Butterscotch

One of my friends from high school passed away on Saturday. It is so sad, she had been sick for a long time and was on a lot of painkiller. I think she overdosed on it or took it with something she shouldn’t have… not sure yet really.
The funeral services are this coming weekend. Fortunately I will be home for Thanksgiving so I will be able to attend her funeral.
It makes me so sad that I won’t be able to talk to her any more. It makes me ache that her children won’t know their mom. I feel such a empty sense of loss. I’m sure it’s just horrible for her family.
:(

Last weekend we went to Zion National park. What a beautiful serene place. It’s only 2 hours from Vegas but it’s completely different. (It even rained!)
We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast called Red Rock Inn. We had a private jacuzzi and in the morning they brought our breakfast to our room in a big basket. It was sooo relaxing. We went hiking on Saturday in the park. What an amazing gorgeous place.

I am grateful for:

1) relaxing classical music.

2) homemade apple pie and the yummy aroma all over the house.

3) a wonderful husband who went to the store to get ice cream for the pie.

4) hope.

5) plans to see my sister for Thanksgiving.

6) a relatively stress-free week coming up.

7) getting some holiday shopping done, on sale.

8) reading my book for book club.

I am so proud of this country for electing Barack Obama!!!
I am so hopeful for all he will do for this nation.
I am so thrilled to have a Democrat in the White House (very soon).

Being a stepmom is hard for me.
The kids are only here for 6 weeks in the summer and a couple other weeks during the year.
During that time I do all the work of a “Mom” but I get none of the credit or Love that a mom would get.
It is frustrating. It’s difficult to try to build a relationship with these children who, I think, probably just see me as some other random adult in their life.
I can’t just be their “friend” because I have to help my husband with the parenting, the laundry, the driving around, the WORK.
I know it is probably just as weird/difficult for them as it is for me. I try to be a good role model for them and do what I can to help my husband. It’s difficult sometimes though to not feel… uncomfortable about it.
Does anyone else have these issues?

Yesterday I went to the blood center to try to give blood. I was getting calls every few weeks asking me to come in, so I did finally.
They took my blood pressure, and get this, it as TOO LOW. It was 86 over 50. I said, that can’t be right. Try this other arm. So she did and it was even lower that time. So, she rejected me to donate! She said I would probably pass out if they drew my blood with my blood pressure so low.
I came home and looked online to check out possible causes of low blood pressure. Generally it’s a good thing to have low blood pressure as opposed to high. I think I was probably just dehydrated.
So now I must make more of an effort to stay hydrated. My sister told me to eat more salt, too. So that’s cool, I can go eat some chips!

So we decided to beef up the emergency fund first. We are still on track to be done in 28 months.
yay.

Hello,
I’m jealous of you.

heehee.

Due to the dire state of the economy I think it’s more critical for me to beef up my emergency fund at the moment instead of spending all my money on my student loan.
It will still be paid off in about 28 months. So no biggie.

I am happy for:

1) being able to sit here with my sweetie and have a glass of wine before dinner. (A rare treat.)

2) being able to plan for the kids coming for Christmas and not stress out about it.

3) being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

4) yummy baked pork chops and rice.

5) thinking about taking a bath later.

6) making contact with an old friend.

7) sleeping late on the weekend on 300 thread count sheets.

8) fall is here and it’s only 80 degrees out.

Last weekend we got rid of a bunch of clothes and went through two closets. Today I went through another closet in the guest room and got rid of more junk. I shredded a bunch of old letters that I was keeping (why?) and got rid of a bunch of pictures. I feel like I made a lot of progress. I have a couple more closets to clear out and then the garage.

When I first wrote this goal I was aspiring to breathe deeply, let things go instead of getting mad about them, not getting annoyed, not getting in fights with my family, not getting road rage (figuratively) and just going with the flow.
I do fine when I consciously remember to do it.
Most of the time I forget. So I walk around all bunched up and upset a lot of the time.
I wish there was a good way to remember to let things roll off of me.

He actually fixed the broken clothes washer.

I am in SHOCK!

I would not know how to do that in a million years.

I am annoyed and MAD and I will say whatever I want.

SARAH PALIN IS BAD FOR THIS COUNTRY.

She is BAD for WOMEN and a vote for her (and McCain) is a vote to REWIND everything women have accomplished here in the last century.

If you vote for her you might as well buy coat hangars for your daughters.

that Sarah Palin is NOT on my list.

SHE IS BAD FOR WOMEN IN THIS COUNTRY.

She wants to rewind and push us back into the last century.

Coat hangars anyone! Better stock up if you’re planning to vote for her!

Yay! Due to wonderful unforeseeable events,
We are on track to have ALL OUR DEBT paid off in 15 months.
That includes about $45K on my student loan, $10K on a car loan, and $1400 other credit card debt.
I’m so excited! I am tracking my snowball on
www.whatsthecost.com
and I cannot wait to be DONE.

to solicitors. Especially when I’m home alone.
And I refuse to answer the door if I’m eating dinner!

It is absolutely wonderful to come home from work and sit on the couch with a nice glass of wine before dinner.

I also love the way the house fills with such a yummy smell as my popovers are baking. mmmmmmmm.

It’s also nice to ignore the irritating solicitor who just rang my doorbell. (go away!) (and let me enjoy my solitude!)

I am going to keep track of all the states my husband and I visit together. The ones we have been to together are going to be in RED.

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona (Grand Canyon, north and south rim)
Arkansas (drove through and stayed in Little Rock)
California (have been to SoCal several times)
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky (we went to my husband’s brother’s wedding there)
Louisiana
Maine (got married there)
Maryland
Massachusetts (visited my family)
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada (live here now)
New Hampshire (visited my sister and her family)
New Jersey
New Mexico (drove through and stayed overnight in Albuquerque)
New York
North Carolina (used to live there)
North Dakota
Ohio (visited my in-laws there)
Oklahoma (drove through it and stayed overnight in Oklahoma City)
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina (went there for the weekend)
South Dakota
Tennessee (drove through it and stayed in Knoxville)
Texas (drove through the top part only)
Utah (various national parks)
Vermont
Virginia (my husband had a conference there so I went with him)
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Ok I guess that’s kind of a lot.

I have been to almost every state.
I have already been to every state on the eastern seaboard, the west coast, Alaska, Hawaii. I guess it’s easier if I make a list:

Alabama (Montgomery several times)
Alaska (lived there 4 years)
Arizona (Grand Canyon, north and south rim)
Arkansas (drove through and stayed in Little Rock)
California (have been to SoCal several times)
Colorado (went to a conference in Denver)
Connecticut (went there a lot when I was little and drove through quite a few times)
Delaware (went to visit a friend at Dover)
Florida (went to Sarasota, Tampa, and MacDill AFB)
Georgia (been to Atlanta several times)
Hawaii (Oahu for 3 weeks)
Idaho (drove through it and got stuck in a snowstorm)
Illinois (used to live there)
Indiana (drove through it)
Iowa (drove through it)
Kansas haven’t been there yet
Kentucky (went to a wedding there)
Louisiana (went to New Orleans for a weekend)
Maine (got married there, went there a bunch when I was a kid)
Maryland (used to live there)
Massachusetts (grew up there)
Michigan (went to a wedding in Dearborn)
Minnesota (have only been to Minneapolis airport)
Mississippi (spent some time in Biloxi)
Missouri (have been to St. Louis several times, and Kansas City Once)
Montana (went to Eastern Montana for a wedding)
Nebraska (drove through it and stayed overnight in Omaha)
Nevada (live here now, Vegas baby)
New Hampshire (my sister lives there with her family)
New Jersey (have driven through a zillion times)
New Mexico (drove through and stayed overnight in Albuquerque)
New York (my sister used to live in NYC, and I have been all over the state, NYC, Syracuse, Buffalo, Albany, Long Island etc)
North Carolina (used to live there)
North Dakota
Ohio (visited my in-laws there, drove through it before that)
Oklahoma (drove through it and stayed overnight in Oklahoma City)
Oregon (drove through it, but didn’t get to see much)
Pennsylvania (camped there as a kid)
Rhode Island (Providence and Newport several times)
South Carolina (went there for work and to visit my aunt)
South Dakota
Tennessee (drove through it, also went to Memphis)
Texas (have been to Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and San Angelo)
Utah (have been to Salt Lake and various national parks)
Vermont (went there when I was a kid, have to go again soon)
Virginia (went there as a kid and many times when I lived in Maryland)
Washington (Seattle and Bellingham)
West Virginia (Charleston)
Wisconsin
Wyoming (drove through some gorgeous parks)

I have yet to go to the ones that are in bold. Also my husband and I have been to a few together, but we want to visit them all together as well.