Stove Coffee

Our power was out for five days, and I was dying for coffee, so I made it on the stove:

I boiled the water and poured it over my grounds, just like a cowboy or an Amish person.  It was delicious.

Update!

Hey folks, it has been a super busy month and a half over here.  I've been so wrapped up in doing projects that I keep forgetting to post them!  Bad Kel-Bell, no dessert for you!

Anyway, I have LOTS in store for the next few days, while Poke is off working his overtime and I'm all alone.  I'm trying to take a little break from crafting & creating, mostly because 4L's first birthday is coming up in a couple weeks and I need to be fully prepared.

Stay tuned!

PS - I forgot to tell you guys I've lost 14 pounds.  Yay me!

Gluttons for Gluten(-free)

I am SO annoyed with this godforsaken Gluten-free trend that is sweeping America right now.  Everything is being changed to be Gluten-free, or labeled as “GLUTEN-FREE!” when it's always been Gluten-free, or there are new Gluten-free alternatives.  The thing is, a very, very small percentage of the population actually need Gluten-free food... but for some reason everybody and their goddam brother are scrambling for it and grabbing it off the shelves like it's cocaine-laced Slim-Fast.

The only people who truly need Gluten-free diets are those with Celiac or Duhring's diseases, and those with a wheat allergy.  There is zero evidence that it "cures" or "treats" Autism, although if you listen to the whack jobs *koff*Jenny McCarthy*koff*, it most certainly does (even though a professional, scientific study showed that it did absolutely nothing).  Unfortunately, like the Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Cabbage, Vinegar, etc etc etc, it has become the new fad diet.

The problem with going Gluten-free is that it can actually be quite dangerous if it's not necessary (and even when it is necessary, if you don't do it properly).  From the Wikipedia page on Gluten-free diets:

Deficiencies linked to maintaining a gluten-free diet. 

Many gluten-free products are not fortified or enriched and contain lower amounts of nutrients such as folate, iron, and fiber than other foods. Additionally, because gluten-free products are not always available, many Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy (GSE) patients do not consume the recommended number of grain servings per day. A gluten-free diet may not meet the recommended intake for fiber, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, iron, or calcium. It is important for those who avoid gluten in their diet to find more nutrient-dense food sources to prevent such deficiencies. People who change their standard gluten-free diet to implement gluten-free oats at breakfast, high fiber brown rice bread at lunch, and quinoa as a side at dinner have been found to have significant increases in protein (20.6 g versus 11 g), iron (18.4 mg versus 1.4 mg), calcium (182 mg versus 0 mg), and fiber (12.7 g versus 5 g). The B vitamin group did not have significant increases, but were still found to have improved values of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folate. These dietary changes can greatly reduce a GSE patient's risk for anemia (especially Iron Deficiency Anemia) and low blood calcium levels or poor bone health. 

Gluten-free foods include rice, potatoes, soybeans, maize, millet, buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa. The diet may be low in fiber, iron, folate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, B-complex vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B12). Celiacs adhering to a gluten-free diet may be at risk for inadequate calcium, non-starch polysaccharides and Vitamin D. Oats can increase intakes of vitamin B1, magnesium, and zinc in celiac patient in remission.

The other thing is that even if a product is labeled Gluten-free, it might still contain Gluten (more on that later) because many factories use products that contain Gluten to dust their machines or process Gluten-not-free stuff on the same machines as Gluten-free.  Then there's the issue of alcohol.  Of course there is Gluten-free alcohol out there, but if it is made from any kind of grain, it contains Gluten.  So if I see your stupid face with a beer or whisky or whatever, telling me about your Gluten-free Lent, I'm going to kick you.

Also, it is almost impossible to be completely Gluten-free (unless it was supposed to be that way), and that "Gluten-free" really just means a teeny-tiny amount of Gluten (because 0 calories actually means <1 calories, and 0 carbs means <1 carb and so forth).  Did you know that the amount of Gluten at which intolerance presents itself is undetermined?  Yeah, I didn't think you did. Probably because you think Gluten-free is going to help you lose weight or be healthier.  Sorry Charlie, you're just a fucking moron.

I just get so incredibly frustrated!  I'm not going to lie and say I've never tried a fad (diet or otherwise) or prayed/hoped for some miracle cure for my morbid obesity, but sometimes I just cannot comprehend what people are thinking.  Why would you remove something totally innocent from your diet for no reason, especially if removing said thing could actually create a nutritional deficiency?  Ridiculous.  The problem is that people eat too much fake food.  Why did the Atkins diet work for so many people?  Yes, because they cut out carbs, but not because they cut out carbs - Americans eat way too many carbs in the first place!  Atkins doesn't rule anywhere else like it does here because the rest of the world knows how to eat in moderation.  Eat whatever the hell you want - just don't eat ten pounds of it!  Also, eat REAL food - they say five ingredients or less, but I find that to be a bit restrictive.  I have eaten Helper three times in the last three years, and those three times I felt (and did nothing but) shit the next day.  Too many preservatives!  Cheese powder?! YUCK!  Seriously.  When I learned in culinary school that margarine is one molecule away from being plastic, I decided to start making a change in my diet.  I've given up all lite/low fat/etc foods because they aren't real - no canola/vegetable oil either, only olive oil (I do have a bottle of canola that I've been working on for about 2 years now, and I just can't bear to get rid of it and throw away all that money - it's used very sparingly!)  Splenda and Diet pop are the only fake foods that are regularly let into this house.  I'm not trying to be some guru or trendsetter, but come on people - there's a reason why we're all so fat.  You might be saying to yourself, "Who the fuck are you, Kel-Bell?" and I will answer "I'm just a well-educated mother, partner, and chef who wants to make the best life for my family and myself."

Happy Birthday, Abie Baby...

Since it's 1:52am, it's technically Presidents' Day.  Abraham Lincoln's birthday was seven days ago and George Washington's was eight, but whatever.

This, along with the current election shit that's already hitting the fan, makes me wonder what our founding fathers would think of the government these days.  Yes, I know Lincoln was not a founding father.

There have always been "sides", cliques, parties, whatever, since the dawn of time.  Sometimes a girl like me, however, just doesn't know where she belongs!  The liberals piss me off because, as the sayings go, they don't want to get jobs/use facts/allow babies to be born/etc.  The extreme right, on the other hand, pisses me off because they insist on putting God into everything, perpetuating an ancient caste system that should have never occurred in America, and having a tendency to skew things into what they want it to be.  

What I really want to be is a Socialist.  I truly believe that if everyone actually had to work for the irrefragable greater good, they might fucking do it.  There is too much distance between the rich and the poor, and us middle class people are the ones suffering.  How can the middle class be determined by $15k-$250k per year?!  If Poke made $250k per year, I'd be wearing diamonds in my pussy and 4L would have gold-plated diapers.  We live off of $27k, and barely make it.  Thanks to WIC, we don't have to buy food for 4L, but that is only 1/3 of our monthly grocery bill.  What are we supposed to do when he starts eating real food, and more of it?  Currently we get 32 jars of baby food in a month, and he eats 2/day - that's clearly not enough.  I have to supplement with actual food, which is fine because I want him to eat what I cook and get used to it, but there are some things that aren't nutritionally sound for a 7 month old!  We don't qualify for any other kind of aid, and even though I have no job and no income at all, I don't qualify for any kind of Medicare/Medicaid.  It's BULL.  Meanwhile there are people out there buying alcohol, cigarettes, and all kinds of fried fucking chicken with their goddamn EBT cards.  

Not.Fair.

But I digress.

I have a friend who is a conspiracy theorist (a real one, not the speculative kind like Poke used to be), and a friend who is a die-hard liberal.  I don't have too many straight-up conservative friends, although one comes pretty close.  I respect all of their opinions, I don't always agree, but sometimes I just can't understand.  It seems like the folks who are set squarely into one of these groups (whatever group they choose) always has to run screaming into the conversation, blasting those who disagree or are different, and stating reasons why their group is the only/best group.  It's fucking ridiculous!

To me, some things just aren't important enough to be a true political affair - women changing their last name, light bulbs, living on the moon.  Then, there are the things that are important - abortion, taxes, health care... that's where I get all stretched out.  I can sum up my feelings in three neat bullets:

• Abortion = Murder
• Taxes should be lower for me (and those who make less than me), and higher for those who make more than me.
• Health care should be publicly funded (See: France)

I guess that's it for today.  Here's a video for you, in honor of Presidents' Day!

*Does not connotate affiliation with the modern Tea Party

What do these dreams really mean?

Last night I had two very, very sad dreams.  It started out with my friend and I hanging out at his house, and being bored so we went to the mall. The mall was very modern and had all the expensive stores.  We walked around for awhile, until we ended up in a store that sold little trinkets and the like - all made of gold, silver, crystal, diamonds, etc.  He and I were in the back where the salesgirl couldn't see us, and he pushed up against me and started kissing me.  I quickly pulled back, laughed, and reminded him that I had a boyfriend and a son, and that this was neither the time nor the place even if I had been available.  He backed off, and things went back to normal... or so I thought.  We left the store and as we were walking he pulled a small gold sculpture out of his pocket.  He stopped, held it out to me, and started confessing his love.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing, not only because I had just told him I was unavailable, but because he was supposed to have a girlfriend, because we had been friends with benefits years ago and it never turned into anything more, and because I hadn't even seen him in over five years before this day. I took the sculpture and started walking back to the store, determined to return it, and he followed me.  Then I realized I might get pinched for shoplifting, so he and I hightailed it out of there. We ended up at my place, where Poke & 4L weren't home for whatever reason, and he tried kissing me again.  I felt so sad because although it was nice to be wanted, I knew it would/could never work with this guy, and I owe so much to Poke for being such a good father & partner.  He told me that he would wait for me, no matter how long it took for me to come to him.  This also made me sad because I knew he might die waiting.

Once that dream faded out, the next one started.  I was back at Bishop Ready High School, to see a musical with some old friends of mine.  The four of us, and our boyfriends at the time, had all starred in the same musical twenty years before.  The dream was a combination of flashbacks and current times, highlighting the youthful innocence of first true love between myself and my deceased (dream) husband, Jessica and her boyfriend who did not become her husband, Sarah and her husband, and Katie and her boyfriend who became her ex-husband. As we sat and watched the musical, we remembered being so young and carefree, with the boys who would be our partners through thick and thin - mostly. 

Sarah had Troy, who was tall and lanky with huge ears and a huge heart.  They married straight out of high school and had stood the test of time, even through illnesses, family deaths, and the birth of two sets of triplets, ages ten and seven.  Katie and John, on the other hand, had also married straight out of high school and stayed together a long time, but had recently divorced amid accusations of affairs, alcoholism, and abuse.  She had been strong, but was stronger now knowing she had made the right decision.  They had an adult daughter, born just three months after graduation.  Jessica had dated Aaron, and although they had stayed together throughout college and even after that, they never got married.  According to Jess, they stayed in touch and often got together for "drinks", as she put it, but you could tell it was painful for her.  I got the feeling that Aaron didn't want to commit, but wanted Jessica nonetheless... just physically and not emotionally.  Being 38 years old, Jess didn't feel up to starting a new dating life, since she had never been with another man other than Aaron.  I had been married to Travis, who had been killed in a car accident about two years prior.  We were so in love, it was like a fairy tale, and my life had been incredibly empty and miserable since.  I tended to keep to myself, holed up in the house surrounded by all of Travis's things.  I slept with his sweatshirts, I sprayed his cologne around so that I would never forget the smell of him, I used his shaving cream. We had one son, Jared, who was eleven.  Jared had dealt with his grief and moved on, although he could sense that I was simply putting on a happy face for him.  We never talked about his dad - never. 

Getting together with my best girlfriends was a weekly tradition, but this night was especially emotional and sentimental because of the setting. As we sat in the stands of the elaborate, modern auditorium, the high school boys came up and danced around us, making us feel so old and yet so young at the same time... did I mention that the musical was "Hair"? (Yeah, as if that would ever happen! Especially not at a Catholic School!)  Amid all this nostalgia, there were plenty of strange things happening, such as the kid who played Hud gyrating all over me as I stood and tried to talk with the kid who played Berger.  Then, as Hud walked away, the kid who played Berger started gyrating on me as I tried to find my seat. I finally got to sit down when he went back stage, but as I watched the second act I couldn't stop sobbing.  Jess asked me what was going on, and I told her that this entire evening was just too emotional for me, too overwhelming, and that I had to go.  At that moment, Sheila (the character) came running down the aisle carrying Chrissy (the character) screaming something about her being on fire, and that was the clincher for me. I knew I had to get out of there.  

Jess, Sarah, and Katie all walked me out, and as we stood in the parking lot the dream turned into a montage of our memories.  There was the time when Troy and Travis proposed to Sarah and I on Valentine's Day of our senior year, the summer before that when the eight of us had gone camping and several - if not all - had their "first times", and the homecoming dance freshman year when we had all first started as couples and friends and started our journey to adulthood.  In the dream, my heart was breaking, and I could feel my emotional pain becoming physical pain, and I almost felt like I could die.

When I woke up, it all seemed so real, but more like a real movie I had seen rather than real life, like dreams sometimes do.  The feelings in the dream had been so strong, I haven't been able to shake them all day.  I have this sense of sadness that won't leave, this sense of nostalgia like "Where did I go wrong?" or "I should have paid more attention/cared more/done this/that/etc."  It's so weird.

Usually I can figure my dreams out, like why I was dreaming of the subject or situation, and sometimes I just chalk it up to my imagination running wild while I sleep because being a homemaker often leaves little time for myself.  Then there are dreams like last night's, and I wonder what the fuck is going on in my brain.  I love Poke, and 4L, and I would not trade them for the world.  That's not to say that my relationship with Poke is perfect, but it's not like he's dead to me (as the dream may have suggested) or like I am trying to find someone new.  The only part I can understand, which is somewhat present in the first dream and blatantly obvious in the second, is the companionship.  I have plenty of friends, but I have no true "best friend", someone who picks me first, calls me first, etc.  I don't have someone's house I can go to for anything - watch the kid, cup of coffee, vent about Poke, whatever.  I used to have a best friend, I used to have several best friends over the years, and something always happens.  Once, I moved, twice, he moved (two different he-friends), once, I got married (which killed two best friendships in one fell swoop), once I acted like a cunt and ruined it all, once her boyfriend hit me in the face with a six-pack of beer and she defended him, and once they couldn't get past their own drama to allow for true friendship. Then there were the three different women I was best friends with, but in all three cases it just kinda faded away because our lives no longer synced like they had at one point.

Prior to be a SAHM, I guess none of this really mattered to me because I had girls at work to talk to.  I could vent about Poke, eat lunch with them, sit by them at meetings, whatever.  We rarely did anything outside of work, but it didn't really matter because I saw them daily or almost daily.  Then, suddenly (and not-so-suddenly) I find myself doing exactly the job I want to do, but feeling a little bit empty sometimes, and very alone a lot of the time.  My mom always wants to know why I post every little thing on Facebook, and I can't explain it to her, but I'm going to try to explain it to you.  The reason I post every little thing on Facebook is because when I get a lot of likes, comments, etc, it's almost like having a real-life friend.  All those clicks add up to what a real, live person would/could do for me emotionally.  

Girls have told me to join Mommy & Me groups or something similar, but I don't have good luck with what I call "forced friendship".  I'd rather become friends with someone on accident than be forced into it just because we happen to see each other every other Friday.  I don't know, I guess that doesn't make much sense.  I wish I had a club to join, an inexpensive club, for moms like me who feel like me and think like me.  There are so many moms out there today that are Tigers or Alpha or Helicopter, I can't take it.  I get very defensive because I just want people to let me do what I want to do, let believe what I want to believe, and so on, and I often (VERY OFTEN) feel like I am being attacked or put down or that they are trying to convert me to their system.  It's like all the damage my husband and my former supervisors did to my self-esteem and way of dealing just hasn't gone away yet.  Sometimes I even wonder if I have a slight case of PTSD because there are certain situations in which I turn off or fly off and it's always directly related to "taking things personally".  

LOL, I think I need to go back to seeing Dr. Bob!  Maybe someday, if I ever have insurance again.

Honey Do List

Normally, the "Honey" in "Honey Do" is the husband/boyfriend/etc, but in this case, it's myself.  I literally made a chore chart and hung it on the fridge so that I could make sure I get everything done that I want/need to get done in a week.  It doesn't include extras, like lunch out with my friends or shopping, but it's actual chores and other tasks that I really feel I have to do: Kitchen, Bathroom, Laundry, Vacuum, 30 min 4x/week on the Wii Fit, Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily, Write a Blog Post 2x/week, Project with 4L3x/week, Bake 1-2x/week, and Read books with 4L3-4/week (he's a little too young to pay attention for very often!).  So far the chart has worked, cuz I love  seeing all those check marks... except I keep failing to post in the blog.  This short post is going to have to count though because 4L is crying and needs to nap.  I WILL post more later!

Can't sleep.  Thinking about money.  Thanks to bullshit insurance at Poke's job, we went from paying about $115/mo for him & 4L to paying over $300.  On top of that, there's no such thing as a copay - we have to pay 100% of *everything* until we reach $2500 deductible for EACH of them, which will happen, but not til 5 of each refill on Poke's necessary diabetes medications (which run over $250 for each). Meanwhile, he didn't get the raise he was supposed to get, didn't get a holiday bonus, and now we have a car payment that we didn't have before.  I feel guilty, but even if I had gone back to work, literally 99% of my income would be going to 4L's day care.  When we planned this sahm thing, everything was in place.  We could easily afford it, and even allotted for the cost of 4L.  Now, even with WIC, we aren't making it.  We only go out once a month, we don't drink or smoke, we don't even eat out but maybe once or twice a month.  

I use so many coupons and sales on top of getting WIC, and I don't know what to do to save more money.  We got a statement from AEP this week stating that, at 800 watts or whatever, our household is in the "good" range for use of electricity.  The average is 1800.  I'd say we're fucking excellent, thank you.  Our electric bill is, on average, less than the average bill of the average household from 2008, when prices were 30% lower than they are now.  I rule at conserving.  The thermostat is set at 63-65 degrees, the lights are almost all on timers, and we live in the dark.  Our gas bill is low too - same as the electric, rarely above $60.  Our mortgage is less than $750, cheaper than many two bedroom apartments in central Ohio, and that figure includes taxes and insurance.  The only thing we have that we could get rid of is the cable, and I'm trying to keep the entertainment alive by switching to DirectTv.  Unfortunately, when they came out to install it, they said we have too many trees to get a signal.  They're sending out a supervisor for a second opinion, but I'm sure he will say the same thing.  So, instead of lowering our bill by $40, it will stay the same.  I could just cancel the cable, go to basic and keep the internet, but then I would probably lose my mind being at home all day because 5.5 month old babies aren't really the most enthralling thing to watch 16 hours a day.  Maybe getting rid of the cable would help me get rid of my fat because I'd be forced to go do stuff.  That being said, losing this fat would increase our electric/gas bills because I'd lose all my insulation.  Catch 22.

This health insurance thing has really fucked us over.  The monthly expenses are increased by $900, however, the income has gone down by $250.  Isn't that fucking amazing?!  No wonder I can't sleep. FML.

The stupid Tupperware thing didn't work out, so I feel dumb about that because I didn't even make back the $120 I spent on the kit.  Granted, I got $500 worth of product for $120, but I could have done without that stuff.  I don't know how that lady makes her money- and she makes it look so easy to do!  I am just NOT a salesperson.  I literally could not sell a heater to an eskimo.  

If I could make money singing, or typing, or eating, or sitting on a couch, or staying awake when I should be sleeping - then we would be in business.  I could even make a living drinking beer!  Alas, no such careers present themselves to me.  I told Poke the other day that we need to have a bunch more kids because the more kids you have, the more you get back at tax time.  Fuck my credit, let all the bills go to collections. No big deal.

I work at the Culinary Institute four days a month, which is all they will allow.  The majority of my paycheck is supposed to go to my student loans, which is why they employ me.  I will have about $100 extra per month, which will go to my life/critical illness insurance, the Dispatch subscription, the Lane Bryant credit card, and church envelopes.  My friend's aunt suggested in-home daycare, but I would have to pay for all the licenses and stuff, somehow get business, and let strangers and their strange, gross kids into my house.  Not going to happen.

All in all, I am completely lost.

Wait, wait... I never had a chance to love you...

Ok, so the title of this post may be a little dramatic.  I'm just struggling right now with some things, and I feel like life is flying by while I hang on by a thread.

1) 4L is growing so fast! Too fast!  He's almost four months (only 4 days til his 4 month mark) and he's already rolling over, grasping, wanting real food, drooling like a puppy, and almost sleeping through the night.  He scoots off his tummy time mat, and I'm afraid he'll crawl away one day and I won't be able to find him, or he'll get stuck under the couch, or crawl down the steps & fall. He sat up the other night, all by himself, but he hasn't done it again since then.  I just want him to stay little!  At the same time, I can't wait for him to grow up.  I'm so excited to see how advanced he will be, if he will be like me and read at an early age, what he will like, if he will like dinosaurs or trucks or animals... I am just so excited and nervous at the same time.

2) I need to chill the fuck out, seriously.  I am so hard on myself, and people have always told me this, and I know that I have always been this way.  It's just so hard to let things go.  Like I told my friend Psyn, I'm so full of guilt that if I was any more Catholic, I'd be Jewish.  I know I should take time to do things just for myself, but it is so hard to justify anything that doesn't benefit my family in some way.  I feel selfish even just thinking of having a hobby that is just for me and just for fun!  My hobbies right now include clipping coupons, cooking, and researching ways to save money.  Poke said Tupperware is a hobby, but to me it's more of a job (more on that debacle later).  I also need to figure out how to get more sleep.  My brain won't shut off because I'm so hysterical (in  my mind) over hundreds of things that I literally lay in bed and just think.  There have been far too many times in my life, especially in the last four months, that I have been awake for 24+ hours just because I was stressed over what was going through my mind.  If the brain's thinking isn't keeping me awake, my brain's need for order is doing it - forcing me to clean/organize/tidy up/etc around the house so that it gets done while 4L is sleeping and Poke is sleeping/at work.  I can't even watch my favorite TV shows, I put them on and fold laundry or read the paper or do something so that I can claim multitasking and now feel lazy.  I just feel that I need to justify staying home, even though it's financially and emotionally best for us.  I'd feel even more guilty if 4L was at daycare, so that's one thing.  On the other hand, since I'm not bringing in any money (more on that later too), I feel like everything has to be spectacular for Poke so that he doesn't think I'm just some lazy woman mooching off his hard earned paycheck.  He's NEVER said anything like that, but I'm worried that we'll get in a fight or something one day and he'll say it.  I guess I'm just paranoid.

3) Tupperware - what a mess.  I did my first bazaar last Saturday and it was a bust.  I only got two orders, which would have been okay, except for I messed up the prices and now I have to try and get other orders to fix the problem, or pay the difference ($60) myself.  Luckily my work friend is having a party next Monday, so hopefully I can add them on to those orders - as long as I GET the right kind of orders! I came home from the bazaar and cried my eyes out for 20 minutes.  I was very frustrated because I have never been good at retail and I should never have gotten involved in this selling business.  The only good thing about the bazaar was that I did pass out a lot of catalogs and collect a lot of names, so now my info is out there and maybe I'll get some kickbacks from that.

4) Student Loans! I will finally start paying, almost three years after they started to come due.  This whole time I have been unable to pay, and not because I didn't work - even when I was working full time I still couldn't pay because the total for all my loans was well over $1,000 per month.  Sallie Mae refused to work with us on anything, and eventually the forbearance ran out.  Well, about a month ago, a guy named Paul came and knocked on my door.  He handed me an envelope and said he had an opportunity for me to work at CCI part time to help pay my student loans.  I was like yeah, right, and threw the envelope in the trash.  That was on a Tuesday, and on Thursday this girl Ashley called me about it.  I told her that I wasn't going to do it because there was no way I'd be able to get a sitter and blah blah blah Poke's weird schedule blah blah blah, but then she said it would be $25/hr and I could work basically whatever hours I chose.  So I went to the orientation, saw some old friends, met the new director, and got hired.  I'm working one day a week, four hours, cuz that's all they'll let us work.  My new student loan payments are about $200/mo, which will let me have about $125 in extra money/mo, and I can save it all or give it to Poke if he needs it for bills. Yay!

5) On the 27th, 4L will be baptized in the Catholic Church.  Poke isn't any religion, but I was raised Catholic, and originally we weren't going to get him baptized.  Then I started thinking about his tiny little soul, and was overwhelmed by the thought that if something were to happen to him, where would his soul go?  I would never be able to live with myself thinking that my baby's soul was just lost in limbo.  Poke and I talked about it, and he agreed that having 4L baptized would only do good, so that was that.  Since having 4L, I've gone back to church, and it's pretty good.  A teacher once told me that Catholicism wasn't a childrens' religion, and I think now that she was right on.  I understand more now, and I care more, and I'm taking it seriously.  For the past 14-ish years, I wandered around looking for answers and trying to find my own way, and eventually I was led back here.  I guess this is where I belong.

The Beauty of the United States

...is that we all have the right to vote. Issue 2 did not pass and SB5 ended up being repealed. It's too bad really, because Ohio could have saved so much money and budgets could have been balanced. My friend Nick put it perfectly: 

Why do unions continue to give annual pay raises when nearly all other jobs have pay freezes? Does not make sense to me. Seems like annual pay raises would contribute to faster inflation and increased expenses & taxes. I thought we were in a recession. I thought now was the time to cut back and decrease expenses or at least keep them the same.

Yeah, you'd think so, right? Guess that only applies to people who don't benefit from SB5.

VOTE YES ON ISSUE 2/SB 5!

Everything you're about to read came directly from The Columbus Dispatch, pages G4 and A15, Sunday November 6th, 2011.  I couldn't have said any of it better myself, so I just copied and pasted it here for you.


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Safety Workers are Compensated Well

In an effort to gain knowledge on how to vote on State Issue 2/Senate Bill 5, I listened to friends who reminded me that police officers and firefighters put their lives on the line and deserve every consideration. And since segments of my life have been somewhat at risk as a farmer, a fighter pilot and a helicopter pilot, each of which have had moments of high concern, I wondered how dangerous occupations rated and whether the salaries and benefits are commensurate.Internet findings gave me some insight.
Of the 2009 most-dangerous occupations, fishermen are No. 1, with 200 fatalities per 100,000 employed, and have an average salary of $22,160. Airline pilots have 57 fatalities per 100,000 and an average salary of $53,990. Roofers have 34 fatalities per 100,000 and an average salary of $41,200. Crop farmers have 30 fatalities per 100,000 and an average salary of $24,900. Livestock farmers have 14.9 fatalities per 100,000 and an average salary of $24,900. Police officers have 13.1 fatalities per 100,000 and an average salary of $55,400. Firefighters have 4.4 fatalities per 100,000 and an average salary of $47,760.
We always will consider police officers and firefighters to be our heroes, but when compared with others at high risk, some with even-higher skill requirements, I think their unions have placed an undue burden on society.
After due consideration, I will vote for State Issue 2.
JOHN A. STEVENSON
Circleville

State Issue 2 will hold line on spending

It's time to stop spending money. I have voted yes on every levy to raise my property taxes for schools, law enforcement and fire protection.
I believe in supporting these institutions, but now it's time to stop and assess the situation, because outside forces are corrupting these valuable institutions and those outside forces must be dealt with.
I believe the legislature and Gov. John Kasich took a bold step to deal with these corrupting outside forces and I support their efforts. Ohioans must vote yes on State Issue 2.
LINDA WOLLETT
Lewis Center

Issue 2
Collective-Bargaining Arguments


"As opponents push to get Ohio's new collective-bargaining law overturned on Election Day, there is no shortage of issues to fight about. A look at many of the bill's major provisions and how supporters and opponents have argues their points:

What the bill does	Arguments in Favor	Arguments Against	What the bill does	Arguments in Favor	Arguments Against
Bans strikes by public employees and imposes financial penalties for any public worker who does strike	Public workers have good pay and benefits, so they should not strike; unions sometimes use the threat of a strike to bully employers to cave; children should not have to cross picket lines to attend school	Strikes by public unions are rare, but the threat give unions leverage in negotiations, avoiding an erosion of pay and benefits; five everyone an incentive to come to the middle	Eliminates seniority as the sole factor when determining layoffs due to budgetary shortfalls or enrollment reduction	Allows managers to keep their best people, who are not always their most experienced-people; cutting only newer hires means more workers must be laid off because they re the least expensive.	Makes experience public workers very vulnerable to cost-cutting moves, potentially leaving them with major retirement issues because they do not pay into Social Security; increases the chance of cronyism.
Eliminates binding arbitration for law enforcement and firefighters, the process in which an independent third party resolves a negotiation impasse.	Unelected parties should not be allowed to dictate contract terms that taxpayers have to pay for; threat of arbitration can cause officials to give in to contract terms they do not agree with.	Process is rarely used, and when it is, statistics show decisions split between unions and employers; process ended public-safety union strikes, of which Ohio was a national leader in the 1970s; it brings definitive closure to negotiations.	Eliminates guaranteed 15 sick days for teachers from state law; caps sick days for most other workers at two weeks per year; caps accrued sick leave paid out upon retirement at 50 percent of 1,000 hours	Private-sector workers generally do not get such generous amounts of sick time; sick days are designed for unforeseen illness, not severance; payouts of unused sick time can be very expensive for local governments.	Allowing accumulated sick days is an incentive for people not to take off sick, which helps with attendance.
If a deadlocked negotiation cannot be resolved, allows the governing body to implement its own last offer, after holding a public hearing.	Voters elect leaders to make tough decision and spend tax dollars wisely; people should trust that local leaders will be fair to workers; the balance of power in negotiations has shifter too far to the unions over the past 27 years.	This would be a “fundamentally rigged process” that is unfair to workers because it turns collective bargaining into “collective begging” – no matter what the union offers, the employer can reject it and pick its own offer;; lets employers just wait out the process.	Eliminates “fair share” – the provision in many contracts that requires  those who do not want to join the union to still pay some dues because they are covered by the terms of the contract	Workers who do not want to be part of a union should have the freedom to not pay dues.	Allows for “freeloading” where workers can avoid paying dues but still get benefits from the contract negotiated by the union, is aimed at cutting union membership.
Requires public employees to pay at least 15 percent of health-insurance costs and no longer allows union to bargain for health insurance.	Proponents say the average private-sector worker pays 23 percent, but at the local-government level, public workers generally pay 10 percent or less; it’s no necessary for unions to bargain for health insurance.	Health insurance is an important part of negations, particularly for lower-paid employees; the increased share for many local workers means less take-home pay; state workers have save millions for Ohio through health-insurance bargaining.	Requires more transparency of negotiations and terms of a union contract.	Gives the public a more-complete picture of total public-worker compensation beyond the increase to the base salary; each side might negotiated differently if it know its final offers will be made public.	No major issues raised.
No longer allows local-government employers to pick up a portion of an employee’s share of pension contributions. Workers are to pay 10percent of their wages to their pensions.	Pension pickups are used to hide raises give to public workers; puts workers on an even playing field.	Pension pickups can be cheaper than a straight pay raise because the employer doesn’t make Medicare, workers’ compensation, or unemployment payments on that pickup; without a corresponding pay increase, would be an instant pay cut for many workers; “hidden raises” concern handled by other transparency provisions in SB5	No longer automatically rolls over previous contractual agreement into the next contract.	Eliminates the potentially costly “pancaking effect” when a provision inserted into a contract for a specific reason is almost never removed in later year, even if circumstances change; has eroded management rights over time.	Can lead to draconian scrapping of contact provisions that have value to both labor and management; starting from zero can make for long, messy negotiations.
No longer requires that unions be allowed to bargain for items deemed “management rights” including staffing levels, building assignments, and promotions.	Gives managers more flexibility to run their operations; rights should have never been given up in the first place.	Could leas to larger class sizes in schools, fewer corrections officers in some prisons or fewer safety forces on police and fire runs; could cause safety issues for the public and workers.	Allows voters to go to the ballot to reject a contract if the governing body picks the more costly of the final offers and it is determined the contract cannot be paid for with current revenue.	Gives voters a chance to reject a contract that is “out of whack” and could lead to local tax increases.	Hard to fathom a situation where the criteria would be met to trigger a referendum; could lead to an ugly, divisive community fight over the worth of certain public employees; yet another way employees could lose out in negotiations.
Replaces automatic pay increases for steps and longevity pay with a new system of merit pay.	Quality of work, not years of experience, should be the deciding factor in how workers are compensated; will produce more-effective workers; allows mangers to reward exceptional work; limited step increases still can be included in contracts.	Raises concerns of cronyism, especially at the state level, where political appointees are the bosses; merit can be very difficult to define; will push teachers to be even more test-focused in their lessons, instead of teaching critical thinking.	No longer allows employers to do automatic paycheck deductions if money is earmarked for political-action committees, unless the worker gives written authorization.	Makes it easier for workers to decide whether to give politically; brings situation more in line with how corporation collect PAC money.	Makes it harder for public workers to participate in the political process at the same time the courts have made it easier for corporations; could reduce the political power of public unions, benefitting Republicans.
			Reduces the petition requirement for a public union decertification vote from 50 percent to 30 percent of members	Brings Ohio law in line with National Labor Relations Act; still requires a majority vote to decertify.	Another unnecessary effort to weaken union power by making it easier to decertify the organization; lets the employer interfere in union business.

Read the full article here: Issue 2: For or against? | A Case for the Law

Movember 2011!

During the month of Movember, we focus on Men's Health.  Each man is encouraged to shave his moustache (Mo) on Oct 31st and grow it for one whole month.  Poke is participating in Movember this year!  Please make a donation for Men's Health research or go to Movember for more information.

Diastasis Recti is Not What it Sounds Like

Warning: Gross Stuff to Follow.

When I was getting my pregnancy massages, the LMT warned me that my abdominal muscles might separate.  Well, what he should have said was "your abdominal muscles will separate" because that is exactly what has happened.  Between my huge son (8.75 lbs) and C-Section to remove said giant son, combined with massive infection and already being overweight, I was doomed.  The baby stretched the fascia around my ab muscles and the C-Section sliced through my lower muscles (about five layers!).  After all that, my abdomen filled with fluid and the whole thing was stretched back out, and it was full of over a liter of fluid which weighed it down.  So here I am with a saggy abdomen filled with infectious fluid - yum.  After my six days in the hospital (a week after I came home with 4L), I had a huge hole in my abdomen, wasn't allowed to move (ok, I could move, but I wasn't really supposed to do much & definitely not allowed to lift anything other than the baby!), and my fat ass has a stupid pooch.  But it's not really a pooch - it's a pouch - and I'm thinking "Fuck man, there is NO exercise I'll be able to do anytime soon to get rid of this bullshit."  Come to find out, there is no exercise I'll ever be able to do to get rid of my stretched out pouchy abdomen - once the muscles stretch and separate from the  fascia, that's it.  The only way to fix it is with a tummy tuck.

Wanna donate?  You can just send money through PayPal to rock.kowgurl@gmail.com!  I only need $4,000 so if I can get 40 people to donate $100 or 400 to donate $10 or even 1000 to donate $4, that would be awesome!

Ok, time for a nap.

It's Official!

I have made the commitment to be a real-live Tupperware Lady.  All it took was $5 down (the last $114.99 to be paid within 30 days) and I've already earned a profit from the party I had tonight!  Sweet!  I think this will be the perfect job as a SAHM because I can work around Poke and 4L's schedules and as often or as little as I want to.  Spectacular!

Judge Not, Lest Ye be Judged.

I want to address something kinda quickly.  I'll try and make this to the point.

• If you don't like what I write, don't read it.
• If you don't like what I say about someone, 1) don't read it or, even better, 2) think about what I am saying and figure out if there might be some truth to it.  After all, these are my opinions on my life*.
• If you don't agree with what I write, 1) don't read it, or, even better, feel free to use that brain God gave you and have an adult discussion about the subject.

Nobody is forcing to you to read this blog.

Hope that clears things up!

*You have no idea what it's like to live my life.  You are not me and you never will be.  You have not experienced what I have experienced, you have not dealt with what I have encountered.

Freakin' Irritated.

So, if any of you have bothered to read the history on/of this blog, you might recall that once upon a time I was a rich mortgage broker.  Then, in May 2007, I was laid off.  After working a series of shitty temp jobs, I decided it was time to do something with my life, and if I was going to start anew I should do something I loved and enjoyed.  Thus, culinary school, where I earned a 3.89 cumulative GPA, an Associate of Applied Sciences in Culinary Arts degree, and amassed over $60,000 worth of debt.  Since my externship (March 2009-July 2009), I have had four jobs.  

First the externship, at an assisted living facility ($10/hr), with a brand-new-to-the-position Executive Chef who had to flex her Dietary Services Coordinator muscle to prove she could do the job and henceforth wrote me up six times in one week and put me on the edge of being fired.  Before that could happen, I got a job as the Gourmet Chef Manager at a grocery store ($12.30/hr).  

I LOVED this job.  The problem was, a coworker had wanted my position and was literally out to get me - not just ME, but another guy and another chick who had also been the Chef there.  She lied to an "authority" and I was put on suspension without pay.  After an investigation, it was proven that I had NOT done what she said I did, yay HACCP and CAMERAS (dumb bitch), but at that point I had already found another job as a Chef at a Winery ($10/hr).  

I literally did EVERYTHING at the Winery, for peanuts, and was treated like shit by the GM who was a drunken nobody with no restaurant experience (and, for the record, ran the place right into the ground like I said she would - it's not even open anymore!) and so we parted "mutually" due to "lack of business" or whatever.  

Next I got a job at a catering company ($10/hr), not like weddings and parties but businesses.  I had to drive either 50 minutes to Groveport or 65 minutes to Newark for work every day at 7am, so basically 50% of my paycheck went directly to gasoline for my car.  I was hired to be the "Catering Chef ", they even went so far as to do a hair drug test, and was told I'd be taking over all the catering jobs.  Within two weeks I realized I'd be had, and in reality I was this bitch's bitch and my title may as well have been "salad maker" because that's about all I fucking did besides run around and do her bidding.  On top of that, I was sexually harassed by one of their account managers, but he said that if I told anyone he would get me fired (When he told me that, I was still new and couldn't afford to lose my job; Now I wish I'd turned him in and made him pay. Literally.)  

So I finally got the job at this retirement community ($12/hr) and it seemed like my actual dream job.  The pay was low for the work, but I was happy to have something I liked that was close to home.  That happiness lasted about a week - first, I was bullied by a male coworker who ended up being a rapist (he's currently in prison), then I was treated like a child and told I was no good by a 20 year old punk (who was the mother of a 4 year old and whose baby daddy is currently at FCCC), then I was tortured by another male coworker who finally got fired when he came to work under the influence of drugs & alcohol.  After all that my chef had the nerve to tell me that I was the problem, when we found ourselves in yet another closed-door meeting.  This time it was in regards to my supervisor, a 14-year employee, a black "christian" woman.  She was(is) incredibly racist, with the list going like this from "good" to "bad": black females, black males, white males, white females, all Africans.  We might even be under the Africans, I'm not 100% sure.  This woman tortured me, literally, from November til July when I finally went on maternity leave.  You might remember me talking about Karla from school, well, this sprvsr was ten times worse than Karla ever was.  For a christian, she was a horrible person.  She eventually lied the right way and got to write me up, twice, for things that she claimed I did - she claimed I didn't cook these ribs, but, had I not cooked the ribs, the residents would have had nothing to eat.  She didn't even try to make it realistic, and when I look back now, I laugh.  Unfortunately her actions plus my complaining on Facebook (what I said was "I wonder if there is a coalition for black sprvsr on white pregnant employee bullying" and somehow that's harassment?) got me a year probation - the day before I went on maternity leave - and they expected me to come back?  Right.  I would have come back if she'd have left or if we truly could not afford for me to stay home.  I'm not going to subject my infant son to my drunkenness due to the inability to function because I am being beaten mentally and emotionally on a daily basis.  No sir.

Now that you know all that, maybe you can figure out why I can't pay my student loans?  No?  Ok, well it's because I haven't had steady employment - a month off from March 2010 to April 2010, then again from May 2010 to June 2010 - really fucked up my finances.  My loans started coming due in January 2010 and as mentioned in the previous post, I was already unable to pay them and things never got any better.

At this point, I'm out of ideas.  I've contacted Sallie Mae over a hundred times to try and consolidate or get a lower payment or something - anything - and they simply will not work with us.  My friend's aunt keeps telling me on fb that I'm bragging about not paying them, that it's not fair for me to get a free education, and so on.  Clearly she doesn't understand how un-awesome it is to be $60,000 in debt with nothing to show for it.

Aunt: what is sad about this if every keeps not paying then they will stop the loans and some one who really wants it won't be able to go....Kelly I don't think this is anything to be proud about...:^(
Poke: People will always be able to get student loans, as long as there's a Phoenix facility somewhere in your state
Aunt: again don't think it is right to go to school and JUST don't pay....not fair...just saying
Me: So are you saying that I didn't really want it? That I chose to go to college seven years after graduating from high school, put my entire life on hold to obtain this degree, worked my ass off to get a 4.0 and make honors the entire time just so I could NOT pay my student loans back? Do you think, Aunt, that I planned for things to go the way they did after I graduated? To be raped by my employers, lied to, not paid, and not to mention laid off? To be lied to by Bradford, who told me that they would help me not only to find a job FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE but also that they would help me with financial issues as well? Do you think that I haven't been on the phone with Sallie Mae three or four or five times a WEEK for almost TWO YEARS trying to consolidate or get lower payments or whatever so that I COULD pay them back? IF I had known this was how it would be, I NEVER WOULD HAVE GONE TO COLLEGE. I would have continued in the mortgage business and worked those shitty temp jobs instead of trying to better myself and my life. In trying to do so, I have actually ruined my life. So if you think that I'm PROUD to be part of a HUGE problem, you couldn't be further from the truth. Why don't you think about the things you say before you say them? Do you truly think I am proud to have lost everything I had worked for before the age of 22? Proud to be $60,000 in debt with absolutely nothing to show for it? They can have my fucking degree back - even before I became a SAHM it was worthless. Take the degree back and cancel out the loans because I certainly did NOT get what I signed up for. Besides, how do you get that I am "proud" from this photo? Did you ever think that maybe I posted it to show how badly things have gotten? I'm not the only person out there who doesn't/can't/won't pay their student loans. Plenty of people who don't even finish school and get the degree don't bother to pay. Why don't you pick up a copy of this morning's Dispatch so you can read the article associated with this photo instead of just assuming that I'm so proud to be upside down in debt at age 29.
Aunt: sorry I did think before I said something sorry Kelly you have a FREE degree because you are goin to just walk away....sorry that's how I feel....sorry just sometime you brag on face book thay maybe you shouldn't be braging about....just saying....
Me: how am i bragging about this? am i posting things like "i'm awesome cuz i can't pay my bills"? no, i don't think so.

So that's where we are now.

On top of all this stupid debt bullshit rolling around in my head, my ex-boyfriend's girlfriend keeps tagging him in posts about how awesome he is, for example, making her TheraFlu when she was sick.  For some reason I am jealous, probably because I knew that he was the perfect guy but then I fucked it all up and he ended it before it could really go anywhere.  Don't ask how, I don't really want to talk about it, but it had to do with when I was beat up by that girl back in November 2009.  I know that if I had hooked up with him I never would have gotten 4L, and that would be terrible, but I think about all the pain Poke puts me through on a regular basis and I just regret a lot of things.  After all these years of wanting him, of him leaving me so cruelly only to come right back again and then leave once more, I feel sometimes like I forced him to be with me and now that we have 4L, I am stuck.  He tells me weekly that he doesn't love me, that he never loved me, but he also tells me that he loves me on a daily basis.  I don't know what to believe.  He bought me a house, he's great with 4L, and he provides for me/us financially.  Emotionally, romantically, physically, however, he provides either nothing or just hurt.  Even when he tells me he loves me or says nice things to me I can't take him seriously because I know that in a few hours or a few days he'll be telling me how much he despises me.  He needs to see a therapist.

FALL IS FINALLY HERE!

YAY!

I love love love LOVE LOVE fall.  It is definitely my favorite time of year.  Everything about fall is good - pumpkins, rain, apples, falling leaves, changing colors, kids back in school, getting to wear hoodies and sweaters, craft shows... I could go on and on.  The BEST part of fall, tied with the plethora of pumpkin-flavored items, is HALLOWE'EN!  Kids get to dress up scary or funny, grown ups get to dress up scary or slutty, there is so much candy on sale, pumpkins go on parade under the guise of Jack O'Lanterns... It's just amazing.  

Some folks only celebrate Hallowe'en as a secular holiday, but there are lots of people in the world who celebrate it as a religious/spiritual holy/holiday as well.  This is referred to as Samhain (pronounced sau-ehn or saw-in) and is a Gaelic holiday celebrated Oct 31/Nov 1 and marks the end of harvest, transition from light days into dark days, and in some cultures is considered a "New Year" holiday.  The Romans stole, like most holidays, Samhain and made it their own All Saints' Day, November 1st, celebrating the Saints of the Catholic Church.  Mexicans, especially Mexican Catholics, celebrate El Dia de los Muertos on November 1st and 2nd. Overall, fall is a time of year to revel in the changes happening in nature and in ourselves.

I find myself more at peace in the autumn.  Summer is way too hot, I'm always uncomfortable, and then there is the pressure to be barely dressed in public.  Fall brings with it not only hoodies and sweaters, but jeans and sweats (well I suppose yoga pants are more "in" this year!) and jackets to cover up the chubs.  The only part of Fall that I don't like is socks and shoes - I am definitely a sandals-til-there-is-snow kinda girl, however, I despise having wet feet in my flip-flops and that tends to happen with all the rain we get here in Ohio.  Needless to say, I'm becoming accustomed to wearing socks, and today I put my sandals (all four pairs plus Poke's pair) in the bedroom closet.  Now they'll be too far away for me to get them in a snap!

Today I put up all the Hallowe'en decorations, and I'm kinda sad because I thought I had a lot more.  My mom gave me her giant light up cat-in-a-pumpkin and ghost-with-black-cat for the front yard, I have some bats in the window and a handmade scarecrow (my mom's from when I was very young) on the porch.  There are some ooooooohh-eeeeeeee-ooooooh hanging things in the kitchen with a couple of Bud Light bat beads, black candles in the holders and spider votives on the entertainment center, a spooky ceramic ship that I made when I was about 10 yrs old (lights up!), and a one-eyed witch hanging haphazardly from the glass door in front of the dvds.  That might sound like a lot to you, but my neighbors down the street have a whole row of light up happy candy corns in their yard!  Waah!  I just want more stuff, but I'll just have to wait til November when everything is on sale.  I'm also picky in that I don't want junk, I want unique pieces that nobody else will have.  Sure, 30 years ago everyone on the block had my light-up guys in the front yard, but no one has them now! I love vintage stuff too, especially holiday stuff.

Well, Poke and 4L are hanging out in the living room and it's almost 6pm so I had better start dinner before my boys starve...or at least before one of them starts whining... *grin*