Sometimes it takes a movie like 'Gone with the Wind' to give you a little perspective.

So, I'm still here. Things, while really tight financially, aren't half as dire as I thought they'd be.

Jon, Laura, J - thank you for your comments. I do appreciate them. Jon, you're comment about let's do talk about the shitty times really opened my eyes and made me think. Also made me realize how much I miss talking to you and spending time with you. You've been a better friend to me than most, and I love you for it.

Yes, things are tight financially. We're still recovering from Christmas bills, so Rick's paying my bills on top of that are leaving us running very lean. But we're getting by. We're not getting into the hole. We may still be able to take our Anniversary vacation up into the Redwood Forests. And my mom is going to help, too. I told her I wanted money for my birthday, (After finally telling her what had happened), and she's going to help. It won't cover it all, but it'll help.

In the aftermath of that blow that Parkland dealt me, I raced to get a million other things done. Among them was to apply for some county jobs, and to apply to San Jose State, which is where I'd always intended on transferring to. The results of this are that I've been invited to the next phase in hiring for a position as a Library page (And how I'd love to work at a library), and I've been admitted to San Jose State for the Fall 2008 semester. So no matter what happens, I'll be going back to school in the fall. This library position is only part time, but it would be income, it would be doing something I love, and it would keep me from going stir crazy here in the house. We'll see how it goes. There's no guarantee I'll get the job, but I'm keeping my fingers cautiously crossed.

In other news, I'm sick. Again. The week before Christmas I got horribly sick. In the space of two hours I went from feeling fine to not being able to sit up I was so congested and dizzy and miserable. Thus proceeded a week of bemoaning my own existence while staying perpetually dosed on Dayquil, Nyquil, Zicam, Vitamin C drops, Delsym and Ibuprofens. I was surprised because I hadn't gotten really terribly sick in a number of years. And it wasn't the flu, because I had a flu shot back in late October. Well I got better and that was that. Until 3 days ago. It started with a nagging earache that quickly became a screaming one with pain all the way down into my jaw and leaving me crying in bed because it hurt so bad. I was running a steady fever of 100. Yesterday I got in to see the doctor, and sure enough I have a raging ear infection! Now I'm on Neomicyn ear drops, Amoxycillin tablets, and Percocet because it hurts so bad. Getting this sick, this close together, is unheard of for me. I'm wondering if my immune system has taken a dive recently. If it has, the antibiotics will help beef it up a little. I'm going to keep an eye on it for a few months, see if I get sick again. If so, then I think it'll be time to ask the doctor if there isn't some underlying thing going on.

Our Leo is getting bigger and bigger. Sometime soon, maybe even this weekend, we're going to get some more pictures of him taken, which I'll post here.

I would like to continue this post, but I'm starting to feel poorly sitting up, so I'll stop for now.