lunalovegoddess | Recent Entries

A lot has happened in my life since I last posted on Livejournal.

The major events include my daughter Bryanna going off to college. She has maintained an impressive GPA for all four semesters thus far. She's a Dean's Scholar, and that includes a scholarship. Very proud of her for many reasons, not just her grades; she was very shy and has really found her voice there. She's very independent, and although I do get misty-eyed when we send her off after breaks, I'm extremely happy for her.

Our other daughter Alice will be finishing up high school next year. I began homeschooling in Fall 2015 and it mostly is working out. Sometimes we don't feel like working, so we take a day off from studies, but for the most part, as long as I've covered most of the textbooks, I'm satisfied. The downside is that she doesn't get to see her friends often, but we are trying to change that. Also, we have been working on getting her name changed legally, which should go through this week.

My husband got hired by a really good company. He likes his job as a concierge, and, while we are still below the poverty line, we qualified for assistance. It turned out that there had been a glitch of sorts preventing our family from being eligible- I was inaccurately listed as having been incarcerated, thus disqualifying us for assistance. Well, eventually I got that straightened out, and now we are doing much better.

My fiction has been stalled for the moment. I went through a bit of depression this winter and really haven't worked on my novel(s). I still know where the story is going. I have notebooks filled with backstory, plot, and scenes, ready to be copied onto my computer. I have a new computer with better stats, so I can play the Sims 2 without lag. Eventually, I will continue the novels but I have a lot on my plate right now.

I stopped working, partly to teach at home but mainly due to my disability. I still miss working with dogs but the commute was rough.

And, last week we returned from a much-needed vacation. Atlanta-New Orleans-Washington DC. So much walking! Sunburnt and exhausted, but definitely better in spirit. Next time we plan a road trip, hopefully Bryanna will be able to come with us.

Giving Dreamwidth a try. Will be writing up Road Trip shortly.

Current Mood: accomplished

Switching over to Dreamwidth. I realized that I haven't posted here since July 2015, so there really is no reason to keep this Livejournal going.

As the TOS for Livejournal have changed, I'm in the process of moving my journal over to Dreamwidth. Just waiting on my entries to be imported from one site to the other. Hard to believe that I had that account for 10 years.

Watch this space...

My husband's new job puts us just over the poverty guideline, which means we no longer qualify for food stamps or medicaid. Housing covers $100 of the rent right now, before calculating the loss of benefits, so the amount we pay may change. I enrolled in a new health plan for folks in transition like us; we'll pay $93 a month for medical and dental, plus whatever copays. It's not bad, per se- it will be cheaper than the plans his company gave us info on. However, the downside is the number of prescriptions we are on, as the plan goes by tiered levels. Insulin, of course, will be the big issue. Vision care isn't covered by this plan, so I was told I'd have to find a vision plan on my own. Thank goodness I finally got my hearing aids today, although I still need to buy hearing aid batteries a few times a month.

I thought that things would get better for us with his new job, that we would finally pull ahead. However, it seems like we will be digging ourselves deeper in debt, and there are so many minor expenses cropping up that I'm getting stressed out over. The ironic thing? If I quit my job, a difference of a few hundred dollars would put us back under the poverty guidelines and we'd qualify for medicaid and food stamps. His insulin would be covered by insurance, without copay. As things stand, one daughter starts college this fall. When she graduates, there will be student loans to consider (I resisted the idea of taking out a loan, but there was no other way given the time frame.) Pretty much, we need to curb our spending, which is difficult when his job requires traveling a lot, Then, come November, he will be temporarily "laid-off" for two months since TruGreen won't need sales reps until Jan.

Overall, I am trying to stay positive. This position pays better than any job he's had, yet our expenses also have increased. So wish me luck trying to balance things.

Current Mood: anxious
Current Music: Bills, Bills, Bills

My daughter graduates tomorrow at 4pm. I want to be happy and supportive, but right now I am just plain tired and have to deep-clean. Because my mom was going to a hotel, I wasn't worried about cleaning, because my husband was going to pick her up in the morning, bring her to our place until graduation, then going to dinner and drop her off at the hotel/motel. However, due to her habit of procrastination and inability to plan ("I don't like to plan things, we'll just work something out."), even though I ended up giving her the information two weeks ago, she didn't check with relatives about getting a ride back up north (my husband would not be available to drive her back). So he told me that if she just waits for him to get out of work, he would drive her home (north of Boston).
Even better, when I called today to find out which one she was staying at, it turned out that she never called any of the hotels on the list. I guess she expected me to book and pay for the room, but she didn't ask me to. So, the day before a major event, I spend the entire morning trying to find a motel or B&B, something under $100. Actually found two rooms available but she lost her chance because she didn't call them right away. She was appalled that the cheap one ($72 per night) didn't offer breakfast, that she would have to take a short bus ride up the highway to the nearest restaurant because there is no sidewalk. Or just stay on the bus to my place, which I'd offered to meet her and carry her stuff, but nope. The other option was the Holiday Inn, ($142 per night, which is already out of her price range but I'd have to help pay for) which is not even on my bus route, so if my husband is at work, she would have no way to get to my place or the commuter rail station.
So at this point, all she can do is spend the night here and we drive her back Sat. night, but OH, NO, that just won't do. She wants to leave when she wants to leave, but doesn't have a set time to go, doesn't want to take the 3hrs or more of public transportation back with her bad back, and doesn't want to stay at our place. Unless my aunt drives to the graduation and brings her back to the south shore for the night, which defeats the purpose of having my husband pick her up at 8am tomorrow. And she doesn't want my aunt to drive her down because my aunt gets lost.

My brain hurts.

I haven't updated in quite some time, and the last few posts have been rushed. Too much Facebook time, to be honest. But I've decided to start updating fics and original stories and to make them easier to find. My archived stuff here: http://luna-s-dreams.livejournal.com/
Partly due to a rather traumatic and depressing few years, plus fluctuating health, I just haven't been able to write much. And for a while, my focus was on trying to find a job and keep it. Now I have that, and time to write. I felt freer and more inspired on Livejournal, where I met most of my online friends. Because I used to actually enjoy writing and many other creative pursuits, I've decided to polish off a few of my unfinished fanfics for practice. They will be tagged #AU for alternate universe or alternate timeline, to reflect changes in the actual series they were inspired by. (In the Arms of an Angel, for example, was written before the last two Harry Potter books came out, so there are a few major deviances from the original series.) Anyway, just wanted to put that out there.

Current Mood: determined
Current Location: United States, Rhode Island, Woonsocket
Current Music: Here Comes the Sun- the Beatles

Since I haven't heard back from anyone about a second part-time job yet, I think I should ask if the sanctuary needs more volunteer help during the week, even if it is helping Marianne with the yard sale items. I just have to get out of the apartment each morning, at least for a little while, or else I'll:
A) go insane
B) go to sleep
C) continue to be depressed and feel lazy
or D) become addicted to the Sims2 (if it hasn't happened already, it's a miracle. LOL)

My dizziness really limits how many hours I can work and how far I can travel, and since I do not have a disabled bus pass or a license, I will have to buy 10-ride tickets or a monthly pass come December 1st, thanks to them no longer being sold at local supermarkets. (Yeah, the new Medicaid/RiteCare program now requires that you call 7 days in advance for tickets and provide date, time, and proof of doctor's appts, so I cannot use them for work and the kids cannot use them for school anymore.) The thing is, working the 6:30am shift actually helped me with my depression and other symptoms. I had stability and a purpose. Plus, it ensured that I'd be home for the kids and able to attend Aidan's track meets. Maybe 7-8 hr shifts, 6 days per week are too much for me, but with the busy season over, being cut back to 2 night shifts just isn't working for me. I had more motivation last winter to prove that I had earned this job and that I could be an asset, which I am... when I'm not praying to the porcelain god. My first goal is to ask if he can fit me in 4 days a week which would give me a day off for appointments; my second goal is to get some sort of confirmation/diagnosis of my Meniere's so that I can get the reduced fare pass and apply for SSDI. My boss and coworkers have been pretty understanding about my condition, since they know when I'm there, I'm a workhorse that keeps things running smoothly and keeps my coworkers happy. I am good at this! My illness forced me to rely more on visual cues from the dogs and be calmer. The pens are not really a full-time option; although I can cover breaks in the medium-sized pen or a few hours in the little dog pen, my fluctuating hearing loss and tinnitus drowns out growls. It is a safety issue.
The kennels are my domain: I'm Mistress of the Hounds. LOL

Found out Sat that I am not scheduled until Fri and Sat, which is quite a drastic change from working 5-6 days a week. I asked for Tues. off for appointment, and then found this out. Don't know if this is going to be my new schedule for a while. Trying not to get paranoid about this; I mean, it could be temporary but I need consistent hours in order to pay bills, you know? So for right now, I'm just going to look at it as much-needed downtime and focus on cleaning and the kids. But if the boss is thinking of letting me go, I'm going to need to start looking for a job closer to home. Considering that staff has been quitting lately, it seems like odd timing to reduce my hours.

As for the kids, Aidan is doing better with more frequent therapy, even if it means home visits. She joined the boys' cross-country track team and signed up for chorus and band. Aidan and Bryanna were in the same chorus class. However, Aidan's schedule got flipped upside-down the second day of school. I was told that the reason was that Aidan was the only boy in that class, so the instructor wanted to place him in a mixed class. Rearranging the schedule meant that the kids that were bullying Aidan would now be in the same classes, as well, and she would not be able to take theater, either. Since this screwed up the rest of her schedule, we went down to the guidance office to straighten it out, and requested the old schedule back. I'd have fought for Aidan to remain in chorus, except that both kids realized it met in the evenings and decided to drop it. It was a well thought-out decision on both of their parts. They would have had to walk 2mi home and back again, and since cross-country meets daily, it would be too much for Aidan starting out. On the plus side, this means that Aidan can take guitar and Intro to Design, which makes her happier. And we found that the guidance counselor was very cool about transgender students and we have an ally on the faculty.

Bryanna is psyched about her schedule; she has Intro to Criminal Justice, Digital Media, Art and a music production class. Her classes this year have a definite emphasis on arts and entertainment. I thought she wanted to drop chrous because of her shyness, but that was only a small part of her decision. It's her senior year, and she wants to spend time pursuing what she is passionate about instead of just doing something that might be fun. Dropping chorus will free her up to become the Digital Media teaching assistant, which she wants more than chorus, anyway, so she isn't torn up about it. She's also psyched about the camera we bought her for her birthday; Aidan gave her the camera case and SD card.

Had a good weekend, kids had a sleepover. Neon nails, fun times.

Because of the holiday, I have a little bit more income to work with. Which is a good thing, since, thanks to Bryan's ex-boss, we were unable to get the required termination of employment notice in order to continue receiving food stamps. Six months of trying to get him to cooperate. I'm trying to remain calm about this, but I had expected the recertification to go smoothly. My husband started working part-time, and I work per-diem. Income-wise, we are staggering out our paychecks. I worked two days for which I got paid last week, then a full week paid yesterday. He was paid for two days yesterday, and will get paid for a full week Friday. (I wasn't scheduled this week, so no pay for me Friday.) We will squeak by for July, but August will be tough without health insurance, food stamps, and my bus pass.
I'm not a litigious person, but I think it may be a good idea to consult legal services and hope to find pro bono help. Lost wages, not providing tax forms or termination notice, financial hardship, loss of benefits, and possible loss of driver's license due to his boss's actions (or would it be inaction?) We never received any verification of the cost of repairs when he brought our car in for service, the cost which was deducted from Bryan's pay. The only contact since his job ended were a few phone calls about three MA DOT fines that were incurred by the boss while our car was in his hands.
Also, in car-related news, we have to pay some of the excise tax by the 26th.

*deep breath* Meeting with Petco managers today after working the bake sale, so I hope that I make a good first impression. I know that once I can demonstrate my good work ethic and customer service skills that they will see that I would be an asset to their team. I just need to keep my responses brief and relevant, you know? Avoid rambling and focus on my strengths as a team player and quick study. I hope to apply what I've learned from previous interviews and how to best present myself to potential employers. Wish me employment!

I will update journal soon with recent events; there has just so much to process right now, so many things that have happened since last I wrote here.

So far, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is proving to be my favorite book ever. Consider, if you will, the facts that I read at least a hundred books per year and that I have a wide taste in books, and you will "get" that this isn't an exaggeration. I identify only too well with the main character and much of what he writes could have been lifted from the pages of my own journals. My comments below:

Once upon a time, there lived a little girl who loved the story of Rapunzel, who sang like Crystal Gayle and wove flowers into her long hair. She believed in happily ever after and a noble prince who would whisk her off to a land far away. She dreamed of taming unicorns, went on adventures in her mind through the magic of literacy, danced in the rain, sang in the street and caught fireflies in jars and snowflakes on her tongue. Nature's child, the Fool gleefully taking leaps of faith and chasing the morning...
She grew up, as children tend to do, and sometimes the world's lessons were harsh to bear. The Red Bull chased the unicorns into the sea, and Prince Charming turned out to be a beast in disguise. Hair shorn, ankles weak, she cried for her lost innocence... but somewhere deep inside, she kept a firefly alive in a jar and still found her Voice. Her ballet shoes may be scuffed, their ribbons frayed at the ends, and her knight's armor somewhat tarnished- but all in all, she's gotten a great deal of use out of them. Because sometimes the fair maiden must become her own prince-in-disguise, and sometimes, in a world devoid of magick, you must make your own...

Write your own fairytales...
~BrendaLee~

Originally posted by

lunalovegoddess at See you, space cowboy...

My friend Hoshi committed suicide yesterday morning. I'm still reeling from the shock of it, although, like me, he has had a long battle with depression. He leaves behind two young children, a wife, her family and friends.

The reason that I am posting this here is that I would like to take up a collection for them. No pressure to donate, but if you are able and would like to, I will be selling origami lotus blossoms to help raise funds for his family. If your life has been touched by depression or suicide, please donate $1 and I will send you a blossom. You can send to my paypal: brendaleeellis724@hotmail.com or message me to make other arrangements.

Update from my friends: "Here's the deal, the funeral home has given us until Monday at 10 to come up with the 1850 for Seng Takanouchi's funeral. If we don't he will be directly.cremated with no service.and no one will be able to see him, so if you want to make a donation it has to be by Monday 8am. Soooooooooooo far we have 89 dollars"

"If anyone can donate any amount of money to help give Seng Takanouchi a proper funeral please help. We need 1850 exactly to do a service followed by cremation which is what he wanted. Anything will help..."

Current Mood: melancholy

My Geisha Girl made the cover of the calendar. :)
She's seriously come a long way and it was so awesome to see the look on my coworker's face when she visited. On Sunday, I will be manning the dog items at the Holiday Bazaar, the proceeds of which go toward caring for the shelter cats.

My husband's Examiner article made it onto Huffington Post and MSN.com asked if they could share it as well!
Kids Triathlon

As many of you know, my husband and I have been writing for Examiner.com. Currently, I am the Providence area Animal Rescue Examiner, and Bryan is the New England Patriots Examiner, Science and Space Examiner, and the Toys, Games and Gear Examiner. (The latter two positions are national, while the former two are regional.) The cool thing is that this weekend he was able to go on location for the first time as media. Wicked awesome, especially as it was to cover Zoltan Mesko and other Pats players who participated in the Kids Trialthlon.

Now, this is a pretty big thing to begin with, but the added bonus was that he was able to write about a really sweet example of brotherly love, which many of you may enjoy reading about... So here it is:

Brothers inspire, amaze at New England Kids Triathlon

And remember, clicking "like" on our articles, videos, slideshows, etc means more money for sausages and toboggans. (^_^)

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: We Are the Champions- Queen

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lunalovegoddess

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Lunalovegoddess:

A Wit Beyond Measure...

Recent Entries

Life, The Universe, and Everything

Fresh start

For anyone reading this...

Moved from Livejournal

status is not quo

Graduation

Breaking through writer's block

Work

back to school update

got my own computer!

work and life

Interview

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Just leave me your stardust to remember you by...

Fairytales

See you, space cowboy...

See you, space cowboy...

"If anyone can donate any amount of money to help give Seng Takanouchi a proper funeral please help. We need 1850 exactly to do a service followed by cremation which is what he wanted. Anything will help..."

Meet Geisha

(no subject)

New England Kids Triathlon 2012, and other news links