I've been steering clear of Facebook for a week or so now. I'm not sure if it's me or my "friends", but people and their status updates have been driving me crazy. I'm SICK to death of the following:
1. Complaining about stuff that you KNEW about when you made the decision. For example. I moved to Kansas knowing that the weather changes on a dime AND we get tornadoes. Therefore I DO NOT complain about the weather every time it changes or whine about being scared every time the sirens go off. It's part of living in my state. I know this and don't post about it on Facebook 4x per week.
2. Woman who think they are the first pregnant woman EVER. Do not ask a question about pregnancy, get 34 comments from 34 woman WHO HAVE BEEN PREGNANT BEFORE, then proceed to basically say they know nothing because Baby Center said.....
3. Husband bashing posts OR my husband is the greatest posts. Yes, we all have good husbands and like to brag about them, OCCASIONALLY. However if you are posting 3x a day about how great your man is, I'm led to believe that you are trying to convince yourself that he's great, not that he really is. On the flip side, if your husband is truly the biggest piece of shit you know, then LEAVE HIM! He won't change just b/c he reads your Facebook status and has an awakening.
4. The AF wife who speaks endlessly of her husbands 4 month long deployment. It's nothing compared to the Army wife who is without her husband for 18 months. Not to mention they don't get to skype everyday like you do. You see he is really fighting the war, gun in hand and all. He's not in an air conditioned office defending our country, he's on the front lines.
5. People complaining NON stop about their shitty lives. We all have bad days, but when your bad days turn into bad weeks and bad weeks into months. I have these 2 options for you: 1. Get antidepressants 2. Stop putting your shit on Facebook. Especially when your friends try to point out the bright spots in your life and you do nothing but verbally vomit negativity back. Then go lay in bed and cry, that's fine, just get your ass off Facebook.
6. Weather updates every 15 minutes. If I wanted the weather updates I would have "liked" the weather channel damnit!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
I hate April
I hate this month more than anything. I feel like every April a scab it ripped off, and there it is again, a bleeding, gaping open wound. Once May comes it starts to heal up, slowly. I have 11 months of healing. Then it starts all over again. Everyone used to think it was so neat that I am so good at remembering dates. Trust me, it's curse this time of year. This next week is going to be hard. So hard, My stomach is knots just thinking about making it through. Today sucks, but Tuesday, Tuesday will be the roughest. If you are of the praying kind, please pray for me on these days. I hate that I remember these days, when I know that they don't. They have NO clue. NONE. In some ways I think that's good, but it some ways I don't. I hope that they have days that when they look at the calender their heart is ripped out. It's not Christian, I know.... I'm working on that. Sometimes I wish I could cry, but I'm past the crying phase. I don't have any more tears left. The only time they fall is out of frustration. Frustration that I didn't know sooner, that I didn't stop it (let's be real here, not that I could have), frustration that it hasn't turned out the way I want (although it is as good as it could be, I suppose). Frustration about the aspects of my life that it effects or will effect. Aspects that were never thought about at that time. Aspects that effect so many more people than the people that started the whole debacle. Sometimes I hate them all. Sometimes. When I get into that mindset I try really hard to remember the good that has come of it. I'll be honest though. Sometimes when I put them side by side, the good doesn't always out weigh the bad. Sometimes, I'd turn in all that good to go back and change it. Am I horrible for saying that? I don't think so, and what I think is all that really matters. I stopped caring about what people think about this situation a long time ago. If I didn't I'd have gone crazy. Everybody has an opioion, everybody thinks they know what'd they do. You don't. I promise. And I pray you never have to find out. My God is big and awesome. I know this. I know he is all knowing. I wish that I knew why things happen. In Church the sermon series as been about agony and how God uses it to make us more like him. How we can't fully minister to others unless we've suffered. It's very true. You draw closer to God, when things are the worst. You draw from His strength when you have none of your own. During that April and May I was the closet to The Lord. Closer than I've ever been.
I stopped this blog, and now I've lost my momentum. I'm still gonna publish it, but it seems to stop rather than end. I may come back in a few days. We'll see how I feel. For now though, it felt good to get this off my chest. Later...
I stopped this blog, and now I've lost my momentum. I'm still gonna publish it, but it seems to stop rather than end. I may come back in a few days. We'll see how I feel. For now though, it felt good to get this off my chest. Later...
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
A blog from Highway 71
I feel like I constantly waiver between nothing to talk about and so much that I forget something. First, remember a couple of posts ago when I was whining about not getting a raise? And how I love my job and I love my boss? Here's why, let me tell you a story.
We have been waiting on our tax return which has been delayed at the IRS due to circumstances beyond my control. We were hoping to have it in time to buy a van before we left for vacation to Alabama. Well, because we are the Hallock's it did not arrive. So we decided to try and get a loan to buy the van. We didn't really want to get a loan, we want to pay cash, but we also didn't want to drive 12+ hours in a Kia Spectra with 3 children. On Thursday when our tax return did not come, we decided to go to the bank. We bank at USAA and do not have a local bank so I made an appointment with the SVP that our office does business with and that I have worked with in the past. I took him everything that I thought he could possibly need, explained the situation and prayed for a miracle. That afternoon back at work Josh(my boss) calls me. He asked if I got my tax money, and I said no. Guess what happened next? HE OFFERED TO LOAN ME THE MONEY FOR THE VAN! That's right here's $5700, no hesitation in his voice at all. That's why I love my boss and my job. Not many boss's would offer to do that. It totally made me feel like a dirt bag for being so ugly to him all week b/c I was cranky about the lack of a raise. I do deserve a raise, however I have so many perks that are not measurable. Him offering that solidified to me that I am in the right place. Thankfully, I didn't have to take him up on it. The bank approved our loan and we got the van!! Now I can't wait to get my tax return so I can pay it off!!
Technology is a beautiful! Ya'll know I upgraded to the iphone, which is fantastic in itself. Now I've turned on the personal hotspot function so the kids get use it for internet while we are on the road. Which means we also have net for the ipad and laptop. So Jonathan is on his itouch watching a netflix movie and I'm on the laptop blogging while driving down the road! I LOVE IT! Poor Jason he's a little jealous, but daddy's are drivers. Hehehehe! We had planned on staying in Memphis tonight, but I was totally thrown off by the cost of Graceland! $70 to see all the sites, and $30 for the half-assed don't get to see everything ticket. Well, I had not planned on $280 to see the king, that's craziness! So, we are skipping Memphis and going straight on to Birmingham! Whoo-hoo!
We have been waiting on our tax return which has been delayed at the IRS due to circumstances beyond my control. We were hoping to have it in time to buy a van before we left for vacation to Alabama. Well, because we are the Hallock's it did not arrive. So we decided to try and get a loan to buy the van. We didn't really want to get a loan, we want to pay cash, but we also didn't want to drive 12+ hours in a Kia Spectra with 3 children. On Thursday when our tax return did not come, we decided to go to the bank. We bank at USAA and do not have a local bank so I made an appointment with the SVP that our office does business with and that I have worked with in the past. I took him everything that I thought he could possibly need, explained the situation and prayed for a miracle. That afternoon back at work Josh(my boss) calls me. He asked if I got my tax money, and I said no. Guess what happened next? HE OFFERED TO LOAN ME THE MONEY FOR THE VAN! That's right here's $5700, no hesitation in his voice at all. That's why I love my boss and my job. Not many boss's would offer to do that. It totally made me feel like a dirt bag for being so ugly to him all week b/c I was cranky about the lack of a raise. I do deserve a raise, however I have so many perks that are not measurable. Him offering that solidified to me that I am in the right place. Thankfully, I didn't have to take him up on it. The bank approved our loan and we got the van!! Now I can't wait to get my tax return so I can pay it off!!
Technology is a beautiful! Ya'll know I upgraded to the iphone, which is fantastic in itself. Now I've turned on the personal hotspot function so the kids get use it for internet while we are on the road. Which means we also have net for the ipad and laptop. So Jonathan is on his itouch watching a netflix movie and I'm on the laptop blogging while driving down the road! I LOVE IT! Poor Jason he's a little jealous, but daddy's are drivers. Hehehehe! We had planned on staying in Memphis tonight, but I was totally thrown off by the cost of Graceland! $70 to see all the sites, and $30 for the half-assed don't get to see everything ticket. Well, I had not planned on $280 to see the king, that's craziness! So, we are skipping Memphis and going straight on to Birmingham! Whoo-hoo!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
I am SO uber cranky. Not sure why. Everything is OK. Nothing is great, but nothing is horrible. It's just blah. I hate feeling like this. I am the little ray of sunshine most of the most. I'm the one telling others that everything will be OK, pepping people up... I feel like a fraud. Why can't I believe that stuff for me right now? I'm hoping that some sun, exercise and vacation will turn me back into the Angel we all now and love!!
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Funky
Funky, Funky, Funky. That's me. I think it's a combo of the weather and no running(b/c of the weather!) I'm over it. I NEED spring. I CRAVE the warm breeze. I'm so over the cold. It's supposed to get down to 29 degrees tonight! That's ridiculous! It's too freaking cold.
I called the IRS tonight and they are still processing our return. Buttholes. They did it in 6 weeks last year. Of course it can't be that easy this year. Less than 2 weeks until we head to Alabama! SO excited about that one. Work is still ehhhh. I've been told a raise is coming, I have yet to actually see the money though!
I called the IRS tonight and they are still processing our return. Buttholes. They did it in 6 weeks last year. Of course it can't be that easy this year. Less than 2 weeks until we head to Alabama! SO excited about that one. Work is still ehhhh. I've been told a raise is coming, I have yet to actually see the money though!
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Goals Update
Back in January I made a goals for the year. Part of being accountable is letting people know where I am in my goals. So here it goes....
Family/Life-
1. Spend more quality time with my family. We are always "together", but not enjoying each other's company. I want us to grow closer and learn to depend on each other more. Both the big kids are getting to the point where their friends and being away from home is becoming more important to them. I want to reiterate that family is #1, that your sister, mom, dad, brother, cousin comes before your friends. No matter what, end of story. To do this we are going to have family game night once per week. Each week 1 person will get to choose dinner and the game and we'll spend 2-3 hours with NO electronics. No itouches, no ipads, no phones, no computers, no TV. Nothing. Not even background music. I want to encourage conversation and interaction.
We did this for a few weeks, but we've gotten out of the habit. Hoping to get back on track this weekend!
2. Read 1 self-improvement book per month. I'm currently reading, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. So far it's great. I know I'm a good person, I want to be a GREAT person and reading books from other great people will help me to become the person I want to be.
I'm still reading the 21 laws...I have 4 laws left! So I'm behind...However I'm still reading :O)
3. I want to spend more quality time with my husband. In the day to day life of raising a family, working and school, it's easy to lose track of each other. Our relationship is the strongest it's ever been, it can always get stronger though. I want to go out at least once per month, just us. I want to do stuff that will allow us to interact with each other, not just sit in a movie theater.
This one is a work in progress. We haven't done anything outside the box. I think this weekend we are going to go to dinner with a friend from work and her husband, that'll be different b/c we don't have any couple friends!
Business/Work-
1. I will put forth more effort in my daily work. I'm lazy about entering notes into our lead management system. I will make this a habit as well as staying on top of my mailings. I will utilize the phone more than e-mail to contact our clients. This will make their experience with us more personal.
I'm doing very good at this! I'm a note entering fool now!
2. To focus on building relationships with those that drive me the most crazy in the office. To try to understand things from their point of view and to not let the little things get to me.
Stil working on this...she still drives me insane!
Spiritual-
1. To find and become involved in a Church. It's been almost 4 years since we left Meadowridge. That was our Church in Texas that we were very involved in. We have went to some here and there but nothing that stuck. Having a Church family, receiving the Word every week, and being accountable for my behavior is so important with my walk with the Lord. I will pray more, read the Word more and be more aware of my actions. Drawing closer to God will make me a better wife, mother, friend and person in general. Not to mention I miss Him. I miss being close to Him. We all know it wasn't Him that moved....
We went to Church every Sunday in January looking for a Church we liked, we didn't find one. We haven't been back anywhere. I'm going to make this a priority again.
2. To do a bible study that has me in the word daily. I'm not sure what that will be yet, I still have to find one. I want something that's going to help me grow as a child of God, and get me more involved in my Bible.
Haven't started a bible study. To honest, I haven't looked for one. I have several around the house. I think I will start there.
Health-(This is my easiest one!)
1. Run More- I have 3 very specific running goals for 2011. If you haven't already read them you can check them out here.
Doing OK here. It's hard to run when it's so cold out and with Jason's night classes it's been hit or miss. I average at least 2 days a week most weeks. That's not enough though. I need to do more.
2. I want to lose at least 29 more pounds. I will do this by running, working out and weights. I would like to work out 4-6 days per week.
I've lost a little (3 pounds!) still FAR off from that 29. I haven't been trying. I want to lose at least 6 more before alabama, hopefully 11, so I'm working hard now!
Financial-
1. To have at least $1,000 in savings by the end of 2011. It's not a lot, however with our tight budget, this will be a challenge. I'm tired of not having a savings account. We live on a wing and a prayer ALOT.
I'm over half way there right now! Whoo-hoo! However it's vacation money. So it will be deleted by this time next month!
2. Improve our credit. I'm not looking to buy anything big on credit. I just want to build credit for when we decide to. We only have $1,000 in credit card debt, it's to much for me though! I want to get that paid off and use it only for our monthly subscription to nexflix. That way we can pay it off every month.
I don't know if our credit is improved or not. I haven't checked. We have the credit cards paid down(not off) right now.
3. Buy a 2nd car. I was hoping this would be a newer mini-van. With the slap in face the VA gave us, that's not going to happen :O( However, we are still looking forward to purchasing a 2nd vehicle cash with our tax return. As long as it looks descent and runs, I'll be happy. No payments is good :O)
Still looking forward to this one! We should get our tax return in the next couple of weeks, so I'm looking forward to buying a van. I can't wait for the leg room!
So where are you goals in your goals??
Family/Life-
1. Spend more quality time with my family. We are always "together", but not enjoying each other's company. I want us to grow closer and learn to depend on each other more. Both the big kids are getting to the point where their friends and being away from home is becoming more important to them. I want to reiterate that family is #1, that your sister, mom, dad, brother, cousin comes before your friends. No matter what, end of story. To do this we are going to have family game night once per week. Each week 1 person will get to choose dinner and the game and we'll spend 2-3 hours with NO electronics. No itouches, no ipads, no phones, no computers, no TV. Nothing. Not even background music. I want to encourage conversation and interaction.
We did this for a few weeks, but we've gotten out of the habit. Hoping to get back on track this weekend!
2. Read 1 self-improvement book per month. I'm currently reading, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. So far it's great. I know I'm a good person, I want to be a GREAT person and reading books from other great people will help me to become the person I want to be.
I'm still reading the 21 laws...I have 4 laws left! So I'm behind...However I'm still reading :O)
3. I want to spend more quality time with my husband. In the day to day life of raising a family, working and school, it's easy to lose track of each other. Our relationship is the strongest it's ever been, it can always get stronger though. I want to go out at least once per month, just us. I want to do stuff that will allow us to interact with each other, not just sit in a movie theater.
This one is a work in progress. We haven't done anything outside the box. I think this weekend we are going to go to dinner with a friend from work and her husband, that'll be different b/c we don't have any couple friends!
Business/Work-
1. I will put forth more effort in my daily work. I'm lazy about entering notes into our lead management system. I will make this a habit as well as staying on top of my mailings. I will utilize the phone more than e-mail to contact our clients. This will make their experience with us more personal.
I'm doing very good at this! I'm a note entering fool now!
2. To focus on building relationships with those that drive me the most crazy in the office. To try to understand things from their point of view and to not let the little things get to me.
Stil working on this...she still drives me insane!
Spiritual-
1. To find and become involved in a Church. It's been almost 4 years since we left Meadowridge. That was our Church in Texas that we were very involved in. We have went to some here and there but nothing that stuck. Having a Church family, receiving the Word every week, and being accountable for my behavior is so important with my walk with the Lord. I will pray more, read the Word more and be more aware of my actions. Drawing closer to God will make me a better wife, mother, friend and person in general. Not to mention I miss Him. I miss being close to Him. We all know it wasn't Him that moved....
We went to Church every Sunday in January looking for a Church we liked, we didn't find one. We haven't been back anywhere. I'm going to make this a priority again.
2. To do a bible study that has me in the word daily. I'm not sure what that will be yet, I still have to find one. I want something that's going to help me grow as a child of God, and get me more involved in my Bible.
Haven't started a bible study. To honest, I haven't looked for one. I have several around the house. I think I will start there.
Health-(This is my easiest one!)
1. Run More- I have 3 very specific running goals for 2011. If you haven't already read them you can check them out here.
Doing OK here. It's hard to run when it's so cold out and with Jason's night classes it's been hit or miss. I average at least 2 days a week most weeks. That's not enough though. I need to do more.
2. I want to lose at least 29 more pounds. I will do this by running, working out and weights. I would like to work out 4-6 days per week.
I've lost a little (3 pounds!) still FAR off from that 29. I haven't been trying. I want to lose at least 6 more before alabama, hopefully 11, so I'm working hard now!
Financial-
1. To have at least $1,000 in savings by the end of 2011. It's not a lot, however with our tight budget, this will be a challenge. I'm tired of not having a savings account. We live on a wing and a prayer ALOT.
I'm over half way there right now! Whoo-hoo! However it's vacation money. So it will be deleted by this time next month!
2. Improve our credit. I'm not looking to buy anything big on credit. I just want to build credit for when we decide to. We only have $1,000 in credit card debt, it's to much for me though! I want to get that paid off and use it only for our monthly subscription to nexflix. That way we can pay it off every month.
I don't know if our credit is improved or not. I haven't checked. We have the credit cards paid down(not off) right now.
3. Buy a 2nd car. I was hoping this would be a newer mini-van. With the slap in face the VA gave us, that's not going to happen :O( However, we are still looking forward to purchasing a 2nd vehicle cash with our tax return. As long as it looks descent and runs, I'll be happy. No payments is good :O)
Still looking forward to this one! We should get our tax return in the next couple of weeks, so I'm looking forward to buying a van. I can't wait for the leg room!
So where are you goals in your goals??
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wait for your cheeseburger
Dear Sister,
I know that right now you are sad, lonely, pregnant, emotional, and in desperate need of a strong pair of arms around you. Couple all of this with an incredible lack of sleep and a constant foot on your bladder and no one blames you for your actions :O) However, no matter how sad or lonely you get, you should never settle. Settling for less than you deserve, less than you are worth is asking for trouble. Life is hard enough with someone you love and want to be with forever. Throw in "settling" and it makes it unbearable. You have the arms around you at night, but you still have the emptiness. It's like eating a salad when you really want a cheeseburger. Technically the salad is food and it's in your belly, so you should be full, but it doesn't satisfy you. With every bite, you just think more and more about that cheeseburger. You see cheeseburgers everywhere, your salad becomes even more tasteless and bland. It's not filling you up. Your hunger for the cheeseburger actually deepens while you're eating the salad. The salad makes you sad, you know it will never satisfy like the cheeseburger. So wait. Wait for the cheeseburger, don't settle for the salad. Don't subject the girls to a salad, they deserve a cheeseburger too. We all do. I don't know why every one's cheeseburgers come at different points in their lives. That's a God question, all I know is you're hungry for a cheeseburger, so don't settle for a salad.
Love,
Big Sister
I know that right now you are sad, lonely, pregnant, emotional, and in desperate need of a strong pair of arms around you. Couple all of this with an incredible lack of sleep and a constant foot on your bladder and no one blames you for your actions :O) However, no matter how sad or lonely you get, you should never settle. Settling for less than you deserve, less than you are worth is asking for trouble. Life is hard enough with someone you love and want to be with forever. Throw in "settling" and it makes it unbearable. You have the arms around you at night, but you still have the emptiness. It's like eating a salad when you really want a cheeseburger. Technically the salad is food and it's in your belly, so you should be full, but it doesn't satisfy you. With every bite, you just think more and more about that cheeseburger. You see cheeseburgers everywhere, your salad becomes even more tasteless and bland. It's not filling you up. Your hunger for the cheeseburger actually deepens while you're eating the salad. The salad makes you sad, you know it will never satisfy like the cheeseburger. So wait. Wait for the cheeseburger, don't settle for the salad. Don't subject the girls to a salad, they deserve a cheeseburger too. We all do. I don't know why every one's cheeseburgers come at different points in their lives. That's a God question, all I know is you're hungry for a cheeseburger, so don't settle for a salad.
Love,
Big Sister
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Frustrated
I'm super frustrated at work. In April I will have been there 2 years and I'm still at the same hourly wage. I've had bonuses, but no pay increase. I talked to my boss about it a couple of weeks ago and pretty much got no where. He said he looked at the bonuses as a raise, b/c they were more than he would have given me if he'd given me an hourly raise. I told him I thought the bonuses were performance bonuses and didn't realize they were meant to be in lieu of a raise. In addition to all this, he expects SO much of me. Which honestly I'm OK with, it makes me a better person. However, while I'm the highest paid staff member, I only make more than the 2nd highest by .25 per hour. My boss doesn't expect near as much from that person as he does from me. In fact, he's looking to replace that person. This week he was out of town Sat-Wed, I busted my ass to keep stuff off his plate to keep everything rolling smoothly, and we were busy!! I took on tasks that I normally don't do so he wouldn't have to work remotely. To me, that's the above and beyond that deserves to make more than .25 more an hour than a part time collage kid. Add that to the fact there are NO benefits, and I'm nearing my wits end.
What keeps me around you ask? I LOVE MY JOB! 95% of the time that is :O) I love what I do, I love the people I work with, I even love my boss most of the time. I hated my job at Countrywide. So would much rather make less at a job I love, however a yearly cost of living raise would be nice!!
What keeps me around you ask? I LOVE MY JOB! 95% of the time that is :O) I love what I do, I love the people I work with, I even love my boss most of the time. I hated my job at Countrywide. So would much rather make less at a job I love, however a yearly cost of living raise would be nice!!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE orange. For Valentines's day this year Jason bought me an orange sapphire ring. I LOVE it. It is SO me! I have actually started wearing it on my left hand in lieu of my wedding set. It's exactly the kind of engagement ring I would want if he were to propose again.
It's extra special b/c it was unexpected. We don't normally do gifts on Valentine's day and I had nothing for him :O( Jason has become an awesome gift giver over the years. He's come a LONG way from our first Christmas together, and my gift of a lady razor...LOL!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Hmmmmm
I feel like blogging, but I'm not sure what to say, so I shall just begin and see where my rambling take me! Today was almost 80 degrees! It was so beautiful out. I was out a little bit running errands for work. It was great. I wasn't able to run, but I did walk with the kids to McDonald's. They both did awesome at their parent teacher conference. They are doing very well. Jonathan more than likely will be placed in advanced math next year. Savannah is reading at almost a 6th grade level!! Although she may like to reading to much, b/c she rushes through her work, so she can get back to reading. They are both lil' talkers, but that's not surprising considering who their mother is!!
We received an e-mail stating our Taylor tickets have been printed!! Whoo-hoo! I can't wait to get them in the mail :O) I need to book our room for our night in KC too, but I just haven't had time.
Today Jonathan was playing football at the field with a bunch of other boys. They had all put their stuff on the side lines while they played. Some punk or punks thought that it would be a great idea to STEAL the phones of a bunch of boys! 3-4 boys had their phones stolen. Can you believe that? Jerk off kids.... I called Verizon and since we have insurance it will only be $39 to replace it. Jonathan has had his phone almost 2 years and never lost it, broke it, nothing. While I was on the phone with the rep suspending his service, I was almost able to get my iphone! Their was something wrong with their ordering system, so she's going to call me back on Tuesday :O) Technically my upgrade isn't available until March 3rd, but she was gonna work some magic for me! We'll see how it goes!
On our way to Alabama we have decided to stop in Memphis! That should be fun. Both the kids love music and will be excited to go to Graceland. It'll be a fun little side trip on our way to the Wood's place. We've been shopping around for vans. It looks like we'll be able to get a good used van with our tax return! I just hope it comes in time. I do not want to drive to Alabama in our little car. I will if I have to, but I really don't want to!!
We received an e-mail stating our Taylor tickets have been printed!! Whoo-hoo! I can't wait to get them in the mail :O) I need to book our room for our night in KC too, but I just haven't had time.
Today Jonathan was playing football at the field with a bunch of other boys. They had all put their stuff on the side lines while they played. Some punk or punks thought that it would be a great idea to STEAL the phones of a bunch of boys! 3-4 boys had their phones stolen. Can you believe that? Jerk off kids.... I called Verizon and since we have insurance it will only be $39 to replace it. Jonathan has had his phone almost 2 years and never lost it, broke it, nothing. While I was on the phone with the rep suspending his service, I was almost able to get my iphone! Their was something wrong with their ordering system, so she's going to call me back on Tuesday :O) Technically my upgrade isn't available until March 3rd, but she was gonna work some magic for me! We'll see how it goes!
On our way to Alabama we have decided to stop in Memphis! That should be fun. Both the kids love music and will be excited to go to Graceland. It'll be a fun little side trip on our way to the Wood's place. We've been shopping around for vans. It looks like we'll be able to get a good used van with our tax return! I just hope it comes in time. I do not want to drive to Alabama in our little car. I will if I have to, but I really don't want to!!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
So much....
So much to blog about this time around! I hope I can get it all in. Sometimes I wish I could speak my blogs, they'd be much more lengthy!
First, VA. On Tuesday we got a wonderful surprise deposit into our checking account. After some checking, it was a GI Bill kicker that VA owed us but never paid. So they back paid for the 19 months Jason has been in school. Which paid themselves off AND gave us a little extra unexpected money :O) Whoo-hoo! That unexpected money allowed me to buy......
TAYLOR SWIFT tickets! Double Whoo-hoo! She'll be in KC on Sept. 24th. We got pretty descent seats too! I'm so excited. We will be taking the big kids and making a weekend of it. We are hoping for a Chiefs game the next day, but I doubt that will happen since Taylor will be playing at Arrowhead the night before. We can hope though.
Last night I received my first Pay it Forward. Savannah and I went to see the JB movie. We walked up to the ticket cage, asked for 2 tickets and the guy asked if I'd like frees tickets. Um, sure!! So he pointed to a man standing off to the side, next to a video machine. Savannah and I cautiously walked up to him... He explained he has a special needs daughter and he had bought the tickets to see the movie with her. She changed her mind and decided she didn't want to see it, but he didn't want the tickets to go to waste. As along as I agreed to to Pay it Forward and do something for someone kind he'd like for us to have them. Talk about a WOW moment. I teared up, asked him if he was sure. I'd gladly pay him. He refused, smiled, handed us our tickets and walked away. I tried to burn his image into my brain. Derby is such a small town, surely I'll run into him in the future, but except for a carhart jacket, I don't really remember... It was an awesomely, humbling experience. I can't wait to Pay it Forward!!
The JB movie was great. I'll be honest and say I never really gave the kid a second thought. I skip his songs when they happened to come up on the ipod and indulge Savannah's crush. After seeing the movie, I have a lot of respect for him. He has worked heart to get where he is, and he is very humble about it. The girls in the movie were WILD! Screaming, singing, dancing...it was like being at the concert! I'll admit I wasn't excited to go to the movie, I did it for Savannah as part of our mother/daughter night. I ended up having a good time and gaining new respect for a young artist.
Today my parents and little sister came down to do our very late family Christmas. It was a good time. I wish we lived closer to my nieces and nephews. They are sweeties!! I'll post some pics soon. I've been really bad on the picture posting lately. I guess cause I know ya'll see them on FB.
First, VA. On Tuesday we got a wonderful surprise deposit into our checking account. After some checking, it was a GI Bill kicker that VA owed us but never paid. So they back paid for the 19 months Jason has been in school. Which paid themselves off AND gave us a little extra unexpected money :O) Whoo-hoo! That unexpected money allowed me to buy......
TAYLOR SWIFT tickets! Double Whoo-hoo! She'll be in KC on Sept. 24th. We got pretty descent seats too! I'm so excited. We will be taking the big kids and making a weekend of it. We are hoping for a Chiefs game the next day, but I doubt that will happen since Taylor will be playing at Arrowhead the night before. We can hope though.
Last night I received my first Pay it Forward. Savannah and I went to see the JB movie. We walked up to the ticket cage, asked for 2 tickets and the guy asked if I'd like frees tickets. Um, sure!! So he pointed to a man standing off to the side, next to a video machine. Savannah and I cautiously walked up to him... He explained he has a special needs daughter and he had bought the tickets to see the movie with her. She changed her mind and decided she didn't want to see it, but he didn't want the tickets to go to waste. As along as I agreed to to Pay it Forward and do something for someone kind he'd like for us to have them. Talk about a WOW moment. I teared up, asked him if he was sure. I'd gladly pay him. He refused, smiled, handed us our tickets and walked away. I tried to burn his image into my brain. Derby is such a small town, surely I'll run into him in the future, but except for a carhart jacket, I don't really remember... It was an awesomely, humbling experience. I can't wait to Pay it Forward!!
The JB movie was great. I'll be honest and say I never really gave the kid a second thought. I skip his songs when they happened to come up on the ipod and indulge Savannah's crush. After seeing the movie, I have a lot of respect for him. He has worked heart to get where he is, and he is very humble about it. The girls in the movie were WILD! Screaming, singing, dancing...it was like being at the concert! I'll admit I wasn't excited to go to the movie, I did it for Savannah as part of our mother/daughter night. I ended up having a good time and gaining new respect for a young artist.
Today my parents and little sister came down to do our very late family Christmas. It was a good time. I wish we lived closer to my nieces and nephews. They are sweeties!! I'll post some pics soon. I've been really bad on the picture posting lately. I guess cause I know ya'll see them on FB.
Friday, February 04, 2011
Crazy, but I love it!
Tonight I have NINE children in my house(10 if you count the 1 I married!) Jonathan loves to have friends over, and for now, they love to be here. That makes me happy. Jonathan has 3 friends that are at our house almost every weekend, and if they are not here, he's at their house. I love that. I prefer they be here. That way I can monitor what's going on and get to know his friends better. Occasionally they get loud, but for the most part they are all good boys. I think they like the little bachelor pad that Jonathan has set up in the back. Savannah gets upset b/c she doesn't have friends over as often. I tried to explain to her that Jonathan didn't have friends over like this when he was in the 3rd grade, but that normally doesn't make her feel better.
Tonight Jonathan has 4 friends over and Savannah has 2, that's 8 children total!! So far, so good. The boys are in the back and I haven't heard them(yet) and the girls are in the living room watching 'Adventures in Babysitting'. We'll see how the night goes...
ADDED LATER:
Well, one of the boys is getting ready to leave in tears b/c Jonathan was being a jackass. One of the Core Four. A boy I like alot. There are 2 "new" boys here tonight. I don't know if that has something to do with the friction, but either way Jonathan has just proved he's not ready to have 4 friends over. As I type this, he's calling his mom to not come get him. I'm glad he's staying. If we have another meltdown like that, they are all going home... Amazing that the girls are getting along fine, and boys are having the catfights :O(
Tonight Jonathan has 4 friends over and Savannah has 2, that's 8 children total!! So far, so good. The boys are in the back and I haven't heard them(yet) and the girls are in the living room watching 'Adventures in Babysitting'. We'll see how the night goes...
ADDED LATER:
Well, one of the boys is getting ready to leave in tears b/c Jonathan was being a jackass. One of the Core Four. A boy I like alot. There are 2 "new" boys here tonight. I don't know if that has something to do with the friction, but either way Jonathan has just proved he's not ready to have 4 friends over. As I type this, he's calling his mom to not come get him. I'm glad he's staying. If we have another meltdown like that, they are all going home... Amazing that the girls are getting along fine, and boys are having the catfights :O(
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sometimes I feel as if we have bad luck that will never end. We are not those people that good things just happen to. We have to fight tooth and nail for every bit of good that happens. I'm pretty tired of it. Long story short, we got a letter last week that jepordizes our tax return. Big Surprise right? We should known that something would come up and we wouldn't be able to get a 2nd vehicle. That would be to easy and nothing has been easy for us in years!
We don't know yet how this will all play out. We may still end up with our return, or we may not. Who knows. I'm doing my very best to not stress and to give it to God. I won't lie it's HARD. I'm tired of something always messing crap up!
We don't know yet how this will all play out. We may still end up with our return, or we may not. Who knows. I'm doing my very best to not stress and to give it to God. I won't lie it's HARD. I'm tired of something always messing crap up!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
So you want an update...
Let's see what I can ramble about...
Jason's new semester started yesterday. AGH. It's gonna be rough. He has class M-Th in the evenings. I have been going to the gym at night, so now I have to change up my workout schedule. Which means...videos at home! Should be....FUN...right? Ya, fun.
For Christmas, my AWESOME sister gave Jason and I a GC to local spa for massages. So we are going on Saturday. Jason is getting a regular massage and I'm going a deep pressure massage. SO excited about this!!
I have an appt next Thursday at a dermatologist to get my tattoos looked at. I want to see about getting them removed. They are dumb and I hate them. When I get to my goal weight(23.8 pounds!) I want to get an orange lily on my back, and I want these 2 stupid ones gone! Since they are at home ones, they shouldn't be hard to remove. I guess we'll see!
Savannah won her class spelling bee, and is moving on to the school spelling be to represent for the 3rd grade! I'm so proud of that girl!
I found out last week that my sister is having a BOY! I can't wait to give that baby some Auntie love. I think being an Aunt is second only to being a grandma(I hope!) So excited to snuggle baby Nate!
Only 2 months until we head to Alabama(with a stop in MO.) I'm SO excited! It's looking like we'll get a descent tax return, so we should be cruising in our new to us mini van. Pray, pray, pray for that!!!
Anything I'm missing? Anything your inquiring minds want to know?
Jason's new semester started yesterday. AGH. It's gonna be rough. He has class M-Th in the evenings. I have been going to the gym at night, so now I have to change up my workout schedule. Which means...videos at home! Should be....FUN...right? Ya, fun.
For Christmas, my AWESOME sister gave Jason and I a GC to local spa for massages. So we are going on Saturday. Jason is getting a regular massage and I'm going a deep pressure massage. SO excited about this!!
I have an appt next Thursday at a dermatologist to get my tattoos looked at. I want to see about getting them removed. They are dumb and I hate them. When I get to my goal weight(23.8 pounds!) I want to get an orange lily on my back, and I want these 2 stupid ones gone! Since they are at home ones, they shouldn't be hard to remove. I guess we'll see!
Savannah won her class spelling bee, and is moving on to the school spelling be to represent for the 3rd grade! I'm so proud of that girl!
I found out last week that my sister is having a BOY! I can't wait to give that baby some Auntie love. I think being an Aunt is second only to being a grandma(I hope!) So excited to snuggle baby Nate!
Only 2 months until we head to Alabama(with a stop in MO.) I'm SO excited! It's looking like we'll get a descent tax return, so we should be cruising in our new to us mini van. Pray, pray, pray for that!!!
Anything I'm missing? Anything your inquiring minds want to know?
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Cleaning out the closets
I have decided to clean out my closets. Anything that is size 16 or higher and size XXL is gone. Some of it still fits, but I'm not keeping it! 14's and L/XL fit so why keep all that other stuff? I'm still at 43-44 pounds lost. I was hoping to be at 50 by the 18th of January. That's my 1 year mark. I'm still going to try and get there, however I've been SO bad lately. Cheatin, cheatin, cheatin, I've been eating like crazy! I need to get back on the wagon. I still have 25 pounds to lose!
Sunday, January 02, 2011
My Goals
I'm so glad to see every one's goals on their blogs! Great job Teresa and Shannon. You're my favorites :O)
Here are mine:
Family/Life-
1. Spend more quality time with my family. We are always "together", but not enjoying each other's company. I want us to grow closer and learn to depend on each other more. Both the big kids are getting to the point where their friends and being away from home is becoming more important to them. I want to reiterate that family is #1, that your sister, mom, dad, brother, cousin comes before your friends. No matter what, end of story. To do this we are going to have family game night once per week. Each week 1 person will get to choose dinner and the game and we'll spend 2-3 hours with NO electronics. No itouches, no ipads, no phones, no computers, no TV. Nothing. Not even background music. I want to encourage conversation and interaction.
2. Read 1 self-improvement book per month. I'm currently reading, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. So far it's great. I know I'm a good person, I want to be a GREAT person and reading books from other great people will help me to become the person I want to be.
3. I want to spend more quality time with my husband. In the day to day life of raising a family, working and school, it's easy to lose track of each other. Our relationship is the strongest it's ever been, it can always get stronger though. I want to go out at least once per month, just us. I want to do stuff that will allow us to interact with each other, not just sit in a movie theater.
Business/Work-
1. I will put forth more effort in my daily work. I'm lazy about entering notes into our lead management system. I will make this a habit as well as staying on top of my mailings. I will utilize the phone more than e-mail to contact our clients. This will make their experience with us more personal.
2. To focus on building relationships with those that drive me the most crazy in the office. To try to understand things from their point of view and to not let the little things get to me.
Spiritual-
1. To find and become involved in a Church. It's been almost 4 years since we left Meadowridge. That was our Church in Texas that we were very involved in. We have went to some here and there but nothing that stuck. Having a Church family, receiving the Word every week, and being accountable for my behavior is so important with my walk with the Lord. I will pray more, read the Word more and be more aware of my actions. Drawing closer to God will make me a better wife, mother, friend and person in general. Not to mention I miss Him. I miss being close to Him. We all know it wasn't Him that moved....
2. To do a bible study that has me in the word daily. I'm not sure what that will be yet, I still have to find one. I want something that's going to help me grow as a child of God, and get me more involved in my Bible.
Health-(This is my easiest one!)
1. Run More- I have 3 very specific running goals for 2011. If you haven't already read them you can check them out here.
2. I want to lose at least 29 more pounds. I will do this by running, working out and weights. I would like to work out 4-6 days per week.
Financial-
1. To have at least $1,000 in savings by the end of 2011. It's not a lot, however with our tight budget, this will be a challenge. I'm tired of not having a savings account. We live on a wing and a prayer ALOT.
2. Improve our credit. I'm not looking to buy anything big on credit. I just want to build credit for when we decide to. We only have $1,000 in credit card debt, it's to much for me though! I want to get that paid off and use it only for our monthly subscription to nexflix. That way we can pay it off every month.
3. Buy a 2nd car. I was hoping this would be a newer mini-van. With the slap in face the VA gave us, that's not going to happen :O( However, we are still looking forward to purchasing a 2nd vehicle cash with our tax return. As long as it looks descent and runs, I'll be happy. No payments is good :O)
There you go! It's all out there for you to help hold me accountable. Be sure to ask me how it's going. That's how I'll know that you care :O)
Here are mine:
Family/Life-
1. Spend more quality time with my family. We are always "together", but not enjoying each other's company. I want us to grow closer and learn to depend on each other more. Both the big kids are getting to the point where their friends and being away from home is becoming more important to them. I want to reiterate that family is #1, that your sister, mom, dad, brother, cousin comes before your friends. No matter what, end of story. To do this we are going to have family game night once per week. Each week 1 person will get to choose dinner and the game and we'll spend 2-3 hours with NO electronics. No itouches, no ipads, no phones, no computers, no TV. Nothing. Not even background music. I want to encourage conversation and interaction.
2. Read 1 self-improvement book per month. I'm currently reading, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. So far it's great. I know I'm a good person, I want to be a GREAT person and reading books from other great people will help me to become the person I want to be.
3. I want to spend more quality time with my husband. In the day to day life of raising a family, working and school, it's easy to lose track of each other. Our relationship is the strongest it's ever been, it can always get stronger though. I want to go out at least once per month, just us. I want to do stuff that will allow us to interact with each other, not just sit in a movie theater.
Business/Work-
1. I will put forth more effort in my daily work. I'm lazy about entering notes into our lead management system. I will make this a habit as well as staying on top of my mailings. I will utilize the phone more than e-mail to contact our clients. This will make their experience with us more personal.
2. To focus on building relationships with those that drive me the most crazy in the office. To try to understand things from their point of view and to not let the little things get to me.
Spiritual-
1. To find and become involved in a Church. It's been almost 4 years since we left Meadowridge. That was our Church in Texas that we were very involved in. We have went to some here and there but nothing that stuck. Having a Church family, receiving the Word every week, and being accountable for my behavior is so important with my walk with the Lord. I will pray more, read the Word more and be more aware of my actions. Drawing closer to God will make me a better wife, mother, friend and person in general. Not to mention I miss Him. I miss being close to Him. We all know it wasn't Him that moved....
2. To do a bible study that has me in the word daily. I'm not sure what that will be yet, I still have to find one. I want something that's going to help me grow as a child of God, and get me more involved in my Bible.
Health-(This is my easiest one!)
1. Run More- I have 3 very specific running goals for 2011. If you haven't already read them you can check them out here.
2. I want to lose at least 29 more pounds. I will do this by running, working out and weights. I would like to work out 4-6 days per week.
Financial-
1. To have at least $1,000 in savings by the end of 2011. It's not a lot, however with our tight budget, this will be a challenge. I'm tired of not having a savings account. We live on a wing and a prayer ALOT.
2. Improve our credit. I'm not looking to buy anything big on credit. I just want to build credit for when we decide to. We only have $1,000 in credit card debt, it's to much for me though! I want to get that paid off and use it only for our monthly subscription to nexflix. That way we can pay it off every month.
3. Buy a 2nd car. I was hoping this would be a newer mini-van. With the slap in face the VA gave us, that's not going to happen :O( However, we are still looking forward to purchasing a 2nd vehicle cash with our tax return. As long as it looks descent and runs, I'll be happy. No payments is good :O)
There you go! It's all out there for you to help hold me accountable. Be sure to ask me how it's going. That's how I'll know that you care :O)
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Coastin'
This week I realized I was just coastin' through life. Coastin' isn't bad, however in my opinion it isn't good either. Coastin' is comfortable. Coastin' is easy. When you coast no one expects anything of you. You know what else happens? You just coast. You don't go anywhere. No upward movement is happening in your life when you coast. When you coast you are not moving towards anything, you are not working towards anything, you are not going anywhere. You're just coastin'! I don't want to coast any more.
I want to move on to bigger and better things. I want to make myself, my life, my marriage, my job, my friends, my children, my relationships better. Of course everybody WANTS that, if you ask people what they are doing to make it happen 9/10 will give you a blank stare and studder something unintelligible. Why? Because they're coastin'! They are are not actively pursuing their dreams, goals, and desires. They expect for all the things they want to just appear. We all know they won't, I know, you know, THEY know... It's easier that way. If you don't try, you can't fail.
I'm tired of living in fear of failure. Failure isn't bad. Failure is a learning experience. If you've failed at least you've tried. The majority is to scared to even try because they don't want to fail. They'd rather coast.
2011 is the year I end the coastin'! I have been educated and have found that there are 5 major areas that everyone who is not coastin' should have goals in. They are:
Business/Work
Family/Life
Spiritual
Health
Financial
Do you have at least 1 goal in each of those categories? I don't. Take financial for instance. I want more money, I don't have a plan for more money. That's coastin'. I'm going to post my goals in each of those categories for all of you to see. Why? Several reasons. Accountability is the biggest. If you don't put your plans, goals, dreams, desires out there you have no one to cheer for you, no one to tell you when you're getting off track, and no one to pick you up when you fall down(b/c I will, everyone does). Secondly, I love all of you who read these blog, and I want you to get goals. I want you to stop coastin' and move on up in the world. I know none of you are where you want to be, none of you are at the peak of your life. We can all stand to improve and I want to improve with you. I will be posting my goals over the next few days and I would LOVE it if ya'll post yours too. Accountability. It's what makes the world go 'round.
I want to move on to bigger and better things. I want to make myself, my life, my marriage, my job, my friends, my children, my relationships better. Of course everybody WANTS that, if you ask people what they are doing to make it happen 9/10 will give you a blank stare and studder something unintelligible. Why? Because they're coastin'! They are are not actively pursuing their dreams, goals, and desires. They expect for all the things they want to just appear. We all know they won't, I know, you know, THEY know... It's easier that way. If you don't try, you can't fail.
I'm tired of living in fear of failure. Failure isn't bad. Failure is a learning experience. If you've failed at least you've tried. The majority is to scared to even try because they don't want to fail. They'd rather coast.
2011 is the year I end the coastin'! I have been educated and have found that there are 5 major areas that everyone who is not coastin' should have goals in. They are:
Business/Work
Family/Life
Spiritual
Health
Financial
Do you have at least 1 goal in each of those categories? I don't. Take financial for instance. I want more money, I don't have a plan for more money. That's coastin'. I'm going to post my goals in each of those categories for all of you to see. Why? Several reasons. Accountability is the biggest. If you don't put your plans, goals, dreams, desires out there you have no one to cheer for you, no one to tell you when you're getting off track, and no one to pick you up when you fall down(b/c I will, everyone does). Secondly, I love all of you who read these blog, and I want you to get goals. I want you to stop coastin' and move on up in the world. I know none of you are where you want to be, none of you are at the peak of your life. We can all stand to improve and I want to improve with you. I will be posting my goals over the next few days and I would LOVE it if ya'll post yours too. Accountability. It's what makes the world go 'round.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Best Christmas Ever!
This Christmas definitely rated up there as one of the best Christmas's ever! Why you ask? Was it the ipad? The rings? The pumpkin roll? Nope. It was dishtowels. Beautiful, lovely, hand embroidered dish towels given to me by my Grammie.
When I was a little girl my Grammie embroidered all the time. I had pillow cases, she had dishtowels, she made wall hangings. I used to love to look at the rainbow of colored thread in her many boxes. She has mentioned periodically over the years how she misses embroidering, but that her eyesight isn't what it used to be, and the small stitching is hard on her eyes. This makes me sad. In my heart I refuse to believe my Grammie is growing older, but in my mind I know. I see the age spots, the slight shake of the hand, I notice that sometimes I have to speak louder than I used to and she forgets things... She's almost 72. She's still in amazing health for 72, she can still do ALOT. She cares for Harri, she keeps up her house and half of ours! She is amazing.
Back to the dish towels. When I opened the box and saw the little lady in an embroidered orange dress...I lost it. They were just like the ones my Grammie made herself when I was little. Looking at them made every single happy childhood memory I had with my Grammie come flooding back. I was so surprised and honored that she made them for me. The sacrifice of her time, the detail that went into them that must have strained her aging eyes and hands. I am completely and totally humbled by this gift, they are by far my favorite gift from this Christmas.
When I was a little girl my Grammie embroidered all the time. I had pillow cases, she had dishtowels, she made wall hangings. I used to love to look at the rainbow of colored thread in her many boxes. She has mentioned periodically over the years how she misses embroidering, but that her eyesight isn't what it used to be, and the small stitching is hard on her eyes. This makes me sad. In my heart I refuse to believe my Grammie is growing older, but in my mind I know. I see the age spots, the slight shake of the hand, I notice that sometimes I have to speak louder than I used to and she forgets things... She's almost 72. She's still in amazing health for 72, she can still do ALOT. She cares for Harri, she keeps up her house and half of ours! She is amazing.
Back to the dish towels. When I opened the box and saw the little lady in an embroidered orange dress...I lost it. They were just like the ones my Grammie made herself when I was little. Looking at them made every single happy childhood memory I had with my Grammie come flooding back. I was so surprised and honored that she made them for me. The sacrifice of her time, the detail that went into them that must have strained her aging eyes and hands. I am completely and totally humbled by this gift, they are by far my favorite gift from this Christmas.
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