Week 1 ~ Day 1 HIS 303 The American Constitution or My Current Class at Ashford University

I began my next class at Ashford today, and on day 1 we are asked to post our introduction. It's usually a pretty easy thing to do but recently the instructors are asking for more information. Mostly regarding the class we have chosen.

Here are the instructions for today's introduction:

Please take a moment to introduce yourself to your classmates, noting your academic, professional, and personal goals, and any other information you might want to share. Also, read the U.S. Constitution and watch the film Citizenship and Civic Responsibilities. Then respond to one of the following questions:

What passages from the Constitution do you find most surprising? Which passages did you have trouble comprehending? Was there anything you thought would be included in the Constitution but were surprised to find was not there?

Citing specific passages from the Constitution, identify how the Constitution affects you in your day-to-day life. Why is it important for citizens to be familiar with the Constitution (or not)? What aspects of the Constitution do you think many people today fail to understand or appreciate?

Here is my response, by the time I was finished I had over 1,000 words:

Hello Everyone,

My name is Vickie; I'm a 57 year old wife, mother of 3, and grandmother to 7, living in the Fayetteville, NC area.

I have been out of school for over 35 years and recently decided to return to the academic world in an effort to become more than just a HS graduate who has more life experience, but not enough education to advance in the workplace. I am currently unemployed with over 25 years in the retail field, 20 of those years in retail management.

I have chosen the field of Complementary and Alternate Health for my Bachelor’s Degree with a minor in Entrepreneurship. In August I will begin my third year here at Ashford and can see graduation just over the horizon. I hope to ultimately use my education to own and operate my own Wellness Center, where I can offer options to traditional western medical practices and  incorporate not only alternate health practices, but also include the ingredients our clients may require to continue their wellness program in the comfort of their home.

What passages from the Constitution do you find most surprising?

Article 3 Section 3 states: Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. Many of the members of Congress have openly stated that Edward Snowden, the former employee of the NSA is guilty of treason for his part in leaking the information regarding the NSA’s ability to collect information on the average American citizen. As far as I understand the situation, Mr. Snowden has not levied war against the U.S., nor has he given aid or comfort to our enemies. He made public information on a policy and procedure for the NSA to use surveillance that was approved by former president George Bush.

Which passages did you have trouble comprehending?

Amendment 12 gives me a bit of trouble. I do not understand the need for the Electoral College for determining who is elected president. As Americans have the right to vote, I believe we the people should determine the outcome of the election.

Was there anything you thought would be included in the Constitution but were surprised to find was not there?

At this time I believe everything I can think of is covered in the Constitution.

Citing specific passages from the Constitution identify how the Constitution affects you in your day-to-day life.

On a daily basis I have discussions regarding the aspects found in the Frist Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment.

The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Freedom of religion means freedom for EVERY religion. The United States was NOT formed as a Christian nation, and many of our founding fathers were among those who fled England and Europe in order to escape from religious persecution.

The Fourteenth Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” I believe this means every citizen is guaranteed the same rights and liberties as anyone else, including those in same sex relationships. A marriage license is a legal contract obtained from a county courthouse. As a legal document every person, regardless of sexual orientation in entitled to the same rights and privileges as everyone else. A wedding ceremony is performed by a member of the clergy and if your religion or clergy member doesn’t agree with same sex marriages, you don’t need to attend or participate in their marriage or wedding ceremony.

Why is it important for citizens to be familiar with the Constitution (or not)?

I believe it is important for every American citizen to be familiar with the Constitution in order to understand exactly what their rights are as a citizen. Many times I hear people quoting the Constitution for various reasons and these same people have no idea what they are actually spouting. If you want to claim freedom of religion, then make sure you understand freedom of religion means freedom for every religion, not just your Christian point of view.

What aspects of the Constitution do you think many people today fail to understand or appreciate?

I believe many people do not understand the Second Amendment. While I fully support each person’s right to bear arms, I disagree with what we are being told in today’s world. The Second Amendment was put in place to allow the U.S. citizens the ability to assist the militia. With five branches of a fully armed military, we no longer live in a time when the average Joe needs to be prepared to take up arms against the enemy. Again, I support the right for the average American to own weapons; however I do NOT believe anyone other than the trained military should have a personal automatic weapon. There are too many people today who listen to and feed into the doom and gloom and conspiracy theories the NRA and even some politicians are bellowing. Have your shotguns, rifles and handguns; go through the appropriate background checks to obtain them. Yes I am aware background checks won’t keep criminals from getting weapons, but you won’t convince me you NEED an assault rifle or any weapon with a multi round magazine.

Reference: Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library, The Avalon Project Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy, The U.S. Constitution, retrieved on June 18, 2013, from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/usconst.asp 

Lets see how much shit I've stirred with this one, LOL!! 

We Are Moved in and Mostly Settled

Make sure you've taken a bathroom break and have something to drink... possibly a snack too. This is MUCH longer than I had anticipated. I apologize in advance.

We've been here in the new house for two weeks now and I've finally manged to get a handle on the unpacking and putting things into place. I have got to tell you I LOVE this house. Yes, it's a double wide mobile home, yes it's on 0.6 acres of land (which means our yard is huge), and yes it's an awesome improvement over the previous place. I've held off blogging about it because I promised pictures and I wanted to get things mostly organized so I didn't take pictures of the millions (OK, just about 25) of boxes we had, LOL!!

I still have a few odds and ends I want to buy to liven up the walls and brighten up the ambiance, but I'm in no rush to do so. Since we pretty much have an *absentee* landlord (he lives in Wilmington about 2 hours away and won't be dropping in unexpected or uninvited) I want to shop around and buy what *fits* us, instead of trying to keep our lifestyle and beliefs in the closet. The previous landlord was always coming by, checking on things (unless I called and complained about the roof leaking) so I kept all my Craft secluded in the one bedroom. I have the freedom in this house to be me, the real me.  I've also added a few more *household* items to my wish list that keeps growing as the weeks go by, and again these things are gonna be purchased as I find just the right one.

Since I left most of my things in Arizona when Jimmy & I moved away from there in 2002, I've never been one for having lots of nik nacks, or Tchotchkes. It's not that I don't like decorative things, I just didn't have the setting or place to have them added to my world. And I think I was a bit depressed that I had to leave so many things behind not once but twice when we  moved from Michigan to NC in 2008. That's all about to change. I LOVE Pier One, Home Goods, and Kirkland's! I always have enjoyed browsing through the stores but never thought about incorporating the things I found into my own home. So over the next few  months, years, etc. I'm going to begin adding *dust catchers as my Dad called them* to our new home.

I promised I'd post pictures as soon as I got things pretty much how I want them to be settled, so here ya go:

This is the view of our living room from the entry way. To the right of the sectional are the 3 East facing windows that look out onto our front deck. The sectional and chair & ottoman are what we chose to replace the plum sofa & love seat we had before that wouldn't fit in through the doors here in the new house. To the right of the fireplace (it's wood burning and I am looking forward to winter) is the built in shelves and cabinets I'm using for my *main* altar. It's a work in progress and I'll post pictures as I complete it. To the left of the fireplace is the built ins I'm making into a bar area. I need to find a wine rack for my Duplin's and Starrlight Mead, and add to the collection of glasses I have. You can't tell from this picture but the chair actually has an ottoman. I have claimed this as my seating area and LOVE how comfortable it is.

The built in on the right of the fireplace. It's on the East wall and I felt it was perfect for my main altar. I have a lot of work to do here, but the basics are out and I've already put it to good use with a protection spell... The picture you see leaning against the back wall is an autographed print I was lucky enough to get from Jessica Galbreth while we lived in Michigan. She had a permanent store front at the Michigan Ren Faire until she chose to no longer paint the fantasy series. I have quite a few items I've added to my wish list for this house. The great thing about those items is that I'm  looking for things that aren't location specific and I can incorporate them into any place we move in the future. For instance, there is an area just inside the living room on the right before you get to the end table and sectional (you can't see it in the picture I took, sorry) where I want to put a potted Ficus tree. There is enough light for it to flourish, and room for it to grow and spread out. The plus of this is I can move it... anywhere.

This is a closer picture of the left side built in where I'm adding things for a bar area. Jimmy says he can add a rack to hang my stemware, so that's a plus.  Of course I *need* a wine rack to hold my bottles. As you can see there are only 3 ATM, all I can say is it's been a rough few weeks, LOL!! That just means I have a road trip to Starrlight Meadery in the near future and since we are relatively close to the Duplin Winery, I'm thinking a Saturday road trip is on the horizon as well.

Most of the walls are still bare, I left our prints and artwork in Michigan when we moved to NC. A little at a time I'll replace the things that were important to us and add new things as we grow into our life and relationship. I look forward to being able to showcase the things that bring us joy. There is one item I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to replace. When we lived in AZ, we spent quite a bit of time in Las Vegas. We absolutely LOVED  staying at the Mirage and walking through the Secret Garden with all the big cats. On our last trip, we purchased a *bust* of 2 tigers, one was a white tiger which is Jimmy's main totem. I've looked online and at various gift shops we've been through, but haven't been able to find one with the quality of workmanship as the one that was left behind.

This is the fireplace... it's wood burning and has a fan for blowing the heat out into the room. Wonder if this will help to cut down on the heating costs for the winter? I am looking forward to Yule and Christmas this year. I haven't had a mantle for stockings since the last time I celebrated the holidays with my parents in Arizona. I can imagine it with greenery, ribbons and stockings for Jimmy, Tanya, Ravyn and myself. Oooo, come on winter, LOL!!

This is a closer picture of the center mirror over the fireplace. I have a sterling silver and crystal spider hanging there. She is the link to the past and to the future, she is the grandmother and the weaver of dreams, she connects us to the spirit world and is the one who weaves the threads of our relationships, She always has a place of honor in my home. This spider web is one of the few things that somehow made the trip from Michigan. I don't even remember packing it, but found her in my box of Vickie's must have gotta go stuff when I unpacked it while we lived in the hotel for 6 months before finding our first place once we got to Raleigh. That box had the Gothique statue that sits on my altar, some candles, my Faerie books and a few bottles of essential oils.

To the left of the television is the entry way which has a narrow shelf with 3 cabinet doors. Inside these doors are two narrow shelves and above the cabinet is a large mirror. I have NO idea what to put into the cabinet, but I'm thinking about adding a plant or two to the shelf. Just have to make sure it's a shade loving plant or a *gasp* silk plant. To the right of the telly is the hallway that leads to Tanya & Ravyn's part of the house. Just inside the hallway on the left is a good sized coat closet, then Tanya's room. At the end of the hall is the linen closet and then Ravyn's room to the right of that door. Next is their bathroom and you are back into the main part of the house.

This picture shows the corner built ins. For now, I have all my books there and behind the doors are the boxes I have yet to unpack. Ravyn has a little area there as well with her books, a few toys, her coloring books and pads and her little chair. I am seriously thinking about buying either a love seat and putting it where the chair/ottoman are currently and moving the chair/ottoman to this corner to make a mini library/reading area. Either that or I'm just going to get another chair, this is one of those things that is in the want to do list, but have NO set time frame to accomplish it.

To the right of the built in you can see the snack bar where I have hung my Faerie besom. It was actually the first thing I hung/placed in the house. Even before the furniture was delivered or arranged. I made this from a rustic cinnamon broom that I found on one of our trips to South Carolina. The faerie sitting on her is one that hung in my window but kept falling out (guess she didn't like all the bright light, LOL) and the ribbon bow is from the Yule wreath for 2011 when I use blue and purple decorations. I LOVE being able to re-purpose things... and I've found a few second hand stores to feed my addiction.

WOW! This turned out to be lots longer than I anticipated, but not to worry, I'm almost finished. Next in the tour is the kitchen. The first time I saw this house I was by myself, no Jimmy, no Tanya... all by my lonesome. So after I paid the deposit and was given access to it even during the construction I made quite a few trips over to see the progress. I brought Jimmy with me on one of those trips and he was worried the kitchen was too small.

It IS a lot smaller than the place we just moved from and smaller than you would think this big house should  have, but it's much more organized with a better layout. It's a galley style kitchen and it works GREAT for me. Sides, I'm very particular about my kitchen and who cooks in it so the fit is perfect as far as I'm concerned. I don't waste steps while cooking nor do I have to worry about extra cabinet space to keep clean. The only *problem* I found is there aren't enough overhead cabinets, but I decided to put my dishes and glasses in the built in cabinet in the dining room. I'm more than pleased with that choice...

Speaking of the built in in the dining room, there are 3 doors as you can see, behind each door are two shelves giving me three levels to put things. In the far left are all my teas and tea brewing items. I think there are probably 15 or so canisters of tea on the bottom shelf. The middle portion has bowls, glassware, cloth napkins and my carving set. The right side stores my tableware, some more glasses and serving pieces. The cabinet underneath houses plastic *gasp* glasses and miscellaneous things I could find a home for. My canning jars are in the right side, both shelves. When I was told they weren't going to put carpet back in the dining room I coulda walked on water. There is nothing worse as far as I'm concerned than trying to clean the carpet under the table where every one eats at least twice a day.

Almost finished! Here's the master bedroom. These windows are 32 inches wide and I didn't want to have mini blinds on them. So, I put a single panel from the curtains I had in the Craft room in the other house on each window, added a drapery hook to hold them back and I have instant swagged curtains. The wall paper is a floral with burgundy, teal green, blue, light peach and cream. I knew I had blue linens so I picked that color out of the wallpaper and ran with it. I can't decide what to put on the empty wall above the bed. It's a toss up between this or both of these.

This is my makeup table which fits perfectly into the alcove between the 2 large closets. It's on the east facing wall and I have more than enough natural light for doing my makeup and I can open the curtain and let the moon shine into the bedroom as well. And while the closets are not walk in, they are more than large enough for all Jimmy's clothes and I'm still able to store his fishing gear in his without the worry of messing something up. My closet is a tiny bit bigger and all my clothes and shoes fit with no problem, LOL!! Besides if I had a larger closet I'd just need more clothes and shoes to fill it up and that would mean more to move next time... NOT!!

This is the area at the foot of the bed (have I told you this bedroom is MUCH larger than the master in the other house?) where we have chosen to put the *office*. Everything fits nicely on this wall and we still have more than enough room to move around without banging onto the furniture. Our desk is the table from my Craft room so when I get back into the sewing mode, I'll be using the dining room table for that. The wireless printer is on the left of the desk are and the shelves on the right with the TV will eventually be replaced by an upright chest of drawers.

Two more and you will have had the grand tour via photos of the new Chateau L'Esperance. Finally we come to the room that has proven to be my sanctuary and my sanity. For many people all you'd see is a large bathroom. And it is that... a large master bathroom. To me, it's the place I can go to at the end of my day and have just a tiny bit of alone time while I soak away the day in a candle lit lavender bubble bath, or stand under the shower massage and work out the kinks in my upper back and shoulders. Again, this room is a work in progress. In the near future I'll be adding some more towels, a couple bath rugs and maybe even a few wall hangings of some sort. The first photo is of my side. I chose this side because it has more storage space and what woman doesn't have more need for bathroom storage than their man? It's also the side with the HUGE tub. I love this tub! It's deep and perfect size for me to stretch out in...ahhhh.

This is the side I delegated to Jimmy... it is smaller by one cabinet and is on the same side as the shower. There is more than enough storage for both of us and a little left over in spite of all my *personal hygiene items*, LOL!! There used to be a set of double doors from the master bedroom to the master bath, I had Jimmy take them down and it really opened up the entire combined rooms. 

Well, there you have the whole shebang, and I apologize for it being SO long. But, I know me and if I had tried to split it up into two or more posts I would have lost interest and I'd never gotten around to sharing. I sincerely hope you weren't bored and thanks so much for sticking it out and taking the whole tour. 

I didn't give you any pictures of the outside yet... I haven't had much time to work on the deck or the flower beds. And we have a nasty invasion of ants. I'm allergic to ant bites so I stay out of their way as much as I can. We have some diatomaceous earth on order for our infestations (we also have ticks and fleas and mosquitoes, *sigh*) and as soon as I am comfortable being outside with all the critters, I'll work on the outside and post those pictures too.

Thinking Bout Things Tuesday

It's been so crazy hectic busy here in the Sand Hills and I haven't had time or energy to sit down and actually do any serious blogging. I still don't, but there are a few things on my mind and I'm in the mood to share. If you find these items are tiresome, that's OK. Just stop reading, you won't hurt my feelings at all...

1. In my post from last night I let you all know we have finally moved out of the death trap with all the black mold and the health issues I was having. I can happily report I haven't had to buy stock in a paper towel company because my nose has stopped running. I think I'm more excited about this than some of the other improvements to my health. I cannot explain fully enough how much my nose was running and how irritated I was by the non stop constant water faucet that was more commonly known as my nose.

Along with this particular improvement there are a few more: I no longer have the constant headache, nor am I wheezing. The muscle aches are almost gone as well and so is the never ending cough. I believe I am on the mend. YAY! It's about damn time. Being sick for over six months is NO fun at all.

2. The new neighborhood is QUIET! No small annoying dogs yapping uncontrollably each time I step outside. I can enjoy my yard and deck without the nosy neighbors breaking their necks to see what I am doing. I swear while we were loading the truck on Saturday they found any excuse to be at the fence line between our yard and theirs to see what the hell we were doing. ( Between you and me, I'm actually waiting to see if they will follow me home from the grocery one of these day just to see where we moved. They ARE that nosy!)

The streets in this neighborhood are actually paved and even. No climbing an unstable dirt road hill to find even pavement to walk on. All I gotta do is walk out my driveway. I plan to begin walking around the neighborhood in the evenings before it gets dark, just after sunset when the temperatures have cooled a bit. Right now it's not too hot, but those hot southern nights are just around the corner. There are a lot of families here, children riding bikes and playing catch in the streets. Kinda like Wabash Street where my kids grew up  in Arizona.

3. I did not bring any of my plants with me to the new house. I know I said I was going to and that was my intention. I made the difficult decision not to cause I was worried about how they would survive being transplanted at this time of the year. I'm just going to start over and use pots so IF we move again I can just grab the posts and off we go.

Since moving in here I have discovered there is a good sized gardenia bush on the front of the house which faces east, and it's getting ready to bloom. It is a different species than the one I left behind, so I'm looking forward to seeing the blooms. I also am now the caretaker of 3 rose bushes. One is a knockout blush colored and the other two are red and a coral color. The red and coral are planted too close together and too close to the knockout so I need to move them.. later... in the fall.

4. According to NC Child Support Jimmy's child support arrears will be paid off in about 6 weeks, which will give us a substantial amount to add to the savings account. However, Vermont has a different amount, and I can't get any straight answers as to WHICH amount is the correct one. Before you even ask, YES I am authorized to speak on Jimmy's behalf since he is on the road and rarely has the chance to talk to anyone about business matters. If the correct amount is what Vermont is showing it will be 12 weeks before it is completely paid.

I swear I am SO over dealing with more than one child support agency. Even when he was still living, working and paying child support in Vermont their figures never stacked up. One month he was showing he was in arrears so they take his tax return, then the next 4 months they show him over paid. Then in arrears the next month. Even though his payments are coming directly from his pay before he even sees that check, he still managed to get behind. Oh well, the good thing is he's almost finished. Wanna know the sad thing? He hasn't seen his kids since they were about Ravyn's age and he has court ordered visitation that the ex wife has refused to acknowledge. Those girls are now adults over 21...BOTH of them.

5. A few weeks ago I blogged about the way some people seem to think they have the market cornered on being a spiritual person. If you didn't see that entry go on over and check it out. I am pretty sure one of the people I had in mind has removed themselves from the Blog O Sphere. Ya see, for some reason, they always ended  up in my reader and no matter how many times I hit that damn unfollow button, there they were. For the past week or so, I've been pest free. And the FB profile is locked down tighter than Ft. Knox.

I believe this is a good thing. This person was always trying to convince the people who read their blog what a great and upstanding Christian they were/are. Unfortunately, they were so full of contradictions it began to be repetitive every time they posted a blog it was the same exact thing. Talk about boring... Anyway, it's possible they finally caught a clue and figured out no one wanted to read what they had to say and just stopped posting all together. Or, I guess they also could have created a blog and only allow a person to read it by invitation. That's OK too cause that means they won't show up randomly in any of the blogs I read and follow.

Moving...

Let me begin by saying up front that I absolutely despise moving. The sorting, the packing, the carting the boxes to the new house and then the dreaded unpacking and trying to find a place for everything. But we did it ... again, *sigh.

We picked up the keys on Friday May 24th and began the process of transferring all the utilities and getting everything in place to move this past weekend when Jimmy had asked for time off. Because I had worked myself into an anxiety attack by Thursday morning, I told Jimmy he was in charge and I was just gonna sit back and do what he asked me to. For anyone of you who know me, this was a huge, HUGE challenge for me to say, let alone actually do. Yeah, I will admit it, I am a control freak, I MUST control each and every situation I orchestrate or I cannot function. Not the past 5 days... I gave over complete control of my life and immediate surroundings to another person and just rolled with it. And it worked...

Thursday afternoon our furniture was supposed to be moved, as the day got later, I got a bit worried. So I called to check to see if we were still on schedule. They had forgotten about us... but sent a truck out to load our furniture, everything except our bed. Jimmy is waiting at the new house for the appliance delivery... which  never came. at. ALL! So, I'm on the phone trying to find the stove and refrigerator, the movers come to load up our furniture, they get it to the new house and the sofa won't fit in through the entry...neither the front OR the back. All the ceilings in the new place are vaulted... except the entry ways... they are low enough I can stand on tip toe and touch them with my fingers.

The confusion with the appliances is cleared up and they will be delivered on Friday between 1 & 3. At 10 AM on Friday morning, Jimmy & I go off to find new living room furniture, and we decide on a small sectional with a chaise on one end and a coordinating chair and ottoman. We get this delivery scheduled between 12 and 4. Things are looking good so far. All the deliveries are made during the window we have been given and I am not only relieved, I am over the moon. Finally things are falling into place and we can take a deep breath and relax.

Saturday morning comes and Jimmy says we are going room by room beginning in the master bedroom. OK, I say let's do this. By the end of the day of Saturday we have moved more than 85% of our stuff, set up the bed in the new house so we aren't sleeping on the floor, unpacked a few of the boxes and it's time for showers and my first soak in the new DEEP tub... ahhhhh, I have found heaven in a bath tub, LOL!!

Sunday we go back over to the old place, and it takes 3 more loads in our Ascender (SUV) and Tanya loads her pickup with the things from our outside storage shed. We are finished by 3PM and I've completely had more than I want to relive ever again. By finished I mean FINISHED! All moved out, picked up and cleaned. I am DONE with that moldy hell pit.

I'm slowly putting things together, the altar area is a work in progress, the master bath has not been touched and the living room is the only space I can say looks like someone actually lives here. Tomorrow I'll probably work on Jimmy's side of the master bath since he has lots less than I do, LOL! After I get the house somewhat put together I'll post some pictures so you can see what our new place looks like.

OH! That thing up there where I gave over control to someone else? Well, don't get used to seeing it happen, just sayin...

Counting the Days

It's ours... or it will be in 11 more days. We found a new house. On Friday May 31st, we will sign the new lease, take possession of the keys and property and begin moving in on Saturday the 1st. This has been the most un-enjoyable experience I have had in quite a long time.

I am more than thankful to be moving out of this place that has been making me so sick since sometime in November of last year. No more runny nose, no more wheezing, no more muscle aches. I am looking forward to being healthy again. These past 6 or so months have been just unacceptable. And now that we've found a place, given the landlord our 30 day notice of vacating this place, he has decided to make the necessary repairs. Unbelievable...

The new house itself is great, 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths with a huge tub in the master so I can continue to enjoy long candle lit lavender baths at the end of my day. There is a wood burning fireplace in the living room  with built ins on each side (I'm going to use one of them for my altar), new appliances throughout and a new HVAC unit. In the dining room there is a built in china cabinet and in the corner next to the snack bar area of the kitchen/dining room there are built in corner book cases. I am extremely pleased with the location, the neighborhood is quiet with paved roads perfect for taking evening walks, and the size of the yard is HUGE!

The one drawback I have found is there isn't a covered porch. I LOVE the covered porch on the current house which gives me the ability to sit outside and enjoy the rain without getting soaked. Jimmy found a screen house with a floor that he thinks will work well on the front deck. I kinda like that idea too, it will give more protection from the mosquitoes since this one has an attached floor to help keep the pesky things out. I also love the trees and plants in this yard, something the new place has quite a bit less of. There are trees, and shrubs and 3 rose bushes, it's just not as green and lush as where we currently live.

On the positive side, this means I pretty much have a blank canvas to work with and will be adding some plants around the very large front deck. I'm taking the plants I put in here last summer: 2 hydrangeas  a gardenia plant, 4 violets, some of the spider-wort, the carnations and of course my herbs. I know I'm supposed to leave anything I've put in the ground. That's not going to happen. I'm buying planters/pots large enough to move my babies and will more than likely keep them in pots on the front deck.

We definitely will need to buy a riding lawn mower, with over a half acre of land it's just too much for a push mower. I'm thinking we are going to need another garden hose so we can water the lawn and keep it pretty and green (unless the irrigation/sprinkler system we found the control box for actually works). First up though is treating the entire yard for ants. I have never in my life seen so many ant hills! I have no desire to be a meal for any of them either. Jimmy has been looking at pools for the back yard, so when Ravyn is visiting (or I'm babysitting) we can go swimming.

I'm excited, but also a bit melancholy. I love the house we are in, I will miss it ... a LOT! (I won't miss the uncontrolled yapping dogs of the neighbors nor the pit bulls that won't stay in their yard behind us) But I am looking forward to all exciting things I can do in the new place as well. When we get things settled I'll post some pictures and share the experience of the new Chateau L`Esperance.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

Over the past week here in the Sand Hills, we have had nothing but rainy cloudy days. Even though we have problems with Black Mold, we have never had water on the inside of the house. It always stayed between the walls, hence the reasoning of the landlord to say there was no leak and the roof had already previously been repaired. It rained so hard yesterday, that the roof began leaking ...

Yesterday evening I wanted to go sit out on the porch and enjoy the rain. It had slowed down quite a bit and wasn't blowing so the things on the porch were relatively dry. However, it was quite chilly so I grabbed my hoodie off the chair in the dining room and it was soaking wet. This chair sits in the corner of the dining room where the floor has rotted (so Ravyn doesn't fall in the damaged spot) and under where the black marks on the ceiling were. I was livid!! Instead of being able to go outside, I spent a good deal of time drying off my chair and then oiling it where the water had been so it didn't dry out or show water spots. While I was doing this, Jimmy called the landlord, and as usual he didn't answer so he left a message. He did call back last night somewhere after 10PM, telling us he would have to call his father (who is the actual owner of the place we live, but he lives somewhere in NJ so he has no idea what goes on here most of the time) to see if he wanted to fix the problem or not. I'm thinking to myself, WTF??

This morning he calls Jimmy and lets us know he's on the way to Home Depot to buy tarps to cover the area until they can get someone out to REPLACE the roof. Now keep in mind, this roof has been repaired at least a couple times and it seems to last about 4 or 5 years then there is more trouble. And... it IS a mobile home which is completely different than repairing a normal houses roof. No shingles, no tar. The landlord gets here sometime after noonish, and he comes in to see the area we have been telling him about. At this time he isn't much interested in anything except where the leak is on the ceiling (Read he's ignoring the hole in the floor). Up the ladder and onto the roof he and Jimmy go to spread out a tarp to cover the damaged area. I'm not positive this is going to work as he only brought 7 or 8 bricks to hold down a tarp covering a large area. If the wind kicks up we might be pelted with flying bricks.

After the tarp is all spread out Jimmy insists he come inside and actually LOOK at the floor. He gets down on his knees and runs his hand in the gap between the wall and the floor and finds it's wet and the wood has decomposed *just like we tried to tell him a few months ago to no avail*. He's not too sure what to do about this problem, and makes the comment somewhere along the line of just having the mobile home removed and building a normal house in it's place. WAIT!! You have a difficult time paying for needed repairs and you want to spend MORE money to build a house you have NO desire to be the landlord for? Oh wait, I remember. You told us you actually wanted to turn this rental over to a property manager, but they won't take a mobile home as old as this one...

All I can say is I am happy we are moving and there is NO way I can be convinced to stay here. There are just too many things wrong with this house and I'm tired of trying to get even the smallest and simplest thing repaired. The most recent problem is somewhere we have lost over half of the water pressure. Trying to take a shower is like standing under a drip irrigation system. And it takes the toilets a minimum of 5 minutes to refill after flushing. I'm serious and NOT joking AT. ALL!

I am going to miss the front porch though... it is one of my very favorite things about living here. That and the east facing windows to my Craft room...

It's Been A While...

since I've gone off on a tangent about something, so evidently today is the day for me to blog about a couple things that have been bothering me over the course of the past few months. I honestly have been trying with everything that's in me to just ignore stupid and walk away. However, when you find it all up in your face on a daily, no hourly basis, that makes it the MOST difficult thing to walk away from.

Remember, this is MY blog, with my thoughts. I'm not going to call anyone out by name and before you go all wacky on me thinking I'm talking about you, maybe you need to check yourself and see if the things I'm saying actually apply to your life.

First up is the constant change. I know you are going *Whoa Vickie, hold on here a minute, change is good*. I AGREE! However, I'm talking about those who change their life like they change their underwear. These people do not give themselves the chance to embrace the change they have made before they are off on yet another direction. How will they ever figure out who they are supposed to be, how they are supposed to live, which job is supposed to be their career, which spiritual journey is the one for them, IF they spend less than 5 minutes on each new change? And you are right, it is not my responsibility to tell them how to live and which journey is the right one for them. I just get irritated when on Monday someone asks for change, embraces a new direction and then before Wednesday even dawns, they have set of in another direction.

Along with these changes in their personal life, these same people go all bat shit crazy in the social media world. New FB pages, new blogs, new twitter accounts, new everything. I have to tell you, it's getting ridiculous the number of blogs, twitter pages and such I'm having to remove on a weekly basis. I've pretty much gotten to the point that I am not accepting new friend request from someone who has changed their FB account more than once or twice. If you don't like the way your current page is flowing, remove the things you no longer like, stop posting the things you find negative and just move the hell on! You don't need to continually create new pages. OH! And don't give me the excuse my husband's ex wife's sister was on my friends list. DELETE AND BLOCK THE BITCH! That's one of the BEST features about FB...that BLOCK function. I LOVE IT!!

Then there are those who consider themselves to be able to *write*. And once again, I am not talking about someone who has tried for years to put together a story. I am talking about those who out of the blue, wake up one day and say *I'm going to write a book and see if I can get it published*.

DISCLAIMER HERE: I know many already published and up and coming authors who have made many sacrifices and struggled to become published and known, I am NOT talking about any of you. I LOVE you all and respect your work. If you are thinking you see yourself here, you do not and if you want to know for sure, send me a message on FB and I'll clarify who I am talking about. I will not do it publicly.

The people I am talking about are the ones who actually shouldn't be writing anything in the first place. Not a blog, not a short story, not a letter or post card, and most assuredly NOT a book... of any kind. Their grammar, punctuation and choice of words leave more than enough to be desired. The sad part of this is that some of these same people feel they have the education and qualifications to actually teach our young people. I'm at a loss to understand how these people can hope to write a book, be an educator and NOT be able to spell correctly or form a sentence so those reading can not only understand what is being said, but not roll on the floor laughing their asses off at the stupidity they have tried to read.

If you fall into the above category and want to write, keep a journal, write in a diary, use your computer to keep things recorded. But for the love of Goddess, do not put your jumbled, inconsistent ramblings out where the public can see it. You are wasting your time and embarrassing yourself. If you only knew how many people are actually laughing at you, you would want to dig a hole, crawl into it and then pull the dirt and rocks in on top of yourself.

Lastly, there are those who for one reason or another have come to the realization that walking the Christian path is the way to go for them. To you I say great and I fully support your choice to believe and worship in any manner you so desire. Aannd, now we come to the meat of this part. When you say you are open minded and support everyone's choice of spiritual path, I'm like all... *good for you*. Then you turn around and disappoint me and everyone who doesn't belong to your cult by opening your mouth and saying you support religious freedom as long as it doesn't go against God and the Bible.

God and the Bible are NOT the only spiritual guidelines available and recognized, especially here in the good old U. S. of A. There are over 300 recognized religions and subsequent denominations. Your Christian Bible is NOT the one single source to be  holding over someone's head if they don't believe the way you do. Instead of making yourself look more ignorant than you already do, you may want to do a bit of research before you go spewing nonsense about how your religion is the one TRUE path to God. Maybe this is true for you, but not so much those who are Jewish, or Buddhist or Scientology, or *gasp* Pagan.

One more little thing and then I'm done... for this time. If you have your Facebook page set to public so any of us can see the nonsense you post and then post something that many of us know to be a lie, don't try and cover that lie by locking your page down where no one but your friends have access to it. Lies, no matter how small have a tendency to come out. And you cannot keep your stories straight no matter how you try. You would be better off leaving the social media sites all together and just being the *good little Christian* you want the whole world to believe you are. It's too bad many of us know exactly who you are, how you operate and how hard you try to be something you aren't and never will be.

Updates...

Remember when I wrote about how I thought my house is making me sick? If you didn't catch that post you can find it here. Feel free to go on over and read that post so you are up to speed with what I'm about to write. Go on... I'll wait until you get back. All caught up?? OK, here we go...

Two weeks ago I found myself in the emergency room at our local hospital. Now, for those of you who know me other than just here in blog land, you know I have to be pretty damn close to dying before I go see a doctor, let alone visit the emergency room. This time I had no choice. On Tuesday I began to get sick, violently sick. Vomiting, diarrhea, headache so bad it was 100 times worse than the most painful migraine I've ever had. I spent all day Wednesday either in bed, or in the bathroom. I honestly couldn't stand up straight without the pain in my head knocking my knees out from under me. I wasn't any better by Thursday, so Tanya came and took me to the ER.

Now, I have to be honest here. I was very skeptical about going to this ER, I've heard nothing but BAD things about the hospital, the ER staff and the long unnecessary wait times patients have to go through (read 6 or 7 hours or longer at times). But, I was pleasantly surprised to find the triage staff took me right back to be admitted and were very thorough with their initial questions and exam. They sent me back out to the waiting room and imagine my shock when they called me back to an examination room a short 10 minutes later. I was in the exam room for about 15 minutes when the doctor came in and was very thorough in his questions and examination. Yes, I have now been *officially* diagnosed with Black Mold Poisoning. And need to move as soon as possible (he actually said within 30 days, but that's going to be difficult at best).

I've begun to show some more of the symptoms. I'm having difficulty breathing, I've found new muscle aches and the brain fog is just crazy. I have lost track of what I was doing or saying to the point I can't get it back and that throws me into a panic attack. I still have the runny nose which has gone from being a tissue issue to a paper towel issue. I can't even wash the damn dishes without stopping multiple times to catch crap running outta my nose. It is honestly like someone turned on a faucet... I am NOT joking. And then there's the coughing... don't even get me started there. Too many issues from coughing to write about. *sigh*

Because of all the issues I'm having, I contacted Ashford and have taken a 2 week break from classes. I cannot begin to describe to you how difficult it was to concentrate enough to get through my last 2 weeks of the class I was taking. My attention span was zero, and the headaches are unbearable at times. I contacted my academic advisor and she and I worked out a plan to give me a short break without running the risk of being dropped from enrollment. And when I do go back on the 14th, I will be completing the 5 classes required for the elective program before I go into the pre algebra and algebra classes. Thankfully those won't begin until the first week in November...

We are diligently searching for a place to move. If the rent works for our budget, the space does not or they won't accept pets (I've even offered to pay a nonrefundable pet deposit). I won't give up our furbabies. Mystik is 10 years old now and has begun to show signs of aging. She is as much a part of our family and Jimmy's sanity as breathing is. Then Chaos and Calliope not only help to keep me grounded they honestly *know* when I'm not feeling well and make sure Mommy has a fair amount of cuddles and snuggles.

We wanted and had actually planned to take a couple short road trips over the past 2 or so weeks. But with being sick, Jimmy's wheels turning at an unbelievable rate so he's actually racking up some pretty decent miles each week, and the task of searching for a place to move, we have had to put them on the back burner. For now, we have pretty much decided to postpone any trips until further notice. Now this doesn't mean we won't be spontaneous and jump in the truck one morning, it just means no definite plans... for now.

Welp, there you have the readers digest version of what's been happening here in the Sand Hills. If you don't see me posting here as often as I have been, this will help to give you an explanation what is keeping me from blogging. I've also found I'm not as active on Facebook as I used to be. I haven't lost interest in blogging or FB, I just literally have NO energy to sit at the computer for an extended time. I still love you all and miss you bunches, so I'm hoping you will stick around til I can get back to *normal*. Well..... normal for me at any rate, LOL!!