This morning I seemed to have developed a sinus headache.  I know I've had them in the past, but just never really did anything about it.  I ended up taking a clariten and some advil, hoping to get rid of the pain part - however, it just wasn't cutting it.    I decided to run to the store this afternoon to get some actual sinus meds. 

When I got to the pharmacy at Wal*Mart, I started scanning the shelves....

Thinking to myself:
Let's see....Sudafed?  Supposed to work and get the green booger guys out of my head...okay..here's a shelf...ummm...well, these little cards with the picture on it...does that mean they're gone?  Umm nope - it says I have to bring it up to the counter to get it...that's odd.  Okay, here's the generic brand - I don't mind using that and saving $10.00...Okay...let's see...non-drowsy?  Perfect!

I sacheted my little self up to the counter and handed the lady the card. 

Lady: "Do you have your identification?"
Me: "Yes, here you go..."
Lady types in my license number..."Okay, now I need you to sign the screen and click 'accept'."
Me: "Why is there such a rigmarole to buy a box of generic sinus stuff that costs $1.70?"
Lady: "It contains an ingredient which is used to make Methadone - the state requires that we take your license number so that you're registered...you're only allowed a certain amount for a certain time-period"
Me: "No kidding?"
Lady: "Okay, you also need to pay for it here..."
Me: "Should I have a bodyguard escort me out? hahaha..."
Lady: "Good idea.

So, I paid her the $1.70 and took my life into my own hands.  I started looking at people..."Is that person going to attack me for my generic-brand sinus medication?  Is it that the green booger guy hiding near the lettuce?"

Ridiculous Behavior of Dancing With the Stars Viewers

First the dude with the gun shooting his television when Bristol advanced on Dancing With the Stars causing a 15-hour standoff with the Po-Po!!  NOW white powder in an envelope?!  Come on people!  Is this competition really THAT important?!  Believe me, I am a HUGE fan of the show!  As a matter-of-fact (as lame as it sounds) it's in my top 5.  I will "SHHHHH!!!" people if they are talking during the critique and the scoring...and yes, even Brook's painful attempt at interviewing.  (Bless her heart) I vote like crazy (phone lines AND abc.com) I "live tweet" for fans to vote for (this season) Brandy & Maks.  I even have a twibbon of them on my Twitter Picture! 

I noticed the "white powder" story when I turned on my computer and saw this headline:  "Was Bristol Palin Targeted in Dancing White Powder Scare?"  All I could do was just shake my head. 

Come on folks...just get over it!  This is just getting pitiful.  What's done is done.  They just happened to put someone in who has a lot of fans.  Chalk it up to a disappointing end to Season 11

My advice to the Producers of DWTS:  Because there are a lot of fans who feel as if they've been cheated - I have heard/read many people declare that they won't be watching anymore.  I suggest that for Season 12 they need a MAJOR cast.  Perhaps an All-Stars?  Bring back Mel B I would love to see Emmet or even Gilles!  Avoid bringing back the obnoxious; (Kate Gosslin). 

Come on Dancing With the Stars - redeem the show.

That's what's on my fabulous mind.

What's Going on With Me Today...

I started my day the usual way... yanking my daughter out of bed to get ready for school.  She fights e to the very last second~I swear, she wants me to start drinking.  I can be one of those stay-at-home mom's who hit the bottle the second the kids are out the door.  I had a friend, who is a grandmother tell me that I should try to gently wake her up: In a sweet sing-song voice; "Kaaatherine...sweetheart...it's time to get up and get ready for schooooool!" I basically burst out laughing in my friend's face...  "Seriously?  Do you KNOW my daughter?!"  There is a reason why I call her "The Beast" This is the scene:
Me: (In a nice, calm voice) "Katherine.....time to get up."
Katherine: "SHHHHHHH!!!!"
Me: (Still being calm) "Please don't 'Shhhh' me...you need to get up, or we'll be late."
Katherine:"SHHHHHHH!!!
Me: (getting extremely annoyed) "Okay - here are you're clothes...hurry up and get dressed and come downstairs!"
After about five minutes, I yell upstairs: "KATHERINE!!  WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!!"
The whole interaction continues until we leave the house...late!!!
Meanwhile... I'm stressed about other things in my life.  Such as my job search. (siiiiiigh)
I submitted my application to Hannaford grocery store this morning.  I just have this strong suspicion, they aren't in need of anyone right now.  The woman who is the Manager (?) mentioned on the phone the other day that weekends were "a deal-breaker".  Which is code for..."Sorry Sista - ain't happening!"
Needless to say it has put me "IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION..AHHA HAAAAAA!!!" 

Anyway... I'm not sure if I should just wait for a definite "think not" or move on. 
In the meantime...my laundry pile is growing into this huge beast which is going to overtake my house...now...where did I hide my hooch?
<

I love Google.  Just sayin. 
I think I do Google searches just about every day for Grant Writing opportunities here in Mid-Coast Maine.  It was really cool because this morning when I checked...I didn't see anything ..... again.  (Yes, that was sarcasm)

For some reason, I just had this kind of thought that I may check into. Simoneau & Norton was an accounting firm that my father-in-law started up years ago.  He sold his share of the business back in (I think) in 2004.  There were a few other people who bought into the firm changing the name to Norton, Masters & Alex.  I understand that it has changed again to Norton & Masters.  Yipe!  ANYway - I was wondering if accounting firms deal with grant writers....  For some reason, I just don't dare to ask!  Why am I that way?  It wouldn't hurt to ask....why don't I have to nerve?  Well, more-than-likely they don't deal with that sort of thing...and/or they want someone with more education! :/ See, that's me:  A person who doesn't know how to sell herself...or is too afraid! 
AAAAAAaaaanyway.......

That's what's on my fabulous mind!

America and Our Double-Standards

Monday night is one of my favorite nights of the week~not only because the first dreaded day of the week has been completed, but more importantly, that's when my favorite show is on: Dancing With the Stars.  Technically, it should be called Dancing with the Has-Been Celebs because it's usually people who have been out of sight for awhile...not of their own accord.  It seems as if the producers of the show search out these people to make for an interesting show.  Yes, there are those who have been on the show that are recent celebs.  Evan L (I'm not even going to attempt to spell his last name) Mr. Evan is a recent gold medalist in Men's Figure Skating.

This Season of DWTS has Bristol Palin who is a daughter of Sarah Palin.  For those of us who follow politics & such know that Bristol, who was a high-school student at the time, got pregnant & had a baby out of wed-lock.  She is now a "teen activist" for abstinence. 

Although Bristol isn't an actual celeb or even a good dancer, she is now in the top 5.  For the record, I AM surprised that she is still on the show.  The first moment she was announced, she opened up herself and her family to more public ridicule.  I have seen many awful comments on Twitter about her. 

Yes, she screwed up.  No, she's not married. Yes, she is now an advocate to help teens from making the same mistakes she made.  Yet the public is so hateful toward her and her bad decision which she is trying to warn other teens about.

Anyway, I'm not sure if people realize this or not but Brooke Burke former contestant and now a co-host of the show...has about 4 kids by her live-in BOYFRIEND.  She has said many times that when people refer to her as "married", she doesn't correct them.  Have people made comments concerning that?  Nope!

Mario Lopez just had another kid....with his GIRLFRIEND.  Have people ridiculed him? Nope!

How about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie?  They had a couple of kids as a result of an affair...any ridicule and disgust there?  For about a minute, now they're worshiped....oh by the way...are they married?  Nope!

Are we not hypocritical in our thinking? 

Bristol Palin is in the public eye and got pregnant out of wedlock.
Brooke Burke is in the public eye and got pregnant out of wedlock.
Mario Lopez is in the public eye and has a baby with a girlfriend out of wedlock.
Brad Pitt & Angelina are in the public eye and got pregnant out of wedlock. 

The only one who is contrite and regrets her decisions is the one who is mocked and ridiculed...Why?! 

That's what's on my fabulous mind.

I'll never be able to...what if I can't...I wish I could...what if I try and fail miserably...what if I went to college...I wish I had more confidence...I wish I knew how to...

These are a few questions and statements I ask and make to myself on a daily basis.  I know I'm not the only person who thinks and says these things.  So, I'm going to do my best to encourage myself and anyone else who may deal with this same thing. 

This is what I have going on:  Back in 2005 we sold our plumbing & heating business, which my husband, Craig opened in 1986.  Although we were making decent money and were able to pay our bills, there was a huge headache which came with the territory.  These headaches came in the form of: Staying ahead of jobs, not being able to keep decent employees around, trying to get customers to pay us after the works is completed.  Craig is currently working at a terrific company which provides us with great health insurance, dental insurance and a decent paycheck.  However, we aren't making enough to keep ahead of our bills.  We had discussed in the past that once the kids were in school full-time, I would be able to find a job to help out. 

Recently, Craig and I spoke to a lady who is a manager of a local retail store.  We were told that evenings were available - this way, we could have a parent home while the kids were home.  After I filled out an application, Craig's company was awarded a huge job up north, this changed some of our plans.  I talked with the manager, informing her of this change.  I let her know that it would be fantastic to be able to work "mom hours".  Basically, an 8:30 to 2:30 schedule.  I was called in for an interview which went so well, however, when we got to the discussion over hours, I was told that the schedule was just all over the place.  It was an uncertain thing from day to day.  That opportunity just got flushed down the toilet. 


Bummer.

Another day I was at a different retail store and noticed this huge pile of clothes on this register that an employee was working on.  I asked her right out - "Hey! Are you currently hiring?" The lady responded that she just had word that there were positions opened because there were high-school students returning to school.  FABULOUS!  So, I marched right up to fill out an application....on a computer....in the store.... uuuummm...do I talk to someone?  Do I just fill this bad boy out and send it off into cyberspace??  Do I wait for a call?  Do I call? Do I walk in and ask?  Well, after a few days I decided to call to talk to someone.  I ended up leaving a message for God knows who and didn't receive any return calls.  To me, that's a "no". 

More discouragement.


Back in March of this year, a friend of mine who knows that I enjoy writing, (how much I'm not sure) made a suggestion of trying my hand at grant writing.  I know my family has read my TV show reviews in another blog I have: In My Fabulous Opinion.  I love writing reviews when I have the opportunity... anyway.... this suggestion stemmed from an idea of helping our private school grow.  She and I attended a meeting where she expressed her ideas for the for the school...one of which...was the grant writing.  My hope was to do a little grant writing in exchange for a break on my children's tuition.  I even signed up for and took and passed a grant writing course.  With the research I've done on it...there's good money to be made in writing grants!!  The meeting we had had absolutely NO feedback whatsoever - that was a bust, not only for me, but for the school.  Not a complete bust mind you.  This Summer, I knew that the school librarian was hoping for an updated encyclopedia set.  Due to certain circumstances, I knew I was going to need to take this on myself.  I did, and was awarded a grant for about $1,000 to purchase a new 2010 set of encyclopedias...that was a little boost to my confidence.  UNFORTUNATELY, that was a short-lived boost.  Just like any other organization, there are issues which are there to bite you in the butt. 


More discouragement.


Another opportunity I THOUGHT was going to be great open door was to do a little bookkeeping for our school.  I thought this is GREAT!  A chance to make a pittance, make money for the school and keep my children enrolled!  Win-win-win? Yeah. No.  I was informed that they didn't want to hire me because I have kids in the school.  Just like the person who used to do it....and like the person who is doing it now.  smh...whatever. 


This same friend of mine works for a local non-profit agency...she gave the guy my name and number and we set up a meeting.  Unfortunately, the guy really didn't have a plan...nor did he have a tax-exempt certificate.  Sooooo... let's just say, more-than-likely a no-go.


Frustration.



Recently, I had another friend tell me that there is always a need at the YMCA for substitutes. FABULOUS! I ran over and filled out an application, this time feeling super-confident. I've been playing a fierce game of telephone-tag with the girl who does the hiring.  Sooooo... it was email time!!  While writing the email, I decided to plant an idea!  YMCA, non-profit, many programs, always needs funding...what better thing to do but plant a bug!!!  Once the email with the bug was sent, doubts and fears started entering my mind... What if I am asked to write grants, but can't get any...what if they decide I'm a screw-up?


I don't think I'll know the answers to that one...the bug was sent out last week and haven't heard anything yet...just like that retail store.  Off into cyberspace never to be seen of again. 


In the past, I've expressed these thoughts/fears to my big sister.  She told me that "What if" is always a lie.  I'm going to have to take her word on that one.  I just wish I had more confidence in myself.  I wish I had nerve to just post that I want to start doing this, but I have no nerve. 


Stay tuned.