Counting My Blessings

As you may or may not be aware, Ohio's governor is attempting to get a bill through that will do away with collective bargaining. For some reason, he feels the need to aim his focus on police officers, firefighters, teachers and all other state employees. Unfortunately, the bill has gone through the Ohio Senate (it passed 17-16) and is now in committee in the Ohio House of Representatives.

If this bill (Senate Bill 5) passes, as it is currently written, teachers' salaries will be reduced to $17,000 to $32,000 a year. This is a DRASTIC cut for many teachers who have moved up the pay scale to the $55,000 level. Our district tops out at around $62,000 a year for teachers with a masters degree plus 32 additional credit hours.

(Do not EVEN start on the bit about being paid during the summer and having 3 months off. If you've done your homework, you know that argument is ridiculous.)

We currently pay $20 a month toward our health insurance. I can't tell you enough how fortunate we are to have such good health insurance. So far my cancer episode has cost almost $200,000 and I've only had to pay about $5,000 out of pocket.

SB 5 states that we will pay 20% of our insurance. I know what it costs the district to insure me and my family (a little over $17,000 a year), so I've done the math. Instead of paying $20 a month, I'll be paying close to $300 a month.

I'm still not sure of the correct interpretation, but I may also lose my seniority AND my continuing contract.

Of course we'll also lose the ability to strike (I don't think the teachers' union in our district has EVER gone on strike, and I doubt they would, so quite frankly, this is the least of my worries).

So, if SB 5 passes as it is written, I will have my pay cut by over 40% AND pay 15 times more than I am currently paying for my health insurance.

As you can imagine, morale in schools throughout the state of Ohio is pretty much at an all-time LOW.

And this is just how it will affect me and my family. And we have two kids in college right now.

I have not checked out the issues that law enforcement personnel and firefighters will face. The people who think nothing of putting themselves "in the line of fire" so to speak, will also have to take cuts, as will ALL state employees, because the governor wants to balance the budget. (I wonder if he'll be taking a cut in pay and paying more for his benefits too? I'm not EVEN going to get started on that!)

We are making cuts in our family budget, in case SB 5 passes as is. We usually order pizza every Saturday night (the pizza shop knows who we are as soon as I place the order...yes, we're regular customers), and we haven't done that for a few weeks. We usually eat out once (or occasionally twice) during the week, and we haven't done that for several weeks. On pay days at my school (every other Friday) we get to wear jeans. On the opposite Fridays we also get to wear jeans, but we have to pay $5 to do so, and the money is donated to a good cause. I'm sorry about not always contributing to the cause, but I'm not spending $5 to wear jeans. I haven't done that for the last two "pay-to-wear" jeans days. We were talking about going to Myrtle Beach this summer, as we haven't been there since 2006, but we're not going now. We'd also been sort of kicking around the idea of maybe thinking about beginning to look at a new vehicle. Hahaha...NOT GOING TO HAPPEN NOW! There are other ways we're trying to cut back, but I won't bore you with the details.

Even with all this going on, I know that I am truly blessed:

I have my family, and for the most part, everyone is healthy right now. (Ted is dealing with some knee/back issues but we hope to get them resolved soon.)

Our sons are doing well in college and learning about "life," in addition to academics.

We have vehicles that run well and are NOT in need of repair (*knock on wood*) at this moment.

Our cats bring us so much joy and laughter, that we can't imagine what we ever did before we adopted them.

Things will work out, one way or another. If the worst possible scenario comes to fruition, then at least we know we won't be going through it alone.

As I've said all along in my adult life...things could always be worse. That's why I'm counting my blessings.

Skip This Post if You Don't Like Pictures

The Christmas season has come and gone, but of course I feel the need to share some photos with all of you.

Pepina was just lying around Christmas morning, waiting for the festivities to begin.

Oliver was getting impatient and kept jumping up on the coffee table, then down, then repeating.

Pepina finally expressed a little interest when someone opened up a gift.

Marina was not about to get up off the packages, NO MATTER WHAT.

Pepina liked watching Joe open up his gifts.

Cousin-to-be Cathy, Cousin Damon, and my mom enjoying a deep conversation on how to create the world's most perfect wine slushie.

Cathy is holding Cousin Davene and Rick's newest family member, Rafiki. He's a very sweet kitty.

Once dinner was over, Alex and Joe continued their Christmas break hobby of catching up on their sleep while my dad talks to Ted (out of the picture).

Damon decided that the kitchen towel Cathy received could be better used as a loin cloth!

Davene and Joe, just chilling out.

Christmas is always fun, but it's even more entertaining when there are children involved! Sister-in-law Patty and Niece Holly are getting presents ready to pass out, while Jamie watches daughter Kaylee, and Niece Kelly plays with Great Nephew Michael.

Michael is looking at his various gifts.

Sister-in-law Patty, brother-in-law Tim, and Niece Holly enjoying the holidays.

Sister-in-law Peg is wondering where the crayons are so she can start coloring in Michael's coloring book.

Alex is holding Holly's kitty Sophie while Joe watches.

Then Joe took his turn with Sophie. Isn't she a beautiful cat?

And that pretty much sums up our various Christmas celebrations! How was your holiday season?

Since I Last Posted...

...we celebrated Thanksgiving with Ted's family,

Our great nephew Michael, sitting next to his mom, our niece Kelly.

Our other niece Holly, her mom (Aunt Patty), and Joe, who was taking the opportunity to catch a few winks.

Our brother-in-law Mac, and Alex, who is giving me a "look" about who knows what.

Joe, my other brother-in-law (aka Uncle Tim) and my other sister-in-law Aunt Peg buttering another roll.

After dinner Alex passed out various copies of his college newspaper so that we could all read some of the articles he has written. What a way to entertain guests! Fortunately, he's a good writer, so it was okay.

...celebrated Thanksgiving with my family,

My Aunt Dolores, cousin Davene, and her husband Rick, getting everything ready on the table.

My cousin Damon, his fiancee Cathy, and Davene, watching my mom take another drink of her wine.

Davene, Rick, and Alex...we're all too STUFFED to move!

My dad, my mom (telling another story), and Damon.

put up the tree and decorated it (but now the lights don't work and I'm in the midst of a Plan B, but wish I had a little more time to implement it),

made some holiday candy,

went to our school Christmas program (which was held at our high school gym and there were LOTS of people there!),

finished Christmas shopping,

Gift bags for my Reading Mastery students, in front of the pink tree they decorated AND the static cling they put up.

did a snowman craft with my Reading Mastery students,

Believe me, this was a "fly by the seat of your pants" type project. Even though I had it all thought out in my head, I'd never done it before and learned a LOT if I ever do it again!

attended Ted's work Christmas party (and had a very nice time),

This Turtle Cheesecake dessert was nothing less than absolutely FABULOUS!

got our annual Christmas letter written, cards addressed, and sent,

began baking,

and wrapped almost all of the gifts (just about 5 things to go!).

Whew!

Later today I'll finish baking and wrapping, then maybe even clean the house a little. I've been letting that go, as I just haven't had the time to take care of it. Joe and Alex are both home from college and although I just LOVE having them home, I've gone from cleaning the kitchen a couple times a week, to cleaning it about twice a day.

I understand that Christmas is coming in two days, whether I'm ready or not.

I'm really looking forward to spending time with the family....that's all I need to make Christmas special.

Merry Christmas everyone!

It's Been a While

Yes, I'm still around.

Life has sort of gotten a little busy at times, and I've not been blogging. I hope to get back to it soon, and be much more consistent about my posts.

School is going okay. It could be better, but I'm trying not to get all stressed out about things I have no control over. I've been trying to leave work "stuff" at work and enjoy my time at home. I'm also not staying after school nearly as much this year. Those days of staying until 6 or 7 pm, are OVER. It's not that I don't love what I do, because I DO! It's just that the more of myself that I give to my job, the more that's expected of me. I don't mind giving 150% all the time, but it gets discouraging when it's not noticed or appreciated, and then expected.

Like I said, I absolutely love what I do...it's so rewarding to see the sparkle in a child's eye, and a huge smile when they "get" something. It's like they've just discovered a new world! I work with some second graders on a computer program called "Math Facts in a Flash." It breaks basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts into levels, and a student needs to complete 40 facts correctly in 2 minutes or less in order to go on to the next level. Even though I work with them on their facts, their regular classroom teacher also schedules time for them to work independently on this computer program. When I see these kids in the cafeteria when I have duty, they just love to tell me that they passed a certain level. I try to make them feel like they've won the lottery, because many of them don't get much recognition at home. I love seeing their reactions when I gush over them passing levels. That's what makes my job so great.

So anyway, it's not the kids that make me frustrated, it's the other factors.

Alex turned 20 last weekend, so we told him that we would take him and a couple of his friends to dinner in a city near his college.

Megan, Tino, and Alex...The guys decided to wear ties. Something about watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's" a few days earlier. Yes, I realize his hair is VERY long. I'm trying to pick my battles. And for the record, he's scheduled for a TRIM the day before Thanksgiving.

A few days after we told him this, he said that he invited EIGHT of his friends!

John, Dan, and Emily...they agree that Alex needs a haircut!

Alex has made some excellent choices with friends. These young people are all very ambitious and I was impressed with their selections of majors and minors.

Apparently I didn't make it clear what was meant by a couple. Alex wanted to go to Olive Garden, and as it turned out, only five were able to make it, but we had a very nice time. Joe was able to join us too.

Joe returned to college for an additional Bachelors Degree (this time in Journalism), and it's going quite well for him. This has been a whole new experience for him, as he got his first degree (in Business) while living at home. Now he's living in a dorm on the campus of the second largest university in Ohio. He's actually adjusting quite well.

When they both come home for the same weekend, it's really entertaining. I've walked in from school on a Friday and have seen them both at the kitchen table, with their laptops open, sitting across from each other, discussing music and radio. They both have weekly radio shows at their perspective campuses. Joe has his own 2 hour show on Monday mornings, and Alex co-hosts a 2 hour show on Tuesday evenings. It's as though they can finally have actual discussions about things and not get into a big altercation.

So...life is going okay right now. I'm going to try to be more diligent about updating here. That's my personal goal for the rest of 2010!

Family

My cousin Damon (and his fiancee Cathy) hosted a family gathering yesterday. It was absolutely WONDERFUL to get together with everyone, including the extended family!

Dean, Davene, Aunt Sandie, and Damon

It also gave us the opportunity to talk about my Uncle Medie's passing last spring. Uncle Medie is my mom's brother, and he and his wife, my Aunt Sandie, moved to California in the 90s. Their older son, Dean, moved there even earlier than that. They are definitely transplanted Ohioans! Dean and his wife Mara, along with Aunt Sandie are visiting Ohio. They even brought a friend of Dean's with them.

My mom, Aunt Dolores (my mom's sister), and Cousin Patty

Dean and Cathy (Damon's fiancee) looking at old photo albums

The day was gorgeous! Sunny, but not too hot. The food was excellent! Would you expect anything less from a bunch of italians?

This is just a part of all the wonderful goodies we had!

The beverages flowed,

There was plenty of water, pop, wine, and beer to go around!

games were played, pictures were taken,

Cousin Damon, Ted, me, Cousin Matt

a birthday celebrated (my mom),

and we all got caught up on each other's lives,

Patty is trying to tell a story, and being italian, she has a glass of wine in one hand, while using her other hand to convey her thoughts.

She's still working the story, the wine, and the hand.

As the story winds down, it's important to note that not a single drop of wine spilled. She doesn't like to waste important things like that.

in addition to talking about Uncle Medie.

Damon has a plaque in his backyard, in memory of his dad. Uncle Medie was a very special man. He's missed and thought of every day.

It was such a great day...we don't get together often, but when we do, it's like we haven't missed a beat!

Me, my mom, and my dad

It's all about the family.