What's the big grin for? I'll tell you...........

The big cheesy grin is because I just checked my little goal tracker on my support website and was very suprised to learn.................drum roll please........................



As of today I am 292 days smoke free!!!! Yes, TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY TWO days I have not even held a cigarette in my little paw.



(insert chubby white girl happy dance here)

GRRRRRRRRRR

Somedays just aren't fun. Kunf Fu Hamster is going to kick some rear for me. He promised.

Work is actually bothering me for once, which is fairly unusual since I stopped traveling. My BFF is headed to Iraq in 3 days and I won't see her for a year. Not that we have ever lived in the same places and have gone longer without seeing each other, but it still sucks. I've been such a wreck lately, a total emotional roller coaster. Luckily, Terry just seems to roll with it. He find me, in tears in the living room. He asks what is wrong? I tearfully inform him that I'm tired of being the only person that cares about everything and that I hate the living room. Not that this makes ANY sense at all, but Terry (bless him) simply gets out a tape measure and starts measuring and comes up with a new living room arrangement. Not even a week later, I start getting upset again, and now the kitchen has been re-arranged. How do you re-arrange a kitchen, you ask? Well, I will tell you. First you have to have a house that is tiny by even Chinese standards. Then you have to have a ginormous refridgerator that just LOOMS wherever it desires because this house was not designed back in 1928 to house a fridge. Then, you have to have a useless 65 gallon fish tank that takes an entire day to move and it's always in my way when I want to make my house more efficient. Then you have to want a breakfast nook, but the fish tank prevents this. Then you have to cry, your fiance then helps move the fridge to another available electrical outlet, then you have to still be upset (but not showing it) that the fish tank is STILL there. Oh, and then add grease all over the floor from when your fiance decided to fry mushrooms like an Iron Chef. There was oil splattering everywhere, he was flipping mushrooms in the air, occasionally there were some impressive flames. The result? Very tasty, tender mushrooms with dinner and oil covering my stove, wall, and half my kitchen floor. And, that my friends, is how you re-arrange a kitchen that was never meant to house a refridgerator and a fish tank. Or an Iron Chef.

Oh yes, and my favorite plant died.

In loving memory of my rosemary tree........a moment of silence..........(insert cheesy music here)

SPRING MUST COME SOON!! FOR MY SANITY!!!

Here is hoping........

So over the weekend, I noticed some serious grumpiness on my part, starting on Saturday. By Sunday I was in the throes of yet another debilitating headache. I've had about 6 so far in the last 2 months. By 4am Monday morning, as I'm huddled on the living room couch, tears falling, Terry took me out to his oxygen tank that the VA gave him for his migraines. About 5 minutes of oxygen really seemed to take the edge off, and I was able to fall asleep until my alarm went off 2 hours later. I called in sick to work, and spent all day Monday hopped up on pain killers and muscle relaxers, which did nothing. I still had a headache all day. Tuesday morning I went to work with a headache. Out of desperation, I called my old chiropractor and they had an immediate opening. After some rather amusing confusion of WHERE my doc is located (he's moved since my last visit) he was able to get lots of pops and cracks out of my neck. By the time I got into my car, the pain in my head had changed from that constant ache to the sort of pain you know is on the downhill slope. By the end of the afternoon I was feeling really good and by this morning I was feeling rather AWESOME.

But the awesomeness is now dampened. Terry FINALLY went to court for his DUI charges. They've pushed the date several times, so it's been over 4 months now. They changed what he was going to be punished with right then and there, so what we were expecting to happen is 6 months suspended license, ACT classes, $1000 fine. What he got is 6 months suspended jail time, 5 days house arrest, 1 day in jail, $600 fine, 12 month suspended license, ACT classes, and to put the cherry on the cake, regular check in's with a parole officer and random UA's. She was kind enough to drop the fine by $400 because he'll have to pay extra for the parole supervision. What a peach. Any breach of anything, being late to a parole appointment, missing any of the $100 payments he'll make to Rimrock Foundation and P&P.......do not pass go, do not collect $200, Go directly to jail for 6 months.

But it's OVER, and so because I always try to find the good in everything, there it is. 4 months of waiting is finally over and we can finally make some plans and just move on. We've been preparing for this, and Terry has been dry since the day he was arrested. So the hard part is over. Thank goodness. Although this ordeal has had it's ups and mostly downs, I think we are stronger as a couple because of it. I think some very hard truths were faced and dealt with when things were at their worst, and we made it. I admit, I had my doubts, but we made it, and we'll make it through this as well.

So, a funny picture to lighten the mood.............

Just adorable

I got this picture from my sis. Talk about adorable, yet you can tell that little girl is a HANDFUL!!!!

My Birthday

Well, I got to hand it to Terry. He truly surprised me this year!!! The awesome gifts, the spa day, and then the dinner where everyone was there that I didn't know about!!!

Totally makes up for all the crappy birthdays I've been having. I was pushing a streak of like 4 birthdays in a row where either something totally f***ed up happened or like on my 30th birthday where EVERYONE forgot and no one other than a couple of family members called me. I mean, no cards, no presents (Mom got me something nice) no party, no cake NOTHING. I've been SEVERELY tee'd off about that one for a long long time. I was under the impression that your 30th was something special and I was obviously misinformed. I had worked my butt off throwing 2 very nice birthday parties (Jen and Terry) and had to be at another very nice birthday party for a friend in the 2 months prior to my 30th birthday so it was pretty much just a huge fist to the face when no one even remembered me.

But Terry TOTALLY MADE UP FOR THAT!!!!! The whole weekend was incredible. Kudo points are still being tallied...........................

2009

2009 is shaping up to be a great year! I was completely unable to sleep during the first official full night of 2009. Foreshadowing, anyone??

I seem to be trying to make up for slacking in 2008. Already for 2009 I have set some very strict money saving goals, so all spare cash will be going into that immediately. I am also planning a wedding and that cash saving thing might crimp that a little, but it's early in the year, so here is hoping!! I'm going to be the Team Captain for a Shape Up MT team of 7 people and our goal is weight loss :o) And all this is by May 1!!!

This summer is our Hayes Ranch Centennial, which I am sure will be as chaotic as the 50+ Anniversary a couple of years ago (Keri lost her cool several times during that venture). Let's all hope my BIL Brandon can refrain from any hospital visits that cause him to miss the fun.....LOL.....

My step son Tristan will be here for the summer. This will be my 3rd summer as step mom Keri, so hoping to improve my step mommy skills even more!!

In the fall, it will be wedding details. Another friend is getting married in August, then my wedding Oct 31. I am nearly done with the "planning" part, so I'll be watching craft shows like an eagle all year for invitation deals and centerpiece deals.

After the wedding, there is no honeymoon planned at this point, so we will then prepare for a full frontal assault of the holiday season. I shudder at the thought as the 2008 holiday season is still haunting my dreams!!

Also some key things in 2009 - April 14 will be my 1 year anniversary for quitting smoking!!........Terry and I will be working hard on building our business/website even more this year........and hopefully, some preliminary house hunting/planning will ensue :o) ....also, I want to be involved in more community walks this year, and to start doing some serious biking. I discovered after quitting smoking that I really do enjoy riding a bicycle!!

Also, my fledgeling gardening abilities will be put to the test again this year.......so far I have killed my rosemary tree, Jen's amarylis bulb, and half killed my "foliage plant." This summer I should see my transplanted tulip groups bloom in the front yard, the iris bulbs won't bloom but there should be some green, the wild rosebushes will decide to give it up forever or just bloom out of sheer spite, and hopefully my inherited rhubarb plants will grow again!!!

I tell you, staying at home has been difficult for the past year, but I seem to be getting better at NOT travelling and getting involved in other things than racking up airline miles and Holiday Inn Express points!!

I guess I'd better start off by getting some sleep this year, eh??