Wow, that one knocked me off my feet...

I'm not sure who it is....Baylee or Gavin....but one of them has the nastiest gas I've ever smelled, lol...it woke me up at 2am, and 4:30am, and 6am....at 6:30 we finally got up. I let them out three times within a half hour, but the gas continues. The whole bedroom REEKS like a sewer, so I lit a bunch of candles, sprayed Febreeze, and opened all the windows, despite the 20 degree temperature outside.

On a happier note, this is my last week of work for HopeReach. I have LOVED being at Hope Academy and would highly recommend it, but I wont same the same about the other place. As each day goes by, I'm happier and happier about this decision. God has really been showing us that this was the right decision. The more I realize how I've been taken advantage of and that everything I was promised was never going to happen, the better I feel about the decision.

Jay is hunting this weekend with my cousin and some other guys and I've been super busy getting things done that I can't do when he's here. A lot of stuff went to Goodwill. :) I've been sorting through things in the nursery/craft room and trying to get it all organized again. This afternoon I'm going to get Jay's birthday cake baked and decorated. He wanted a chocolate espresso cake (yuck) with Amish icing.....can't wait to see how that turns out. He'll be back this afternoon (yay!!!!!) so I gotta get crackin'.

I'm super bored so here are some random surveys for you to enjoy.

40 Food This or That Questions Survey

Coke or pepsi? - neither now, but when i drank it, i preferred pepsi
Lemonade or fruit punch? - neither, but if i had to choose, fruit punch. not a fan of lemonade.
Carmel apple or cotton candy? - hmm....i like candied apples but not caramel....does that count?
Butterfinger or Snickers? - neither - i dont like peanut butter or peanuts in my chocolate. just pure chocolate for me, please .:)
Pudding or jello? - pudding
Turkey or chicken? - turkey
American or Provolone cheese? - just pure cheddar, as sharp as you can get it, please.
Crackers or cookies? - crackers
Pretzels or chips? - chips
Mexican or Japanese? - neither, ugh
Chinese or Italian? - italian
Beef or chicken? - chicken
Pie or cake? - depends on what kind of pie....
Ice cream or cookies? - hmm....not a big fan of either.
Pasta or pizza? - love both, but if i have to pick, then pasta
Soda or juice? - juice
Chocolate bars or chocolate truffles? - hard choice.....i cant decide
Apples or bananas? - not a big fan of apples, but i HATE bananas with a passion.
Grapes or peaches? - peaches
Rice or noodles? - noodles
Salad or soup? - salad
Buttered or salted popcorn? - buttered
Cauliflower or broccoli? - broccoli, raw.
Onion rings or french fries? - french fries....my weakness.
Burger or hot dog? - burger......do you know whats IN a hot dog?
Popsicle or ice cream? - popsicle
Chocolate or strawberry ice cream? - chocolate
McDonalds or Burger King? - neither....nasty.
Wendy's or Steak and Shake? - neither.
Dairy Queen or McDonalds? - neither.
Blizzard or McFLurry? - mcflurry
Sausage or bacon? - bacon
Fried or poached eggs? - scrambled
Waffles or pancakes? - pancakes
Crepes or pancakes? - crepes
Hashbrowns or roasted potatoes? - oooh, either.....i love potatoes. :)
Diet or regular soda? - neither now
Orange or pear? - orange
Oatmeal or cereal? - what kind of oatmeal and what kind of cereal?
Marinara or meat sauce? - marinara

27 Fun But Very Random Questions Survey
27 Random Survey Questions Just For You.
1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?	where's that hairbrush?
2. How much cash do you have on you?	if by "on you" you mean literally, than none.
3. What's a word that rhymes with "DOOR?"	four
4. Favorite planet?	i'm rather fond of this one
5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?	our friends in Atlanta
6. What is your favorite ring on your phone?	"Low" b/c it gets a laugh every time
7. What shirt are you wearing?	just an old ratty tshirt (hey, i'm at home)
8. Do you "label" yourself?	oh yes
9. Name the brand of your shoes you're currently wearing?	they're an old brand, called "bare feet"
10. Bright or Dark Room?	depends on what i'm doing in there
11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?	thanks for something to do!
13. What were you doing at midnight last night?	sleeping
14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?	"sounds great - we'll see you at the shower. so excited!"
15. Where is your nearest 7-11?	heck if i know
16. What's a word that you say a lot?	i probably shouldn't write it here....lol
17.Who told you he/she loved you last?	Jay :)
18. Last furry thing you touched?	Gavin
19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?	none. i like my brain cells as they are.
20. How many rolls of film do you need developed?	none....i doubt i'd even know how to load a roll of film anymore.
21. Favorite age you have been so far?	hmm....probably 25 or 26
22. Your worst enemy?	myself most of the time
23. What is your current desktop picture?	us on our anniversary trip
24. What was the last thing you said to someone?	"get settled!" (Gavin)
25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be?	airplanes can make me fly, so i'll take the million
26. Do you like someone?	i like lots of people. i also dislike lots of people.
27. The last song you listened to?	the national anthem

My birthday gift to me....

.....I quit my job last week. Happy birthday to me! It's been a long time coming - so many reasons that I won't list here, but I am happy to be free. My last day will be on the 4th....it will come both quickly and slowly. I will miss the class (a little) but I will really miss my sweet girl. I've been working with her for two years now and to say we are bonded is an understatement. I hated having to do this to her in the middle of a school year, but it's time....in more ways than one.

I've really had a peace about it since the moment I sent my notice....it is what God has for us and only the first step to the rest of our lives...in a lot of ways.

Healthwise....financially.....emotionally....it will be better.

On another note, I'm down 1.5 lbs this week, which is shocking to me since I haven't been able to really get much exercise in the last two weeks due to the snow and the park being paved (and they're taking their sweet time getting it done) - so hopefully this week I can get back out there and pedal that bike like I'm in the Olympics. :)

A day of God moments

This has been the most interesting day....I dont even think I can get into all the details of the moments I have seen God working directly in front of me, but I'm going to try to remember them all.

1) Went to the dump to take trash before meeting Mom for lunch and going to visit Grandma....had something happen that made me have no choice but to return home before going back out....got to the driveway and the dr called (he wasn't supposed to call until tomorrow) - had I not had to go back home, I would not have had my list of questions to talk about, or the ability to write down his answers and other suggestions.

2) I was going through some craft supplies in the 3rd bedroom this afternoon and came upon all of the washcloth candies that I had made a few months ago...set them aside to debate donating somewhere...got a text message seconds later about my sis-in-law wanting to buy some for a shower she was going to.

3) Posted one last attempt on FB to sell my diaper cakes, after having tried to sell them for months - 30 seconds later had 6 inbox messages of people wanting to buy some.

Just a few examples of some things that have happened today.

This is all coming on a week when I REALLY needed to know that the decisions we've made about things were the right decisions. It's been an emotional couple of weeks for us and today was such an affirmation for me that we ARE doing what God would have us to do, and that's a feeling that cannot be topped.

A Day for My Thoughts

Just a day for my thoughts.....

I've been doing a lot of research on all of this stuff lately and there are so many thoughts running through my head. I want to have these fibroids taken out....soon. How in the world we're going to pay for it, I don't know....how in the world we're going to manage bills if I have to be out of work for a couple of weeks, or even longer....I dont know. I really wanted to have a new job by the summer to avoid getting a really rough schedule, but is it fair to take on a new job and then miss 2+ weeks to recuperate from a surgery? I know without a doubt that I will get some rough kids this summer and I just don't think I can take another summer like that....and who knows what will come in the fall? They haven't kept their promises to me yet, so why should I expect them to now?

I would really like to look into keeping a baby or two at my own house during the week to make some money. I dont know how to go about that - can't really advertise on my Facebook due to having a client parent on my friends list... If Cryovac would hire, that would solve the majority of our problems....Jay would be making almost twice what he's making now....my income would just be extra, but I wouldn't HAVE to take the crap that I'm taking where I am now.

Even more housecleaning clients would help, but finding time for it with my current schedule is difficult. We're so close to getting some things paid off, yet still so far. It feels like we get a budget secured and two weeks later, are hit with something that blows it out of the water. Like all of these medical bills.....we had them paid off this month, but with my appt last week, we now owe over $1000.....and no matter what, it will still creep up, b/c these can't be left alone. SOMETHING has to be done to them, one way or another. We're very close to having Jay's truck paid off....hopefully by the beginning of summer. Home Depot will be paid off this month....that will just leave the credit card and the medical bills....the latter of which I'm sure we'll be paying on for the next 20 years.

It's overwhelming when you think about it too much. Right now, I want to find suitable work I can do, preferably from home.....something I would never take for granted. I do not want to sell things, so do not suggest that. All of those things are simply pyramid schemes and while it works great for some people, I'm not the personality type that can market it and I don't want to constantly be pushing it onto people. Not saying everyone does that, and it DOES work great for some people, but it's not for me.

So many thoughts.

I'll start using titles instead of dates this year....

Our week off from the snow has been a busy one. Jay still had to work, and thankfully, he made it to and from with no issues - a few episodes of skidding, but I'm sure that was to be expected. Not much else going on...I posted an update on our pregnancy blog that is more detailed of what the last couple of weeks have been like - you can read it here.

I'll be off all next week - the little girl I shadow is out of town. There's nothing left to clean or cook in this house, so I'll probably spend a lot of time outside on the new bike I got for Christmas. Gotta meet my weight goal for the month!

I found a great website for tracking food intake and exercise. (Thanks to my awesome sis-in-law, Rachelle, for the link!) I hope to be at my goal weight by Christmas. I know it can be done! Here's my ticker so you can help keep me honest.

Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods