Heres to you slick

$5 bucks says this will be on the TV tomorrow morning. So far this school year, we have had  6 snow days/early dismissals. The sad part about it is, half of those probably could have been avoided. Now here is the part where I go into when I was growing up, and how i had to go to school in a least 3 feet of snow. I, however, did not have to walk in it. I had the luxury of driving in the mess. My school sat on top of a hill that I had to maneuver Red Bone up. And if I got stuck, eff it, leave it on the hill and hike. I come from the midwest, the land of snow during the winter time.. I currently live in what I've heard called the midwest.. CLEARLY this is NOT the midwest, not even close. More like mideast-ish.

 My first winter here, and every one since amazes me at how many school closings there are. Granted right now, it is currently raining, and earlier there were ice pellets falling.. The city may in fact be something like an ice skating rink tomorrow. Schools, daycare's and work were released early today in efforts help get everyone home safe. The last time we were released early from work, it was a day late and a dollar short. The ice was a half inch thick on the cars, and it was still snowing. Folks I work with said it took them 4 hours or more to get home.  So it was a good choice to let go home before the storm hit. Tonight we are expected to have non stop snow/ice/rain. It has been non stop for the past 3 hours now. It first started as ice pellets, the last time I looked out the door it was raining.. Oh  goody goody gum drop. I hope the i city is out working and salting right now. You would think they were right? For as long as I've been here, it always seems like the city trucks are out the most after everything is said and done, and not during the storm or before pre-treating. I've been through an ice storm before since being out here, and that was one scary situation to be in. Especially if you have trees close to your window, and you can hear the tree limbs breaking from the weight of the ice. Scary stuff i tell ya. The meteorologist said its not supposed to be as bad as the previous storm, but looking out side now, I can tell you its not gonna be pretty tomorrow. Pray for us readers.. 

Be easy yall 

Blessed beyond measure

So I know, I've hit my slacker stage again when it comes to writing. Let  me put the disclaimer out there, the first half of this was written almost 2 and a half months ago. Back in November, my  boss told me that he recommended me for an interim team lead position while one of the current leads goes out for medical reasons. Now with the recommendation alone, I was hype, and very grateful.  Upon my arrival to work the following day, the supervisor in need told me that I am now her interim team lead. No there's no pay increase, but this is just more experience to add to my resume here at my job. Im grateful not only because its our busy time and I can be off the phones, but more so for the opportunity that I am being presented with. There's a possibility that other positions can become availabe to me after this assignment is over. So who knows. All I can say is im grateful and blessed.

So with that being said, my run with my new hire team is over. And yes i said, MY new hire team. I say that because I got them on their first real day on the phones,  which can be most terrifying in this type of work environment. I remember my first day on the phones and all of the terror, and second guessing myself I did. Now I get to see them for more than one day and get to see their growth and development. The first day, I had folks crying saying they didn't known if they were going to come back because they just didn't know what to do. 2 months later, 2 people from my team specifically have left, and 2 others from the remainder of the new hire class have quit. What can i say, this type of job isn't for everyone. This is my first real leadership role in the corporate world. Sometimes I forget that, I slip into my call taker role and will say whatever, but I've gotten better about that. There were times when the reps would say something  "oh that's my team lead" or "Tae is my leadership." I try to correct them because I'm only interim and once their real lead comes back, I will no longer be there to guide them and will be back to my normal duties. I appreciate the love and support, but I'm not out here to take this team over or nothing like that. I'm just here to help.

With this position,  its given me a chance to see things from the other side. Ive been in the newbies role, trying to find my way, now im here seeing these people grow, learning their personality types and seeing the same struggle  I dealt with many moons ago.  The experience as a whole has been one that I am grateful for. I received a lot of good feed back, and it also put my name out there. So from here we shall see what the future holds. 

As far as the rest of my life, what can I say. Were just living, growing and continuing to be better. Daddy is becoming something like a local celebrity here in the ville, Jr is growing more and more each and every day. Which by the way, is not something I am prepared for. Sometimes i look at him and just be in awe that he is getting so big..  Well for now, that's all i shall bore you with. :) I promise, I WILL BE BETTER WHEN IT COMES TO SHARING. 

                                                             

Perspective

When it comes to war, I try not to pay it to much mind. Yes that is an ignorant thing to do, as it is important to be aware of whats going on even if it doesnt effect you directly. The thought of war was always something that I never knew much of, being ive never been and everyone I know who is or was military was never combat. Im reading this book called The Things They Carried, and at first it started off slow and I wasnt too sure about it, but I decided to keep on reading and give it a chance. This book is one based on events that took place in Vietnam.  Now when I think of the war in viet-f***ing-nam I think of Forest Gump, obviously. This war is something i know nothing about, why we went there, what we were fighting for, nothing. What I do know is that my grandfather was there twice. I know he was in the army, but what he did I dont know. Reading this book makes me wonder what he saw, did, felt and thought while he was there. Im only about 105 pages in and the things im reading, im just in amazement and awe. There's a part in there where the author mentions of one of the guys in his platoon, and how he was playing catch one minute and the next blown into the tree because he stepped on a land mine. They were then ordered to peel the remains out of the tree. The other guy who was playing catch was the victims best friend. Later as they were humpin (moving around)they found this water buffalo, so they tied it up and took it with them. The victims best friend started taking his anger out on the animal by shooting at it. And I dont mean one shot take em out, I mean shooting its leg, the meaty part of its hind leg, its mouth completely off its face, and the whole time this animal is alive, not making a sound.  Now I dont know if this is a true story or not, but either way, it is a story that will stick with me forever. My view is, how awful that is for the animal and cruel, where as someone that is or was military would be able to relate because they know the feeling of the victims best friend. There's another part where one of the soldiers girlfriend somehow made it to Vietnam and was kickin it at the medic site with them, she started helping out alot more and then decided she was going on missions with the green berets that were at the same site. One night the boyfriend finds her in what appears to be a seance type atmosphere with a necklace of human tongues tied together. Imagine if this was something that really happened.  Like omg. This is nothing that the media feeds us when telling about the wars. Its almost as if... well it is what they want us to know to make us think that everything is ok and secure, when really our people are over seas all kinds if fucked up. I know opium was a big drug during Vietnam and some of if not all of could be a result of an opium trip, but still. I could only imagine. I wonder if my grandfather were still alive today would he tell stories of what he saw, did and felt, or would it be something he would take to the grave. Reading this definitely give me a new perspective on wars and the things soldiers see over there, and im not even done reading it yet. So to any and everyone that is currently or has previously served in our military,  thank you. For all you have sacrificed, seen, done and felt. I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart.

#FamilyFirst

Family first was the motto this weekend. My cousin and his wonderful girlfriend came to visit us from DC this weekend. This was exactly the kind of weekEnd i needed after a week of hell. 

My cousin GJ is the oldest boy, runner up to me as the oldest. To me its dope that we are able to kick it as adults. I remember in the summers when him and his siblings would come to visit, we would play cousins club. We'd play school, be outside, just doing whatever, but whatever it was we were doing, it was cousins club. 

This weekend we didnt do anything too extravagent. We went and walked the new pedestrian bridge here in the ville. That turned out to be an arugement with Jr. He seemed to think that he needed to be mackin on GJs girlfriend, trying to make the walk on the bridge their first date. We had to let them walk way ahead so he would leave them alone. Lol Jr just knew he had a new girlfriend this weekend. I tried to warn GJ.

We also went and played pool. Im no pool shark, hell I cant break to save the life of me. Sr and GJ played against each other while Yaya and I played. I think the guys played a total of 6 games, while we played a whopping 2 games. Lol clearly we were the beginners table. Then we came home and Team 2llz had to give them the business in some spades. Overall, i had a great weekend. Its always nice when your family comes in town for a few days. 

On another note, Jrs daycare closed this past friday.. im lightweight distraught. Keep in mind ive been spoiled with this same facility since Jr was a baby.. we've been here for the past 3 years, i know the teachers and the other kids. Ive been spoiled.. But just like everything in life, it must come to an end. I think im the one who has been more emotional about the whole situation. Sr is like "ok bye yall, thanks." Jr was like it was just another friday. Im crying while im hugging teachers bye. Judge me if you want, these women have made a difference in my families life. I will forever love the staff at All My Children. So here's to a new season.

Smh

Ever heard the saying "when it rains, it pours?" I have been fortunate enough to miss the major storm for some time now, but it seems that this one I just couldnt avoid.

It started drizzling when I got another ear infection. Fine I still have medicine from the last one that hasnt expired, so ill self medicate. The rain started coming down when I get the call saying "Babe, I just got hit, im down the street from the house. The truck is totalled."  Now, well now its storming. I was told on the way home, "I think the air is broken, its 82 degrees inside the house and its making some noise." Please keep in mind that as im writing this at 9:32pm, its 83 degrees outside now. And its projected to be 99 or 100 degrees tomorrow.  can you see my storm yet? On top of that, im stressed with the insurance company and what thay outcome is going to be. Well let me rephrase that, im not stressed, but all of the above is something constantly running through my head. I guess right now, some kind of way is the only way to describe how im feeling right now. Idk. If you're reading this, send me some good energy, send me strength,  prayers or whatever it is you do. Its appreciated.

Words really cant express the feeling of gratitude I have right now for my husband. Like our house is in a very calm state now compared to how we would reacted and stressed to this situation in our past. Everytime I think about it or look at picutres I just have to say thank you. Im not trying to be overly dramatic in this situation, but I could sit here and cry tears of joy and thankfulness for my husband. I honestly dont know what I would ever do if I lost him. 

Counting our blessings

All thanks be to Allah that sr was able to walk away from this. Rest in peace to my truck, its been real lady.

I dont know if the dude wasnt paying attention or what. But he T boned the hell out out of sr today. You see the pics and the damages. Sr said when dude hit him, he spun and hit a pole, thankfully he had on his seatbelt and no-one else was with him. when I got to the car and was able to survey everything, there was glass everwhere, jr car seat was over turned and the cupholder on it broke off, the middle consoles lid wont close because everything had been smashed up and thats just the minor stuff. It was fluids leaking from where dude hit him and everything.  Dudes truck was pretty smashed up too, but no where near as bad as ours. The police officer said the truck is totalled.

Now that we are home from the hospital and settled down, I am just so grateful that my baby was able to walk away with just soreness. When im looking at this truck my eyes just fill up with tears of gratefulness. This could have been so much worse. All praises to Allah foreal.