Friday, December 12, 2008

I've been spoiled!

Since winter hit, we've been heating with our woodstove. Because wood is currently free, we haven't been rationing it.

Now, I have three logs to last me through the day because I, stupidly, told Ben last night not to cut any for today because we had enough. Three measley logs.

So here I am, putting off heating the house because I want to save the logs for when Morrigan wakes up, since she can't quite figure out the concept of layers yet. I'm shivering, teeth chattering. And the thing is, it's only 65 degrees in here. It's not THAT cold.

But oh, leaving the bed this morning was a feat of will power all on it's own...

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Works for me Wednesday: FAFSA



When I decided that I wanted to go back to school about a year ago, the decision was not made lightly. Morrigan was about 8 or 9 months old. We had just moved two hours across the state. Money was tight and motivation was a bit lacking.

But I knew if I put off school any longer, I would never go back.

After some soul searching, I decided to try it. Luckily Columbus has a very good community college downtown (Columbus State Community College) that would be within reasonable (less than an hour) driving distance, reasonably priced, and had a degree program I wanted. I applied.

The told me about the FAFSA - The Federal Application For Student Aid. At first I laughed, thinking Ben made too much for us to qualify for anything. I don't consider us 'poor' because we live fairly well, have regular meals, and our house stays a balmy 68 degrees. The school urged me to apply anyway.

I did, and to my surprise, I got funded. Fully funded for tuition and with the option of a student loan for books. I've also recently found out that when Ben goes back to school, he will receive even more benefits than I am because we have two students in the same house.

So if you're thinking of going back to school, please don't brush off the FAFSA. Even if you don't think you qualify, you really should put in an application just to make sure. It's not hard, and it's all online. All you need is your previous year's tax return and your W2's.

For more information, please see www.fafsa.ed.gov

Dear Doofus...

Dear Doofus...
The kid's play area at the mall is a play area... not a babysitter. I realize that your new spiffy cell phone needs to be set up and it must be DONE. RIGHT. NOW, but meanwhile, your child is trying to climb on, bite, and otherwise torment mine. If you would look up from your finger fiddling more than once an hour, you might see this.

When I asked you "Is he yours?", it was a hint. I was hoping you would see that your child currently had his teeth embedded into my kid's arm. But no! You just smile, nod, and go back to your phone... Not once actually looking at your child.

Now, to get your child to take his teeth out of my kid's skin, I have two options. Forcibly remove him, in which case I would probably be singled out for either kidnapping or abuse, or taking my child (who was playing nicely and having a BLAST) out of the play area, which would break her little heart.

Or, you know, you could watch your kid like you're supposed to and keep this horrible fiasco from even starting.

So, please, dad on the cell phone... Look up once in a while. At least check on your kid. And please get that kid a mouthguard... those teeth are sharp!

Thanks!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Boring classes and wasting time

This class is a joke.

I'm in a computer lab, supposedly to look up Chemistry topics. The programs we have to choose from are literally in DOS and from 1998. We have another hour in here before he'll let us go. It's... idiotic.

I'm so bored. It's hot in here. The baby keeps kicking and I keep contracting. After this, only Dose & Calc and then I can go home... but meanwhile, this sucks major monkey balls.
I also haven't meal planned yet. I'll probably try to throw one together tonight after I get home and see what's in the pantry left over. We have a couple of pounds of ground beef and I want to make some chicken white chili. But other than that, we'll just have to see.

Ben's not online, either, and he should be... I'm bored. Actually, nobody's online really.

Stupid ass chem teacher. :(

Thursday, November 13, 2008

"And nothing goes up there!"

Last night was a bit stressful.

All throughout the day, I had been 'leaking' a clear, odorless fluid. Not a lot, but enough that I had to change underwear. I called Kathy, thinking it was nothing, and she called back (sounding a bit worried) and asked us to come visit to get it checked out.

Apparently her first thoughts were that my water had broken or had a 'tear' in the bag. She said if that was the case, we'd be in the hospital on steroids and antibiotics for as long as possible and on complete bedrest. Understandably, this idea scared the crap out of me and Ben.

We went over there and she did a few little tests. One was negative, the other could have gone either way. She sent us home with four more herbal supplements and three big rules:

1. Nothing goes up there (with a Look at Ben).
2. Call her if anything changes
3. Rest! Take it easy.

So now I'm on a sorta-not-really-bedrest situation. I think I'm going to drop my speech class because A, It's stressful as hell, B, it's early in the morning, and C, it's stressful as hell.

Here's hoping baby doesn't come early. :( If it's just extra mucuous, that's great. Just anything but a broken water. In a couple of days, Kathy is going to test me again. Meanwhile, we're in limbo. :(