Selling The Vette!

When I got home for lunch today, David asked me to do him a favor.
He wanted me to put his 1969 Stingray Corvette on Craigslist!

For those of you that don't know him, this is a VERY BIG DEAL.

He's had this car for years, and had every intention of one day restoring it to it's original beauty.

When Brittni was in high school, he made her a deal.

On the day she graduated COLLEGE, the car would be in tip top shape, and it would be HERS!

However, if you keep up with this blog, you know that Brittni is on a hiatus from college, until she can get JBU paid off. She pays them $100 faithfully every month.

She also makes several payments each month on her student loans.

David & her spent the day together Monday.
They MUST have discussed college.

To make a long story short - the ad posted at 1 pm today.
So far, he's had THREE calls from people wanting to come look at it immediately.

He had me put it up for $6000.

Hmmmm, maybe that wasn't enough?

Anyway, pray that the right person sees the ad, has the cash & it sells.

And I'm so proud of David's selflessness to do this for her.

He is as great of a dad, as he is a husband!

me

Old Dogs

I have to post about a movie you just HAVE to see. "Old Dogs" with Robin Williams & John Travolta. David & rented it last night to watch while we ate our take out dinner from Beef O Brady's! (If it seems like we've been eating at/from restaurants ALOT lately, it's because WE HAVE! I am going to use the excuse that it is, after all, just the two of us. And we do, after all, have to eat. And I do, after all, like cooking, less & less lately. And honestly, it's not really as expensive as you'd think - it's just the two of us!). Anyway, very VERY seldom, does a movie actually make me laugh out loud. And this one did! It was just SO funny. Very light, cute comedy! Much much better than the movie we rented the night before, "Law Abiding Citizen" with Gerard Butler. Very dark movie. Good - but dark.
I also want to congratulate David on his new Blazer! And...for going himself & getting it insured and tagged. Never mind that he got a duck dog license plate, I expected nothing less! But yes, we made the leap, and purchased a second vehicle. And we were responsible, took our time, looked for several before choosing this one. And, he paid CASH for it, so no payments! It's actually a pretty cool vehicle. 2000 Chevy Blazer, 4 wheel drive, 2 door, it's almost exactly what he/we were looking for. And - it's a standard, so it's a blast to drive. I'd post pictures, but don't have any yet.
Tonight, David works from 7 to 3. Tomorrow night, the kids come home for their Easter break.
Yes, they get to come home. Yes, I will be up all night cleaning house & getting ready for them.
Yes, we're having Easter lunch at Brenda's - yes, after church.
Desiree' & I are going to color Easter Eggs for my Hunter man, I'm gonna buy him some bunny ears & takes lots of pictures! I can't wait!
But - for now, I must get to work. Talk to ya later...(or TTYL :-)....me

Monday - Again

Well it's Monday - again. We made it thru the weekend just fine. David worked Fri & Sat. He got off at 7 am yesterday morning, and made a promise to me the night before. If...IF - I would be up, dressed & ready to walk out the door when he got home, he'd take me out to breakfast. You better believe I was. We went to our favorite little dive...Waffle Hut in Rogers. Had the same thing we always do...western omelette's! Yum. Then we came home & he took a little nap. He wanted to try rearrange his sleep schedule for his days off, so he made me promise to wake him up in 3 hours. I did, then we went out & ran some errands. We also ate at this great new place called the Hibachi Grill. It's where Ryan's used to be. The place is AWESOME! And, very affordable. It was $23 for both of us, and they have a great buffet. We highly recommend it. We also drove around & looked at vehicles. We desperately need a second vehicle. But, we didn't find much. Today, David brought me to work, then he & Brittni went to the shop in Springdale & he finally picked up all his tools & things. They picked me up for lunch & we went to Gusano's in Bella Vista. I am SO glad David & Britt got to spend the morning together. I think they need all the daddy-daughter time they can get! Now, it's back to work for me. So...that's all for now. me

Baby "Blue Eyes"!

Friday Again!

Well, I made it to Friday again! Thank God! Work today was long...and not very productive. This whole week hasn't been very productive for me on the sales side of things. I resort back to my same excuse - post contest burnout. However, starting Monday, I'm gonna have to get after it. My next check, the one I'll get 2 weeks from today, is looking pretty pitiful. Thank goodness David has this new job. And thank goodness he gets paid on the Friday's I don't. That will help - a lot!

I just finished shampooing the carpets. David's at work, so I had the house to myself, and time to move all the main furniture & get to work. Of course, I had to vacuum first, and with this Rainbow "cleaning system" I have, it is a LOT of work! It took me forever. And I know you're wondering why on earth I needed to shampoo my carpets when just a few weeks ago Stanley Steamer was here - so let me tell you. One word. BAM! Nope, still don't have the little monster house trained. It would help if I paid a little more attention - well, not attention really. But, I know what works, and I'm not consistent with it. I have to take him out alone. I can't take Boogie and/or Lady out with him. Otherwise he just plays plays plays & won't go. Then I bring him in, thinking he must not have to go, and presto! He'll disappear somewhere when I'm not looking & do his business. Aaargh! It drives me c.r.a.z.y. The other thing that works is leaving him in his kennel, then taking him straight out, by himself & walking him around on his leash until he goes. But I hate keeping him in his kennel when I'm home. He stays in it in the daytime alot while David is asleep. I don't know. I'm sure we'll get it soon, he's getting better - sorta.

Next: Brittni is no longer working at Toyota. Subway offered her a managers position & her own store. (Of course they did, and less than a week after she gave them her notice to cut back her hours). Anyway, today she officially got her own Subway to manage. Congratulations Pudge! I know she'll do a great job. I just wish it wasn't all the way in Bella Vista. Not even the one on 71, it's the one up in the Highlands area. A lot farther for her to drive, especially late at night. But here I go doing the worry thing again - oops. God is in control - God is in control. He's got this!

You may remember that Eddy & Desiree' & Hunter-man are/were supposed to be coming next weekend for Easter. Well, that may not happen now. It seems that Eddy missed some kind of "briefing"about how any time any one is going to be outside a 40 mile radius of Ft. Riley they needed to let their Sergeant or someone know. Since he missed it, he didn't notify anyone on base about his plans to come home last weekend. And they stayed an extra day here & blamed it on the snow. So, when they got home, Eddy kinda got in trouble. Now he has to fill out some kind of request any time they want to come home, and get it approved. So he filled out his request, submitted it, and they DENIED it! Can you believe it? They said something about it being an awfully long drive just to come home for a couple of days. They either don't know, or don't care that they come home almost every other weekend. Whether we/I bribe them & pay for their gas, or they come on their own - they come home. They are so homesick up there. They don't know anyone, they're all alone with a new baby, it's just the 3 of them, and all their family is here. And they're telling him it's not worth it to come home? They don't realize those trips are what keeps them going(and keeps me sane for that matter!). His only other option is to "officially" request to use some of his actual leave time. And even then there is no guarantee they'll approve it & let him come. Go figure, Hunter's first Easter, and they may not get to be here. We had planned to all go to church & then have Easter dinner at Brenda's (David's mom). David knows how important it is to me (it's important to him too), so we've tossed around the idea of going up there. It's just that he won't get home til 7:30 am Easter morning, it's a 5 1/2 hour drive, so we wouldn't get there in time to go to church, and unless I take Monday off on vacation, we'd just have to turn around & leave within a couple of hours so I could get back to go to work Monday. Who knows? We'll just have to see. But - even though I'm trying not to think about it...this whole Army thing, well, it just STINKS! me

Breakfast In Bed!

For those of you that don't know this, I've been married for almost 23 years. What's more, David & I have "been together" since I was 13 & he was 14. That is a very long time. We've spent well over half our lives together. But something happened yesterday morning - and again this morning, that has never ever happened before. David fixed ME breakfast in bed! Yes! That is what I said. This is just another bonus to him working nights & us trying to adjust to his new schedule. He stays up all night - even on the nights he doesn't work, because he can't stay in sync any other way. So about 5:30 a.m. he sneaks off to the kitchen & fixes breakfast & for the past 2 mornings, he's brought my coffee & breakfast to me in bed. Amazing. And SO thoughtful & sweet. Yesterday we had biscuits & gravy, bacon & eggs (over-easy). This morning it was scrambled eggs & toast. Tomorrow morning it will be my turn, because he works 7 to 7 tonite. But that's ok. I figure I can cook on Fri, Sat & Sun mornings & have it ready when he walks in the door. Then on Mon, Tues, Wed & Thurs...those can be HIS days! Hmmmm....somehow, I think I got the better end of the stick there, don't you? Oh - and guess what else? Turns out, he's a pretty good cook after all! ;) me

Sad

So sad now. I mentioned earlier this morning when I blogged that the kids have to go back home today. And in all reality, they stayed an extra day & blamed the snow. But today, when I went home for lunch, they were packing up to leave. I realize that it's a 5 1/2 hour trip back to Manhattan. I realize that Eddy has to go to work when he gets there, whatever time that may be, and I realize, that it's not practical for them to wait for me to get off work at 4:30, then leave after I get home around 5ish. Especially with all the traffic.
What I DIDN'T realize, is how SAD I'd be. How heavy my heart would feel. How much I miss them already & they're not even gone!
It doesn't help seeing how sad THEY are when it's time for them to go. To see on my son's face, to know that he really REALLY wishes he'd thought this Army thing out a little bit more, before jumping right in. To realize how home sick they both get, and to know, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, David & I can do about it.
They'll be back in 2 weeks for Easter. It's already planned. But - BUT - it's 2 whole weeks away. And that feels like forever.
Hunter is just growing up so fast. And every day that goes by, is probably one day closer to Eddy being deployed. And I just want to grab a hold of TIME, and make it STAND STILL.
But alas, I can not. So for now, just please, please say a little prayer for me. And I'll remind myself how lucky I am to have grown children that want to spend time with their parents, as much time as the Army allows anyway! me

So Much Going On...

So once again, there is SO much going on in our lives right now. SO MUCH. The kids are here still. They are leaving today. They came in Friday. They stopped by my work around 11 (just in time for me to take lunch), and then I convinced Terri that I really really wanted to take the afternoon off. Contest burnout & all, remember? Anyway, we went home & I played with Hunter for a little bit, then Dez & I ran some errands while Hunter, Eddy & David took a nap. David had to be at work at 7pm, and work til 7 am, so he needed his sleep. Friday night was spent just hanging out & spending time with the kids. David went to work, and called me on his way home Sat. morning to wake me up. I got up & made breakfast, then David had to go back to bed, to get some sleep before his 12 hour shift that night. Let me just say again, I DO NOT LIKE HIS NEW SCHEDULE! There's no time for anything when he's working. We got to spend our morning time with Hunter before David went to sleep though. When David got up that afternoon, he sent the kids to Game Stop for a PSP for him to take to work. Evidently, after 11 every night, it is DEAD, and everyone brings portable DVD players, or games or something to occupy them & keep them from falling asleep at their desks. Without going into way too much boring detail, the PSP has been a MAJOR pain in our asses. Plural on the asses. Mine, David & Eddy's. It's taken 3 days to figure out how to transfer music & photos to it from our computer. But last night Eddy finally figured it out. Saturday night, I sent the kids off on a date night. They really needed to spend some time alone together without Hunter. So they went & saw the Bounty Hunter and Brittni came over & we baby sat Hunter man together. I haven't mentioned the SNOW yet here either. Yes, I said SNOW. On the first day of spring. Like tons & tons of snow! Sunday morning, the kids went to see Dez's mom, in the snow (I know, I know, I can't tell them anything!), then they went to visit with her dad. So David slept, and I napped off & on all day too. Then we got up & went to Best Buy, came home & ordered pizza for all of us, and played with Hunter some more. Yesterday, it was back to work for me. David's sleep schedule is SO MESSED UP he slept most of the day. When I got home, we all went out to Doe's for dinner. Note to self: Doe's was not ANYWHERE near as good as David & I remembered. It was definitely as expensive as we remembered, but not as good. But the company was awesome, and so were the hurricane's I ordered! :) Then, we went to Wal Mart for all kinds of junk I needed. Then came home. I played with Hunter while David & Eddy got the stuff on his PSP. I also made strawberry shortcake for everyone last night - yum! Then, before I knew it, it was 10:30 & my bedtime. New problem we have, David can't sleep at night, since he's all off kilter with his new job. So, he watched TV - ALL NIGHT LONG, while I slept (and from what I've heard, SNORED!) At 5:30 he tried to wake me up, but NO, I wasn't having it. Then at 6 he fixed me coffee, but NO, I was in bitch mode, then at 6:30, I told him to turn off the alarm & I laid there & snored some more, until 7, when I jumped up, and realized he'd finally, FINALLY fell asleep. This schedule is going to take some getting used to, for both of us! me

My First Night Alone

So tonight is David's first night to work a twelve hour shift. He went in at 7pm, and comes home at 7am. This will be the first night I actually have to spend the night by myself. The WHOLE night. All night. This is also the first night he's been back to work on a shift where I could actually regroup & get the house cleaned up & everything put back together from our trip to Kansas, not to mention that I was so sick I didn't do ANYTHING! So, that's the plan. Well, actually, I'm on the last leg of "the plan". He left at 6:30 & I got to work. Right now, I'm waiting on load # 3 to dry, with one left to go into the washer. The dishwasher is unloaded, house vacuumed, dusted, swept, mopped, bathrooms cleaned, fresh sheets on the bed....you get the idea. As soon as I finish writing this, I'm jumping in the shower...(before it gets too late, I freak myself out if I have to take a shower & it's late). The plan is, get everything done, get to bed, wake up at 6:30...get ready for work, then fix David a nice hot breakfast & have it ready & waiting when he gets home. We don't know how to judge the traffic yet on 540 & 102 at that time of morning, so not sure what time he'll get here. I am sure, I'll be a little bit late for work. I am also sure, I'm going to have a very hard time sleeping tonight. I've gotten pretty spoiled to David coming home in the middle of the night & taking Bam & Boogie out for me. I HATE HATE HATE taking the dogs out at 3 am. Actually, any time after midnight is bad. If it's 5am or after, I'm ok. I don't like to get up that early, but I don't mind being outside walking the dogs around while they do their business. But in the middle of the night? No thank you. But - we do what we gotta do! I also don't like sleeping without David next to me. When you've been married 23 years, you kinda get used to having him there. I like feeling him lying next to me-me scooting over- him scooting over til I push him off the bed, him getting up, coming around to the other side of the bed, getting in & me starting ALL OVER! HA! And, it's no fun watching TV alone in the evenings, or eating dinner by myself. At least I have Boogie, Bam & Ladybug to drive me crazy--I mean, keep me company.
Anyhoo, I know I'll be late tomorrow morning if I survive tonight.
But it's all good. We don't really do a whole lot on Fridays anyway. And, I am for certain, about to go through my "post contest burnout". Every time a contest winds down, I go through a week - sometimes two, of just complete exhaustion. I don't mean to do it. And I tell myself every time it won't happen again, but it always does. I think it's just the stress of sell, sell, sell, hurry, hurry, hurry...gotta be #1 all the time that gets to me. And not to "toot my own horn", but I was #1 this time. Feels a whole lot better than the last contest did, where I didn't even qualify for the lowest prize. This time, I went all the way to the top! 40 was the cap. And I hit 40 2 weeks ago, so, they dangled a thousand more dollars in front of me, and so I hit 60! I've NEVER hit 60 before, and actually, I hit 61! Nice. Now, I just hope that nothing weird happens, and everybody stays in, and ....well, never mind. No sense jinxing myself like that. God is and has been so good to me. So in his hands, no mistakes, no cancellations! Right?
More good news, Eddy actually gets off tonight (tomorrow morning early) and doesn't have to be back on post until Tuesday. So, you know what Mama did. I sweet talked my husband, (actually, I just asked him what he thought & he agreed), and we're getting them down here for the weekend. SO excited. I love having them at home. David won't actually get to spend much time with them, he works 7-7 Fri & Sat. But, he'll have Sunday afternoon/evening, and all day Monday with them. And, now I'll get to try out my new digital camcorder. Hopefully I'll figure out how to upload all the videos I take of Hunter, and put them here. BUT - you know me & technology. So...keep your fingers crossed! me

Sick....SO Sick

Monday was just an ordinary day. I went to work, came home & David & I went to town. I've mentioned the contest we're in at work, and one of the prizes ended up being an American Express Gift Card. Note to self: Very FEW places actually take American Express. But - I am not complaining....at all - and of course, Wal Mart does. Since David has this new job, he really needed a cell phone. The Tracfone we keep in the truck is fine for emergencies, but not to really talk on. Some people at his work had been talking about a new carrier at Wal Mart called Straight Talk, so we went to check it out. Turns out, for $45 per month, you get unlimited talk, text & Internet. No contracts, no hidden fees. Just buy the phone, pay your $45/mo & you're good to go. So, we got hooked up at Wal Mart with a phone for each of us. We also FINALLY bought the Sony camcorder I've been wanting since before Hunter was born. The little old man that waited on us assured us we'd need nothing that wasn't already in the box - wrong. Still gotta go back & get an SD card, extra battery & case. After our little shopping spree, we went out to eat at Octavio's. Then home. We had so much fun setting up our phones, and texting our kids (who had no idea we'd gotten new phones, or even knew HOW to text!). Tues I woke up & wasn't feeling all that well. I went on in to work & made it to...are you ready for this? 8:15! There was NO way I could take another minute. So I grabbed up my folders & went home. And went to bed. And slept ALL day. Except for when I was running to & from the bathroom! Yesterday was a little better, but not much. I don't like to miss work. I don't like not being able to take care of David & the house, and I don't like being sick. But there was nothing I could do about it. David had to work a 11pm - 3 am shift last night. And since I'd slept for the past 48 hours, I stayed up with him until it was time for him to leave. Another big plus about this new job of his? I haven't had to put gas in the truck since he started! He always makes sure I have plenty of gas to get to & from work, even if he has to stop on his way home! Thank you baby! I love you - more! me

Kansas

Talk about your crazy weekends! Last week, I made Eddy & Des a deal. If they'd bring my little Hunter-man down to see his grandma, I'd pay for their gas. See, it's just SO much easier on ME, if they come down here. All was going along as planned, until about 11:30 Friday afternoon, when Eddy called to say he had to be at work Sat. night at 11. Try as he might to convince me they would still drive down, it just didn't make good sense. So, when I got home that afternoon, and David saw how completely devastated I was, he suggested we drive up there for the weekend! Considering that he had to work from 7 to 3 a.m., we decided I would get everything packed, then go to bed around 8 or 9, sleep til 3:30, then I'd drive to Kansas while he slept. Frightening idea, I know. Turning me loose behind the wheel, driving 5 1/2 hours with no one to direct me except our trusty (not so) GPS. With my directional skills, I could end up in Texas or somewhere like that! Anyway, try as I might to go to sleep at such an ungodly hour, I could not. Then, at 11 David called. His new job & the people there are awesome. He'd mentioned we were driving to Kansas, and going to the deployment ceremony of Eddy's unit, and his boss told him to leave at 11. She said they weren't all that busy, and there was no sense in us being on the road at 3 am. So, he got home, we loaded up BOTH DOGS, our luggage, filled our coffee cups & headed out. I'm sure no one is going to believe this, but I have SO MUCH FUN on road trips with David. We always talk, listen to music, sing, laugh...it's just so much fun. It was even more fun when I talked him into trying one of those 5 hour energy shots! He kept saying, I'll never drink another one of those! When we got to the kids apartment, we talked for just a little bit, then went to bed. When we got up, we took the kids out to breakfast. Little note about ordering a country omelet in Kansas, they come with gravy poured all over your omelet & hash browns, we had to send it back 3 times, before the waitress figured out that we didn't want gravy on anything except for the biscuits!!! Then we all piled up in the kids Corolla (yes, that was tough), and we drove to Ft. Riley. Eddy drove us all around the base, we went to the lake there, then went to the PX. I bought coffee mugs that say Army Mom & Army Dad. Then, we went back to the apartment. We had all planned on going to the ceremony at 10 that night. So we ordered Chinese food to be delivered & just visited. Then at the last minute, we found out that Eddy had to be there at 10, but the ceremony didn't start until 4 a.m. There was no way me & David could've stayed up 2 nights in a row with such little sleep, so Eddy went alone, & we stayed with Dez & I played with Hunter & David watched TV. Eddy didn't get home until 6 am. I somehow ended up with Hunter in bed snuggling with me, and when Eddy came in to get him I woke up. Then went back to sleep until 9. Since Eddy had to go back in to work at 1, and he hadn't had much sleep, and David & I needed to get on the road, we decided to load up & head out. Eddy woke up & help us tote everything back up the stairs to the truck, we said our goodbyes & headed out. I was really sad to go, but - we had a good visit, I got to see Hunter, and the kids are coming up for Easter. Plus - I hate to say this, but it's just too much to pile all of us in their tiny apartment. 4 adults, 1 baby, 2 dogs & MASSIVE STAIRS. There's a reason we always try talk them into coming home!
Anyway, we decided to take the scenic route back. We never got on the interstate. And once again, we had so much fun! We ate at this really great cafe in Kansas, or Oklahoma, or somewhere, stopped by a lake & let the dogs play, bought power ball tickets in every state...and just enjoyed the drive. We didn't get home until almost 8:00, but oh well. All in all, it was an amazing weekend. One I won't forget for a long long time! me

My Heart

He is what makes my heart happy!

Crazy Days

I must start this off by saying that David's new job/work schedule is not fun for me! Now don't get me wrong. I am NOT complaining about his job, or the fact that he landed this awesome job. It is EXACTLY what we'd prayed for. Finding work in this economy is not easy for anyone. So I want to take that off the table completely. I AM NOT COMPLAINING! (But let me vent for a moment, please). This week his schedule is different. VERY different. Last week, he worked from 3:30 til 11:30. I went to work, came home at lunch, he brought me back to work, I got a ride home, he came home around midnight. Believe it or not, I was kinda lonely at home all by myself. I came home to an empty house-(unless you count 3 dogs), I didn't make dinner (no need to, it was just ME), I watched TV & then went to bed. This week, THIS WEEK, (so far anyway, it HAS only been one day) is different. David needs to sleep during the day. So I bring the truck to work, at lunch, I pick us up something, run home, eat lunch with my hubby, come back to work, leave at 4:30, then I get to spend a little time with him before he has to leave at 6:30. Sounds OK, right? WRONG. Yesterday when I got home, he needed me to cut his hair. Now in all fairness, he'd asked me to do it 15 times this past weekend, but, being the procrastinator that I am, I did not. So, when I walked in the door, my sweetie handed me a fresh cup of coffee & said, "let's just sit down & relax for a few minutes & have our coffee together, then you can cut my hair". So we did. And I did. And then I realized that my husband was probably STARVING because a single cheeseburger & small fries from Braum's 6 1/2 hours ago, wasn't gonna hold him for another eight or nine hours! So I commenced to making a quick dinner of tuna patties & some vegetables. In the midst of all that, BAM - or Chaos as I affectionately call him & should have officially named him, decided to create all kinds of havoc in the kitchen & living room. He stays under my feet at all times. He chews & bites & pulls on whatever shoes I'm wearing, my pants legs, you name it. He needed to go outside, but it was pouring down rain, and he seems to have some type of aversion to rain. To make a long story short, yesterday afternoon was crazy. I promised David while he was trying to scarf down his dinner that today, this afternoon, would not be so unorganized & hectic. Hmmmm...not so sure about that now.
David has a doctors appointment in Siloam Springs at 3:30 today. For those of you that don't know, waaaaay back in 1989 David had a horrible car accident. He lost sight completely in his left eye, and somehow, the way they stitched it up, his eyelashes in that eye grow inward. So, for the past 21 years, every day...EVERY SINGLE day, we have this routine where I hold the flashlight into a magnifying mirror & he pulls out all the lashes that are growing in. It's pretty painful for him, not to mention just a pain in the ass period. So we have an appointment today to see if they can laser his eyelid where his lashes won't grow in there. I am VERY excited about it for him. I hope it works out.
By the time we get done there today, and make it back home, it'll be time to hurry hurry hurry & rush, rush, rush to get around & get him off to work. So much for my promise of organized & peaceful, huh?
The GREAT side of yesterday was that Brittni came over last night. She brought all her laundry & ate dinner with me. Then we rented Couples Retreat & just hung out & talked and watched the movie. It was pretty funny. But mostly I enjoyed just spending that quality time with my baby girl. She has grown up so much since she moved out. She's such a beautiful young lady and we are so proud of her. She also seems to be in love, and thinks Jeremiah is "the one". David and I are working on accepting that. We have to trust her & her judgement. And if Brittni loves him, we've got to look past all our concerns, and see in him, what she sees in him. No one is good enough for her in our eyes. The poor guy doesn't stand a chance - huh? Anyway, David invited him to go fishing with him in the next couple of weeks. He's going to try spend some one on one time with him & get to know him a little better. Who knows, they may become best buddies - but - I'm not holding my breath! me

We DID go to the lake!

Yesterday around 11 we decided to take Bam & Boogie to the lake for a little fun in the sun & some desperately needed exercise. Beaver lake is down right now, but that didn't stop us. Boogie acted like she was a dock dog. I just loved the way David would throw the bumper & she'd launch off the dock after it. I got some good video, but of course, haven't downloaded it from my camera yet. Bam, he was another story. He just didn't seem to like the water very much yet. I know he's only 9 weeks old. And Boogie was a little intimidated by the water as well at that age, but I secretly hoped he'd dive right in. We'll have to work on that. This summer, it'll be easier because I can be in the water with him & call him out to me. That's what we did with Boogie last year & now she is a water maniac!
Afterwards we stopped by Brittni's for a few minutes. We haven't been to her apartment in forever. And when David suggested it, I couldn't resist an unannounced drop in to just check & make sure everything was okay over there. It was, of course, and now I feel much better.
We got home & ordered a pizza and then watched Nascar. Let me change that to, David watched Nascar while I napped. We pretty much lazed around for the rest of the day/evening.
David's hours at work change again today. This week he works from 7pm until 3am. Monday thru Friday. So, I quietly got up this morning, had my coffee & cigarette in the living room while I watched the news, I let Bam play for awhile, then got ready & snuck out. I'll grab us some lunch & take it home, then I'll bring the truck back, leave at 4:30 & get to spend an hour or so with him this afternoon before he has to leave for work. There won't be any waiting up for him this week though. I imagine he'll just be falling asleep about the time I have to get up for work! Speaking of waking up...I am losing my mind. I woke up at 6 on the dot this morning & couldn't go back to sleep. This is not like me at all! I can fall asleep on a dime. And I HATE HATE HATE having to wake up. But lately, my body is betraying me. They say the older you get, the less you sleep & the earlier you wake up. Hmmm....is this a sign? Hope not! me

What a BEAUTIFUL Day!

What a beautiful day it is outside! Hopefully we're gonna take advantage of it & go doing something outdoors.

Friday, I wasn't feeling very well, so I came home from work at noon. I stopped by Octavio's & got us lunch, then David & I watched a movie & snuggled before he had to go to work. Then I fell asleep & didn't do anything for the rest of the evening.

Yesterday was recuperation day for David (and me too). The Stanley Steamer guy showed up about 8, and he was here for 3 hours. And my $99 coupon was great, except that even though I work in sales, I have a hard time saying "no" to salespeople, so we went all out, had the scotch guard put down, had the carpets deodorized & even bought some spot remover, a pet hair rake & more of the deodorizer! So...$250 later, my carpet looks like new & smells even better. After I ran down to Sonic & got us some breakfast, we decided to catch up on our sleep. David has only been getting 3 or 4 hours each night. And my sleeps been so interrupted that we took a nap for most of the afternoon. Then I got up & fixed us something to eat. We watched a little TV & that was about all.

This morning I woke up at 6:30. I don't know what's going on with me, but suddenly, I can't sleep in like I used to. I know part of it is Bam. He's like an alarm clock. At 4:30 every morning he has to go out. Then I put him back in his kennel & he stays pretty quiet til about 6:15. By 6:30 I'm up, cuz I don't want him to wake David - he needs all the sleep he can get since he's working nights. So lately, after I take him out, I've been having my coffee & cigarettes in the living room, watching the morning news. Then I ran down to Harps & got some ham & eggs, and biscuits & orange juice & came home & fixed David a big breakfast. We talked about driving out to Brashears & seeing his Uncle Lynn, but he's on the phone with him right now, & he's in Texas, so we won't be doing that. We'll figure something out, I'm sure. Maybe we'll take Bam & Boogie to the lake. I just don't want to waste this last beautiful day of the weekend! me

Update BEFORE the Weekend

I can't believe it's almost the weekend again! And I am SO ready for it. David has had to work every night this week. It's a big change for him, sitting at a desk all night, working the phones & on a computer. But, I think he'll get the hang of it. I've never known him to set his mind on something & then not do it, or be able to do it. I'm just so proud of him for stepping outside his comfort zone & giving something totally different a try! And did I mention all the amazing benefits they have there? And vacation & sick time? Oh, and the pay is pretty darn good too! On his first night, Monday, I stayed up & waited for him to get home so he could tell me all about his first day. I made spaghetti & had it warming on the stove when he got home at midnight. We were both so tired. But we were having a minor catastrophe, Bam was sick. It started that morning & kept getting worse. About 1 a.m. David finally said, I'm afraid it may be parvo baby, what do you want to do? We didn't get much sleep at all that night. A couple hours each, cuz we took turns taking care of Bam. At 7:30 Tues. morning we called the vet & they had us rush him in. Imagine our relief to find out it was just a virus! (I called it the One Hundred Thirty Six Dollar Virus!). Anyway David took me on to work & came home & got some sleep. We did stop & get my new glasses. And they are going to take some getting used to let me tell you. I have 3 lines of vision, my vision w/out glasses, the glasses, then the bifocals. I found out yesterday morning that it makes me carsick if I try to drive with them on. I'm trying to wear them as much as I can though. Hopefully, I'll adjust quickly. Tuesday night....I came home & fell asleep on the love seat. I thought I'd turned to stone when David came home. It felt like my whole body was breaking when I got up. Last night....I didn't do much either, just watched American Idol, then went to bed. David told me yesterday at lunch that I could not stay up every night trying to wait on him. When I asked him why he said, for starters, you need your sleep so you can wake up & go to work. Then he said, secondly...you're a real B#*ch when I come & try wake you up! ha! So now, I'm trying to go on to bed around 10 or so. Then when he comes in, he changes clothes, takes the dogs out, gets something to eat, watches a little TV & unwinds, then goes to sleep. When I get up at 6, I take the dogs out, try to be as quiet as I can while I have my coffee & cigarette, & dress as quietly as possible. Then I put Bam back in his kennel, & sneak out while Bam proceeds to bark his head off! I wish I could stop that somehow, he settles down after about 5 minutes, but those 5 minutes are hell! I also miss our mornings together. We had a great routine. We'd have coffee together & talk & watch the news for 1/2 an hour or so each morning before I got ready for work. I didn't realize how much I'd come to look forward to, and love that time of day with my husband.
Today....was a pretty good day. It was the cut off for our next paycheck, and I'm already at 39! So I hit bonuses at 25,30 & 35...and I've got one more to go! Hopefully, they'll come up with some more for 45,50, 55 & so on for me. I'm way ahead of everyone else, and just really thankful that my company has these contests & gives us the opportunity to make some extra money as often as they do!
Since I had 7 for the week, I got to go home at 3, and Terri brought me home. I made up my mind that tonite was THE night to get the house cleaned & spotless. And I did! And it is! And David is going to be so surprised when he gets home tonite. He's got to work tomorrow night, then he's off Sat & Sun, so we'll get to spend the weekend together. And other than the Stanley Steamer appointment we have Sat morning to get the carpets cleaned, we've got the whole weekend to relax & do whatever we want! I can't wait.
One more thing before I close....Brittni got the job at Toyota! I KNEW she would! Again, God is so good to my family. Congratulations Pudge! We're so proud of you!
me

The Weekend & Kids Visit...Is over!

My how the time flies. The kids left on Sunday morning. They invited us to go out to breakfast with them & Des' mom Kim. As much as we would have loved to go, I had to step back & realize that Kim gets so little time with them compared to us, and I know if I was in her shoes, I'd be a bit upset if I had to share them on the rare times they get together. So we graciously declined. When they all left, I had a little mini-breakdown. (I usually do, but this was worse than normal). I think it's just knowing that could have been the last time Eddy stayed at the house before he leaves for Iraq. I think it was knowing that was for sure the last time he got 2+ weeks at home before he goes to Iraq. It was the last time I got to see him & Hunter all cuddled up on my couch. Crap....I'll stop now. This isn't what this post is supposed to be about. David, as usual was my hero, he convinced me just to cuddle up next to him & relax for a while, while he told me it'd all be okay. Next thing I knew, I was waking up feeling 100% better from my little power nap. Sunday afternoon we went on our little shopping spree for David. Remember, it's business casual at Transplace. We started at Kohl's. They had a ton of stuff on clearance & we took advantage of it. Plus, my friend Sherry works there & she gave us a killer discount at the register! Then we went to Gordman's - not much of a selection, but we did end up buying a pair of slacks. Next, we made the mistake of going to Dillards....don't worry, we walked right out of there. Evidently, they don't have sales or clearance racks there. Finally, we finished up at Penney's. We've just about decided that's the place to be for Big & Tall selection, not to mention, they have a fat girls section just for me! I bought a few shirts for myself too! CUTE! Anyway, we came home & together we took all the tags off everything & hung all his new work clothes up in one of our spare bedrooms. I have all his work stuff in there now, so it'll be easy & convenient for him to get ready every afternoon while I'm still at work. This will be brand new for us, this new schedule. For the first week, he goes in from 3:30 til 11:30. So the plan is, I take the truck to work, come home at lunch, he takes me back & goes to work. Then I get a ride home from Amy, Leann or Sherry every day. I guess I'll have to get used to him not being there when I get home, or go to bed. In my head....I'll have all the time in the world to keep the laundry done, house spotless, have a nice cooked meal on the stove, well, you get the picture. Now, let's just see if it works out that way! me