What's up, Dudettes?

So much has happened since I last wrote back in August. It's nice to be back posting again. Sometimes, I think you have to step away from what you love to realize how much you love it.

August 2006:

*Pets Royale folded. I was upset and embarrassed.
*I got another job and gave my resignation after nine years at the deeply troubled liberal arts college. At this posting, the school is even more troubled than when I left even though that's not what they'd tell you if you asked.
*Our house was robbed of an extremely large amount of cash. This caused our family severe stress...financially and mentally. Admittedly, we probably made it somewhat easy for the thieves (of course, hindsight is 20/20)but still, I feel betrayed by a
very close family member even though this family member probably didn't realize what she was doing.
*Days later, I started my new job as library and computer lab clerk/data processor at Ava's middle school. A week before, it didn't matter that I was taking a huge cut in pay. But now, it did.

September 2006:

*Ava made the cheerleading squad.
*I was asked to coach the squad.
*Detectives arrested three males for stealing a large sum of cash from our house. One of the thieves was Choo Choo's boyfriend at the time. We got restitution from one of the thieves and they recovered a small amount from Choo Choo's boyfriend after he was arrested. Nothing near what was stolen.
*At this point, I wanted to sell everything and move away. I didn't want anything that those thieves had touched. I would sit up at night and wait for them to come back and plan their slow and painful deaths. I think I was going a little crazy.
I try not to think about it now because I hate to think I'm really still crazy.

October 2006:

*Cheerleading is fun and keeping us busy!
*I love my job! I got to take 40 kids to pizza in a Hummer Limo. Really so cool!
*Also went shopping at the dollar stores for Holly Days. Imagine someone saying, "Buy anything and everything you like" and they pay for it. Yes, I love my job.

November 2006:

*Basketball season is in full swing.
*Got to meet Kimberly Willis Holt who is the author of My Louisiana Sky among others. She's from around here and I've always wanted to meet her. Heck...I've always wanted to BE her! She has my dream job (even though
the one I have now is pretty amazing, the financial potential with hers is greater)and she's homegrown success. That's always cool. She was amazingly gracious and inspiring. Yes, I love my job.
*Thank heavens for the Thanksgiving holidays. But Monkey got sick. We found out it was a kidney stone on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. On the Monday after Thanksgiving, he had some kind of seizure, loss consciousness...and I stared death in the face. Luckily, he came through okay. After checking his brain and heart, doctors have come to the conclusion that he was passing the kidney stone.

December 2006:

*Basketball season ended.
*Christmas holidays. Yes, I love my job.
*Christmas was low-key this year. But I really liked it that way.
*I ended up babysitting the grand-kids the second week of our holidays. I see that happening a lot with this new job. I don't know why Trouble can't get her crap together and learn to take care of her business and her kids.

January 2007:

*I decided to finish my course on writing for children and teenagers at the Institute for Children's Literature. I started it in 2001 and paid for it but I never finished. I guess you could say...six years of writer's block. Good thing is...I can pick up where I left off. I'm waiting for my materials and assignments. I've always dreamed of writing but I don't think I'm that good but maybe with work and time and practice, I can get better.
*Trouble continues to cause her daddy more and more trouble. He's depressed and I'm worried about him. I can't say what I'd do to her if I had my chance.
*I'm working on Financial Peace.

I still love my dogs, horses, and scrapbooking. I still dream of being financially stable without my husband's income. I'm still a Southern Goddess who has to go do some laundry.

Later Dudettes.