One decision has been made

We will always live on post unless the house is financially ours. Since the weather has gotten cold there's been an slight issue on heating the downstairs where the boys rooms are.

See, this is an odd ranch/two story house. The main floor has two bedrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen. The downstairs has two additional bedrooms, family room, a bonus room and storage. It's a walk out basement plan I suppose. The temperature variation between the two floors is huge.

Over the summer we closed every single vent downstairs when the a/c was on. Walking up the stairs you could feel the change in temperature. As usual our bedroom is also the coldest room in the house when the a/c is on. The living room never really cooled off properly even with our fiddling around with the vents.

As it's cooled down at night, we've realized how cold it is downstairs. At one point all the vents were open and you couldn't feel a difference. I think we finally figured things out. Because of how much warmer things are upstairs we've closed almost every single vent. Doors to unused rooms are closed. The family room vents are closed. We finally went into Brendan and Colin's room without shivering.

I have never seen the boys sleep completely snuggled under their comforters until now. Normally they shuck everything off. While Jake's room is cold it's not along the level of his older brothers. Blanket sleepers are making a difference for him since he's not at the point of realizing the value of snuggling under blankets.

The few months we've been renting this house the apparent shoddy work it's construction has become more noticeable. Knowing things aren't air tight is yet another reason we will live on post unless purchasing the next house. Not having to pay for utilities is a huge plus. Now? We're hoping the gas bill stays on the low end.

Who is more of an asshole?

My brother or I?

Long story short, David married a rather self-centered, world revolves around me, woe anyone who says one mean thing to me but I can say whatever I want with no consequences woman 13 yrs ago. I tried liking Heather because David is my brother. I kept thinking she'd get her head out of the clouds to become a decent person. Never happened. I really stopped caring a few years back because I had my own shit to deal with. I couldn't deal with Heather being hurt because of x or y anymore when it was obvious how her actions and words became okay with my brothers silence.

Still. He is the one who must live with her. He is the one who emasculated himself early on within their marriage. He is the one who must live with his family being fractured apart because of his wife. All of this bothers me because of how our parents have been hurt. When things have been brought to David's attention he twists the context around never accepting responsibility for his silence.

Now? I've become 'your sister'. Mom has become 'your mother'. I know this from talking with Shawn. He's still in contact with David as are our parents even though his words are different. Me? Probably won't happen until a funeral takes place which we all must attend.

Wake up and grow a pair of balls. Realize how your wife treats you and your family. Do you not think our reactions are based on how we've been treated? I know my lack of contact isn't helping the situation. Only one can't have a conversation with David where he is by himself. Where chaos isn't erupting in the background. Where one can duke things out for the good or bad.

I've given up having a relationship with my brother because I can no longer stand to see the pain he's caused mom, dad and Christina.

An experiment in being poo-free

It's not as disgusting as it sounds even though the smell of manure wafted through the air this afternoon. Not quite like it does over in Germany but the smell definitely permeated the air in our neighborhood.

Actually, it's rather benign. No smelly grossness. No horrendous shrieks of 'where in the hell is a hazmat suit before I change this diaper!' No curiosity over how human beings so tiny can produce poo so foul you wonder what the hell is going on in their digestive tracks.

Nope, it's a term for curly haired people no longer using shampoo. I found out about www.naturallycurly.com from a thread on www.3waction.com. It has been a boon in finding other people sharing my angst over fine, wavy but way too fucking much hair.

I think this might help with my overall issues in having long hair. I've been toying in chopping things off again because I'm not happy with my hair. Ever since leaving Atlanta I haven't been happy with my hair. I left Sherri, who knew my hair. My hair loved Sherri. My hair doesn't love me because I no longer have ready access to Sherri.

Today is the first day of going poo-free after reading about the whole process over at Naturally Curly. I'm not chucking everything out the window since I refuse to waste the product I do have even if it's one bottle of curly hair gunk. Maybe my hair will start loving me if I bring back the slightly curly waves of my childhood. They still exist until I pull everything back into a ponytail out of frustration of crappy hair.

We'll see how this goes since I'm kicking up the spin classes and running now. I'm a big sweaty mess after spin or running so I don't know how poo-free I'll be. Maybe one day there'll be love all around for my hair.

Impeach Obama. Seriously?

This is the comment one of the families who frequent the gym made yesterday. Well, it was their 8/9 yr old but you know it's coming from the parents. Mom's response was 'we're Republicans' which I call bullshit on.

The majority of Republicans I know dislike how the current administration has run things the past 8 yrs. They've seen how our goodwill towards other nations has gone out the door. They've seen how the military has been stretched thin. They've witnessed first hand what the constant deployments are doing to the families and marriages. They've seen how their party has been taken over by a segment of the population which does not represent them. They've become disillusioned. The Republican party as it stands now does not represent the majority of Republicans I know.

They would have even voted for McCain if he hadn't chosen Palin. In doing so he showed his willingness in bowing down towards the right, something the McCain of 2000 probably would have given the middle finger too and kept with Lieberman as his running mate. This election would have been closer if McCain stuck to his guns with Lieberman. I honestly wonder if he wouldn't have been elected in doing so. I would have voted for McCain if he stuck with Lieberman much to the shock and horror of my family. Why? Because McCain knows what it's like to be in the military. He knows what it's like to deploy and what those deployments can do not just to himself but those left behind. He has an understanding of the military which our current administration is sorely lacking. His choosing Palin made my decision for me as it did with so many others.

Which is why I can't understand how people are frothing at the mouth with such hatred they're already calling for Obama's impeachment. Can they not accept how historic this election was? The first black man to be elected president or the first woman as vice president. Be happy we, as a nation, have overcome such hurdles in our willingness for a black man and woman to be running in the presidential race. Only they can't because their fundamental, conservative views will no longer be in power.

Gym etiquette rant

Since I've been working at the gym I don't workout there as much. One thing I'm trying to do is continue with the spin classes. I took my first two last week and would very much like to continue. The first instructor said it takes a person a good six weeks before being comfortable with spin and this is going twice a week.

There is a spin class 6 days a week with some days having class twice a day. The only catch is getting there early enough for a bike. The room where it's located is small so the gym doesn't have nearly enough bikes for the demand. There is talk about relocating the spin room but there's always talk of something or another going on at the gym. Hell, there's a whole second floor the gym could utilize and they don't.

This morning I get to the gym 15-20 minutes early, drop Jake off, chat a few and head off towards the spin room. Every single bike was spoken for whether the person was physically in the building or not. I still don't understand how you can claim a bike for a person who isn't in the building. And the regulars are chatting it up like they own the place. Wait, they think they do because it's their class and fuck the newbies.

I hop on the treadmill only to notice a mom/instructor head off towards the spin room. She was going towards daycare with her boys while I headed out into the gym for the class. Apparently she claimed a bike before dropping her kids off. I don't understand how a person can justify this. I was ready for class walking into the room whereas she wasn't. I could have had the bike she claimed if she didn't stop off first with her boys.

Gee, just because you've been at the gym longer then me or the next new person or you teach a class here and there doesn't mean you can piss all over anyone trying a class for the first time. Or third. Have a bit of respect for those challenging themselves or getting healthy. We all start out new at one time or another.

Garbage is wasted

Upon moving to our house we started recycling once again. Outside of paper and cardboard we slacked on this while living on the Arsenal.

Initially we thought all plastics could be recycled. Our trash for the week? One bag for the garbage men to pick up. This is for a family of five. Jason and I couldn't believe the amount of trash we recycled the first week only to be shot down at the recycling center. The city of Leavenworth only recycles plastic drink bottles, glass, aluminum and paper products. Nothing else. All of our rinsing of yogurt containers, shaking out bread bags, etc., were for naught.

Still we recycle quite a bit. Our trash each week is one giant black trash bag for the three bags from the house. Looking at the driveways on our street we have the least amount of trash among our neighbors. We're not talking by a bag or two. We only have one or two bags a week for the garbage men. Everyone else has a minimum of five if not more. Why? The unscientific answer is a lack of recycling. If every neighbor recycled at least one item, whether it's glass, drink bottles or paper, they'd cut down their trash by at least two bags a week. Easily.

One doesn't have to be all gungho on recycling or turning green. Every little bit helps.

I want a job like hers

One of my co-workers doesn't understand working = paycheck. She prefers sitting on her ass doing nothing while racking in the money. Only problem is our job pays slightly above minimum wage so no one's getting rich. She's also notorious for calling in for no reason in particular other then not wanting to work on any given day. Her boyfriend is a slight sugar daddy. I say this because, while he has a paycheck and pays the bills, he's not fabulously wealthy.

Yesterday I worked with this person by default. My whole intention was getting a workout at the gym instead of covering for my supervisor. Renee had to pick up her oldest at school since she was sick. Not a problem. I was already there to drop off Jake so I picked up a few extra hours.

I sat on the floor surrounded by kids. I had them running cars up and down my back. I was reading stories. I taught them how to hop like a frog. I got pummeled by our favorite time-out child. All the while T was sitting in the baby area where she wouldn't need to actively engage with the kids. Me? In my gym clothes getting more snot rubbed on me as the day progressed.

I'd like to think T would realize her expectations are shit in the real world and she'll grow up. Only I feel this will never happen since she's in her mid-twenties already. She's not a prima donna with the hopes of being kept in a life of privilege. She just doesn't want to work and still take home a paycheck.

Granted today I sat in the rocker with two babies who fell asleep on me, one of which christened my shirt with his snot. Inbetween the sleeping babies my supervisor and I took turns in entertaining the kids or calming them down. We do have an easy job, some would say a slack job. Still doesn't mean we can sit on our arses twiddling our thumbs.