Damp and Dank

While going through some our stuff we found that there is basement moisture to some of our boxes. It's a good thing that we lined them with plastic bags so that nothing happens to the things inside but it kind of makes us worry that there might be something wrong with the foundation. If there is that will bring down the house value in case we end up having to sell. On the upside, if it does bring the value down we might have a little bit of leverage with the lender. I'm just glad that nothing is damaged or moldy, although it is a bit musty, because even with the bags mold could have easily grown inside anyway.

Can't Wait for Me Time Again!

I was hoping to lose at least a little weight before I see the family next week but it didn't really go so well since I haven't been able to do anything but work. I picked up some good tips from www.safefatburners.org and had picked up some pills but it really only does so much unless you move. LOL! I can't wait until things get back on track and No-No goes back to school. Having her out of the house even for the couple hours it is really helps allow me to focus on myself for a minute. I love not having to worry about anyone for a moment and had forgotten what it feels like after having another kid all this time. Next year is my year to lose all this weight, I know it!

Still Praying...

We're still hoping and waiting to see what happens with our house. It's pretty much the only thing any of us can think about at the moment. It's so sad, we don't even have holiday decorations up because we're almost scared to unpack them thinking we may have to pack them right back up.

So far I have all of the presents purchased for the kids. I'm not sure if anyone else will be getting anything since I'm just about out of time now. I can't wait until this is all over so I can get some rest. I'm so exhausted! Hopefully the kids will like what they get and will be happy until next year. I know I can't buy them all everything they want but I do try to spoil them just a little since they don't get anything else they really want during the year. I think it helps them appreciate what they do have this way. I know it helped me when I was younger.

A Family Day

We always enjoy going into the city to see what's new and have some family time out. One of our favorite places to go is Japantown. I think one of the things I love the most is seeing the things that my grandpa had a hand in building. He worked in the steel business and there are tons of decorative things and steel buildings that he helped design and worked on. Even though he's been gone for so long and my kids never got to meet him it's great that he left a legacy behind for us to share as long as they stand.

Vacationing

we've been trying to figure out if we can afford a vacation of any kind this year. Something Yes-Yes has always wanted to do is drive around to different campsites in an RV. I think he just likes the idea of camping with a TV. LOL! We are actually highly considering it now especially since we're not sure if we'll have a home in a month or so but we still have to figure out the costs for things likerv insurance quote and whatever else there is. Actually, I wouldn't mind visiting some of my friends who live all over the country. Canada would be fun too since I know someone up there as well.

Snow Days

Many of my friends live back east where the winters are really harsh. It's already been snowing for many of them while the sun still shines on and off over here. I really couldn't imagine living in the cold like they do and my hat goes off to them for it. LOL Some of them have honda generators because the power constantly goes out too. That's another thing I couldn't ever do without. For a while we had rolling backouts here and that was horrible as it were with the power only being out for a few hours at a time. It would have been nice if we would have known when our grid would be shut off since it was "scheduled" but I guess that would have taken the fun out of it, wouldn't it? LOL!

A Laptop for Yes-Yes

I've been set on getting Yes-Yes his own laptop for some time now and I'm hoping that I can save up and get him one by the end of spring. He was showing me this netbook that he wants but for the price, I'd rather just get him something with a lot more function. One thing is that he's not too worried about having a lot of computer memory but I think that's because he doesn't really know how it effects the processing speed. I pretty much learned my lesson watching my stepdad fry out a few computers thinking that he didn't need that much space either only to overload them because there are more people using it than just him (something he didn't account for). I know Yes-Yes constantly loads all kinds of thing he doesn't realize onto the computers so I'd rather have him set up to last a good while than him finding out that he outgrew something. He's such a good kid and he tries so hard, I wish I could give him more than I've been able too.

A Little Breathing Room

We've had a small blessing in the last couple of days. Although the mortgage lender told my stepdad that they wouldn't be approving any extension, the Congresswoman's office received paperwork that it was approved the other day. It's a teeny bit better knowing that they won't need to file an emergency chapter 13 since the sale date was set for TWO DAYS from now but now we need another miracle by January 7th.

This whole process has been SO incredibly stressful I can't even begin to describe. I have never felt anxiety like this before in my life. I barely sleep, I'm always panicking and I never know what's going to happen the next day. It seems like the lender just loves to toy with us to make us paranoid or something but the reality is there at the same time.

Add to that the stress of bills, Christmas and both kid's birthdays...I'm a total wreak! I've been constantly rearranging their gift lists everyday according to what I can afford and even then it's not looking good. I think they'll be lucky if they get more than one thing each this year and that includes everyone in the family. No one really gives them anything at all anymore so they really don't have that sense of the fun, big family Christmas like I had growing up. I think that always adds extra pressure onto me every year because I end up with the guilt of that and try to make up for it. I really can't wait until it's all over, this is way more than I can handle.

The Beginning of Sick Season

I know No-No has a pretty strong immune system but I knew she was bound to get sick when she went to school. It's pretty good that she didn't catch anything until now though with one week left of school for this session. She normally only gets really sick once or twice a year, which is fantastic for a toddler. The thing I was worried about is that I would be catching whatever she had and that's not something I can afford to do right now. I'm really glad I've been trying to keep my system up by taking a multivitamin and eating as much fresh food as I can, I think it really makes a difference. I'm really glad that she won't be back to school until February so we can try to keep all that to a minimum.

New Directions

A good friend of mine is going back to school...well, so to speak. She's decided to do an accredited online degree program so she can try to get a better job a little down the line. I don't blame her. She has anxiety issues and she works in health care. Don't get me wrong, it's a great industry to be in but for someone who has anxiety it can be a disaster. The way things are right now, almost every field is controlled by money so there are always changes to be made, things to be cut, and schedules to extend to name a few. Her goal was always to go into a private practice anyway so it's better to start going for it now than later in my opinion. I think she's making the right decision and hope she doesn't give up with the huge workload.

The Power of Television

I think it's awesome how people can do incredible things with media if they so choose. Katie Couric, Oprah and Dr. Oz have brought so much awareness to colon cancer it's pretty amazing how many people keep up with being screened now. At the same time products like colon cleansers became really popular. I'm glad that people are taking their health into consideration for a change. It's nice to know that they aren't all just worried about going on diets or something cosmetic. I think it's about time people start paying attention to what really matters.