Ok, now everyone cross their fingers....

My horoscope for today:

March 26, 2007
Yes, it is your turn now, Laura. Perhaps you have been waiting and waiting for something, and somehow, the timing just hasn't seemed right. Perhaps there has been some big blockage in the way, either mental, or physical. Wait no longer, because the time is here. Step up to the plate and say your piece. There are no more excuses so don't hold back. The more you contribute, the more you will be richly rewarded.

I read my horoscope for fun, but I wish that just this once it would be true!

Spring Cleaning

I have been so busy with school work that I didn't have time to clean my room and it got quite messy- I felt like I was living in a storage facility! SO, I spent the majority of today cleaning my room, along with my cabinets in the kichen. I know my room doesn't seem like that big of a project, but I have packed a suprising amout of stuff in to that room!! I feel so much better now! I also baked a cake of sorts- I used a few small loaf pans with the batter instead of a 9 x 13 pan. I'm going to miss having all this free time when I start my classes next Sunday!

ahem....

I would just like to point out that certain people who picked on me for not updating my blog have not updated their blogs. Who's the slacker now?!

One down, one more to go

Since my last client of the day cancelled, I am home all by myself right now. So being the good little blogger who got her head chewed off for not updating that I am, I decided to post. Happy now?! Last night I turned in the final three assignments for my one class, which felt good. Now I just need to do the final two assignments for my other class and I will be done....for a couple weeks. I plan to start my next 2 classes in April, so I will not have much of a break.

FYI

I realize that you all are just foaming at the mouth to read about my….uh….exciting? life, but please stop with the comments. I know that you are trying to be funny, but honestly, it’s just annoying. I work more then 40 hours a week in a very stressful field with many people who add more stress. I am taking classes towards my master’s degree- which is like having a part time job and is also a source of stress. Not to mention the tension with one of my roommates and the time I must devote to the gym(and yes, it is a necessity- I believe we have mentioned a desire for grandchildren for mom and a promotion to “Aunt” Stephanie) I do not have a lot of free time and posting is on the lower end of the list of priorities. Please be patient!!!

Full Moon

My roommates have been acting very strangely lately. Jen started dating a new guy and ever since she has been friendlier. She has also gone MIA- I haven’t seen her for the past four days, which is very out of character for her. Liza is apparently fighting with Jen, for reasons only she(Liza) understands. She is also worried about Jen since we don’t know Mike, the aforementioned guy, all that well and Jen has been spending A LOT of time with him.

Psst.....

Even thought I do not work in a field that typically recieves tips or gifts during this time of year, we do have clients, not all of them but some, that get us little gifts. Generally it's a little something from the dollar store, but we do occationally get a really nice gift, such as the one above. I have always appreciated these gifts, no matter what they are, because I think that is the parent's way of saying that they are grateful for what we do. But if I'm being entirely honest, a sincere "Thank you" from a parent means more then anything that could be bought.

My Grown Up Christmas List

Here is my real Christmas list, NOT in order of importance:

1) A new Job- I'm not entirely sure that I want to work for a different company- things have definately changed for the better- but I would like either a new position or a promotion. Or at the very least:
2) My own office
3) A pay raise
4)Mr. Right- you will notice I didn't say "a boyfriend", I said mr. right because time's awastin'
5) My own apartment- things with the roomies have been a slight bit better, but I have come to the conclusion that things will always have to be done Liza's/sometimes Jen's way. Plus I think I'm a better decorator!
6) A winning lottery ticket
7) Faster results at the gym
8) to be further along with my master's degree
9) Health insurance (without a huge price tag)
10) for my apartment to be mouse free!
11) to be able to fix the scratch on my pretty car
12) for the rest of my family to be able to move somewhere where they will be safe

We girls...Can Do Anything! That's Right Barbie!

Andrew, the one who has worked for us for a long 5 months, assumed the role of director at the start of this week. I have been dreading this because Andrew, bless his little soul, knows nothing about BHRS( the type of program I work in- Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services). I fully expected to see further signs of the apocalypse upon arriving at the office on Monday morning. But it has been, MUCH to my suprise, a pretty good week. The head honcho and I had a discussion one morning about how he just now realized that the company had previously been run by an evil little clique(I'm paraphrasing) and that certain employees were being "sabataged". And I was given a slight promotion. Andrew has decided that there should be 3 levels of TSS, each with a different pay rate. The highest TSS, called Level 1 ( yes, I know it doesn't make sense- there's a reason I nicknamed him Barbie), has the added responsibility of training the new TSS- something that I already did, but now I will get paid extra to do it. YAY ME!! I am not totally convinced that I want to stick around at this place, but it's a possibility.

I am thankful for:

I post so often about the things that have gone awry in my life, so I thought I would post about all the good things:

1) My parents- not until I started working with children with a mental health diagnosis did I fully appreciate the tremendous impact good parents, or the lack thereof, can have. I am lucky enough to have parents who are supportive, who made sacrifices to make sure that I was taken care of, and are, knock on wood, healthy & alive.

2) My sisters- while being an only child looked good when I was growing up, I have come to value my sisters.

3) My big, crazy, disfunctional extended family- Dull holiday or family function? Not with my extended family!

4) My job- Even though it is a stressful job and my boss really seriously could win an award for unprecidented stupidity in decision making, I love what I do. I love that I spend my day doing something good and making the world an ever so slightly better place.

5) My niece and nephews- they are adorable and most of the time, they make me want to have kids of my own in the worst way!

6)My apartment- my bedroom may be the only place in the apt that is truely mine, but I like feeling like an adult.

7) My car- I know that a car is just a possession, but knowing that I bought a new car makes me feel ever so slightly successful, which is priceless. Also I need it to make a living

8) Thunder From Down Under- because hello! Have you seen them?!

9) That I am a grad student! Not only do I get to further my career, but I get to feel smart!

10)My Friends- do I need to explain?

11) Yearly trips to Vegas- make up for all the spring breaks that I worked through. And now that I have a decent income and paid vacation time, soooo much better then spring break!!!

12) I belong to a gym- I get to workout and more importantly, I've seen results!

13)Sick days and paid vacation- because I need a break every now and then!

14) Christmas, my most favorite holiday, is almost here!

15) My big, cushy bed that feels soooo good after a long day with the short people and their, sometimes, hostile keepers.

16) Dane Cook and John Heffron- the only comediens who make me laugh out loud.

17) The Wedding Date- the male lead's lines are so good you KNOW they were written by a woman, but, a girl can dream.....

18) That this year is almost over- I have always felt a sense of promise with the start of a new year and a sense of hope that it will be better then the last.

FYI: I'm Awesome: Part deux

I finished my tenth and final assignment for school today!!! This is the third(3rd) assignment I have done this week! And then I requested my next two classes, which will start in January.

why you should never fall asleep at a family party!

FYI: I'm Awesome

My professor just graded all of the assignments that I have turned in so far (7 out of 10) and I have 100% on every single one!!!! She has written comments on each, so I know that they have really been read and the grade is legitimate. In addition to giving a grade, the professor has to score my writting ability on a scale of 1 to 6 with 6 being excellent. The icing on the cake? Every assignment has been given a writting score of 6. The University also requires each student to write a Statement of Intent, which is a short essay about your goals and how your program relates to said goals, for the purpose of assessing your writting ability on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being excellent. My score was a 5! Why, you ask, does this delight me so much? Because what caused me to drop below the minimum 3.0 GPA at Liberty was a "D" grade on a paper. So take that mr. hoity toity professor man!!!!!

Mental Health Day

Lately my job, well, really my coworkers, have been driving my Crazy. I realized exactly how crazy when I woke up late on Wednesday morning and the first thought that popped in to my head was not "oh crap, I only have a half hour to get ready", it was" I need to use a sick day soon". So I decided to be sick today and I feel so much better!

One Expensive Sticker

I recently renewed my car's registration- but lost the little '07 sticker that you put on your plate. So today I went to an agency that does license stuff to get a replacement. 20.00 bucks for that tiny little sticker!!!

An Act of Management

Last week the guidance counselor of one of our clients called the office looking for the client's BSC, who I happen to share a TSS case with. Both the acting director (Michele) and the guidance counselor were having trouble getting in touch with him. The acting director emailed him telling him if he did not contact her by this past monday, she was going to start restaffing his cases. Now Michele is in for an hour or 2 a day- what hour changes on a daily basis-so it's pretty hard to catch her. Needless to say the BSC didn't catch her in time and Michele immediately started restaffing his cases- including the one I share with him.(Not, however, the one that started this mess!) This irritates me because our case was going very well: the client and his parents were happy and responsive to all of his therapists- something that doesn't always happen immediately and for that reason you DO NOT mess with it!! The BSC position is critical because this person oversees the entire case and decides exactly what we do with the client. So Michele has now completely disrupted this case for no good reason- her ego is the only thing that was benefited by this decision!! Silly me, I thought we should be doing what is best for the client, NOT the staff!!!

Public Service Announcement

I have heard so many complaints, mostly from my mom, that I don't talk and tell people what is going on in my life. It's not that I don't want to tell you what's going on, it's that one of two things generally happens. One- you are so busy telling me about what's going on in your neck of the woods that we run out of time. Or Two- I start to tell you, only to be cut off by my delightful neice or because you have thought of something else you want to tell me or because you have to chase or tickle or otherwise tease your grandchildren. And then you wonder why I am aggitated!!! I spend over 40 hours a week listening to other people's problems and trying help them. And then I visit my Family and listen to them and their problems. I love my job- helping people is a wonderful way to spend your day, and I am glad that I can be there to let my family members vent- I know how important that is. But sometimes, sometimes(!), I need someone to listen to me!!!!! Without interuption!!!

The Ties that Bind

The day that my mom had her heartattack, my sister called me to ask if I wasn't working could I take her to the hospital because our mom had been taken there by ambulance. I was horified to think that my sister thought that I was that cold that I would put work over family and I told her that day that if anyone in our family was taken by ambulance I would be done with work the second I knew! And I absolutely meant it! Recently I have been asked to care for Mimi- checking up on her and giving her a ride. After a lot of thought and with a lot of guilt, I declined these requests. It's not that I don't want to help- I know that Mom and uncle David have a lot to do with her. Or that I don't love her- because I do. When I declined, I said it was because between work and school, I really have very little time- And that is absolutely true. But I know if it was a member of my immediate family(or someone that a member of my immediate family either married or gave birth to) that needed caring for, I'd make the time. The difference is that I have a bond with these people that I don't have with Mimi. I love her very much- but not as much as my parents,sisters, brother-in-law, niece, and nephews. There is a part of me that would like to try to bond with her, but I don't know that that is possible. Mimi has always had her favorites, and I was definately not one of them- I was far to shy and heavy. Not being accepted by your grandmother is a little tough to stomach.

All Freaked Out

So today when I got home there were Fifteen messages on our answering machine. Yes FIFTEEN messages. And all fifteen were hang ups from an "Unknown" number spaced approximately a half an hour apart. I am at a lost for who could have been calling. All three of us have cell phones and anyone who needed to get in touch with us that badly would have called the cell of the person they needed. And telemarketer just don't get paid enough to be that persistant.

'Tis the season

Now that summer- and the increased hours that go with it- is over, I am a little strapped for cash. I have decided to apply for one of the seasonal positions at Bath & Body Works. Any one want to make a family affair? Claire? you know you wanna....