so, we went to see hansel and gretel, and i have to say that it kicked the pants off of snow white and the huntsman.

can't believe january is almost over. how the hell did that happen?

hope everyone has a great day!

I'm rereading The Host to get ready for the movie. Two of my daughters got to see a screening, but because the production company made them sign a pretty stiff non-disclosure agreement, the girls won't tell me a thing about it. However, I perceived that they liked it a lot.

i am just reading this now for the first time, and i *love* it so far!

OOOOH! I want to see that! It looks awesome! Was it as awesome as the previews!

we *really* enjoyed this one. tons of gore and wit to boot. highly recommended.

i've been a nanny for a family since the summer of 2009. so when june rolls around, i will have been working with them for four full years. since the beginning, my employer has paid me for an extra 30 minutes per day to assist with gasoline and the wear and tear on my car. which was incredibly generous. at the beginning of this school year, she sent me a note about how she didn't remember how that started and that was fine, but it was really too much to pay me and the band teacher and the afterschool for the same time. i had just started my half-time teaching position, so i told her i understood and that it didn't really seem fair (even though it was originally her idea), so don't pay me for that 30 minutes since i have a new job. no biggie. done deal.

fast foward to now. the hours that i work have been slowly declining due to after school activities the kids are doing. there are two days a week when i only work for one hour and fifteen minutes. i asked her if she would consider paying me a flat rate for these two days since they were less than 90 minutes and i am driving close to 20 miles to bring her children home. this would come to an extra $8 a week, which over the course of the month would pay for a tank of gas.

she said she would rather not. and that the extra half hour of pay had been a temporary thing.

i'm a little upset. she spent 3 years paying me an extra $40 a week for the hell of it (and i don't consider three years as temporary), but now when i mention an $8 cushion for gas, she's all against it. i'm trying to figure out the best way to respond. because i'm going to have to insist. it's not worth 30 to 45 minutes of driving for 75 minutes of work.

boo.