Java With Jacki

I am Back!!

2010-09-18T12:16:00.000-05:00

                      Good Saturday Morning Everyone!!
            Alright let me start off with saying I know I fell off the radar 6 months ago but things had gotten crazy and my blogging had to be put on hold. However now I am back, better then ever and ready to devote my attetion here where it really belonged all the time!
         So how was everyone's summer?? Mine was filled with work, work and more work lol Although I did get a chance to check out a few Detroit Tigers games with my son and my parents. Austin was able to sweet talk whatever team we were against into giving him a ball at each and every game this year! He also sweet talked his way into other seats that were closer then the ones we were in. He told me later that day, "Mom, you always say, Your not out anything to ask" I guess maybe he really does listen to me sometimes. lol
         Even though this is short and sweet and long over due for now I must slip away and get back to work. Rest assured I will be back and I promise it will be very soon!! Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!

Chocolates Anyone??

2010-05-21T05:17:00.000-05:00

When Forest Gump said "Life is like a box of chocolates, You never know what your gonna get" did you ever stop to ponder that? Lets see the last time I had a box of chocolates it was pretty mixed up. Lets start with the cream filled. I believe in my life those represent all of the things I do not care for, because I do not like these. So my life is filled with lots of yucky stuff since those boxes always have lots of cream filled in them. Then of course they tease and show you on the front that there are caramel filled ones. Now I don't know about anyone else but I always seem to get the box that only has one caramel one in it because that is my favorite kind. So in my life the caramel filled one has got to be that single most important thing in my life......Austin. Now the last and final thing in that box is all the ones with the nuts. Now nuts are also a favorite of mine so these must represent my family and my friends. And go figure since we are all nuts I guess that is a perfect fit:)

When life throws us those new flavors of chocolate like raspberry and cherry flavored M&M's we will try them out and see where they fit into our life. New friends, new family members, new jobs, and of course new obstacles are all the new flavors.

Everyone's box of chocolate is different. Maybe you like the cream ones, or maybe your box has peanut butter filled ones. Whatever your box contains it's your life live it well because chocolate does not stay fresh forever, and if your not careful about how you handle your chocolate it will melt right before your eyes.

April 16th, The day After.......

2010-04-16T23:16:00.000-05:00

I sit here tonight, the evening after the dreaded "Tax Day" sipping a glass of wine and nibbling on chocolate. I can't believe I survived another year! Working 24 out of the last 48 hours was a little rough, but I love the rush. No matter what you might hear me say throughout the year, trust me deep down inside I love the rush during our first peak and our last which happens to be the last 2 days of the filing season. Then the day after we spend cleaning the office, packing up files for storage, and closing up the office for another spring/summer/fall.
I had to watch my office leader tear up today as we closed the office because she is retiring. As much as she cursed this place out for the last few weeks I know that she loves the people she works with and her clients. We bond as a family. We see our co workers more during that 4 months then our natural family lol We joke about the office being our home away from home and putting cots in the back room to spend the night on due to leaving late at night and returning early the next morning! I think today Wendy came to the realization that she can't leave us......she is going to be back, I can feel it in my heart. For now I have the next 8 weeks off and I know I am going to enjoy every minute of it.

Monday Mingle 4/5

2010-04-04T19:05:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another edition of Monday Mingle. To join in all this fun hop on over eightymphmom. There you can also check out all the other minglers each and every week by heading over to eightymphmom. Hope everyone had a great Easter! Had a rough week and I am looking forward to a much brighter week ahead:)

Why now?

2010-03-30T21:03:00.000-05:00

So here I sit this evening faced with a decision I do not want to make but somehow have to make because I am the parent. My son has a cat named Smokey who is only 14 months old and in fact one of my current Mama's to the 2 litters we recently were blessed with. Now I admit I have a house full to look after but I never thought I was being neglectful to any of my cats until the Vet told me I was tonight. You see I noticed late last night that Smokey was very thin, no let me rephrase that she was sickly thin. So this morning I took her straight to the vet and after waiting for 2 hours to be seen they said I needed to leave her there to have IV fluids and some bloodwork done. After waiting for 9 hours I received a call from the doctor telling me that it appears she has a massive infection because her white blood cell count is at 48,000. In order to determine where the infection is they must do exploritory surgery. I also needed to know before approving this what I am looking at as far as cost as my finances are so tight right now that day to day I wonder if we will make it. (no child support does not help matters any!) So anyways back to Smokey...... The rough cost at this point to do what they need to do I am looking at between $100-$300 for just the surgery not to mention the costs of her being there all day today and the things they did to her today. Now if they could promise me a final bill of no more than $150 I could probably give the go ahead however that looming fact that I could be looking at $300-$600 I just can not do. I had to tell my son that we will pick up his cat from the vet tomorrow and have her put to sleep. Of course this did not go overly well. I am not sure who is the bigger wreck at this point. I feel like such an awful mom because I can not afford to help his cat. What do I do??

Dear So and So 3/28/2010

2010-03-28T23:29:00.001-05:00

Dear So and So

So here we are once again it is late Sunday night and it's time to write to all of those who fristrated me this week. However this evening looking back I am not sure as those I have too many this week. There are some weeks I could go on forever but this week I think I only have a couple, so here it goes......

Dear Sons Gym Teacher,
            I know you think I am a crazy mom for allowing my son to not only have a mohawk but to express himself by dying his mohawk whatever color he chooses, but really you need to get over it! Sending him home early from a field trip because his hair dye began to run was not cool by any means. I expect he will come home from school tomorrow with the full amount paid for this field trip in his pocket.

Dear Co-Workers,
          For the last few weeks I have been writing about one co-worker however this week there are many of you who struck my last nerve! The tax season is almost complete so lets pull our heads out of our asses and just finish strong!

Dear Ever Changing Moon Phase,
            For whatever reason this time you have been working your way to being a full moon has sent me into a tail spin. Can you please refrain from causing so many emotions for me and my family, that would be great!

I hope everyone has an awesome week. This past week was a rough one for my sister and I just want her to know we are all here for her and will comfort her in all ways possible. Love ya Sis:-)

Now it's your turn........ Take out your frustrations, then link up so we can all have a good giggle.

2010-03-28T23:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone!! It has been a long week for me and I am looking forward to a much brighter week ahead. If you would like to join in please hop on over to eightymphmom and join in:) I am so excited to be doing this every week and I am learning so much from jumping around to everyone else's blogs too! Have a great week, and if you get a chance stop by and check out my new weekly blog hop entitled Dear So and So. It's a great way to release your frustrations from the past week and start with a clean slate for next week:)

2010-03-21T18:39:00.000-05:00

Here we go for another week of Monday Mingle. If you would like to join in please hop on over to eightymphmom and check out all the other vlogs. Hope everyone has a great week and if you get a chance check out my new weekly blog hop entitled Dear So and So, it's fun and stress relieving:)

Dear So And So

2010-03-21T10:53:00.002-05:00

DEAR SO AND SO

Here we are back for another week. Last week I had 2 people join me so I want to send a big thank you over to Coffee with the Mrs. and Badger Mom!

This week my goal is to see if we can get 5 people to join us!!

Here's what you do........

Think about those that you have come across this past week that if you could you would write them a letter telling them your true feelings you would. Put those letters out here and clear your frustrations from this past week to start clean for the new week!

Have fun, Hope everyone has a great week!

Dear Uncompliant co worker,

Last week you didn't want to work, but somehow want to get paid and now this week you refuse to follow new company policies?! Come on, if you really do not want the job just say so and we will be happy to find someone new!

Dear Mall Security Guard,

I am sure you have to deal with all sorts of people day in and day out but when I came to you in a slight panic because the gentlmen sitting at the table next us had lost his mentally ill sister and you told me "There was no one sitting with him, I have been here for over an hour" It really upset me, because what if I told you my child was missing?? In the end the other security guards located her and reunited the two, so if he was sitting alone where did she come from?! Please have more compassion when people have loved ones that have wandered off, wether it's child or adult!

Dear guy who keeps hitting on me,

I know that right now I am single, but when I say no thank you please take that and go. I do not want to have to hurt your feelings but if you continue to bother me then I may just do that.

Dear Son's Principal,

Ok so I have been through the code of conduct cover to cover and I find NOTHING that says my son can not express his character through his hair. You say that if clothing is disruptive there can be action taken but for pete's sake its HAIR!! Get over it, I am sorry your mom wouldn't allow this type of thing when you were a child but this mom is!!!

Dear Son,

I know you are only trying to express yourself, however I think for moms peace of mind we are gonna stick with the blue for awhile as the 4 hour process we went through to go from red to blue was not my idea of fun!

Why is "Beauty" painful?

2010-03-18T23:23:00.000-05:00

So here I am at 11:30pm on Thursday night and I keep running through my head.......WHAT WAS I THINKING???????

Alright lets back up a little here and see if I can catch ya'll up to speed. About a month ago my son went for a haircut and asked if he could have a mohawk. Being the rockin mom I am I said "Sure, why not? It's only hair." I figured when he grew tired of it he could shave it off. Now right after he had it cut that way he asked if he could maybe dye it some random color. Again I thought "Sure, why not? It's only hair." Figuring once again when he grew tired of it he could shave it off. So a week ago we dyed it.

Now I thought even though it's a shocking red and not so much a natural red it gave him character. His dads parents absolutely thought I was the worst mom on this earth for allowing him to do this, but I thought their opinions should be kept to themselves and moved on. Now today he comes home from school and says "Mom, tomorrow are spring pictures at school and this is the pose I want to do, is it ok with you?" I fell in love with his choosen pose right away! We went todinner and then a quick trip to the grocery store. He and my sister get to chatting while we are there and he comes to the decision that he wants his mohawk to be green for pictures. Again I thought "It's his hair, his pictures, his choice." So we bought a bleaching kit (to remove the red) and green hair dye. Came home and got started. Now when something gives you directions it's probably for a reason huh? I mixed the bleach and coated his mohawk in it only to discover about 5 minutes into it being on his head that he was having a reaction to it and we had to take it off IMMEDIATELY! Guess thats why they say do a test area 24 hours in advance lol We thought the green would go ok at that point but boy were we wrong. It turned the roots green and the rest of it orange! He was none too happy, in tears actually. At 10:45pm I made another run to the store and bought blue. Came home and covered the mohawk in that and crossed my fingers and toes that it would work. After just over 4 hours we have SUCCESS!!!!!

Now I can finally tuck myself and my son in to bed for the night and start our day in 6 hours for school/work! Why do they say beauty is painful, and not that being handsome can be just as painful lol

Dear So and So

2010-03-14T21:18:00.002-05:00

Dear So and So

This week I would like to introduce a new post that I will be running weekly. I saw this on another blog and thought boy oh boy this is a great way to get out some frustration at the end of the week, just in time to start a fresh week! I hope you enjoy my little rantings.

Dear Co-Worker,

Did ya know the economy sucks and there are millions on unemployment who would be happy to have your job? Wake up otherwise you'll be the next one standing in that line!

Dear Grocery Store,

Why do you advertise sales but then you don't have the product before, during or even after the sale? Not only does it cause more work for you (now having to issue rainchecks) but your threating your customer retention. One day they will no longer believe the boy who cries wolf!

Dear Mother Nature,

I really enjoy not having to see anymore snow when I look out my window but the rain you have given us for the last 2 days must end before you flood my city and more importantly my basement! Go out on another date with Father Time and cheer up!

Dear Father Time,

First, please take Mother Nature out on a date so she can cheer up a little. Second I am sure you enjoy the whole concept of daylight savings time however my body clock does not adjust well so today I was cranky.....Thank you!

Dear Mr. Sandman,

Just because the clock on the wall reads 10pm, my body still thinks it's only 9pm so please remove yourself from my eyes and allow me to finish my work!

I hope everyone joins me in this new venture. I think it will make the beginning of your week brighter! I must say I feel much better. Although I am sure there are many others I could write to this week for now this will have to do. Hope everyone has a great week:)

Monday Mingle 3/15/2010

2010-03-14T19:23:00.002-05:00

Welcome back to another Monday Mingle! If you would like to join in please pop on over to eightymphmom for all the details and to view the other vlogs! This week I have included my kittens at the end for everyone who would like to see them:) I know I was not around much this week, but that was due to work and I will try to be around more this week and pop over to view all of the mingles I can. Have a great week everyone!

Monday Mingle 3/8/10

2010-03-07T19:48:00.000-06:00

Hi again everyone! I am back for my second week at the Monday Mingle. Please hop on over to eightymphmom to check out the other minglers. Be sure to watch the other vlogs and leave comments for them:) Hope everyone had a great week!

Saying Goodbye just isn't easy

2010-03-06T15:37:00.001-06:00

                  One year ago today I had just arrived home from dropping my son off at school when I sat down and opened my laptop. I logged in and was planning on heading to my email to check that when I scrolled too fast in my favorites and happened upon myspace. I figured since I was there I could log in and check out what my friends were doin and such before heading to my email. Upon entering I saw that a friend of mine had posted a status message about another friend of ours husband, asking us to pray for him during his stay in the hospital. Now let me tell you a little about him. Chris has Cystic Fibrosis so us hearing about him being in the hospital was not a shock because he had regular hospital stays a couple times a year. So I texted her to make sure thats what this was in fact was a regular hospital stay. She confirmed my thoughts and told me however that this time it was not going so well. He had to be intubated the evening before and this morning things had gone south. I told Cyndi we needed to head up there to be with Chelle and to make sure she was doing ok. Away we went! We arrived at the hospital and Chelle gave us a quick run down on the mornings events and everything seemed well. Even though Chris had a rough morning he was stable now and back on the track of his regular visit. Cyndi and I took Chelle to lunch at the new Taco Bell just outside the hospital and then to run a few errands as they had sold their home and were moving into a new home closer to all of us:) This is why Chris choose to do his hospital visit when he did so he could be done before the move. Upon arriving back at the hospital we were told that things were not good. Chelle asked us to wait in the waiting room while she found out what exactly was going on. During our wait Chelle was told that they had done everything they could for Chris but at this point the machines were breathing for him. She had to make one of the hardest decisions in her life because her husband did not want to be kept alive by machines. He had beaten so many odds in his life and felt that being kept alive by machines was not his idea of life. After a few hours, many tears, family being contacted Chelle made the decision to shut down the machines and allow Chris to fight on his own. Shortly after this Chris stopped breathing.
             I watched Chelle have to pick up and move into a new house without her husband. I watched her become an even stronger woman than she was before. I watched Chelle move on in life the best she could.
            Today it has been a year since that evening, however even as I sit here it feels like just yesterday at times. Tonight the same group of us that was there to say goodbye with her will go out in Chris's honor and have a drink or two.
            I never thought that life and death can effect someone so much. Growning up I did not experience alot of death as I am fortunate to have all of my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, everyone. So when this day came and I had to not only help Chelle, I had to deal with my own feelings and figure out what it was I was feeling and how I could handle it. I will say it was very rough but I can only then imagine what she was going through inside. Does the pain ever stop? Only time will tell.......I love you Chelle.

We Miss You Chris!
Always in our Hearts!

Follow Friday Celebration!

2010-03-05T18:04:00.001-06:00

Wanna meet more bloggers? Join me on Friday Follow Celebration hosted by One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades! We invite you to join us every Friday to get more blog followers and to follow other interesting blogs. It is all about sharing and having fun.

C'mon, the more the merrier!

Here's how YOU can join the celebration:
* * Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add to one blog linky.

* * Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots. We will follow you back.

* * Follow as many blogs as you like

* * Comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow

* * Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow

The Blog Hop is the same at each of our three hosts blogs so you do not have to add your blog at each site. Just one - but you can follow each host blog. Here is the great part, we will follow you back.

Wordless Wednesday 3-3-2010

2010-03-03T14:55:00.000-06:00

Welcome to wordless wednesday! If you would like to join in hop on over to 5 minutes for mom for more information:)

These are just 2 of the many photos my son has taken:) Being a photographer seems to be his passion. By the way he was only 10 when he took these random photos of the sunset looking down our street!

32nd Street Blog Parade

2010-03-02T22:13:00.002-06:00

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This looked like a lot of fun so since I had some free time tonight I thought I would give it a try! If you would like to find out more about this and even join yourself just head over to 32nd Street for all the details:)

1. What's your favorite time of the day, and why?
My favorite time of the day is in the evening after my son has gone to bed when I can sit back with a cup of hot cider and sift through my emails and now my blog and friends blogs:)

2. If health wasn't an issue, what food could you live off of?
I could totally live off of chocolate and peanut butter. Anyway, any combo, spread on anything lol

3. If you could have one wish granted (besides wishing for more wishes), what would it be?
I wish I could explore the country with my son without worrying about bills at home or how we would pay for our exploration.

4. What's one thing that you get teased about a lot?
My dad still teases me to this day about my head being filled with air.

5. If you could choose one movie, book, or TV show to spend your life in, which would you pick? What type of character would you be?
I would choose to spend my life in the movie Youv'e Got Mail because I am a sucker for the mushy romance.

6. If you could have one talent that you don't already have, what would it be?
That would be to see slightly into the future, I dont want to see more then a day at a time just so I could be better prepared.

7.If money were no object, where would you go on vacation?
I would go to a tropical island where I could relax on a beach.

8. If you were an awesome singer, which genre would you sing?
I think I would sing country because my life along with everyone elses always seems to make a great country song!

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, what would it be?
Oh tough one but I think I would honestly say Meijer. This way I can but food, clothes, toys, household items and even some nice shoes:)
10. If you could live in any point in time, when would it be?
I would like to live in the old west where the women had the big, full dresses and no matter their size they always looked amazing in them.

11. If every outfit in your wardrobe had to be one color, what would it be?
Red. I think red looks awesome on me and thats what everyone else says too.

12. If you were one of the seven dwarves, which one would you be?
(Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy, or Dopey)

I would have to say Doc because I am always looking after everyone else.

13. What's the last album you listened to?
Ok now don't laugh it is Nick Jonas. I love his voice:)

14. What's something we'd be surprised to know about you?
That I am actually very shy in crowds of people I don't know.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone is able to check out the other posts.

2010-03-01T18:39:00.000-06:00

Yee Haw I finally got this to work!! Sorry it's so late but as everyone always says better late then never:)This is my monday mingle however if you would like to visit eightymphmom to find all of the other vlogs please fell free to do so. I am new to this so the video is not the bext quality but in time it will get better I promise:) Hope everyone has a great week!!

All in a days work

2010-02-28T19:38:00.000-06:00

                Today was supposed to be a relax day for me as this season I choose not to work on Sundays, however the big boss had other plans for us. We had training today for a new contest that the company is rolling out which lasted 3 hours and then we had to call an emergency team meeting to roll out the plan to the rest of our team. That meeting lasted just over an hour.
              I was given the privilege of running this meeting for our team and I was NERVOUS! I am not a good public speaker to begin with and then having 11 or so sets of not so happy eyes staring at you with the only thoughts running through their heads of what they could or should be at home doing was all the more frightening! I thin the meeting went well, and my boss was there to back me up for the things I forgot.:)
             I have to say I am very excited about training to become an office leader. When I started with this company I never thought I would have the ability or potential to go places in the company and now in just two short years I am seeing that I do have the potential and I am going to go far in this company. First stop Office Leader, Next stop District leader:) While I am not sure how long it will take me to achieve all of my goals I am sure that I am on the right track.
            If you or anyone you know is still in need of having their taxes prepared for this year please fell free to send them our way:)

Just The Beginning

2010-02-26T13:20:00.000-06:00

                   To all who enter this is my first of many posts to come. I am looking so forward to joining the wonderful world of blogging with other moms.

                    Let me begin by telling you a little about me and my son. I am the proud mommy of an 11 year old young man who will shortly be turning 12 and has already long entered the world of preteen woes. My son entered middle school this year and jumped in with both feet. He joined the choir under my recommendation and within the first week wanted to quit. I was reluctant to allow him to change classes but agreed because I could not stand to see him miserable. I contacted his choir director and told her he would be transferring out but she said she would have none of that! She sat him and down asked him to stay for the first semester and see what he thought and after that if he was still unhappy she would let him go. As we came to the end of the first semester and I told him we needed to pick a new class he stated "Mom, I do not want to trade classes, I love Mrs. Smith and I want to be in choir all the way through school." I credit Mrs. Smith to being such a great teacher and motivator. My son has many off days or days I like to call "Teenage Tantrum Days" I know he is not an official teen and I thought that a boy would have less woes then a girl but I am soon finding that to be untrue. He has just as many as my sister and myself had as preteen/teenagers.

                      Myself, I work full-time preparing taxes and I love my job! I am also a full-time mom and wonder constantly when the pay comes for that job but then my son does something to warm my heart and I remember that is the kind of pay only a mom can receive. I do enjoy reading and wish I could find more time to do so. I enjoy cooking for my large family and having them all sit around my table. I am 1 of 5 children and I am sure to share more about my siblings as time goes on.

                     For now I must sign off, but rest assured I will be back soon. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and check out my blog. I look forward to the many years of blogging with everyone.

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2010-02-26T12:10:00.002-06:00

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