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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Failing Grades

This morning, as soon as I was generally coherent, I hopped on my laptop to check email, our finances, and Conner's grades. Conner has been grounded from everything but eating, sleeping, and breathing for the past few weeks because of his grades, so I tend to check out his averages online A LOT.

At some point after the Christmas break, Conner decided to let his grades completely plummet into the sewer. He was failing SEVEN classes out of nine. It's true. And just like always, all of his privileges were taken away...no time with his girlfriend...no cell phone...no hanging out with his buddies...no computer/Facebook...NOTHING. And, because I was so thoroughly disgusted with his ridiculous grades, I implemented and book report requirement on top of the hours of studying he wasn't going to weasel his way out of.

The good news is that he's brought up all of his grades to the passing level, with the exception of two.

The bad news.... When I checked his grades this morning, he got a 50% on a Biology test - he's still failing Biology. AND he didn't even turn in a homework paper in Money Matters....helping him to maintain his stellar average of 40%.

What does he think!?! I've been busting his chops for weeks! Sitting in the front room WITH him, where there is no noise or distraction, keeping him on task and accountable, quizzing him on content....and holding his feet to the fire!!! And this little buzzard has the cojones to produce a ZERO ON HOMEWORK?!?

His MP3 is now in my possession, and I am going to switch his radio/alarm clock out with a plain-jane alarm clock while he's at school.

I welcome any other brilliant idea or suggestions on how to get this kid refocused and prioritized.

Failure is NOT an option.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Getting My PURGE On

I think I may have forgotten how to blog. Or maybe its that my ability to multi-task on so many different levels has lead to the recent demise of my time to sit and blog? Whatever the reason, I feel like I am busy all the time, and STILL, my ability "to do it all" comes up short.

This feeling of scatteredness and mayhem has spawned an intense desire for organization. I like to have things neat and tidy to begin with, but it has further prompted me to open my filing cabinets at the house and at work, in order to organize and purge unnecessary paperwork that I've been holding on to for far too long. Richard has also mentioned said that he wants/needs to get our "Systems" binder updated with general company information, templates, etc. updated at the office - I do the bookkeeping for his company. So I've been going through....making notes....labeling....shredding....filing....and throwing away.

Last week, I decided that I was so tired of looking at my shelf of jumbled purses, that I pulled down all of my totes, handbags and carry-alls from the closet and laid them out on the bathroom floor. I let them sit there for about a week (we have a large bathroom) and took time to think about which ones I would really hate to get rid of, over which ones I couldn't stand to part with. Lastnight I put about seven purses in the pile for a garage sale and put the rest neatly back away. It felt really good!! Now, I'm sure that Richard would say that I really only need one or two good purses....but he's also a dude, and dudes only wear brown shoes, black shoes, and a pair of tennis shoes, right?

This week I've worked on cleaning out my filing cabinets at work. I have decided to essentially "go paperless" with the bookkeeping functions, wherever it's possible to do so. I've been scanning documents, policies, and information into the system, and as soon as my shiny red external hard drive is delivered this afternoon....the heavens will open and the angels will sing! The idea is to have a system where I scan the information into my handy-dandy computer and save myself time, space, and energy by not having to create or pull paper files. Maybe once the rest of the crew sees how it works they will jump on board....maybe.

Some of my neighbors are going to do a garage sale in a month or so, which is also helping me to get my purge on here at the house. There is sooooo much stuff that doesn't get used, has been grown out of, or has just rendered itself useless, and all this crappola just needs to move out and find a new residence! Whether it's old board games, PURSES, wicker baskets, clothes, dishes, or my seldom used elliptical machine....I NEED LESS. Maybe if I really make a giant push to get A LOT of stuff moved out, I'll be able to save a nice little wad-o-cash for our big summer road trip!? And who doesn't love a little extra dough in the pocketbook!

On days when I feel completely overwhelmed by the multitude of things that need to be done, it gives me a sense of comfort knowing that some little part of my "world" has been cleaned, organized, and purged. It is also comforting to know that I am among the masses who share this same feeling of grappling for a sense of harmony.