One Day Left

I technically only had to be with my campers for half of today, I went and gave a presentation to over 200 Girl Scouts. That was easier for me than dealing with third and fourth graders. I'd rather do public speaking than work with elementary kids. Thank God we focus on middle schoolers at CLC.

I gues I've been a little negative about camp this week. The kids aren't bad, they just take A LOT of energy and patience. I thought I was patient until this week. Altough, I guess there are people who might have actually snapped at these kids. As far as I can tell, they don't even know how hard working with them is on me. When I came back this afternoon, I got hugs all around. And they all seem pretty happy to see me each day. I just wish we didn't have to do a young kids camp. Doing the camps for the older kids is hard enough.

One day left.

Sad Day

I'm sorry to announce the passing of Craig's grandma, Nana, today. She was a great lady whom was well loved by all who knew her.

The Lotz's are in our thoughts and prayers.

Random bear

So this has been a tough week. The morning camp is not only a large group of third and fourth graders, but they are a less mature group of kids than my afternoon group. So when I got home and checked my e-mail to find this HILARIOUS nugget in my Inbox, I felt better. Ben is the best.

USB drive

I haven't laughed this hard in a while. The photo of that teddy bear sticking out of the front of the computer was awesome. It's like someone got mad at the bear or the computer (or both) and just shoved it in there.

Great stuff.

P.S. If you see me on the news in the next two days, it's either because I have poked a child's eyes out because I've gotten sick of "Two Fingers Up" (a method of getting kids to be quiet), or I've attempted to launch one of them on the model rockets we'll be launching on Friday. Just so you know.

Thank God for Elementary teachers

So, today was the first day of Young Astronauts Camp. It's all third and fourth graders. Elementary school teachers are God's gift to the world. Anyone who can put up with 20+ of those kids for 6 hours a day are freaking Angels on Earth. Seriously. It's only been one day, and I'm counting down the days until I'm not dealing with kids this young on a daily basis.

Sorry this is short and raggy, but I've got to give Ben a break from me bitchin' about these kids.

Nugget

It’s insane how many calls we are getting at CLC for missions, mini-missions, parties, etc. for this summer! On one hand I’m happy that we’re getting loads of business, but at the same time, we still only have three people who know how to run a mission!!!! So there will be a lot of days where I will have to leave the camp to others so I can go run a mission or off site program.

I did have one really cool thing happen at work today, though. I’ve been researching the materials that make up the space suits used by NASA, and I found a company that sells rolls of Kevlar fabric. I don’t want a whole roll, just a sample that I can use in a show-and-tell type setting, so the company was nice enough to donate a small swatch for our educational purposes. Yay! So if anyone out there ever needs ballistics grade Kevlar to make something, I recommend Armor Co. of Ohio.

On to lighter stuff. Now that the TV seasons are pretty much over, many summer shows are gearing up. One of them that Ben and I are ecstatic about returning is Last Comic Standing. We missed the first season, watched the second season (LOVED the winner, John Heffron). We also watched season three, a battle between seasons one and two. Two totally wiped the floor with season one’s comics. Only one guy was really up to par with season two’s comics, and he’s the one who lasted the longest before NBC prematurely pulled the plug. As much as we love John Heffron, we really are digging Josh Blue, a comic living with cerebral palsy. He’s freaking hilarious. He makes fun of the parts of his disabilities that are obvious and parts that others may not recognize as being issues. Ben and I have seen him before on our favorite comic show, “Mind of Mencia.” Apparently, Josh is friends with Carlos Mencia, who also happens to look like a Mexican version of my brother-in-law, Patrick. I’ll try and get a picture of Pat at the next family gathering for online comparison.

So I guess what I’m trying say with that last paragraph about Last Comic Standing is that if you’re not watching it, YOU SHOULD BE. Tuesday nights on NBC. http://www.nbc.com/Last_Comic_Standing/

Check out the website to vote for comics who haven’t yet made it to the finals. They have videos of them. Enjoy. That is my nugget for you this day.

Jessi

So Jessi wrote a really funny blog. But she doesn't have the guts to post it. So if you want to read it, e-mail her or me and I'll send it. It's freaking hilarious. I laughed so hard I cried. My stomach muscles hurt. My cheeks hurt.

Cardinals Game

Last night Ben and I got some tickets to the Cards/Reds game. We took our friends, Justin and Cheryl. We lost the game, which sucked, but something Cheryl said at the end of the night made it TOTALLY worth going.

So after the game, the four of us are waiting to leave the ballpark while the rest of the crowd clears out. We are at the top of the stadium. THE TOP. So I'm looking down on the crowd walking below us on the walkway. And I mention to Ben, jokingly of course, "Hey, honey, you can look down girls shirts from here!" So Ben, Justin and Cheryl all look down on the walkway. A few seconds later, an older woman with a MAJOR boob job walks below us wearing a tank top. Cheryl yells out "NICE RACK!" It was hilarious!!

It really helps if you know Cheryl to see how funny that is, but I bet it's at least crackin' a smile on your face... huh huh, I said crack.

New Job

So I've been in the new full time job at the Challenger Learning Center for over three weeks now. I'm loving it. I'm busy, but not too busy now that Space Day is over. Summer camp is coming up, but it's not so close that I'm freaking out. I'm able to be creative and my co-workers are pretty great. My boss has recognized my work already, and she complimented me. The gal whom I have succeeded did a spectacular job keeping everything organized and it's been pretty easy to catch up with everything that is a part of the job description (which is A LOT, I don't know how she did it from scratch, what a tough job that must have been). My boss and co-worker took over my position's duties before I started (while I was off donating a kidney).

The drive isn't too terribly bad, it's better in the morning than the afternoon, when traffic gets worse. I take that time to listen to the Dave Glover show on 97.1 Talk FM (he's friggin' hilarious), plan dinner and decompress from work. Poor Ben has such a short drive home that he doesn't get that time to let go of work stuff (and I'm not being sarcastic, I actually feel for him being this close to work).

Well, long story short, I LOVE my job.

Just got this forward

Hey y'all, just after I post that highway blog, I get this forward from someone in Paducah, Kentucky! I don't know who wrote this originally, but it is SO FREAKING TRUE!!

Enjoy:

Driving in St. Louis...

If you live in St. Louis, you'll understand this. If you've ever visited St. Louis, you'll understand this. If you've never been to St. Louis, consider this your Visitor's Guide to Driving in St. Louis.

1. There are 75 "official neighborhoods" in the City of St. Louis (not to be confused with the County of St. Louis of which it is not a part). In fact, the City of St. Louis not located in any county. It is much like Washington D. C. - in a world all of its own. St. Louisans commonly give directions to strangers (primarily to restauran ts) based on these neighborhoods which are not marked on any map that is handed out by the tourist board, AAA or even available on Mapquest.

2. There are 54 school districts in metro St. Louis on the Missouri side alone. (We prefer not to recognize East St. Louis, IL as being a part of the metro area just as Israelis prefer not to recognize Palestine.) Each of these districts has their own school bus system and scheduled times to block traffic.

3. There are 91 official municipalities in St. Louis County. Each has its own rules, regulations, courts, and often their own police and fire departments. [Calling 911 for help in an emergency can be a very interesting experience... especially if you don't know in which municipality you're located when someone plows into your car, you have a heart attack, or have been mugged.]

4. More importantly, most municipalities have their own snow removal contracts so it's not uncommon to drive down a road in w inter and have one block plowed, the next salted, the next piled with snow and the last partially cleared by residents wanting to get out of their driveways.

5. Snow plowing is never a problem in the City of St. Louis. They plow nothing, and if the forecast calls for snow, they close everything except on "The Hill" (please refer to #1 above) where each homeowner goes out into the street and shovels out one car-sized rectangle and then stands watch over it. Pull in at your own risk!

6. Any car parked longer than 4 hours in the City of St. Louis is considered a "You Wrench It" parts store.

7. The City of Ballwin actually proposed that drivers use connecting strip mall parking lots to get from place to place rather than to drive on Manchester Road to cut the traffic on Manchester. Younger St. Louisans consider turning left onto or off of Manchester Road in traffic an extreme sport.

8. Laclede Station Road mysteriously changes names as you cross intersections. The same goes for McCausland, Lindbergh, Watson, Reavis Barracks, Fee Fee, McKnight, Airport Road, Midland, Olive and Clarkson. Gravois Road can only be pronounced correctly by a native St. Louisan - not all mind you, but a few. Ditto for Spoede and Chouteau.

9. A St. Louisan from South County has never been to North County and visa versa. West County has everything delivered.

10. No native St. Louisan knows that Lindbergh runs from South County to North County! And, if you tell them, they will not believe you.

11. Lindbergh Boulevard (named after Charles, AKA: "Lucky Lindy") belongs to every neighborhood except in the city of Kirkwood, where they had the nerve to change the name to "Kirkwood Road". (The artsy St. Louisans who reside there are known there for their creativity.)

12. There are 2 interchanges to exit from Highway 40 onto Clayton Road and 2 for Big Bend. Stay alert, people!

1 3. If you need directions to O'Fallon, make sure to specify Illinois or Missouri. This is also true for Troy, Maryville, St. Charles, Springfield, Columbia and. well, need I really go on?

14. The Page Avenue extension and the Airport expansion projects took over 20 years to get approved and St. Louisans lost track of how many political figures claimed them as their own idea.

15. St. Louisans were aghast when the federal government required them to redo the highway signs to indicate that our federal highways actually went to cities in other states instead of our local municipalities.

16. Many drivers are starting to cut their OWN license plates rather than go through the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles to get their tags. St. Louisans can also purchase tags from "dealers" behind most QuiKShops in the City. They are a lot cheaper, their clerks are more pleasant than DMV employees, and the service is a lot faster. Cash only. You may want to pack heat.

17. Lambert Field and St. Louis International Airport really are the same place. The East Terminal, however, is a different place.

18. Highway 270 is our daily version of the NASCAR circuit. The same thing goes for Highway 70. You can go all four directions on Highway 270: North and South in West County, East and West in South County, and East and West in North County. Confused? So are most drivers in St. Louis.

19. The outer belt is Highway 270, which turns into Highway 255 in South County. The inner belt is Highway 170. Highway 370 is a sorta-kinda outer-outer belt. Highway 40 is the same as Interstate 64 (but only through the middle part of St. Louis).

20. The morning rush hour is from 6:30 to 9:00 a.m. The evening rush hour is from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. unless the Blue's or Card's are playing - then its 3:30 to 8:00 and again from 9:45 to whenever. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning. Never ever try to cross a bridge over the northward flowing Missouri River or the southward flowing Mississippi River in St. Louis during rush hour unless you have a sack lunch and a pee-pee port-a-potty in the car.

21. YIELD signs are for decoration only. No native St. Louisan will ever grasp the concept. And at 4-way stop intersections controlled by stop signs, forget about the idea of taking turns. Cars go through two or three at a time. It takes some getting used to.

22. If someone in St. Louis actually has his or her turn signal on, it is probably a factory defect or has been on for the last 17 miles.

23. Construction on Highways 40, 64, 70, 255, 270, 44, 55 and 170 is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment.


24. U.S. Highway 61 mysteriously disappears as it enters West County and suddenly reappears as it exits South County. Even MO-DOT can't figure this one out. Many think if they ever find it, they'll also find Jimmy Hoffa and Iraq's WMD's.

25. Any blue-haired babe in a Cadillac driving on Olive west of the inner belt (see #19) always has the right of way. But if the Caddie has fins, this territorial limitation does not apply so pay attention. It's dangerous out there!

St. Louis Highway Personalities

Starting my full time job at the Challenger Center has introduced me to the fact that each highway in St. Louis has drivers of certain personalities. For most of my tenure in St. Louis, I have driven highway 64/40. But now the CLC job has me driving highway 70 to and from work. I have now realized that drivers on 64/40 are fairly decent human beings with the occassional jerky driver while highway 70 is filled with selfish assholes! Prime example (though far from being unusual on 70):

While getting onto 70 on my home from work the other day, I was trying to merge onto the entrance ramp for 70. There was a brand new, fire engine red Mustang to my left and slightly behind. There was just enough room for me to turn on my blinker to nicely let her know that's where I wanted to go. So what does this driver do? SPEEDS UP and doesn't let me in. I HAVE to merge otherwise I'll end up exiting onto another road that I don't need to be on. So I let her get far enough up so I can pull behind her (where there is a whole line of cars BTW). As I pull in behind her, I beeped at her to let her know that I didn't appreciate her actions. She not only sped up to prevent me from merging, but she then, get this, sticks her hand out the sun roof and flips me the bird. I was pissed. Later that day, I thought about it and realized that if someone told me about that story I'd laugh my ass off, so I laughed it off and let it go. That's when it hit me that all my bad highway experiences have happened either on 70 or on the Poplar Street Bridge (which incidentally carries I-70 drivers over to Illinois).

FYI, I-270 is St. Louis' version of NASCAR. The speed limit hovers around 85 or 90, with people whipping around each other like they are Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. This includes little old ladies in their ginormous Cadillacs and hoosiers in their jacked up F-250's (you know, the ones that have Confederate flags and decals of Calvin peeing on Osama).

I have yet to drive I-370. Although, there have been a couple of wrong way driving accidents on that highway, so my guess is that 370 drivers are morons. Not certain of that yet, it's just a theory.

Please let me know about highways 44 and 55, as I don't drive them enough to know.

Quick update

Went to see the doctor about the not sleeping because of twitchy, restless legs, and he believes it is "Restless Legs Syndrome" brought on by the trauma of the surgery and the stress from the new job. Prescribed Ambien, my new best friend. Ambien is not the typical treatment for restless legs, but I tried it the night before I saw the doc, it worked so he wrote me a script for more. I now use it in fear of staying awake or being awoken by those restless legs.

Started the new job at Challenger Learning Center and I LOVE it. I'm busy every second of the day, but that's good because the hours just fly by. My job has many many aspects to it, and right now we are running on a skeleton crew for missions, so I don't have much time to work on non-mission related duties. (huh-huh, I said "duty") On my second day, my boss and co-worker (yes, there are only three of us in the office on a dialy basis) took me out to lunch. That day I found out that not only is my boss pregnant, but so is my co-worker. So I kind of feel left out like that, BUT I am SO NOT ready for a baby right now. Between the recuperating, new job and restless legs, I could not handle a baby.

Not sleeping is for the birds

OK, so what the hell is wrong with me lately?! I have not been sleeping right. The other morning I was up at 4:30 a.m., and now I can't get to sleep. This is so messed up.

Anyway, so all those plans of things I wanted to get done while recuperating at home?? None of them done. I'm so darn tired every day, just the smallest things wear me out. After a shower I have to rest for a few minutes before I can finish getting ready. Going out and running an errand almost requires a nap when I get home. But my energy levels are slowly getting better.

Part of this not sleeping thing is that my legs feels weird, like I need to move. So I get up, walk a couple rounds around my home interior, then sit down because I'm tired. Then my legs want to walk again, so I'm off like a race horse, walking around and around until I'm tired again. Or until the cat finally pisses me off enough that I have to sit down so she'll quit attacking my legs while I walk. It's like she knows something isn't right. She is probably thinking, "why the hell is Mommy up? She never comes back out into the living room this fast after she's gone to bed... what's wrong with her?"

OK, I'm thinking like I'm the cat. I really need sleep.

Screw the rooster, I was up before him!

Yeah, so I woke up at 4:30 this morning. No alarm, no major storm, just woke up. Totally awake. So I got out of bed so I wouldn't toss and turn and wake up my hubby. When I got out to the living room, I decided to check my e-mail and various blogs. While looking through Jessi's blog, I remembered that she had a link to get a copy of my credit report. So I figured it might be good to look through my credit stuff and see how it all looked. While on the site, I went ahead and purchased my credit score to get a full picture of what it all meant. My score kicks butt!!! I'm only like 40 points lower than my parents' score, which is above 800 (a VERY GOOD score). This is awesome. I'm so looking forward to finding out what Ben's score is. I bet it's close to mine since they are now linked. I'm just so stoked. I hope this means that we'll get a good loan when we go to buy a house later this year/early next year.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you thought I was geeky before...

I have surpassed my own geekiness today. This morning I actually got bored playing Bejeweled and Jewel Quest, so I started playing Ben's Role-Playing-Game, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I thought at first, "Oh, I'll just make up a character and see how close I can get to having her look like me..."

That took all of 10 minutes. I still wasn't ready to go back and play an Arcade game... so I thought, "Well, let's see how long I last until I get my ass kicked by something in the game, then I'll quit."

About 2 hours later, I saved my game and called Ben. He must have been busy because I had to leave him a voicemail. In said voicemail, I told him this..."Honey, I just wanted you to know that I am now addicted to Oblivion." When he came home for lunch, he was so proud of me. And I CONTINUED to play until 3 p.m.!! At that point, I decided that I should at least put some laundry in the washer and get cleaned up.

I can't believe that I am now an official gamer. Not just a girly arcade player, but an official gamer. Now I have to go back on and try to kill some Demons from Oblivion (the game's version of Hell). They were really the reason I stopped playing earlier. Those bastards must have killed me about 5 times before I gave up. Maybe I'll wait til Ben gets home and have him be my Guide Master. Oh my God, I'm a dork.

P.S. Jessi and Craig are probably laughing their butts off right now... that's OK. I think it's totally funny too. Let me know what you think in my comments section!!

Pet Therapy

So if you read my kidney blog, you know about the pet therapy, if not, go read it and come back. I'll wait.

Welcome back! Anyway, so now I think Ben is closer to getting a doggie!!! Between seeing sweet Simon and Heidi, he's starting to like the idea of a smaller dog. YES! Shoot, he's gonna read this and say no. Not that I want a doggie right now... but after we buy a house..... a small dog that won't make our kittie feel intimidated. She should not feel like she's being replaced. I just think she'd like it better if the dog we get is small so she won't feel pushed around. Imagine it... kittie in one lap and doggie in the other lap. How CUTE!!!!

Out of the hospital

I'm out of the hospital now. I was discharged this morning. I took a shower this morning before I left and it was AWESOME. Ben had to help me, I couldn't get both hands up to wash my hair, or stay steady on my feet, so I sat on a shower stool and he bascally washed me. I'm a very independent person most of the time, so asking him to help me for such basic things like showering has been hard, but he's but so sweet and great about helping me out. I've got a good one here, ladies....

My back is really sore, my neck gets pains due to the CO2 in my body from the surgery. So the heating pad has become my best friend. I am trying to be mobile as often as possible, but it's so hard! It totally feels like my guts are going to spill out when I walk around. My abdominal muscles have been cut into, so they aren't as tight as they used to be, hence the feeling like things are going to come out. I walk like a little old lady. Walking through the hotel today, I had littel old ladies passing me!! Not really, but they probably could have.

It also hurts to laugh, which is hard because most of you know how funny my parents and husband can be. Example one: Dad and Mom came home from shopping for me today, and Dad pulls out this package of black licorice. His response: "I know it's past St. Patrick's Day, but I felt this might be fun anyway!" OK, here's the explanation for those of you who don't eat black licorice. If you eat a lot of black licorice, it makes your poop green. I do eat black licorice, I knew this, so I found it hilarious. Example two: Ben and I are watching soaps today while Mom and Dad are gone, and a preview for My Name is Earl comes on. I've seen this preview a few times before, I've been watching NBC nonstop for three days! Anyway, in the scene, Randy (Earl's intelligence challenged brother) is sitting and talking to a robotic toy dog when it gets hit by a ball. As it falls off the table, Randy screams like a girl. It is really, really, really funny. But I've been able to keep from laughing because I know it will hurt. Well Ben just about falls off the bedd laughing from this little scene, and he's laughing in the high-pitched laugh that he does when something is absolutely hilarious. So I had to kick him out of the room until he got the giggles out. I could still hear him the living room of the hotel suite, laughing and saying "screamed like a girl... *chuckle, giggle* he screamed like a girl......"

But I am doing well. All of the prayers that are out there for me and my aunt are helping, keep them coming. I can't wait to get home and see you all.

A year... it's been a year

I can't believe that today is the one year anniversary of my Granma's death. It doesn't feel like that long ago. I've been surprisingly calm today. I thought about today being the anniversary a few days ago, and I thought that I might be a wreck, but I've been OK.

Life without Granma hasn't been too terribly different, unfortunately. Since I haven't lived near her in 20 years, I'm used to her not being around. It only seems to hit me when I visit Grampa's apartment. When I see her chair, her scooter, just sitting there. I know the scooter gets used by Grampa when he has to walk a long distance, but it doesn't get used all that often.

Grampa is toying with the idea of moving to a one bedroom apartment in his retirement community. He doesn't need the space of a two bedroom. We all don't visit that often, and when we do, we can stay in the guest quarters, hotel or Gramma Mc's. But I think that he is having trouble letting go of the last home of Gramma. Not only did they share this apartment, but he would have to get rid of the bed they have shared for DECADES. The one bedroom is small, and would require him to use a twin bed rather than the queen size he has now. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for him to think about not having the things he shared with Gramma around.

One year. Wow.

"Granma, be with me on Monday. I would love to know that you are watching over me."

Set in Stone

So now the surgery is scheduled. March 20th is the big day. I don't know yet what time my surgery will begin, but I do understand that Sheryn will be under for less time than me. For what I can tell, my surgery will take about 3 to 4 hours (maybe even more). Since the transplant will be done laparoscopically on me, it will take more time than the previous "open" surgeries took (3 hours).

I think that I will set up a separate blog that will just be about the kidney transplant. That way people can be kept up to date on both Sheryn and me.

Today, I informed Ladue that I would be leaving them in the near future. They were upset that I will be leaving them, but they understand. I really have loved working there. It's a good school with an amazing staff. And my students are the best (OF COURSE!). I wrote them thank you notes that I'll give them before I go. They are really great kids, and I know that they'll each go very far in life. I will miss them a lot. The kids were heartbroken when I told them that I got the new job. I think that the eighth graders were almost relieved that I'm leaving. But they didn't let on. :) Hah hah. I think they know that I make them follow the rules because I care about them and want them to know how important it is to live by the rules. They do serve a purpose.

Good, Better, Best

Good: Had a good day back at the job today. Teachers were all glad to have me back, and my kids missed me. They were so cute when I came back.

Better: Great job interview today.

Best: Got offered the job! Accepted and will be starting mid-April after recovery from the kidney surgery.

I'm now the new Education Coordinator for the St. Louis Challenger Learning Center. My job will entail coming up with curriculum for our Discovery Classroom, our scout programs, teacher trainings, and corporate training workshops. Oh yeah, and planning for our summer camps this summer. No daily lesson plans. No grading assignments! When I go home at night, I can truly relax.

Good Ole Leftie has a new home

So my surgeon had decided to take my left kidney for my aunt. He explained the whole procedure to me. It is fascinating. Oh yeah, he doesn't look like Ah-nold. Maybe his lips are Ah-nold-like. He's taller than Schwartzenegger is (apparently, I am too...). He was super nice. It took me a little bit to get used to his Italian accent, but I understood him perfectly by the end of the appointment.

Last Saturday night, I didn't end up watching "Tombstone," I ended up looking at old family photos and getting more family history from my Gramma. She let me keep a picture of me as a toddler, as well as some pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Carew, Aunt Sher and Jessica with Cousin Sarah. I'll be making copies and sending them all over the country to family. Then, on Sunday, I helped her figure out her new Swedish geneaological programs. So I got to learn a lot about my Swedish history. Magnus will be a perfect name for a Bellinger son......

Grampa is doing well, too. He looks great, and he seems to be in good spirits. He's typical Grampa, but I'm getting better at handling him now.

I got to meet Sheryn's friend, George. He's great. He's my new best friend, too. He brought us fresh shrimp. I mean, they were frozen, but they weren't crappy shrimp that you get in the MidWest. And they were HUGE. I've only seen shrimp this big on cooking shows! I loved them. Now George wants some steaks from the MidWest. Anybody know of a St. Louis place that ships steaks? I want him to have some great local beef. E-mail me and let me know if you happen to know of a St. Louis place that does that.

I'm so excited to be going home this afternoon! I get to see my husband, my kitty and sleep in my own bed. I'm through the roof happy. Less than 12 hours and I'll be home. Damn, I know that I just jinxed myself. I'm going through Atlanta, which is notorious for delayed flights... Great.

P.S. Jessica's husband, Craig, matched with Boystown, USA in Omaha, Nebraska. I lived at Omaha when I was a kid. I can't wait to go visit them and show Ben one of my childhood homes. Too bad my Dad doesn't still own it.