This Was Suppose To Start Sooner

So I declared that effective March 1st I was going to really concentrate on getting my shit together.  I restarted tracking my expenses in order to effectively budget my money.  I also need to recommit to being healthier too.  Notice how one of these is 'I've restarted' and the other is 'I need'...  Opps!

The last time I blogged I spoke of the fact that so much of my life was in limbo.  Well, within 24 hours or so 2 of the areas of my life was no longer in the limbo it was at the time I blogged.  The move at work is done for the most part and should be finished as of now.  I've sort of settled my office...just need to get some work done and move a few cabinets, but I have to wait to get to that this coming week, because we all know I'm not moving those cabinets by myself!  Ha!

In other news, I did not get approved high enough for a mortgage to get a house I would be happy with.  I sort of expected this thanks to all of those student loans I'm hauling around on my credit reports.  I could get a house, but not something that is going to make me happy so I've decided to wait.  There was some discussion between my aunt and I about me renting a house, because this place is just too small for the munchkin and I and her moving in here still.  As of yesterday that decision was tabled.  Instead my auntie and I are going to rent a storage unit together so I feel less stuffed into this place and since she is going from a 4 bedroom home to a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment, she will need it too.  And we are going to paint my house to make it feel fresh for me and make it easier to stay here in the coming months as I continue to work on getting my debt further under control (see the tracking of expenses & budgeting discussed earlier!), so I can buy a house in the future...one that I'll be happy with!

We are only early into March and I feel like this is going to be a really good month for me.  So even though I was suppose to be blogging about getting my shit together effective March 1 on March 1 it is better late than never!!

It May Be The Shortest One, But It Always Feels Like The Longest One

The month of February is usually always so gloomy and even though it is the shortest month of the year the usual cold, wet, dreary days seem to make it feel like the longest month of the year!

Today was different though...it was in the high 40's & sunny today!  Shocking I know...

However, my internal clock seems to be set for the dreary, cold, wet days of February, because  this week I've been unable to get out of bed.  Monday the munchkin & I stayed home for the day.  Then Tuesday I shut my alarm off and almost bounced my monthly car insurance withdrawal and again today I overslept again.  Hell, I was in the bed by 9pm last night so I have no clue why I couldn't seem to get my ass out of bed this morning.

I keep hoping some day I will get my shit together, but this month is going to be a serious challenge!  Maybe my girl Legally Fabulous will help motivate me...

Productivity Stolen By Strep

I had hoped to get lots accomplished last weekend and this weekend as well, but that hasn't happened for various reasons.  This weekend I had this wonderful plan and was very motivated too....this is usually a recipe for success!

There is one thing that can derail my success and that started Thursday night when I returned from seeing my honey...my munchkin complained that his throat hurt.  He had no fever and no spots in his throat.  After a night of sleep I reexamined the munchkin who was still complaining of a sore throat, but everything remained the same so off to school he went.

After school and after work on Friday we opted to skip karate since the munchkin was still complaining of a sore throat and a general complaint of feeling "like crap." (His words, not mine!)  Plus he was looking a little rougher then he was that morning.  On top of all of that, a snow storm was kicking up too.  So off to the grocery store we went, ran a couple of errands, and instead of arriving at home after 9pm as we would have by going to karate, we arrived home at 7pm with an inch of snow already on the ground.

Luckily I had called Friday night and made a doctor's appointment for Saturday afternoon, because Saturday morning when we were suppose to be running additional errands I was feeding motrin to the munchkin for his fever, which developed over night.  So needless to say our weekend has been filled with lots of medicine (thanks to the diagnosis of strep throat), snow, and not much else.

The good thing, so far, is that my throat feels fine so as long as the munchkin can overcome this and I can remain healthy I'll gladly give up my productivity over my weekend!

I Just Can't Welcome You, I'm Sorry, It Isn't Personal

August. I just cannot welcome the month of August. I don't know why... Maybe I'm still a kid at heart, knowing the school year is just around the corner, or it is because I'm no longer a kid and I feel like I'm cheated out of summer...but I just cannot welcome August.

Where did the summer go?! The last two months have went fast and furious. Maybe it was because I'm officially done with school, hopefully for the rest of my life! Or maybe it was because I graduated, fought to get my new job, and we were crazy busy over the last two months. I don't know. All I do know is that I feel like June and July flew by in the blink of an eye.

Even though this will likely be the hottest month of the summer, and we will be seeing "Back To School" sales every where we turn I am hopeful that this month takes a little longer to get through than the last two did.

So August, I may not be able to welcome you I sure hope you stick around a while...

It All Started With A Little Blue Puddle

This all started Saturday night after my wonderful bubble bath and right before I went to bed when I noticed a little puddle of blue under the back of my toilet. I discovered that the tank on my toilet was leaking. It was 1:30am Saturday night. Nothing I could do about it and no one to call to help. And it wasn't serious enough Sunday to call my plumber. Um, hello? Paying a plumber on a Sunday? No thank you!

Monday morning I called my other aunt and then my uncle because it wasn't like I was able to afford even a phone call to anyone, because I couldn't pay them when they came out. While talking to them I also mentioned that my washer was having serious issues too. It was making a horrible noise going into the spin cycle and wasn't spinning all the water out and I would have to toss in an extra spin before putting them in the dryer. My wonderful uncle told me to make the necessary calls and they would take care of it. I was relieved...

In between getting this all together Monday morning I put some sausage and sauerkraut over. I was so hungry for it I couldn't wait all day for dinner to roll around. I hit the gym that afternoon and waited and waited and waited for my aunt and munchkin to get here so we could eat! I weighed out my sausage, measured my sauerkraut and sat down to finally eat. Even though I had cooked it all day, it wasn't done enough. Dinner failure. I cooked it again the rest of the night and resorted back to my chips & dips again for dinner. When it was finally done I tried it again. No go! There was no taste. How did I mess up a dish that I've made a hundred plus times? Needless to say I was not happy.

Off to bed I went, disappointed in my dinner, but I also knew I had to be up early for repair guys #1 who were scheduled to be here at 8:00am Tuesday morning. Fast forward to the following morning...repair guys quickly fix my toilet (the tank was lose...who knew that could happen...), so I figure while they are here and since I kept the cost so low I mentioned that it appeared my kitchen faucet had started to leak where the nozzle attached. After a quick look they discover it is more than a little leak...it was also leaking under the sink way in the back too. Of course that wasn't fixable, it had to be replaced. Out of the blue Mr. Fix-It asked me when was the last time I had checked my hot water tank...um, if it had ever been "checked" it would have been before my guy and I split up in '04. So he offers to check it and of course, thank God he did, because it was leaking. God, help me...

So a quote of $1,200 later to replace both my kitchen faucet and hot water tank I figured my day was pretty well shot! Of course this was normally bad all in of itself, but when you also figure that not only did I have to clear out from under my skin so they could replace my faucet I also had to clear out around my back door (a/k/a my laundry and pantry room) and my closet. You must remember...I live in a trailer so every room is small and I have everything packed in tight!! You may wonder why I would have to clear out around my back door, so the guys could drain my hot water tank. You then may ask what my bedroom closet has to do with this mess...well, that's because my hot water tank is impaneled inside my bedroom closet. Convenient, huh?

So four hours and several dollars later, I had the pleasure of putting my kitchen, laundry room, and bedroom back together. I was so excited I could barely contain myself... I did use the opportunity to clean out all of the bakeware I had stuffed under the sink. Seriously, do I need 9 glass baking dishes, 5 of which are the size?! Or 12 cookie sheets?! I didn't think so either. By the time I finished putting everything back together, which of course included sweeping and mopping part of my kitchen floor and my little pantry plus vacuuming my bedroom closet and the surrounding area, it was time to get the munchkin because I had to take him to karate.

Throughout the day I knew I had to take the munchkin to karate and after we would go to dinner with my aunt and every time something went wrong or became much messier than anticipated I just kept telling myself that I could handle it, because tonight I was going to partake in a tall Sunset Passion Colada or two while enjoying Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp at Red Lobster, which I've been craving for a few weeks. Knowing this helped me get through everything yesterday. After karate we headed to Red Lobster just to see that the restaurant was all dark with 3 utility vans outside and a note on the door explaining they were closed due to electrical problems.

I couldn't win yesterday... We ended up going to the China Buffet in town, which was yummy, but since I was so set on my Red Lobster meal nothing was satisfying to me. Of course this caused me to eat more than I should have. And today? Well, now I just sit here waiting for the Sear's Repair Guy to get here to look at that racket machine...opps, I meant washing machine! He should be here between 1pm & 5pm. Of course that means closer to 5pm than 1pm, especially since it is already 2pm...

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Just getting started: 17, 18

Needs attention: 10, 11

Losing Time While On A Roller Coaster

The last several days I definitely have been on a roller coaster in my life and have been experiencing some crazy things. Let me reflect for a few moments here...

Thursday night I went to Sam's Club and did some shopping. A lot of times in the morning I don't have time to eat anything and end up running through the drive through at Burger King or McDonald's and ordering a small diet coke and two sausage patties. I love me some sausage! So while I was at Sam's Club I saw this big box of Turkey Sausage Patties, individually wrapped. I was so excited, because this would be so much more cost effective and healthy for me! My aunt helped me haul our groceries in and we went about the rest of our business that night. The munchkin went to bed, my aunt went home and while I was getting a few things done before I went to bed I heard a cough come out of the munchkin's bedroom. I instantly thought to myself, "Oh...that's not good."

It was only one cough and the munchkin remained asleep so I finished what I was doing and made my way to bed. It was around 2am. At 3:30am the munchkin climbed into my bed and asked me to rub his back. He felt warm to me, but my son loves to wrap up in multiple blankets while he is sleeping and it isn't out of character for him to feel like he was in an oven when he comes out of a bed. We both feel back asleep. My cell phone alarm went off, I stood up and looked at my cell which read 5:40am Friday morning...the next thing I remember was walking into my bathroom, looking at my alarm clock which read 7:12am. Um, hello?!? I just lost an hour and a half. WTF?!? I must have went back to bed and have no memory of it. Great! The munchkin woke up too and was complaining how he didn't feel good. I checked his temperature and it was 101.6. Talk about changing the momentum of my weekend!

Since I took both Monday and Tuesday off from my life this week I really couldn't afford taking the day off again. I called my aunt to see if she could help and she came right out. Once she arrived and we had put a plan of action into place I told her that the night before when I crawled into bed I thought about my Turkey Sausage Patties and the fact that I didn't see them when I was hauling my groceries in and assumed she had brought them in on one of her trips and put them in the freezer. She, of course, had no idea what I was talking about and indicated she didn't haul them in either. I began to wonder what else I was going to lose since it appeared that so far that morning I had lost 1.5 hours and now an entire box of Turkey Sausage Patties!?! Since we put everything in the pantry on the washer so I could rearrange my shelves to fit everything in over the weekend. She then uncovered the box of Turkey Sausage Patties that she carried in the night before. In the garbage they went... She felt horrible and apologized several times because she didn't put it in the freezer. I told her that I was equally to blame since I should have double checked since I was the one that knew I had bought things that needed to be put in the freezer. I'm totally bummed though...

Due to the munchkin being home sick I called and canceled my new cleaning lady, which worked out well because her father-in-law was in the hospital just being diagnosed with Leukemia. My aunt took the munchkin to the doctor and he was diagnosed with strep throat. Fun, fun, fun... The munchkin was feeling a little better later in the day, so I opted to still go and see my guy after work, but before I could get there I had to swing by the Defender's Office, drop off my time sheet for the week before and pick up the day sheet for Monday. Then I was off to see my guy.

After a great visit, I was totally exhausted, but opted to still do the rest of my weekly grocery shopping. When I finally got home around 11pm last night I made sure I put away all of my perishable foods away, but left everything else out to be taken care of in the morning. I knew I had tons of errands to run Saturday morning so I set my alarm for 6:20am so I could get things done. I had a plan of attack and was going to be totally ready to hit the ground running. Well things didn't work out that way since I didn't get out of the bed until 7:50am. Lost another 1.5 hours this morning. This has became crazy and totally unacceptable!! Time to grow up j'lynn and get your shit together! Come on already! Ugh.... I quickly got myself ready, took off to get my oil changed and tires rotated, then off to the salon to get my highlights done and a hair cut. I was hoping to get my allergy shot in between these two errands, but thanks to my inability to get my ass out of bed this had to be moved to later in my morning.

While at the salon one of the new assistants started talking about how she and her 2 kids were looking for a place to live. They had just moved from up-north and she was in the midst of getting a divorce. I spout off how I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath trailer she can buy. Her eyes totally lit up! That is exactly what she is looking for! I instantly got chills. She said she was going to drive by after work. She has a friend who will be moving with her, so she wants her to look at it too. Thinking or maybe hoping she would want to come in and look at it today I knew I was in trouble cleaning wise! It had been 3 weeks since my cleaning lady had been in and I know she isn't available for emergency calls so I made the call to my former cleaning lady and she came down and did the job for me! I was so appreciative that she was able to help me out!

While she was cleaning I finished up at the salon and finished my errands. I think I was home 10 minutes with my former cleaning lady when the potential buyer drove by. She didn't stop and come in though. Maybe she thought I had company and didn't want to intrude. I don't know. I was really hoping she would come in this afternoon fall in love with my house and this would actually be happening. It would certainly be a huge boost to me if this could happen. Please say an extra prayer for me guys...because this would be so great if this would happen for us!!!

After a little nap this afternoon I picked up some dinner, made my way to my aunt's and after chowing on a good steak we headed up to our annual trip back in time for Halloween. The munchkin was not able to make his last game of the fall season this morning and had to miss the trip to McDonald's with his team, because of being sick. He was totally bummed. He asked every hour if he could still go tonight. Since he was no longer contagious we opted to go and he had a pretty good time. You could tell he was still feeling punky though.

Even though I haven't accomplished as much this weekend as I wanted it has been one helluva roller coaster ride for the last couple of days. Now if only I could either recover those 3 hours I've lost in the last two days or figure out how to get my ass out of bed on time I might enjoy this ride a little more these days.

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20

Just getting started: 11, 18, 21, 22

Needs attention: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26

Is Time Talking? I Sure Hope Not!

Um, yeah...as for that potential "success" I was spouting off about less than 24 hours ago well I may have killed it this morning. How many things can go wrong in one morning? Let me count the ways...

~I overslept this morning

~I felt horrible from all the spaghetti & garlic bread I hate last night and spent the rest of the day feeling like an over stuffed sausage

~I ran into horrific traffic on the way to court

Of course all of this took place before 9am! Opps...

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30

Just getting started: 13, 26, 31, 32

Needs attention: 12, 17, 19, 20

Space In My Head Discovered On Hump Day

The last couple of days I've been experiencing pain on the right side whenever I chew over there. So yesterday I had called and made an "emergent" appointment with my dentist. Of course before I got there the problem seemed to have started to resolve itself, but I already had the appointment and with my luck it would immediately return ten fold, so I went. Dr. Hearts informed me that I'm apparently grinding so much and biting so hard that I'm shifting my teeth... Of course! And now I've created space between a few of my teeth. Are you kidding me?!? Apparently having braces all those years ago didn't help solidify my teeth in my head. Go figure! With some additional steps in my dental routine and letting my right side rest by not chewing over there for a while he is hopeful that the discomfort will disappear. As for the spaces I've created...well, there isn't too much that can be done about that. Just great!

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26

Just getting started: 11, 22, 27, 28

Needs attention: 13, 18

Funk No More

I refuse to allow myself to go down that path of funk! I refuse!! Funk, do you hear me?!? I refuse to allow you in any further. You are NOT wanted here!

And after a wonderful weekend of doing very little and accomplishing my goals to Rest, Relax, Refocus & Rejuvenate, I am ready to take it all on again!

Maybe I didn't get as much done this weekend as I should have and I will be starting this week out behind the 8-ball, so to speak, but I am starting the week rested, relaxed, refocused and rejuvenated!

Oh yeah...and I'm starting it at almost my lowest point yet in my battle of the bulge! I totally rock!! In another .4lbs and I'll be back to my lowest. I remain positive that I shall hit that at least in the next week. I know I won't make my next goal, but whatever...I'll roll with it. That is what we do, right? We roll with the punches...

Today's stats:

Starting weight (7/8/09): 363.0lbs

Current weight (today): 318.0lbs

This week's results: -5.0lbs

Total weight lost: 45.0lbs

Consider it done: 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28

Just getting started: 2, 3, 4, 17, 21, 24, 29, 30

Needs attention: 8, 9, 14, 22, 23, 25