It's Mon... I mean, Tuesday

Happy Tuesday! I'm pleased to have a shorter work week, but sad because I think on my long weekend I caught a cold. But, I loved having yesterday off. Thank you, Dr. King, for many things, including one less day I have to be at work.

I went to Ever After, a semi-local (takes me about 45 minutes to get there) scrapbook store yesterday and took a class to make a recipe "lunchbox." I'll post a picture tonight. It turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. I also was able to get a few pages done after the class was over. It was very enjoyable. This store is like a normal store on crack... it's huge and has an incredible work space. My only wish is that it was closer (and that I was rich).

Enjoyable is a good thing considering 2007 had not started off so well. My mom lost a legal battle with her neighbor (long, ridiculous story and TOTALLY not her fault) and my dear husband got unjustifiably laid off (for a ridiculous reason, trust me) all within the first week of the new year. Yeah... not so good. Then last week I discovered that someone I really respected and looked up to, was essentially taking advantage of me. It's still going on and I'm not sure I'm coping with the realization that well, but honestly, I'm doing the best I can and trying to feel a sense of satisfaction, or contentedness with where I'm at in the situation. I've definitely learned that academia is no different than any other field... it's dog-eat-dog. Fun.

My mom's situation is no better and I don't know what to do other than pray and be there for her when she needs someone to listen. I hate seeing her abused and taken advantage of, but what else can I do? She's an adult and she's chosen to not pursue further action, so I'm really pretty stuck. Thankfully, my honey found a new job quickly. I'm so proud of him. The job, while not permanent, will likely lead to a permanent job and pays better than the one he had. Phew! I can only hope he's happy there and that something permanent does come up. We really wanted to move into a bigger place before all this happened, but that was put on the back burner until we get our finances in order, so maybe before summer we'll find a new place?? We really would like 3 bedrooms, or 2 bedrooms and some sort of office space, but we'll see what we can find for what we can afford.

Anyway, I'm still working on my writing, my photography and my employment pursuits. I took some pictures of our friends' dog, Riley, last week. He's my favorite dog right now...

I'm working on keeping this blog up regularly, not that anyone is reading it **tap, tap** ... is this thing on? But really, I'm writing for me and to get me back into regular writing... so if you're reading this, feel free to comment (and say hello... new friends are always welcome!)