So, I’m sitting here at the college library desperately trying to catch up on my college reading. When I read “The Creeks rallied to Tecumseh’s call, who had a Creek mother.” My great-grandmother was part Creek…which makes me part Creek… which makes Tecumseh a very distant relative. And I have to read a whole book on him, which well is a little weird now that I think about it.

The Creek Nation turns up quite a bit in the early history of the United States, it seems that they were fiercely independent and willing to fight and die for their land, to protect it from the British and later the Americans. They are usually mentioned only in passing, in ways such as “The Creek together with ____ fought against ____ in the battle that took place on _____ . ”

So, it’s a bit weird to see your ancestors actions written about in history books like that. I already knew that I had a many times great uncle who fought with (and betrayed) Napoleon. Now, it seems from the same era there’s another famous relative. I guess I do come from a pretty distinguished and independent line after all.

I’m really reaching the end of my ability to support my son.

I know that sounds horrible, but I don’t know what more I can do. I’ve bent over backwards, tied myself in knots and missed countless hours of work (last 2 times) and now countless hours of time I needed to dedicate to schoolwork. To no avail. Nothing helps, at least not for the long run.

He wants me to bring the whole family to visit. I don’t want to spend anymore time at the hospital than I already do. It just takes too much out of me to take everyone there for a 15 to 20 minute visit in a tiny room that echos with the noise. It makes me feel horrible.

What can I say to him when he says he wants to come home, when he knows I no longer have much say at all in whether he does or not? Residential is just a few weeks away.

I’m currently in the market for a smaller chihuahua. I signed up on a site where breeders list their animals for sale, as part of the sign-up my contact information was given to 5 breeders.

Unfortunately one of those breeders was Tamsyn Surber of superbk9kennels.com. She sent an email to me telling me of the single female she had available but included no additional information.

I inquired about the size, the health of the parents and average lifespan of her dogs, since I want one around 3 pounds from healthy parents with good genetics (long lived, no defects). I even inquired about merle in the bloodline, since that is now something the AKC is being vocal about (and disqualifying from competition). She replied back that the dog in question would be around 4 1/2 pounds. She didn’t know if it had merle or not, she didn’t “think so”. So far, so good right? I replied back that unfortunately I didn’t think her dog would be a good match for me. She replied back in a very nasty manner.

Never in our correspondence did she inquire as to the home conditions, my intention to spend time with the dog. She was only concerned with whether I would pay or not. She didn’t know about the average lifespan because she’d only been breeding them for 3 years. She seemed inexperienced, rude and based on the nastiness most likely a puppy mill. She also breeds several other types of dogs and had LOTS of puppies for sale.

Her emails were all written in caps, with poor grammar and minimal punctuation. Clearly not a concerned business person. I will steer wide & clear of this “business” and strongly encourage others to do so as well.

My son who was diagnosed with PDD and Impulse Control Disorder was hospitalized for the third time last night. He will most likely be going to a residential treatment center after being stabilized. That most likely means out of state, since he’s already been turned down from the 2 in-state centers due to his aggression.

He stabbed his 6 year old brother in the leg, with every intent to hurt him.

I’m very sad. I feel like I’ve gone out of my way to try to help him for the past 7 months (and really his whole life) and it’s all for naught. I just don’t understand what’s so horrible about his life!

Not sure if anyone even checks me anymore, but if you do (or maybe you’ll be new) here’s some updates on me since April 2007.

I closed my studio location after 6 months. I couldn’t make enough to be profitable with the amount of overhead I had. It was a good thing, my landlord was able to release the space within 24 hours so no harm done. Part of the decision to close the studio was due to having to go back to work just to pay my lease.

From the end of April ‘07 to end of February ‘08 I worked for a engineering firm locally. I created the position I held (as a contractor) and developed a whole slew of procedures, manuals, etc. The position opened permanently and I was not hired. There were a variety of factors which influenced the decision to not hire me however missing work due to a special needs* child who was hospitalized several times, being sick [partly due to lack of health insurance I’m sure], having 4 kids and not having a college degree all played their part.

My 2nd oldest has gone through a slew of medical diagnosis. The first was bipolar in December ‘07. He was hospitalized for 2 weeks in December and for almost 2 months starting in February. Since his release he’s been re-diagnosed as Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, this is the umbrella which Asperger’s Syndrome and autism both fall into. He also is now diagnosed with an impulse control disorder. So, surprise, surprise the child that everyone has always wondered about does actually have something wrong with him.

I started the battle for an IEP for him back in April and they should begin the process this fall.

As a result of losing my job and the crappy economy I decided to head back to school for a degree. The timing is perfect since the youngest will be heading to Kindergarten in August. So, I’m enrolled in a Bachelor’s of Art program with a major in Art. I’m still debating on my minor but English, Creative Writing, History and Theater are the top contenders. I’m very interested in theater set design especially, so I don’t know.

I plan to pursue my Masters In Teaching following graduation which will enable me to teach Art in secondary school (junior high or high school). I think this will be a good fit for me and provide a stable, union pay check with a retirement.

I haven’t been knitting much, so I guess you could say I’m pretty much a former knitter. I have a few things on needles around here but haven’t touched them in almost as long as I’ve written here.