A day off!

I have been neglecting anything that has to do with writing lately. I feel this is not fair to those who have been wanting to read my blog. To the two of you who read it, I am sorry. I have had a lot to celebrate and many blessings in the past few weeks. I have been back to AZ for a wonderful wedding and even heard my baby's heartbeat. There is too much to explain about it all, but I am very happy to say we will be hosting Thanksgiving at out new home for the first time this year. I apologize again for my lack of typing. Have a great weekend and everyone go see the new Bond movie.

What a day for miracles.

What would you start to think if the carefully laid plans from 3 months prior were suddenly screeching to a halt? That is how we were the past two days. We put our schedules together right. We planned the closing, the move the doctor appt. The final inspection. All was going the way it should. Some lender, decided to put a stop to everything with one sheet of paper 24 hours prior to closing. I don't know how anyone else would act, but I give myself a gold star for not losing my temper on everyone. Hettie and I kept the faith, we knew we had to close yesterday. I don't even have the time to tell the whole story. I'll continue this later but we have to move today... Gotta go.

How about that...

I am on cloud nine this week. We are expecting for those of you who have not been in touch with us. I am excited and have no idea how to express myself. Hettie and I have been transitioning from our lifestyles to ones more accommodating to babies. We are going to be buying and planning and shopping and inviting. There will be painting and prepping and lots of babyproofing. We are excited about all sorts of things and have no idea where to start. We already have our first appt. to see the OB. The unborn baby will have it's first flight in late Oct. Time ot start thinking names. We appreciate the input from anyone, good luck getting your name on the list. And no we are not wanting to know the sex beforehand. We are hoping to have a healthy baby and that is it. Until then, we want to hear the heartbeat, see the ultrasound go to classes and just enjoy the ride. I'll check in from time to time. I need to tell the story somehow!!! Love to you all, and we hope you all are as blessed as we are right now.

Labor Day!

Isn't it great to get Monday off? I always enjoy the 3 day weekends. I like the fact that the next week is only 4 days too. For me it will still be five. Better than six. I am working on getting the sales and service up for the pinellas office. AJ and I have made some big steps in the business. I hope we keep up our run. The real reason for this blog, is because of the wonderful travel we have done this weekend. Hettie, John and I have been up in Crystal springs seeing sights and interacting with local wildlife. Manatees are very cool. They average about 1000 lbs. They swim so gracefully and I think they are some of the friendliest animals out there. They have a wonderful disposition, no wonder they get harassed so much by others. They have no natural predators, but they do no harm other than eating and traveling. I see now why they are called "sea cows". They are pretty cool though. Hettie left a wonderful detailed message about what we did yesterday. I'll let it go at that. Time to relax for the rest of the day, and pray for those in the upper gulf area. We'll be heading home today to get our pup and go home. Take care all.

Nursery Day

As most of you know, Hettie and I volunteer our time in the nursery every other Sunday. We are going in today looking forward to seeing the little ones. Some of the past few times have been a little trying. We want to help out in areas that we signed up for and I am tired of getting other peoples problems dumped on us. Don't get me wrong, we signed up to help and we are doing it gladly. We signed in for the Nursery. Not children over 2. Our training and qualification was given to us for the little ones but nothing else. Some people insist on leaving their older children with us when we are the only ones there in the morning. This is not only unfair to us but the babies as well. We have ages separated for a reason. The older children play too rough for the newborns. The last thing we need is 5 newborns in a tiny room with baby toys and children too big and too old to coexist. We don't have the lesson plan for the older ones, so it becomes much more of a burden. It is really hard to say no. Especially with the other volunteers not showing up for their shift. Sorry I just had to vent. Time to shower.

No Fay Day

Kinda bummin this morning. We have been watching this storm wondering what we were going to get. There were evacuations last night for mobile homes and flood zones. As of this morning, those were rescinded. Now we are watching the swirling winds on shore way south of here. We have to watch it on TV because it isn't here yet. We'll be seeing rain(yawn), wind and power outages. I am happy that everyone will be safe, I just wanted to see a really big storm. We are blessed to be ok, and we'll just sulk through our shower. Have a great day.

Day off

Hooray for Saturday! We are able to hang out at home to get some things done and relax together today. This will be a good day to recharge our batteries and have some couple time. We're going to the Humane Society today and we'll be cuddling the cats. Time for lunch, gotta go.

sore neck :/

Did not feel good yesterday at all. In the morning, my neck was strained working out, and I was in a lot of pain all day. This morning, I am happy to say I am feeling much better. I am still a little wary about turning my head quickly. Today is a day off for Hettie. She has decided to scrapbook, and get some errands run. I think she'll have a lot of fun. She does such wonderful work with all our memories, I can't wait to get home from work today so she can show me what she did. I am so proud of her. She found a great hobby that she absolutely loves. It's exciting to see. I have to get out and jog this morning. We have been walking everyday, and just got to jog for the first time since last week. We're jogging day 2 today since her surgery. She is feeling better. Talk to you all soon.

Been a while

I have been out of the habit for a little while, getting the chance to write today is nice. We have a lot of things coming up and we are excited! I was hired at my new job last month, and I made Manager. I am getting to know the ins and outs of the shop, and I am happy to be working there. The job is fun and challenging. I get a chance to think and exercise my problem solving skills. Some situations are pretty hairy. I like the challenge though. I would get bored really quick if it didn't. Hettie and i both have the weekend off. I think we'll be able to do this every two weeks from now on. Today we are going to the Humane Society, then we'll be at a welcome back party for Hettie's work. This evening, we're going to Hettie's 10 year reunion. Today is going to be a little busy, but lots of fun. I love it. I have been looking forward to having time with my baby all week. It is a good day already.

TGIV

Thank God it's Vacation. So why are we still calling people and figuring out problems with mortgage brokers and stimulus checks, and too many emails. This is supposed to be the time for relaxing and not worrying about those things. I am looking forward to another long day of travel. We spent most of yesterday out and about with plane flights and driving around Tucson. Today we are going to NM and it will be a lot of fun. We get to stay in Pinos Altos and Silver City. It's only going to be a couple days, but there is a lot to see including cliff dwellings and remote towns where the closest grocery store is about 75 miles away! How do some people live this way? I think they enjoy the solitude, and quietness up on the mountain. We may get an opportunity to ask these questions and who knows if they will even care. I am just excited about spending time with family and seeing some interesting sights. We are in for a two week adventure in the desert. Sounds like we'll have to upload a lot of photos to share with you all. Hettie and I are really blessed to have our time together out here. Hope all is well with everyone else and we'll be blogging.
-me

It's been a while now...

I have been pretty busy and everything going on in the past few weeks has made me not want to get online to do any extra typing. I apologise if there are any faithful readers out there. I am settling into my new routine. Hettie and I have been through a lot of stress lately. The stresses remind us of some military stresses we had a couple years ago. Our world is changing and we need some time to catch up. It is hard for both of us to be spending this time apart and learning two new jobs. We are just thankful that we have jobs right now. Our trip is coming up on Tuesday this week. We are so excited we can hardly think of what we need to pack. We did get a hold on a suitcase that should haul all of Hettie's things and not get us extra charges. I can't wait to start our vacation. I need a little break now. Too much typing. Talk to you later.

Many Blessings

We are going through a big transition right now. Any of you who read Hettie's blog can see that there are quite a few things on our plates. It is a very exciting time for us, and we can't get enough of it. We know that everything has come to us this way because God has wanted it that way. Just changes dealing with the house, job, school, are all coming in rapid succession. This is something that we have been praying for, so now, we get to do it. As long as Hettie and I keep our support for each other, we can't go wrong.
-me

How about them Cubbies!!

Those of you who know me, already know my love for the Cubs. I am following their season just as much as any other season before. This year is the one. Only 100 years since our last World Series win. But for those of you who didn't know, the last time the Cubs had the best record at the beginning of June was 1908. Coincidence? I think not. This morning I had to wake up to see the score. It sucks when they play on the other side of the country. The game in San Diego started at 2200. I can't stay up for that. Even with big Z batting .366. This was their eighth straight, and I am just as pumped as always. Best in the League!! Go Cubs!

Talk a lot and Brewndoggies!!

What could we do with our time, I think a good idea would be to start coming up with strange and delicious hot dog ideas. I think that will be our little fantasy idea for a hot dog shop. Fun to plan and see what comes. I think we get so many ideas, that we don't really know which way to focus our efforts. I am happy with our little pet sitting venture right now. It is good to watch animals for our friends and family. I think that if we could we would have a big shop in the beach area, watching animals, with a childrens nursery there, and a hot dog shop in front. It could happen. Who knows, we may be on to the next big franchise.
me

Coming up on a new weekend.

I am sorry that I have been away for a little while. This week has been really good for us for getting things done and spending time. Still no word on the house. This morning we will be going to Hettie's appointment. I'm a little worried, and I just want everything to go smoothly. Hettie's going to be great. I am her support system and I need to be supportive. After we finish with that, I'm getting some help from John to remove some countertop items in the Kitchen. We will then replace the countertop!!! Hooray for new counters. No more ugly white ones. I can finally get the Kitchen done. We are done with the front entryway, living room, Den, Dining room, Bathroom, Bedroom, now we need the family room, hallway, and master. So close. Also, as soon as that is done, we'll do finishing touches with base moulding. That will be the final touch, but I think the rooms are pretty much done other than that.

This is Memorial day weekend. I think it is one of the most important military holidays. Be sure to fly your flag, and rember those who are not able to come home to their families either by deployment or worse. Since I am a biased member of post 2550 of the VFW, please find a donation area, and get yourself a buddy poppy. You'll be helping out all those vets who are struggling.

It is time to pray for this weekend, I hope this is a safe travel weekend for all. Take care
me

BG HOORAY!!

We got to go to Busch Gardens again. We have the passport and fun pass, so we can go for free any time we want. This was the first trip for us since our anniversary. Lots of fun. It seems to me that we had a great time and went on the perfect day. It was overcast, so not too hot. It was threatening rain, so fewer people showed up to the park. None of the rides were closed down, except for the part of Jungala without orangutans. We didn't have to wait in lines for more than 15 minutes. For a major theme park, that is awesome. Especially with their rides.

We had fun at church yesterday. No nursery this week. We need to go hang out with Justin and Autumn, there should be time this week. I am ready to get the bedroom done with all the wood. I need to get some things prepped first. Just a little bit of plastic and we're ready to go. If Hettie has a little bit of time, we'll just hang out here. I'm still on a little high from this weekend. We had a blast. A lot of the things we have done lately, cost us very little. We are trying to determine the best way to go with our new housing dilemma. I know it is just for us to pray about and we can only wait to see if there are other options coming soon. We may have to wait till June 5th, or we may find out something sooner. Time to just put our trust in him and see what comes our way.

Me

Marriage

I have no idea what to write today. We had some fun the past few days; went to Dunedin causeway with the dogs. Played a little bit of gin, and generally hung out while grilling, cleaning, and flooring. Yesterday and today, we are painting the closet. Then I can lay the floor in the bedroom. Terazzo does not look good in there. The wood looks great though.

We had an awesome marriage class last night. Some people mentioned things that would be very private and I felt a lot of sympathy for their situation. This was supposed to be a game. It turned out well though. We all have fun at the meetings, and we get to grow more together as couples. I think we are starting to form more friendships within the church. It's strange, we are the only couple there at our age without children. They'll just have to wait. That means you Faithlynn. She's asking us again last night if we are "working on babies". So many silly geese working this church.

Time to finish my fume laden closet. I'll be back sooner next time.

me

Great Weekend!

As you all probably know, yesterday was Mother's Day. We spent our time here at church in the morning. We had 5 babies to take care of. They were very well behaved and then they got restless at the end. We had to hurry away after the service so we could go to the game. There were six of us at the Rays game. The grandparents, Hettie and I, John, and Dave. They had the nice seats behind the plate. We sat in the bleachers up in left field. We had a great view, although we were more interested in the scoreboard than the actual game. I kept checking for the Cubs scores. Hettie kept her eye open for the Braves.

When we left the game(after Grandma got her M-day foul ball), we decided to go back to Clearwater and Capogna's. In Capogna's we(or I should say I) got to watch the end of the Cubs game, SWEEP! When we were done, we got home exhausted to some very hungry pups. They behaved themselves, and went outside. I'm sure everyone is interested in the pups potty schedule, but I suppose I could spare you the details.

Now to today. 3 rooms down, 4 to go. We have a lot of wood left. I need to get the bedrooms done next. We have the little plastic footies to slide the furniture and now I have to continue installing before ripping up the nasty carpet in the room. I'm also finishing the stairnose problem. I have to get the wood to cooperate with me for that. I think a very small planer or tiny chisel would work wonders. I'l just deal in sandpaper and screwdrivers. For now the keyboard is my palette.

I am already missing Hettie this morning. She has 76 vet clinic volunteer hours to go, and she's going to take care of 4 today including watching some bladder surgery. I hope she enjoys it. I'll be working on the floors while she's gone.

Sorry for not getting on sooner to type, but I have been pretty busy. Talk to you all later.

-me

I'm feelin it

My muscles are aching and I am loving it. I felt this way after my swimming workouts in High school. I am getting to go on walks with the dogs and Hettie. Then I start on the floors when I get back. Most of the time, I'm up and down around the floor. If I'm not there, I'll be cutting or measuring. This has to be one of my favorite jobs so far. The cuts around trim pieces are a little tricky and it can be challenging. When the floor is done, there will just be the trim. So close. Anyway, we have our second church banquet tonight. It is going to be good to go to it. We are still meeting our fellow church-goers. We kinda know everyone, but we need to do some more quality time. So many things are coming together right now. We are needing volunteer time with the vet clinic, not yet. We need info from the other vet clinic, not yet. We are curious about what is going on with the house, not yet. So much going on right now, and yet nothing is finishing. God is truly testing our patience. Time to get back to the floor.
me

Cinco de Mayo, Felicitaciones!

Waking up this morning, I was really sore all over. Not a bad sore. Workout sore. It feels good to know that I am working all of the muscles instead of just a couple. So what is going on today?
- Finish the Bathroom
- Move some furniture
- Plan out the living room area
- Re-read the wood section in the book.
- Start install?
- We have waited for this for a long time.

It is really nice to have some other jobs done, and we can imagine what the floors will look like. Today is just another step.

Waiting for a phone call about the jobs today. We'll see.

I don't know what to say right now. I may just need to wake up some more. Allie looks pretty tired right now. She has been fighting off Angel for quite some time these past 2 days. I think she will sleep well tonight. Of course, after Lucy and Larry pick up Angel today, we get a couple more dogs for almost the whole month. We are making a little bit for our service, it definitely helps. We have been saving more and more lately. I know that our decision to be together is something that not everyone can do, but we excel at it. I think there is a good chance for the vet job.

-me

time to go to church

We are praying constantly about the house and the jobs as you all know. Time to relax and not think about it too much. Grout is going in the bathroom today. The room is almost done. I'll be happy to finish in there. We need a little more room in the morning with sink space. All three of us in the Garage bathroom is a little cramped. I will be starting to lay wood this week!!! Hooray. It is about time. I want to get the living room, office, and dining room done first. Then we move through the hallway, bedrooms and closets. Once those are all done, we can do the Family room, last tile and wood.

The remaining projects will include the rest of the counters in the kitchen and touch ups. Then the moulding around each of the rooms. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel!

-me

Today is a busy day, as always.

I am happy to say we have another full day ahead of us. For me, this morning is Carelift and tile installation. I am going to do Carelift today then I have to take the rest of this month off for the flooring activities. Next is mortaring the tile down that I cut yesterday. I won't have too much time for that before I have to leave to do my unpaid "test work" period in the vet clinic. I am looking forward to it. Hettie and I both are looking into the job because it will be good experience in the fields we want to get into. I am excited about working again in an outside job. Working at home has it's benefits, but we don't really socialize. I know that the skills we could learn there would be very valuable. I am happy to say that the uniform is just scrubs!!! Gotta love it. Anyway, I have to get ready, I'll be on tomorrow.

me

Bummer

I typed a whole blog post this morning and I guess I forgot to post it. Oh well. This blog won't write itself. Today I just finished putting the grout in for the front entryway tiles. It is going to look great when it's done. As for now, it is a little hazy. That will go away. The next room will be the bathroom. Unfortunately we have to get our stuff out of there to lay it and it will be a very cramped second bathroom. For now it is ok... because we haven't moved anything yet.

Today we may sell the neighbors car... part 67. Hettie's Aunt and Uncle are interested in the car now. They will try to come over this afternoon to see it and determine whether or not it is a good investment. I can only show it to them and hope for the best. If it does not fit, then it was not meant to be. I am hoping to finish up my job or today in a little while. Time to get to work.

Me

Tile today

Starting to put in the rest of the tile. It should be quicker this time. The tile in the kitchen had a lot of corners to go around. The entryway, is square. Piece of cake. As long as I follow directions. I hope to get it done this morning. Then we'll have the rest of the day to relax. The bathroom is going to be another project. I'll have to make sure we have taken out all the stuff in there before laying the tile down. Then we just have to suffer through the little garage bathroom all three of us!!! I can do it and finish quickly. I just want to do it right. I am excited to see how it all comes out. When the tile is done in those two areas, we'll be ready to start on the wood. Everything is coming together nicely. Soon we'll have a finished house. One day at a time right?

Yesterday, we rode our neighbors bikes up to Ozona and back via the Pinellas trail. It is beautiful, and very safe. I like going up there. That is the first time we did that for that amount of distance. I can certainly feel it today in a lot of muscles that I don't remember using recently. It is a good soreness though. Now there is talk about getting bikes again in the near future. Since we are close to this kind of trail, any day we get the time, it makes for a wonderful trip. Time to look for some used cheap bikes :) Salvation army here we come.

Talk later
me

BACK TO NORMAL!!

Finally. Maybe selling the neighbors car today. We will see what they say about the initial offer, and how things will pan out. I don't think it will be accepted, it is far lower than what they need. They will probably negotiate. Still praying for our pastor and we hope to see him today feeling better.

The best thing we can hope for today is a good time with the babies and getting back in time for the Geek squad. They will be performing their yearly checkups on the computers. It will be something that we need to do to make sure we keep them in working order for Hettie's work. Good to do before we go out to AZ. That is still coming up down the road, but it is always a good thing to do preventative maintenance.

All in all, we can keep our schedule open and relax a bit. Happy Sunday to all.
me

What a weekend!!!

We have been anticipating a few things to happen this weekend. Hettie can finally get her facial done today. That is the first thing. We get some more time with our cats in the Humane society. Can't wait!!! I am also excited about possibly selling the neighbors car for them. They have had such a time with this. There are potential buyers that keep flaking on them. It would be nice to see someone actually come out to see the car. I think if I can just get them to come by they will want it. The neighbors are needing the money for their aspirations to start a new chinese restaurant. We hope all goes well for them. I am wondering what their food is like. We always like smelling their house from here each evening. They gave us some homemade spring rolls yesterday when I went over to tell them the news of the latest vehicle prospect. It had been interesting trying to explain how people are not coming or that they change plans. The language barrier is a tough one because the parents don't speak english. The kids do. If the kids are not at home, it can be interesting conversation.

We will be going to Sam Seltzer's tonight for Michelle's birthday party with the fam. Happy Birthday Michelle!

Tomorrow we are going to church in the morning. The sermon may be interesting. We heard that our pastor hurt his back yesterday. He was in some serious pain, and we are all praying for him. We'll just hope to see him at church. Other than that, I think I covered everything.

PS We need to exercise patience about the house. It could be as far in the future as July before we hear anything. We will be fine.

Love you all
me

we'll just try this...

I have been trying to fix the kinks in the system, and so far no good. I will just try to type it out. I think if the problem area is not on the page, then it may right itself. We will see. I hope that is all.

The kitchen is coming along nicely. I have one section of counter and cabinet done. I have one more coat of paint to go on the wall next to it to finish touching up, and then it will be ready to hold all the appliances again. As soon as that is done, it will look much better in there. I know the rest of it will call for a day off on John's part. He can't be here to help all the time, I only know it can be more than a hassle for one person. I have to connect the corner pieces before putting them on the cabinets. This happens to be the one that is 10 feet long, and the little one together. I was able to maneuver the 8 foot piece by myself. I am sure the weight is not a problem. The only trick is how it is awkward and I don't want to break a $100 piece of wood. Help is welcome! Soon enough it will be done.

I want to start on the rest of the tile now! I need some thinset. I may just go out to get some and finish up the tile projects. Then we can start the wood. We have had some extra time lately. Most of this time has been spent job hunting. It is not that we presume we will get this house in Tarpon. I think it is because we want to be prepared in case we get it. I am praying that God doesn't think we are trying to change what he wants for us. I know it is his will to guide us in the right direction. I feel we are doing what he wants us to do. We can only try and if it is what he wants for us, it is how it will end up. Anyway, time to finish the paint.
me

Getting somewhere

I am starting to gain some ground in selling the neighbor's vehicle. I have had a couple bites this weekend. For some reason, the people flaked yesterday... Just a little pet peeve. If we are going to flex our schedule around to help out with these things, I would hope to get a call from those that said they would. Anyway, I can't expect complete strangers to have the same feeling toward punctuality. I am still trying to fix this blog, it is starting to upset me too. I will just take some deep breaths and work on the cabinets today. When they call, they call. If they don't, oh well. I can only expect to be here when I can.
me

Counter Offer

Here is the situation. They came back with an offer to us for what they can afford. Apparently, they need to have almost their entire purchase price to sell this house. They are up to their ears in debt. It makes for an interesting negotiation. I should say, lack of negotiation. We are trying to figure out what God wants us to do about the offer. We know what we can and cannot do. The purchase price is not the problem. The real problem comes from not knowing the taxes or the insurance. We keep calling companies and they tell us they can't start new policies. The only company that does is Citizens. There is a problem with this. Each agent we have spoken to, gives us a different quote from citizens. They have differed in the amount of about 2000 a year. This makes no sense, and I am certainly frustrated. We have been praying for clarity on the prices, and patience on our part. That makes for a very tense weekend. We are not stressed, just frustrated and waiting. Hopefully all will work out by Monday.
me

Taxi?

Grandma has an appointment this morning. The doc office says they will be able to call when she is done. I'm going to be on call to get her home on time. I worry about her, she will be in there for 3-4 hours. I can't go with Hettie this morning to school. :( It's ok, we'll be back together after our duties today. I might even finish up the test counter. Looking good so far. Odd jobs today, but it will get done. Take care all. I'll be on later
me

Test run on the countertops!

I am being bold and a little impatient this morning. I decided that we should really just go forward with the first part of the project. I am learning slowly what is holding this counter up. Some parts are only held together by thin pieces of laminate. Other parts are nailed about 20 times in a 3 inch square. I'm not entirely sure the last installer knew what they were doing. Maybe I shouldn't speak too soon. So far so good though. I think I set up a good base for the new top. I am just finishing what I need to do before cutting and placing the new one. Good times!!! I love this stuff. Sometimes I wish other people could be here to share in the fun with me. Right now, Hettie is the only lucky bystander. I think she would rather me be done with everything now. But she is a great support system. She has put up with so many different messes in the house and she keeps going. I know how much these things bother her(and me), and I want to finish it so she can have a clean room to go to. There is no doubt that the project will be a success. Time to go back to work!
me

Technical difficulties

I am sorry that I could not post yesterday. I am trying to figure out all the problems I got on here. Right now i'm just posting to see if it will work this time. Yesterday was the first day I missed a posting since starting the blog. I think it might work this time. Any way, the day yesterday was really good. We got a chance to visit and look through the house built in 1910 that we absolutely adore. I think the price is reasonable and I will get a chance to do some handy work to keep the house up to date. So far, it seems to be in excellent condition, we will need a couple of inspections to ensure the structure is sound. I am getting excited about it. The town is quaint and the home has so much character that it would be a shame for anyone to change it at all. We are talking to our agent to be sure she gets all the details ironed out. We may be able to put in an offer soon!!! I pray we do. God will let us get what we need. Pray for us!!! We need to get this house:)
me

I am thrilled to be a part of another website that will help to contribute to the finances in the house! What did I do? I signed up for Pay Per Post. I can get into this by really speaking my mind about various products and services that I believe in and make some extra cash. What could I possibly do with all this dinero? I think I might just pay some bills. I am happy to be getting into some more interesting things and also the opportunity to make money while attempting to be creative. I may be lacking in the funny-business department, but I will learn and grow. I am already enjoying writing a lot more. I hated to read 12 years ago! What is wrong with me? Bad genes? Maybe I am just messed up. I can take my messed up butt all the way to the bank now, woo.. hoo...

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Church Banquet

For those of you who haven't heard, we had our fundraising banquet last night for New Beginnings Church. The fundraiser is for us to actually own the building. The whole thing has been a little stressful for our church community and we need to have some guidance. Hettie and I have to pray about how much we are going to contribute to this wonderful cause. There will be a second banquet soon for a lot of businesses in the area to try to get some more funds beyond the congregation. I think we will find out before this Sunday how much we can afford to offer. Since finances are tight, it will be interesting to say the least. We know that God will provide what we need, and we are sure that he wants us to stay in this location. The church community is helping out so much already in such a short time. We didn't expect half of the number of people in the congregation that we have and it really is a blessing. Especially since the church has very little leadership in the few short months we have been around. We are excited about the fact that this place will be a cornerstone in the community, and it is already showing amazing promise.

These next few weeks will finish up Hettie's prerequisites for nursing school! I am so proud of her! It will be great when we go to school together in the Fall. I need to utilize my GI bill and get a lot more schooling under my belt. The benefits will far outweigh the strains we will go through in the short term. I keep thinking of our Family, and how we will provide for them. It is going to be an exciting time. God is urging us on with our goals and we will achieve them in due time. That's all for now.

me

Stupid, Stupid, Song!

I am hating Dunkin Donuts right now! They have some new commercial out that has left an incredibly addicting song in my head. I don't like it at all. I need to listen to somehing else soon just to get my mind geared toward something else.

On a happier note, today we will be attending our fundraising banquet for the church. Our church needs to raise money to buy the building and make sure we can continue to hold our services there. I think there will be a couple of banquets. One is for all of the congregation and their families. The other is reserved for local businesses to pledge donations. I hope there is a good turnout.

I like the fact that we are able to relax and have a nice day today. We'll get some more studying in today and work on a few minor projects. The next step is going to proceed after a brief consultation with our friend about the counter tops. I did some more research and I think it may be easier than I anticipated. Still, I want to be sure. There is no sense in doing this job incorrectly. I like the color of the new counter tops. They are a laminate top in a design called "labrador". They do not look like dogs, it is just a name. Anywho, time to check the other emails. Suu you all later.
me

Terrible Tues...

Today is nice outside, grey skies and all. I love the fact that the weather calmed down for us a bit. We received over 4 inches of rain a couple days ago. I think it was nice. Now we have the after effects. Mosquitoes have decided to come out in battalions. The worst thing is, they find me tasty. I would prefer to remain anonymous in the mosquito nation, but alas, I am not. I think today will get better though. The forecast is nice and I will put on bug spray. Other than that, the beautiful wife and I will be here and enjoying the rest of our day. Time to plan and relax. Back rubs all around!
me

Why is Monday a relief sometimes?

I have no doubt in my mind that I am happy for it to be Monday. Why? There is nothing special about this day other than the fact I can be with my wife today. That is why it's so special. I almost panicked when I thought we would be late for school... hmm it's not Tuesday, so I breathe a sigh of relief. It has been a quiet morning. I am busy getting things straight here for my next jobs in the house and would like to be able to get started. The major stress is gone and we can go at our pace. This time is a good time to let everyone know what is up.

The dogwash was interesting. Lots of really nice people there and great food. The church service was very nice too. We were not in the nursery, so I guess we go next week. Things got a little mixed for the first time in a year. I think we can roll with it. Now it's time to just prioritize and get things checked off the list one by one.

Item one: Countertops
Item two: Cabinets
Item three: Tile
Item four: Move Furniture
Item five: Wood

This will be our reality over the next few weeks. We can also squeeze in other odd jobs and errands. All in all, no stressing allowed. Sounds good to me.

Life is good and we don't have a stinky dog now.

me

Relief... in the form of building materials.

I can relax and enjoy the new projects. By the time I get to the wood for installation, they will be well acclimated to the house. I am very excited about the projects coming up. I have some new problems to work out with the installation. I need to figure out how to best put the pieces together. It will be like a big puzzle. Since I enjoy puzzles, I think it can be a very relaxing time. The biggest issues will be where the furniture goes in order to make room for the empty floor space. I guess we need our thinset for the tile, then I need to get a consult from a friend who specializes in countertops. Then it's off to the races!! Setting up a timeline with priorities will help to break down the immense amount of work.

We have the nursery this morning so we get to spend time with the little ones for a few hours. This afternoon, we are praying for no rain. Allie needs a bath so she won't be stinky for another month. There is a dog wash in town we would like to try. They cancel the event if there is rain. I think Allie is looking forward to it too even if she doesn't like baths.

Still wondering about what is going on with houses here. Are we supposed to wait? Are we supposed to jump a little quicker? The other house we liked is on the block right now. I would like to at least see it. We are wondering about what God wants us to do. He has led us to a couple of houses recently. I find it strange because we have not been seriously searching. Then out of the blue, these homes that are exactly what we want, are coming into the picture. We should just keep watching and see where we are led.

Almost done....

We picked up a lot of the flooring materials yesterday. Hopefully the rest today. So close. It really is exciting. There are boxes getting acclimated in the house right now. I think that the anticipation of the event is much worse than the work to be done. So we have been through 7 months of anticipation. Now with all of these materials, we need to install. I'm going to put out a short message today. I have no idea what to think or say.
me

How would you like to improve your life?

What can be a part of your busy lifestyle? You have work, family, house duties, extracurricular duties, and even fun time duties. When did having fun, become a chore. Why do we have to plan a good time. If we want to go on a trip, we have to plan right. It takes a little bit of the fun and excitement out of the vacation, when you make it something you have to do. What about going out to eat? Do you have to fit it in to your schedule in order to go? Is there something you could do before you go, maybe something you could drop off on your way home. Why is everything a chore?
The answer lies in spontanaety. We have spent the past year filling up our schedule with some wonderful things that make our lives more meaningful to us. The hospital, for example, I am going to this morning for a few hours. Is it fun? Of course it is. I love the feeling I get by helping others who can't do what they need for a simple doctor visit. How about the Humane Society? We'll be there tomorrow. Our love for animals makes it a wonderful time for us to connect with them and make them better pets to go to a loving home. I seem to have very little free time. I didn't even mention church, school, or work. The lack of free time is not a problem at all. I love my schedule and would hate to have to change it.
We have brought up the idea of what to do with our fun time. Coming from a scheduled background, both of us have a hard time not scheduling things. This becomes our only real problem. How do we just go with the flow? We have been doing these things so much, it makes it hard to change our ways. I love my wife with all my soul. I want to make her happy. I want to surprise her and do nice things for her. How do I go into surprises without scheduling and make them memorable. I need to keep up with being a good husband. I think that is very important. I want to take advantage of our other free time to be the husband she deserves. I just don't want us to follow the agenda. I may have an answer but I have to try to implement my ideas when we have free time.
To improve our already wonderful lives, I want to be sure I do what I can for my baby. She is my best friend and deserves all the love I can offer and more. I just need to be there for her and continue trying. I will figure out the best way someday. Till then, we can continue to be wonderfully scheduled, because these things keep us grounded. And there really is nothing more fulfilling we can do with our time now. I love you sweetheart.
me

Wood Floors!!!

Guess what? It is actually going to happen. The flooring materials were delivered to the store in St. Pete. Thank God he came through for us. Now we are setting up a time to go pick up all of the materials and we will be installing soon. I may have to re-read the installation instructions. I know we are all excited here and we can't wait to get this thing up and running. Today is another lab day. While Hettie is in class, I'll be checking out the local farmers market. I want to see prices and quality of the produce. I think today will include a stop at the Sears essentials store for a new power tool. I may have to go to Lowes too for a couple items for our countertop installation. Lots of things going on, but it is a lot of fun and very exciting to get started on all of the new things.
Working at home is probably the best thing we could have ever decided on. I am really enjoying being close to my bride and we are looking into doing some part-time work for a vet clinic. She needs hours there for her vet tech degree. It will be a good way to get some extra money too. I think it is a very good time for us. God has been blessing our lives so much lately, I feel a little guilty about how well off we really are. I think we can keep doing what we are doing to keep in his good graces. I know we can do more. We are being led and it is wonderful.
me

Gaining cents in my site.

I am getting happier by the day. Today is going to be great. No school today, so I will have more time at home with my baby. Working to put together online businesses is frustrating at first. After a few days though I think it will just be routine and easy. I am trying to be sure that I have all my bases covered before going in and screwing it all up.
WOOD DELIVERY!!! Yes today is the day. If the truckers strike does not affect the delivery. I certainly hope it doesn't. The wood should be there today sometime. We just have to figure out how to transport it back home.... We will most likely be enlisting more family labor. I hope we don't get disowned at this rate. The floor project has been an ongoing PITA since we only have tile in the kitchen. The whole fiasco started about 8 months ago. Too long. Lets get it done. I'll be happy when it is over.
Hettie and I saw a beautiful home in our price range... It is apparently next to some chemical plant though... Have to look into that though. Need to see the property before ruling anything out. We really want to see it since it is bank owned and it is priced about 125000 under appraisal. Makes me think the area around it might be pushing the value down. Need more research. Time to go, I have to keep up my work for this site if I want it to move faster. Can't get paid on pennies a day you know. Catch you on the flip side.
me

Trying the online stuff

I figured it wouldn't hurt to get paid for some other things while I spend a little time online. As of today, I have made about 16 cents. I know it isn't much, however, it is a lot of fun seeing that time spent online can pay you back. I am looking into as many things as I can in order to try to make some extra income. I am still posting on sites that pay for writing. I don't think I can write too well, that may be a setback for me. Most of all, it is just fun to have a different creative outlet while I have time at home. I am really happy to be here and spending time with my wife. We are expecting the wood to be delivered to the store tomorrow. I need to get in touch with them then to see when it gets there. We'll have a little trip to move it all and then we can finally start installing the floors!!! It is about time. This has almost been a pipe dream since August. We can't help the fact that Home Depot didn't come through. I can only find comfort in not giving them business again... ever. I will patronize Lowe's and Ace. Time to get ready for school this morning. Until next time.
me

How wonderful to be here today

Yes it is a Monday... No I am not insane. The next list item on my agenda, is to keep up with my online ideas. I am involved in typing up a few articles. I have no revenue from any of these sites yet. I think it is because I am not the best writer. I enjoy it though. There is no reason to do things if you don't enjoy them. I know that after some time I may develop a following or even get better. I think it might be good just to see if I can sell an article. I came close on one and was way off the mark on another.
We have some things to do today in the errand dept. Doctor visit here, volunteering there. Should be fun.
Yesterday was really nice. The service was excellent at the restaurant. If you didn't read yesterday, it was the grandparent's 57th anniversary. The food was alright, and overpriced. The reason for going was obviously not the food. I had a good time, but I won't choose to go back unless the prices change or their menu does. 19 dollar salads made with frozen shrimp? We were 100 feet from the gulf. I think there is no excuse there. You know they were paying some kid fisherman to take his wagon and pole to Publix for seafood in the frozen aisle. The chicken was good. The way it was explained on the menu, it didn't sound like fried chicken, but it was. The relish tray and various fresh breads before the meal were excellent. The hot fudge sundae was also very good. The main meal was seriously lacking. I am surprised since that is essentially the featured portion of the menu.
OK I am done complaining now. The good side included conversation, quality time, and family. We even walked down to the gulf and dipped our toes in the water. I wish them many more happy anniversaries.
That's all for now.
me

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my wife's grandparent's 57th Wedding Anniversary! We are going to go to dinner with them at a restaurant down by the beach. I am happy to be here for this. 57 is a very impressive number. Especially in today's age. We thank God for all the time they have spent together and how they found each other so long ago. It is a very special day and we'll be celebrating with them. This morning there is no nursery but we do get to go to service. I think we'll be visiting our real estate agent at her open house this afternoon to see what she has there. Other than that, we'll just take the day easy.
Yesterday was a lot of fun too. The picnic was pretty cool. There are so many people there and we don't know any of them really. Even though we have volunteered there over a year. I'm sure we'll get to know people over more time. For right now we are fairly anonymous. The plus side offers a day where we can go get free food and have fun by ourselves.
Today, the neighbors come home. Happy and sad. I love taking care of their dogs and birds. We enjoy going next door to relax and it is a great time. But we really like our neighbors so we can't really hope they stay gone now can we? Time to get ready for a great day.
Talk to you all later.
me

Picnic and pound day!

It's actually bigger than a picnic, it has quite a few members from the volunteer community for the hospital. They have games and food. It was a lot of fun last year. We'll go for a bit and then we're off to the humane society! We have some more cat cuddler mentoring to do. The mentee is pretty cool and she should pick up fast. I think she has a good grasp already, and we'll probably cut her loose today. Her boyfriend volunteers there too so they are a lot like us in their love for animals.
Yesterday was great! Hettie finished work early, so we got a chance to go for a walk and relax before we went down to the beach. We met up with Tiffany, Adrienne, and Kristen. It was nice to sit out in the sun and have a couple beers. We were there for about 4 hours. That was really nice since we haven't been to the beach for a while. It was also nice to see friends. Since Tiffany is only in town till Tuesday, we'll be hanging out when we get the chance. It is nice to actually spend time with our friends. Most of the time we have about zero interaction with others our age. We love what we do and we set up our schedule that way, but it is nice to just hang out once in a while. I think we are closet socialites. Anyway, it's time to check on a couple other things before we get ready to go. Take care all.
me

Friday!!

Hey everyone, it's Friday! Carelift today, and then time at home. Not much going on here. I had to switch my phone out yesterday. I took it to the cell phone doctors(Verizon). They said my phone had a terminal illness(it's dying). Change phones. So I did. We still have some old phones here and they still work, kinda. I will use these until they wear out and I am forced to get a new one. There was no mishap with picking up Hettie from class yesterday. I was getting worried that I missed her coming out and had to sit by the door to make sure when she came out. I didn't miss her, she was there almost the whole class period. The labs must have been intense yesterday. Today we'll see how all goes with everything and let you know if anything changes. Oh yeah, our dog decided to pig out on Japanese Loquats. It makes her feel bad. I think it's because she eats all of them. Too bad she can't have one then stop. Now we have to watch her out back to be sure she does not gorge herself.
me

What are you telling us God?

The house we put a bid on came back saying that there was another offer that they would accept. Now the seller's agent said that the offer they received was flimsy. They wanted us to present a more desirable bid for the house. No can do. We have our limit and that is what we are sticking to. If they decide they really want to sell the house, we would be happy to purchase it at the price we quoted. We just can not afford more. I think it will work out the way God planned. If we are to get this house, it is his will. If not, it was not meant to be. We are looking into some other properties in the area to see if any of them jump out at us like this one did. I'm not saying we should lower our standards, just our price range. I think I can get some more things done today with the prep on the house here. I need to start making room for our flooring projects. The materials should be here within the week, so I can get started. I am curious about counter top installation. I keep looking at the framework under our existing counters and they don't seem to make much sense for what I want to do with them. I'm going to consult one of our friends who does a lot of that work and then move forward. The last thing I want to do is mess up one of our pieces and have to go get another one. I might try to handle the freestanding counter first, since it looks easier than the other two. We shall see. Keep checking in here for more info on the progress.
me

Finally getting somewhere

We are getting things done and hearing from people that we were wondering about. First, we heard about the house, and our offer was not accepted. They went with the other offer. God will direct us toward the home that he wants us to have. We got our box springs back too. I am glad that we finished our odd jobs at another house, they came out really nice. I was late to pick up my baby though. :( Now we are going to try to get in touch with the nice lady who wants to try out our pet sitting service. Then we will need our materials for the rest of the floors dropped off. So many things going on at once. It takes a little effort to juggle it all. We need to remember that these things will all just be our little speed bumps along the way. I know that the home we did not get will make an excellent home for some family. I pray it will be a wonderful place for them. We will keep looking on our own terms. Today I think we will go to a baseball game to relax a bit. There is a Blue Jays/Reds game tonight with fireworks too. We can walk to the stadium, so I think it will be a good time. So much to do, and it is good to stay away from stress, it will eat us alive.

Time to get our stuff back

I feel pretty dumb after leaving the wrong boxes out near our salvation army pickup. Luckily, they will be by this morning to drop off our box springs and pick up the other stuff that we did not get rid of last time. It will be another busy day with odd jobs and school. I want to get the ceiling fan put up at cheryl's house and get that fence in if I have time. I am looking forward to getting the rest of the supplies for this house so we can finish up here. Allie is pretty confused lately. We found our couch cushions stowed away in our armoir. Allie of course wants to get up on the couch. That is not allowed anymore. we are getting her used to sitting on her bed on the floor instead. Now she has her own seat here and won't have to use ours. This concept is pretty new to her although I think she'll be fine. Hettie and I lowballed the offer for the house. We'll see what happens. If it is God's will we'll be in the house. If not we look for another one.
me

Salvation mistake.

It is not the subject of religion on this one. No, this is a goof of the salvation army. As some of you know, the movers(us), emptied out the storage unit on Sat. That same day Salvation army was coming here to pick up excess items that we had no use for. During the unpacking, the items to be picked up were left on the front porch. We decided to donate a bed from storage as well. We put the wrong item out by the pickup stuff. They did not have a receipt for the bed, so they should not have picked it up without asking. Some of the things we received a receipt for were still left on the porch. Now the problem is going to be getting them to bring our box springs back and taking the stuff they missed. I hope they didn't get rid of our stuff yet. Today should be another busy day. I'll be looking into dismantling the counter tops. I'm thinking really big hammer! Some frustration needs to be purged. I can't imagine that this situation will really get me worked up. I am feeling pretty good today. I need another cup of coffee though. I apologise if i ramble on this morning. I am just a bit out of it. Hope you are all well.
me

Happy Easter!

Today is going to be a day that everyone decides to go to church because it is something they do or maybe a tradition. I don't agree with that. I think it translates to fair weather fans in sports. I don't know why people choose to go to 2 church services a year. It is certainly not my place to judge, but I am here to witness. Today we have our week for watching the kids in the nursery and it can normally get to about 7 babies. Who knows today. I am a little upset, because we had a very busy day yesterday. Today is the sunrise service and breakfast. We can not attend since we will be watching the little ones right after all of that and it would not be fair to them if we are unable to stay awake. I know that we have to make sacrifices to help out others, and I am happy to do so. I get frustrated sometimes thinking about the people who tend to find their religious duty fulfilled with 2 visits a year. I will be there today, not for the sunrise service, :( but attending the nursery. I also look forward to our family gathering this afternoon where everyone will be there for fellowship and quality time. Love you all and Happy Easter!
me

Moving day...

Not quite the moving day you would think. We are emptying our storage unit today to save about 200 a month in unnecessary expenses. I will be happy when today is done. We visited the house we love last night. I hope the family loved it as much as we do. BTW Manuela, I hope you are feeling better today. This morning is starting off just peachy. Getting up we are excited and in need of a coffee I.V. I will try my best to get all of the stuff in the house and put in it's place by tonight. It may be wishful thinking, but I need to have some semblance of normalcy here. Hettie needs it too. The house has been a mess since starting the renovations. We are really close to finishing all the repairs, and as soon as it is done, then we can have a normal clean living space. I am starting to dream of wood floors, and tile jobs that are finished. We just have to be patient with the suppliers. Time to go, I'm out of here early to be sure I get everything done today.
me

Will we get it?

Making an offer on a home today. It is going to be well below the asking price. I know that it is something we can not get our hopes up for but we would regret not trying. For right now, we know what we can afford and that is what makes us a bad fit for the price on the home. We do know that we have been divinely guided to this house. If we are supposed to learn a lesson here I don't exactly know what it is yet. I do know that we will be enjoying our day and not stressing about the outcome whatever it may be. Knowing the market nowadays it becomes difficult to determine who will come down in their price and who will not. There are a lot of possibilities out there. Hettie and I truly love this house. I will not stress. This morning I am off to volunteer at the hospital till noon. It will be an adventure. The people have many different reasons for visiting the hospitals and I am glad to take them there. I don't know if you all know what I do on Fridays. I am an aide on the Carelift "A" van. We transport people to their appointments within our affiliate offices. The service is here for those who are unable to drive themselves or take a cab. The service is free. We run on donations only. I think that is pretty spectacular especially with the prices of gas still rising. All of the money goes toward running the service and all of the people involved are volunteers. We enjoy hearing the stories told by our riders in the morning. I miss my wife while I am gone, but i know that we will be together soon. I have some more mail to check this morning before I leave, so I will be back tomorrow.
me

Time to work!

Going to school with Hettie today before i have to do some little fixes on a house. It should be fun to do some more home improvements. I am looking forward to getting more work from friends who don't have the time or know how on home improvements. I love working with my hands and think it is a lot of fun to fix things up so that they are working the way someone would want them to. It is raining today, so I may not be able to put the new fence section in. I will certainly try though. I am wondering how to transport the 3x8 ft fence section in the little mercedes. I may put towels on the roof and secure it with twine. As long as the weather holds up I should be able to do it. We are still on for tomorrow with making an offer on the house. I don't think they will go as low as we want, but who is to say they will decline. I am putting this in God's hands. If it is his will for us to be there now, we will be. It is nice not to have to stress about that stuff. We'll be calling the salvation army to cart away some older furniture tomorrow, then we'll have room for the storage materials. Those are coming on Saturday. We'll save about 200 a month on storage! Can you believe it? What a rip off. I can deal with moving around furniture in order to do my projects here. Time to get to my other duties this morning. Take care all.
me

What to do

This week is getting busier and busier. I am trying to balance everything including odd jobs, school prep, and my marriage. I can't seem to have enough energy for everything and it is becoming apparent. I am busy worrying about how I can get all of our things together and in the best way so that my wife and I have more time. I guess I am failing. I need to reassess my priorities and be sure to spend more time on the things that really matter. Why do all the things that come up seem to take the front seat in our lives. Whether it's school, or work, or hobbies, things will swoop in and take the focus away from your real goals. I know that what we are doing here is to make sure we get to have time together. The time isn't there if I am doing things constantly. Why did life have to be hard? I think God has a plan for all of us. He certainly gets a chuckle when he looks at me. I cannot describe the rollercoaster ride since I have not yet reached the end. Today is a question. What am I doing right. What am I doing wrong. I hope I make the right decisions. I can hope to be invited again.

Neighbor's car

I am helping my neighbors to sell their car. They don't speak english very well so I have been asked to mediate. If anoyone out there is interested in a 2001 sequoia in excellent condition, post a comment for me. They are asking 16000 I don't know how negotiable yet. But if you know anyone who wants a great vehicle, please send them my way.
me

Good Morning

We had a nice St Patrick's day. We decided to stay at home and avoid the crazies. I am happy that the opportunity was there if we wanted it, and I think we would have had fun either way. Today is a school day and Hettie and I will be there this morning. More Micro for her. I'll be visiting Lowes and the veterans counselor if I have time. I have a little job to help out with the grandparent's cleaning lady. We are happy to help out any way we can.
Volunteering went really well yesterday. The gift shop was busy even though we couldn't accept credit cards. The place we volunteer our time at together has a lot of little knick knacks. It is tough to go there and not buy something. Especially since it all goes toward a good cause. Most of the time we justify buying a peanut butter cup or two. All in the name of charity right? I love how we can go and relax. Hettie gets a lot of studying in for classes. Since the shop doesn't have a lot of traffic, it can sometimes be just 3 hours of listening to hospital music. The job is one that anyone could do, but it feels so much better knowing that we want to be there instead of having to be there. The same goes for the Humane Society. I was apprehensive at first starting out with volunteer time. As soon as we got into it though, we're hooked. You get a really great feeling about yourself when you go and give your time and effort for something you enjoy. We don't need pay since we get the satisfaction of helping out people and animals who really need it. This week will go by quickly because we'll be busy all through the weekend. I can't wait to get everything done. The flooring materials should be ready for pickup, the storage unit should be empty and we'll have more jobs at home to work on. I am excited. I think I have rambled on enough for now.
me

Happy St. Patrick's Day

To everyone, have a happy and safe St Patty's Day. We had a very busy weekend. I was running around with Hettie a lot to get errands done and we really pushed our time and got everything done. Yesterday, we went to church and had a great time on Palm Sunday. The sermons have been hitting close to home every week we go. It is as if God is speaking to us alone, and we are growing as better people and enhancing our marriage every week. The little messages say so much in a few short words and many trivial things that seemed to occupy our thoughts and time don't hold the same importance. We really have grown closer each time and hope to live up to our christian views of ourselves. Being good is not easy. It takes a lot of work to not go with the flow and just be like everyone else. I thank God everyday for our situation and we are truly happy. We have ambitions and dreams. Some day we will be further along in the things we want to accomplish. Our pace is not the normal one. I guess you could say we are behind on some important things. Most people our age have completed college and grad school by our time. I will be going back to school as a Sophomore in August. Hettie is a Junior now. I would not trade any of my experiences for a degree and a nice career right now. If I "what if" all day, I will certainly lose most of the great things in my life that I have already earned. I know that we have our life lessons and I have learned a lot. I will not take any of my time for granted. Hettie and I make decisions everyday that concern our future and the way we want to live it. We will not bend on our values just to appease others. I really do enjoy being here with my wife and I want to make sure things stay this way. I will keep you all posted on how we intend to do this in future posts. We love you all and wish you a wonderful holiday.

St Pat is nearing

In our town there is a very large following for St. Patrick's Day. It goes on for about three days in some areas. Yesterday we treated ourselves to a date complete with corned beef sandwiches and bagpipers. It was a blast. I love having the chance to go out with my wife when we don't have any other concerns. The beer limit was one to be sure we got home safely. I don't think we trust any of the drivers here sober! I almost saw a lady run down in a crosswalk. Just last week, I was stopped at a red light while this dumb lady decided to cross. She was wrong to go when the red hand was showing. Nonetheless, it was a wake-up call for her when she heard the tires squeal. The car stopped about 2 inches from her! She must have been on something, because after she moved slowly out of the way, she tried to cross again before the light changed. I was out of that intersection before she got to my car. I think the southeast is a very dangerous place to gamble your life on the attentiveness of the drivers. Between the crazy youth and the older generation that is too stubborn to "give up their freedom" when they should stop driving. It gets pretty dangerous. Just a couple of months ago, a neighbor down the street was killed crossing the road less than a block from her home. I feel for the family and I don't think they even know all the details of the accident. I guess we appreciate how safe our little corner is so much that we get lulled into a feeling of safety. Our area is in fact very safe. The people on this street drive the speed limit or less. We have children that play outside and sometimes find their way into the street. All of the occupants are aware and watch for stray kids. Just 2 streets over is a major through street that would be more of a problem. I think I have rambled on long enough for this morning. I may be a little too tired. Need more coffee.
me

Lazy Saturday morning

Today we wake up and start looking into removing some work files from the laptop. In my experience, it is a very easy process. The laptop didn't seem to agree. My wife and I had one heck of a time getting the computer to recognize the stupid disc. We were trying to use older discs, but apparently that is a bad idea. I guess we chose wrong. When the computer froze and decided to restart itself, I had to take a new approach. I'm sure you all have had similar problems and it can get really frustrating. I figure the program should work the same way every time whether I use an old disc or new. I will have to settle for little disagreements from time to time.
Yesterday, we spent a lot of time in the rain driving to the store to spend about 6 grand on flooring materials. Holy crap! I think oak will look good on the floors. We have new tile too. No labor costs in this one. I'm teaching myself. My first attempt at tile came out great. I hope I don't mess up the wood though. They are the lock and fold type, so it should be easy. We are not using any glue except for the one step in the house. I will be happy when everything is over. The house has been in a serious state of disrepair for over a year. It gets difficult when the entire house needed to be practically gutted and lived in at the same time. I enjoy the challenge of learning a new skill but would rather not have a messy home all the time. I guess you can say the house has come really far since last year but I can't wait till we're done. Baby steps.
Still doing the home search. If the owners decide to lower their price by 75000 we'll have our dream home for a very reasonable price. I am hoping that they will see how good we can take care of the house and will let us adopt it for cheap.... Yeah right. Only time will tell. I will keep you all posted and see if God really wants us to have this house.
me

Early to rise

Today we are going through a usual routine with lots of coffee early in the morning. Most days, we get up at 0500 and we'll be in bed by 2100. I know, not usual for two 27 year olds with no kids. We enjoy being up early and spending time together. I like to get on the computer first thing after grabbing a cup of joe. Walks and light jogs also come early in the morning. I can't go to hard because I messed up my back, neck, knees, etc. in the service. I would like to stay fit and not become a slob. It's Friday, so I'll be at the hospital this morning. I enjoy my time there because I have a chance to help people who can't get to their appointments without someone to take them. I have a 4 hour shift where my driver and I take a van around the community to pick up those who cannot otherwise get to the hospital. The service is free and runs entirely on donations. Even with gas prices the way they are right now. I like doing it even though we have to wear a uniform. When we have time to take a break, the driver and I will stop to go through our daily crosswords and sudoku. Those are so addicting! I have books on both now and get new ones every couple of months.
We look forward to this afternoon because we are putting in an order for some wood for the floors. Tile is needed too. The whole house is getting a facelift with the floors. We will need a truck to haul it all back next weekend. Then just to make room, we're calling the salvation army to take all of our junk out of the house. That should give me room to work and a chance to empty out our storage unit too.
I have to go now, so I can get ready to work out before leaving.
me

Hmmmmm... he must be new.

This may be the biggest trainwreck I offer on my first blog entry. I guess you could say I'm going in blind. I have no idea whether what I say is interesting to anyone else, and frankly I don't care. I would, however, like to know if this is something I would enjoy doing. I think if I have a chance to voice my opinion I will most definitely be ignored. We'll see.
I am struggling with the fact that we have a credit score that is too high. No really, it's true! I found out that we qualify for a large loan to purchase our first home, but the payments are way out of our comfortable range. I am trying to talk to our real estate agent to let her know that we only want certain payments. However, it is difficult when she has no idea that we are only interested in one home. We have had quite a time dealing with her in the short term. Don't get me wrong. She is wonderful and sincerely looks out for the interests of her clients. I just think my wife and I have a more mellow approach to home buying than she is used to.
Here is the backstory. We have lived in our little town for a little over a year. The entire time we have been here, we have made a hobby of looking at homes in the area. Our idea is that when we do want to settle, we'll have all of our research out of the way. Makes sense right!? The real estate agents seem to have a problem with this train of thought. We are NOT interested in getting a house until it is one we absolutely love. Is that so bad? We do want to get the house we are interested in and nothing else. I would prefer to get it over with and avoid the complications. I think it is all just a big mess right now. We have explained many times how our thought process works, and I don't think it is getting through. Anyway. I think I have rambled on long enough for my first post ever.
me