Why I write

Mama's Losin It has given great prompts again this week for her writing assignments. First let me say that I would love to do #2 but I have a weird memory. My true memories only last about 10 years, I kidd you not. After that things get fuzzy and I only remember the real big stuff or things that get talked about often. So the day to day of Jr. High is out for me. So I chose #3 - Why do you write? It is really an easy one for me. So here it goes.

I write because I love it. I have always written, even long before I knew what it really was. I started writing as soon as I knew how to put sentences to paper. I've always written about how I feel and what I think about things. I went through a spell in Jr. High where everything was a poem. Even as an adult, when I was busy with 4 little kids, I kept journals. They got me into trouble more than once though so I burned them and gave that up. When I really needed to vent after that I would write it all down and then shred it. When I first discovered this "blog" world that I love, I was ecstatic. I still do my own venting and shredding when it's about things that I need to censor from here but this place is still a release for me. I know I am in no way a profressional writer and I have no hopes of ever being famous or even popular. I just want somewhere that I can truly be me and write what I'm thinking. Sometimes it helps me to see how silly I am being and sometimes it makes me realize that I should be more upset than I am. Writing is what keeps me sane in this crazy world that I live in and that is why I write.

Want to do your own writing assignment? Go see Mama's Losin It. She'll pile you high with assignments.

She's always had an attitude

I am so mad right now that I could (wait I'm thinking of a good analogy) spit nails. My daughter has an attitude, her fathers attitude actually, and anyone who is around her for long knows it. I have worked hard and talked until I'm blue in the face to try to get her to see how much this effects her whole volleyball team. Tonight every single bit of that effort went down the drain. I know that the attitude that she takes with the coaches at times is not great but it could be worse, instead of running her mouth she crosses her arms and makes faces. You can generally tell when she is aggravated with the other girls, she has trouble hiding it. Tonight though, the first night of tournaments, she was doing good. She was keeping a cheerful attitude most of the time and was playing great. The first time she got a little bit of an attitude, the coaches started jumping onto her. Threatened to set her on the bench if she didn't drop the attitude and kept jumping on to her. Of course now she really had an attitude and was having a huge problem controlling her emotions and keeping herself from crying. I just don't get it. Her attitude has been far worse than it was tonight at all of the other games they have played. Why did they pick tonight when she was actually controlling herself to decide to jump onto her. They ruined any progress I made because why should she even try if she is going to get jumped onto anyway. I am just so furious and even more furious because of the reason that they probably did it and the attitude that one of the girls took when they did. I have seen her attitude too and I guarantee if the coach talked to her the way that he talks to my daughter her mom would be throwing a fit. Just because my daughter is tough and has an attitude, doesn't mean she doesn't have emotions. She has feelings just like the rest of them, she is a 13 year old girl not a grown-up and it makes me sick that they can put more pressure on her but she is not suppose to respond to it. I am plain. old. fed. up!!!! If they start tomorrow, she will be setting the bench of her on volition. She has already been instructed. If she had been showing herself tonight I would have been fine with it but she wasn't. I know I'm repeating myself and babbling at this point, so I will shut up. Tomorrow may be bad.

Hectic Schmectic

I have to go get the kids Halloween costumes today. Yes, you heard me right. I am a horrible Mother and my kids still don't have costumes. I can honestly not think back to a day that we would have had time to do it though. So today is the day and hopefully we can still find them something decent. I will let you know how that goes.

A few side notes:
As for the camera I got - It is a Fuji Finepix S8100fd. I'm still learning how to use some of the features, actually most of the features but it is so going to ROCK! I eventually want a fancy shmancy camera but not until I get a little better at taking pictures (and can afford to blow that kind of money). This camera was free, so to speak. My husband gets points at work for safety and they have a catalog from which to choose things to spend the points on. Therefore I have no money in it.
As for all of the wonderful comments- Thank You all so much. It's so great to get feedback from people. Plus all of the ideas for giving myself a time-out were great. I promise to start trying to find time for myself, somewhere. Seriously though you guys are the greatest!!

I would walk a mile for a.....

time out. I soooo need a time out right now. Just a few minutes to reflect on the way I've been acting, Please. It gets so overwhelming sometimes and I know that my attitude sucks when it's like that but noone will give me even a second to think about how I'm acting, so how am I suppose to correct it? I can't wait till things calm down and get better. My kids are in school, I'm suppose to have a little ME time but somehow that isn't happening. Will somebody put me in time out please!! Of course if I had time to walk I would have my time out and stress relief so.......it's just a vicious cycle I guess

What a Day

Today has been a wonderful day. I was the Featured Blogger on SITS and I got my new camera, I was given an award by a fellow blogger and I got my new camera, I had a pretty easy day and did I mention I got my new camera. But seriously, I loved all of the attention I got from all of my SITSa's. Everyone was so nice and the comments were wonderful. I can't wait to get to fiddle around with the new camera some more. So far I love it. It really has been a great day though. I promise I am trying to get back to each and every one of you that left me comments, if I miss you, I'm sorry.

Update 10-23-08: I just wanted to give you guys a little info. about the traffic through my site. On a normal day I have about 10 visitors, some days only 1 or 2. Yesterday I had 572 and that is just amazing. I do have a little bone to pick with you guys though. Only 534 of you were first time visitors, that means that almost 40 of you have been out there lurking and not leaving comments. Everyone loves comments, so come on ladies and make my day, every day.

The Coal Miner's Wife Explanation

Alot of people didn't understand the controversy over Coal in my post Yes, I'm a Coal Miner's Wife so I thought I would give you a little background. There are a lot of "enviromentalists" who want to stop Mountain Top Removal and unsafe mining practices that started protesting around here a few years ago. When we stood up to show our support for our husbands and the job that they do, the protestors took it as an offense to them. They started to attack us in anyway that they could. They wrote letters to the papers about how we were all just scared to speak out against the people who paid our bills, they talked about how us wives didn't want to give up our easy lives and they carried signs in their protest walks that called us Coal Hoes. I'm not saying that the coal companies are perfect, they are a huge corporation and what big corporation runs without criticism and mistakes. You should keep it in mind when reading this though that maybe a handful of the people fighting to save us from the coal companies actually live around here, the rest of them are people working toward college credits or living off of grants or company funding. They have fought and fought against our childrens elementary school because there is a coal silo behind it but they leave out the fact that until just a few years ago it was heated by a coal furnace. We live in coal country and in my opinion they should either accept the risks or move on. It is no different than living in a city where there is a lot of pollution, you know the risks and the benefits and you decide whether it is right for you.

#86 and 87

Knowing who is running for President is simple, it's in your face everywhere you go but knowing who is running for local offices and finding out what they believe is a little more difficult. I have never done this before so I had no idea where to look. I searched until I found a sample ballot for my state and county (here's the link but it will mean nothing to anyone outside of WV). I'm sure most states have these. Then I set out searching for each of the candidates and reading up on their record or lack there of and what they say they believe in and want to accomplish. I'm not going to get into politics here, I have no interest in that but I can officially say I am well informed and ready to vote.

Relaxin' at the Laundromat

I live in an area that still doesn't have city water, although it is currently being put in (I actually saw them working on it this morning) but I digress, so at times we get low on water. Not enough rain = me having to drag clothes for 6 people to the laundromat. Trust me this is not an easy task but when I was telling someone that I had gone their comment was"Well it must be nice to get to go there and just sit around waiting on your clothes and not have to be home working on things" Say what?

6:30 - Back from putting first round of kids on the bus. Starting sorting through clothes and put them in the baskets
7:30 - Get the other kids up, get them ready. Finish getting clothes
together.
8:10- Load clothes in truck.
8:15- Put kids on bus and head to laundromat.
9:1o - Carry in clothes and load them in washers.
9:40 to 9:55 - Rest
9:55 to 10:15-Switch clothes to dryers as they finish.
10:15 to 10:25- Rest
10:25 to 10:45-Continuously check dryers and add change
10:45 to 11:15-Get out dry clothes and fold them.
11:15- Give up on all clothes getting dry and just throw the rest of them in baskets.
11:25-11:45 - Load all clothes back in truck, figuring out how to get them all in the front because it has started raining.

Then spend the evening and half of the next day drying, sorting, folding, hanging and putting up clothes. So you can see it doesn't exactly make for a stress-free day of relaxing. Plus the cost of washing the clothes was staggering. I had to load 2 giant washers and 6 triple loaders which cost $27 and then 11 dryers that I ended up putting $14 dollars in. It definately wouldn't take many of those trips to pay for a washer and dryer. That is just crazy. I so can't wait until they get the city water finished and I no longer have to worry about this anymore.

#4 Attempted again.....

I tried again Friday to give blood and had the same problem. They can hit the vein but the blood just stops coming out. After the second arm (yes I let them stick them both) did the same thing they decided to force the blood through the line, to see if they could tell what it was doing. Even though they have anti-coagulate in the line this is how fast my blood was clotting.

Yes, the worm looking part is my blood. Apparently I have an extremely high platelet count and it is making my blood clot ridiculously fast. I'm thinking this can't be too healthy for me. So I am making an appointment with the doctor and am back to exercising and eating better ASAP. In the meantime I will leave you with the picture of the bruises I got for my effort. I really wanted to be able to give.

If I could rearrange three things about my life.....

they would be.
1. My entire house. It is too small but that isn't the biggest problem. It is just not arranged in a way that makes it easy to keep things where they belong. I would change the closets and the storage in the bathroom and so many other things. All in time I guess though. This one is an easy fix with a little time and money.
2. My education. I loved learning, I had Honors classes in High School but then I got married at 16 and didn't finish 12th grade(long story). I got my GED with ease and tried to go on to college but it just didn't work out (I will have to tell this story soon). I love my kids but it would have been nice to get that college degree. This is another easy fix with a little time and a lot of money.
3. My place in it. As a wife and mommy it is so easy to lose yourself. To become more of a maid, chef, butler etc. than an actual member of the family. I'm not sure exactly how it happens but it would be nice to reorder my life in a way that I felt a little more important (no that's not the right word) loved. I know I am important to their lives but I need more than that. I need to be the kind of priority in their lives that they are in mine. I'm sure this is fixable, so if someone knows how to fix it - Let. Me. Know.

Great prompts again. I love how these things make me think about my life.

#85-Register to Vote

Day 5
Originally uploaded by LifeIsNotAFinal

I've been so busy that I almost forgot to post my progress. On Sept. 30th, at the ripe old age of 32, I completed #85 and registered to vote. Now to finish learning about the candidates and researching them.

Blogathon with the SITSa's

I have mentioned this site before and I love them. It is a great way to find new bloggers and to have your minute to shine. I have discovered some of the greatest blogs through them and there is always support to be found there too. So today they are having a Blogathon to get the word out to more people. So go check them out and join in the fun today.

Getting to know other people is also a great way to get ideas for your own blog and to see how other people relate to what you may be writing. Here are a few of the blogs that I have found through SITS and love to read.

The Pearlman Update

Seven Clown Circus

Staci's Heart

One Crazy Chick

One day, One choice, One pound at a time

SW-218

LW-191.6

CW-192

GW-160



Got in a little exercise but not much. I'm trying to get my house back in order after neglecting it so poorly while I was down for the count. I hope to get back to full force this week though.

October is CRAZY!!!

That's about all I can say. Next year I am just going to forewarn or write a bunch of posts ahead of time because October is just CRAZY in this house. It is the only time of year that is like this. It seems that everything in our lives converges at this point. All the ballgames, all of the activities, the beginning of hunting season, Halloween and then anything that can go wrong - going wrong. It seems that I don't have a minute to spare, let along do anything extra. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up my end of the deal around here but I will pick up the slack soon. Things should be getting ready to calm down, at least as much as they do around here. It's all part of the Mommy Business I suppose. I'm trying to write a few things now and get back into the swing of things. Hopefully I will be back in action soon.

One day, One choice, One pound at a time

The last few weeks have been well...... unbearable. That is the only way I know to describe it. I am feeling pretty good now though and getting back to my normal self. I've been wanting to move this "regular" post off of Saturdays anyway so I figured this was a good time to do it. As I said and as you have gathered from the complaining I'm sure, I have had a hard time lately. The good news is that I have actually lost weight.

SW-218
LW-Not sure
CW-191.6
GW-160

The last weight I had posted on here was different from the last weight that was stored on the WiiFit and I had been on it since the last time I had post on here so I am just going to start from what I know. Since the last time I had been on the WiiFit I had lost 3.7 pounds. I was quite impressed. I knew I had lost a little, that's what going days without eating much does but I didn't think it would be that much. Especially since I haven't been able to exercise. Every step I took shot pain through my mouth so actual exercise was out of the question. I am starting fresh today though. I have to get back into this, full force.

Random Abandon

I know I have been unforgivably absent lately but I promise to do better. It's just been rough around here the last few weeks and sometimes other things take priority. I'm trying hard to shape up, I guarantee it!!

How my brother's Thank You card for his wedding gift started:

Mike, Melanie, Audrey, Joseph......
Screwit, my hands tired.

It's a sad commentary when you have so many kids that people can't even write a Thank You to everyone. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

We are half way through ball season and my kids have started their own little countdown of how many games and practices are left. I swear I don't know where they get this crazy stuff from. They love to play but all of the running is hard and it takes it's toll.

Sedation Dentistry

I took my pill, as instructed, at 9 am and left the house at 9:15. I started to feel a little sleepy on the way there but started to get worried that this wasn't going to work. I signed in at the dental office and they took me in within minutes (afraid I would fall out in the floor I suppose). As I set down in the chair I was really getting worried because I didn't feel "sedated". They talked to me a little, I vaugely remember and then started working. It's really weird when I think about it now because I can remember some things and not others. I can remember them talking and thinking do they know I can here them but I don't really remember anything about the work that they did. They had to make a decision about what to do at one point and I can remember hubby saying "Melanie are you listening" but I don't remember the rest of the conversation. It is very surreal. They didn't get to do all of the work they had planned and did some things they hadn't planned but they fixed the two that were really bothering me and that is great. They also did all of the work to the top front teeth that were getting thin so that is great. Now I don't have to worry about them becoming so thin that they break before January. My mouth is a little sore but that's it. All of the pain is gone and that is great. It doesn't seem that I am going to have a dry socket in the one that they pulled but they didn't get to do the wisdom teeth. All in all I am happy so far. I can't wait to get it all done and have this behind me. I still feel like I could sleep all day today but I think that is just from my body discovering how tired it was when I actually got to stop for the day.