Secular Confessions

[demigraf]

... and what is "the road that fell into the ocean"?

That's this one: http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isc...20&bih=416#p=0

It's the coastal road very near our house in Los Angeles. The road slid into the Pacific in September after some big earthquakes. It's not without precedent in the area, but happens only maybe once every 50 yrs, so it's a big deal. The road was part of our daily routine up 'til we moved, so it was sad to see it, now all fenced off and still crumbling away.

[missychrissy]

L, I'm glad you had a good night out with your dh. Don't be like me & Rich. Take time to go out with your dh sometimes. Your kids won't mind

Jennifer, I hope Cosmo's eye isn't anything serious.

Mandy, as always. I do home the dreams are an indicator of pregnancy I too have been bummed when having to buy clothes a larger size, but sometimes it's the actual clothes and not that you've changed. I still wore my size 6's when I had to buy 9's this Christmas. My clothes all range from 5-9. It depends on the cut I think. It still sucks though and I won't shop at TJ Maxx any more for clothes because of it. I even tried on the same brand 6 and they were too small from TJ Maxx...even though that brand size 6 that I'd bought from another store (Sears? JC Penney?) fit me. They just like to mess with out minds.

I don't know how long it will last, but I deactivated my facebook account.

[AbbeysMom]

Glad you had a good date night Lydia! I'm sure your company without kiddos helped your DH out of his funk too.

[AbbeysMom]

That's this one: http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isc...20&bih=416#p=0

It's the coastal road very near our house in Los Angeles. The road slid into the Pacific in September after some big earthquakes. It's not without precedent in the area, but happens only maybe once every 50 yrs, so it's a big deal. The road was part of our daily routine up 'til we moved, so it was sad to see it, now all fenced off and still crumbling away.

Was anyone on the road when it happened? I know CA is beautiful, but stuff like this scares the pants off me and makes me wonder how people live on a fault line.

I don't know how long it will last, but I deactivated my facebook account.

I deactivated my account sometime last year. I don't miss it. I call myself an early adopter of unfacebooking.

---
Bridget, your scabies story is bringing up all kinds of bad memories of fleas in our house. It mad me feel manic with the need to clean too, so I hope the treatment gets them gone so you never have to think about it again.

I have a good friend here who had a bird die in her chimney a few weeks back, in a hard to reach crevice. It resulted in giant flesh-eating files infesting her house. If you killed them by swatting them they usually just became food for the other flies, making the problem worse. After many manic cleaning episodes and a chimney guy getting rid of the stench of death, all was better, but for awhile she couldn't stomach even being inside her house or eating food there.

For whatever reason since that happened and thinking about the flea problem we had from last year, I started thinking about how much more tolerant I was when I was younger. I didn't have knowledge or anxiety about things like pesticides, and didn't keep things very clean either. Bugs were annoying, but I didn't have the knowledge (or access to magnified images on google) to think of them as the disease-spreading blood-sucking monsters they are. Like one time there was a good maggot infestation in the back of one of our pickup trucks, and I was totally curious and wanted to look at them. I kind of miss that ignorance I had. My mom was horrified, of course, and said she couldn't decide whether she should pour straight bleach in the bed or set it on fire (she choose bleach).

Also, I'm seriously itchy just sitting here and typing this.

[Suja]

I don't know how long it will last, but I deactivated my facebook account.

RUH-ROH!

http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2012/05/27

[missychrissy]

I don't have any intention of keeping mine inactive forever. I just got tired of people that I'm not close to asking me about what's going on with Rich & I. The people that need to know, know. Period.

[demigraf]

LOL about the chimney story. At least there's comedy in the tragedy.

Was anyone on the road when it happened? I know CA is beautiful, but stuff like this scares the pants off me and makes me wonder how people live on a fault line.

No, thankfully nobody was hurt. It started off as a 2 foot ravine in the road, so it was already cordoned off by the time everything started crumbling away. It does take a lot of time for that much earth to move. So it didn't happen like an avalanche into the sea. The road probably descended a few inches per minute. I'm pretty sure even if someone would have been standing on that very spot, there would have been time to get out. Today, it's fenced off because the biggest danger seems to be from falling down the cliff it created.

I'm mad at myself because I got out of bed today at 6:45a, thinking I had to lead a meeting at 7. I'd forgotten someone asked me to move it to 7:30 am. So I opened up the conference line, it's crickets, and only then do I realize I could have slept another half hour. That, of course, is after I bumped into walls and spilled hot tea trying to get ready for the meeting. Urgggh!

I wish it were still the weekend. We had a really nice time. We had a group of friends in L.A. and we all left the area at the same time around 3 yrs ago. People dispersed around the globe, literally. Some moved to Hong Kong. Some bought a farm on the Big Island. Some went to New York. So it all worked out that they were going to be back in L.A. for the weekend, which is why we decided to go down to "check on our house" down there. It was great. There is a lot of love in the room when everyone gets together.

I will get one more long weekend this weekend. Remember the trip I "earned" when DH lost the keys to our rental car in Puerto Rico and I lost 7 hrs driving to & from San Juan? I'll be using it to relax in the desert near Joshua Tree, using my parents' shmancy timeshare. Some old roommates who now live in San Diego will come up for some of it. One of the moms from Molly's & my due date room will be there also for a librarian's convention, so we're going to spend a day hiking in Joshua Tree. And the rest of the time, I'll be practicing my savasana by the pool, I suppose.

Chrissy, why'd you un-FB. Are you mad about their stock price dropping?

Jennifer, I hope Cosmo's ok.

Mandy, how are you feeling today?

[Smplyme89]

Ladies! Hope everybody had a good weekend. I am going to try to get caught up today, but we've been fairly steady so I might not get to jump back in until tomorrow!

Chrissy I am sad you de-activated your account, I loved your posts. Always made me laugh I have very few people whose streams show up on my wall these days (people tend to annoy me) and I noticed something missing this morning.....

[AmeriBrit]

I miss you on facebook, too, Chrissy!

[Bridget]

I see scabies everywhere I look. I almost didn't drop Savana off at school this morning because the girl getting out of the car in front of us had scabs all over the backs of her legs. Could have been anything I suppose. I'm really stressed.

I bet the fb break will be nice for you, Chrissy. I totally understand not wanting to explain yourself to a bunchy of random people!

[daylilies]

Chrissy, how am I going to talk to you if I don't come here and you don't come to facebook? Are you coming back to fb eventually?

[missychrissy]

Chrissy, how am I going to talk to you if I don't come here and you don't come to facebook? Are you coming back to fb eventually?

Yes, I will. When I feel like I have the energy to avoid nosy questions. Right now it's easier to just be shut down than deal with it.

And thanks for the luv guys. I have to admit, sometimes I've felt pretty invisible on FB. Usually when I'm already feeling dark and depressed anyway.

[Gwenn]

I miss you on fb too, Chrissy. But good for you for taking some time to yourself and avoiding the unwanted questions. Hope to see you back there when you're ready.

Myles, I'm not sleeping well these days. A co-worker asked me out to lunch today with a group from work, which I agreed to do because I like them, but right now lunch out is the last thing I want to do. I've still got a couple of hours. Hopefully I'll feel more friendly by then.

[Ky'sMom]

Saying Hi after a long weekend!

We went to AR to visit DH's grandma and had a great time. Elle got to play in a little pool with her girl cousins who adore her and call her "Ellie" and talk to her like she is a baby and she doesn't even get mad and tell them not to talk to her like that. She doesn't like it when people talk to her like a baby usually, but she loves her big girl cousins, they are 11 and 6. I didn't think to bring her swim suit so she played in her panties outside in the pool and oddly enough I thought of APA and how some people probably would think I was inviting child molesters to do something to her because she only had on undies. But she had a great time and got about 3 shades darker.

Ky's last baseball game was on Friday so we went there and started our road trip immediately afterwards. We didn't get to AR until 4am so I was kind of tired the whole time, but enjoyed seeing our grandma again and making sure she was doing okay since FILs death.

It has been hot hot HOT here! I am jealous of your jackets on the west coast. It was 95-96 pretty much the whole weekend so I am getting bummed that summer is here.

Was SCUBJIA-ing and wanted to say how cute and cool Nero looked on his ramp too Mandy!! He is a beautiful dog. I also like it when kids and dogs look cool. I narrate their coolness IRL, DH thinks I'm a nut when I do it and he usually is cracking up laughing. I narrate our dog Mr. Hyde the most because he is a funny dog who tries to look cool a lot but is just a silly guy. He came with us to Arkansas and got along really well with grandma's three dogs and the girl cousin's dog Buddy, even when Buddy kept trying to hump Mr. Hyde, he just ran away.

So good to hear you and your DH had a great date night L. I hope you can do it again!

Jen, I hope that Cosmo's eye is okay. Are you going to have to take her back to the vet in the Twin Cities if it looks worse? I hope it clears up so you don't have to.

Sorry about your car troubles Molly. I hate getting stranded places due to car woes. Ugh... Thanks for thinking of me though!

Ash, I thought of you when we were in Arkansas. So glad to hear you are having had some good summer weather.

Chrissy, I will also miss you on FB. I don't post much on FB but I do keep up with you ladies and I also like reading your statuses. Too bad people can't mind their own business. I would be tempted to respond to inquiries about your relationship with "nunya." DH's favorite answer to anything you ask about him "nunya business, I'm minding mine go take care of yours."

Erin

[dana_renay]

Katy - I'm sorry for the terrible situation, but glad your DH got through the funeral and made it home so you can comfort him. Hopefully, you'll get some alone time to work on all your projects soon!

I'm going to see my elderly great aunt today who is in a the residential home for dementia cases. I have been trying to find somewhere up near us that can take her but with no luck. It's awful how lonely she must be, so I am trying to think of creative ways to improve her quality of life. I took out an ad on Craigslist looking for someone local who speaks her language to visit her 2 hrs a week and give her special attention. I also contacted 2 local churches in the same area to see if they could refer someone. Luckily, there's a high concentration of our people in the same town as her facility. Can anyone think of other things I can do to make her life nicer? She sleeps all day and is up all night. I suppose I could call her more often than I do, seeing as how I rise early for meetings in far off time zones all the time anyway.

I recently read or heard (NPR?) about the positive effects of listening to the music of the person's youth for people with dementia. Maybe you could get her some recordings of music in her language/from her younger days.

FML!

http://americanpregnancy.org/forums/...2-Scabies-wwyd

Oh, and also I went to the dr on friday because that spot on my breast that I assumed was impetigo from Sawyer wasn't getting any better. She says it is most definitely not impetigo and she has no idea what it is. She told my to use hydrocortisone cream for 2 wks and if it's not gone or going away I have to come back in and explore the possiblity of inflammatory breast cancer.

Dae sometimes grabs, scratches and pulls in her eagerness for the boob. I have really thin, sensitive skin across the top of my breast and I look like I have some terrible skin condition in the areas her little fingernails have gouged. Hugs. If you're seeing a primary care doc, you might consider escalating to a dermatologist before you start freaking out too much. There are tons of skin conditions, rashes, infections, funguses and so forth. Hydrocortisone will make some of them worse. IBC seems like a huge leap, even given the family history.

I felt very sorry for myself and Abbey too, but not at all sorry for DH, since he's the one who said we should keep fixing my car because "what else could go wrong with it?", lol.

Good luck car shopping! It is almost always cheaper to keep an old car running, but it's mentally exhausting to constantly worry about what's going to break next. Besides, with the new baby coming, you don't need any hassles. I hope you find something you love for a great price!

[demigraf]

Good idea for my great-aunt, Dana. Thanks!

Bridget, whenever you get the chance, could you please point me to some links that you thought were informative about going gluten free? I'm developing a curiosity about it. Thanks in advance!

[Bridget]

I will get that to you, Miles!
The monkey backpack leash arrived today, along with the other little things. You are so kind. I so needed a smile and that you gave me.

[demigraf]

Myles, I'm not sleeping well these days. A co-worker asked me out to lunch today with a group from work, which I agreed to do because I like them, but right now lunch out is the last thing I want to do. I've still got a couple of hours. Hopefully I'll feel more friendly by then.

I hope you either felt up for it by the time lunch rolled around or your friend persuaded you to go out anyway, and gave you a much-deserved pick-me-up!

I will get that to you, Miles!
The monkey backpack leash arrived today, along with the other little things. You are so kind. I so needed a smile and that you gave me.

Hooray for that.

[AmeriBrit]

It has been hot hot HOT here! I am jealous of your jackets on the west coast. It was 95-96 pretty much the whole weekend so I am getting bummed that summer is here.
................
Ash, I thought of you when we were in Arkansas. So glad to hear you are having had some good summer weather.
Erin

Aw, thanks for thinking of me, Erin! I know they've been having very hot weather in AR for quite some time now. Your being bummed about summer reminds me of my FIL; he's allergic to the sun, so summer-time is miserable for him. The past few days, he's been sitting there in the shade near the house in his trousers and long-sleeved shirts with a cap on wishing the sun away! I feel sorry for him, but he better not make the sun go away!

We just got back from watching The Dictator. There was a a part at the end of it that made me laugh when the dictator guy is saying how good it would be if America had a dictator so that the top 1% could have all the wealth and the poor could go without and you could bail out all the rich guys when they made big mistakes and steal elections if you wanted to. LOL. It was a typical Sacha Baron-Cohen movie, though, and mostly just very crude, but I laughed at a few parts. I would have rather gone to see MIB 3.

[missychrissy]

I'd love to see MIB3! Unfortunately, going to the movies is not going to be happening for me very much. :/ Oh well.

I think I decided to keep my Cabrio after all. It's summer and I love driving it. Plus, it takes 1/2 the gas that my Suzuki SUV does. I don't owe any money on it and once we get the adjustment figured out on the linkage thing, I'll have both reverse and 5th gear I can (and have) drive it without reverse. I have to be careful about how I park but the car is light enough for me to push it by myself if I have to. It's only 40 or so a month for the insurance for it, so why not? That'll be my one luxury I guess. Actually, what I save in gas pays for that insurance premium and then some.

Jesi's home with Rich At least until next Monday. She was camping on state land with friends, and they all had other plans for a few days. Someone was supposed to come stay with her tonight, but when she didn't show Jesi called her and she finally answered and said she wouldn't be coming. The poor girl called us in tears at about 8:30 pm. I'm not saying a word to her. She knows she can come home and I will mention it, but she's planning on returning Monday when the rest of the scalawags return. I think it's a lesson she's going to have to learn on her own. I'll keep getting her as often as I need to. She is, after all, just 17. I'm not going to leave her in the woods 45 miles away from home all alone. I don't care what stunts she's pulled lately.

[missychrissy]

Oh-and I have to say the huge, BEAMING smile and arms wide open for a gigantic hug from Conner was a tear jerker for Mama. Jesi even said it made her week to see how happy he was to see her. That boy that girl.

[Gwenn]

That's so sweet about Jesi and Conner.

Chrissy, I have a favor to ask you (don't get too excited). DH is looking at the possibility of a job in NY (Hudson Valley area, near West Point) and they basically told him that "the door was always open." It wouldn't be a high-paying job, but with him out of work something is better than nothing, as far as I am concerned. So, the question is whether I could find something there that would pay enough more than what I currently earn to cover the difference in cost of living (I may earn crap, but AZ is one of the cheaper places to live). What is really worrying me is that, unless I worked in a setting that was 100% medically oriented, I would need to have something called the Teacher of Students with Speech and Language Disorders certification, which is different than the NYS SLP license. It actually requires less schooling (you can get an initial license with just a Bachelor's degree) but it does require courses in education which I don't have (my SLP classes were all offered through the College of Science - I have no coursework from the College of Education beyond an Intro to Education class I took way back when I was a Music Education major). Looks like I can get the NYS SLP license based on reciprocity from my AZ SLP license. I can't seem to find a clear answer about whether I could use a NYS SLP license to satisfy the requirements for the TSSLD, or what I would need to do/take/spend in addition to that. Do you have any ability to find that out locally? At this point I don't know if I could even get certified without spending a boatload of money, which would be insane for me to do in order for DH to get a minimum wage job which would require a cross-country move.

[missychrissy]

I found a post on this board http://speechpathology.livejournal.com/409488.html

NY requires the TSSLD certificate, it is actually a teacher's license, to work with pre-school and school-age children. NY makes it easy to obtain for those who complete the program here cause they figure the SLP program is so rigorous, so they only require 4 extra classes, a student teaching externship, and passing scores on the LAST and ATS-W (which are teaching exams) to be licensed as a teacher. Unfortunately, there is no way around the TSSLD. However, since it is a teaching license, if you get a teaching license from another state then you can transfer it to NY, as long as you meet all the requirements. OR, the website says that once you have your NYS SLP license, all you need to do is take a few workshops, and they'll grant you the TSSLD. Honestly, I don't know if it's that simple. My friends and I have had contact with that office regarding questions and issues that have arisen and they never give us a clear response. I have attached the link that explains the different pathways to obtain the TSSLD. Scroll down to the last option. You can try emailing them but it will take a month or more for them to get back to you with a vague and useless response lol.

http://eservices.nysed.gov/teach/cer...irementHelp.do

Enter the following info from the drop down boxes to access the requirememnts:

Select Your Certificate Title
Select an Area of Interest
- Classroom Teacher

Select a Subject Area
- Speech and Language Disabilities

Select a Grade Level
- Pre-K through 12 All Grades

Select a Title
- Speech and Language Disabilities


Select a Type of Certificate
Initial Certificate
Good Luck!

http://eservices.nysed.gov/teach/cer...irementHelp.do

There does seem to be a Pathway Interstate Reciprocity program which I assume is meant for people transferring in from out of state. It sounds like it can be a real pain in the butt dealing with the NYS BOE, which doesn't surprise me. I do know historically when I found the right person to email with my questions, they're always pretty responsive-like answering questions within 24 hours.

[missychrissy]

Not sure if this is helpful?

http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/slpa/speechlic.htm

Here's some NYS BOE contact info I was able to find. I'd try to get a live person from there to help you:

To provide speech services in a public school in New York State, "Teacher Certification" is the appropriate credential. For information regarding teacher certification, contact the Office of Teaching Initiatives at 518-474-3901.

Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Unit: opunit3@mail.nysed.gov , phone: 518-474-3817 ext. 270, fax: 518-402-5354.

A few other contact resources are here: http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/slpa/sp...tact.htm#pract

1. If I have additional questions, where can I find more information? Answer: You can write to:
   The New York State Board for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
   89 Washington Avenue
   Albany, New York 12234-1000
   Or call 518-474-3817 ext. 100, fax 518-486-4846, or e-mail speechbd@mail.nysed.gov.

If it were me, I'd write/call them all until I found someone that could answer my questions.

[missychrissy]

Welcome to NY!

If you move from Tucson, AZ to Dutchess County, NY....
Groceries will cost:
14%more


Housing will cost:
56%more


Utilities will cost:
49%more


Transportation will cost:
8%more


Healthcare will cost:
11%more

[Smplyme89]

Oh-and I have to say the huge, BEAMING smile and arms wide open for a gigantic hug from Conner was a tear jerker for Mama. Jesi even said it made her week to see how happy he was to see her. That boy that girl.

That is so sweet

Jesi will learn who she can/cannot trust. It will take some time (she is afterall a stubborn teeanger) but it will get through

[Bridget]

Erin! I wish you were here. I am going to try to cut a chicken up into pieces before I cook it and I'm a little mortified My uncle was here this weekend and he made jerk chicken on the grill that was so dang good our family devoured it. Even Kai and Savana loved it and they are so picky about meat.

ETA: My post got cut short due to a Savana can't find her shoes crisis. She is going to the zoo today with her class. Finally, a field trip I couldn't think of a reason to keep her home from lol.

Chrissy, that story about Conner and Jess really warms my heart. I hope someday soon she will realize that no one loves you like your family love you.

I dare say I may have beat these dam mites. No one has any new bites since monday. Mine are reacting insanely to the medicine. Apparently as the mites die under your skin (Did I say SHUDDER), it causes a reaction. Every night after the kids go to bed I clean the entire upstairs with bleach solution. As soon as we wake up, all bedding (we're all sleeping in my bed which has a plastic cover on it) goes straight into the washing machine. Yesterday I had someone come and clean the daycare carpets and when I told him what we were dealing with he actually suggested an insecticide they use specifically for these things. He assured me that he's spray it, leave it sit, then extract it with hot water so that it would not pose any danger, leave any residue.

Nothing rips away that hippy badge like a case of scabies I tell you. My hands are raw from using so much bleach.

[dana_renay]

I don't understand the hate on bleach. Yes, it must be used sensibly and not mixed with other chemicals, but when it dries, it only leaves behind salt. And nothing else is as effective at killing germs. Maybe it shouldn't be a daily cleaner, but when you really need to disinfect, bleach is where it's at!

[Bridget]

I don't hate bleach. I don't really feel one way or another about it. I just have always chosen to use gentler methods of cleaning. Bleach is hard on my skin and it makes me cough.

[Gwenn]

Chrissy, thanks for that information. I didn't see the phone number and email, so that is very helpful. I did read the comments on the livejournal site, which were all pretty negative with regard to getting the certification from out of state. The link to the Interstate Reciprocity Pathway looks like I would still need to do a bunch of stuff. Basically, I need:

Education - Bachelors Degree (I have this)
Valid Level 2 or Higher Cert AND 3 yrs exp, OR completion of approved program - Speech And Language Disabilities (I have a Bachelor's and Master's in Speech and Hearing - assuming that counts?)
New York State Teacher Certification Exam - Liberal Arts & Science Test (LAST) - (this I do not have)
New York State Teacher Certification Exam - Elementary Assessment of Teaching Skills (ATS-W) - (also do not have)
New York State Teacher Certification Exam - Speech-Language Pathology (PRAXIS II) (I took the National Praxis exam - can't tell if the NYS exam is the same or different)
Additional Education - Masters Degree - (got this)
Graduate Coursework Content Core - Speech and Language Disabilities - 12 S.H. (got that)
Paid, full-time Classroom Teaching experience - 3 Yrs (got that, per online forums school SLP experience counts as "classroom teaching" experience)
Mentored Experience - 1 Yrs (got that)
Workshop - Child Abuse Identification (need)
Workshop - School Violence Intervention and Prevention (need)
Workshop - Autism (probably need - wonder if my 60 hours of training through the AZ Dept of Ed would count?)
Fingerprint Clearance (got that through AZ, might be different in NY)
Citizenship Status - INS Permanent Residence or U.S. Citizenship (got that)

So it looks like even with "Interstate Reciprocity" I would need to take 2-3 exams and 2-3 workshops that would all have to be done in NYS, so I couldn't do it from here. Plus, as you said, the increase in cost of living. Is it even remotely worth it? I took the AZ Educator Proficiency Exam without studying and passed it (kind of a badge of honor - none of take the required prep courses for that test as part of that degree program, and we all take and pass it first try. Believe it or not, there are graduates of teaching programs who take and fail that test!) I don't know that the NYS tests would be as easy to pass without the expected coursework. Maybe there is a study guide out there.

The frustrating part of it all is that in a way I'm overqualified - you don't need a Master's in my field, and you only need 12 semester hours at the graduate level. My degree is in that field so I have 36 grad hours plus 30 undergraduate hours and a minor in a related field, so another 18 hours that apply towards my field as well. Plus over 5 years experience in a school setting. The only thing I am missing is the teaching exams. Even the workshops - I've had workshops in those content areas - just not with formal pieces of paper attached to them.