All My Children

[myheart]

Edwards_Mommy wrote:

As for the bar, I've got a bottle of un-opened Bacardi Razz rum, and opened bottles of Jager, vodka, Disarono, various schnapps and such in the fridge.

***goes to check on the price of plane tickets***

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

*grin*

I've been mixing drinks for years, and I have to say I love Fuzzy Navels and Jager-Bombs. Anything with rum is good too, as I get very chatty and giggly...vodka just makes me sleepy. ^_^ I used to mix the drinks for my parents' office parties and always got high praises!

 

[irishbunny]

Great blog! I just ''discovered'' it and read all your posts, your a good blogger, it's fun to read

Merry Christmas!

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

Grace, you have no idea how much that makes me smile. I'm planning on opening a blog middle of next year for my graphic design escapades, and I hope to have lots of readers! ^_^

~Katie

 

[myheart]

Edwards_Mommy wrote:

*grin*

I've been mixing drinks for years, and I have to say I love Fuzzy Navels and Jager-Bombs.

**getting ticket for the next flight out**

<--- us by the end of the night (LOL)

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

^______^

I've been making a variation of a Fuzzy Navel called a Fuzzy Armadillo that I found in an old issue of a Southern Living magazine for the longest time...like, 7 years or so. There's only one ingredient different between them (the Fuzzy Armadillo has an extra one the Navel doesn't I think) and it's delicious!

I've also found a fruit juice blend available in the German grocery near me that almost completely hides the taste of any non-flavored alcohol! And as if that wasn't cool enough, it's made from all of the "dark fruits" like blueberries, pomegranates, etc and by itself is great for the skin!

Normally I cannot tolerate energy drinks as I'm prone to manic episodes as it is and caffeine, Taurine, and Guarana all make it worse. But somehow that shot of Jager in a Jager-Bomb negates the hypertension and instead just lets me stay up for HOURS and continue partying when I'd normally just metabolize all the spirits and pass out asleep. ^_^ Made for a fun night a few weeks ago with my niece!

You'll have to call me when you get to the airport, or you can just take a train down to my village, we have our own station! ^_^

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

So I got ahold of some Bacardi 151 rum. I've been experimenting a bit tonight and have concluded that it should not be combined with other liquors with a "tangy" after-taste, such as vodka or Cointreau (a nice orangey liquor). It goes well with "dark" fruit juices and mixes thereof (I tried Ocean Spray Cran-Pomegranate and was pleased with the results). Since these juices are also proported to be good for the skin, why not? ^_^

On a less jolly note, I have grown tired of waiting for Charley's new wheel to arrive. I ordered it in Early September, so that would make it almost 5 months since I ordered, and I have heard nothing from the owner of the business since my money was taken from my account and received. I didn't get any word from them even then, but at least PayPal was reliable enough to report that the $$ had changed hands successfully.

the gentleman whom I bought the wheel from is known as Reaper on most hedgehog-related forums that he is a member of, and supposedly he suffered from a severe back/spinal injury in the Sept/Oct timefrome of 2009 and has been taking orders but not shipping wheels ever since. Last month a note was made on his website that there would be a 4-6 week delay (or some such time, may have been 6-8 weeks, I don't recall precisely) in delivery, but he still continues to take orders.

Some of those individuals who ordered in AUGUST have received their wheels, but not all, or at least, not all have reported in the forum I am a member of for me to know about them. I had an ex-boyfriend who's mother had to have surgery done on her spine and was confined to a hospital bed in her home for weeks. She could use the restroom herself, but that was about it, and I was around throughout her recovery, so I know how difficult it is for people who have back issues to get around. The fact that some people have their wheels and most don't suggests not only a poor management effort of the order backlog but also a possible filing problem.

He said in one update (or someone else spoke to him and relayed this info) that his son was helping him....so why hasn't he given his son the login info for the forums (http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/) and given him updates to post for the members there, or put his son in charge of fielding e-mails to the business account as many people have been sending them at least weekly since they ordered their wheels with no reply....

Needless to say I'm pretty steamed as I'm looking to be a business-owner myself and I know this to be a terrible way to handle one. I understand not being able to function due to an injury; if that's the case he should have taken down his order form page, stopped accepting money, and given refunds to anyone who asked AFTER sending a mass e-mail update letting all know of the possible delay. But that's just me I'm afraid, too many people on the hedgie forums are loyal to him for me to post my furstrations outright though if I do say so myself I'm not as harsh as I could be seeing that I spent over 50 dollars and have yet to see the results almost 5 months later...>_>

 

[Fancy77]

wow what an ordeal, I hope it all works out soon

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

Me too. I sent them an e-mail last night with my PayPal transaction number, name, e-mail accounts that could have been associated with the transaction, and my new address. I also mentioned a time frame that if the wheel cannot be shipped by the end of, that I would like a refund. I think it's more than generous to give someone 6 months to deliver a promised product.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Sounds resonable to me.

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

Some new updates!

First, allow me to introduce the newest member of four furry family.

Bella the Russian Dwarf Hamster!

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

>_> I just wrote a whole post and it ate it, saying I only had .20 of an hour to edit? Is there an "Advanced reply" section for this forum, instead of just the quick replies?

 

[myheart]

I have had that happen to me also. One time I made up an entire post entry for my blog with pics and stuff, went to post it, and poof it was gone. It doesn't happen as much as it used to, but I think there aresome glitches that still happen.

Anyhow, would love to see pics of Bella when you get the chance. And for that fact, pics of any furry- or non-furry kids would be great!!!

btw, how is school going? The end is in sight, isn't it?

myheart

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

I'm adding it back into my to-do list, which will hopefully mean something here pretty soon (just started my new ADHD meds today)! She's a total doll (Bella).

School is going very well. When my doctor started tapering me off my anti-depressant I got very sick; for a week I pretty much couldn't move any more than absolutely nessesary for food and bathroom breaks. As a result I fell way behind, and not only are my courses highly accelerated, I was taking 2 at once. Somehow, I managed to pull things together and get everything made up and turned in on time (and made A's in both classes to boot!) and then I have until the 15th off before my next class begins.

It was a very difficult time, since my body did not like letting go of that chemical one little bit, but it's finally over with, and my doctor and I decided on a new med to try and treat the physical part of the ADHD.

My next class is Flash, which kinda scares me since it's a very rich, complex program, but I've found some tutorials that I'm going to try out this weekend and see if I can better my understanding of the basics before class begins.

I'm slotted to graduate in July of this year, and am debating now as to whether or not I wish to pursue a Bachlor's degree now (immediately following the completion of my Associate's) or if I want to wait a few months and get my business started, or if I'm happy with just an associates and taking course as needed from here on out.

It's something I'm going to wait and see, because if the medication and therapy over the next few months help me improve my concentration and follow-through I know I could manage it...but I may also want to take some time and enjoy my new lease on life.

I will get back and post some new pictures very soon, I think I will try writing up the text part of my post in Word, then paste it in here and quickly add my images and see if that staves off the "oops, too slow" forum bug that ate my last one. ^_^

Other good news includes my hubby being notified that he's promotable to sergeant if he does well at the promotion board this month! He already passed his PT test yesterday, so we're all hoping for the best. He gripes and grans and says he doesn't want the responsibility, but he already does the job at his current rank, so I think he deserves the respect and the pay raise that goes with it too!

~Katie

 

[Fancy77]

YEAH congrats on the promotion!!!!

 

[myheart]

So sorry to hear you had such problems with the detox from the last meds. Glad you survived and ready to start something new.

I am so excited for you and your schooling. Personally, I think you should continue on to your Bachelor's. It can be difficult to "find the time or money" if you take a break. But,you will have to feel out how the new meds will affect you before you really make up your mind on that.

Congrats on the A's in your two classes!!! inkelepht:I know you were worried about them and one of the instructors. Good for you pulling it all together!!!

Good news for hubby!! Keep us posted on what happens for him. It sucks to do the work and not be acknowledged for it.

How are the kids? All doing well?

myheart

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

I "took a break" (mostly because I conceived my son at 18) between HS and college, and my difficulty was finding the right school for me once my life settled down (ie stable job after hubby joined the Army).

I think that I could pick it back up if I needed to, but my principle concern is not only the value of the BA on my resume, but also the amount of money it'll cost me in the ed with Student loans. Assuming conditions remain similar, I'd wind up with about 20k in loans (hopefully less, I'm halving the amount of financial aid that I got for this degree b/c we're not quite so broke anymore). Do I really want/need that extra 2 years if I'm going to spend the remainder of my life paying it off?

Then there's the fact that I'm going to be registering my own business and will being doing the self-employed thing for at least a few years in order to see if it takes off...therefore it would really be finding out if the BA courses are going to help me in any way to accomplish this goal, or if it would just be something that looked good on paper.

Like I said before I've got some serious thinking to do, and alot of it will depend on my meds and therapy and how well I can manage to integrate my "home" and "work" life...ie get the dishes and laundry done while still getting work done for my business. I have to buy my web hosting again for the year...bleh.

My instructors for the past two classes were very intelligent men who were well versed in their subject matter, but one could not give a lecture to save his life and it was sheer torture listening to my 2x weekly chats for that one.

I've never had the instructor I have for my next class before, so we'll see how it goes.

All the kids are doing well. I've even found a friend for my son to go play with for a few hours a week, the lady I found has a young daughter and also no other friends with kids, so she's agreed that up to 6 hours a week @ 4 bucks an hour would be great to help them socialize and get to know another little person.

My kitties are happy as heck, they're very mellow and well-adjusted. One or the other is always in my lap or sitting on the arm of my chair. They sense my stress levels, and they also coddle me when I'm sick. ^_^

Charley will soon be getting a new light and a custom-made cover for his cage to help keep the heat in since it's been so effing cold here lately.

Edward has been showing off his new close-space binky hop after his hutch got a thorough cleaning and all new wood shavings. He seemed a little down the other day, so I took him out and cleaned out his hutch, gave him a good brushing, and he's been a happy little clam ever since.

I'm going to try getting the pictures of Bella to post tomorrow, took total advantage of my new meds and almost have a 3 week backlog of dishes done! Laundry takes longer b/c the machine's capacity is half that of an average US machine, and then the dryer works differently, sucking the water out of things and storing it in a basin I have to dump out each load. Means that a normal load of laundry takes about 4 hours+ to do, more if it's towels or blue jeans. >_>

So far, so good. ^_^

 

[myheart]

Edwards_Mommy wrote:

...Means that a normal load of laundry takes about 4 hours+ to do, more if it's towels or blue jeans. >_>

So far, so good. ^_^

:shock:That's energy efficiency for you.... Sorry, I like to get the laundry done, like, yesterday (lol), not ten days from now.

When I went for my BA, there were a number of non-trads who were just taking one class either per year, or per semester depending on what fit their schedule/funds. That might be something to think about to keep your foot in the water, so to speak. I miss taking classes and have been thinking about picking something up again. Not necessarily credits toward a degree, but just to remind me that my brain still works.

Will check in for pics. Don't forget pics of your adorable son!!

 

[Edwards_Mommy]

Unfortunately unless I go for full-time staus, I don't qualify for a number of grants and scholarships that have allowed me to get this far, and I'm not sure how it would affect my loans. I'm also finicky about these kinds of things; it's usually either all or nothing. ^_^

Speaking of all or nothing, I just realized hubby doesn't work tomorrow and he's home to watch the baby, it's relaxing bath time!

 

[Fancy77]

YEAH have a blast in the bath...that is a wonderful feeling