7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise

Oh Abba, we so desperately want to go on this! I went and talked to the travel agent to get some prices today to see what the prices were looking like for July 2007 as the brochure only went through April 2007. She gave me some prices and it's going to cost us $2534 for the 3 of us to go for the week. That's not bad at all. She told me that gratuities were about $10 per person per day and parking would be $10 per day at the port. We'll all drive down in Mom's suburban so we'll just have the one vehicle, but we'll just split the cost of parking in half. We'll definitely start budgeting for this this week. Good thing today is pay day for both Andy and I. But, the cruise that we want to go on goes from Galveston, Tx to Montego Bay, Geourge Town, Cozumel and back to Galveston.

I definitely want to do the dolphin encounter and think D would get a kick out of it too. There's also a submarine thing that we can go on to see the coral canyons and stuff. That's something Mom and I want to do. I honestly can't wait. We're going to leave on July 22, 2007...that gives us just over a year to save. Did I mention that I was excited??

Well, we picked our cruise...

I'm so excited! We want to book by the end of July. We're leaving from Galveston, TX...so we can just drive down there. We'll probably spend a day or two in Galveston on the beaches and in the shops. Then, we're boarding the ship and heading out for 7 days to the Caribbean. Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Mexico here we come. :-) We're all excited. Mom is the only one who has ever been on a cruise before. She can't wait to go and we were looking at the boats and stuff last night and the rooms and I think it's going to be fun. They even have children activities on the boat that we can sign D up for, so she can go off and play with kids her own age, eat with them, and whatnot if we have something that we want to do that isn't very kid friendly. So, I thought that was pretty cool too. Mom and I both want to lose weight in the meantime, so that we can buy the dresses that we'd really like to wear for the cruise. Help us with our vacation budgeting so that we can book by the end of July and help us with our weight loss plans too, Abba. We want to go sometime in June, July or August of next year when Deidra and Jimmie are out of school for the summer. Mom would really like to go over the 4th of July.

Grateful Friday

Hi Abba. Thank you so much for the blessings in my life. Please continue to shower our family with your blessings. It's a wonderful feeling to feel blessed. These are just a few things that I wanted to say thank you for today.

My beautiful daughter that just amazes me every day.
My husband who has been absolutely wonderful and very loving lately.
That I have today off of work.
That we picked the cruise that we want to go on next year.
That we're about to start the adoption process.
That our ebay sales are doing well.
That Andy loves his job and that it pays well.
That I have more ebay stuff to list.
That it's pay day for the both of us.

Car and Cruise Shopping

I meant to post this yesterday, so it's a day late but oh well.

I spent the day car shopping with my brother, Zach. We were up at my Mom's dealership for most of the day. I think he's going to get a new Chevy Cobalt. He took me on the test drive and it's a pretty neat little car. Mom's leary about him buying a car and I told her that I was his age when I bought my first real car and I knew that I had to make the payments and pay the insurance. This may just be what he needs to get him to learn responsibility. His car now is falling apart and the transmission is out...he can't even drive over 10 miles an hour. I brought him home to have him call and find out what insurance would be for him and I told him to get more than 2 quotes to get a realistic idea. Help him, Abba, to get the financing that he needs for a car so he has dependable transportation and help him to learn responsibility and to take care of his things.

Then, about a month ago, Mom brought up the idea of us all going on a cruise together next year in the summer. I had begun looking into some ideas online. She won't fly, so we'll be leaving from either Galveston or Houston. On the way home today, I stopped by the travel agency and picked up some catalogs and we're going to have dinner with my Mom tonight to go Cruise shopping and figure out where we're going to go and when. I told her that I needed to know soon so I could start budgeting for it. Help us all with our vacation funding and that we're all able to go. We were talking about how it would really be disappointing if for some reason one of us weren't able to go, so I pray that we're all able to go and really enjoy ourselves.

Top Ten

Hi Abba. I just wanted to say thank you for all the good things that have come out of the last 10 years. Some times haven't been the easiest, but we've come out ok in the end and we've definitely learned a lot. This is the question that I was asked to answer and my answers are below it in no particular order.

What are the 10 best things you have accomplished since your LAST birthday that ended in a zero?


1. Getting Married
2. Becoming a mom...my biggest dream in the world
3. Going back to work for a bit to help with the finances
4. Establishing myself again outside of motherhood
5. Getting a good thing going with ebay
6. my scrapbooks (although I'm getting behind again)
7. celebrating 10 years (in September) with Andy just 4 days before I'll turn 30
8. getting my faith back on track
9. getting back into a place of our own
10. getting our finances back on track

Well, we've been here almost 2 months now...

Well, we've been here for almost 2 months now and are adjusting quite nicely. The weather has been beautiful and the heat isn't bothering us like we thought it would. We're still trying to get unpacked, but we're having fun making the house our home. It really is a cute little house. God has really taken care of our family quite nicely during our transition and has answered many of our prayers. Thank you so much, Abba, for all the blessings that you have showered upon us.

Andy has been blessed with a great job and is enjoying being back at work and the commute back and forth to Dallas isn't as long as he thought it was going to be. It's only been taking him about 45 minutes each way. He likes the company that he works for and they don't have a whole lot of overtime either and when they do they give plenty of notice. That's a nice change from where he was working in Michigan.

Jess is still trying to adjust to her Home Depot here. They don't want to work with her on hours and so forth when we have daycare for Deidra available, so Jess' Mom has stepped in and goes to get Deidra before the daycare closes after she gets out of work. Jess is trying to get ebay sales up in the meantime so that by the time Deidra starts school in August we can hopefully get her out of Home Depot all together and Jess can be back at home again for Deidra.

Deidra is loving her new daycare that she started going to last week. Mommy had a hard time dropping her off that very first day and worried about her all day long. We have her at a montessouri school and she is loving being able to play with other kids her age again. She is quite the little social butterfly. She is also in gymnastics and loves to go. She wants to get a trophy someday (they compete once she gets up a little higher) and is doing quite well with her tumbles and the trampoline. One of the girls that she has in her gymnastics class also goes to daycare with her so she is liking that too. It's hard to believe that she's going to be in kindergarten in just a couple of months. She's so excited to be going finally and becoming a school-ager.

The kitties seem to be doing well here too. :-)

My baby girl went off to daycare today...

Ok, so she's not exactly my baby anymore, but still. Abba, I miss her. I knew this day was coming, but I didn't expect to get choked up. We told her on Monday that she was going to go to school this week and that she needed to get back to going to bed early. She was so excited about going today that she woke me up at 6:30 to ask if it was time to go yet. We slept for awhile longer and got up around 8. I wasn't going to bring her in until noon, but she wanted to go early. I know she's missed playing with kids and she's anxious to make new friends. So, we got her ready to go. When we got there, the kids were leaving soon to go to Vacation Bible School, so she got to go on her first field trip and ride the school bus for the first time. She was a little apprehensive when I left. She clung on to my hand and said she was feeling nervous as she didn't know these kids yet and she didn't want anyone to be mean to her. I told her that Mommy and Daddy were feeling the same way with starting their new jobs down here and that we'd get through it together. I gave her a big old hug and told her that if she had any problems that she just needed to tell her teacher and her teacher would look out for her. She went off holding the teacher's hand and I went out the door with tears in my eyes. They reassured me that they'd take good care of her and I know they will, but letting go is hard. Watch over her today, Abba, and bring her a friend or two to share the day with so she won't feel so lonely. Help her to have a good day.

Feeling Lonely...

Abba, please help me to find friends in the area. Andy went off to his first day of work and I'm feeling loney. We've been together nonstop over the last few weeks and enjoyed the time that we had together. These next few weeks are going to be hard, as he's going to be working during the day, I'll be dropping Deidra off at daycare in the afternoons and then going to work myself. I'll get home when they're already in bed for the night...so we'll really only see each other on my days off. Please let Home Depot start giving me some day shifts rather that just on the occasional weekend day. But, I am missing my hubby today...help bring me out of the lonliness.

Andy's First Day of Work is Today...

Hi Abba. Please be with Andy today as he starts work at Corgan. Keep him safe in the traffic and get him to work and home safely. Help the people be good to him. I know that your first few days or even weeks at a new place can feel awfully awkward as you don't know anybody. Help him to find a friend. He's feeling nervous, yet he's excited to begin working again. Just be with him today, Abba. I know he'll do fine.

A beautiful day

Abba, thank you for these beautiful days that we've been having and thanks for letting us have a nice family day together. Andy starts work tomorrow and I had the day off and we've been enjoying each other today. Mom even came over for lunch today and it was nice to have that time with her. Andy just ran up to the Montessouri school to drop Deidra's daycare application off so she can start school on Thursday. Deidra and I took the time to swim in the pool...it's been so hot here (high 90s and low 100s) that the pool is like bath water, but it was still nice to swim in and cooled us off. Andy's going to go get some charcoal for the grill and we're going to make hamburgers and stuff later on. And I think I may check into what's playing at the drive-in theater tonight and we all just may go. Deidra and I just planted her garden and stuff too...Wee Wee Pumpkins, Finger Carrots, Purple Green Beans, and Tiny Tomatoes and some daisies. That was fun to do together and we're anxious for the plants to start growing. Thanks for giving us a family filled day.

Deidra says Thank You

Hi Abba. When we moved into this house, we told Deidra that it was time to give up some of her baby stuff. We had saved every toy that she's ever had thinking that we would have had another sibling for her to play with a lot sooner. We told her that we needed to go through her stuff and figure out what we were going to keep and what she was willing to part with.

At first she was very resistant to the idea. She'd start crying when we'd try to sort her stuff and I thought that it was just because she didn't want to part with her toys. Some of this stuff had been in storage for so long, it was like Christmas again for her to see all the stuff that she had. Anyway, one day she broke down and said to me, "Mommy, I want to give some stuff to my baby sister and brother and I can't if I give it all away." Talk about making mommy teary eyed. Anyway, I sat a tote aside that was empty with some of my favorite baby outfits in it and I told Deidra that she could pick a handful of toys out to save for them and that made it all better. She's got such a big heart and she's so ready to be a big sister.

Anyway, she's been wanting to get some toys for the backyard and since she's in gymnastics she desperately wants a trampoline. We told her that she could have the money that she earns off the sales of her old toys and she can buy whatever she wants with that money. They're only $150 at Sam's. She's already sold about $20 worth and is absolutely thrilled. We're putting the money aside for her so she can buy her trampoline. :-) I told her that if she earns enough for the trampoline, we'll go ahead and buy her the side netting that goes around it so nobody falls off the side of it for her. If anyone wants to help Deidra out with her goal her toy aisle in my ebay store is
http://stores.ebay.com/E-Bears-Treasures_Infant-Toys_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ2655570QQftidZ2QQtZkm
she'd love to have your business!


Anyway, Deidra says a big thank you for giving her some sales and we say thank you for helping us to alleviate some of the clutter. :-) Help her bring home that trampoline soon, Abba. We thank you and love you for all that you do for our family!

God Bless My Hubby

He is just the sweetest, Abba. I just have to brag on him for a minute. I came home from lunch today...I had to work from 6:30am to 5pm today. He knows I haven't been feeling well all week and I've been working a ton. The pain is finally starting to go away, however the itchiness still prevails and I can't take that medicine that he gave me for the itching and work as it makes me very very tired. Anyway, I came home for lunch and I desperately had a craving for tacos, but settled on some hotdogs for lunch instead. I went back to work and got home a little while ago and my sweetheart had gone out and bought stuff for tacos with all my favorite fix-ins as well as my spanish rice that I love. He also told me how much he appreciated all my hard work. That made my long day all worth it. He's the sweetest! Thank you, Abba, for the blessings that you have given our family and please bless my Rew today and always. Thank you for bringing him into my life. I love him dearly!

What Bumper Sticker Should Be On Your Car?

Thank you for humour, Abba. It's a wonderful thing!

Your Bumper Sticker Should Be

If you don't like my driving - stay off the sidewalk

What Bumper Sticker Should Be On Your Car?

http://www.blogthings.com/whatbumperstickershouldbeonyourcarquiz/

Andy got a job! Andy got a job!

He interviewed with an architectural firm downtown Dallas yesterday morning. He really liked the place, a lot of the associates have worked there for quite awhile, and they have different divisions and they were quite impressed with his resume and some of the 3-D work that he had done before. Apparently, they have a 3-D division in there as well that Andy wasn't even aware of. They called him just now with a job offer with quite a good salary per year, all medical and dental benefits are paid 100% through the company, and if he wants vision it's only $1 per pay period. That's the job that he really wanted when he interviewed and he is just beyond belief that he was offered it. He starts next week Wednesday. Thank you so much, Abba. Now please let there still be a spot open for Deidra to start daycare at the Motessouri school where we want her to go.

Not the chicken pox...

but I have the doctor confused as to what it could be. I'm in a great deal of pain from them and they are still continuing to spread. They itch like crazy, but if you touch them they are quite painful. Of course, they are spreading all over my hind end so sitting is great fun. He said that he could see why we thought they were chicken pox, but he doesn't believe that they are. His first thought was that I had gotten bitten by something. Then, he thought that it could be folliculitis (inflamed hair follicle), but then he seen where all I had the spots and said that it wasn't that. His last thought was that I had a bacterial infection or staph. He put me on a couple different medicines, told me that I wasn't going to work tomorrow. He's concerned that because of my diabetes that we need to get this under control if this spread that fast in 24 hours. If it continues to spread or I start feeling worse than what I do now, I am to go back in and see him.

I called work before we left to let them know that I more than likely wasn't going to be in tomorrow. They so didn't believe me as to what I thought was wrong...and while it makes me mad I guess I have to look at it from their point of view too. How many adults do you know of that get chicken pox...yet it's something that I've never had. I made my Mom come over after work to look at them and she thought it was the chicken pox as well, so I headed out to go to the med center as work was making me call them back with what the final diagnosis was before my shift tomorrow. I made Andy and D go in with me to give them the note as I figured that they wouldn't say anything cruel with them standing there, yet it was even apparent to Andy that they weren't happy that I wasn't going in. I even told her that I hated doing that to them...I haven't missed a day of work in over 7 months. But, I also have to tell myself that this is out of my control...all I can do is hope that I get better and don't have any other issues tomorrow and that they'll eventually understand. I had the evil thought to pull my pants down and show her what I had going on so that they could see that I wasn't making this stuff up, but I knew that wouldn't be the right thing to do. I just wish that they could be a little more friendly to me there. Help them to be more understanding, Abba, and please help this to go away tomorrow.

Andy thinks I have the chicken pox...

It started out with one last night, this morning I woke up and they were just on the right side...and now I have them all over my abs, butt, breasts and stomach. They itch, but they hurt too. I thought it was just hives, but now he's got me paranoid. My joints and lymph nodes are so sore too. I can't find the thermometer to find out if I have a fever or not. Andy wants me to go to the doctor tonight. I called Mom and she's going to come over and take a look at them. She told me that she doesn't think there's anything that the doctor is going to be able to do for me but to let it ride her course and she doesn't even think I should go. Problem is, if I do have it I can't be at work for a few days and I'm going to need a doctor's note to be excused. So, I'm going to have to go regardless.

Woo Hoo!

Thanks Abba for my ebay sales today. I prayed for an ebay sale a day and it's actually happening. :-) I know that I need to have faith and that we need to keep listing away. I sold a sweater yesterday and 3 Anne Geddes prints out of the store today. Thanks so much for watching over us.

Andy had another interview this morning and he has a 2nd interview for another company later this afternoon. Please let one of these jobs pan out for him and please help me in my decision on whether it's the right timing to quit my job yet.

The House that God Brought to Us...

Thanks so much for our little house that you brought to us, Abba. The picture on the left is the side yard that is the lot next to us that is empty and is also ours. We could buy that lot and build on it if we wanted to.

The picture on the right is the front of the house.

Job Interviews for Andy, 2 Week Notice?, and Ebay

Hi Abba. Andy has an interview tomorrow morning and he just got called to come back for a 2nd interview at a place for tomorrow afternoon. Please let one of these jobs pan out for him so that he can be hired on somewhere soon.

We're also talking about me giving my 2 week notice once he starts working. That way we don't have to worry about who's watching D and people that refuse to work with my availability and the stress that is causing me. I can devote my time and attention back to Deidra. I honestly feel that my true calling is to motherhood and I miss being with her. She's only going to be little once and I've missed so much by working as much as I have been, especially with these screwy hours. I leave just as she's getting up a lot of the time and other times I'm home just in time to give her some snuggles before she's got to go to bed or she's already in bed by the time I get home. If I'm home, I'll devote myself more with ebay too as that is something that I have fun with as well. That's something that Deidra and I can do together too. She's already wanting to do certain stuff and I'm thinking about letting her have her own little "aisle" in my store for her stuff. Please let me know though whether turning my 2 week notice in is the right thing to do.

As for Ebay, we thank you for our recent sales and I've set a goal for myself to at least get 5 things listed a day, and I'm hoping for 1-2 sales a day. I put our Ebay business into your Hands. You know our needs and our wants with that money. :-) We want to continue our path to becoming debt free as well as fundraising for our adoption.

Chinese Children

Well, we just received our information packet over the weekend from Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI). I have slowly been going over the information. It came with 2 DVDs with how they got started and with their medical stuff on helping the children over there with cleft palates and so forth. There were a few times that I almost burst into tears...I'd love to give one or two of these babies a chance at a better life over here. Deidra says she wants twin sisters. lol. They are so cute and I know that Deidra would love them dearly too. Andy asked me if that's who we wanted to go with and I said that I've been leaning towards it. We have the orientation session next month and I'm hoping and praying that he'll be working by then so we can start getting the ball rolling. Help guide us with what we are supposed to do and the right timing to do it in. Thank You, Abba, I know that you have a child out there waiting for us.

How Is My Self Esteem?

http://www.blogthings.com/howisyourselfesteemquiz/

I knew that my self-esteem was fairly high, but I know I have some self-doubts in some areas too. Help me with that, Abba.

You Have Low Self Esteem 12% of the Time

Which can be translated to mean, you have high self-esteem and a healthy sense of self worth.You believe in yourself, and you know how to be the real you. You love yourself, imperfections and all.

How is Your Self Esteem?

What Kind of Soul Am I?

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofsoulareyouquiz/

Wow, Abba, I think this one hit the nail on the head. I would so say this one is me...thank you for making me who I am and help me with my flaws to become a better person.

You Are a Peacemaker Soul

You strive to please others and compromise anyway you can.War or conflict bothers you, and you would do anything to keep the peace.You are a good mediator and a true negotiator.Sometimes you do too much, trying so hard to make people happy. While you keep the peace, you tend to be secretly judgmental.You lose respect for people who don't like to both give and take.On the flip side, you've got a graet sense of humor and wit.You're always dimplomatic and able to give good advice. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul, Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Should I Quit My Job?

Just took this quiz...
http://www.blogthings.com/shouldyouquityourjobquiz/

Interesting data that they gave me....

Your Job Dissatisfaction Level is 44%

Well, you don't have the worst job in the world, but it's not great.And don't worry, you're not the problem - your company is.Start looking around for another job, even if you're not totally fed up.Because in time, you're going to be dying to quit!

Should You Quit Your Job?

Maybe we shoulda moved to Austin?

Nah...I like Dallas. But, I did think it was cool that my number 1 city was in Texas. I am a little partial to Dallas though and am glad that we wound up here. Yes, it's hot down here, but contrary to what I thought, I don't really mind it. The heat up in MI when it would get into the high 80s and 90s would make me have an upset stomach at times, but it hasn't hit me like that (other than once) down here yet and it's been in the high 80s and 90s (supposed to go over 100 by Thursday) ever since I got down here 6 weeks ago. We are glad that we brought the pool though! Anyway, enough rambling about Texas. I just took a quiz on which American Cities were best for me and here are my results. http://www.blogthings.com/whichamericancitiesbestfityouquiz/

American Cities That Best Fit You::

65% Austin

60% Atlanta

60% Miami

60% Washington, DC

50% Las Vegas

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

How Quirky Am I?

Abba, thanks for making me my own person...apparently I don't have many quirks though...I'm just an average person and do average person things I guess. :-)

Your Quirk Factor: 8%

You've got one quirk - being abnormally normal.You're so well adjusted that it's scary. Go ahead - break from convention!

How Quirky Are You?

Don't know about this Home Depot stuff anymore...

When I transferred, I told my previous HR manager to ask my new store if I could be scheduled primarily during the day for the first couple of weeks until I got my daycare situation figured out. I figured that once I knew that, I could give them a more definite availability. I never thought it was going to be a big deal because I was dropping down to part-time anyway and part-timers are allowed to have hour restrictions.

So, we haven't had to put Deidra in daycare as of yet because Andy's still been at home. He's had a couple of interviews so far and has more coming up this week and people have been e-mailing him for salary requirements and so forth. I checked into a couple of local daycares and want to put her into the Montessouri daycare program. It's $25 a day for drop off or if she goes 3 days a week or more it's $90 for the week. That's so cheap from what we were paying in MI for her to go. But, they're only open from 7 am to 6 pm. So, I went and filled out a new availability sheet for work and since they can never get me out on time, I gave myself an hour buffer so that I have time to get out late and time to drive over and get her before the school closes. I put myself down as wanting to work between 8-5 during the week and open availability during the weekends. Never thought it was going to be an issue.

HR apparently denied it...my availability has to stay open because that's what they were under the impression was going to happen after I got daycare figured out. So, meanwhile I can watch other people at work that are part-time not having to work certain hours and yet I have to keep my availability open. I came home yesterday and I was just furious. I don't know what to do anymore. Mom said she could go pick D up in the evenings if I needed her too, but then I'm asking her to drop what she's got going on all because my work can't get me out by the time that I'm needed to. And my only worry with that too is that Mom is never on time and then sometimes she'd have to leave early from her job. My brother, Jimmie, is home now too now that school is done, but he's in football and he said he'd watch D as long as he wasn't busy. He mows lawns with his coach once or twice a week and he's got workouts from 6-8 pm that he does with the football team. With not knowing anyone around here, this is making it tough and I just don't know what to do anymore.

I'm finally getting to the point where I'm getting along with the people at work, I'm not being scolded for something every time I go in anymore, and I'm starting to get to know the people and remember their names and such. But, I don't know what to do anymore with all of this. Is it time for me to look for something else? All I've ever really done is retail and I don't know if I will find someone out there that will work with hours or not. I guess I need to try, but yet I don't really want to leave HD either, but I wouldn't have to if they could just work with me on availability. Help me, Abba, as I don't know what to do and I don't want to worry about it either anymore.

Lifting Friends Up in Prayer...

Hi Abba. I just wanted to lift my friends up in prayer. I have a few specific prayer requests.

I pray that you'll help Tony in his work situation and guide him on what is best to do there. I pray for Tony and Racheal too as they build their house and on waiting for the court date to decide on whether they're going to get custody of Tony's sister's 4 kids. She's unsure of having 8 kids under the age of 8, but says it'll go ok if it comes down to that. Guide the judge to make the right decision in that case too of whether they should be put up for adoption or whether they should go back to the parents, M&L.

I pray that Michele's house will sell soon and that you'll give her a sense of peace and comfort. She's been going through ups and downs since losing her husband a year ago and she's got 2 toddlers at home that need her. She's an amazing girl and I just want to lift her up in prayer today.

I pray for Jessie as she fights her custody battle to get her 2 girls back.

I pray for Michael that you will show him whether to choose the married life or to go with his calling to be a priest.

I pray for all my friends fighting the infertility battle, that you will bless them with babies of their own.

I pray for all my married friends that you will keep them close to their spouses and to keep their vows.

I pray for Cindi as she fights her post-partum depression that you will lift her out of her depression.

I pray for E that you will help her when she gets feeling down about the kids and her new marriage has it's moments of down moments to lift them up.

I pray for Lisa with her heart issues that you will help her seek advice from the doctor and that everything will be ok there.

I pray for Vi at work that you will help the doctors to find the cause of her chest pains that she was having and we're grateful too that it wasn't a heart attack and that her heart appears to be fine.

I pray for Tracie and the friendship that you have blessed me with there. She's never lost contact with me and even for the brief time that she did, she kept trying to find me.

I pray for all my Mommy friends and that you bless them today with dealing with their children, even at trying moments, and to see the blessings that their children really are.

I pray for all my weight loss buddies too, Abba, help us in this battle and to help us feel better and to feel great and to look better too.