The last 8+ journey with Amber.

In the middle of November... Amber started getting sick. No rhymnn or reason. Would vomit... no fever... nothing else... and then be fine. Yeah know though... it never occurred to me that this wasn't something 'going around'. How many times did I hear that... "Well... you know... there is a lot of stuff going around." :( :( :( I guess that is why... I decided to make the call any way. It was not just something going around. I know my daughter. The emergency room visit on New Year's Day... was enough to send me away. Then being fine... but complaining of her side hurting seemed to be the only thing again.

After some testing... it seems as though she has some abnormalities in her left kidney. We are unsure of what they are though. Monday morning we are having a CT scan done to eliminate some tumors... which are a huge concern of the pediatrician at this time. You have to keep in mind... that her brother did survive leukemia as a child. The pediatrician is not taking anything for granted... and wants answers now. I am supposed to know by noon - 1 pm on Monday.

Thanks for the prayers, texts, and calls. I feel very lost right now... but as I have told many... I know that I have a fighter on my hands because she has been thru hell and back already. God only gives us what he knows that we can take.

My... how life can change!

It's a week later... and nothing ever goes smooth... right?? YEP... not around here. Since the last time I posted... early the next morning... our building was broken into. The people have been back, although they never actually came to the house. It's been now a week since I had a good nights sleep. I'm tired of this CRAP!!! Seems as though now that they know WHAT is here... they have told others that they will be back. How nice! Another 2:30 am trip for some losers?? I certainly hope not. It's terrible when you don't really sleep... but also find yourself getting up and walking down the hall way or looking out the window to SEE if... there is somebody here. How the heck can people do this crap? As the old saying goes... if they strike once... they will do it again. Just WHEN ... will it be though. 'sigh' Doesn't help when you live on the 'hill' away from others also. How lovely!!

Well... we have another security system coming out to give us a quote on alarms and direct calls to the police station. When will it end..?? is my question. The new gun safe arrives tomorrow ... so atleast all of my jewelry can go in it also. Nothing like feeling like your living in a glass house.

Also... I dropped my ONLY phone in the tub... trying to relax the other night. Great timing... right?? So far... it seems as though I'm only missing a few options that I used to be able to do. Better than having nothing. OH... and if you EVER wondered?? A cell phone does NOT float WITH or WITHOUT a battery. It's more like a lead balloon!!! ROFLMAO!! Just a word to the wise... avoid contact with water. ;)

That's all for now... just the thought of everything makes me want to go back to where the girls are 2 stories above me. Until later. Good night!

Where... has the time actually gone??

O........ M.......... GOSH!!! I can't believe how many months it has been... since I was able to blog!!! Unreal!!!

Things have actually been fairly good... for the most part. The girls are all doing very well in school. We had a few bouts of sickness with Amber... but so far so good now. The girls are all enjoying their classes... and reading... reading... reading!!! They have really grown since the first of the school year.

This past Thanksgiving was a very relaxing one for us. S and I enjoyed it over at my brother and sil's house. I was able to put a sweet baby boy to sleep that night. Aww... to hold the sweet thing. :) :) THEN... the night was only beginning... since Deb and I were headed to stay the night in Lincoln... so we could POWER SHOP!!!!!!!! AND... I must say... that we did an AWESOME job of it! :D :D :D

This past Monday... was my baby Amber's 6th Birthday!!! WOW!!! I can't believe the time has went soooooooooo quickly!!! I do have a lot of new pictures to post... so maybe I can update one on here also. ;-)

Last night... between my two classes that I teach at the Y... I had some unsettling bad news about a dear friend. I am praying that things are confused at this point... but I will know for myself in the morning. I have yet to not think about her for one moment. This dear lady is like a mom to me. :( :( :(

Well.... off to upload some photos. Now... if I can only remember how to put them on here. LOL!

Kittens & Cats

So... since May ALL I have heard about when it comes to the 8 kittens that we are blessed with... is negative information from Steve. Yep... they do everything wrong. Like... I'm the one controlling it. HARDLY!!! I'm the one caring for them... trying my best to find GOOD homes for them. So... after getting rid of 3 of them... needing to get rid of atleast two more... I find a home today for one that the girls loved. Terrible of me?? No... not really because we know of who she was going home too and the kitten (Baby Blue) will be inside for her life. She has it made! Well... the girls were ok with it... only because like I said... they know the family. Meanwhile... I go and get Ella scheduled to be spayed this Friday. I also filled out a form since the other mom's are wild... to get assistance for them. I mentioned at supper that Baby Blue has a new home. WTH do I hear... you ask??? Oh yeah... "I liked that one..........." Nice. We all did. She was cute AND funny... but would you rather have homes for them so they are not doing all of the nasty stuff I constantly heard about... or have them doing it?? Mean while... I had a call from another lady I know that lost their indoor cat this past weekend. She is coming Friday night to look at the others. By Sunday... we should be down to 3 only. Yep again... I hear... well, don't let her take Buttercup. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Would you rather have a kitten/cat living outside fighting the cold... or her living inside with a loving family. Just BURNS my BUTT!!! Sue will get to pick which ever one... I am NOT going to tell her which one she can take. Not gonna happen. Sorry... but I am the one that has been caring for them these months. I love them all dearly. I'm thinking of THEM... not of myself. Oh yeah... and as we are going to supper 'BT' decides to leave the garage... and now he won't come back in. :( :( I can't even find him. 'sigh' I have went outside several times... but still can't find him. I just don't know what to think ... or where he would be. But... do you blame him?? Steve won't let him in the house... so he lives in the garage... yeah... nice and warm in Nebraska right now. :( :( Poor guy. :( :(

Sturgis 2008

Yep... we just returned. Here is a recap of the week:

Monday... worked @ UPS & then taught my one stability ball class @ 4:30 - 5:15 @ the Y. Headed home... took a quick shower and was on the road by 6:15 pm. Arrived in Grand Island around 8:45 pm and ate at Red Lobster. Decided to stay there that night.

Tuesday... left for Deadwood SD around 8:15 am. Arrived into Deadwood around 4:30. Unloaded the bike and went to the room. We decided that we were not goin to the Lynard Skynard concert... so we headed South to Hill City. Our 'hard bread' (lol) restaurant had a 1 1/2 hour wait... so we decided to have BBQ instead. A storm started to roll in... so we waited for about 45 minutes to go back. The trip is 45 minutes when the weather is good. It was dark... and the fog was bad. I told S that according to my radar on my phone... NOW was a good time. Obviously since 'we' were the LEADER OF THE PACK!!! Yes... about 10 bikes followed us out on the road... around the narrow winding two lane road. Pitch black with TERRIBLE fog. I prayed several times to get us home safe. When we arrived to the 't' road... I gave him a big hug and told him thank you for bringing ALL of us home safe. As we pulled into the hotel parking... one of the other bikers even said "Thanks man for bringing us home safe..." :O We warmed up with hot chocolate that night. :)

Wednesday... We left to go the beautiful scenic route west and north of Lead. LOVE that area. We arrived into Sturgis then in the afternoon. Made some friends at 'Loud America'... had a few drinks... did some shopping... and headed back.

Thursday... we left early after having breakfast we headed out for Sturgis. We went to 'Buffalo Chip' to be able to go to the Sugarland & ZZ Top concert. We enjoyed some quiet time listening to bands and watching others. The concerts were GREAT!!! ZZ Top was AWESOME!!! It was VERY early Friday morning when we arrived to the hotel.

Friday... Got up around 10:30 am and went and had breakfast. Left to head to 'Full Throttle Saloon'. That place had really changed in a year. Rachel Stacy was playing... which was a real treat. BEAUTIFUL voice!!! We headed back into Sturgis and did the final shopping. S got some really cool patches for his vest. We ended up at the 'Broken Spoke' and listened to 'Toys' for awhile. MAN... what another great group!!! Anything from Bon Jovi... to ZZ Top... they knew it AND... could play it. Nice end to the day. We decided that we wanted to load the bike and enjoy the rest of the evening in Deadwood. We found a place to load it... and while I was attempting to hold the bike... I got my leg burned on the pipes REALLY bad. The words rolled out of my mouth. DARN... it's gonna leave a scar. I guess now you can say I got a 'tatoo' in Sturgis. :S :S :S We headed to the Four Aces to eat steak & crab leg buffet... only to find out that they had a 2 hour wait. So... we got the beeper and decided to eat ice cream before our supper. ROFLMAO!!! Hey... we were on vacation. :) We returned only after 1/2 hour. LOL!!! I learned then for the next 1 hour plus ... to play video poker. ;-) We enjoyed that time. Supper was awesome... and we called it a night around midnight.

Saturday (today)... I set the alarm for 5 am. Ya know... there was racing back home we were getting up for. So... we left Deadwood by 6 am... only to find out hours into the trip home... that there were storms that canceled the races. URGH!!!! So... we decided to take our time getting home then. 45 minutes away... we called Pizza Hut and had pizza waiting for us at 7 pm here at home. I'm doing laundry... and ready to crash.

Oh yeah... I have to add that I decided that since I was going to miss some classes... that I was going to run while in Deadwood. Let's just say... unless your mountain climbing... there is only walking allowed in that town. ROFL!!! BUT... I did walk Wednesday and Thursday morning. What a workout actually. :) :)

Good night... I'm headed to catch up on some MUCH needed sleep... :)

So... what will it be??

I got a text message this morning from the one boss saying that he didn't have a good feeling about the new gal. I was like WTH... so I told him that no... things were fine - that I'd received a text from her last night. He said that he didn't think that it was good. Next thing... I get a text from him saying that he receive the text saying that she's not coming there. I'm like ... your making me very nervous WHO are you talking about?? Around 11 this morning... I found out that the gal backed out. You HAVE to be kidding me!!!! URGH!!!

So... I called workforce again. I was nearly in tears. I asked her... "WTH can a person apply for a job... get the job... and then NOT take the job???" She was speechless. She tried to reassure me that we would find someone. BUT... WHEN???

That is when... I started to think. Is God testing me?? He only gives me what I can handle... but is this a lesson. Just to show me that yes... I could get another job... but to also show me what I am worth at Building Tech?? I would never and the guys' would have never known what I was worth... until I left there. So... now what is the next step??

Do I... 1) Ask them to make me an offer to go back?? or... 2) Do I make up an offer and ask them if they will go for it?? I have never been in this position before. I have always worked and worked... and never really have had anything to show for it. I am still very 'caught' on what I will do. I do like my job... it is taking some getting used to... between all of the having to prove in my life - life has always been a challenge for me. I have a lot of 'what if's' to look at. Life is not always easy. I felt guidance from above to get my job... but now I feel like I'm hanging off of a cliff. It's not an easy position to be in. 'sigh'

Life is insane...

Most of the days lately... I could just sit and cry, but what good is that going to do?? NOT a darn thing. So... suck it up and God only gives you what you can handle... right?? Well... I do question it quite a bit lately.

Let's see... in looking back the last month... I quit one job 'planning' (what a funny word...) to be able to spend more time at home. Well... since then... it's turned into more work than what I ever in my furtherest dreams... would have thought.

Yep... I trained the gal... would get phone calls all of the time - hey, have no problem until I figured out... she was NOT getting it. Even with the help that I was giving... the additional notes, I was still finding stuff. I started to explain to the guys' that this is NOT good. They too expressed their concerns. That is when... I didn't hear from her. So... no news is good news, right?? Not with this gal. The books were a MESS!!! So... not only was I going there in the evenings... getting phone calls during the day... spending my weekends there... but she wasn't following out ANY tasks. The bills were 2 weeks late... no receivables were billed. OMG... WTH is she doing?? Oh yeah... and then I seen that she actually worked 48 hours in one week!! :O :O :O UMMMMMMMMMMm.... I never EVER did that! NO WAY!!! So what if she charged them ONLY regular time... HULLLOOOO... that is still NOT called for. So... last Saturday... I went in and started to work on my quarterlys. I came across so much stuff... it was just sickening. I spent HOURS... and hours making notes... changing things. If you can only imagine giving somebody authority that had NO clue what to do... that is what I was / am still finding. So... as of Monday... they fired her. The company is without anyone right now. I did do some more interviewing... and I believe we might have found someone. Until then... I told them very clearly... I would way rather go in and do the books at my pace when I can... instead of going in and doing them but ALSO... fixing stuff that she screwed up. They took my advice.

But... my days and stressless is nuts. As an example... today... I got up at 7:30... got to work early for a conference call at UPS... left there late at 3:15... ran to the post office to get the mail for Building Tech... went down there until 4:10... because ya know, payroll IS due tomorrow. Left there then at 4:10... to head to the YMCA... to teach my first class. As you can see... I never even got lunch. So... at 5:30 I ran to get a sandwich. I ate that during the time I was training a new gal for the stability ball class. Then... went to my next class at 6:30... taught until 7:30. From there... I returned to Building Tech to finish my payroll and do my monthly payroll taxes and liabilities. I arrived back home with 5 minutes to spare... until the girls came home. I'm a wreck...

I'd love to just ... go to the bar... Ok... ROFLMAO!!! When 'will' life slow down???