What do I want to be when I grow up??

Here I am again, wishing I had time to write daily. Trying to get through every day and have enough time to feel like I have an evening for myself. It's crazy

• 5 am - get up close to that time daily
• 6:30 am - leave for the train station
• 6:40 am - catch the train
• 7:30 am - arrive at my office
• 4:50 pm - catch the shuttle
• 6:00 pm - get back home
• take the dog for a walk, fix dinner, eat
• 9:30 pm - go to bed

That's my day and I still can't get over how much time I spend getting ready for work, working and then coming home! It's amazing. I know I committed to at least write a quick note daily.

I wish my job was blogging. Wouldn't that be great? I'd love to do a politic blog, have a talk radio program and just BITCH BITCH BITCH, and let everyone call me and BITCH! It would be soooooooo much fun!

"The Future is Ahead of Schedule"
---Anon

Is It KARMA??

One more unbelievable event in my life..........I guess I just sit back and watch life and find myself amazed at what life offers. Today was no exception to the rule!

I GOT MY STUFF BACK THAT WAS STOLEN!!! It was returned by a perfect stranger....GOD BLESS HER AND HER FAMILY!! I pray for them that life returns the favor. I was soooooooooo grateful.

Again, I can't talk about the details but I can say that I'm always surprised with life and it's been an emotional roller-coaster. I'll write more about this later as I'm allowed to share the circumstances.

"Here's all you need to know about men and women: Women are crazy, and men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid."

-- George Carlin

If I won the Lottery

What would I do?

First, I would hope for enough money to live on for the rest of my life.

I would pay off all of mybills, quit working, take my honey to another country and get a kidney transplant, buy a house in all climates that I love - big house with a pool in Tucson, Arizona, beachhouse in SoCal, Cincinnati so I could be near my family, cabin in the mountains by Boulder!! Oh my, that would be AWESOME!! Then I would want to buy cars for the kids, my honey and myself. I would want to buy some nice presents for my friends.

Then after that, I would just want to contribute to help others: start a college scholarship fund with competition for women in technology; I think I would volunteer at a battered women's shelter; take in rescue dogs to save them from the gas chamber and find them homes; and travel to visit my friends and my houses!!

Oh yea, I would visit Dr. 90210 and get an assessment for some lifts, tucks, and makeover items. :)

There is one key about the lottery - you have to play to win!! I quit playing after I NEVER won, so all I can do is.....

DREAM! Hey, a girl can dream, can't she??

"Here's all you need to know about men and women: Women are crazy, and men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid."

-- George Carlin

House Hunting

It's hard for me to rest...

I am finding that I want to be on the go, more and more but I can't. It's so hard for me to rest, keep my foot up and stay off of it!! I always think I have so much to do, especially right now. It's a week that he's off work, so I have a ride to places I need to go to, for one. Another thing is that we have to move in Feb, and that's not too far off - we have to start looking now to find the right place! Plus, when a GREAT deal comes along I don't want to lose out! Tamara is coming, so we have to make room :)

We were going to try to find something in the same price range. Man, it was challenging - but I did it - I found the PERFECT townhome - 2 big bdrms, 1.5 bath, 1 car garage with washer/dryer hookup in a complex with a pool and a jacuzzi. $1100 - SWEET!!

But then.... there's always a catch isn't there???? .....he decided that we really need a 2 car garage. So we looked at a couple of those this morning - not too far from where we live now and to be honest - wow!! They were BEAUTIFUL - 1275 sq ft! 3 bedrooms, 2 bath, 2 car garage, super large patio, eat-in kitchen, big living room with vaulted ceiling and fireplace, washer/dryer hookup, lots of storage space and lots of windows. The rent was more than what we originally wanted to spend, $1477/month, but we get so much more. The other catch with this place is they require the first lease to be a 6-8 month lease, which is ok, except at that time they can raise the rent!! Plus, then they will offer the 12-month lease with the possibility of the higher rent. The reason they want to do that is so that the lease will run out in the summer, easier time to rent than end of the year/first of the year. I'm not too keen on this.....

Now, keeping in mind that the new requirement is a 2 car garage instead of just a garage (and I should explain - garages here are VERY small - only a car fits in them, no room on the side except to get out and in, no room for extra storage and no room to work on them) I did a search on my favorite utility - www.craigslist.com - everyone uses it here in San Diego. The first place I found I think is it!!

Tri-Level Townhome - 1500 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bath, sunroom, 2 car garage, washer/dryer, pool and jacuzzi in common area, patio, yard, living room, dining room, kitchen. It sounded very very nice plus the rental agent sounded even nicer. I really want it and we haven't even seen it. The location is great, close for everyone to get to work, school, shopping, and dialysis. We're gonna see it on Sat morning, first thing - we were the first one's to call, so I hope we get the first shot at it. She said we would.

We have to pay a partial month's rent in Feb here, a deposit and full month rent when we move into the other place Feb 1, so for 17 days we will be paying double rent. I guess it's just the way it goes. My guess is the rent will be $728 for the 17 days in Feb, but the good part is, we can start moving into the other place on the 1st and have 2 weeks to get things moved in and settled, like we can get the kitchen set up, our clothes in the closets, the bathrooms set up, everything in my garage can get into the other place and most of it can be unpacked - FINALLY!! I'm really happy because I believe I'm gonna be in a nice home for our duration of our stay in California. YIPPEE!!

Well, I am asking for anything that you think will help us be certain that we get JUST THE RIGHT PLACE. Crossing Fingers, Saying Prayers, Burning Candles, Repeating Mantras, ANYTHING....just so we get led to the RIGHT PLACE FOR US!!

thanks!!

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

-- Colin Powell

THIS IS THE GREATEST CHRISTMAS!!

What Christmas is ALL About!!

My dear friends and family, all I can say is how wonderful all of you are. Yesterday afternoon, I received a phone call from a young mother of four who lives in Cincinnati. It's a long story, but I've known her since she was in grade school. We used to live in the same neighborhood and during jr and sr high school, she babysat Jake & Beka. As the circle of life tends to complete itself, Beka ran into her when she was in Jr. High and started babysitting for her up until we moved to California. But we talk to her all the time and Beka is extremely close to Teri's children. It's always been a wonderful relationship and I was proud of Beka to make this family part of her heart and of course ours.

The phone call was to ask me if I could help her. She didn't know what to do. She works but doesn't make a ton of money. Her husband works, is a home remodeler / construction type person and hasn't had any work for a while. They found themselves in a bit of a jam. They are being evicted from their rental, have no Christmas presents for their 4 kids, no Christmas tree up and their van broke down to boot (they have another car, but they don't need something else to be wrong!!). Well, as one person I could help out, but I couldn't take care of it all. So, after I cried hearing their plight, I thought about the best way to solve this problem.

And then I got the idea (Thank You Lord!!).

Send an email out to my friends, family & business acquaintances in Cincinnati and see what happens. I was hopeful and almost immediately I started getting responses. $100 here, $100 there, gift cards for presents, a tree, food and $$$!! It's such a blessing for Teri, she and I cried on the phone last night while we were waiting to see what happens. I'm certain that God will provide what they need and the "right" people on my list will answer the call for help. Teri's family will have the BEST Christmas ever!!

It works out because Beka is visiting Cincinnati for 3 weeks and part of her plan was to stay at Teri's through the weekend and help Teri with the kids. So now, Beka can help coordinate with everyone to get the money, etc. to Teri. So the BEST PART IS FOR BEKA AND I!! So many things have already happened. For one, I had the chance to talk to a few people and hear their stories which lead them to help this family (see below) and I get the chance to talk to some folks I haven't talked to in a while - that's VERY COOL! My daughter is blessed because she gets to help out with all of this, watch God's hand move over this situation and watch people's hearts open up! It's a very good experience for her and for me and for the people giving! WOW!!! A COMPLETE WIN-WIN FOR EVERYONE: helpers, givers, receivers!! God is awesome and watching him do his handy-work is even more awesome!!

If you are intersted in helping and I forgot to send you an email, comment me back and I'll tell you how. I'm collecting money via paypal to make it easy.

here's a couple stories which made me cry:

1. a friend of mine used to live in Cincinnati and like me, moved away about a year before I did. She has 2 children and like all couples, they have had their lean times, but have still been fortunate. Their children are 7 and 9 I think. Well, the kids received gift certificates for Christmas but they're only good at two malls - one over an hour from their house and one in Cincinnati. So, the original thought was they would spend them when they come to Cincinnati to visit family spring break or something. When their Mom told them the story, the kids immediately offered one of the cards for those kids and they would share the other card!! It's SO AWESOME - children with such BIG HEARTS!!!! They are fantastic and everyone has been crying over their generosity!!

2. another friend and I talked this morning. She shared a story about a time in her life when things were pretty lean, small children, only one person working, early baby delivery, and wondering how they would cover Christmas. Well, someone her husband worked with surprised them and went Christmas Shopping and brought tons of presents over and blessed them with a great Christmas. They knew that "one of these years" they would be in a position to pay it forward. Already a few weeks ago, they decided this was the year, but they didn't want to just give money to a charity. They really wanted to be sure that the money was going to directly help someone. And then out of the blue, my email arrived. Not only do they have the opportunity to make a difference in Teri's family by contributing a tree and other items, but some of her co-workers have offered grocery gift certificates!! Another example of God touching hearts and people listening to the call!! It's AMAZING!!

3. my own experience, my kids were little, we were broke. I had $100 to buy presents for 4 kids - wasn't going to happen, so I took the money to Goodwill and searched for toys that I could clean up and clothes on the racks that still had tags on them. I did find some, but I was crying most of the time at the store. It was so depressing to think that I was in such a mess. How could I ever get through this??? Feeling such despair. I went home with my used toys and new clothes with store tags on them, started wrapping them and crying. My step-son was a senior in high school. He came home with his friends, had no clue things were so bad. They caught me wrapping and crying, so I confessed to them how sucky Christmas was going to be - crummy presents and all. The next day, they all showed up with presents for the kids and I mean REAL presents!! I was so blessed! I will never forget their generosity. Some came directly from the kids, some came from their parents and some even came from the high school! Wow!!

4. another friend shared with me that without her family's support through the lean times, she would have been in the same position as Teri. Possibly facing eviction. Fortunately she had a good support system, went to college and has a great job now - a woman with a plan!! You gotta love it!!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY RESPONDED AND THANKS TO THOSE THAT ARE STILL GOING TO RESPOND. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

-- Colin Powell