A good decision

As posted in my last blog, we just recently moved into a new house.

We love it! I'll be posting all the other home photos on my facebook page so hit it up and view them there.
Jeremy is back in school again this time to 3 classes for the first 8 week session. He's taking Eng102, Spanish101, and a Cake Decorating class that they teach on Ft. Huachucha.
We just had our first outdoor scene with the church. It was great! We had a young man who was rapping in English and Spanish and then our drama team did 3 skits, and a movie at the very end. We had fun and 3 people gave their lives to Christ!
I am still waiting to find out what the surgeon wants to do about the hernia(s) and then I can go see another Dr about the other issue to fix that.

The girls are still as mischevious as ever. I'm still trying to figure out if I can get Rhaelynn into a preschool for free. Having a hard time, but maybe something will work out.
J's getting ready to do school work so I need to jet. Update more later.

Life never stops

Hey friends! Well it's hard to believe that it's already August. Seems like one day just rolls into another and the weeks and months fly by. I thought I would have a break and time to relax in between the summer and fall semesters of Jeremy's school. But, no. We decided it was time to move. We like our landlord at the old place but when safety is an issue -- it's time to move. Plus with all these crazy health issue and dr visits, it's better to be closer to town. It's easier on the gas back and forth plus the house we found is WAY better. We have a swamp cooler that has ductwork to each room with ceiling fans in each room as well. Jeremy and I have our own full bathroom with his and hers sinks. There are hardwood floors throughout the whole house (except bathrooms) and there's a dishwasher(woohoo!). Yes the new place is smaller but we have a huge fenced in yard for the girls to play in. I will have to take some pictures and post on here or facebook.
As far as my health. Well I'm managing the diabetes and high blood pressure for now. I have to go get an A1C (avg blood sugars for the past 3 month) lab done but we sorta ran out of money until his next paycheck. But we're selling a freezer and a double stroller in the meantime so hopefully that'll help a bit.
I did get an MRI done a couple weeks ago (an experience I don't want to do again) and the results came back. I have a hernia in my abdomen. I didn't get a real clear idea of where it was or what was going on. I know it's on my right side near where I had my appendix taken out at. But I have a consultation with a surgeon on Friday morning to see what he's going to do and when I will have the surgery.
That wasn't even the reason that I went to the Dr in the first place. That issue will be taken care of by another kind of Dr. But I'm going to wait until after Friday's appointment to see if I will make an appointment with this other Dr or wait until after surgery. We shall see.
The girls are growing so fast. Jeremy and I have talked about possibly trying for a third, but with everything that is going on, I'm not sure we will. It would be nice to have a little boy, but well, I'm leaving that in God's hands for now. Time for bed. I'll update soon!

Ready for Vacation

It's been a while since I posted but I've been trying to relax and work on my stress levels. I stopped taking my blood pressure medicine 3 days ago and my BP has been normal. My mom it might be because I have been loosing some weight. But I think it's also because I have been trying to control my stress levels. Jeremy hasn't had class for 3 weeks and even though for the last 2 weeks he's been working like crazy, I haven't been doing too much. I do the normal stuff around the house like laundry, dishes, cooking and such. But nothing too exta. But Jeremy started back to school this past Tuesday. Chemistry and English. These classes are actually more structured and clear than the other classes he has had before.
Last week we had a scare. See when we called our insurance to change our homeowner's insurance to landlord's insurance they asked us if we had notified our mortgage company about us renting our house out. So I called them and was told to formally write a letter to request permission to rent the house out. I did just that and then last Friday we got a letter stating that we were in breach of our contract because the loan originated as 'owner-occupied'. We weren't sure what was going to happen. We thought we may loose our house if they made us kick our tenants out because that's how we are paying our mortgage now. Well Jeremy called yesterday and the lady said they are required by policy to send that letter out. They actually don't care if we rent the house out as long as the mortgage, insurance and taxes are paid on it. WHEW! What a relief!
As for the title of this blog, well I'm SOOO ready for a vacation. God is soo good. He's always providing. With our house and now with Jeremy's paycheck that's just in time for our little vacation. Usually with his check we can just barely pay the bills. But this time his check includes 27 hours of overtime (@ time and half pay) plus his regualar pay. We are headed to VEGAS!! Jeremy's parents are bowling in Reno, NV for Nationals and then they are driving down to Vegas. Jeremy's brother Aaron and his wife and 4 kids will be meeting up with us there too. I'm soooo excited! It's been 2 years since we've seen his brother's family. And we finally get to meet up with our cute little 1 1/2 year old niece Abby whom I share a birthday with! :-)

May...

Well here we are already into the second half of the month. Time just is speeding by! Jeremy has been working a lot lately. He's had to fire two people, 1 quit and walked out yesterday, and 1 is moving. Plus his boss is going to be leaving as well and a new one is due in. Poor thing had to cook a double today. And will be getting about 16 hour overtime this pay period ending tomorrow. And then who knows how many hour over next week trying to fill in on the shifts. But at least he doesn't have homework! He's on a break until the 31st of June then starts back up with English and Chemistry. Oh boy!
However, I am sooo looking forward to our mini vacation to Vegas in June. We are going up to visit with J's brother's family! I'm so excited to meet my niece whom I haven't met in person yet and who I share a birthday with! :-) J's parents will be up there with us and his grandparents will be driving and spending some of Friday with us.
We actually just got back from a trip up to Wickenburg/Congress. We took J's truck to go get bookshelves from his parents house. What a trip! Lets just say we didn't have the best of luck with his truck. That hunk of metal will not be driven more than 60 miles from home again! We had a good time with J's parents and grandparents on Saturday though. We went to a travel show at the Phx Convention Center. Walked away with t-shirts, a sweater, frisbees, lots of notepads and pens, a BBQ cookbook, a 1 night stay at the Blue Water hotel/casino in Parker, Az (probably won't use), and a 1 night stay with breakfast and a $25 gift certificate to the tackle shop included at a B&B in Alpine, AZ (white mtns). Not too shabby!
The girls are growing too. We are teaching them about gardening and having them turn the water on and off twice a day. They planted seeds a couple weeks ago and J just transferred the seedlings that sprouted out to our big garden. Now we just need to keep all the birds away!
We did finally get renters into our house in NC so that takes a lot of financial stress off of us for now. Our insurance will be taking a big chunk of our checks from now on as our insurance with J's work has kicked in. (Now I just need the cards so I can go to the Dr again.)
That about wraps it up for now. Time for bed!
G'Night!
GG

Back to the drawing board

Well since Easter I haven't been doing the Weight Watchers like I am supposed to. I didn't go too crazy being off of it, but I wasn't counting points. My scale wasn't measuring right so Jeremy's mom gave me hers. Unfortunately, embarrassingly, I'm over the weight limit for that one so we have Jeremy get on that one and then onto the other one to measure the difference and then I get on ours that measures wrong and take the same difference off to get the right weight. But today is the day I start up again.
It's difficult for me to come up with recipes and make sure I have all the ingredients. I need to make time to sit down and plan out the week of lunches and dinners.
I've been pretty busy helping Jeremy plus doing my own housework and such. I had my first of 5 diabetes classes last Thursday. The next two Tuesdays and Thursdays I have the 2 hour classes in mid-morning so Jeremy was allowed to go into work late around noon so he is able to watch the girls for me. This is also the final week for Jeremy's classes and then he is off for 3 weeks! Thank goodness! We need this break - uh, I mean he needs this break!

Banks...

So I was checking my bank account today and realized we got paid so I went to my cable company to pay my internet bill. This took about 5 minutes. I went back to look at my bank account to figure up something else and WHAM.. there's a charge for just shy of $500 pending on my account from some company thats similar to ebay but is for electronics. J called the bank and apparently someone had used his bank card on line today. The bank said they couldn't file a claim until the charge went from "processing" to "cleared". I am thankful that the bank will put the money back into my account but can't they just deny the charge since it's still pending? I thank God that this happend the day we got paid. If not I would have a lot of overdraft fees. Bills can wait a bit to be paid once the claim goes through. Oh well we're not the only ones who have/will be hit with this crap. People who do this a selfish and greedy and need to be taught a lesson!

Really? To mow the lawn?

So we have decided to rent out our home in NC. We did a lot of cleaning and repairing before we left. That paid off because there are only a couple things to be done after 3 months of not being there. Fixing the smoke alarm, cleaning the refrigerator and mowing the lawn. The rental people tell me that people charge $65 to mow our lawn? Really? I know we have a pretty big back yard but it can't be that bad! We just got over winter! In addition, we paid a lady $125 to clean our house (sweeping, mopping, clearing cobwebs, cleaning the appliances) after we left. Someone, either her or the realtor, closed the fridge door when there was still moisture and now there's a bunch of mold all in the bottom of it! Arguh!!!! Stupid little things. But at least we are hoping it rents out fast. We are sending the repairs/cleaning money so they can get it all taken care of and start showing it.
I feel a bit apprehensive about this renting thing. I know we set aside money for 2 mortgage payments if no one rents it. I am worried about if something big happens like we have to replace a water heater or there's massive water damage or the AC breaks. We don't really have that much money to fix, but as landlords we would have to do that. Plus what if we get people in there that really tear it up? I know there is a security deposit, but what if the cost to repair damages is more than their deposit?? I just wish we could have sold it, it would be much easier.
Another side of renting our home out is how will this affect our taxes next year? So much to think about. I mean J and I have thought a lot about it and we've asked many questions. But anything can go wrong - then what? I'm having trouble not knowing what is going to happen with this situation. Oh well, life goes on.

My children are weird

Children are so crazy sometimes. I am really trying to get stuff put away and cleaned up from moving and all I normally hear is fighting or crying. It's when it gets silent that I know I need to check on the girls. So, this morning as I am putting away the clean dishes and was about to move on to putting clothes away, I recognized the silence. I checked the girls' room and they wern't there and then I hear whispers and giggles from the pantry area. I opened the curtain and there they were. Sitting on towels, with pillows and babies... STARK NAKED! What in the world?!?! I never did get a straight answer about what they were doing. One said the "babies were sleeping", the other said "babies taking a bath". Why they were naked, I have no idea. Oh, and also they are on this eating binge or something. I mean I feed them plenty of food but they are constantly getting into the fruit snacks and string cheese. Lately they have also been just getting and eating a plain slice of bread out of the fridge. At least those all are better than what they were doing in North Carolina. I would go into their room and find them with a tub of butter, a container of sour cream and 2 spoons. OY! Well, off to put a cartoon on for them so that I maybe can get this stuff all put away and arranged. Ta ta!!

Here we go...

So I am now officially signed up with Weight Watchers online! I'm excited! Got to go get a book and a scale and lots of fruits and veggies! I've been playing around with the website and found tasty-sounding recepies that I can cook. The hard part is going to get Jeremy to measure things out and write down what he puts in his meals so I can calculate my points.
Despite some sad times these last couple months, things are coming together. We've moved to our own place, set in motion plans to rent out our house in NC, getting our new bed and washer/dryer this weekend, and getting my health back on track! God is so great! And he has blessed me with wonderful in-laws that have been helpful and supportive with all that's going on.
I have got to get this house in order before the weekend--it's so chaotic right now. Boxes everywhere, trash bags piling up (we will have a trash can on Friday, thank goodness), and odds and ends strewn about looking for their rightful place. Just taking it one thing at a time or I'll drive myself crazy! Off to do a few puzzles then hitting the pillow. Night all!

Ode to Liberty

So when we moved into this place our landlord said we were to have no pets. So I had a hard time figuring out what to do with her. I wanted to give her to a loving home but the time seemed to fly and we were moved into the house pretty quick. I thought about how we had her outside in North Carolina and she stayed around the house pretty close. But I was scared cuz Arizona is vastly different. We live in a very rural/country area (dirt roads and animals). But what else could I do? So we just put her outside and left food and water on the poarch. We saw her for 2 days and then nothing for the next 5. I figured her for dead but it didn't sadden me for some reason. Maybe cuz it wasn't in proximity to me or I didn't actually see her body
But then tonight, as we got home from church and were about to close the door, she meowed and we all gathered around the door only to find she was missing an eye. First of all I started to cry (me and my stupid womanly emotions) which in turn made the girls cry. Jeremy was beside himself cuz all us girls were crying and then the girls started screaming/crying saying "Liberty dropped her eyeball" and "Liberty's scary, I don't like her". Jeremy brought her inside and when she walked toward the girls in the living room they screamed and ran to their room. We got her into her carrier and Jeremy made some calls. It would cost almost $900 to have a animal medic come to the house, administer first aid (what he could) and then transport her to a Tucson Animal Hospital. No way. I don't have that kind of money! When he called the AH in Tucson they said it was an emergency and if we could bring her in to be seen because there could be an infection and could go up into her brain if untreated. But then, what was going to be the cost of that? The gas alone would be about $50 round trip, plus the Dr cost and the cost of medicines and crap like that. I told Jeremy I couldn't make the decision. So he did. Right now he's gone with his friend Mike to make Liberty pain-free and I sit here and bawl my eyes out and write this. But it's better than letting her be in pain or letting her go into the wild again to just get killed or attacked again.I don't know that animals really have souls, but I hope Ginita is right and we will see our beloved pets again in Heaven. My little "Lib Lib" will be missed...

Liberty

So I'm in a dilema. I have to get rid of my cat Liberty before we move into the new place - no pets allowed. I've had her since a couple months after Jeremy and I got married. Even though we have went round and round for her using my bed as a litter box, I still am attached. Jeremy says craigslist her or throw her outside. One, I don't think anyone around here wants an almost 7 year old cat. She is declawed in her front two paws but that wasn't a big problem when we had her outside in NC. Here there are coyotes and mountain lions. Oh, what to do...

Starting Over

So, today Jeremy is offially a civilian again. The last few months have been such a blur. But we are in transition. It feels like we are starting over again. But I know I serve a big God and He won't leave us hanging. We did sign a rental agreement for a place. It's nothing spectacular but it's good for now. Jeremy and I have been talking about trying to rent out our place back in NC instead of selling right now. The market for housing isn't great and we really can not afford to pay the mortgage and utilities there as well as here. We should be starting to fully move in this weekend.

The Importance of Families

I'll be the first one to admit I have a wonderful family! I also married into a wonderful family too. The support of everyone around me in this time has really just been awesome! God's working things out in wonderful ways through my WHOLE family!
Saturday was a very emotional day as it was the memorial service for my Grandpa Greene. It was good to see the family and have the support of my husband there as well. They had the Honor Guard do their presentation for him as he was in the service for a few years. My cousin Brian recieved the flag as he is still Active Duty Air Force right now. That was emotional hearing the Taps playing and seeing the flag being folded and given. I didn't hold together too well. But as with everything, time moves on even though the ache is still there.
It brought back the reality that our days on this earth are numbered and can be taken away at any moment. I'm so glad I've accepted Jesus Christ into my heart and I live for him daily. Yes, there are times I fall away but with the reality that there is a real hell, I try to constantly check my heart and make sure I'm living right and not backsliding or in sin. It's hard to see some family that appear not to be living for Christ daily and I pray that somehow they will be able to realize it before it's too late and they pass into eternity! I love them so much and can only pray as it's ultimately their decision once informed.
I'm so glad that I get the chance to live closer to family now. North Carolina was sooo far and I know if I was still living there I would not have had the opportunity to come home for the service. I love my Best Friends Ginita and Steve back there and I wish there was someway we could all be together without us moving back to NC. And I miss Kira and Shelby as I was developing such good friendships with them before we left. Its a hard place to be but both Jeremy and I still really believe this is where God wants us for now. I know I'm having some hardships finding friendships but I'd rather be in the will of God and he will provide everything else. Signing off until tomorrow... GG

Did you ever...?

I'm sure I'm not the only one. But maybe there are not very many. I did something I knew was wrong but I was bored and curiosity got the best of me (this wasn't anything illegal...). Did you ever do something you regretted that came back to bite you in the butt?? Well turned out I stumbled onto something that cut me to the heart. I guess knowing what people really do think of you (not just what they say to your face) is a bitter-sweet thing. Mostly hurtful but hey, the truth hurts. The thing is not all of it was true. It was facts mixed with untruths. Whether this person was just spouting because of being angry or maybe wanting to acquire pity from others, it doesn't matter: lies are lies. What a way to start a relationship with people in your area and in your church where you are going to be living for a while. Not so cool on this end of it. But it was my fault. I was in the wrong and I have repented but it doesn't take the hurt away.
I miss my Ginita! She was the one true saved friend that I count on the most. And now I'm 3000 miles away. Tomorrow I head up to Wickenburg so hopefully my brain will leave this crap in SV and I can have a decent weekend (even though I'm going for my grandpa's funeral) with my family there.

A New Healthy Me

Well it's about time I kick my butt in high gear and do what I know is best for me. In my last blog I commented about getting out of my gym membership back in NC and getting into Curves here. Here's the deal. When I signed my 3 year gym contract back in Oct 2009 I had no idea I would be moving from NC. I mean J made it seem like we were going to be there forever! So they had told us (Gintia and I) that if we happened to move military or otherwise, as long as we were within 30 miles of a fitness center that was a part of their "Spa Network" we could go there. However if there wasn't one within 30 miles, they would cancel the contract. I called the gym that is associated with them here and the man on the phone said they were moving soon and changing their name. My pastor's wife also goes to this gym and she told me that they will be getting rid of the water aerobics and going strictly machines and weights. Plus they don't have childcare. I need something besides just the eating healthy part. Yeah, I can do walking, but that's good in addition to going to the gym. I would love the opportunity to get away from the kids for an hour or so to work out and concentrate on me. Does that make me selfish? I don't know. I just know the kids drive me crazy. So we shall see what comes of it when I call the coorporate headquarters and try to get out of the contract. If not, well I will be going there. I'm not gonna waste 50 dollars a month.
Also, I've been doing good in switching up what I eat and drink. I've cut soda almost completely out. The only time I drank any was when I was at a church fellowship and I only had one can. Other than that it's been water and those little crystal light packets that you add to a bottle of water for flavor. Also I've really cut down on portion size of my meals, and eating more salads with dinner. Instead of grabbing a bag of chips I grab the bag of grapes from the fridge for a snack. It's been hard and I've really been trying. This whole medical ordeal has really been an awakening for me!

To Whom It May Concern

So I've started this thing just as a sort of journal of what's going on in my daily life. I don't know that anyone would be interested in reading it but, what the heck.
Things the last week or so have just been so overwhelming that it's been hard to catch up on things. Last Monday I went to a new Dr. so I could have my Thyroid checked. (Side note: I was told I had thyroid problems and was put on meds about a month before leaving NC.) My blood pressure that day was really high. After two pills a bp check twice more they finally let me go but wanted me to come in Wed and Fri for BP checks. On Wed it was still a bit high and after I had left the office the RN called back to say they wanted me to see the MD the next day. So Thurs when I saw the MD he had 2/3 of the lab tests back. In addition to high blood pressure the MD told me I have type II diabetes. Great. But I have no one to blame but myself for all this crap. I knew it would happen one day just not so soon. I should have just sucked it up and went to the gym myself regularly. I just hated going by myself.
Today I had the additional blood tests taken to see what my average sugars have been over the last couple years and something else I can't remember. We shall see what comes of it. Needless to say I've been eating way less and a lot more healthier since I found this stuff out. And I am calling my gym back in NC to see about cancelling a contract with them and starting Curves here. But we'll talk about that in the next blog.
So in addition to all this medical stuff, J and I are still trying to find a place and we still haven't sold our house in NC. And I also found out we won't have any medical insurance March and April. The only insurance we may get is going to cost us $2300 for three months coverage and we are not sure what to do. It's not like we have that kind of money saved up yet or laying around. Late Tuesday evening (early Wed) I also found out my only living Grandpa on my side of the family passed away suddenly. That was a very rough day. I also started getting sick with this cough, congestion, throat junk. It was hard to breathe and because of my BP I wasn't allowed to take anything. Last week was really a nightmare... blah. But I'm feeling better today and have the energy to get things accomplish (if I ever stop blogging, lol). On to bigger and better things! Till the next time...

GG