Update

I haven't updated lately, just been busy with life!

A few weeks ago, Josh and I went to BGSU and stayed overnight. We had dinner at El Zarape, a Mexican restaurant that's right across the street from the university. It was fun to get away for a night! I ended up leaving my work cell at the hotel though, so I think we might try to drive down there this weekend to pick it up. We might stay Saturday night, but not sure yet.

Last weekend, we took the kids up north to Mammaw's and Pappaw's house as a total surprise- to the kids and to everyone up there! We stayed Friday and Saturday night, and came home Sunday late afternoon. We've really been into the mindset of "getting away" lately, whether it's a quick day trip somewhere, or an overnight stay in St. Helen or BGSU. I think we have cabin fever, because this has been the longest winter EVER!!

Tonight is date night and we're definitely wanting to go out, as long as we both feel up to it. Josh has been sick for the past couple weeks- one of those bugs going around, and I've been battling almost-daily headaches, which sometimes are crippling.

Back to work...

Thank you, Dad.

Just a quick update... I had a few thoughts and wanted to get them on my blog.

- My Dad still takes care of me, even though he's not on this earth anymore. I walked out of the office yesterday at 5 pm to find the front passenger tire on my car DEAD FLAT. Because of my Dad, I had a portable air compressor in my trunk. :) I hooked it up, pumped up my tire, checked the tire pressure with the gauge in my glovebox (another gift from Dad) . Oh, and did I mention that I was nice and cozy warm in the freezing weather because I was wearing a quilted flannel underneath a Dickies insulated winter coat (yep, you guessed it- they were My Dad's!! Still are my Dad's actually...)

So, I'd like to say, Thanks Dad. Thank you for still being there to watch over me and make sure I'm taken care of. I know you're still here. And I know that you'll always do everything you can to take care of me.

I miss you Dad, and I love you. And it was nice to see you again and hug you again in my dream last night. :) Who knew that we'd see each other again at Uncle Anthony's house? (yes, Dad was driving his van. It's still his van... and I'll forever take care of his van)

CELEBRATE!!!

this is definitely reason to celebrate!!

email that I just sent to my hubby a few minutes ago...


Hey… are you ready for this??? I crunched the 2008 numbers and we paid off a total amount of debt last year…. (drumroll please)….

We paid off $13,546.00 in debt last year!!

And acquired NO NEW DEBT last year either!!!

and paid for our wedding in CASH … paid for Christmas 2007 & 2008 in CASH…. And paid for a wonderful 1-week Florida vacation in CASH!!!!

Whoo hoo!!!

we did an awesome job baby!!

Here’s to a wonderful 2009!!!

I love you!

To Where You Are

Yesterday was the 2-month mark since my Dad passed away. I can't believe it's only been 2 months. It feels like an eternity.

It really does feel like he's been gone for more than 2 months. I can't even begin to tell you how bumpy the past 2 months have been. I think the absolute worst was about 2-4 weeks after his death. After the shock of it all wore off, and reality set in.

Of course, it's been really hard on my Mom. And I honestly can't say if things have gotten better for her or not. I must admit that I've been purposely keeping my distance from her, because her recent actions & behaviours have really upset me. And I don't want to be involved in it, or stuck in the middle of it. All I can do for her at this point is pray for her.

I won!! I won!! I won!!

WOW! I won something!

I get a daily email from Suzanne Beecher's book club at http://www.dearreader.com/ and she had a give-away for some vintage aprons. All you had to do was send her a quick email with your name and address and which apron you would like if you won, she you'd be entered in the drawing. I sent her an email entry and told her that I love anything pink and if I won, I would love to have any apron that has pink in it! Actually, I would love any apron at all! I love all aprons!

So, I should be getting my apron in the mail within the next week or so, and I am so excited!

Here's a picture of all the aprons that were included in the give-away, and I'm the very lucky winner of one of them!!

I'm so excited, I can't wait to do some baking in my new-to-me vintage apron!!

YAY!!!!

Seasonal Blessings!

It's that time of year again...

This morning I received a $20.00 grocery store gift card from my employer as a "thank you" gift / Christmas bonus. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do with it yet, but I have a couple ideas:

• Take $20 out of our regular grocery budget and deposit the $20 in our emergency fund, then use the $20 gift card as part of our regular grocery expenses
• Use it to purchase some items for my mom (like dishwasher detergent, toilet paper, etc) and give those items to her

I knew this gift would be coming soon, and I pretty much made my mind up to use it to get some things for my mom, so maybe I should stick with that original idea. But then again, boosting our emergency fund another $20 would be really helpful too... in case she's ever in trouble financially, then we could dip into our own EF in the future to help her out...

I'm not sure what to do. First I'll pray about it and ask the Lord to help guide me in making the right decision. Then I'll talk to Josh about it tonight and see what he thinks.

Speaking of Josh and Christmas bonuses... Josh got his Christmas bonus today!! Yay!! Now his bonus was just a bit more than mine... lol actually, he ended up getting a check for just over Five Hundred Dollars today!! This is definitely a Huge Blessing to us, especially during this time in our lives!

We decided together, right away, to shave $100 off the top and start a new ING savings account called "The Gander Mtn. Fund". Josh has had his eye on a nice little treat at Gander Mtn, but it is quite expensive, so I thought it would be nice for him to have a good kickstart toward the cost.

The remainder of his Christmas bonus is going straight into our emergency fund, and thanks to Josh's company, we have inched our way past $1000.00 in our emergency fund now! Yay!!

I told Josh the good news once I made the deposit and I told him that I promise not to be all stressed out about money (for now, at least!)

This gift couldn't have come at a better time. I was worried that our EF wasn't fat enough, but now I feel so much better. It's nice to know that the cash is there for if and when we have a legitimate emergency. There are so many possibilities... this could pay for a car repair or two, it would pay a month's rent, and ultilities just in case, God forbid, we go through a season of unemployment (you never know what could happen in this economy), if we were that daring, we could even throw $1000 toward credit card debt and reduce our overall debt!

I think the best thing we can do is let it sit tight in our secure EF account. That's what it's there for. and it's soooo nice to know we're sitting on a pile of cold, hard, cash for those cold, hard emergencies!! :)

I was just talking to a co-worker of mine today. She had to pick her son's car up from some towing yard in downtown Detroit. Her son had driven down to the District Court to fight a traffic ticket. Not being familiar with Detroit, he just parked his car right in front of the police station / court and walked in.

(I can see my dad shaking his head right now.... oh boy)

Anyway, while he was inside, fighing his ticket, his car was being towed away. Yikes!
Out of anyone else I know, my Dad knew his way around all of Detroit, Downtown, surrounding areas, etc. like the back of his hand. I mean, he could drive to Tiger Stadium with his eyes closed. He could sniff his way down to the City County Building (now the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center) with his nose plugged and his hands tied behind his back. Got called for Jury Duty? Call Dad!! He knows the way!! And he'll even draw you a nice little easy-to-read map with his black sharpie marker! :)

I realized today that I don't have the luxury of calling my Dad up and asking for directions anymore. He was my Christopher Columbus, my Magellan. He was a living, breathing MapQuest and GPS system put together! He could get through any traffic mess by taking alternate routes, weave around roads that were closed due to construction, you name it.
During my divorce proceedings in 2006, My Dad went to every single one of my court dates with me. When I'd call him up to tell him when the next date was, I didn't even have to ask him if he'd go with me. It was just an automatic "I'm taking you" thing. I would tell him the date and which building, and he'd say, "ok baby".

That was one of the darkest periods of my life, but my Dad was the shining beacon in the middle of the storm. He wasn't just transporting me to an unfamiliar, intimidating area, he was supporting me, shielding me, carrying me through it. He served as protector, rock, Father. (and an excellent road-trip buddy)

The mornings we drove downtown, he'd walk out of the house with his white styrofoam coffee cup, steaming. Of course he'd always ask me if I wanted a cup of coffee, and most of the times I'd take him up on his offer.

The best part of driving with him was hearing him talk about his old truck driving days- all the deliveries he'd make all over the city to different places, offices, businesses, hospitals. We would talk some about my divorce proceedings, but he offered me his Fatherly advice and his words of wisdom; and those conversations are between me and my Dad and I hold them sacred.
Once inside the building, we would make our trek to the room, courtroom, office, conference room, etc that we were supposed to be in that day. Of course my Dad would always dress up in a suit and tie, and always with his Teamsters pin on his lapel.

In the crowded elevators of the Coleman Young building, I would hold on to my Dad's arm, just like I was 6 years old all over again. And of course he'd always be wearing his Old Spice aftershave. Looking back, that is still the single-most comforting smell to me in the world, and nothing could ever replace it. There weren't many words, we would just stare at the numbers at the top inside the elevator, waiting for our floor.

No matter what fight I had ahead of me on any given day during that time, I always knew I'd be OK because my Dad was with me. I had a confidence that I wouldn't have had if it weren't for my Dad being with me.

Thank you, Dad. Thank you for always being by my side.

Staying Energized and Encouraged

Today on my lunch hour I went through October's and November's spending from our budget spreadsheet and I was completely shocked. In the past 2 months, we have spent a little over $1000.00 (yes, one THOUSAND DOLLARS!!) on eating out in restaurants, including fast food.

OMG!!! Wow, that adds up fast!

I know I've been depressed about losing my dad, and I know I've been trying to comfort myself with shopping and meals out, but I didn't think it was THAT BAD. We're talking $80.00 dinners at Kiernan's Steak House, Rocky's, Red Lobster, Outback, etc. and I should have known better than that! We obviously blew our "date night" budget of $30.00 a week, and we were actually doing pretty good with that for a while. (our date nights are every Thursday night- Josh gets home early from work and it's just me and him, no kids) But then it started creeping into the weekends (well, we deserve this, after all we've been through) and then weekdays followed very soon after (I'm too tired to cook! What's twenty bucks here and there for a take-out meal?)

This definitely shocked me back into my senses and I am recommitting myself to staying within our budget for date nights, and groceries. (yes, I've been blowing the grocery budget too)

And here I was yesterday, thinking about how I couldn't wait for the new budget to kick in on November 22nd so I could be off and running to the grocery store! Our grocery budget is $80.00 a week and I don't think I've ever been able to stay within budget. I say "I", because I do pretty much all of the grocery shopping in our household.

It just amazes me that we spent roughly $500.00 a month on eating out alone. That could have went toward credit card debt! Or the emergency fund! Or long-term savings!

It's time for me to pull my head out and get back on track!

There are other ways I could be dealing with our family crises, and not just swiping the AMEX every time I feel the urge!

And spending money, whether at the dollar store or Wal-Mart, or Sallies... or going out to eat several times a week might make me feel good while doing it, I almost always feel worse than I did before after the reality sets in.

I have a pair of boots that I bought almost two weeks ago, and the receipt is in my planner. I've decided to return those. Although it's only $24.00 I'll be getting back, it's better than nothing! And right now, seeing our emergency fund dwindle away... well, every little bit helps. (time to cash in those pop cans from the back of Josh's truck!!)

Productive Monday and a "Retro Lunch"

Today has gotten off to a pretty good start (mostly because I vowed to myself that I was going to change my outlook today!!)

Although it took me about 45 minutes to get to work this morning because of the light snow/icy roads (my usual commute is only 15 minutes) I made it to work safe and sound and not a scratch on me! (I said a prayer as I got on the freeway)

As time got closer to lunch, I decided that I was going to procrastinate no longer and FINALLY return my seriously-past-due library books (my online account says "Patron has outstanding fines block" - uh oh!!) AND mail the DVD for my www.swapadvd.com account. (which was late too!)

I'm feeling energized today, it's a new week, a new beginning... no one can stop me but me!

with that said, I'd like to make sure to get a load of laundry in tonight, tidy up the apartment, make something good for dinner (other than the usual fried-egg-bologna-and-cheese sandwiches, :) I'm thinking maybe spaghetti & garlic toast (easy and quick to make) Then make sure to spend lots of quality time with Andy, instead of being completely stressed out....

Oh, and about the "Retro Lunch"... at lunch time today before I stopped at the post office and the library, I stopped home real quick to check the mail and ran upstairs to make myself a lunch to bring back to work- a classic bologna & cheese samich on white bread with yellow mustard, a little bag of lay's potato chips, and a homemade (by me, this weekend!) chocolate chip cookie. Yum!! I ate my retro lunch (retro to me, because this was a typical lunch I would have as a kid in elementary school) when I got back to my desk at work and washed it down with a Faygo Rock & Rye. (it's a Detroit, MI thing!! yum!)

Ok back to work... I'm plugged into a conference call right now on my headset (I feel like Debbie-the-friendly-Time-Life-operator!) and I'm only paying half-attention right now!

I'm thankful that the Lord is working in my heart to make me joyful and appreciative of the big and small wonderful things in life... thank God, because I have felt like I've been laying in the gutter for the past month...

(deleted)

the Lord has answered my prayers, after spending time with my mom this weekend. I think she's going to be okay. I think that the worst is over, and it's a time for healing now.

thank you for all of your prayers and keeping us in your thoughts...

In Him,
Jennifer

I miss my Dad. I miss him a lot. I don't understand the choice that he made. I don't understand the timing of the choice he made either. Did he ever realize that there were other options to choose from? Instead of the ultimate final choice that he made? Some days none of this feels real. Some days I feel like I am walking through a fog, everything I do, everything I say, it's all a big fog. Sometimes I don't pay attention to anything that's happening around me and I just mentally "check out". I think this is one of those days.

To make matters worse, I have went on these crazy shopping/spending sprees for the past few weeks and it's finally caught up. We have all but depleted our cash emergency fund and now I am scrambling to make up for it. I was approved to work a couple hours OT tonight and tomorrow, so that will help. Also I'm hoping that I'll be approved to work on Saturday, we'll see.

I'm having a hard time trying to focus on work while I'm at work. I'm having an even harder time with my responsibilities at home too- laundry, housekeeping, preparing meals, etc. But by the time I get home from work, I am wiped out. That's no excuse though. I just need to BUCK UP AND MUSH ON!!!

Getting past the 4-week mark

Saturday was Josh's birthday, and also marked 4 weeks since my dad passed away.

We celebrated Josh's birthday by going out to dinner at Outback- my first time there and it was excellent! It was just me, Josh, and Andy. My mom decided to party hearty at the bar that night which resulted in a phone call late that night at 2 am that lasted close to 2 and 1/2 hours. Long story.

Friday night the Lord answered my prayers and I got to see my dad once again, to hold him and talk to him, to see him alive. In a dream. But the joy that washed over me when I saw his face, smiling, alive, was unlike any joy I've felt since he passed. I thank God for his Grace in letting me see my dad again. I've been praying for that chance. I continue to pray that God will allow me many more chances like this to see my dad, in my dreams.

The Holidays are quickly approaching and we are sketching out our plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I would like to say that I hope we can get through both holidays with the least amount of stress possible. I'd better start praying, because we're gonna need all the help we can get.

The 3-week Mark: Trials and Tribulations

The past 3 weeks have been full of trials, challenges, stress, anxiety, sadness, frustration, etc.

My dad has been gone for three weeks now. Three weeks ago today, my mom found him in his room, unresponsive. The coroner said he had already been dead for several hours.

This is such a difficult time for all of us. Sometimes it doesn't even seem real. Sometimes I feel like I've stepped outside of myself and this reality, and I am watching all of these things happen around me, to me, to my family.

I have had several, several issues that I have been praying about continually. So far, God has not revealed the answers I wanted to hear. Yes, he does hear my prayers, he listens to my prayers. But he answers my prayers in HIS own way. In HIS own time. And what may seem like a non-response from him, there's always a reason, a response, an action. It's up to me whether or not I decide to receive his message.

Most of all, I pray for guidance. I pray for patience, strength, wisdom, energy, endurance, perseverance. There are days where I wish I could just give up, but then what? That's not even an option. But the hopeless feeling sets in when all I'm faced with is setback after setback. I realize that setbacks are something that you can learn from, if you handle it the right way. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and march on. And hopefully you will be stronger than you were before you fell. Because falling doesn't make you weak. Only if you choose to let it make you weak. Falling can make you stronger.

When you go through something like this, something you thought you would never have to go through, you learn alot about yourself and the people around you. I have learned that I have more faith than I realized. I have learned that I am stronger than I ever thought I was, or could be.

I've learne d that God will give you help when you need it. That you don't have to carry on alone, depending only on yourself. He helps those who ask for it.

Hebrews 4:16
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help (us) in time of need."

Marching On

I want nothing more on this earth than to be able to talk to my dad right now. Everything that's going on, the uncertainty of it all, I want so much to ask him, "Dad, what should I do?"

When I was younger and I wanted something, like a new toy or a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's, or a happy meal, etc.... if he ever answered "we'll see" that almost ALWAYS meant a "YES". Thinking back on that makes me smile because my dad could never tell me "no" about anything.

My Dad December 22, 1945 - October 8, 2008

Dad,

I miss you so much. I feel completely lost without you.

I realized last night that I no longer have an authority figure in my life to look up to. Other than God Himself, you were it.

Although it's been two weeks since you passed, it's so hard to believe you are gone. I don't think that the reality has set in yet. I know I've gone a week or two without seeing you recently, but even right now I don't think I realize that I am never going to see you again.

Andy lost his Papa, his Buddy. You guys were so close. Andy loved you, he adored you, he looked up to you. Who's going to take him for haircuts at Buck's Barber Shop now? And you're not here anymore to pick him up from school on Mondays and Tuesdays. I've had to enroll him in the after-school kids club program. So I pick him up after I get off work. I make it to his school by 5:45. The past two days I took him to McDonald's for his Happy Meal after school. You're not here anymore to do that, either.

Dad, I can't even process any of this. I wasn't ready for you to die. I would never be ready for you to die. You weren't supposed to die for many, many years. I was hoping that you would be around for at least another 20 years. I wanted you to be there for Andy's high school graduation, maybe even for when he gets married to the love of his life.

I love you Dad. I miss you so much.

I get discouraged. A lot.

The thoughts that cross my mind, more than any other thoughts are:

"am I cut out for this?"

"can I really do this?"

"I can't do this."

"I'm not good enough."

"I'm not as good as (insert name of person who can do it better here)"

"I don't have the knowledge, skills, drive, passion, strength, endurance, patience, wisdom, etc etc etc"


STOP!!!!

I need to change my way of thinking. Each time I have a thought like that, I need to make myself stop and think. Look at where I am now. Look how much my life has improved. I went from the gutter to a yellow brick road. Better than a yellow brick road. Because when the journey is over, it's not all smoke and mirrors and a man behind a curtain. I know better than that.

I need to realize I AM GOOD ENOUGH. I can do this just as good, if not BETTER, than (insert name of person here who I previously thought had an advantage over me, but then I realized that's not the case. Not even close)

It's hard to change that kind of thinking though. And that discouragement feels like a lead blanket. You know, the kind the dental assistant drapes over you when it's time for x-rays.

I need my Shepherd.

If there's ever a time that I've needed my Shepherd, I need him now.

I am that sheep that has gone completely off the path, thinking that I can do it all myself and not rely on guidance, protection, comfort, safety, and the Grace of my Shepherd.

I'm completely frustrated at work. I can't get answers to my questions, responses to my emails. Sometimes I just feel like I'm a little girl, tugging at my mothers apron, desperate for attention.

Would I get the same treatment if I were a man?

Maybe it's true that the workplace is not meant for women. Only because of things like this. I do feel like I am treated differently.

I think what I need to do about this is pray.

Another thing I need to pray about is the upcoming presidential election, and whether or not I should vote. I don't know how God feels either way, if I do vote, or if I choose not to vote. I need to pray and ask God if he wants me to vote, and if so, who I should vote for. In my heart, I honestly do not know the answer to either question, which makes me wonder if the decision is mine to make.

In the bible, when Jesus is asked about taxes, he responds "Give to God what is God's, and give to Caesar what is Caesar's"

This was his way of answering a trick question, by people who wanted to trap him in a game of words. His response was.... well, Perfect. Because he was and is Perfect.

This particular issue was about taxes. It is Law that we must pay taxes. It is not law, however, that we must vote. If I do not vote, I am not breaking the law.

I realize that in the big scheme of things, the decision has already been made on who will be the next President. I imagine that only God knows the answer to this question. Well, if things are the way "they" say they are.

But the whole thing could be fixed. The whole thing could be a scam, a tool to make the American people think that they have some choice when it comes to their government, their laws, their leaders.

I don't know.

And when you don't know, that's the perfect time to PRAY. It's a red flag.



On another note, my mom's health isn't too good lately. She went to the doctor today and there may be an issue with her kidneys? She hasn't been doing well at all for the past several weeks.

During the best days of summer this year, when she was able to use her pool every day, her health was the best I've seen in a long time.

She definitely needs the Lord's strenghth and healing right now. I need to pray, and keep praying for her.

I don't want my momma going anywhere. She needs to be here for a long, long time.

Monday, Monday

I know I don't post very often, but it really is hard to find the time sometimes. Well lately, most of the time!

It's a new week, so we've hit the reset button for work and we're off and running. I wish I could spend less time thinking and stressing about work, and more time remembering that there are other things in life besides my job! And it's just that- my job is my job, my job is NOT my life.

On Mondays, I am happy that I have many things to look forward to: spending time with Andy this evening and tomorrow evening, my (just about) weekly trip to Sallie's on Wednesday, and Date Night on Thursday.

The way the custody "schedule" is divided is that I always have Andy with me on Mondays and Tuesdays, He is with his Dad on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Weekends (starting Fridays) are alternated.

Yesterday, Josh, Andy, and I went to my parents house for a delicious steak dinner with all the fixins, and swimming fun in the pool! Being the workaholic that I am, I also lugged some laundry over there with us and did 2 complete loads of laundry. :P We got there around 3:30 pm and didn't end up leaving until 8:00 pm!

Andy actually decided to stay overnight with Nana & Papa, which was pretty cool considering that he hasn't stayed overnight with them in a long time. Of course I missed him last night, but I know that it's important to both Andy and my parents that they get time together.

As an added bonus, I saved gas $$ by not having to drive there this morning! So I'll only have to drive out there once today, but twice tomorrow.

This summer, Andy spends Mon & Tues at Nana & Papa's House, and Wed, Thur, Fri at Summer Day Camp. He loves going to both. He gets spoiled rotten at Nana's house, showered with treats and toys and fun activities like going to the IMAX at the Henry Ford. And at summer camp, they are always going on Field Trips, like the spray station, the library, park, movies, fishing, bowling, etc. He is one busy little man!

Well, that's about it for now, but while I'm thinking about it (I actually have time to reflect, since I'm on my lunch break) I need to get back into a few things that I wanted/needed to do:

* Prayer
* Reading my Bible/ Christian Books
* Working on a closer relationship with God
* Femininity- wearing a skirt to work at least once a week!
* GO BACK TO SCHOOL!!! Work on completing my Associates Degree!


Ta-Ta For Now!

Long time with no update!

Well, our FL vacation came and went and was absolutely wonderful! I just can't wait until the next vacation. Cocoa Beach was better than we even imagined, especially the hotel (totally awesome!) and the beach itself was absolutely beautiful.

Things have seemed to go by in a blur since I last updated my blog. I would really like to start updating more often.

I have been checking BibilicalWomanhood.com almost every day that I can, and I must say that Crystal is such an inspiration to me. I want to be a better wife, mother, and keeper of the home, and especially a better helpmeet to my husband. It says right in the bible that God wanted Adam to have a helper, therefore he created woman, from man's own flesh.

I really have a long way to go.

Home Stretch

We're in the home stretch now! Only 4 more days to go.

I am really feeling it this week- in addition to "everyday life" I've also got vacation prep activites to attend to as well. Thank God that Josh has been doing so much - in the mornings when he's getting ready for work, and even late in the evenings, after I've went to bed.

I've filled my planner pages with all the "to-do's" I need to get done this week, and I'm trying not to get too overwhelmed.

I need to just try to take care of everything one at a time, and use my time wisely. For instance, I've got a pile of books and movies that are due back to the library today. A smart use of my time would have been to bag everything up this morning and put it in my car, that way I could swing by the library on my lunch and just drop them off. But, everything's still sitting on the bookcase at home, so now I'll have to stop at home *first* when I'm out for lunch, gather everything together, and *then* swing by the library on the way back to work.

That's not that much of a hassle though, because I don't go home to sit and actually eat lunch- I bring my lunch tote to work every day and "graze" throughout the day.

Especially this week, because I'm trying to lose a few pounds FAST! before Saturday. I've been drinking more water than I can usually handle, and eating low-cal foods like hard boiled egg whites. Today it's the egg whites, green olives, dry cheerios, a few cheddar cheese cubes, and lastly, a container of oatmeal from this morning that I haven't touched yet.

Tired!

Today, my dear husband is at home, resting and recuperating from his work-related injury. How I do wish I could be with him right now!

I have one "floating holiday" left, so I am going to use it tomorrow to stay home with him, take care of him, and hopefully get some rest myself!

I pray I can make it through the rest of the day today- I am having a hard time. I went to bed last night at 9:30 and woke up at 5:10 am this morning, so I had roughly 7 1/2 hrs of sleep. Usually that's enough, but perhaps I need to make an adjustment, because I am not feeling high-energy today.

I don't think I overdid it at home last night- I prepared dinner, helped Andy with homework, bath, story time, etc., and only went 5 min on the treadmill, as opposed to almost an hour on Monday!



-----

To be continued... (maybe!)

Updates

My poor hubby!

He hurt himself at work and has a pinched nerve and a ripped muscle in his lower back! He went to urgent care this morning because he couldn't handle the pain anymore... he's been in really rough shape for the past week. I feel so bad for him. He is under doctor's orders to stay out of work for 3 days (Thank the Lord his company offers him paid time off) and he is ordered bed rest. I'm taking Thursday off work to take care of him, my poor baby.

Weekend recap- we celebrated Makayla's Birthday this weekend (Friday evening) quietly, with just a few of us around at home. Josh and I, Makayla, and Josh's Mom and Dad. I baked her a homemade birthday cake- pink cake with purple frosting, and "princess" candy sugar decorations. It was darling! I'll try to post a picture soon.

Sunday I went into continued Spring Cleaning Mode and finished detailing my car and detailed Josh's truck. Josh being the wonderful husband he is, found the tire shine and spiffed up my tires and they look so pretty!! I scrubbed the interior of his truck until it was sparkling. He is so proud of it now! Seriously, it looks brand-spanking new inside!

Hopefully he will be healed by this weekend from his injury- we need to tie up a few loose ends and this is the last weekend to do it before vacation. If not though, these are things I should be able to take care of myself if need be.

Most importantly, I would like to have not one item of clothing in the laundry hamper when we leave for vacation. I would love to come home to a beautiful, clean, sparkling, organized house- and the only way to ensure that will happen is to leave it that way when we take off! I just pray to Jesus that I have the strength and energy to make sure that all happens without a hitch.

The weekend we leave, however, I will have time to do some spiffing up in the morning, God willing.

Other than that, it's business as usual. Josh's parents were in town last weekend, so I invited them over on Sunday morning for a big hillbilly breakfast- Eggs, bacon, sausage, fried taters, biscuits, and sausage gravy.

This week I started my "2 weeks till FL" eating plan. My main source of sustenance is: hard boiled egg whites, oatmeal, cooked white rice, apples, bananas, carrots, and pink crystal light lemonade. As long as I incorporate these into several "mini-meals" a day, it should provide me enough energy to keep going, without getting any of those awful crippling headaches I get when I don't eat right.

Last night, I walked/ran on the treadmill for 50 minutes- about 3.1 miles. Also used my hand weights- 5 lbs each, and did some squats, lunges, and crunches. It felt great! I hope I can keep it up!

As soon as Andy and I get home tonight, I will prepare dinner for the boys and hop on the treadmill for another round tonight. I'm ready and I'm feeling good!

Lunchovers

I realize that I have a completely disorganized blog. Does that mean my life is disorganized? Some of my life is disorganized.

Yesterday I went to Meijer and stocked up on Kraft Mac & Cheese (buy 3, get 3 free)- which amounted to 6 boxes for $2.46, or, 41 cents a box. WOW! What a good deal! Maybe I should go back and get six more?

Also added to the shopping cart were 2 Bags of Doritos (buy 1 get 1 free), Six T-Shirts for Josh, 2 Bed Pillows, and misc. cake decorating items for the kids' birthday cakes- sugar letter candies, food coloring, a box of strawberry jello (so I can make a pink strawberry-flavored cake for Kalya), and cute little "princess" sugar candy cake decorations.

The whole trip set me back $82.61. (what??) Yeah, that's steep!

But, after I had unloaded half of my items on the conveyor belt, I looked in my purse and my wallet wasn't there! So I had to run out to my car and retrieve my wallet. (Thank the Lord it was there)

I also returned $17.10 worth of pop cans, but by that time I had completely forgotten to take them out of my pocket and apply it to my shopping order. But that actually worked out for the good, because I exchanged the bottle slips for cash, which I could then use that to procure quarters for laundry & the vacuum cleaner at the car wash.

I was on a roll by then- after Meijer, I stopped at home and began to gut out my car- gone all the empty pop cans and trash, and pile of old newspapers in my trunk!

I took her for a bath at the $3.00 car wash (using my pop can money) and drove to the OTHER car wash to vacuum out my car. Luckily, I am a quick car-vacuum-outter, so it only took $1.00 in quarters to vacuum out the whole car.

I'm *almost* done with my detailing task- all I need to do now (today, hopefully) is wipe down the interior and get rid of that dusty dashboard! If I can find some Armor All in the closet, that would be a bonus. But if not, well, then I'm happy just to take the good ol Windex and a rag to the interior, and I know it'll look like a million bucks.

I LOVE MY CAR!!!

Sloooow....

I guess I should be somewhat relieved that we're "slow" at work right now?

I don't know, I think I'd rather be busy, busy, busy while I'm at work!

What's that old saying about idle minds or idle hands?

Well, I'm trying to make the most of it though, jotting down thoughts, ideas, "to-do's", grocery list items, etc.

I've decided that I'm going to make both kids' birthday cakes homemade this year. All I have to do is check out some cake decorations (those little sugar things to top the cakes with) and some colored icing to write their names with. Of course, I'm going to do a pink girly cake for makayla, that's a no-brainer. Not sure what route to take with Andy's cake though. We saw a Dinosaur cake at Kroger last week that really got his attention. I could pick up a small package of little plastic dinosaurs and make a "path" out of crushed oreos for the dinos. But then, when we went to Costco on Monday, he was all excited about a rainbow cake that he saw too. I think anything would excite him in the birthday cakes area- I'm lucky he's still young enough to enjoy that kind of stuff!

Tonight should be a busy night for me- After work, I am headed to Meijer to refill my prescription, cash in pop cans, cruise the baking aisle, and look to see if Josh's cologne (Armani Acqua di Gio- MMMMM!!) is in stock.

I have a coupon for a $20 Meijer gift card for filling a new prescription, so I'm going to apply that toward Andy's birthday gift(s). Josh and I are committed to NOT going overboard on kids' birthdays this year!

Andy has mentioned somewhat of an interest in a Microscope, and I know Meijer sells one, but I'm not sure if it's suited for him, age-wise just yet. Still, I'll check it out.

He's still very much interested in Transformers figures and the like, so I'll just pick up a few of those for my mom and dad, and they'll reiumburse me.

Also need to make a quick stop at the library to return a bag full of books and one overdue (oops!) DVD- "Doogal". I missed that one, oops!

When I get home, I'll see if I have enough energy left to continue my Spring Cleaning blitz.

I got down on my hands and knees yesterday and scrubbed the kitchen floor- it's sparkling now! I'm so proud of it. I've been wanting to do that for a while now but kept putting it off. I'm so glad I finally did it! Still have to scrub the pantry floor though. I didn't want to try to do too much last night, so I broke it up in half. I have to drag out all the stuff organized on the floor of the pantry first before I can start scrubbing. That would have been way too much on my plate last night. Plus, I didn't want to spend the last of my 5 days with Andy scrubbing!

FAMILY

I received an email this morning and it had this included in it, at the bottom. It really hit home to me and made me think.

Work is not the most important thing in life, although we spend the most important hours of the day there, sometimes even sacrificing precious weekends.

It is true, that FAMILY is the most important thing in the world, but far too often, we don't treat our family as if they were the most precious people to us.

Why exert all of our energy at work, and not have any left when we return home?

It makes me very sad.


Here is the text from the email:

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?

PEEPS Madness

I am trying very hard to avoid my 'latest temptations'- Dollar Tree, and any store that has Easter Clearance merchandise (read: PEEPS paraphenelia!)

Peeps are everywhere! Stuffed Peeps- small and large, Peeps bubbles, Peeps puzzles, candy, sippy bottles, Peep baskets, bunny peeps, original peeps, everywhere you look! And they're just so cute that it's hard to resist the temptation of picking up one of those soft, fuzzy plush Peeps and putting it in your shopping basket!

yikes... I feel lightheaded, I'd better slow down.

What makes it worse is knowing that it's just a couple days past Easter, and that means that all the Easter stuff is on clearance... and although everything has probably been picked over already, knowing that today is

Anyway, if I look at it like this... the more $ I spend on random, unnecessary things, etc... then the less $ we have for paying off debt / savings / Vacation in April!

So, if temptation rears its ugly head... I have to ask myself, "Do I really need this _______ cute stuffed Peep/Frog Spoon Rest/Dollar Store Trinket/Etc."?

NOPE!!

Can I live without it? Yes!
Will my life be adversely affected somehow if I do not acquire this item ASAP? Nope!

If I can "trick" my mind into creating an artificial "need" for something, then I can certainly "trick" my mind into believing that I don't need it!

Simple as that.

Spring Fever

Thank goodness I started feeling better throughout the weekend.

On Friday 3/21, we were lucky enough to be let home early at 3:00!! (and get paid for it!)

I left work about 3:10 pm and headed straight for the post office to mail 2 PBS books that I really should have mailed out long before that! (especially Out of Sight- yikes! I think I might get my hand smacked for that one from PBS!)

Afterward, I was still feeling brave enough to chance a stop at the library- to return some items and check out a whole new slew of kids' dvd's & vhs tapes, and a couple of DVD movies for Josh and me.

Went home and started to feel not-so-hot, so I decided to kick off my shoes and lay down for a minute. That's about as long as it lasted though, because my thoughts would not leave me alone! I kept thinking about what I could make for dinner, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would really need the extra time that I had available to me!

So, I made myself get up, tossed in a couple loads of laundry downstairs, and got to work on dinner. And what a dinner it was! I made: fried chicken tenders, biscuits, corn, mac & cheese, fried taters, and brownies and sliced strawberries for dessert! Whew! The kitchen was trashed when it was all said and done!

But Josh, Makayla, and I (Andy was at his dad's house this weekend) all sat down at the table and enjoyed a family dinner together.

After that, I was feeling rather weak and saying, "I overdid it", so I went to lie down. I think I may have gotten up once or twice after that, but then I was out for the rest of the night.

Saturday morning- Josh woke me up around 9:45 or so and I hopped out of bed. I made Josh a ham & cheese 3-egg omelet, and warmed up some pancakes (frozen from the weekend before) for myself and Makayla. Josh grabbed the 2 loads of laundry from both dryers downstairs, and I was off and running again! I tackled the entire bathroom (scrubbed from top to bottom- focusing mostly on the floor and the bathtub) while Josh attacked the kitchen (the stove and micro both look brand new!!) and Makayla ran around with miscellaneous cleaning items- a duster, sponge, mr. clean magic eraser, etc. etc. I would safely say it was a family cleaning day! I think the Spring Cleaning Bug got hold of us all, as the Bronchitis Bug was on its way out of me.

It felt absolutely GREAT to have such a spic & span house!

After Makayla went home around 2:30 or so, Josh and I got ready and left the house around 4 pm or so? We wanted to treat ourselves for all the housekeeping work we both did that morning.

So we went to Mexican Fiesta for dinner and stuffed ourselves silly! Since it was Easter Weekend, I was inspired by a PF blog that I regularly read, and the author said in the spirit of Easter, they were going to give an extra big tip to their waitperson the next time they went out to eat.

So... Josh and I did just that. I told him about it and he was totally on board and thought it was a cool idea. Our bill at Mexican Fiesta was $51.41, so Josh wrote in a $14.59 tip. 30% Tip! He said the woman at the cashier looked at it and said, "are you sure?" and he just said, "yes, I'm sure. Happy Easter!" I don't think she 'got it'.

I hope that that gesture made a difference for our waitress and/or her family that weekend. It feels so good to be able to spread Christs' love through random acts like that.

The rest of Saturday went quickly- we went to Wintergarden and played 3 games of darts (Cricket- we were pretty even each game, but Josh beat me all 3 times!) and then went home.

Sunday- we got ready to go to my parents house for Easter Dinner at 1 pm, but we arrived a little late, around 1:30 or so. We ate some good food, visited my parents, Anthony & family, and Mickey & Courtney and headed off again. Stopped at Kroger and loaded up on groceries, made a pit stop at Family Video (rented 30 Days of Night and American Gangster) and headed home.

We watched 30 Days of Night and it gave me the heebie jeebies! I turned ALL the lights in the house on (I mean all of them, didn't miss one!) And then started to get the itch to get out of the house for a little while. So then we went on a 1 1/2 hour excursion to our favorite money pit- MEIJER! We must have spent half of that time in the toy section! We found a couple birthday gifts for Makayla (an Ariel Princess Bride dress- a gift from Nana & Papa to her) and all kinds of junk food too.

By the time we got home and settled back in, groceries and items put away, it was almost 10:00. So we settled down in front of the TV and watched Happy Gilmore (I needed a Happy movie after that scary vampire flick!) and ate Doritos & etc. to our hearts' content!

I finally settled into bed close to 11:30 pm, and Josh very shortly afterward.

All in all, it was an awesome weekend! Got lots of work done, but also had lots of fun and we spent some really good quality Husband and Wife time together!!

Good Friday

Good Friday

Friday, March 21, 2008

Yesterday- sick, sick sick. I started feeling sick (bronchitis-sick) on Monday night after work. Made it through 2 full days of working while sick. Yesterday morning, Thursday, was just too much, so I called in and stayed home the whole day. Josh talked me into it, knowing that I was too sick to even try to go to work. I’m so glad I listened to him, and my body for a change! Around 8:00 am, I took 2 benadryl capsules and I was completely out until about 3:30 pm. I so needed that rest. I spent the remainder of yesterday afternoon and late into the evening with a bad headache. Even woke up this morning to a throbbing headache, but thankfully (thanks to God- he answered my prayers in the nick of time) it went away by the time I started my commute to work!

Hello, Bronchitis!

Okay, my self-pity can only go so far, since I am still smoking like a locomotive.

I'm pretty certain that I have an upper respiratory infection right now, and it might start heading further downhill and turn right into Bronchitis. Bring it on! I'm ready to kick some germs' butts!

Just trying to psych myself up here, lol. My sore throat/sore chest started last night, and I'm feeling it that much more today.

I went home and took a quick 20 minute nap to hopefully revitalize myself. It may or may not have worked, I have no evidence to support either one.

I went to the Mayo Clinic website today and pretty much diagnosed myself. 2 main causes: smoking and cold/moist environments. VOILA! The recent crazy changes in the weather! Close to 60 degrees one day, rainy/misty one day, 20 degrees and snow flurries one day!

no wonder so many people blame their colds/coughs/afflictions on the changing weather! I usually thought of that reason as a "one size fits all" to explain catching the common cold.

But now, as I'm getting a little older, not only am I hearing about it, etc. but I am also experiencing it first-hand.

Yes, I partly caused this by smoking. (yes, I should quit AGAIN) and yes, the weather partly caused this also, and we all know that people have absolutely no control over the weather.

We like to keep the apartment on the cooler side- which is why I think I would thrive in year-round 60 to 70- degree weather.

So, I brought the last can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup to work this morning. I haven't even cracked it open. (I don't want to waste it!

But alas, what did I just find? An envelope of my Lipton Cup-A-Soup! (hearty chicken noodle, no less!)

Ok, back from the lunchroom, where I procured a styrofoam cup of hot water for my cup-a-soup.


When I get sick like this, I usually end up feeling pretty sorry for myself. This time is no exception, although I fully realize that I am partly to blame for my current situation.

I just rounded up my stash of current products, left over from the last time I was sick. I found: 2 doses of Alka-Seltzer Plus cold & cough, 2 Day-Quil gelcaps, and one Claritin-D.

When I went home for lunch today, I remember seeing an envelope of Theraflu in the medicine cabinet, too.

I'd better start searching for more... something tells me I'm going to need it. (and from what Josh said just a few minutes ago on the phone- he's going to need it too!)

Thankful Tuesday

Oh boy!

I really hope I'm not getting sick. Last night I noticed a sore throat and chest. It was awful feeling when I woke up in the middle of the night, and this morning I wasn't feeling so hot either. I'm self-medicating right now, sipping hot black tea sweetened with honey. I took 2 Tylenol Allergy & Sinus tablets this morning. Also had over 2 cups of coffee at home and drank almost an entire can of Diet Pepsi Max on the way to work this morning. I need to take 2 Vitamin C tablets right now before I forget...

OK, done!

Well, spring is just around the corner... the 1st official day of Spring is March 20, the day after tomorrow. I have been really itching to do some serious Spring Cleaning and Decluttering, but I have felt neither the strength nor the energy to do any of it when I get home from work lately.

It is especially difficult to work on special cleaning/scrubbing/decluttering/organizing projects when I have Andy during the week. I don't want to spend all that time away from him, doing those Spring Cleaning things when I could be spending time with him instead.

Yesterday after I picked him up from school, we enjoyed the long car ride while listening to our latest Ramona audio book. We headed straight for the library, and while there we grabbed a huge armload of children's books and 3 movies. When we got home, I had him sit on the couch for a 10-minute time out, for back talking me and "taking tone" with me. (I had warned him several times)

I prepared his dinner while he was in time out, then afterward, he ate dinner and watched one of his movies from the library. The next hour or so was free time for him, while I prepared Josh's dinner (Taco Dip) and had some of it myself for dinner after I had finished making it. Around 8:00 or so, I had Andy put his pajamas on and around 8:30, we settled into my bed for story time and read several books.

Josh had come home from work around 8:30, so he ate his dinner in the bedroom and listened to the books being read to Andy.

Around 9:15 pm, and Andy scooted off to bed. I went to bed immediately afterward, forgetting that I had left 2 loads of laundry in the dryer! Josh, bless his wonderful supportive-husband-heart, ran downstairs and brought all the clothes up, and proceeded to fold, hang up, and put away ALL of the laundry that I had started earlier! If not for him, we would have had 2 large piles of very wrinkled clothes!

I hope to do better tonight. First things first though- I am going to try not to bite off more than I can chew tonight. That was my big mistake last night!

Mondays

Boy oh boy! I really don't like Mondays!

I think it all went downhill after I started thinking about the kids' birthdays. That should be something that makes me happy when I think about it, but of course I let myself get stressed out as usual.

I started thinking about planning the birthday parties, specifically how much it would cost to plan a party for Andy, because Makayla has already said she wants her birthday party at "mum mum's" house. So that cost will be next to nothing- all we really need to do is buy the birthday cake and perhaps some pizza to feed us with. And that even depends on whether or not Josh's parents will be up there, or in Northville that weekend. It's only 3 or 4 weeks away.

Andy's birthday will be the more complicated one. We are not having 2 birthdays for each child, nor do I want to drive up north more than once. His birthday party will be down here, where we live, and where most of his family lives. Naturally, there will be more people attending his birthday party down here, simply because there is more family down here.

Josh and I WILL NOT, no matter if family pleads differently, we will not have a combined birthday party for the children. We both feel that it is important for each child to feel important and special on his/her birthday, and your birthday is a very special day that you do not have to share with ANYONE.

Anyway. I figure that Andy's dad will have a birthday party in which Andy's classmates will be invited to, so my thoughts are that we will limit his birthday party that we are giving him to family members only. Me and Josh (obviously), Makayla, Nana and Papa, Anthony, Roberta, Nikki, Chelsea, Great-Grandpa Jake, Mickey and Courtney and Alex, Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jack, David and Phyllis, Earl, Lynda, Connor, and Cory. and I suppose that would be it? If I had Brevin's phone number and/or address, I would send an invitation to him, but I'm sure that Andy's dad will already have Brevin invited to Andy's party at his dad's house.

The size of the party should not matter. Actually, the less money we spend on the actual party itself leaves more room for birthday gifts and cake.

Counting all those people I listed earlier already adds up to 21 people total.

Now, for location. Since it's going to be down here in our area, it would be nice to have a party at home, right? Wrong. The apartment is too tiny for 21 people. Actually, it would be too small for even 10-12 people.

My most logical idea would be to have the party at Chuck E. Cheese's, and do an "a la carte" type of thing. Bring in our own cake, tablecloths, and cake plates. Buy pizza and pitchers of pop for everyone. Buy a big thing of tokens and pass them out to the kids. And make small treat-bags from treasures found at the wonderful Dollar Store.

I know we could do an even smaller-scale thing. I could look into renting out the clubhouse at the apartments, and we could order a few party trays from Meijer. That would solve the space problem. The kids would still find a way to have fun. We could have bubbles and a couple of games. I really doubt that it would be warm enough outside to go swimming, but you never know. I suppose it would all depend on the cost of renting the "clubhouse" for a few hours. Actually, that might be a better idea and I am going to put a lot of thought into it.

If Josh's parents will be around when Makayla's birthday comes around, then we'll do something similar for her. Or, we'll go to Chuck E Cheese's. I know there's a way to have a good birthday party for each child without spending over $250.00 on the party alone.

Oh, by the way, Andy has requested a Transformers Birthday Cake. We think Makayla would like to have a Disney Princess Birthday Cake, but we'll have to ask her and she will tell us exactly what she wants.

St. Patrick's Day & Vacation Thoughts

Well, today is St. Patrick's Day. It's Green Day for Andy in Kindergarten, and they are having a "party" at lunch- they'll be fed pizza, fruit and etc.

My thoughts are on Money, as usual. We went nuts this weekend. Looking back, I wish we would have just stayed home. It all started out with a Friday trip to the dollar store, where I spent $21.00. (on what??) Then on Saturday, we had a birthday party to go to. $20.00 for the gift/gift bag / birthday card. $20.00 cash for my other cousin, who had a birthday a couple weeks ago, but we couldn't go because I had a migraine that day. Kroger after the birthday party, where we spent another $42.00 on groceries. Sunday- that was our big money spending day. And the day I wish we would have just stayed home! $27.00 at Panera, (lunch for me, Josh, and Andy) $210.00 at Target (mostly clothes for Andy, but a pair of shoes and a t-shirt for me, a pair of Dora shoes for Makayla, socks for Josh, 3 polo shirts for Andy, a t-shirt for him too, a short-sleeve button up shirt, a pair of Khaki cargo pants, a pair of sandals, and a Transformer toy, oh, and a baseball cap, and an Army-print windbreaker- all for the little man) As if that weren't enough! Then we went on to Meijer, spending another $120.00!! Groceries, pop, pantyhose, knee-highs, and 2 packages of socks for me, and tons of assorted groceries like eggs, cream cheese, butter, Kraft Cheese slices, 3 containers of apple juice, etc. etc. etc.

We have been completely out of control for the past several weeks. And it's time to stop. I need to stop. We all need to stop!

We're not going to have any spending money for vacation at the rate we're going!

Right now, we have $512.00 in the vacation fund. Adding another $500.00 at the end of this month. And another $500.00 next month. That leaves us with $1512.00 for vacation. Minus the Sheraton in Cocoa beach ( - $299.70) and minus the Enterprise Car Rental ( - $377.44). That leaves us with about $834.86 for gas money, any extra rental car charges, food, and other vacation expenses. Is that going to be enough??? I hope so!

I'm thinking about not sending so much $$ to Gardner White next month. Then, whatever is left from our vacation money after we get back, I'll send that to Gardner White. That sounds like a good plan to me, actually- since GW has already gotten $1000.00 from us last week and another $100.00 from us this week. I was planning on sending GW $576.00 next month. But I'll take that $500.00 and put it toward our vacation. This is our first vacation and I don't want any worries about whether we have enough money for fun or now.

On top of that, we currently have $500.00 in the EF, and I'm planning to sock away another $225.00 in the EF next month. We're covered on that end, at least!

I want this to be a fun, relaxing, guilt-free vacation... this is our escape! This is our family vacation! (minus Makayla, but we will make sure to take her with when she gets older- if and when we take another family vacation! I'm just afraid that she would have a really hard time being away from her Mom that long... but as she gets older, we're definitely going to give it a try.)

So... it is done!!

As long as there's no more spending from now until vacation time, we will be set!

I was thinking about tanning before we went down there, but I'm not sure now. I certainly don't want to burn up in that hot Florida sun. That would make for a bad thing to happen on vacation!

I'll have to talk to Josh and see what he thinks. I already know what he'll say- he'll tell me to go for it! Bless his heart, he never wants to deny me anything. Even if it means that he has to go without to keep me happy, he would do it and not think twice about it.

Weekend rewind- we had a lot of fun this weekend. Friday night we did our usual thing- watched movies, ate snacks, etc. I made mac & cheese and cut-up hot dogs for the kids. Then they watched Disney's The Haunted Mansion. Both kids were so scared from the movie that they were both crying. Our original plan, in the beginning of the evening, was to have both kids sleep on a pallet on our bedroom floor so Josh could actually sleep in our bed for a change on Friday night. That plan crashed and burned! He ended up sleeping on the couch with Makayla and Andy ended up sleeping with me in my bed.

This whole bedtime routine with Makayla is the biggest challenge for us. She absolutely refuses to sleep in her own bed, and we know why. We know that Makayla's Mom won't work with her on getting her to sleep in her own bed at home. And since Kayla's only with us on weekends, we can't really make any progress because when she goes home to her Mom, it starts all over again. Josh and I both keep saying that it will get better as she gets older. And it will. We leave that concern with the Lord, and He will take care of it in His own time.

Very very soon it will be time to start thinking about the kids' birthdays. I really want to simplify it this year. We may have just one party for each child. We'll have Makayla's birthday party up north (she has requested this!! she's so excited about it, what a sweetie,,, LOL) and we can have Andy's party down here. Probably at Chuck E. Cheese's. I would like to invite his kindergarten friends this year. I'd better get invitations out soon. Still, that's something I will need to talk with Josh about so we can make a decision together.

Lunch

All is pretty quiet in the office right now. The ladies who lunch have gone out to lunch. I'm waiting as close to 1 pm as I can before I leave for lunch. Since busy season ended, I have been going home every day for lunch. I don't buy lunch out, I'm saving tons of money compared to eating out for lunch every day. I do use more gas though, by going home for lunch (it's about a 20-minute round trip) but the savings compared to eating out far outweigh what I spend in extra gas.

I get out every day to just get away. even if I go home and pick up the house. that's less I will have to do after work, when I'm usually drained. sometimes I have a surge of energy, and those are really really good days. I'm actually hoping that today will be one of those days because there are lots of things I would like to get done before Friday comes and we have both kids home.

yesterday was not one of those high-energy days. I skipped eating anything for lunch and I paid the price for it. I was dizzy and disoriented in the afternoon at work and it only got worse after work. by the time I got home (had to stop at the library first), I made myself an onion bagel (ooh, think I'll have one of those for lunch today!), a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar, and a glass milk. I ate in bed and immediately fell asleep, waking up from my nap at 8 pm. I still felt lousy when Josh got home, but I stayed awake, just in bed. Josh brought his dinner into the bedroom with him and we watched a little bit of TV, then he watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2 on the laptop. I think I fell asleep a little after 10 pm.

Not a very exciting tale, but that was our evening!!

I don't think I can wait any longer... it's 12:30 and i'm ready to head home for lunch.

38 More Days Till FLORIDA!!!

Logging onto http://www.tripadvisor.com/ to check out more stuff on Cocoa Beach. Even though we're only staying there 2 days, I'm really excited. And plus, if we're really having a great time, we could always stay a third night and head to Perry on Tuesday.

We'll be in FL from 4/19 till 4/26, so we've got plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. I hope it's as great as we're expecting it to be!

In Cocoa Beach, we're staying at the Four Points Sheraton Cocoa Beach, which has Cocoa Beach Surf Co. right inside the hotel. The pool looks tiny and is housed in a parking garage (???) across the street, so that's the only downside. But then again, who needs a pool when we're 1 block away from the Atlantic Ocean???!!!! Woohoo!!!! Anyway, we're staying in a 2-room suite with a jacuzzi inside!! So excited!!!

Today it is impossible to think about work. I'm not interested. My hear is not in it. And I'm really wishing I could work part-time but get full-time pay.