House Stuff and Stuff

It’s the wee hours of Saturday morning. And I’m up to get ready for work. We’re just working 6 to noon. I fell asleep in the chair both Thursday and Friday evenings. I’m not sure why I’m so sleepy. Perhaps I’ll blame the weather.

I mentioned that on Tuesday, Nelson and I drove around looking at houses. We came across one that is being auctioned next week. We like the look of things: the style and the landscaped extra lot. He got on the computer and began searching for a mortgage company who would work with us. Then he contacted the realtor to get a showing. We went to look at it after work Friday.

The house is smaller than we thought, but has enough space. It was built in the 30’s so it has character and beautiful woodwork. There are gorgeous hardwood floors throughout!!! The kitchen and bath and a half have linoleum. Two of the bedrooms have huge walk-in closets. There’s an entry closet, a closet in the smallest bedroom, a linen closet downstairs and a linen closet upstairs! The kitchen is smallish, but efficient. And it has good cupboards!!! There’s a 2+ car garage with a full attic and the basement is full, dry, and you can stand up in it!

We were pre-approved by one company through the internet. Then the realtor suggested someone local. Nelson always prefers to work locally when possible so we called her and she’s checking. We learned some interesting things about our bankruptcy and the foreclosure on the house. It’s going to make our payment higher, but the internet guy was able to get everything rolled into the loan: tax, insurance, down payment, and closing costs. Nelson is going to go to the auction and bid. We discussed our limit and will not exceed that. If we get it. great. If not, then there’s something else.

Nelson went to the doctor on Wednesday. He was released to go back to work. He dropped paperwork off at his old boss. If he signs off that there’s no work for Nelson based on his physical limitations then he’ll be free to look for another job. He’s walking a lot more without his cane. He continues to lose weight through the Curves Weight Management Plan—and so do I!

The meeting on Sunday with the nominating committee went well. They asked tough questions and I felt I handled them well. As I thought, though, they chose the candidates from the folks who have been at the church significantly longer than me. The chair of the committee assured me I was a strong nomination and would probably hear from them in the future. I was very honored to have been nominated.

I have assumed a new responsibility through church. I had been writing for the Transformation Journal (www.parkstreetbrethren.org) on a regular basis. Now, I’m going to sort of head that up to help out the volunteer coordinator. Our journal devotions and prompts are based on the scheduled sermon texts. I’ll be dividing those up into daily portions and making sure that the days are covered. Currently, there are three writers for this. I really enjoy the challenge of this project.

Someone asked how singing went on Sunday. It was a blessing. One of the neatest things that came out of it was a piece of mail I received. Our services are broadcast on the local cable channel. This has been a great outreach ministry, both for our shut-ins and to reach folks who don’t attend church anywhere. On Tuesday, I got a card from one of our older ladies who has a degenerative hip disease. She had tatted me a beautiful bookmark and sent a thank you note for my song. I just thought that was so sweet.

Well, it’s time to box the hubs and bearings. Have a glorious Saturday. I’ll be keeping my jacket and umbrella close at hand!

Wonderfull Day!

Well, it started a bit rough. There were problems with the crew at the factory and then some trouble with paperwork. But I determined the world would go on without me.

Nelson and I drove down to Mtown. We strolled through Target first. I found 2 pairs of lightweight sweats to wear to Curves and a pair of dress black pants. I love the clearance racks! The other major purchase was a crock pot. We have a chile cookoff Sunday night at church and Nelson is concockting some kind of entry. I'm sure it will be a winner!

Then we did some grocery shopping at Meijer's. Major purchase there was snacks for Sunday School this weekend and calcium citrate for me. I'm hoping that will stave off the osteoporosus that has been afflicting my mother.

Next was lunch. By this time I was very hungry. We ate at Golden Coral. It was quite challenging to eat smart and healthy, but we both felt good when we were done. The most important thing was that we ate and didn't gorge ourselves.

Then it was a quick to another grocer (Kroger) for Nelson and I shopped next door at Fashion Bug. I guess I'm just a died in the wool Goodwill girl. I just couldn't see spending the high prices there on the tags.

We had to get home so Beth could go to work. After she left, Nelson and I loaded Asher in the car and we drove around town looking at houses for sale. We found about a dozen we're going to check on. We're going to rank them in order of how much we like them and then see what we can even think about affording. We probably won't do anything until after we find out what Nelson will be able to do with work--his appointment with the doctor to discuss the results of his evaluation is this Thursday.

The rest of my day has been playing with Asher. I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to work--but ready or not I'll be there!

Oh, by the way, I called my sister tonight finally. She gets to go back to work tomorrow with just a reprimand in her file. She feels positive about it. She knew I was disappointed--I didn't deny it. She wanted to get together this weekend, but I bowed out of that. Maybe later.

Well, it's nearly bedtime...until later.

All Gone

Well, I shot my wad and then some at Barnes and Noble. First, I decided that I was going to buy Nelson a cookbook. I combed through the bargain books and found one possibility: a Splenda cookbook. There were some good recipes and I liked the way each one broke down the nutritional values. But I knew what I really wanted was a low carb cookbook so I went to the regular stacks.

There were a lot of choices there and no bargains. I called Nelson to see if he would want one. He told me that the card was for me. I told him that I wanted to get him a Sweetest Day gift and this was a way to get us both something "sweet." He really likes some of the recipes and also the humorous what the guy is presenting stuff. It's called "Eating Stella Style" by George Stella. I'm excited about some of the muffins, sauces, and main dishes. Yum!

With the balance of the card I got a workbook based on the writings of Max Lucado. I have one similar to it based on the writings of Henry Blackaby. I'm quite pleased with that find. Then I bought a book called "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. I REALLY like his style. I read another book by him "Searching for Who Knows What." It was a gift from a dear blogging friend. This guy writes about his faith journey in a very honest way--not preachy or filled with christianeeze. I hope this one is as good as the last because I have a friend I want to share it with.

As for my sister...she's been getting "headaches" to get out of doing stuff since she was little. Some of you suggested she may have wanted to be alone. You're probably right. If it weren't for me reaching out to her there would be little to no relationship. That's sort of the way my funny little dysfunctional family is. Nelson wishes I would stop. He's tired of seeing me disappointed. I guess I'm jus such an optimist: I keep hoping things will change.

I worked so many hours last week, Dan told me to take a day off this week. Right now I don't have anything on Tuesday. Nelson doesn't think I can not go in. Whatever will I do with a day off during the week? I'm not sure but thinking about it sure makes me smile!!!

I'm singing a solo in church this morning and have my meeting with the nominating committee this afternoon. I'm thankful for the peace I have about both.

Guess it's time to rev up the hot water tank and start the shower parade. TTFN

Saturday

I think my sister is allergic to me. She’s going through a really difficult time at work, and I found out she was going to be alone this weekend (her boys would be visiting their dad this weekend) so I suggested we get together at a fancy-schmancy mall in Columbus to eat and shop.

I worked this morning 6am until noon. We worked hard. I was going to come home, shower, change, and head to Columbus. Just as I left the building I got a voice mail on my cell phone. I listened to it as I pulled out of the lot. It was my sister. She woke up with an earache and just didn’t feel up to getting together.

It is easier to count the number of times that she has come through on something we’ve planned together than all the countless times that she’s cancelled. And it’s always with some kind of ailment: headache, cramps, sore throat, hangnail—okay, maybe that was a minor exaggeration. It has happened so often that I really wonder if she really is allergic to me.

She not only called my cell, she called my home and told Nelson what was going on. He said he’d have me call. I don’t want to call. I don’t want to talk to her. I wish I wasn’t so disappointed. I hate that I let my hopes get up.

I thought about going on down to Columbus by myself, but decided against that and mowed yard instead. It was a good way to get my exercise in and my frustration out. Now that’s done until next spring—according to Nelson.

The sun is shining so nice I may go take a walk in a little bit. Or drive down to Mfield to Barnes and Noble. I’ve got a gift card just burning a hole in my wallet. Nelson says shop. I love that man.

A Little Tired

I’m tired. I worked 10 hours today in the factory. But my body isn’t near as tired as my mind. I had to write one guy up today for careless, unsafe, and opositional behavior. Another guy left work because his stomach hurt. He wouldn’t switch to an easier position. A couple that said they would be there at 6:30 failed to get childcare so they weren’t there. Twice today I just put my head down on the work table and prayed.

The day started out so well. I weighed in. At home the scale said that I’ve lost 43 pounds. I measured at Curves and I lost a total to 5.5 inches and 10 pounds in the past 4 weeks. I was quite excited about that!

I’m still really enjoying my job. It looks like three days a week I’ll be doing work with the two counties. Typically I’ll be in one county Wednesday afternoons and the other on Friday morning. The plan is that I’ll work in the factory on Thursday, but this week I was needed on Tuesday, too. I’ll probably end up working on Saturday, too. Sometimes it’s no fun to be salary. I spent several hours on Wednesday working with people on their resumes. I love helping people see themselves in more positive ways.

I am writing for the church website every week. Our website has a component called the Transformational Journal that follows the Pastor’s scripture passage. I write a couple devotionals for that. I got a little carried away and wrote for the entire next week. I also write the small group study guide. We’ve gotten some good feedback. It’s been a wonderful challenge to have to write this way every week.

Nelson had his evaluation with the outside therapist on Monday and Tuesday. It was five hours each day. Ten hours of torture. There were many things he couldn’t do. As is typical, the evaluator couldn’t tell him how he did—she wasn’t authorized to interpret, only report. He has an appointment next week with the doctor. That’s supposed to be when we learn what he’ll be able or not able to do. Again we wait for the unknown.

Someone from church nominated me for the Leadership board. I was very touched, but I’m sure that I’m way too new and my legal issues are too hot a potato for me to be considered. That’s ok. It was nice to be nominated.

Well, it’s time for snack and game 7 of the NLCS. I’m really looking forward to the World Series. I love sports.

Week 2

It’s Sunday morning. I want to process through last week’s events on the one hand, but realize that my second week is hanging heavy on the horizon.

It was such a good week. Sure, Tuesday afternoon I spent so much time on the phone that I feared a permanent crook in my neck. I was trying to connect with employers in the one county to get them to come to a Workplace Development Program meeting. I left about two dozen messages, and actually talked to about three people. What’s up with that? Our technology may help, but it’s a sad commentary on the state of our relationships.

I started the week out very quietly, shadowing Dan and Bob. I observed and took a lot of notes. By Friday, I was adding to the discussions and presentations. I’ll be an observer this next week, too. Then the following week I’ll be leading on my own. Just writing that stirred the tummy butterflies. Hopefully I’ll be able to tame them a bit this week.

I have a business card. I even had opportunities to hand them out. I didn’t see that ever happening again.

Nelson and I are still following the LGI food plan. He lost 9 pounds! It looks like we finally nudged his metabolism back into action. He’s done with this round of therapy. He has an evaluation next week with an individual from an outside agency. This will determine the next step. We’re going to set up our own little home gym to keep him on the road to recovery.

I feel very scattered. I have started at least 3 other entries and just delete them before posting. I’m not sure why. There just seems to be so much to do and think. And I just haven’t had the time to sit and really process it all. I start to type and someone needs something of me away from the keyboard. Typically it’s Asher—and I just won’t resist his plea for my attention.

After church and lunch:
Church was good. Nelson and I (after some long discussions) decided to start attempting the 11:00 traditional service at church. Nelson is more familiar with the hymns and choruses and it also gives us more time to get Asher ready. It means that I had to quit playing on the worship team—and I’ll miss that, but this seems to be better.

We had our second Sunday of the month lunch with Nelson’s old boss. They called last night and said the group had decided to go to Cici’s Pizza restaurant. I got on line right after the call and looked up the nutritional values of their food. We decided to scrape the pizza fixings off 4 pieces and count it as two pieces. It may sound weird, but it’s the toppings that we really like. So we enjoyed our pizza tops and some salad. I was so wonderfully satisfied that I wasn’t even tempted by their fruit pizza or their typically scrumptious cinny rolls.

Part of the reason I was motivated to be so “good” was that yesterday when I weighed in I was down a couple more pounds. When I started this weight loss push on January 1, I weighed 227. On February 15 I started Nutrisystem and I weighed 224. When I started Curves I was down to 207. When I started the LGI plan with Curves I was at 197. Last Monday I was at 191. This morning when I weighed in I was at 188.5. It feels good…really good. I haven’t lost the weight quickly, so hopefully I’ll be better trained and therefore better able to keep it off.

One of the painfully humorous results of my losing weight happened yesterday. We drove up to Nelson’s folks in Toledo to get the extra car that Nelson drove up last weekend when he went to get my Mountaineer (which I’m still LOVING). I left before him because Asher was getting nap ready. When I was putting Asher in his seat, I slipped off the curb and my foot turned in my shoe and I fell onto the grass and couldn’t get back up. It all happened because my shoes are getting to big. So not only am I needing a new clothing wardrobe, but I’m going to have to buy new shoes. Guess I’ll donate the others to Goodwill.

Well, time for dinner.

First Day

I had a good day. It felt so good.

I started the day by fixing a problem at the factory. I had to fix a couple more later in the day. It’s challenging to fix problems from a distance.

First thing I did when I got to my new work space was move my desk. Then I unpacked a few things (like pics of the grandsweeties) and made the desk more my own.

After Monday morning staff meeting, I went to a county social service agency luncheon meeting. Free lunch! Got to love this. It was an interesting meeting—I love to network.

In the afternoon I met with Dan and Bob to discuss how they lead a class and how I’m going to do it. It’s good and I’m excited.

Then I met with the Citizen Circle committee. I actually enjoyed a committee meeting. Go figure!

Tomorrow I start at 6:30 with devotions for the packaging group and then I have to iron out a few problems and then I’m getting trained on how to do all the paperwork for shipping and receiving. Then, I’m going to try and figure out how to turn on my phone. They got a pay as you go Verizon phone for me. They picked Verizon because Bob and Dan both have them and the plan let’s us call any other Verizon phone free.

Tomorrow night I’m going to go to a conference here in town. It’s Domestic Abuse Awareness Month and the T-Net was asked to have a “booth” there and someone to answer any questions about what we do/offer. Neither Dan, nor Bob can be there so guess who gets to represent the agency on her second full day? Yay!

Right before the Citizen Circle meeting, I called Nelson to see where he was en route to home. He wasn’t too far away. I asked how he liked the car and I think I heard him purring. So far, he’s quite pleased with his purchase. Everything seems to be working. It needs a real good cleaning. I’ve never had leather seats—wonder how that will be in the dead cold of winter? Guess that’s what seat covers are for.

So it was a good day. And it looks like more will be coming.