I knew it would come...

When things go well for us for awhile, I can always expect there to be problems in the near future. Some may say I suffer from anxiety, but I believe it is for good reason.

Lately we have been blessed with our finances and everything has been running as it should at home. The only problems lie at school, where parents have been stressing me out for small reasons (such as the type and color of font I use on my weekly newsletter....no joke, I actually recieved an extensive email from a parent ranting about my "distracting" newsletters..) and other staff members are making mountains out of molehills as if we didn't have enough to do and worry about at work. By the time the weekends roll around, I am too tired and irritated to spend my time working on the things I want to get done at home, that I have been putting off (such as cleaning out my overflowing file cabinet, the extensive amount of bottles I never use in the bathroom, my cupboards of junk in the garage, and the unorganized recipe drawer in the kitchen, to name a few...)

And today I did the budget for February and realized that since the economy took a downturn and Bryan hasn't been making as much at the shop, we have not been able to save as much money as we should. And then this month we are having our taxes done, bunches of doctor/dentist appts, valentines day, and the list goes on. How are we to pay for all the extras when our paychecks are only covering the bills? I understand February always sucks because it is shorter, but only by three days. And I guess I should be thankful we can at least pay our bills but I become easily frustrated when it comes to money.

On top of this, when I went to go turn the computer on it would not turn on. As in, it is dead. And with our roommate in Iraq we are sortof out of options. We can pay his friend to fix it, but what if it cannot be fixed? We have always wanted a laptop but now we obviously don't have the money to get one. So I am on Brandon's computer right now, but it comes with its own set of issues. And what if I lose my pictures and all my documents???

And now it is late Sunday evening and here I sit, worrying myself into a frenzy and did I get anything else done??? No.

Sorry you had to hear this. Really, even though we have been very busy lately, there is nothing else noteworthy to write about. I did get a massage yesterday, which was nice, but I can already feel myself tensing up. Oh, and my doctor appt on Tuesday went well- heart is running as sporadically as it always has and we will keep an eye on it year after year...when I am older or pregnant I will most likely go on meds.

On the bright side, maybe if the computer is broken I will get more of the other stuff done??

No, I just want my friend back.

Its a rainy, dreary weekend...On to the Beach!

Bryan and I decided since we were on a "Staycation" at home in December, we would go somewhere fun for the night in January. Its hard to think of places close enough but not too close, and that have lots of fun things to do. We go to Seaside quite a bit, but each stay is a little different (and we usually only go for the day). The last time we went in August was for a night...but if you recall, it was in a PARKING LOT. Anyways, here are some pictures of what we did.

We brought lots of snacks and drinks for our room, which had a king size bed and a balcony overlooking the river and boardwalk (the oceanfront rooms were taken, but this was just as good since we were right on the main drag in the center of town). We loved our hotel, which was quite posh for a smaller price.

We did a little shopping...the usual places like the candy store for Saltwater Taffy and the outlet stores, and we bought a couple new t-shirts for Bryan (one of which is pictured, and the other says "still plays with toys") and a funny shot glass (which came in handy later :-)). We went to a nice restaurant for dinner, which Bryan said smelled like Fuzzy's cat food (seafood)but he ordered a burger so it was okay. We had dessert at DQ and went to the arcade, watched movies and went for a late night dip in our 24-hour pool and spa. We finally crashed at midnight.

This morning we took a stroll along the beach, I got one more session in the hot tub, check out was at 11 am and we were off! Fuzzy was happy to see us...it was 24 hours too long to be alone!

Since the new year...

I have barely had time to catch my breath! Every night since school began again I have had something going on! Since Nick was doing chemo, Brad was in town from Iraq, and we had birthdays and other celebrations going on (carrying over from the holidays), blogging has fallen on the back burner. Plus, is it my imagination or did the bottom fall out on the whole blogging craze??? Sometimes it seems easier to sum things up in a one sentence status report on Facebook!

I also am tutoring a young woman from Korea once a week, and teaching a decision making skills class at a local maternity home for unsupported mothers. Somewhere in the midst of it all we got our decorations taken down and the house cleaned up in spirts. Today I had a half day of work, and then we had our postponed holiday party at the bowling alley this afternoon. I came home afterwards and took a nap before heading to Chuck E Cheese for a rousing birthday party with Bryan, for our little friend Adeline who turned 7. Melissa and her kids were over for dinner earlier in the week- it had been too long since we saw her and the little guys!

Since all the commotion has had the best of us it seems, Bryan and I are taking a couples retreat to the beach tomorrow night, even though it will probably be pouring rain continuously! When we get back on Sunday, Debbie, Kendra and I will host a Pampered Chef party which should be fun (even though I have no idea how many people will be here and my house has yet to be cleaned!). I have Monday off too, so I will hopefully get to work on some of my re-organization projects I wanted to do over Christmas!

Bye-Bye for now!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom came over on Tuesday night to celebrate her 61st birthday. We had fun eating nachos, cake and playing video games (some of us!).

She got a decoration to hold her pictures of grandkids, a digital picture frame to display all her digital pictures (especially all those of recent activities!), and a wallet from dad! Sounds like she made out well!

Dr. Evil?? Is that you?

The many faces of Lilah

Lilah (my sister Heather's daughter) was over recently and Bryan captured some adorably priceless frames of his biggest fan's various dimensions!

FINALLY!

Four years later, Bryan finally recieves his diploma! Congratulations Baby! We are all proud of you!

FUZZY!

Bryan and him are best buds- especially when the vaccuum runs!

Happy New Year!

Last night Bryan and I ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant (one of our many traditions that I have instituted and Bryan feels compelled to do :-)), then we went downtown into Portland to babysit my little summer buddy Max. After some initial difficulties with falling asleep, things were finally peaceful and Bryan and I cracked open the snacks and sodas and watched a couple movies with their yorkie puppies. Put together, these dogs weigh about a quarter of Fuz's weight and they LOVE to snuggle, especially with Bryan.

Last year got off to a rocky start with Bryan's accident on January 3. Then this year, when we left their house right at midnight, we found that our other car was hit by a truck's hitch that was parked in front of us, so now our civic is sporting a nice little stamp on the front bumper. We took a picture of the truck's license plate but we don't think we will do anything about it. Bryan was content just to leave a nasty note.

Besides a few minor hiccups in the beginning, last year was a great year- one of our best, with many fun vacations and good memories with friends and family, We are hoping and praying for another fantastic year of many blessings this year for us and all of you!

Last Man Standing

There are some adults about our age (kids, really :-)) that live across the cul-de-sac from us, and after doing donuts and throwing snowballs around with Bryan, they decided to make this snowman in the middle of the court. Unfortunately, this is the last remaining remnant of Tuesday's snow storm. It makes me sad because I know if it does snow again (which I am hoping it will), things will not be so peaceful and fun as it was on this day. Most likely Bryan and I will both be at work and have to deal with that whole headache. I am feeling very sad today about the fact that vacation is coming to an end *sigh*.