If I was lucky, I'd get 2 maybe 3 loads done on a Saturday or Sunday. Not really the way I wanted to spend my precious time off, if you know what I mean.

Today, Jody and I headed for Lowes, then Home Depot, to find a dryer that "worked". Our old one would run and run and run for hours if it wasn't set at JUST the right spot. Sometimes, it didn't run heat, just tumbled and tumbled the clothes. If we didn't unplug the dryer at the end of the cycle, and if we didn't make sure it was unplugged, it just kept running. No, the heat wasn't going, the tumbler wasn't spinning, but it was eating up electricity. Our last power bill, because of the darn dryer was nearly $$$300... YIKES!

I got my income tax return, and have been itching to get a dryer. So, today we took the mini-van off to the store and found a dryer. Jody carted it out the door, loaded it in the van, drove home and carried it up the stairs and did a dryer install. YEAH for working dryers!!!!

The scary thing? Well, as Jody was pulling the old dryer out, I noticed burn marks on the side next to the washing machine. I know that we blew a breaker about 4 months ago (when all the dryer trouble started) and when we plugged in the dryer for the first time after fixing the breaker, there were sparks flying. *sigh* I think we got off easy these past 4 months, but it is scary to think about.

Good Friends...

So, Jody is in Savannah, Ga right now. He drove the van down, and I get to drive his Del Sol. It's been fun.. However, it's been pretty darn cold here, and since I haven't been able to "warm up" the car for long enough, I've been driving to work cold.. ugg!

So, I stop and get gas after work, and I notice the thermostat is on HIGH. NOT good. I call Jody and ask him if that is normal (yes, I know it's not, but since he's pretty much built this car, I needed to make sure). So, he tells me to wait for the motor to cool (how long does that take?) and then pop the cap off the radiator ( I THINK I know what that is...) and check the level of antifreeze... Sure... right.

I then get a phone call from Jody saying his friend Brian would come by and check out the car for me. (have I mentioned that it's FREEZING, it's dark, and I don't get home until after 6pm?) Oh yeah, and Brian has a wife and two young kids at home, and I think he's been at work all day... Anyway, Brian shows up, starts the car, sees the antifreeze that's leaked in several locations... and realizes that he came over ill equipped to deal with this.. he thought he'd only have to pour antifreeze in to the radiator and all would be good.... NOPE!

Brian had to drive BACK home to get tools. So, he gets back, works on the car, in the cold, and gets it running so that I can drive to work and back tomorrow. We think the water pump may be bad... OR maybe there was a bubble in the antifreeze.. he got it fixed enough for me to get to work, and Jody will be back tomorrow sometime, so it's all good. Oh yeah.. and the heater works now!! whoot!! :)

It's so nice to know that there are people around to help if needed. That was one of my fears in moving down here, missing my friends. But now.. well, I'm not so worried.

Why do I feel guilty?

So.. I got a phone call from a friend of mine yesterday. She was the girl that I would hang out with ALL the time back in North Carolina. We've kinda drifted apart because she betrayed some confidences, and I still have a hard time trusting her. Anyway. She's been pretty much an "all about me type person" and before, I put up with it, and she was much of the time the focus of way too much of my energy.

So the phone call. Her son has a birthday party coming up on Saturday. Now, I was concidered an Aunt or surrogate Mom to her kids. Our separation was pretty hard to deal with, when it came to the kids.... ANYWAY.... I get invited to the Saturday birthday party. Take into account, this birthday party is up in Concord, 2 hours away.

Also, take into account, Jody is out of town today until Friday night, and then will be leaving for Virginia on Sunday. He is doing a camera install in Savannah, and Sunday he needs to go back to Virginia an fix his brother's car. *sigh* He's pretty sure he'll be gone 2-3 days in Virginia. SO, all I have is Saturday to hang out with him.

When I tried to explain this on the phone with her... Well, she got pissed off. She got so pissed off in fact that she hung up on me. And hasn't tried to reach me again.

So tell me... why do I feel guilty? I feel really bad about saying NO. But dang it, it's a 4 hour trek up and back, let alone the time it would take to attend the party... did I mention that this would be with a house full of FIVE YEAR OLDS????? Should I feel guilty? Would YOU?

Well, darn!

I started this post this morning, thought I'd saved it, went to finish it, and it's GONE!!! Oh DREAD, I have to rewrite the whole thing... bear with me. =)

There are many changes going on around here. Danielle is coming back home. I am so happy! It was a hard decision to allow her to go in the first place, but once I found out everything that is going on up there.

I always figured that George was the sensible one, the one that "leaned" on the kids more than me. That's why I wasn't afraid to let the kids live with him. I found out that he would 1) allow D to drive the car without a licensed driver with her. She DOESN'T have her license, just a permit. 2)He bought D a moped and allowed her to ride it before she turned 16. According to NC law, you have to be 16 before you can ride a moped. And since the motor on it is so small, she didn't need a drivers license for it. Oh yeah... He told her to NOT TELL ME that she was riding it. So in other words, he was encouraging her to break the law and lie to me about it.

The straw that broke the camels back? When she was riding to work on her moped on Saturday, a lady driving a Ford Explorer decided she needed to turn RIGHT from the LEFT hand lane. Unfortunantly, she didn't see my sweet girl and hit her. All things considered, she's ok. She ended up with a few bruises and some ruined shoes, but she's all in all, we had a good outcome. I am a little irate that the police officer on the scene decided to LEAVE before an adult showed up to take care of her. grrr... AND he didn't file an accident report because he decided that there wasn't more than $1000 damage. *sigh* We are trying to get things settled and taken care of. Oh and did I mention that George didn't take her to the ER after this happened? I had to call him and insist that he do that. I don't think that I was overreacting..

So, Danielle moves in March 7th. I cannot tell you how happy I am about this. I need my kids home with me, and really, they need their mamma.

Not much else going on here.

Still working, but thinking about going to school in the fall. If I can just see about getting some time off or going on my lunch and talking with a counselor at the local collage. I'm really really REALLY dreaming about doing the nursing and becoming a certified nurse midwife. Jody and I just need to figure out how to make it happen. Once the jobs come in steady, we'll know what we will be able to do. I'm just really frustrated at work. It may get better next week.. one of the babies are leaving. (gee, is or are???) This sounds horrible, but I have two very very VERY whiney babies. One of them is leaving next week. I thought he was hard to deal with, cause even when he was just "talking" he sounded like he was crying... very frustrating. ANYWAY... there is a newer baby in the room, who if you aren't touching her at all time, SCREAMS! SCREAMS!!!! and it hurts the ears so bad. I dread going into work because of her. I hope things change once she gets used to us... *sigh*

Oh yeah!!! How could I forget? I got to talk to my mom on Sunday! I am so excited! We talked about the kids, and then things going on on her mission. Cool, huh? Unfortunatly, she called while Jody and I were driving down the road trying to get from Charlotte to Columbia for a Super Bowl/Double Birthday party. Have I mentioned that the Del Sol is kinda loud? But it was wonderful to be able to talk to her again. I can't wait until she is state side. YEAH!!!

Mid-January

There hasn't been a whole lot going on here in wonderful South Carolina. We are in a cold spell right now, but when I talk to my siblings in colder area's, well.. I can't complain too much. Work has been plugging along, but it can be overwhelming. But how can I complain when I actually HAVE a job? =)

We got some good(ish) news. Jody and his partner have been given a contract to put in security cameras at two different shopping centers, with the chance to do about 6 more for this company. AND they've got contacts with a few other property management places.... Also, they've got some pre wire work on a few new subdivisions here in town.... Life is looking up.

I MIGHT get to see my girl today. Jody has a head that he is trying to sell to this guy in Charlotte... if that goes through, then we will take the extra time to go see her. YEA!... I really miss my Danielle. Pictures to follow if that happens. =)

Like I said, not a whole lot going on here. Plugging along. I guess you can't ask for more than that.

Update, scattergories, pure nonsence.

OK, a quick update, and then the taggy-thing-a-ma-bobber.....


We actually GOT our paychecks today, and when I went to cash it at the bank....... they ACTUALLY cashed it. It's a little scary to think that you worked X amount of hours, and they don't have the money to pay you.... BUT, maybe I'm being stupid, I'm sticking it out. I'm attached to the babies in my room, and I cannot leave them for a not so sure thing. Is it wrong of me to feel that way? *sigh*


And now... for some scattergories...........

So, here goes:
Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things. Nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person who tagged you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. And you can't use the same word twice. Good luck, it's harder than it seems.

What is your name: Gwen
Boy name: Gus
4 letter word:give
Girl name: Gale
Occupation: Grave Robber
A color: Grey-blue
Something people wear: girdle
Beverage: Gin
Food: Gnocchi
Something found in a bathroom: grody toilets
A place: Geneva
Reason for being late: got a ticket
Something people shout: Good gosh golly gee!

A vent....

So, I just have to vent..... bear with me, or just skip this blog today all together. Not sure how articulate this will be, but well, here goes.

We get paid every other Wednesday. It's been that way since I started, I'm pretty sure that it's been that way since before the current owners took over more than a year ago. So, payday was the 31st of December. On Tuesday, the 30th, at 3:45 pm, we get a memo from the owner of the daycare. Our director handed out the memo, told me that if anyone had comments/concerns/complaints to call the owner, it was her deal. I read the memo and my heart sank. We weren't going to get paid on Wednesday. The reason? We had several families that were gone for 2 weeks that hadn't paid yet. There was not enough money in the account to pay our salaries. The owner assured us that she was positive that people would be paying their accounts up on Monday, the 5th. Ok, not good, but hey, sometimes you can't control certain things... like people paying when they are out of town......

So, we were closed on the 1st, but were back in business on Friday, the 2nd. I arrive at my usual time, 9am, when the other "building director" steps out of her door to let me know that the director was going to be spending the day at the hospital, her father was in ICU and wasn't expected to make it. OK, down one person, but since there was only 2 kids in that building, I didn't think it would be too bad. We had quite a day, because one of the "teachers" in my building was on vacation, and had to send home another one because her child was running a fever of 102. NOT a good start to the day. The upside is that Danielle came and helped me in my room and it was fun to watch her juggle babies trying to comfort them, feed them. (as an off shoot, she has informed me that she wants to have 8.. yes.. EIGHT... 8.... children.... )It was fun.

Fast forward to yesterday, I'm driving Danielle up to Concord and my phone rings. It's the owner telling me that the director's father had passed Friday night. (By the way, the owner is the director's aunt). We were going to have to muddle through next week. That means some overtime for me and the other building director.... that means hoping that we have the numbers covered. AND just because I'm going to be doing overtime, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll get PAID the overtime, right?

Oh, and did I mention that most of the people who haven't paid yet are after school families? Can you imagine those parents stopping in before they have to go to work to pay their bill, or do you think they will wait until Monday night when they pick up their kids? Do you think we are going to be paid on Monday????

Did I also mention that my rent was due on the first??? Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that they allow us to wait until the 5th of the month to pay (they frown upon it...) but if we haven't paid by then, they start the eviction process on the 6th.... Can you say stress?I wonder if I should call my landlord and explain the situation. I wonder if they'll cut us a break. I don't mind paying the late fee (I WISH I could bill my employers for that!!!)but the eviction scares the heck out of me. Another question: how are they going to have the money to pay our salaries THIS week, and then turn around and pay us AGAIN next week?

My question is... Do I just take this payday as an aberration? Do I pretend that I"m not worried that it will happen again, or do I jump ship before it goes down. That was part of my thinking last year when I quit, but then went back. I LOVE where I work. I am attached to "my" babies, I really don't want to go any where else. AND if I were to go anywhere else, that's not going to help in the short term... I'd probably have to wait at least 2 weeks before getting a paycheck anyway.... Sometimes it's so hard to know what the right thing to do is. It's not like I have a whole lot of seniority there, but if I were to go somewhere else, well, I'd really be the new kid on the block. *sigh*

So, to sum it up... I'm stressed. A LOT. But there isn't much that can be done about it. Just hold my breath and trust that we'll get our paychecks. I do know that Jody has a job or two lined up this week with Charlie, but again.. the waiting for it to go through is nerve wracking.He's been up and dressed and ready to go in the morning and Charlie will call and say that the people have decided to put off the install for a week/month. Charlie wishes he had more work to give Jody, so he could hire him full time.. but for now, it's just what ever he can scrape up. I just love this economy.
I will survive. I always do. =)