Rhi's Hearing

Well, apparently the judge and prosecutor thought we were disputing the resolution that was reached in mediation. We weren't, we just were never informed as to what it was or how much she was supposed to pay. Once we got it through to them that we were just unable to attend mediation, and that we weren't disputing the case, it was pretty much all over. Rhi apologized to the man who owned the property, agreed to the amount & we were out of there. Thankfully.

She has until May 1 to get it all paid.

Yeah. So.

I just came back from taking Erin to work & the roads weren't all that bad. I realize that Troy comes into town from a different road, that it gets much colder out there & everything freezes more, but I think he needs to realize that we travel on different streets, too. Quite frankly, the worst streets I was on were the one we live on & the one that Southern Utah University is on. (until you get to the area that its actually on). Main Street, which is what I had Rhi take this morning, was fine. I think he needs to relax a little bit, before he blows a gasket or something.

Rhi's friend Ryan (we drive him to school every day) shoveled my driveway for me this morning, and Troy shoveled it again when he got home, so we should be good to come & go in there. The landlord brought the snowplow out earlier & got most of the roadways in the trailer park, so at least we're all finally prepared for a heavy snowfall winter, now that its almost over. *L*

Please. Treat me Like the Adult I Am.

It really chaps my hide to be second-guessed in my decisions. It chaps it twice as badly when the second-guesser is my husband, who vehemently preaches his own hatred of being second-guessed. When Rhi left to go to Will's house yesterday, it was snowing. Troy knew it was snowing, but yet he said nothing. When it kept snowing, he started to get stressed out & tried to call Rhi. Her phone was turned off, because her battery was almost dead, which he'd have known, if he had been listening to her when she left. He left for work and shortly after, Rhi called me to say she was on her way home. (I knew when she'd be coming home, we had discussed it before she left, but Troy assumed that I was just letting her run wild, apparently) She made it home just fine. Troy called at 7:30 wanting to know if she had made it home. Instead of being happy that she did, he wanted to talk to her so he could lecture her for making him worry. I asked him what the point in that would be, since she was home & had followed all of the rules, so he let it go.

I also let her drive this morning. Yes, its still snowing. I told her to be careful & remember the snow driving road rules & to text me when she got there. She called me instead & said that the drive wasn't too bad & she didn't have any sliding. She mentioned that other people were idiots and didn't have a clue how to drive in bad weather. Troy comes in from work, angrily griping at me as to how the roads are terrible. I told him that Rhi had already called & told me that her drive wasn't that bad. I also pointed out that she has to learn to drive in it at some point, that we both drove in it at her age, and that she can't just not drive in the winter. I taught her to drive. We covered bad weather. I trust her ability as a driver & my ability as a teacher. She passed her test. She's a good driver. I just wish he'd trust my judgement every once in a while. I'm not 16.

Feeling Blah.

I'm sick of feeling tired & washed out. My head hurts again, I'm dosed up with everything I can safely take & its not helping. At. All. On top of all of that, my hands hurt. Good thing I don't need to do any hand-sewing or any of that today. I am going to try to get some soap done & get my fragrances listed & ready to go so I can update the website & all of that. I doubt I get much more than that done, besides the house-keeping & such that needs to be done today, too.

I need to have Rhi try on her dress so I can see if it needs to be taken in before Saturday night. And go & get her some money so she can buy the tickets before Friday. (the price goes up if she doesn't) Anyway, I probably ought to get started on all of that.

One Down 8000 to Go

Well, maybe not that many, but I did get Rhi's kimono finished this evening. Thankfully. I swear she's worse than a little kid waiting on the Easter bunny. It turned out really nice & I hope its what she was wanting. It wasn't that hard to make, there were just a lot of fussy bits that I'm not eager to do again right away.

Now I can start on my soap and stuff and not feel guilty, since I had promised to make that kimono as soon as we got done with Christmas & I put it off & then the sewing machine broke. So, no more worrying about & feeling bad. Its done. She's over at her friend's house showing it off now.

This weekend she has the Girls' Preference Ball, and yes, she's taking Will. She has a beautiful dress that I bought her for the Homecoming dance she never got to go to (her ex broke up with her the week of the dance) and Will is looking forward to going with her.

Erin bought a full-sized van from Jason the other day, for $50. He's obsessed with it now. He's always messing around in it, fixing things, adding something, you know. Its kind of cool & he's motivated to get his drivers' license now, but I don't think he realizes how much gas he's gonna go through in that thing!

Just More Erin Stuff

It really does seem that the more issues Erin has with Alisha, the harder he becomes to live with. They've had a fairly rough weekend, with most of the problems caused by Alisha's inability to act like an adult most of the time. She constantly thinks he's cheating on her & in her mind, looking at a female (doesn't matter what she looks like or her age), he's looking to cheat. He can't hang out with his friends, his family or anyone but her or he's doing the unforgivable. I've about had enough.

So, things get tense between them, and he takes it out on me. I went over to Dawn's earlier, just to use her long kitchen counter to cut out the kimono. He wanted me to go & get Alisha and take them with us because he was buying a van from Jason & wanted to go and look at it & start cleaning it out. All fine & good, except that I forgot to eat lunch and needed to be back in time to get the dishes done & start dinner. (Troy works tonight, after all) When I was done, my blood sugar had dropped & I was getting sick to my stomach & needing to eat. so I told him it was time to go. First he had to talk to Alisha & see what she wanted to do, then he was going to have to talk to Jason, so I told him to hurry up.. so he snapped at me about it. Am I wrong in assuming that because its my car, gas & time, and that he went WITH me that I get to decide when its time for me to leave?

Pirates of Somalia?

Pirates have hijacked a cargo ship delivering food Somalia. They had just dropped off over a thousand pounds of food in NE Somalia when the pirates struck & hijacked the ship. No one seems to know the fate of the 12 member crew or how many pirates there were.

An attempt on the same ship was made almost a year ago by five pirates, but it didn't succeed. Apparently pirates in that part of the world are very well-trained & well-funded, bearing automatic weapons, grenades & GPS units. It seems really strange to me, even though I am well aware that pirates still exist, the reality isn't romantic at all.

Polygamy & Murder Don't Mix

A polygamous murderer has been denied parole in California. Apparently Vonda White was tried and convicted in 1978 of the murder of Dean G. Vest. The murder was ordered by Ms. White's "husband" because he felt that Mr. White was defecting from the cult, the Church of the Lamb of God, and would then leak information about them to the FBI. He ordered several members to carry out various other murders for similar reasons (he died in prison in 1981).

Ms. White was originally granted parole, but it was overturned by Governor Schwarzenegger, stating that she represented an unreasonable public-safety risk. Its been hypothesized by the parole board that she was a victim of intimate partner abuse & that may have been the motivation behind the murder. She's been a model prisoner and turned her life around, and she's 67 years old. I am really leaning towards her being released on this one and feel that California's Governor acted rashly in overturning it.

Trying to Start Again

Anyone who reads this blog or has read any of my previous ones, knows that I had a couple of friends that were deployed to Iraq and came back last June. I still have friends that are affected by the war, one has a husband in Afghanistan right now, another online acquaintance lost her husband in Iraq in 2005. There was an interesting article in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning about the wife of the first Utah casualty in Iraqi Freedom. It talks about how his widow feels like she's ready to move on to a new life, and how she has made changes, taken up new hobbies and so on, but still feels caught up in her loss & the loss of a life she always thought would be there.

I'm so thankful that I haven't lost anyone over there, and I often wonder how those that are left behind manage without the people they loved & how they're doing.

What is WRONG With People?

So, I completely realize that things are a lot different in South America, and that people do things differently there, but what's wrong with people? I mean, seriously. These botched murders in Cali, Columbia really make you wonder. Ok, yes, there are hitmen here in the USA. I understand that. I'm sure that stuff like this has happened here, at least once or twice. Not in front of a traffic camera, or we'd have all been watching it on "Stupidest Criminals" or something.

If you didn't click the link, basically some hitmen shot two men in a white sedan, realized they weren't the targets, saw the targets in another vehicle 20 yards away & shot them, too, while the traffic camera was filming away. The police caught one of the assassins shortly after. If it wasn't so tragic, it'd be comical, really.

Choosy Moms Choose.. not Peter Pan

On the local front, it seems that a family in Hurricane, Utah is afraid that its been affected by the recent Salmonella outbreak from tainted peanut butter. I was really concerned about it, myself, until I realized that it was Peter Pan & Great Value, and I don't buy either brand (Choosy moms and all..). I'm not really sure why they haven't taken the peanut butter in to their health department to be checked so they can verify it, since I've heard that there will be a class action suit & I know I surely would.

This family had a 6 year old grand-daughter & one year old grand-son affected, and apparently didn't realize, at first, where the illness was coming from, because they weren't aware of the outbreak. The peanut butter they had was donated to one of our local food pantries & then given to the family. Anyway, the whole article is here if you're interested.

Rat Bell?

There were recent rumors here in Cedar City about one of our theaters and the fact that it has mice or rats running around in it, during the movies. One person (a friend of my parents) said she & her husband were watching a movie and a mouse ran across her arm, and then one ran up her husband's pant leg. That was the point when I decided that I wouldn't be going to that theater anymore, since statements were made that the manager was aware and didn't care & a concessions person said they had to clean them out of the popcorn machine every day. If they don't care about the health & welfare of their patrons, I don't care to patronize their business.

I just read an article in one of our local papers about something similar in a Taco Bell in Manhattan. Can we say "Ewwwwwwwww?" Statements in the article include a neighbor talking about how the workers throw refuse in the doorways & such. Not good news on the tail of the E. coli outbreak they had earlier this year.

When Do We Stop Being so Stupid?

When is it, exactly, when your grown kids start accepting that you have your own viewpoint? Erin gets so wrapped up in things he wants to do, and gets his heart set on them, then when we have a conflict because of people we don't want to be around, he gets really irate at us. He doesn't seem to grasp that our reputations & good names are really all we have in this place & I often doubt he ever will.

Rhi is out with William, "walking around," I'm sure she's just avoiding the house because she's ashamed of where we live, and I imagine they're freezing their butts off, too, because its dang cold out there right now. Anyway, I guess we're gonna get some pizza, eat & go to Dawn, Jason & Ryan's to game in a bit. Have a great Friday night!

Broke as a Joke

I was a little disappointed earlier. Dawn called - well she had Morgan call cause she was driving - to ask if we wanted to meet them for lunch, and I had to tell her that we were broke. I enjoy our lunches together & missed being able to go, but sometimes ya know, you just don't have the cash flow.

I also forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer to thaw this morning, so I guess we'll figure something out for dinner, eventually. And I forgot to pick Erin up from work. I tell ya, I'm batting 1000 today. I think I must be tired & ready to sleep in tomorrow.

Parenting is Tough

Today has been somewhat trying, but we made it through, ok. Rhi texted me at around 10 or so to tell me that the day off she put in for wasn't approved, and she was pretty upset. I commiserated with her & left it at that, after all, there's only so much you can do, even as a parent. At around 1 or so, she texted me again & she was very angry, upset and disheartened. She was feeling like she had sold her soul to the company she works for & that it was sucking out all of her life. She really just wanted to be a kid, and have fun and have some trivial "kid job" and her's is a very adult job.

So, I went & talked to Troy about what was going on, we cussed & discussed, talked and argued, and realized that the reason she's failing everything is that her job is so intense that she has nothing left for school anymore. So, we decided that she really needed to quit & try to find something a little better suited for a kid that trying to get through high school, and waited for her to come home.

We talked it over with her, told her what we felt & what we wanted, and pretty much took the decision out of her hands, then we went with her, talked to the HR department & took care of it all. When we left she said it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. So, yay!

Digital Underground

Do any of you do digital scrapbooking? I've just started & have downloaded all of the free stuff I can find so far, and actually put a layout/page together. I plan to eventually start buying elements, but want to play with the free stuff first. So, if you do leave me a comment with your favorite links, because I'm really loving it & want to find more stuff :)

So, I'm sick again.. or maybe its still? All I know is that I'm really tired of it. I'd start to suspect my peanut butter if I had bought it in the past couple of weeks, or if I bought those brands, or if I had eaten any before this last round of "discomfort."

We have another storm blowing in too, the wind is hard & cold today, bu the sky is clear & bright blue again. I'll sure be happy when spring shows her face.

Getting Motivated

Everyone has been safely delivered to where ever they're going this morning, breakfast is done, the dishes are started, the kitchen floor has been swept. I need to straighten up the living room & start my laundry still, but at least I'm started! I need to wake Troy up in about 30 minutes & let him have something to eat, then I need to go & buy some rubbing alcohol & a small spray bottle. (you use it to get rid of bubbles in glycerine soap when you're making it)

Rhi is on a shortened schedule today, due to an afternoon assembly, so she plans to skip that & take William home after school, instead. She's not required to attend assemblies, so that's fine with me. I may have finally gotten it through her head what will happen to her social life if she loses her job. I had to tell her that not only would she lose her car insurance after June, but that she wouldn't even be allowed to drive the car if she lost her job, because she wouldn't be able to put gas into it. William lives fairly far from here, so that, at least, made her think. Thankfully.

Let the Day Begin

I'm really gonna try to get my housework done today along with some crafting at some point. I may make some soap today & try out my new melter & molds. I'm trying to decide if making a bunch of cold process soap this year is going to pay off, or if I can take what's left of last year's stock & make melt & pour to supplement it, since I didn't make that much off of CP soap in the booth last time. I guess I'll decide by seeing how much time I have after I finish the stuff I really want to make.

I need to get the pattern for Rhi's kimono cut out, so I can start on that for her, she bought the pattern months ago. I'm such a sewing slacker, even though I seriously love my new machine. Once I figured out why I was having problems adjusting to it, everything was perfect (the foot is bigger than my old one, I had to move my pins). I got my new lip balm base & tubes the other day, too, now I can't find my shrink wrap seals for them.. grrr.

Anyhoo. Time to get dressed so I can take Erin & Alisha to work.

Slippery Stuff

The sky is bright blue today & looks crisp against the snow on the trees, its beautiful out there right now. The ice has started to melt off of the streets, thankfully, since the road crews didn't bother to sand or salt at all & it was super slippery out there earlier.

Apparently, Rhi is very close to getting fired. She has missed too many days of work & needs to really buckle up & get serious about her job, now. She seems to be taking it fairly seriously, she knows that she can't miss any more days, and is trying a lot more now. She can't afford to lose it now, we have to go to court with her next Wednesday about the trouble she got into last spring & find out how large her fine is & so on, then she'll need to pay it. (not to mention gas & insurance)

Busy Saturday

Saturday was a fairly busy day. I got up fairly early, as I usually do, because Rhi works on Saturdays (for now). I let Troy wake her up so that she & I wouldn't start our day off badly, and took her to work when it was time. After that I went & followed Dawn to the place she had arranged to replace her tires & get her oil changed and such, and then I took her to Walm@rt, so she could get a St. Patrick's shirt, some fabric and waste a little time. When we picked her car up, we found out that her clutch is going out, which really put a damper on things. I followed her home, gave her the stuff she had in my trunk & came home & started my red beans & rice.

Troy & I puttered around for most of the day. I picked Erin & Alisha up from their big night at the hotel (*rolling my eyes*), picked Rhi up from work & took her to the store, came back home & finished up the red beans & rice & got ready to leave. We went to Dawn, Jason & Ryan's for our annual Mardi Gras party, had a lot of good food, good drinks, laughs & fun. Erin & Alisha went with us, and Rhi brought Will & Wade, so there were a lot of people there, and it was noisy & happy & fun, just like times past.

We ended up with no King Cake and so Vicki & Charley made one out of filled donuts, frosting & sugar sprinkles, and stuck a gold ring in one of them because we had no baby. I got the ring, which means we'll have to provide the cake next year, which is fine, because it also means we'll have one.

Recovering & Moving Along

I guess I ought to try to catch up around here. Everyone that was in the car accident is fine. They've all become much closer to eat other, but after going through something like that I can see that happening. Rhi & Will are still going together & enjoying each other's company, its nice seeing her smile again, and seeing that she knows it wasn't her fault that Kyler broke up with her. I love that his parents like her & that she makes them laugh, because she really is a special girl & didn't deserve to be treated the way K's family did.

Friday was an ok day. We got the bills paid & food bought, then we were pretty much broke other than buying gas for the vehicles, but it was ok anyway. We had fun hanging out with our friends Friday night & playing "Dead Lands," and that makes up for quite a lot, really.

Trolley Square

News from my state: Teen Gunman Kills 5 in Utah Mall. I guess I'll never understand the motivation of someone who kills strangers. I understand why people kill in the heat of the moment, sometimes anger takes over. I can understand why school shootings happen (I'm not saying that I sympathize or think its a good solution to a problem). I don't get the motivation of someone who walks into a crowded mall & calmly opens fire.

New from my house: Rhi was in a car accident yesterday. She's fine, as is everyone who was in the vehicle. It was a 0ne-car collision with a concrete barrier, the car is totaled (it wasn't mine, she was with a friend). The driver hit his head on the steering wheel when his airbags didn't deploy, Rhi & her boyfriend were in the back seat, which saved their lives. The police weren't sure how any of them survived & were shocked that there were no serious injuries. Needless to say, she's very sore & stiff & her emotions are very close to the surface right now. But, she's safe and healthy & in one piece, and that's what matters.

Weekend Fun

Click here & then click on my picture to keep me on the page!

How has your weekend been? Mine has been really busy so far. I tried out the new sewing machine yesterday & it works great, although, like any new machine, it will take some getting used to, as it has features my previous machines didn't. I made myself a new purse, not just to try out the machine, but to see how the new pattern I chose goes together, too. Once I figured it out, it was pretty quick (an important thing when making several to sell) and it turned out nicely. Its a good size & can be worn over the shoulder. I plan to add a pocket or two to my finished product, I just need to figure out where they'll go.

Today, I think I'm going to work on getting the living room clean & finish the kitchen, since Rhi is taking the car today so she can hang out with her friends for awhile & I'll pretty much be stuck here anyway.

Tax Refund!!

Yay!! Click here & then click my picture to help keep me on the front page :)

Yesterday was an extremely busy day, I'm hoping today (in comparison) will be a bit more mellow. Our tax refunds were deposited Thursday & Friday, so of course we had to go shopping yesterday. I bought a bunch of fabric to make purses, a tie dye kit & white onesies to make for the baby, thread, wire & wire tool, paper, labels, the Garth Brooks DVD set & new boxed set all at W@lmart. Then we went to lunch, and the game store where Troy bought me a new set of purple dice. Then it was the craft store, I got soap supplies, metal rings, jump rings, beads and jars for bath salts.

In between all oft his we gave a ride to Cherokee from school, picked Erin up from work & took him home and paid the rent.

We went over to Dawn, Jason & Ryan's last night, like always, and played a new game, called "Dead Lands," based on the old west, with an undead twist. It was a lot of fun, and we didn't get home until after midnight - not a great thing, since Troy had to work this morning & I had to get up early to get Erin & Alisha to work by 9 & Rhi by 10. It was worth it.

I think I'm going to cut out a purse of two & try out my new sewing machine today! :)

Another Day in the Life...

Troy bought me a new sewing machine today. I got this one. I'm pretty excited about it, its the nicest machine I've ever owned, but I'm not setting it up until my kitchen is cleaned & the table is cleared off. I'm tired of having to fight my way in there. I'm hoping to start working on that area after dinner tonight, and probably finish it too. There's just so much I need to do before July.

Last night with my grandma was ok, we didn't get home until after 10pm, because she wouldn't go to bed & mom asked me to stay until she did. I guess she thought we would be offended if she did, and was afraid to say anything. Mom & dad had a good time, though & that made it all worthwhile to me.

We had our renne faire meeting this morning, we discussed funding (as usual), parking, the stage, jousting, and a bunch of other things I'm sure. This is all of the business that goes on behind the scenes of any renaissance faire, the general public just never sees any of it. We also read all of the email & decided how & what to answer. Ahhh the joys of planning things :)

Babysitting Grandma

I had planned to take Rhi to the store when she got home from school today, then come home & cook dinner. My mom called me a few minutes & so my plans have changed. She & my dad want to go to St. George to listen to an evangelist & need someone to stay with my grandma, and since I'm the responsible one, I got voted in. Its ok, I'm making Troy go with me & I have time to take Rhi to the store & still fix a quick dinner for us, too, before I have to be there. We'll just end up watching TV over there, instead of over here.

Broken Stuff

My sewing machine in broken. It still sews & everything, but only in reverse, and not very well at that. I'm so tired of having to replace my sewing machine every 2 years or so. I'm pretty sure I just bought that one last winter. I'm NEVER buying another Brother sewing machine again. This is to that I've had & neither one lasted. I should've learned my lesson the first time. It wouldn't really be a big deal, but I earn money with mine & really need it. I have so much sewing that needs to be done before July. I really wanted to be able to buy supplies with my part of the tax return & not a sewing machine, but I guess I can't get lucky every time.

Moving On

I guess Rhi broke up with her boyfriend again yesterday. She said she felt horrible & really hurt him, but she just wasn't feeling it. She felt like she would be leading him on if she stayed with him, so she told him she was breaking up with him & why.

I keep telling her not to feel badly if she feels that what she did was right for her & what she needed to do. I really think she went back to him because he wrote her a really nice letter & she thought she ought to, you know? So she did, and she tried, but there just isn't anything there. I feel bad that she spent a bunch of money on him for Valentine's Day & doesn't know what to do with the stuff now, though.

Right now, I'm wondering if I can get away with a nap.

Run Around Dy

Oh. My. God. Yesterday was as busy as the weekend all put together. Between noon & 7:00 I spent 20 minutes at home & the rest either in my car or at a store. I took Dawn grocery shopping, but before that I sat at my bank, in the drive through, for 20 minutes, behind ONE guy. He spent most of that time rooting around in his Jeep, looking for things to put in the tube. After I got done taking Dawn, I had to go straight to the school to get Rhi, we went from there to another bank to pay my car payments, then home for a few minutes, then I took her to work, she forgot something after I dropped her off, so I went back to take that to her.

After that? I came home & had about 15 minutes to fix & eat my lunch, then I went to get Erin, took him to the bank to cash his check, then to the pawn shop, to Walmart & back to the pawn shop. While we were leaving Walmart, Rhi called & wanted to go & get some flowers & a card for a friend who was sad & take them to him, so we did that & I took her back to work & came home & did dishes. At 7 I took Erin to get Alisha & dropped them off at a restaurant. Came home, finished cooking dinner & waited for Troy & Rhi to get home, then at 9 I picked Erin up. I was in bed by 9:45.

I'm hoping today won't be as hectic.

Running Me Ragged

We had a super-busy weekend, you know, the kind that wear you out almost as much as the work week does? It seemed like we were going nonstop from Friday through Sunday. Friday was grocery day, so we did that, got lunch, I picked up Rhi, picked up Erin, went to Dawn, Jason & Ryan's & finally came home at around 1am. an, I was ready for some sleep at that point. Had to get up at 8:30 the next morning to make sure Erin was awake for work, take him & then I took Rhi & Wade to St. George for the day & when we came home, Troy & I left to get movies & some pizza. Yesterday, I did some shopping & crocheting (which I sucked at) and then watched the Superbowl. After Troy came home, we watched "The DaVinci Code" and went to bed. I'm so tired today, all I want to do is go back to bed.

Battle of the Bands

We just got back from Battle of the Bands. The 1st band "No Cash Value" had Rhi's ex as the lead singer & it sucked, I'm not being biased, they sucked & came in last. The next band "Justice & Freedom" did really well on their original song, but not so great on the cover song. They came in 3rd. Erin's band, "The Policy" dud "Stand by Me" as their cover song, and played half as written & half as a punk song, then did their original, called "Family Values." They came in second. The last band "Formally Known" did both songs really well & their drummer? The girl could wail. So, all in all, a great experience!

Typical

Its been a fairly busy day, for having almost nothing to do. I didn't sleep well again, and got up still tired & somewhat grumpy. Troy stay in bed until about 8:30, came in at 9, when I was eating my breakfast to make sure I knew we had to leave for a Faire meeting soon, which, for some reason, ticked me off. We went to the meeting, talked about fundraising, jousting & so on, decided who we were going to ask for donations & who we still needed to talk to, what we were going to offer performers each & all of that.. came home. Sat around awhile, ate lunch, took Erin to work. Talked to Rhi when she got home, took Dawn, Morgan & Roger to Morgan's Doctor appointment & came back.