Forgot another good news/bad news item

There's one more thing that I forgot to mention. We have a new addition to our family! I little fluffy black 10 week old Malti-Poo puppy! We have some pictures, but they are still on the camera card…not uploaded to the pc yet. However, to describe her, she is about 16" long, maybe 8-10" high floor to back. She's got curly black fur all over, except for a white ruff, white around her nose, and her toes, with a little bit of white on the very tip of her tail.

That's the good news part. The not so good news part is that we've now had her two weeks and have had some trouble potty training her. Oh she goes potty when we take her outside, but she comes inside and goes potty there too. Not so good for the new-ish carpet. She's feisty; she barks at Hamlet, tries to bite his tail, and chases him everywhere.

She's little Luna Tic Mankey, our puppy. She's Sarah's puppy, and Sarah is learning a little about motherhood. She begged her little sister to let Luna sleep with her tonight since the puppy has been waking Sarah twice each night crying, and peeing wherever she feels like it. So, tonight, "grandma" (me) has the little dickens in her crate, next to me on the sofa.

She's in her crate because while she slept next to me on the sofa, she suddenly just stood up, walked to the other side of the sofa and commenced to piddle. I shouted "No!!" Alas, it was too late. So out she went for a little while, then into her crate. That's where she is sleeping right now as I type. I wonder if it's safe to go to sleep yet.

Good News Bad News

It's kind of a good news bad news week. 3 weeks ago, I started a job at National City Mortgage, the company that recently re-financed our home.  During the conversation, he mentioned how slammed his office is with all the refi's happening due to the lowered interest rates, and I asked if he needed help.  He asked for my resume, gave me their employment agency's data, and within 10 days I was hired. I just finished my 3rd week and it's been a much more positive experience than working for the university was. They're even paying me not only more than the university, they are paying me about 20% more/hr than I requested.  I'm learning how to fund loans in order to fill in for the woman training me who is pregnant, and due in June.  They're giving me plenty of time to learn all those tiny little details.

Not so great news is that it's mostly part time as of yet.

Pretty good news is that the girls and I are not on COBRA anymore, and are paying only $300/mo for Aetna insurance.  Not the best insurance, but definitely cheaper than COBRA. Unfortunately Scott is still on COBRA until he can drop some weight and get off his blood pressure med. However, we have gone from a total of $1450 to $700/month for health care premiums. That plus what we are saving with the refi monthly is a nice little bit of monetary savings each month.

Scary news is that Scott is pretty sure that his last day at Boeing is this coming Tuesday, 2/3.  Scott seems to think it's a temporary "furlough," that a new project will come up soon, and he'll be called back in March. I'm shaking in my boots wondering what we'll do if they don't call him back.

Good news about Sarah though; she has qualified to take a test for an academic honors school. It's Oxford, and it's 7th through 12th grades. It's been ranked by US News & World Report as the second best school in the nation.  We've learned that it's not only good academically, it has some great extracurricular clubs, plus championship intramural sports activities.  She takes the test in March.

Great news about Emily, Sarah and me: we all got parts in a production of Little Women (same company as Alice last fall), I'm Marmee (the mom)!  I finally get to say I'm an actress! (ok, sort of.)

Scott’s Birthday

So. My poor husband.  Yesterday we had plans to go to dinner together. Sarah had an overnight b'day party to attend, and we thought we had plans for Emily, but that didn't work out, so the three of us planned to have dinner. 

Poor Scott got home from work to find two extra girls here; their moms had asked if their girls could walk home with my girls and stay here till the moms got here to take the girls home.  One seemed like a little scare of an emergency, so I said yes, and the other was only for a half hour, so I said yes to that too. (The emergency mom said that the ex husband had threatened to wait at the bus stop and take her daughter "away."  Since he doesn't know me very well and at least doesn't know where I live, it figured my home would be a safe place for her to wait for her mom to get off work.)

Then Emily tells me she is very sad because she doesn't get to go with the big girls and see Marley and Me.  Has anyone seen this movie? 

I already have a bronchial thing that everyone else has had.  Plus, since everyone else has had it and is done with it, they think I should be healthy by now, too.  But I'm not. (just a little side note)

We planned to leave for dinner at 4:30 so that it would be early enough to beat crowds and hopefully get Em into the theater on time to see the movie with her sister and birthday girl.  So when Emergency Mom asked if I could just take her daughter to the party, that meant we'd be home until at least 5:30, the earliest I felt ok to drop the darlin's off at the party. I discuss it with Scott, he seems already angry about something, and says "fine."

So we get the girls to the party, and the three of us leave (Scott, Emily and myself).  He now wants to go to a different place thinking that going to where we planned would at this time take too long to get Emily to the movie. Realizing that Scott's birthday is more important, I tell Emily she and I can go see the movie some other time.  That brings the roof of the car down in tears.  She wails, "I want to go to Chili's!!!!"  Scott, in his always present let's please Emily attitude, says, Let's go to Chili's. 

I already mentioned that I'm not well, and Chili's is not what my doctor would have ordered. At all.  But, it's Scott's birthday, and I say we ought to go where YOU want to go; he repeats Let's go to Chili's.

So we go to Chili's.  It seems as if the whole city is at Chili's, which convinces me we should have stuck with our original plans to go where we wanted to in the first place. The wait was long, the service took awhile--it just appeared that the entire restaurant staff came unprepared for the Friday night crowd that showed up at their doorstep.

It was so not a Happy birthday celebration for Scott. He didn't want dessert...said something about the great spice cake waiting for him at home, which didn't exist.  We ate our dinner...I could only choke down a little of mine; we dropped him off at home; I took Em to see Marley and Me with the big girls.  (I welcome a discussion of the movie at another time). Scott didn't get a card from me, or his daughters, didn't get a cake, and was asleep when Emily and I returned home. Sad. 

I awaken this morning feeling worse for some reason. After getting up, I realize I'm getting a bladder infection.  Always on a weekend, when the doctor isn't available, and the doc on call can't be disturbed for a prescription call.  I know what I have, I know what I need, just let me talk to the doc and get it. No, now I have to wait until Monday.  I go into the family room and smell something wonderful. I said so, and Scott said "thank you."  I look into the oven, baking something, and see spice cakes baking.  He had made his own birthday cake.  I guess he really wanted it.

So now, I feel guilty for not baking him a cake, not preparing for his birthday better than I did, not preparing Sarah for her b'day party, not making better plans for Emily so that Scott and I could have a date, not having the house better prepared and more peaceful when he got home, allowing the girls to come over after school, everything. 

I did find him a card and put it somewhere he'll find it when I'm not around.  I did ice the cake--though when I started making it, he had already gone and bought the canned frosting. So I used that.

Also, I feel guilty that I don't really feel that guilty, being sick, tired, and a few other issues.

To Update – A Little

I caught everyone's respiratory yuck thing last weekend--thank you Emily and Scott--was ok for most of the week, then Santa Ana winds came up and my sinuses had to yell....then yesterday, a precious little baby bladder infection joined the party.  Fever of 102.4 last night, It was the week of getting back to normal, going to the gym for my swim classes, throwing out 30 things a day, eating right--more veggies, less starch, less bad protein.  

The eating went well at least till yesterday.  I haven't been to a Weight Watchers' meeting for a couple of months now. I wanted to go yesterday; had it all planned out to go, then felt like crap and didn't even get out of bed until 11:am.

Interestingly enough, about a month ago, we heard from our mortgage loan guy who said interest rates had decreased enough to make a difference in our mortgage payments.  We started the paperwork rolling, and in the course of the conversation, I learned they need office help.  He sounded interested in having me join them and gave me the contact information for the agent they use. 

So, I dutifully sent out an email with my resume.  Got an email from him, a phone call from the agent and an email from the corporate office of the agent, all on the same morning.  Thursday I took their tests and completed their paperwork. Friday I met with the loan guy, and his operations director, plus the funding officer...and they want me to start tomorrow (Monday).  They were nearly apologetic when they told me it was only part time, 9:-1:00, but that's perfect for me. It's close to home, I'll be home when the girls are home, and should still have time to take care of a few project at home during daylight hours.

I just hope that tomorrow my body will cooperate with the needs of the mortage company and I'll be able to perform well enough for them to keep me.  My hair hurts! 

To catch you up with the health insurance saga...Costco/Pacificare turned us down because evidentally Scott has some kind of heart thing that neither of us knew about, plus a buldging disk in my back and chronic back pain that I haven't heard about either.

I have arthritis in my neck, and a disk is degenerating, but that's not a bulge, nor is it in my back.  Do you think I have a way of appealing? Is it worth it?

We're still waiting for an underwriter's decision on getting Aetna. I may go without insurance and just cover the girls & Scott.  But when I"m sick, like today, I want to go to my doctor with my no-copay, get my $15 copay prescription and get better. I guess I'll have to learn to live more like my old good friend Dianne...get sick, work through it and get somewhat better.  Or, maybe someone one day will go up to Scott, say, "we changed your badge, now you are a bonafide Boeing employee" an we'll get their fabulous insurance. Ha.

At least I'll have a little income for awhile, and the mortage payment will be going down, so that will be close to a $1200 increase in income per month if I look at it correctly.  Let's hope we spend it wisely.  It means maybe in a few months we'll get our shower fixed!  Or maybe the hole in the side of the house.  Or maybe a new front door--the one we have has a hole in it on the inside of the house...and is really no protection from the outside elements, whether hot or cold. Or ....the joys of home ownership, eh? 

Is it 2009 Already???

Here we are! A new year and already I'm behind in my blogging. Oh well. It's been a year.

9 days left to a new president.

New resolves already broken? 1 so far.

Last year's resolves kept? 4 I think…I did my best to write notes to people when I thought of them and was able; ok, I can't remember the others. According to my blog from last year I didn't make any. Well I didn't write about any that I made, so omission of said resolves equals non-existence, doesn't it?

My "What I did last summer" post never got finished…my brilliant political perspectives never got posted…well, except for that one in March. I am glad Obama got elected; I hope his hope helps the country have hope and increase our overall hope to get out of our perceived hope-less situation.

When I'm about to go to sleep at night, my mind comes up with all kinds of great and inspiring things to write. When I'm awake and have time, my mind closes like a steel trap and releases nothing for me to write. So I blather on about something or another hoping that my mind will eventually squeeze out something worth reading. Right now, my mind has closed, even though just last night I had three different posts in my head to publish.

So for now, a wish for a Happy New Year, a hope for a good year for all of us throughout 2009, good health and accessible health insurance for all.

More to come sometime, I'm sure.