The World According to Leslie

Today is the last day of January. That means I only have 15 days until I get older....on February 15th. Thus, the reason I am contemplating life. I always think about what I could be doing. What I should be doing. What I want to be doing. I know I want to teach. I have always wanted to teach. Lately, I have been thinking that I want to be a writer. I know I am a writer, I write here. However, I want to write. I want to get paid to write. I can do it. I love writing. But, I don't know where to go to write. The newspaper here isn't hiring, plus they always want someone with experience. I would love to do some Freelance Writing. I just don't want to get sucked into a scheme.... ya know? So if anyone knows where I can get some freelance work for writing, just let me know...please. Also, I have been trying to think of ways that I can earn some money. Aren't we all? Anyways, I would love to earn some money doing something I love. I used to think that I wanted t...

After 7 days..... 168 hours.... 10080 minutes..... 604800 seconds..... DADDY IS COMING HOME! Thursday he was in Intermediate care for the night. Friday he was moved to a post-surgical room, but he wasn't eating much. Saturday he ran a fever most of the day. Sunday he waited on the docs to send him home, but he had not been up and around much. AND... he still wasn't eating much. Monday he was very sick, throwing up, all day. Tuesday he didn't throw up, but he still wasn't eating much. So they kept him again last night. Wednesday--TODAY--he has been talking all day. He has eaten more today than he did the other 6 days he was there. He has been up and walking a few times already. AND...the doctor came in and said... "(DADDY) you can sleep at home tonight!" (Nope...Doc didn't call him Daddy, but *I* did!) Can I get a PRAISE THE LORD? I believe in prayer! Prayer works! Daddy is coming home tonight!

So the doctors decided that today was not the day to send Daddy home.  I’m okay with that.  None of us thought he was ready, but he wanted to come home.  Unfortunately, he’s in so much pain that he can’t even be disappointed in staying another night.   The docs are saying that probably tomorrow he will get to go home.  That’s cool…..if he’s really ready and well enough to go.   For right now, I’m hanging at the hospital with Dad.  He’s sleeping because the pain medicine knocks him out.  He’s taking a good nap.  Mom has gone home to shower and do some things to get ready for Dad to be home tomorrow.    I am “Dad-sitting”!!  I’m the official keeper of the dad!    Well, he CAN be alone, but he doesn’t really like it.  We don’t mind switching out so that he isn’t alone.  I think I’m the only one that has come up here and stayed every day!  I have stayed with him while mom has gone home and done ...

Dad is showing some signs of improvement. He was moved from an Intermediate room to a room in Post-Surgical care. That means that Chasity and all the other grandkids can visit Dad. I spent most of the day yesterday with him....until they moved him. Then I went back last night and spent a little while longer and took Chasity and Tony to see him too. Then today, I went and spent a few hours up there. I have to go up there to allow my mom to have time to go home, take a shower, run errands, and see her mom! However today, she couldn't get Grandma's clothes to dry, so I had her bring them here to the house to Tony. He dried them. Then he and Chasity came to pick me up. We went to visit my Grandma for a few minutes before we went to grab something to eat. We ended the night by grocery shopping! :) Now, I'm working on the music for church tomorrow. Dad was going to help me. However, he is in a good bit of pain. When he takes his pain meds, he falls asleep. :( So we di...

I have been at the hospital all day. I got there just before 7am this morning! Around 9am they came in and said that dad was doing great and the docs were still working on him. Around 11:15am the doc came out to talk to us. The surgery was over. Dad was in recovery. Doc said that he had about an hour or two and then he would be moved to the Post Surgical care. Dad has sleep apnea. DUH! We knew that! He's had the machine for a year or so now. So because of his sleep apnea, they decided to take Dad to Intermediate care. That's a step down unit from ICU. Why does this make me upset? Chasity can't go in there to see him! Which means that neither can I! I am so heartbroken right now. I left the hospital at 2pm to get Chasity from school. I had all intentions of picking Chasity up and then heading back to the hospital to see Dad. Since Chasity can't go in, I have to wait until after I am finished with Girl Scouts at 8pm tonight to go up there. I know that Dad underst...

In my online class (my only class) for UNCC this semester, I am studying ways of using the Writing Workshop approach in my English classroom.  I am pretty sure it would all make a little more sense if I were in an English classroom.   However, my first assignment is due today.  I just got my books over the weekend and I started reading this morning.  I read Chapter 1 of The Digital Writing Workshop by Troy Hicks!  As you can tell by the title, this is about “digital” and not just normal writing.    While I was reading, I underlined a few sentences.  (I am a pencil reader—thank you “Killer Miller” at Concord Middle School!)  I try to always buy books so that when I am reading I can underline, star, hi-lite, etc. things that stick out to me!  So I underlined these two quotes….with the intention of putting them on this blog!  “Writing is, quite simply, about more than putting words on paper (or screen), but about the many wa...

I have heard this song probably 100 times.  However, I was thinking tonight about the fact that I didn’t get the first job for which I interviewed.    I still haven’t heard back from the second interview either.  That job is supposed to start next week, but it might be different now that we got all the snow days last week.  It may have been pushed a week.  Either way, I still haven’t heard anything.    However, I have been thinking about what I could have said differently at the first interview to get the job in the county in which I grew up, call home, and would love to work!  I even had a “mock interview” going in my head of what I would say to the Principal of my old high school if I were to get an interview there.   Here is how the “mock interview” in my head went. Principal:  “Why do you want to work at (this school)?” Me:  “Well, to be completely honest, I have never imagined working at any other school....

So we picked up the surprise guest on Thursday. She was fine until 10:30pm last night. THAT is when she started crying wanting her mommy. Unfortunately, it was supposed to be her weekend at Daddy's house. So her mom was working her 2nd job. She was not going to be off work until 2am (today). I have known these people for 11 years, but I never once got Madison's dad's phone number. Oops.... might want to get that for next time! lol Anyways....we convinced her that everything would be fine and we could call her mom today. Of course, I was honestly hoping she would be fine and just agree to stay again tonight. HOWEVER.... we went to get something to eat around 6:30pm and she decided to remind us that she hasn't talked to her mom about going home. Well, I have no voice! When I open my mouth, NOTHING comes out! Okay! AIR comes out, but no sound! (That's going to make for great singing at church tomorrow!) So, I pulled up her mom's number in my phone. Dial...

My daughter's best friend is Madison. She is only 2 days younger than Chasity. They "knew" each other before they were born. (I know Madison's older sisters--my mom used to keep them!) Anyways, since today is another Snow Day because the back roads/side roads are not clear yet, I decided to surprise Chasity with a sleepover guest. This is supposed to be Madison's weekend with her dad, but lately she has been acting up for him, so her mom got the okay for her to stay with us! She is going to be here until SUNDAY! I've never kept her that long! So right now, I hear the sounds of little girls giggling and playing and whispering (loudly) in the other room! Chasity had NO IDEA Madison was coming. After Girl Scouts last night we went to WalMart. I told Chasity we had "Company" coming over after Scouts. I told her we needed to stop by the store to get some things that we were out of since she had been at home and eating house food all week. :) So th...

What songs mimic your life? Right now, I have a song in my head, and it seems to mimic what I am going through. I'm going to see if I can find it on YouTube or iTunes and post it on here. If not, I'll try to remember to post the lyrics later. I have been feeling really run down. Mentally I am drained. Physically I'm sick. Spiritually, I'm sluggish. All of those I can work on myself. However, when I'm down in all 3 areas at once, it's hard to focus on a way to get back up. So, now I just need a song to pick me up! :) I think I'm going to put the computer on my bed and play my iTunes while I'm getting ready! That should pump me up! :) What songs do you use to get in a better mood? What songs do you listen to to match your mood?

It's really weird to write all of those 1s in the title today! Today has been another Snow Day in our world. So just like yesterday, we were all 3 home. We slept late. We ate when we wanted. We did nothing of any importance. Tomorrow, I am going to have Chasity read for a while! I hate for her to go too long without reading. She doesn't mind, but *I* do! (That's what matters...right?) Tomorrow, Chasity is supposed to go for her check up after the surgery 2 weeks ago. Today was the 2 week mark, but the appointment was scheduled for tomorrow! Hopefully the doctor's office will be open. We still have ice all over the roads and parking lots. I'll call in the morning to see if they are open. Tonight, I am going to try to get some rest. My throat and sinus issues are worse today. :( So maybe some rest will help me! I've hoped that for the past few days! However, I am going to get some rest. Tomorrow I have more homework to do. Tomorrow is another Snow ...

Today begins my new semester at UNCC. Originally, I registered for 2 classes. Both were online classes. Then I received the email telling what was expected from each class. Once class is only offered every other year in the Spring online. So I decided I would NOT drop that class. I do NOT want to be on campus. The other class has several online sections every semester (even during the summer). Yesterday was the last day to drop a class for a full refund of the tuition. So I decided at about 11:45pm yesterday that I was only going to be able to take ONE class. I'm kind of glad that I did. I am going to have enough to do with it. :) Plus, if I get a job, I will not have time for the 10+ hours a week required for the other class. So now, as the rest of the campus has a SNOW DAY, I have completed my assignment that was due today---Introduce Yourself! Since I get to go to school in my PJs, I guess I don't have to worry about snow days! :) I'm looking forward to a great ...

According to the weather reports, we should have 6-8 inches of snow between now and Tuesday afternoon. On top of the snow, we will have a layer (about 1/4") of ice from the freezing rain and stuff coming behind it. Then the temps are not supposed to get out of freezing until Friday (maybe Thursday--if we stretch them)! Schools in Georgia started closing 2 hours before the snow started falling there. South Carolina schools did the exact same thing. A few schools in NC have started to do it. One of the neighboring counties is already out, but our district and the district that we share a meshed (you have to cross the lines of each district to get to schools in either district) border with are still open. I'm sure that they will probably close. I'm just hoping they wait until stuff starts falling. If they close for another rain day (like they did before Christmas) I'm going to be ANGRY on Saturday morning when I have to get up for Chasity to go to school! I hope th...

Today I spent the entire day from 10am-5pm in a meeting to plan the Spring portion of our Girl Scout service unit's year. The funny thing is that not much got planned. We came up with great ideas and decided to talk about most things again later! :) I also got an email from one of my professors today that instead of 2 books, I have to have 3! She also said that she has set the online course up so that although we have the "pleasure" of setting up our own schedule, we need to schedule 3-4 times a week to log in and spend about 4 hours at a time on just her class! That's great, but I have another class! I'm still waiting to hear back from the interview! Maybe it will be this week. I found out this week that my dad is going to have his surgery (we knew it was coming because he has a HUGE hernia from his surgery in Oct 2009) on January 20th! He will be in the hospital for 2-3 (maybe 4 days) then he will be home! He also will have to be out of work until he can...

I think that I am the most unorganized person ever! There are days that I'm pretty sure that my hubby would agree with that. However, there are days when I have "got it going on" and I know exactly where everything is. So I have been thinking! (I know...that's dangerous!) I want to get organized. I want to organize my thoughts, my desk, my scrapbooking stuff, my office, but, in general, I want to organize my life. I think that if I can organize my life all the other stuff if come together. Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to organize the small things (desk, office, crafting/scrapbooking stuff) in order for my life to become more organized. Now....where did I put the number to that professional organizer?

Chasity made it at school all day today! I'm so glad! I'm sure she'll be glad when she's feeling better too! I just learned that a friend's mom is in the hospital. She is having breathing issues and reacted badly to the breathing treatment from the ER. They are keeping her for tests because her blood pressure is high and her blood oxygen levels are low. They can't treat the oxygen levels outside of the hospital, so they said they are keeping her until that comes up at least....maybe longer! Tonight was a Girl Scout troop meeting! The girls decided on what they want to do with their cookie profits. Then we looked at what it will cost. In order for them to do it, the troop has to sell 2200 boxes of cookies. That means that each girl has to do at least 440! I have 5 girls I would TOTALLY love if they all did over 400 boxes!! Tomorrow night is the Cookie Rally! Chasity is the only one from the troop going! :( I'm just hoping she'll feel like it. S...

Chasity didn't make it to school today. Since I had to pick her up yesterday, I thought I'd check more thoroughly before sending her to school this morning. No fever! Eyes shining! Throat....RAW! The scabs from her surgery are starting to come off. She was in PAIN! So...what's a good mommy to do? Give the baby some medicine and put her back to bed. I slept until about 8:30am. I woke Chasity up at 10am. On days like this, I wish I could homeschool her. But, in reality, we all know that we would sleep until noon everyday and do all our work in the afternoon. I wish I could try for a year and see how it goes, but I'm pretty sure that she and I would get on each other's nerves rather quickly and nothing would be accomplished. We are going to check out the Magnet Program for our school district for Chasity. They are starting it next year. If she gets in, she would probably get to go to school with two of her 5 cousins. This might help me too. She could probably g...

Every night when I write the date, I still want to put 2010! However, that year is behind us now and I'm glad! My interview today went well, I think. But, they are interviewing nine other people THIS WEEK for the same job! I would have loved to have been number 8 or 9. That way when they started thinking about people I would be fresh on their minds. However, I was FIRST! The principal is hoping to make a decision this week. He has to have someone in the position by January 20th. The job starts on January 24th! Technically, I guess I could be working 20 days from now! That would be great! I'm looking forward to my classes starting next week. I have two classes this semester! If possible, I'm going to try to throw one (at least) in for the summer. I might do two if I can afford it (or if I can get financial aid for the summer sessions). I should check on that soon I guess. Registration is starting in just a couple of weeks (or maybe now) for the summer sessions!! Ch...

As I type this, I really should be in the bed! I haven't been sleeping well at all. So after taking Chasity to school today, Tony and I came back home. We had planned to rid the house of any and all Christmas decor. However, his brother (whom he never gets to talk to) called. And... I fell asleep! I slept.... for.... OVER TWO HOURS!!! At around 10am, I heard the house phone ring, but I knew Tony was here so I didn't budge. Then Tony came to the couch (I guess he had been upstairs) and said "Get the phone..... it's about a job!" So I sat up, cleared my throat, and without sounding too sleepy-headed (is that a word?) I said, "Good Morning, this is Leslie!" The lady on the other end introduced herself and asked if I'd like to come in for an interview tomorrow morning at 8:15am. "Ohmigosh! Really?" How professional did that sound? "Yes, ma'am. Can you be here at 8:15am?" "Yes, I can." Then I asked for the best di...

Tomorrow things go back to "normal"...whatever that is! Chasity goes back to school....BUT....since she just had her tonsils taken out on December 28th, we are only sending her for half a day! She has been in a lot of pain today. So we are only going to let her stay long enough that she won't be counted absent. So far, she has perfect attendance. The doctor said that she can't run, play, jump, etc. (anything physical other than walking basically) for two weeks after the surgery. He said that she could go back to school tomorrow, if she feels like it, but that it's our judgment call. So, we are going to take her into the teacher in the morning. We need to talk to the teacher so that she knows what is going on with Chasity. I'm hoping Chasity will do well for half a day tomorrow. Then Tuesday, she should hopefully be able to go back to school full-time! :) I'm hoping she will be able to make it tomorrow! I think that with lots of encouragement and lo...

I have decided that I want to write more often. I would love to write daily, but I may not be able to hold myself to that one....so more often than 2010 is good for now! Let's take this "one day at a time". There are many things I need to reflect on from 2010.... losing my Grandmother finishing student teaching filing for my teaching license Christmas But for now, I'll focus on last night. At church every year, we get together, starting at 9pm. We play games, eat, more games, definitely more eating, then we pray the new year in and the old year out. So last night we played "Mexican Train Dominoes"! LOVE IT! If you've never played, run out to WalMart and get your set today! It's SOOOOO fun! As for everything else that I want to reflect on, that has to wait! For today..... I woke up at 11am. I'm DVRing the Rose Parade (so I can watch without commercials later). I'm currently watching "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". L...