I Have my Baby Back!!!

Finally!!
I have my laptop back!

So I can get back to blogging!

It crashed a while ago.

But let me tell ya something:

Need a computer issue resolved?
Go to the Maple Grove Best Buy Geek Squad - Ask for Agent Lee.

He was so incredibly awesome, helpful, and we didn't pay a penny for anything.

So!

Laptop's back, and I can fill you in on life. 

Because let's face it: typing on an iPad is nothing like typing on a computer.

I needed to wait 'till I had my baby back. 

So what's new?

Well, Thomas got fired from Old Chicago.
But, it turns out it was a blessing.
It gave him the opportunity to search for something he enjoyed. 
And he kind of hit gold:
He got a paid internship as a graphic design artist with a company that works for General Mills. 
He (and I) were pretty dang happy! 
A {paid} internship!
Doing something he loves!
It's been wonderful!
The only catch: It's only for a month. 
He has about two weeks left to go. 
But, it's been a wonderful opportunity, not only for experience and building his portfolio, but also for the opportunity to start networking and getting his foot in the door of a career path he loves.

As for me?
Well life's been pretty normal. 
I've just been going to work, cooking all sorts of fun stuff in the kitchen, and couponing to my heart's content. 
I'm very stir-crazy for Spring to get here, but I think everyone is...

Thomas and I are thinking of possibly taking a small vacay when he graduates this May. 
Only, of course, if he's got a big boy job lined up.
Just something small and fun to do to celebrate, ya know?
Right now, some options are:
Chicago.
Duluth.
The Black Hills/Mt. Rushmore Road Trip.
The UP.
The Dells.
We'll see where (and if...) we end up!

What is Happening?!

I try not to get political on here. 

I try to avoid stating my political views, 

or writing about things that will cause argument.

But something has happened recently, and I just can't let my mouth stay shut any longer.

Because I am just too disgusted.

The Maple Grove Senior High hockey team, if you haven't heard, has been involved in a scandal. 

Details haven't been disclosed officially, but, because of my location and networking, I have my own sources who have informed me of what happened.

Maybe they're inaccurate. 

But as I've heard the same story from several different people, I am going to assume that this is how it all went down...

13 boys hockey players had a sort of hazing ritual, where they created a sex tape involving raping an underage girl.

Not only is the act itself disgusting and appalling, but the reaction of the school and the parents is what really boils my blood. 

The school's response?

Suspending all 13 boys involved from two hockey games.

A couple of the boys were suspended from four.

These boys rape a girl, and their only consequence is missing two games.

Then, you have the parents of these boys making comments at a press conference, about how "Boys will boys," and they simply "made a mistake."

I want to vomit.

Your son was involved in a rape scandal.

A rape scandal where they video-taped what they were doing.

And all you have to say is freakin' "Boys will be boys."

You disgust me as a parent.

The boys returned to the ice Thursday to cheers from the Maple Grove crowd.

People cheered for these boys.

What the hell is wrong with society??
When did rape become okay?

It boils my blood, makes me sick to my stomach,and makes me want to just grab those boys by the shoulders and shake some sense into them...

...and their parents!

When did parents stop being parents??

How can you freakin' say "Boys will be boys"????

AHHHH!!!

Discipline your child!!

REACT!!

Don't be their friend!!

Let them know that what they did is NOT even a little bit okay!
Let them know you are embarrassed, disappointed, ashamed, angry, disgusted.

Because I hope beyond all hope that you ARE all those feelings, and more.

I hope, with every ounce of my being, that you don't truly believe "boys will boys" when it comes to rape.

Because that could be your daughter they did this to.

I don't get it. I don't freaking get it.

I wish the school would be harsher.

I wish the school would set the example for discipline, since the parents are not.

I wish we, and I mean all of society, would stop sending the message that athletes receive special treatment. 

I wish parents would actually parent. 

I graduated from Maple Grove, and I love the school.

I know this incident doesn't represent the entire school body and the school's reputation.

I know the school is bigger and better than what has happened.

But the way the school's reacting disappoints me. 

If we don't learn to stand hard on our morals, and to speak up when things like this happen, then yes, it's going to end up being a "Boys will boys" world when it comes to disgusting things like rape, because that is, sadly, what society is teaching them. 

Minor Leaguer

Well, it's official.

You can call me a crazy coupon lady.

Yup. I've got my binder and everything...

I'm not quite "crazy" yet...

I'm kinda in the minor leagues still.

Not up with the big gamers.

I started a few weeks ago, shortly after Thomas and I moved into our apartment.

I figured with all these additional bills now rolling in, wouldn't hurt to coupon.

Let's side track for a little bit...

Speaking of additional bills,

Ya know what's annoying?
School loans.

More specifically, the interest.

Let's just say interest in general, not just school loans.

It's so frustrating to watch my bank account gather interest at a rate of like .04% a month, when my school loans gather at like 6.0%.

Rude.

In a month on my bank accounts, I gain a few cents.

In a month on my loans, I gain a couple hundred.

Rude.

Annoying.

Anywho...

So, like I was saying, I coupon now. 

To help with bills.

I started off going to www.thekrazycouponlady.com, and that's how I organized my binder, and figured out a game plan for couponing.

The site is nice because it spills out all sorts of deals:

"Use this coupon with this sale item at this store and save this amount of money."

It's really easy to follow.

However, I don't use a lot of her shopping hints she gives.

Because this is my couponing plan...and maybe why you can't exactly call me a "crazy" coupon lady...

1. I don't use coupons for items Thomas and I don't need or use.

However, I still clip coupons for items we use, but may not need at the time, and save until they expire.

2.) I don't buy eight of the same item to get the free price.

For a couple reasons: one, I don't have access to that many newspapers to clip that many coupons. Two, we don't need eight boxes of cereal, or jars of mustard, or whatever it is. I try to be practical.

3.) I don't shop around my meal plans for the week.

Instead, I meal plan around my shopping. 

And I shop around my couponing.

I try to coupon items we need, mostly groceries. Then, I use what I've bought to decide what we're having for dinner that week. 

So I'm a couponer now.
Still in the minor leagues.

I don't put hours and hours into it. 

But I'm teaching myself.

Browse the ads. Clip. Figure out who has "Double Daze" coupons.

Shop.

I'm teaching myself.

I gotta be in the major leagues before we have kids.

That's when couponing is really going to be the most helpful!

ONE MORE!

Well, this is it.

Thomas is in the last week of his fourth semester at school. 

Do you know what that means??

Next week, he's on break.

Then, just ONE more semester left. 

One. 

I am SOOOO ready for him to be done.

Since before we were married, he's been in night school.

That means, four nights a week he's had school until 10:00.

Our entire marriage has been one night a week together, and every Sunday.

It's been annoying.

And I'm so grateful to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

However, there's something that's making that light just a little less brighter than I'd like it to be...

Thomas just got his schedule for next semester.

Instead of the usual four nights a week, he has class all five.

Monday through Friday.

And he works Saturday nights at Old Chicago...and he's on his third week in a row of working a double Saturday...

So what does this mean?
Sunday.

We have Sunday to spend together.

*Le Sigh*

That's the way the cookie crumbles I guess.

At least we're on the last semester.

LAST SEMESTER!
Eeeeek!

He's really loving school.

It's everything he wants to do in life...and he's really good at it!

I'm so grateful we found this school.

It's been a blessing for him!

On a side note:

More cooking accomplishments!

Sunday's afternoon dinner was...drum roll please....lamb chops!

And not just any lamb chops,

PERFECT lamb chops.

No, I'm not being egotistical here.

Okay, maybe a little bit...

But really, I impressed myself.

They were perfectly tender with a gorgeously delicious thin layer of crispy fat around the edges...gah! 

Wonderful.

Today I baked my first ever homemade bread.

Our apartment smells like heaven.

I wish I could send you a whiff.

Anywho, that's all the more exciting my life gets these days.

Cooking. 

But hey, I think that's pretty darn exciting. 

Isabelle Rose

It's been two months and one day since I lost our baby,

I think about her literally every day.
Every. Day.

Remember how I was sure the baby was a girl?

And we were going to name her Isabelle Rose?

Well, I work with some really cool women.

And they gave me a rose bush to plant on the due date of Isabelle Rose. 

It was to grow as she would have grown. 

It was very sweet and thought.

I loved it.

I still love it. 

In fact I think I love it even more these days.

You see, when we got the bush, it was empty.

I couple of dead looking brown sticks with thorns.

Well, now it looks like this:

It's growing like crazy!

It has rose buds about to blossom.

Lots of green tall stems and leaves.

It's already beautiful.

But the crazy thing is: We've never once watered it.

Not a drop.

All of a sudden, with nothing from us, it was growing.

Now, I don't know a thing about gardening or planting or rose bushes.

Maybe roses don't need water to grow.

I don't know.

But I'm telling myself they do need water. 

And that it somehow grew without water or any care.

And that makes this rose bush symbolizing my Isabelle Rose so beautiful.