*whining* down

I'm such a slacker; I've been off of work for the past 4 days and I'm really bitching that I have to go to work tomorrow?! I had off Wednesday and Thursday because my sinuses were just RELENTLESS and have been wreaking havoc on my head. I wanted to stay in bed all day but I knew I'd be so unproductive so I forced myself up and made myself useful. It wasn't easy. I'm not sure what I got done in those 4days but Friday and today were productive days, I guess. We were up early today and headed to breakfast before lots of trips to Home Depot and Lowe's... to price vertical blinds and get all of our ideas down on paper for the bathroom remodeling. And can I say that the people at BOTH home improvement stores were LESS than useful? I couldn't believe how rude they were! We're first time home owners so give us a break, people. A little help or friendly "knowledge" would have been nice. We asked this one guy about installing a new toilet and he looked at us like we had 3 heads. SO condescending when he spoke. I was pretty annoyed. But we carried on and still were able to get some ideas on what vanities and mirrors that we might want. We took a trip to Bed Bath Beyond as well and were able to buy a new shower head - Jeff has wanted the dual kind for a while now so we were able to find a pretty nice one and I had a 20% coupon so that made our purchase even more fun! I think having a dual shower head is quite odd so far...Water coming from all directions - but I'll get used to it. I also finished my online course tonight - I took the final and my score was a 97% out of 100. I was a little disappointed that I got one wrong.. But that's just silly. I hope I can get to bed soon..I always seem to end up in bed LATE when I have to work the next day and yet will turn in at 9 when I'm off the next day. Weird.

Friday and it's raining? Really?

Well I'm still glad it's Friday because my weekend is officially here but I'm not glad that it's so gloomy out right now. I got up way later than I usually do on Friday and haven't started any of my cleaning. I always have it done by this time. Jeez, I need a big hot cup of motivation right now. Although, I did make a pot of coffee and accidentally made it way too strong, so a few more gulps of that should get me moving. Always does! Kind of looking forward to today even if it's miserable out; the husband is taking a half day at work so we can pick up his truck. Apparently, there were 3 recalls to his Titan, so we took it into the shop for a checkup. So, on the agenda is picking up the truck and running some errands together. We really want to take a trip to Blinds to Go so we can get prices on a vertical blind for our living room window.. we have a nice bow window and we've covered it since we moved in with these huge drapes I bought at Bed, Bath Beyond. It really takes away from it. So I'm kind of anxious to change it up. It's time to make it actually look like a bow window. Other than that, we're taking a trip to Home Depot so we can get some things for our bathroom. I think, this weekend, we're finally going to start on it! It really needs an overhaul. Did I tell you that it's yellow? Well, the paint and trim is hunter green, but the tub and toilet and vanity are yellow! We've lived with it thus far but had plans all along to re-do it .. so hopefully the project begins soon. I should post a picture of it. ok, I will. I just sat down before I posted, and paid bills. ** GASP ** Being a grown up sucks sometimes. : ) Where does it all go? Hope you are having a great Friday and have an even better weekend!


Here are the photos ( I usually have a matching hand towel - YIKES!)
See how old and country lookin' it is? Gahhh!! ( at least now I have some BEFORE shots)

I do love the skylight though..

Miracles?

** First, you have to push PLAY **

Miracle...

celine dion miracle songs | music videos | lyrics

On November 8, 2010, a true miracle came into this world. My sister gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, baby girl she named Chloe. She and her huband were so overjoyed by the birth of their baby girl; I don't think anything could ever come close to comparing with it. We say that Chloe is a miracle baby because, in all honesty, my sister "shouldn't" have been physically able to conceive in the first place. My sister has struggled with Crohn's disease for some years now; I can't count on one hand, the amount of drugs she has to take on a daily basis to keep it under control. It's pretty serious. She had emergency surgery some years back and the doctor told her then that she was lucky she'd come when she did because he wasn't sure she'd have "made" it much longer without that surgery. That was a scary time in her life .. as you can imagine. They basically told her that her insides were all "out of sorts" and her intestines were in bad shape. In layman's terms, I can only tell you that it was much like what happened to Marley in the movie Marley & Me. So they went in an fixed it the best they could. Having a child or conceiving was most likely not an option.. Coming off of the medicine would be too risky and her physical ability to get pregnant seemed unlikely as well. Then, in 2010, a miracle happened! My sister not only concieved, but carried to full term, a beautiful, healthy baby girl! Here's where I explain the rest of the miracle... When my sister went into labor, the baby was slow in coming. The doctors decided that she was going to be born via C-section because she was in some distress and it would be better for mom and baby. When they went in to perform the Cesarean, they accidentally cut my sister's bladder. I know that sounds like crazy malpractice stuff but they told my sister that her bladder was actually "not where it was supposed to be" .. They said that most of her organs were "misplaced" in some strange way.. I can only assume this was all a result of the Crohn's complications and the shape her intestines etc were in when they did that first surgery. In fact, the doctors agreed that there was humanly no way possible way for my sister to have gotten pregnant based on the "location" of her organs etc... They were so mystified as to how she was able to concieve based on what they'd seen. I mean, they never expected her bladder to be where it was, which is how they unintentionally ended up puncturing/cutting it. My sister said that the doctors even called her a "miracle". I don't know how much my sister prays or if she does but I would be willing to bet my next paycheck that God had a hand in this. Sometimes he sees fit for these things to happen and I guess it was time. He knows when a heart needs healing or when your life is ready to accomodate new beginnings or endings. I can't explain it any other way. I mean, if your body is not "equipped" to concieve and it does, how else would YOU explain it? Luck? I guess we all have our own theories but as long as I live, I'll consider my niece Chloe a miracle and I know my sister will too. I look at her pictures and I think of how blessed my sister and her husband are with a true gift from God. I find myself just thinking to still in disbelief sometimes. I'm not questioning it - I'm so very grateful; I just never expected it. No one did. I know that there are so many different "types" of love but the love that you have for a child must be SO different, when you hold her on your chest for the first time, you must wonder how you ever lived without her. It's the kind of love where you just know that you'd lay your life on the line for her and that you always want to protect her. I can only pray that one day I can feel that. God is always working & He clearly was in this case. He has bestowed a blessing upon us, that many people only dream of. Well, my sister did dream of it, but then it happened!
With no medical intervention. That is a true testament. To say that I'm happy for my sister is an understatement; I can't explain the depth of the joy in my heart. She is a mother now - I couldn't have wanted this more for her.

Lessons in Marriage

Hard to believe that I'm almost married for a whole year already! Not really until April but I've been thinking alot about it lately. Unfortunately, the reason I've been contemplating so much is because I have a few friends whose marriages are in discord right now. These are people who've been together for years and all of a sudden, something has changed and they're finding themselves on the verge of divorce. It scares the heck out of me that it could happen to me one day. I find myself going through crazy spurts of analyzing things in my own relationship. I've also realized that I haven't really been the best wife I could be, thus far. Sure, I'm "new at this" but I've been able to use some of the insight I've gained and 'change' some things about myself and my role as a wife. Part of my 'adjustment' was the big step I took this past weekend. I saw a little ditty on the news a couple weeks ago about Financial Infidelity and Jeff jokingly said that I was guilty of it. In reality, he was right though. We've been together for almost 10 years but only married just about 1 year and I've always kept my financial standings etc.. to myself. I've never really opened it up to him and it wasn't because I was hiding anything bad, but I just felt like it was MY personal information and not really something I wanted to share. One day, he expressed his feelings about it and said that he felt I 'hide' my finances from him. Like, what I owe in bills and how much I have in the bank. Honestly? He's right. I did do that and I realized that we're married now and we need to share these things with each other. Now, keep in mind that the "things" I've hidden from him are just my credit cards, and my student loan stuff... I told him a while back how much my salary is at work & even that was a big step for me. So I was at work last Sunday and was thinking about it LONG and HARD and I realized that I do in fact want to share these things with him. So I typed it all up on a sheet of paper and gave it to him when I came home. I can honestly say that I think it really turned our relationship in a good direction - he seemed so pleased that I was finally opening up to him about my financial health. I know it might seem silly but it meant a lot to him and I feel so much better about it now. I showed him that I have 3 credit cards, (which I don't use - I used them to biuld my credit)... and I gave him the total owed.. then I told him how much my student loan is for and I also made sure I told him that I'm behind on it because I am past due about $500 which I know is a big deal because they sent me a letter saying they can garnish your wages, take your tax refund etc.. So I called right away and arranged to make a payment very soon! As in this week. So yes, this was all a BIG step for me in the right direction and I feel so much better about it now. He wants me to think about a joint bank account eventually and I said that I'd consider it but first I want to get my student loan situated so they don't try to get me through my bank account. That would really suck and I'd feel really bad. I know I have married "blogger" friends.. (Amy, I almost called you one day for some wisdom) -- So, married friends, please let me know how you "make it all work".. because I'm quite clueless and a little nervous. I have so many questions.. Like how do I buy him a gift and not feel like I'm using HIS money, or how do I take money for shopping or something and not feel awkward? I feel like I'm losing some of my independence on one hand and on the other I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this. It was a hard pill for me to swallow when we went and filed our taxes JOINTLY..It wasn't the sharing part it was just the idea that it's JUST ME anymore. but, again, I realize that I'm not a single woman anymore.. I'm in a marriage, a union.. we're in this TOGETHER. See? I'm starting to catch on! ; )

Spring Preview!

I am thrilled that it's going to be in the high 60's today! I can't wait to open up the house and air it out - I love having a breeze running through while I clean. And clean is what I really need to do. I dust and clean every Friday (and more as needed) but I haven't really been around the house with the Swiffer lately. We have all hard wood floors in the house, so that means we have dog hair out the wazoo. I'm not kidding; I looked under the bed yesterday and thought we had another dog! So, I'll be swifferin' all over the house today and then shining up the wood floors. I can't wait to take in the beautiful weather. And my hubby texted me that he's taking a half day so that he can enjoy the sun too, that means I had better get a move on with my cleaning so I can free up the rest of the day to spend with him. It's going to be awesome! Hope you're all having nice weather no matter where you are - Hoping that the "S" word is a thing of the past! : )

Sunday blues

I don't know where the time goes. It seems I just get excited about my weekend being here and getting started and before I know it, it's just about over. I whine every Saturday night because I don't look forward to working on Sunday. It sucks. Everyone I know is hanging out on a Sunday and enjoying what's left of the weekend and I'm stuck in the office, by myself. I really don't think I'd mind so much if I had some company. I listen to music etc.. to keep myself occupied, or I should say, to liven the place up. I have a routine with the music too; Monday through Thursday I listen to whatever I have in my Media Player library (which ranges from country to freestyle to pop)... BUT on Sundays? Strictly, Classical. I don't know why other than the fact that I find it soothing. I have it set to my stations in the car too - it's my "de-stressing" music. If that's a word. : ) I can't complain entirely though - I had a really good weekend. I spent all of Friday afternoon with my two sisters and my 2 nieces - having some lunch (another story) and good laughs! Then my day continued on with my sister and I shopping a bit and stopping for some dinner at Red Lobster (2nd meal horror story of the day). I had such a great time with my sisters. We don't spend nearly enough time together. Today I picked up my mom from work (Saturday routine) and we had a quick breakfast, drove to the flea market, which ended up being CLOSED and then we ran some errands together and called it a day. So I guess I've been pretty busy this weekend and can't complain too much. I thought about taking this coming Thursday off, because the weather's supposed to be SO nice. Hmmmm......

Friday Fun

I was up early, made it to the store to get food for my dogger, stopped at McD's for a coffee (which turned out to be a cup of MILK).. Bleh... TOO MUCH CREAMER. Then came home, dusted and cleaned a little. Now I'm waiting to head out to my sister's to visit for a while. It's going to be so awesome. All 3 sisters and both of my nieces! Take a look at the little bundle I'll be holding half the afternoon.

Hot Diggity Thursday!

I got a chance to see my mom, my niece & my sister all at once tonight. What a nice treat! I even got to tuck in my niece at bedtime and spend some time chatting and laying in her bed. Her new BIG GIRL bed, I should add! When my sister first bought my niece's crib, she bought the kind that converts into 3 types. It went from crib to daybed and finally, to a full size bed, this week. I actually cried when I saw it all set up and decorated with all of her girly black and pink bedding (ala Justin Bieber). She's growing up so fast. It's a good idea to get that type of crib/bed, I guess, because it really lasts a long time & through many transitions. Although, she did have to buy a full mattress for it. Not so bad considering how much use she's been able to get out of it so far. I headed home fairly early because I was so tired! It's tough getting up early on Thursday morning and then trying to stay up late since I'm off on Fridays. Never quite works out that way for me. I'd rather get up early on Friday anyway so I can get my day and errands started. I'm going to my oldest sister's house for lunch so I'm thrilled about that. I get to spend some time with my other niece. She's getting so big and so darn cute! She's 3 months already! Wowsers! I'll have to post some pictures; I'm definitely taking my camera with me. My sister goes back to work next Monday so it'll be tough for her to leave her little angel. Poor girl. I wish I'd really been able to get over and visit the two of them more often while she was home on maternity leave, but I could only ever get there on a Friday really and always seemed to be doing something. I kind of regret it now. Well, I'm off to dreamland and looking forward to a great weekend! Hope you are too.

Lazy Bones

I'm just not finding the motivation to get a good blog post in tonight so here is what I'm thinking:

- O.M.G.. The Justin B movie comes out Friday; I'm hoping I can take my niece. It will probably be torture for ME but she's worth it.

- My new favorite juice is Juicy Juice Punch. I used to drink it all the time when I was a nanny and now I'm stuck on it again. It's one of the better juices out there. I have to get away from so much soda and iced tea.

- I am so glad tomorrow's Thursday and my weekend will start at 5 sharp! I have had a nutsy week and just want to relax and sleep in. I almost called out several times this week.

- I feel like crap and am not sure if my throat scratchiness is from my reflux or my cold. (did I spell that word right? Is scratchiness a word?"

- I never take anything medicinal -- But I bought some children's allergy and cold.

- My dog is asleep next to me on my husband's pillow. Seems like a fair trade; she doesn't snore NEARLY as loud as he does.

- I have lots of things I want to "talk" about but have refrained thus far. One day I will get my thoughts together and let it all out. Be prepared.

- I often get the urge to blog from work but I hold back because I'm afraid that my employer will see it. But honestly, I have never said anything derogatory about my employer so what am I worried about?

- I have been such a slacker with my online course that I'm taking. I've gotten behind in the lessons but have to make an effort to catch up tomorrow night.

- I downloaded OpenOffice on my laptop tonight - I hope it works. I really need a word application on my computer.

- I'm turning in for the night... Promise to post much better tomorrow.

30DS

I finally decided to check it out last week. The 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels. I kept seeing it when I went into the fitness programs on Comcast and I heard such good things about the results! So, last week, I finally turned it on and man, did I get a workout? I could hardly move the next day. I mean, I haven't used some of these muscles in Lord knows how long so it really was an eye opener to just how out of shape I am. The worst part for me was sitting down. I had to just "plop" down because my legs were not dealing well with the bending process. But even after the burn that I was feeling (which is a good sign that you're doing it right), I came home the second night and went right back to get started on Day 2. And it wasn't there!! It was GONE from Comcast! I was so pissed that I called Comcast and the lady told me that it had been deleted because of some expansion they were doing. Well that means nothing to me, I was not understanding it. It was supposed to be available until February 21st. Dude!! So anyway, I didn't let it stop me! I ran my sore butt to Wal*Mart and bought it for 9 bucks! What a deal! So I'm getting back to it this week and I hope I can stick it out for the full 30 days. It's tough but I'm really looking forward to the results.

Busy Bee

That's me in a nutshell for today. I have so much to do and I've not found the ooomph to do it yet. I was wide awake at 7 a.m. since I went to bed so early but I refused to get up simply because it was my day off. So I woke up - AGAIN - at 10 and now I feel like I slept too long. Don't you just hate it when that happens. There is such a thing as too much sleep, I guess. I definitely have to clean the house today & get to the post office. My sister is going to let me know if she wants to do lunch; she's been dealing with a nasty cold and hasn't been able to taste anything. Whenever I get like that, I don't want to eat. What's the sense? I always recommend hot and sour soup to anyone who has a cold like that. I'm telling you, it really clears you out. We had a full house last night! My sister came over so I could print up a resumé for her, so we had dinner and visited a bit and then shortly after she left, my brother came over with his girlfriend to have their taxes done. I've been doing them for a few years now. If they only knew how easy Turbotax is to use! It basically walks you through it. I'm a little nervous this time though. His girlfriend's refund jumped like $1200 when I entered her 1098-T form. (She's a full time college student) Does anyone have any experience with this? If you do, please advise. I went over it like 3 more times and it seemed ok so I pray that it is. I don't want her getting audited or owing money. It just seemed so drastic. Good for her if it's right though. This was the first year I didn't do my own taxes - I actually filed with my husband. That was a change for me - I wasn't used to doing that. Wow. Sucks that we got less as a couple than I usually did single. I think it may have had something to do with his unemployment from last year. But it's just as well.. your tax refunds are always something to look forward to. We had big plans for ours to re-do our bathroom but we'll just do it bit by bit. No rush, really. Guess I better get off the computer and start on my housework so I can shower and be ready JUST IN CASE my sister decides she wants to go to lunch. I can't go looking like this... Trust me. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Slacker

What I should be doing:
Working on my Wednesday Lesson of my online course that I'm taking.
Folding the laundry that I'll no doubt tumble at least 2 more times.
Putting my clothes away that I did manage to fold.
Going over my bills for the month and entering them in my "to pay" calendar.
But, I'm here visiting instead. Catching up on all your blogs and trying to come up with something post-worthy. Sorry if any of you were on the receiving end of, yet again, MORE snow. My corporate office is in Chicago, so almost everyone was working from home today because their total accumulation was in the 30's. As in inches! I may be a little off but they were anticipating that much so they planned ahead and they set up 'shop' from home. I wouldn't have minded doing that - Sitting at home in my flannel pj's and my slippers? Oh, how I wish Spring would just come knock on my door and tell me it's finally here! I stole a couple hours away last night and went to dinner and a movie with my movie buddy. We saw The Rite w/Anthony Hopkins. It was a great movie; he's such a wonderful actor. I'd have to say this was one of his best roles yet; I sure hope he gets an award. I know the concept is a little controversial to some, but it really was a great story. And last but not least, I totally feel like I'm getting sick! I never (knock on wood) get sick. I am obsessed with washing my hands constantly, using my hand sanitizer like it's my job and just keeping my environment - GERM FREE. So now, I'm so annoyed that I may be coming down with something. I get this weird scratchy feeling in my throat - I know it all too well. YUCK. Someone at work was just out for a couple of days with Bronchitis.. But I thought Bronchitis wasn't contagious? So now, I wonder what it really was. I can't stand it when someone coughs or sneezes right out into the air that we all share/breathe. Grown people who don't cover their mouths? So, I hope I'm not posting in a day or two how I feel like crap. :(