What are you thankful for?

Here it is middle of November already. Where has the time gone? In about another week Thanksgiving will be here. Thanksgiving is more than just turkey and all the fixings so they say.... Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all you have... so what are you thankful for?

Zombie Walk 08

So we got up this morning, the kids and me and went to Monroeville mall for the zombie walk. Yeah, the kids lasted a whole 2 minutes. My son who watches scary movies all the time was scared. He was hitting me saying I wanna go home. My daughter was crying. I tried to tell them that it was all fake BUT it didn't work.
I thought it was so funny. Poor kids were scared to death. Next year though. I am going alone. LOL!!!!

Brooks N Dunn concert

Mom and I got tickets to the concert with ZZ Top. Thanks Dave. We had a lot of fun. I had to take the kids with me and this was their first real concert. They have gone to smaller things but never anything like this. The concert was great and ZZ really kicks ass. They were excellent. Don't make bands like that anymore. Oh yes they still have the beards. LOL..

Tay fell asleep close to the end, but overall the kids were pretty good and enjoyed the show. Mikey really liked ZZ Top. He was like I know these songs. Um yeah, you're Dad is old. LOL!!!

Here's a few pictures from the night.

Kennywood

So last weekend I went to Kennywood with 2 of my sisters and some of their friends. The place was packed. Lines were so long that I only got to see 2 haunted houses and ride 1 ride. It was a complete time hogger. My feet and legs hurt so bad that I thought I was going to never be able to walk again. LOL!! Here are a few pics

Melinda Trish & Rob

And life goes by so fast

Seems like just yesterday I was updating this blog and now I see that it has been over a month. Time just goes by so quickly.
Let's see, what have I been up too. Humm, not much. I did decide not to take a year off of school. I am going back for the spring semester. Yuck, school really sucks. However if I ever want to get my degree and become an RN then I need to go back. So spring semester here I come.....

What else, Hum Mikey turns 11 this month. Seems almost like yesterday that he was a tiny baby. Now he is all grown up (almost) and so is his attitude. LOL!!! Phone calls from his teacher are real popular right now. When his teacher can't get a hold of me, he calls his Dad and that's not good. LOL!!

Tay started dance classes and so far so good. She has a long way to go and I really wish I started her out at a younger age. Other girls are so flexible and well not only is she not flexible, she is also pretty clumsy. BUT she keeps on giving it her best and really that's all that is important to me.

I think that's all that's going on right now. I've meet a few really nice local people online. A few local a few who aren't. A friend is a friend though right?

Ramble, ramble, ramble

Oh what a week it has been. Long and stressful. Work sucks. I am smart and usually can catch on very quickly when taught however I seem to be self teaching more and more. Sometimes that is okay, but since I started this job I feel like there has been NO training, NO assistance. I ask for help, but it seems like I just get more confused. They are real sticklers about errors too. I think I am hard on myself so this just causes even more stress on me. I guess I am doing okay with what was given to me, but I have so much more to learn to be successful. I need knowledge. LOL..

I do know that this isn’t what I want to do the rest of my life. I know so much so that I was taking the year off of school but decided this week that I’m going back for the spring semester. The faster I get my degree the better. I’m tired of being in an unrewarding (money wise) job and really want to do something where I make a difference and I’m tired of financially just getting by. The time for change is now!

On another note, the kids started school on Wed. What a hassle that was. The buses are overcrowded, they were very late and in most instances elementary kids were on the bus for up to an hour in the afternoon. I am all for cutting back and starting to spend my tax dollar better, but not when our children’s safety is being compromised. The second day was much better, all though I hear that overcrowding is still a main issue.

I yelled at my kids and told them they need to be sitting on the bus cause if anything happens they can get seriously hurt like I was in high school. A story for another time. They assure me that they are sitting and not being bad. Humm I find that a tad hard to believe. Guess time will tell. I just think that the safety of our children needs to be our main concern and cutting back in those areas should be illegal.

Testing 1,2,3 testing

Okay, I'm proud to announce that I now have a whopping 2 readers. Woo hoo! So this is a test. Let's see how many readers I really have. If you're here welcome! Please leave me a quick comment so I know you stopped by.....
Make my day, do I have 3 readers????

The school year already

About a month ago we had gotten the kids homeroom assignments in the mail. I thought that my son’s homeroom number sounded familiar and sure enough it was. It is the same classroom he had when he was in first grade. Of course the teachers are different, but I think it’s funny. He doesn’t mind either except when I’m doing paperwork for school and I ask him…. Mikey what’s your homeroom number again… You’d think I’d remember but no. I think that now it is embedded in my head. If not I’m sure Mikey will tattoo it on my forehead one night while I’m sleeping.

So we went to his school to meet his teacher and all that fun stuff. He didn’t seem too excited about it. My daughter Tayler on the other hand was so excited to see some of the teachers from last year. She is going to a new school. More about that later. She is running down the halls yelling come on Mom, we need to go see Mrs. So and so or Mr. so and so. My son and I just looked at each other and said she’s crazy. I couldn’t wait to get out of there though, it was packed.

Well the night before this, we took my youngest, Tayler to her new school. New teachers, new and old friends, new building. All that stuff. She meets her teacher and seems rather excited because her teacher is young and Tayler seems to bond well with younger adults. Next, as we are walking to the cafeteria for some treats she is running up to some woman and hugging her. I personally thought she was going to knock her down. It was her art teacher from the other building. She had transferred to a new building so Tay was even more excited. Familiar teachers. Tay is super excited about going back to school, Mikey not so much…

I’m not sure what this school year is going to bring, but I sure hope it is a fast one. J

Concert in the Backyard

Last night I had a good time. We went to a local firehall where they have summer concerts out in the back. There were three bands, One lane Bridge (Never heard of them) Joe Patrick and four on the floor, and Chris Higbee project.

One lane Bridge was on first. They were okay.

Than Joe Patrick came out and I about had a heart attack. The lead singer was a guy I dated in 1oth grade. (Maybe it was 11th grade) Well at least he was a spiltting image of him. Maybe his twin. Anyway, we only dated a few months. Well, I guess he found something better cause one day he stopped coming over and stopped calling. It was easy back then because I didn't drive. Anyway, it was over just as fast as it started. I never forgot him (I think woman remember a lot more anyway) and after a while thought we would never see eachother again.He was at a different school than me, but he had such a great voice back then. He sang in the school musicals and he'd sing for me. Here's a picture of him and his band..

He sounded really good.

Next up was Chris Higbee. He was great too and mmm he has a body on him. He played really well too. We were in the front row in our lawn chairs. The only bad thing, is no one showed up. There was maybe 50 people there. Come on people, the tickets were only $12 and no one wanted to come????

Well anyway, we had a great time. BUT I was home by 10:30. Ahh some people are so boring. LOL!!

Till next time......

What to say? What is safe?

You know, there are so many blogs out there, why should I even bother with mine? Why even have a blog? Of course you really can't write about personal stuff cause the world can see it yet isn't the personal stuff what we want to talk about? Guess I'll just have to stick to the boring same ole.. Well really, no one reads this thing anyway.

So today is a boring day. I never get anything done. My house is a disaster and instead of dealing with that, DH is sleeping and I'm on this darn computer. Really I think even if I wasn't on it, I still don't think I would tackle the mess. It is so overwhelming and what I clean today will just be dirty again tomorrow. I look forward to the day when the kids stick to thier rooms and only mess that up. LOL!

I know, one step at a time. It will get done just not as soon as I'd like. Oh did I say cleaning sucks??? LOL

Money and budgets, who me?

Life sucks! It seems no matter what you do, you never get ahead. Taxes go up, bills go up but yet that thing called a pay check never seems to go up. Sure, if you’re lucky you bust your butt all year long for a little 1-3% raise. This usually equals out to be a few pennies. Okay not really but close. When you make pennies, the raise can only be pennies though right?

I really need to set up a budget. I have a few forms I use, but I really need a concrete spending plan. This winter is going to be so hard with all the increases in utilities, so now is the time to get started on that. I just wish I had the money to sit down with a financial planner and have them help me. It always seems more doable when someone is helping. No making a budget isn’t so hard; it’s the sticking to it that is. So Since I don’t have the money to get help, looks like I have to do it all alone. The biggest step is realizing you need a plan though right?

So I have started! Yep reading a book or two, got some work sheets together and hopefully by 2010 I’ll have a plan!! Just kidding, hopefully I’ll be ready for September. Just in time for the seasons to change and the weather to get cooler. Just in time for the HUGE gas and electric bills. Anyone make and stick to a budget? How did you do it??

Rain Rain is here to stay

Holy shit batman, is the rain ever going to stop?? I don't think so. It's raining and chilly for the end of June. Where is the summer weather? Man if anyone shelled out money for a pool membership, sorry you lost your money!!

So I am under so much stress. From big things to little things. Things in every possible category. Life just really sucks! I don't think there will ever be an ending! Well maybe someday.

Our school district closed two schools and now if your child goes to daycare the chances of them getting daycare are slim to none if it is out of the map that the district sketched up. Guess it's time to start looking for a new daycare. I think I have a choice of two. Such a shame, they are already settled where they are. Oh and they raised our taxes AGAIN!

Always something going up though isn't there. Gas is now at $3.99 and climbing, our natural gas company raised their rates and are asking for an even higher rate increase. What's next, the electric? The water and sewage rate around here went sky high.... I'm drowning and can't find my way to the top.

Are things going to get better probably not. Hey if anyone is looking for a fixer upper for cheap, I got a house for ya! Yeah, I am really considering going back to renting. Could I really live in a small two bedroom apartment? Probably not, but we may just be finding out.......

The time to blog is NOW!!

LOL! I know, it's been a while. Time to get back into blogging. You know, I think of things to say and it's like okay, what do I say, how much should I say, and who's really going to read this? I mean do I read some blogs? Sure I do, but I don't make it a habit. I guess maybe because I don't have any blogging friends. Will you be my friend?

So a lot of things have changed in my life within the last few months. I changed positions at work, finished my spring semester in college and decided to take a year off to well get myself together. Let's see what else, humm I've lost friends and gained friends. Bought a motorcycle and so on... So where shall I start, work is boring, school is boring!

So I got a motorcycle. I think I got it the end of May. It has a whooping 25 miles on it I think. Yeah, I'm a little frightened. I took the motorcycle safety course and that was so much easier that trying to do it now. I wonder if they will let me back in the basic course (the course you attend to earn your license). Maybe I just need pushed and tested again. Who knows. All I know is I'm tired of being pushed the wrong way about it. Seems that some are trying to force me out on the road and I know that I'm just not ready yet!!

Well, these last few months have also been pretty stressful and I well put on A LOT of weight. So I have decided it was time to go back to WW. I'm just doing it at home though. I just don't have the money to spend on weekly meetings. There are many of people whether friends here or alone for support, I just have to accept it and work HARD!!

This is the last week of school for the kids. (Can you hear the angels signing) it has been a rough year with my son. He has ADHD and knows how to use it to his advantage. Oh and he also destroyed all his uniforms and I was not buying new ones when he only had a few weeks left... yesterday was dress down day at school and I realized that these kids keep growing and they need new clothes. My daughter especially. She is growing like a weed.

Well, I'm going to wrap this ramble up, hope to see some comments and even read your blog if you got one.

Till next time- stay OP!!
Julie~

Hey How are you?

Yeah, I know it's been a while... I have no internet access at home, so it's going to be a little bit longer......

Wasteful weekend

Another weekend here and gone. Friday night was the worst. We went to dinner (I ate some bad things, okay 2 biscuits) then we went to the mall. My husband walked away and my son disappeared. I was calling my husband, had him paged then I had security out looking for him. Here he was with his dad the whole time. I freaking crying here and all upset and my husband thought it was funny. My daughter being the smart ass she is said I’m the good one, I stayed with Mommy. She’s 6. My son said he told me he was going with his Dad but I didn’t hear him. Oh what a night.

Saturday I slept all day again. I have no energy to do anything. We ordered out and I ate what I wanted. BAD I know. Sunday was the same thing. Today though I am back on track. Guess we need to eliminate weekends. Next weekend won’t be too bad because I have class all day both days so I won’t have time to eat!

I am sad today. Not really sure why, just am. I am tired of spending all my time fighting for things. I have been fighting with direct TV. I am being over charged because this credit didn’t go through and that credit didn’t go through. I am tired of calling them about my service not working. Finally I was transferred to a supervisor who was really nice and knowledgeable to hopefully all that is taken care of. The electric company is another story. Waiting for them to send a shut off notice. So tired of all this. Can’t wait to get my tax refund and get caught up on everything. It is a shame that I need a refund to do that. Everything is going up in price however the paycheck isn’t. I don’t know how some people live. I’m thankful for what I have!

Are we adults or children?

Holy cow! Sometimes I feel like I work with a whole bunch of highschool children. Okay maybe only one or two okay definitly one. I mean WTH? Why are some people so vindictive, rude, back stabbing people? Sometimes being that way will move you up, but have you noticed that the way you are acting hasn't gotten you anywhere? YOU ARE STILL IN THE SAME OLE SPOT! Stop and think, why and you will see.

Okay, I know you have no idea what I'm talking about. In due time. I promise I will spill the beans soon. Patience dear friends!

Well on the diet front. OUCH hungry today. I feel like such a pig thus far. My will power seems to be GONE. See what I mean in the food journal I post later. Really it isn't bad, I have WPA for those kinds of times, but I really feel like I shouldn't use them right now. I have SO much weight to lose.

Day 2

Breakfast
Coffee with sweet & low and FF milk
1 pk. butter instant grits (2)

Lunch
Progresso Beef veggie

Dinner
(Planned)
Pork chops baked with garlic/zuchinni/squash/garlic/chicken broth
pineapple in juice
1 pk. 100 cal. cookies (2)

Water (Have to work on this)
I

WPA Left: 31/35

Hey, I got something to SAY!

One of the hardest things in life is being quiet when you have something to say. I do, I have something to say, but I have to wait a little longer. Yes big news coming soon!

So here I sit at work again. Drinking my peppermint tea and oh so bored. We are doing some testing and it is going SO SLOW! The definition of my life. Boring, slow, but sometimes I do have a funny thing to share every once in a while. Today I don’t. LOL!

I am a tad bit hungry today. Okay I want CARBS and SUGAR. I know I can do it, but thy tummy is growling so loudly. I’m probably just not eating enough, but for the first week, that’s fine by me.

Last night my hubby made me a nice salad so that when I got home from class I didn’t have to worry about dinner. I like when he does things like that. Makes me feel taken care of!

Speaking of class…. OMG is all I have to say. There is now way I am going to get through this class unless I really make time for that term they use…. STUDY! The teacher is really nice and fun, but she is a little tough. Just making us learn I know, but the stress of it all is really freaking me out. I know I can do it, just have to STUDY! See that word popped up again.

We had a lecture quiz last night. 5 questions. I know I missed at least one. The lab quiz was tough. I know I flunked that one. My mind went blank and fear consumed me. I forgot all the terms I just had down pat in my head. I was so grossly disappointed in myself, but now I know what is expected of me and I can work harder next time. Oh yeah, lab and lecture quizzes are EVERY WEEK!!

Oh so back to the diet, sorry, I seemed to have rambled on. Today is pretty much planned out. I grabbed the wrong kind of grits at the store, they are the butter flavor and not core. So I had to use 2 points. I need to run and get the right kind or eat oatmeal instead. I like grits though. The plain ones seem to have a bit of buttery flavor, so I am not sure why they have a butter flavor on the market. I will post my food journal a little later with everything.

This weekend I am having a cooking fest. Well maybe, I don’t have much freezer space and since the refrigerator in the basement quit working I am very limited! I need either another fridge or a chest freezer. I did like the fridge in the basement though; it really kept the beer cold. HA HA HA! Looks like for the time being, we just have to settle with what we have.

I guess that’s about all for right now. Have I bored you yet?

Day 1

I am doing WW Core program

Breakfast
Coffee with sweet &low and FF milk
2 pks. plain instant grits

Lunch
Progresso Lentil soup

Dinner
salad w/carrots, onions, cukes and FF thousand island

Water (Have to work on this)
III

WPA Left: 35/35

Smack in the face

Holy cow! I thought I was 216, but to step on the scale at WW today, I am 219.4!! (I updated the other post) Wow almost 220! I wanted to cry. I was so upset. I guess me steeping on the scale alone doesn't do it for me. I guess I need others to see. Of course no one in this meeting would call me fat as there are others who are bigger, but to me I am a whale. Huge and undesirable.