House hunting Stepdad
Saturday, August 30, 2003
USC vs Auburn College football, or Mens Pro Voleyyball?
Yeah, that's what I think, too. I am so glad it is football time!
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Yeah, that's what I think, too. I am so glad it is football time!
Friday, August 29, 2003
Did you see the smooch between Madonna, Britney and Christina ?
Me either. But I heard about it, while checking CNN for uhhhh news, world and sports, in that order. Am I schocked that they kissed (with tongue) ? Why would I be? Why would I care? Am I outraged about how children's role models should blah blah blah...? Nope, if kids are going to be swayed by that kiss or any other act (emphasis on ACT) by some idiot that is famous as a rock star or actress, then I'd say their parent's aren't doing their job. Any parent should easily be able to counter this kind of stuff on TV.
The only thing I'm outraged about is that this was obviously planned by a group of guys in a room in New York somewhere with high backed, overstuffed leather chairs that are wearing expensive tailored suits, just to get ratings.
Let's face it, Madonna, Britney and every other star are not real. That's not them on screen. They are pretty much created by the people that hand them their check. If the guys with the check say 'Hey Madonna, your record sales have been slipping for years. I know, let's have you french kiss the hot stars like Brittney and ohhhh Chrisitina, too! At the same time!!! Yeah!!!' then that is exactly what Madonna will do. And she did.
Was it really anything more than that? What life lesson were they trying to impart upon us lower humans? That superstar women get really hot when they perform an 80's song and must french other hot women? What was the point of it? To show how happy they were? To show how cool they were? Johnny Cash did that, and he wasn't even there. If Madonna, Brittney and Christina wanted us to think they were cool and hip, they could take a page from Justin Timberlake and pay some respect to a real star with real talent. Yes, I realize I am complimenting Justin Timberlake...or, at least, his group of PR guys in a high rise office in New York that all wear tailored suits. Of course, this doesn't mean I'm about to go out and buy anything Timberlake has ever been a part of, but I think that was a very cool thing of him to do.
Was it really necessary to do that in front of millions of people? PDA's you know, and I'm not referring to Personal Data Assistants.
It just smacks of self promotion to me and absolutely nothing else. Of course, I guess I'm doing exactly what those guys in the expensive suits thought Joe Average would do: talk about it. I was all set to totally ignore it (as I have done for anything on MTV for the last fifteen years) but I got to thinking what B. would think about it. She'd more than likely make a weird face and ask her Mom or me why Brittney was kissing that old woman. And being good parents, we'd explain that they were happy about the show and were being silly. No sense in making a seven year old child as jaded as we are. That will come soon enough.
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Me either. But I heard about it, while checking CNN for uhhhh news, world and sports, in that order. Am I schocked that they kissed (with tongue) ? Why would I be? Why would I care? Am I outraged about how children's role models should blah blah blah...? Nope, if kids are going to be swayed by that kiss or any other act (emphasis on ACT) by some idiot that is famous as a rock star or actress, then I'd say their parent's aren't doing their job. Any parent should easily be able to counter this kind of stuff on TV.
The only thing I'm outraged about is that this was obviously planned by a group of guys in a room in New York somewhere with high backed, overstuffed leather chairs that are wearing expensive tailored suits, just to get ratings.
Let's face it, Madonna, Britney and every other star are not real. That's not them on screen. They are pretty much created by the people that hand them their check. If the guys with the check say 'Hey Madonna, your record sales have been slipping for years. I know, let's have you french kiss the hot stars like Brittney and ohhhh Chrisitina, too! At the same time!!! Yeah!!!' then that is exactly what Madonna will do. And she did.
Was it really anything more than that? What life lesson were they trying to impart upon us lower humans? That superstar women get really hot when they perform an 80's song and must french other hot women? What was the point of it? To show how happy they were? To show how cool they were? Johnny Cash did that, and he wasn't even there. If Madonna, Brittney and Christina wanted us to think they were cool and hip, they could take a page from Justin Timberlake and pay some respect to a real star with real talent. Yes, I realize I am complimenting Justin Timberlake...or, at least, his group of PR guys in a high rise office in New York that all wear tailored suits. Of course, this doesn't mean I'm about to go out and buy anything Timberlake has ever been a part of, but I think that was a very cool thing of him to do.
Was it really necessary to do that in front of millions of people? PDA's you know, and I'm not referring to Personal Data Assistants.
It just smacks of self promotion to me and absolutely nothing else. Of course, I guess I'm doing exactly what those guys in the expensive suits thought Joe Average would do: talk about it. I was all set to totally ignore it (as I have done for anything on MTV for the last fifteen years) but I got to thinking what B. would think about it. She'd more than likely make a weird face and ask her Mom or me why Brittney was kissing that old woman. And being good parents, we'd explain that they were happy about the show and were being silly. No sense in making a seven year old child as jaded as we are. That will come soon enough.
Waiting for the appointment...
I was all set to go this morning, I had it all planned out. Get to work, check on some stuff, then head to Crawfordville (a nearby town that everyone is moving to since it's far less expensive to buy a home there. Nevermind the fact that the 30 mile drive every day roundtrip will pretty much end up costing you just as much as the money you save in the price of your new home. But who am I to inform anyone? I'm just here for the really long descriptions inside parentheses) Then I was going to head back to town and have lunch at Cabo's and then come back to the office and do some more work. But instead I was handed an Office Generated Lead, which actually sounds promising. The couple are moving here from Macon and want a 1 to 2 acre plot to build their own home and are willing to spend up to $40,000. That is certainly doable, much more so than the people wanting a 3/2 with two car garage in the NE side of town for $75,000. They might as well want Buckingham Palace for $100,000. It's not going to happen. Anyway, they were supposed to be here at 10:30. It's now 10:54 by my clock... I don't want a comission, I want to be paid by the number of people that don't show up for appointments!
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I was all set to go this morning, I had it all planned out. Get to work, check on some stuff, then head to Crawfordville (a nearby town that everyone is moving to since it's far less expensive to buy a home there. Nevermind the fact that the 30 mile drive every day roundtrip will pretty much end up costing you just as much as the money you save in the price of your new home. But who am I to inform anyone? I'm just here for the really long descriptions inside parentheses) Then I was going to head back to town and have lunch at Cabo's and then come back to the office and do some more work. But instead I was handed an Office Generated Lead, which actually sounds promising. The couple are moving here from Macon and want a 1 to 2 acre plot to build their own home and are willing to spend up to $40,000. That is certainly doable, much more so than the people wanting a 3/2 with two car garage in the NE side of town for $75,000. They might as well want Buckingham Palace for $100,000. It's not going to happen. Anyway, they were supposed to be here at 10:30. It's now 10:54 by my clock... I don't want a comission, I want to be paid by the number of people that don't show up for appointments!
Thursday, August 28, 2003
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Photography as a hobby...
We received a late wedding gift today, a nice digital camera! So, I have no excuse to not walk around taking slightly blurry photos. Actually, I was messing around with it while at B.'s open house and got some very nice shots. I'll of course brighten your day with photo's, once I get them loaded.
And of course, Baby Thigpen once again decided to not let us know if we should buy dresses or overalls. Yup, although we got an almost perfect picture of his hand with his fingers outstretched (what a very cool site that was), we once again were not able to tell if the baby is a male or female. I know, I say he when referring to Baby Thigpen, but I can't help it. If it's a girl or boy, I don't care a bit, as long as it is healthy.
Well, time to play a bit more with my camera. And if any of you guys have a digital (Hi, Amateur Photographer ), feel free to answer such newbie questions as:
1. Can you load them onto your blog without any big hassle? (Ok, I found out it's easy to do...)
2. Which photo editing suite do you use?
3. How do you take such sharp pictures?
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We received a late wedding gift today, a nice digital camera! So, I have no excuse to not walk around taking slightly blurry photos. Actually, I was messing around with it while at B.'s open house and got some very nice shots. I'll of course brighten your day with photo's, once I get them loaded.
And of course, Baby Thigpen once again decided to not let us know if we should buy dresses or overalls. Yup, although we got an almost perfect picture of his hand with his fingers outstretched (what a very cool site that was), we once again were not able to tell if the baby is a male or female. I know, I say he when referring to Baby Thigpen, but I can't help it. If it's a girl or boy, I don't care a bit, as long as it is healthy.
Well, time to play a bit more with my camera. And if any of you guys have a digital (Hi, Amateur Photographer ), feel free to answer such newbie questions as:
1. Can you load them onto your blog without any big hassle? (Ok, I found out it's easy to do...)
2. Which photo editing suite do you use?
3. How do you take such sharp pictures?
Today is going to be a busy day
Well, it will be a busy morning if I can get into the Company site I need to set up my contact manager. If not, I guess I'll have a bit of free time til my noon appointment. After that, I get to pick B up from school and then go to Jen's Doctor's appointment. This is the appointment that we will be able to tell the sex of the baby! Well, the last two appointments, we should have been to tell, but Baby Thigpen wasn't cooperating. We got good looks at his head and spine and all, but he felt the need to cover up his private area. I think he's doing it to be stubborn, which isn't a suprise, seeing as his sister is a very ummmm head strong kid. Not to mention his Mom....ok, I'm also stubborn.
I really hope we will be able to tell this time, the suspense is killing me, but it really won't matter, if it's a boy or girl, I'll be ecstatic. It will just be nice to know. I think after the appointment, I'll head to the mall and pick up his/her first Miami Dolphin onesie/cheerleader outfit. Never too soon to start them on the right path of being a Dolphin fan, is it?
After that, we also have B's open house tonight. This is where we get to see that she's already been moved because she is 'social'. I love the terms teachers have now. 'Social' means you talk too much. I was 'social' in school, too. There's just some stuff you have to tell your friends in school and it can't wait. Like what kind of sandwich you have for lunch today, that's important info!
Have a nice day! Back to smacking my computer around until it lets me log in!
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Well, it will be a busy morning if I can get into the Company site I need to set up my contact manager. If not, I guess I'll have a bit of free time til my noon appointment. After that, I get to pick B up from school and then go to Jen's Doctor's appointment. This is the appointment that we will be able to tell the sex of the baby! Well, the last two appointments, we should have been to tell, but Baby Thigpen wasn't cooperating. We got good looks at his head and spine and all, but he felt the need to cover up his private area. I think he's doing it to be stubborn, which isn't a suprise, seeing as his sister is a very ummmm head strong kid. Not to mention his Mom....ok, I'm also stubborn.
I really hope we will be able to tell this time, the suspense is killing me, but it really won't matter, if it's a boy or girl, I'll be ecstatic. It will just be nice to know. I think after the appointment, I'll head to the mall and pick up his/her first Miami Dolphin onesie/cheerleader outfit. Never too soon to start them on the right path of being a Dolphin fan, is it?
After that, we also have B's open house tonight. This is where we get to see that she's already been moved because she is 'social'. I love the terms teachers have now. 'Social' means you talk too much. I was 'social' in school, too. There's just some stuff you have to tell your friends in school and it can't wait. Like what kind of sandwich you have for lunch today, that's important info!
Have a nice day! Back to smacking my computer around until it lets me log in!
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Some days are just good...
And yesterday was one of them. Work went well, I really got to work on the organization and planning part of real estate and had an excellent training seminar. The guy that is part owner of the company ought to be writing these things down and selling them or going on a tour. I'm sure he would make a ton of money as a Motivational/Training Speaker. Then again, he's making a ton of money here, so why sleep in motels?
I left work a little early (only an eight hour day, shoot me!) and went to Best Buy and picked up the Two Towers DVD. I'm planning on geeking out this weekend and watching both the Fellowship and the Two Towers. Yeah, I'm planning on it, not actually sure if I'll be able to do it, though. I may not be geeky enough for that.
I also picked up a CD I had a long time ago but had lost in the divorce move. I got Siamese Dream, by the Smashing Pumpkins. Of course, I played it really, really, really loud in my car. Life is good.
It's too bad their music really started to suck after that CD, in my opinion. Gish and Siamese Dream are both great CD's. Gish is probably my next buy. Or Fugazi. Or Social Distortion. Or the Descendents. Or the Dead Milkmen. Or the Smiths.
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And yesterday was one of them. Work went well, I really got to work on the organization and planning part of real estate and had an excellent training seminar. The guy that is part owner of the company ought to be writing these things down and selling them or going on a tour. I'm sure he would make a ton of money as a Motivational/Training Speaker. Then again, he's making a ton of money here, so why sleep in motels?
I left work a little early (only an eight hour day, shoot me!) and went to Best Buy and picked up the Two Towers DVD. I'm planning on geeking out this weekend and watching both the Fellowship and the Two Towers. Yeah, I'm planning on it, not actually sure if I'll be able to do it, though. I may not be geeky enough for that.
I also picked up a CD I had a long time ago but had lost in the divorce move. I got Siamese Dream, by the Smashing Pumpkins. Of course, I played it really, really, really loud in my car. Life is good.
It's too bad their music really started to suck after that CD, in my opinion. Gish and Siamese Dream are both great CD's. Gish is probably my next buy. Or Fugazi. Or Social Distortion. Or the Descendents. Or the Dead Milkmen. Or the Smiths.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Isn't it funny how perspectives change?
For example, I was at one time an Education Major but the farther into it I went, the less I wanted to teach. They were sucking all of the creativity out of teaching. I honestly thought that within a few years, a teacher would have to read a script, such as the ones they read when you went into the cafeteria for the yearly achievement tests. Remember those?
As I got older, I kept an interest in Education and Schools, and was annoyed by many developments. One of them that I really laughed at was that some idiot in the Education System noticed that a lot of people didn't do well on SAT tests. So, to increase the scores of students taking the SAT, what did he propose? Oh, nothing like, I don't know, maybe raising the standards of the classes? Holding students back that didn't make the necessary grades to move on to the next grade? Nope, nothing that simple. He wanted to lower the grading scale for the SAT. That way more people would pass...
I heard yesterday that some people have decided that holding a child back because he hasn't mastered the required subjects is a very bad thing. These brain surgeons decided that what the Schools should do is not only promote little Johnny to the next grade but also include 'intense remedial' classes so he pass the last grade. Think about that for a second, and if anyone thinks that is a good idea, please leave a comment for me, because I don't get it.
These people mean that even though little Johnny couldn't master the subjects in fourth grade, they think he can master what he is being taught in fifth grade but also at the same time sufficiently master the fourth grade curriculum? So, he couldn't handle fourth grade, but if we shove fourth and fifth grade to him, he'll be fine? I see.
I fear for my stepdaughter's education. She just started the third grade and she is in the gifted program and does extremely well. However, with illogical ideas such as that, I won't be too suprised if I get a letter saying that because she had gifted classes she can't graduate. That would make as much sense as a lot of ideas we get these days from the Florida Dept. of Education.
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For example, I was at one time an Education Major but the farther into it I went, the less I wanted to teach. They were sucking all of the creativity out of teaching. I honestly thought that within a few years, a teacher would have to read a script, such as the ones they read when you went into the cafeteria for the yearly achievement tests. Remember those?
As I got older, I kept an interest in Education and Schools, and was annoyed by many developments. One of them that I really laughed at was that some idiot in the Education System noticed that a lot of people didn't do well on SAT tests. So, to increase the scores of students taking the SAT, what did he propose? Oh, nothing like, I don't know, maybe raising the standards of the classes? Holding students back that didn't make the necessary grades to move on to the next grade? Nope, nothing that simple. He wanted to lower the grading scale for the SAT. That way more people would pass...
I heard yesterday that some people have decided that holding a child back because he hasn't mastered the required subjects is a very bad thing. These brain surgeons decided that what the Schools should do is not only promote little Johnny to the next grade but also include 'intense remedial' classes so he pass the last grade. Think about that for a second, and if anyone thinks that is a good idea, please leave a comment for me, because I don't get it.
These people mean that even though little Johnny couldn't master the subjects in fourth grade, they think he can master what he is being taught in fifth grade but also at the same time sufficiently master the fourth grade curriculum? So, he couldn't handle fourth grade, but if we shove fourth and fifth grade to him, he'll be fine? I see.
I fear for my stepdaughter's education. She just started the third grade and she is in the gifted program and does extremely well. However, with illogical ideas such as that, I won't be too suprised if I get a letter saying that because she had gifted classes she can't graduate. That would make as much sense as a lot of ideas we get these days from the Florida Dept. of Education.
Monday, August 25, 2003
I must have bumped my head...
The last couple of weeks, I have really wanted to get into shape. I'm planning on joining the gym and that 13 mile bike trail to the coast is beckoning to me. I am smart enough to know I need to get into a little better shape before attempting that. I'll also need to buy a cushion for the torture apparatus that is my bike seat...
So, anyway, when I got home, I asked B if she wanted to go for a walk. She was doing her reading but afterward, we took a walk. In our subdivision, it is exactly half mile to the main street, so that makes a nice walk for us. It's pretty hilly but still a very nice walk. Emphasis on walk. Bold and italics emphasis on walk. Soon after we turned around to walk back home, B, in her seven year old energetic way, told me we were going to race the entire way home. My body, in its 'we used to smoke a pack a day and you start to sweat when you drive by a gym' way, said we were not going to race. B won. We raced, she jogged, I wheezed. She won. I thought I was going to die.
I'm calling the gym tomorrow. The look on her face was worth it. I love doing stuff like that with her. Her smile and happiness that I'm spending time with her is worth it.
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The last couple of weeks, I have really wanted to get into shape. I'm planning on joining the gym and that 13 mile bike trail to the coast is beckoning to me. I am smart enough to know I need to get into a little better shape before attempting that. I'll also need to buy a cushion for the torture apparatus that is my bike seat...
So, anyway, when I got home, I asked B if she wanted to go for a walk. She was doing her reading but afterward, we took a walk. In our subdivision, it is exactly half mile to the main street, so that makes a nice walk for us. It's pretty hilly but still a very nice walk. Emphasis on walk. Bold and italics emphasis on walk. Soon after we turned around to walk back home, B, in her seven year old energetic way, told me we were going to race the entire way home. My body, in its 'we used to smoke a pack a day and you start to sweat when you drive by a gym' way, said we were not going to race. B won. We raced, she jogged, I wheezed. She won. I thought I was going to die.
I'm calling the gym tomorrow. The look on her face was worth it. I love doing stuff like that with her. Her smile and happiness that I'm spending time with her is worth it.
Yet another way to contact me...
As if having the luxury of leaving a comment after every post I make wasn't enough, I have graciously decided to let any of you wonderful readers send an email to me. So do. Or not do. But do do.
Ok, I think I have been at work too long today. It is Monday and by law, you are only required to work eight hours on a Monday. I think that's a law. If it isn't, it darn well ought to be.
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As if having the luxury of leaving a comment after every post I make wasn't enough, I have graciously decided to let any of you wonderful readers send an email to me. So do. Or not do. But do do.
Ok, I think I have been at work too long today. It is Monday and by law, you are only required to work eight hours on a Monday. I think that's a law. If it isn't, it darn well ought to be.
I wasn't sure about this link...
so I didn't add it to my list of links to the right. But, after going to the site today and reading, I must add it.
Baghdad Burning is disturbing. As an American who watched the War in Iraq, I saw the Iraqi's and their emotions. In the months since our wise Lead Bush said the major fighting is over, I have watched the news and have read about the casualties our Soldiers are suffering. And I wonder why Iraqi people hate us so much when we did overthrow a cruel man... although I personally think that was not the main reason we were there. Sorry, I can't buy that.
Just go read her site. Put yourself in her shoes.
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so I didn't add it to my list of links to the right. But, after going to the site today and reading, I must add it.
Baghdad Burning is disturbing. As an American who watched the War in Iraq, I saw the Iraqi's and their emotions. In the months since our wise Lead Bush said the major fighting is over, I have watched the news and have read about the casualties our Soldiers are suffering. And I wonder why Iraqi people hate us so much when we did overthrow a cruel man... although I personally think that was not the main reason we were there. Sorry, I can't buy that.
Just go read her site. Put yourself in her shoes.
As you can see, I added some links...
to sites I enjoy and read every day. The first is a site I have read for over six years, in various forms. Allan has stuck with the current name for several years and is a good read.
Detroit Blog is a blog I found while Blogsurfing a week or two ago. It's about Detroit. Duh. But the writer has a way of talking about Detroit that reminds me of how I feel about New Orleans. I think New Orleans is the most beautiful, decadent, old and decaying city I have ever seen. Yeah, I think that's the emotion the writer is trying to get from his site.
Death's Door: A view from the Spanish Announcers Table is a very cool site I found last week. I have been extremely impressed with the guy's writing. If he recorded it with some harmonica and guitar, he'd sell a lot of blues albums. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, but the site is darn good.
I like Amateur Photographer because I am interested in doing exactly what the author is doing, taking photographs and putting them on my Blog. She also has a couple of other blogs and sites, so it's an interesting site.
Missives Anonymous was one of the first Blogs I came across and I checked it out because the name was so cool. However, it's a good site with some intelligent writing.
What Kind of Sick Weirdo Are You? is another interesting Blog I recently came across. It's well written and funny. The 'Born to Knit' graphic is what made me bookmark it. It's here even though it broke one of my '10 Rules for reading Blogs' : it has one of those cheesy polls on it. Still, a good site.
Wrong Side of Happiness is a very stylish Blog. Nothing flashy, but the site is very well laid out. The writing is also quite good.
Rock and Roll Report is a very intresting site for an old (emphasis on old) college DJ like me. Although he hadn't heard much about the Jesus and Mary Chain, he did know about Sloan, so he's cool in my book. Take a look. Updated a lot.
And last, we have either a very sarcastic Blog about Blogs, a performance art Blog or a Blog that is completely without any substance. I'm guessing number one, but what do I know? I bookmarked a site about some guy's lunch. And I'm even telling you guys about it.
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to sites I enjoy and read every day. The first is a site I have read for over six years, in various forms. Allan has stuck with the current name for several years and is a good read.
Detroit Blog is a blog I found while Blogsurfing a week or two ago. It's about Detroit. Duh. But the writer has a way of talking about Detroit that reminds me of how I feel about New Orleans. I think New Orleans is the most beautiful, decadent, old and decaying city I have ever seen. Yeah, I think that's the emotion the writer is trying to get from his site.
Death's Door: A view from the Spanish Announcers Table is a very cool site I found last week. I have been extremely impressed with the guy's writing. If he recorded it with some harmonica and guitar, he'd sell a lot of blues albums. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, but the site is darn good.
I like Amateur Photographer because I am interested in doing exactly what the author is doing, taking photographs and putting them on my Blog. She also has a couple of other blogs and sites, so it's an interesting site.
Missives Anonymous was one of the first Blogs I came across and I checked it out because the name was so cool. However, it's a good site with some intelligent writing.
What Kind of Sick Weirdo Are You? is another interesting Blog I recently came across. It's well written and funny. The 'Born to Knit' graphic is what made me bookmark it. It's here even though it broke one of my '10 Rules for reading Blogs' : it has one of those cheesy polls on it. Still, a good site.
Wrong Side of Happiness is a very stylish Blog. Nothing flashy, but the site is very well laid out. The writing is also quite good.
Rock and Roll Report is a very intresting site for an old (emphasis on old) college DJ like me. Although he hadn't heard much about the Jesus and Mary Chain, he did know about Sloan, so he's cool in my book. Take a look. Updated a lot.
And last, we have either a very sarcastic Blog about Blogs, a performance art Blog or a Blog that is completely without any substance. I'm guessing number one, but what do I know? I bookmarked a site about some guy's lunch. And I'm even telling you guys about it.
Best. Blog. Ever.
Well, maybe not. But, the sad thing about it is the fact that this Blog is easily as amusing as half the Blogs out there. I'd like to meet this guy just to ask him what the hell he was thinking. Then again, he looks like Carrot Top, so he might go '1-800-collect' on me so maybe I wouldn't.
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Well, maybe not. But, the sad thing about it is the fact that this Blog is easily as amusing as half the Blogs out there. I'd like to meet this guy just to ask him what the hell he was thinking. Then again, he looks like Carrot Top, so he might go '1-800-collect' on me so maybe I wouldn't.
I'm still learning
how to be a step parent and I don't know if I'll ever learn enough. This Saturday was a definite roller coaster ride. B. was good, then she was an argumentative, spoiled brat, then back to being perfectly sweet. During days like that, I don't know what to do. Her behavior annoys the crap out of me but we never really seem to correct it, and since I'm only the Stepdad, I don't know if we are supposed to try to correct her behavior or if I'm just over reacting to it.
I've noticed that I am an easy target when B. is cranky. Even when she's in an excellent mood (which is most of the time, I must admit), it is the norm for her to disagree with anything I say as a given. However, when she's feeling cranky, god help me. I could say the sky is blue and she'd say I was wrong. It get's frustrating. And it seem's to be getting more common, as in every day.
I knew we were going to have problems when she spent the night at her cousin's house. They are a year apart and when they hang out a long time, they both lose their minds. So, I expected the crankiness. We ate lunch and went to the Tallahassee Natural Museum , which is a favorite of ours. It's more or less a small zoo, with a lot of native animals and usually one exhibit of some exotic animal. This time it was servals, an wild cat. Barely into the nature trail, where you see blad eagles, red wolves, foxes, bears, deer, skunks and alligators, it started to rain. We were all soaked by the time we got back to the gift shop, where B. took about an hour and a half to find five dollars worth of souvenirs. Well, ok, I'm kidding about the amount of time. A little.
Next on our list was Books-A-Million. We split up and I went and looked at different stuff while they went to find books for B. to use her $25 gift card. Then we went to Super Walmart and did some shopping. This was easier said than done. This is where B. decided she had to ask for every single thing she could see. This is also where she decided to not listen and not pay attention to where she was going. Did I mention we were in a Super Walmart, where there are tons of people wandering around not paying attention to where they are going?
Somehow we made it out of there without any major damage and in retrospect, I guess the day was not nearly as annoying as I thought it was. I guess Stepdads can have a cranky day every once in a while, eh?
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how to be a step parent and I don't know if I'll ever learn enough. This Saturday was a definite roller coaster ride. B. was good, then she was an argumentative, spoiled brat, then back to being perfectly sweet. During days like that, I don't know what to do. Her behavior annoys the crap out of me but we never really seem to correct it, and since I'm only the Stepdad, I don't know if we are supposed to try to correct her behavior or if I'm just over reacting to it.
I've noticed that I am an easy target when B. is cranky. Even when she's in an excellent mood (which is most of the time, I must admit), it is the norm for her to disagree with anything I say as a given. However, when she's feeling cranky, god help me. I could say the sky is blue and she'd say I was wrong. It get's frustrating. And it seem's to be getting more common, as in every day.
I knew we were going to have problems when she spent the night at her cousin's house. They are a year apart and when they hang out a long time, they both lose their minds. So, I expected the crankiness. We ate lunch and went to the Tallahassee Natural Museum , which is a favorite of ours. It's more or less a small zoo, with a lot of native animals and usually one exhibit of some exotic animal. This time it was servals, an wild cat. Barely into the nature trail, where you see blad eagles, red wolves, foxes, bears, deer, skunks and alligators, it started to rain. We were all soaked by the time we got back to the gift shop, where B. took about an hour and a half to find five dollars worth of souvenirs. Well, ok, I'm kidding about the amount of time. A little.
Next on our list was Books-A-Million. We split up and I went and looked at different stuff while they went to find books for B. to use her $25 gift card. Then we went to Super Walmart and did some shopping. This was easier said than done. This is where B. decided she had to ask for every single thing she could see. This is also where she decided to not listen and not pay attention to where she was going. Did I mention we were in a Super Walmart, where there are tons of people wandering around not paying attention to where they are going?
Somehow we made it out of there without any major damage and in retrospect, I guess the day was not nearly as annoying as I thought it was. I guess Stepdads can have a cranky day every once in a while, eh?
