My Happy Place

Wow. It's been a while, and a lot has happened. If you read this blog because you know me from my other ones, this will be old news. But I'm going to share anyway :)

We moved. We didn't quite make it to March. We left the apartment in the middle of February, and I am so happy. The new place is great! It's a cute little double wide trailer, set up in a pretty upscale park. I hate the term "trailer park", because I always think rednecks and run down yards, old cars and lots of public intoxication. Where we are living, the are rules about stuff like that. In fact, there are rules about everything, and I love it. We don't have a very big yard, but the kids have lots of roads to ride their bikes on, and there are tons of kids in here, too. In fact, Brandi has already made a little friend, and they have been spending a lot of time together. This little girl wanders the park on her own, but I make Ryan or Kasi go with Brandi where ever she goes. I have also been walking a little bit, and boy is it hilly. My legs let me know real quick that I am not in the best of shape. Which means I need to be doing it a lot more.

It's a three bedroom house...yay...so I actually have my own bedroom. Of course, Brandi still sleeps with me, and probably will until she goes off to college. Because of his bi-pap machine, Junior sleeps by himself. Ryan and Kasi are happy with their rooms, which are bigger than what they had at the apartment. We have two full bathrooms, which is awesome. My bathroom has a huge garden tub with separate shower. The funny thing is, I have been looking forward to taking a bath for the past 18 months, but I have only been in the tub a couple of times. The kids are enjoying it, though.

Let's see...I am down 45 pounds. I know! Go me! I just hope that I can continue to lose. I went food shopping the other day for the month, and I bought a lot of healthy stuff. I have also started enforcing portion control, which the kids hate. Instead of second servings at supper time, I make them wait a while, and then have a healthy snack. I am hoping this will become the norm, instead of torture for them. And for me.

I guess that's enough for now. I will try to post here more often, but I say that all the time, and never follow through. So, how about I promise to not let a month and a half go by between now and then. Deal?

Goodbye, And Then Hello

Yesterday we said goodbye to Cindy, our therapist. Her six months with us were up, so she turned us over to Elizabeth. She has been sitting in on our last three sessions, and she seems nice enough. Very young, but that's okay. Kelsey was young, and we loved her.

It's been nice that we haven't had much to talk about...things have been pretty quiet around here. It's weeks like this that the therapists try and get Junior to talk about his past, and most of the time he will shut down. Yesterday, he talked a little about it, and I think this is the direction we will be going with Elizabeth.

It will be interesting to see how it goes...

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We went today and sorta did our taxes. They are all filled out, but can not be filed until I get my tax paper from Izea. I am hoping it won't be too much longer. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount we are getting back. This is the first year in a while that I have had an income, and I didn't pay any taxes on it through the year, so I knew I would have to pay now. It didn't really make a difference, though, because we still qualified for earned income credit and some other kid tax.

I am just happy that it is enough for us to pay those we owe money too, move, and get Ryan and I laptops. And, if I save the receipt for the laptop, I can claim it as a deduction next year. In fact, the lady who prepared our taxes deducted my yearly cost of internet because I use it to work.

Pretty cool, right?

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I am still holding steady at 42 pounds down. I have been eating poorly lately, so I am not surprised that I am not losing. I have already warned the entire family that once we get settled into the new place, we are all going on a diet.

Every. Single. One. Of. Us.

Wish me luck! lol!

Therapy, Moving Mom, and Swimming

Therapy Wednesday...the first time in six weeks.

The funny thing is, nothing has happened that is worth talking about.

And that is a really good thing. The only bad thing is that Junior sees this as a reason to quit going. I think that's a bad idea. I know nothing has happened lately, but he still hasn't gotten to the bottom of all his issues, and I think he needs to before he stops.

Besides, I am sure it is only a matter of time before his dad shows back up at his work. Just today Ryan was outside with him, and they saw his dad drive by our house really slow, checking things out. He thinks he's slick because he bought a new vehicle. What he forgets is that my kids bus goes by his house every day, and they are not stupid kids. They told Junior the day the new van showed up. I really don't care, but this bothers Junior that he is driving by again.

I personally think the man needs to get a life. He should be focusing on the two kids who still speak to him, and leave us the hell alone.

Just my opinion.

Anyway, I can not believe Christmas is only three weeks away. Talk about stress! Junior gets paid next week, and we have to shop for all the kids out of that. I am hoping to put off a few bills, but there are some that need to be paid. I have accepted the fact that the kids will be disappointed, but I know my mom is getting them the big things they asked for, so I know they will be happy about that. Somehow Brandi talked her into getting her a hamster, which we all know will become my responsibility. It's a good thing I have experience in this area.

My mom is moving this weekend, which should be fun. It looks like it will be my brother, Ryan and I doing all the work. Colleen can't help because she had surgery recently, and isn't fully healed. Junior has a transmission he already agreed to fix for a coworkers daughter, and Mike has to work. But, I am sure we will get it all done, and mom can start settling in to her new place. Did I mention it has an in ground pool? I will be over there all the time this summer. I love swimming, and it's been a long time since I have been in a "real" pool. Now to focus on losing some weight before wearing a bathing suit in public.

I guess that's about all for this rambling session. I know I keep promising to do better over here, but it's hard. For a stay at home mom I am so busy these days. I have a hard time finding the time to do anything. Hopefully once the new year is here, I can slow down a little.

Maybe then I won't have so many migraines.

I Need To Do This More Often

I keep forgetting to update this blog. It's not my main blog, and it gets little traffic, and I mostly use it to write about myself, and since nothing exciting ever happens in my life, I don't write much here.

What have I been up to? Let's see...I still haven't started packing, even though I have 20 or so boxes ready and waiting to be filled. I am hoping to get motivated this weekend, when the kids are home to help. I especially want to do Ryan's room, because his party is next friday, and I want the kids to be able to go in there and not get lost. Yes, it is that messy.

Speaking of Ryan's party...I am still trying to figure out the menu. I want to do chips and finger foods, and I have a few I do every year, but I want something different. I need to look around online to see what I can find. I just need to find the time to do it. My mom called last night, making sure I wanted her to do the cake. She won't tell me what she has planned, but I am sure it will be amazing. I am going to make a few little pumpkin cakes using the pan I bought, too, just to make sure there is enough.

I need to get a grocery list together, too. Our first month back on food stamps kicks in on Saturday, so we are going to get all the party food, and the basic staples we have been doing without. Plus, Food Lion is having an awesome sale on chicken strips, and I use those all the time. Even when I but boneless skinless breasts, I always chop them down into strips. Anyway, I want to stock up on those while they are on sale.

I am still looking for work. I am debating walking down to a candle store that is literally a minutes walk from the end of my driveway. They are looking for part time work, and my friend went in to see if she could get the job, but she wasn't available the hours they are looking for. They need someone to work Thursday and Friday, from 10 until 6. They only pay minimum wage, which really doesn't make it worth it. Plus, I need the 16 and 30th of october free, and those are both Fridays. Maybe if the sign is still up in November, I will go look into it more.

Hidden Surprise

I was talking to our neighbor, Paige, this afternoon, you know, the one who I fought with over her stupid dog. The past few months she has been as nice as can be, acting as if nothing ever happened between us.

Whatever.

Anyway, we were talking today, and I asked when they were moving, because they just bought a house. She said hopefully in the next four weeks. We got to talking about what happened here yesterday with the phone guy, and she was telling me how she has had mice in her kitchen. She said every night they can hear them running around in the kitchen, and every morning the traps are full.

Gross.

Thank goodness I have the cats, who kill the mice before they can get into my side. She said a few days ago, she came home, and heard something in the cabinet, and assumed it was another mouse. (she is using sticky traps instead of the snap kind) When she opened the cabinet, she found a snake stuck on the trap! Can you imagine?

I know there are snakes around here, because we have caught a few in the minnow trap in the creek, but I didn't know they were coming up to the house. She said Josh (her boyfriend) said the snake was probably after the mice, but still. Kind of makes me a little weary.

Have I mentioned that I can not wait to move?

I asked how the mice and snake got in, and she said her kitchen sink leaks underneath, and it has rotted holes in the boards. She said when she mentioned it to our management company, they said it was something they could live with, so they weren't going to fix it. How crappy is that? I am so glad Junior fixed our plumbing problem, because I have a feeling the management company wouldn't have cared about that, either. Paige said they can not wait to get out.

Neither can we.

My Phone Problem Was Actually A Plumbing Problem

I was expecting the phone guy between 1 and 3 this afternoon. At 10 til 3, the guy still hadn't shown up. I called Charter, and asked if there was a delay. The guy on the phone looked on his computer, and said the technician had marked my order completed.

WTF?

I told him I had been here all afternoon, with my door open, and he never showed up. The guy said he would call the technician and see what was going on, and call me back. HELLO! My whole issue is that I can not receive incoming calls. I tell him this, and he tells me he'll just put me on hold.

Five minutes later he comes back and says the guy says he knocked on the CLOSED door, and left a tag on the handle. He asked if I lived in a gray duplex. I said yes, then told him to hold on while I went to see if maybe the guy went next door.

Nope.

The guy on the phone tells me to hold on again. Another five minutes and he comes back, saying the technician admitted that he wasn't sure he was at the right place, so they would sent someone else out before 5. He told me that they usually don't send someone else the same day, but because the technician admitted fault, they would.

Well, wasn't that nice of them.

The other technician shows up, and after almost an hour discovers what the problem was. The cordless phone in my bedroom is plugged into a jack that was at the head of my bed. (well, to me it's the foot because I sleep upside down on the bed...I always have...I know I'm weird...it's okay...I own it) The jack had a filter on it from the three days we had DSL when we first moved in, and that filter was laying on the carpet. The carpet was soaking wet, which made the filter soaking wet, which was shorting out my phone line.

Why was it wet, you ask? Because this apartment is a piece of shit.

The duplex was build on a slab. The bathtub is on a step up, with all the plumbing underneath. It seems the pipe that drains the tub came undone, and was leaking underneath. The water went through the wall, into my bedroom, under my bed, so I never noticed. This has been going on for almost two weeks! You can imagine the mess I had to clean up. The carpet is soaked, and I'm hoping it is just in that one area. Junior spent tonight fixing the tub (God knows how long the management company would have taken to come...my tub still leaks and it has been over a year!) and I have to clean out from under my bed in the morning. It looks like the water is just in the one area, so hopefully nothing is ruined.

I am just glad I have my phone back, and I can't wait to move.

Total Random Post About Everything And Nothing, All At The Same Time

My phone has been broken for over a week now, and I really haven't noticed.

That's pretty sad if you think about it.

I can call out fine, but when someone calls me, all they get is static, and my phone never rings. If they are lucky, they can leave a message. It took a few days before I even knew that was happening.

You see, no one, other than family, ever calls me.

Except Missy.

Kinda sad, right?

I guess it's a good thing I really don't like talking on the phone.

I broke down today and called to have the line fixed, because my sister is having a baby on friday, and I want to make sure I get "the call" when baby Jake is here safe and sound.

They are coming tomorrow between 1 and 3. I hate when I am the only one home for repair men, but what can you do? Hopefully it is something they can fix without coming in the house.

In other "news", I am holding steady at 30 pounds lost. I told my mom yesterday I was a little worried that maybe there was something wrong with me, because I have lost this weight pretty much without trying. Sure, we haven't had much food in the house, so I haven't been eating, but I have dieted before and never had these kinds of results.

All the check places have tried to deposit the checks, and we have been paying bounced check fees for a couple of weeks now. I believe the last of the fees were paid with the money I deposited this morning from my paid posts, so hopefully we can keep our account out of the hole. The check places are now calling, trying to work with us. Why they couldn't do this before, I have no idea. Junior is going to go talk to them all on Friday, and hopefully be able to make some sort of reasonable payment arrangements. Fingers crossed.

I am getting so excited about moving, and a little nervous at the same time. I think most of my anxiety is going to be about finding the right place. I know tons of places check your credit these days, and ours isn't so good. I hope we can find a three bedroom that is not a dump. I am tired of living in a place that is falling apart.

Junior is going tomorrow to apply us for food stamps again. We used to get them, and could really use them right now until we get things straightened out. I used an online calculator, and we should get about $175 a month, which will help a lot, although I have gotten really good at buying a weeks worth of groceries for about $40 a week. We plan on doing the parking lot sale again this weekend, and that will help a lot too.

My legs are killing me today from all the walking at the zoo yesterday. I really need to make it a point not to sit so long at this computer every day. Hopefully when we move I can start walking again. The roads around here just aren't safe enough.

I guess that's about it. I really should get up and go clean the bathroom, but I probably won't. It will still be there in the morning.

30!

I am down 30 pounds!!!! Holy crap!!!!!

The sad thing is, I am not even trying. It's the lack of food in the house, and stress.

Who thought having no money would have a bright side?

I put on jeans today that I haven't worn in years!

On another note, Junior and I decided today that we are going to move in February. I am tired of the roof leaking, my bathtub faucet continuously running, and here's the straw that broke the camels back.

Remember when we asked about putting up the pool, and they said sure, but we would have to pay the difference in the water bill? Well, they charged us $40 to fill a 12 foot pool a foot and a half deep. There is no way in hell it took that much water. I told Junior he should have questioned it, and asked to see the bill, but he said it is easier just to pay it.

Whatever. We went today, and found the cutest 3 bedroom trailer. I wish we never resigned the lease. I wish we could move today. But, we are stuck here until February. I will not break our lease. Plus, we will have more money in February to move. It is a priority this time that we find something with three bedrooms, even if it is a trailer. They do have some nice ones nowadays.