Of Course I Hear Voices: I Own Parrots

Yes folks: This weekend Kelsey Officially Becomes a Hammitt. This of course has unofficially on the books for over a year. I met Kelsey on May 30, 2010. My mom and dad had a cookout at the parsonage. My sister had broken the sink, so Mom and I had to use the church's kitchen to make the potato salad. Adam, Amy and Mom were all sharing the CRV. Things were a little crazy, but we were taking the time to get the family together and enjoy the holiday weekend. Kelsey seemed nice, and I looked forward to getting to know her better.A week later she was sitting with us in that maternity suite at Bay Park (they do not use their maternity ward, so they had us staying there after the tornado). She stayed with us all night.  She was there for support when we told Dad about Mom. She was there for us when our lives were a mess. Not just anyone would have stuck around. That alone made her family.  She has been "one of us" in our hearts for over a year, but now Adam and Kelsey are ...

While it does have it's moment's of drama (I'm female...it can't be avoided but I try to keep it in check), my life is really more comedy than anything else. I love to laugh and luckily most of my life has been full of laughter. Ask me anything

I have had my favorite air of jeans for almost 2 years. I bought them on December 26, 2009. My mom knew I needed a new laptop, but couldn't afford to buy me the one I wanted. Instead, she bought me a camera I already owned. That way I could return it and use that money to go towards my laptop. She just wanted me to have an actual gift to open Christmas morning. We went to Best Buy, returned the camera, and she helped me pick out my laptop. Afterwards, she wanted to go to Old Navy. She was going on a mission trip to Mexico as part off her seminary coursework that January and she wanted to pick up a few things. Old Navy had their jeans on sale for $15. Mom and I both bought a pair. I never should have bought the ones I did. They were way too tight (the right size but a slim cut), but I loved them. After wearing them a few times, I knew I was self conscious in them, and for a long time I never wore them. Now, they are too big, but aside from the pair I just bought, they are the only o...

Some lessons learned the mostly the hard way: Simplify as much as you can: It makes life easier Bad things will happen. It will cause drama. How you handle the drama will be a huge piece of how well you recover from it. When your life is a mess, you never know where you will find people and things that help you feel normal again (as evidenced at work today) Just because you want something, even if your reasoning is sound and it is totally understandable, doesn't mean the other people involved have the resources to make it happen.  Cherish the things and people that make you happy People may sometimes surprise you Be observant enough to know when to take things personally and when to just let it go Be honest, but not harsh or hateful. Words..even just texted words (these even more so because they can be looked at and obsessed over time and time again) can hurt break your heart and batter your soul. Sometimes it takes a while to find your place in life...don't give up...

Are we talking new shows or old shows? New Shows: Chuck and Dexter (both don't start until October :-( Booooo.) New shows I am undecided. I have not had a chance to watch my recordings of "new shows" yet (last week was busy...so is this week but eh it happens), but both of those look good. I'm not sure if I am excited about those (I am sort of a TV snob thanks to being a television minor), but those two shows look to be pretty good. I do not really commit to new shows immediately. I usually record the ones I think have potential and if after a few episodes I still like it, I'll keep recording it. Ask me anything

Do I think it is cluttered? Yes Am a initially a huge fan: No Am I angry enough about it to stress about it? No Here is the bottom line: I'm already more of a Twitter fan than a Facebook fan. It isn't like we pay for the service...it's free if anything the developers make money off of *us.* We are users not customers folks. When it comes the the privacy/security side of things I have concerns...but they are all things I hope new security settings will help remedy I'm sure I'll adapt and if it is really that bad I will probably just use it less Uh...it's just Facebook. Remember when we were all addicted to Myspace? It has pretty much gone the way of the Dodo and we are all just fine. Someone else will come up with a bigger/better/shinier networking site and we will move on *if* things get bad enough.

I know...I've already told you why I love fall...but today I really am ready for it. 1) Fall Leaves    2) Halloween 3) Halloween Decorations 4) Good Times With Friends 5) A reason to wear boots again 6) I dress for fall year round...and I am ready for some new cute jackets 7) No more being judged for wearing long sleeves and jeans 8) My office temperature will be "just right" for a couple days 9) The cockatiels should theoretically stop mating 10) It will be crock pot season again

This post is brought to you in part by Mama Kat's Writing Workshop: Twinkie Delight This is a recipe my mom actually stole from her college roommate. It is super simple, but it was always a favorite at any potluck, awards dessert....etc that we took it to. My brother actually used to tell other people it was gross so that there would be some to take home. What you need: 2 boxes of twinkies 2 boxes of instant pudding (any flavor...if I am making it just for me: butterscotch making it for other people I go with half chocolate half vanilla) at least 1 container of cool whip a big bag of your candy of choice (the original recipe is heath bar, but I always use reeses pieces...because I love peanut butter) a cake  pan How you make it: Cut enough twinkies in half long ways Line the bottom of the cake pan with the bottom half of the twinkies. Put pudding on top of the twinkies. Add a light layer of cool whip Put the tops of the twinkies on the cool whip Cover the twin...

This is a busy week for me. I have lots of errands and things on my plate. Knowing this, I made a plan for the week, prepped a healthy dinner, and thought we were good to go. Yesterday: was insane, but stayed on target Today: My cell phone battery has been worrying me for a while  now. It would take a little to long to charge, stop charging in the middle of the night, and the battery would die quicker than I thought it should. At some point last night, it stopped liking wall chargers, and car chargers completely. It says it is charging while connected to the USB cord, but it isn't actually charging. I've done the troubleshooting thing. Nothing has worked. That means instead of what was on the agenda for after work: I have to go to a repair store, get a new battery (although the provider has already comped the battery), and have them see if it is more than a battery issue.  I made an appointment, but still that throws everything off. They have you make appointments an...

I received paperwork from the lawyer today. It is our game plan for the estate proceedings and the trust.  It is hard on a few counts. One, seeing "the Norman Hammitt estate" just makes me sad. Two, between the trust and the estate, I have a lot of work ahead of me. My siblings also got a copy of the letter. I am sure it stressed out my sister as it told us (again) we need to sell the house before the end of the year and we cannot distribute the trust until that is done. Really, the lawyer did my dirty work for me. I was going to send out something saying the same thing tonight. I keep saying I don't know what I am doing, but really I do. I might not have all the steps down, but I know as long as I stay organized and pay attention to the details, we will ride this out just fine. It is a little overwhelming, there are risks, and I am sure I will need a drink or two before this is all over. I have to put myself out there for this. Hiding behind my wall is just going to m...

I'm female, so of course that answer is complicated. Really it depends. I can be ready in 20 minutes if I'm not really motivated to look good. However, it can take more like an hour if I'm trying to impress someone. I get that if the person I'm trying to impress honestly likes me they will think I'm beautiful after a long day of work, a day out and about, or with only 20 minutes of prep. However, I refer you back to my initial statement: I'm female. It is part of our inherent craziness that we obsess about being as perfect as we can. Ask me anything

I ran across this in my phone (while looking for something else. ) today. It isn't the greatest picture I have ever taken, but it is moment I will never forget: it was a perfect moment. It was the day of my dad's funeral. My life was messy. I was sad. I missed and needed my friends. It wasn't a perfect day. That night I came back to the Woodville house and found that one of the white roses from the funeral was perfectly open. I had to get a picture. It was simple, but it made me smile. It was just a brief moment of joy, but it was exactly what I needed.

This morning did not go well for me. I had to go into work early to take care of an issue with one of our students. First, I woke up at 4:00 and couldn't get back to sleep because I was afraid I was going to sleep though my alarm. I didn't, but pretty much anything else that could go wrong did go wrong. By the time I arrived at work, I was pretty tightly wound. Everything felt wrong until the moment where I knew the student I came in early for thanked me for all my help. Yes, the rest of the morning was rough, but I had been successful in helping the student. This was never about me: it was about what doing what was right. I almost let my selfishness ruin a perfectly good encouraging moment: sometimes you have to realize it isn't about you. The reason I love my job is because I get to help our students. It is about them being successful not about my crappy morning. There are certainly times where you need to take care of yourself, but you also need to be able to recogni...

I'm trying to have more fun with my blog. What do you want to know about me? Ask away! http://formspring.me/jhammitt

I can't decide so: 1.) Locked out. (inspired by  Runner Mom ) 2.) Write about a time you wanted  to disappear. (inspired by  Stacey's Mothering Moments ) 3.) An inappropriate time to laugh.  Which one should I do? I will take votes until 5:0 est tomorrow Thanks!

I have been sleeping worse than usual over the past week. I'm not sure why, but even the things that typically make me sleep better haven't worked. When I'm this tired, I am just not myself. I'm cranky I have no attention span I'm easily overwhelmed Crap that should never make me cry, puts me in tears...and then I feel like an idiot for crying at all I just want something to make me feel better... but everything I try just makes me feel worse I'm paranoid that I have done things wrong  Really, I'm no good to anyone like this. Still I have to try. There is too much to do for me to be totally useless. Sitting around feeling totally sorry for my self  isn't going to make anything better. I have decisions to make and to stand by. Even when I am scared, and not totally sure what to do, I need to muster up some focus and listen to my instincts.