Got it!

I got the house!  Woot woot.  I am happy and moved to tears from all the support of my friends and family.

Waiting and praying...

I looked at a second house on Tuesday and then went back to look at it again on Wednesday (yep, the 4th of July) with some friends and my mom.  Everyone liked it, but I especially liked it, so I put in a purchase offer this morning.

The realtor called me back a little while ago and someone else is putting in an offer today as well so now I have to sweat it out until tonight when the seller chooses an offer or rejects both offers.

I am hoping that he chooses me, of course, but patience is a virtue.  So here I go to practice that as I wait for a phone call this evening...

P.S.
The house is fairly new, built in 1996, basically one floor-living except for the washer and dryer in the super clean basement, and it has a nice yard.  It's close to work but in a whole new place for me to live.  I'm up for the adventure though!

Baby steps into big girl movements

So the last time I wrote I was very angry about the craptastic service from the credit union lady.  I finally called and complained on Wednesday, got shuttled to two other people who could not help me, and was finally put through to her supervisor's voice mail.  I left him a message asking him to call back so we could discuss the lack of service I received.

No call from them on Wednesday.

Thursday brought me to my other bank where I met with a mortage advisor.  They pre-approved me for a certain amount and explained to me about a program where if I purchase a home in the country I can make no payment down.  It all gets rolled into one thing and I keep my money in the bank and credit union to live on during the summer.

Thursday the credit union supervisor calls at 5:23 when I am on the other line talking to someone.  He explains that he has talked to Ms. Craptastic Service but would really, really like to talk with me.  The problem is he is going to be off the next day (Friday) and the entire next week.  He will be around the office for a few minutes though if I wanted to try and call him back. So I call him at 5:30 and he's gone, gone, gone...

I'll be honest and I feel like he put me off to the last possible moment and hoped that I wouldn't be able to contact him.

That brings us to today which is Saturday.  I actually looked at a house today with my realtor.  It wasn't what I wanted once I was in it, but the point is that this was my first house I looked at buying all by myself.  I'm a big girl now looking to be a home-owner.

I've mostly liked apartment living, except for my most recent meth-making, bath salt selling neighbors.  But, a home of my own...  Yes, it comes with bigger payments and bigger headaches.  But it would be mine, all mine. (And the bank's, of course but let's leave them out of this for the moment.)

A home of one's own, what a lovely idea!

Taking back my power

I have been really irritated with the credit union lady over her thrice-messed up appointments.  So today I took the bull by the horns and called two other places to inquire about what they could do for me.  One of them was my bank; yes, I have money in a bank and a credit union. 

I have most of my money direct-deposited into the bank with a small portion going into the credit union.  I do this to set aside money for the summer because I never really go to the credit union even though I have a nice little amount socked away there to live on over the next few months.  I figure if I put it there, which is slightly out of my way, that I will have plenty of cash for the months without paychecks.

Regardless, I have a bank and a credit union.  I called the bank and have a meeting with them to get pre-qualified for a mortgage this Thursday.  There is apparently a program that may help me acquire a home out in the country.  I'd like to see what that entails and what the bank might approve me for money-wise.

The other credit union I called wasn't as forthcoming with anything for first-time home buyers so I am crossing them off my list for now.

I'm not completely giving up on my credit union YET but I am very upset and dissatisfied.  The woman with the craptastic customer service skills did call my cell today to see if I wanted to set up an appointment. I let it go to voice mail.

It seems I may need to be calling around to a few other places this week.

Sweet freedom at last!

Friday started my summer vacation and a day of complete and utter laziness.  I slept as much as I wanted to, did not even take a shower, and generally lolled around.  It was pure bliss.

Saturday I awoke from more slumber and shampooed and loofahed off my stinkiness. Then I went out to run a few errands.  I picked up my farm share, hit up the grocery store, threw beef stew fixings in the crock pot, and made it to the post office.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day with blue skies, white clouds, a slight breeze and decent temperatures.

Sunday (today) was a repeat of Friday with me lolling around again and getting plenty of sleep.

OH!  And my bath salt selling and meth making neighbors are gone!  They were gone by the time I woke up on Friday, thus adding to my excitement over my summer vacation.

Thursday was the last day of school and the third scheduled appointment with the credit union lady.  I called her twice to make sure she had all the paperwork and she didn't call me back.  My third call also went unanswered so I canceled the appointment.

Well, the credit union lady called me back 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment to tell me that she had ACCIDENTALLY shredded my paperwork and that she hoped that I wasn't on my way to the appointment. I don't know how this one person could be so incompetent!  She is the only one that does this stuff for the credit union but she's simply terrible.

Everyone has told me to go elsewhere but this is such a good program that I hate to leave this option off the table.  I guess I can call my bank and see if they offer something similar.  I want to call the credit union and complain but I am afraid of the repercussions because there is no one else to work with.

No matter what I am on summer vacation!  Free at last...

Counting down the days....

It's been a week since my last post and lots of things have happened since then. 

Tuesday was a looooooong day and my friend BJM escorted me to the hospital for the bariatric surgery seminar and waited around for hours for my personal consultation with the surgeon.  I didn't necessarily care for the surgeon all that much but as my friends have been telling me that he is most likely used to people who are knocked out and not used to them asking questions.

This will utterly be a life-changing operation and it will force me to operate (no pun intended) on a whole new level.  Don't do that, do DO this, no more x, chew slowly and often, and on and on.  The surgeon told me flat out that I was dying and he is right.  It may not be overnight but I am falling apart slowly.  I absolutely need to have this surgery and will take any and all support that comes my way.

Tuesday was also supposed to be the day that I signed the paperwork to start up the credit union's home buyer program.  For the second time the woman was not prepared!  I was so upset after spending all day at the hospital that I literally wanted to punch her in the head.  I know violence doesn't solve anything but it might have made me feel better after such a long day.

I walked into her office and she knew she was unprepared but she didn't say anything about it at first.  Then she asked me to go home and get my paperwork so she can make copies which she did last week.  She finally told me she left my paperwork at another office.  I told her I'd make another appointment and so I am expected to be at the local office on Thursday.  I will be there with all of my paperwork so she had better be ready to get this show on the road!

This is the last week of this school year.  Two full days and two half days with kiddos and I am out on Tuesday, so it's really only three days of work for me.

This could just be the longest week ever with so much to do and crazy schedules.  Summer is a-coming, friends.  Indeed, she is almost here.

It's another Sunday evening which eventually leads to another work day Monday.  It will be a busy week this week and next as the academic year winds down.  Everyone thinks the end of the year is a breeze but there are so many things that need to be done, in addition to packing up the classroom.  Plus, you still have your students and that means a combination of teaching and keeping them entertained.  They are like kids at a birthday party not wanting to do any work but in desperate need of something new to keep them busy every minute.

On the agenda for this week are the weight loss seminar and consultation with the bariatric surgeon on Tuesday.  At the end of Tuesday I also have to return to the credit union to sign papers to enter into their home-buying program.  Both require some big changes and promise returns in big ways.  Woohoo for me.

I can barely keep my eyes open so I'm cutting this short.  Wishing you all a nice one, wherever you are in your day.

Wicked Wednesday

Yep, I'm still here but super busy with work and life.  I did have the meeting today at the credit union and started the process with the paperwork.  I'll be going back next Tuesday to sign everything but it looks good so far.

The kiddos at work are slowly coming unhinged, or maybe not so slowly, thereby making their teacher also come slowly unhinged.  I can outlast them and will!  Bwahahahaha (insert evil laugh here).

Have a good one, friends!

Sleepy Saturday

I bet you thought I had disappeared again, didn't you?  Nah, I have just been busy with school and the whirlwind of activities that make up life.

June 1st brought fifteen more days of school left!  I am now at fourteen more days left with two days off for doctor visits and Tysabri infusions.  I think I can suck it up and work twelve more days and then enjoy my summer vacation.

In other good news, my meth selling neighbors are being evicted and should be out in the next week and a half.  I am almost hoping that no one else moves in across from me any time soon.  I could use some peace and quiet.  My last two neighbors have both been prone to domestic disturbances and at forty-one years of age I am tired of the fighting, screaming, and general craziness that comes from living across from unstable people.  I do believe it is high time for me to get what I deserve.  I'm a quiet, hard-working woman who doesn't ask for much.

Today has been one that has been filled on and off with sleep.  In fact, I have a nap on deck after I finish this post.  Some days, especially the weekends, I just give in to the MS fatigue and sleep a day or two away.  It allows me to be give a lot to work which I need for the benefits and to pay my bills.  I am lucky to be on Tysabri and to be relapse-free for a long time now.  I am not saying I don't have MS symptoms because I do but it all seems manageable at the moment.  Now I better knock on wood!

Here's to a week that may hopefully see the end of my rotten neighbors and to time closer to a well-deserved summer vacation.  Happy weekend, friends.

What a surprise!

I know you see information about your credit scores on television all the time.  Frankly, I have been scared to know what my numbers were.  Then I got a packet in the mail today from the credit union.  It contained my three credit scores from the three major companies that compile them.

And, I am NOT at the rock bottom of the credit heap!

In fact, I think my score is a lot higher than I ever thought it would be. 

I'm shocked!

I guess sometimes we're more afraid of what we don't know so we keep it pushed to the side, in the dark, hidden away.  We pretend that if we don't deal with it, that it must be okay.  But, deep down inside, we take little peeks and look at that dark corner and tell ourselves that it is too scary, too hard, too impossible to deal with and then we close ourselves off again.

What the hell have I been waiting for?  Silly me for being scared of a number that doesn't define me solely, but a number that I needed to know anyway.

Like the number on the scale.

That's a number, a big one, one that puts me squarely in the morbidly obese category but you have to know where you are so you can know where in God's creation you are going.  Maybe one of these days I'll post that number on here but I'm not ready yet.

I am, however, going to get a new scale so I can start looking at that number and reminding myself that that number is one piece of me.  A piece of me that needs to change but a piece of me that doesn't change all the many good parts of me.

I may be a fat girl but I'm still a great person.

Weeble's World: Beyond the Messy Stuff

Okay, I have been a-w-a-y for a long time.  Months and months (six in total) in fact.  Heck, it's a whole new year since I last posted.  I have not had much to write about on the MS front and wanted to take a break from just being a person with illnesses and writing about it.

So why am I back?  I guess I have some new challenges coming up.  One is mental and physical and the other is mental and fiscal.  What am I talking about?

1.)  I have a consultation in a few weeks to see if I am a candidate for gastric bypass.  This is not common knowledge yet so ye few stragglers who get this delivered to their inboxes will know long before some of my other pals.

Why gastric bypass?  I have had a lot of health issues that have limited my ability to walk, to move, to even get dressed.  I am swollen, retaining water, and have extremely tight muscles.  I am tired of living only a partial life and I want to be healthy again.  I'd love to be physically active again; I'd love to see my feet, cross my legs, and walk any distance without huffing and puffing again. 

I think this surgery will be saving my life.

2.)  I am preparing to purchase a house, my first home that I would actually own.  I have had it with the apartment scene because my neighbors are known drug dealers and their ne'er do well "friends" who stop by are annoying at best and their domestic disturbances, including a recent arrest for one trying to kill the other has made me decide that I have had ENOUGH!

I am hoping to get into a program where I put a certain amount of money aside each month and the credit union gives me a certain amount of money to use for the down payment.  That means a year of me saving and not spending willy nilly on stamping goodies and 31 bags!  I know I can do this but it will be tough.  I need to focus on the long haul and get over the short-term shopper's high.

I have specific goals and by putting them out there in the cyber world I hope to have your support in keeping them.  Feel free to call me to the carpet when I'm not doing what I should be.

And, thanks for stopping by again.  Old friends are the best!

Goal setting

Okay, I have a friend who has decided that for 45 days he will work on a new lifestyle plan. He is planning on going to the gym a lot and he posted a little funny eye opener for us on Facebook this morning after day one.

I decided that since I have four different Just Dance tapes, which I actually enjoy doing, that I also would publicly declare myself a newly-reenergized person who will work out for 45 minutes 3-4 days a week.

That may not sound like a lot but it is for someone who has done nothing but hold the couch down for a long time. I know I have had a good workout when my eyesight goes a little wonky from my MS and I am a little sweaty and a lot happier.

I have worked out Saturday, Sunday and tonight so far. Something is better than nothing!

Pick-me-up

First off I had a three-day weekend and Friday was just a glorious, albeit cold, windy and wintry day. I ran some errands and spoiled myself by purchasing the latest Just Dance 3 game for the Wii.

Tonight I broke that bad boy out of the wrapper and spent over an hour dancing to the songs on it. My favorite song is called "Boom" and it's done by Reggaeton. I liked it so much that I played that dance three times.

Working out always makes me feel better but I am so utterly lazy that I can go months with doing nothing other than just existing. Sigh, sometimes having a roommate might be a good thing because they could force me into doing something more often. When I was in college if my roommate went to the gym, then I had to go to the gym also. It was just something I did. I couldn't let her get more fit than I was. I had to keep up.

Fast forward almost twenty years and I am the size of two adult women put together. I need to start doing something and keep it up. I hope I can remember what a delightful pick-me-up this evening was as I danced my pants off!

One year

One year ago today my Dad died.

I can hardly believe it's been a whole year. Sometimes it seems as if no time at all has passed and other times it seems as if it's been a lifetime.

I have pictures of him right next to my computer so I see him every day. I talk to him on my way to work or on on long drives. I keep him close to my heart even though he is far away.

This is a rotten club to belong to: the Dead Parent's Club...

Grumpy b!tch

That's me, the grumpy one. I had a rotten day at work. The kids are off the flipping wall. I am sick of Halloween and it is one of my most unfavorite days of the year. I'm not sure when I got to be such a b!tch about the whole thing but somewhere along the line I turned into a grouch.

I hope tomorrow is a better day but it brings November, the month of my Dad's death. Maybe that's why I am grumpier than usual...

ER

No, I didn't go to the ER or Eemergency Room, instead I watched the final episode of ER from Netflix. I had stayed up and watched it when it aired but I have been watching the last few seasons that I missed recently and then it was time for the last show.

I remember from watching it when it originally aired and there was an elderly MS patient who died. I believe the character was 83 and she had been married to a wonderful man but it was hard watching it. It made me think about my MS and who will be there at the end because I have no husband or children.

It also made me think of my Dad because November brings the first anniversary of his death. I distinctly remember the first phone calls about his stroke, going to the hospital, staying at the hospital, waiting for my brother and sister to come home from Afghanistan, and watching my Dad die.

There is nothing quite like watching your parent die or watching your other parent or your siblings react to it.

The heartbreak of the immediate moment and then the radiating effects of all of it, the sadness and agony rippling outward... It is just so much, was so much.

We all will die, I know that. It's just so difficult to deal with, whether on a TV show or in real life...

Oct-update

Here it is mid-October and I've written nothing for over a month. First off, happy birthday to my sister. She's still in her 20's and I'm 41. My birthday was at the end of September and I am now firmly entrenched in my early 40's.

School is going well. Lots of kiddos but not too many behavioral issues. I look forward to every weekend so I can sleep in and most weekends are devoted to card making. Crafting is such a huge part of my life now. It keeps me busy and makes me happy to create tiny gifts of beauty. I sell the cards at work for one dollar each and lots of people buy them. That makes me feel really good deep down inside.

My mom told me tonight that she is dating. I feel weird about that. My dad died less than a year ago. I don't know what to think. Part of me is happy for her and part of me feels just all mixed up...

My MS is still basically in remission except for my fatigue. It is always there and there are some times when I am driving to work where I am all over the road.

My diabetes is not under as good control but I am taking my blood sugars at least once a day, sometimes twice. It's not awful but not great either.

Starting the new year

I've started the new school year off with a bang. I'm loving my job right now and I'm hoping to learn all the kids' names within the next week. There's more than one hundred to get to know!

I had my Tysabri infusion this afternoon on the second day of school. I felt bad leaving the kids when I was having such a great teaching day. I'm hoping for another super day tomorrow and then comes Friday.

It's good to be in a routine again. It's good to be doing something I am good at in a place where I am surrounded by friends. Some days it's just good to be me. :)

August Schmaugust

A few people have asked what happened to me. Well, I was card making and reading and napping. Then I also had to go in to work for some professional development and I needed to get my classroom ready. It's ready!

I am very excited to go back to work even though it means the end of sleeping in and summer. It's been cooler lately and I have been loving it. Life, in short, is good.

I'm still working on getting the diabetes under control but I am taking all my meds and checking my blood sugar.

I have had some tough times with the loss of a co-worker/friend who passed away unexpectedly. I got through it, though. It reminded me of the recent loss of my Dad and that brought up a lot of different feelings.

On a completely other plane, I splurged and got myself a Miche classic base and six shells. I am also having a Miche purse party at the end of the month at my house. Call me crazy...

My birthday is coming at the end of the month and I will be 41. That seems like an old number but I still feel young so I am going with that.

Back to school on Tuesday with kiddos and resting, relaxing, and maybe a manicure and a movie in there before we start back up again. Again, life is GOOD!

I will survive, hey hey...

We made it through last week's tremendously hot, hot, hot Tastefully Simple party. I earned $65 worth of free product so that was a nice bonus to seeing my friends gathered in my little sweatbox apartment.

Today I started taking insulin for my diabetes. I am still taking all my other diabetes meds so now I am doing two shots a day: one of Victoza and one of insulin. My A1C was up from 6.7 to 8.3 and my glucose numbers are way too high.

I am also dealing with the stress of a work friend who is very ill and in the hospital again. He has been sick for many, many months and hospitalized for almost that whole time. He was improving but now has had quite a setback. I am sending up many prayers for him and his family.

In my free time I am working on making cards and a scrapbook page for upcoming events. I feel like I am slowly making progress with my business although I am not pushing it very hard. It is mostly about me right now and I am okay with that. I am just enjoying the crafting and pure joy of making beautiful things.

Oh, and on the MS front, I was the number one individual fundraiser for my local work and the 39th highest fundraiser in the state. Other than that, I am doing my monthly Tysabri and doing well.

The biggest hurdle I need to clear is the diabetes and obesity issue. Move more, eat better, take my meds, and test, test, test. I'll make it!