My Normal life...What is Normal?

wow almost a whole year gone by...

2010-12-05T14:47:00.003-05:00

It is December 2010...and again my husband is deployed and PCSed to Germany for 3 years total but thankfully we only have two more years left. The boys are a year older and both in college and working. Shelby is engaged to Jeff and planning a 2012wedding and Graycee is now 2. Wow time has flown by...Shelby and Graycee just left from their December visit and we really had a good time shopping...even Uncle N. came with us this time. Now it's back to the grind of homework...only 4 more classes left...YEA and back to work and working out. Started doing crossfit...wow what an amazing workout...love it...Applied for a new position at work...sure do hope I get it. Well nothing else going on... back to football...I mean homework...

January News

2009-01-23T19:32:00.005-05:00

January....what happen this month? Can't think of too many things which is good. My daughter left Wednesday to go back to KY. It snowed here..6 whole inches..the dogs were in snow heaven, me well I just took it in stride. Living in upstate NY, I have seen my fair share of snow. The kids had off for two days...kinda funny for only 6 inches. Nick thought it would be funny to drive in it and yes he got stuck. Had to get a hummer to pull him out. Jay was a little smarter and only went out to go to work and then come home. Yes I made it to work both days we had bad weather. Wouldn't look too good for me to call in since I lived upstate for 10 years. Other than that it had been a quiet month. Got my hair cut and high lighted to start off the new year. Since I will be turning 50 this year I thought I would do something different.

Just how I like them. Here are some pictures of Gryacee before she left....

December News...

2008-12-27T12:35:00.007-05:00

Well this year is almost over and I want to say good riddance. I am not going to say that 2009 is going to be the year since there will be a lot of changes coming. My husband is scheduled to PCS to Germany for 3 years. My son J. is going to move out and eventually my daughter will go back to Kentucky. This will give me plenty of me time. Don't know how I am going to use it but it will be very different. I will still be working out but will probably add some weekend classes. I want to volunteer at the dog shelter since I can't adopt any more. I would also like to join a book club but don't know about that one yet. Depending on how much time I will have left over.

Christmas was very nice except that my husband was very sick. My daughter and granddaughter are here. My sons were here too. Probably will be the last year everyone will be together. So I really enjoyed it. The baby got a lot of things for only being 7 months old. But it was cute. I got really nice things from my boys. They went over and beyond on the gift department.

I am hoping all works out for my kids. I know how hard it is out in the really world and I do pray that things work out. S. will have to work really hard with a baby now. J. too since he will be moving out. N. will have to find a job to support the new car he got in August. So all I can do is pray for them and hope for the best.

Here are some Christmas pictures...

November News

2008-11-28T12:06:00.002-05:00

Haven't posted in a while. Not much new going on. Same old stuff. My daughter is now living in NY. She went back to Kentucky in June and the same things started happening again. So while the ex was there he packed up her things and decided that she, the baby and her boyfriend would come back here. We tried that once and it didn't work. Not because I didn't try but they were not happy here...So now she is in NY and not happy there either. It's hard to go back and live with someone when you have been out on your own for a while. But in order to save money they will have to suck it up and live there. I really wish it would have worked out here. Would have loved to have the baby here for her first Christmas but I guess it wasn't in the cards.

Been trying to get son #1 to move out. He just doesn't want to follow the rules of the house so I think it is time for him to leave. He says he has been looking and found something with another kid but so far he hasn't made any attempts to start packing up his room.

Son #2 is supposed to be trying to find a job. He says he is out there but so far in the last four months he has only gotten one interview. Can't be trying too hard.

Other than the little inconveniences in life I have much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful husband, healthy kids, a good job and nice house and my lovable furry creatures that make me smile everyday. With that said I wish everyone a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

Boys...

2008-10-03T21:13:00.011-04:00

Ok what can I say...my boys are about to put me in my grave. Lets start at the beginning. My husband went away on business for two weeks. It was going to be a much needed break from him. The first week went well. I did work alot of overtime since I am extremely busy at work. But as the weekend came along, I thought, my first mistake, that it would be very relaxing...My son N. wanted to spend the night with his friend. My son J came home from work and we were both sleeping when the phone rang. Now I am not a fan of a 1:30am phone call. They can never be good. I let my son J. answer it and I thought I should pick it up too. So I did and to my surprise it was the sheriff department asking me if I had a son N. I said yes and that I needed to come pick him up at a local hotel. He and some of his friends and some girls were drinking and the girls were acting up without their tops on. So me and my son J go and pick up his brother and yes he got his a$$ reamed out. No more sleeping over for either one of them. Boys, they will be the death of me....

On a better note...I got to visit my daughter and my granddaughter last weekend and even flew in to meet my husband in Nashville. We had a wonderful weekend. Here are some picture of Graycee.

Shelby and Graycee

Grandpop and Graycee

Grandmom and Graycee

Update on court...

2008-09-02T18:22:00.002-04:00

Well we got up and left here about 6am. Finally got to Wilmington and the wait game begins. Got to talk to our lawyer. The longest talk I had with him since I hired him two months ago. Kinda felt a little better but not much. Around 10am walked to the court house to begin waiting again. Three out of 5 boys showed up the other two decided not to take the plea bargain and fight this. I personally didn't think that was a good idea but that is me. The first boy got in front of the judge around 11am the second one was about 12:30. Now we break for lunch and wait some more. the lawyer did say that he was working on getting J.'s car back which put me in a better mood. Finally around 4pm we got our chance to be in front of the judge. He got 24 months probation, and he got his car back. What a relief!!!

So back on Monday we went to get his car. We needed to have the court papers and they wouldn't be done until Monday. So we leave here around 9am get there around
11ish and of course the court papers are no where to be found. It took 1 1/2 hours to find them and when we got to the police station they were all at lunch. So again we had to wait an hour for someone to come back and boy were they pissed that the judge gave him back his car.

Well it's been a very hard lesson all the way around. We are still not done since he might have to testify in the case again the two boys who are going to supreme court. Home front is still stressful here. J. wants all his freedom back but I am not ready to trust him. This makes it stressful at home and especially with my husband since I have started to give J some freedom. We will just have to see what he does with it. But I can honestly say that he will only get one chance with me and he already took it.

So summer is almost over...

2008-08-17T10:48:00.003-04:00

So, summer is almost over and the boys are ready to go back to school. At their age it really doesn't matter to me much since they are in college and high school. So lets see what has been going on since June. Hum....

Well my oldest son decided to get himself into a lot of trouble with the cops. He ended up in jail for 3 weeks, (I was not going to bail him out) and now we are waiting for the court date which is August 21st. In this process of him being stupid and I really hate using that term, he might end of losing his brand new 2008 dodge charge that he only had for a month. So to say the least it has been a very stressful 2 months.

On a brighter side, my youngest son got his license on August 8th and we went and purchased a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer. It's not a bad car and gets great gas mileage. So he will be driving to school this year.

My daughter finally got her stuff out of my garage this week. She flew down, without the baby...and picked up the truck and drove back to Kentucky. So now my dogs can get back into the garage again.

I will be flying down to Tennessee the end of September and will stop by to see my granddaughter Graycee. She is now over 3 months old and growing like a weed. Can't wait to see her.

Well say a couple of prayers for my son for his court date. Hope all works out. And then maybe my life will get back to normal....

Update...

2008-06-13T20:38:00.011-04:00

On June 7th my son J. got a 2008 dodge charger. So now the car problems are over. He isn't going to move out since he has a car payment again. On June 16th the new girl is going to start at work. So now the work problems are almost over. My granddaughter is now over 9 lbs and 21 inches long. I miss her. But that decision was made and I have to live with it. Here are some pictures of the baby and of J. new car.

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Three months gone....but where...

2008-05-30T18:52:00.003-04:00

I can't believe that 3 months have gone by since I've posted anything. It's been crazy, busy, stressed and overwhelming three months. I am still at my job at PWC. I am still enjoying it very much. I have 2 more months for my probationary period to be over. I am now lead work order clerk. My co-worker got a promotion to a new position and for the last month I have been doing the job myself. I am trying to stay on top of things and think I have been doing a good job at it. The finally hired someone to fill the position but it will be another couple of weeks before she finally arrives.

March was a crazy month. My son J. drove to upstate NY to see his dad. Yes, my nerves were shot the whole time he was driving. He made it safe and sound and his truck broke down the second day he was there and he was without a vehicle. That was the only reason he wanted to drive. It got fixed the day before he left. So for the whole week he had to bum rides. Poor kid...

My daughter S. decided on a whim to move to NC. They arrived the beginning of the month and dropped off the extra vehicle and the dog and went back to KY to pack up the apartment and came back a week later. They are living in my bonus room over my garage. There is a daybed and a couch, a big screen TV and the computer up there. Also they have a little frig and a microwave. Not bad rent free....

My son N. left the end of the month on a plane (his first time alone)to see his dad in NY. On the trip there he had not one but two layovers. Yes, again my nerves...
He made it there ok and even made it home ok.

My husband S. was also gone for two weeks that month. So it was to say the least a very busy, crazy, stressed and overwhelming month.

April was a busy month trying to find a job for my daughter's boyfriend and trying to find a house for them. We were looking for something cheep to buy and looked at about 20 homes. Every weekend we were checking out homes. On April 17 my daughter went to the doctor and found out that she was 3 cm dilated. She isn't due until May 16 so this is early. On April 22 my son J. truck was hit in the parking lot at school His bumper was damaged.

May....On May 3rd I had a baby shower to go to at the Museum. Didn't stay long since S. was having contractions on and off now. The did meet us at the Harley open house for a while and then we all left. Hubby and I decided to go for a short ride since it was so nice out and the kids went home. While I was stopped at a red light my cell phone rings and it was my son J. Some guy ran a stop sign and smashed the whole front end of his truck. Now it's not drivable and had to be towed away. On May 5, 2008 my daughter S. was having contraction more and more and at 4:30 decided to finally go to the hospital. She had a baby girl, GRAYCEE JORDIN, 7 lbs 2 oz, 20 1/2 inches long, born at 10:02 pm. Yes, I was there to witness the birth of my first grandchild. On the 23rd I flew to Nashville, Tn to meet my husband for a weekend get away and boy did I need to get away. It was a very nice and relaxing weekend. On the 30th my son broke my daughter's boyfriend's truck...now we are two vehicles short.

Now it the beginning of June...my son's truck is totalled and we are still waiting for the check to arrive from the insurance company. My daughters' boyfriend's truck is fixed and on June 3 my daughter and her boyfriend decided to move back to KY. He still has not gotten a job, the house that we were going to buy fell through (thank goodness) and he is not happy here. My son J. also wants to move out but that decision isn't final yet and I am exhausted. I am however still working out 2 hours at night which has help me in so many ways. And through all of this my son N. has hung in there like a trooper.

Hopefully it won't be another three months before I get on again.

February almost gone..

2008-02-22T20:45:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that I haven't blogged since January 31st. That only means that things are going pretty smoothly. I am so enjoying my job and the people I work with. It is such a joy to get up and really not mind going into work...not don't get me wrong if I would win the lottery I definitely quit my job...but liking it makes it easier to go in every day.

My daughter is doing well. She only has 3 more months left before the baby comes. I will be heading to Kentucky in May to be with her and my husband will be coming with me. We are also going to be checking out land to buy for our retirement. Yes I know I still have time but it is never too late to start looking and maybe even buying. We have decided to move back to Tennessee. Yes I know not my first choice but I love the house that he found to build so I told him if I get that house he could choose the land and he picked Tennessee. We are looking around Kentucky lake area. I would love to live near water so we will try to get near the lake.

The boys are doing well. J. will be going to upstate NY to see his dad the beginning of March and N. will be going the end of March. That will give me a little bread but since one is in college and the other in high school they don't have the same breaks which means I don't get to ship both of them out together.

Workouts are going great. I added a Friday night body pump class and I have lost 5 pounds so far. I am going to up my workout and add two more spin classes on Monday and Wednesday. Hopefully I will be in shape by the summer. Sure is hard work when you get old. Will keep posting on my progress.

Well off to relax for the night. I can't get on during work because they have a lot of sites blocked so I have to do it at night and most nights I am just too tired since I get up at 5 am every morning and don't get home until 7pm at night. Will try to blog more often.

Grandmom...

2008-01-31T20:01:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that on January 30th, at my daughter's doctors appointment she found out she will be having a girl. She is due May 16th. They haven't decided on a name yet or even found one that they both like but I am sure they will. I will keep on posting.

UPDATE ON THE NAME:
Graycee Jordin

2008 is going to be the year...

2008-01-19T22:43:00.000-05:00

So far this year has started out pretty good. Ok, I know it is only the first month but I intend to be positive and refuse to let the small stuff get to me. I started my new job which I love. Everyone is so nice and they all have such great attitudes. I am going to enjoy working there very much.

My son J. started his second semester at FTCC. The first semister well we will say he did pass. I am hopeing the second one he will do better. His truck, yes we are still haveing truck problems but they are few and far between.

My other son N. did very well on his report card. I don't know why he doesn't like this school but at least his grades are not reflecting it.

My daugher and her boyfriend came to visit. He is a very nice young man and I am very please with that. She is looking very good and I am getting excited about knowing what sex the baby is going to be. We might find out the end of the month.

My hubby has been away a lot this month but that should came down once February comes.

My animals, what can I say...they are still as spoiled as ever and are doing very well.

A look back at 2007...

2007-12-30T00:29:00.000-05:00

In January I started a new job with the Museum of Art, my son J. turned 18 and purchased a 2005 Ford Ranger and also got a new job. My daughter S. also came to visit us from KY.

February was hubby's birthday and thankfully a slow month since we were still unpacking boxes from our PCS here to NC.

March was my birthday and we were able to ride the bike alot which made this move so much nicer to deal with.

April is when Lucy the cat showed up. Yes I am a sucker for animals.

May is when we adopted our third dog Bear and we lost my mother in law. My son J got his first tattoo.

June is when my son J. graduated from high school...YEA!! what a long road that was. I also purchased a new 2007 Ford Sport Trac.

July my son N. took drivers ed classes and we lost my kids grandfather. Lucy also came home pregnant.

August my son J. started college and my son N. started 10th grade in a new HS.

September Lucy our cat had 4 kittens but only 2 survived, I joined Gold's Gym and stopped going to the Y, Steve and I finally got to go away for the weekend by ourselves and it was Sarah's from works last days at the Museum. I also found out that my daughter is pregnant and she is due in May 08 and I am going to be a grandmother. Also got my 4th tattoo with my husband.

October is when I started looking for a new job and had an interview. I did get the job but turned it down.

November I had another interview, then a second one and waited to hear from them on the status of the job. Also we had Lucy fixed and gave away the two kittens which both found homes around Thanksgiving.

December I gave notice to my job and was offered a position with PWC which I accepted. My son N. turned 16. We adopted an older little chihuahua and had much to be thankful for this year especially the fact that my husband was home for another year.

So as we approach the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 I wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Blessed New Year.

Gave Notice....

2007-12-11T15:58:00.000-05:00

I gave notice today at the Museum. My last day will be December 31, 2007. I start my new job with PWC on January 2, 2008. I thought it would be a lot harder but my boss took it very well. I guess he knew that I was not happy here and wished me the best of luck. I can't wait to start my new adventure in the new year....

New job...

2007-12-06T16:42:00.000-05:00

After my second interview I waited for over a week to see if I got the job. No phone call was coming so I decided to call to find out the progress on the decision. She informed me to hang in there with her and soon enough I got a call yesterday to come in for a physical and drug test. I was very excited. I filled out all my paper work and dependig on my drug test results....which is no problem I will be starting my new job at PWC on January 2nd...What a great Christmas present and a great way to start the New Year....I am so happy and excited about this...

Thanksgiving...

2007-11-26T14:58:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving this year was very quiet. The boys just hung around their rooms playing games, watching football and playing on the computer. My daugher went to her boyfriends house in KY where she lives. My husband who I am very thankful he was home this year cook dinner, which consists of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and stuffing. All was very good. Even the dogs and cat got some. They too were very thankful and went to take a nap after the early dinner we had. I hope all my friends and family had a great thanksgiving too.

I still have not heard back from my second interview. I am still hopeful that I get this job and I am wondering if I should call them. Maybe I'll wait one more day.

Update on the kitten: I took Lucy (mommy cat) to get her stiches out on Friday and decided that if the kitten was left I would take him home (and name him Linus) but I got there a little after lunch and they told me that 10 minutes earlier the second kitten just got adopted. I was so happy and thankful....

Update on kittens...

2007-11-20T20:43:00.000-05:00

One little kitten got adopted today. There is only one left. Here are some pictures of the kittens on the last day that they were with us at the house.

Another interview...

2007-11-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

Well I had another interview with a really good company. I don't want to publish it yet until I know for sure if they are going to offer me the job. The interview went really well and a week later they called me back for a second interview. I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one cause I really want it. It will be a cut in pay but not that much and there is much more advancement here. So I hope to find out on Tuesday if they want me or not. I sure do hope so.

We got our cat Lucy fixed and gave the kittens away to the vet last Monday. It was really hard but I just didn't have the time to take care of them the right way. So I am hoping they will get adopted. So far as of Thursday they were still there. It took Lucy a couple of days to finally stop calling for them and I really thought about getting them back but she is now going back outside and enjoying herself. So again I hope they they get adopted.

My son J. hum.... had to put an alternator in his truck...so now in less than a year we have put two new starters, an alternator, new tires and brakes...hum I am thinking he is a really bad driver. Oh well....

My daughter is going really good. She heard the heart beat and goes for an ultrasound on the 28th so maybe I will get some pictures of my new grandbaby...

Well nothing else is going on right now...so I hope all my friends and family Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

Still looking for a new job...

2007-10-26T14:22:00.000-04:00

Well, lets see where we are with the job hunt...to start off S.left work, L. replaced her for 3 weeks but ended up taking an other job for more money. We have hired E. She is ok and getting better each day. It is hard to click with someone right away. We are the only ones up stairs so we need to get along and communicate. But this has not stopped me from looking for a new job. I did have an interview and then received word that they wanted a second interview with me. I think I would have gotten that job but they offered me $6,000 less than what I am making now and with two kids in college and a grandbaby on the way (another story) it just wasn't feasable for me to take that much of a cut in pay. Even if it is for peace of mind. Good old peace of mind doesn't pay the bills. I did send out a couple more resumes but haven't heard from them.

Now on to the grandbaby story...I found out in September that my daughter is expecting a baby. I guess it took me a while to get over the shock. She still has to finish college but hopefully she is strong enough to handle this and go to school. I keep on telling her that I am too young to be a grandma.... :-) Now that the shock has warn off I am excited about it and can't wait to find out what it is going to be so I can start buying baby stuff...Her due date is May 16, 2008.

New gym

2007-10-05T13:52:00.000-04:00

I finally decided to join a new gym...I just wasn't getting a good enough workout from the Y anymore. I needed more variety so I decided to join Gold's gym. I have to say that I was a little sceptically. I have always worked out at the Y and have enjoyed my experiences with them. So when I finally made the decision to leave them I was not too happy. But my workout were suffering and that made me more unhappier.

So off to Gold's gym to check it out and to my surprise it was really nice inside. My first day of workouts was last Monday and I decided to do the step and abs class. Now I have done step before so I was no stranger to it but this was way beyond any step class that I took in the past. I did manage to finish out the class and even gave it another try for the rest of the week but I have now given up on step. I did decide to try body pump...I love it..so now I do body pump 3 days a week with a body attack and a spin class in between. Also all the instructors are so nice. I really like it there and will be getting my old tired body back in shape. Hopefully my sore body will forgive me sometime soon. I am just not as young as I used to be.

Men...

2007-09-16T21:53:00.000-04:00

Between my sons and my husband I don't know which one is worse. My son J. is getting out of control with staying out all weekend long and giving me all kinds of attitude. So tonight I sat him down and told him the things are about to change. He is no longer allowed to stay out all weekend long and he has to come home after work during the week. But of course my husband who has had a few too many which always makes it a fun (sarcastic) night decided to get into the conversation and told him to get out. Now I told him if he doesn't like the new rule changes that he had one month to find somewhere else to live. But I in no way would through him out tonight. So what started out as a conversation/explanation ended up in a screaming match with my husband doing all the screaming. My other son N. was told if he doesn't start doing what he is told he can go live with his father. He was told to clean his room last week and it is still not done. Boy these are the days that I wish I could run away from home....I sure do hate responsibility.....it really sucks sometimes.

Update on Lucy the cat

2007-09-14T10:45:00.001-04:00

When we came home on Wednesday another kitten died...She now has two beautiful healthy kittens left...Mother and remaining kittens are doing good. Here is a picture of the mommy and her kittens which are 4 days old.

Update on Lucy the cat

2007-09-12T09:15:00.000-04:00

We lost a kitten last night. She now has three left.

Sept 11 and Update on Lucy the cat

2007-09-11T14:35:00.001-04:00

First I would like to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all who have suffered so dearly on this day and my heart goes out to them...Don't ever Forget. Remembering this always makes my problems and inconveniences seem so trivial.

Second our cat Lucy had 4 kittens last night around 10pm...I will post some pictures..they are sooo cute.

Here goes...

2007-09-09T21:48:00.000-04:00

So where do I begin...This week at work sucked...so what else is new...S is leaving on the 20th and they haven't even put the ad in the paper yet...don't know what they are going to do and I hope they don't think I am going to do her work until they hire someone. They had a month to get this done. This is the kind of crap the pisses me off.

We had our last Fayetteville After Five on Thursday. All I have to say is Amen to that. It is hot and sticky and by the time I get home I am tired and grossed out from the night. This Thursday is our Premier party for the new show. Don't ask me what it is cause I don't know. There is that communication again.

My son J. is driving me crazy. I don't know what he is thinking but he just can't keep on doing things and not being responsible for them. Can't wait for him to move out too.

On an other note...the bonus room is almost done. It is really starting to look good and organized. Can't wait until it is finished. We also have been looking around for book shelves but haven't found anything so far that we like. So we keep on looking.

Got a call Thursday night from my daughter S. She is pregnant. She really caught me off guard with this one. I didn't know if I should be happy or sad. She was a upset so I told her what ever she decided I would support her 100%. She talked it over with her boyfriend J. and his family and they have decided to keep it. I told her under no circumstance was she going to quit college. Yes she is on birth control and I know she is very careful about taking it cause she know what could happen...I am still not sure how I feel about this...Oh by the way they got rid of their cute puppy...not enough time to train it right...but it did stay in the family which is good so they can go see it anytime they want.

Well back to work tomorrow...yuk...off to bed...

Picture of my new tattoo

2007-09-03T19:25:00.001-04:00

Here is my new cross tattoo with red rosary beads wrapped around it. It is on my back from the middle of it to the bottom of my back. It took about 2-3 hours and was done at Chop Shop in Hope Mills, NC. I would highly recommend them. My husband also got a cross tattoo on his left upper arm on the same day.

Also found out that our cat Lucy is expecting...so if anyone wants a kitty please let me know. Here is a picture of her....

Needed some time to myself....

2007-09-02T18:09:00.000-04:00

I know it has been a while but I just needed some time to myself. It has been crazy at work. It all started with the city deeding us some land so we could move and build a new Museum. But then they tried to back out and things just went crazy... the bad thing about it is that most of the employees were left out of all the decisions and information. This was very frustrating. It also makes it hard to get up and go to work. My co-worker S. has sold her house and her husband is almost done with the Air Force and they will be leaving. She is the only one that I mostly talk to there and now... I just don't know. It is frustrating to go to work and not talk to anyone. I could stay home and do that. I don't have friends here so I do rely on my work for that. The more we PCS the harder it gets since the kids are all older and there isn't any contact with parents. My husband has been working like crazy and he just got back from a 2 week trip. So it was really quiet in the house.

Well my son J did it again. He got another ticket. This time for rolling through a stop sign. I just don't know what I am going to do with him. Only a couple more years and he will be on his own. Then he can pay his own car insurance. Then finally it will set in that when he does these stupid things it cost money and lots of it.

My son N. is getting used to his new school. He says he doesn't like it but I think with time he will meet friends and he will like it better. He is doing really well with driving. I haven't let him drive into the busy part of Fayetteville but he has been all around Hope Mills.

My husband and I both took off on Friday to spend some quality time together. We really needed it. We also started to clean out our bonus room. We really needed to do that too. It is coming along and starting to look like a normal room. Can't wait to get it done.

We also went away for a night. We went to New Bern and to the Attmore Oliver house for an old fashion viewing. It was really good and I enjoyed myself. But of course this trip didn't go without a hitch...we got there and it was too early to check in at our hotel so we parked the bike and walked around downtown for a while. When the time came we went to our hotel...Days Inn Historical District... I would not recommend this hotel...and was surprised to see where it was located...but anyway I went to the front desk and told him my name and he said he didn't have a reservation for us. I really do think God was looking out for us on this one. So I called Orbitz who I do all my reservations through and they got my money back and we went somewhere else...Comfort Inn on the water...It was beautiful. Then we went to dinner which was part of the package on the Haunted House tour. WE had a limited menu to look at and it really was some weird combinations....ex Shrimp and grits...Yea I know I am a true Yankee...and grits is not my thing. But we both pick something and to our surprise it was very good...No I didn't go with the shrimp and grits.

After the Haunting and dinner we walked back to our hotel and had a very nice evening. Which again we both needed...so tomorrow we will finish our bonus room and then back to work we go....

Just not enough time...

2007-08-16T11:19:00.000-04:00

Boy, sometimes I wish I had more time. I am either at work or home and there seems to be not enough time to enjoy things. I have been trying to schedule a vacation with my husband for the last month and every time I take a day off something comes up and he can't take off. We really need this time together and I am hoping that it happens soon. I tried to take off around our anniversary on the 19th of August and all was set and then he gets an email and was scheduled to take a class in Maryland for two weeks. Disappointed...I probable shouldn't be since I know how his job is and at any time plans could change but I have to say that I really am. So now he is off in Maryland and I am home to celebrate our anniversary alone...hum...

My son J. has started college...wow...he started on Wednesday August 15th. Time really does fly by when you are not looking. He actually got up without me waking him and got ready and went to school. I was still amazed. I guess college really does change a person. I hope he enjoys it too.

My other son N. starts school on August 27th. I thought for the longest time it was August 20th. I don't know why but I did. We got his schedule all set up but when it came he ended up with a gym class and he doesn't need a gym credit so now we have to go back to the school and get it changed. He did switch schools so now he is in the right school district for our location.

My daughter S. got another tattoo. Yes we are addicted to tattoos. She got a cross on the top of her foot. She is going to get rosary beads around her ankle to along with it. It looks pretty good. She went with her boyfriend and he got one too. My tattoo is healing really nice. It is almost done with all the scabs so I will be posting a picture soon. My husbands looks really nice but he didn't have as much color so his healed quicker.

Well work sucks. There is another concert in the park tonight so I will be working until about 10pm in the 100 degree heat. I have started looking for something different so if anyone has any idea's please pass them along. Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying their day.

What a week...

2007-08-05T16:16:00.000-04:00

I am sure glad that this week is over. After all the back and forth about my ex father in law it has been one long hectic week. Still not sure what is going on with all of it. I do know that he has already been cremated so if there is something it will only be a mass service with him there. WE will just have to wait and see.

Work is busy. I have auditors there and it is very crowded in my little office/copy room/mail room. Yes all of those things are in my office space so everyone comes in there to do all of that. Not much fun most of the time. Also not too confidential when it comes to bookkeeping. Oh well will just have to live with it.

My son N. only has one more day of drivers ed and then it is off to get his permit. Well it had to happen sometime. Really not looking forward to this. I am not a person who likes to be a passenger in the car unless it is my husband driving. Oh well...we will have to wait and see what happens on Monday with his test.

This weekend was a very nice one. My husband was going to surprise me with a weekend trip away but the place he wanted to take me was all booked up. But he actually surprised me and we had breakfast yesterday and ended up at the Chop Shop tattoo place. I have been bugging him for a while for a cross tattoo on my back and we went yesterday and he got one too. I will post some pictures as soon as it is healed. It looks awesome. Can't wait for next weekend to come. WE both took off on Friday to spend some quality time together. :-)

Glad the week is over...

2007-07-28T20:05:00.000-04:00

Well to start off my husband was away last week. The office administrator was on vacation at work so to say the least I had a full week at work and at home. It was hell trying to find someone to cover the phones so I could pick my son N. up at drivers ed at 10am everyday so I had to bribe my son J. to come and get him. Actually he bribe me by staying at friends houses all week long so he used the excuse that he would pick up his brother for me. hum...yes it worked...

Thursday I got a phone call from my husband that his plane was changed and he would be coming in at 4:30 instead of 6:30 so I frantically found someone to cover the phones for me and I left at 4:30. He only had to wait 15 minutes at the airport. Not too bad but as I was driving home my cell phones rings again and it was my friend J. calling me with some bad news. My ex father in law passed away Thursday right after he talked to my boys. Tell me that isn't weird. So for the last 2 days my phone, her phone, my ex, and his sister have all been talking back and forth about what is going to happen. He didn't want any kind of viewing so he will be cremated. My kids were of course upset. They were very close to him but I think they are relieved that he is out of his misery. Rest in Peace.

Friday, I couldn't pick up my son so I asked J. to get him and to also drop off his truck cause he needed tires really really bad. So we dropped it off at a place down the street from work and they call me and tell me that he needs brakes too. My daughter also called me and asked me to pay for her tune up and oil change. So on Friday I spent $1200 getting everyone cars fixed. They just don't realize how much the maintenance of a vehicle can run you. They thing they can just gas and go. They are good about oil changes thought so I guess that when the big stuff rolls around I can help out.

So much for my exciting week. Hope next week is better.

Sunday... :-(

2007-07-22T19:37:00.000-04:00

Here it is Sunday already and back to work tomorrow... Boo... The weekends go too fast and the bad thing is that we didn't do a thing. It's pretty quiet here today. Hubby is out of town for the week to Georgia. We planned out some stuff to do this weekend and on Thursday he informs me that he has to go away for the week. OH well so much for plans. Son #1 J. is at a friends house and won't be coming home until tomorrow. And son #2 N. is of course in his room on his computer. And I am on the computer looking up stuff for his drivers ed class..what is wrong with this picture? His teacher needs 8 articles from the internet, newspapers, and magizines on vehicles that are designed to reduce air pollution...not an easy thing to find so I figured that I would take a break and blog a little.

Work is ok. Thursday was another Fayetteville After Five. It wasn't bad but extremely hot. I drank like 8 bottles of water in 5 hours. But to my surprise there were a lot of people there and boy were they drinking up the beer. My co-worker S is on vacation this week so it will not be a very fun week. I will have to answer all the phones and still try to crunch my numbers.

Got another phone call from the ex-father in law...he is still pushing for my son N. go to there and visit. I explained to him that there just won't be enough time to do all of this stuff since not I will have to take him for his permit before school start and go get school cloths and supplies and stuff but he just isn't getting it. I said that if he goes he will have to be back by Tuesday cause that will only leave me Wednesday to do all of this since I am working another Fayetteville After Five on Thursday and don't get home until after 10pm and my husband and I are going away on Friday for our anniversary. This is the first trip together in three years and ever time we plan one something goes wrong. Three years ago we PCS to Ft. Campbell, two years ago we put our dog down and this year we planned a trip around the first week of June since the kids were going to Florida to see the ex father in law and my husband mom died so I really need some alone time with him and all I am getting is a hard time from this man. So I explain all of this to him and he says he understand and the next sentence out of his mouth is I will call you in two weeks to finalize all the arrangements. So what part didn't he understand? Is it the fact that this man doesn't understand the meaning of the word NO or is he a spoiled rotten selfish man who won't take NO for an answer. So now tomorrow I will have to hear it from the Ex...boy do I hate Mondays.

On a brighter not...my daughter and her boyfriend got a puppy...she is sooo cute...her name is Jewell and she is a black lab...here is her picture..

Stressin...

2007-07-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

What a week....to start off my son N. started drivers ed classes and he is driving already...hum...more gray hairs for me....His class goes from 8-10 so I went into my bosses office and explained to him that I would have to pick him up at 10am so I will be taking my lunch at that time. To give you some idea of my work...I usually do not take a lunch so everyone else can come and go as they please...I am not only the financial director, I am the answering machine, door greater, and catch all for what ever else comes along. So his response was that it was ok as long as it didn't interfere with any of their meetings and stuff. Now I have to say that I am not the only one who knows how to answer the phone there but we don't want to inconvenience anyone else who works there. (Yes, I am being sarcastic here.) A perfect example was Thursday night. We had a premier opening and it started at 6pm, now everyone left to go home and chance and freshen up but me and my co-worker S. We always stay and set up and tear down, do dishes and trash and make sure everything is back in place. So where is it written that we have to do this and why isn't all the employees helping. To say the least I am getting a little tired of being taken advantage of. And since I am complaining....I have to answer the phone but they forget to tell me things. They have meeting and I am never informed so I hardly ever know what is going on at the museum except when I read it in the papers. Pretty bad since there is only 8 employees working there. Ok, I feel better...

Next subject...ex in-laws...my ex father in law wants my son N to come down there after his drivers ed class and stay for a week. I already discussed this with him and said no. The drivers ed class ends the 8th of August and school starts on the 20th. There is only one week in which he needs to get ready for school. But no wasn't good enough...I get the ex calling me up to ask me why...So I explain it to him...he still doesn't understand. That is because he lives in a fantasy world with no responsibilities...must be nice...can I drop all my responsibilities too...not a chance. So now I have both of them ganging up on me. I told them I would think about it but not until the class is over. Now my ex father in law keeps on calling my son to find out information on how much the flights are and if there is a direct flight to Florida...so again I guess I didn't make myself clear...My son told me that he wants to give me his credit card so I can made the arrangement. Boy I don't remember wanting any of this to happen in the first place. So why would I want to do all the work....hum...

On a more positive note...my husband and I had a nice ride on Sunday and a real nice lunch on Saturday. It is amazing how we can live in the same house and I miss him. We really don't get to relax with each other until the weekend so we go all week without each other. Between work, working out, kids, dogs and house stuff who has the time....

Well thanks for listening and hope you all have a good night...

Nothing going on....

2007-07-08T13:47:00.000-04:00

This has been a very quiet week. I have been extremely busy at work since our fiscal year closed on June 30th. We have our unveiling of our new proposed building design on Tuesday at the main library downtown. That should be exciting. We also have a premier show coming up on Thursday night. And of course Fayetteville After Five the week after that. So to say we will be busy is an understatement.

Home is pretty quiet. J will head to the college next week to pick his schedule. N will start drivers ed classes on Monday and S found a new place to live and will be moving soon. So things are falling into place...touch wood....

We have been trying to decorate the house a little. We have been so busy that we are just starting to put uop some blinds and stuff to make our house our home. To say the least it really does make a difference.

We had a altercations with the man who owns the two bodies of water behind our house. He allows people to fish on the dam...well the other day a couple was fishing and they left their headlights on and they were right in our backyard. So my husband asked them to if they had permission to fish there and to turn their headlights off. They went and told the owner that we were giving them a hard time so this morning he was out there showing them what he thought was the property line. But according to our survey he was wrong and my husband told him so. To say the least this old, set in his ways, thinks he is right man started yelling and telling us we were wrong. I have the paper work to prove it. He thinks that he owned 12 inches around the whole lake but the lake has expended since he sold the land and his 12 inches plus some of my property is now under water. But again he started to yell and threatening us with all kind of stuff. So who know what will happen now. At least the people fishing stayed down the other end of the dam.

The forth was pretty quiet around here. Didn't do a thing. Kinda hard when it is in the middle of the week. Been raining here most weekends so we haven't been out on the bike in a while either. Sure do miss it. Hopefully the weather will get better and we will be riding again.

Another week...

2007-06-24T19:03:00.001-04:00

So another week goes by....it was pretty quiet at work since some were on vacation. We did have our Fayetteville After Five at Festival Park but that was pretty quiet too. I don't know if it was because it was a country band or it was hot out but we just didn't have the crowd like last time. I did spend most of the week catching up on stuff at work. And then on Friday one of our ducks got hurt so we tried to find someone to take it and care for it. It only took about 2 hours to track someone down after tons of phone calls later. But hopefully it will get better and be ok.

My son N....what can I say. He went and took the EOC test in English again and failed again. So I spend 3 days of lunch hours calling his school, the school he will be transferring to, summer school, the Education Department, the social worker all to find out what I can do next. He did pass the class so his new school didn't think he needed to attend summer school. His old school said the only options were to attend summer school or repeat the class. Summer school said that he couldn't just take the test without being enrolled in the class...hum...so basically I was going round and round in circles. Finally I decided to leave it up to the new school to decide what to do next year. Then on Saturday I receive a letter in the mail that they are going to give him the credit for the class and pass him. All that time calling and calling people and they decided to sent it up for review with the school board who has the authority to pass or fail him and they passed him. So now it is off to drivers ed this summer for him.

Not much else going on this week...I was going to take some time off the first of July but my husband can't get the time off so I will just cancel my two day vacation. I was a little disappointed but kinda used to it. Anyway he wanted to start some home projects...every since he came back from his mom's house, he wants us to go through each room and clean it out. We have only been here for 10 months and did that before we moved and right after we moved so I don't know what stuff he thinks we still have. So now one night a week we will tackle a home project...hum fun....NOT....but I guess it will count as quality time with my man...

Here are some pictures of my new vehicle....I just love it.

What a week...

2007-06-16T22:52:00.001-04:00

Well the week went really slow...since the kids and husband were away I found myself with too much time on my hands. I did catch up on some of my stuff at work which was good. My van stayed in the shop until Thursday when I finally went to pick it up. We decided not to get it fixed cause it wasn't worth it. So I started checking out vehicles online and finally decided to stop at the car dealer Wednesday afternoon. I found the vehicle I wanted but in the process I forgot about a meeting I had at work and was late getting back. It turned out not to be so bad which was a good thing. This week should be faster. Both bosses are on vacation this week. We also have a Fayetteville After Five this Thursday with the Wichita Band playing. They are a county band and since I am not a big fan of country it will probably be a long night.

Anyway back to my car story....the dealership talked me into returning the rent a car and they said that they would let me test drive and take home the vehicle for a couple of days. Hey it saved me $90 so I said ok. On Thursday night my husband came home and saw the vehicle sitting in the driveway and thought that I went ahead and bought it until he seen the dealer tags. He looked it over and liked it too so Friday after work he met me at the dealer and yes I have a new 2007 Blue Ford Explorer Sport Trac. I just love it and I don't want to blog about car trouble for a long time. Pictures will be coming soon....

The boys came home on Friday night so my husband and I didn't have a lot of time to spend together alone. Oh well there will be more times to come. But things here are back to normal with everyone being home.

I did get a phone call from my daughter on Thursday. She moved into her new apartment on June 1st and got kicked out on June 13th. And since she was here with me from the 6th to the 10th I can say that that was a very short lived experience. I still don't have all the details but I think from what pieces she told me it that she had a party and got too loud and some girl was looking for some guy at the party and started some crap and the cops had to come three times. Really don't know what she is going to do and I feel really helpless living so far away. She is looking again and will have to hire someone to move the furniture she just had delivered there. She wanted me to co-sign on a modular home with her but I said no way. I don't want to get into that and I think it is a bad idea for her since she isn't sure where she will live after college. So now I just pray that she finds somewhere to live and everything works out.

My son N. is taking the EOC in English on Monday. He needs to pass in order to pass 9th grade so I am praying that that happens too. Boy a lot of praying going on.

On June 15 my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. And yes I am almost that old....Well nothing else new to report....I hope all the father's have a great father's day....And any mothers who are filling in as father's this father's day too......Happy Father's Day to all....

Lots of stuff happening...

2007-06-12T18:32:00.000-04:00

Boy has there been lots of stuff happening...to start off I flew to Kansas for my mother-in-laws viewing. It was on Wednesday May 30th at 2pm. My husband drove there and left on Saturday May 26th. We both didn't see any reason why I should drive with him since he would probably have to stay longer to help with stuff. I got there Wednesday morning at 10:30. We stopped for a quick lunch then headed to the mom's and brother's place. Yes the mom and older brother lived together...my husbands older brother is disabled, he doesn't have any kidneys and goes to dialysis 4 times a week. After that we got ready to go to the funeral home. We got there and nobody (yes including me ordered flowers for her.) Since they all got together, his older brother L., younger brother M. and his wife K. and my husband, I thought one of them would have ordered flowers from the family. It was small and short since she was an only child and most of the relatives are already gone. There was no burial because she is being cremated. So after that we went to his younger brothers M. house for some food. The preacher remembered the boys, and the grand kids and step grand kids but no mention of the wives. Yes, I know a little picky but I had to deal with this lady since my husband is gone alot and a little acknowledgement would have been nice. Anyway after dinner hubby and I went to a hotel and L. went to dialysis.

The next day started all the fun...we had to start cleaning out the house so his brother L. could move...now let me tell you...they saved everything...there was at least 20 years of stuff to go through...what a nightmare...and his brother didn't want to get rid of anything. My husband had to wait for his to sleep to through stuff away. His younger brother M. was useless...he didn't help for anything...and here it is almost three weeks later and my husband just finished cleaning up and moving his brother L. He should be home by the weekend the same time the kids come home. Another story....

I flew home Friday June 1st to get ready for my son J's graduation from high school. Yes, he did graduate by the skin of his teeth. Up to the last couple of days it was touch and go. The Ex R. and his wife S. came in on Saturday (he has been in Iraq for the last two years)...my son J went and picked them up at the airport and showed them to their hotel...and the boys went to dinner and were with him most nights. On Sunday I went to take my son N. to the hotel to see his father and on the way back...yes you guessed it my van overheated. To make a long story short I got it towed and on Monday rented a car and it is still at the Ford dealer. A week goes by and they can't get it to overheat and don't know what is wrong with it. They decide to put some dye in it and I did something to the head gasket. I am waiting for my husband to come home to go car shopping. Neadless to say he was pissed that they couldn't find this problem the last time it was in two weeks ago. Since then I got new tires and had to rent a car again. Oh well shit happens....On with my story...

My daughter S. came in on Tuesday June 5th and she also spent time with her father. On Wednesday June 6th my parents came in and I had dinner with them that night...also we had a fight about why my kids never come and see them...another story...she left upset and I left curing my husband for making me put up with these people all by myself. My sane other half was dealing with his nightmare....

Wednesday I found out that my son N. failed his EOC English exam...now if you don't pass it you don't go on to 10th grade...so here I am a day before my other son graduates on the phone to the school to find out what needs to be done. The Ex also called and the teacher called him back and talked to his wife (who hasn't see the kids for a year) and I never got a phone call back. Yes I was pissed. They made all these arrangements and I had to write a letter to get it all approved. My thoughts why should I write the letter since they made all these arrangements but who would end of suffering...yes my son would so I did it. He was supposed to take the make up test on June 12 but he will be with his father in Florida so they made arrangement to take it on June 18 which is the second testing in case you don't pass it on June 12 so he will only have one shot at this or he will have to repeat it again next year.

Thursday...graduation day...finally...I go and pick up my parents and my daughter and son N. were with me. We go to the coliseum and watch him graduate. After that we went to lunch at Olive Garden...my son J. picked the place and believe it or not we had a very nice lunch. After that we went back to my house...my parents wanted to see it and kids had to get their cloths cause they were off to Florida to see their other grandparents....

Friday...I took the day off to spend some time with my daughter...she flies back to Kentucky tonight. I had to do go to the school to pick up some papers for N. to study for his test (here it is Tuesday and I still don't have them, the teacher was too busy, the same teacher who couldn't find the time to call me back...hum..) so she slept in and then I picked her up and we had a nice lunch and went to the mall. I took her to the airport. I stayed there for about 1/2 hour and then left. She calls me about an hour later and the plane was delayed. She ended up staying in the airport for 4 hours while a major storm came through Atlanta were her connected was. She ended up being booked on two flights in Atlanta since she didn't know which one she would made. She ended up making the first on but her bags made the second on. She didn't wait for them but they did deliver them to her the next day (1/2 hours away from the airport) A flight that should have gotten her home at 9:30 didn't get her home until after 1 in the morning.

So I end this blog with some boredom...my husband is still in Kansas...my boys are in Florida...my daughter is back in Kentucky and I am home all alone with 3 hairy dogs and 1 loud cat....Pictures of the new pets....Lucy the cat and the new dog Bear.

The three stooges....Sami, Bear and Buddy....

Memorial Day weekend...

2007-05-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

DAY

Boy do I need a day off...and I am so looking forward to this Monday...I thought I would have a nice long weekend with my husband but we just found out last night that his mom is really sick and is in the hospital and they don't expect her to make it through the week. So he will be heading off to Kansas to see her. Right now he is on his way home from Ft. Indiantown Gap. He had a meeting there and a retirement party for one of his LAR's.

I found out that my son J. will graduate. After a phone call to come in and meet with his advisor we went over everything. They thought that he was still failing History but he did some extra credit to bring his grade up to an 80 so it was only algebra that he is failing but he will still be able to graduate. Boy talk about taking it down to the wire. He has two more exams on Tuesday and Wednesday and then he is done with high school. He will have a senior breakfast and rehersals and a pool party the first week of June so it should be fun for him. At least we can all breath easier knowing he will graduate. Only one more kid to go.

My son J. got a tattoo last night. It looks pretty nice. It is a cross with praying hands and it is on his right upper arm. It almost takes up the whole part of the arm. He got it at the Chop Shop in Hope Mills and they really did a nice job. Check out their web site.... www.chopshoptattoos.com

Work is very lonely today. Almost everyone took off or took a 1/2 day off. So I am upstairs all by myself. Can't wait until 5pm to get out of here.

Update: When I got home tonight we got the phone call that my mother-in-law had passed away at 4:15 this afternoon.

And all those who can't be home this Memorial Day....

Can it really be that long since I last blogged....

2007-05-16T16:36:00.000-04:00

Where does the time go....right out the window sometimes...work is crazy, home is crazy, my kids are crazy....the animals are crazy...so what is normal...absolutely nothing.

Work has been extremely busy...we had another premiere opening on Thursday the 10th. That went ok. Fayetteville After Five is tomorrow and everyone is running around like chicken without heads. Oh well I am sure it will all pass with time.

My kids...hum...what can I say...three weeks before graduation and I am not sure if my son J. will graduate. He is failing algebra. So now he has been going to school early for some extra help. His math teacher doesn't give extra credit so I am not sure how he will make it up. Only time will tell. So far his father and his wife, my daughter S. and my parents will be here to see if graduate if he does...My son N. hopefully is doing ok. I already know he will not pass History so he will have to make that up next year. I just need them to concentrate for the next two weeks before they are off for summer vacation. N. will be taking drivers ed this summer wow times flies. I can't believe he will be 16 this year.

On May 4th the boys slept over a friends house cause they were going paint balling in the morning so my husband and I had a real nice quiet evening. The next day we went to the Harley open house. It was a real nice time. I got new riding glasses and a T-shirt. MY husband got a free t-shirt that they were throwing at the crowd. Then when we left we went to the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society (FAPS) open house to see all the animals. Yes I fell in love again with them. Wish I could take them all home but...you know how that goes...

On May 13th the husband went away for a week...so it is eating out all week and no cooking...yea!!! J. worked all week so it was just me and N. Hubby got home late on the 19th cause he missed his plane. So he came in at 10:30pm. I get to the airport and was totally surprised (our airport really isn't that big) at how many people were there waiting for someone to arrive.

Fayetteville After Five went well. We had the band Better than Ezra play downtown at the new Festival Park. They were good. Beer sales went well and the weather really held up for us. Other than being a really long day it was pretty successful.

On Saturday 19th we went back to look at the doggies again...yes I did get another one. Why I don't know. I should have been happy with two but noooo I had to have the third one. He is a shepherd mix and looks like a big teddy bear...now he acts like a combination of Freddy Kruger and Jason from Elm Street. I hope I have the patience to handle him. He is 2 years old but still very playful. Him and Sami get along good but Buddy doesn't really like him and growls every time he gets near him. I will post some pictures when I can get him to stay still for more than a second. So now we have three dogs, Buddy who is a shepherd/husky mix and is 6 years old, Sami who is a border collie/mix and is 1 year old and Teddy (yes we renamed him Teddy, his other name was Mason and he didn't even look up when you called him) who is 2 years old. We also have a cat Lucy who adopted us as her new home. She lives on our front porch and yes I feed her and also bought her a bed and we will make her a cat house when it gets cold. I know I am a sucker for a sad and cute face...

May 21, hum....what a day...I get into work and my co-worker called out sick...I had to get someone to cover the phones so I could go get my hair done which was no problem but when I pulled back into the parking lot my cell phone rings...it is my son J...who has had an eye infection for a couple of days now and had an apt with the eye Dr. and who didn't go back to school after his apt (yes I knew) was home washing his truck and he locks his keys in it...that shouldn't have been such a problem but he left it running. So off I go to unlock his truck and there was construction on my road so one lane was closed so we had to wait our turn...so as I was sitting there....my van overheats again...so I pull off the road, call my son, call the tow truck, call work (cause now I can't get back there) and then the Ford dealer...I had to walk the last mile to the house in heals and through a field to get the key to him and then he drove me back to my car. It takes the tow truck an hour to get me and then another hour to get a rent a car which was a diry smelly Ford Taurus but since I went through the Ford dealer I had to get a Ford. they actually ran out of cars and had to get this one from another rent a car place and they didn't have time to clean it up. I guess it could be worse and not have a car at all...I then called my husband to let him know what it going on. And after 3 hours of dealing with my van I finally made it home...hopefully the rest of the week will go smoothly...the hubby goes away again on Wednesday so at least I don't have to worry about cooking, I just have to deal with the devil dog... :-)

Busy week again...

2007-04-29T14:44:00.000-04:00

Where do I begin...Last Saturday 4/21/07 was our Big Spring Gala Fundraiser. It was at the Metropolitan Room downtown. The cost was $1,000 a ticket to win a 2004 BMW. Nice car but I'm a truck/motorcycle kinda girl...anyway we got a nice turnout and everything went smoothly for the most part. It was a black tie event so I had to get dressed up...no Harley gear...Did actually wear stocking so the tats wouldn't show. Yea, I'm nice like that...not really a place to show them off.

Last Sunday we went riding again...I think this is the most we been out on the bike in two years. The husband was gone so much when we lived in Tennessee that when he wasn't gone we were busy with the house and stuff. We decided to just check out the map and we went to a Battlefield. It was a real nice ride and the battlefield/park was really nice too. They had a museum and a 10 minute movie on the battle that went on there. We had a nice time.

The work week went pretty fast. Tuesday night I took the cat to the rabies clinic to get her a shot since it was only $5.00 and she really isn't my cat but has adopted the front porch as her home so I figured at least I can get her a rabies shot. I left work about 15 minutes early and so did my co-worker. I get to the site of the clinic and left her in the car with my son...there were tons of dogs and big ones too. But all went well and I even made my workout class at the Y.

But the next day at work wasn't too nice. Me and my co-worker S.got called in the bosses office and got yelled at for leaving work 15 minutes early. Now there was another co-worker L. down stairs and we told her that we were leaving and to please listen for the phones. But that didn't matter. And that we are to work 8:30-5pm no excuses. Everyone else gets to come and go as they please cause they sometimes work off site but when they don't work off site it is none of our concern that they aren't here. And he also told us that we were coming in later and later. I used to be at my dest buy 8am but since I don't start work until 8:30 I started coming in at 8:30 now. But to him its later and later...so we told him that we were not going to come in early and that we are always...yes always here but 8:30 when we are supposed to start. I am also not going to stay late anymore either. When the phone rings at 5:05 I am going to just walk out since I finish work at 5pm. I was so pissed but I am getting over it.

I got an email from a really good friend of mine. I was really excited to hear from her. She still lives in upstate NY and I really miss her. That email really made my day.

Saturday 4/28/07 we went on the HOGS and RAGS ride to Myrtle Beach. What a nice ride. We met at the Airborn Museum and we were served coffee, juice and donuts. We got a police escort in every town that we went through. We ate like pigs starting with breakfast at the Rocking A. Ranch in White Oak and that was served by celebrities (our congressman and senator were there along with others) and ending with a buffet lunch at Dock Holidays in Myrtle Beach. There was entertainment, raffles and a silent auction. There was about 50 bikes and about 30 cars.

I was surprised that there were no female drivers and that they don't use hand signals alot here. Riding upstate hand signals were always used buy either the driver or the back rider. We didn't have police escort so it was very important that everyone knew what was going on. We would always have a mini session on signals and what was going on.

Everything was so well planned. I was really impressed. When we got close to a town the police were ready and waiting to escort us through. There was so many pictures taken and I can't wait for them to be posted on the website: www.hogsandrags.com. The event only cost us $40.00 which went to charity (autism and cancer). Not only did we get breakfast and lunch but we also got a T-shirt. I was able to purchase a T-shirt for only $12.00. I have to say I really enjoyed myself and I can't wait for next years ride.

Well here it is Sunday again....doing wash and getting ready for Monday. Trying not to kill my kids. They have been working on my last nerve lately....N. was supposed to clean the house Saturday but when I got home it wasn't done so I ended up doing it. Now I did not tell him to clean it he offered cause he needed some extra money...he lost out on that one. J. on the other hand had three bags of trash in his room. Mostly empty water bottles and he was supposed to clean it yesterday...but since I was not home to be up his butt he went out instead. Then he was supposed to clean his sink in his bathroom...but his excuse was that he didn't have any cleaning stuff so today I bought him his own can...wonder what his excuse will be now....

Been busy....

2007-04-22T15:23:00.000-04:00

Hi all, Been really busy at work for the post couple of weeks. I really don't know where to begin. On Friday the 13, someone broke into the Museum. Nothing was taken but we have very large tinted windows and two of them were broke. It's really a shame that someone would do something like this. The police think it was homeless people who come and try to keep warm at night. We do have a fence around the whole place but I take it it doesn't keep them out. I think it was kids playing a prank. I guess it doesn't matter much anyway. The windows are now fixed and things are back to normal.

Didn't get to ride last weekend do to the crappy weather but did get go out today. What a beautiful day so we hopped on the bike are went to breakfast and off to a state park. They had it all set up to walk to see where a couple of battles were and a little movie to explain it. It was really nice.

Last night we had our black tie night of dreams gala. We raffled off a BMW. It was ok, really not my cup of tea...don't like getting all dressed up and stuff but it is now over and we can start getting ready for our Fayetteville After Five events.

No news on the family front so I guess that is good. Will probably be busy next week filling out college forms so I don't know when I will be back on. Hope everyone has a great week....

Oh almost forgot...a real cute cat decided to adopt us so now we have 2 dogs and a cat...she is so cute and I'll get some pictures up soon....

Two posts in a row...

2007-04-08T11:23:00.000-04:00

Wow, Here I am with some time on my hands so I decided to post the happening of the weekend. Plus also change the layout...

I decided to switch phone service...from Embarq to cable. I should probably learn from past experiences but noooo I didn't and switched anyway. Now don't get me wrong I do like the cable company but when they came to hook up my TV and Internet they had to come back a couple of time to get it right. So why would hooking up the phone be any different. It wasn't. I made an appointment for Friday between 1-5. They called and came and hooked me all up. So when the phone rang and it was an old friend...another story...the phone wasn't really that clear. So I just thought it was her phone....but nooooo....it was mine. And how do I know that cause the next couple phone calls I got was the same way. So the cable company always calls to asked how things are and when they did I told them. So here I was on Saturday from 1-5 waiting for the cable man to come back out to fix the problem. Yes it is all fixed now.

The other story...I have a good friend P. that I met while we lived in Upstate NY. She did not live there but her boyfriend M. got PCS there from Massachusetts. She went out with M. for 12 years and come to see him every other weekend. To make a long story short they broke up and it was a bad one. So we continued to keep in contact through all my moves and years. She seemed like she found a great guy B. They got along things were going great. They eventually moved in together and have been together for 5 years. She eventually got a ring and thought things were good....but yes there is a but....last weekend he said that he had to go to Florida to see his dad...no big deal he has done this before. But after he left she found a Dear P. letter. He found someone on the Internet and was going to live with her. And two weeks later they got married. So through all the static on the phone I tried to give her my support through this rough time.

After running some errands, I got home and my husband said my mom called...hum...now anyone reading my blog knows this family has some issues...so I call her back. She called to wish me a Happy Easter which was very nice since she wasn't going to be home today. Then we start talking and she wanted to know what was going on and why there is so much tension and stress. So I tell her how I feel, I tell her about how the kids feel. We ended up talking for about 3 hours. A lot was said and a lot came off my chest. I feel so much better. I don't know if things will change but it is a start.

On the other side...my husband called his mom to wish her a happy Easter. She lives with his older brother who has needed a kidney transplant for a while so he is not in the best of health. Come to find out, his mom has been in the hospital for the last two weeks...nice of them to call and let us know...she is on oxygen and now her cancer is back so the decision has been made to find a living assistant home for her. I know this can't be easy for him. So all I can do is pray and be there for him.

Talked to my good friend J. We always compare notes on our moms. She is in the same position as I am. I guess it is that era. Her mom (my ex-mother in law) is sick and she still hasn't told her yet but everyone else knows. Also my ex-father in law is really sick too. My kids are planning a trip down there with their father in June to see him.

Today is going to be a lazy day. We got up and went to church and then to McD for breakfast. I go home and my son J's phone wasn't working so we tried to call Cingular and they are closed today. He was upset and so was I so I tried a different number and got a real person and now his phone is fixed. So as we were talking to the phone guy my son J. gave me and my husband an Easter gift and cards. He can be so sweet....

2007-04-07T10:38:00.001-04:00

I am sitting here alone...no kids, no husband, no dogs...wow...quiet...silence...

Ok, I know I am getting a little excited. I usually...spoke to soon the phone just rang...I'm back. I switched my phone service to cable and it is not working right. So they will be back out today again. Ok, back to where I was...Everyone is gone and I am sitting here all alone...so I thought what a good time to catch up on my blog.

Lets start with last weekend. My husband and I went for a bike ride. It was my turn to plan the day so I searched and searched and finally came up with the Renaissance Faire at the NC state fairgrounds. I plan out the trip but first I wanted to go to the cheese cake factory for breakfast but my husband didn't want to do that. So off we went. It was fairly easy to get there. When we got there we followed the crowd of cars, paid our $8.00 to part, ( yes I thought that was a little high) and found a parking spot. We looked around and everyone was dressed up in Sunday best. I looked at him and he looked at me and we realized that we are not in the right place. We ended up at the RBC Center not the state fairgrounds. So off I go to ask directions and it was only up the road a bit. No we didn't get our $8.00 parking fee back.

Finally we get to the fairgrounds. They had a hugh yard sale there. We looked around but because we had the bike space was limited so off we went to the Faire. We found it paid our fee to get in and started to walk around. We stopped at the first stage to watch the show. It was really great. The Italian wedding it was called and we laughed. When that was over we started to walk to the next stage to see what show was on and we were stopped by a man that called himself DaVinci. He had a big wooden puppet with him and that was his brother. So we followed him to see his show. Now what I forgot to tell you is that these shows are audience participation. Yes that is right we got picked to participate. The skit was about a king and queen, played but two men, a servent and her ass played by me and my husband (he was my ass), and the man who tried to steel the queen away from the king played by Mr. DaVinci. It was really funny...everything I said my husband had to repeat it. We laughed and laughed and so did the audience. After the show we walked around some more say a ground hound dog race, fed the zoo animals and finally decided to leave. All in all we had a great day even after paying $8.00 to park in the wrong place.

Friday I had off...it was a very nice surprise...I have never worked at a place that gave up Good Friday off. So I decided to take my dogs to the vet. After that trip I needed a nap. They were so hyper and funny but at least they are all up to date on their shots. After that it was off to buy food for Easter.

This weekend we decided to just chill...the weather has gotten colder...to cold for me to ride...and with Easter and church and the people on the roads we are just going to spend a quiet time at home after all the chores are done. That is where my husband, my sons and my dogs are...mowing a friends lawn who is deployed.

Hope all have a very nice EASTER....

Time Just Flying By....

2007-03-23T11:31:00.000-04:00

Ok, here it is March 23 already...It's been three weeks since my last post and I really don't know where the time went. Things have been extremely busy at work and I have been working out 4 times a week and yes I have started tanning again. So by the time I get home at night it is after 8pm. Way too tired to think about heading upstairs to the computer to post a blog. So here I am at work doing it instead.

Things around the house have been pretty quiet. My son J. hasn't been home much with running back and forth to school and working his life is pretty full. My son N. just built himself a new computer. It took about a month to order all the parts cause he had to save up to pay for them but it is all completed now and it works.

My daughter S. has been debating on weather or not to move to NC or stay in KY. I wish I could help her but this has to be her decision. At this moment she is looking for a new apartment in KY so if she finds a good one I think she will stay there and finish college. I told her I am only a plane ticket away and she can come down at any time.

My husband S. has been just as busy at work. He was gone for a couple of weeks but now is back. It has been so nice to have him home. This is the longest he has ever been home since we have been together.

Me...well I attended my first Premiere Party at the Museum. We change our Gallery every two months and have a Premiere Party to promote the artists. It was really nice. We are getting ready for our Gala Party. This is a black tie event where we will auction off a car. We are also getting ready for our summer events...Fayetteville After Five where we will host an event downtown at Festival Park with food, music and drinks. We got our pictures back from the architect on the new building. We plan on moving downtown in the next year or so. So to say the least there is a lot going on at work. Financially, we had a grant due and two quarterly reports due, financials, due and monthly reports due so to say it again it is a busy time here.

Family...my sister in law is still at her parents house. Her mom is sick and recovery from surgery. Please keep them in your prayers. My brother could also use some prayers as he is home with 4 boys ages 10-18. I still haven't heard from my parents since my brother and I backed out of the cruise...rumor has it they are still going with my two nieces and their family. Actions always have consequences.

It is going to be nice this weekend so the plan is to ride, ride and ride some more. Can't wait to feel the wind in my face. What a great feeling....

Oh that son of mine....

2007-03-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

Monday, is there anything normal about Mondays especially when you have an 18 year old son...to start off he came home last night and said that his new 2005 Ford Ranger was acting up...ok I said what is it doing? All the lights on his dash were coming on and it felt like it was going to stall. He said I think I will need a jump in the morning. So morning comes and the truck starts ok. So off to school he goes. He didn't get 10 minutes from home and my cell phone rings it is about 7:50 am...Mom, What I say, we broke down on I95...Ok, I'll be there...Do you want me to call the tow truck, yes I say...he calls me back about 2 minutes later...Mom, What..I think I ran out of gas...Ok J. I'll get the gas can and go get you some gas. I drive to the gas station, fill up with 5 gallons of gas and get on I95 to bring it to him. Finally find him and he put the gas in and nothing...still doesn't start.

Hum...wonder what could be wrong now? So we are waiting for the tow truck...45 minutes to an hour they say...So now it has been an hour and J calls back...they tell him 1/2 hour longer...so now it is almost 9am...where is that tow truck? They roadside assistant calls back..the tow truck is running late with another tow he will be there in 1/2 hour...but I will try to find someone else to came. Well we ended up waiting 3 hours on I95 and two trips home to go to the bathroom, for a tow truck and to top it off my van still does not have heat and since his truck couldn't start he didn't have heat either. So we sat there in the cold waiting and waiting...

Finally the tow truck comes and the truck is towed to the Ford dealer...They said it sounds like your alternator...and the good news is that is still covered under the warranty...Yea finally good news...so off to work I go and by this time I told the boys they can go home. So J drops me off at work and takes my van home.

At work the girl who sits in the outer office is sick and goes home. That leaves me answering phone...wasn't too bad today...just got a lot of stupid calls. At about 4pm my cell phone rings...It's the Ford dealer about J's truck...not good...there is all mud, dirt, water all caked on everything under the hood...well my son decided to go running around in the mud and then pulled someone out of the mud and then decided to wash it off at the car wash...not only the outside but under the hood too...so now it all has to be cleaned out, the alternator is packed with mud and dirt and is broke and it will now take 3-4 days to fix and none of it is covered under the warrenty...and hopefully he didn't do any damage to the engine....

So now J pickes me up from work and we head to the Ford dealer to see what has to be done and J tells me to turn left and it is the wrong way...so I started to turn at this light and it is a one way street and before I notice it I was already into the turn so I quickly turn and go into a parking lot to turn around. I get out at the light and go a couple of feet and behind me are yes you guessed it a cop and he pulls me over...now I am a little upset to say the least and I start rambling on about how I was lost and new to the area and needed to turn around and he says calm down and breath...I am not going to give you a ticket I just want you to be more careful and pay attention to the streets here cause it is rush hour...finally a break...need I say more... before...

after...

So now I say is there ever a such thing as a normal Monday...I think not.

Drama is over...Cruise is off....

2007-03-01T22:40:00.000-05:00

Don't know if I blogged about going on a cruise or not but my parents were planning a 50th wedding anniversary cruise for the whole family and I mean whole family, kids, grandkids, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, were supposed to go but unfortunately it had to be cancelled because of a lot of reasons. The main reason is financial, but there are a lot of things going on with disfunctionally family. There were a lot of issues about this cruise even from the beginning. So it is probably for the best that it was cancelled.

We, as a family are not a close group. I don't know if this happened on purpose, but we are very busy people. My brother has 2 grown girls from his first marriage and 4 boys from his second marriage and I have three children, so to say we are busy is an understatement. Our jobs have brought us in different directions so all of this is the reality of our life as a family. The only communication that we have on a regular basis is a Christmas card with a letter of what happened over the year.

You can't pick your family but sometimes it would be better if we could. It is hard when things are done in the family that aren't fair. I try to explain to my children that life isn't fair but one would hope that family would try to be fair and treat everyone equally. I really try to do that with my children. I know it doesn't always happen but I make up for it in other ways. This is not true with others in this family. Some are lifted higher than others and it is hard to explain why? How do you tell your children why someone in their family doesn't that? It was hard to explain when they were little but now that they are older they understand. You would think that family would take off the blinders and see this and try to correct it or see the hurt in the other children but this has not happened. But now that the children are older this family seems to think that they should drop everything to accommodate them. My children learn from example and the example that was set by this family to my children was that we don't have time for you. But we do have time for certain others. You would think that as adults they would know better. I know I am rambling on about this but it has been eating away at me for such a long time.

This was taken from an other family members blog as it it describe by them: You can't be a family if there is no contact or communications. You can't expect everyone to get together for any amount of time if there is no type of foundation. When you see one person in the family lifted higher than others it causes hurt feelings. You want to blame the person who is being treated so much better than the others. But the blame doesn't solely placed on this one person. He or she should stand on their own two feet and be an adult. Share the affections with other members of the family. The other party should look at their actions and figure out why the family doesn't want to spend time with them. You have to be in your whole family lives. You can't pick your family but you have to love them. Just remember that there are all kinds of special events and they all need the family to acknowledge them. Not one more person, than no one else. No Matter how far they live or how young or old they are. You can't pick and choose who you do more for. They should be treated equal.

So I end this with I doubt that things will ever change and at this stage in our lives even if it does it's probably too late.

Sunday....

2007-02-25T12:43:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday again...back to work tomorrow. I had a very nice surprise last night. Right after church my cell phone rings. I pick it up and it's my husband telling me that he is on his way home for the night to be with me. He is on a TDY trip for two weeks but he drove on this trip, so from Tennessee he decided to stop home spend the night and take me to breakfast before heading to Georgia. It was so nice and he is so sweet. Oh, he also dropped off his wash...

Weekend are always hard when he is away. Since the kids are older my weekends go slower. During the week I can keep myself busy with work, and errands, and working out but during the weekends there is only so much I can do. So on Saturday we did put my son J's bed together and move the futon bed to the bonus room, I cleaned the house and did all the wash and by 2pm all was done and waiting for the time to go to church.

Now here it is Sunday...I thought I would change some stuff on myspace...that took a whole hour and it looks like rain so I am just going to chill out for the rest of the day...

Working out again...

2007-02-22T15:47:00.000-05:00

Well I started my workouts again. I went Tuesday night to the Y in Hope Mills. They only have one class from 6-7 Monday through Thursday. It is a very small place compared to the Y in Tennessee. But it will do. I also get the use of the Y in Fayetteville so I might go and check that out to see what they have to offer. I only work about 5 minutes away from it.

I finally got the bed so now all we have to do is get it in the bedroom. Shouldn't be too hard to do. We will see.

My son J. so far really likes his job so that is a good thing. I haven't been in there yet...don't want to embarrass him yet. :-)

My husband is still away so it has been way too quiet in the house. I really miss him but I am getting so much done. Hopefully it will be all done before he gets home next week.

Not much else going on...so I am off to workout again.

Monday...

2007-02-19T19:13:00.000-05:00

Boy, if I wanted a Monday to go this fast it would never happen. Work just flew by today. By the time I looked at the clock it was already 11am and then I looked again and it was 4pm. Hope this weeks goes as fast.

Well, I didn't get to pick up my son J's bed. It still isn't in. When we ordered it a week ago they said it would be a couple of days. Now I don't know about you but a couple to me is two. Here it is Monday and that 9 days later and it still isn't in. They did call (a plus in my book) and said that it will be here tomorrow. We will see...

I did join the YMCA so that is out of the way. But I had all intensions of working out tomorrow night but now I will be picking up a bed instead. I can't wait to start working out again.

Today is my son J's first day at work. I hope all goes well and he likes it. It is always hard to start a new job especially when you don't know anyone.

I still have not received my refund from the clinic here in town. My husband went there November 1st and they over charged him by $75.00. I am still waiting for the refund. I have called 4 times and they say it is coming. But when?????? I definetly don't think they would wait for their money this long if I owed it to them.

My husband S. is in Tennessee for the week. He left this morning and he called a while ago and got there safe and sound.

Well off to start my taxes...fun....

Busy week...

2007-02-18T12:10:00.000-05:00

Here it is Sunday already...tomorrow the boys have off for President's Day, I have to go to work to start a very busy week again, and my husband is off on a TDY trip for two weeks. He will be heading to Georgia and Tennessee. But before he goes we have a retirement gathering to go to for someone in Steve's office. My son J. also has a job interview today too. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sometimes I like it when he goes away because I can get so much done. I always feel that when he is home I should spend all my time with him because I never know when he will deploy or TDY again. So since he will be away for two weeks I will have an extremely busy time here. To start off I have to pick up my son J's bed on Monday night, order his class ring during lunch, and join the local Y (finally). I really want to start my workout on Tuesday so after that I will try to get my daughter S's state taxes done so I will try to do that on Tuesday night. I also need to organize my taxes to get back to the CPA's office. Again Tuesday night. Wednesday I have the adjuster for our broken furniture coming. The moving company is sending him out. I already got an adjuster for myself. I will have to take a longer lunch since I am meeting him at the house.

Wednesday night is Ash Wednesday...the start of lent (40 days before Easter) so off to church we go. It is also a day of fasting and the start of my Lenten sacrifice....NO MORE CANDY/SNACKS/SWEETS....the bags of jelly beans are going to be the hardest to stay away from. Also I need to fill out the forms for my rebate on my son's contacts, all this is done online. I need to pay bills, deposit checks, rake the rest of the leaves, get new sneakers for workouts, get my husbands birthday gift, email my mom on the information she needs for the cruise, and finish my taxes. Also need to get the claim done on the damage to the furniture. Need all kinds of information for that. Pictures, prices, comparisons and stuff like that. It is not a fun job. With all of this I want to work out every night, lose 5 pounds (in two weeks) and get back on track and hopefully when my husband comes home in two weeks all will be done.

Valentines' Day was very nice. I had a bad day at work the night before so my husband S. left a gift on the steps for me. I opened it up and it was from the dogs. How cute it was....He said not to expect any more since he didn't have time to get me anything else so I didn't really think about it. I asked him for more perfume since my was out so I just figured that I would have to stop at the mall and pick some up for myself. Really no big deal. But the next day I go to get in my car for work and on the passenger's seat was a gift with my perfume in it. He is so sweet.

Update....J got the job. It is at a sub place in Hope Mills. He starts tomorrow. I am so happy. Now things are almost normal again.

Saturday again.

2007-02-10T20:18:00.000-05:00

Boy, you would think that I would be able to post during the week. But as you can see that hasn't happened in a while. So here it is Saturday again. My week wasn't bad. I was busy at work so this week seemed to fly by. I still have my cough so sometimes when I talk too much I start coughing alot. Now if you know me...I like to talk so this is sometimes hard to remember to talk less. Maybe I should blog more when I have to talk less...boy that's a thought.

Taxes....hum...finally got the kids taxes done. I don't even want to look at ours. Between moving and selling and buying a house and all the crap that goes with PCSing I am not looking forward to this tax season. So I am going to find someone to do them for me. Yea I know I really need to start looking and get on the ball with this.

My son J....He is really working my last nerve. I know 18 years old and a senior and of course he knows it all. He isn't as bad as I was so that is a plus. He still doesn't have a job. I guess he thinks he doesn't need one. Hum...he needs a wake up call. OK back on the subject of J....I go out to the mail box and open it up and there are 10 yes 10 letters from layers for him. Now I am on my way to church so I am trying to be a good catholic and not flip out. But it is hard. I call him up cause he is staying at a friends house tonight after a hard day of ACT testing and ask him "What did you do?" Oh nothing...so why does nothing require a lawyer I say. He then tell me..."remember last week when you made me come home for church, well I was running late so I ended up with a speeding ticket. I asked how fast were you going? Only 52 in a 35....Grrrrr....I am ready to kill him but as I said before I was on my way to church. So now he will have another incident added to his record of a fender bender and a speeding ticket while we lived in Tennessee. Now I know why kids shouldn't drive until they are 18. The last two were cheep compared to this one cause he was under 18 now he will have to pay the $160 for the ticket. He really does need a job to keep him out of trouble...On another note today we finally got his bed ordered. Now he is 6'2" and he needs an extra long bed so it had to be ordered. He has been sleeping an a foo ton. Poor kid...

I have been watching the news and Upstate NY is getting hammered with snow. I lived there for 11 years and have seen my fill of snow for the rest of my life. I can really say that I don't miss it and my heart goes out to all of those who are plowing and digging out of this mess.

My daughter S. is having trouble with her apartment management. They come in and out of the apartment all the time without any notice and she is getting tired of it. The last time they were in they searched her storage closed which is locked and seen that she had a little $20 tail gaiter grill and she got a notice to get rid of it or get put out. So now I really pissed cause the person she lives with has his girlfriend live with him for free and nothing was said to him about all her stuff in his room. Oh well...I told her only 4 more months and I will be up there to move her out of there. She can't wait.

Well hubby is off next week for a trip to Georgia and Tennessee...I will finally get a chance to join the YMCA and start my workouts again and I signed up for an online class which will start April 2...Things are really looking up and finally getting back to normal. YEA!!!!

Weeks just flying by...

2007-02-03T22:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, another week has gone by already. I am so enjoying my job. This is a first. Finally things are falling into place and I am feeling more at home here than I did in the two years we were in Tennessee. I have decided to go back to school again. I wish I would have keep going while I was in Tennessee but I didn't. I am just going to take some classes on taxes, and non-profit business class and maybe a finance class and while I am at it another business law class. Who know by the time I am 50 I might complete my degree just in time to get ready for retirement.

On the subject of my van....it needs a heater coil...and it is not cheap. Not because of the part but the labor involved in replacing it. So I am still deciding on it and by the time I make up my mind it will be spring here and I won't need heat anymore.

On the subject of my oldest son J....I got a real interesting call from one of his friends mom last week while I was at work. She gets my cell phone number and his cell phone number mixed up all the time and when she call looking for him she always gets me. Well any way she was looking for my son, in which I replied that he is in school...but the funny thing was she got a phone call from the school and was told that her son was not there...hum...now I call the school to see if my son is there and to my surprise he was not. Now I call his cell phone and he answers and I ask him where he is....In school he says...no your not I say...long pause...more silence...busted I say...so why aren't you in school...he says I went out for lunch...hum...now what should I do with this kid? So we had a long talk, I know I should have taken his truck away but after checking his attendance record this was the first time so I gave him a warning. Only because it brought back memories of when I starting driving to school and cut to go to breakfast..Only I didn't get caught. I do however have a problem with the school letting the kids go outside during lunch but I guess that is the norm here. So I guess I will be checking his attendance record for a while to see if he is keeping his word and not cutting school anymore. I know I am a push over....

My parents are pretty lucky...they only live about 5 minutes from where the tornado came through and destroyed all those homes in Florida the other day. I called them on Friday morning to see if they were alright and they didn't even know what was going on. They used to live in the Villages in Lady Lake and recently move to Summerfield a little less than a year ago. But their old neighborhood wasn't hit. My dad still has the pins in his knee from when he fell off the ladder getting the Christmas decoration down from the attic so they were very lucky that the tornado missed them since he still can't walk on his leg.

Tomorrow is the Superbowl...Colts vs Bears. I don't really have a favorite. I like them both so I am hoping that it is a good game. I am kinda sorry that football is ending but now I can start to enjoy the college basketball games and get ready for the big dance...NCAA tournament time in March.

A whole week has gone by....

2007-01-27T20:40:00.000-05:00

Here it is Saturday already. I have been at my job for a whole week. I think I am going to really enjoy it there. The employees are so nice and my boss is even nicer. I can't wait to really get started with the capital campaign to get our new building under way. so we can move to our new location in Festival Park. This should be a really exciting time for the Museum. Here is a little history about the museum The Fayetteville Museum of Art was founded in 1971. Originally housed in downtown Fayetteville's historic Market House, the Museum moved in 1978 to its present facility that was the first building in the State of North Carolina designed and built as an Art Museum. In addition to the modern facility that includes two (2) galleries, classrooms, studio space, an Art Reference & Slide Lending Library, and a Museum Store, the Museum's 5.8 acre grounds and pond give the Fayetteville community a place to gather for relaxation. The park-like setting is an oasis in the midst of a heavily trafficked area; it is also utilized for large scale sculpture displays, art festivals and public concerts. If anyone is interested please check out our website: www.fayettevillemuseumart.org

I also found out that a very good friend of mine I should really say my best friend got married on the 19th of January. I am so happy for them. I wish I could have been there but it was a very small informal ceremony. It was also in Upstate NY. I do look forward to seeing the pictures. Here it the happy couple the last New Year's Eve we got to spend together 2004 before we moved to Tennessee.

Went back to the doctor on Thursday night. Got some x-rays taken of my check and I have a touch of bronchitis. So finally I got some medicine to help me get rid of this thing. It has been a month already and I am tired of being sick. I am starting to finally feel better and it is about time.

Got rid of the old gray truck on Thursday. My husband had it towed away. Can't complain about it because we got our money's worth and some fond memories too. But it was time for the old eye sore to be put to rest in the junk yard in the sky. Goodbye old reliable trusty friend. RIP.

Sunday....

2007-01-21T17:58:00.000-05:00

I would like to announce that my son J. finally has a new truck. It is a 2005 Ford Ranger pickup truck...white with extended cab. We went out Saturday to look again since the ones we found last week were all sold and finally found one in our price range that was fairly new with only 15,500 miles on it. And of all the places it was sitting at the Fayetteville Auto Mall. We went there to look at an Isuzu but that truck was stick so she showed us others and it was just sitting there waiting for us to buy it. So no more driving them back and forth to school. Now all is left to do is hope that my son J. gets a job and to get my heater fixed in my van ....

Friday night...

2007-01-19T22:16:00.000-05:00

Wow I can't believe a week has gone by already...I still don't feel 100% yet but I do feel a lot better than I did last week. Tried to get most of my errands done before I started my new job. I did manage to get the cars plated and my van inspected. Only had to wait 1 1/2 hours to get it inspected but it passed. YEA!!!

Of course I did run into some trouble getting my husband's truck plated. Wouldn't have been a complete success without a road block. I went to the DMV with all my paper work. My husbands truck is still financed so I didn't have a title but I did have the information for the title company which is what they needed. But when I got there they said that the registration that the state of Tennessee gave him for his truck wasn't valid. My registration on my van says renewal. His registration says application for new registration. They have some book they look in to make sure that the paperwork is correct. So I go home and search for another registration on it that says renewal. Of course there isn't one because his registration doesn't expire until the end of March and since this is the first year he has had the truck we haven't renewed it yet. So the next day I go back with the same paperwork and try to explain that his won't say renewal because it hasn't expired yet and that is the only thing that they gave us when the truck was registered. So now they tell me that I need a copy of the front and back of the title which the bank has. So I called the bank and of course I have to fax them a copy of my POA to get it done. I fax that to them and call them back to see if they got it and to see when they can fax the copy to the DMV and I get from them that this is a call center and it takes 24 hours to do that. Ok, yes now I am upset. I go back into the DMV and ask a different lady to please look in the book again and she does and finds it on the first page in the Tennessee section. So now I wasted two days trying to get plates for my husbands truck. And to top it off today my husband receives a copy of his title. Only took they two days to do it.

My daughter was here for a week. It was really nice and I hated to see her go. She has decided to moved down here in July and has applied to UNC-Charlotte. So now she will only be two hours away instead of 10 hours away.

My son still doesn't have a vehicle yet. But I made a promise that this weekend he will have one. I am tired of running him back and forth all the time. Last weekend we went out to see what was out there and we found one but didn't move fast enough on it and now it is gone. So we will have to start the process of car shopping all over again. Oh well....

Ok, now to my new job...I started on Thursday. I am the Director of Finance for the Fayetteville Museum of Art. I am really excited about this position. Everyone seems very nice and the staff is small so that makes for a nice family setting. I really haven't done anything yet but get familiar with the office and staff and where things are. I did play around in the computer and pulled up some stuff to see what it is like. I will start to get my formal training on Monday so that will be when I really know what I got myself into. So more to come on my job as I know more.

Today is my son's J. birthday....

2007-01-14T14:53:00.000-05:00

Today is my son's J. 18th birthday. So now I have two legal kids. I have to say that raising kids is not easy but he turned out to be a really good kid. I am very proud of him. He is kind and considerate. Sometimes a little lazy but hey I take lazy over drugs and drinking any day. There is only some much a parent can do to make sure that their kids are steered toward the right direction. The rest is up to the kid to follow in that direction. And he has. The next step is to get him a car and then off to college.

I am still sick. And what does that mean...absolutely nothing. My life goes on as if I was as good as new. Cooking, cleaning, wash, etc....Yesterday as I was starting to feel a little better my son J. wanted to go car shopping so I gather all the kids plus a friend of J's and off we went to about 5 dealerships. Yes I am paying for it today. I feel worse. But being a mother I felt guilty cause he was turing 18 and the deal was when he turned 18 he could purchase a car/truck. So he wanted to go shopping. Now he is not a kind of kid who asks for a whole lot so I couldn't say no. At least the sun was shinning which made it a really nice day.

The job was offered to me. I did accept. I start on Thursday the 18th to fill out all the paper work and to discuss benefits and stuff. I hope this works out. Since it is a not-for-profit company they have their fiscal year end June 30 and my mom and dad have scheduled a family cruise for June 28-July 1. I will need June 28,and 29 off for the cruise. I hope we can work something out. I would hate to loose this job because of that. Oh well only time will tell.

Here it is Tuesday...

2007-01-09T21:57:00.000-05:00

Well my van is still broke...it will be done by Thursday. They had to order parts and finally they came in today. And while they had it I decided to have them do other stuff to it too.

My daughter came in today for a week. It is really nice having her here. they only bad part is that I have been sick and by the end of the day I am ready to crash.

I still haven't heard from my job interview. I am not really worried about it though and they did say that they would call by the end of the week and it is only Tuesday.

My son J. still hasn't heard from any of his applications yet either. He really wants to get a new vehicle and I do too but he really needs a job. His father (my ex) said that he would send some money to be put towards his new vehicle. Hope it gets here soon. He is in Iraq right now.

My other son N. found his phone. At last one good thing that has happened.

The hot tub is all fixed and the husband was in it tonight. That made him a very happy camper. that makes two good things that has happened. YEA!!! :-)

Nothing else left to say but Good night.

Saturday...

2007-01-06T22:02:00.000-05:00

My interview on Friday went well. They seemed very nice and the job seemed like something I definitely could do and will like. They will call by the end of the week. I am not getting my hopes up and I am just letting it go. The way my luck has been lately if I really wanted it I won't get it. My van on the other had is still broke. They had to order parts and the auto place said not to expect it before Wednesday so I still have my rent a car. After all these expenses I will need two jobs to pay for it all.

My son J. is still looking for a job. We are getting desperate now cause if I go to work I am not sure how we are going to work out the car thing. His truck is still broke and if he gets a job we will junk it and get him a new one. He has applied everywhere possible with no luck. He has work at McD in TN for 14 months and the McD is hiring here and he has applied twice now and keep on going in to check on the status of his application but hasn't had any luck. I am about to go in and complain but he has to learn how to handle these things himself. And he really isn't bad at it.

Now on to my son N., who informed me on Friday after my 6th run into Fayetteville, with each run taking 1/2 hour to get there that he lost his phone again. I nicely inform him that this is the very reason that I should have stood my ground about not letting him get a cell phone until he is 16. I told him he has a week to look for it and he is still responsible to pay me the monthly charges even though he has no phone. Now we do have insurance on it and it will cost the deductible to replace it but he only get 2 losses a year and this his is second one (the first one was stolen) in 3 months. After two claims in 12 months they drop the insurance and then he will be SOL.

Today was a good day....finally....I got a good night sleep the night before. Slept for 12 hours. I think I just about had it with everything going on that my body just gave out on me. But today we woke up and went to breakfast and then got much needed paper work done on the move came home and just sat together and relaxed. Almost forgot what the word means. I think I should be able to relax. My kids are all older and self sufficient and two out of three of them drive now. So that should give me more me time...hahaha....If only life was that simple.

Where do I begin...

2007-01-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

I don't know where do I begin...I started the day off good. I asked the boys to get up early so I can take them to school because I had my interview today at 10am. While I was waiting for them I took the trash to the curb. And again I pulled my back out. I really need a new trash can...one with wheels. But anyway they were ready by 7:15 which was really good and we were off. We get in my car and put the heat on which hasn't been working for a couple of days now. Again nothing but out of habit I still put it on. We get about 10 minutes into our 1/2 hour ride and I started seeing smoke coming out of the hood. Now I am thinking oh no not today. I pull into a gas station and turn off the engine and open the hood and all this brown stuff just leaked on the ground. I knew I was doomed. I called my husband on his cell and work phone and left messages on both. Now as I have stated before, I am taking the kids to school because J. truck is broke. It needs brakes and we are not sure if we want to put the money into the old thing. So it is sitting in the driveway until we make a decision and since my van just broke I guess the answer will be no. Again I called my husband with no luck on reaching him. My son J. got a ride to school with a friend but there wasn't enough room for my other son N. so he came with me.

So I called roadside assistance (through Cingular) and they took all my information and told me it would be 45 minutes to an hour. Yes it took the hour. I called to cancel my interview and set it up for another day. Great first impression. I get it towed to the Ford dealership and once there the lady told me she could give us a courtesy ride home but the lady wasn't there with the van yet so I had to wait in the lounge for her. I waited about 1/2 before I decided to take the dealership up on their offer to extend a special rate on renting a car. So she called the rent a car place and finally someone came within 15 minutes and she took me back to fill out all the paperwork on the rent a car. Again I am thinking, can this day get any worse...So now I have a rent a car, a new time for my interview tomorrow and I guess we will try to do this all over again without all the problems. I am trying to keep a positive attitude on this, but it is hard since 2007 is starting off where 2006 left off.

It's a new Year....

2007-01-02T17:39:00.000-05:00

So, it's a new year...hopefully this one will be better than last one. I hope all had a nice time. Didn't do anything for New Year's Eve. Kinda wish I did but I really not into the bar thing. Next year we are thinking about just getting a hotel room on the beach. Should be fun. The boys were home too. Last year we went bowling cause the husband was deployed and it gave the boys something to do. But this year I didn't want J. out driving so he just chilled out. We did take the tree down and all the decorations. After a while they start to get on my nerves. I got to dust and clean up all the needles and stuff.

The boys went back to school today. Husband had off complements of President Bush for the death of Ford. But tomorrow everything will be back to normal. Except for hubby's friend will will be leaving for 6 months to Iraq. I know he will miss him.

Tomorrow I will have to call on the hot tub plug and start getting the HHG claim together. I will need estimates and pictures off all the damage. Sometimes I think it is more trouble than its worth but in the long run it is all worth it. I also have my interview on Thursday. So wish me luck.

Last post of the year...maybe...

2006-12-30T23:16:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that 2006 is almost over. Where did it go. I remember when I was a kid and the time would go by really slow and now that I am an adult it seems to fly by. Looking back on 2006 almost seems like a blurr. We started the year off with the husband being deployed until April. When he came home he finally bought a new truck, which he needed so badly. Then in June we found out that we were PCS to Ft. Bragg from Ft. Campbell. We also found out that our dog Max had cancer. We put him down right before he had to report by August 20th which didn't really give us too much time to get ready to go. The house went up for sale, we took a house hunting trip to North Carolina in July, and by August 17th we were off to our new location. I registered the boys in school while we lived in a hotel for 2 months until we found a house to buy and closed Nov 1st and got our HHG Nov 6th. We did manage to have our first Thanksgiving and Christmas in our new house and here it is the end of December already and the start of a new year is right around the corner. So I ask where did this year go?

So do I dare make a new years resolution? I could stand to loose a couple of pounds,(living in a hotel does not make for a good eating situation) make some new friends, start my workouts again, (I sure do miss them), try to be more patient and understanding, get my last two rooms organized, boy this sounds more like a to do list which I have many of.

I can say that I do miss my old friends, especially the ones from Ft. Drum. I really didn't get to spend a lot of time at Ft. Campbell, only two years compared to Drum which was 11 years. I made some great friends that I still keep in contact with. I especially made some great friends from the PBS TV station that I worked at. As much as I complained about it I really had some fun times and great memories.

So I guess my new years resolution would be to make some more great memories.

May hope, love, and warmth be in your heart’s possessing, and may the New Year bring you and yours many blessings.
Happy New Year 2007.

Added some pictures

2006-12-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

First, I like to say that the EAGLES won and have clinch a spot in the playoffs. Second, I have added some pictures to some old posts that I have already posted. Yes I know I should add them as I am posting but I didn't. I added some of the boys at Christmas, the new dog Sa-Mi and Buddy, the Charlie Brown tree, my son N. birthday, the front of the house and one of me and my daughter when she came to visit me. I will try to be better at adding the pictures as I do the post.

Christmas Day...

2006-12-25T16:13:00.000-05:00

N. is on the left
J. is on the right

So far today has been a very relaxing day. Except for all the rain today. The boys didn't get up until 10am and then we opened gifts. They acted surprised just for me. Actually they knew everything that they got. I did get a gift that I didn't know about. It was a Harley bear with a stocking attached and inside the stocking was a pair of Harley earings. I was really surprised since I already got Sami the dog for Christmas. All in all it has been a very nice couple of days.

Last night we all including the husband went to church. The church kids were really cute as they put on their play for all of us. Yes it was really crowded but that is to be expected. After that we came home and had some snacks and just hung around in our PJ.

So lets see Santa brought the kids cloths, husband got a cordless drill and a new helmet, can't wait to go riding, I got a dog and earings. Husband made a really nice dinner with turkey and ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn and muffins. We had pumpkin and apple pie and now I am going to sit down and watch the Eagles beat the cowboys....GO EAGLES......

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas....

Friday before Christmas...

2006-12-22T20:41:00.000-05:00

Here is it Friday before Christmas. I have to admit that things around here have been pretty good for the last two days. After the blow up on Wednesday, I think he knew that I had had it. I started looking for places to rent. Actually that is pretty funny since I don't have a job yet. But I have to say that I was called the other day for an interview. I don't want to go into details just yet. I was really surprised since I sent my one and only resume out about two weeks ago and thought that it was just trashed. The interview is not until the beginning of the year which is fine with me. It will give me time to finish up some stuff I need to do around here.

It's been raining here all day long. I had some last minute stuff to do...or should I say my husband had some last minute stuff for me to do and then we met for a nice lunch. I have to say it is really nice that the kids are older. I do miss some of the excitement that goes along with the belief of Santa...but it was so nice to go and just have them get stuff that they wanted and be done with the mad rush of Christmas. This has got to be one of the easiest Christmas yet.

Christmas is really not one of my favorite holidays. It is so rushed and people get so cranky. The whole meaning is lost. I am always a Grinch during this time of year. But it's kinda of funny with this move and all the stuff that had to be done I really didn't have time to be a Grinch. So here it is the Friday before Christmas and all is done...the food is bought, the gift bought and wrapped and under the tree, the house is clean, the cookies are made, the stocking are stuffed and hung by the chiming with care in hope that St. Nicholas soon will be here.

So as the big guy in the red suit says....Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Wednesday...

2006-12-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

The Christmas vacation started for the boys. One is still sleeping. Teenagers, must be nice. The other one is on his computer chatting away. Me I am taking a timeout from cleaning, filing, and doing wash to post this blog.

Things here are still very stressed. Husband and I got into a hugh fight the other night. I am walking on eggs shells not knowing what will set him off. I don't know how much more I can take. I am trying to be so patient because I know most of it is from his job but I am getting really tired of being the sounding board and taking all the crap.

I can't believe this weather. I know how much I have complained about the snow when we were at Ft. Drum but sometimes I really miss not having a white Christmas and I know the boys really miss not being able to go skiing.

We finally got our tree on Friday. Not the tree I would have picked out. I just wanted a very special one since this is the first Christmas in three years that husband is home but we went to a couple of places and they were closed and ended up at Wal-Mart for our Christmas tree. And yes it looks like a Charlie Brown tree. He likes it cause it was small and cheap. I don't like it cause it was a little too small and all the pine needles are already falling off. Just one more thing to disagree about I guess.

Well I hope all my readers have a very Happy, Healthy, Safe Holiday Season and New Year.

As time goes by..

2006-12-14T17:21:00.000-05:00

Here it is Thursday already and today is my youngest son N. birthday. He is 15 years old. Wow, I can't believe it. I took him shopping the other night and he picked up a couple of things and he wanted the rest in money. We will have a cake tonight and sing. He is really turning into such a nice young man.

Husband S. came home a night early. I was so looking forward to the last night by myself to enjoy but he left and was home by 6pm. We actually sat and watch a TV show together..The biggest Loser...how appropriate. Actually it was very nice. He did called a couple of time while he was away which was nice. It has been so distant here. We are on different pages of the book. But I have to say at least we are still in the same book. But this morning was a different story. He started up all over again. How much he hates his job, how he has no free time, how much he has to do and nobody to help him. I am so sick of it. Oh poor him.....Deal with it and get on with your life. The other night I told him to quit his job if he hated it that much of course he had to complain about that too. Who is going to pay the bills, I don't want to loose my retirement and benefits. Well then stop complaining. OK enough of that.

On a good note....I passed my written test today. I was down to number 25 with 5 wrong and had to answer that one correct or I would have failed again. And believe me it was a lucky guess. It was some question about the suspension of the car. Like I even know what that is. That is why they have car shops so they can tell me what is wrong with my car. I went there looking a mess. I decided not to fix my hair thinking that it would give me good luck since I would have to take a picture with messy hair and it worked.

I have the guy coming tomorrow to mark the lines for the hot tub to be hooked up. Soon he will have his hot tub again and that should make him happy. I feel so guilty. This is the first Christmas with him home in three years and I am wishing he was away. All of these deployments, TDY trips and PCS without me sure does take a toll on a marriage. But I have to be positive on this cause I really do want it to work out. And I know marriage is hard work some time it is harder than other time and this is one of those time.

Ok, now I really feel guilty...I stopped at the store to get some cards and thought I would pick one up for my husband so when he got home tonight it would be there. We used to get each other cards all the time. I really miss that. So he opened his card and I was in the bedroom and there was a card for me on my pillow. I guess sometimes we are on the same page.

Wow, it's Saturday already...

2006-12-09T22:35:00.000-05:00

Buddy....is on the left
Sa-Mi....is below

Ok, where do I begin...yes the dryer was still broke...not really sure if it is fix yet since I did all the wash with it still broke. It took two cycles to dry the cloths. I called on Wednesday and he came Thursday around 10:30. Of course my husband decided to not go into work that day. We were going to go to lunch but didn't get the chance cause we had to wait for the dryer to get fixed. That was also my last resort. If it didn't get fixed I was going to go buy a new one. So after the dryer guy left he wanted to go for a ride.

We get in the truck and start driving. To my surprise we end up at FAPS (Fayetteville Animal Protection Society) to get another dog. That is what I asked for for Christmas. We sadly had to put our Max, who was only 6 years old, down because he had cancer right before we moved. There were so many dogs there. No puppies at all. We were there for about 3 hours. We ended up with a cute little Collie mix male dog. He is only 11 months old and was born on Christmas. His name is Sa-Mi (Sammy). I was a little worried about Buddy (our Shephard mix). But so far so good. He has really adjusted very well. The girls at the FAPS called him crazy Sa-mi cause he has so much energy. But he is still a puppy yet and Buddy has been playing with him which is a very good thing.

Thursday night my husband went to pick up the bike. Of course, as our luck would have it, it didn't start. So he stayed there to charge it. On Friday, my husband went into work for a little while. He was home by lunch so we had our lunch a day late. It was nice. He went and got the bike and it started so he drove it home. He started packing to go on his TDY trip and he packed his notebook but forgot that he was locked out of it. Me and my big mouth asked him if he was able to get into it and of course all hell broke loose and we had a big fight. So on our last night together I slept on the couch. When I woke up I took him to get his rental car and of course the manager was late getting there and we had to sit in the truch much longer than I planned but as fate would have it we ended up talking and it was really nice. Then we said our goodbuys and off he went. I have to say I really needed this brake from him. We have not been together this long (9 months) in the whole 12 years we have been together. He is either deployed or TDY or PCS somewhere. So I think this week apart will really be a help for both of us. It has been such a stree free day. The boys and I went to church tonight, we hit the mall, we got pizza and all ate at the table and just enjoyed the day.

Tomorrow I start my list of things to do with raking all the leaves in the front yard. But for today I am going to enjoy my last couple of hours laying on the couch with the dogs, reading a book, watching some TV and enjoying life.

It's Wednesday already...

2006-12-06T11:54:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a couple of days. Things here are crazy one minute and sane the next. I have been trying to get my husbands hot tub hooked up. This has become a major nightmare. Who would think that it would be so hard to run an electrical line to the hot tub, but it is. I had everyone mark out their lines but no one marked to the well, which runs on electricity. So I called back and they said that they didn't run the line to the well and can't mark it. So now I have to hire a private contractor to find and mark the lines and I can't find one in the area that I live in. So who ever I hire has to drive about 2 hours to do a 5 minute job. But hopefully when my husband returns from his TDY trip next week most of it will be done.

I had to have the gas man back to fix my dryer. He was supposed to come yesterday afternoon and at 5:30 (which I consider evening not afternoon) he called to ask me if he could come today instead. He did show up on time today and ordered the part and said he will be back tomorrow morning to install it. I will keep my fingers crossed. I did manage to do my boys wash and it only took me 5 hours to do two loads. Not bad huh...

I sent out a resume today. I promised my husband that I wouldn't do that until all the work was done in the house and all the paper work was complete. But I have to say that all the unpacking is all done but it is not all put away. The job sounded too good to pass up. So will see what happens. I can always say no if it is not what I am looking for.

My dad had surgery on his knee yesterday morning. They found that is was worse than they thought. He will be in therapy for 4 weeks not 2 now, which means he will not be at home for Christmas. But he will only be about 15 minutes away so my mom can go and visit all the time.

Things for the past couple of days have been good. I never know what husband is going to show up and with me being at home and not being able to do the things I love to do...workout, tan and have a job...it can get somewhat tense around here. So I am trying my best to keep my mouth shut on some stuff and be thankful that I have a husband home this year for the holidays.

Sunday...

2006-12-03T23:55:00.000-05:00

My daughter left today to go back to school in Kentucky. My son is home from his trip to Washington D.C. My husband is drunk and asleep in bed. I am sitting here on the computer again and my virus scan just told me that I have a virus which is in quartine. My dad fell off a ladder and is in the hospital with a shattered knee and a broken elbow. He will need surgery on Monday. My van needs to go in the shop cause my brakes are making a grinding noise. My dryer is not heating up so the gas man is coming back on Tuesday to fix it again. The men who came to mark all the underground lines need to come back cause they didn't mark all of them. My earing hole got infected so I took the earing out and now it is closed up. It was a crapy day outside and ended up raining. And there is only 21 more shopping days until Christmas and I haven't started a thing.

On the bright side...my dining room and living room are all unpacked and put away. Now I have room for our tree and I can start decorating. I get my hair cut and dyed tomorrow. Everyone is healthy and no one has gotten sick. Touch wood. I woke up without a headache today. This is a first in a long time. My daughter made it home ok. My son made it back home from his trip to DC ok. My husband didn't brake anything tonight. My dad is off the pain meds so he is feeling a little better. My husband is off for the week so it won't be an inconvience being without my van. The men who came out to mark our underground lines came out last time really fast so hopefully they will come out again fast. And the gas man asked me to call him on Monday to remind him to come out to fix my dryer so hopefully he won't forget in a day and I will be washing and drying cloths again. My ear doesn't hurt anymore so I guess it just wasn't meant to be pierced in that spot. And I did get to watch football all day long.

Friday already

2006-12-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

Here it is Friday already. My daughter came in early yesterday around and my carpet was also installed. But my husband was in such a bad mood that it took away from anything good that happened. First he went to a clinic to get his meds for BP cause I couldn't find him a doctor who would take him any earlier that January. And I also tried to have his old doctor call in an RX but he couldn't cause we were out of state. So he ended up going to a clinic which he waited 4 hours to see a PA. He finally gets in and when he was ready to leave they charge him $95.00. Why I don't know cause the clinic is on our preferred list. So it should have been only $20.00. So today I was on the phone trying to find out why. I called our heath care provider and they said he should have paid $30.00 so I called the clinic and they said that they overcharged him. Hum...and they are a clinic. Then he went to get his license. Again he had to wait finally he got it but he had to go back today to take a test for the motorcycle part of it. So he is the only one right now with a NC license. Then off to work...why I don't know cause he is on vacation until December 9th. He gets into work and there are 75 emails waiting for him. He has only been gone one day. So after all that excitement he was not a happy camper and ended up getting drunk.

So now it is Friday and my daughter and I go and take our drivers test. The first two parts were easy. They were the eye test and the sign test. I did miss two signs cause you are supposed to tell them what they are and what they mean and two were blank. So I didn't know what they were supposed to be. Then off to the written test (which is now on a computer). We sit down put on the head phone and start choosing the answers. I got the first 12 out of 25 right and then it was all down hill from there. I got 6 wrong in the next 13 and you can only get 5 wrong altogether. So yes my daughter and I both failed. We actually laughed about some of the questions and it was fun to laugh. Thank goodness they give you back your old license. The examiner said I can come back once a day. I am going to need a lot of days for this. Not one question on DWI, or seat belts, or speed limits, or driving with your lights on when it rains. I did get questions on how long you loose your license for this and that. So I guess I will be going back on Monday but my daughter just might get her license from KY where she goes to school at.

We did have a nice day. We drove around and I showed her the area. We went to the mall and I showed her where some of the schools were. We had a nice lunch. And after all that driving around my van starts making funny noises. This was after my oil light came on and I was a quirt low on oil so I got an oil change now I thing my brakes are going out so on Monday we are going to drop it off at the Ford place to have it checked out.

My son J. is on a field trip to Washington D.C. this weekend. I hope he is having fun. My dog got away tonight. I dropped my husband off at a friends house with the dog and he got away from them and chased me down the street. I didn't think he wanted to stay there but my husband can be hard headed and made the dog stay. I guess he didn't want to stay with two drunks. Well so much for my exciting two days. I still have one more day with my daughter so I hope it will be a good one. I am going to miss her when she leaves.

Another day

2006-11-29T18:34:00.000-05:00

Boy, sometimes days just seem to run together. I ended Monday with all those annoying mishaps and it started right up on Tuesday. But at least it wasn't as bad. My poor son J., we keep on praying that his truck will last until the end of January...well we just had to replace the steering pump. We just got the battery charged and he was able to drive to school on Tuesday and he came home and said that the steering keeps going out on him when he turns so my poor husband S. gets behind the wheel and takes it for a test drive and sure enough the steering is going. My husband thinks my son J. is like me and tends to exaggerate when it comes to stuff wrong with the car. For example I will be driving down the road and the car will start making a funny noise and of course when he drives it, it sounds fine. But anyway....when I got up this morning to take him to school, I found out that my husband has taken some vacation time and will be off until next Friday...nice communication... so my son ended up taking the mommy van (as I call it) to school and we went and got his truck fixed.

Also got the toilet fixed and the shower...YEA!!!...I also got to call an electrician to get the cord and plug going on the hot tub. So things are looking up on that end. I know my husband S. really misses the hot tub. He used to come home after work and by 9pm faithfully he would be in the hot tub.

My daughter will be coming in tomorrow. And on Friday we go and take our test for our license so I need some luck. I am a little nervous cause I am not sure if I will remember everything and I don't want to loose my license.

We are closing on our old house in Tennessee on Friday. I am a little sad cause I really loved that house and I probably won't get a house like that again. Don't get me wrong, I like my house that I have now but it is just an ordinary house. The house in Tennessee was not ordinary. And that is why I love it. But maybe after we retire we can build a house or find one like it. One can only hope and wish.....

Those annoying little mishaps...

2006-11-28T08:21:00.000-05:00

OK, so Monday started off as any other Monday would...of course my husband couldn't sleep at all Sunday night, that is the norm. His mind just will not shut off, thinking about all the things he needs to do at work. He needs to learn to de-stress. Anyway...he leaves for work about 6am. Now I can't get back to sleep so I get up and start straightening up the house. I have a lot of running to do today so I thought I would get a head start on things...wrong... My sons get up and get ready to leave for school...a little background on the school. I did not switch them when we moved so the school is a 1/2 hour away. He gets in his truck, yes it is old, and it doesn't start. So now he comes into the house and I have to get dressed to take them to school. While I was on that side of town I thought I would try to get some of my running done. I did manage to get most of it done so I was happy about that.

First I picked up the receipts from the realtor that the seller had fixed in the house. Then I had to stop at the bank cause our new mortgage payment is wrong. (Not too happy with this bank). Had to wait 20 minutes since the bank was not open yet but it was better than going all the way home and then back again. But I didn't have all my paper work so I did end up going home and coming back again. She did try her best but I ended up calling everyone that worked on our mortgage and finally got it all fixed.

On the way home I had to stop at the DMV to pick up a book to study for the written test. Yes I have to take a test. I guess it is the rules of the state. So since my daughter is coming here on Friday to take her test and get her new plates I will take mine too and hopefully I will pass cause if I don't I guess I won't be able to drive. Oh the stress....

Then I had to register at our new church. She was very nice but talked my ear off. I guess I didn't help any either since I love to talk and will talk to anyone who will listen to me.

Then back to the bank again. Finally I was home took a shower and waited for the well man to come. This is my first experience with well water. Always a first for something. He came and did his yearly clean up and added some bleach to clean out the tanks. So when I got home from picking up the boys (cause his truck didn't start) I had to flush out the water in all the sinks and stuff. So the water was running in all rooms. As I went to turn the water on in our shower, I broke the on/off knob. So I couldn't turn it on.

So now my husband gets home from work at 6pm, and jumps my son's truck and yea it turned over so I guess it was the battery. He let it charge for a while and it seems OK. Yes it did start this morning and so far no phone calls. Then before he even gets changed from his dress cloths I have to tell him that I broke the handle in our shower. Yes he fixes it. So now I can turn the water on. Of course it splashed up on me and now one of my favorite sweatshirts is bleached. I should have know better.

Finally he decides to go to bed. I watch some more TV and then off to bed. One last flush of all the toilets and I brake the handle on our toilet in our bedroom. So I had to open the lid and pull the handle from the inside to flush it. Thank goodness we have the 1/2 bath not too far away in case. No I did not wake him but I did tell him this morning.

Hopefully today will to a little smother. I have some phone calls to made and then off to a school meeting for my son N. No nothing bad this time.

Today is my daughter's birthday...

2006-11-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe that 20 years ago I was in the hospital delivering my first child, a baby girl. She was born at 6:07 pm and was 8 lbs and 20 inches long. Sometimes it feels like yesterday that is happened but other times it really does feel like 20 years have gone by. She has been such a joy to have as a daughter. She has grown into such a young women. She is smart, beautiful, and independent. She has a wonderful personality too. Today she is in her second year of college, living in her own apartment and working a part time job. I am so very proud of her.

As a child she was involved in almost everything...from soccer, basketball, baseball, cheerleading, brownies and then girl scouts. She was such a big help when her brothers came alone. I am so blessed that she came into my life.

Thankful for...

2006-11-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day...first this is my husbands first Thanksgiving home with us in three years. I so much enjoyed this day with him. He did all the cooking and everything was so great. We had ham, turkey, stuffing, yams, real mash potatoes, corn and dinner rolls. We had our first Thanksgiving in our new house and the only thing that would have made my day perfect was if my daughter would have been here too. Thank you.

Second we finally sold our house in Tennessee. After being on the market since July and numerous price drops we finally sold it. I really hate to see that house go cause it was so perfect but we will make this house a perfect one too. Thank you.

Third all of my family seems to be doing well. Some are getting up in age and I do worry about them but after calling all of them this morning all seem well. Thank you.

So today I am thankful that God has blessed me with my husband, my children, food on my table, a roof over my head, family and friends, and my pet. Thank you for all that you do and for all that I have, I am truly blessed.

Is it ever going to stop....RAINING

2006-11-22T10:05:00.000-05:00

Ok, It has been raining for the past three days now. And since I still don't have a fence that is finished I have to walk the dog in the rain. But on the bright side I was able to come in from the rain and put all my soaking wet cloths in the dryer. It has been raining so much that I had to go move the furniture that is down near the lake up to higher ground. The water is so high that it is about to come over the dam and into the other smaller lake. It has already flooded on the other side. At least the hot tub is up on a platform. I could have never survive 40 days and 40 nights of this.

Today was a better day...

2006-11-21T22:02:00.000-05:00

Today was a better day. The gas man came and hooked up my dryer. At first I thought it was going to be a day like yesterday. In order to hook up my dryer to the gas line the dryer vent had to be rerouted to another spot. He suggested to run it under the house and out to the back yard. My dryer vent was venting into my garage right next to my gas hot water heater where there is flame. Hum....It makes you wonder how in the world the builders got away with that one during inspection. Well anyway the gas man had to re-route the line. They went under the house to assess the situation and ran right into a wall under the laundry room. So the only way to hook up the dryer to the vent was to have the vent on the side of the dryer and you can see it instead of it being behind the dryer where it would be hidden. At this point I really didn't care and all I wanted was my dryer to work so I don't have to go to the Laundromat any more. So now I have a working dryer and tomorrow my washer will be hooked up and away I go doing laundry. Yea...

My son's N. Monitor came today too so he is a very happy camper. Also got my carpet ordered. Now I just have to go pay for it and they will come out in a couple of days to install it.

I also got to clean my house (my son N. did the upstairs for me last night) for our Thanksgiving guests. Now I just have to tomorrow is go to the bank cause they got our mortgage payment wrong in the new book they sent us and straighten that out, pay for the carpet, office depot for my son's J. ink and a bigger antenna for the wireless system, and the rest of the food for turkey day. I just hope I can get though that without any problems.

Wish you all a very Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving Day.

One of those days...

2006-11-20T16:57:00.000-05:00

I am having just one of those days where nothing is going right. I am trying to keep a positive attitude but some how it just isn't working. Lets start with the little things...I forgot to put the trash out last night so I woke up this morning running around collecting the trash. Got that out to the curb. Check my email nothing new there. Check the blogs and got a cup of coffee.

I grab my phone and called the gas man who is supposed to install my dryer. He said he was coming tomorrow. I ask why he didn't call me to let me know. He couldn't find my number. I have called him three times and left messages with my phone number. Then I called the fence guy, I guess he doesn't know how to use the phone to call me back because I still haven't heard from him yet. Is it that hard to call me back with a date when you are going to finish my fence?

So I figured I would take a nice hot shower and as soon as I got out my cell phone rings. Its my oldest son J. calling me to tell me that my youngest son N. got his brand new not even one month old cell phone stolen at school. Now this is not the first time he has been robbed in gym class. Last month his wallet was stolen with his lunch money, his ATM card and his ID in it. I had to go a replace all of that. Now his cell phone. To say the least I was a bit pissed off. So off to school I went. And of course they can't do a thing. I suggested that maybe they should have check each kid before they left gym but it was a substitute teacher. So then I asked if she not know the rules and regulations of the school because as a parent I have to know them and sign a paper at the beginning of school saying that I read them. So I signed both of the boys out of school and we left.

Then it was off to Lowes to see about switching carpet. The guy who came and measured on Saturday said the carpet I picked out wasn't really that good and they have better stuff for the same price. So I get there and tell them what I am doing and while we were doing the wash (because I still don't have the washer and dryer hooked up yet) Lowes' calls me and asked me when we wanted our carpet installed? I said I just left there and I was switching carpet and I had to match the color with the two samples that I brought home. Maybe I was the only one in that conversation.

Then as I was talking to my daughter S. my cell rings it is the realtor from Tennessee, we are still trying to sell our house. The relo company's offer expires November 30 but my husband and I decided not to wait any longer since it has been on the market since July and we have been making mortgage payments on a house we no longer live in. So today he turns in the paper work to accept their offer and the realtor calls to tell me that someone made an offer on our house. Where was this offer last week? Oh well I said too late. And to top it off her offer was lower than the offer the relo company offered us. And she wants us to pay all closing cost and all repairs. As far as I am concerned the house was only lived in for two years and all repairs were done by us with the last inspection.

So now I am home...safe and sound....and this day is almost over so really not much more can happen today. And if one more thing goes wrong it is off to bed for the night. Things will get better tomorrow. Ok that was my positive thought for the day. The end.

Sunday..

2006-11-19T12:02:00.000-05:00

Well it it Sunday here. We met our new neighbor to the right of us. He seems really nice. So far our weekend has been so relaxing and calm. So different from when we were stuck in the hotel. I am so glad that we are out of there.

My husband and I went shopping for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. This will be the first Thanksgiving he will be home in three years. Too bad my daughter won't be with us. She will come to see us the week after so I guess we will have Thanksgiving all over again. We will also have friends over this year too. This is something that hasn't happened in like forever. So I am excited about that.

Still waiting for the fence to be finished and the dryer to be hooked up. Hopefully that will be done before Thanksgiving but I don't want to get my hopes up. I would love to be able to do wash in my own house and not have to get up at 6am to walk the dog. And once the fence is up we can start to look for another dog since we had to but our Max down before we moved.

I just love Sundays. The sun is shinning and I am about to go watch some football and maybe order a pizza. Sounds like a plan to me.

Here we go again...

2006-11-15T08:01:00.000-05:00

I started this blog yesterday but lost everything...so here we go again. This moving is for the birds...I hope we get to stay here for a while as I don't want to do this again. We did manage to stay at Ft. Drum for 11 years but my husband did do two unaccompanied tours to Korea to keep us there.

So it's Wednesday, not any different from Tuesday or Thursday..I will be going to the Laundromat again to do the wash. I did have the gas man here yesterday and he will be able to hook up my dryer hopefully by the end of the week so maybe I will have only one more trip. Yesterday was a fun day..I sat and waited for the fence guy ( who never showed up), the Salvation Army truck which showed up at 1pm, and the cable guy, the gas man and the electric man who showed up all at the same time at 4:30 ish. Not that I don't mind waiting at home all day hum....no comment...

So what is my day like today...lets see get up...shower...dressed...laundry...call the electric man back again and hopefully the fence guys will show up...also go to Lowes for the carpet. Then when the boys get home, drop off J. applications for jobs, and try to get his computer fixed. He can't remember his password. That's my son for ya...you gotta love them.

It's been a while

2006-11-11T12:41:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a while...first off my youngest son locked me out of the computer I was using in October. So I had to wait until we finally moved into our house and found my computer to get back online. That took so long. We settled on November 1st but did not receive out HHG until November 6th. What a nightmare...but we are slowly getting all unpacked and finding stuff. All the TV are hooked up with cable and my computer has been hooked up. Of course with any move there were some broken items. My son's N. computer screen and my son's J. desk so we were off trying to replace them. My computer also broke but Dell got me back up and running.

The house is nice. Not as big as the one we left in Tennessee but big enough for what we need. There are 4 bedrooms and a bonus room and 2 full and 2 half baths. It is almost 2700 square feet. But there are boxes everwhere and the kitchen is smaller and we are having a hard time finding spots for all the junk we have. It is amazing what you find when you start to unpack it all. So far the bedrooms are all unpacked, so is the kitchen, dinning room, living room and baths all that is left is the bonus room. The garage is getting there and we can actually walk around it. Well so much for this post...I will be back when I have more free time. Off to do more unpacking.

Friday night

2006-10-27T22:33:00.000-04:00

Well today is Friday and we only have 5 more days until we are homeowners again. I am trying to hold my excitement to a minimum. Being married to a person who works for the Army, I learned early on that you don't get excited until it happens. Anything can change at any time. I really wanted to be in the house before Halloween but that isn't going to happen. The boys are old enough so I will just go buy them some candy instead.

I called and made an appointment for the cable and internet to be hooked up the day after household goods are delivered which is not until Monday November 6th. Can't be without TV and internet for too long and it will give us the weekend to do any upgrades to the house that we seem fit. There really isn't much I need to do to move in. We will need a fence for the dog and I would love to paint the kitchen which is pink right now. Not my favorite color but if that doesn't happen I will not be too heart broken. The kitchen is probably the least favorite room in the house any way since I really don't like to cook and don't do too much of it. But I am excited with this house. It isn't as big as the house in Tennessee but it is big enough for everyone to have their own space. The kids bedrooms are all upstairs and they have 1 full bath and 1 half bath to share. Our bedroom is down stairs and I love it cause we get some privacy being away from the kids. They have the whole upstairs as their own. Ok, so I am getting excited...

Today is a better day...

2006-10-24T14:37:00.000-04:00

OK, so today is a better day and after venting yesterday I feel a lot better and realize that things could be a lot worse. The sun was shinning today, my kids are semi happy and healthy, I have my dog with me in the hotel on this PCS and the best of all even though my husband is stressed out and seems far away he is here with me and not deployed. We will soon be in our new home on November 1st and I will be off looking for a new job. Soon things should start getting into a normal mode. Now if I could just win the lottery...hehehe...ok so I can still wish and dream big. I just need to keep a positive attitude. Sometimes it is so hard when you are always fighting to get things done but I know it is a hard time for everyone with this war going on. So my goal for today is to take things in stride and don't sweat the small stuff.

If it could go wrong it will....

2006-10-24T00:26:00.000-04:00

Today I am frustrated. My husband is stressed to the max with his new position and I am still stuck in a hotel. We should have been in our house already but the first house that we picked and made an offer and was accepted fell through. The seller breached the contract. So we had to start the process all over again. We did find another house and made an offer but we can't get into it until November 1st. So because of the first sellers breech we ended up in the hotel for 3 more weeks.

Second, I applied for unemployment benefits from the state of Tennessee because I had to leave my job and PCSs with my husband to Ft. Bragg, but I was denied. I appealed. I receive notice today that my appeal as been denied. Apparently the state of Tennessee does not think that PCSing with your husband is a good cause for for leaving ones job. "Relocation for the purpose of accompanying a spouse, military, or civilian is regarded as a personal reason with respect to voluntary separation with the work place" is how it was worded. It is so nice to know that there is a state out there that does not support it military or government workers.

So I asked can this day get any worse yes but it's not going to...cause I am going to bed, say my prayers and another day is about to begin. So much for my inconvenient of the day. Tomorrow will be better.

My first entry

2006-10-22T23:34:00.000-04:00

Ok...I am sitting here reading blogs so I decided to create one for myself. We (my family and I, husband S., 2 boys J. and N. and dog Buddy) just PCS to North Carolina. Currently we are still living in a hotel. We have been here for about 2 months now. My husband works for the Department of the Army where he gets to deploy and gets to PCS. He now works at Ft. Bragg. We lived in Tennessee for 2 years and he worked at Ft. Campbell. Before that we got to live in Upstate NY for 11 years where he worked at Ft. Drum. He did two tours in Korea, no I did not go, but did have the pleasure of plowing all the snow during the winter..lucky me. He has already done two 4 month deployments to Iraq and I am hoping he doesn't have to go back too soon. No these are not his only deployments...he has deployed to Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and of course Iraq. I on the other hand, try to keep myself busy with 2 sons J. and N. in high school and a daughter S. in college. I hope to go back to work when we finally get settled into a normal life...