New site…..

I’ve went & done it.  I got my own site, so now if you want to continue reading my ramblings……..  please go here

 www.myinnerramblings.com

I’m still working on the site, but it’s pretty much up & running.

Shelby’s teacher rocks!!!

  My daughter started second grade this year.  That is a feat in itself.  We had a very hard time in first grade last year & I think it was all due to her teacher.  At the first parent-teacher conference of the year, the first words out of her former teacher’s mouth was- “Shelby is very immature.”  Wow, what a conversation starter huh?  I’ll be the first to admit, my daughter can be a little high strung.  I’ll also admit that sometimes she isn’t a “perfect little girl” either.  But in all my years of raising her & encountering tons of people, I’ve never had anyone describe Shelby like that.  Unfortunately, that was only the beginnings of our problem with this teacher.

Shelby struggles in reading.  This is something I know nothing about.  I was reading at age 2 & by the time I entered kindergarten, I was reading on a 4th grade level.  I don’t know how to help her with her reading because it was always easy for me.  Now, that’s not to say I don’t read to her or TRY to help her- I just know that I’m probably not going about it the best way.  We ended up spending the entire year behind in reading & getting no help from her teacher.  She wanted to hold her back, but I knew that Shelby could get it with the right help.  I was pissed to find out at the end of the year last year, that help was right in front of us- but NEVER OFFERED.

Fast foward to this year- my child is a much better student & seems to be excelling at a much better rate.  We had parent-teacher conferences last night with Shelby’s new teacher- Mrs. K.  This woman is after my own heart.  We had talked with her a little about Shelby’s struggles on open house night.  I had let her know that I wanted Shelby in the Remedial Reading program (a program that was available the previous year, but her teacher never informed us about).  She said that she would work on getting her into it.  What I didn’t know was just how hard she would work at that. 

You see, we were told last night that the Remedial program is ONLY FOR 1ST GRADERS.  Mrs. K went above & beyond her duty to get Shelby into this program.  She had to call in favors & beg the principal to let my daughter get this help.  Shelby is currently 4 levels under where she needs to be for a 2nd grader.  Mrs. K told us that she’s improving every day & she will be testing her at a 14 next week- 2 levels from where she needs to be.  She said that when she got notes on Shelby, she expected her to be very far behind & had basically little hope in her moving on this year.  She was pleasantly surprised in what she saw.  She told us that Shelby’s attitude has improved greatly over what she was warned about (we’ve noticed this as well) & that she’s a very hard worker. 

I’m so very proud that Shelby is finally getting a teacher that believes in her.  She’s coming into her own now & getting that self confidence that she needs.  She’s my kid & I’m damn proud of her.  I’m also proud that Mrs. K could recognize that she’s special too. 

The Jena 6

  The only way you don’t know about this case is if you’ve been living under a rock.  I’ve heard about it- through bits & pieces- on news stories for a couple of weeks now.  I’ll admit, I thought that this was just some way for Al Sharpton to get his name back in the news.  (I have many views on Al Sharpton, but I’ll reserve those for another time….)

After hearing about this case, I finally sat down & did some research about it.  I was astonished at what I read.  I can only imagine what it’s like in Jena, LA right now.  I won’t go into background on the case- if you’d like that you can here- but I just can’t believe in this day & age, something like this can go on.

I didn’t grow up in the civil rights era, but I’ve studied it in school.  I’ve visited the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis & I was just shocked.  I cannot fathom what horrific injustices they faced everyday.  I am ashamed to be from the south, where all of this took place.  I was raised by a father who is as racist as they get- along with a majority of my family members.  Luckily, my mother taught me to see the PERSON, not their COLOR, RACE, OR CREED.  This was a valuable lesson that I think is taken lightly. 

When I was reading the background on the case, I was appalled.  These boys were charged as adults (which was allowable under Louisana law) for a simple school yard fight.  If the charges wouldn’t have been lowered recently, they would’ve been in jail until they were at least 50- for what?  A fight?  C’mon people.  Would you have charged 6 white boys with the same list of charges?  Honestly, I don’t think they would have.  One of the charges brought against Mychal Bell (the boy who was the youngest at the time of the fight & was to be sentenced today) was orginally aggravated second-degree battery.  Under Louisana law, this charge is to be handed down when the assaulter uses a “deadly weapon”.  The district attorney Reed Walters said this was justified because Bell’s tennis shoes were considered a deadly weapon.  WHAT?!  Have you seen the picture of the boy that was beat up?  He had a few bruises on his face & a black eye.  He wasn’t hospitalized & he even attended a ring ceremony at the school later that night. 

I tend to reserve judgement on cases like this until I have all the facts.  After what I’ve read today, I’m certain that all of these boys charges should be DROPPED & they should be FREED.  The DA should be looked into by the proper authorities for his gross mishandling of this case.  I’m glad the Louisana Court of Appeals overturned the case on Mychal Bell & I hope the charges against the other boys will be dropped as well. 

What are your feelings on this case? 

Let your voice be heard

  As most of you know, I’m an avid sports fan.  Baseball is my number one love & this has been one very exciting year for the sport.  One incident over shadowed most of the season- Barry Bonds home run chase.  Thankfully, it came to an end (but Hank Aaron will always be the home run leader in my book) but now the controversy over his damn ball is front & center. 

Personally, if I’d caught the ball- I would’ve destroyed it.  No amount of money is worth it for that ball.  Barry Bonds is a cheater in my book.  No one gets that big that quickly without the help of some steroids.  Not to mention all of his health problems- there’s clear evidence he did them.  Now don’t hate on me- I’m a huge Cardinals fan but I also believe Mark McGuire did roids too.  Back to the topic at hand…….

 I was watching the Today show the other morning & saw an interview with Mark Ecko.  He’s a fashion designer that paid $750,000 for Bonds’ 756 home run ball.  He’s come up with a clever plan on how to deal with the ball.  He’s set up a website- www.vote756.com where you can choose from 3 different options on what to do with the ball. 

Option 1- Bestow It.  If this option wins, Ecko will give the ball to Cooperstown for them to display for all baseball fans to see.

Option 2- Brand it.   If this option wins, Ecko will brand an asterisk on the ball & then offer it up to Cooperstown.

Option 3- Banish it.  If this option wins, Ecko will put the ball on a rocket & shoot it into outer space. 

 As you can see above- I voted to brand the ball.  That way future generations will know exactly what the majority of fans thought about him.  So baseball lovers, go put in your vote. 

Platelets- please donate

  See these- if you don’t know, they’re very important cells that are badly needed.  Especially by cancer patients.  My uncle had his second day of chemo last Friday & I went to this appointment.  The day started off normal, his blood work was started & his port was put in for his chemo drip.  We had been waiting for about an hour when his nurse came over & said that she was just waiting on his blood work from the lab. 

We figured no big deal & my uncle started to take a little nap.  All of the sudden, Trinket (my uncle’s nurse) came back & said that he wasn’t getting his chemo.  Why you ask?  Because his platelet count was 6.  The normal range is between 150-500.  Apparently, this is a side affect of the chemo- it plummets your platelet count.  He went from 63 the week before to 6. 

What happens when your platelet count is low?  Well, you are unable to stop bleeding.  Platelets are your clotting factor.  No clotting factor means a normal cut could lead to a serious situation.  He was at extreme risk for spontaneous bleeding.  So, we rushed him to the hospital for an emergency platelet transfusion.

This is when I learned that platelets are desparately needed.  They only last five days & it is quite normal for cancer patients & hemophiliacs to need frequent transfusions.  With platelets, you don’t have to be an exact blood type match, but most are compatable with type A & O platelets. 

My uncle & I are the same blood type- so that is good to know.  Not only can I donate blood, but also platelets too.  It doesn’t take very long & it’s so needed.  So, if you have some spare time today- go to your local blood bank & donate.  If someone hadn’t, my uncle would’ve been in a world of trouble.

If you live in the Memphis area- Donate to LifeBlood.  They serve the Memphis area hospitals.  If you don’t live in the Memphis area, the Red Cross takes platelets too.  If you need more information about blood & platelet donation you can go here or here.

Last homestand

  This, ladies & gentlemen, is going to be the view I have from my FREE tickets to the Cardinals game this weekend.  That’s right, I said FREE.  I have to thank Thelma, my husband’s co-worker, for this wonderful occasion.  See if it wasn’t for her, I’d be at home this weekend (& where’s the fun in that?).

See earlier this year, I purchased some tickets to two separate Cardinals games through Stubhub.com.  I bought tickets for my brother’s to go with us & some for our anniversary against the hated Atlanta Braves.  My dumbass left the tickets in the Fed-Ex envelope that they came- after sternly warning everyone in the house that the tickets were STILL IN THERE & not to touch them.  Apparently, Jonathan didn’t hear me.  One day during a cleaning frenzy, he threw away the envelopes.  This one little toss cost us about $400.  I had splurged & got great seats for one game- needless to say I was furious. 

Countless expletives, crying & pouting episodes later- I forgave him.  It wasn’t his fault- I DID leave them in the envelope.  Plus, there was a little incident a few years ago on ebay that led to me buying a fake Louis Vutton bag for $400- so we called it even.  He couldn’t bring that up (you don’t know how many times he chided me about this) & I’d drop the ticket fiasco.  I ended up buying some more tickets & taking my brothers to a game. 

I never expected Jonathan to try & redeem hisself over the ticket fiasco.  Well, he did.  Another co-worker of his was getting rid of some tickets to a weekday game- he bought them & surprised me with the tickets.  It was a great day, just he & I enjoying each other & the Cardinals.  Well this time- he really out did himself.

His co-worker has never been to St Louis & even though she’s an Astros fan (the team they’ll be playing this weekend) she wanted someone else to come with her.  Jonathan told her we’d love to go & she offered the tickets to us for free.  I was floored when he told me this.  These will be the best seats I’ve had in the new Busch- take that back- the best seats ever to any Cardinals game I’ve attended.  I also got a great hotel for $65 in downtown St. Louis, where the median hotel price is $179- thanks Priceline.com. 

So think of me fondly about 6:15 Saturday night- I’ll be drooling over my men in white & red- thinking of all the ways I’ll be paying my husband back later that night………..

Outrageous!

  If you have a girl age 5 & over, you know exactly who this girl is.  If not, I’ll inform you.  She’s the newest Disney craze.  Shelby just loves her- I mean LOVES HER.  All I hear about is Hanna Montana this, Hanna Montana that.  It’s a cute little show, so I have no harm in her liking this show.  I mean, she could do worse right? 

While in Memphis this past Friday, I heard that Hanna Montana (aka Miley Cyrus) was going to have a concert there in November.  My daughter has somehow managed not to know this information.  I thought this would be a perfect Christmas present a month early.  Her first concert being Hanna Montana- I’d be up for the Mom of the Year award- WRONG…….

I was going to go on ticketmaster today to see how much the tickets were.  I planned on buying them this weekend.  Well, thanks to this story I, nor many other parents won’t be attending this concert.  Seems like the Disney Channel & scalpers are getting away with the perfect scam.

I’ve been to many a concert in my day & some pretty big name ones at that.  Never have I heard of one selling out in 8 freaking minutes!  I checked my old standby- Stubhub.com- I was astonished to find out that the minium ticket price is $148 bucks for nosebleeds.  I don’t think so mister.  On ebay- tickets are going for $500 for the same section. 

I don’t know what kind of moron parent can afford that, but I’m not one of them.  So if you hear of any tickets to this thing that are no more than say $50 or so, I’d be willing to take them off of your hands………..

Rate Increase

  Do these pipes look very expensive to you?  Well they don’t to me.  At least not expensive enough to justify the rate increase my city is going to enforce on us to pay for them. 

Let me give you a little background here.  I live outside of a smaller city in Arkansas.  That city has a population of about 30,000 or so.  My house sits in the city of Oak Grove Heights, literally 2 miles from Paragould city limits.  Because of those 2 miles, I do not get to enjoy the luxury of having city utilities & services.  I have to pay for my electric, trash, water, sewer, & cable separately.  This sucks, but for over 4 years now (how long I’ve lived there) it hasn’t been that big of a problem. 

Then yesterday as I’m reading our local paper (Paragould Daily Press), they have a story about our sewer system that is currently being constructed.  See, this was considered the “country” until a few years ago when people started breaking up their land & making subdivisions out there.  They didn’t have a good sewer system & it couldn’t keep up with all of the new residents.  So our fearless mayor (who is a douchebag) decided to build a new one. 

He originally told us that our rates for the sewer would go up $3 per household.  Well apparently douchebag can’t do math real well.  He sorta underestimated it- by about $45!!!  That’s right, we will have a flat rate of $48 PLUS what we are normally charged now.  How fucking ridiculous is that?  I’ve never heard of such a gross miscalculation such as that.  Seriously- how do you not figure in that much money?!

I love my home & plan on living there for a long time.  I just hate that I’m getting screwed over because I live 2 FREAKING MILES outside of the city limits.  For godsakes, annex us PARAGOULD!!!!!!!!!

Damn cold……

  That pic pretty much sums me up right now.  I’m sicker than a dog.  It figures that I would get sick just as the weather gets to a bearable temperature (i.e. under 90 degrees).  I have a runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes, cold chills, a slight fever- your typical run of the mill summer cold. 

I’m not one to whine normally, but this is getting me down.  I have ZERO energy- right at a time when I need to be at my best.  This month is the busiest month I’ve had all year.  I literally have something to do every weekend til October.  Not to mention, I will be accompanying my uncle to Chemo treatment this Friday (if I’m not too bad).  Normally, I love being so busy- but this month has really done me in. 

What’s worse- I can’t get out of anything this month.  I was in a wedding last weekend & attending one this weekend.  Both brides are very close friends of mine, so no matter how sick (because I was sick last weekend as well) I wouldn’t consider not going.  I also became the luckiest person in the world by getting FREE LUXURY BOX tickets given to me for my beloved St. Louis Cardinals last home stand of the year.  I will NOT miss this for the world.  Then at the end of the month, I get to meet some awesome ladies that I have met via the internet. 

Hopefully I’ll be feeling better soon, but if not- just know that I will be suffering this weekend.  But hey- at least I’ll be having some fun while I’m sick!

A Day of Rememberance

  Today marks the 6th anniversary of 9-11.  It still seems like it happened only yesterday.  This one event changed all of our lives in some way forever.  There are not too many things that have done that over the years. 

I can still remember where I was when I heard about the attack.  I was a junior in college at the time.  Me & my friend Jill carpooled from Paragould to school everyday.  She had an 8 a.m. class, so I went early to study before our next class at 9:15 a.m.  There I sat in the break room of LSE at Arkansas State dilligently studying my biochem.  Someone came running in the room scaring the bejesus out of the 5 of us in there.  They kept talking about the Twin Towers & how a plane had flew into them.

My intial reaction was that they were lying.  I mean, how many freaking planes fly near those towers everyday?  I called Jonathan to see if there was any merit to this.  I called him right after the second plane hit.  I couldn’t believe it.  I literally started crying when he was describing it to me. 

I had to go to class & my horrible biochem professor made us have class as normal- even though none of us paid any attention to her that day.  After class, we immediately ran to my friend Amanda’s dorm room to watch the coverage.  It was surreal.  We turned it over right before the 1st tower fell. 

I still cannot get the images of people jumping out of the towers or covered in soot after they fell.  So many innocent people lost their life that day- & for what?  What also upsets me is the many soldiers that have lost their lives since that day.  They are fighting a war that cannot be won.  Terrorism- as horrible as this thought is- will ALWAYS be a threat to our country.  No matter how hard we try to break up the radical cells of terrorists out there, we will not succeed. 

The entire world is different because of 9-11.  My daughter doesn’t know what it’s like to live in a world free of war & the constant threat of terroist attack.  We are just waiting until the next 9-11.  Many analyists say that it’s not if but when is it going to happen.  All I know is that I will not let the terrorists affect my life.  I will live everyday to the fullest & continue to travel.  We as a country will always remember those who died & continue to honor their memory.