Amyrlin

1:30 am musings

2009-08-12T05:49:49Z

Today was not a good day.

There isn't a really good reason why that is, but.. overall, it just sucked.

I'm friends on fb with a guy named carl. Carl was once very special in my life. He is, in fact, the one that got away. I'm not sure if he knows that, but I suspect he does. I don't know. Maybe he doesn't.

Anyway. Carl talks to me on FB chat, and that's cool. But he mostly does it when he is drinking. we talk in email at other times, but the just for fun, chatting, that happens when he's been drinking. And then comes the innuendo. I don't think he knows that it actually hurts me. What I hear is:

"You are good enough to chat with, especially when I'm drinking. But you aren't good enough to meet my family."

Now. I should say that I'm happy for him that he has a beautiful wife, with a beautiful house , and beautiful kids.. and while I kind of wish that he had those things with ME I do not in any way take away from what he does have. Does that make sense? I don't know. Maybe he can't meet me.. I don't know. I could be over reacting... not that I do that ever.

Then there is Brandon.. fucking god damned brandon. The second biggest mistake of my life was making that call to him. So what if my marriage was in shambles. So the fuck what. If i could change anything.. making that call wouldn't be what I changed, but.. it's a close second. For a year it was over. For MONTHS there was no contact. Then he had to email me on FB.. he wondered if I thought about it. If I wanted to think about it more. I told him no.. for almost two weeks I was downright hostile. But as I knew, and as he likely knew, I finally came around.. and that's when he decided to stop talking to me. HEY DOUCHEBAG. I'M GLAD I COULD BOOST YOUR EGO FOR YOU.

But the result is, here I am, sitting in the dark, alone. Thinking about how Carl didn't want me. Brandon just wanted me to blow him. He didn't even fucking LIKE me. Doesn't. How Chuck doesn't care enough to actually CARE about anything, about how Ed lied - when btw, I was SURE he'd never lie to me. (He lied by omission, albiet).

Why should I even CARE about what Carl did or does.

Why should it bother me that people don't like Brandon.

Ed? REALLY??

Chuck. Last but not least. Just givethat up already. That ship has sunk, not sailed. It's over.

I am lonely. I am fat. And the only people that are even remotely interested in me are douchebags who remember the sex - or married guys who want something on the side.

god. I want to sit down and eat like a whole cake right now. Fuck.

Injury

2009-04-08T13:45:08Z

So, I injured myself over the summer. I don't know EXACTLY what I did, but I believe that I twisted my ankle .. when I was drunk. I know, surprising as it is, I think that's what happened.

Though I didn't REALIZE how hurt I really was (or how hurt I WOULD be for that matter).

At first it just hurt, then it hurt enough that I would limp after walking for a while.. then it hurt so much that even as I lay in bed it would be on fire. Ugh.

So I FINALLY went to the Dr. in December (the 26th to be exact) and he said I'd sprained my achilles tendon. Which by all accounts sucks, and takes FOREVER to heal.

I wore this boot thing that he prescribed, I got mostly better, I stopped wearing the boot, fucked the damn thing up MORE (but again, didn't realize it) and then started wearing the boot again.. only THIS time it didn't magically get better.

(By the way.. if I pay almost $300 for a boot, could I please have my toes covered.. hello snow)

About a month later (or 2 weeks ago by today's calendar) I got an in-grown toe nail in the SAME FOOT (talk about adding insult to injury) , but instead of driving all the way the hell out to my gen dr's office, I just called a podiatrist right up the street. He fixed my toe, then asked about the boot, then asked if he could take a look.. took some x-rays (no breaks).. and suggested PT.

He called my Dr. (they are apparently friends), and told ME to call my dr. .. then told me to come back in a week so he could check on my toe.

I called my Dr... who's receptionist I HATE btw.. and she said that the Dr. that wanted me to have the PT should prescribe it.. I told her what he said .. she repeated that HE should give the prescription (god, I hate that girl) so when I went BACK to him (the podiatrist, Dr. Shey) he was a little amazed, but wrote the prescription (this actually works out better for me, as he is closer.. but damn..) .

So.

Yesterday was my first PT apt.

I went in, she massaged my injured area... told me that the bump on the side of my foot (think that dip area in the middle between my tendon, my heal and my ankle) was fluid .. then put ice on it, then they gave it an ultra sound (even though I swore to them there was NO way I was pregnant).. then I got to come to work.

Today was my second appointment.. same thing, except that it all started with stretching (which I sorely need, but was afraid to do so as not to injure myself further) and some excercise bike thing.. which was also nice.

I go again on Friday, and three days a week thereafter for a month.

In only two apts, I already feel a difference.. life is good.

:)

Oh yes, I go back to Dr. Shey (podiatrist) after 2 weeks of PT for a checkup. Woo.

That's all for now, will keep you updated.

Maybe I'm just too stubborn

2009-03-08T19:21:19Z

I'll admit it, I've always been insecure. Afraid to really TRUST that someone who said they were my friend, really was. Like so many, I have been betrayed in my heart, and that is always the hardest to heal. And whether or not that betrayal was intentional really doesn't matter. In this case of betrayal and hearts, it is how it feels that matters. And I feel alone.

I had a scare and a half today.

2009-01-06T01:13:10Z

I had gone to Kmart (a store that has everything from groceries to camping gear) to pick up some eggs, milk and lunch stuff. And of course, right in the middle of it all, my daughter has to GO.

so we make our way to the restroom. (Ick..) and we get in there and she goes. Well, as luck would have it as soon as I heard HER go, I had to go, and so did Alex.

So she comes out, and we (alex and I)each go into a different stall.

I come OUT of the bathroom, and my daughter's coat is on the floor, and she is NOWHERE to be found (in the bathroom)

I RUSHED to the door, opened it, and yelled "Charlotte!!"

My heart was in my throat, and I was near a panic.

She looked up from the drinking fountain and said "What?"
Yes, she was ok. Yes I was grateful, but OMG that 10 seconds between seeing her coat on the floor and no charlotte, and seeing her were the longest, scariest I've had as a parent.

Thank god we are all ok.

My Christmas

2008-12-27T04:42:41Z

My christmas started out pretty nice.

the kids LOVED their stockings, then after opening their presents, (everything they actually asked for btw) my daughter looks at me and says "that's all?" and starts to cry.

I took it in stride, she is only 5.. and usually I buff up under the tree with a lot of crappy things.. that I can wrap, but don't actually last very long.. I didn't do that this year. I just got what they asked for. but don't worry I still spent a bundle. I simply pointed out that she hadn't actually opened her Baby Alive.. then she was off to get the doll out of baby jail (aka the box, which ties the babies in better than more high security prisons tie prisoners up). After that, all was well.

Not too long after that I cleaned up the kitchen then made homemade french toast for everyone. Mmmm. Good stuff.

Then it was clean up ourselves, and get ready for the day. We were out of the house by 2:15, and at the family party by 2:45.. which was RIGHT on time. GO US. (we are NEVER on time LOL). Stayed there till about five, when I had to then take the kids to meet chuck so he could take them to HIS family's christmas gathering.

All is well on the way there.. on the way back.. my lights dim, my radio dies.. my battery light is flashing.. :( I get back, and tell my dad, who goes and looks.. he gets my uncle (who is a mechanic) and they decide it's the alternator this time. My dad, being as awesome as he is, ended up fixing it for me today. But with the parts from today, that brings my total for car repairs this month alone to 1500. LUCKILY I get to pay about 500 of that off NEXT month.

All in all Christmas day was really great, right up to the part where my damn car broke down again.

Then this morning, I went to the dr. appointment I had scheduled (with the help of Chuck's car).. and find out I have at some point sprained my achilles tendon. So, I get to wear this lovely cast thing for the next two months.

The good news is, with this monstrocity on it, it doesn't hurt. The bad news is.. well, a picture tells a thousand words ;)

All in all, i'm good. I don't hurt nearly as much. I am happy, despite the set backs.. life is good.

I guess that's all I got. Happy Holidays to the three people that actually read this :D

Amy

Larry.

2008-12-10T06:53:55Z

Yes, that larry. *sigh*

He posted this post to his wotmania journal, and the first thing that come to my mind was:

So close.. and yet.. so far away.

(I was of course kidding. I don't want larry to DIE.. I just want him to go far, far away.. maybe somewhere that has no internets...)

conversation snippit

2008-11-29T00:51:06Z

me: "and alex, don't forget to flush"
alex: "why?"
me: "dude, because it's GROSS"
alex: "oh.."

A couple of quotables.

2008-11-27T07:56:16Z

Alex has been all cuddly lately, and (as tomorrow is thanksgiving) he keeps telling me how "thankful" he is for me. It's very sweet, and heartfelt.

Conversation 1.

Background: We were at Best Buy, and their computer department is called Geek Squad. Well, at the time, alex was just beside himself..

alex "Why would ANYONE want to work there *giggle*, people will think they are GEEKS!!"

me "well they are, but that just means they really know computers. You know, when I finally get my degree, I'll kind of be a "geek" too, but I'm pretty cool..."

alex: "*snort!* You are SO not cool mom. And trust me, I know cool."

Dude, pwnd by my own kid. So I figure, it's just the "I'm old" thing, so I start mentioning people that are my ageish, and I get "no no no" then I come to rick b.

And alex says "weeeell.. he's KIND of cool. But just a little."

Really.. just a little. *shakes head* then he says "but even then mom, he's WAY cooler than you.."

dude.

*shakes head*

Conversation 2.

Charlotte comes out of the bathroom. And she says to me, " Mommy, I smelled my penis, and it smelled pretty."

so, smiling, I got down to her level, eye to eye, and I say "Sweetheart I have some bad news. You don't actually have a penis." At this she starts to well up (she's a big one for the tears), so I continue, "The good news is you have a vagina!"

She immediately starts ginning then, and says "MOMMY!! I smelled my VAGINA and it smelled PRETTY!"

then she scampered off.

Seriously, what does one actually SAY to that? LOL

And here are some pics of the little devils from October.

2 conversations in one

2008-09-25T02:39:35Z

Actual conversation I had at dinner with Chuck, while eating with the Kids on monday: (btw.. my use of capitalization is amazing)

Charkie - I love pickles!
Chuck - Mommy loves pickles too!
Amy - Eh, not so much. I think I'm liking the peaches more right now.
Chuck - LMAO
Charkie - But mommy! Pickles are delicious!
Amy - Yes charkie, yes they are. I just don't feel like pickles right now. I want a peach.
Chuck - LMAO and turning red
Charkie - Peaches are good too, but pickles are better. *nods all sagely*

A decision has been made.

2008-07-21T20:10:22Z

Background. 

My children, to date, have gone to Hazel Park schools. Hazel Park aren't BAD schools, but they aren't GREAT either.

Further, the general population of people there (sorry for the judgyness here folks) are lower middle class working folks.

Now. I have NO problem with these people, other than their excessive drinking (there is at least one parent that picks up his child from latchkey so drunk DAILY that he walks his kid home, and a couple more that smell like a bottle when they pick their kids up) the excessive smoking (EVERYONE smokes.. it's disgusting). There is a No Smoking rule on the school campus, but parents REGULARLY "sneak" smokes right in the middle of groups of kids. This may not seem like a big deal to you smokers, as it only happens outside, but it is a big deal to ME. My children spend TOO MUCH time in the hospital remembering how to breathe to have some dumb bitch smoking next to them.

And finally, another biggie, their hatred of all things not like them. Case in point, homosexuality. The gays are described by using the terms "fag" more often than not, and that's just in my general hearing. My son, even, has started to voice his dislike of the idea of two men being together.

This comes DIRECTLY from the school (and yes, I DO mean his friends from school in this case - his friends who have ignorant, hateful parents no less), as we have an exceptionally open/liberal home in this area. I have never hidden the fact from him that his godfather (Uncle Jason) lives with Uncle Stephen. Or that they are married, very casually referring to them as "Uncle Jason and Uncle Stephan" (for instance) "are coming over"

Now. Having said all this, I must also point out that my child has gotten into a lot of trouble the last couple of years in class. And while I do grace him with his fair share of the blame, I also blame the school, and the teachers. Of the thirty kids in class, 20 will be average, 5 will be relatively slow, and 5 will be smarter than the rest, right? (yes, this is a generalization). While my son doesn't get on the "Principal's list" he is none the less, not a sheep. He thinks for himself, and challenges the status quo.. which by the way, doesn't go over at all well with the teachers. But, instead of fostering that inquisitive mind, they beat the kid down.

Since he's been out of school, the stress level in my SIX year old, has gone down considerably. He doesn't fly into a rage anymore, ever. And I truly and honestly believe that it is in a large part due to he's not so worried about getting in trouble in school that it sets him off everywhere else. (He finally gave up trying to please his teacher, she didn't ever give him even one break.. she is a horrible person).

So, onto the Now

Charlotte is going into Kindergarten, and Alex into 2nd grade. many schools are now offering "all day kindergarten". Some are free, some are not. Hazel Park offers free all day kindergarten, and Royal Oak (where I live now) has a pilot program for free all day kindergarten. 2 schools have it, most do not. The school that my kids will attend does not have the free program.

Now to the meat and potatoes of this whole post.

If I stay in Hazel Park Shcools.. I'd probably leave both kids in the same school. Latchkey would be $400 a month.

If I bring them both to Royal Oak, I will have to pay for the second half of the day in the kindergarten for Charlotte, and for for both of them in latchkey. (She MAY get into one of the free programs, but not necessarily) If I have to pay, it'll be $470 a month for everything. Only $70 a month MORE than it would be to leave them in a school I hate.

(by the way, before this, during the school year, I was paying $750 a month in child care, and during the summer it's $800 a month.. so I can totally do $470)

I am relieved. I am happy. I feel like I can do what is best for my kids, despite the cost.

*cheers!!!!*

Happy Birthday Charlotte :D

2008-06-27T14:25:33Z

So today my girl turns FIVE years old. 1/5th or so of her life.

It's been a decent life so far for her. She has had an abundance of love. She is smart, she's always had a home..

She was supposed to spend the night (last night) with her dad, but I wanted to make sure her birthday morning was SPECIAL So I went and got her last night.

We made the "batter" for french toast together last night (for this mornings breakfast). Then she brushed her teeth with her first, and early present: An electric Hello Kitty toothbrush with her very own Disney Princess toothpaste. Then she went to bed.

I then made her a birthday card on my computer, and drew her name on the envelope and put it on her place setting to find in the morning.

Then, I put Happy Birthday as my ringtone (I use my phone for an alarm.. so we woke up to it )

Then I went to bed.

We woke up.. she was all excited to have her card, then we made and ate french toast together then I did her hair and put on a pretty dress for her

My son was still at his dad's, so I wrapped up the rest of the french toast, put the card I made for him (just a general, "you are great, i love you" card) and $20 to go see a movie today with their dad all together in a bag, and dropped her off at dad's.

I think I made her morning happy And that makes ME happy.

I moved!

2008-05-19T05:12:51Z

I packed and moved this weekend. I'm in a NEW HOUSE WOO, one without crazy, jailbird roommates and insane landlords. As a matter of fact, I haven't heard from my current landlord since I got the keys. THAT is how it should be, ladies and gentleman.

I am completely, 100% moved out of the other place. I have a couple of lists going:

Things I need
Dishwasher. OMG I need one of these.
Dresser (for me). I think I'll go to Salvation Army or something for this.

Things I want
Cable TV - I kind of have to wait on this.. which really sucks since the end of BSG is coming up.. grr At least American Idol is on "regular" tv :D
More Frames OMG there is so much WALL SPACE. It's downright exciting.
Help Decorating I have had my living room in three different settings. I don't want "typical" but what I've done thus far isn't.. right. It's not bad but it's not good either.

I would have added "internet" to this list, but Oakland County apparently has a wireless you can access for a (VERY) small fee. It does tend to cut out a couple times a day, but it's more like a reset than anything, and at more than 1/2 the cost of cable internet, I'm very happy.

Things I bought already
Shower Curtain and matching bathroom rug The curtain is (badly photoshopped) daisies, and the rug is a blue that matches one of the blues in the curtain. I plan on framing a couple of the lighter daisy photos and putting that on the wall :D
One of those sprayer things for after the shower Oh yeah. Awesome, right?
Lamp it's a tall one, like the halogen lamps, but it's got those fancy lights that kind of plug in instead of screw in, and they are 100 watts each, but only require 26 watts of power each. Woo. So, my living room is VERY bright. The funny thing about this is I didn't realize I needed one until it was getting dark, and there was no lamp to turn on HAHA.
Posters Yeah. I bought a Disney Princess one for Charkie, and a Marvel one for Alex. They have bunk beds, and I put one on each level, so when each child is in bed, they will see their own poster. I'm hoping this makes it more "homey" for them, and makes it for "theirs".. it's a small thing, but i think it will be a positive thing for them both.
Bathroom stuff You know, toilet brush, plunger, toilet paper.. the usual :D

I'll post some photos for the more curious of you soon. I must make some of these boxes disappear first :D

This house already feels like "home" and I'm hoping for several happy years here.

<3 you all

Amy

Why I am moving. Again.

2008-04-23T15:05:30Z

As many of you know, I moved in February. I was very excited. The house is awesome, the location is even better. And the roommate seemed ok too.

Well. Looks can be deceiving.

The first time I looked at the house, Tina (roommate) showed me a big empty living area and said "this will be your living area, you can do whatever you want with this room" and then she showed me two bedrooms and a bathroom in close proximity and said "these would be your bedrooms."

Everything moved forward. I filled out the application. The sister/homeowner (Jen) sent me the lease to read over (there were some iffy things on it, but seriously, like the landlord is going to be looking over my shoulder?? - I would THINK.. ). Then, when I went to the house to drop off the signed lease, the living room area was filled with furniture. Tina said that Jen didn't want this furniture in the other room, but wanted it in the main living area. (Jen doesn't live there, Tina does..)

This was clue one that my landlord is a crazy controlling person, but I guess I overlooked it. (there were a couple of reasons A. the house and location were amazing, and B. there was a valid explanation and C. I was quite literally running out of time.)
So, moving forward, I move into the house. The day after I move in, my roommate tells me that she is going to court the next day, and that it looks like she's going to jail for 30-90 days. Dude, what? Yeah, 2 DUIs in 10 years = jail.

So. Fine, it's not the end of the world, right? AND I'll get the place to myself for a while. Sweet.

Not so much.

So. Tina goes to jail, and Amy gets the place to herself. Amy is happy.

I’m not sure where to put this part, but it’s important. While Tina was in jail, she was on Work Release, (that means she went to work, then back to jail every night. She was supposed to go STRAIGHT to jail after work, no detours)she stopped home a couple of times. Every time she stopped home, she moved my stuff around, she left me notes telling what I was doing wrong (with her house.. whatever.) and one time she was home when I go there, and she screamed at me because *gasp* I put a small (three shelf) bookshelf in the living room. “I TOLD YOU NOT TO PUT ANY OF YOUR STUFF IN THE LIVING ROOM. I TOLD YOU YOU ONLY RENTED A ROOM!!!” Other times, she came home and would leave me notes telling me what was what, “you left the hallway light on!!” that sort of thing.
On March 17th, my landlord came into the house (w/out telling me she was doing so by the way), looked around my room and noticed I had a mountain dew in there. She sends me a text "I noticed you had a mt. dew in your room.." I reply "and???" and she says "it's against the lease.." then quotes the section of the lease where she said "no food or drink in the bedrooms". To be honest, this was the part of the lease I read and thought "who cares, what's she going to do, spy on me??", that answer, is yes apparently.

She came into the house a few times while Tina was in jail. She’s move my stuff around, she would look at my personal stuff…

Turns out, that she also went into the bathroom the day she sent me that text, and took out the 5 (note FIVE) 100 watt lights over the mirror and replaced them with 3 (note, THREE) 25 watt lights. She also sent me a text telling me that the heat bill went up (*GASP* In FEBRUARY the heat bill went up?? You mean you use MORE gas on the -5F days???) and that I need to be careful. yeah. And her reasoning? "Since I am paying the bills, I want to make sure the bills stay low."

First of all sister, you ARENT paying the bills. You have added the bills into the rent, so I am paying the bills, YOU are just writing the check. (Please note, this is the second clue about the controlling nature of my landlord.

She also sent me an email in about Mid Feb. telling me that the stuff I'd put into the garage was going to have to be moved into storage. She tells me that when Tina gets out of jail, she is going to remove "about half" of her stuff from the shed (and it's a nice big shed, on a cement block btw) and she wants me to look in there, estimate about how much room I'll have to put my stuff, then get a storage unit for whatever isn't going to fit in there.. and she wants me to do all of this before Tina moves the first thing from the shed. Dude. Really? Unreasonable much?

So, I tell her that there isn't as much stuff in the garage as she thinks, and that with a small space given to me in the shed, it'll be no problem to put my stuff in there. She inists that I get a storage unit. I pretty much ignore that, because I KNOW that given about 1/4 of the shed, all of my stuff will fit in there.

So, that was in late February.

In early April, she sends me an email (here is the email progression)

Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:46 AM

To: Amy Claeys

Subject:

Hey Amy,

I will be there Sunday with Tina, so I will finally get to meet you.

Can you please go look in the shed and see what you think will fit in

there. Tina is throwing away about 1/2 of her stuff. So you can plan

on using about 1/2 of the shed. The rest of your stuff will have to go

in Storage. I wanted whatever you are moving to storage to be out of

the garage before Sunday. I am cleaning the garage out and don't want

to spend my whole entire Sunday trying to do so. Anyhow, I will see

you Sunday.

Me to Jennifer:

Jennifer,

I'm confused. What would you like me to do with the stuff until Sunday?

If Tina isn't moving her stuff out until Sunday..

Regards,

Amy Claeys

From: Jennifer
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:49 AM

To: Amy Claeys

Subject: RE:

The stuff that will fit in the shed can stay in the garage until Sunday.

I meant move the stuff that will not fit into storage before Sunday.

Me to Jennifer:
Jennifer,

I really can't afford storage, so I'll just have to make the shed work.

Regards,
Amy Claeys

From: Jennifer
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:57 AM
To: Amy Claeys
Subject: RE:

Tina is going to want to be able to get to her stuff too. ... not to
mention there is not enough room for all of your stuff. I warned you of
this when you first moved in. So I dont know why you are acting like
this is a big shock to you. You told me you were getting a storage unit
when I expressed my concern. I never told you my garage would be your
storage unit. It looks like a junk yard in my garage and I don't like
it. I gave up my other room since you have kids and now I will be
moving my stuff in the garage. SO it is a big deal to me. -Jen

Me to Jennifer:

Jennifer,

I never said I would be getting a storage unit, however I did tell you
that much of the stuff in there was books, and that is almost all
inside. (there is one box of books left out there, I just haven't found
it yet). There isn't a whole ton of stuff left to be honest. I mean,
there is some stuff, but I think you are picturing what all was in there
at first. I've pulled a lot of stuff out. I pulled all of my books out
because the snow melted off Tina's truck, and soaked several of my
boxes, and I had to throw away a few books - about $150 worth in books
to be honest, due to mold and stuff. As you can imagine, this was rather
distressing for me. At any rate, all the books are inside, and put
away. It's not neat because I've been going thru it almost every day,
but it's not as much as it LOOKS like.

I think a large part of our confusion here, is Tina said one thing, and
you said another, almost at every turn. So, I was thinking one thing,
then found out it was something totally different. I am sure however,
these things will all smooth out, and hopefully soon. Being told what,
where and when is very stressful to me. So, I am eager to let everything
settle. I'm sure you understand.

Regards,
Amy Claeys

From: Jennifer
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 11:43 AM
To: Amy Claeys
Subject: RE:

You did tell me you were getting a storage unit. You should have never
put your books in the garage in the first place. Its a garage... meant
for cars. What did Tina tell you anyhow? Did she tell you to store
that stuff in there? I told you the plan months ago and you did tell
me you were planning on moving your stuff in storage that didn't fit in
the house. Yes I am picturing what you initially had in the garage
it took up a lot of the garage. I'm not going to argue over what I
know I told you months ago. Its my house and I made that clear to you
months ago that you cannot leave your stuff in the garage as you had it.
I told you it was fine until April 20th but after that it had to go.

Jen

I didn’t respond to the last email, because it was going nowhere good. But Jen sent me another email, this time to my gmail account:

Jennifer to me

show details Apr 15 (8 days ago)
Reply

I sent you this on 2/11
I could barely fit Tina's car in there the other day and only moved it out because the sensor kept saying it was blocked. YOu have a lot of stuff I dont know where you are going to put all of that stuff??? The shed is a decent size so I can make some room for you so I can get the garage cleared out by April.

You responded and said you are moving stuff in and out and whatever didn't fit was going in storage.

I also sent another message regarding this on 3/14
FYI: Tina and I will be cleaning the garage out and the back yard on April 20 (Sunday)..... I know its not for awhile, but I wanted to give you a heads up to make sure you clear your stuff out of the garage by then. She will make room for some of your stuff in the Shed behind the garage, but keep in mind its only a shed, so I don't think you will be able to fit all of your stuff in there.

I made myself clear as soon as I saw all of that stuff you moved into my garage. I really don't appreciate you acting as if this is due to Tina/your mis-communication. Tina has been gone from there since Feb 6th. I know you thought you could move couches in there initially but I made you aware that was not the case before the lease was ever signed. I was nice enough to bring those in for you even though I initially told you that I did not need anymore furniture.

Amy to Jennifer
show details Apr 15 (8 days ago)
Reply

Jennifer,

I am well aware of this email. And I'm not "blaming" Tina for anything, so please do not make this into something Amy vs. Tina. Nor did I ever say that you never talked to me about the April 20th "deadline".

I will have the stuff out of the garage. It will very likely fit into the shed.

I would prefer not to go back and forth. You want the stuff out, it will be out.

Please accept this as an end to this conversation. Thank you.

Angry doesn’t even describe how I felt at this point. In other words, she is saying “my way, or the highway”

So, on Saturday, I ask her what time she’ll be there on Sunday to do the moving stuff, and she says she doesn’t know. I explain that I have some family obligations that day, and will work around her schedule, she says she still doesn’t know. Ok. That’s fine. I tell her to go ahead and do what she has to do, and that when I’m done with my family stuff, I’ll move my stuff out of the garage before the end of the day. (This is a text conversation)

She replies via text: “If you aren’t here, I’ll move your stuff for you, because I want to sweep out the garage”

I reply, “I am not comfortable with you moving my stuff. I will move it before the end of the day. Please do not move my stuff around. Most of it is already in the shed.”

Sunday comes, I go to the kids birthday party thing I have to go to from 2-4, and am home by 4:30, and they are still not working on the garage. That’s fine. I realize that I’m SUPER sore from the party (it was a bunch of those moonwalk bouncy things, and I played with the kids in them.. mama out’a shape!) and decide to take a walk. As I’m getting ready for my walk, they pull up. I tell them I’ll be back in an hour or so, thinking that will give them plenty of time to get stuff moving, and then I’ll start moving my stuff.

I walk to my grandma’s house (really close) and visit for a while, and walk back. All in about an hour, (just like I said by the way). I walk up the driveway, and notice that ALL of my belongings are missing from the garage. All. So, on my way back to the shed, I say “I asked you not to move my stuff. I said I’d be back in an hour, and I WAS…” and continue on back. I didn’t yell, I didn’t hiss. I simply said.

Jen follows me to the shed and says, “how about ‘Thank you’”?

Seriously??

I reply, “I asked you in text and before I left that you NOT move my stuff. You did anyway. Why would I say ‘thank you’? Moving it all despite my request was rude, inconsiderate and disrespectful.” Again. I “said” I did not scream or anything like that.

She SCREAMS back at me “YOU TOOK OVER MY GARAGE WITH YOUR SHIT”

Dude.

I said, “No, I didn’t. Tina told me to put it there, and I did. Further, when I rented your house, the garage came with it, since it’s not on the lease that it didn’t.” (now I’m getting testy for sure, but still not yelling).

She replies, “YOU RENTED A FUCKING ROOM!!! I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU KEEP SAYING YOU RENTED A HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S MY HOUSE!!!!” and then she flounced off toward the house/garage. (the shed is behind the garage).

So, I follow her and I say “first of all you don’t get to talk to me that way” to which she replied “I’ll talk to you any FUCKING way I want!” I then said “so do you want to talk about this, or are you going to continue having a tantrum” or some such. I may have said continue screaming.. I’m just not sure. I told her at this point that she had better re-read the lease because she leased a house to me, not a room. She screamed back at me, “I KNOW WHAT HE LEASE SAYS, I FUCKING WROTE IT!!”. I said, “well, you need to read it again. It doesn’t say anywhere that I am renting a room. It says I’ve rented “the property at 3926 woodland”. THE PROPERTY. It also says I am responsible for maintaining the grounds (cutting grass, shoveling snow), which backs UP that I’m leasing a HOUSE.”

At this point Tina chimed in (Tina isn’t very smart btw), “Why are you talking so crazy? The ad said there was a ROOM for rent, Not a house.” At which point I reminded HER that she answered MY add that she was looking for a roommate.
She then says, “do you OWN the house? No. Jen does. It’s not MY house either, I’m just living here, it’s JEN’s house.”

I have to admit I was a little shocked by this. Tina also pays rent, about the same as what I pay. She isn’t staying here as a guest, but as a leasee. I just think she is used to being controlled by crazy, controlling jen.

I say to that, “well, when you sign a lease, the house becomes yours. For the time of the lease. I think you (to Jen) need to find out more about what it means to rent out your house… seriously.”

She screamed something back at me, I honestly don’t remember what, so I turned my iPod up, and went back to the shed to reorganize the stuff she so disrespectfully moved.

It would be good to note here, btw, that the kids were NOT home with me at this point. They were with their dad, so at least they didn’t have to deal with the crazy lady.

I pretty much ignored them both the rest of the day.

The next day was Monday, and I had it off from work. Tina was around for most of the day, and I didn’t really talk to her right away (amy holds a grudge, yo) but she talked to me, like everything was normal.. so wanting to keep the peace I did the same.

Tuesday (jesus fucking Christ, right? Is this ever going to end??) I went back to work. She sends me a text around 3 and says that I left my bedroom window open, so she went into my room and closed and locked it. I reply “I’m not happy” because I’m just SO fed up by now, right? She sends back “I’m NOT leaving the house open.. your window was open, so I went and closed it.”

I had stopped replying, mostly because I knew it would get me nowhere. She sends another text: “it’s perfectly reasonable to ask you to close your window during the day” to which I replied, “yes, it is. However, that’s not what you did.” She sends another message to me stating that if the fuses went out, she’d expect me to go into her room to fix it (that’s where the fuse box is). I didn’t answer that one either.

This, THIS was the last straw. If it were the first thing that had happened, it really wouldn’t have been a big deal. But I have dealt with being pushed around, told what to do, when to do it.. I feel not like I’ve rented a home for me and mine, but that I asked a friend if we could stay, and like we are being disrespectful to that friends home (which btw, we aren’t being disrespectful to anyone). In other words, I feel like an unwanted guest.

This is not an acceptable living arrangement.

I go the “Renters Rights” booklet from the city of Royal Oak, and in it, it states that the landlord must let me know before she comes in the house. (now, I understand that the landlords SISTER lives here, but for 72 days, she didn’t. She lived in Jail. And during that time, she SHOULD have told me before she came over). She did not ever tell me before she came over. It also states that I have the right to “quiet enjoyment” of the rented premises. From the context, I take this to mean that I have the right to LIVE in the house, free from the landlord looking over my shoulder at all times. That is not happening. Not even remotely.

I believe that these are premises on which I can break the lease. And I plan to do so.

*sigh* I don’t want to move again. But hopefully, I’ll move, and STAY in the same place for a couple/few years. Hell, at this point, ONE year would be nice. (The last house was 11 months.. they lost the house, this one I moved in Feb.. and when I was with Denise, that was only 11 months as well. This is absolutely ridiculous.)

Wish me luck folks.

*sigh*

so much to talk about. First the fun stuff.

2008-04-21T05:08:09Z

I don't know if you all know that I .. kind of think of myself as a photographer.. but I do. Well, I mostly do.
It started with All Right Tokyo

These were taken with my Olympus Z4040. 4.1 mp. They are "OK".. but I thought they were GREAT. LOL

From there, I ramped things up a little in 2006. I took my camera to the Halloween Show at the Berkley Front. All Right Tokyo, Novada, Zug Island and Longneck Strangler.

LNS as Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three (with June Carter Cash)

All Right Tokyo as Cheap Trick

Zug Island as a AWESOME Guns and Roses (the singer dude did an Asshole Rose even getting into a fight with someone in the audience, and leaving the stage in a huff... and telling the other members of his band how much they sucked.. LOL)

There was another band, but while they sang great.. they didn't look the part.

Novada as AC/DC

After this show, I was asked for the first time by a band to take photos of them. Usually I just showed up and did my thing, but THIS band asked me :) I didn't get a ton of great photos at this gig, but I did get one of my all time favorites:

Guitar player dude for The Callbacks.

Now. Up to this point, I was like "this is fun, I like it, but really, I'm not THAT great". And that was partially true. But, I liked the outcome.. so since I had a teeny card on my old camera, and had a relatively new laptop, I brought the laptop with me to the show. And some of the girlfriends of the bands (I didn't know them THEN, but knowthem now haha) were going on and on about how great some of the photos were. I didn't really believe them.. but WANTED to.

Then I found out that not one, but two different people from the show had MY PHOTOS on their wall.

Dude. Really?

This tiny piece of knowledge catapulted me from "wouldn't it be nice if.." to "I CAN do this!!"

So, the first thing I did when I got my taxes back was go out and buy a new camera.

Nikon D40. 6.1 megapixals. It's not the 10.1 mp camera I could have, and almost bought (Nikon D80) and while there are a couple of reasons I wish I'd gotten the D80 - I'm ecstatic with my D40.

And since April of 07, when I bought my D40.. I have grown LEAPS and bounds. I have bands ask me relatively often to photograph them, and am the unofficial photographer of both Longneck Strangler and Crashing Cairo.. And in 07, All Right Tokyo asked me to be the OFFICIAL photographer for their big halloween show. THAT was some serious fun.

Mike Elgert as Bon Jovi

Longneck Strangler as Hank Jr.

All Right Tokyo as Green Day

and

and this year Zug Island played Black Sabboth.

The photos got some pretty rave reviews. I think at least one of the photos is on someone's wall. Woo.

Then, I got a logo. It's not GREAT, but it's good.

So, now instead of putting "photo by amy claeys 2007" on every photo, I simply drag my logo onto each one. Woo.

And here are some of my very favorite photos:

This is from my sister's wedding

This was my first project I'd tried from scratch, and I must say , it worked out brilliantly. I did this in January of this year. Here is the finished product:

And to bring this up to date.. I've started a new project:

And finally, I designed a business card, from one of my mostest favorite photos:

Rick doesn't know about this yet - he knows he's on it, but not the main focus. :D (cuz, I asked him if it was cool if I used one of his photos)

So. Now.. NOW I'm ready to learn more. To learn WHAT I'm doing instead of just trying different things to see what works. And frankly, I think that with training, I may be downright dangerous.

I'm very much looking forward to what tomorrow brings in this department.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEOFF

2008-04-14T04:17:58Z

I would have somehow posted a note to you, but LiveJournal defeats me.

So, this is me sending a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my very favorite Brit ever.

*HUGS*

Amy, Alex and Charlotte

A funny little story

2008-03-07T03:01:03Z

So. My kids were in the shower today. (Yes they shower together. They do just about everything together.)

Ok. So they start yelling at each other, and this is what I hear:

C - "ALEX I AM THE QUEEN, AND I SAY YOU HAVE TO MARRY ME!"

A - "NO CHARLOTTE!!!!!!!!!! I'm NOT going to MARRY you because that's NOT ALLOWED and YOU AREN'T THE QUEEN"

There was more, but that's the gist of it all :D

And for the serious stuff..

2008-02-27T05:25:29Z

I'm trying to decide how to write this.. in order.. or as it happened (in my head today)... and the winner is..

NOT in sequence.

The conversation earlier today with alex about his nuts and the ovals that help make babies.. anyway.. he said something at this point about the "P" word. So, I asked, "The 'P' word?" so he says,

"Yes mommy, 'penis' isn't an appropriate word."

Which of course astounded me. Penis is an inappropriate word???

"Alex, who told you this?"

"My teacher."

This woman is becoming a thorn in my side.

I would love to explain to this woman that penis is NOT an inappropriate word. That it's a clinical word..

I will say.. that Alex only uses the word penis in reference to his penis. He doesn't use it as a "bad word", EVER. I mean.. my kid reprimands ME when I use "bad" words. (not the really bad ones.. but "jerk" and "stupid" get a reprimand every time, how funny is that?)

Now for the back-story.

This teacher has a system in place to help kids behave in her class.

Bear - didn't get "spoken to" by the teacher all day
Yellow - this is a warning - the teacher had to speak to the child once.
Red - This isn't good.. lunch detention and if there is a party or a kid has a birthday, the child can't participate
Blue - This is a "note home" that has to be signed by a parent.

Then she keeps track of how many "Bear"s they get a month, and if they get enough (not sure how many, maybe all?? I don't know) they get to join her for a pizza party.

So, as the school year started, every day I asked Alex how he did.. and he was doing pretty well.. but then (I think to get my approval) he started lying about the Bears.. :( I found out at teacher conferences. So, because I'd found out he was not telling the truth.. so I asked her (thinking that she would work WITH me...stupid me) if she had a way to let me know daily how he was doing.. so he started on a daily report. Every evening I would sign his daily report, and he'd turn it in the next day. This was maybe October that this started?

Roll ahead to January, right after Holiday break. The teacher tells me that things aren't getting better, and she would recommend this council to convene for Alex's benefit. This council is a group of administrators and teachers and the (more than worthless btw) school counselor. They get together to discuss and find new ways to help a child. So anyway, she tells me about this council, so I say to the teacher "do you really think it will help Alex?" she says she really thinks it will.

Meanwhile while we are waiting for this council thing to convene.. Alex tells a joke to a couple of girls... something he made up about a string in his butt, and another one about how his toilet paper is a trampoline for his poop.. (btw LOL).. the girls cry out "EWWWWW" so the teacher calls him over, and makes him tell what he said to them (this was in a free time btw, not during class) she the bitch gives him detention for 5 days. FIVE DAYS.

So the day of the council arrives, we get there, and we are shown to a room with 2 (other) teachers, the counselor/social worker and alex's teacher. She (his teacher Mrs. Guardado) comes in and says, "We are here because I am having a VERY difficult time with Alex. (then she explained her discipline system) then explained that Alex was one of "only" 2 children in her class on the daily sheet. (She NEVER mentioned that I asked for the daily report), so the other teachers asked for examples, and she almost bounced in her chair, almost GIDDY, and says "Oh do I EVER have examples", and her big example was the "inappropriate jokes" he told.

At this point, I tell her that I think that her punishment was harsh, another teacher speaks up and (after discussion) agrees that Mrs. Guardado totally overlooked the fact that he is a 6 year old boy (and god knows 6 year old boys think potty humor and butts are funny). ..

anyway the "council" was a waste of time. They basically were going to say "it's important to follow up at home what happens in school", but the kicker is.. I already was. So, they were kind of stymied.

Fast forward to report card time.. and THAT BITCH writes on his report card (read "permanent record") that "due to Alex's very poor behavior in class I was forced to call the disciplinary council"

Are you fucking KIDDING ME????

Yeah..

So I sat on it for a few weeks, just to think about it.. (I may be a little short tempered at times...) but the more I thought about it, the more angry I got. So I spoke to the principal today who said that he'd not heard Alex's name, and thus didn't know there was a problem.. but I told him everything, and he said he'd sit down with me and the teacher.

OH!

During the meeting, right after we talked about the joke, she says "OH!! I just heard from his Kindergarten teacher that he had a TERRIBLE year last year"..

(I didn't let that go unchecked during the meeting either btw)

So.. basically, now the teachers are GOSSIPING about my child. I told the principal that too.

Finally, alex came home from school today and says that he got detention today for not returning his "behavior" sheet today (today was the first day of class in 12 days.. and honestly.. I have NO idea where the sheet is) and that he'd get detention until it was returned.

oh no she didn't. OH NO SHE DIDN'T

so yeah. I've about had it with this woman. She's gone outside of fair. She's LABELED my boy, and she doesn't ever give the kid a break. (for instance, it was the end of the day, he already had his "bear stamp" and to get his coat they had to go to their lockers.. and alex RAN to the locker instead of walked.. so the bitch CROSSED OFF HIS BEAR and made him color his yellow instead.. the fucking cunt. Won't give my boy a break. )

so yeah. I'm waiting for the principal to call me about this meeting.. and let me just say, I can't wait.

a couple of moments from today

2008-02-27T01:49:17Z

Alex~ Mommy, I love you more than anyone else in the whole wide world.

Me~ Well, you love Daddy as much, right?

Alex~ Weeelllll... No. Because kids come out of their moms, they love their moms more.

Me~ Well, you know Alex, daddy's are a big part of making a kid too.. I mean, without a daddy, there is no baby..

Alex~ Oh, I know all about that. In my nuts there are these oval things that come out and help make a baby.

Me~ Dude.. who told you that?

Alex~ Daddy.

Dude.. Even writing it again, I can't stop chuckling.

And not as good, but

I LOVE having a dishwasher. I didn't want to clean up after dinner.. but it literally took 3 minutes. God, I love having a dishwasher.

UPDATE

2008-01-25T19:43:49Z

A. I'm moving in 2 weeks
B. I got a (second) job at Home Depot, and may I say that they are the most unorganized group I've EVER encountered?
C. My kid told poop jokes in school, and got detention - for a week. (teacher TOTALLY over reacted)
D. I'm working on the report from hell with the co-worker from hell.
E. I went over said co-worker's head, and he's LIVID.
F. I don't care that he's livid.
G. Mike (wotmania) spanked all the chat admins. I LIKED it. I am waiting on his reply about whether or not I'm actually allowed to like it.
H. This post is dedicated to Misty, who should totally leave her husband and come and be with me.

:)

Boots

2007-12-21T03:26:53Z

Alex informed me today that the boots were "perfect".

There ARE good people left in the world.

2007-12-19T16:55:39Z

It snowed. a lot. and my boy has no boots. My GIRL does, but that's because I am spoiled, and my very wonderful Aunt Vickie shops for Charkie all the time. Woo.

So, yesterday was the first day I had any money, so I went a-shoppin. 4 stores later, I'm at Target, and can't find even a single pair of boots in Alex's size. Ugh. So, this nice lady who works at Target asks me if she can help. I tell her what I need, a size one in a boy's boot. She says "ohh... it doesn't look like we have any, but I know I have a pair at home.."

I think to myself, "and that helps me how?"

and she continues, "I almost put them in my car.. but you can have them."

I say, "oh, I don't mind paying you for them" and think to myself "this lady will never follow up.."

and she says "no no, you can have them, it's no problem. I bought them for my grandson, but he never got to wear them. I'd love to see them put to use!"

So, with little hope that she'd actually call, I gave her my number. And Lo and Behold, she just called. She's going to put them out on her front porch, so that I can pick them up tonight on my way home.

I feel all warm and glowy inside. I told her I'd leave one of my calendars for her (I also told her I'm a photographer, which is KIND of true, but not really true)and that I was exceptionally grateful to her.

Merry Christmas Spirit! :)

A Momentous Day

2007-11-13T04:01:46Z

Today, November 12th, 2007, my son read Green Eggs and Ham by himself.

I cried. 'nuf said.

Fucking. Stupid. Lazy. Ex's

2007-11-07T15:40:25Z

So. Everyday on my way to work, I pass my ex's apartment. This morning when I passed, I saw that his back tire was flat. So, at 8:15 am I called him and said "your tire is flat, go check it out now while you have hours to deal with it"

His answer?

"no, there's a dip in the pavement, I don't have a flat"

me: "why not check it out. It REALLY looks flat."

him: "no, it's fine."

me: "ok.. I hope you are right. But I'll be expecting your last minute, "HELP" call. Lame."

him: "I'm telling you its not flat."

Right because it was too fucking hard for him to walk downstairs and check, guess what. He just called me in a panic.. "I have to pick up charlotte, and you were right, the tire is flat"

Fuck you.

So, I left work, went and got him and he brought me back to work. Now he has MY car. I hate him. He's lazy, and it's too much effort for him to do ANYTHING that will make his life better/easier. Man. Every day I am given lists of reasons that it was good that I left him.

Hate.

What a day.

2007-11-07T04:39:52Z

A good day. go me.

I went to my first meeting with the "District Attorney's" office to file for child support. It was a short meeting, basically set up to sign a couple things, only to have another meeting set up for 2 weeks from now. Ugh.

Before THAT meeting I met with a woman who does debt management. I don't have a lot of debt, but i'm.. fairly.. um.. overwhelmed by the little I do have, and about the um.. paying it off, along with paying my other bills. You know the "keep the heat and electric on and the kids in daycare" bills.

Money just REALLY overwhelms me.

So basically, they are going to pay down my debts, i'm going to pay them.. and they are also going to pay all my bills for me. Bonus. The charge isn't much either. And it's kinda nice not to have to worry about all those bills anymore. I'm going to be (bad) debt free in just under 2 years. All I'll have left is my student loans. YAY. And i'm hoping that in 4 years I'll once again be able to buy a house. Go me again.

And finally, I went to Oakland University to go to an informational session thing. Basically, they took my transcripts, and told me what would transfer, and what wouldn't, and what I still would need to take if I opted for Oakland University. I haven't actually applied yet though. But I'm going to. There are about 6 classes that I CAN take at the community college, and starting in the Winter semester, I think I WILL take them. Not all at once ;). Then, I'll transfer over to OU either F08 or W09. By then, I'll have all my pre-core classes done, and can focus on my gen ed and my core and major classes.

So. That was my day. Highly productive. Highly satisfying. Highly motivating.

Gymnastics.

2007-10-23T13:31:45Z

Charlotte's first ever "event" was yesterday.

It's easy to see how much she digs this.

:D