Yacidka’s Neighborhood

I used to post funny things that Tracey said all the time, but I haven't done it in awhile. Here's the latest one, though:

Tracey: Maybe they're there today to register. You think?
Me: I think all the time. I can't stop. And you can't seem to start!
Tracey: Start what?

ahahahaha

How would you like to make a difference in the life of a public school students?

For the second year in a row, Six Apart is participating in the DonorsChoose.org Blogger Challenge. The challenge runs all throughout the month of October, and we'd love for you to participate along with us. Just as we did last year, Six Apart is sponsoring the award for the bloggers who reach the most kids.

The Blogger Challenge is a friendly contest amongst bloggers to raise money for low-income public schools. Here's how it works: teachers from all over the country post items for which they would like funding, such as writing supplies for a journalism class, equipment for a science lab, or music instruments for a band class. Bloggers choose their favorite projects and link to their challenge page in a post or via a giving widget on their blog. The bloggers who raise the most money or reach the most kids will win an award.

Here's how you can participate:

• Go to the Donors Choose Blogger Challenge page and find a blogger's giving list you'd like to support.

or

• Set up your own challenge and let your readers know in a blog post or by installing the widget (it just takes a few clicks).

No matter which way you choose to participate, you should feel incredibly proud of yourself for helping to bring resources to students in struggling classrooms.

Donors Choose will announce the results in early November, and we'll reveal the winners of the Six Apart award for bloggers who reached the most students shortly thereafter.

Are you going to accept the Blogger Challenge? Tell us about it (and link to it) in the comments!

This photograph is really a good representation of how I've been feeling.

How do you stay organized?

I try to remember where the last place was that I put something.

Snook Haven is a rustic southern restaurant along the Myakka River. On Thursdays, a banjo group plays amidst the old oaks with the hanging spanish moss creating shade and comfort under the hot Florida sun. It's very Old Florida here.

I waymarked today instead of working.

I met with my attorney today to discuss Bailey's father's deadbeat shenanigans and he's moving forward with that. Hopefully that will be all done and settled before Thanksgiving.

I have to get up early for a meeting in the morning.

Stepdaughter2 is going to be here this weekend. St. James is having a pet blessing for the Oct 4th Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Good Shepherd will be packed this Sunday because all the school families will be there.

I can't really comment on the VP debate, yet. I'm still in shock that there are people who are voting on a ticket where Gov. Palin could become president.

I'm not getting enough sleep. I'm exhausted!

 

We went to Church and it was another wonderful morning. Rev. Vince did the homily and Rev. Judith delivered the Eucharist.

We had lunch and then went to Michael's drum lesson. I snuck out to Goodwill and bought Bailey a little jewelry box that's perfect for her valuables.

We relaxed at home for a little bit, then Michael came with me to Waymark for a while before picking up Bailey. We got a few waymarks and then stopped at the Wal-mart in Punta Gorda so he could shop. After getting Bailey, we grocery shopped at Sweet Bay. They don't have as good of a meat selection as Publix or Winn-dixie. Their deli is also lacking, but I liked their superior organic foods section.

We came home and had dinner. The kids watched Monster House to get them into the mood for the quickly approaching Halloween season, and then went off to bed. I ran off to Walgreens for a last minute item and then was finally able to relax and settle in for the night.

Tom and I watched a House, M.D. episode on USA Network in our room, but he fell asleep halfway through. I was writing up waymarks the whole time so I can't really complain.

All in all, it wasn't an atypical Sunday.

Eddie and Bailey needed new shoes so I bought them each a pair of sneakers and a pair of cowboy boots. When we got home and Michael saw the boots, he asked for boots.

Eddie said, "But you already have boots."

Michael replied, "Those are hiking boots. I need some boots I can wear to Church."

I told my son that he could no longer claim to be a Yankee after the day that he asked for Church boots.

 

I have been more introspective these days, which has turned my vision inwards more than outwards, which means I haven't been working. That's not entirely true. I have been working, but I have not been producing new work.

The yoga is doing well to help me actualise stress, both physically with the unification of body and mind through the exercise and also spiritually through the involvement of prayer. Once I've got the stress labeled, I can process it out. Nothing good has come from suppressing my stress. I've just been snapping at people when it's gotten too much to keep under wraps.

Tonight I did a At the Close of the Day Prayer and a decade of the Rosary with my daughter, at her request. I had been doing Morning Prayer and At the Close of the Day Prayer for myself privately, which is actually contrary to the purpose The Episcopal Church has for these prayers. I had been using them to help me focus and begin/end my day with Christ. Since these prayers are meant to be prayed as a group, whether that's a congregation or a family, I believe I'll have a discussion with my husband about implementing this into all of our schedules. It's pretty exciting to have these traditional worships so accessible.

Once I get a handle on what's going on inside, I can look outside again and point a camera at it.

 

My family of six generates two trash cans full of trash every week. We pay the extra $50/year for that extra trash can, because the City of North Port requires that their trash cans be used. Any other types of cans will be ignored and all of your trash must fit inside the can. If anything happens to fall out, the public waste employees will not pick it up.

The City of North Port only allows for two bulk pick-ups per year. Bulk is anything that doesn't fit inside a North Port issued trash can, whether that's a vacuum cleaner box or five king-sized mattresses.

The City of North Port hadn't changed the property taxes since the 1950's until a couple years ago, when they decided to lower them.

Since sometime around the start of 2008, North Port has had Code Enforcement employees patrolling the streets for anything they can cite, even if it's clearly not a citation-worthy situation. We have received several for things like: recycling material in recycling bins next to trash cans outside, a wooden desk that was left in front of the garage door for a period of two hours, grass that's cut, bulk items awaiting pick-up (that had the appointment for pick-up), and some claim about trash that we have no clue where they got it. With his experience and connections, my husband can handle those well enough, but I've been concerned for all the other residents who don't have the means to get around their never-answered contact phone number or realise they're being bullied for the money.

Apparently, North Port still can't figure out why they aren't making enough money to cover the revenue lost by letting people live here essentially for free!

As another attempt to resolve their mysterious budget crisis, North Port started charging for that second trash can to be picked-up. So, my family that generates two trash cans per week, that already pays $50/year for a second trash can, that has no other alternative than to use the trash cans mandated by the City of North Port with no affordable alternative from a local retailer, has to pay additional money per week just to have our trash carted away. We cannot afford to throw money away at trash pick-up, but I'm sure there's more families in this city who can afford it even less than we can.

Did I mention that the public waste employees don't even get out of the air-conditioned truck? It's a mechanical arm pick-up only.

The only worse political shenanigans I've seen has been from the Village of Hoffman Estates in Illinois, who charge residents for stickers that they have to put on individual trash bags, charges for separate pet registrations, and charges an additional property tax on residents for moving out of Hoffman Estates. I probably shouldn't disclose that and give the City Commissioners here in North Port any inspiration.

My oldest step-daughter left MySpace some time ago for her own reasons and, seriously, I think that was the best decision she could have made. Another girl who is known to me, who is only 14 years-old, still maintains a MySpace with almost 500 "friends", many of whom compliment her on her pictures in impolite and graphic language.

Part of her personal description reads as follows:

[Name] Is My Name But You Can Call Me Whateverr You Like! Give My Presents On [Birthday]! Im 14 Niggaa. Live In The [Area Code]. I Go To [School Name] Im A Freshhyy. Im Shy At Times But Im but 99% Of The Time Im Crazzy And Loud!I DONT smoke! I Have The Bestfriends I could Ever Ask For And There All I Need In Lifee (: I Hate Drama Soo keep me Out of Itt Please! People Need To Understand These Days That I Can Talk To Or HAng Out With Whoever I Want! Im A Really Nice Personn Not A bitch But Can Be One. I Love Luaghingg And Hanging Out With Friends Where Ever! I Can Be A jelous person At Times but Try Not To Bee. I Dont Care What People Think of Me.. So Judge me I Dontt Care but Get To Knoww Mee (: I Love Meeting New Poeple So Talk To Me Loves.Ohh And I Love Love Txting Soo Ask For The # ;) I Like Commenting Better So Click That Botten Enless its Private (; (Aim Mee?? [Username]) <33

I can't possibly be so out of touch that this is somehow actually acceptable by anyone, especially from a rich white fourteen year-old who isn't doing it out of satire. If you take the time to decipher the message, it's clear that she doesn't smoke and insists that she makes independent choices on who she spends time with. These are good things, unfortunately, it's barely legible. Since this writing has absolutely no self-respect or intelligence, I don't believe that she has the constitution and self-worth to back-up what she's trying to say. The images on the MySpace also work as a direct contradiction to any positive statements made. That's without getting into her using a racial slur for misappropriated slang.

I couldn't imagine if my chidlren acted this way and wrote this way because they thought it was cool. The racial slang would be met with punishment. These are people I avoided in high school because I thought they were idiots who couldn't relate to a coherent thought and lack all self-awareness. Where do people who behave this way plan to go in their lives?

Her father is entirely absent and deadbeat, leaving all the responsibility for parenting and monitoring on her mother. Her mother doesn't bother to monitor the MySpace profile and, from the looks of things, doesn't bother to monitor the girl at all. It just goes to prove that it doesn't matter how much money you have or how many times you take a child to Disney World, it'll never be enough if you don't invest the time to make sure they're growing up right.