April is an Awareness Month. . .

April is a month that is home to two things are are near and dear to my heart. . .April is Autism Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Autism is something that I have been working with for the past 5 years. I have been working with a little boy, Jack, since he was three. Jack is now in the second grade. He can talk, he can read, and he can write. Jack is absolutely amazing. I am currently taking a break from working with him because my internship requires me to dedicate so many hours each week, plus work, plus school. When I was working with Jack, he used to always say that he did not want to do work. A few weeks ago, he came over to my house with his mom and he asked me when I was going to work with him again. It broke my heart because I really do miss him. Last month, Jack was Student of the Month at his school. He works so hard every day. I am very proud of how far he has come.

Child Abuse is something that I deal with each and every day in my job and my internship. It is not something that is easy to forget or let go. I often make jokes or laugh about the stuff I see or the cases that I read, but it is only my way of dealing with the pain that some children have experienced. This is something that I learned recently that I was absolutely appalled by: a parent can beat their child, with anything, as long as they do not leave any marks. What? This is something that I have difficulty wrapping my head around. Now, I realize that the government cannot come in and tell parents how to raise their children, but if you need to resort to beating, then perhaps you do need some help.

In my efforts to promote awareness about Autism and Child Abuse, I am going to post some facts each day about both causes. I will make every attempt to post more frequently than I have been. I just hope that more than two people will read what I write!

Autism:
1 in 50 children are diagnosed with autism.
Autism is a developmental disorder of the brain which affects social interaction and verbal and non verbal communication.
Autism has no single cause.

Child Abuse:
Child Abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, or neglect.
An estimated 906,000 children are abused or neglected each year.
80% of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least 1 psychiatric disorder at the age of 21 (including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, & post-traumatic stress disorder).

10 Reasons Why. . .

Reasons why it is great when your husband goes up north with friends:

1. A much needed relaxing weekend.

2. I got to catch up on weeks work of DVR'ed shows.

3. Anna came over to watch movies and drink strawberry daiquiris.

4. I was running with Cooper in the front yard and fell in the snow. It did not hurt t hen, but it does now! And I lost my glasses in the snow, but Anna found them.

5. Cooper, Maggie, and Nina got to hang out and they were all being good dogs.

6. Maggie was especially good all weekend. She let me sleep in both days (usually she is up like clockwork at 6am either barking or licking my face). She was so good I thought I could leave her out of her crate while I ran to Target real quick. This is the result of that. . .

7. My dad bought me a WiiFit (no relation to the up north thing, but yay I got a WiiFit!). That cardboard above is the box that Maggie shredded. . .plus a piece of the towel rack from the bathroom.

8. I can order pizza with whatever i want on it and not have to hear how gross it is.

9. I get the whole bed to myself. . .well plus Maggie and Cooper.

10. It is great when he comes home!

Now I must go an try the impossible. . .get Maggie in the bath. Her face, neck, and legs are cover with pieces of this bone thing I gave her.

Papa. . .

This morning around 7:00 am, my grandpa passed away. I am truly sad, yet also relieved that he is finally in peace. My papa had been sick for some time. He did not have cancer or any disease, he just kept getting infections, which weakened his body and caused him pain. He will be missed by me every day.
My Grandpa was a great man. He grew up in the thumb, near Bad Axe, Michigan on a farm. Although he only went to school until 8th grade, he was one of the smartest people I knew. He had to stop going to school so he could help his family with their farm.
My Grandpa joined the Army and fought in World War II. He was over in Japan after the bomb was dropped. He refused to talk about his experience over there to any one. He was proud to serve his country, but did not want to discuss the terrible things he saw at war.
After the war was over, my Grandpa went to work for Great Lakes Steel. He worked there his whole life and retired from Great Lakes when I was in kindergarten. He bought a house in Lincoln Park and paid off a 30 year mortgage in 17 years. He was proud of that. He lived in that house until he was unable to anymore and raised three children there.
My Grandpa loved to buy stuff on sale. He would buy cereal and Ajax by the bulk if there was a sale. One of the highlights of visiting my grandpa when I was little was getting to pick out my favorite cereal. He would have boxes of cereal and he put them in a small freezer. I do not know why he put them in the freezer, but he did. My sister and I would go there and run to the freezer go get the cereal we wanted. It was great.
My Grandpa's house was not very big or kid friendly. But he had one room in the back where all the grandkids got to play. In that room he kept an ancient stationary bike (see pic below). What fun that bike was for us! He also had a desk with Snoopy and Peanuts coloring books and crayons for us. And the game of Trouble. It was not much, but it worked for us!
My Grandpa loved to take people out to eat. Every Friday, until I could drive myself and I picked him up, he would take me to eat. He did not care what I ordered, as long as I ate it all. He would take his friends and family out to eat three times a day, if some one would go with him. My grandpa did not eat the traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He had breakfast, dinner, and supper. Never did he call his mid day meal lunch.
My Grandpa loved to play Euchre. He used to play every night. He played in tournaments and was very good at that game. He had an excellent memory. I could not even play rummy with him because he always knew what was picked up from the pile. I lost every time.
My Grandpa was the best. He did everything he could for me. I will miss you Papa!

Reasons that the Puppy Bowl is better than the Super Bowl . . .

1. The puppies are much cuter than most of the NFL players. I will take Griffy the Lab mix and Mac the German Shepherd Dog over Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner any day!

2. Listen cars, beer, pop, and fast food joints. . .We know you are out there! You are stupid for paying millions of dollars for an ad when we already know you exist. We just do not have money to buy your products right now. Sure, the Super Bowl ads are funny, but I can think of 10.2% of Michigan's population that would rather have jobs than watch a Super Bowl ad on a Ford or GM vehicle. Logically speaking, how can these companies that are laying of people by the thousands justify spending $2.6 million on one ad that is 30 seconds long? I think that this mindset is the root of the problem in most companies today. Miller High Life, in efforts to cut costs of advertising this year, are airing a 1 second ad. It will be equivalent to a subliminal message.

3. Nobody goes home disappointed in the Puppy Bowl. Every puppy is a winner! In the Super Bowl, there is a losing team. I bet it is not Super for that team anymore. . .

4. The Puppy Bowl has the Kitty Halftime Show. The Super Bowl has The Boss. I think the winner is clear here. . . sorry kitties. . .

5. The Puppy Bowl has tailgaters (but why do they keep showing that Chinese Crested. . .shudder. . .), with the Super Bowl, you cannot tailgate within any NFL controlled parking area.

6. The Puppy Bowl is free, the Super Bowl costs upwards of $550 a ticket to watch. And this does not include travel, lodging, or food.

7. The Puppy Bowl promotes a good cause: Petfinder.com. They are trying to help homeless pets find good homes. That is how we found Cooper. The Super Bowl promotes companies that must borrow excessive sums of money from the government and lay off hard working employees, while still paying their top executives large salaries (okay, this is a real sore spot with me!) to spend even more money on funny ads for stuff people cannot afford to buy.

8. The Puppy Bowl promotes a clean play area and fair play. The Super Bowl thrives on hard hits and spitting on the ground. Gross.

Happy Belated Birthday!

I would like to wish my dad a Happy Belated Birthday!!

Having two girls, my dad was subject to his fair share of ballet recitals, ice shows, and daddy-daughter dances. But he also taught me how to fish, how to fix VCR's (slightly outdated, but handy at the time), and how to use the computer. My dad was the one to always take us sledding, help us put together our Halloween costumes, including any makeup and take us trick-or-treating, and take us to Tiger's games. He used to work afternoons, and I remember getting up in the middle of the night when he came home and having a bowl of cereal with him or waking up in the morning and he had brought us candy home. My dad was the one to take me to the hospital when I broke my wrist and to not take me when I cut my knee open. The butterfly bandages worked just fine. My dad bought me my first car at 17 and has fixed my cars since. I still look up to my dad today even if I do not always agree with him. I love my dad!

Blinded by the Light. . .

I went to the eye doctor the other week and one of my worst nightmares happened.

First, let me give you a little background on my vision history and what not to do.
In third grade, it was discovered that I needed glasses.
I was mortified and never wore them until sixth grade. Even then, I only wore them for watching TV and maybe seeing far away in class.
Then I got to the point where I had to wear these glasses all the time.
I was starting seventh grade, and I opted for contacts.
When a person firsts gets contacts, they cannot leave the optometrist's office until they can put them in and take them out. I could not get those suckers in my eyes. I went week after week, but they never got in, so I broke down and wore the glasses.
I tried again in ninth grade and was successful.
From that point on, I never wore my glasses outside of my house again. When you get contacts, they tell you all this stuff like don't wear t hem too long, don't use certain solutions, don't sleep with them in. I followed along for a while. Soon, I was taking naps in my contacts. I discovered that they do not stick to your eyes and have to be peeled off with a spatula. So I would sleep in them. Hey, when your vision is as bad as mine, you do not want to wake in the middle of the night not being able to see. There was a time when I wore the same pair of contacts for months. Many months. Those things are expensive. . .
A little less than a year ago, my eyes began to bother me, so I started taking my contacts out at night. I could year my glasses, but because they were so old (at least 8 years old) I could not see very well out of them.
Now, with the background out of the way, we come full circle to my story. I went to the eye doctor with my contacts in, like I do every time I go to the eye doctor. This particular eye doctor was not happy that I had my contacts in, so unhappy that he will not give me any more contacts until I wear my glasses for a full week and go back and see him. So, I had to purchase new glasses and he gave me one pair to wear until my glasses came in. One of my nightmares is not being able to wear contacts anymore, and this doctor is trying to make that nightmare come true! Not fair, on many levels!
First, insurance wise. My awesome insurance only pays for either glasses or part of contacts. I now need both. Plus, I have to go back to the eye doctor for a follow up visit, thus costing me more money.
Second, being halfway to blind. My current vision is 20/200. Legally blind is 20/400. If I take my glasses off, I cannot even read the letters on the keyboard or the words on this screen. It is that bad. So imagine, a pair of glasses. You can only see straight forward in glasses. Look up, down, or out the sides and it is pure blurriness.
Third, the glasses that they offer are quite narrow, which further obstructs my range of vision. I do not feel safe driving on the roads with such a narrow range of vision.
Fourth, and my main point in this whole babble. . .how can they get a paper thin piece of contact to correct my vision but they have to make my glasses Coke bottle thick? Seriously, I cannot leave the house with these things on!
How is the contact technology not transferred to glasses? I mean, I even got the lens thinning done! One could argue that a plastic polymer is easier to thin that glasses. That argument is faulty for two reasons: one, contacts used to be made of glass, anyone remember "hard" contacts?, and two glasses are actually made of plastic! I am not understanding how I have to walk around with narrow range Coke bottles on my head when a technology is available to thin then out and offer a broader range of vision. What about laser vision corrects, you may be wondering. . .Well, besides the cost, I cannot imagine myself sitting still while a laser cuts into my eyes. I would blink or jerk my head, or something equally as bad would happen, and I just do not feel that I can take that risk right now.
So, for the time being, I am trying to stay home with my glasses on as much as possible. When I do go out, I put my contacts in. But hey, this is all that the eye doctor will get from me. It is alot more than I normally do with my vision!

More Than A Feeling. . .

Reasons why I feel I am getting old:

1. I must be in bed no later than 11:30 if I want to make it through the next day. What happened to the days when I could stay up past 4 am and still be on time to my 8 am class? And that included finding a parking spot on Eastern's campus!

2. I am up pretty faithfully by 7 am, including weekends. This sucks. . .what is there to do at 7 am?

3. I have actually had to use the words, "Because I said so," and "I'm the adult here" in conversations. Most of these conversations have taken place with delinquent teenage girls, but still. . .

4. I believe that I am going through a quarter life crisis. They do exist! Since mine is happening two years past my actual quarter, maybe that means I'll live longer. . .

5. I am forgetful. If I do not write something down, it will not get done. My desk at work is covered in Post-Its of stuff that I have to do.

6. I have gray hair. Really. Alot of gray hair. This could be caused by many things, none of which I'll name.

7. I worry about my work pension plan that just got frozen and the 403b (it's like a 401k,I work in a non-profit) that I do not have. Yet. Hey, I do not want to work until I'm 70! Or 60 or 50, or really even until I'm 40. But am realist and I realize that it might happen.

8. I actually look forward to just chilling at my house. And spending a whole day there without leaving. Yesterday, Mike and I stayed went to dinner, then stayed in and watched 3 and a half movies. Yup, that's right, we could not make it through the fourth one, we were falling asleep.

9. I get excited about buying stuff that would have bored me a year ago. Like today, I went to Home Depot and bought a new sconce for the hallway and a ceiling fan for the living room. Then I thought to myself, I should have bought another one for the kitchen. And I need window treatments. I also got a new kitchen faucet a few weeks ago. It's pretty bad ass . . .

and

10. I am no longer entertained by my new rock alternative. I just don't "get" some of the new bands or songs. I have outgrown my radio station, the station that I have listened to since high school (which is probably telling me something right there). Sad. . .

Tearjerker. . .

Please, do not make the same mistake I did.
Don't do it, even if you think you can handle it.
You will not be able to.
I am telling you from experience.
Just trust me on this.

Do not, I repeat do not go see the movie Marley & Me.

I thought it would be a good idea to go see this movie with some friends. Mike refused to go, as he refuses to watch any movie that looks like it has the possibility of being sad. Heaven forbid that big strong men show any emotion except when it comes to football.
I had read the book last Christmastime, before the movie was even in the works. It was a good read, sad, but all things must end eventually, no matter how bad we do not want it to happen. I was prepared, I had my steel reserve (no, not the beer that comes in 40's) and the book had prepped me for the eventual end of the movie.

So I thought. . .

The joke was on me.

It was a good movie, I laughed throughout, still knowing in the back of my mind what was to come.
Whew, but when that end came . . .It took every ounce of strength that I could muster not to cry. I sat uncomfortable, I ate popcorn, I chewed on my straw. I looked over at my friends, their faces were tear-streaked. I tried to laugh at that. Ha, they were crying, it was only a movie. That is how I think because I have a wide range of emotions and I am sensitive. . .

But the movie tugs on the heartstrings and as an owner of two dogs (one of which has had the worst gas all week!) it made me incredibly sad as I think into my future with my dogs.

I often deflect the question of when am I ever having kids (asked more often than not by my mother in law and sister in law) with, "I have two dogs, thanks." I then go on to say very insightful comments such as, "If my kids turned out to be allergic to dogs, I'd have to get rid of them. You know, the kids." But for the time being, these two crazy dogs and my husband, of course, are my life (besides work and school, but what kind of life is that?).

As I write this right now, they are running up and down the hall chasing each other, both have toys hanging out of their mouths. I am sure soon, they will make a pit stop in here to make sure that I did not sneak off somewhere without their knowledge or magically produce a giant steak for them to or just for a quick pet on the head before they are off and playing again.

These two dogs who have come into our lives are complete and total opposites from each other. Besides looks, their personalities are amazing different.

There is Cooper.
We searched for him for months before we got him from Southgate Animal Shelter. He was about one and a half. They were calling him Shrek. He took to Cooper in a day. Cooper was abused, undernourished, and terrified when we got him. But he was potty trained, knew some basic commands, and was a quick learner. Cooper refused to eat for days. We bought him many different kinds of food. When he finally started eating, he would only eat when we ate. We worked with him as best we could for years. When people come over, Cooper is excited, you know pet me pet me, sniff sniff, okay I'm done (this is all over the I'm gonna kill you bark when they knock on the door). Cooper, is definitely the more calm of the two. He is the dogs that will let you pet him til the cows come home and when you stop, he asks for more. He likes the water, but only if he can touch the bottom. He loves to go camping with us, he likes to sit around the fire and sleep in the tent. He does not leave our side. He loves to be outdoors in the shade. He is afraid of smaller animals, think bunny and hamster. He will do something that he does not want to do, just because I asked him to do it. He is a humper, so watch out other dogs! He does not like shots from the vet. He has the ability to sense what we want before we ask. He is always looking to us for reassurance . I think that he appreciates us and is eternally grateful to us. I feel the same about him. Cooper is a sweetie.

Then there is Maggie.
A foster parent from my agency found her and gave her to my sister because she could not keep her. We then inherited Maggie, with no thought or preparation for this. Maggie was a puppy, cute as could be. However, she was not potty trained, she had no clue what we were asking of her, and could eat us out of house and home. The first night we had her, she had no accidents. Great! we thought. The very next day, giant poop on the bathroom rug, pee in the living room, pee in the kitchen. . .you get the point. We had no experience with this before! And she could eat! She would gobble her food, then go for Cooper's. She would stick her head in the food bag and eat. Even to this day, we put food out for her and she immediately attacks it! Cooper will leave his food for hours before even going near it. Dirt is her very favorite food. When people come over, Maggie attempts to kill them with love. PET ME! PET ME! Let me crawl on you so I can lick you face off! Okay! Who is next? I'm gonna lick you too! I can also give hugs, just sit on the couch and I'll show you!! Okay, let's play, I''l get a toy! Here, play with me play with me play with me! I know part of it has to do with her being a puppy, but it can be overwhelming to some. Maggie is more adventurous, more curious, and more pushy than Cooper could ever dream of being. If Maggie wants something, she makes every attempt she knows to get it. She does pretty much what she wants and does not think twice about it. The hardest part that I had with Maggie at first was that she would not look at me. Cooper always looks and reads me. Maggie does not seem to care.

Anyway, my long winded point being, I love these dogs. And if you love your dog (if you have one), I do not recommend the Marley & Me movie. It gets you thinking in directions that do not need to be though in regarding dogs. And I am grateful that however crazy Maggie can be, she will never be as crazy as Marley!

Today is History. . .

What an amazing time to be a part of history. This is a day that will be in the history books. When we are old, we can tell our grand kids, "I remember when America elected it's first African American president. I watched it on the TV." Wow. I can see them huddling around me in a circle now. . .

So, anyone who really knows me knows that I sit on the fence, I am indecisive, and usually apathetic about most topics. I am not big into politics, I don't rally causes, and am not a pot stirrer. However, what I cannot ignore is pure ignorance. I ran across this individual today, we will call her Idiot, for anonymity. She said that today, the inauguration of our president is no big deal. Five million people who braved the cold did not think that it was no big deal. She does not understand what all the fuss is about. Idiot claims not to care whether the president be purple, yellow, white, or black.

To me, that is completely missing the point. The big deal is that our president is African American. To miss that point is just culturally incompetent. To dismiss that point is completely ignorant. Basically, I am just trying to say that it is a big deal because of his race. It is a good thing. It shows progress at the heart of America. Is she trying to adopt the attitude that because our President is now African American that he is no different than if John McCain became our president? Because our president is African American, no less, the first African American president in the the 233 years since our country was declared independent, and that IS a big deal. The inauguration is different because Barack Obama was elected. It is important because he is African American. It is culturally insensitive to think that it is no different than any of our past presidents. It needs to be recognized that America has stepped out of it's comfortable traditionalism and elected an African American president. If a purple or yellow person or a woman were to be elected president, that would be different and would deserve recognition as well.

Every time our country gets a new president it is important. Whether or not you like or voted for or agree with Barack Obama, no one can deny the fact this his presidency is an historical event. It IS a big deal. It is a chance to show the world that in America all things really are possible. It shows that American citizens are ready for a change and are tired of old white men trying to run America in the ground so that they can make a buck, or a billion. It finally shows that America is ready to accept the 13th amendment and Brown vs. The Board of Education, no matter how long they have been in effect.

Our president won't change America overnight, but he gives words of encouragement to middle America. Those that have lost their jobs, their homes, and their way can have hope that things can only get better. America needs fresh new ideas and approaches so she can bring herself back to being the best.

I told Idiot that she may not understand or have to watch the inauguration, but at least give it the respect that it deserves.

So now that I've started this big discussion/argument/assault(?) on Idiot, I cannot let it go until she concedes. Sometimes people are just plan wrong. . .or ignorant.

Idiot goes on further to say that we will get what we asked for. I countered with well, what did we ask for? What will we get? A war. . .oops, we already have that. No jobs. . .nope wait, we have that too 7.2%, the highest in over 10 years. An unstable middle class. . . check that. Lack of energy and dependence on hostile countries. . .wait a minute, we got that too! Terrorist attacks. . .hey what was that date, September 11th? And all BEFORE Barack became our president.

Is she afraid that he will mandate hip hop will be played across the nation? That Air Force One will become the new Soul Plane? That his limo will have spinners on its wheels? That he will appoint Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Snoop Dogg to highly ranked offices? So what if he does, as long as they can do their jobs effectively. She had better watch out, Michigan did just pass the marijuana proposal. Now stoners will run rampart across our great state. . . Oh help us please! Is she afraid that his first official act will legalize pimping? That legal pimps and hoes will be on suburban street corners (gasp) selling legal marijuana. I know I am exaggerating and stereotyping (and have no intention of offending anyone) the possibilties, but Idiot implied stereotypes in every word, without coming straight out and saying it.

I am just really confused at what we have asked for. Of all the people I know, the only things they truly ask for is a job to support them, a roof over their heads, and health for themselves and their family. So, please, what will we get that we have asked for?

Personally, I ask for job stability, a better job, the ability to continue to make my mortgage each month so that I may keep my house. I ask President Obama to create more social programs so that I may have a choice in the type of job that I want to do and so that oppressed, under served, and underprivileged population can get the services that they need. I ask for a better more stable economy. I ask for alternate energy solutions. I ask for better health care, but not socialized health care. I ask for the war to end and our soldiers to be brought back home. I ask for justice for everyone, even if a person is rich, famous, or an athlete. I ask for people to be more understanding and accepting. So if Idiot thinks that we will get what we ask for, I sure hope so!

I am just grateful everyday that I can wake up and not have to worry about life and death situations that people in some other countries worry about. I do not have to lie under the dead bodies of my family to survive guerrilla warriors. I do not have to join a gang so I can live. I do not have to fight religious persecution every day. I have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to protect me. These are real things that go on. Each of those examples have happened.

Idiot just really struck a chord in me today. No, no one has to like Barack Obama. If you voted, feel free to express your like or dislike. However, show respect for America.

It's Been A While . . .

But I'm back. Maybe. I have a lot going on right now. Between taking care of these two dogs, work, and working with Jack, school, trying to go to the gym, a house, and now an internship, I am keeping myself occupied. Let's do a slight recap of the past few months:

1. Got a puppy. An unexpected wrinkle in our lives. Maggie is the sweetest craziest puppy. She wants to kill you with her love.

2. Taking Maggie to puppy class every week. This is a must. I like to diagnose her with mental health disorders, such as Impulse Control Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Pica (a disorder which is the persistent eating of nonnutritive substances for a period of at least 1 month). She eats anything and everything. Lemons, pickles, dirt, plastic, remote controls, her bed, blankets, toys, rabbit poop, and she even attempts to eat Cooper's legs and tail.

3. Work has been crazy. I never know if I will have a job from one week to the next. They actually hired a "Bob," you know, like the Bob's from Office Space. I had to interview for my own position. Fun times. . .

4. Christmas was nice. We got to spend time with family. I got a bike, which I really wanted. We spent New Year's with friends. Everyone has children now. . .we are the lone couple holding out. Even Mike's sister is now pregnant. This makes my life incredibly fun because I get to hear comments like "You should have babies at the same time so they can play together!!" and "Don't you just want to have a baby?" I just tell people that my two dogs keep me well occupied.

5. Some guy ran an extremely red light as I was crossing the street on my green light. In my efforts to not hit him, I was rear ended. A taillight was busted out and the back right corner was a little crinkled. So what, right? Well, the insurance company totaled the car! So, we had to get a new to us car. This worked out well in the long run, since the car we got is better than the one we had. After weeks of looking and debating, we got a Mercury Mariner. To which Jenny, Mike's sister replied,"Why did you buy a foreign car?" Really. . . really?

6. Speaking of Mike's sister. . .Thanksgiving was interesting. She thought the reason for Thanksgiving was, and I quote: the pilgrims warred the Indians and the pilgrims won and were thankful. Again, really?

7. I was supposed to start my internship last week. Didn't happen. Why not, you may ask. Well, I was not even put in contact with an agency until the New Year., thank you Eastern Michigan. I have an interview with Washtenaw County Department of Human Services (DHS) Protective Services next Monday. Why not this Monday? It is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and they are closed. So I will be at least 3 weeks late starting my internship, which consists of 16 hours per week.

8. Now, instead of reading and doing homework, I am on my way to dinner and a movie with some friends. Yes, that's right. I do have my priorities straight! Hopefully I can keep this blog back up to date.