the long arm of the law............

Yesterday I got some bad news about a kiddo that I really care about quite a bit. One of Josh's friends, that practically lived w/ me for a couple of years has gotten himself into some more trouble. He's safe, in detention, and will be heading to rehab right after. 15 years young. Into some really heavy stuff.Weapons, hard drugs. I guess it was a blessing he was caught before someone really got hurt.

I picked up my divorce packet on Tuesday. I'm ready to wrap up that part of my old life and move on to chapter whatever this is now,lol. You would think w/ all the practice husbands I have I would be better at figuring out how to fill these papers out, but I keep having to ask questions,lol. Good thing we don't have anything hard like kids or property. Ahh well, hopefully I never need it again.

I am happy. I feel good. My life is going pretty good right now.

Guess thats it..
Lisa

Summer is here!

The city pool opens this weekend and that means my guys are at work. Joel is a lifeguard this summer again, and Josh is the Head Cashier. They are both glad to be there.

Things are going really well at work, I like the work at night a lot. I feel like I almost know what I am doing now,lol so that is another good thing.

I am enjoying my new car. It really is just too stinking cute.

I think I am going to spend tomorrow afternoon doing fun stuff. Exactly what that means I am not sure, but I know I need to do something fun.

today is a big day

My oldest son is graduating high school today. He is graduating w/ honors, and of course, we are all very proud of him. He has big plans, that kid does,lol.It really does seem like yesterday that he was 4 lbs, fitting in my hand and not able to lift his head or sleep longer than 2 hrs. Now he can do really hard math, save people's lives and decide what kind of life he wants to have. He is everyone's friend and almost always knows the right thing to do. He really is an incredible person and I would want to know him even if he didn't belong to me.

For the inquiring minds, John and I are still together. Things are really, really good.

I am tired, I worked last night, so I am heading out!
Lisa

I really really hate thinking of stupid titles.....

So today I got my new car. I really don't enjoy car shopping,and when everyone was telling me to have fun picking out my new car, I wondered if I am the only one who hates shopping for a car. This was a little easier since I did not have some stupid man trying to tell me what I wanted (other than the car salesman). Actually the car salesman was alright this time- everything worked out pretty well. I am happy w/ what I got, and the boys even like it. I was not there the entire flippin day, like usual, just 3 or 4 hrs. Since I am already getting a divorce, car shopping is not going to cause me to want to divorce anyone,lol.
I wanted a little SUV ( OK- I wanted a tahoe, but yaknow, that just isn't practical for me) so that is what I was looking for. My two main criteria is that it had to not be a car and it had to have good cupholders. My last car did not have any cup holders and let me tell you that is a huge pain in the ass.My new ride has 4, count 'em 4 cup holders. Sweeeeet. The kids were impressed w/ the stereo, and the fact that they fit in the back seat,lol. I can't wait for tomorrow so I can have somewhere to go,lol.
I will try to take a pic tomorrow so I can show it to all of you,lol.
Take care,
Lisa

real quick update

since I was a bad blogger and did not update this while I was off of work,lol...
I got a call from the insurance company and they are ready to settle the property part of the claim. I am going to get enough money out of it to put a down pmt on another car. That's cool- I just have to choose a car and coordinate getting my other car picked up and turned over to said ins company..
Cross your fingers for me.....................
Take care!

switching from normal to abnormal

not sure if my friends would agree that I used to be normal, but for sure, now I am not. I have started working 6pm to 6 am. That is just not normal.I have so many sleep issues, and trying to sleep during the day is one of them. Eventually I will just drop dead from exaustion I think.

I do enjoy working at night, it is a whole different ball game than during the day.All the young gals work at night. ( except me of course,lol- they were making fun of me!)My friend Kristie told everyone that I was born in 1940. Thanks girl.....

Someone I know asked me the other day what do I really want out of life. I am at a crossroads in my life- free to chose whatever it is that I want.Had I been asked that question in January, I would have had a totally different answer than I do now that it is May.

I have to say that I believe that happiness is internal, not external. So I can't look for someone or something to make me happy. I just have to be. That is not to say that I need to put negative things in my life, as a challenge,lol.

I also believe there is more than one path to that happiness. I could teach, and be happy. I could be a dispatcher, and be happy. I could be happy in AZ. I could be happy somewhere else. I could stay single and be happy. I could get married again and be happy.

When I say that my answer is different now than it was in January, I had decided after two marriages, and a miserable dating situation, that I was just going to raise my sons, learn my new job and live my life. It was obvious to me that I was not going to find someone right for me, and it was time to just be happy on my own. Then, in February, there I was minding my own business and wham-o.

Now I do want to be w/ someone again. I want to take care of someone and have someone take care of me. I want to love and be loved. I want to make him the happiest man on the planet and I want to be the happiest woman. I want to wake up and see him next to me. I will quit before I gross all of you guys out,lol.

I will close w/ a story of a woman who taught me so much, and I was supposed to be her child's teacher. She had 4 boys, all under the age of 6. Her man was a big looser, and left her w/ the kids and took off w/ someone else. She was living in govt housing, on welfare, food stamps etc. Her apartment was tiny- you could barely walk in there. At the time, I had 3 bathrooms in my house, and could not imagine 5 people trying to share one. She did not have a car. Her dinner table wobbled and none of her chairs matched. One time I was there and the light above her table had burned out and she mentioned waiting until the beginning of the month to get another light bulb.

She was the happiest person that I had ever met. She loved each one of her boys with all of her heart. She worked hard to raise them individually, not just in survival mode, if you know what I mean. Her apt was clean, she took a lot of pride in it, and always made a snack or some coffee or something when I did my home visits. She always had a special story about something cute one of the boys did. I never once heard her complain about her situation,her ex husband, or any of the choices that she made that lead her to that situation. I will never forget her, and as I have had challenges in my life, I always am reminded of her, and how she was honestly happy and at peace. Her joy came from raising her children.

Night,
Lisa

ssssssssssssss

snakes-I like snakes. I had a Ball Python for a long time. I even like rattlesnakes. They are important to our environment, and people should respect them.

sarcasm-My sense of humor. I love sarcasm.

sage-I love to grow sage, it is a beautiful plant.

salad-I am into salads now.

salt-I love salty stuff, my fave is cheddar sour cream ruffles

sugar- love sugar too, especially chocolate.

scent- I like vanilla scented stuff.

secrets- I am not the best at keeping secrets. I am not a very private person, so it is hard for me to keep a secret unless someone specifically asks me to.

smile- I have been smiling a lot more lately.

should-I get hung up on what I should be doing. I have a huge sense of responsibility to other people and it gets in my way sometimes.

sports- I love to watch my kids play sports.

strawberries- are yummy.Especially w/ sugar and cream.

t is for...

table- I use my parents first dining room table. They wanted something new, after my sister and I moved out. I could not imagine getting rid of something so sentimental. So my sons and I eat there, but no one sits on the chair w/ the seat that was scratched by my booster chair.

tangelos- way better than oranges.

tape recorder- I wonder if my grandkids will even know what that is.

tarantula- Josh had one as a pet for about a year.

teachers- there are good ones, and not so good ones.

television- I could prolly do w/o it, but my kids like to have a billion channels so they can watch the same shows on the same old channels. Guess it is a comfort thing. I do like court tv, lifetime and cmt.

Tennessee- I have always wanted to go there. I have a good friend who lives there. Hi Kristiegk!

tetherball- When Joel was in kindergarten and 1st grade, he played tetherball so much that his hand bled. It was an obsession to him.

Texas- My good friend Vivian lives in Texas.

thankful- I try to count my blessings.

thigh-my favorite piece of chicken.

thirties- I am almost done w/ my thirties,lol.

tiger- Someone told me once that you can't cage a tiger. What if he walks into the cage by himself??

tinker- my dad's life work

traditions- I love traditions.

traffic- hate it, that was a big reason I moved out of PHX.

u is for........

ultimate-The ultimate drink place is Sonic. The ultimate dog is the Chow Chow. The ultimate profession is teacher ( for w/o teachers there would be no other professions). The ultimate job is being a parent, since you are your child's first and most important teacher. The ultimate candy bar is the Hersheys Special Dark. The ulitmate pizza toppings are ham and pineapple.

uncertainty-These are uncertain times we live in. The longer I live the more uncertainty I feel. Of course 20 years ago- I knew everything. The only thing that is certain is that things change and people adapt. Good thing I might have finally figured that out.

uniform-I believe in non conformity. I believe that each of us has to walk our own path. I believe that a toddlers temper tantrum is one of the most important parts of a person's development. I do not believe that anyone, particulary school children should be required to wear a uniform. I personally follow rules and laws w/ almost an anal psychosis, but secretly cheer on those who push that envelope. ( I am obviously not talking about people who commit crimes and hurt other people)

unlikely-
It is unlikely that I will ever-
drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, do drugs, or take narcotic prescription painkillers.
like raw onions
want to stop scrapbooking
totally understand my exes
want to give up caffiene
want to give up chocolate
be a size 7 again
change my opinions about some of my key beliefs
like the music my youngest son likes



uplift-I saw this quote the other day- " Nothing is worth more than the human soul".I am trying to remember that as I try not to let little things that don't really matter irritate me. Is Josh's soul more important than him having a clean room. Of course. Is Joel's belief that the world is a big and rosy place just waiting him to make his mark more important than giving him a dose of my reality? Of course. Is the extra couple of minutes it takes to help someone out worth any incovenience to me? Of course. So, let's try to uplift eachother not tear eachother down. Everyone is having a hard time- let's play nice.