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.

In a slump

Those of you who read this and also see my Facebook snips will notice that I have been having issues with stupid the last week or so. Just feeling very bitter towards stupid people and how they insist on coming in to my personal space and being stupid near me.

I really wish I could hear something on that job I applied for, something to shake things up, maybe make me get excited about getting up in the morning.

Going back to the gym for the month of May has helped me get up in the morning, so that's one little thing.

We got our mortgage refinanced last week, other than the immense stupidity that I faced dealing with those people, it was a good thing... good now that it's over, and my mortgage payment has gone down. The savings will be thrown at the truck payment to knock that down... gotta put that on the fast track for a few months, get us out of being upside down on it, so we can refi the loan, and get it out of my mom's name. After we do that, it's back to the plan.

Speaking of the plan, it's one step forward, two steps back. Remember (not that long ago!) I was all happy because the first one bit the dust... our anytime credit account attached to our checking was paid off... well, with the refi and the remodeling, it's back to damn near maxed out... as of today. SONOFABIATCH...

So I've been in the dumps lately about finances, but I am trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel...

The pups will be ready to leave us in about 10 days... seems like just yesterday they were born, and now they're so big, and eating puppy food soaked in milk, and their mommy is no longer needed for nourishment... they're big kids now!

So all I need is to finish the bedrooms downstairs, pay off the bill I JUST HAD PAID OFF, (little bitter there, too!) get a new job, and get caught up on the bill paying plan, then maybe I will be a little more cheerful...

Hey, a girl can dream!

Does Michael Vick deserve a second chance?

I saw a story on him this morning on the TV at the gym... they're discussing whether he deserves a second chance... in the NFL.

I believe that he does deserve a second chance... at being a human being.
Not in the NFL. Why? Because kids look up to NFL players, hell, ANY sports figures. I practically have to wrestle my 11 year old son down to remove his Adrian Peterson Vikings jersey once a week to wash it!

Michael Vick deserves a chance, yes... but go be an insurance salesman, work in a factory... not in the public eye where someone might think you're a great guy. Because you're not.

I watch the show "Dog Town" on NatGeo. They got some of the Vick dogs, trying to rehabilitate them, trying to save them. It rips my heart out every time I see one of them, scarred and scared, damaged beyond what we can imagine. And my heart leaps when I see one of them come back from such a dark place to become what they were meant to be... dogs. Not warriors, not disposable commodities used for income.

Michael Vick makes my stomach turn, I believe that serving time in prison is a mere pittance. I will not go so far as to say some of the things I have heard, what kind of punishment would be fitting the crime... I don't agree that two wrongs make a right. But I don't believe that he deserves to be put on a pedestal EVER again.

Go sell insurance Michael... leave the limelight to those who deserve it.

Rockin' robin

I had a battle this weekend with a robin... you know, tweet, tweet, bird.

Bitch decided that the light under my awning, right by my back door was the PERFECT spot for her to build a nest. Not.

I wouldn't mind if she was just going to have the little robin eggs and sweet little baby birds... THAT would be fine.

But she would sit on the edge of the nest and poo off the side. Right onto my back steps.

So I put a pop can up there on Friday, trying to block her constant efforts to create the nest.

She kept trying to work around the can, and I kept knocking it down... using a hockey stick.

By Sunday afternoon, the silly bitch gave it up and moved it to the pine tree in the back yard.

I win.

Battle Royale

That's what my kids called what I photographed this morning... see for yourself! They were 3 weeks old on Friday... just a few more weeks and they'll be gone!

puppy update

They opened their eyes over the weekend... and they're learning to growl and bark (It's so cute when they start... they look like they actually startle/scare themselves when they let out a big bark!)

I have to go back to work today, haven't been there since last Thursday! I had Friday off, it was our 16th anniversary, and I had Monday off, then Tuesday and Wednesday I had to go to Fargo for work related training. The two longest most boring days of my life... I'll never get those back.

Thanks.

Driving Miss Nikky

That's what I got for Mother's Day.
My oldest son, Alex took me for a drive. My mom has been letting him practice in her truck, for the past month or so on Sundays. Today I got to ride along. Of course, I got the backseat. I felt about as old as Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy.

My SON was driving... you know, the one that just a mere short 15 Mother's Days ago was spewing rice cereal on me and shitting his pampers? Yeah, THAT son. DRIVING.

I had him drive to the local Dairy Queen and bought him a Blizzard. He did good. He's certainly not ready for real driving, but it's good practice until June when he takes Drivers Education.

We had a couple of Puppy Owner-wannabe's visit today, too. So that is always nice... they want to wait to see the 'kids' fully up and running around, see their personalities and how they interact with each other and with people.

JP and I got a ton done on the downstairs bedrooms this weekend, too. We are on schedule to drywall NEXT WEEKEND!! We even bought the flooring for Mom's bedroom. There was a sale, but there wasn't enough to do both bedrooms, so I decided to make the most of the sale price and get enough to do the bigger bedroom. We won't put down the laminate wood flooring until the walls are painted and all the trim (except the base molding) are done... less chance of damage or spills on the new floor! So for now, the new flooring will sit in the corner of the family room... a good price that was too good to pass up. It will probably be 2 to 3 weeks before it goes in, but at least when we're ready for it, we won't have to wait for the next payday to get it!

My Mother's Day was NOT relaxing, I was NOT pampered, but it was a very productive day, and I'm happy with that. Besides, I have tomorrow off work, so if I want to relax and pamper myself, I can do it then, when everyone else is at work and school... the house to myself... hell, that ALONE is relaxing!

Boys vs Girls

I had to take pictures (HAD TO! lol) of the pups tonight to send to JP's sister... she's got friends interested in buying some of them. I seperated the kids out and snapped a few.

Here are the 4 boys, one of them in spoken for, just not chosen yet...Jack, Bill & Ted and Thomas.

And there are the 3 girls... Daphne, Thelma & Louise... Chloe is not in the picture since she is already spoken for and therefor not in the "for sale" picture.

Another one bites the dust!

OK, so it's not ANOTHER one, it's the FIRST one. And it's gone. And it feels amazing!
Yesterday I made the FINAL payment to our credit line. Today it showed up on my online banking accts.

On January 1 the balance of this account was $1,268.48. The Balance is now ZERO!
So now the money that had been thrown at that...my pull tab paychecks and my "left over after the mortgage payment" extra from my regular paychecks can be pooled and added to the already $200 payment going to Menards. THAT balance is just under $600 after the payment made yesterday goes through. So I doubt it will take long to kill that one either.

So then after that's gone, I add: $200 (from Menards) to the pull tabs monthly checks: $140, with the "extra after Mortgage" amounts of roughly $180 for a total of $520... ADD THAT TO the already $200 payments to the military credit card... and I will be sending them $720 PER MONTH... nice.

Balance on that sucker is (hang on, lemme grab the last month's statement)....$4189.99... not counting the $200 I sent them yesterday... so figure roughly $4000.... won't take long for $720 per month to kick that one either... ( I grabbed a calculator, figure 6 or 7 months!) even with the 9.99% interest. And THAT is the highest interest rate we are paying on all things... mortgage, truck, Discover card, student loans... 9.99% is the worst interest we have... not bad considering...

Between that and the immense job of housecleaning I did today (with the kids' help) AND the fact that I got my butt into a size 4 jeans finally AND the phone call I got this morning, my SIL has (sight unseen, mind you!) SOLD 3 of our puppies! She's got someone who wants a male, and someone else who wants TWO girls... I am feeling fine and dandy today.

Oh, and later today I am going to print out my resume and prep it for sending off... so THAT helps, too!
It's just a good day to be ME!!