O What A Joyous Day!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday and today have been fabulous! I got an 85 on my lab final. I took my final for lecture. Class is over for micro! After work, we beautified my car and filled out more vet applications. We spent some time over at our neighbor's house and had a good ole time. Steve, Melinda and Emily came over to look at the neighbor's car. And I slept the whole night through.

Then today, we got a call from one of the vet clinics finally!!!!!!!!!!!! Both of us!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we went in for our interviews. The people are really nice and the clinic is awesome. They have their own pharmacy, boarding, electronic x- ray machine, surgery room with full breathing machines, just lots. They take care of cats, dogs, birds, exotics. Yes, I said exotics. I guess if we get the jobs I will be facing my fear of all things that slither sooner than later. I think I need to face it in a pet store rather than while on the job! That would be a good way to get fired real fast. The positions are for vet techs/assistants and there is a lot of room to grow and learn and move up. Also, benefits are great, even for Allie!!! We are really praying that we BOTH get the job. It would be such a blessing from God. Not to mention how much it would help with the VT program that I will be applying for this coming fall! Sean and I both have second "working interviews" on Friday. Me 9- 11 and Sean 2- 4. We also get to wear scrubs. Comfy.

I'm starved!!

Happy Tuesday!

We have officially turned in our other volunteer badges. We now have the month off from both the hospital and the Humane Society. Hopefully, it will give us the time we need to get my volunteering hours in and for Sean to get a lot done with the remodeling. We are really sad and would rather not take the time off, but at least we were able to recognize that something needed to change while we concentrate on the above-mentioned. I would rather trade in something else, but had no other options.

We filled out job applications at another vet clinic yesterday and are really excited about that. Our evening was spent in the hospital gift shop. Other than that, it was a normal workday Monday.

Oh yeah, I made a boo-boo with our bank. I paid for class and books last week, thinking that I was paying with the Visa when in all actuality I was paying with our Wachovia Visa check card. See we have 2 accounts, 1 checking that we have to have to have another account open that we just keep 100 in to keep it open. Then we have our savings account, which is what we use. Well, check cards only access the checking account so I charged 320.00, but we only had the 100 in there. They charged us a fee. Hopefully, we can get it straightened out today. That's what I get for being in a crappie mood that day and not paying attention to what I was doing.

Money Hoarders Unite!

I will give a quick update of our Sunday and then on to other things. We took care of nursery babies (had a 3-month-old yesterday!), Geek Squad performed routine maintenance on our CPU and laptop and we went for a LONG bike ride on the Pinellas Trail to Ozona and back. I got hurt because of abruptly using my brakes as to not hit Sean and to turn where he was turning. My back tire went above my head and I bruised my knee. I will live though. Stopped in for a beer on the way back. Then home to study and do laundry. All in all, a fabulous day.

Okay, since the economy is in the crappers right now (at least that's what all the big kids say), I decided to give some money tips that came from the St. Pete Times. So listen up!

1. Avoid danger zone of not having enough $ in emergency situations.
2. Reflect on your housing costs (mortgages, etc).
3. Be wise when it comes to buying new wheels (as in an automobile).
4. Invest in the right kind of insurance (health, life, car, home, etc).
5. View credit card debt as the plague that it is.
6. Don't rely on credit the wrong way.
7. Keep saving for retirement.
8. See the big picture.
9. Seek out reputable help if needed.
10. Understand your money personalities. Go to www.moneyharmony.com/MHQuize.html. Sean and I took the quiz. We are both money hoarders! HA!

OK, now for some fun free or free-er stuff:
1. Explore the outdoors.
2. Cook fun and interesting dishes.
3. Go to a museum.
4. Record your family history.
5. Love your library.
6. Help others.

Times are rough now and I know for me I will take all the $ advice I can get, but I also want to get out and do fun stuff and am always looking for a way to do that with my sweetheart without having to spend a ton of money.

FYI: #6 on fun things to do, Sean and I have found the most rewarding!

Untitled

Saturday brought me both good and bad. Good that I got a facial. Always relaxing and always helps with my breakouts. EVERY woman should get microdermabrasion. I am telling you it is a miracle for my skin and not surgery. Who wouldn't do it? Next: Good that we got to spend time at HSP yesterday. Oh so VERY bad that we have to take the next 4 weeks off. I thought I would be okay with it, but I started to get really emotional. I feel like the cats need us there or maybe we need the cats. I don't know. I would like to think it is a a give-take relationship. I know it is what we have to do while I concentrate on getting 80 hours at a vet clinic and Sean works on the house.

We had a great meal with the family at Sam Seltzer's for Michelle's BD. The service and food was way better than the last time we were there. We still had to wait 40 minutes to be seated even though we had a reservation, but that's okay.

We didn't get to bed until 10:30 last night. That's late for us. I tried to sleep in, but couldn't so I got up around 5:30.

Today is Mom's Mike's BD so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I will leave you with 10 things that I am grateful for:
1. My husband
2. My family and friends
3. Our church
4. The beauty of morning time
5. My iPod
6. Jimmy Eat World
7. That micro is over after Tuesday's final
8. Working from home
9. My health
10. Allie

And 10 things I could do without:
1. Being so far away from my family and friends
2. Knowing that Pastor Trail is not doing well
3. Being tired all the time
4. My iPod being fussy all the time and not ever wanting to work and getting all staticky
5. The fact that Jimmy Eat World only graced us with their presence 1 time on a like 50 year tour! What's up with that? Florida haters. But they have been to Cali like 20 times, but of course only once while we were living there.
6. That I have a final on Tuesday in Micro
7. Working. I wish I was rich. Well, not really. Okay, well maybe a little rich.
8. Allie not being able to ever make up her mind whether she wants to be in or outside, which means I let her in/take her out about 50 times a day.
9. That Allie refuses to go potty unsupervised
10. Poop patrol

A LIttle Bit Of This & That

Florida is paradise. Yesterday we got some good lounging by the pool time. Uggh, putting on a suit again is never fun. I lay out at stare at all the yuck things I don't like about my body. Real nice and relaxing huh! I wonder if there will ever come a time when I will want to wear a one piece suit or maybe a full body wet suit or better yet a padded snow suit, b/c I will get so fed up with my imperfections. I am thankful for what the Lord gave me (or did not give me in some cases); I think it is a woman thing to see the bad. Ya know how like when we get undressed and we just see everything staring right back at us (pimples, fat, cellulite, jiggly skin, freckles, moles, scars, unwanted hair, etc.).

We had a nice dinner with the family at Capogna's and then a crazy game of Uno with the grandparents. Let me tell you they get evil with their Uno game. It is a very big deal. They usually play 2xs a week for some money. It was the 1st time Sean and I joined them. Crazy bunch, but it was fun!

Please pray for our Pastor who hurt his back and is not doing well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE SHELLY! Love ya!

Here is my mom's website with her photography. Check it out. She is so talented and gifted at capturing beautiful images and creating lasting art that seems to jump out of the frame and come alive. Sometimes I just sit and stare in awe at some of the work we have hanging on our walls. Like Mike said, I am probably biased, but I still cannot praise her enough!
http://www.lizhampton.com/

Been meaning to recommend this blog too. It's great!
http://www.kadiprescott.blogspot.com/

G Post now!

I got a 93 on my lab report. I even got a compliment from my teacher! I took my final yesterday. I am getting very excited about having 2 weeks off before the new class starts. However, I found myself with no patience yesterday. Sean made me wait for him 2x's while he was out running errands. Horrible of me I know because he was doing them for me, like fixing my watch, but at the time I was just annoyed that I had to wait for him in between classes and then to pick me up after school. I was also thoroughly annoyed that I had to wait for 1 1/2 hours to take my lab final. How do I learn to be patient? I get so irritated. I am going to be blame it on my parents for only having one child. I think that I got what I wanted when I wanted and I didn't have to share it either, hence my inability to maintain any kind of patience with anyone or anything. It's their fault! Partially kidding! :P

We signed the new and improved revised contract on the house. Now, we hear we will probably be waiting about 30 days before we even get a response from the bank about it. We offered a lower price since it is a short sale now at 170k instead of the original 183k that we took from their counteroffer. Our agent said lowering the price lessens our chance the bank will say yes, but Sean said that is the # God gave him and even though I wanted to keep it at 183, I actually submitted to my hubby! Yay! That doesn't happen very often.

The day is gorgeous, so I will end this now so that I can finish work and Carpe Diem.

Serenity Is Such a Peaceful Word

I am not going to talk about the house this morning. I honestly am sick of thinking about it, talking about it, dealing with it. I still want it, don't get me wrong, but that is about my only feeling on the subject at this point. Really, there is just no more news, that is why I am not going to talk about it this morning!

I have been thinking about Jimmy Eat World all morning b/c they are only the best band ever. Actually I had a dream about them last night. It was like the whole night long and very detailed.

Today is my last lab class for school. I am taking my final. :O)

We went to our marriage class last night. Talked a lot about patience and the responsibility of changing our own reactions, which in turn will change the other person's reaction into a positive one instead of the planned negative one (well, that's what the hope is).

Amazingly, I actually don't really have anything else to say. Nothing too exciting happened yesterday, just worked a lot. Same with this morning. No interesting thoughts or weird things on my mind. Do you hear that?? Shhhh, listen really closely. It is the sound of nothing. Peaceful, serene nothing. I am going to go ahead and indulge in this moment b/c I am sure drama is just right around the corner lurking its evil head my way.

And The Plot Thickens

After school and work, we went around filling out some more job applications. This time at restaurants and a grocery store. Even Starbucks, which BTW we actually stepped inside the store, filled out the apps and did not leave with coffee in our hands. That is a first. Go us, way to practice self-control! It would be interesting if we got jobs there. I can see us being totally wired all the time b/c we would be all hyped up on the delicious brews. We also filled out apps at Publix. Each online app took about half an hour. Never spent that long on an application, kinda weird that it was Publix, but hey if they feel it is necessary than they must have good reason. We went to Chili's where they would not even let us fill out applications. OK. Strange. Other than, we went to about 5 or so other restaurants.

I siged up for summer term and will be taking New Testament Survey online. After that, I will have my AA! Yay!

This morning, we found out that the owners of the house will have to go into a short sale. Their bank would not allow them to sell the house b/c they owe too much money. Basically a short sale will take about 120 days or so. We will put in an offer and then wait and see. There are pros and cons to doing it this way. The longer wait of course will teach us a lesson in patience. We will either get accepted or denied by the bank and if someone offers more for the house we automatically lose our offer. We may not get all closing costs paid for either. We will be able to offer a little less, but not too much or then someone could offer higher and we wouldn't get it any way. We will wait until the bank gives us an answer before inspections and appraisals. We will be able to back out if we find something better before then.

I was taught a tremendous lesson from the big man upstairs. I cannot think I have him figured out and that I know what he is going to do with my life. Furthermore, I cannot map out my life and then tell him how it is going to be. Nor can I give him stipulations or ultimatums. What I can do is really quite simple. I can love him, fear him, follow him, learn about him, serve him and try to make him happy.

I am forever grateful for God giving us another chance on this house after the way I exhibited very un-Christian-like behavior yesterday.

Will Work For Free, For Real!!!!!

Sean and I filled out about 6 or so applications at vet clinics yesterday. Most were not actually hiring, but accepting applications. We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed and praying that something works out. I was naive to think yah we will just go work at a vet clinic together. It really is not that simple. Probably because we have no experience and are not certified vet techs. That has got to be the reason. Ya think!!?? Sheesh. But we have to start somewhere. I have to do this for school and the Dean of the vet tech program said as long as you explain what you are doing, they are usually very responsive to it. I hope so! I need to be patient. We have only gone 2 days to fill out apps. I expected the phone to ring already and that is very unrealistic of me. But I like things to happen immediately......, which that hardly ever happens. Hopefully, they can see some of the qualities that we do possess and they will want to hire us any way. Hopefully!

After our job hunting, we had our volunteer time at the hospital gift shop. Then home to eat, relax, sleep.

I saw this morning on our home search web site that the house on Greenglen that we really under offered on (like 75k less than the asking price) is active with a contract. I thought I would be upset about it, but really I am not. I am so glad we did not get that house now. If we had, we would have never found the one we are trying to get now.

Any way, off to school I go.

Uncontrolled Emotions Under Control

We had a really good church yesterday. I so look forward to it every weekend. I love all the people there and it really just feels like one big family.

We also went and looked at the house again yesterday. We got some more questions answered and looked around a bit more. We are really excited. We just got off the phone with our agent and she is now putting a yes in on the counteroffer.

Then we went for our couples massage. I wish we could go weekly. It feels so good. Sean did not enjoy his as much because the therapist was new or something, but I really liked mine. She was telling me that in the first and last trimesters of pregnancy that they are allowed to give massages. I don't understand that at all. Hmm, I guess I should asked her why that was so.

Finally, we ate at my grandparents house with my dad and uncle. She made my all time very favorite chicken and broccoli. Yum yum.

The day is gorgeous and we got to go for a nice long walk this morning with Al. I had been looking for a photo of the dog with the cat on its back and 2 mice on the cat's back for this store owner in downtown Dunedin. We had struck up a conversation with her last week and for some reason it came up and she made us promise we would bring her a pic of it. Any way, that is what we were gonna do, but she wasn't open yet. Long story long, going through this album looking for the pic, I thumbed through some very sad pictures. Some of Sean and I when we 1st met, our trip to AZ right before he left for deployment, 4th of July and his BD around that time too and the day of and following day that he left. I had a good cry and almost a panic attack, but for the first time I was able to control it. I am proud of myself. I have come to be okay with the fact that we will get sad b/c of all of that we experienced together, but if we can keep it under control and not panic, get anxiety and depressed over it, then we have come leaps and bounds from where we were before and that is definitely a good place to be for me for right now.

Al's (Near) Death By Chocolate

We had our volunteer appreciation picnic at Philippe Park yesterday for the Humane Society. there was so much food and we really had a good time. The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to meet some of the other volunteers that we didn't know. We brought Death By Chocolate. It was a hit. We also brought Allie. She was crazy. She was very excited, jumping around everywhere and pulling and dragging me wherever her little heart pleased to go. She got so much attention and many compliments. She definitely had a "10" day. On the way home she decided to get into the leftover Death By Chocolate and gorge herself. Yeah, she got into a lot of trouble for that one. I screamed at her and scared the crap out of both her and Sean. Death By Chocolate literally for dogs. She is fine though. Thank goodness. The park was really nice and it was on the water too. I tried to get Allie in the water, but she was having none of that. We should go to parks more often. They are all over the place down here.

We said yes to the counteroffer yesterday on the house. Yay! :O) We will see.

After that, I got my hair did (cut and color).

The rest of the night was spent relaxing with my baby!

Here is something you can do if you feel the need. I got it off another blog. Shocker. No one else has my name. Imagine that.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Does A 2 Hour Wait For A Job Application Automatically Get One Hired?

I think we have a better understanding of taxes and homeowners insurance so we will be moving along with the offer. Now, we just have to hope and pray that the 2 inspections go through, that the appraisal is a really good number (sticker price would be best) and that the VA will give us the loan. The house right now is appraised at 108,000 b/c of real estate market. The price of the home is 179,900. Insurance companies get a computer generated # of 254,000 for appraisal value. We hopefully will get it appraised at 179,000 so insurance will be a reasonable price and the VA will give us the loan for the actual sale price. If it is appraised too low, then great for insurance, but not good for trying to get the loan. Not good for resale value either. Jeez, are we learning a lot or what!

Yesterday began or job hunt. Well, we tried to begin it and had mapped out about a dozen or so vet clinics to apply to, but we ended up only being able to apply at 1 place! Apparently PetSmarts have vet hospitals in the backs of their stores. So, we apply to one in Clearwater. Well, we tried to apply. We walk in there and ask the front desk lady for applications. Two hours later, YES 2 HOURS LATER, we get our applications. And not even from her, but another staff member. Okay, so she could not have forgotten us b/c we were sitting right in front of her fotch. Yes, it was busy in the clinic, but ALL SHE HAD TO DO WAS HAND US 2 PIECES OF PAPER. Now, other customers were peeved too. The line kept growing and the faces kept looking more and more PO'ed. One lady waited 40 minutes to make an appointment. This lady would not really even acknowledge anyone or say sorry for the wait or anything. I don't know what she was doing. So, we filled out our applications (in 10 minutes) and then went to give them to her. Do you want to know what her response was? "Sorry guys about the wait". What!!!???? OK, so I have had the same job for 8 years and am maybe a little rusty and unfamiliar with the whole filling out job application/hiring process, but this did not seem right to me. It was rather funny filling out the application too. They wanted COMPLETE info on previous jobs. Well, let's see. Taco Bell when I was 16. Neilsens when I was 17. Aurum (which was an illegal marketing company that got shutdown) when I was 18. Best Kids when I was 19. And of course Pappadeaux when I was 20, which I quit b/c hostessing stinks. So, do you think I had numbers and addresses for these places let alone actual dates of employment??? Um, no.

Any way, after that fiasco we came home and watched "Sweetest Thing" and Made Death By Chocolate. That sounds like a cool theme party.

One Song Or Pretty Picture Away From An AA

So, you would think after 10 years of going to college on and off that I would actually have a degree by now right? Wrong. Oh so wrong, BUT I am so close to hanging that degree on my wall, it is exciting. Well, really annoying would be more like it. I hadn't even thought about the fact that I could have my AA in general studies until one of my lab partners mentioned it to me. I am so focused on getting my vet tech and nursing degrees that I didn't even think about it. So Sean and I went the the admin building yesterday to apply for my degree when the lovely lady behind the desk informed me that I need one more Humanities class. Yea, that's right, one measly Humanities class. It doesn't matter that I have 800 science classes under my belt or the fact that I took World Cinema, which they can't use as a Humanities class (why I don't know, aren't movies classified under Humanities?). So, I was really looking forward to having a break from school until August when I start the vet tech program. Now, I get to take a class in art or music or religion just to get that stupid piece of paper. What a waste. I want something easy and I don't want to have to be writing any papers or really studying at all for the matter. Oh and I wanna take it online. I don't even need this class for my 2 degree programs. How messed up is that? Okay, I'm done complaining. It will be fine and hopefully an easy A. :O)

Got a counteroffer on the house. If ya wanna know more about that, go to Sean's blog.

http://just2hoursfromhell.blogspot.com/

Hey, visit his anyway. He got on some hit counter and saw that my blog has more hits than his. Dunno why. Show him some love people.

Okay, this is no lie. I stink. I need to get my lazy butt in the shower. Really, I smell myself. Well, Allie is sitting next to me. I'll just blame it on her. I showered yesterday and was not hanging around farm animals all day so where the heck is this odor coming from?

Praying for Babies

Yesterday was a long workday so once I was done we went for a walk, but accidentally ended up at Got Wine. Well, not really accidentally. But any hoo, we had a tasty German beverage and Allie got 180 treats and boy was she being so obnoxious and hyper. She causes me to lose my patience and I mean fast! I hope that is not a preview to how I will feel when we have little ones.

We went to our marriage class last night at church. It is always fun and the people there are crazy. Crazy in a good way of course! We also learn too. So, we were getting ready to go when I see Faithlynn (Pastor Trail's wife) eyeballing us. I was hoping she was going to ask if we had a prayer request, but fat chance on that one. She suddenly says "So I am praying that you two (meaning us) will have a baby". Well, see, saying things like that usually causes people to turn their attention towards you (us) and then they wait for us to react/respond. Hello!!!!!, no comment. Was a little embarrassed. Then became a joke and we got hit with comments like "you guys have fun tonight when you get home" and things of that nature. Let me remind you, we were at church. Any way, all in good fun even if my face was as red as a tomato (a ripe one that is).

Sean has been diligently working on the kitchen counter tops. They are looking spiffy. I found humor in the fact that he was cutting wood outside yesterday with safety goggles on, but barefoot. Weirdo. I imagined the saw slicing his toes off. I told him the image. He put shoes on.

Last, but not least, there seems to be a little plumbing issue around here. My dad was pretty concerned about it and basically told us that we might be showering with unwanted things in the form of waste products. Well, yippee, can't wait to take a shower. We came out unscathed and now it is time for class, so I hope we don't return home to a big ole poop of a mess.

No Drama For Me Today, Just Contentment

I am still alive after a surviving most of yesterday without my beautiful husband. So yay for us. I did unfortunately have a panic attack on the way to school yesterday, which is never good, especially since I was driving at the time. : O( But Sean surprised me at school and even put flowers on my car. What a love he is.

Grandma's surgery went well and she has another appointment this morning that Sean will be taking her to.

We signed our contract yesterday and the offer will go in today on the house. We are excited. Like we haven't said that only a million times.

We went to dinner with my family last night. My uncle Paul was in town on business from Mississippi just for the night so we got to see him.

And really that's it.

My Eeyore Moment

I sit here alone this morning. That does not happen often, except for Friday Care Lift days, but I am used to those now. Not today's alone time though. And going to school alone. I have that empty feeling in my tummy and wanna cry a little too. Please, Lord, I hope we can get away from this stuff eventually and not be a wreck when we have to part. I know it is unhealthy and sounds absolutely ridiculous. No matter how much I tell myself that I am having irrational thoughts and feelings, they are still there. I know life is full of experiences and that God wanted us to go through all of the rough deployment things for one reason or another, I am not sure what that reason is though. To appreciate each other more? I don't know. All I know is I don't like all of the anxiety and panic from Sean separation. It stinks.

We are putting in an offer today on the house. There are many variables involved on what might happen and many ways for us to go about this, so we are just going to exercise all of our options. Too much to explain and don't really feel like explaining it any way. I just pray that God wants this house for us.

OK, now I am crying. And it never helps that it is that time of month. Of course!

Yesterday was not the best day. Sean and I spent most of it disagreeing about senseless stuff. I think between my period and the house hunting stuff and school and work and remodeling and a million other things that we just get all worried and stressed. We need to stop that and exhibit how we really feel about each other, which is so much love you can't even imagine. Why is it so much easier to be mean to the ones you love, but not to complete strangers? I don't get it.

Well, it is time to take myself to school. Pray my grandma's surgery goes well.

Show me the........ poop?

Yesterday was busy, but good. We took care of the little ones at church. They were all pretty well-behaved. Wasn't as crazy as some days.

Then we worked at Bark at the Ballpark. We were pooper scoopers. It rained a little bit, but the game went on. There was a good turnout and many cute pups. I found something very amusing. Yes, pooper scooping is not the most dignifying job, but why do other people find it so darn interesting that we are walking around a stadium picking up dog feces? I mean c'mon. We all poop. Most of us see it daily, some of us more than others, but either way it is there. We circled the stadium probably 15 times in 4 hours in search of cleanup areas and everyone that we passed would just stare and most of them had a comment like "Is business picking up?" or "Better than washing dishes" or "WOW, you got the crappy job!", etc, etc. Aren't people so funny with their play on words? Clever. Oh so clever. People would also show us poop. They would say "Hey there is some over here" and point and escort us over there and then proceed to watch us scoop it up. Then there would be other times were I would notice about 15 folks just standing there watching while Sean is in action. Did anyone actually pay attention to the baseball game? I tend to think not. AND of course every dog that passed us loved us because what else, we smelled like poo. I have to say it was pretty funny. Any way, enough of that.

About the only other thing that was more exciting than that was I finished my micro report last night, yay!

Until We Meet Again

We volunteered in downtown Clearwater yesterday at a pet fair for the Humane Society. It went really well and we had a lot of fun. Of course, it is always fun to see all the pups out and about. And of course there was a little drama. Our booth was next to the dog knitting sweater lady that we ordered a sweater from for Allie, but did not get because of bad customer service. Of all the booths she had to be next to ours! Also, there was some random rude man yelling at these kids. For like a long time. For no reason. Nice. Drama Drama.

Then we went house hunting with our realtor. We weren't too thrilled with any of them, except for the 1910 house in Tarpon. We will be putting an offer on it and hopefully everything works out and we can make this our home. Gosh I love old historic homes. They come with such warmth and character and welcome anyone in. New houses seem so stark and cold and uninviting. It takes work to make them feel like home. This house is already a home, it just needs a family (hopefully us!).

I have a question, directed mostly to military wives. What do you do when you part from your hubby each day? Is it no big deal or is it kinda anxiety-producing b/c of the experiences with prior deployments and all that came along with being in the military? I am asking b/c Sean and I are still having difficulties in this area and would like to know how to resolve the issue. Some days are better than others. It is very frustrating all the same and not something that either one of us likes. We need to get over it. It has been too much of a strain for way too long and holds us back from living our lives normally at times. Any advice would be appreciated.

Wanna Watch The Grass Grow?

Everything went well with the meet and greet with the dogs and we will probably be pet-sitting, so yay!

After that (and some homework), Sean and I took off on our date day/night. We had FUN! We explored Tarpon Springs. We are seriously considering buying a home up there and so we decided it was best time we got ourselves up there to take a gander since we didn't even really know squat about TS. Well, we likey! We walked around the Sponge Docks area and then the downtown historic district. We also went to the TS winery. The nicest, really in love couple owns the place and boy are they some colorful people. Full of interesting stories...... oh, and they make some great wine. We of course did the tasting and bought a bottle. The kind we bought "makes ya wanna sit out on your front porch and watch the grass grow" or so we were told.

We also got to take a peek at the house we love that we are looking at today with our agent. Here is the link if ya wanna check it out.

http://www.oldhouses.com/cf/displaylisting.cfm?q_listingid=1281&searchlist=2571,3281,2359,3057,3158,3155,2847,2645,3207,3115,2805,3350,1281&searchname=Listings%20In%20Florida&searchdest=%2Fcf%2Flistinglist%2Ecfm%3Fq%5Flistingstate%3DFL%26searchname%3DListings%2BIn%2BFlorida

Oh and by the way, this site in general, I really like. oldhouses.com I am beginning to see how much I love the uniqueness and character of old homes rather than new ones. Although, don't get me wrong, if someone hooked me up with a new mansion or just a newbie in general, I would not decline.

This Place Has Gone To The Dogs

My tummy finally has stopped feeling like a WWF wrestling match going on inside of it. This has been going on for about 2 weeks now. No fun. If I had gone to get Prilosec sooner, I wouldn't have dealt with the pain this long, but that just goes to show how stubborn I really am. Hey, if you're going do something, do it well! I have IBS and reflux. Good times. If ya don't know what that is, Google it. Kinda embarrassing and since a week or so ago I was talking about breast lumps and hemorrhoids (which is gone thankfully) I think I will save myself a little dignity today. Any way, the pain was intense enough to cause tears yesterday at the school library. Sean meanwhile thinks I am crying because of my report that is due next week. Gosh, am I that emotional???? Don't answer that. So I decide to get on Mayo Clinic . com and look up IBS. Well, guess what? Taking antidepressants actually helps IBS. Great, I finally weaned myself off of those. Figures huh!

Today, we have a meet and greet with a couple who wants us to pet-sit their Boxer and Terrier for 17 days in May at our house. Let me tell you how dad is so not thrilled about having three mutts terrorizing the house for the better part of a whole month. Hopefully it all works out because it is extra money. It should be interesting.

I got a 78 on my last micro test. I have an 80 average in lecture and an 85 average in lab. I really hope I can keep my B's. The girl who sits next to me got a 90 on her test and she "didn't even study, just does well on mult choice tests!" Loser. Just kidding. Kinda. Now, I am beginning to see why Sean and I lack in the friend department. Oh and she was telling me her insecurities about nursing school and I was like yay someone else feels the way I do. Great Hettie, way to show compassion there. Really, she is a sweet girl....... and I am so glad she does not know anything about my blog. Gosh!

Dad is off from work today, which means he will be around for the meet and greet. Just adding to my anxiety about this going well. I can just hear him telling these people that it ain't gonna work out and that it is time for them to leave and take their stinky dogs with them. OK, positive thinking.

Real Live Dorks Up Close and Personal

Our church banquet was fun last night. The food was not that great and it was not cool of my hubby to make me burst out laughing right before prayer, it was hard, but I held back from totally embarrassing myself. Sheesh. I am sure the girl next to me thought it was very Christ-like to be giggling during prayer. Yah right!

We got to know another couple a little bit more last night, which was really nice. We need friends. Accepting applications . Really. We had so many in Cali (well have, not had, just don't keep in touch like I would want) and the same goes for ATL. But here not so much. When I was growing up here, yes, but not now. I really miss those bonds and the fun times of hanging out with other people. I don't know what is wrong with me and Sean. Are we boring? Geeky? Annoying? I'm not sure. I mean I know we can be a little on the dorky side at times, but I think we also have pretty big hearts and really do care for others. Maybe we don't put ourselves out there enough. All I do know is that if we are going to be in FL long- term, we gotta get out there and meet some folks and try to form some lasting friendships. Either that or we will have to go to Plan B. Here's how it works..... We get ALL and I mean ALL of our family and friends to put their money in a big pool and then we buy a compound. Not like a J-Lo compound, but like a place the size of Dunedin. Because if we are all gonna live together, then we will get sick of seeing each other's fotches and we will have to have some personal space. But all in all it would be such a blessing to be surrounded by our loved ones at all times.

Yeah, so which one is harder to achieve? Actually making some friends here or getting all of our peeps to go for the whole compound idea. Hmm, something to ponder.

My Mom Is My World

Mom:

This one is especially for you. I will not go into specifics because these are personal mom things and it is not my place to discuss her personal life on my blog without her consent. However, I can still talk about it in an indirect way.

First of all, I am very happy about the good news yesterday. I know things will work out and I have been praying for y'all a lot. This is something that you have wanted for a long time, so enjoy that it is finally being taken care of and just know that the end result will be fantastic.

Secondly, I am begging you to take better care of yourself. This is both for selfish reasons and for all the other people who love you reasons. You have so much to be happy about and God has been answering many of your prayers and has really blessed you. I know that things have been very difficult in your life, but try not to focus on the bad, that will only keep you down. You need to keep looking forward and ahead at all the good things that are going on in your life. I love you so much and cannot even bear to think about life without you. I know Mike and Sean feel the same way, as do many others. Won't it be so much better to feel healthy and just down right good on a regular basis than feeling crappy? Think of doing this for yourself, your health, Mike, us, your friends and our other family. Also, TC and Allie! : O) AND, grandchildren!!! I worry about you. I pray for you. When times get rough, there are so many positive outlets that you can focus your attention on rather than negative bad stuff. Also, I am here. Anytime day or night and so is Sean.

You are the best most wonderful mother and I am so lucky to have you. You mean the world to me and I miss you so incredibly much that it hurts. I am trying to be very patient for July, but it is hard.

Have a very happy day and God Bless you, mama!

Never Forget Our Military Men and Women

So, we have a dollar store up the street from us that we frequent pretty regularly. I don't know why everyone does not take advantage of these kind of places. I know there are some lousy $ stores out there, but Dollar Tree is good. We save so much money by purchasing some stuff from here. Then we will go to Publix afterwards. It truly is a good deal.

Any way, back to the point. There is a cashier in there, probably in his 40s, who is just the sweetest man. He was in the Air Force and so he really looks forward to talking to Sean when we stop in (because of the military). He does like to talk, for a long time, and it is always a war story or two, and the people next in line never look too thrilled about his excessive gabbiness, but he is just too sweet. Sean used to get a little annoyed by him as well. Last week, Sean was all "he talks forever" after our patronage there, but I said ya know I really like him. So I think Sean thinks differently now. I have no idea and this is only speculation, but ya know this man fought for the US of A and served his time, which he is very proud of, and now he faithfully puts his time in to working at the $ Store. He seems maybe a little lonely. Maybe he really wanted to work at the $ store, maybe it was a goal of his, but I doubt it. He does this job just as honorably as he did his last and he is always so friendly. Not ashamed of where he is in life right now at all, but will never forget where he was. I know that people all over this country have "God Bless our troops" bumper stickers and say how supportive they are towards our military, but really how many people would make time in their day to listen to a war veteran tell a story or two at the local dollar store? I know my hubby and I will. God Bless Our Troops!

Mundane Monday

I managed to finish another scrapbook yesterday. I think it turned out pretty good. We have so many photo albums and scrapbooks that I think we will have to reserve a whole bookcase for them. I don't even wanna know what will happen when we have babies.

It poured most of yesterday and last night, but God did ease up on the rain enough for us to take Allie for her wash. It was fun!!!!

We had our weekly TV ritual of Extreme Makeover Home Edition and Oprah's Big Give. Those are the best, most heartwarming shows. Still a little upset with Ms. Winfrey for the pregnant man show, but this other show is great! Well, the 1/2 hour that I get to watch before I zonk out.

Got much more of my micro report done, which is nice.

Today brings work, errands, chores and volunteering at the hospital gift shop. Ya know, the usual Monday.

It is kinda overcast and chilly this morning, a nice change though.

Really nothing else too interesting. Just enjoying the day so far with my gorgeous husband and my not so stinky anymore dog!

Gosh, what a boring post today. I will try to do better tomorrow!

Wash the dog..........at the bar

I finally got a chance to go to Michael's yesterday for more scrapbooking materials. I did a few pages last night, but I wasn't really feeling any creative juices flowing. I don't feel very creative any way. Like I love to write, scrapbook and decorate our home, but I do it so sytematically. Like I have to have a plan, map it out, pick the best ways to go about it and then do it. That does not sound very creative to me. That sounds like a chore. I wonder why I do that???? My dad said Germans are creatures of order. I am German so I will just blame my heritage on my lack of spontaneity and creativity. I definitely did not inherit my mom's awesomeness at being creative and spunky. It is funny, I realized I would much rather write a scientific paper (which I am in the process of doing right now for micro lab) than write a Humanities paper on other civilizations. I am weird.

We (about time!!!!) were able to walk around downtown Dunedin and go in all the cute little shops and boutiques down there. It was a lot of fun. We spent a good 4 hours or so there. It was so refreshing to be around such nice people. Nowadays, I don't run into genuinely nice people anymore. These people were sincere and just so dang friendly. It made me feel all warm and gushy inside. I don't know why people are so poopy these days. I wonder how I portray myself in public to strangers, or for that matter, to my friends and family. I really hope I come off as being friendly and someone people feel comfortable being around. I think I will try to :P more and say hello to others. Maybe I can improve their day!

So, we are taking care of the babinos in the church nursery this morning. Then I have my scientific paper to write (which will be fun - seriously) and then I will uncreatively scrapbook. HA! We are supposed to take Al to Dunedin Brewery to get her bathed today if the weather holds out. Yes, I did just say that we are taking the dog to get a bath at a bar. They have some thing going on where you get a beer and a dogwash for $7. I just LOL'ed. That sounds goofy. We have been looking foward to it though. Dunedin Brewery has some pretty tasty beers. I especially like the Apricot one. Sounds yuck, but it's not!

There's a lot wrong with a man being pregnant

Yesterday was good and very productive. After work and studying, chores, etc, we went to the carpet store to pickup some of our wood/tile floor shipment and then to dinner with the family, which is always nice.

Today, we have an orientation for Bark at the Ballpark (a Humane Society event) and then we will be taking care of the cats there. Who knows what the day will bring after that. I have already gotten a ton of stuff done around the house today. Yay. I'm so good.

I don't know why this just popped into my brain, but I am so disgusted with the pregnant man (WOMAN) that was featured on Oprah. I just don't understand where s/he and the wife thought that bringing a baby into this world was a good idea. Plus the way they did it was totally barbaric....obtaining a needle from a vet and then artificially inseminating s/he in their own home NOT under an MD's supervision. This poor unborn child has no say in the matter. Life has already not started out well for this baby and it has not even entered our world entirely. So what does this kid call his mom and mom that looks like a man, are they both mommy and mommy or what? You couldn't say that it would be mommy and daddy when daddy is the one giving birth!!!!!! And that will be so traumatizing on down the road for the kid to see pics of the mother being pregnant, but looking like a man. How confusing. And people wonder why kids grow up to be rapists and murderers.

Another Day in Paradise

God keeps my life heck-of-interesting!

So, we LOVE this house in Tarpon Springs. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 car garage, built in 2002. It is beautiful inside and while it is 1/2 hour away from where we are now, we would make the sacrifices. The colors were our colors. It would fit a huge family if that is where we are headed. It seemed all too perfect, even the railroad tracks and chemical plant could be overlooked. Well, this morning, it's gone. Well, not gone, gone, but sold, sold. Sean and I had that familiar convo of how we were feeling led to this house. Do we hear God? Sometimes I'm not so sure.

I get home from school yesterday to find Dr. Paolillo's # on caller ID. Not a good sign. I learn that my PAP came back abnormal (again!) and that I will have to go in for a colposcopy (again). I had gone a year with normal ones. Thought maybe these issues had resolved themselves. Nope. I have been dealing with this since about 2000. It stinks! All I have to say is I will teach my children not to have sex before marriage or maybe never. Well, not never b/c I will want grandbabies. Can I just keep them shielded from the real world? Or tied up?

Speaking of children, we were watching Super Nanny the other night (Jo is the best!) and I don't have children, so I certainly don't know much about all this stuff, but the family was giving their 6 yo twins sippie cups still and wiping their bottoms for them after going #2. Ewww. That's too much for me.

Maybe Sean and I are being foolish about house searching. I mean, we had not even physically seen the house in Tarpon and we already were signing the mortgage papers. We need to be patient. Maybe we are supposed to finish our work at dad's first. Who knows. Well, God does. For the time being, the search continues.

M is for Marriage

So, I got some very sad news yesterday. I found out that Jan's fiance decided to call off their June wedding. This is AFTER band reservations, invitations sent, dresses bought, etc. I guess the reasons for his running away are unclear, but I think it doesn't really matter. My heart goes out to her and I am praying lots.

It got me to thinking about how rare it is to find a perfect mate. I know so many people who have been divorced, have crappy marriages/relationships or want to get married and can't find the one.

Then, I know others who are happily married and it just seems like they were meant to be, that God has mapped out their lives perfectly for them.

I am one of the ones that found my soul mate. Of course we argue and things aren't always great, but man do we really love each other and we make the effort to work on our marriage everyday. Sean even willingly goes to a marriage class with me once a week..... And he looks forward to it! He gives me foot rubs and massages daily and he tries to help me with chores and errands as much as I will let him. But most importantly, he loves me and would do anything in this world for me and genuinely puts me before himself.

I have had many trials and errors with relationships before Sean and a lot of heartache, but I also learned a lot and am able to offer Sean the things that I think are most valuable for us on our journey together.

I need to be thankful for what we have. I hate that this happened to Jan. I know in the end that it will have been best for her and God must just have other plans for her adventure in life, but at the moment, it is not much of a consolation. She is such a strong woman and I know she will get through this too, sometimes I just wonder why these tests come along, hasn't she been tested enough already!? Please pray for her.

Painted Toes + Nails = Happy Girl

It's funny what a mani/pedi can do for a girl. I had badly needed to go in for a visit, but haven't had the time, plus we reduced my visits to once a month to save money. I got them done in Chicago last month and they did not do a good job. Any way, I have been staring constantly at my nails and toes, just absolutely disgusted with them. I got to go yesterday and those nail girls were so happy to see me since I had not been in for 2 months. The feeling was mutual, but mine was more selfish. Any hoo, I have gorgeous nails and toes again and it sure can be a confidence booster. Am I shallow or what????

Really that was about the highlight of my day. I won't bore myself or my many readers (ha!) with house talk, work talk, school talk, money talk, etc. today.

I am feeling great today! My tummy is full, it's going to be a gorgeous day out, it's nice to enjoy some peace and quiet, I am with my hubby and dog, work is going well and we have our marriage class at church tonight. All is well! : O) Cheesy!

Just drop me off at the old fogies' home

Sometimes I wonder what the heck is wrong with my body and how am I going to feel in 20 years. I don't even want to know what my grandparents feel like on a daily basis. While I feel wrong complaining about silly health things, while our friend Joel is trying to pass a kidney stone, I just gotta vent. BTW: Feel better Joel!

So let's start at the top and work our way down. I woke up this morning unable to open my right eye. There was no apparent reason for this annoyance. It is still feeling weird and dry. I have been inserting drops into it to no avail. I am 27 and I still get acne. Hate it! I wash my face 2x a day and take care of myself, what's the deal? I have an enlarged lymph node under my armpit that I have had for years and even had to get ultrasounds and a mammogram done to check it out. This was really scary. And to make matters worse, I think the lymph node is larger than the boob. Any ways, it hurts. Dunno why, but it does. I have had numbness and tingling in my right hip for about a month now. I was scared it was a tumor or cancer or something. Now, I just think it is from sitting. How nice is that? That really says something about aging. Oh and speaking of things that can happen when you sit too long, I have a hemorrhoid. Now I can't believe I just typed that. Lost dignity, moving on. Last, but not least, I have a black thing (Sean thinks it is a blackhead) protruding from my cyst scar. He wants to pop it. I don't think so buddy.

Should I sign up for AARP now or what?