Angelic Blue's Journeys

Video Blog?

2009-06-04T14:45:00.002-05:00

I'm contemplating doing a little video blog for ya'll. I will even do a write up on it. I will do a typical written post as well if you like. What do you think? Wanna see Angelic Blue on a video post?

Photo Lab...

2009-06-03T23:37:00.001-05:00

While I was at work I developed a lot of film (I worked the photo lab in retail world). There was a lot of half taken rolls of film that we developed. Generally when I'm over there... there is not NEARLY as much film that isn't full. But everyone had to document the damages taken to their houses, trees, and yards. You could see the major effects of the storm beyond just what had happened at retail world. Beyond what had happened outside our house. Beyond what had happened at my parent's house. Vehicles were damaged and trailers were damaged. There really was NO preparing to do... because it went from rain to hell in seconds. People who weren't scared of storms before became scared of them. Or at least uneasy about them. Just because of how quickly it changed from just a storm... to something far worse. But it also made me THANKFUL that our damage was minimal compared to some of those around us!

The Storm Is Over Now...

2009-06-02T21:39:00.003-05:00

About an hour before I got off work today we had some PURE craziness hit! There was a storm coming. I knew it from my lunch at about 12:30 but I never expected what ended up happening. It turned out to be one of those storms that turn out a bit worse than expected.

The damage at our house was minimal. It tore up the tarps that we had outside. We have a car port and to keep the snow/weather from coming in we had tarps up. The neighbor lost a tree... which covered the road but didn't hit anything to cause any real damage. But beyond that, we were fine this time.

The damage at my parent's house was far worse. It took out all three of their trees but fortunately none of them landed on anything that couldn't be replaced. Dear Husband will be helping them tomorrow so that they can get that cleaned up faster. They already started on it tonight. So that is great! The electric company also managed to come and get the electric turned on for them. The phone line was repaired (it only broke the thing on the outside so that Steve got up on the ladder and replaced that) by Dear Husband tonight.

The damage at Retail World will be a bit more costly and probably take a bit more time. We lost about 3 of our sun domes. Mostly due to hail I'm sure. But it was quick.. it just broke and the rain came pouring in right over our softlines. We also moved quick and got them out of the way and buckets and tried to save as much of the clothes as we could. UGH! We did however, have some other leaks through the ceiling. They will have to repair those too. But we also lost our clearance tent (all clothing). The tent went down easily. We didn't try to save anything out there because it was to dangerous outside. So we concentrated on the stuff inside. The one person who went out... ended up getting hurt so yeah, that was a loss. Probably.

I'm glad that the storm is over for now... at least it made the last hour go fast as we are trying to run around and save things. But it's bad timing since we have inventory coming in soon! Very soon!

That Money

2009-06-01T23:29:00.002-05:00

I went to college today... $200 later I walked out with TWO USED books. UGH! They are so good at getting that money! But at least I am ready to get going to class. Speaking of classes, I start them next week! WOW! The break really flew by! But I'll have a bigger break after I finish these two I think. I don't think I will take classes until Jan again. But we'll see!

It has been a lot of work, but I'm seeing the beginning of the end in site (again). The tunnel looks LONG when you are standing on this side of it... with pre-reqs and all. But it's really not so bad when you are almost through. Then comes the nerve wrecking thing about if you will be accepted or not. UGH! I hate those classes where they decide if you're good enough or not. But we'll see what happens. Plus, I don't know if I am going to stop at my LPN or go onto my RN. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I applied for a job the other day. I applied at an area hospital (one about 45 mins away) as a CNA on the telemetry floor. I'm kind of hoping I hear back. I'm applying for CNA jobs but I'm not applying at nursing homes. After all, that is NOT where I want to be at all with my nursing so it would be nice to be able to start out outside of that area. Ya know?

Well, dear blog readers... Happy first day of June! I hope it's been a great one for you. I will do my weigh in tomorrow morning before work because I'm tired tonight and the Dear Husband is on the XBox 360 right now.

Dates

2009-06-01T12:46:00.003-05:00

I've got the dates for the children who are going to CO. I'm glad to actually have dates but in a way it's kind of sad. :( I am really going to miss them. But now, next week I've gotta start packing their stuff and getting them ready for a trip to their father. *sigh* I'm going to miss them SOOO much. They will leave for Colorado on the 20th. They will probably leave our house on the 19th and spend the night with their grandparents (on the ex's side). Then they will come home again on the 18th of July. Now, I just have to see what all they need NEW before they go to their father's. I know they need shoes but we'll see about everything else as I get them packed up.

Traded In...

2009-05-31T22:50:00.004-05:00

So, our Wal Mart was having an awsome sell on this lap top computer. It was a Toshiba and it was 17 inches. But it didn't have a web cam built in and it was missing a lot of extras. Well, I got tired of waiting for 5 minutes for the dang thing to boot up. I realized why this computer was SOOO cheap compaired to the others they had. Then I got to thinking that if I'm going to spend money, I want something that works. Ya know? So I put everything back in the box and I got my reciept together and took it back tonight. Then, after I was done doing that... I went ahead and got a different one. I ended up doing one of the mini computers. It actually works really well. I have to get used to a little smaller typing area but overall, I am loving it! This one has a web cam on it... which is, of course awsome. It doesn't have a CD drive... which is fine... because I use my flash drive the most anyways. It is mostly being used for internet use and papers for school. I also made sure I got one that kind of stood out... so I picked red. I think I'm going to be keeping this one. So far it works great!! :)

Yesterday was a HARD evening... without going into to much detail I am EXTREMELY moody with my children leaving me. I can go from very happy to very sad within seconds. It's a depression but not a dangerous depression (if there is such a thing...). I mean I don't want to hurt/kill myself. But it hurts so much when they leave me even if it is only for a month. Even if I do NEED the break a little bit. It still hurts so I get pushed over the edge really easy! I can't wait for this time to be over.

I have some ideas that I want to post about here soon! I'm hoping I can remember them all. UGH! I'm extremely tired... so I'm going to bed. I'll make another post tomorrow... maybe I'll work on a list of things I want to write about. Maybe not! Who knows.

P.S. I go to the school and get my books tomorrow! I'm kind of excited and kind of nervous!

Plans...

2009-05-31T11:17:00.003-05:00

Dear Husband and the 5 lil' children are off to a birthday/graduation party. I hope that they have a lot of fun!! It should be. I will be working. Oh the joys of working retail world when it is open 24/7 (minus Christmas). But at least I'll be earning Premium hours!

A Little of This... and That...

2009-05-29T00:39:00.004-05:00

Little Piglet's appointment was a very quick, in and out, appointment. They checked his lymph node... I got to ask a few questions. I wasn't as organized as I would have liked to have been going in. I wasn't sure what I should save for the next appointment with the specialist person and which ones would be okay through the general family doctor. I asked one question he couldn't really answer, which is fine because I'll get that answer at the specialist appointment. He took some time to explain the hand x-ray to me. Because they had given me a copy of the paper which I have enough knowledge to be able to understand. So, he went over it and explained again how whoever who interpreted it saw it. He said that it would probably be a good idea to get a copy of the actual x-ray to take with us. Then he said that they would probably get another x-ray when we got there... but they could use the original as a "base line". He couldn't (or didn't want to) tell me what this deviation away from normal meant as far as cause or what to expect when I go to this other doctor. But I also can understand that... that's why I'm going to this other person. So, for now that is all that I am able to tell ya about the appointment itself. I didn't ask about labs (like I said... a lot going on recently I didn't go in as organized as I would have liked). I might call them tomorrow and see if they will tell me if everything was normal.

Speaking of Little Piglet... today was his last day of Pre-K! He won't be going back there again. Next year (and technically speaking.. is now) a Kindergartener! He's so grown up. I am so very proud of him for all the accomplishments that he's made this year! There have been so MANY of them... even if gaining weight isn't one of them! :)

The Princess and The Dare Devil both have school tomorrow... then they are out for the summer. The Princess has an award ceremony at her school that I want to go to. I have a lot of running to do... in between some really tight schedules. The kids get out early tomorrow. *sigh* I will be glad to be able to STAY asleep when I don't have to be at work at 8 AM!

I suppose that's all for tonight... I have a couple topics I want to cover over the next couple days! But I will save them for their own posts!! Night!

Another Appointment & Help From You..

2009-05-28T09:56:00.002-05:00

I take Little Piglet back to the doctor today. This is a family doctor appointment. I'm not 100% sure what to expect because I'm not 100% sure why they even want him to come back today. He already pretty much blew off his lymph node (which I'm hoping to get answers to when we see the diagnostic guy). My only guess is to check ears and tonsils. I don't know about the ears but the tonsils haven't changed (nor has that lymph node). But I'll update about the appointment when it's over... the appointment is at 1:30.

Today is Little Piglet's last day of school. After today, he's technically a KINDERGARTENER! WTH? Already! My baby has grown up. Dare Devil and The Princess have their last day tomorrow at 2:30. Then I have a 4th grader and a 1st grader too! WOW! How quickly they are growing and changing.

So, now I want some help from you guys... while my children are gone to their father's I'm not going to have much to post about... my own life isn't that interesting. So, is there ANYTHING you guys would like to hear more about to pass time. I've got to keep myself busy or I get miserable while they are gone. So, if you have a topic... please come on and leave a comment.

Seperation Anxiety

2009-05-26T22:59:00.005-05:00

When I got home tonight my Little Piglet was asleep on the couch. The other kids were awake to give me goodnight kisses. But since he wouldn't wake up to give me kisses I held him for a few minutes... and I started to get all sad and teary eyed. I have less than 30 days before I have all these moments taken away from me for 30 days. It tears me apart EVERY year... EVERY year I get sad... I get moody. A part of me gets torn away. I would love for that part of my world to never get torn away like it does in this case. So, as I held him... I grabbed the camera and snapped this shot before asking Dear Husband to snap a few more shots. I hate feeling so sad... I hate crying. It should be a happy time for them. It should be a break for me... but I don't want the break! I wouldn't mind once a month for a weekend... or even every other weekend. But a MONTH at a time, tears me apart. Hurts my heart. I know they need time with their "father" but still. One of these days they will see that their father views them as an inconvenience and not the joy that they are. Their father always has been this way, but I had blinders on. They have blinders on right now... but they won't forever. As my youngest son laid in my arms sleeping peacefully I can feel it... I can feel my heart tear apart. I can feel the pull to just keep them. For the guy who thinks his child support goes so far... and complains when he has to spend money on them (he won't get pictures done, he won't buy clothes without threatening to take it from my child support, he won't get them anything they want/need without complaining) while they are with him... when most father's would be greatful and spoiling their children it makes me want to just hug them and hold them and shelter them from the world. Can't I shelter them from all this? So, tonight as I look down and see his sweet innocent face and I snuggle with this little boy... as I tuck in the older children and say good night and get kisses from them I find myself SOOO very sad... so sad that last night I even crawled into bed and cried on my husband. It's all I know how to do... is cry because I can't just KEEP them.

If only you knew half the story, you would know why I worry so much... you would know why this breaks my heart beyond just mommy separation. But I'd cry either way... because they are my life 11 months out of the year!!

Bedroom Remodel

2009-05-25T21:57:00.003-05:00

Welcome to my first attempt at being secretive over the internet! I refuse to give many details because I am also not going to be giving my children a lot of details until they are done and they see it finished. I'll get into how that will work in another post (although, you might have to remind me). Anyways, here are a few details into what is going on.

I've begun my bedroom makeovers. They will be pretty much the first rooms completed. I have discussed my plans with each of the children over what will happen to their rooms. I wanted ideas because I don't just want to go DO it and then find out they hate it! Ya know? But they have no ideas which ones I'm going to use and which I am not. However, neither will you internet. I might give colors when they are done and over with but the real DETAILS will not be released until photos have been taken and all that.

I've began on the hardest room first. The one that will end up taking the longest. Because this will ensure that my time is spent most wisely while retaining the surprise behind it all. This will allow my colors/themes and other selections to be secret. They know we are painting, they just don't know what colors and themes. So I began with the room that needs two coats of WHITE paint to begin with.

I began with Little Piglet and Rough N' Rowdy's room. Their rooms were done in paneling of light tans, browns, and off whites. Very ugly colored. So, because of the colors I knew it would need more than one coat and so we took white paint and went over it. It is cheaper to just use the white paint than to have to use the colored more. But it's a blank slate pretty much. I got one coat of white put on today... BUT I will try to get another one on tomorrow.

Then Thursday I'll go buy some paint (colored) and put it away until I can get it done secretively. :) I love it! I can't wait. I can't wait for it to be done either!!!

Rescheduling...

2009-05-25T13:07:00.003-05:00

Little Piglet's father e-mailed me back about the appointment time. It is currently set at the end of June. However, because the kids are with him for 1 month during the month of mid June through mid July I have to reschedule it. So, it won't be until the end of July. So, there we have it. I'll have to call tomorrow and reschedule it. Then I'll pop on here to let you know when it is!

Um, NOT ME!

2009-05-25T11:29:00.003-05:00

I've decided to participate in the "Not Me" Monday carnival hosted by My Charming Kids! Go on over there and visit with her and her awesome family!!

I did NOT do a bunch of changes on my blog this week. I didn't turn it into a blue blog with some "secrecy" behind it. I didn't turn it into a three column blog. :) Not me! That didn't require me to play around with coding... something I enjoy but I hardly ever do because I don't want to mess something up and start ALL over!
It was NOT I who succeeded in week 1 of C25K! I am NOT nervous about starting next week's plan.... Because this week's wasn't all that EASY to start with. Now we are pushing already! But we'll check after day one. (Which isn't today of course!)
I didn't get online today to check my paycheck stub online so I could actually budget out my paycheck to make sure I would have phone and internet! LOL!
My husband didn't pick up a turtle on the road that was a water turtle which we then didn't placed in a tank. The kids DON'T like him at all.
I didn't go over to My Charming Kids and read her tutorial that she has over there.
I didn't want to hurry up and just get my own camera that wasn't point and shoot. I haven't been waiting patiently for a LONG time... and I'm NOT about tired of waiting.

Hum, that's about all I can think of for now... I'm gonna sign off here... enjoy a holiday with the family... clean up the house a bit. Everything I typically do BUT go into work! WOOT!

Ask Angelic

2009-05-23T20:29:00.004-05:00

Okay, so with the whole new features I did on here I had to re-name everything and so yeah. I finally had a chance to sit down and do that! I'm now re-opening this post up. I would appreciate EVERYONE's help with it.

All you have to do is e-mail me (the link is in my section over there on the side) a question or three. They will be put into a box and drawn out one at a time to answer... when I get enough I'll start answering more and more of them. But in the mean time... this is the start.

Anything is game so come play along! I'll be answering question(s) every Saturday! So, let keep them pouring in all week so we have lots to choose from and you'll never know which one I'm going to answer that day.

Little Piglet Antibiotic

2009-05-23T19:15:00.002-05:00

The other day, when Little Piglet was at the doctor, they put him on an antibiotic (in hopes of clearing up his ears, tonsils, and lymph node). Well, when I got home I realized that they put him on amoxicillin. I began to panic a bit... because Little Piglet is allergic to amoxicillin.

I guess now is when I need to back track a bit... to a trip to the ER for a feverish and screaming baby. When they diagnosed him with an ear infection and put him on an antibiotic to clear it up. Well, within a dose of the antibiotic he was happier and the pain meds had kicked in. However, after his next dose he began a blood curdling SCREAM... and when you picked him up he tried to get away and was in PAIN when you touched him. Then the rash started. So, we went back to the ER where they checked his ears and said that his ears were fine... let's try an antihistamine and also another antibiotic. He had an allergic reaction to the medicine that time.

When we returned home (we were on vacation then) and discussed this with his family doctor they said that it was concidered "mild" even if it was horrible for him. We could feel free to TRY the amoxicillin again and see what happens. The rash/pain could have been caused from an illness or it could have been piggybacked to close to an antibiotic that it reacted with because it was still in his body. I ruled out doing that test at that point. He wasn't able to talk to us to tell us what was wrong... I didn't feel up to what if he has a severe reaction (another risk with a mild reaction).

Well, Little Piglet is now old enough to talk and tell us specifics... so I went ahead and bit the bullet. He's not ILL now where he's cranky or screaming or anything. So, I figured we might as well do the test now. Get it over with.

Well, we are on day 2 of antibiotics... we've had 7 doses and he's doing fine. I had a worry moment there for a minute.... when he started saying everything was hurting. But it was the allergy medicine making him tired. No pain and no rash! So, it's either a reaction to an antibiotic from another antibiotic or it was from the illness he first had. So, maybe I can take it off his list... although I'll still always watch him VERY carefully when he is on that medicine.

A lot of work...

2009-05-23T17:42:00.004-05:00

I've put a lot of work into this new set up. I even tried to turn it into a 3 column but I kept doing something wrong with the coding even following step by step... so I gave up! LOL! I'll try again soon.

I think, except for the older posts you won't find our real names on our blog. Something I wanted to try. But you do learn a bit about us. :) Anyways, I'm going to get off here for now. Everyone's outside and I would LOVE to get a nap before they come back in.

Changes

2009-05-23T00:32:00.001-05:00

What do you all thing of the new layout?!

P.S. I'm trying to get some privacy up for me, my husband, and the children. So it's not quiet AS obvious who we are unless we tell ya. You know?

Electrical problems (Edited)

2009-05-22T15:17:00.001-05:00

It was a couple years ago we had a problem very similar to the one we are in right now. You will have to forgive me for my spelling and lack of smilies as I am typing this on my blackberry.

I'm keeping this short until I can get on my computer. We are without electric right now. We had problems with wiring before... And it seems they must now have been fixed. Ugh! I hope to have news for you very soon... But until then please just pray that we can figure out what is up and hopefully it is a quick fix.... But I highly doubt it!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

(EDIT)

So the electrician came today... and he managed to fix us all up. I'm extremely happy that we are safe and sound in our little house today. I was a bit worried about where we were going to go if we couldn't sleep here tonight.

The problem was a little hard to find. I knew that something did smoke but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from... and a good part of that reason was because of the fact that it was in a door that we don't use. There is a door between two bedrooms that we have blocked because we didn't want the kids running in circles. It's blocked with a toybox on one side. So, we moved that toybox while he was looking into all the wires and there it was...

This photo was taken with my blackberry... but that is a WHITE door frame. Well, most of it is anyways. I also got photos of the other side and the edge of the door. But I'm not going to post them tonight. I just took them to document what ended up happening.

They did rerun wires today... so half of our house is on a different part of the breaker. Before it was pretty much all on one. :) I'm just glad that it blew today! Because if it didn't... we probably wouldn't have a house to be sitting in tonight.

Matthew Faces FTT (Again)

2009-05-21T18:34:00.003-05:00

Our follow up for Matt's lymph node turned into a bit more! I have a lot of questions for my family doctor since we will see him before anyone else. So, let me fill you in on what we know and such.

Matt's back down to 28 lbs. I knew that the reading at 30 lbs was because they had him wearing a coat. So, I asked about it. I was asked if I ever heard the results from his bone age study. I was told everything was normal based on labs but never heard about the bone age. The NP was who gave me the information I heard. The doctor checked on the results and he was 3 years and 11 months when we had the x-ray done (he was 2 weeks from turning 4!). His results for his bone study was 2 years and 8 months to 3 years. He was almost a year behind by his bones. The doctor then asked what happened when they referred me to Children's. I said, I was never referred. I told it was all normal and there was nothing to worry about. He said that he hadn't looked at the file since the NP took over at the next visit but we should have been referred to at least check everything. Our story with Failure to Thrive isn't over yet!!

As far as Matt's lymph nodes... I'm not worrying. About the thing I was worried about anyways. Currently his ears both show infection (he even let me look at them with the little tool!). His tonsils are double the normal size (always have been). His eyes have dark spots under them (in the corners) which indicate pressure or something in his nose. He's going to assume that it's allergies or sinuses that make this lymph node happen. But if it's something else, part of our failure to thrive (FTT) could show what's going on.

I've been looking up all these symptoms combined as well as "meeting" up with moms over at Caring Pages and there are a lot of things that could cause FTT and that could also be causing his lymph nodes to be the way they are, the tonsils to be the way they are, and cronic ear infections. It could be so many things that I'm scared. I'm scared to hear the worse and hopeful to hear the best.

The doctor did say that 8 times out of 10 when they send a child to Children's Hospital for FTT it turns out to be nothing. I'm kind of hoping that is how it goes... but that still doesn't explain why he's so small at 5.5 years of age.

So, we got our referral to Children's based on FTT. He's suppose to go in June but I have to call and re-schedule to July because he's with his father for awhile in June. So, I'll let you know when that is going to happen. We did have to make a trip to the local hospital to get some more labs done... so they have results that aren't a year and half old. I'm actually kind of suprised they didn't do another bone study on him. But maybe that's something we will do again when we get there. With all the possibilities for him... I'm scared. A little worried but trying to convince myself that it will be all normal in the end.

P.S. Please note that he's been diagnosed with Failure To Thrive for a good two years now... before that was just low weight. BUT because they thought he was gaining weight (nurses weighing him with winter clothes on) it was a "back burner" type problem. Because as long as he gained some and didn't stay exactly the same he was "thriving". So, that's why we are "facing FTT again"... because it's an issue that we've watched but it hasn't gone anywhere in the last 6 months. They were happy with 2 lbs gained in that time... even though I tried to tell them to re-weigh him without his coat. (Especially since HE was diagnosed with FTT they should have taken steps to ensure it was acurate.)

A favor...

2009-05-21T08:40:00.003-05:00

I need a favor from you guys... It is a favor that I need soon from you all. Matthew goes back to the doctor today. I'm interested in knowing what his weight is going to be this time. But more importantly (and I know parts of this story are missing because they were on my old blog) I scheduled THIS appointment with the doctor because I am tired of the run around and I'm really hoping that MAYBE he will be able to move the ball a little further.

For a quick catch up... Awhile back... I noticed a lymph node on the side of his neck is swollen. I noticed it after a cold and figured it was still just secondary infected. Well, after about a week I took him back to the doctor. We saw a nurse practitioner who said to wait 10 more days. I waited longer than that hoping it would just go down. But it never did. So I took him back. We've been through a trial and error of antibiotics and waiting since then and it doesn't go away! The last NP we saw told me he was congested and that I would have to wait 4 weeks to come back. (I'll add that he was NOT congested at all... he barely was even in the room when he decided to diagnose this.) Well, I DID that. When I went to schedule this one... I decided to go see the DR instead of his NPs. Because if I'm told to go home and wait another few days/weeks/months I'm switching doctors. Something IS wrong. There is a lump in my child's lymph node and it could be something minor or it could be something major and all they are doing is putting off actually finding out. We know it won't respond to this antibiotic or that antibiotic or the other one. Nor does it respond to "waiting". I'm done.

So, I need you to pray for my 28 lb 5 year old!! Please pray that I get SOMEWHERE this visit. Please pray that I managed to get a referral at least. I'm done with this waiting game when it could be something and they keep blowing me off. I want answers.

(His appointment is at 10:30 AM central time... I'll update again when I get home.)

C25K Day 1... Again...

2009-05-20T23:21:00.000-05:00

A little inspiration goes a long way too! When I felt like giving up for another week on the whole weight loss/exercise I got a comment. A comment from another Jess. You can visit her over here. Right now, she is kind of my "work out buddy" and she doesn't even know it. It is kind of that thing that when I feel like giving up, I know I'm not the only one pushing myself into doing SOMETHING. While I'm doing this for no one but myself, being by yourself trying to work out and exercise can/is hard. So, I'm glad that I managed to find her blog (somehow... I don't remember how I managed to find it) and left her a comment. Even better is she commented back. (When I visit someone's blog... I will book mark the page. If they visit me and comment back, often times they end up on my blogroll so that I can see when they update and make sure I head that way.)

I did manage to find my motivation to get back on track for THIS week. I went on my C25K and while it still sucked I knew that I could do it as long as I keep pushing myself. *sigh* Tomorrow, I do my fit program. I also have to squeeze in my second day of C25K because it was so long ago when I did my other program. So, I need to be on day three on Friday... but I'm a day behind. So I might end up running it again tonight. Then next week, kick in the fit program. Either way, I feel better to ACTUALLY be trying again. I felt like a lump last week.

Small Accomplishments

2009-05-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

The smallest accomplishments are sometimes the most rewarding. I know this is going to sound horrible and very minor to you all but I'm pretty proud of myself. After watching people doing paint I decided to just do it. The person covering the department was pretty busy so why not? As it turned out, it almost turned out perfect. I was very happy. I know I'm still going to mess up while I'm learning but for the first time it was awsome. Yes, a small accomplishment byt it really made my evening.

To make my evening better I talked to my manager. We are short on people right now. So instead of coming in at 9 tomorrow, I am going in at 7 AM. Then I am getting an extra day as well! She said it was my choice to go home whenever someone else comes in or to stay until 4. I told her whichever, so I'll find out tomorrow AM which I work. That will be a 40 hour work week! That always helps with bills!

Tonight I had to have a discussion with my daughter about why she couldn't have her lacy curtain up. It was a chance to have an age appropriate conversation about peeping toms. But it also allowed me to let her voice her concerns, questions, and comments. She of course had mostly innocent questions. Told us she was a little scared but she seemed to feel a lot better when I told her that this is her house and she is to feel safe and not scared. We took the steps needed to make her safe.

The Story Of Last Night...

2009-05-19T09:21:00.003-05:00

I have a lot of topics I want to do a post about... but this morning I'm going to leave you with the adventures of last night!

Our neighbor came over pretty late and asked for some help. My husband went but when he left he didn't tell me what was going on. So, I was pretty shocked when two of our cop cars ended up cursing around with spotlights on looking through the yards and such. One even got out and searched the neighbor's yard and the next door neighbor's yard, and then ours. I of course don't know what the heck is going on... so I tried calling my husband. Well, he left his cell phone here at home so that didn't help me at all!

When my husband came home later he told me that the neighbor was cleaning her bathroom when she looked up and saw someone peeking in. So the boys were looking for this person. They also called the cops. Which is when they showed up. But evidently, no one found him. So, we might likely have a peeping tom in the area.

However, Laura had some pretty lacy type curtains over her window. But now there is a solid curtain over the window. No peeping tom is going to be looking at my child. The other kids already have solid curtains so they are good.

Hopefully being caught will make him stay home. But I watch to many shows that tell me that peeping toms tend to get worse, not better. *sigh* Can't even be safe in this neighborhood where crime is really low.

Starting Over

2009-05-18T18:01:00.000-05:00

I'm beginning again! I'm back on week 1. I'm making a few changes. I already know that this week sucked worse than last... because I gave up on the stupid thing. I had a lot of stress this week and I gave into the weaknesses. UGH! So, I'm starting this again and even fresh on my tracker.

I'm also going to be plotting this differently... Instead of giving so much meaningless information I am going to stick with more my current exercise log, my current weight, and my current week's goal as far as weight.

As for how I plan to accomplish all this... it's going to be over on the sidebar. :) If you want to know anything else please ask!

Hopefully I will get brave enough to post some progression photos. I have to make it to my goal!! I have to! But no photos for today... because it would just depress me.

Stay tuned for this weeks UPDATE!

P.S. Sometimes I might still make updates about some parts of my diet on my regular posts but not regularly.

It wasn't Me!

2009-05-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

I've decided to participate in the "Not Me" Monday carnival hosted by My Charming Kids! It has been a long time since I went and did this one. Actually, the last time I did it was WAY before Stellan actually arrived! I just didn't always have a chance to make it here in time... with my classes and all that good jazz. But I had some free time today! So I wanted to participate this time! So without further wait... I give you MY Not Me Monday!

I did not get a new car this week that I don't dearly love. It doesn't have more power than my dear van that I will miss terribly when she finally dies. This car isn't paid off completely and wasn't a gift from my grandma. I haven't NOT gotten into my van since I got it! How sad.
I didn't tell my manager that I wouldn't work today because I wanted to catch up on sleep... But I wasn't scheduled anyways. I didn't tell a manager the other day when they tried to call me in that my clothes were in the washer when they were dried and ready to go.
I didn't feel sorry for the little blended family down the road. Let me just say that in this town they are not accepted very well and their children have a hard time finding people to play with because the parents won't let them play with their children. (The mom is, I think, Korean... the father is black... they don't have kids together. She has a daughter and he has a son.)
I didn't work off the clock yesterday. I really didn't. Because I figured it would be nice to watch my co-workers end up getting hurt. So, nope... not me... I wouldn't consider working off the clock for 5 seconds.
More importantly I didn't just do a Not Me post today!! Nope... I never would!

Grades Reported

2009-05-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

I never reported my grades to you guys!! I checked last week and I didn't have them in until Friday afternoon. So, I was so happy when I looked and it said... Sociology "A" and Biology "A". As we already know, I got a "B" in my Nurse Assistant class and I passed the state exam shortly after! Which means, that I have a 3.5 GPA... It means that I'm applying to nursing school with a total of 19.5 out of 20. Not the best, but better than nothing. I already think I'll get an "A" in my psychology courses because I've already taken them. But yeah... So, we'll just wait and see! I can't wait. Those classes start in about 3 weeks... WOOT!

The Station Wagon

2009-05-17T00:59:00.000-05:00

So, I mentioned that I was getting a new car... my grandma was doing to give me their white station wagon. You can't see it very well in this photo because it was after work and dark. But anyways, after I had called her back she was wanting to bring the car as soon as she could. They had a 10 day temp "plate" that they could drive on so they wanted to get the title transferred and get it plated and all that good jazz. So, we took care of that yesterday. She's plated and insured. She's ready to go. I'm excited. She drives really well. While she's not a NEW car... she's NEW to us. She's had her oil changed every 3-4 months since my grandparents had her when it was new. It has mostly interstate miles on it. Any other services have been preformed on her on time! I'll get more photos tomorrow when it's day light again. But for now, this is what you have to settle with.

A Gift...

2009-05-16T01:29:00.000-05:00

I was on my way back to work from being home over lunch. My phone was on vibrate and for some reason I didn't feel it. But I was locking it walking into work so that when I stuck it in my pocket it wouldn't dial out (picture that commercial of the couple and his butt calling). When I noticed a missed call. I called my voice mail. It was my grandma and she said that everything was fine there but that I needed to call her back ASAP. So, I had another 10 minutes left on m lunch so I called. Over the course of the conversation she told me that she was giving me a car. They were going to trade it in but then they didn't so she was going to give it to me. So, tomorrow I find out what it looks like. All I remember of it is that it's a white station wagon.

Work Sucked

2009-05-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

I know that no matter where you work you will end up dealing with drama. I'm aware of that... but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with... especially when you end up dealing with it everyday from one specific person.

A gentleman walked up today at the connection center and asked to speak with someone from automotive... I paged a co-worker. He mentioned he had just finished checking out and that gentleman was at lunch as soon as he finished checking him out. So I called for the manager (the manager OVER automotive at that) and explained what was going on. She told me he'd just have to come back tomorrow. I told the gentleman this and he said, I have FROZEN food in my truck and I live out of town as it is. So I called her back and she started saying how we can take his name and number and we'll call him and he can come back to get it tomorrow. I went ahead and took his name and number and made note that he wouldn't be there until MONDAY to pick it up. He works in town Mon- Fri but doesn't make special trips on the weekends for anything. Understandable. Before he walked off, he looked at me and said "I know there isnt' anything you can do.. but I think that (manager) just did a shitty job of management." I have to say, I agree. I'm an associate and I could have told you that... and let me point out some of these things.

COME out of the office for 5 seconds to talk to the gentleman who was actually very polite about the whole situation.
A legit problem (they didn't put the old tire into the trunk of his car) deserves at least a LITTLE attention. You show attention to the people who make stuff up and you show attention to the ones that steal and return stuff... but the person who is honest and has a REAL problem you blow off?
At LEAST act like you know how to manage the departments under you! Don't tell me that you don't know. Maybe you should put in a request for transfer. You've been here now since Jan... if you still can't figure it out then you need to get out.
Then you could have at least ACTED like you were looking for the tire. Put some effort into it. Heck, with his paperwork you might have actually found it!! But no, you stay in your office.

Then, not 20 minutes later another gentleman walked up and needed to speak with a manager for automotive. Um, okay. She says that they will just have to wait (insert minutes) for her. Then she asks what they needed. I said, I don't know the whole story but they have some problem and requested to speak with management. She did eventually come back... but in the end, the customer left without their cart of stuff. They weren't happy with how this was being done and that the manager didn't know what she was going.

Which got better when the guy from automotive showed up from his lunch and I gave him the message (this manager TOLD me to take and give) and she YELLED at ME about how she ALREADY knew the situation. Well, excuse me for doing what YOU said! It's not MY fault that the first gentleman went over our heads to corporate and that they called YOU. They told him YOU would help him when he was talking to me... and when I tried to get you, YOU wouldn't come out of the manager's office! (Yes, I know you were sitting in there because I didn't page I called directly to manager's office.)

It wasn't a great night for me, for the customers, or for the management team as a whole... even when it was caused by ONE person.

Storm

2009-05-14T00:45:00.000-05:00

It's now 12:45 AM... we are in a pretty big storm. I'm hoping that it's nothing more than noise and a lot of wind. Currently we are only in a flood warning. However, I have to say... I had a post typed about half way and the power went out for a bit. So I had to retype it.

Typically I would love storms... but I really like a closed in porch to watch them from. Not all for walls and a standard window. UGH! Oh well.

Here's to hoping the children sleep through all this... and hopefully we don't have any tornadoes! I'll update when I can... but I might fall asleep first!

Week Two, Week 1 C25K

2009-05-12T22:07:00.000-05:00

I was prepared for what I saw when I stepped on the scale. My first week has really been hard! To get the motivation to get up and work out almost every day is tough stuff! But I did it this week.

A Few Things To Note:

I didn't have any Pepsi, it was replaced with Diet Dr. Pepper.
I did complete a workout everyday as assigned.
My workouts have already began getting longer/harder as I have more challenges each day!

A Mental Note:

Don't eat a foot long sub from Subway prior to getting on the scale!

Data:

5/6: Walked 1 hr.
5/7: Walked 30 mins.
5/7: Yoga 8 mins.
5/8: Walked 1 hr.
5/11: Strength/Aerobics 14 mins.

Weight:

142.1 :( (I was 140.0 yesterday)

Some Changes:

Less soda, more water
Longer workout sessions (OUCH !)
Weight/Workout in the AM
Doing C25K instead of just walking

Goals:

Drink more WATER (get at least 60 oz a day).
Loose 1 lb this week!

GRAND!

2009-05-12T21:54:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago I was doing some laundry when I noticed that my laundry room floor was wet. Very odd... but maybe something was up. Who knows.

I noticed that instead of drying up... it was getting worse! Hum? Wonder what is up... but refusing to believe my first instinct I came up with excuse after excuse as to why that floor was wet.

I finally ran out of excuses two days ago... when I could see the $$$ going down the drain. So, I asked my husband to take a look at it and see where it was coming from. Hoping it was going to be a leaky gasket to the washer or something.

Well, no... it couldn't be that simple! It's the hot water heater. Which was OLD when we moved in. It was about on it's last leg so I should be happy that it made it the three years we've lived in this little house. Now, it's time to replace it.

Steve mentioned it to the landlord today while he was painting one of the other houses our landlord has. He does busy work sometimes for the landlord and the landlord sometimes takes some off the rent. :) Anyways, he said that he had a water heater in his garage. He'd get ahold of his plumber to come by and get it fixed for us. Steve said he'd be home this week and next week. The landlord said it would be done by then! WOOT!

He has the plumber coming tomorrow afternoon to put in the water heater which is sitting outside the house right now. I can't wait. I'm kind of hoping that it works better too... but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Also, I have to say that I really like our landlord. He's been really great to us. He's even been more willing to fix things around here than the old landlord. If only he knew half of these problems BEFORE he bought the house from our scum bag old landlord, he probably wouldn't have!

Prayer Please

2009-05-12T18:49:00.001-05:00

A friend of ours had our kids over today after school while Steve painted. While they were playing outside one of their children stepped on a nail. We are currently at their house watching their other children while she is at the hospital... So far they have removed the nail and they are soaking it. They also took x-rays. As I know more I will update you... Then all posts will be condinced down into one. Thanks.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

*EDIT*

They are home... She will be fine. I'm heading home soon. I'm tired and hungry!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone out there has a WONDERFUL Mother's Day!!

Adaptive Sports

2009-05-08T17:09:00.000-05:00

Austin is getting involved in a program that has been/is being designed for handicapped children. Regardless of what their handicap happens to be. This program is being orchestrated by a friend of mine (Deanna) from work. Mostly because of her daughter who has her own handicap. She has been working with the YMCA here in town to do some kind of a team for these young people to get them out of the house, to get them active, and to treat them as normal as possible. But they are definitely getting their exercise!! I think this is an AWSOME idea and I'm glad that someone like this sweet woman is working on it. She will make it succeed!

This program was originally going to be a baseball team that was adaptive. However, I am fairly sure that it has turned into more than just that. I have to double check tomorrow but I think that right now, they are doing anything that is active and fun for the individuals involved.

On the initial meeting Steve ended up taking all 5 children, which they all had fun and I've asked if there were any problems with that. They've told me No, there wasn't a problem. They discussed what was going on with the group and what they wanted to accomplish. They also walked around the park's walking trail! From the photos I saw they all had a great time (I had to go back to work before the meeting even started). I'm looking forward to being involved in this group and helping when I can.

In the photo above you will see one of the people who were there walking with Austin (who is carrying his dad's cell phone attached to his pants) and then his dad is right behind him. There are lots more photos but this is what I'm leaving you with.

SSSHHH!

2009-05-08T14:27:00.000-05:00

It's a Friday. It means that Matthew isn't in school all day. He's only in school half day. He was outside crushing cans with Steve for awhile. He had run around in the house and he had lots of fun. But before it reached 3 PM, Matthew and one of the puppies was asleep on the couch. So, SSSHHH! It's nap time in our house and NAP TIME doesn't happen often around these parts!

Finals Next Week...

2009-05-07T23:13:00.000-05:00

I'm a little bit sore today!! To top it off, I chose a horrible time to decide to loose weight. I'm talking FINALS next week. Oh, well!

I figured up my Soc grade today and it is currently an "A". I turned in my extra credit. That will help hopefully. I've began working on my final exam paper. I'm really hoping to get it done early so I can relax a while.

Biology I have a "B". He's told us what is on the exam already so I'll be able to study this weekend. I'm kind of hoping I will get an "A" and that will leave me at an "A" overall too! Which would be awsome on my nursing application (point wise).

Well, we have a pretty big storm going on out there!! It smells so pretty but it sure is loud! I miss having a screened/windowed porch to watch all the storms on. *sigh*

Walkin'

2009-05-07T13:30:00.000-05:00

In accordance with my work out plan... I went on a walk last night. It was a fairly long walk too. I really should time drive it and find out how long it was though! I ended up leaving out of here at about 9 PM. I used to take my walks at night all the time. It's dark, quiet, and cooler. It is really relaxing. I have missed it. I took my I-Pod and just walked. I ended up stopping by my mother's house and talking to her for a bit. Allowed me to catch my breath and then I was off again. I didn't make it home until after 10 PM. I had my phone so I was texting Steve on and off throughout the walk so that he knew I was okay. Yes, he worries. But hopefully if I take this kind of walk the two days a week I have planned for walks I can get somewhere. It was a great evening!! I came home and I was in a great mood. It was a great stress reliever. I will have to make sure I do it again... :) It's much better than the original plan I had to do my Wii work out! But tonight is Yoga and it's gonna suck!

Week 1

2009-05-07T01:10:00.000-05:00

Okay, summer and warm weather is RIGHT around the corner. Which means that it is time to loose some winter weight! I'm a winter hibenator. I'll hibernate because I hate cold weather and then the next thing you know... I've gained a few (well, quiet a few) pounds. Which generally all sit in my tummy (and generally where my muscles have been stretched out by those three angels of mine). So, now it's time to get back on that!

Now, I'm making this semi-public because it holds me accountable! It's to easy to slip on my goals when they are kept to myself. Also, this keeps old habits from coming back... a story for another day. :-)

Each week I will be setting a new goal for myself to accomplish, sometimes more. They go beyond just weight goals but also other goals that will lead to the ultimate goal of prevention and make it easier to reach my weight goals. Sometimes there will be one and sometimes there will be more than one in a week. Sometimes they might even carry over... because sometimes I don't reach a goal or feel it needs more work.

So this is your chance to watch my struggles and laugh at me. But hopefully, in the end I can actually enjoy my bathing suit this summer! Oh yeah, and I really need a walking partner in the park here on the days I go there! If you wanna join in for some conversation.

My inital weight loss goals:
Current: 141.8 LBS.
Goal: 110.0 LBS.
Difference: 31.8 LBS.

My inital work out schedule:
Tuesdays: Weigh-In
Wednesday: Walk
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: Walk
Saturday: Strength
Sunday: --
Monday: Aerobics
(This schedule is ever changing and will be cut a lot when goals have been reached.)

My initial weight loss goal for this week:
Loose 2 lbs.

My initial goal for the week:
* Drink NO Pepsi or Soda! Begin substituting with WATER.*

~Next Weigh-In: May 12th, 2009~

This journey will continue by week until I reach my goal...

More Details

2009-05-06T23:43:00.001-05:00

For a better introduction than my about me I will give you this post.

My name is Jessica but I go by Jess. I am 26 years old but I get another year older every September. I currently work in retail and I have for the last year. Overall, I enjoy it but it has its days! I have two pre-reqs before I can apply for nursing school.

I am married to Steve. He's 29 years old. He's a really great guy who treats my kids and myself very well. He's currently looking for a job but in this town jobs are hard to find! We are praying that the right job comes along soon... in the mean time, he's mowing yards and painting houses. He loves working with his hands and staying busy!

I have three children. They are all from a previous marriage. That is a story for another day though! I have Laura who is 9 years old, I have Caleb who is 7 years old, and Matthew who is 5 years old. They live with me 11 months out of the year. Their father and I don't live close to each other and so we have an unconventional visitation schedule.

I have three step children, however you will only find two being talked about in this blog from day to day. There is Dalton who is 9 year old. He lives full time with Steve's first ex-wife. Then there is Austin who is 7 years old and Richard who is 5 years old. We get them every other weekend and every other holiday. Plus we like to get them a lot more in the summer. I love them like they were my own!

With everything going on I'm pretty busy... I'm sure you can tell. But I feel that documenting everything is a great way to de-stress. Plus I can look back on it all later :).

So, get ready... it is sure to be a wild and crazy ride as long as you are staying around!