A New Life in the Making

What a trip!

2006-09-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's been ages since I have updated. Things have been up and down here and issues with work and me almost losing said job due to having a dozy a-hole of a boss haven't helped things.

Cut a long story short, my boss sent me on a very boring training course almost 60miles away in North Dallas and promised to pay me my expenses, hourly rate and lunches. I did the math before he signed me up for it and knew I would clean up.

When push came to shove, he threw a cow when I showed him how much he owed me. He then went on bitching saying that he wouldn't be able to afford to pay me for the rest of the month if he paid me what he owed me. He whined about how bad business had been and how I should be thinking about the secruity of the company. SCREW the company! I WANT WHAT'S OWED to me! I was SOOOOO mad at him. I kept my cool though and he duly paid me what I was owed.

I put forward an offer to him that I take some time off and that would reduce his pay out to me, and would give me some space from him. He agreed.

The good thing for me was that I had a good friend flying over from London to come and visit with me for ten days, so this would wok out well for us both.

Enough about the work saga as it pisses me off just writing about it.

My friend S has flown almost 5000 miles to see me! Woo hoo! We haven't seen each other since the wedding over 2yrs ago and have a LOT of catching up to do!

She flew in on Tuesday evening and when she walked through the glass doors at arrivals, I hugged her (and cried) so hard, I thought I was going to break her back!

So far, we have shopped, eaten out and visited South Fork Ranch. I've already been there, but I knew she wanted to go there. Tomorrow, we're going to the 6th Floor Museum and Reunion Tower. I've been to those too, but we're going late afternoon/early evening when the sun will be going down so we get a different view and some good photo opportunities hopefully.

Sunday we're going to the outlet mall in Grapevine and onto a BBQ at my outlaws for the FIL's b'day.

Monday I think is time to go to the Stockyards. Not sure what the rest of the week has in store, but we are enjoying having girly days out and catching up on all the stuff we have missed out on!

The puppy is getting big. She last weighed in at 26lbs and is only 6months old. Puppy training finishes tomorrow. She has learnt a lot in a short space of time, but still needs more guidance. Or is that me that needs more guidance? LOL

We finally kicked Directv to the kerb after their stupid DVR box quit working for the LAST time. Dish network are now installed and so far, so good!

Anyway, I'm getting off here now. I can't promise when I can next update as it's really nutso this end, but I will try to get here more often. TTFN

Time flies

2006-08-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me where the time has gone, cause I just couldn't tell you! Things have been manic as usual here and lots has happened.

We got a BRAND new Chrysler Pacifica. We were going to get a used one, but with the employee discounting they have been offering, it worked out the same payment as buying a used one. It comes with virtually all the nifty gizmoes and gadgets as a fully loaded one -just without the navigation system, memory/heated seats and dvd screen. Other than that, it pretty much has it all. We ended up leasing it as again, the payments worked out better for us. It's called "Butane Blue Pearl, but to you and I, that is pale blue metallic. I have wanted one for the longest time, so this was like a dream come true for me, and it kind of softened what hubby did by getting the Camaro.

Work is still same ol', same ol'.He is sending me on a training course towards the end of this month to get my group 1 license. This basically means I can handle life insurance applications. I'm not looking forward to it to be honest, as I am just not interested in this career (if you can call it that). It could work out really well and make me a LOT of money, but the passion and drive is simply not there. Right now, for me, it is just a means to an end (or the car payment) LOL

Daisy is doing well at her puppy training and will sit, lay down, drop it, leave it, go to bed and come when called (most of the time anyway). We have figured out that she needs a gentle leader collar to stop her yanking my arm out of the socket when I try to take her for a walk. It got to the stage where I just wasn't enjoying the walks, and even the trainer said it was going to take longer than usual with her as she was so stubborn. Within minutes of wearing the new collar, she had stopped pulling. Hopefully, she will be able to walk normally after a while without it as honestly, I think it looks like a torture device.

It was C's 10th birthday on Sunday and we took her to IHOP for breakfast, then went and picked up her friend and spent 5hrs at NRH20. Despite us covering ourselves with factor 50, we all managed to come out looking lobster-esque! It started to thunder just as we were getting ready to leave and we decided to go to On The Border for dinner. We let it slip it was her birthday and they came out at the end of the meal with a huge hot chocolate fudge brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and nuts. They then made her stand on the chair and dance whilst they sang to her. It was cute! The dessert was good too....they brought out 4 spoons! Hehehe

Sorry if I haven't blogged or been hopping lately, I have just been rushed off my feet. I will try to get caught up and post some photos on here as and when I find some time.

TTFN

Don't even go there!

2006-07-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

Immigration was a waste of f****** time. Apparently my work permit is sufficient evidence that I am pending and in the system. Well according to the college, it's NOT and they are still insistant on that stupid I797C Notice of Action form. Grrrr. I guess I won't be going to school after all. :-(

Things have been strained again this end with the kids issue. I don't know what to do to make it all right. I can't force them to want to be with me, or to like me, but when they totally disrespect me in my own house, what the f*** am I supposed to do? Just ignore their rudeness? Just ignore it when they are tearing up my home? Just ignore their lack of manners in general and say nothing? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?

I KNOW full well that TSS is poisoning them against me. I can't do a damn thing about that. I just hope that in time, they will see I am not this God awful person she has painted me out to be and that in fact SHE is the bad person here. The kids came with dirty, ripped up clothing again this past weekend and the youngest one K didn't even HAVE anything clean to put on the next day after her shower. C gave her some of her old panties to wear, but I drew the line there as whatever was given or lent to her would never be seen again. I asked K what happened to the cute new sandals I bought her about 6 weeks ago and they have been "Lost". Yeah right! More likt TSS resented ME buying her something NICE to wear and threw them out! It irritates the shit out of me that E is paying that bitch $600 a month in child support and the kids are walking round looking like paupers! SHE is living it up smoking, drinking, doing drugs, going to parties and clubs and getting her hair and nails done whilst her own kids look like shit. Ok, I need to shut the f*** up cause it's just irritating me further to write about it. *sigh*

Miss Daisy is enrolled in puppy training classes over at PetSmart. She starts on Saturday. It's an 8 week class and I am hoping it will help a lot. She is very stubborn (as Staffies are) and I want her to actually COME when I call her as opposed just looking at me and flipping me off LOL I'll let you know how we get on with that one!

Work is boring. My boss is a real flake when it comes to almost everything. He is hopeless at remembering stuff and has forgotten to pay me when pay day rolls round.

He sent me on a training class last week, only to tell me 30mins before it was due to start, that I didn't have a confirmed place and could I try to get squeezed in anyway? Grrr. Not only that, but he'd given me the wrong frigging address to go to too! It was actually miles in the opposite direction. It ended up being a total waste of time. I DID get 48cents per mile out of him for the gas and wear and tear on my car though and got to meet E for lunch and go shopping at the mall. Hehehe. Not all bad then I guess!

He went to install Office 2003 on the new PC he got me and he'd LOST the product key! How can you spend hundreds of dollars on software and then LOSE the frigging key for it? He went all around the houses and finally called M$ and got another key from them. Cost him $10, but he got one. *sigh*

He's out of the office today which is why I have some blog time available. Yay! I WAS going to do some promotional letters for him, but seeing as he had NO HEADED PAPER, I couldn't do that either. Everything is on a go slow here. It's like I start this awsome project trying to get this man organized, and it gets stopped in its tracks cause he is so laid back. I set up a data base with all of the names I had called off his lead list. I told him who needed to be called back and who was interested in changing companies. Did he bother to contact any of these people. NO. *shakes head* Why do I bother?!

I've been doing some of my web design stuff but have gotten bogged down with some issues pertaining to that. I need to get my thinking cap on...

I've gotten interested in my genealogy stuff again and have actually been making progress with tracing my ancestors. I'm hoping to get a membership to ancestory.co.uk figured out again so I can get a bit farther back on the UK side of things. That is more affordable than the worldwide membership which I would love to buy, but is out of my reach right now. *sigh* I need to order some birth certificates and marriage certificates etc from the UK, but will need to enlist in some help from a friend of mine to do some looking up in the indexes first *winks*

The 1901 census being online has been a huge help, but with them charging £5.00 (about $9) for 500 credits, and them taking an average of 50 credits per look up, that £5.00 doesn't get you very far! I got through 1,000 credits like they were water the other night. I DID make some interesting discoveries though and was very pleased with my findings. My Great Grandfather, Great Grandmother and all of their living children all under one roof in London, 1901. TEN people in one house! *gasp*. I think I have also located my Great Great Grandfather too. Just trying to do some more checking around on that one though ;-)

We're hopefully going car shopping at the weekend. Not sure how much finance I can get given to me, but we're hoping to get a Pacifica. My parents are coming back next May/June time for a visit and we want to go to Graceland by car, so that would be ideal for us!

Anyway, I hope this is a big enough entry for you. I will try to update a bit more often, but things are real hectic at the moment.

Big Update!

2006-07-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am back by popular demand. No, I'm being forced to blog by someone....and you KNOW who you are...LOL

Lots and lots of stuff has happened since I last blogged and I haven't really had too much chance to catch my breath, let alone blog hop or write my own journal. So if I have been away and distant, this is why.

The puppy has been keeping me real busy. It's like having a baby that can run and has very sharp teeth! Her eating habits have gotten better, but she is showing signs of a grazer as opposed a two meals a day kind of dog. Kind of frustrating to be honest as I would prefer her to just eat the two meals and be done with it! She's really starting to fill out now and her face muscles are coming in which is nice. Her ears don't look too big for her now and she has grown into them LOL She has piled on some weight too. At last weigh-in, she tipped the scales at 17.8lbs. That was on Sunday and she is now 18 weeks!

The cats still hate their new housemate and see her as the enemy within as opposed to a new friend. *sigh*

I have been doing some contract web and graphic design work which is keeping me ticking over too. It comes along in dribs and drabs, and the money is nice when it does, but I never plan on it as it's not a reliable source of income.

Fathers' Day was nice. We went to the outlaws with the pup and all three kiddoes in tow. My outlaws had AJ and UD over with their two dogs, so with my MIL's two, there were 5 furry beasts running riot! I had to make another one of THOSE yummy cheesecakes which won me a lot of Brownie points from all corners, so that was good.

TSS has turned to women now. We had our suspicions for a while now, as she has been spending rather a lot of time in the company of one woman in particular and it finally came out. No surprise there as ever since her and E split, she started stating she was Bi. Oh well, each to their own I guess.

The step kiddoes have been stressing me out quite a bit of late, to the point where I am on the brink of tears. They have no respect for me and no respect for our house. They have little respect for E either which I find very saddening. TSS doesn't give a flying crap about them or their behavior when they are here and we are fighting a losing battle with table manners and general attitudes in general. I feel like packing my bags and buggering off for the weekend when they are here, it can be that bad. *sniff*

We had our 2nd wedding anniversary two weeks ago. We went to my fav restaurant - Red Lobster and of course I had my usual coconut shrimp bites, loaded baked potato and garden salad with 1000 island! LOL We were both too skint to buy each other presents, so agreed to postpone the present side and just get cards for now. I was kind of upset about it, but didn't have any choice as the house has to come first.

And my biggest news: I GOT A JOB! It's for a small insurance agency. I am working with one agent and will eventually be trained up to get my license and own client list. It's not what I want to do honestly, and I am going to enroll in night school to get a degree in what I REALLY want to do. It will take me about 3 yrs to do, but will be worth it for the degree and also the dream career. NO, I am not going to tell you what it is at this point in the proceedings, you will just have to wait!!!

I have to go to see Immigration tomorrow to get a notice of action to show residency for the reduced rate of classes at college which is a pain. Maybe they can give me an update as to our pending status. It's sooooo frustrating. You know the Homeland Security are dragging their heels when a form is introduced before you're fully immigrated and you need one for college! "We don't care if you started the process before this form existed. We don't care that you have a work permit, SSN, Drivers' License, Credit cards, bank account, pay taxes and social security or OWN A FRICKING HOUSE IN THE COUNTY, you NEED an I797C!" Arrrrgggghhhhhhhhh.

Ok, I have some stuff to be getting on with so am signing off for now. TTFN

Woof!

2006-05-31T05:33:00.000-07:00

Miss Daisy is settling in slowly, slowly. I am still having issues with her eating though. She must have had a hard time eating when in her litter as she is grabbing food from the bowl and running with it. She never finishes what I put down for her, and sometimes I have to hand feed her. I don't want her to be one of those dogs who pick at their food all day long. I'd prefer to know how much she is actually getting. I know I went through this with my other Staffie pup, but it seems like it is going on longer this time around. Maybe I am just forgetful of how it was back then!

The cats aren't too impressed: especially when Miss Daisy chases them around the house. There has been some hissing, spitting and fuzzed up tails so far, but no teeth or claws.....YET!

I feel very sleepy due to the fact that Miss Daisy had me up at 4.20am crying to come out of her crate. I managed to get her and myself back to sleep again, but it's left me feeling like crap. I should have just gotten up instead of going back to sleep for another 90mins. I think it's made me feel worse, not better!

Ok, I have had my drugs and breakfast, now I need to grab a shower. Bye for now.

A dollop of Daisy?

2006-05-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

San Antonio was a nice getaway. It was only a couple of days, but the change of scenary and chilling out was good. The drive down was a bit frustrating trying to get through Austin, but other than that, it was pretty much cruise control 65-70 most of the way!

Saturday morning we got up early and had a good breakfast at the hotel. We then headed off to downtown San Antonio. We got parked up in the multi-storey there and thank God we left when we did, cause it was filling up fast, even at that time!

We walked around to the Alamo and did the tourist thing there. Quite an eerie feel to the place when you think about all the men, women and children that died there and the fact that we were there on Memorial Day Weekend too. I figured this was as good a place as any to start learning some of America's history.

The Alamo

We walked along the River Walk and found a British Pub Eric had discovered on the internet and settled on lunch there. I had the most fantastic Bangers n Mash covered with onion gravy with Heinz Baked Beans. Only an ex pat could understand what I went through devouring that meal!! LMAO

Some of the decor at Mad Dog's (and yes, that is an ORIGINAL mini, not one of the larger, trendy ones seen driving around today!)

My lunch, complete with Union Jack!

Well, after we were done with the River Walk and River Center, we went to see the breeder and I fell in love with the older puppy. She had the prettiest green eyes I had ever seen! She was pretty scared coming away from her siblings and mom, but she soon got used to us and after the intial shock had worn off, she slept all the way home! We made a brief stop so she could go potty and have a snack and some water, but she wouldn't "go". She held it in all the way home and another hour and a half after we got in! But since then, she has been potty OUTSIDE a lot. In fact, she has done it all outside and no accidents. Maybe there are some advantages of getting a slightly older pup. We initially thought she was ten weeks but then after being told the dates it worked out to be 13 weeks. Then I emailed the breeder and asked if she wss sure about her birthdate and it turned out she had got it mixed up with another batch and it should have been March 05 which makes her TWELVE weeks old today.

She slept in her crate all last night and didn't cry or bark once to come out. She has been a bit picky with her eating today, but I am sure she will settle in a few days.

Here are a few pics of my "dollop of" Daisy, the blue & white Staffordshire Bull Terrier (NOT to be confused with an American Staffordshire or a Pitbull please).

At the picnic rest area

On the patio: "He's my daddy!"

Ok, so I am a couch PUP-ato!

Do you like my bling, bling collar?

A Sad Day

2006-05-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

I feel sick to my stomach. My puppy Lily is dead. The breeder called me about an hour ago to say the mom must have sat on her as she went in to check on them and feed them and her neck was broken. We are still going to go to San Antonio as planned and look at two other puppies that may or may not be suitable. I'm not saying for definite one way or another whether we will get either of them, but I do favor one more over the other. I don't want to get one for the sake of getting one either. If neither are right for us, we will wait for another litter. I feel so low right now.

The Recipe

2006-05-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

Crust
18 vanilla wafer cookies
1 cup almonds, toasted
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 ounces imported white chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 large eggs

3/4 cup fresh raspberries or frozen unsweetened, thawed, drained

Topping
1 8-ounce container sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2-pint baskets raspberries or one 1-pint basket strawberries
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place large piece of foil on heavy large baking sheet. Set 8x2-inch bottomless heart-shaped cake pan atop foil. (If unavailable, use 8-inch springform pan; omit foil.) Wrap foil around outside and 1 inch up sides of pan. Butter foil and pan. Finely grind cookies and almonds in processor. Add butter and blend until mixture forms very moist crumbs. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumbs firmly onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool. Maintain oven temperature.
For Filling:
Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until smooth, stirring often. Remove from over water. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and peel in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Beat in white chocolate.

Spoon half of batter into crust. Top with 3/4 cup berries. Spoon remaining batter over. Bake until edges of cake are set but center 3 inches still moves when cake is shaken, about 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. Using fingertips, press down gently on edges of cheesecake to flatten slightly.

For topping:
Whisk sour cream, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Spoon over cake, spreading to edge of pan. Bake 5 minutes. Transfer cake in pan to rack. Run small knife around sides of cake. Cool completely. Chill cake overnight.

Fold down foil along sides of pan. Lift cake pan off cheesecake. Transfer cheesecake to platter, discarding foil. Cover cake with berries. Bring jam to simmer in small saucepan, stirring often. Gently brush jam over berries. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead; chill.)

Serves 8.
Bon Appétit
February 1994

Recipe from www.epicurious.com

I do LOVE a bit of cake!

2006-05-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Been a bit crazy here since my birthday. What with the outlaws coming over for the white glove inspection and all, I have been dusting, vacuuming and tidying like mad! If I vacuumed the house everyday this past week, I must have done it twice on some days! It became like an OCD thing. If I saw a fleck of dirt, or a crumb, out came a damp cloth and the Dyson and she's off! Whoosh! The poor cats didn't know what had hit them! LOL

I made my cheesecake and it turned out to be a real labor of love. I never knew how much effort went into making one before! Wow. But it felt really good to be baking it from scratch and not out of a baking kit box by Mr Hines or Mrs Crocker! We worked out how much it cost to buy everything, and brace yourselves, cause it wasn't cheap! $19.72. That is if you count the fact that I had the butter, sugar and vanilla extract already! Oh yeah, and don't add on the cheap $15 electric mixer I bought at Walmart either! LOL. Anyway, I digress...after about 3 hrs on and off of baking and mixing and more baking and more mixing and baking, it went into the fridge to chill overnight. Then I had to put the topping on about 3 hrs before it was due to be eaten. Well that was a little tricky, and it probably would have been less, how shall I say, "juicy" if it could have been left a little later. Oh well. It was well worth the effort and I would definitely make one again. It was really tasty and better than anything we have had when eating out! So there! *rasp*

My White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake in its entirety.

A "healthy" slice of cake sir/ma'am? Well I did use 1/3 less fat cheese dammit!

My outlaws loved the house and not one snide comment about dust or clutter to be had. Is this really the person who once quoted us as living like trailer park trash (despite having been brought up in a trailer and her starting off married life in a trailer?) Surely not? Anyway, they both loved the house and even bought me a Stargazer Lily (my fav flower) as a housewarming together with a nice check to spend on new stuff for the house! No, I am not telling you how much it was for, but it will most likely buy us a patio set, or at least part of one *wink*

My FIL took us out to eat at Olive Garden. I had the Chicken Caprese they have on their special menu right now. I had this the last time I went there with E and C a few weeks' back and I have the left-overs in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch!

The kids at Olive Garden

Today the kids all drove me nutso. It's very hard to "train" the kids to use manners when they are here: TSS doesn't give a flying cr*p about that kind of thing and they never say please and thank you when they want or get something. Well I have made a new rule from now on (and so far it's working). If they do not ask nicely and say please, they do not get the said item. They DO however either get ignored, or prompted for a "what do you say?" kind of deal. It nearly ended in tears y'day lunchtime though when J just would NOT say please when asking for the mustard. After that, he seemed to grasp the concept and it hasn't been too bad from thereon in. It's going to be tough when we are TRYING to do the right thing 4 days out of the month and she does f*** all for the other 24-27! I'm hoping one day they will finally get it that they will get farther in life by showing some manners than by being rude, and that one day, Miss Thang will wake up and wonder "Where the f*** my kids "grew manners" cause it sure as hell wasn't from me". Ok, I am off the soap box now!

So, all is once again calm in our household. No more boundaries are being pushed, no more yelling kids, banging noses against walls, crying, arguing about whether they have really taken showers or not, or just having bad manners and attitudes. *sigh*

Happy Birfdee To Me!

2006-05-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well today is my birthday. I pampered myself by getting my hair highlighted and lowlighted and got a new set of nails done by my friend. Yes, I KNOW I am a qualified nail tech, but I HATE doing nails and if I don't have to do them, trust me, I won't. SOOO much nicer having someone do them for you!

I got a gift card off the outlaws and some money and gifties off my parents. Earrings from E and I have to wait a bit for my present from C

So don't die, but this is me with my new, blonder hair.

Whilst at the salon, I bought some earrings and a toe ring with my birthday cash off my parents.

Pretty green stone, silver earrings.

Silver toe ring set with purple stone.

Bra and thong set off my parents. Woo hoo!

Close up of the pattern.

Khaki tank.

Close up of the pattern - stitching, studs, rhinestones and sequins. Shiny, shiny, buy it now!

Blue tank

Pink sapphire and diamond earrings from E.

We went to Red Lobster for dinner just got back and I am stuffed and sleepy from Corona LOL, so I will sign off for now.

Boooooo

2006-05-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

I've been to FOUR different stores trying to find the damn cake mix!Well there would be a reason why we can't find that one anymore: they stopped making it. I have just been on their website. *pout* SO....we are going to make a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake instead, so there *rasp* And it will be bigger and better than your stinky cake mix!

Mothers' Day and more

2006-05-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Mothers' Day was nice. E made me one of my favorite breakfasts: poached eggs on toast! C had made me a card at school with coupons inside that can be "cashed in" for chores and housework etc. How cute. She also made me a flower and got me a store bought card too! And a cute gift basket from Bath & Body Works.

This was the beautiful gift bag my present came in! I feel a scrapbook page theme coming LOL

And my lovely basket with Peony scented goodies in it!
For lunch, E took us to Chili's. I had the Grilled Shrimp Alfredo with Texas Toast *slurp*. All washed down with Strawberry Lemonade. Mmm...mmm...mmm...mmm...mmmmmmm.

After that huge lunch, we crashed on the sofa. I (like the sad old git that I am) knitted and watched my soaps. E, fell asleep. No change there then!

I finally got a blog for Lily! I had no clue until I joined a dog forum that Dogster even existed. It's like a MySpace for dogs! I just had to get one for her! LOL You can check her's out HERE.

I finally got the dog door figured out and it works a treat! Lets the dog in and out and keeps the cats IN! Hurrah! I don't know how she will take to the big tag hanging off her collar though...speaking of collars, this is the one I bought her the other day at Walmart. It was too cute not to!

Is that cute or what?!

Ok, I have to go eat lunch and try to find a particular cake mix for my birthday cake tomorrow. We've not been able to find it so far. *sigh* Bye for now

Happy Mommy's Day!

2006-05-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

To all of you celebrating Mothers' Day today: I hope you have a wonderful, rested day!

I beg your pardon....

2006-05-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

.....I never promised you a "brick garden". Ok, ok, so it's supposed to be rose garden, but for this story, we will replace it with bricks! Today we were SUPPOSED to be going to the exciting Air Show and see the Blue Angels display at NAS Carswell about 20mins from here. E had different ideas and figured doing yard work would be more fun. Hmmm. Not my idea of fun, but I gave in. So, if you want to see our "brick garden", you can click on the house link and check out the photos under "Front Yard"

Field Day was fun yesterday and C's Tug O War team (the girls' side) whooped every other girls' team in Third Grade. Way to go C!

I caught a bit of sun and had a red semi circle on my chest area which looked most attractive (can you pick up on the sarcasm in my voice?) So to boost my non-tanned flesh to a better color, I decided to water the BACK yard (come on, I'm not THAT bad) in my bikini. Not a real skimpy number either. It has a halter neck top and cute boy shorts with....wait for it....a faux DENIM print on it. It's really cute and comfortable and I wasn't at risk of anything bursting out of it and scaring the neighbors! Speaking of which, C says very embarrassed, "MOM?! What are you doing in your bikini?! What if someone sees you?" I responded that I was in my own backyard and who was going to see me. "But what about the cracks in the fence? SOMEONE might see you?" Jeeze, anyone would think I looked grossly hideous in my bikini. Answers on a postcard please....on second thoughts, don't bother. Just send donations for the lipo instead LMAO

E washed my car today, wasn't that cute of him? Or was it as a sorry for missing the air show? I dunno, but it is nice and shiny now.

Two weeks to go until I get my squidgey girl home and I can hardly wait!! I managed to find her a cute, tiny collar today at Walmart. It's black leather and has tiny silver bones on it. I will take a photo when I can be arsed and post it here for you all to coo over!

C went to an ice skating party today for R's birthday. She had a great time and we had some alone time, so a good deal all round. Tomorrow is of course Mommy's Day, so hopefully, it will be nice and relaxing and do nothing-ish all day. Bliss.

Ok, I am going to sign off for now. Happy Mother's Day for USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia (sorry UK, you HAD yours already in March, don't be greedy!). Bye all!

A-B-O-U-T......FACE!

2006-05-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well it would seem that a couple of "guilt trip emails" hit a few raw nerves and did the trick. Both E and I are still in shock, but, she has CANCELLED the party plans and is actually getting off her arse to come down to sunny Ft Worth to see ME instead! *Picks self up off the floor* Her and my FIL are taking E, me, C and J & K out to dinner. (Glad I ain't picking up the bill for that one!). So, that is the scoop on THAT fiasco!

The doggy door has been installed and if I may say so, looks great! Steve (the builder) did a really good job with it. I am most impressed. The poor little thing will be too tiny to push through it to start with, so will need some help. She will also need some bricks outside to help her get in and out. Bless. It's an infrared door which will be activated by a tag on her collar. That means the cats stay IN and all other unwanted critters stay OUT! Good job! LOL

This is just beside our back door, behind the corner of the couch. Because of the style of our back door, we had to do it this way, or buy a new back door and that wasn't happening!

This is the view from outside. The builder had to move the external outlet up to make way for the door.

The door comes with an added security cover. This is so you don't have issues with a human squeezing through the door when you go away with the dog.
Got C's field day (sports day) this morning and my friend T is coming to get me soon, so will sign off for now. Have a great weekend all!

Where we rank

2006-05-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

It would appear we don't rank too highly. You may be wondering WTF I am talking about....well...it's like this:

E was always an inconvenience to his parents whilst growing up. It was like they were BURDENED with a child, certainly not believable that he was actually PLANNED for! I always wonder if really after they had him, they just resented him for his existence and were jealous of his every move (still are as a matter of fact). It's sad as he is their only child, yet they treat him and everyone around him like absolute sh*t.

His birthday: it falls just on or shortly after Thanksgiving and I have YET to see them want to go out with him to celebrate it! The first year we were together, of course was not possible because he was overseas. The next year, he didn't even get a card and she went out to the Bass Hall with her beloved friends. Last year, they did the same thing. They basically flipped their own son's birthday off to be with their friends.

C's birthday: the first year, again, we were overseas. So, it was promised, that when we finally made it over there, they would hold a big party for her and give her a present then. The MIL was also going to lease a horse for her to go riding. Well I am sure you can guess that nothing more was ever mentioned about ANY of it! All talk!

The next year, she did get a present and a card, but not dinner out or anything like that. You're not seriously thinking we rank up there with her precious church circle of friends are you?! DON'T be stupid! THEY get to have THEIR birthdays celebrated EVERY year with a meal out, a cake and presents!

Last year, she got a card and gift certificate (she couldn't be arsed to put some thought into it) in the mail, but again, no meal.

My birthday: year one was a check and card in the mail as we were overseas. The next year NOTHING as she was still on a pouting session over the Mothers' Day fiasco. And THIS year: we wrote and suggested that as they were away in Tulsa for the weekend prior to my b'day, we should meet up the weekend afterwards for dinner. The kids would be over and we could all go out together and make it something special. Then they could come back and see the new house and all our new furniture and stuff. (Bare in mind that they haven't been over yet as we wanted to wait until we had got the new couch, grill and dining room set first). Knowing how pushy they are, we thought they would have jumped at the chance to come for a visit. But ohhhhh noooooo: "Mr Florida" (as I will nickname him here), is having his 50th birthday and they are going to his surprise party instead and had JUST RSVP'd when E's email arrived. Who is Mr Florida? A FRIEND. He's not FAMILY (that she stresses we know NOTHING about), he is just a FRIEND. And not even a close friend that they would go out to dinner or church with either. He is a work colleague and neighbor (if you count living three streets away a neighbor).

So, we rank w-a-y down there *points to floor* when it comes to birthdays and any other kind of celebrations to be had. I guess I know EXACTLY where I stand from here on in. Any bridges we were building after the fall out of last Mothers' Day are having gasoline poured all over them right now, and she is waving a lighted match in front of them as we speak!

But you know what p*sses me off the most about this? She wrote to E and said "I do not want to let T's birthday to pass without recognizing it with you and her." WHY say that sh*t if you have no f*cking intention of EVER doing anything about it?! Let's face it, she really couldn't give two craps about my birthday, she just said what she said to make herself look good to E and to feel better as the wonderful "Christian" that she thinks she is!!

Ok, I am out of here. Grrrrrrr.

Getting caught up

2006-05-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Well, quite a bit has happened since I last blogged. Some of it good, some of it not so good. I have been fighting with E over stupid stuff and it has been getting us both down. He has been really pushing for me to get a job and after another let down with a job interview, I am starting to feel like a total failure. We have come to an agreement over money and stuff and are hoping we can both stick to it. I can't stand the fighting anymore.

It looks like we will be on our own for Mothers' Day again this year as my wonderful MIL has decided she would rather it just went away, and so she IS going away - to OK. *shakes head*. They bitch and moan when we don't make an effort, and when we do, they just bugger off up to OK. Oh well. She will just get a card in the mail then. *sigh*

My doggy door and crate arrived last week, and the builder is coming tomorrow to cut a hole in the wall and box it all in. Poor Lily will need some brute strength to get up there and open it at first. I was thinking about putting some bricks down like steps for her, and I may have to open the door for her until she gets a bit bigger. Oh the joy! :-))>br>
The breeder has sent me some more photos, so I thought I would share them with you now:

She is 16days old here and has just opened her eyes.

Here she is trying to wander off.

Look at her back left paw! She's going to have a couple of white toes! Bless!.

Well, the hotel room is booked for May 26 and we get her on the afternoon of May 27 and bring her home with us! I can hardly wait and am counting down the days!

Our new couch and chair arrived today for the den and you can see how those look by clicking the link on the right for the house progress.

I made a really nice new friend who scrapbooks! It's one of C's friend's moms. The downside is that they are moving on May 22 to Baltimore, and we may never see them again! *sniff* It's a real shame because R & C have become really good friends, and T and I had such a good day out at the craft and scrapbook stores on Saturday: we laughed and laughed. We are so much alike it's scary! Hopefully, we can stay in touch by email and phone, but it's not the same as having them living right around the corner. *sigh*

The air show is on this Saturday at Carswell which looks a lot of fun. C will be going to R's birthday ice skating party over in Arlington, so won't be able to make it, but E and I intend on going.

Mothers' Day should be pretty much non-eventful hopefully, and a quiet lunch out with hubby and C will work well. Then next week....dun-dun-d-u-n....I turn another year ancient (I mean older). So if you want to send choccies, flowers, or any other type of present, then please do! LMAO. Nah, I'm only kidding, Just a comment would work right now! ;-) Yep, next Weds, May 17 I turn 37 *sniffle* (PLEASE say I don't look it, even if ya don't mean it! LOL).

Anyhoo, I am going to go and sit my fat butt on the new couch and test it out. Bye for now.

New lease of life

2006-04-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well E got his car, now for MY prize! Meet Yankeestaff Blue Lily, or Lily for short. She is a blue Staffordshire Bull Terrier (NOT to be confused with the American Staffordshire which is a much larger dog). I chose the name Lily and the breeder will be adding that to her AKC name and papers. I am so excited I could burst. I cannot sleep, so figured I would blog and tell you guys about her! *giggle* So without further ado, here she is:

She was born April 16 and will be ready to come home with us on May 28 or just before.

New Car

2006-04-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

No, not for me....E got a new car, I get the POS he has neglected since 1998. He's always wanted one of these, so he got what he wanted. He bitches about struggling to pay the bills as it is and then goes and buys a new car. Is this a midlife crisis come early? *sigh* Whatever makes HIM happy right?

Grrrrrr

2006-04-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

All of my websites are down. I am so fed up right now. My stupid host was sending emails to my old, never checked email address. WHAT is the point of me telling him my new address if he is goig to write to the old one anyway?!

Basically, the domains were up for renewal and now they have expired. He is trying to get it figured out for me today, and hopefully they will be back up by tomorrow. Very frustrating. So, if you were hoping to see the house pics, sorry...

Ok, hopefully, this will get published instead of deleted like two mins ago. I am NOT typing this sh*t out again!

Fukt off

2006-04-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am so angry right now, I could hit something, or someone....

E is really pissing me off at the moment and is making nasty comments about me trying to find a job and get back to work. My work is really limited now because of my back and neck pain which are not easing off any. That rules out the mundane, cheap labor jobs like waitressing or shop work as it means being on my feet the whole time. I "may" have found a place that will be needing a reliable receptionist soon. It's actually at the salon I get my hair done at, so I will already know a fair amount of people already. I was STUPID enough to mention it to him y'day and now he won't stop bugging the crap out of me about updating & sending my resume over there (little does he know, I updated it ALREADY in preparation to send over there, but I can't be arsed to even tell him after his attitude on the phone with me). Even suggested I send it to him at work so he could mail it out today. Jeeze, get off my damn back: it hurts enough as it is without you hanging off it. I have very low self esteem right now and despite him agreeing to letting me do the Pampered Chef stuff for three months to see how it went, he has even shot that down in flames making what little confidence I had in myself go up in smoke with the idea. To say I am angry and frustrated with my husband right now is an understatement. I paid the electricity and the directv bills yesterday, but that seems to have gone un-noticed and all he is bitching about is not being able to pay the mortgage. HELLO! The mortgage is LESS than our rent was and I have just taken care of two bills for him, so two less for him to worry about. Ok, I am done ranting about him now. *sniff*

I have put up the photos of what I have done so far to the INSIDE of the house. You can check out the new and improved link over there- - - - > Oh yeah, I got yelled at for doing that too as apparently, it should not be on my priorities list.

Miss me?

2006-04-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ok gang, I am back! What a palava we have had this end! *sighs and rolls eyes*

First off our wonderful DSL arrived; only thing was, it wasn't as wonderful as it was cracked up to be and we were getting pathetic dial up speeds instead of the wonderful HIGH speed DSL we hade been promised. SBC/AT&T came out three times in total until it was finally fixed on Friday. They have dedicated the DSL line to one phone jack only so there is no drop in the feed and we ended up having a bad modem (which sucks as it was brand new from them in the first place). *groan*

Then my stinky PC threw a hissy fit and needed to be reformatted. Oh yeah, fun n games here!

I have lost 6lbs in the three weeks since using the Gazelle and have lost 2.5" off my waist. Woo hooo!!

It's hit 100F here (according to my desktop weather channel thingy). They predicted 98F on the news this morning and that was going to be a record breaker, so I think we can safely say we are beyond that!

We have got our new bedroom furniture and a new dining room table with 6 chairs. I will try to get some piccies done this week and post them on the house pages for you to have a peek at!

I should really go and do some blog hopping and catch up with a few people....

Stuff and more stuff

2006-03-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

The weekend was kinda busy. We drove around running various errands and trying to find me a Fitness Gazelle Edge. We went to three Academy stores until we finally tracked one down in Grapevine. I've been good (so far) and have done 35mins every morning starting on Sunday. I hope to lose 23lbs (minimum). I would "like" to get back down to the weight I was after I lost my baby weight from having C. Unfortunately, my body took a knock to its metabolism after a bout of anti-depressants when I split with her dad (and other issues) around 2000. Although I was only on them for a few months, they really messed me up and I piled on the pounds when I came off of them. :-( SO, if I could get 33lbs off, I would be VERY happy. However, I think that goal is untouchable right now, so will try for 23lbs and see what happens. I am thinking about taking something to help boost my metabolism. I keep seeing all the stuff advertized on TV to help you lose weight (Hydroxycut etc). I don't know what will happen once I stop taking it though. Will the lost weight come back, or do I have to keep taking them once I start? *sigh*

E had the day off yesterday and we went to see the hospital about paying back the insurance company. If we end up with a couple of thousand at the end of it, we will be lucky. Back to square one on the car front. No car, no money and owing for the Sebring to my parents. GREAT. Thanks Mrs Dodge Grand Caravan for that. :-(

C had her friend Jordan come to stay Saturday night. They had a great time and Jordan is a nice kid. I'm glad that they are going to stay in touch since she moved away. They call each other almost every day, so it's good they can meet up every once in a while.

We got some flowers and a vase from Garden Ridge on Saturday. They are for the master bathroom. I'm not sure if I don't want to snag that vase and use t in the bedroom or not. I dunno. I may see what it looks like with the other flowers! LOL Then I will be back searching for another vase for the bathroom again! *rolls eyes*

The mini blinds arrived on Saturday via Fed Ex. E put most of them up on Sunday and they look great. I am so glad we went with the cream and not the white. Now WHERE is our sectional couch??? Grrrr.

Looks like we will have some neighbors soon. The house that was already finished will close at the end of this month and the one next door that they were bricking yesterday will be closing at the end of April most likely.

C rode the school bus this morning. We thought that we would be too close for her to qualify, but apparently, because of "hazards", she qualifies after all! It's a big relief, because the walk there, really was horrible. NO sidewalks, busy, busy road to get across. *phew*

I have discovered a scrapbooking program on the DIY channel. Oh dear, not good. Now I want to get my scrapbooking stuff out and get busy! LOL

Last night I watched Open Water off TiVO. I felt let down honestly. I really thought the ending would be different from what it turned out to be. I won't spoil it for you in case you haven't seen it. I am a shark freak and thought it would be a good movie. Don't be fooled. Oh well, glad I didn't pay to see it at the movie theater or buy it on DVD which I did consider!

Ok, I have some stuff to sort out.

Ponds, pain and cats

2006-03-24T07:14:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the little boy who went missing was found. Thank God I hear you cry. Well the crying part is right. They found him dead in their own back yard floating in their pond. So sad.

I woke up in horrible pain this morning. It reduced me to tears. I really do think that the Ibuprofen and Methacarbamol build up in your system and when you skip a dose or two, your pain levels increase like you would not believe. I guess it's kind of like having to keep it topped up all the time to stay on top of it. E has to get me some more IBP today as I am down to my last few pills and don't even have enough to see me through today. *sigh*

VERY chilly again this morning, although not as windy as yesterday, so felt about the same despite being 6 degrees cooler.

The walk to school was cold and brisk. The walk home was cold and not so brisk. I was approached by a GORGEOUS, plump, well loved, very hairy, grey and white cat. She was gorgeous! She meowed at me to pet her which of course I did, and then proceeded to follow me down the street. Uh oh. Not a good idea. The road I was walking on was busy and had lots of cars and trucks whizzing down it. I needed to cross the street soon and the last thing I needed was a cat getting squished cause it was following me. I knocked on a couple of doors to see if I could find out who she belonged to and nobody knew. Luckily she perched herself on the first house's window sill (where I got zero response) and stayed there after I continued on my way home. It makes me real nervous when I see cats or any pet out on their own around here. Too many coyotes, snakes and hawks to deal with, not to mention the big trucks and cars who have total disregard for ALL things living, human or otherwise! I hope she will be ok.

Now I have started to thaw out some, I am going to see if I can actually get online to publish this! LOL Bye for now!

Brrrrrrrrrrr

2006-03-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Brrrrrrrrr. Is winter finally here? Now I know that some folk reading my blog will laugh when I say it's been a cold 38F this morning here in Texas, but trust me, this time last year, it was HOT! I have a sweater AND a fleece on and then donned my denim jacket to walk C to school this morning. My ears and face are bright red, and I am now waiting for my tea drink to cool down sufficiently enough for me to drink it without taking off a layer of skin from the inside of my mouth and tongue! They say it will be even colder tomorrow morning with an overnight freeze. I guess at least if the mud is frozen solid, it won't get stuck all over my sneakers and smeared up my pants twice a day!

Last night, we saw two helicopters with search lights flying around. This morning, we discovered why: a 5yo boy has gone missing whilst riding his bike with a family friend. My question is, WTF was the family friend doing to LOSE him and where is this "family friend" now? Poeple have been out all night looking for him and knowing how cold it was last night and how apparently lightly dressed he was, he won't be in good shape when they find him. That is of course that he hasn't come to a sticky end by some sick f*cker with a taste for young kids. This sh*t makes my blood run cold everytime I hear about it on the news. I hope he's ok, poor little thing.

Also last night, we had a sales guy come round trying to sell us a water purification system. He did various tests on both our tap water and our filtered fridge water and then through his system. The sludge shown in both of our waters was nasty. The only thing our filtered fridge water seems to be stopping, is the chlorine. Well, if it hadn't of been $5495 to get installed, we may have thought about it more seriously. Even with their finance package, it's out of our reach right now. Oh well, I will just continure to drink our "dirty water".

After having received three phone calls by lunchtime yesterday trying to sell me something or other, I registered all of our cellphones and landline with the do not call register. We've only been here a week and already we are getting the "phone to phone salesmen". It is one of the quickest ways to piss me off is to try and sell me something on the phone. Weare unlisted for a reason, so I would like to know how and why we are getting calls and they are asking for my husband in person! E reckons that SBC have sold our number on to a mailing list. If that is the case, then there are going to be problems. I'm getting PMSy too, so trust me, DO NOT CALL ME TODAY GUYS!

I will try to get some more blog hopping done today if my connection will allow me to. I can't always stay on long enough for the comments to load and publish, but I am around on and off readers! ;-) Bye for now.

Life sucks sometimes!

2006-03-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

Feeling kind of frustrated today. It looks like we may be screwed over with the personal injury. We may be forced to pay back to the Medical Insurance company out of my settlement. Basically, they pay nothing for the claim, and we pay for all of it despite having insurance to cover stuff like that. For my pain and suffering and loss of earnings, we will end up with hardly anything and may even be at a loss. HOW is that fair? We have been totally screwed over left right and center with this. So much for us being able to get some debts paid off and me a new car. *SIGH*

Pain meds aren't even touching my neck and back today. I really need to get back into doing my exercises again.

My friend Julie called from the UK yesterday. It was so nice to hear a friendly voice out here. I feel like I am stuck in the middle of nowhere and once more, don't know anyone. *bigger sigh* I'm going to get myself back to doing some kind of work soon and hopefully that will help me meet more people. I feel like a hermit right now. I am going to start off doing some Pampered Chef sales for a while and see how that fits in with things. I think there is money to be made and if I don't try it, I will never know. I think it will be fun!

Ok, I am going to get this published before my horrible connection dies on me. Bye for now all.

Mud, mud, glorious mud....

2006-03-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Mud, mud, glorious mud, there's nothing quite like it for soothing the blood...yeah right. You can keep the mud thank you very much! Yesdterday was a very sticky, icky, muddy day al round. Athough the temperature picked up to low 70's, the ground was still very muddy. By the time I had gotten C from school, we were both up to our armpits in mud. Ok, so maybe not QUITE that bad, but our shoes were laden with the stuff to the point where they were noticebly heavier. I tried to scrape off the worst of it before we got home and then I rinsed off some more in the sink. It was no use, in the washing machine they went. Then I did them on the rack in the dryer on a couple of cool cycles and it did the trick. I can't wait to get another car so that this won't be an issue anymore! *sigh*

We ventured out last night to find me a new pharmacy. I am almost out of my muscle spasm pills and to go without them is not a good idea. I've tried it a couple of times, and it's unbearable. Oh well. The pharmacist seemed nice and was very helpful. They should be ready to collect tonight (providing it's not the redneck, rude nurse dealing with it at our old Dr's of course...

One of our FAVORITE, "can't-wait-until-the-next-episode" shows came back last night after a 4 months break. Yes, our beloved Prison Break was back. WOW! Man I LOVE that show! We also watched Footballers' Wives from Sunday off TiVO. I wish they would get caught up with that show. I have seen all of these episodes already and just want it to get current. *sigh*

I am wondering if I will get a net connection today or not. Yesterday's was slow and painful. I think I will give Earthlink another call and see if they can offer some ideas as to IF they can get us hooked up yet or not. *bigger sigh*

Ok, I have some stuff to do, see y'all later!

Back again

2006-03-20T09:50:00.000-08:00

It was a very wet weekend here in Ft Worth. All of the old farts who complained about the lack of rain should be somewhat placated now! Some areas have experienced flash flooding and we had a truck go off the road and end up stuck head first in a ditch! But I can almost guarentee it hasn't helped our water shortage any and by this time next week, we will be back on grass fire alerts and all being told to conserve water. *sigh*

C started at her new school this morning. It is only a 9min walk away, but when there are no sidewalks and all the ground is wet and muddy, it is not a fun journey. Just as we crossed the street to get to her school, a school bus sprayed her with muddy rain water. What a great start to her first day. Luckily, she managed to avoid most of it and what did get her had dried off by the time the paperwork was all completed.

Yesterday we went to a different Walmart to do some grocery shopping. It is a bit further away, but has less of a ghetto feel to it.The one just down the street from here has a cop posted 24/7 inside and we all felt very uneasy on the two occasions we shopped there. It is a fairly decent sized store, but everything is spread out so they really don't have too much stuff there at all! The one further away is better stocked and will probably be "our" store from now on. Only when we feel like a thrill seeking adventure will we go to the "ghetto store".

TSS never changes. She called on Saturday bitching about when we would be taking the kids and then started bitching that she didn't want to drive all the way to Ft Worth. The deal was that one of us does one trip and she does the other, not US doing ALL the driving so she can go stick sh*t up her nostrils all weekend! If she wants us to have the kids all weekend, then she has to do some of the driving like before. It's not that much farther than when we were in the apartment, so I don't see what her problem is. She will be getting a totally kid free weekend for the sake of a 30-40min drive! I guess she doesn't mind us not having them at all then, cause we are NOT doing all the schlepping around. This has to be 50/50 or nothing!

We have a company coming over at lunchtime today to quote on built in desks for the office. I fear it's going to be too expensive, but we will see what they come back with anyways. I like the idea of it all being matching and looking flush with the space we have. Our current desks don't match and look weird side by side. Watch this space for updates.

Still not sure what is happening with the DSL stuff. We spoke to Earthlink who said that SBC was not allowing access to their systems, so THEY couldn't hook us up. SBC (AT&T) said that they didn't have an office near us so no connection could be had for DSL, yet we had a call saying there WAS an office near us, it just wasn't connected up yet and couldn't say when that would happen either. So right now, we are still living in limbo and hoping a neighbor will come online so we can get stuff done. Not looking good so far. *sigh* Oh well, I will blog in notepad ready to copy and paste as and when we get a connection. Bye for now.

Home, sweet, home!

2006-03-17T08:18:00.000-08:00

FINALLY managed to get a net connection! *sigh*

Move went VERY smoothly. The Firehouse Movers took a TOTAL of 4 hours to move our overt stuffed 2 bedroom apartment 45miles away and unload it all. They were VERY professional, polite and I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone needing an affordable move!

Satellite went in on Tuesday as did the phone. The phoneline went in but was not working until Weds due to the fact that "someone" working further down the street had cut through the cabel and screwed up the line. We have had to have a temporary line put in that is running across the back yard and under the fence. Nice.

Our box spring and mattress came in good time although the mattress had some bad black marks on it. They assured me we could use this one until Thursday when they could get a new one out to us. Thursday rolls around and we wait and wait and wait. I caled them at lunchtime to see what was happening and it wasn't on their delivery schedule! *sigh* The manager offered to deliver it today for me and is refunding the $60 delivery fee. Hey, that works for me! LOL

Yesterday, C and I did the walk to the school. We took a leisurely stroll over there and it took 9mins. Not bad, not bad. Her first class is at 0740 on Monday and she comes out at 1430. What a difference from her old school!

We ordered our mini blinds from Lowe's at last and they should be here in 2 wks. I have put up the voile panel and the valence in our room and it looks fab even if I DO say so myself! Pictures to follow once we have the bedroom furniture delivered and put up!

I have settled on the personal injury payout at last. We did fight the amount the originally offered and it was increased. I was getting tired of fighting with them and I think they pray on that factor too. I'm just glad that we will have the check soon and we can move on from it. I'm still taking the meds for the pain and trying to do my exercises and live as normal a life as possible. Unpacking has hindered that somewhat but I will get into my regimine soon, I promise!

Anyway, gonna get off of here now as it may die on me at any moment. Just wanted to let y'all know I was ok and I will get on when I can. TTFN

BTW, Happy St Patrick's Day!

Hi Hoooooooo

2006-03-12T05:33:00.000-08:00

It's off to the house we go!

Went furniture shopping yesterday and ordered our sectional couch from Penney's. I don't have a picture to show you, but it's going to be "Ceramic Blue" Which is a mixture of denim blue and caramel with a chocolate backing thread. It's kind of difficult to explain it, but it's real pretty. The pillows to go with it will be a triangular patterned fabric with shades of denim blues, caramels, taupes, chocolate etc. I can't wait! It is going to take about 6-8wks to get done. *sigh*

We bought a new mattress and box spring from Sleep Experts in their sale and the box spring was actually free. Free is good right? It's being delivered on Tuesday.

We decided on the bedroom furniture we want, but will wait another week to order it so we have enough cash to get everything in one shipment. They are a fairly new store and not a chain. He can deliver the stuff within 1-2 days of purchase, so not bad. And if we get everything before April 01, even if it has to be restocked, it will still stay at that price! I've checked it out on another furniture place's website and you can see what it looks like HERE. We found it MUCH cheaper at the store we went to, and it looks even better in real life!

Got a gorgeous bed set on sale in Penney's too. You can have a peek at that HERE. You can zoom in real close on this too. Again, it looks much prettier in real life and looks fabbo with the new carpet. (Yes I was smart enough to have a piece of carpet with me to test stuff out!) We got some pale green voile panels for the window, the matching valence to go above the window frame and some pale green sheets with a pretty pleat trim and some cream pleated satiny type throw pillows. I have never spent so much money on a bed set in all my life, but I just HAD to have this and it was VASTLY reduced in the sale and cause we applied for a Penney's card, we got a further 10% off! We ended up saving $285 Woo hoo

Lowe's have made to order mini blinds which will fit our non-standard sized windows and we can get every window done for under $250 total. Not bad when you think that the builder wanted $1300 for mini-blinds! LOL

So today, we will hopefully get a couple of house runs done and move the stuff we don't want the movers to do...like the fish tank (as small as it is) and our PC's etc, more clothing and bedding. Gonna be busy, busy, busy.

Not sure when I will be able to get back on the net again as we won't have DSL for a while. This may be my last blog for a few weeks. Watch this space!

Bye for now all.

Finally

2006-03-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

At 1408 today, we got the call to say that the title company had a funding number and we could go get our keys. Wooo hoooo, we have a house! Of course we had to go and sit on the floor of our new house just cause we could! LOL

Going shopping for mini-blinds and a new sectional and bedroom set tomorrow! Nite nite!

Is it ever gonna happen?

2006-03-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very trying day. We finally decided to schedule the final walkthrough at the house OURSELVES. The mortgage company and the broker are complete dumbasses who do NOT communicate. The only people who are making any sense right now, are the title company!

Ok, so we did the walk through and our new appliances look FAB! We then decided to find out exactly where the title company was at and called the mortgage broker who said the paperwork was with the attorney and should be at the title company by 2pm. WHY he didn't call US to tell us that OR call the title company to let them know, we have NO clue! So, I called the title company and advised them that paperwork would be imminent. At 2.18pm, she called me to say they had it in hand and could we go back at 3pm to start signing stuff. I asked what our part of the closing costs were going to be so we could get a cashier's check cut. She thought it would be around $850 which was vastly different from what the mortgage ~~wanker~~ broker had told us. She suggested we get a check for what he said just in case and she could cut us a check for the difference if necessary. *sigh*

One cashier's check later and we are waiting at the title company. Man my hand ached so much after signing all of those papers!! But, it was too late for the funding to go through, so we are today playing the waiting game again. Once funding has gone through, we can pick up the keys and the house and it will truly be OURS! The movers have been re-scheduled for Monday, so hopefully it will all go well today.

The insurance company are being a-holes again. This time about my personal injury claim. They are ONLY going to pay out on my medical expenses and loss of earnings and even then, they are short changing us. The REFUSE to pay out for pain and suffering. I guess me being on pain meds ever since the accident and often being in tears with the pain is NOT counted as pain and suffering?! I am not going to go down without a fight on this one, especially when there are folks out there suing for $20million for hotel bed bug bites FFS. They are going to refuse me $5,000 for pain that I may have to put up with for the rest of my life. I don't f*cking think so!

Off to sit by the phone again and pout.

Playing the waiting game

2006-03-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

Gotta sit around and wait for a phone call to see IF we will close today or not. VERY frustrating indeed. Just want to get this over and done with. *sigh*

C has gone on a field trip today with her classmates. Kinda glad in a way as it means she can have some fun time with before her last day tomorrow. Then she has Spring Break and a new school to start at the week after.

The tragedy...

2006-03-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

...all of the pots and pans have been packed. I cannot cook until we move and unpack. OH NOOOOOO. Whatever will we do? Hehehe.

Moving melodrama

2006-03-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

We SHOULD have been closing TODAY. We SHOULD have been moving TOMORROW. Now we MAY close tomorrow or Friday at worst, and will now move on Monday. *sigh*

Furniture sharks

2006-03-06T06:28:00.000-08:00

We SHOULD be closing on Wednesday and moving on Thursday. NOTHING is definite at this point, so don't hold your breath! We have been busy packing stuff all weekend and throwing stuff out. We took a few hours out on Saturday afternoon to go furniture "browsing".

I will NEVER, repeat NEVER spend any of our money at ROOMS TO GO. We WERE going to look around their store in Grapevine on Saturday but after SIX seconds of us entering the store, we were pounced on by a very aggressive saleswoman. We told her from the off "We're just looking, thank you." Not content with that response, she FOLLOWED us around the store continuing to spout out stuff about the sales they had going on at the moment. AGAIN, told her we were just looking. She then responded with "I am just trying to EDUCATE you". Well at that point, I about lost it and she almost ended up being smacked in the mouth. We both said in unison that we did not want or need to be educated and just wanted to be left alone. She continued to spout out shit at which point, we just turned around and said that we would be leaving then. She retorted sarcastically that we could do that and I told her "F*** you lady!" This all happened in the time frame of 30 seconds. WHY can these people just not take the hint that we do not wish to be hounded all around the store?

We then went to JC Penney's where the atmosphere was so much nicer and decided on a really nice sectional couch. See? If "Miss Rooms To Go" had of been more laid back, they might have gotten a sale out of us. Grrrrrr.

Frustrated

2006-03-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, after three days working on it, I finally got C's bedroom finished. A total of six tubs full of toys for charity an 17 trash bags! Now she just needs to keep it that way! LOL

It looks like we will be closing NEXT week on the house. Although they have the appraisal, they are still waiting on a "clear to close". Hopefully, that will come through today and it will be 2-3 business days after that, that closing will take place. "Worse case scenario, you're looking at closing on Thurs or Fri". Well I re-scheduled the movers for Thursday, so I need to know today WTF is happening so we can plan the move. Time is running out and it's getting a bit manic round here!

I didn't go to physical therapy last night as E was late back, so I re-scheduled that for tonight instead. We ended up eating out at Red Lobster which was nice and then went to Best Buy to get me a larger hard drive for my broken PC and ended up getting a new printer too. Hopefully tonight or over the weekend, we can get it fixed and up and running again.

I didn't sleep too well last night. Of course being awoken at 4am by a thunderstorm didn't help any. *yawn*.

Ok, I am off to get on with some more packing type BS. Laters...

I broke it

2006-03-02T05:32:00.000-08:00

It's all my fault. I broke it. You may be asking what? My PC. I tried to change the resolution on the monitor and I hit the wrong thing and it went all weird on me. As advised by my husband, I tried to restart in safe mode and it blew something in windows system files and now it's broken. I broke it.

So here I am on the laptop telling y'all about my woes. Hmmm. I broke it.

I spent all day yesterday and most of the early evening sorting out C's bedroom. There must have been at least TWELVE trash bags taken to the dumpster and there are 4 tubs of toys to go to the charity shop. As I could feel my monthly migraine trying to break through, I could only take Excedrin and my muscle relaxant and had to skip the Ibuprofen. I am suffering for it today though and my neck and back feel horrible and achy. I have physical therapy tonight too, so that's going to be a barrel of laughs!

Ok, I have stuff to do. Laters alligators!

Tricks with the mind & body

2006-02-28T06:40:00.000-08:00

The human body can be cruel. Being as old as I am, and in want of another child before my child bearing days are over, when "Aunt Flo" is three days late, it's really not funny. QUIT playing games with me! I REALLY thought this was it, the moment I have been waiting for. Trying not to think about it, trying not to stress about IF and WHEN it will happen, but that it MIGHT still be possible....*sigh*

It looks more and more like we will either close on the house at the end of this week, or the beginning of next. The appraisal is in hand but until that has been done, we are all in limbo. So today, I have to change our moving date AGAIN with the nice lady over at Fire house Movers! Grrrr.

We upgraded the PC some over the last week or so. Both of us have LCD monitors and I have a DVD burner now as my CDRW died a slow and painful death. A GREAT deal on a laptop at Fry's over the weekend was too tempting to pass up too, so we grabbed it whilst stocks lasted! LOL It's basically to watch our soaps via the TV a lot easier and also frees up a lot of space on my hard drives. 9gb of soaps! Yikes! And with the secure home network that E set up, we're good to go! Woo hoo!

Going to get me a new ringtone I think. I have fallen in love with "Must Be Doing Something Right" by Billy Currington. Click on "Listen to tracks from new album" and hit track three when it loads. OMG....*goosebumps*

The Fours

2006-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Ok Jaana, this is just for you!

4 Jobs You Have Had in Your Life:
Nightclub Bouncer, Sales Assistant, Aircraft Dispatcher, Nail Technician

4 Movies You Could Watch Over & Over:
Top Gun, Wizard of Oz, King Pin, Monty Python's Holy Grail

4 Places You Have Lived:
London, Luton, Thetford (all in the UK), and then 2 more places within DFW Metroplex, Texas, USA

4 TV Shows You Love to Watch:
House, CSI Las Vegas, ER, Eastenders

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:
Turkey, Spain, Germany, Malta

4 Websites You Visit Daily:
Ebay, Google for definite EVERY day! Other than that, I don't know!

4 of Your Favorite Foods:
Coconut Shrimp Bites, Fried Egg with Chips (French Fries), Chocolate (of course), Most things lemon flavored!

4 Places You'd Rather be Right Now:
My new house, Gran Canaria sipping cocktails by the pool at the hotel we honeymooned at, Las Vegas, Red Lobster easting coconut shrimp bites!

4 bloggers You Are Tagging:
Lou (pay back for the 7 Memes), ehhh, I think we'll just make Lou do this one! hehehe

Busy, busy, busy

2006-02-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

Ooh, I am a BAD blogger! Sorry it's been 8 days since I last wrote in here, but things have been chaotic at this end!

We THOUGHT we were ready to close on the house on Feb 28 and move in on March 02. But no, our mortgage broker, underwriter and mortgage company do not communicate with each other! Cut a long story short, they screwed up! Now we will most likely be closing the first week of March and moving in a couple of days afterwards. *sigh*

I can't remember if I mentioned this before and can't be arsed to read my own blog to check, but did I tell y'all that the FIRE DEPARTMENT are moving us?! Hmmm, thought the ladies would like that bit! Yes, our local fire dept also run a removals service. Basically, when the fire fighters are off duty, they moonlight doing removals. It's all above board and run by the fire dept themselves. We get 3 fire fighters and a 32ft long truck. It's only $95 an hour and $50 flat rate move fee within the metroplex here. Not even messing about with a u-haul would work out better! Woo hoo! Have a look for yourself if you don't believe me: Firehouse Movers Inc.

So, what else have I been doing since I last blogged? Well, I DID finally get my pain meds! Thank God for that! Physical Therapy has been ok some days, and purgatory on others. I swear Melissa enjoys inflicting pain on me! We did our walkthrough on the house y'day. C has done her TAKS test. That's about it. More news as it happens!

I need drugs

2006-02-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Remind me NOT to leave it until I am down to my last muscle relaxant pill before ordering any more!

The pharmacy faxed the Dr last night at 5pm. I called the Dr's office to make sure they were still there and would get it signed off and faxed right back. The lady I spoke to said that would be fine.

This morning, I call the pharmacy to check my meds are in before I walk over there and he tells me they still haven't heard anything and had faxed them again. He suggested I call the Dr's office and remind them.

I get some snotty, nasty, rude, mealy mouthed nurse and she informs me when I mention the phrase "last night", that "Oh the fax machine gets turned off "at night" and it won't come in until this morning anyway. When we get it, we will give to to Dr R to sign and it will get sent back to the pharmacy!" Click. Buuuurrrrrrrrrrr.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!! When I said last night, I meant 5pm, not midnight you stupid hick bint! Can you not LISTEN to the entire sentence before going off into verbal diarrhea and slamming the damn phone down on me?

So now, I am playing the waiting game. Ibuprofen alone is not touching the pain. *sigh* I need to get off here and rest some. Bye for now.

Hearts n Dishes

2006-02-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

The house is really coming along leaps and bounds now. You can check it out by clicking the link to the right. The mortgage dude reckons we will close (complete) at 0900hrs CST, Feb 28, one of the other folk over there reckons later, so who knows. The left hand doesn't know what the right one is doing methinks. I hope they get their act together soon though as we gave notice to quit the apartment on Mar 16! *yikes*

TSS is moving into a cockroach infested apartment complex. The apartment is 110sq ft smaller than our place and this is cramped at times! We read some reviews on the place and only 16% of folk who have lived there would recommend it. At least our apartment complex got a 56%! I'm glad she is moving away from her abusive father (whom we are certain will soon be turning his attentions to K), and that she is finally going to stand on her own two feet. What worries me is that she may be relying on the child support checks to pay the rent and that scares me. What if (God forbid), E should lose his job? That would mean her and the kids out on the street. I understand he has to pay child support and all, but SHE has a duty to support them also! It's just really scary all round. She is not the most reliable of people when it comes to paying her bills and the last place she was renting, she ran up a rent debt of over $2000! I wonder who co-signed for this place for her?! Hmmmm. The mind boggles!

Sunday daytime, he went off to work to grab the much needed overtime and I stayed home with all three kids. I awoke to a pile of fresh cat vomit on the carpet. Nice. Just what I want to wake up to! However, before I can clean it up, I have to wash up a crapload of stuff in the sink! Grrrrr. So, I duly did this, cleaned up the vomit, made the kids breakfast, took my meds and had myself some breakfast. He calls mid morning to see how things are going. It ended in a slanging match on the phone and I told him straight: "If you do NOT clean up after yourself, you will find yourself cooking dinner EVERY night until you learn! You can make dinner tonight, or go hungry, your choice!" Well, ya know what, it worked! He cooked dinner AND cleaned up after himself! Woo hooooo!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. E got me some cute PJ's with pretty hearts, lovebirds and flowers on them. I got him "Dodgeball" on DVD and a coffee mug with a heart on it. After Physical Therapy, we went to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner. We only had to wait around 35mins for our table, so not too bad considering what day it was!

I think that's about it for now....TTFN

Pain in the ass

2006-02-10T05:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder how a person would react if they were in my shoes. Do they really understand the extent of the pain I am in (even when I have pain meds inside of me). Or do they just think I am exaggerating to get out of going back to work. It often makes me wonder. Take this morning for example:

I DARE to bitch about leftover raw chicken and dirty skillet and utensils being left in the sink and grease splattered all over the nice clean stove top that I only just cleaned the day before (because of the mess created from the last time he cooked)....and I get yelled at because I haven't found a job yet and I NEED to recognize that he cooked last night. Well I had to drive a stick shift in rush hour traffic to physical therapy with all of my injuries which include my left knee which is really painful right now. Trust me, it's no fun having to keep pushing down on the clutch! Why is it when I cook every other night of the week, I can manage to clean up the sh*t afterwards and not leave it for someone else to do? Is it really asking too much? I guess so. I'm tired of this bullsh*t.

I sent out three resumes this week and looked at countless jobs, but he just looks at it this way: You ONLY sent out THREE? I sent out HUNDREDS when I was out of work...I'm not qualified for most of the jobs I am finding, and even some of the lowest paid ones want a degree. WTF is up with that?

The physical therapy place are in need of some help and I was going to see about maybe working there at least until we move. It might be too long of a commute to do afterwards though. I don't want to mess them about though. They need someone full time and not someone who's going to leave in a month's time. *sigh*

It feels like every day, I have more stuff shoved in my face to do. That is on top of the usual BS that needs to get done that goes un-noticed. I feel unappreciated. JUST because I am not in a PAID job, doesn't mean I have nothing to do. It's been a bad week for pain this week, but that is pushed to the way side with him. Have you found a job yet is all that matters? Just keep on pushing me and see where it gets you. There's only so much I am prepared to take.

Coyote cutie and physical stuff

2006-02-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

Physical Therapy is getting harder with each visit. Melissa is adding more exercises to help increase my strength in all of the afflicted areas. I like going as number one, it gets me out of the house, and number 2, I actually FEEL like it is doing me some good. It's often painful especially when my head is being pulled and my back being pushed on, but I know at the end of the day, it will help me back on to the road of recovery.

Tuesday night I heard a noise. At first I thought it was E's pc making some weird sound effect or something. I asked him what it was and he said it sounded like a coyote. I realized the windows were still open and that the noise wasn't from his pc, but was from outside. I stood on the porch and stared into the darkness. Suddenly it howled again and I saw him (or her) standing at the little patch of woodland on the edge of the parking lot. A big ol' coyote. And he was big too. The size of a German Shepherd maybe, not sure. He howled a few times and then when he realized he wasn't getting the food or attention he was craving, he scampered off into the woodland! I have seen some interesting creatures since I arrived in Texas, but most of them have been in the zoo or as roadkill. Here's a few of my sights to date:

Raccoon (never a live one, always roadkill), Skunk, (roadkill, but mostly you can just smell just their stench wafting across the street), 'Possum (always squished by the roadside), Armadillo (they make good crunchy roadkill...never saw a live one until we went to Boo at the Zoo for Halloween), Coyote (he was alive! I think I have seen a couple of younger dead ones on the roadside), Cardinal (these beauties have always been alive, but I have only seen males), Rattle Snake (thankfully it was was dead the one I stumbled across, and the others were behind glass!), Fire Ants (they WERE alive and then Terminex got a hold of them and killed every last one of the little buggers), Porcupine (only at the zoo), Hawk (see them and hear them daily. They look cute when they sit on the street signs watching the traffic)

Well that's it on the nature stuff!! LOL

Moving on...yesterday was one of THOSE days. I'd had a bad night the night before (Tuesday) and woke up feeling like poop. I ached from physical therapy and I could feel a headache started to lurk. By lunch, I was getting a bad headache. I took my usual pain meds at 12 ands waited until 2.30 to take some excedrin. I just took one hoping it would be enough to tell the pain in my head to go away. By 3.45, I had to take another one and decide it best to just skip my 4pm pain meds as it may cause tummy cramps again like last time. The pain was getting worse, not better and I could feel it turning into a full blown migraine. Sh*t, that's all I need. I laid down in the bedroom. It was cool and dark. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't stop the pain and on top of that, my neck and back were screaming at me for pain meds. I started to feel nauseous. NOT a good sign. I needed to eat something, or I would be looking at the inside of the toilet bowl before long.

Rice-a-roni and corn to the rescue, Man I hate it when it is just before E's pay day: there's hardly anything to eat and I needed something fast!

I soon started to feel a lot better and even the headache side of the migraine started to dissipate (big word for me innit LOL).

By 9.30pm, it started to come back again. I popped another excedrin and a muscle spasm pill and went to bed.

I awoke this morning: my back and neck are not good at all, my head felt like it was still trying to fend off the migraine and I didn't know what meds I should take. I took a risk. The pain meds for my injuries won this battle and if the migraine comes back, I will deal with it appropriately.

The more I have been going to physical therapy, the more I am thinking I wouldn't mind doing their job. It seems like a very rewarding job and I think I would enjoy it honestly. E looked into the training I would need to be a physical therapist's assistant, 70hrs total (working out at about $3360) and I got put off at the first class. They require a mammal dissection. Sh*t. He says it would most likely be a cat. I have two cats of my own, I really don't know if I could do that. When we did biology at school, it was nothing bigger than a worm or frog, and even then, the squeamish ones could skip that part if they wanted to. Guess who skipped that part?! Crap, if I want to do this, I need to figure a way around that. Maybe if it were a rabbit, or rat it would be different. But a cat or dog would be like NO WAY JOSE! Dang it. I will talk to Melissa tonight and see what she has to say about it. She will probably think I am nuts at my age for even thinking about starting training for a career like that. I think I would be good at it and could certainly give first hand advice on the recovery process etc. *shrugs* I dunno, I just feel like I am wasting my life away and going nowhere. I am getting the learning bug again and need to go with it!

What's new?

2006-02-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

After the stress and strain of Monday, everything else seems dull in comparison. TSS is obviously not happy with the outcome, but swears that the money will be spent on the kids as it always was before. Yeah right, that's why when you were getting $800 a month you didn't bother paying your rent and ran up a debt of $2000, yet were getting tattoos and body piercings done. Nothing like getting your priorities right is there?

Tabitha seems to be back to her old self again although the shock of everything has brought her into season earlier than anticipated and she is presenting her butt to anyone and everything that shows the slightest interest. Getting her "bits" removed is next on the to do list I think!

Physical Therapy went well this week. Melissa says my legs are getting stronger as "sitting on the wall" is becoming easier. The heat as always felt yummy and was putting me to sleep!

We went to Olive Garden on Friday night as we haven't been out for a while. I tried the new stuffed pasta shells with shrimp. Mmmmmmm. Very nice!!

Checked out the house on Saturday amongst other errands we had to run. They have laid the vinyl flooring and done all the light switches and little detail type things. They have also poured the wrong size patio! They will now have to chip it out and pour the correct size in one piece! *groan*

Okay, I am going to update the house pages now and put some stuff up for sale on Ebay. TTFN

Just desserts

2006-01-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

Today has been a very l-o-n-g day. It started off by getting up at 0500hrs and cutting E's hair. Then jumping in the shower, breakfasting, taking my meds and heading out the door at 0645. For today was the day we took TSS to court to get the child support modified. We were both very stressed out and I myself personally had been awake since before 0300 mulling things over in my head. I don't know how long I laid there trying to get back to sleep, but it felt like just as I did, it was time to get up! It was chilly this morning and my bare legs felt the wind whistling round them as we crossed from the parking lot to the new courthouse. It was a totally new building from the one E had gotten his divorce at, and was so fresh and clean looking, almost hospital-like.

When we got to the court dealing with our hearing, we saw TSS sitting outside. She had made absolutely NO effort! No make up, hair scraped back off her face, and wearing casual clothes. Her attorney seemed like she was bi-polar: one minute her mood was sweetness and light, the next she was spitting fire at everyone. Most strange.

Our attorney Kim arrived very calm and collected. She went into a conference room with Miss BP and began to bump heads over the case. E said that it sounded like it was getting rather heated in there. Kim came out and started going on about how TSS was going to try to make both of us look as bad as possible. She had been lying to her own attorney about CPS. She told her they had dropped the case against her as it was unfounded. (I will expound on that later on). She also told her I had been bad mouthing her in front of the kids (she must be thinking of what SHE has been up to). She also stated she was back in school (another lie). And then the piece de la resistance: she wanted to drag the whole "I was only 15 when I got married", he took advantage BS. Anyway, I digress...TSS was prepared to try and drag E's name through the mud and that was that. Kim however put Miss BP straight and quite flatly told her "That has NOTHING to do with the child support modification". She TRIED to bring it up in front of the judge, and he shut her up there and then. It made TSS and her "Pro Bono" attorney look extremely stupid and petty! I guess you get what you pay for.

The outcome was a good one. We got it modified to a reasonable amount and an arrangement to start to pay off the arrearage. The judge also ordered it to be a FINAL payment and not a temporary stay which was what was originally intended. That suits us because it costs us less in fees. We will get some money back and that is a good deal as far as we are concerned.

After the court ordeal, believe it or not, I had to compose myself to have an interview. It was a very casual affair and the guy seemed nice. The money will not be fantastic, but it will be regular wages as opposed to waiting for a client to MAYBE get their nails done and there is scope for promotion and advancement. What is this job? It's just a receptionist at an Insurance Agency. I will be helping three agents out at an office near to our new house. My MIL actually put me on to them as they are part of her area that she covers and she knew they needed someone with an ounce of intelligence! Apparently I have just over the ounce, so qualify! He seemed to like me, so fingers crossed, I should have some news in the next couple of days on that!

It looks like the house will be ready sooner than we thought. They called today to say that one of the vinyl floor coverings we ordered was out of stock and would we like the same one throughout the "wet areas". I agreed as both designs were fairly plain and nice, so really was no big deal. The mortgage company requested all the pay checks, bank statements etc and it seems to be moving quickly. After seeing it on Saturday, I can really believe it is almost done. You can check out the progress with the link to the right of the page.

We had the kids over at the weekend. I am really disheartened that despite how WE hold our tongues about TSS when the kids are present, SHE feels the need to badmouth us the moment she gets the chance to. E's eldest approached me on Sunday whilst he was at work and asked why his daddy wanted to take them away from his mommy. I asked him where he had got such an idea from. He again reiterated the conversation he had had with his mom after E had fought with her on the phone about the child support. The SECOND she got off the phone, she told J that daddy wanted to take him and K away from her. When E asked her about this before, she flatly denied it and said he was making it up. Kids do not remember stuff like that if they are making it up. His story matched the one from two weeks ago. *sigh*

It was K's 5th birthday on Saturday. Money was tight as we'd had a $440 payment stripped from E's wage by CSA. It left us short for our rent which we still have to find, but I did bake her a cake and got her a new outfit to wear. I know it's not much, but apparently, we got her more than ANYONE at her house did. TSS bought her NOTHING, her grandparents got her NOTHING. Thankfully we got her a small something and so did E's parents. *sigh* And they wonder WHY we are pissed about her having money for the kids? We know full well that it won't go on the kids at all! :-( This is K in her new outfit we got her (I have NEVER seen this child wear a dress or skirt, ever)

Back to the CPS deal. I managed to get a hold of the case worker this morning whilst E was in the courtroom. Now TSS reckoned it had been closed and they were no longer investigating her. I managed to speak with her NEW case worker who said she had been trying to get a hold of her unsuccessfully. I wrote the details on a card and gave them to Kim to pass onto Miss BP/TSS. It would maybe prove to Miss BP what a f****** liar TSS really is!

Physical Therapy tomorrow, yay! :-/ Bed now, YAYYYYYY!!! Nite nite

What a pain in the neck!

2006-01-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

This morning after I had gotten dressed, something "snapped" in my neck and I suddenly zoomed back 8 weeks to the day after the car accident. The pain meds weren't even touching it! I tried to rest on the couch. Nothing. I walked about. Nope, that wasn't helping any. I DAREN'T do any stretching cause I knew my previous obtainable goals had now been moved way off into the distance. So what did I do? I walked gingerly to the store and bought me some super duper "Therma Care" pads. OMG heaven in a box! You stick the pad across the afflicted area (in my case, my neck and shoulders) and it reacts with the air and heats up. You can wear them for up to 8hrs and then you throw them away. Kind of expensive at $8.49 for three, but VERY soothing and is helping A LOT! *sigh*

I may have me another job to go to. I will tell more as and when I find out about it. Watch this space!

It's K's birthday tomorrow and I have to go bake a cake. Bye for now!

She's b-a-c-k...

2006-01-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

We collected Tabitha from PetSmart last night and she finally came home with us. $35 please! We gave her a bath as she was a bit smelly from being in the vets and I think peeing on herself! One stressful bath time later and she was wandering around trying to shake the water out of her paws. She ate, drank and used the litter tray so I guess she is back on the road to recovery. Chrystine (our other cat) won't go near Tabitha or any of us and hisses and spits. I'm not sure if it's the vet's she can smell, or just that we washed Tabitha's scent away and she now smells all new to her like a stranger. I dunno! I tried taking some pictures of her with her cute blue bandage on but she wasn't a willing model for me, so not sure how those are going to look!
This morning, my neighbor kindly ran us both back to PetSmart to have her bloodwork checked out to make sure she was ok again and get the catheter removed from her front paw. Another $78 please!

With her bandage on

Trying to get some rest after her ordeal. They shaved my fuzzy girl's paw!

The bandage is off and she has this poor little patch on her leg where they have shaved her. Bless.

I haven't slept well the past few nights so am going to have a lay down. Ciao for now!

Give me a sharp knife and ten minutes....

2006-01-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Just TEN freaking minutes alone with this b*stard! I watched this on the news last night. I felt physically sick and I cried HARD for her (my daughter is 9). This is not far from where my husband works...

She's stable

2006-01-25T06:36:00.000-08:00

$224 lighter, and Tabitha is on her way to the Pet Hospital down the street. She was very scared and I guess somewhat mad at me. Everything was going ok until I was asked to sign a form. "Ma'am, in the event of heart failure, please check what you would like us to do. Either DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), CPR, or Open Heart Massage". Well that was the final straw. I burst into floods of tears. I never in my wildest dreams imagined having to do anything like this for ANYONE, let alone my fuzzy girl. They said they would call if there was anything wrong and that no news, was good news. It hadn't even entered my mind that this might be an issue. I left the pet hospital a sniffling mess.

At just before midnight, my cell phone rang. It was the pet hospital. My heart leapt into my throat as I feared the worst. I breathed a sigh of relief as all they wanted was to give her an enema as she hadn't passed any of the charcoal yet and the IBP could be re-absorbed via her colon and bowels. I TRIED to get back to sleep but tossed and turned for the most part of it.

I got up and 5am today and got myself prepared to go collect Tabitha and take her to the vet at PetSmart again. She looked very upset with me and scared too. She finally came out of the corner of the cage and finally let me pet her. After about 5mins of some loving, she started to purr. I felt a bit more at ease with my conscience. A payment of $256 to the pet hospital and we were back on our way to PetSmart. She will be there all day under observation and continuing the IV fluids. Hopefully, she is on the road to recovery now.

It's A Cat's Life

2006-01-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

This morning whilst eating my toast, I noticed the kitten batting something around on the carpet. When I looked down, she had my multi-vitamin pill. I quickly took it away from her and dumped it back in the cup I load my pills into ready for when I am done eating. I look and look again. One of my Ibuprofen pills is missing. There should be three, but there's only two. Oh SH*T! I frantically start looking around for it and it's nowhere to be seen. I call the vet and they tell me that it can cause the kidneys to fail and I need to get her to the vet's office ASAP.

I scoop up the kitten, get her into the pet carrier and start to frantically try and get a taxicab to come out. It's 8.00am, good luck with that plan.

I call the vet back in tears and they tell me to call the ASPCA Poison Control Center. They tell me I STILL need to get her to the vet and that's $55 for telling you that thanks very much!

My neighbor pulled up, so I ran to his apartment and burst into tears when he opened the door. He has a dog, so he understood where I was coming from and offered to take me and bring me back. I said not to worry about waiting for me and he should just go to work.

They weighed her and took her straight in to get treatment started. They are going to try to flush her system with IV fluids and charcoal in an attempt to stop it from harming her. If left untreated, the IBP could cause her kidneys to shut down.

We have to go get her tonight before 6 when the vet at PetSmart closes and then take her to the pet hospital down the street where she needs to stay in overnight. Just the day at PetSmart's vet will cost around $200+. I don't even wanna think about the hospital's charges.

I've turned the apartment upside down looking for the missing pill. I can't find it. I feel like sh*t. My poor fuzzy girl. :-(( This was taken yesterday. One of her comfort zones (on top of my monitor watching me on the pc. *sniff*

Mwah ha ha

2006-01-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

I am really looking forward to the court hearing next week. TSS reckons we are going to be opening up a whole can of worms. I think she thought it would be US who would be at the receiving end of those wriggly things. I think however, it will be her. Life can be so sweet sometimes. HEY, watch out for the karma van! Hehehe

Fa-Bee or not Fa-Bee?

2006-01-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

Fa-Bee. Have you ever seen Married With Children where Kelly (the typical blonde daughter) pronounces FBI as Fa-Bee? Oh well, I guess it's not funny if ya have to explain it!

Anyway, this morning we trotted off to see Immigration in Dallas. We had our interview back in August and were told we were still pending waiting on the FBI check to come back. We figured 5 months later, they might have some answers for us. Nope, still pending. *sigh*

The drama continues...

2006-01-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

Tss was served Thurday night. I would loved to have been a fly on the wall when she was handed those! LMFAO. She called up here hissing and spitting about what kind of games we were playing. "Well hey, YOU TOLD US to take you to court, so we are!"

Physical Therapy was hard work on Friday. Melissa added some more exercises for my knee and back and I got the heat and ice treatment. Somehow ice on my knee isn't as bad as laying my back onto a huge slab of it! LOL She said that the spasms seem to have died down some since I started going, which is all good.

More dramas with the insurance company from hell. They tried to charge US for the tear down fee and the 17 days worth of storage over at Service King, something which THEY are liable for, not us! After many heated calls back and forth and more advice from the Texas Dept of Insurance, they backed down and paid it. Now hubs has been doing some research into what is legal and just business practice, and it would seem to be the case, that they are being extremely underhand and are NOT offering us a FAIR price for the car. We have to do some homework and will fight them tooth and nail over it if necessary. The funny thing is, that FULL settlement has to be released and payment in hand by the 60th day after the accident. Now that doesn't mean them sending us a check for what THEY feel is fair and walking away. It means we have to be happy with their offer and sign the release papers for them to have the vehicle. IF it goes over the 60 day mark, they have to apply for an extension and try to worm their way around the laws. It will only strengthen our complaint against them with the TDI, hehehe.

More work has been done on the house, you can check on that by clicking the link over there - - - >

Hubs at work today and I am trying to get sh*tloads done. My neck and shoulders are really aching today and I don't feel like doing anything! *sigh*

A-affordable? More like A-ASSHOLES!

2006-01-18T13:10:00.000-08:00

DON'T get me started on what a bunch of f****** a-holes they ALL are over at that company! They have finally returned my voicemail from yesterday and are offering a pathetic $5700 total for the car. We paid well over $7000 for it in June and with the really low mileage it had on it, we will never be able to get another bargain like that. Plus the transmission work we had done on it that cost us $650....I am so mad right now I could scream!

I suggested to E that we buy the car off the insurance company and part it out for spares on Ebay. I don't know how else we are going to get our money back. We still owe my parents on the vehicle and are going to take a big loss otherwise. This sucks ass.

Insurance Madness

2006-01-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

***Start rant***

It seems to me, that her insurance company have to be one of the worst companies I have ever had to deal with (in regards to any matter, not just insurance). Having had no luck in getting any kind of returned phone calls from them, let alone answers, hubs decided it was time to call in the big guys. He left voicemail for the adjustor's supervisor. We shall name him Mr S. Mr S returned said voicemail and stated quite matter-of-factly that they were taking my car away from Service King for further investigation and assessment. I guess they didn't believe Service King when they told them the car was a total loss.

Now bear in mind, the car has been sitting at SK for TWO weeks now and was totaled the day after it was taken in. The insurance company have been fully aware of this and have done NOTHING in regards to settling the claim. All the while, they are racking up $25 a day in storage fees.

I called SK. They knew nothing of them taking my car and said they would not release it to them without my permission.

I then get a call from a towing company. I explain to her that they in no way have permission to take my car unless a settlement has been reached!

We figured that with the low mileage the car had on it and the condition it was in pre-crash, we would be hard pushed to find another one for under $10,000. So, subtract the $2500 they have already given us, and a check for $7,500 would work, (maybe).

This company have done nothing but nit-pick the whole time and you would think that considering the accident occurred on Dec 03 2005, and that their insured was 100% at fault and admitted such, that something would have been finalized by now. To say that I am angry is a little short of an understatement! We are without my car and without a check to replace it!

***End of rant***

Cellphone Shenanigans

2006-01-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

Cost of Motorola RAZR V3 $81
Cost of line rental per month $30
Taking pic of hubby asleep like a baby with HIS RAZR $0
Applying it as wallpaper on his phone $0
Him finding it this morning & not knowing how to change it: PRICELESS

Holy Sh-e-e-e-e-e-t

2006-01-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

Still feeling a bit achy after Thursday's physio session, but I have been trying to do my exercises regardless of that as I just want to get back on track again.

Up at the butt-crack of dawn today (sorry about that Dawn) as we had craploads of stuff to get done. First port of call was a much needed Starbuck's Peppermint Mocha. Aaaaaaah, heaven in a cup! "Do you want whipped cream with that ma'am?" (does a bear sh*t in the woods?) So one for me and one for hubs, and we are on our way. The house has been sheet-rocked and you can see the photos of the house progress HERE. There are seven pages up now!

We pick up the kids and have an interesting conversation with P (their grandmother, TSS's mom). Apparently SHE is none too happy at having the kids dumped on her all week whilst TSS goes off flying here there and everywhere doing whatever! She told us her "friend" paid for the ticket. I asked if the friend also paid her loss of wages for the week she took off to go up there....umm, no! J has been really disrespectful to his grandma and she asked if WE could try talking to him as TSS is having no effect (no shock there then). Also, we discovered that TSS has been saying that we are going to take them away from their home to go live with us and J said he was mad at his dad. That is not a nice thing to come out of a 6yr old's mouth. We will be having words about that! Not only that, but the kids told me that the Easter bunny I got for J got GIVEN to a friend of TSS's!!! WTF does she think she is doing? That was a gift from us to him. What right does she have to do that? K said she tried to get it off of her, but she took it anyway. What a b*tch!

I did some market research today for the first time in weeks and got $54 for an hour's work. I also drove for the first time since the car wreck. It was a bit ouchy in my shoulders as E's car doesn't have power steering and it was hurting to turn the wheel.

I got a cute shirt for just under $9 at Walmart. It will be a nice one for when I finally get back to working. There was another one there I liked the look of too, but I had to draw the line at just the one as I WAS supposed to be getting food! ;-)

Anyway, I am going to go and do my physio "homework". Be good readers! ;-)

Legal eagle

2006-01-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

We saw a lawyer. It could take a lot of time and money which we don't have to get the Child Support reduced to a sensible, legal and affordable amount. *shrugs*

Watch this space *hopes for a miracle*.

Let's get physical, physical...

2006-01-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

I started physiotherapy yesterday. This is how that went:

I fill out a mountain (or so it seems) of icky paperwork. I then get introduced to Melissa who is going to be my physiotherapist. She takes me through into this room that looks a bit like a gym but with lots of other weird gadgets and gizmos in it. She starts asking me tons of questions and taking notes. She does a few tests on me to see what hurts and what kind of pain I am feeling (ummm...the kind that hurts?). I also do some strength tests in my arms and legs. The legs are linked to the lower back problems and the arms are linked to the neck and shoulder problems. For someone who used to work out 3-4 times a week, I am as weak as a kitten and can barely resist her with any of the tests she does. *sigh* Then we go through some exercises.

I see her approach me with what looks like the thing they take your blood pressure with. She inflates the cushion behind the curve in my lower back and asks me to push my tummy back in against it thus forcing my back to flatten said cushion. She hands me the gauge and tells me it has to drop to 20 when relaxed and go passed 40 when I am pushing. It wasn't easy and I felt pain in my back when doing it, but she says it will help me in the long run. She called those pelvic tilts.

Now I have to do some "Bridges". I am laying on my back with my knees bent and the soles of my feet on the bed. She asks that I raise my butt off the couch as high as I can. OUCH. Needless to say, my butt doesn't get very far! :-(

She then wants me to try and push my neck against another inflatable pillow thingy and get the gauge to go as high as I can. That didn't feel too good either.

Some stretching and head pulling to loosen up the neck muscles too.

I can do these exercises at home despite not having the inflatable thingy and suggests a few times a day will help.

Now to the fun/weird stuff. We go over to another couch and I am asked to lay on my tummy and rest my forehead on my hands which I have formed into an open triangle shape. Melissa starts kneading, pushing, rubbing, various parts of my neck and the back of my head, not to mention pulling my head (I wonder if it will come off in her hands, now THAT would be funny LOL). Now for the most part, this felt good and I was actually getting some kind of sick relief from it. THEN, she moves down to my lower back and starts pushing with I would say most of her body weight onto various areas. I can feel my eyes filling up with tears as the pain shoots through my spine. What a relief when that is over!

Now onto the really nice part! I have about 8 pads stuck to my neck, shoulders and lower back/top of my butt. I am then asked to lay down over the top of two pads, each covered with a towel. The pads are very warm, like a hot bath kind of mperature. Not uncomfortable, but just nice, ya know? Then the real fun starts! Have any of you ever had a "Slender Tone" treatment for weight loss/losing inches? Well it was kind of like that. These pads started to vibrate and I could set them to a level I felt comfy with. So I am set to "bake" for 15mins. It felt really good and I could feel it starting to help me big time. Then Melissa straps herself to my bent legs and starts to lean back. "This is traction Tracy and it's going to help to pull out your back some". OUCH. I didn't like that part!

One sweaty back, neck and a $13.50 co-pay later, I am off on my way! My next appointment is Tuesday.

This morning, I feel horrible (just like she said I would). Nothing is easing the pain today and even standing in the hot shower's cascade didn't take the edge off it one bit. Someone put me to sleep PLEASE?!

The car saga continue-eth. We have STILL not heard back about the car as to what her insurance company intend to do about our totaled vehicle. They are not returning our phone calls, nor are they returning Service King's phone calls. The car was totaled TEN days ago and they should have done SOMETHING by now. So, the matter is now being passed over to the Department of Insurance and being treated as an official complaint! This company have done nothing but mess us about from day one!

I've been listing some stuff on Ebay to try and help get some money coming in and out of the 9 items, one has already sold. Now if we can just get the other stuff to sell...

Watch out for the sh*t!

2006-01-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

Where do I begin? The sh*t has really hit the fan big time here!

TSS only agreed to sign the divorce decree originally after E agreed to giving her $800 a month in Child Support (DOUBLE what he should have had to pay). We knew we could get it lowered by saying change of circumstances, lifestyle change, lower wage etc but it could take time. For eleven months out of 2004, he coughed up $800 and we went short because of it.

In December of 2004, he lost the job that he secured when we first came over. We had just moved into a new apartment and I wasn't legally allowed to work at that point. Luckily, he managed to get a job working for a temp agency, but in the mean time, we'd fallen behind whilst he was out of work with ALL of our bills. The only thing we kept on top of was our rent.

The longer it went on, the more we knew we had to get the child support lowered for us to survive. He sent all the paperwork in to the Office of the Attorney General who handle the collection of Child Support here in Texas. We heard nothing back. All that would come through, was demands for $800 a month which we didn't have.

Last January, E went to file his tax return for 2004 and was told he could not claim the kids as an exemption because TSS had got in before him, claimed SOLE financial responsibility and neglected to mention the $800 a month she had received for the 11months out of that year. She got a nice healthy $6000 tax return for the pathetic TWO months out of the year that she had actually worked! We ended up with $1500 and couldn't even claim $0.01 for C's upkeep as she was not fully immigrated at that point and didn't have a social security number. We tried to appeal it with the tax office and told them that she had fraudulently filed. They said they would look into it, we heard nothing more about it.

Recently, the OAG have been sending letters and calling asking for his employment details to start making deductions from his pay. It cause fight after fight between us, as I stated it would only make things worse if he ignored it. He stated that if they started taking the $800 a month out of his wages, we would not get the mortgage on the house and it would all fall through. I suggested that we ask TSS to make some kind of compromise and reduce the child support to a more realistic figure (like $400 which is what it should have been all along) and that in return, when MY compensation money came through for the accident, we would pay off the arrears in one lump sum and once we moved into the house we take the kids every other weekend from Friday-Sunday night like she wants us to now (yes, in a 2 bed apartment with no beds).

Well last night, just before dinner, the sh*t hit the fan. TSS calls up screaming down the phone that the OAG have finally found out where he works and that they are going to start deductions from his next paycheck for $955 a month. That's our mortgage payment right there, and on top of that, we still have to live. I am not physically able to work right now and we are scared we will lose out on the house deal because of this mess. Yes we can appeal it and get it lowered, but if we go through the OAG, it could take up to 6 months. They IGNORED the original paperwork he sent in, saying it was incomplete (despite him sending in paychecks, rent statements and everything).

We confronted her about her weekend activities when we are looking after the children and told her that despite what she says, we KNOW she has been doing drugs and does nothing but lie to us about her whereabouts. Take this weekend for example: she asked us back in December if we could take them for the weekend because she was flying up to Massachusetts for a friend's wedding. I since found out, she is meeting up with some guy she has been scr*wing that she met online who she spent four days with in a hotel here back in August. She went silent when E told her he knew about what she was REALLY doing this weekend.

I emailed a lawyer firm last night and am hoping they can help us out. She has her rent paid for her by her parents and is working full time. She pays NO child care costs and snorts most of her cash up her nose. Would YOU be happy about supplying her with $800 a month to support her habit?

Luckily, on the good side, they cannot legally deduct more than 50% of his net pay. Even so, it will leave us short and we may lose out on the house anyway.

We are at our wits end and had an awful night's sleep.

The lawyer firm I emailed last night have called me back. They think we have a good case. The downside is they want $200 just to see us on the first appointment. Who knows how much it may run into when the real sh*t starts. *sigh* I have emailed some more laywers (another 12 to be precise) and will see who gets back to us with what answers by lunchtime. If we don't hear back by lunch, E wants me to arrange to see the first lawyer and see what they come back with.

This is all so unfair.

What a pain in the....belly, neck, back, shoulders...

2006-01-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

I got some Halloween scrapbooking done on Thursday. I did 4 pages and tested out my new sewing machine thingy. It's quite good for $20, but if I want to do some zig-zag, I will need to invest in a proper machine!

I made the decision to stop taking the narcotic pain killer Darvocet as I was still feeling sick after a week of being back on it. I spoke to the pharmacy and they said I could take Excedrin (a bit stronger than British Anadin Extra are) with the Ibuprofen and Robaxin (muscle relaxer). He did advise me that it might "tear up my stomach" if I took them all at the same time, so maybe take the Ibuprofen at a different time. I figured that as I normally take them together for my migraines, I would be ok, so ignored the advice. Remind me to do EXACTLY what the pharmacist tells me to in future please? I woke up at 2am with stomach ache and could not get back to sleep again. I finally got out of bed at 0330 and came out into the den. I drank a glass of milk thinking it might help ease me but it didn't. I was starting to get a headache which I knew would go migraine on me if not treated in time. What to do? Hmmm. I waited until 0600 and then had a bowl of oatmeal to line my stomach some more. I took my Excedrin and muscle relaxer at 0630 and then the Ibuprofen and hour later. ALL day, I had tummy pain and felt dog-rough. I took another dose 4hrs later, but left the Ibuprofen until 2hrs after and again, I had tummy ache. I made the choice to forgo ALL meds until my tummy felt better. Well that was this morning.

This morning I woke up in agony. I hadn't realized how much the pain meds were actually numbing the pain. Without anything in my system for 15hours, my lower back, neck and shoulders were very tight and very painful. I felt about 90yrs old! I ate some oatmeal and took just the Ibuprofen and muscle relaxer. *touch wood*, I have had no tummy pain today so will lay off the Excedrin unless I get a headache and will take those separately from the other stuff.

We went to the club again today and saw D the barber. He handed me a card from one of my clients that had been left for me. It had $20 inside it woo hoooo!! That was nice of him.

We went by the house to see what had been done there too. You can check that out by clicking the house link over there - - - - >.

We found out that the Sebring has been officially "totaled". The estimate actually turned into $6,021. We went over there and cleared out the rest of our stuff. That is probably the last time we will be seeing the car. *sniff*

Anyway, I am going to go watch some soaps and mess with my phone some more (oh yeah, T-Mobile changed the caller id round for us) Woo hoo!

Phones, Dryer, Dr, Pains, Car, House, Scrapbooking!

2006-01-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

At last I can send and receive texts on my cell phone. The old Siemens phone had a serious issue with Cingular and each time we tried to send a text message, the phone would switch off. Cingular blamed Siemens, and Siemens blamed Cingular. Funny how we never had a problem when using a UK network card and roaming on Cingular when we visited Texas (before moving here). Hmmm. Anyway, we can send and receive now, so all is good. I got a couple of texts from my UK pals and was much happier after that. I haven't given the number out to most people yet as we have an issue that needs to be resolved. The guy in the store got the phones mixed up. I have Eric's registered phone and he has mine. So when I call the landline, HIS name comes up on the caller ID and vice versa. Now the easiest solution would be to swap the phones over, but we have both downloaded stuff to our respective phones and personalized them to our own tastes. If they cannot change the phones over, then we will just get them to remove the name from the caller ID and leave it as "wireless call" and pay each other's bills when they come in. What a pain in the butt! *sigh*

I have to say this "I LOVE MY SMART HUSBAND!". Yesterday, the plastic knob on the dryer cracked. I tried to use another one from a feature we don't use as a temporary fix, but something wasn't right. Hubs to the rescue! I tried to explain what was wrong with it and how it should feel when being turned. After a few expletives and faffing around online and stuff, he finally worked out what the issue was. The springs inside the mechanical side of things had pinged out and weren't "catching" and telling the dryer to switch on. He fixed it and it works again. Yaaaayyyy!!!

I went to the Dr's on Tuesday and he is not pleased with the progress (or lack thereof) in my neck and shoulders. He said that there should have been more improvement than there has been and has stressed the importance of physio and to keep taking the pain meds.

I have had a horrible 3-4 days of feeling extremely nauseous, dizzy and having diarrhea (the last two days). Not nice. I figured out that it was due to the narcotic pain meds (Darvocet) coming out of my system when I ran out and my body having to get used to them again. Thankfully, it seems to have eased off somewhat now and I don't feel quite so rough. I think the sooner I can get off of these things, the happier I will be. *sigh*

The Sebring has gone in to be repaired. Whether we see it again or not, is another issue *shrugs*. They may turn right around and say it's broke beyond repair. It really makes no odds to me at this point as I will get rid of it either way. I am not comfortable even being a passenger in it, let alone driving it again. It just needs to go away.

We have an estimated closing date on the house of February 24. Now that could change dependant on the weather conditions a few days each way, but it's looking good so far!

Anyway, I am actually going to try out my new sewing machine thingy I bought the other day and get some scrapbooking done! Woo hoo! Talk later!

A new day, a new year

2006-01-01T09:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Okay, now I have got the formalities out of the way, let's get on with the blog!

Two more visits to the house since I last blogged and lots more work done. You can check that out by clicking the new house link over there - - - - >.

Pain has been more bearable since I got my refill of narcotic drugs! God, that sounds bad, but hey, they work! You can tell when you need some more as the pain starts to creep up on you though. Still no news on what physio I will be going to see. Oh well.

E got to come home early on Friday which was nice and he took us out to eat at
Bennigan's. He said we had been there before, but I honestly could NOT remember it for the life of me. (Must be getting old). The meal was enjoyable apart from the woman behind me who must have been on anti-depressants of some sort as she kept jiggling her legs the whole time she ate her food which cause our side of the booth to shake. If circumstances had been different, I might have enjoyed the washing machine effect LOL Luckily, they had gotten there before us, so left us to enjoy our shake free meal in peace!

This morning, we drove to the club to see D the barber whom I work with. No such luck. The Barbers Shop was closed. I guess he decided to close until the New Year. I popped into the lunch room and caught up with my dear friend R. I've missed our girly chats every day and she was surprised to see me!

After the club, we drove to the house and checked out more work and took some pictures. We had Quizno's for lunch which although expensive for sub sandwiches at $20 for the three of us, it was G-O-O-D!

E has been talking about getting new cell phones for a few weeks now and I had pointed out that I liked the Motorola RAZR V3 as it was so slim, has a really nice long standby time and had the video and camera function amongst other things. So, we went to check them out. T-Mobile seemed to have the best deal around and only required a ONE year contract when most were asking for a 2yr one to save an extra $10-20 or so. Some were even more than that! We got two phones for $162! BUT, we couldn't get the family plan on either of our credit scores so had to get our own lines individually. Oh well, it was only slightly more and it will help to build up BOTH of our credit scores! The phone is sooooooo cute and all day we have been saying "We've got new phones!". Now is the icky task of transferring all of the numbers over from the old one. We could do it by the sim card, but I would rather just do it manually and weed out ones I don't need anymore.

Got hubby to take me to Scrapbook Warehouse today and bought myself a mini sewing machine. I have loved some of the work I have seen Lou doing where she stitches her pieces of layout together and decided to give it a shot! Of course I had to buy some Christmas doo-dads and papers and stuff. However, having said that, do NOT expect to see red and green layouts from me! I REFUSE to conform! LOL

We popped into Best Buy to get E a new case for his phone and then came home to veg out.

So much for seeing the new year in. He fell asleep on the couch at about 10pm and I carried on watching soaps and messing with stuff on here after they'd finished. I did kiss him at midnight and wished him a happy new year to which I got the thumbs up and a happy new year back and once again, sleeping beauty is snoring again!

Ok, so this is a break down month by month of 2005 for us:

January
E out of work for the first part of month
Had to give our Oldsmobile Silhouette Van back due to the above
I finally get my work permit through
I had an early miscarriage and spent a few hours in the ER
E starts new job working for temping agency. Is place at oil tool manufacturing plant in Grand Prairie with possibility of becoming permanent

February
E enjoying work and gets a bit of overtime here and there
Finance company on his car try to repossess it
Inlaws bail us out and pay off the dogs
We enjoy our first Valentine's as Mr & Mrs
We start having E's kids come over for a weekend to test the waters
We have a hot Easter with gooey chocolate!

March
I am still job hunting, but not finding anyone who can be bothered to take up UK references

April
My parents, brother and his wife and child come over to Texas to visit. We do the sight seeing thing and they get to see New Orleans (my dad's dream destination).
I find what may be the ideal job for me at a fancy golf club about 45miles from home
We fall out with E's parents over Mother's Day and what they think is traditional and what is not! Nasty emails are sent and heated phone calls terminate the relationship

May
Mother's Day out with E's ex-wife and kids. (MY idea actually) It went ok and we were civil to each other
My birthday - man I feel old. E got me a gorgeous dragonfly necklace
I started working at the above mentioned fancy golf club as their manicurist
Courtney starts going to daycare
E loses the job that they said they would hire him at.
The club GIVES me $1000 to help out until things improve

June
My parents lend us some cash to buy a second car
We drive to Houston and buy my sexy red Sebring convertible woo hoo!
I take up scrapbooking at last and put the supplies I have been stockpiling to good use
E and I celebrate our first wedding anniversary. He buys me the earrings to match the necklace he got me for my birthday!
E finds a job working for another temporary agency over in Plano. This means a LONG drive each day for us both

July
E gets a permanent position back in Grand Prairie at an avionics company right across the street from the temp place! LOL

August
C turns 9 and we have a sleepover for her and five of her friends. The first and last time!
She gets a PC and desk in her room and webcams/emails/messages my family back in the UK
C starts 3rd Grade and has a really nice teacher

September
We've been in Texas for one year today (Sep 12)
Hurricane Rita could have hit us, but whistled by East of us

October
We decide we are ready to build a house and start over
We get mortgage approval and go for it
Eric gets hired as a permanent member of staff and gets full benefits
We go to Boo at the Zoo with the kids

November
I decide enough is enough and make a deal with Eric to go sort things out with his parents
One of my clients at the club dies of a stroke
We have the kids over for Thanksgiving
They break ground on our house

December
We get t-boned by some stupid b**** who runs a stop sign. My beautiful car is a mess and I end up with whiplash
I have to stop work at the club and we now try to survive on one income and with one car/driver
We have a good Christmas with the kids sleeping over from Christmas Eve
We get new cell phones and snore our way into the new year!

Christmas & Service King Trauma

2005-12-28T06:37:00.000-08:00

Building work is really coming along on our house now. In just 6 days, we have gone from foundation slab being poured, to framing, sheathing, roof boards, siding and windows!!! Check it out on the "New House" link! There are three pages in total and the latest work is on 2 & 3.

Christmas was good fun. The kids came over early evening on Christmas Eve, had dinner, played some with C in her room and got ready for bed. Both were excited about Santa coming and said they had only been a little bit bad this year! LOL How cute. We all watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" off TiVO and then scuttled them off to bed. Milk and crackers were left out for "Santa" who polished them off once the kids were out of sight! I duly finished wrapping C's presents up and placed them all under the tree. I kinda felt bad as we weren't able to get as much stuff for the kids as we did for C. We'd already got her present put aside on layaway before we had the accident, so that was kinda taken care of. So to then be back down to one wage and have two more to buy for was hard on the bank balance! We got them each two pairs of PJ's, a coloring board with markers, K an outfit and a leap-pad system and J a gameboy game. It didn't look very much when it was all wrapped up - 3 presents for J and 4 for K. Then there is C who had gifts from us, my parents, my aunt, my brother, E's parents....was hard. I just hope the note from "Santa" explaining that there was some presents left at their mom's house would be ok with them.

E got me the following: ALF season 2 (woo hoo), the latest Kenny Chesney CD, (woo hoo), a sweater (which I wore to the Gaylord BEFORE Christmas), a Take 5 bar (apparently to pad out the gift bag), and this really cute wallet I have had my eye on. Take a peek

This is the sweater Eric got me. This is inside the Gaylord Texan Hotel.

Hehehe, my goodies from Eric

A little bit of bling on the wallet, but not too much!

My present from the kids (totally unexpected)

The tree before the carnage!

The aftermath!

Lunch went well and despite K saying she didn't like ham, she ate it all. She even said she liked it! The thing is, she had never HAD it, so when I tried to explain it was like bacon (which she loves), she said she didn't like it and didn't want it. Come lunch time, she'd forgotten about the conversation and ate it anyway LOL. We took a few pictures after lunch. It was a really nice day with temperatures hitting 70+! ere's a pic:

K, C & J

Kids went home at 3pm and we chilled out in front of the TV for a while. I hadn't been sleeping well due to the new pills the Dr had given me and despite stopping them, they were still in my system. Hot flashes, bad dreams, insomnia, feeling jittery and legs like jello is not pleasant. The pills were supposed to HELP me to sleep better, not keep me awake. Take for example Friday Dec 23: I woke up at 3am and just laid there for two hours not knowing what to do with myself. I finally got up at 5.30 when E awoke also. I went to bed at 23.50 Christmas Eve and woke up at 3am again. It took me at LEAST an hour or so to GET to sleep in the first place, so I reckon I might have gotten 2hrs if that. So, I finally got an hour or so of sleep on the couch, but it wasn't enough and I think it was Monday Dec 26 before I actually got a half decent night's sleep! I won't be taking THOSE again in a hurry!

E went to work on Monday and grabbed a few hours overtime. When he came back, we were crazy enough to go to Best Buy and then the mall to spend some of our money we'd gotten off his parents. He got Call of Duty 2 for the Play Station and I got a cute shirt and camisole set and a skirt in Dillard's. Neither were in the sale, but it's not often I have money to spend on clothing, so I just bought what I liked as opposed to what was available in my size in the sale!

Yesterday, we had an appointment to let Service King inspect the car. This is how that went:

It started off bad. Hubs started the car, I got in, we pulled away slowly. Thump, thump, thump. Sh*t. Flat tire. On top of everything else, this crumpled up mess also has a flat. Luckily, my dad bought me an air machine a few Christmases ago and it has served us well! One inflated tire later and we pull away again.

By the time we get to the exit of the apartment complex, I am hanging on to the door handle for dear life and am crying uncontrollably. This is the first time we have used the car in over three weeks and I really thought I was getting better at going out on the roads again (even if it was just as a passenger). Memories of the accident come flooding back and once more I am lying on a spinal board with my head strapped down and a neck brace on. My pulse is 123 once more and I am "not stable enough to be moved yet". My life is flashing before me and all I can think of is "I'm going to die in the back of an ambulance".

We finally get there, go through the story of the UNDER estimate that her insurance company have offered us and ask that they check it out properly and all. WE have to call back today to schedule an appointment to drop it off. He seems to think it will be at LEAST a 14 day job. Oh well, more car rental money from them then I guess. They gave us a check for 9 days' worth and anymore than that, then we are to contact them for some more. *sigh*

I honestly cannot see myself driving anytime soon and certainly not in THAT car. It's just way too scary for me to deal with and I think we would be better off to just sell it and move on honestly.

This morning I wake up like I have had my head twisted up in a vice all night. I can't take any meds yet as it is too early and then I will not have any left by the time I need to go to bed. It's the lesser of two evils for now, but sucks big time. That reminds me, I need to get some more Darvocet off the Dr and again, he never called me back yesterday. I also need to get this physio crap scheduled. Would help if he'd called back with the name and number. Luckily hubs has located one not too far from here who is on our plan.

I haven't told you how much my little trip to the ER cost: $9351.50 (that's just for the room and SOME tests). The ER Dr then wants another $510, the path lab $48.19 and the ambulance company with their cab ride of course.....$971! Thank god we have insurance to cover this and thank god the other driver was insured also.

I guess now that I have written all of this out, I am almost at "drug time", so I will go make myself some food and get some drugs down my neck. TTFN.

Expensive Cab Ride!

2005-12-24T08:10:00.000-08:00

This has to be the most expensive cab ride EVER!

Cost of ambulance to go to hospital after our car accident: $926.00

Cost of mileage charged (5 miles minimum we suspect as it was 3 miles away): $45

Total cost of "cab": $971

Knowing that the health insurance covers every single penny of this: PRICELESS!!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!!

Just a quickie mind

2005-12-20T04:26:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged for 5 days. Not through choice mind you; I just have not been able to get around to it. A brief run down of the goings on from this end:

Friday was a stressful day one way or another. The insurance/police are still messing us about big time and that is wearing us both down. The I had a fight with E over some BS on the phone and it put me in a foul mood for the rest of the afternoon. He comes home, apologizes and offers to go out to eat. I get to choose, so I chose Red Lobster (of course). WE WERE supposed to go grocery shopping afterwards, but as usual, that didn't happen.

Saturday, E goes into work to try and salvage some overtime. Things are really tight with just the one wage coming in, so he is doing what he can to get us through. We hit Walmart on the weekend before Christmas and it is totally NUTSO in there! Jeeze Louise! But at least we have some food to keep us going for a while!

Sunday, we go look at our patch of dirt. It's had the footings laid and foundation slab has been poured (at last). The sales guy R said that they should start framing this week! Woo hoo! We also went to Target and got some stuff for E's kids for Christmas. It's so hard to buy for two kids you hardly know or spend any real time with to know what they might like. We didn't get everything we wanted and still need a couple of bits.

Sunday evening, we too a drive to the Gaylord Texan Hotel to check out their lights and decorations. C loved them and I took some nice pics for the scrapbook! I may post a couple here when I get them uploaded and edited etc.

Monday, I have a bad day with my pain control. It seems nothing is working on me at the moment and I don't seem to be making any headway. My mid back area, lower back, upper back, shoulders and neck are aching like crazy. We went to see my Dr again and he agreed that things have tightened up and there are a LOT of muscle spasms going on the entire length of my spine. He gives me a nerve modulator which is also used as an anti-depressant. I always said I wasn't going near those things again, but right now, I am so desperate to get back to some kind of normalcy, I am willing to try anything. He also said I should up my Ibuprofen to 600mgs three times a day and he is going to get the name of a good psysiotherapist for me to go see.

After E chasing round and round the houses, he finally gets some answers from HER insurance company. After all the BS saying "we're not sure if we can pay out on this as we haven't established liability and the police report was incorrect", we finally got some answers!! THEY estimate the damage at $2500 which I say is total BS! The car isn't drivable and feels very unsafe. The back end loses control over the slightest bump or dip in the road and it's pulling all over the place. I knew this was going to happen and it really isn't helping matters! The next step is to wait for their estimate to come through and then take it to get it repaired. What a joke. At least we get to take it where WE want to. Hopefully, they will just tell the insurance it is a write off. I don't want the car anymore after what happened. I can't even LOOK at it without freaking out, let alone drive the thing!

This morning I awake feeling like my legs have turned to jello and feel very jittery. I didn't like the new pills the Dr gave me, but I don't know what else to do. I want my life back and this may be the only way forward. *sigh*

I just want my life back...

2005-12-15T18:02:00.000-08:00

The past couple of days have been weird and annoying. Take Tuesday for example.

I sent E off to Walmart with layaway receipt and checkbook in hand to get C's present. I asked him to get a DVD to go with it. He comes back hissing and spitting because they would not let him PAY THE BALANCE and collect it. They said it was in MY name and I had to go get it. He tried to explain I was sick with whiplash, couldn't drive and was home looking after the child whom the present was intended for. NOPE! They would NOT budge an inch. Ok, so they wouldn't let him pay off for MY stuff and take it away. But WHY did they let someone who wasn't on the account ADD an item to it? What it's ok for someone to bump up my bill for me, but not to reduce the payments and take it home for me he asked?! Grrrrrr.

Yesterday was a very trying day indeed. We got sprung by the apartment managers for having two cats we were not supposed to have. So $600 later, we can keep them here and worry about how much of the $300 deposit we will actually get back when we leave and how we are going to replace the money to our closing costs/new furniture fund for the new house we're building. Yes, I did say only $300 was deposit, the other is payment. These cats are turning into an expensive deal all round!

Again, a trip to Walmart. We are on the last day to collect the gift. Only I have to be there to get it and he has to be there cause I cannot drive and get there without him. The kid whom the gift is for has to be there. Ok, covert operation time. "You take the kid and I'll get the "thingy" and I will put it in the trunk and meet you in the electronics dept when I am done!" I growl under my breath as we whisk across the parking lot.

I get to the counter at Layaway and start groaning about why my husband couldn't get it the day before. "Well when you signed up for layaway, you were asked if you wanted someone to be added to the account..." she spouts at me. "WHOA, wait a minute. NO-ONE asked me that. If they had of done, I would have said YES, put my husband on it!" Many apologies later and I am assigned a disgruntled employee to take it out to the car for me. He tries every which way but loose to get it into the trunk. Uh uh, it ain't going in there. So it goes on the back seat and I take off my hoodie and denim jacket (leaving me with just my jeans and t-shirt on in 45F climate) to cover it from the eyes of both C and any potential crack addicts looking for such items to steal out of cars! I whisk back inside to find E & C who are drooling over Playstation games and drag them off to the car again. "What you couldn't get it in the trunk?!" he growls and glares at me. "Ummm, do you not think I would have got it in the trunk if it fitted?!" I snapped back. MEN! Anyhoo, we got it inside without too much suspicion being aroused (she thought it was for him) and it's hidden away.

I also ordered hub's present from Ebay.com. It's the best I can do when I am housebound. I am sure he will like my choice of gift, although I am not sure if it's the first thing on his list.

Yesterday and today I have been in a lot of pain. My neck and shoulders seem to be tightening up and I have a constant ache in my left shoulder that feels like I slept funny. The pain killers don't KILL the pain, they just take the edge off of it. I don't want to be too graphic on here, but I tried to resume some normal activity last night with E and I had to give up as I had sharp pains shooting through my lower back. I just want my life back. PLEASE?

We have a personal injury lawyer meeting with us next Weds to discuss our options. Now that is not to say we are retaining him, just seeing what we can do and what will be the best solution. I don't feel like I am getting any better and I am sh*t scared that it will be lasting in some way or another. I guess I will know more after my Dr appointment on Monday. Her insurance company has STILL not gotten back to us since last week. If I call over there, I am going to get all stressed out again and I just need to be chilling right now. I really think we need a lawyer to do the legwork.

E has gone for his last class tonight and then out for a meal with the other classmates. Meanwhile, back at the batcave, C and I dined on hotdogs and cheeto puffs as there is bugger all else to eat. I had a smoothie for breakfast and skipped lunch as there was nothing but hotdogs. Another trip to the dreaded Walmart tomorrow to get some food. *sigh*

I have a banging headache which I can't take anything for (as it all clashes horribly with my existing pain meds) and I have another hour before I can take any of those. You would think with the amount of aspirin, narcotic, Ibuprofen and muscle relaxants I am taking, that SOMETHING would help me. Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. I JUST WANT MY LIFE BACK!

Gimme my meds!

2005-12-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

Still feeling rough and in pain. The meds help somewhat, but I would just like my life back!

Her insurance assessor came to inspect my car yesterday. Could have done without that honestly as the guy was a prize A-hole! When he opened the car door and had to force it to do so, I had flashbacks of the accident and me trying to get the door open from the inside after we'd just been spun round. I couldn't help myself and the tears just started rolling down my face. Cold as a fish, he said they would be in touch with an estimate/check. Just like that. *shakes head*. Makes me so mad!

I did have a nice surprise from work though: my check came through together with a $200 bonus! I emailed R to find out why and she said it was my Christmas Bonus from the members that ALL the employees get. I'm not REALLY an employee there as I am a contractor, but I am certainly not going to turn it down! Maybe I can get E's Christmas present after all!

Now, I am going to have some more of my drugs and hope it stops my lower back and my neck hurting. I feel like ass today.

Blame it on Lou!

2005-12-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

Seven things I hope to do before I die:
1) Swim with the dolphins.
2) Be wealthy and not scraping the coinage from the back of the sofa every time I want to buy something!
3) Have another baby.
4) Go to Las Vegas (sad, but true) and stay in a fancy hotel not just the one we can AFFORD.
5) See my children grow up healthy, happy and intelligent. (sorry, gonna "borrow this one off Lou")
6) Build my dream home to my specifications, not the builder's run of the mill pattern!
7) Own my own health club and spa with 24hr creche facilities!

Seven things I cannot do:
1) A hand stand (or head stand for that matter)
2) Go on a boat. I am terrified of them (and get really bad sea sickness too). All round scary thing.
3) Bring the dead back to life/restore ill health. This is the one thing I wish I could do.
4) Eat slimey sea food & shell fish like octopus, squid, mussels, crabs legs or anything with blood, bones and skin still attached etc Give me a skinless, boned chicken breast and I am happy! Want me to throw up? Present me with rare steak! *blurgh*
5) Give up watching British soaps!
6) Understand how people can hurt innocent children or animals.
7) Tolerate liars.

Seven things that attracted me to my spouse:
1) His big, sexy, blue eyes.
2) His sense of humor.
3) His sensitivity.
4) His cute dimples when he smiled.
5) Seeing him in his BDU's (military battle dress uniform) *growl*
6) His American accent.
7) Him calling and emailing me all through the day and night telling me how much he missed and loved me!

Seven things I say often:
1) Tabitha, idgey boo. Idgey boo Tabitha! (don't ask, seriously, DON'T ask!)
2) I love you BIG bits!
3) How much do you love me? (Right before I want him to do something for me! LOL)
4) Ow, my neck hurts!
5) You wanna watch some soaps or something off TiVO?
6) Do you wanna do rude fings?
7) DOPP!! (again, just don't ask!)

Seven books/series I love:
1) Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.
2) The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by CS Lewis.
3) The Prison Diaries by Jeffrey Archer.
4) Princess by Jean Sassoon.
5) Nobody, Someday by Robbie Williams.
6) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
7) Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.

Seven movies I could watch over and over again:
1) Top Gun.
2) Hellboy.
3) The Lion King.
4) Finding Nemo.
5) Leon.
6) Bridget Jone's Diary (either one).
7) Wizard of Oz.

Seven people I want to join the seven sevens meme:
1) Gem. (password protected)
2) Kel.
3) Jeanne.
4) Jennie.
5) Lynn.
6) Sasoozie.
7) Jaana. (password protected)

One week on...

2005-12-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

We drove to see our patch of dirt today. I asked Eric to take a different route as I really didn't want to go the same way as last week. The pictures of what they have done so far can be found HERE. It overflows onto a second page so don't forget to check that out too. Sorry it's not more exciting, but these things take time and inspectors are a slow as mud. :-(

The anti-inflammatories made me feel really sick, so I switched them out for good ol' reliable Ibuprofen instead. I called the pharmacy first and they said it would be fine. I must admit I am feeling a bit high today, but they may be due to going out in the fresh air and walking about as opposed to resting inside. I dunno. I am still in a lot of pain and the insurance company are really dragging their heels over this. I have called one of my clients who offered some assistance and left a message for him to call me back. He thinks he may know an attourney who can fight in our corner. Keep everything crossed for us, because I am getting mixed signals off people about this.

My back is killing me, so I am outta here!

Will it ever be the same again?

2005-12-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

As the days go by, I wonder if it will ever be the same again. I am dosed up to the eyeballs on three different pain meds just to keep the pain somewhat under control. They help a bit, but for the most part, I am hurting 24/7. The only time I am unaware of the pain, is when I am asleep. I know when my next dose of drugs is due, as the pain starts to worsen.

I gave my statement on Tuesday and to date, they STILL have not gotten a statement off the other driver. I am fast losing my patience with this, and I really think it's time to call in the dogs (attourney). One of my clients said he would help us find one if necessary, so maybe now, we need to call that favor in. It's riddiculous - in NO way was this our fault, but we are the ones suffering because of it!

Christmas is fast approaching and we have bought NOTHING for each other and only stuff for C that my parents transferred funds for. I have one gift bought for my niece which is being shipped tomorrow and that is it. I don't have any money to buy anything for E or C and the gift we have on layaway for her needs to be collected this coming Tuesday. Luckily, we can float a check as he gets paid on Thursday. We could have done without us being down to one driver and one car in the household, medical co-pays and one wage going down the tubes. Thanks for that Ms Dodge-Grand-Caravan-Driver. I hope you have a nice Xmas!

More Drama

2005-12-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

It seems like this is getting more stressful with each day that passes by. The police officer who wrote out the report has messed up on 4 major points:

1. C was not even listed as being in the car with us. (I guess my daughter doesn't exist and doesn't matter one bit in this accident)

2. Our address has been incorrectly reported

3. The diagram she drew was incorrect in that she had the other woman's vehicle on the wrong lane at the point of impact making it look far less serious than it was and has numbered the vehicles incorrectly.

4. She has FAILED TO GET THE INSURANCE DETAILS of the other driver!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily, there was a phone number for her which I personally was not prepared to call. I knew if I called her, there would be things said in the heat of the moment. We got someone neutral to call and leave a message. Thankfully, she returned the call and gave the insurance details over. A message has been left with the loss adjuster who will call tomorrow I guess.

On top of all my other crapola I have been dealing with, today I also had bad diarrhea and stomach cramps. This could be the iodine stuff they pumped into me for the cat scan, this could be the drugs they have given me to ease my pain and suffering, or it could be the trauma finally coming to the surface. Or, ya know what? It may just be all of them combined! *sigh*

I am having a hard time being in a car right now. We had a near miss going to get C from daycare this evening. My eyes filled up and I really had to fight back the tears. Memories of Saturday afternoon came flooding back and I was visibly shaken. E feels like he is treading on egg shells and I feel like a nervous wreck.

I know it is still early days, but I just want my life back. :-(

Home Alone

2005-12-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

E took yesterday off work and we drove to see Andrea (our Insurance lady). She was sympathetic and offered us quite a lot of advice on the matter. We cannot do anything to start the process until we have got the other driver's details. Crazy I know, but the cops wouldn't let E talk to her after they arrived so we are none the wiser as to who she is insured with. E did see a liability card so we know she IS insured at least. We contacted some people "in the know" and we got a name, address and VIN number for her vehicle. Her phone number appears to be unlisted and the van used to be registered to her husband. It's amazing what a couple of calls can come up with! As far as the rest of the stuff goes, we need that police report to be completed before we can go further with it. *sigh*

We managed to get a Dr to check us both out yesterday. He reckons I am looking at 4-6weeks, maybe longer. He prescribed some more pain pills, muscle spasm pills and some anti-inflammatories. He didn't understand why the hospital gave me such a short prescription when they should KNOW that injuries like this take a long time to recover from! He said my neck muscles were extremely tight. It hurt a lot when he was trying to move my head about. :-(

E has been advised to take some pain/anti-inflammatories for his back and neck/shoulder. He's not as bad as me, but is still in a certain amount of discomfort. He cannot take what I am taking as he would not be able to work legally for the FAA with those in his system. We really cannot afford to have BOTH of us without an income!

C went to see him today and was given the all clear. She is a bit achy and bruised, but she's a tough cookie and has come out fighting! (Thank God).

So, E took me to get my drugs at the pharmacy: they were out of stock of the anti-inflammatories and will have them in tomorrow lunchtime. He's gone to work now and I am at home bored and in pain. I may watch some TV soon as sitting here is making me hurt. *sigh*

Yesterday we got some Xmas shopping done while we still could and had dinner at Spring Creek Barbecue. It was ok, but expensive for what it was. Personally, I prefer Boston Market, but oh well.

Ok, I am out of here. Talk soon.

Today is a new day, right?

2005-12-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up at about 0600 feeling like I had gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. My neck and left shoulder REALLY ache like crazy and I have some pretty bruising starting to spring up in places I never knew got hurt. *sigh* The drugs help somewhat, but make me feel VERY dizzy and lightheaded. I guess I can't have it all. I plan to take it easy for the next week or so and get myself back on track.

C has some bruising on her leg and tummy/hip area and is complaining of her neck aching now. E says his shoulder hurts where the seat belt cut into him, but they both do not want to get checked out. *sigh*

I got the "house" photos up. Or should I say PLOT photos? If you look carefully, you can see my Sebring in its former glory in the background of the panoramic view of the back of the plot. Who would have thunk it? Not more than ten minutes later we would be in a car wreck. :-(

You can see our "house" as it goes up HERE.

I am going to chill out on the couch for a bit. Catch ya later.

T-Bone

2005-12-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

Today, we drove over to Ft Worth to check out our dirt. They have the footboards down, so we went to check it out and take some pics.

On the way back, we have to cross at a 4 way stop sign to get back onto 35W to head home. This is what happened:

I get to the stop sign, come to a complete stop (like a good girl). Nothing coming other than a red van to my left who is about 6-8ft from the line and stop sign on her side when I pull out. She RUNS the stop sign, hits me hard on the driver's side and spins the car round TWICE almost a full 360 degrees each time.

The blue IS-35W sign and arrow is the way we were going! The grass is where we came to a stop!

A closer look at the damage to my car

Luckily, she had full insurance!

Even luckier, C and E were not injured. I however went to hospital in an ambulance with a neck brace and strapped to a spine board. We spent around 4 hrs in the ER whilst they did numerous cat scans and x-rays to give me an ok to go home. I have bruising to my shoulder where the seat belt cut into me, bruising to my right arm where the gear shift or handbrake "got me", bad bruising and swelling to my knee where it hit the steering column and bad pain in my neck from the base of my skull to between my shoulder blades and then again in my lower back. Oh and I have pain in my lower flank where my spleen and kidney is etc.

The cat scans showed no major internal organs were damaged, but I was advised to be alert if I get stomach pains in the next few days and no fractures or breaks (thank God). I have muscle spasms and a lot of pain. They gave me two types of pill to help with this that make me both dizzy and drowsy.

I cannot drive, and therefore cannot get to work. Even if I COULD get to work, I couldn't physically do the job because of all the bending and stuff. It's started to get busier for the holidays too! I think I feel a lawsuit coming on.....

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

2005-11-28T15:37:00.000-08:00

Today is E's birthday! He is the ripe old age of 28! My yummy toy boy *drool*.

We presented his cards and pressies in bed this morning then we both drove C to daycare and then to IHOP for brekkies. International Passport Breakfast with Crepes went down a treat! We then bummed around some stores looking at stuff for the new house and potential Christmas gifties for the kids and alike. We checked out our patch of dirt to see if they started a day earlier than planned and no change. Oh well.

We've gone on a month-to-month with our apartment now as our lease was due to expire next month. It's going to cost us an extra $110 a month, but we don't have any choice.

Watched another seven episodes of Corrie today (to go with the 36 episodes of Corrie and Eastenders we have watched over the weekend!) We've caught up on both by a month so are now only 3 months behind! *phew*

Anyway, going to get ready now as we're going to Saltgrass for dinner! Woo hoo!

Feel fat

2005-11-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

Been eating way too much what with the holidays and lack of anything other than turkey in the apartment.

Cannot wait to get my Fitness Gazelle for Christmas: I may even lose some flabby bits and shed a few pounds/tone up some. My stamina is at an all time low and I feel so lethargic.

Hubby's birthday is tomorrow. I baked him a German Chocolate Cake with pecan and coconut frosting. It smelt good anyways. He has the day off, so let's see if we can't find something to fill our day with hehehe.

Gonna go watch some TV now as hubs has gone to bed. I cannot sleep just yet, so will view til I feel drowsy. Night all.

Turkey Day Events

2005-11-25T06:37:00.000-08:00

I bought some pretty white and blue cookware from Garden Ridge on Tuesday. A 2 quart casserole dish and a huge roasting dish. Both were only $5.99 each. I want to go back and get some more as they go with our plates and stuff which are also blue and white. You can see them in the Thanksgiving Spread below here!

Well today went pretty much as I expected it would. Lots of running around in the kitchen and kids whining that they don't like this and that. I lost it when K started crying that she missed Momma and didn't like the stuffing or cranberry sauce. I asked that for ONE day could she NOT cry at the dinner table and just eat what she DID like. Silence throughout the rest of the meal. I guess I should be grateful that the green beans, potatoes, turkey and pumpkin pie were enjoyed by all concerned.

Ignore the pathetic amount of green beans. That's actually a pound of them, but they look lost in that pot!

Look at the "daggers" I am getting from K.

We went over to the outlaws later that afternoon and I had to endure the football. The Cowboys lost as predicted by E, so....OH WELL

My mum is 70 today. I just got off the phone with her and it's snowing in the UK. We have been having mid 70's weather and she has got snow! LOL

Planning on a pretty lazy kinda day today. I think I will go get me some breakfast. Buh bye.

2 down, 3 to go!

2005-11-23T11:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, the cranberry sauce is done. Some frozen for Christmas Dinner and some ready for tomorrow for Turkey Day.

I have not one, but TWO pumpkin pies baking as I type. The recipe said it made ONE 9inch pie, but I have two of them. Luckily I had two pie shells and just yanked the other one out of the freezer. I guess we can freeze one. I like pumpkin pie no matter what time of year it is!

All that is left for tomorrow now (for me anyways) is to do the stuffing, broken potatoes and green beans with almonds.

Man the apartment smells good right now.

More drama with his mother. *sigh* TWO things:

1. The kids are NOT welcome on Thanksgiving Day at her house. Now don't get me wrong, she didn't say that exactly, but it's been made obvious she doesn't want them there. Quote: "What I am trying to say is if you would rather drop them at home on your way over so that you can relax for the afternoon we would understand" End Quote. Now the way we have BOTH interpreted her email is this: God, are you bringing those damn kids here AGAIN? Jeeze, this is the holidays and we don't want them here on a holiday spoiling our day!

Well guess what "Mom", it's all or nothing! You either have the kids there with us, or you don't get to see us either. We have them until early evening and we assumed you would WANT to see your grandbabies on Thanksgiving.

2. E, C and I are going out for E's birthday on Monday night. Apparently, his parents are too busy with their friends (no surprise there then) and the church to celebrate the birth of their only child. I cannot say as I am surprised at this as they pulled the same sh*t last year. *sigh*

I guess the last seven months of us not talking has been forgotten and she has slipped back into old ways. I guess you CAN'T teach an old dog new tricks. *shrugs*

If I don't get back on here again tonight, Happy Thanksgiving all!!

Spoiling my mood

2005-11-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday started out really well. I took C to see Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. It was a great watch, even though it was 2hrs and 23mins long. Stunning effects, good story (even though they chopped out a crapload of it) and it was enjoyed by us both. It was a PG-13, but I said she could watch it as she HAD read the book. There were kids much younger that her watching it too!

Then we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch and to buy my mom a present for her 70th birthday this coming Friday. I have been trying to get her a purse I saw a couple of months ago, but each time I go there, it isn't there and it didn't look like they were going to re-stock. *sigh* So, I managed to find her a really nice chenille cardigan with fall leaves in varying hues appliqued down the sides. It also had an organza ribbon trim on the cuffs and patch pockets. It had been reduced from $50 down to $33. They wrapped it and put a bow and tag on it and we shot off to the Post Office to ship it. $11 lighter, we came back home. By this time, my head was starting to pound. I decide to take a nap and try to sleep it off as opposed to pumping more painkillers into my system.

I slept for two hours until E came home. Then suddenly the fun REALLY began.

How dare I spend MORE on MY mom's birthday than I did on his? The fact that I bought something for EACH person with THEM specifically in mind knowing they would appreciate and actually USE the present didn't enter into his thought process. All he could think about was HOW MUCH I SPENT. I used MY credit card to buy his mom's present and MY bank account to pay for the $15 worth of cards I had to get for the busy birthday month of November. But I dared to use the JOINT bank account to buy my mom something and ship it to the UK. GOD FORBID he should contribute. He failed to recognize that he put NOTHING towards his OWN mother's gift and card. I then got yelled at for not using my money to take C to the movies with or to lunch. It's ok for HIM to take his buddies at work out for $25, but he begrudges his own wife and step child a $12 lunch once in a while. I threw my joint bank card at him together with $10 and told him to shove them both up his fat, hairy arse! They are still sitting here this morning, only they have been moved to my PC desk.

It really pisses me off. The only money I am ALLOWED to spend (and even then get criticized for it - how DARE I have my own money), is my tips and cash customers stuff. I don't ask him to pay for any of my "maintenance stuff" (hair, nails, tanning etc) I pay for it all. My check that I get from work goes into the house fund and I see NOTHING of it. Why the f*** shouldn't I get my mom something nice for her birthday. I mean, Jeeeeez, I can't be there with her for her 70th, so the least I can do is ship something to her. It's not HER fault I am not there on her special day after all.

He apologized for being an ass, and as usual, I quoted "Yeah, you're only sorry until next time you're an ass!" He didn't like that, but it's true.

I tried to bury myself in a little cookery to take my mind off things. I made the Cranberry Sauce for Turkey Day. Man it smelt out of this world!! It yielded enough for the five of us (3 kids, E and me) for the day itself and enough to go into the freezer for Christmas Dinner too. Woo hoo. Who needs scented candles when you've got cranberry sauce chilling in the kitchen?!

I was guilt tripped into cutting short our soap session last night and going to bed early (he was asleep before I got out of the shower). I wasn't tired and it just brought bad feelings back to the surface again. I hope today will be a better day. Although judging by the pissy mood C is in today, I doubt it. KIDS! *sigh*

Turkey Day approacheth

2005-11-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

Went to get our Thanksgiving groceries last night at the local Tom Thumb. They were doing the same deal as last year: spend $50 on groceries and get an 8-12lb turkey for free. Works for me! Although they are as a rule of thumb more expensive than many places we choose to shop at, they have a different range of products and as they say "Variety is the spice of life".

So, we trundle round the store picking up the ingredients for my Thanksgiving menu and we spot this fizzy wine which is all fruity and sounded yummy. It was only cheap stuff and as neither of us are huge drinkers, we thought this would be nice for Turkey day. Anyway, we get to the check out and we start unloading the cart onto the belt. The checkout nerd asks for some ID for the wine. I get my shiny new driver's license out and flash it to him. I figure that at 36 years old, I am more than old enough to be able to purchase said wine. Not satisfied with checking MY ID, he then wants to know if E is old enough to buy alcohol. I retorted back that "It doesn't matter how old HE is, you have already seen my ID and that should be sufficient!" The snotty little twit then comes back at me (whilst snatching the wine off the belt and hugging it close to his chicken chest) "The person who put it on the belt has to be over 21 also". By this time, I was starting to see red. "Ok, if you REALLY want to be THAT anal about it. It was ME who put it on the belt. Do you STILL need to see his damn ID?" Man I was about ready to start popping those zits all over his face with my fist! Poor E just wanted to die of embarrassment! I am not the sort of person to be walked over (by ANYONE) and this KID really got my back up.

We took the groceries home and I vowed I would NOT be shopping at that branch anymore. We then went off to eat at Boston Market. I had honey glazed ham with mashed potatoes, brown gravy, corn and cornbread washed down with lemonade. Man, I have not had that in almost a YEAR!

We watched a couple of things off Tivo yesterday, but nothing to really blog about. I DID find some old episodes of Soldier Soldier on my special website I visit. I got the whole first season to watch which should be fun. I used to LOVE that show! After trying to find you a nice link to look at, I have seen that they plan on making a US version of the show. Hmmm. Not sure if I will like that too much or not.

Turkey Day menu is as follows:

Turkey *duh*
Gravy (imported granules mixed with turkey juices)
Paula Deen's Cranberry Sauce
Jamie Oliver's Broken Potatoes
Green Beans with Almonds
Apple & Sausage Stuffing
Paula Deen's Pumpkin Pie (of course)
Key Lime Pie (bought from work)

I am in charge of the recipe stuff and E is in charge of the turkey and gravy. I think he got off lightly, don't you? LOL

Anyhoo, I have some stuff to be getting on with like making breakfast, getting C up and sorting out today's agenda. I will catch up with you later I guess. Bye for now.

Drama Llama

2005-11-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

So tired of this BS every other weekend. K wants to go home (again). I told her that her mom will come get her later. "What's taking so long? I miss Momma. I wanna go home". Then J takes her back into the bedroom and announces to C "Cwying again. Here comes da cwy baby". (He has issues with his pronounciation of R's and L's). I feel unloved, unwanted and a total lack of tact and respect around here. Who can blame them after all? I am ONLY their step mom. Their dad is not here, so why SHOULD they want to be here stuck with ME? I'm tired of making the effort to be "Miss Popular". It doesn't get me anywhere but angry and upset.

All in all, it's hardly condusive to a pleasant weekend. I wish E would hurry up and come home. Grocery shopping by myself would be a treat compared to this. *sigh*

Strange week

2005-11-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

This week has been a strange one.

Firstly, the most noticeable thing has been the sudden change in weather here. We have finally gone from having the AC on, to having the heating on. It's still not what I would call coat weather yet, but certainly colder than it has been. We've had high 50's to high 60's as our highs and anywhere from 32F to 45F as our lows. I don't know if I will ever get used to Texas weather!

I did a pedicure on Tuesday and had to control myself to where I didn't throw up. Now I know K will be gagging as she reads this, so it may not do you any good to read this next paragraph hun!

**Reader Discretion Advisory START**

Mr S as I will discreetly name him is in his late 70's/early 80's and is not in the best of shape. He has been a cash manicure client of mine since day one at the club. He is also a diabetic and has a LOT of medication to take. Well, last month, he asked if I could give him a pedicure. Reluctantly I agreed as feet and I do not go well together (unless they are MY feet of course). Anyhoo, he comes in for his appointment rattling on about how he is a diabetic and I mustn't cut him as he cannot afford to get an infection and possible gangrene. (Nothing like a bit of pressure whilst you work eh?) So I get to work, set up my area and then he takes off his shoes and socks. OMFG I nearly threw up there and then! His toenails extended over the ends of his toes as long as my fingernails do (and trust me, I have long fingernails!) They were yellow, ridged, split, peeling, you name it, they were it! I soaked him in the sanitizing, deodorizing soak and set to work on trimming them with the clippers. The nails started breaking apart and were soft like cheese. The smell emanating from his feet wasn't pleasant either. *blurgh* His nails were separating from the nail bed and they were just falling apart (literally). His toes were covered in dry skin and corns and he had peeling skin on his heels and callouses to die for. I did the best I could do for him under the circumstances and refused his requests to CUT his callouses and trim his nails back further than I had already done. Diabetics suffer badly with their feet and are susceptible to gangrene and serious infections due to their lack of circulation and poor healing in the lower regions. After that ordeal, I didn't want any lunch for a good two hours afterwards. It had literally made me feel physically sick. The worst part: he's booked in for next month for another one. *sigh*

**Reader Discretion Advisory END**

Work was fairly busy (for me anyways) and I got enough cash tips and clients to pay for my hair cut and color this weekend. I always feel so much better once I have my hair done. I got two shades of blonde highlights put through it and lots of them. It's made a huge difference!

Yesterday we had lunch at my mother in laws as it was her birthday. We took the kids with us and they drove everyone loopy! By 1500hrs, E was ready to head off home. K started her usual BS over wanting to go home and not being hungry. I decided I am not going to play her mind games over food anymore. I told her then she would be hungry later and we would eat without her. Once I started serving up dinner, she asked what we were having and could she "Watch J & C eat". I told her no, if she wasn't eating dinner, that she would stay in the bedroom and leave us to eat in peace. We had the rest of the mozzarella stuffed meatballs I made a couple of weeks ago with a twice baked potato and mixed veggies. It was good. K wouldn't have eaten what I made anyway as she doesn't like anything made with ground beef. PERIOD. Oh well. She will have to learn to like it or just eat veggies, cause I am NOT making anything special. I am so tired of her food tantrums. Combine that with their horrible table manners and it makes for a very stressful mealtime. *sigh*

I have a list of things to get done today and cannot do any of them with three kids in tow. E is at work until at least noon, so it really hinders things. TSS is "working" today (whatever that means) and isn't getting them until 1700hrs. I feel like an unpaid baby sitter right now. They are here to see him and he is at work and she has f***** off out somewhere and I am stuck here and cannot do f*** all. If I find out she didn't work today, there is going to be bloodshed.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. I plan to make cranberry sauce from scratch, some kind of dressing/stuffing I haven't decided upon yet, pumpkin pie, smished roast potatoes with thyme and some kind of veggie deal. E is in charge of the turkey. I have also ordered a key lime pie from the club as an extra treat. (E loves lime stuff!) I will be very upset if the kids kick off about not liking stuff and throwing tantrums on TG. I really don't need that, on that day most of all.

I need to figure out my recipes and write my list for grocery shopping. Bye y'all.

Bit the bullet

2005-11-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Well I finally bit that bullet and made the peace with my MIL. There were tears and apologies flowing and we cleared the air somewhat. We all went out to eat at Chili's afterwards and breathed a sigh of relief coming home.

If it hadn't have been for the constant fighting between E and I, I simply wouldn't have bothered. It's gotten to the point where I just wanted to call it quits to get away from the stress of it all. *sigh*

Oh well, it's done now I guess.

I managed to get some scrapbooking done yesterday. Just two pages, but I needed to get something crafty done! I was in one of those moods.

Watched Meet the Fockers last night (again) and laughed hard (which I really needed to). I couldn't sleep even with it finishing at midnight. I lay there for a good hour afterwards trying to get to sleep and it just wasn't happening.

E got up at 0545 for work and I got up, or should I say OUT of bed at 0645 when he and C left. Ran a couple of errands, did my book-keeping and am now blogging! ;-)

Mixed emotions

2005-11-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

Well today has been rather sad, interesting, boring, and any other emotion you care to add to the mix!

Remember the old guy I did the pedicure for a few weeks ok? Nice guy, used to walk with a frame with colored tennis balls in the ends as stoppers. Would always pop his head round the door to say hi or "Go Frogs!" and ask me how I was doing. He was due to have back surgery to help with his walking. They told him to come off his blood thinners as it would be dangerous to operate on him otherwise. I saw him on Wednesday in the afternoon. He died in his sleep that night. Mr Pierson, rest in peace. *sniff* One of D's clients died last night too. Rest in peace Mr Shannon. That has to be the worst part about where I work: most of the clients are elderly.

Club was so quiet today. Everyone had cancelled their haircuts and re-scheduled because of Veterans' Day. I did see "Hogan" and two of his siblings today though, so that was kinda nice.

CSI and ER were good this week (watched them on Tivo tonight). CSI is a two parter. Oo-er Mrs!

Anyhoo, I am pooped. Nite nite readers, nite nite! ;-)

Here kitty kitty!

2005-11-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

There's a litter of kittens at the golf club. They live by the trash dumpster and are so cute. Here's a couple of photos I managed to take of one I have called Hogan (after Ben Hogan the golfer)

Isn't he cute?

He's about 10-12wks old I think.

Does Mother Nature realise it's November?

2005-11-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

It's currently 86F here right now. Yes, EIGHTY SIX! Has anyone told Mother Nature it's November here? Crazy!

Yesterday, we only ended up watching three episodes of Star Wars. Even then, it was around 7hrs worth! We will do the rest of them next weekend!

We also watched 8 episodes of Coronation Street and 2 of Eastenders! We have still got a way to go before we get all caught up! *sigh*

Today I got C's Christmas present put away on Lay Away at Walmart. We have until Dec 14 to go pay for it and get it. I am so excited about it, I want to burst! We're getting her a 13" TV/DVD combination for her bedroom. When we finally move into the new house, we will put in cable for her too!

I have ordered E's birthday present today also. Hopefully that will be here by the end of the week and I have something lined up for his Christmas pressie also. This is the most organized I have been with gifts for ages LOL

I had a sunbed today and I am not sure that I like the cream I have been using. It gives a horrid "tanbed stench" after a couple of hours or so. I am so glad I didn't have to pay for it, or I would be pissed! I guess seeing as it is free, I should just use it up until I have some spare cash to buy some more. Unfortunately, that's not an option for now as my cash is all mapped out right up to the end of December! *sigh* Oh well.

I HAD planned to do some scrapbooking today, but the time has slipped away from me and I have to start dinner soon. Mozzarella stuffed meatballs tonight guys! Woo hoo!

Kid Free Fun

2005-11-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

C went to her sleepover last night and we headed off to Chili's for dinner out alone. I had the garlic shrimp alredo which was very nice. E had the steak fajitas. Oh and we had an awesome blossom to start things off!

I modeled some new lingerie for him when we got home and it didn't stay on for long. Enough said.

We were both awake at about 0430 and decided we couldn't sleep anymore and would get up. Well we both drifted back to sleep and awoke again at 0730. By 0800, we were at IHOP ordering breakfast!

We then mooched over to Garden Ridge to check out the Christmas Decorations on sale. I got two cute pottery mini loaf tins with gingerbread men painted on the side. They were 89¢ each. I then bought a cute tree made out of "gingerbread" with a ginger couple standing in front of it. That was $3.59 and is currently standing on my mantelpiece above the fireplace! I then bought a glass counter top saver with blueberries and blue stuff on it. I'm trying to plan ahead for my new house's kitchen! LOL

Best Buy was next. We mooched round looking at all the goodies in there; fell in love with a cellphone we'd both like to have and ended up buying Star Wars 3 on DVD.

Fry's was next. Just as well we did as E's present I wa going to get him was more in there than I thought it was, so it looks like Ebay has won that battle (again).

Then we went off to get the munchkin at her sleepover. She had a great time and actually didn't make too much of a pest of herself (unlike at her own one in August).

Got some groceries at Walmart and am baking as I type. I decided to try Em's Mac n Cheese. It smells pretty good.

Tomorrow, I plan to make Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle. It takes a while to set properly in the fridge (9hrs) so we will have that on Monday after these yummy (mozzarella stuffed) Spaghetti & Meatballs. I don't know what's with all the baking, but I have really been in the mood to cook some new stuff up. It's probably all the programs we watch at work on the Food Network! ;-)

We're doing a Star Wars marathon tomorrow. We are planning on watching all six episodes! Woo hoo!! Popcorn at the ready!

Okay, I am going to put some veggies on to cook. Catch ya later alligator! :-)

It feels like it's Friday

2005-11-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

God I HATE it when that happens. ALL day long I have been thinking it was Friday and it's not, it's bloody Thursday!

Felt somewhat better today - thanks for your best wishes K, much appreciated. Still have a bit of a runny nose and a bit achy, but apart from that, not nearly so bad. The reason I get the flu shot each year is because when I do get the flu, it knocks me for six, for like 3-4 weeks. I can't do a damn thing and being self employed, I can't afford to be sick for that amount of time. I figure 1-2 days of feeling like poop is better than 3-4 weeks. And, this is the first time I've ever had a reaction to the shot.

Just one client today - Mr W who was "sick" yesterday. Well apparently he wasn't sick, his WIFE had been sick the night before and kept him awake for the best part of it and he felt like poop! He's sweet and owns his own company. I hinted I may be going knocking on his door if things don't drastically improve for me at the club. I don't know if he realized that I was actually being serious or not...

Got tons of cross-stitch done today. I'm almost finished with it. I may have to go get me a book so my brain doesn't stagnate. The last book I read was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I need something to get my teeth into. That reminds me, where's E?! *WEG*

Oh yeah, I forgot to say, I got my Texas license through yesterday. It's cute! The picture is even half decent for a change! At last I can write checks without having to point out which is my date of birth and which is the expiry etc etc.

E's making meatloaf for dinner tonight as I cooked cheese tortillini last night. Tomorrow night we are kid free as C has a sleep over to go to. Woo hoo, ALONE adult time with no work the next day and a pick up of noon!! Anyway, dinner is almost done, so I am out of here. Laters!

Shot wound

2005-11-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

I have felt soooo rough today. I'm not sure what is hitting me worse - Aunt Flo coming to visit or the flu shot I had yesterday. I had a headache from hell threatening to turn migraine on me if I didn't feed it loads of drugs, the shivers all day despite it being 78F outside, tummy cramps, runny nose , feeling tired , achy joints and especially achy shot site and generally feeling like something brown and sticky (no, not a stick you halfwit! SHIT) *sigh*

One client today. Mr W phoned in sick - he also had his flu shot AND a pneumonia shot on top of that for added measure. He'll be in tomorrow, but will I? Yeah. Me not one to let anyone down even if I do feel like shit on a stick. Hopefully after a half decent's night sleep, I will feel a little better. Nanite.

Stuff n Nonsense

2005-11-02T03:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was ok I guess. Three clients instead of the one I had scheduled. Two of those were new ones, so that was good. Maybe they will become regulars?

Dinner at Crackerbarrel last night. I had chicken and dumplings. Not bad, but not as good as I'd thought it would be. I brought some soup home from work. It was our South West Chicken. E will take it to work with him today for his lunch.

Feel blah today. Aunt Flo is due to drop in at any moment. I just want to doze on the counch all day in the warm.

Had my flu shot yesterday and my arm is all achy today. *sigh* Can I stay home please?

Watched House last night which was good. Nothing more to say here right now, so will leave you guys alone. Bye.

Saw 2-v-Trick or Treat

2005-11-01T04:29:00.000-08:00

Saw 2 was awsome. It was as gruesome as we thought it would be and then some!! There were only 4 of us in the theater at the time we went.

Hmmm, what was more gory? Watching the guy trying to cut out his own eye, or the chick being thrown into a pit of dirty, filled syringes? Tough call. There was lots more but I am being told off for spoiling it for those who may wish to go see it! Hehehe

Trick or Treating wasn't a patch on last year. This complex are boring. They have their porches decorated for Halloween and then either refuse to answer their doors, or don't have any candy! We only had one trick or treater call here and that was our downstairs neighbor who I'd told to go up there! LOL Oh well. Next year we're thwoing a party in our new house!

Oh yes....there WILL be blood!!

2005-10-31T13:58:00.000-08:00

My f*cking nail!!!!

I was in Walmart getting a few bits and pieces and decided to get myself a bottle of flavored water out of the chiller cabinet by the checkout. BAD MOVE! The door was really stiff to slide open and my middle nail on my right hand snapped backwards. Not only that, but it ripped my hyponichium (the thickened layer of epidermis beneath the free end of a nail, mine are higher than most folks and extend beyond the fingertip on quite a few of my fingers) and I had blood dripping down it too. It was still hanging on by a thread. OUCH!!!! I got home and tried to cut it back as best I could, but everything I did hurt more and more. I dunked it in some ice to try to numb it but nothing was helping. I ended up losing patience and just yanked it off, screamed and bled some more. OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! I HAD to start on the box of Toffifay I bought for the movies tonight to console myself. It has helped some *grin*

Going to see Saw 2 tonight and am soooooo looking forward to that! *WEG* Laters.

Happy Halloween

2005-10-31T09:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween everybody! Woo hoo!! It's text book Halloween spooky weather here right now as I write this: rain, thunder, lightening, you name it! I have errands to run and the last thing I want to do is go out in this yuckiness!

We carved up the pumpkins yesterday and made lots of mess (outside thankfully). Poor J struggled to do his and wouldn't even let K try to carve at all. I ended up finishing it for them. Still, they had fun which is the main thing. Here's some piccies:

J & K scooping out the pumpkin

C scooping out the pumpkin

C & J carving out the pumpkins

The finished results! C's is on the left and J & K's is on the right!

It's a pity TSS had to spoil things when she strolled over at 1915hrs to collect the kids! She TOLD E to take the bagged up pumpkin to her car as she couldn't carry it. He went to get his shoes on and before he could do or say anything, I'd picked it up thrust it into her hand and said "NO, YOU can carry this, it's not heavy! I think it's the least you can do seeing as I had to go get the damn things!" Boy, was I fired up. I was ready to smack her one. HOW DARE she talk to my husband like that?! Especially after the most she has been doing all weekend is partying when her kids have been crying for her.

Woke up in the night with the urge to throw up. I felt some vomit creeping into the back of my throat and raced to the bathroom. Nothing happened. I got the same thing two more times and then nothing until about 0400hrs. I still never threw up (which would have probably been for the best) but consistently felt rough and dizzy etc. I don't know what that was all about and I still feel shaky and such now. *sigh*

I wish this rain would stop as I have stuff to do. *sigh* Most frustrating. Bye for now.

PMS Alert

2005-10-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

Had a stressful couple of days. I am feeling VERY PMSy right now. The kids are being annoying and K has cried at almost everything we tried to give her to eat that was "not what she is used to". It makes me so mad. Those kids live on a diet of McDonald's, Pizzahut, macaroni 'n' cheese and candy. It's really frustrating. Example: yesterday morning, I gave them all Apple Jacks cereal (for my UK readers, that's like an apple flavored Cheerios with cinnamon. They are green and peach colored rings.) K started crying because she didn't like the milk. Well the milk had cinnamon in it from the cereal. She asked if we could get her "favorite" cereal....wait for it..."CINNAMON toast crunch". She then went on to contradict herself by saying she HATED cinnamon. *sigh* SO...
this morning, I gave them "Raisin CINNAMON bread" toasted. I failed to mention the cinnamon part. They ALL ate it without any complaints. I pulled her up on her dislike for cinnamon and she again said she hated it. I asked if she liked the toast she had and said she did. She was silent when I said that it had cinnamon in it! This child is so contrary (like her mother), it's scary.

The kids woke me up at 0500 this morning. The sounds of THREE kids opening and slamming doors at 0500 is NOT nice. Combine that with a PMSy woman, and you have a recipe for disaster. E was getting up anyway, so I pushed him out of bed to go yell at the kids. It went in one ear and out the other because an hour later, it started again! Me is not happy today. Grrrrr.

Yesterday, I took C to get her hair cut. It has been getting out of control lately. She's been having a hard time getting a brush through it and washing it etc. Where her bangs (fringe) has been growing out, it looked messy. So, I got her a "Rachel Cut". For those who haven't watched Friends, Jennifer Aniston had her hair in this pretty style where the sides at the front were graduated (feathered almost). Anyhoo, here is before:

Miss C BEFORE

Miss C after with her new cut and a few blonde highlights

Miss C with the chunk of hair we cut off!

Today, we're going to carve some pumpkins. I will post the results of those tomorrow (or later if I can be assed!) TTFN

Great start to the weekend...NOT!

2005-10-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today was as dead as a dodo again. ONE client all day. Admitedly, he was a new one and a very nice one. Tipped well too (and all in cash). Me likey that. I've almost got the money for E's birthday pressie!

Lunch was dried up chicken and pasta with cream gravy (not alfredo, but cream gravy) and mixed veggies. I HAD to substitute some of it with coconut cream pie. GIVE ME A BREAK! I have not had PIE/CAKE for THREE weeks! A PMSy girl has needs dammit!

Went to PetsMart on my way to get E from work to get some kitty litter and had a mooch round. Man, they have got some CUTE stuff for dogs in there. They had the cutest reindeer antleers, jackets and hats!! Makes me want a puppy soooo bad. I think I will buy something for somebody I know who is getting a certain cute Staffie puppy soon.... *wink*

TSS dropped off the kids and before she'd even got in her car, K started crying and yelling that she didn't want to stay with us and wanted to go home. I can see this is going to be a very long weekend! :-(

Soup-a-holic

2005-10-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Grrrr. There's me bitching about E falling asleep all the time and I was out like a light at 2005hrs last night! Am I pathetic or what? Or is there something wrong? I am taking lots of supplements and vitamins (in the hope that it will help in the possible event of me becoming pregnant), am eating a much healthier diet and will be starting an exercise regimine soon (I promise). I got 10hrs sleep last night and have been feeling sleepy all day. Maybe I need to hibernate like a squirrel or something *yawn*.

E has his class until 2230hrs tonight, so I won't see him until w-a-y past my bedtime. He will be trashed by the time he gets home anyway, so no chance of any tonight. Maybe in the morning!

Had a horrid letter come through the mail yesterday. Posty tried to deliver it but we weren't here. It left us nervous when it said it was from a law firm. What the firetruck** have we done now?! I collected it today and we were stressing about nothing. Just some legal BS to do with the accident E had back in Feb when his car got too friendly with the one in front.

Am I becoming a soup-a-holic? I have had soup every lunchtime so far this week and am craving some now. I have some hearty tomato or some South West style chicken by Progresso in the pantry and they are both fighting for my attention right now! I think I am going to bake some cheese biscuits and have some!! C is having mac n cheese, but I am sure she will have some soup too. If not, all the more for meeeeeee! *WEG*

Going to watch some stuff off tivo that E doesn't like. That way he cannot moan at me watching "our" stuff without him being here! Laters alligators!! :-)

**you can thank my friend Flutter for the term firetruck to replace the word f***. So, therefore, firetrucker, firetrucking, or for firetruck's sake etc can all follow the same path! Hehehe

Frustrated

2005-10-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

I feel frustrated with my life right now. We come home, we eat dinner and E falls asleep on the couch before 2100hrs almost every night. He works most Sundays and our quality time together is minimal. I want my husband back dammit!

Boring day at work today. NO clients. I painted my nails a dark, frosted charcoal grey. I then painted glittery silver cobwebs on them for Halloween. They look pretty cool even if I do say so myself LOL

Dinner was really yummy tonight. I had bought a packet of lemon pepper shrimp and E cooked it up with some spaghetti and peas/sweetcorn in herb butter. I could have eaten more of it, but it was quite pricey and for what we got for our money, it didn't stretch very far! Was a nice change from ground beef or chicken breasts though. Now what's for dinner tomorrow? I have ground beef or chicken breasts! LOL

Gonna see if I can rouse hubs to come to the bedroom for some rude things (don't hold your breath though guys - he's still asleep on the couch!). Maybe tomorrow my life will be more exciting. Bye y'all!!