Inspiration from Brenna

Last week Brenna instituted Wikipedia Friday and she (true to her word) continued it again today. In recognition of her spirit of learning, I have decided to give Wikipedia a try today too! Here we go...

Today's Topic: Husein Gradaščević

What I learned: He was a Bosniak general in the Ottoman Empire, born in 1802. He had a reputation for wise rule and tolerance and became very popular. He overthrew the current government, but 18 years later, he was overthrown and had to flee to the Habsburg Monarchy. He eventually died under "mysterious circumstances" but is still one of the most revered figures in Bosnian History.

Personal anecdote involving : I wonder what "mysterious circumstances" he died under. I learned a lot about him...but how he died seems to be of more interest to me than anything else. Is that wrong of me???

Thoughts on Wikipedia's "Husein Gradascevic" article: I have determined that I live in a bubble and I don't even think about the history of other countries (let alone the history of the US.) I think I will do some research and see if I can find out how he died...

Mystery solved...after some research here is the legend of Husein's death:
"Legend has it that he was poisoned by imperial authorities but, considering his long failing health, a more probable cause might have been cholera"

Another one gone...

Everyone from work seems to taking jobs at different schools. This morning I heard that our placement director is leaving. Pretty soon no one will be left...

Admissions-8 gone this year
Dean-retiring at end of year
Placement-gave notice
Business Office-applying to work for corporate
Teachers-a lot gone (I don't even know how many have left)

Who is next??

Almost there...

Well, this week has been pretty easy since William and I both had dentist appointments and I got to sleep in a few days and I had two short work days (4 hours on Tuesday and 6 today.) But this week seems to be kicking my butt. Maybe I am still recovering from last weekend when my mom (as Jennifer would put it) threw up on me...meaning she flung all of her past hurts (from my parents divorce, our relationship when I was a teenager, etc.) onto me in the van when we went to visit my grandpa in Eugene. Believe me...it WASN'T a fun day. Last night she called and talked to Joe (what a great guy!) and hopefully that will help her. She has become very bitter about everything and it isn't what I want to hear about. I love my mom and dad and I don't really want to be put in the middle of their stuff.

Needless to say I am ready for the weekend! It would be really nice if Dusty picked up the boys this weekend. I don't think he will since I haven't heard from him...but who knows...I might get lucky. Not that I don't love my boys, but I know they would love to spend time with him and it would be nice to have some alone time with Joe. But either way I will have a great weekend. Zan has a soccer game and we are going to Brian and Kristi's house to watch the Cougar game on Saturday, plus we are going to try to make time to open up a checking account at WaMu between those two activities. Sunday we are going to church and I get to find out who my new secret sister is (yippee!) and if we have the boys we might go to the pumpkin patch.

My favorite pumpkin patch is the one on Sauvie Island. It is so much fun. They have a tractor ride out to the different pumpkin patches. The boys have a blast riding it. They especially love getting all muddy and picking out the perfect pumpkin (usually one they can't quite carry!) Plus they have a petting zoo and different treats to eat (corn on the cob, carmel apples, etc.) It takes up a good part of the day and is quite a drive...but SO much fun. In years past I have gone in early October, but this year seems to be flying! I can't believe Monday is Halloween! Crazy!

For Halloween I have decided to be a "High School Jock's girlfriend." The real reason I picked this costume is because I want to wear jeans to work, which normally is a BIG NO-NO...but on Halloween I can make it fly:) I am going to wear my lacers and Joe's old letterman jacket and have my hair up in a ponytail. It should be fun. I can't wait to see what everyone else dresses up like. Genny and Michelle are going to wear their riding gear and be "biker chicks." Donna's will be the best surprise. She was great last year. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

A great prayer

Heavenly Father, Help us remember
that the jerk who cut us off in traffic
last night is a single mother who
worked nine hours that day and
is rushing home to cook dinner,
help with homework,
do the laundry and spend a
few precious moments
with her children.

Help us to remember that the
pierced, tattooed, disinterested
young man who can't make
change correctly is a worried
19-year-old college student,
balancing his apprehension
over final exams with his
fear of not getting his
student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord,
that the scary looking bum,
begging for money in the same
spot every day (who really ought
to get a job!) is a slave to addictions
that we can only imagine in our
worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the
old couple walking annoyingly
slow through the store aisles
and blocking our shopping
progress are savoring this
moment, knowing that,
based on the biopsy report
she got back last week, this
will be the last year that they
go shopping together.

Heavenly Father,
remind us each day that,
of all the gifts you give us,
the greatest gift is love.

It is not enough to share
that love with those
we hold dear.

Open our hearts not to
just those who are
close to us,
but to all humanity.

Let us be slow to judge
and quick to forgive,
show patience,
empathy and
love.

Stephanie is gone

How sad. I really liked her. I told her I was going to miss her this morning and good thing I did! Laurel (in her infinite "wisdom") sent Stephanie packing while I was at lunch. So much for giving a two week notice. Luckily she has a job all lined up. Either she will get a little break, or maybe she will get to start earlier. I am really glad she is getting a good opportunity, but I really enjoyed working with her.

What is your power color?

Your Power Color Is Magenta

At Your Highest: You energize yourself and push others to suceed. At Your Lowest: You feel frustrated and totally overwhelmed. In Love: You are suprised by who you attract. You're a love magnet. How You're Attractive: Open and free spirited, people want to explore the world with you. Your Eternal Question: "What is my next source of inspiration?"

What's Your Power Color?

I think the stress is getting to me

This week is start week for classes at my work and I think the stress of it all is getting to me. Yesterday I did my sleep walking thing in the middle of the night and last night I had quite a night too.

Before I can begin my story I have to give you a little background on how my mornings work. Joe doesn't like the snooze button (and I do) so he has the alarm on his side of the bed and wakes me up and makes sure I am awake for sure before he goes back to sleep. Well, this morning I thought he woke me up (at my usual time of 6 a.m.) and then I fell back asleep. I woke up a bit later and realized it was 20 after...and Joe was sleeping soundly next to me. After a moment of shock that I was late I got up and got Zan up and getting dressed. Will just wouldn't wake up so I asked Zan if he could try to wake Will up in a few minutes while I took a quick shower. After my shower Zan was all dressed and ready to go (what a great kid) and Will was still fast asleep. He just wouldn't wake up! At this point Joe came and said...."Is there a reason everyone is up at 4:30 in the morning???"

Somehow I apparently dreamed that he woke up and when I looked at my watch I just looked at the minute hand and assumed it was 6:20...not the actual time of 4:20. Needless to say I went back to bed for another 2 hours.

I think I am losing my mind!

Coffee

Yep. Watch out! I had coffee today.

I had the weirdest dream last night. Every once in a while I have a dream and I end up sleep-walking. Last night I had one of these dreams. Now, remember that this was a dream, so it doesn't make much sense...

I found myself next to my bed when I woke up and for some reason my dream was that I couldn't go back to my bed for 5 minutes (no clue why...) but I was tired so I ended up going out to the living room and slept on the couch. So weird...

Well, I don't think I slept very well out on the couch because I am really tired this morning. (Hence the coffee)

To top it all off everyone on the MAX today everyone was in a pooey mood. As many of you know, Tri-met has banned smoking at all of its bus shelters and on the MAX platforms. This morning our train driver was announcing every few stops a reminder that smoking was no longer allowed on the MAX platforms and also to make sure that seating was available for senior citizens and disabled people. A girl next to me grumbled everytime the driver said this. Then at almost every stop the people were grouchy and said, "I need to get off, get out of my way!" It just wasn't a very good start to the day. But coffee has put me in a better mood.

Green Bay Packers

So, the Packers haven't been having a very good year so far. They have lost 4 and finally won one last week. Well, good news! They didn't lose this week!

Okay...okay...they didn't win either. They had a bye week, but hey at least they didn't lose!

What rejected crayon are you?

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

My Japanese name...

Your Japanese Name Is...

Mitsuki Nakamura

What's your Japanese Name?

Go figure...

I have been trying to get ahold of Dusty for over a week now...and guess what? He hasn't answered his phone and he (of course) hasn't returned any of my messages. Grrrrrr.... If he actually picks up the boys tonight I am finally ready to play some hard ball. I am going to tell him that his behavior is going to stop. Truly I could hold him in contempt of court right now with all he has done (and not done) over the past year, but I feel like I need to tell him what is going to happen before I go through with it. I am definitely ready to take him to court if I need to though. I am so tired of never knowing whether he will pick up the boys and it is extremely hard for the boys too. They need him to be there for them consistently.

Luckily I was smart enough to get some clauses in the divorce decree that will aid me in holding him in contempt. He is supposed to call me by Wednesday if he can't pick up the kids (he rarely gives me notice...and if he does it is usually Friday morning) so he has broken that ruling countless times. PLUS, he is supposed to have the boys for three weeks in the summer (which he had them... ZERO times). My guess is that he won't have them much over the winter holidays either...but who knows. He won't return my calls, so I am in the dark.

So tonight I will pack the boys (just in case) and have them fed (again...just in case) but we will probably watch a movie together. No news is usually NOT good news with Dusty...but he has surprised me before...

Whew...

What a busy day! There is finally a lull in here. I am taking this opportunity to eat a little popcorn and veg for a few minutes.

Today is Sireina's last day at Western. I know she will do great and I am happy for her, but I will miss her. She is really nice and I enjoyed working with her.

Well, I must get back to work. My desk is a disaster!

What is Your Religious Philosophy?

You are a Believer

You believe in God and your chosen religion. Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu.. Your convictions are strong and unwavering. You think your religion is the one true way, for everyone.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

A great weekend

This weekend went wonderful. On our way to Pullman (a six hour drive) we stopped about half way in Kennewick and ate at the best place called Casa Mia. It was wonderful. The boys had raviolli and Joe and I shared a Chicken Cashew Pizza with some white sauce. It was a great treat. We got to Pullman around 8:30, so it wasn't too bad of a trip. We stayed with Joe's sister and her family. They have two girls the same age as my boys, so all the kids had a great time.

Saturday Joe and I went to the Cougar game. I had a great time. Joe had a good time, but was very disappointed by their loss. This was my first college game. I really want to go see an Oregon Duck game now. On that note, my Ducks won this weekend! And by a miracle my Packers crushed New Orleans...who is actually having a decent year. At least my Packers won't be totally defeated this year.

After the game, everyone went to Joe's parents house for a delicious dinner. His mom made pork chops and rice with veggies and salad. Yummy! Plus she was so sweet...she had a birthday party for the boys. I was very touched. She got them cute coats and each got a gift card for $10. They had fun spending their money. Zan got a new video game and Will got a magnetic building set and some trading cards.

Sunday we went to church with Eliza's family and then went to Mexican for lunch. Yummy! The boys slept most of the way home (about 4 hours!!!). We got home around 7 and Joe and I decided that the boys weren't going to be tired so we let them stay up and watch a movie. I told them that they needed to go to sleep after the movie was over; then I headed to bed myself.

Well, Joe got up around 2:30 this morning and found my sweet little angels playing video games. Needless to say they are both grounded for an undetermined amount of time and then their video games are going to be on a "check out" basis only. I haven't exactly figured it all out yet...but I am very disappointed in my boys. Especially Zan, he knows better...especially on a school night!

Here we go again...

For the last few weeks I have been going through the process of changing my name. Everything went fairly smoothly. In fact two weeks ago I got my name changed at DMV, Social Security, and my bank.

Of course, everything can't go THAT smooth....

Last week I got my bankcard from my bank and it still had my maiden name on it....

I went to the bank and the clerk apologized and ordered a new one. No problem...

Well, yesterday I got another card...still in my maiden name. So, off to the bank I went (again). Now it is just wait and see...will the third time be the charm????

Doing my part for America

Today I had a surprising call at work. A guy from the United States Government called regarding Roxanne's daughter (my babysitter's daughter). The daughter (Gina) has been in the Navy for a few years and now she is getting a promotion that she needs "security clearance" for. He asked if he could come downtown to meet with me face to face, which he did. He had his official "special agent" ID. I always thought the ID on TV was hokey...but it really does look that way. He asked me a bunch of questions about Gina and whether I would trust her with "national security issues." It was quite an interesting meeting.

Pumpkins

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.

My Hawaiian Name

Your Hawaiian Name is:

Roselani Kiele

What's your Hawaiian Name?

Update for the week

Tonight I get to go to Zan's back to school night. It should be fun. He gets to show me around the school and introduce me to his teacher, the principal, the librarian, and whoever else is there. He is excited. Plus we get cookies at the end:)

Tomorrow I have another meeting for OASFAA. I am heading down to Eugene first thing in the morning. Should be an interesting meeting. We are discussing a new vote the membership is taking, so it should be a lively discussion. Plus we have to talk about how things will change for the executive board if the vote passes.

Then this weekend Joe and I and the kids are headed to Pullman. I am getting off at noon so we can leave when Zan gets out of school. We are going to stay at Joe's sister's house. She is going to be gone but her husband (John) and my two neices will be there. John is nice enough to watch our boys while we go see the cougar game. I can't wait. I have never been to a college football game. It should be a lot of fun.

Last night I got home in time to see Green Bay "almost" come back from behind. Unfortunately it didn't happen...boo hoo... But it was great to see them almost make it. It was an amazing final quarter.

That is it for today!

Well, our ladies night out was cancelled. Becky had to work late so Sheila and I decided to call it off until all three of us could get together. Good news? Sheila and I both got to spend time with our hubbies. Sheila got a babysitter and went out to coffee with Frank. Joe and I went to Home Town Buffet with the boys (we had some great coupons. The kids were free and $1 off each of our dinners!)

Dusty actually picked up the boys this weekend! Yeah! The boys were very excited and were even more excited that they were spending the weekend at Grandma's house (down in Sweethome.) The house down there is really nice. Small town, lots of property. It is great for growing boys who want to run free:)

Joe and I took advantage of our weekend alone and watched a few movies. Last night we were going to go see a movie (The Constant Gardener) but both were a bit too tired so we decided to head out for dessert instead. We looked online for some ideas and found a wonderful place called Rimsky-Korsakoffee House. It was wonderful. You can find it on 12th and Belmont. It is in an old victorian house and has a classical piano player the whole time. It is very intimate and has really great (but strong) coffee. I had a delicious raspberry and chocolate mousse parfait. Joe had a blackberry and peach cobbler. Both were yummy! It was a great experience. I can't wait to go back sometime. They are only open in the evening and are open until midnight or 1am depending on the day.