We’re off to Maryland and DC for Spring Break! Couldn’t just have a fun trip right? Education… visiting family… and some fun too…
J is going to do a project– a video of his trip to share with his class… grandparents and if you’re lucky; you too… We’ll see if I can figure out how to upload it.
Anyway, I may not write much for the week but don’t worry Darcy 🙂 we’ll be back soon.
J had been watching Veggie Tales and playing with his pirate ships when he came into the kitchen and said “Mom, can I see your winkie?”
“I don’t have one. Girls don’t have winkies.” He looked at me for a minute and then reached to pull up my shirt. I backed off a little and told him again: “I don’t have a winkie.” “Girls don’t have winkies?” “Nope. Girls don’t have winkies.”
He looked at me for a long moment before asking; “What ‘cha got?”
“What do you want for dinner?”
I’m angry. So, please indulge my ranting…
I’ve been working to clear the clutter out of our home and until recently have had a good experience on EBay… actually made a lot of money. Now, I’m running into problems with sellers who don’t send stuff (POMARIC) after the receive the payment and buyers who pay through Paypal and leave great feedback THEN Paypal does a review of the payment and decides the person wasn’t authorized to use that account or credit card and POOF I’m out the item, shipping and fees. (JFLORES70)
So, the bottom line– if I choose to continue selling on Ebay I’m going to have to increase my “handling charges” to cover the extra things I need to protect myself from evil buyers– like delivery confirmation and insurance in addition to the fees that Paypal and EBay charge for using their services/sites.
EBay used to be fun. I bought and sold on EBay off and on for years without any problems but now there are too many people who are taking advantage of the system– and, the community– that it’s just not safe to buy or sell.
Not sure if I’ll keep doing it or not… At least when you have a yard sale you can do it all in cash and don’t have to monkey around with shipping.
Ebay-ers Beware of Pomaric and JFlores70
With Luke on American Idol (he was voted off last week… guess I didn’t vote enough while I had the flu…) I’ve been thinking about family members who I haven’t thought about very often or seen in many years. Uncle Stan in particular. He was my great uncle and passed away more than a decade ago.
Uncle Stan was a gentle, soft spoken man who gave great hugs and had a wonderful contagious smile.
One Spring Break in college, a friend and I drove to Florida and spent the week with my grandparents. My grandparents took us to Homossassa Springs attraction with my great uncle and aunt where they have a petting zoo and take you out to see the manatees.
I don’t remember a lot of details– it was many moons ago– but, I do remember sitting on a bench and talking to Uncle Stan. He was genuinely interested in me. He wanted to know about my life and interests. He was a very kind man and I miss him.
There is a word in Portugues that just doesn’t transulate into English– Saudade. It means to miss someone/place but much more. Saudade doesn’t refer to a thing you’ve misplaced– it infers a longing, even an ache. Saudade has a wish attached– I wish I could be there, see that person, return to that time. I feel Saudade for Uncle Stan.
He would be so proud of his grandchildren and their accomplishments. I wish I’d known him better. I wish I still had that chance.
J’s eyes are back by popular demand… You win, Girl Friends! 🙂
I’ve had the same look since I started my blog– so here’s for a change… not sure if I like it so the old may be returning. What do you think?
Maybe it’s a miracle of Daytrana (the ADD patch he’s on now) or maybe he’s finally buying into the “You’re too big to sleep with us” that we have been feeding him a constant diet of for the last three or four… five years… but he’s slept in his own bed, in his own room, with his own pillows, blankets, toys and jammies for the past week.
It was never our intention for him to sleep with us. But, as soon as J was mobile enough to ditch his crib he has been climbing into bed with us in the middle of the night. When we up-sized to a California king it was tolerable… until the beagle started sleeping with us… then, the hot flashes began and it was too crowded! Too hot! Too… unbearable!
But now that J has bought into being a “Big Boy” it’s gotten kinda lonely… When his Dad isn’t home yet at bedtime and the beagle is planted at the foot of the bed it’s just lonely… a few nights ago J closed his door, turned off the light and climbed in bed all by himself before I had even put the toothpaste away…
I know that kids grow up. I know that eight is way too old to be sleeping with us. I know I’ll get used to it but I miss falling back to sleep with J’s fingers snagged in my hair…
We’re heading to Maryland for Spring Break– close to DC and are going to do some touristy things like the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum and a few of the monuments. My inclination is to skip high security places like the Capitol because I don’t want J to be uncomfortable and then have it all go down hill from there but–
The politicians running for the Presidency aren’t talking about Autism. Congress isn’t doing anything substantive to help folks dealing with Autism. Maybe a fit in their hallowed halls would do them some good… “Hello! This is life. This is J’s life– what are you going to do to help him? What are you going to do about the 1 in 150 who will be adults with Autism in the next 10-20 years? Face this– it’s real!”
But, J is a child. He isn’t a cause. He isn’t a show and tell prop. He is my son.
How many parents have taken their children to the Capitol– or the gates of the White House (they don’t offer tours anymore) and asked for help for their children and for the thousands of others who also live with Autism? I wonder if it was worth it for them? I wonder if their children’s discomfort mattered or if they were so caught up in their cause that they didn’t notice…
It’s not worth it to me… sorry. It’s just not worth making my child suffer to make a point that I’m sure many others have already tried to make… And, frankly, there hasn’t been enough impact on our elected politicians.
Isn’t it amazing that the campaign trail isn’t bustling with talk of Autism? If the statistics are true you’d think they would court the vote of families touched by Autism…. 1 in 150. That’s a lot of voters… parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, neighbors, friends, classmates and– don’t forget the many who have Autism and are of voting age!
Forgive me– I’m on a bit of a rant. I just don’t understand how Autism hasn’t been a topic in any of the Presidential debates… Clinton, Obama and McCain should think of the 1 in 150– even if all they want is to be elected.
I’m not myopic– Economy, Environment and Education matter– a lot. Iraq matters. Healthcare matters. But, in all honesty– they all mater to me from the perspective of my son who has Autism.
Economy: We need to be able to provide for him and ensure that he will be ok when we are a memory. Environment: He needs to have a good quality of life– food, water, fuel… beauty. Education: He needs to receive a quality education so that he is employable, well rounded, and even has the knowledge for intellegent conversation. Iraq: it must end before a draft is imposed and he turns 18. It needs to end so that there is money in our coffers for infrastructure, assistance if he needs it… It needs to end. Healthcare: it is out of control. Even for those of us who pay for coverage– deductibles, how many therapy sessions are covered (never enough), emergencies (the lip, the elbow…) and it needs to be available to him if he isn’t able to sustain a job with benefits…Selfish as it may sound– politics, government, issues pertaining to health, lifestyle and safety only matter to me in so far as they affect my son.
I guess it all goes back to my concerns about his ability to sustain a good life when I’m gone. Do all parents–those with Autistic children or “neurotypicals” (Whatever that is– Can anybody show me “Normal”?!)– worry about this stuff? Did my parents worry that I wouldn’t make it?
Well, J is not my cause. He is my son. Maybe we’ll start with our County Commissioners…
We are looking at what can be done in our home to decrease our energy use and as a nice bonus decrease our monthly bills.
Four months ago I quit my job to be at home with our 8 year old autistic son. Since then I have learned to shop smarter and cheaper while increasing the quality of food we eat. I have also become consumption conscience and am working toward getting rid of the clutter– things we don’t use anymore like old software and “pretties” that have been in boxes for the last three years. A bonus is that selling this stuff on Ebay has paid the mortgage two out of the last four months. Ebay bought all (yes– all) of our Christmas presents and paid for a lot of our groceries. I’ve begun a recycling program at home and am planning a big garden– the tomato plants are already starting to sprout in the sunroom! My bicycle is going in for a tune up and I’m looking for a big basket to attach to it for running errands. So, it’s only natural that the next step in my transformation is energy efficiency.
Our house was built in the 1930s. It has a lot of charm but doesn’t have a lot of the things that would make it efficient. When we moved in three years ago we planned to replace windows and update the heating/cooling system (which right now is a 15 year old furnace with radiators and window AC units). So these are things that have needed to be done for a while… we just haven’t made it a priority… (Shame on us!)
Replacing windows and insulating the attic are no brainers– that must be done. What about the dinosaur gas furnace and water heater? I’ve been reading up on tank-less water heaters– they are electric, hard-wired and just heat what water you need when you need to use it so there isn’t any electrical waste. These units run about $200 a piece and require someone who knows what they are doing to install. They are small enough to fit under the kitchen sink. As far as the heating/cooling options– there are minimally invasive installation split unit air conditioner/heaters that run between $500 and $1,000 depending on the size (BTUs) you need. These also have to be professionally installed.
In a rough estimate we’d be able to replace windows, insulate the attic, replace the water heater with three tank-less heaters, and swap out our furnace/ACs for under $10,000. Ok. That’s a lot of money. But the timing is right to pull some money out of the market– I have to do something with the retirement fund from my last job. So, I can reinvest it in a market that is kinda iffy right now or we can use it to decrease our footprint and our monthly bills. I think we’ll probably divided it between the two…
It looks like by making these changes we would recover (in monthly savings) our investment in two and a half to two years. It increases the value of our home– or will when the housing market recovers.
I still have some research to do but we believe that decreasing our monthly bills without incurring debt is a pretty smart move. If we are, in fact, in a recession or heading towards one decreasing our monthly expenses is smart.
Financial pundits are making investment and debt reduction suggestions for recession proofing. Our investments need to stay put. Our debt is limited to our house. So apart from aggressive savings (only where do you put it? Watch CNBC for an hour and you’ll need to take a handful of pain pills…) decreasing our monthly bills seems to make the most sense.
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