KG's Hideaway

We found out Christmas day that Ryan was named All American by Track and Field News Magazine. We were excited to find this out but Ryan really needed some good news.

So, that's all for now. Peace out!

Posted by at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, we got out wish and got an answer from the NCAA yesterday. It was not the answer we'd hoped for but at least there's no more wondering and waiting. It totally sucks and it really pisses me off that their reasoning is so simple (if UNT didn't feel the need to investigate then there must not be anything TO investigate) and it feels like they just should take the time to really listen to some of these claims. Yes, I know that many people feel just like I do but my daughter didn't try to circumvent the system and didn't try to pull one over on anyone. The fact of the matter is that the coaches at UNT didn't believe that Ryan could find another D1 school that could get her in the day before the fall semester started (they even said so in our meeting) so they didn't need to punish her and said they'd release her. Then, when she DID have a scholarship at a D1 program they decided to punish her. Fucking bitches. Shanice Stephens is a lying, hypocritical, biggoted, egotistical bitch. And that fucking dirtbag of an athletic director, Rick Villareal, is a spineless coward who was too fucking scared of a GIRL to ask her a single question. And since he knew what Shanice Stephens was doing and LET her he's as big of a biggot as she is. Plus, he straight up lied to my face... and I got it on tape. Even the local reporters who have called about this situation have stated that he's well known for being a weasel... and that's one of the nicest things they've said about him. I feel bad for the girls who are going to go there and not realize what they are getting into. This coach has just suspended the 4th player since August. Can you say power hungry?

Anyway, I'm not sure how quickly Ryan will start working out with the track team. She still has to make all workouts with the basketball team, but the first track meet is January 16, so that gives us something to look forward to!

Moving on...
So I'm sitting here at my desk yesterday waiting to hear from UTA (regarding the NCAA thing) when a text message popped up on my phone. It was my ex-husband, Marshall. He NEVER texts me. EVER. The message said, "I think its time for me to go." I thought it must have come to me by mistake so I sent a message back saying, "huh?" No response. I sent another asking if everything was ok and he responded "Nothing is ok." Shit.

So I called him and he was a mess. I felt really bad for him because he must have been REALLY down to call me. Don't get me wrong, we can talk when we need to but we don't just chat. He let on last month when I talked to him that something was wrong and I was kind of shocked that he told me, but I just let it go. Holy shit, the flood gates were open and he just let it all out. He feels like he's let everyone in his life down and that he's screwed up so much that there's no way for him to rectify the situation. Bottom line is that he's an alcoholic and its gotten him in some trouble. He's also just this side of anti-social. He finds it physically painful to be in a social setting that's new, so while going to an AA meeting was an obvious need he just couldn't make himself do it. He said that he knew it sounded childish but if someone could just come get him and take him, he thought he could do it.

So I'm talking to him on my cell phone and trying to find a meeting out in his area (East Tx) and FINALLY got through to someone who gave me the name of the guy hosting the meeting last night. I called him and then called Marshall with the info and told him that all he has to do is dial this guys number and say, "I need help" and they will take it from there.... and they did. They came and got him, took him to the meeting and he's going again today. So that's something I guess.

I called his mother, too. I felt bad for betraying his confidence but I'd have felt way worse if he actually did try (or succeed) killing himself and I didn't do everything I could to stop it. He sent me a message to tell me that he knew I'd called her and he wasn't mad, but I still feel bad. He's just a mess. He's an only child. His dad (who died four years ago) was an only child. His mother is one of three daughters but her whole family is dead, so really Marshall and his mom are alone. Even though his mother lives only 7 miles from me, she really doesn't have much to do with the kids. Its just a really weird situation to say the least. She'd do anything for him and he's just going to have to open up. We shall see...

The only other thing going on here is my new phone. I had a Bl@ckberry Pearl but it was six months old (and one of the buttons got on my nerves) so I bought a new one and getting it set up the way I want is pissing me off! I called T-m0bile and they gave me the code to unlock my old one, so I unlocked it and gave it to Ryan since she's on her dad's AT& T plan. Tm0bile will give you the unlock code as long as its been on their network for at least 3 mos.

I also got Austin and Pe@rl and Kyra a R@zr for Christmas. Ryan got too much other stuff for me to be able to justify a phone on top of it, so she's not getting one. Somehow I still managed to spend pretty close to the same amount on all of them. Of course, Christmas is still a week away so who knows where it will end!

Posted by at 4:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tomorrow is Thursday, which means the NCAA will be meeting again regarding waiver requests, so we're hoping they'll finish up Ryan's request. I've given up trying to guess how this will go, or even WHEN it will... so I guess I should just stick with, "Tomorrow is another Thursday."

Craig left to go to California on Tuesday and since then I've done little but sleep. I plan on getting lots more between now and 6:30 tomorrow when he lands. In fact, I'm already dressed in my sluggliest pj's and ready to hit the hay.

Its been reaaaaaaaaaaaally cold here this week and I can't seem to get warm regardless the ridiculous number of cups of hot tea I've had. I remembered the spiced tea my grandmother used to make us and decided to make a batch. Its sweet enough for kids to love without being too sweet for adults (barely). After having a cup of it I was flooded with memories that made me smile. My grandmother always served the cinnamon sugar graham crackers with this tea, and my brother and I would try to find juuuuuuuuuust the right length of time to dunk them. If you left them too long they would break off and float in your tea, but if you got it just right you'd catch the soggy part right about the time it was ready to fall off. Sounds silly, but still...

The recipe is
2c Tang
2c sugar
1/2 c instant tea with lemon
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp cloves

Easy as pie! Just add a couple of spoonfulls to a cup of hot water and enjoy!

Posted by at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We didn't hear from the NCAA today, but I got a message from the coach and she wasn't sure what time the hearing was... plus, Ryan's wasn't the only waiver request debated. We're hoping we'll hear tomorrow. The team leaves on Saturday for Kansas to play K-St@te on Sunday. If she gets the waiver I'll be making that drive. It's only about 7hrs (we visited the school when they were recruiting her) and its a really nice drive. Plus, you can get your butt I won't be missing her first college game ever. WHENEVER and where ever it happens to be. They leave next week for the Bahamas, so it could get hairy if this takes too long. They just said the hearing was Thursday, but not how if they decide the day of the hearing or take it under advisement. Ughh...

We snapped some pictures last night while Ryan was here and some of them turned out soooo good. The family ones, where I used the timer on the camera, aren't so great and are just slightly blurry. I didn't set the focus before I took off for my chair, so it just chose the focus for me. I didn't catch that they were slightly blurry until everyone was off doing something because I just sort of popped through them and they looked fine at first glance. Yeah, whatever.

Some of them are pretty good. I don't post pics of Craig's daughter, Kyra, too often because of, well... lets just say a certain someone. Anyway, these pics of her turned out cute so "certain someone" be damned... here she is! (WARNING::: I look like crap in ALL pictures!)

This is me, Ryan and Kyra.

This is one of the pics of Kyra that I think is cute. Her damn glasses are a problem because she usually has the frame RIGHT in the way, as is shown here, but I like it anyway. She's very self conscious so she's not comfortable in pics but I like her coy smile here.

And since I'm using all my energy STILL worrying about this damn NCAA thing, this is one I love. She was just genuinely happy to be home last night with us and I think it showed. However, my favorite picture of her is in the previous post! Gotta love it!

Posted by at 2:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The NCAA subcommitte on eligibility meets tomorrow regarding Ryan's waiver request. I don't know how quickly we'll get the answer but we're hoping it's tomorrow afternoon or no later than Friday.

So now, the question is "Do we really want the answer?" I say that because I've complained non-stop for the last three and a half months and now that the day is almost here it sucks because we know the answer will almost assuredly be "no." I'm not a fan of "No." At all. And my daughter is REALLY not a fan of it for any reason. I know she's going to be devastated tomorrow, even though we've told her to just count on the answer being no. I know her, and I know she's hoping for "yes" because no matter how much I've preached against it I'm also guilty of the same thing.

So, tonight she's spending with us. She came home and wanted a big family dinner, so that's what we did. And we caught this pic of her tonight laying on the couch... looking like she doesn't have a care in the world... right?

Posted by at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

First: I'm just so excited that the cost of gasoline in my town keeps spiraling downward. It's down to $1.55 a gallon here! Woot!!!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program: I swear this whole NCAA mess is really pissing me off! UNT was given 10 days to respond to the waiver request and they didn't... but somehow they managed to respond PAST the deadline so I don't know if the NCAA is considering their response or not. Either way, we expected to hear something this past week but still NOTHING. Ack!!

Ryan takes her last final on Wednesday so in some ways its good that she hasn't been able to travel with them because its allowed her to focus on her classes. Her team leaves for the Bahamas in 10 days so she's really hoping the waiver comes through before then. If she DOES get it and the first game she plays is one that I can't see I'm going to be soooooooo pissed! She's really ready, so hopefully she'll get it.

UPDATE:::: I got an email from Coach Morrow about midnight last night. NCAA had a week off for Thanksgiving and UNT responded on the 10th day, not after the deadline. (When this thing first came out we figured that UNT would wait as long as possible to respond so that if NCAA gave her the waiver she'd still have to wait as long as possible. Whatever)
We've spent the week dealing with alot of drama. Alot. It started with Austin and ended with Kyra pulling a stunt. The thing about Kyra though is that even though she acted out and said some crap that was just wrong, it brought about her FINALLY opening up and realizing that she needs help. The counselor gave up on her a couple of years ago and she has refused to go to another one but she finally is ready. So she meets her new doctor next week and we'll be on the hunt for a counselor between now and then. She's finally agreed that she needs to have a relationship with her mother and she's not pissed at me anymore for MAKING her see her mom... so its a start, but its led to one of the best weeks we've had with Kyra in a LONG time.

We went and picked up Ryan today and headed out to the Crowley basketball game. Kyra is manager again this year and Ryan really wanted to see her old coach so it was just a nice day and Kyra really felt the support she's wanting.

Snapped this one today. Not great, but finally a pic of Kyra!

And then there's this... eating Cheetos!!

Posted by at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)