Today, thank a vet...

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day!

It's how I roll

You're welcome.

Best places to camp in southeast Wyoming

Here is my latest Yahoo! article. I haven't been published much lately on account of being ridiculously busy and otherwise losing my mind. However, I'm trying to get back into it, especially now that my final quarter is winding down soon.

Hope you enjoy!

Not to be obnoxious, but...

I know. I'm sorry. I hate to be that annoying, braggy parent. But I'm a very proud mama today, so I'm just going with the bragitude. You've been warned.

My son is in 5th grade this year, but he has been taking 6th grade math. We just found out yesterday that, based on his grades, testing scores, and achievement levels, he has been accepted into the Honors Pre-Algebra class for next year, which means he will be taking math at the Junior High, even though he will only be in 6th grade. 

That whole thing is pretty cool, and makes me braggy enough as it is, but there's more.

If this Honors class goes well and he remains on the advanced track, he will begin earning high school credit for math… in 7th grade.

Yes. Algebra I is the beginning of the high school math credits, and that is the class that follows Honors Pre-Algebra. That means that by the time he is a senior in high school, the district will have run out of traditional math offerings for him. He'll have completed them all.

So, like I said, proud mama!!!

I wonder if I can start having him balance my checkbook for me…? Does weekly allowance cover menial budgetary tasks?

Highs and Lows

So this weekend was… a bit of a roller coaster. To say the least.

Things started off really great. Friday morning, my insurance agent called to tell me that I had to stop by her office that day and sign my new life insurance policy. I asked her what she meant by "new", and she said that the results of my health screening had come back, and my numbers were so good that my insurance premium dropped dramatically. Enough so to warrant it being considered a "new" policy!

Apparently I am considered "premier preferred", which isn't very common. Meaning I'm crazy healthy, which made me feel pretty good. (Better than just being crazy, I guess!)

So yeah, that glass of Pepsi and handful of jellybeans I had for dessert last night? Not feeling guilty about it! Boom!

Then after hanging up with my insurance agent, I got another phone call. I don't usually answer numbers I don't recognize, because I'm sick of those damned robo-calls. You know the ones.

"Hi! This is Andrea from cardholder services!"

*grumblegrumble*

But this number was from Seattle, so I took the risk and answered it. It was a travel company in Tukwila, calling to inform me that the drawing I had entered at the Women's Show back in March had been that morning.

And I won!

Three day, two night, all expenses paid trip to San Francisco, baby!

Of course, there is always a catch. In this case, I have to sit through a 90-minute presentation (or rather, sales pitch) on this travel company's timeshare program.

But I've sat through those before. Got me and Hubs a free beachside steak dinner last time we were in Hawaii. If I can sit through a predictable sales pitch for a free beach dinner for two, I sure as hell will sit through one for a free trip to San Fran!

You want to show me how great your timeshare program is by sending me on a trip to prove it? Go for it! Twist my arm.

Haight-Ashbury, here I come!

And yes, I will be sure to wear some flowers in my hair.

Going to San Francisco is bucket list material for me. For one, because it is just a beautiful city with amazing culture, history, arts, etc. It has this vibe that it just really unique, and I totally dig it. 

And for two, because I am *somewhat* obsessed with the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Summer of love, baby! It was such an incredibly special piece of history, and not something that could ever be duplicated. I've always felt a connection to that period of time, even though I was born a couple of decades too late to experience it. I'm a hippie at heart, dammit!

So after finding out about the trip, I was naturally quite pumped, which resulted in my best workout I've had in… well, probably ever. My giddiness gave me the energy to just keep going, way past my usual goal. Feel the burn, baby!

Then, after my kick ass workout, I went upstairs to get ready, and a miracle happened. My eyeliner came out perfectly even. Winged perfection.

As any girl understands, this is effing miraculous in epic proportions. Because they're never even. Never. It's like one of the lesser known laws of physics or something.

Then, to top it all off, I realized I am officially halfway through my last quarter of school before I get my Bachelor's degree. Hallelujah! 

So yeah, suffice it to say, my Friday started out pretty awesome.

And then… it all went to hell in a hand basket.

I've already rehashed this multiple times over the course of the last few days, both explaining it to people asking what the hell happened, as well as just running it through my brain on repeat. It mentally exhausts me, so I'm not going to go into full details here. 

The reader's digest version is this:

I received a nasty text out of the blue from a member of my family. Apparently, this individual felt, I don't know, pissed off, or threatened, or disproportionately bothered in some way by the fact that I dared to called my grandpa.

Inorite?!?

How. Dare. I.

So I received the text in response to having made this otherwise completely benign phone call.

The text caught me off guard, because for one, I have not spoken to this person in months, so they were pretty much the last person I expected to hear from. And for two, the level of vitriol made me sick to my stomach. Like, hurtful, unnecessary, disgusting, appallingly immature kind of behavior.

But unfortunately, this isn't anything new for this person. It's just how she rolls. Which is a huge factor in why we haven't spoken in so long. I don't feel compelled to put myself in a position where I will be treated like that. It is my job to protect myself and my family from people whom I feel are negative, and potentially dangerous, influences; that was something that everyone seemed to understand and be on board with.

But recently I had begun hearing whispers to the contrary. This toxic person had managed to infect others. She had continued her habit of lying and manipulating those around her in order to get them to feel sorry for her, when she was the one causing the damage to begin with. She shows others this carefully constructed fabrication of her life in order to maintain this myth, this house of cards illusion, that everything is just peachy keen. When it's not. 

I saw through the lies, I saw through the manipulations, I chose to not drink the koolaid; I saw the reality of the situation, which is why I'm on the outs. She felt threatened that I didn't buy into her story. And now she is actively turning whomever she can against me, playing the victim, pulling the strings, all because her life is falling apart and she needs the distraction. She's trying to start a full-fledged family war; sides are being chosen, bunkers are being built. All because she can't take an honest look at her life and realize the one commonality to all the crap she is going through. Herself. 

But the kicker is the reason I pulled back from her to begin with has been proven right time and again. When the dust settles, the bodies are retrieved, and the wounds are cleaned, she will have a trail of destruction behind her, whereas I will not. I have not once treated her in the same manner that she has treated me. I have not behaved in the same abhorrent way. And she will have to face that some day. She has hurt me more deeply than words could ever adequately express, but her behavior will end up hurting herself worse. It's never pleasant witnessing someone in the throes of self-destruction, but I have to keep reminding myself that she is not my problem. It'll all come out in the wash.

I've been repeating the Serenity Prayer to myself over and over the last few days. I'm not particularly religious… like… at all. But I grew up with the Serenity Prayer, and I feel it is something that applies in all aspects of life.

Serenity. Courage. Wisdom.

What more do you need?

To make up for my lousy Friday afternoon, Hubs and I went to our friends' house for dinner (where I had elk for the first time in… oh… 20 years?)  They also kept the lavender cosmos coming, which was good.

Saturday we ran some errands, and in the process I discovered this cute little kitchen store in downtown Cheyenne. It had some pretty nifty stuff (that you can't find anywhere else in this hick town), so I left there with a few goody bags in tow!

Then Sunday we took the kids to the circus. They had a blast, and my daughter ran into some friends from school, resulting in suddenly being surrounded by a gaggle of 9 year old girls. Something my older son was fairly displeased by!

All in all, my weekend turned around, and ended on a high note. Ain't nobody gonna keep me down!

*sassy snaps*

Happy Star Wars Day!!!