The traffic getting to Simi Valley was hideous. There is just no way to describe it - especially when you are driving a stick shift vehicle. I left at 0530 in the hopes that I would miss the traffic and arrive with time to have some breakfast before having to be at the Main Office. Well, that plan did not go well for me.
There was a multi-vehicle accident and then another accident right after it on the 210 westbound in Azusa. Yuck! To make matters worse, there was a fatality on the first one, which took up extra time, and everyone wants to stop and look for blood. You always know it's going to be bad when the carpool lane is stopped.
Being a native So Cal driver, I have to admit that I am not gracious when it comes to traffic. I actually made the statement that I was upset someone had the gall to die while I was trying to drive. Ken could not believe that I said that, but he has also had the experience of driving in this kind of traffic, so he laughed it off. It's true though, we are not nice about driving here, and it gets so much more nasty when we're stuck in traffic for hours.
So, by the time I got to the Office, I was tired, cranky and hungry. Then, I received my list of files that I had to do Audit Prep for. I am not a Case Manager any longer, so I was trying to figure out how the hell this was going to work. The State of California contacted my school and stated that they were going to do a Special Audit. For SPED people, this makes us very nervous because we don't know why we are on their radar and what they're going to look for. Given that my school has apparently never done a self-audit in 13 years, it was very scary.
I was handed a list of 25 files for a teacher who was "unable" to make it to audit her own files. OK, first, I call Bullshit! Everyone has issues in their lives, but when it's your job, you make it work. So, whatever - it's going to take me forever to go through files because they're not mine. But now, I'm also charged with judging someone else's work, and it was someone I did not care for. As much of a bitch as I am, I really hate judging other's. It does not work for me, and with an audit, everything goes under a microscope.
There was nothing left for me to do but grab the files, sit down and start going through the checklist for each file. Two boxes of files?? I was not happy about it
After two days, I only made it through 8 files. Luckily, we weren't stuck there until it was all complete. There were points during the day where I just HAD to get out. I could not take anymore of the window-less room, the musty smell of the files, or some of the asshats who I was stuck working with. Most everyone who was there was nice, and it was great to finally put faces with the names. Working in a "virtual" school has it's down-side - you don't know anyone.
By the end of the two days, the small group of those who could stand me started to understand me better. There were a couple others that I spent the entire time trying to figure out how they survive let along got a job teaching children. Luckily, the others felt the same way about these two.
Friday afternoon, I took off for lunch. Again, I just HAD to escape the office. I went to Panda Express for lunch, and then I loved my fortune!! It totally rocked and is completely true!
The day ended - finally! I went back to the hotel and crashed out. I was the only one who was going to stick it out another night, but I just knew the drive back home on a Friday was going to be insane. I managed to get to a grocery store for a small salad, some beer and then I saw Tommy's in the parking lot. There is something good about Simi Valley! Chili cheese fries it was!!
I tried to Skype with Ken and the girls, but the wi-fi at the hotel sucked, so I had to settle for talking on the phone a little bit, and then I fell asleep. I did not realize that sitting on my large ass going through files would be so taxing, but it was. There were a couple of files that were so bad that the Admin who was in charge took the file out of the room for a while, and then handed it back and told me to mark it Non-Compliant and move on. Ewwwwww. So glad I wasn't that other woman!
After breakfast on Saturday, I got on the road and headed home. I did stop at a stitching store in Upland on the way. I wanted to get the supplies for the Nora Corbett letters that I received. Thankfully, I was able to get everything I needed quickly, and then I managed to get home. It took so little time to get home waiting for Saturday rather than Friday night - just under two hours WITH the stop! Yay baby!!
The store in Upland is a great little place. It's on North Mountain Avenue, and it has all of the quaint stuff that I cannot find anywhere else but online. The husband and wife who own the place are awesome, and I love going in there. Where else can you take a list of items you need and have the owner get everything on your list so you can "look around"? Of course, it's a great plot - you know what you want, but being given time to look around could cause you to spend more money! I saw a TON of things that I would have loved to have, but I managed to have some restraint and only bought what I needed. Sadly, who would have thought that floss and beads would add up to $73??? Holy crap my little hobby has gotten expensive. Thankfully, Ken bought the specialty fabric that I needed.
Once home, I kissed Ken and held on for a while. I cannot believe how much I miss him when I'm away from him. It also never ceases to amaze me how I can suddenly breathe when I am back with him. Even when I'm in my office working and he's out in the garage, I'm OK because I know he is right there. Take him or me out of the house, and I become a pathetic gelatinous mass! Thankfully, Ken feels the same way when I'm gone. It would sure suck to have it be only one way.
I managed to squeeze in a nap and get some rest. I loved being back in my own bed and having Ken around me. Once I was awake, our sitter, Valeriee (the babysitting Nazi) came over to watch the girls so Ken and I could go to the hockey game. The game turned out to be great! Not only was there a ton of shots on goals for our side, but the Ontario Reign won with a shut-out of 4 - 0 against Utah. We were on the edge of our seats most of the game and the couple of fights were nice.
Sunday morning came quickly, and it was Ken's 40th birthday. The girls and I were way more excited than he was. It was funny to watch him. Ken honestly hates his birthday, but he has done everything he could to have us enjoy celebrating him as much as we do.
I kept bugging the poor man to wake up and get moving. Ken joked around, "I am totally awake and moving out of bed, but that's in my mind. My body is just not cooperating!" Hahahahaha! About 20 minutes later, I went in with a cup of coffee for him and started bugging that the girls really wanted to give him the gifts so he had to hurry. Ken popped off, "You know, it's harder to get out of bed when you're 40. It's a process now." I actually had to stop and laugh with him. It was such a great statement. He keeps teasing me that I will understand it better in a few months.
Finally! Ken was out of bed and in the dining room to allow the girls to faun all over him and celebrate him. Of course, the pictures were funny because Ken was so not awake.
Once he was finally awake and showered, we took off for Disneyland. It's not Ken's favorite place, but we had promised Mandy to have a Disney celebration for her birthday, and Ken was stuck doing it on his birthday. Luckily, Ken loves us way to much to make us cancel.
So, we arrived late in the day on Sunday. The Park was crowded which was a total bummer, but the girls made the best of it. Mandy's favorite moment was getting the birthday button and all of the attention from Cast Members.
We had to wait FOREVER to get on Pirates of the Caribbean. While Ken stood in line for the ride, I asked the girls if they wanted to see Mickey and Minnie dressed for Mardi Gras. Only Taylor wanted to go, so she was able to see them in the fancy outfits.
After the ride, the other two wanted to see Mickey and Minnie, so we went over to the section and waited in line. Sadly, by the time we got to the front of the line, Mickey & Minnie were taking a break, so Jordan and Mandy only got to see Chip & Dale. As is Jordan's luck, Chip took her by the hand and danced & spun her around while they moved to the other side of the courtyard. One of these days, I will actually remember to keep my camera running and capture this.
Once we were done on the Haunted Mansion, we wandered around trying to pick the next ride, but the Park was very crowded. Ken and I also noticed at this point the Little People were getting cranky. Ah-ha! It was late and they were hungry. So, we went over to the Monorail to ride to Downtown Disney to eat. I tried calling the Rainforest Cafe for a reservation, but I was told we had to be there in person.
The girls were excited to get on the Monorail. They did not remember riding it a few years ago. I had Ken and the girls stop to take a picture next to the Submarine waterfall. Yay!
The wait for Rainforest was over two hours. Um, hell no! We walked down to Torilla Jo's and got seated for supper in 15 minutes.
Sadly, Mandy and Jordan did not pack the heavy jackets like I told them to. I remembered seeing them in the living room as ordered, but there is that mysterious vortex that sucks things out of the girls' hands and they never seem to make it to the vehicle unless I actually do it. So, we had to call it an early night and get back to the hotel because the temperature dropped too much, and Mandy and Jordan were too cold to keep going. So after supper, we headed to the hotel room so they could get warm. After the two of them had to miss school for their colds, Ken and I didn't want them to get sick again.
The next morning, we got up early, and went back to the Park. The girls had the day off for Lincoln's birthday, so we enjoyed the added day. Unfortunately, we did not plan for the rain either. We were able to enjoy a few hours at Disneyland before the rain started, but we did not get to everything we wanted to do on our last day.
Taylor and I enjoyed a ride on Space Mountain while Ken and the other two went on Astro Blasters time and time again.
Jordan kept telling me that she was going to "bust the dark guy like a peyata". When it came time, she froze! Haha. Jordan recovered enough that she threatened Darth Maul with her statement, but she didn't go at him like I thought she would.
The rain started pouring all of a sudden. We ran to the Carosel because it was closest and the only shelter we had. Since we were there, we went on the ride. Ken and I discussed the possibilities of staying, but since the two youngest did not have heavy jackets, we decided it was best to head home for the day.
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