Season has come to an end......

This is the before

This is what he looked like

at 2pm yesterday before

I took him down to swim

practice.

This Is what he looked like when

he came back up to the house

for the pre counties meet

spaghetti dinner.

I tired to convince him not to do it

see how well he listens.

He didn't end up qualifying for sectionals

today but he did meet his goals of

1. getting under 7:00 in the 500

he got a 6:53.80 taking 15

seconds off his best for the year.

2. to shave off at least 8 seconds

from his 200 time. He got

a 2:29.11 shaving 10 off

So I guess the hair is a drag so to speak.

It was a long day and our team had some

great finishes and some personal

records broken. Well worth sitting on

those hard bleachers for 6 hours cheering

our hearts out. We are loud and proud the

parents of Dansville.

Stay safe, stay warm, feel loved.

TTFN

Teachers

Here is the video that Sara was asked to put

together by the superintendent for today's

teachers conference day. He had seen the

one she did for chemistry and asked her to

do it to show the staff at there meeting today.

She of course waited, like a true O'Brien,

to the last minute and stayed up all night

last night putting the final touches on it.

It turned out great and the staff enjoyed it.

And we survived the creative process.

I call her the volcano because anytime she is

stressed out and trying to do something like this

the name pretty much sums it up. She had a

rough start a few days ago with some question

of maybe puke in the brush cleaning water and

that her sister might have had something to do

with it. That is still under investigation but it

set a tone and we are just all glad it is done and

it went well.

Tomorrow is her 17th birthday and she will be

spending it with about 400 teenage boys in

swim suits. Its a sacrifice but she is willing to

do it for the team.

Stay safe, stay warm, feel loved.

TTFN

I THE WEEK OVER YET??????

I worked 4 days this week. It has been a long time since I have done that and boy oh boy am I tired. I can’t even recoup tomorrow because I have to prepare for the boys swim team coming up after practice tomorrow for the pre county meet spaghetti dinner, all 23 of them. My friend Barb is thankfully helping me out and we will get them fed and energized for the meet on Saturday.

Sean is going to shave his golden locks tomorrow. Since he hasn’t qualified for sectional yet this is his last chance so he has been on taper this past week and a half and will shave tomorrow after practice. I have tried to convince him to just trim his hair and wear a swim cap but to no avail. He is one of the team is going to do it. Oh well hopefully it will grow back the same.

Sara has a presentation tomorrow morning in front of all the teachers of the district and the superintendent. She did this awesome chemistry project that came to the attention of the administration and they asked her to put together something similar that shows what the school and teachers of Dansville are all about. She has been having a tough time doing it because it has guidelines and it seems to me messing with her artistic mojo. Plus she isn’t the one to come up with much positive about high school because its been hell for her. We even started looking into ways that she might be able to graduate early just to end the hell and so she can move on.

My new job is great and I work with some fantastic woman. I of course am learning more than I could ever want to know about reproductive health and about statistics from our area that I could blissfully be ignorant about. I also subbed this week in the middle school office and witnessed some amazing people dealing with some really pain in the ass kids. Never a dull moment on either job site that is for sure.

Dave is nervous about the impending cuts to the hospital budget and the fact that he is doing the work of two and a half people since they are so short staffed. They treat their employees like dirt there and don’t even realize what a diamond they have with Dave as their employee. We are going to try and use some of our tax refund if it doesn’t all get spent before we get it to go away for a few days again. We are both soooooo couple deprived.

Oh this week also I have attempted to take wheat out of my diet. I am pretty sure, pending a blood test, I have that celiac disease like Brian and Ruthann. It is tough and eventually Im not sure how I will afford to make it a permanent change. I need to do something before I drop dead of a heart attack but it sucks. lol. Ian also has to change is health habits. He found out his blood pressure is way to high for an 18 yr old and his cholesterol is almost as bad as mine.

So I am off to find something to eat for dinner probably another omelet and then off to bed to get up tomorrow and begin again.

Stay safe, stay warm, feel loved.

TTFN

Siblings

Siblings are so much like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde it is still amazing to me.

Case in point first you have Megan and Sean. They can’t even be in the same house together without it becoming family feud not even 5 minutes some times of entering the house. Megan came sobbing out to the barn last night because Sean had grabbed her and squeezed her so hard her boob hurt but this is after a softball, deceiving name, was thrown at him. I was mad but I don’t have much sympathy for her these days because she is just as responsible in these fights as he is. But when bodily harm is occurring it’s unacceptable. So the ultimate threat has been played and hopefully there will be a cease fire for a while.

But take two others, Sara and Sean, and the story is totally different at least right now. Sara’s boyfriend broke up with her over the weekend and she was, as most of us are, devastated. I wanted to comfort her but Sean beat me to the punch. He was there hugging and reassuring her. It was nice to see. It’s too bad it takes something like that to make the true feelings come out of these children but at least I know they don’t really mean it when they say they hate each other.

Hopefully things will quiet between the younger two before the house or they themselves get wrecked. For now it’s just trying to stay warm and not go stir crazy because it’s so freaking cold outside. Keeping my fingers cross the pipes in the barn don’t freeze and I have to lug water from the house to the barn because Ian won’t be here to help me this year. He heads back to school in a week and a half.

Cleaning then swim meet at least I know I will be warm part of the day got to love swimming.

Stay safe, stay warm, feel loved.

TTFN

Here is a synopsis of the past week.
Job still going well.
Started swimming again today argggg.
It is freaking cold.
Sara's boyfriend broke up with her. :(
Sean continues to take time off his swimming.
Its freaking cold...... Oh I said that already.
Off to bake a cake.
Stay safe, stay warm, feel loved.

TTFN

Solo For The First time

Today I flew solo at work. Well not solo but I did the whole thing and didn’t just stand and watch someone else do it. The other woman was able to go and catch up on other things and I had the billing person there to answer questions and the nurses let me know if I forgot something. It’s a lot of paper work and remembering what to put in the file etc. but the day flew by in no time. I love jobs like that. I also already got 2 extra days in February. I have a few more weeks of so called training then I start on the 20th at the college at my normal place for Mondays and Tuesdays.

It’s amazing how I feel when I have some place to go and something that challenges me. I pretty much spent the past week in bed not feeling well and not having much motivation to do anything. I think once I get on a regular schedule and start swimming again things will hopefully turn around for me health wise. I am so sick of feeling sick and tired and want to do things but just can’t seem to make myself.

My husbands work isn’t going so well right now and things are tough for him too. The financial pressure right now is so so heavy on both of us that I am hoping that this new job not only helps me mentally but also help us to stop the downward slip into the credit abyss and hold us steady then move us toward the light again gradually.

We both are falling apart mentally and physically and the things around the house and farm aren’t looking much better right now. Some major decisions will have to be made in near future but for now I will put them on the back burner.

I will continue to emulate Scarlet O’Hara and not think about it till tomorrow and go to bed because I am beat. This is the first day in a week I have been up more than 5 hours in a row without a nap and I am going on 16 hours with only 3 hours of sleep last night. My bed is calling my name can you hear it………..

Stay safe, stay warm, feel loved.

TTFN

3 down 362 to go

Here we are 3 days into the year 2009. We had 3 out of four kids home for the night. Sara couldn't stand missing out on the get together at a friend’s house so she left us at 9. We watched movies and ate way too much junk food.

I don’t make new years resolutions anymore. I gave that up about 8 years ago for the only reason that usually I don’t even make it the first week into the New Year before I break them. This year I am going to try and keep a positive as possible attitude and trudge forward hoping for the best. The kids are all relatively healthy and happy and we have food to eat and a roof over our heads for now at least. There’s a lot to be said for that especially during these unsure times.

Ian succeeded in attaining a 3.0 in his first semester of college. It actually was a 3.07 but who’s counting :). He is enjoying his time off and “catching” up on sleep he says he didn’t get. He will be off to his second semester on the 24th I hope the separation isn’t as crazy as the first time in August. It’s kind of nice to have him home.

I do have to try and commit to getting a new doctor and start taking better care of myself before I drop dead of a heart attack. I am still fuming about my last doctors visit where she brushed over the results of my blood tests which were rechecks for bad results 6 months ago. All I know is I am sick of being tired and sick and not being able to either stand up for myself and ask for the help I need or find an actually doctor that isn’t to busy to listen.

The list of things that need to be done around here lengthens and money and energy shorten. I have to decide on changes that will be hard to make but necessary probably in the long run. But for now it can wait till tomorrow. Gee I feel like Scarlet O’Hara.

Once again a Happy New Year to one and all. I am truly blest with amazing family and friends that if it weren’t for them I am pretty sure I would be dead by now. May the New Year bring peace and happiness.

Stay safe, stay warm, feel loved.

TTFN