money stress

Money stress
Money stress
Oh, money money money
Money stress
(to the tune of Lollipop... )

Yeah, well, not really. things are looking better. on paper anyway.
But i still can't seem to break the stress part... headaches.
and that creates the problem of "not tonight honey, i have a headache"

except of course, that i don't have to say that... because i am not
asked, nudged, rubbed or propositioned in any way.

funny... he was all over me a year ago, when i was fat... ok, not 'fat', but 25 pounds bigger.
now that i actually am pleased (getting there anyway) with my body image, he
doesn't seem to want anything to do with me. or maybe we are both just tired.

i need Excedrin and a brownie... maybe i can get rid of my headache, get fat and get laid.
hehehe. sorry, just in a sarcastic bitch mood.

Learning from reality

Last night I was so thrilled that 1. the Twins were not playing and 2. JP was. He plays ball on an "Old Timer's" league on Monday nights.

I was happy because those two things meant that I was able to watch Jon & Kate without interruption. Because I am a voyeuristic slave to crap like that.

But as I watched it, it just made me sad. I made it about 3/4 through it before I jumped up and grabbed my car keys. I went down to the ball field to watch my husband play ball.

I was there to support him and cheer for him. and love him. Because that's what we need to do. For each other. For us.

I hope I wasn't the only one in the country affected that way. Seeing their marriage falling apart made me look at mine. Made me know that THAT is not what I want for me. for us.

It was a small step, going down to watch him hit a line drive that looked incredible... until it went directly into the glove of the outfielder. A small step, but isn't that what life is about? Taking those steps, doing those little things, showing those you love that you love them.

Besides, he looks so good in his baseball jersey and sunglasses. very sexy.
;-)

Chloe pictures

Eric's room: DONE!

This is what Eric came home to last Tuesday, after his week with Grandma and Grandpa. When he left, it was subfloor, drywall was taped and mudded, the flooring was still in packages in the family room... he had NO bed, a crappy dresser and all his belongings were crammed in corners of the family room and the laundry room. He was incredibly happy, very surprised.

The other room, the 'spare' bedroom is almost done, and I will post pics of it, but it won't be fully done for awhile. This had been Mom's room before the flood, now she's living upstairs in the formal living room. Since she is house hunting now, we are going to just put her stuff back in the spare room, and she will leave her bed upstairs, and continue to sleep there until she moves out. We won't have the 'spare' room to normal until she is in her new home. I have big plans for it, so does JP... we have some compromising to do here!

Happy to be wrong

I went to work Friday with a plan... a plan that some would consider mean. I intentionally mislead my daughter as to my lunch hour. Told her I would be home at 12:30, not true, my lunch was at 12. Expected her to be out and about (she asked if she could and I said no, the lawn needed to be mowed as soon as it dried up) and expected to catch her coming home to arrive just before me.

I had also told the boys to take the puppies out for the majority of the morning, it was pretty nasty and rainy on Thursday, so Chloe and Annie didn't get alot of outside time, so when Friday was a beautiful morning, I wanted those babies out enjoying it as much as possible.

I drove down the street towards the house and was pleasantly surprised to see Emma, almost done mowing the front yard... I gave her a thumbs up as I pulled into the driveway. "Yeah," I thought, "but the boys will not have had the puppies out all morning"

Not so. As I got to the house, I saw two puppies romping in the back yard. Eric was with them. He informed me that they (the boys) had arranged to take turns, half hour shifts each. Alex had already had one, and Eric's was almost over. They intended to keep switching off until the babies fell asleep.

Sometimes it's good to be wrong. Not often, mind you... but in that case, I was happy to be wrong. I felt a bit bad that I underestimated my kids, but the past has shown that I had about a 90% chance of being right...

good kids. that day.

It's a great week

Not only is my boss out of work all week (actually, she's out of the STATE! even better!)
But I also get my Eric back tomorrow!

He left for his annual week at Grandma and Grandpa's... each kid goes down south for a week or so, and Eric was first this summer.

While he's been gone, we have FINISHED his room. He will be so surprised when he comes home. New textured and painted walls, laminate wood floors, window treatments, new BED, new dresser, mattress, new posters on his walls, new area rug, lamp and nightstand... we just completely redid his room.

This poor boy has been bunking with his older brother for the past 3 months or so.

I will take pictures tomorrow and post them, I'm really excited for him to see it!

We also got the truck refinanced today... taking it out of MOM's and my name, and the new loan is in JP's and my name. Mom is planning on house hunting and buying, and having an extra vehicle loan in her name could be a bugger on her credit availability.

New loan is 6.2%... old one was 8.9%... nice.
New payment is $327... old one was $ 464... nicer.
New payment will remain the $500 I've always sent... lower interest, it'll be gone faster, and it's out of mom's name... things are good.

New Owners

Here's Melanie and her husband, they took Billy from me, and they're keeping his name Billy!

This is Jenny, she picked up Ted, now Pete, for her brother Matt.

This is Laurie, she got Thelma, renamed her Lucy... she works at the same bank as me, different branch!
Here's Alissa and Hannah, they got Daphne, but weren't sure what her name would be.

Nina, her husband and their son, Dominic got Thomas, and changed his name to Mauer (after Joe Mauer, a current Minnesota Twins player!)

I didn't get a picture of Jamie and Phil who took Jack, and will be calling him Rusty. And of course, there's Kara, who got Louise, renamed her Annie Louise, and Annie is still with us. Kara will be picking her up around the 20th, after a trip she had planned prior to deciding to get a puppy!

It's sad, but it's over. No more puppy posts... except Chloe, of course!

4th one is the charm

I took 3 calls this morning with people who wanted a female puppy. Nope, sorry they're all gone... just got the one boy left.

About half an hour ago, I took the 4th call of the day. "Do you have any males left?"

I wanted to say "Nope, sorry, all gone"

But I didn't. The longer I keep Billy around, the harder it will be to say goodbye to him.

I sent this guy pictures of Billy, and Comet (mommy) and Winston (daddy) and am waiting to hear if he wants to come over, it's a 50 mile drive ...

I'm torn, I want to get rid of ALL the puppies this weekend... but I wuvs my Billy.

Going part 2

It's not even noon and we are down to 4 puppies.

Well, technically, just one.

Chloe lives here, she's mom's baby.
Annie is staying here; we are babysitting.
Jack is leaving tomorrow.

AND BILLY IS STILL HERE!

Yes... it's true... fate has intervened and kept my sweet baby boy with me for a little longer. The girl who came this morning to chose a boy for her brother... she had Bill and Ted to chose from... she made a wise decision, she took Ted and renamed him Pete. Good.

I wuvs my billy. Yes I do... yes I do!

Going...

Last night I said goodbye to Daphne and Thomas. They both went to nice families, and I took pictures of the new family with their baby, because, yes, I AM that dork.

I will post them in a big "off they go" post at the end of the weekend.

Funny how six puppies are so much easier to handle than 8. By tonight, it will be down to 4. I think that will seem just sad... like we don't have near enough babies around here!

But my bank account is getting happy, so it's all good!

The puppy formerly known as Louise

A lady came last night and we sold our first baby... other than my mom getting Chloe, of course.

Somehow I knew right from birth that Louise would be, if not first, then one of the first, to be picked.

She had a bath on Sunday, and Monday evening, she got a new mommy...

I feel great about this home for this puppy. She has had Goldens before, and she is just a wonderful lady, and I know Louise will be well cared for and well loved.

Little sad, but... it happens, and hopefully, it will happen again Thursday night, when some other people are coming to "look" at puppies.

I love Bill

Gang, this is Bill. He is my favorite of all the puppies. And I can honestly say that I love him. Or, as I say to his widdle face "I wuvs my Billy... yes I do... yes I do!"

See, it's ok for me to fall in love with him, because I know I will not keep him. As much as I wuvs my Billy, I do not own male dogs. I will wuvs him while I haves him, then I will cash the check and say goodbye to him... with a tear in my eye, I'm sure.