Growing apart...

It's never easy losing friends. Especially friends that you've had for 20+ years.

Unfortunately, I'm having to phase someone out of my life because of the person they've chosen to date. This person is a TOXIC force in their life, but they refuse to see it... or they are too lazy to look or don't think they deserve to NOT settle. I don't know the real reason, honestly.

What alarms me is the changes this significant other of theirs said he would make... he isn't making. At all. Not in any way that matters, at least. Admittedly, he won't even get the chance with me... They dated for about 3 years... she was totally unhappy... they split up and got back together about 20 times in a month. It was ridiculous... they'd break up, and the next day he'd show up in her office crying, and begging her to come back (unstable, btw)... What was the final straw was when he called her after they'd split talking about jumping off a bridge here in town... the police actually came and got him and took him in... he wasn't still getting ready to jump at that point, he was in his car pulled off on the side of the road on the bridge; therefore, they couldn't charge him with anything, he was drunk so they took him in and put him in a holding cell until someone could come pick him up. He STILL attempted getting her back. Even going as far as messaging me... wrong move, buddy. I let him have it. He wanted me to A)Not tell my friend he'd contacted me... first time EVER contacting me, btw, in the 3 years they dated... and B)wanted me to call him... Um, no.

Anyhow, so they were split for about 1.5-2 months... and I found out upon coming back from Canada they'd gotten back together. REALLY???? Obviously this person has issues if they'd consider KILLING themselves. Anyhow... she apparently feels he's all better after going to counseling for a month. He said the ways he would change were to hang out with her family and friends more. Well, he will never see me... so let's let that alone... But I'm pretty sure he hasn't had ANY interaction with any of her family. WTF??? He's back to the same-old-same, and SHE DOESN'T SEE IT. Am I wrong for feeling this way??? I don't want to be around someone like that... especially after I was really blunt with him... I don't want to be around her by default because I'm afraid he may show up if we go to do something together. Ugh... I know that he doesn't really do anything with anyone she was friends with before him and they always hang out with his friends because I see her FB tags for when they're out... all the people tagged are HIS FRIENDS.

I just don't get it. I know one of the reasons I'm single is because I will NOT settle... but, I'm okay being single if it means I don't A)sacrifice myself and my identity for someone else, and B)I don't date a jerk just to not be single!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

::end rant::

Lucky

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in a city that has something as beautiful as the Riverwalk in San Antonio. :) We (Daughn, Damian, Dustin, and I) went to eat at Casa Rio tonight; it's known for the colorful umbrellas. Fantastic food, and very inexpensive FYI! So if you're ever in San Antone and you go to the Riverwalk, try out Casa Rio; you won't be disappointed :)

CANADA

Canada! It was a GREAT trip! The weather was FANTASTIC! Didn't get above 78 degrees the entire time I was there :) Nice break from the HOT Texas summer!

Toronto is a BEAUTIFUL city (I was actually in Mississauga, which is right outside Toronto; although, you could see into downtown Toronto from Rick and Shrey's and you could even see Lake Ontario during the day from their balcony)

It was a GORGEOUS view at night. They are quite lucky (even though their balcony is home to several pigeons! EEP!

We took a ride on a subway train (this was a first for me) and then went to Eden Center in downtown Toronto which is sort of like a mini version of Times Squ

are.

Most interesting thing was seeing how they sell milk! In BAGS!!! Then you put the little bag into a pitcher (leaving it the bag!)

It was just so interesting to see. They do have milk in cartons as well, but it's a lot more expensive. The bag thing actually makes sense. You still get about a gallon (even though t

his is 4 Liters-a little more than a gallon, actually) it seems like it wouldn't spoil as quickly since there are 3 individually bagged things inside.

We also went to Niagara which was soooooo beautiful! Especially from the Canadian side :)

This picture was actually taken in front of what is referred to as Bridal Veil Falls... because it looks like a bridal veil.

The other fun thing I saw was at the mall when Ricky and I ventured out to explor

e 'quirky' things together. :) We went in search of the mall where the famous fountain "Animal fighting" scene in Mean Girls was filmed. We found it, sans big fountain! LOL I guess they had put the fountain in just for the movie (I didn't end up taking a picture of it; plus it wa

s all roped off for something)

We also went to a place called Bulk Barn. Everything was in bulk. Think, Sun Harvest bulk bins; but the store was the size of Sun Harvest and TOTALLY full of bulk bins! Here are some pictures with captions to explain:

This first picture is all different powdered drink mixes.

This is all different kinds of teas and coffee beans/grinds.

This one is different kinds of sour gummy candies; they had about 6 different kinds of these; and most candy was in bulk like Hershey's kisses, etc.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip! I had wonderful hosts, we celebrated Shrey's birthday, we had a GREAT time together, laughing, catching up, and talking about goals, etc. And I was sad to go. I will look forward to going back to visit as long as it's not cold!

Home Sweet Home

Well, vacation was nice and restful and very much needed after the stress and emotional Friday/weekend we had! It was good to spend time with Rob, Kathy, and Conner and we all had a great time. Conner LOVES the swimming pool and it was fun to see how much he's learned in swimming lessons.

While on vacation I started Water for Elephants. I finished it in 2 days, it was a GREAT book. Now I'm going to see the movie this week because it's playing at our theater here in town that runs movies about 3 weeks later than all the others. I don't know if it'll still be out after Thursday, so I'm going to see it sometime before then. I started reading The Hunger Games late Saturday night and it's been great so far. I would've probably finished it today, but I got preoccupied in getting plans together to do some cleaning here at the house.

I'm going to move to the bigger bedroom because I will be getting my new memory foam mattress this week, and I got a queen. Not a LOT bigger than the full size bed I currently have, but enough that it'd make a difference in the shoebox-sized room I'm currently living in. So, I am weeding things out of my closets and drawers because the closet is smaller in the other room.

I've also decided to upgrade my CPU a bit. It's just been sitting in that room because I do not have it connected to the internet; now that I have the WiFi going in my parents' house, I decided to go ahead and get a USB network adapter for my computer and hook it to the internet that way. I'm going to upgrade and get a flat panel monitor and could possibly update the RAM (haven't decided on that yet). I'm also still considering upgrading to Windows Vista or Windows 7. Don't know if I want to shell out the money just yet... it will run fine with XP for now... maybe I'll wait until the price comes down a bit on Windows. :)

So, I'm all set... and in the middle of all of this, I'm doing laundry and re-packing my bag for CANADA! :-) I leave Saturday morning and come back Weds night. I'm SUPER excited to see Rick... I've missed him so much. I talk to him frequently on the phone so it's not like I haven't talked to him, but I haven't gotten to give him a hug or sit in the same room with him since December 2009! :( LONG overdue to see him!

I didn't take pictures at the beach; with a 3.5 year old running around constantly, I don't always remember to get out my camera. I did however take a couple pics with my phone. Maybe I'll put them up after a while... but honestly, I'm so focused on trying to get everything done this week that I want to get done, I probably won't remember!

Until next time...

From My Deathbed

The title is what I would've used had I written this post 2 days ago. I got a NASTY case of Sinusitis that started on Friday night... oh... what... fun. :( I know what caused it... stupid Mountain Cedar pollen... gets me every year... but this year it was earlier than normal (of course, sleeping with my windows open didn't help). Anyhow, I'm pretty good about using my sinus rinse and everything, but this time it just DIDN'T help at all. Tuesday I really and truly thought I was going to die. I could barely even move or breathe without the entire left side of my face pounding in pain. It was terrible. Then yesterday I woke up and felt like a normal person. It was strange... last night I felt everything that had been on my left side clogging up my right side... then this morning I went and used my sinus rinse and it was evident that the Mucinex D I've been taking since Monday morning had done it's job... I'll leave it at that and not go into the colorful details of how it was evident... just let your imagination do the work on that!

Anyhow, I'm TRULY bummed that my vacation was virtually ruined by sickness... I had less time with friends in town from L.A.... I had less time with my bestie... I missed her hubby's 35th birthday dinner last night (although I did make it over to Ricky's house to visit with him before he left town today for L.A.)... I am glad I didn't have to use up days of work being sick (especially since I'm using a day and a half to head outta town in March!) BUT JEEZ!!!!

Now I'm even less ready to head back to work next week. Oh well, at least we get a 3 day weekend pretty quickly... that will be nice! Thank you Dr. M.L. King jr. for giving us educators a little break before Spring Break... :) I just had a nice lunch of leftover chicken tikka masala that Shrey made, and I'm quite happy about that... now I'm going to watch more Ghost Lab as there's a marathon on Discovery Channel today! :-D

Starting my week off with a BANG!

Well, I have the week off for Thanksgiving... and I couldn't be more happy about that! Seriously, a week long break has been a long time coming. This semester is draining me in every way possible! Anyhow, Thursday night (Friday morn at Midnight) I went and saw New Moon! It was SPECTACULAR! Friday, I was very awake due to my using 5 Hour Energy Drink. So much so that I came home and I couldn't nap or anything... I was all keyed up... anyhow, I went to Daughn's later that night to watch a movie... we watched My Sister's Keeper... which was terribly sad. I also purchased a few movies that evening at Target... and the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer soundtrack...! :)

Saturday, I went over to Daughn's parent's house all day... we worked on a few things there on the computer...and watched The Proposal again... we ate dinner, and then we went to Daughn's house and watched The Holiday because she's never seen it! Yesterday I woke up with a dull headache, and pretty much stayed in bed all day long... it was a great way to spend the day! :-)

Today, I'm heading out and about to get some things done. I want to get about half my Christmas shopping done now... and I know I can do it! So I'm headed to Toys R Us and such to get the kiddos' gifts. Then I need to grab a coat for me from Burlington. I'll also be picking up tickets for New Moon tonight... Jamey, Stephie (and Stephie's neighbor) are going again... We want better seats... the other night we had to sit in the 2nd row... not fun! So, Jamey and I will meet up for dinner and then head over early and save seats!!! It will be great! After I get home today from shopping, I think I will change my bedsheets and get some laundry done before this evening. I can't wait to see the movie again... yes, it's THAT good!

Don't stop... believin...

Things have remained crazy and chaotic at work. And it seems things in the rest of my life are no better. I have a couple friends that are guys... friends I've known awhile. It seems that each is vying for my attention recently. I don't really know what that's all about... but it is what it is and I'll deal with it as curve balls are sent my way.

I'm ready for this week... I'll have a tad bit of a break at work because I'm going to a training on Tuesday... which I get to sleep in a bit for... :) Yesssss! Anyhow, I am really looking forward to it! It's a training on Autism; basics about the disorder and then a bunch of things that can be done to aide in the school situation (and probably life in general for a lot of them). I also am made to think they'll be focusing a lot specifically on Asperger's Autism quite a lot... which is good because I work with several kiddos that have Asperger's.

Anyhow, the rest of the week should flow wonderfully... well, I hope at least. I'm really hoping to spend a good amount of time with my best friend this week. We want to take a girl's weekend. I have no idea what the plan is, but I can't wait... it will be much needed!!! You don't realize how much you love and miss your friends until you house/dog sit for them over the weekend. It's strange to be in a best friend's house and not hear the laughter and fun that normally goes on with them there the same time as you!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Well, I haven't posted much lately because a lot has been going on. Ricky came in from L.A. to visit for basically the month of June... during that time our good friend Long (who lives in the Dallas area) came down to SA to visit us... I haven't seen either of these boys in about 1-1/2 year!!! :( I was sooooo glad to see them! We spent a day in Austin while Long was here... hitting up our usual eating spots and spending a chunk of time in IKEA (actually in the Round Rock area) and we just had a great time! I can't wait until I see both of them again!

Ricky left July 2nd (which was incidentally the same day that I took my certification exam... still no word on results yet, btw) and I didn't really see much of him the few days before that bc I was studying. I did have a great visit with him... and I got to see Druck more, too... Summer is a time I can try to map out chunks of time here and there for people. When distance doesn't matter too much (I have a handful of friends that live on the other side of town... about an hour drive round-trip!)... time is precious during the school year, so when I don't have to worry about that, I make more time to see people. Although, I spend time with family a lot during the summer, too...

For example, we went up for the day to Spring to see Conner the Saturday after his birthday! He's SOOOO cute! This Saturday, we're leaving for our annual Port Aransas beach vacation with them... :) I'm very excited to see how much fun Conner has this year... he's 2 now and I imagine he'll have much more fun at the beach and pool than last year! And just in general, I'm glad we'll get to spend a few days with them...! Although, I have a sneaking suspicion that Conner will mainly only be interested in spending time with his PawPaw...! They're buddies... end of story.

Anyhow, today I had planned on running to Walmart to get a few things so that I can slowly start packing and all for the trip, but I just don't have the same motivation I had yesterday to get out and get things done...! Maybe in a little while, though!

Hauntings

Well, it's October and since my favorite holiday (Halloween!) falls in this month... and also because it's a month filled with chills and scary stories... this is a good time to tell this tale! I have always had a belief in the spiritual world... being that some spirits do not cross over (for whatever reason). Some have tried to argue with me before that being a Christian I shouldn't believe in "such nonsense." I quickly remind them that in the Bible spirits/apparitions/ghosts are mentioned... not to mention there is a Holy Ghost in the Blessed Trinity. Anyhow... moving along... I have had a few encounters that have solidified my belief in ghosts.

The first real one was after my Grandpa's suicide when I was in 6th grade. A couple weeks after his funeral during the night I had a visit from his spirit. This may sound totally crazy to people... but I have told this story to family members, and they all believe what I say to be true. I was asleep... and because of my paranoia (which I have had for MANY MANY years) I sleep with my bedroom door shut. Well, I was awoken by a very BRIGHT light... my door was wide open, and it looked like someone was holding a halogen lamp behind the person in my doorway. Once my eyes adjusted I could see my Grandpa standing in my doorway... in his suit which he was buried in. He smiled very calmly and sweetly at me... and said, "Goodbye, Miss America" (this was his nickname for me). After he said goodbye, his image faded away... as did the light... and my door was shut... no longer open. I firmly believe his spirit came to say goodbye to me considering the way his life ended (he did not leave any sort of note behind for us... that whole situation is another story which I may get into around the anniversary of the time of his passing in early Dec.).

Okay, next story is from when I lived in my apartment off Blanco Rd. My roomie Jamey and I each had encounters with the spirit. We never SAW this spirit... but we heard it... frequently for a long time... and then after we had been there for about a year, the encounters faded until we no longer had them. It started out with a "knocking" noise. For several weeks we'd be in the living room watching tv and such and hear this knocking... loud and close enough that it sounded as if someone was at our door... we lived on the second floor and the stairs to our door ONLY went to our door (we were in an end apt). You could always hear even the most light-footed person coming up or going down our stairs... It was very harmless interaction... but still unnerving. Well, then one night a friend of ours came over... and some guy she had started dating and his crew stopped by... we could hear this terrible knocking... We knew it wasn't our neighbors below because we had heard them leave for the evening... Jamey and I just exchanged glances knowingly. The guys started complaining of the noise... the answer to this was louder banging noise... and immediately after they left, we no longer heard it. There were a couple other times that "questionable" people came over and this would occur... but never with people that we genuinely felt we could trust, like close friends and family. The most crazy encounter was the last big one that we experienced in that first year at the apt. We had both gone to bed... and all of a sudden I began hearing this banging coming from the other side of the apt. where Jamey's room was (our rooms were on opposite sides of the apt). Not long after Jamey was in my room with her pillow... she said the banging was coming from inside her closet... and she could see the door trembling with every bang.... it was as if someone was stuck inside her closet and trying to get out. She slept in my room that night... and from that point on the happenings dwindled away until they disappeared.

The last is the most scary/chilling of them... and I didn't even experience it firsthand. My best guy friend's (Ricky) older sister and BIL went to stay at the Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana... it's supposedly the most haunted place in America (which was why they booked a room for a night). They were booked in a 2nd floor room (it's a 2 story structure) and there was one other couple staying in the building. The couple that runs the place don't live in the building, but elsewhere on the land in a small cottage. Well, they settled in and were planning on walking around the grounds at night... so they decided to get a little rest/relaxation. Marta was reading a book, and Jeff was taking a nap... or trying to at least. While they were both on the bed (Marta reading, Jeff napping) the end of the bed started moving... and they felt as if a small child was jumping up and down on the bed. Jeff complained and Marta was looking in horror at the end of the bed where she could see something pressing into the mattress repeatedly...! They were both pretty shocked... but still weren't completely convinced. They briefly met the other couple staying in the house, and learned this couple was going out to eat dinner and would return later... Jeff and Marta were getting ready to go walk about the grounds and take pictures and all.... well, as they were getting ready to leave the room... they could hear footsteps above... like on a wooden floor... pacing. They both knew all that was above them was the rooftop, and were becoming more convinced there was spiritual life at this place. They went and walked around the grounds for a bit and came back to the room. The next morning, Jeff got out their video camera and asked Marta to tell the tales of what happened the afternoon/night before. She did, and they went about their day... they left and went on to the French Quarter and continued taping other things. When they returned home from their trip, they told us their short story about what happened at the Plantation and got out the video tape for us to watch/hear the story. We were SHOCKED at what we found.... in the beginning of the story, you could hear Marta... but slowly white noise (pure static for the audio... even though the video was fine) covered up the details of what she recounted.... then the white noise slowly faded away so you could hear the very end of her story saying, "that's what happened... and we were proven right..." We thought maybe something had just happened to the tape and that the audio was cutting in and out.... but then the very next taped thing was from the French Quarter... and the audio was TOTALLY fine... you could hear all the noise from the crowd the entire time and on through the rest of their tapings. So, apparently... someone... or something... didn't want their story to be told.

R.I.P. Friend

I've fallen out of touch with several people from HS (which really isn't hard for anyone to do). I was shocked and horrified the other day to find that someone I knew all the way back from elementary school had passed away. I mean, it is a bit scary to find that someone YOUR age has died. Through a mutual friend, I got the short story that he had heard Lael (pronounced Lay-el) had suffered a heart attack. Considering he passed away on Feb. 19th and the funeral wasn't until today (coupled with his young age), I'm assuming/guessing that it may not have been of natural causes. I don't know what bothers me more... the thought that he has passed so young leaving behind a lot of loved ones... or the thought that he may have fallen off the blazing trail he set before him with a basketball scholarship to a good university and got involved in other bad habits. He really did have a bright future... and I will miss him. I'm still a bit shaken by the news... and it's very ironic to me that in our senior year of HS we worked together in the clinic as aides... and he suffered a heart attack. Here's the link to his obituary.

Holidays Wrap-up!

Yeah, you like that pun, don't you??? :-) I had a pretty jam-packed holiday season this year! I didn't mention it in my last blog, but the day before that I had actually attended a viewing for my Uncle Gene's (not blood related unlce... uncle by marriage) mom... She wasn't my Oma, but I've known her all my life, so she may as well have been. She had battled cancer, and various other health problems, so her passing was not sad as it relieved her of a lot of pain. We were unfortunately unable to attend the funeral Saturday morning (22nd) because Rob, Kathy, and Conner were on their way into town that day. I wish I had been able to make it considering my cousing Craig (Oma's grandson) delivered the eulogy. He is currently in school at TX State and will be attending seminary in the next year... we are all very proud of him and he has a faith I never knew possible.

Now, I know it probably seems like the holidays would be sad and upsetting... and they were sort of... but not because of Oma's passing. Sunday (the 23rd) we were supposed to have everyone on my Dad's side over to the house for gift exchange. Well, Saturday morning we got a call from my aunt saying that my Grandma (who lives in an add on to my aunt's house) was feeling very sick. My Grandma has had several health problems in the last 4 years... which all started with a heart attack... since then she's had stints put in her heart... and been on various medications to help her heart work. She has begun to have more bad days than good... especially in the last year. She averages at least one bladder infection a month (not too unusual for her anyway... she's always had problems with her bladder) which is very hard on her considering she's not as easily mobile as she once was. When we found out she wasn't feeling well we were (of course) concerned... although it doesn't help that she said she felt like she was dying. Well, so we changed plans and decided to take Christmas to her... by Sunday she had figured out that the problem was another bladder infection... a bad one, at that. She's doing much better now, thankfully! We had a very pleasant Christmas with my Dad's side...! I got a lot of neat gifts... an AWESOME cookbook from my Grandma (I LOVE to cook and bake!) and a cozy blanket... from my aunt I got some spiffy froggy houseslippers that I totally plan on saving for my classroom (that I will eventually have) as it's difficult to be on your feet in dress shoes all day 5 days a week... so, slippers are worn in the classroom to give the dogs a rest ;) My cousins got me some Hershey's Pot of Gold chocolates and a neat digital picture wallet card. My uncle got me a book about cats and why they do what they do (because he's convinced my cat is crazy... or possessed...) and some cash... which I eventually used at Lane Bryant and on a new handbag from JC Penney's!

The next couple days were busy... Christmas Eve we had church service in the evening... it was nice (aside from Silent Night, Holy Night... which I no longer like due to it being played at my Grandpa's funeral when I was in 6th grade). I exchanged gifts with Daughn and Jamey at church that night. Daughn and them got me a willow tree person holding a kitty and also a beautiful Christmas angel...! Jamey got me some WONDERFUL lotions from Bath and Body Works! It was nice to visit with them... and I actually hope to see Jamey in the near future... hopefully at the gym tomorrow night if she doesn't flake out on me!

Christmas day was SO WONDERFUL! It was Conner's first so we were very excited about that... we opened presents with all of us first (because Conner decided to take a nap) and I got some neat stuff from my parents and Rob/Kathy... From my parents I got: a reed diffuser (pear scent), some new earrings, a new watch, a BUNCH of Halloween decorations (it's my favorite holiday), a new wallet, a willow tree ornament of the one holding the kitty, and a couple new shirts (one dress, one casual). Rob and Kathy also got me a reed diffuser.. it's in a really neat vase thing, tho... and the scent is more like incense... it's lavender and mint. Then we opened Conner's gifts once he woke up... he got lots of clothes and books... and a cool toy that his Aunt Kelsie got him (a Baby Einstein toy... teaches them colors while playing music and doing a light show... he LOVES the music!). Later in the evening (around 5:30) my Mom's side came over. They told us how well Oma's funeral service had gone... and then each took turns passing Conner around visiting with him. I got a Macy's gift card from them... I used it to FINALLY get my cross necklace. I had one before.... however it was gold... and it wasn't good quality as it broke. This was back in middle school!!! I've been without a nice cross necklace for far too long... I was excited to finally find one... and it was 50% off! I haven't taken it off (minus showers) since I got it Monday!

Rob, Kathy, and Conner left the day after Christmas... and then the next day my Mom woke up with a terrible upper respiratory PLAGUE (j/k... but it was pretty bad)! The 27th Mozart went for her post-op follow up at the vet... she did WONDERFULLY... after this I came home and packed as I was going to Austin for the rest of the week/weekend to visit with and celebrate Xmas with friends. We mostly were catching up one of aforementioned friends on some televison... as well as eating at some places we frequent together (Rounders Pizzeria on 6th St... AWESOME Garlic Knots... AND went to eat Indian food! YUM!). It was nice to visit with them... I now own The Office seasons 1-3 (woohoo!) and I have Reno911 Season 4 and Buffy Season 1... Ricky (one of my very best friends) is convinced I'll love Buffy... I'm skeptical... but will give it a try. We got back to San Antone on the 30th... at which point I took it easy... the 31st I celebrated bringing in the New Year with Daughn and Damian... and Deena and Jon... and then went back to Daughn/Damians on New Year's night to watch the Sugar Bowl!

I forwarned that my holiday break was jam-packed... and I didn't lie at all...! If you made it to the end and actually read everything... I'm VERY impressed! lol I hope everyone else had equally as wonderful a holiday celebration!