My birthday...almost.

Last night Nathan and some of my wonderful friends threw me a surprise birthday dinner.  It was awesome.  I have such wonderful friends and I am truly blessed.

My honey bunny.

Some of my closest friends.

My nummy cake.

And my new baby Louie!  Thanks babe.  Bet you didn't realize when you walked in with the bag...all the girls would scream! 

Finally!

Yes, my friends...after a year long battle with Countrywide and now Bank of America...I finally got my loan modification.  It came from Fed Ex yesterday and I can honestly say that I haven't been this excited/relieved in a really long time.

This year has been a rough one on me; just as it has on everyone.  While I know my problems are small in comparison to the world at large; I must say that sometimes, in my own little world, my problems seem huge.

This year has been filled with getting divorced, my house almost getting forclosed, my dad passing away and now having to change jobs.  At times I felt that my brain would never have a moments peace again.  However, last night I woke up in the middle of the night, as I usually do, but this time I realized that I was awake because I was actually excited instead of worried; full of promise in lieu of angst.  I feel like a rebirth has happened with these new loan docs and I'm ready to start again.

I also want to thank all my friends for listening to me bitch and moan about this for the last year, okay maybe longer.  I will now try and share my good vibes with all of you.

Dear Mom...

Dear Mom...

Thank you for making it okay for me to fail and not feel like a failure.  Thank you for helping me take risks even though it's so not in my nature.  Thank you for holding me up when I feel like my foundation is cracking.  Thank you for doing your best each day to be the best person you can be and teaching me to do the same (even though I may fall short on that one).  I love you.

Update

I am so excited to see that my blog is updating now on my friend's blog rolls. 

I have been meaning to post about my journey to Missouri but I've been slammed since we got back.  Here are a few highlights of my trip:

1.  My poor Sadie Lou got so sick the day before we left.  Luckily we are blessed to have a wonderful dog sitter who rushed her to the vet and a wonderful vet who took wonderful care of her.  She is better now but it did put a damper on our trip.

2.  I met my boyfriend's entire family which was wonderful.  Despite various warnings that they might not be the most welcoming kind; they were very sweet and I really enjoyed meeting all of them.

3.  We got to go to Branson, MO which is supposed to be the Vegas of Missouri.  I can honenstly say...it was NOT!  It was a very interesting place though.

I do have some pictures that I want to share but I felt like I hadn't said anything for a while and you all know I enjoy the sound of my own voice! 

Disgusted...

I don't have any pictures to go with this post; in fact, I wasn't planning on posting anything at all.  Until I was watching the Today Show this morning and I saw that terrible story about the little girl who's mother sold her to be a sex slave. Then last night they found her dead body in the woods.  Did you see it?

As if that wasn't disturbing enough; the report then went on to say that the mother is under special supervision while in jail because...get this...she's pregnant again!  What?  Huh?  Are you kidding me?

I am beyond terrified at the evil that lives in this world among us.  I am also bothered by people who think their parents were crappy becuase they didn't have a million presents at the holidays or because their parents worked late.  Giving them fodder for many therapy sessions and paying for their therapist's condo in the Bahamas. 

Okay...your mother didn't sell you into sex slavery...did she???  If you answer yes to that question then obviously my rant does not pertain to you.  Plus, if you did truly have a terrible childhood then again, this doesn't pertain to you either.  This is just directed at the people who's parents did the very best they could with the knowledge they had but, the child, is left unsatisfied and holding a grudge.  Get over it people.  I'm sure this little girl who's mother didn't think she was worth anything would have traded places with you in a second.

Okay...I'll get off my soapbox now.  I don't like heights anyway.

My "kids"...

Since everyone blogs about their kids I felt that I should blog about my kids too.  Since I only have furry kids...they will just have to do. 

This is Grace.  She is my first born.  She is stubborn, curious and kind of a bitch.  She is totally independent and only gives up the lovin when SHE wants.  Since she only is snugglie when she chooses; it makes me appreciate it more.  Also, she is always hungry.  She takes after her mom like that!

This is Sadie.  I got Sadie because Grace was such a good girl and wanted another one just like her.  Oh boy, was I wrong.  Sadie is nothing like her older sister.  She is whiney, needy and a total mess.  If you looked up "lap dog" in the dictonary, you would see a picture of Sadie.  On the other hand, she is as loyal as the day is long.  She is always there when I need some love or someone to listen to my day.  Sometimes I feel guilty that I favor her the most but, well, she needs me the most.  She is my baby.

This is Ruth.  I got her from a home where they were abusing her.  How could anyone harm an animal???  At any extent Greg (my ex) named her Ruth in honor of Babe Ruth (Go Yankees!)  He wanted to name her Derek Jeter but I had to put a stop to that!  She is the so sweet and SMART!  Holy crap.  She is so big but thinks she's a little dog because she grew up with the daschunds.  She and Sadie are best friends and she plays so gentle with her.  She will lay down on the ground and let Sadie wrestle her.  Nathan would tell you that she "humps" her but I prefer "wrestle."

Last but not least is Abby.  Abby is Nathan's dog so she is the newest additon to my family.  Ironically, she's the youngest of all four; she's three years old.  Abby is another special one.  She has the worst allergies I've ever seen.  She gets shots every ten days to battle her red butt, infected ears, sore paws and red chin.  She's so lucky to have Nathan because she would be totally miserable if left untreated.  She is the most spoiled of all but has learned to be part of the pack.  She is a total "blonde" but she loves her daddy and Sadie the most.  Even though Sadie wishes she would drop dead. 

So those are my "kids" and I couldn't love them any more then I do.  To all my friends who think I've become the crazy dog lady...don't worry.  I'm not quite there...yet.

Seriously?

This is my boyfriend Nathan.

Nathan is suing the company I work for.

Apparently, I am the star witness.

Enough said.

Wheels Up

Yesterday, my awesome boyfriend got his private pilot's license. I'm so proud of him! However, now this brings a new challenge to my already stressed out life. To fly or not to fly...with him?

I should clarify that I have flown with him before but we had an actual flight instructor with us at the time. I felt very safe because, heck, if Nathan messed up, we had someone who knew just what to do to land us safely. In addition, the plane we were flying in had a parachute on it. No, not a parachute for the passengers; a parachute for the entire plane. Imagine that scene? You're just sitting on your porch having coffee when an entire plane comes floating out of the sky!!! That would be a wake up call!

So know I must decide...does my love for him outweigh my fear of flying alone with him? When my ex husband first got a motorcycle I made him drive for a year by himself before I rode with him; that seemed to work well. For those of you who know Nathan, you know he's not nearly that patient. He actually wants to fly us to Arizona for our holiday trip in December. Eeek.

Well, I guess this is a question that requires more thought and prayer. So for now, we'll just say, wheels down.

Banana Caper

So...yesterday when I got home from work I looked on the counter and saw that one of the three bananas I'd been saving to make bread was missing. Now, if you know me at all, you know that I can't really cook BUT I can follow a recipe like a pro. Well, my recipe calls for three over ripe bananas, not two, THREE! I sent a text to Nathan to see if he ate the banana, which I'm sure he wouldn't do because he knows my plan for them. He wrote me back that he didn't but maybe the maid did. What? The maid at the food in the house? Maybe I'm the only one who thinks that's strange...but...I do.

Here comes the second part of this post. Yes, Nathan has a maid at his house. She comes once a week and does a great job. This is not a luxury I had before at my old house and I am very blessed BUT sometimes...I don't like it. I don't like when she washes the bath towels with the dog towels; I don't like when she trims my plants and then puts the trimmings in water bottles all over the house; and I don't like it when she eats my bananas!