Can I Please Tell You How Good Our Lord Is?

I had to balance the checkbook today. Horror upon horrors. I kept adding bills, and my balance got smaller and smaller and smaller.
Last bill...car payment. $325.48. Balance = $316.82. Sigh...I'm no math major, but as you can see, those are not good numbers. I let the bill sit on my desk, and paid everything else. I still haven't bought groceries either, and we are finally running out of Christmas leftovers. My kids told me if they had to eat any more turkey, there could be mutiny. Sigh.
The mailman came by. I went out to grab the mail. It is a beautiful sunshiny day here. I smiled into the sun as I walked out to the mailbox, and flipped through the junk mail. I saw a letter from my mortgage company. Normally, I don't open them, because they are just reminders to pay my bill, and I do that online. But I did today, hoping for one of those end-of-the-year statements that we use for our taxes.
Here is what the letter said:

"Currently, your escrow account is overfunded by $192.90. A check for that sum is enclosed with this analysis."

Hello, groceries! Hello, car payment! Thank you, Lord!

Happy New Year to One and All!

Not sure I'm going to be able to log again until January, so I wanted to wish everyone a happy, safe, and blessed New Year.
I am going to a church event with the kids tomorrow night. We're going to see the movie Flywheel I've already seen it, but the kids have not. Bucket won't be able to get it, but the other two should. Mr. R still hasn't gotten a load out of Florida, so he may end up going with me. You never know.



Anyway, I highly recommend the movie. It is a bit preachy, but does have a really good message, and another thing you hardly ever see...an honest car salesman! That in itself makes it worth watching, right?

Today is a slow day at work. I only have 6 phone calls left and I'm supposed to work three more hours. I also have the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer all going. I folded two loads of laundry while I was on hold with Blue Cross of Ohio. (19 minutes, per the timer on my phone.) I have to admit, this is one of the reasons why I particularly love working from home. Being able to do some house chores while I'm working at my job is nice. Being a multi-tasker helps, of course.

Graphics & Myspace layouts

My love and prayers to all of you. :)

Ponderings

Is that even a word? Anyhoo...

Been thinking a lot about the future. Not worrying (like Mr. R) but merely wondering how things will pan out for us.
We are now in debt over the truck again. His old truck is not repairable, and so Mr. R is going to trade in the old one for $3000, and apply the price to the one he is driving now. He likes this new truck. Except for the smoker who was in there before, Mr. R says this is a better and newer truck. So, we are now $14,000 in the hole again. Sigh. Another 18-24 months of us being apart.
That leads us to an interesting situation. I am slated to graduate from Herzing College in April 2011, which is approximately the time when Mr. R's truck will be paid off.
Frankly, I can't imagine Mr. R driving much longer. Not only is he not crazy about it, health-wise, it's not very good for him. Plus, my husband is soooo smart and such a people person. Not saying that truck drivers can't be smart (obviously, they can) but that Mr. R is not happy where he is right now. Yet when I tried to sit him down so he could take a career test online, he refused to do it. He is not computer savvy and he feels awkward on a computer. He will surf but as far as typing, he doesn't care for it.
I am thinking that Mr. R should be working toward a degree for the next two years while he finishes paying off this new truck. Towards what, I don't know. Of course I'm partial to the medical, but not sure if he would be happy with that. I was taking my medical terminology exam last week, and he knew almost all of the answers without even studying! What I know is, my sweet husband is now in his late 30s. I know he wants to be done with truck driving by the time he is 40. If he is going to do that and not end up being a manager at a BK or something, then he needs to get an education. I'm not trying to be a pushy wife, but this is reality. As smart as my husband is, all he has is a high school diploma from 1991 and a certificate from a trade school that lasted two months.



I wonder if Herzing has anything for my honey?

Sad.

My mom's sweet dog Cody died today. He was 14 years old, my parents adopted him from the Humane Society when he was about a year old. He was a beloved, sweet old dog. He will be dearly missed.
The picture of Cody is from Christmas Day. That is a tumor on his lip. It bled all the time, and finally he hit it so hard that he basically bled to death in my stepdad's arms. Luckily, it happened while they were at the vet and the vet was kind enough to euthanize Cody before he felt any pain.

Dorkdom. I Haz It.

Good morning and Merry (belated) Christmas to you all!
Sorry I haven't logged in for a while, but with three kids, a busted ankle, my hubby's bday and lots of family over, blogging was not on my mind. Now that the dust has cleared, so has my head.
I sit here on Friday morning, the day after Christmas. December 26th always gets a bum rap, in my opinion. No one ever looks forward to the day AFTER Christmas. Well, I do! For one, I can get my kids back on a regular sleep schedule. They are happily playing with new toys, and I don't have to bug them about school. Blessedly, I am one of the few people who didn't have to work today, so I got up a leisurely 7:30am. Peeps, that is late for me. My bladder normally jolts me awake at 5:30 (curse you, bladder. Why did you stop working properly after Missy was born, huh? HUH?!!?!)
Being the absolute, unashamed dork that I am, December 26th could possibly be my favorite day of the year. Today is the day I get to organize and clean my home after the holidays. HOORAY!
I started off this morning with the bathroom, of course. I threw on sweatpants, a tank top, and put my hair in a ponytail. I immediately started a pot of coffee, then started on the laundry right away since that always takes the longest. My first load is in right now. Then, a somewhat nutritious breakfast. Two blueberry waffles with maple syrup. Figured I'd need carbs for energy today. Bucket carried in the recycling bins for me, and I'm already loading them back up with wrapping paper, boxes, cardboard, and all the cans I used making holiday food. Recycling is pretty important to me, as it is one small thing I can do that doesn't require much effort.
I actually have to run to the grocery store later because I'm almost out of detergent, and I need the cheap plasticware so I can make leftover plates for Mr. R to take on the road with him. I have both leftover turkey and ham, so I need to make some casserole type dishes today and them freeze them for future use. And I have to do this today or else it will all go bad. And I don't want to throw away food!
Missy also has a horseback riding lesson at 10:30, Bucket wants to go to his friend's house to show off his new Pokemon cards, and Mr. R took Tiger fishing for the day. All in all, it will be a busy day, but much more relaxing than Christmas Eve or Christmas Day was.

And Now I'm Like Buttah...

I called Mr. R, who is only two hours away in Ocala, Florida. While I didn't break down (for a change) I guess the emotion in my voice moved him. I said, "Baby, I can't do all this! I can't cook a dinner for 8, work three full days, finish Christmas present shopping and grocery shopping on CRUTCHES!" He wasn't scheduled to be home until Christmas Eve afternoon (which is coincidentally his birthday!) but he called his dispatcher and told her what a clumsy idiot I am. She made a few phone calls within the office and discovered a driver who was willing to work on Christmas Eve instead of being home with his family. I admit, that made me tear up a bit...thank you to that kind driver, whose name is Jack. I don't think he'll ever know how much I appreciate the gesture.
That was about three hours ago. I'm sure he is driving home carefully, packing up his truck, and taking care of administrative duties in the office before he comes home to me.

"To have and to hold,
in sickness and in health,
for richer or for poorer,
and I promise my love to you forever."

Anger

Yeah, I'm ticked. Like you wouldn't believe.
No, not over my foot. It's unfortunate and a huge pain in the butt, but I'll live. I got the most condescending e-mail from my mother over this entire situation. Normally, I'd tear up, but now I'm just...well, I'm pissed off.
When I fell yesterday, I was sitting down for the first time all darned day to eat something for dinner. Tiger called my parents because it was quite obvious I was going to need x-rays. I gratefully let them take care of me for a few hours. My stepdad drove me to the hospital and stayed with me, while my mom was at the house with the kids.
I got home around 9:30pm. I was tired, in pain, and did I mention I hadn't eaten anything because I fell right?
My mom's email this morning said this:

Good Morning...did you manage to get any sleep last night? I didnt even think that we could have dropped off you rx's last night and I could have picked them up for you this morning...sorry.

So, what do you want me to do today? I could either:

1. Come over and clean your kitchen and dining area (you let it go too far this time)

OR

2. Take the kids at 10 am and bring them back at 4 pm, they are old enough to understand if we decide to bake cookies after Christmas instead.

call me by 8am on my cell phone.....I might be walking Cody

I let WHAT go too far? Is it not enough that I had been cleaning all day? Or that I have crammed 3 kids and a home office in a house that is only 1400 sq feet? Or that I had been shredding medical records for the good portion of the day, which is why there were some paper fragments on the floor? I never once asked my mom to clean my house. I can clean it myself. I think some people tend to forget:

1) I take care of three kids by myself
2) I work full time
3) I attend college part time
4) I AM NOT PERFECT BY ANY MEANS!

My home is clean and safe (except for the box of gift wrap I tripped on, lol). Yes, there were dishes in the sink, but hello, I had already done a load and was loading the dishwasher for the second set (after all, I was in the middle of making dinner). I hadn't cleaned the bathroom yet because I was waiting for the kids to go to sleep so they wouldn't need the bathroom while I was trying to clean it. The living room was spotless. The only thing on my dining room table were a few packs of paper plates (still in the packages, not used plates) a few of the kids' books, and my candle holders.

I don't even want to call her. Why, so she can kick me while I'm down?

Off My Feet

That sounds like a cute blog title, but it's really not. As I was walking into my bedroom, I tripped on a box containing gift wrap. I fell sideways to my left, and cracked my left ankle directly on the wood floor. I thought it was broken, but the emergency room doctor states it is only sprained. Again, my blood pressure was incredibly high. They wouldn't let me leave until it went down.
It's a sprain, not a fracture. 3-6 weeks of ace bandages and crutches.
So, here I sit. Four days before Christmas. I'm not done shopping. I have to prepare Christmas Eve dinner for 8 people. And I can't even stand.

Christmas concert

Today is the last day of school in Volusia County until 2009. Somewhat relieved, somewhat terrified, I'm still happy that I don't have to wake children up next week. Not only that, but I can set my alarm for 7 instead of 6...that's straight up heavenly, peeps. HEAVENLY.
Today is Bucket's Christmas concert. It is 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. It is from 9 to 9:30, which means I have to leave here at 8:45 just to find a parking spot at the school. Bucket was supposed to wear a white dress shirt and black pants.
Well, this morning Bucket decided he wanted to wear his camo pants and a Halloween tee. I told him he had to change because he's in the Christmas concert, not the redneck brigade. Screaming and crying ensued. He told me he didn't want to be in the STOOOPID SHOW anyway (which is a total lie, he's been talking about it for weeks). I finally convinced him to wear black jeans and a white tee shirt...the closest I could get to normal.
No wonder the people at his school hate us.

What a Riot

Bucket is supposed to be in the Christmas play tomorrow. This morning, as I was going over his lines with him, he decided he wanted nothing to do with the Christmas play. Why? Because he's an inkeeper, and Bucket's line involves letting Mary into the stable to give birth to Jesus. He was very upset. He said,

"Mama, I can't turn Mary away! She's got Jesus!"




So Tiger took his place, and Bucket can now rest easy knowing he didn't turn Baby Jesus away.

Crazy Work Week

I cannot begin to tell ya'll how happy I am that it's finally Friday. I try not to be one of those people who grumble about their jobs, in light of this economy. I am grateful to not only have a decent paying job in Florida, but also to work from home, and to have dirt cheap medical insurance. But the last weeks in December are always CRAZAZY at the hospital! Why is that? Well, people who have PPO insurance have to pay deductibles, and normally towards the end of the year, they have met those deductibles and their plan now pays at 100%. So most people think..."Hey! I can have that xxxx procedure done for free!" And so they start booking surgeries, and I am swamped. Happens every year. Every time I get another surgery on my schedule, I smile and say, JOB SECURITY, but boy am I frazzled. Even with a department party yesterday in which I had to clock out twice to drive to and fro, I still can only work 6 hours and 20 minutes today without getting overtime. But I have 74 accounts on my schedule, which is easily 9 to 10 hours of work. So I e-mailed my director and asked her if she wanted to do only the bare minimum and clock out on time, or allow me overtime to work my tail off. I'm cool either way.
My house is a wreck, and I'd love to clock out early to become a cleaning machine. I think my kitties hit puberty...their litter box stinks like you wouldn't believe. I have dishes piled high in the sink, laundry that needs to be folded and put away, and my entire house needs to be swept and mopped. Plus, I'd like to put up my Christmas decorations. I finally bought Christmas cards and would like to tackle that this weekend.
Mr. R is STILL in South Carolina, waiting for a load. He has a loaner truck that he says was obviously owned by a smoker, as he can hardly breathe. He likes the truck itself except for the stink. He says he'd love to bring it home and febreze the heck out of it.

Taking My Mind Off My Troubles

Q: how would your mother describe you in one word?
A: busy

Q: What is your favorite flower?
A: hibiscus

Q: What is the most insane question you have ever been asked?
A: Does your hospital have a physical address?
My answer: no, we're the floating existential hospital...

Q: What word in English do you wish you had invented?
A: cheesecake

Q: Where would you like to live?
A: in a log cabin in the woods, near a lake, with an internet connection

Q: What is the first quote that comes to mind?
A: Hi my name is Sarah and I'm calling from Florida Hospital.

Q: What animal would best describe the guy you're interested in?
A: a dog...but in a nice way. Loyal, companionable, trustworthy.

Q: What do you miss about childhood?
A: the magical quality of Christmas, definitely.

Q: If you could change your name what would you change it to?
A: I'm named after a woman my mother loved, my paternal grandmother. I wouldn't change it for the world. She died while my mom was pregnant with me.

Q: What is the main fault in your character?
A: hyper-sensitivity

Q: Who is your favorite historical figure?
A: Anne Frank

Q: Describe how you kiss in one word
A: lips?

Q: What in the world do you least desire?
A: debt

Q: Why do you think most guys date you?
A: Well, I don't date anymore. But back in the day? Hmmm...guys in high school are shallow. It would have to be my 15 year old bod. I was rocking back then.

Q: Finish the sentence "Happiness is a thing called ___________?"
A: satisfaction.

I'd Seriously Like to Vomit Right Now

**edited**


Mr. R's semi truck just blew the engine in the middle of South Carolina.
The one that we just paid off. The one that was our source of income.
I have no idea what we're going to do.


Well, after both Mr. R and I thought things through, and sorted out nonsense from common sense, he made a decision, and I agreed with him.

The semi is going to get towed back to Florida. I don't even know how much this is going to cost. Then, Mr. R is going to have his lease company rebuild the engine. This is a cost of normally $15,000-$18,000. Which means....yes...we'd be in debt to his employer again.
We only had two other options. One was, to sell the semi for scrap and Mr. R just work as a company driver. But that truck is paid for, and neither one of us cared for the idea. The second was, for Mr. R to just look for a new job completely. In this economy? No, I don't think so.
We are grateful that Mr. R works for a company who will do this work for him. And they don't charge interest. He would just continue to work as he already has been working, and they will take out 10-15% of his paycheck to cover the debt, just like they did with his semi.
It seems like a step back, yet he will not lose his business, he will not lose his income. It is frustrating, yes, but not as frustrating as being homeless. I will still be buying the kids their Christmas gifts (I'm about half done anyway) and bills will be paid, children will be fed. I have my job, I have my school. This is just a temporary bump in his business.
No vomiting required. ;)

An Ode...

To Jello sugar-free 60 calorie double chocolate pudding cups:

It's that time of the month, ya'll
I need chock'lit now
Only sixty calories!

Smiles

Bucket had an awesome time at the Ice show, and at McDonalds, and at the Walk Through Bethlehem display at a church in Longwood. Unfortunately, he was just starting to come down with a cold as I sent him. I'm sure being at the Ice show (they keep the temp at 9 flippin degrees!) probably didn't help his situation. By the time he came home, he was happy, but his voice was gone. I didn't pick him up until 8:15, and the poor child was out cold by 9pm. Let me tell you, that never happens! So I knew he was pretty sick.
This morning when he woke up, I knew immediately there would be no church. I am one of those people who keep my kids home when they're sick. I cannot stand it when I'm out somewhere, and someone cheerfully says, "Yes, she has strep, but we wouldn't miss this for the world!" And then I end up with three sick kids, three copays, three prescriptions for meds, and three kids home from school. Look, I realize there are always situations when you can't help being out when you're ill, but if you can avoid infecting me with your ewwwwww, stay home!
Anyway, I have a huge smile on my face, because Bucket's Sunday school teacher Gwen called to check up on him.
I'm sure most people wouldn't think this is unusual. But for someone who is not my relative call to check up on Bucket...it brings tears to my eyes. To know that someone cared enough about him to see how he was doing. Let me tell you, this is another rarity. A rarity that I could stand to see more.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing people who care about Bucket, who care about our family, into our lives.

Time to Shop

Get this, peeps. Mr. R is away on a trip to Ohio, delivering some of our delicious oranges to the frozen north. Bucket is about to go on a field trip with his Sunday school class (yes, I know it's Saturday, but this is an extra trip), and the other two are going to my mom's house to help her decorate her tree and eat pizza. Bucket's trip lasts from 1pm to 7pm, and Missy and Tiger will be at my mom's from 3pm to 7pm. At 7pm, I pick Bucket up from church, then run to my mom's to get the older kids.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?
Peeps, it is time for Christmas shopping.
Instead of aimlessly wandering, I have a plan. I am not doing kid shopping today, simply because four hours is not long enough. I am going to knock out the extended family...my parents, Mr. R's mom and her boyfriend, my nephew Brandon, my sister Kelly and her husband Paul. And, for a change, I know EXACTLY what I'm going to get them, know EXACTLY where I'm going to go, and have a PLAN.
I'm super excited, peeps.
I'm gonna get me a starbucks while I'm out, too!

Quaker Oatmeal High Fiber Maple and Brown Sugar

I'd just like to say, that one packet of this delicious oatmeal has 40% of your daily recommended intake of fiber.
That is your clue not to have two packets of it for breakfast.

That's all I need to say.







Oh, except I'd like to snap out my haiku hiatus:

High fiber oatmeal sounds fun.
Ewww, what is that smell?
Looks like I need a new chair.

Discovery

Well, I have to say, I learned something very important about myself, thanks to

CalorieCount.com

I have willpower. I really, really do.
But, MISS SARAH, starving yourself all day and then eating a 1500 calorie dinner is not helping your situation!
Basically, by 6pm, I'm so hungry from "dieting" all day, that I basically break down and start stuffing food in my face.
No more dieting. I am going to follow that old adage:
1) Eat like a king for breakfast.
2) Eat like a commoner for lunch.
3) Eat like a pauper for dinner.

Oh, and I am now walking 23 minutes in the morning. Yes, I'm timing myself until I can get a pedometer. When I first started, I could only walk 6 minutes before that calf pain crippled me. Now, I can walk around my block twice with no problems!

Breakfast!

In my previous post, I mentioned how much I love breakfast. I'm not sure if it's a reminder of carefree days in college when we ended up at Village Inn at 2am for pancakes and eggs. Or just that the food is generally simple and hard to mess up. Either way, it's always been a favorite of mine. Who is the person who decided that breakfast could only be eaten during morning hours? I have been known to make myself scrambled eggs and toast for dinner, especially when I'm not feeling well. So yes, I do consider it comfort food. Plus it goes so well with coffee!

This morning, I made an easy breakfast sandwich. Please understand, I would normally never subject ya'll to my cooking, as I love you and don't want any of you to die. But this was easy enough even for a lunk like me.

Take two pieces of sourdough bread. Sourdough is yummy and it's healthy for you. (I don't believe in the Atkins diet, why would one eliminate one entire type of food?) I toasted the sourdough. Then I took my little omelet pan and cracked one egg into it, and made a very simple one egg omelet with no cheese, just pepper. Then I microwaved two turkey sausage patties while I made my omelet. Each patty is 65 calories. I used half a tablespoon of butter for my omelet so it wouldn't stick to the pan, and the other half tablespoon to butter my sourdough toast. One tablespoon is 100 calories. It seems like a lot, but I don't touch margarine. That is fake food and I like real food, ya dig?

Put both patties on the bottom piece of bread (mine fit perfectly.) Take the omelet out of pan, put directly on top of the patties. Put the other piece of sourdough toast and put it on top of the eggs. Cut the sandwich in half, and you have a delicious, homemade HEALTHY breakfast sandwich! I had two cups of coffee with mine, with real half and half (again, NO FAKE FOOD!) and a carton of cherry vanilla yogurt. All of it was around 800 calories. I'm full, I'm happy, I'm warm, and now I'm ready to work. I have a good amount of fuel to keep me going without getting a headache, plus I did my morning walk already.

Ummm, good

So, I joined www.caloriecount.com. What an awesome sight. What a way to document your every move. Literally.
I clicked on the counter probably every ten minutes to see how many calories I'd burned up until that very second. Neurotic? Why YESSSSSS. Like ya'll don't expect that from me now?
So what do I do? I ate five slice of pizza for dinner. Hey, at least I skipped the Pepsi, which is SO HARD TO DO. I am drinking water. And you know what...this pizza is yummerific. I am enjoying it immensely.
Speaking of immense, their website wanted me to lose 145 pounds, to which I snorted in delight and then slightly wet my pants. I moved the goals around so I am only losing 130...you know, because that is just so much better.
So why the five slices of pizza?
Well, first, it's thin crust. So thats really just two and a half slice in real pizza terms, right? Plus, I skipped the Pepsi so I could have more. I'm telling you, counting calories every minute makes a girl hungry!
Third, according to their site, I actually needed 800 more calories for the day. Who was I to argue? Actually, their site had me eating 2500 cals a day, and I lowered it to 2000. As of 6pm, I was only at 1200 cals for the day, so I decided it was pizza time! It's kind of cool to manipulate the numbers on the site. I really didn't need to eat 2500 calories per day, especially since I'm not a lumberjack or a linebacker. Office work does not exactly require tons of caloric output.

Anyway, I'm feeling very good about my pizza, simply because I knew I hadn't overdone my caloric intake throughout the day.
By the way, you should eat salsa. You can eat a ton of it and it almost adds up to nothing. 2 tablespoons is only 10 calories! 10
CALORIES?!?! PUH-LEEZE, I can burn 10 calories walking to my bathroom. Salsa is now my new best friends, peeps.

Anyway, you know what my favorite food tends to be? I just adore breakfast. ADORE! So I decided, I should work with that. I don't need to have soup and a sandwich every day for lunch, or a Lean Cuisine meal. (although I do like those.) I really like breakfast sandwiches. But if you buy the ones that are pre-made by Jimmy Dean they are like 600 calories and terrible for you. So I decided to make my own. I bought turkey sausage instead of pork (I'm not Seventh Day Adventist, but I am just not crazy about pork products) and I have eggs. I think I have biscuits, but if not, I will just use bread, and make my own. It is not only cheaper, but healthier.
I wonder how many calories hash browns have? This girl loves potatoes of any kind!