Study, study, study and study

What was I thinking? Geesh. I have never studied so much or worked so hard for anything. I passed my second exam last week and had 6 days to complete my final class before it all changed over to the new standards... So, after taking my exam last Tuesday in Fort Wayne, I came home and started right in on the third class. I completed it last night at 11:30. It is the USPAP course...(Uniform Standards of Professional Appraiser Practice). It is by far the most difficult and this time I am really worried about the exam which I take tomorrow morning. Not only do you have to know the rules, the standards and the advisory opinions.....you have to know numbers, sub numbers, letters, etc. The quizzes at the end of each chapter reduced me to tears a couple of times.

So....wish me luck tomorrow. I guess this test gets mailed back to the school and they mail me the results, it could take quite some time before I even get results back. Thats bad news if I fail it, because I will have forgotten everything else that I haven't already forgotten!

Star Spangled Spangled Banner

Horton Hears a Who

My kids and I are going to go see this movie this evening. Its for my birthday. My youngest son has bugged me over and over again to see it, so I decided to tell them its what I want to do for my birthday. My daughter had to work last night, so that is why we are going tonight.

I promised to take them out to dinner too. I was going to do the McDonald's thing. But. I have been seeing the commercials for IHOP - they have a special menu featuring green eggs and ham, etc, from the movie. So I am thinking I am going to surprise the kids and take them to the movie in Fort Wayne and then to IHOP for dinner.

I will update the blog tomorrow and let you know!

Birthdays

Birthdays.

They come.

And they go.

My middle son wrote me the neatest letter and gave it to me this morning. It made me cry, but I will cherish it forever. My youngest sang to me and my daughter texted me from school when she remembered.

My parents said they would acknowledge my birthday this Sunday when we are all together for Easter. Last year I was told we don't celebrate the adult birthdays anymore and we went thru the entire year celebrating everyone's birthday after that and also my brother in law's and step sister's this year, but once again, we are no longer celebrating the adult birthdays. hmmm. Ok. Fine. I am taking my kids to the movies tomorrow night for my birthday.

Funny the people you count as friends, family and acquaintances. People you go out of your way to do something nice for on their special day or any other day for that matter. And the people who remember your special day. The one's you expect to hear something from, and you don't. People that you do hear from that you never expected to hear from. It all plays out to be quite interesting.

I got a phone call from my ex-husband's grandmother. She left me a message and it was so sweet it made me cry. She said she still loves me and would love to see me and the kids. I didn't realize my ex doesn't take the boys to see her. I am going to take the kids and take her out to dinner with us one evening. She is a wonderful lady.

My dad didn't acknowledge me for what the 20th year now? Sigh. Oh well, its just another day I guess. I am not going to change my ways, I will continue to acknowledge other people's birthdays the same as I always have and learn to keep my expectations of others to a minimum.

Dell Dot Com

I could not have gotten service like this anywhere even if I paid an extra 100 bucks!!!

A week ago, Monday night, at around 8 p.m. I placed an order online at Dell for a power cord for my old laptop so that my son could use it. I selected standard 3-5 day delivery as I really was in no rush to turn my son loose on the internet.

Tuesday morning when I checked my email, I had one from Dell stating that my order had shipped and would come via DHL in 3-5 days.

I came home for lunch at noon on Tuesday and I saw a DHL van turn into my neighborhood, I thought nothing of it and went back to doing laundry, a few minutes later my doorbell rang and believe it or not, the power cord was delivered into my hands at 12:15 on Tuesday.

I am talking a little over 16 hours later from when I placed the order. I was truly amazed. Now if it had been something I was truly in a rush for it would have been a completely different story.

I dunno, maybe it was just because I was able to make a decision.....

Back to court

At the beginning of the year I started legal proceedings to take my ex back to court in an effort to get an increase in child support. Throughout the course of my divorce I kept telling my attorney and even showing him facts that proved that my ex was hiding money and lying about his income. Unfortunately, I had an attorney who was much more interested in dragging out my divorce as long as possible thus extending his payday with me. It was very unfortunate because he messed up in a lot of areas and cost me a lot of money. I also attribute many of my health issues I have had in the past couple of years as after effects of the stress of my divorce.

Enough about that. I hired a different attorney and today she did a deposition on my ex, trying to figure out just how much money my ex makes. In the process she enlightened him to the very real possibility that he could be guilty of tax evasion. He in turn enlightened us as to how little he knows about being an astute business man. He did admit that since the divorce he has purchased his business from his parents and it was astounding to learn how little he really knows about what exactly it takes to run and own a business.

By the end of the deposition, it was in plain black and white that there is a minimum of an extra 100k a year he is hiding. Guess who's getting an increase in child support??? Just in time for one child to get her driver's license and another one sliding in behind the wheel for driver's ed. Not to mention that we are now looking at colleges for the oldest one. Man time flies when you are raising kids, and the bills get much larger!

A very funny side note, this was the first time my attorney had seen my ex husband, and really hasn't gotten all of the details of what went on in the divorce, her first question to me when my ex left was if he drinks? I said why do you ask? Her response, he is showing all the classic signs of an alcoholic. I am so relieved when people are able to observe this and realize that I had many valid reasons to divorce him.

Railroad Crossings

Today was the day! The day I took my 16 yr old daughter to the beloved BMV for her driving test. I picked her up at school and took her to her scheduled appointment. All the way there she kept telling me how nervous she was. Last night we practiced parallel parking several times, her worst fear.

So she leaves with the examiner and I sit in the lobby with my Basic Appraisal Procedures book and highlight what I think I need to know for my upcoming exam.

Twenty minutes later the examiner comes in sans my daughter and asks if I am her mom. Immediately I am concerned. She tells me my daughter did excellent except for one thing. She had to stop for a traffic light near a railroad crossing and she stopped underneath the crossing arms. Everything else was perfect, but she had to fail her for that. Sigh. We rescheduled her next driving appointment for two weeks from now and I go out to a very upset daughter. She is sobbing her eyes out. I felt so bad for her.

The bright side, the examiner said she doesn't have to redo the parallel parking because she did it perfect the first time.

Beats me

I can't even figure this one out. I love to shop. Sometimes I am even a bit of a compulsive shopper. A lot of times I have money spent in my mind before I even get it. Tax refund checks sift thru my fingers like sand. In the past that is. This year I anticipated the arrival of my tax refund, I had it all earmarked for several purchases. The big one being a flat screen tv. I have had the money for almost 7 weeks now. I can't make a decision. I have the money for the tv, all the extras I need, I have the quote from the installer, I know I have to go to the cable company and switch to hdtv service when I get it installed. Everything is in place. I. Can't. Make. A. Decision.

This is absolutely ridiculous. I pride myself on being a strong intelligent independent woman. I have even boasted about being able to shop like a man, form the game plan, enter the store, get the gear, no detours, pay the bill and get out! I am stumped by this folks!

Sigh

Drama. Drama. Drama.

Sometimes parenting teenagers can be sooooooo dramatic.

Tonight my daughter and her boyfriend got into a fight. Again. This drives me crazy.

The kids and I had gone out to dinner and her cell phone battery died. So her boyfriend kept calling and texting her on my phone and my son's phone. I answered my phone and told him to stop. Then he sent a text to my daughter that he didn't want me to see but he sent it on my phone. All heck broke loose then and she got mad at him.

Then the phone calls began. This kid went so far as to have his mom call my house for my daughter. So I answer and this raspy barroom cigarette smoking voice asks to talk to my daughter. I ask who's calling and she tells me her name. So then I ask what its regarding and she says she is a friend. I said that I didn't recognize her name as anyone my daughter talks about. And she says so you are not going to let me talk to her. I said well forgive me, but you sound like maybe you are a bit older than my daughter so I am just a little concerned about what you want with my daughter. Then she informs me that my daughter is friends with her son, but she tells me the other son, not the son that my daughter is "going out with"........then............this woman had the nerve to hang up on me for being a concerned parent......geesh!

I called her back after I talked to my daughter and found out who she was and strongly recommended that she not call here again. Gawd, just you watch, my daughter will marry this yoyo someday and I will have to sit thru numerous family functions with this woman.

I. Hate. Drama.

Back in the groove......

I hit the wall with my studies last Thursday. Became absolutely overwhelmed without and felt like I would never be able to complete this particular course. I was on Module 4 of the second course and I have 21 modules to complete.

I was completely intimidated by the entire thing and just glancing at the book and my forms made me sick. I walked away from it for the entire weekend and just got back to it today. Fresh start, fresh attitude and got past the wall, and it did take some work. So I have completed 3 more modules and am starting on module 8. Whew, it feels good to be back at it again.

Tell me this doesn't upset your stomach!?!?!?

I'm sure this one will warm your little taxpayer heart.


If Hillary wins in 2008 and Bill is 'appointed' to fill her Senate seat and either live to retire 'they' (together or alone) would get two US Presidential retirement checks, two US Senate retirement checks, and a retirement check from the State of Arkansas. About the only thing theyMIGHT NOT get is a Social Security check. Bill has earned $40,000,000 in the past six years.What a guy!


AND THE REST OF THE STORY... Hillary Clinton, as a New York State Senator, now comes under the 'Congressional Retirement and Staffing Plan,' which means that even if she never gets reelected, she STILL receives her Congressional salary until she dies. (Would it not be nice if all Americans were pension eligible after only 4 years?) If Bill outlives her, he then inherits HER salary until HE dies.He is already getting his Presidential salary until he dies. If Hillary outlives Bill, she also gets HIS salary until she dies. Guess who pays for that?


It's common knowledge that in order for her to establish NY residency,they purchased a million dollar-plus house in upscale Chappaqua, New York. Makes sense! They are entitled to Secret Service protection for life. Still makes sense.


Here is where it becomes interesting. Their mortgage payments hover at around $10,000 per month. BUT, an extra residence 'had' to be built within the acreage to house the Secret Service agents.The Clintons charge the Federal government $10,000 monthly rent for the use of that extra residence, which is about equal to their mortgage payment. This means that we, the taxpayers, are paying the Clinton's salary, mortgage, transportation, safety and security, as well as the salaries for their 12 man staff -- and, this is all perfectly legal!

Kevin Borseth Rant

hehehehe methinks he had a bad day

Jack and Hill

Now I know why I really wish that actors would stay out of politics. What do you do when one of you all time favorite actors has an opposing political view?