Got Some Major Shopping Done

So yesterday I called my mom around 11 am to tell her about this horrible dream I had about me being committed to an insane asylum and she told me that she realized that she got paid yesterday instead of today.  So I ended up picking her up around 1:30 and we went to the bank, the post office, Goodwill, Wal Mart, Anna's Linens, Harris Teeter, and Divas Beauty Supply.  We had to go to so many places because we had to get everything for Christmas dinner plus she had to stock up on groceries for the month.  So at some point in the shopping, we met my husband at Ham's restaurant and had dinner which was great as usual and then my mom and I went to Goodwill and I found a Kirby vacuum.  Now for those of you who don't know, Kirby's are great and they last forever.  I actually already have 1 but I've always said that I want a back up just in case one gets clogged.  Plus I asked the vacuum repair shop, if I got an old Kirby how much would it cost for them to unclog it and clean it up and they said it would only be like $50 which is nothing compared to the hundreds of dollars it usually cost to get a new Kirby.  So this Kirby was made around the same time mine was made and was only $30.  We actually inherited the first one from my husband's late grandmother. 

Then at Anna's Linens, I found, you guessed it, some rubber ducks.  This was actually a large soap dish rubber duck and rubber duck babies that sat in the dish that was shaped like a rubber duck.  Plus I finally found an aquarium themed hand towel for my guest bathroom and some 50 cent incense packs of my favorite scent in the whole world, jasmine.  My mom actually got an area rug, a smaller rug, and an even smaller rug set for $40.  So after we left Wal Mart, my mom came to my house so she could see the new furniture and she loved it.  But after all that shopping and having to drop my mom off, it was after 11 pm before I got home and could relax.

Today I just relaxed because my friend and I were supposed to go shopping for last minute Christmas gifts but she was so tired after work that we agreed on going tomorrow at lunch.  But then my mom asked if she could come too tomorrow because she's going through some personal problems and I think she could use some support and shopping is always good therapy.  So I'm excited about shopping tomorrow because we're going to Reidsville where my friend lives and they always have good deals in their thrift stores.  BTW The dogs are doing great.  They haven't escaped since I posted the doggy dilemma blog and I believe are fully house trained.  They're at the point where they won't come in unless they're ready to take a nap and they will kind of walk around sniffing if they have to go outside and I let them out and everything is great.  I just thank God because this has made my life 100% easier.  No more bleaching the dog room floor and no more chains.

But that's basically what I did the last 2 days, got some major shopping done, ate at Hams Restaurant, and relaxed a bit.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

My Furniture Was Delivered Today!!!

So that's my new living room furniture.  They delivered it today around 2 pm and the men who delivered it were very professional.  They set up the couches, the pillows that went with them, and the glass tables and arranged it just like I wanted it.  The other half of the living room has the Christmas Tree in it.  It's so funny because when you're in a huge furniture warehouse, you don't really grasp just how big the furniture is going to be but when they put it in the room, I was happy because it's plenty of room for anyone who wants to come over.  Plus we have furniture in our den so this is just extra for people who don't want to sit and watch a movie or play games.  They can just sit in the living room and chill.  Oh and the cat in the picture is one of my cats named Chester.  He's the first to notice the furniture and he matches it perfectly.  The couches are a black/grey kinda tweed color and it's perfect because they're dark enough to where cat hair won't show up and sturdy enough to where the cushions can't easily be ripped.  Now I want to have a get together just so my friends can see my furniture even though I posted it on facebook.

But I didn't post a blog yesterday because I knew I had to get up early, well early for me, today to wait for the furniture to be delivered so I had to go to bed early.  Plus yesterday was a great day for my dog's housebreaking experiment.  They have been doing wonderfully.  First there have been no accidents in the house which is great.  All I have to do is let them out every now and then and then they go outside.  Also we let them sleep in the dog room at night and even though it's not perfect, there was only a minor accident overnight.  But I have a feeling that if I keep up with getting up earlier every day and getting them used to going at a certain time, there won't be any accidents at all.  So today was a success as well.  The dogs are outside right now but not on the chain because of a friendly neighbor.  I went outside yesterday to try to get some heavy rocks to plug up this hole that they were getting out of and I asked the neighbors friend if he had a wheelbarrow because I needed an easier way to transport the rocks from the front yard to the back yard.  Well he said he didn't have one here but when I told him about the situation with the dogs escaping, he offered to nail a piece of wood where they had been getting out under the fence.  So after he did that, I reinforced it with some rocks on my side of the fence and they haven't gotten out since.  So because of his kindness, my dogs can now go outside and play and not escape.  I just thank God.  So in the morning I let them out to play and do their business, then I let them in for a while, then I let them out and so on and it's really been working.  Here's a pic of them.  The big one is Amanda.  She's a German Shepherd and Pitbull mix.  And the smaller one is Jasmine and she's a Miniature Schnauzer and Australian Shepherd Mix. 



Aren't they cute? :)  Anyway today's been a relaxing day because the dog's were good, the furniture was delivered and my husband and I just watched Zombieland.  It's a pretty funny movie.  And yesterday my husband told me that he got the NBA League Pass which allows us to watch every NBA game on Direct TV.  So I can watch my Celtics every night!  But that's basically the last 2 days.  The dogs are doing well in their training, I got my furniture, and I watched a cool movie.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.



Dog Dilemma: Please Help!

So I actually stayed up pretty late last night until about 6 am because there were so many blogs I had to catch up on and because I just wasn't tired.  So when I went to go to sleep, my husband was trying to figure out if his job had closed because of the winter storm that passed last night.  We basically had snow and ice that froze overnight and made the roads slippery.  So all of the schools in the area were closed for the day and my husband got a text message from his boss saying that it would only be an hour delay for the event he still had to go to.  That kind of sucked because I had planned on sleeping in with him and making brunch but instead he still had to go to work.  So after he got up for work, I went to bed for the night or day I should say and the next thing, I remember was my husband calling me at 3:30 pm to ask me if I wanted any Krispy Kreme Donuts because he was there.  So in a fog, I told him what I wanted and then realized how long I had slept.  I really can't believe I slept that long.  I mean that's just ridiculous, even for me.  So I got up and decided to play with the dogs outside for a bit because there was some snow on the ground and they love the snow.  Now we've had our dogs, (Amanda, a German Shepherd, Pitbull mix and Jasmine, a Miniature Schnauzer, Australian Shepherd mix), for over 2 years now and to be honest, they have never been fully housebroken.  The reason for this is because we never got crates because at the time, it was suggested that we get 2 separate crates and that was going to cost a fortune along with all of the vet bills for each of them.  Also we were blessed to have a mud room attached to the back of the house that we have been using as a dog room.  Well after doing some research online, there were a few studies that said that you could use a small room like a crate and take them out when they have to go and train them that way.  Well that worked for a while until they started digging under the fence that we have in the back yard and escaping.  So what normally would be a bathroom break would turn into us chasing them down in the neighbors yard.  This has been going on for over a year. 

So we first thought it was because they weren't fixed yet so we got them fixed.  That worked for about a month then they became obsessed with getting out again.  Then we had these large rocks that we put under and around any holes they had dug, that worked for maybe a week until they starting digging new holes.  Then we starting just putting new stones around the new holes but it became apparent to us that having to do that everyday was too much.  I mean at that time, we were both working and I still had to take care of the rest of my animals so it just became a burden.  So finally I resorted to something that I absolutely hate, which was to put them on separate chains in the yard.  I feel like it's always been a stereotype for African Americans to have their dogs out on a chain all day and night.  And I hate that I had to resort to that method of keeping my dogs safe from cars, dog thieves, other viscous dogs, etc...  I feel horrible about having to use them.  So I have since tried other methods to prevent me from having to use the chains.  I started walking them everyday but the problem with that is that my larger dog, Amanda, pulls with all her might like she's mushing on a sled race and that has caused me physical injury before.  I'm not talking about a little soreness.  I'm talking about serious pain in my back, ankles, arms, etc... to the point where the next day, I can hardly move.  I have tried Caesar Millan's techniques but she just ignores me so I can't walk them again until I either am more physically fit or my husband helps me walk them.

So then I decided to try to plug the holes again and any places where I thought they could dig.  I did this because I'm no longer working and I had the time.  Well it got to the point where I would plug one hole up and then a minute later, they would dig another and once I got every square inch covered in big rocks, they started moving the rocks.  Amanda weighs over 100 lbs so she is capable of this.  So it got to the point where I couldn't do anything in the house like cleaning or eating for that matter because they literally were escaping every 10 minutes of the day.  And let me tell you, lifting 30 lbs rocks every 10 minutes wears you out.  So that idea was scratched and we went back to the chains.  So then one day I said, I'm going to try to train them somehow to be in the house because up until now based on the fact that they still have accidents in the dog room, I assumed that they would do the same in the house.  So at first I started to walk them again which led to injury but after I would walk them, I would let them come into the house for at least 30 minutes and then maybe let them back out.  So I figured that walking them for over an hour would quench their thirst for escaping but it didn't.  I could walk them for over an hour and as soon as I let them out, they would be trying to dig.  So now what I'm doing is letting them out in the yard in the morning and watching them, playing with them, feeding them and then once I see they've gone to the bathroom, I let them in the house.  But the problem still en lies when I have to let them back out to use the bathroom.  When I do that, I have about a 30 second window before they start to try to escape.  So for instance today was a successful day for the most part.  The first time I let them back out, they escaped and as usual they came to the front of the house after exploring the neighborhood and I let them back in.  The next 3 times I let them out, I only allowed 30 seconds before I called them back in but I could tell that they were trying to escape.  But the last time I let them out, they escaped again.  So you can see my dilemma in that if I do have them in the house, then at some point I have to let them out to pee but when I do, they escape.  If I keep them on the chains, then I feel horrible but they are safe and are using the bathroom outside.  Also keep in mind, they always sleep in the dog room at night because I would never have them outside the whole night.  But I feel like if I could get them house trained but get them away from escaping then it would be perfect.  They wouldn't be cold and everyone would be happier.

So we have looked into a few options regarding the fence. First we had a rep from the Invisible Fence Company, (the system where they have a collar that shocks them if they go close the fence, thereby preventing them from escaping), come out and give us a quote and that was going to cost us $1200 which I thought was ok until he told us that because we rent, we couldn't do the financing which means we'd have to come up with the $1200 right then.  So that was out.  Then I did some research and realized that building a real fence would be way more expensive, not to mention that I'm not adding property value to a house that I don't even own.  So that's why I'm looking into this at home training for them.  I just want them to have a cozy and fulfilled life as house dogs.  Oh and BTW, Greensboro is thinking about making it a law that you can't have your dog tied in the back with a chain, rope, zip line, etc.. ever, unless it's for a business or something.  So soon it may be illegal for me to have them back there.  I guess the city would rather see my dogs dead in the street or end up in the pound but hey it's not like they're going to give us the $1200 for the invisible fence.  Anyway if you have any suggestions for training or deterring them from escaping then please reply to this blog.

So back to the day,  my husband came home with the donuts and I decided that I was going to cook tonight and I made a new Linguine with Meat sauce recipe from Campbells.com.  I wanted to try this recipe because it didn't look traditional and boring.  Just an example, there was chopped carrots and cream of mushroom in the sauce and it turned out really good along with the other ingredients.  I did have to add some tomato paste to make it thicker and some garlic powder, salt, and red pepper to give it a kick but it turned out great.  While we ate, we looked at the Celtics game against the Atlanta Hawks and we won increasing our winning streak to 12 games in a row! GO CELTICS!!! Then we kind of watched the nuggets and spurs game but fell asleep during that.

So that was my day, slept in way too late, dealt with my dogs escaping twice, and watched the Celtics game.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

I Finally Got My Living Room Furniture!!!

So if you've read my other blogs, you know that in my home, we have a den and a living room.  Well we've been here for almost 2 years and the den has the TV and furniture but the living room doesn't have any furniture in it except for an over sized bow flex machine which will be gone once the furniture is delivered.  So as you can tell by the title, today we finally got furniture for the living room today.

So today I woke up around 11:30 and asked my husband when he wanted to go to look for furniture and he said around 4 pm because he had to work first.  So we decided to invite my mom to come with us because originally she was supposed to come over to watch last week's survivor with us because we have a DVR and she missed the last episode.  Well we never made it back to the house to watch last week's episode but that was ok.  So while he was at work, I decided to play with the dogs outside and of course once I wasn't watching them, they escaped.  Well usually when they escape, they just come around the house and wait for me to let them in but today they decided to run through the whole neighborhood.  So after they exhausted themselves, they showed up at the front door and I let them in.  When they came in, I noticed a fowl odor from their breath once I sat down with them on the couch and I surmised that it was dookie breath (literally).  So my first instinct was to kick them out of the house but by the time, I smelled it, they had already fallen asleep on the couch with me so I couldn't disturb their ultra cute sleep time.  So at some point, I had to let them back in the dog room so I could get ready to go with my husband to look for furniture.  So I let them in the room and when I got back in the house, I realized that the whole front of the house smelled like their dookie breath.  I febreezed every carpet, couch, blanket, etc... and lit 2 incense, along with spraying some fragrance spray.  Then even after I took my shower, I could have sworn that I could still smell it in my nose, even though I know that it was just an after effect.  Now that's what I call bad breath! 

So when my husband got home after work, we drove to my mom's house and got there around 4 and we went to this place called "American Furniture Warehouse" on High Point Rd. in Greensboro.  We saw an ad on TV for it and figured, why not give it a try.  We have been trying to get the furniture at thrift stores but to be honest, the furniture has either been stained, broken, or way too overpriced for used furniture.  I mean who donates furniture and thinks it's going to be sold for $500?!  I know I wouldn't donate furniture to a place unless I knew they weren't going to exploit it.  I mean I don't know about you, but if I had $1000 to spend on furniture, I wouldn't be buying it at Goodwill.  So we figured we would try this place for some nice new furniture.  So the store was really nice.  It's just like it says, it's a giant warehouse full of furniture but it's clean and well maintained and at first when we were looking through everything, we started out in the, "if you have good credit or a credit card with a high limit section", where living room sets were like $3000 but then we found the clearance section.  Ahhh Thank God for the Clearance Section.  Basically the clearance section consisted of all new but maybe it was a couch but without a matching love seat or a couch that obviously needed another piece because it didn't have arms on both sides because it was part of a set.  So most of the clearance couches ranged from $200 to $500 and so at first we didn't think we could find a set but then my husband found a black print couch and love seat set for $499.  It's not the biggest couch or the most fluffy but it's new and it's perfect for our house because the color is dark and the fabric is strong, so because we have 4 cats in the house along with dogs that occasionally venture into the house, it's a great deal.  So then I thought we should look for a coffee table set and again at first we found pricey tables for $300 for a 3 piece set but then we found a glass coffee table with 2 end tables set that was $99 and it had black legs so it matched the couch perfectly.  Now the salesperson, who was very nice I might add, had already told us that he would try to make us a deal.  So I was hoping to get the table set for half off but what he did was take $25 off of the $50 delivery fee which was good enough for me.  So we ended up getting a couch, love seat, and a 3 piece coffee table set with tax and delivery fee was a little under $700.  Just so you know, I've never spent that much money on furniture.  I'm always a goodwill or salvation army girl but my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told him that I wanted living room furniture.  And it's nice to break out of that thrifty mode once in a while.  This is probably is the first piece of new furniture we have in this house.

But the main reason that I really wanted it was because when I have a big get together, I have friends that like video games, myself included, friends that like movies, and friends that just want to chill.  So I remember last year, I think it was for New Years, majority of my friends played video games but the rest of the group had to just sit and watch them play and I could tell they were bored because there was no where else to sit in the house to get away from the video games.  So I don't ever want to run into that again.  Plus I've been calling my living room, "The Walking Room" because you walk into the house and walk right through the living room into the kitchen.  Just 4 walls with carpet, well not anymore after they deliver the furniture on Saturday.  We've been debating on whether or not to get a TV in there as well but after watching the Celtics game tonight, I realize, I want one in there.  I mean sometimes my husband wants to watch a normal program like a drama and I'm like, "ummm my Celtics are playing so I need to watch the game" but with the TV in there we could both watch what we want.  IDK, Tell me what you think.  Do you think it's too much to have a TV in the living room and den or should I just not care and get what I want? :)

Anyway after we got the furniture, we went to "Macaroni Grill" at Friendly Center in Greensboro and it was delicious as usual.  The calamari is the best in Greensboro and everything is so fresh and flavorful.  It's an Italian restaurant.  After we left there, I dropped my mom off and we went back home.  I then watched the Celtics and Knicks game which was GREAT!  Basically the score was close the whole game but towards the end for some reason, the Knicks were leading the Celtics by 4 points consistently.  So the Celtics would make a shot and then the Knicks would make a shot and this went on for over 10 minutes.  So then finally the Celtics got a stop (a stop is when a team has possession of the ball and they don't score in that possession before having to turn the ball over to the other team) and when the Knicks missed that shot it gave an opportunity for the Celtics to come back and they did.  First it was tied, then we were leading by 1 and then tied again and with less than a minute left, Paul Pierce (my favorite player of the NBA) made a jump shot and won the game!  Oh man just thinking about it makes my blood rush.  I love my Celtics and tonight was a great game.  OK Now that I've calmed down, after we watched the game and after I stopped jumping around the room, we watched Survivor from last week and an episode of Dr. Phil. 

So today I had to deal with dookie breath, Got some great furniture, and watched a totally awesome game.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

Weekly Cleaning Day

So today I woke up around 10 am because my husband came in the room while he was getting ready but I ended up going back to sleep until around 2 pm.  I didn't expect to sleep that long but I did.  But as soon as I got up, I started working on my weekly cleaning chores.  I, of course did all of my animal daily chores (cleaning the litter boxes, bleaching the dog room, feeding everyone, etc...) and then I started on the laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, and just tidied up the house.  My husband bought some food from this place in Greensboro called the Fillet O Soul near High Point Rd. and they prepare soul food.  So I got the whitening fillet, yams, black eyed peas, potato salad, and some cornbread.  It tasted great but the whitening really wasn't filleted well.  There were bones all in it, so I decided to eat some of my husband's fried chicken.  But the crazy thing is that my husband has family in High Point that have this restaurant called Becky's and Mary's that has soul food as well and today he found out that they are related to the people that run Fillet O Soul.  Small world :)

So in between cleaning all day, I had some fun with my husband for a bit :) and then for dinner we had Taco Bell which was great and we watched Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser Finale, and then the news.  Now I know in previous blogs, it seems that we always eat out but that has just been recently because my husband  got a bonus check.  But usually, I cook.  I love to cook just about anything.  I love trying new recipes and I love the look on my husband's face when he really likes a new recipe.  I may cook tomorrow but I'm not sure because we're supposed to be looking for furniture.

So that was my day.  Not a very exciting day but I did get some laundry done, cleaned the bathrooms, and spent some time with my husband.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

A Day of Shopping with my Mom

So today I woke up around noon because I had to go to a follow up appointment with a specialist for my stomach at 1:45 pm and I ended up getting there a little late because people kept calling me when I was getting ready.  But I just reported to my doctor that everything was going great with my bowels and that there was no more pain in my side.  So he was very happy to hear that everything was going well.  So after that I picked my mom up and we went to the post office, which was packed, to send our presents to my grandparents and for me to send some packages for my business.  After we left there, we went to her bank so she could cash some checks and then we were going to go to a pancake place on Wendover Ave but we got turned around and ended up eating at Shoney's in High Point.  The food was great and they had this thing that if you got the soup and salad bar, they actually had fried chicken on the bar as well that you could eat.  So I ended up getting a burger and my mom got spaghetti and we shared our food along with the salad bar.  But afterwards, I was stuffed for hours.  So then we went to the Goodwill on Wendover Ave near High Point and my mom ended up getting a nice black leather stool and I found, you guessed it, some more RUBBER DUCKS!.  Actually I found 2 rubber duck soap dishes and 1 rubber duck toy.  So that made my day.  I also got some really weird looking ornaments that were like stuffed yellow stars that had these human mask faces in the middle of them.  But I love unique things so I got them.  I also got this weird looking glass hand that had a clock in the middle of it but I'm going to use it for my business cards. 

So after we left Goodwill, I dropped her back home and I headed home and watched my Giants play against the Vikings.  The Giants won of course and they played in Detroit because the Vikings stadium caved in so it obviously isn't accessible for a home game.  My husband and I also watched Monday Night Raw WWE Wrestling and were very happy to see that John Cena was hired back by the Nexus.  So he's no longer fired which is awesome!  At some point, I fell asleep between the game and the wrestling but I taped the game so I got to watch it later.

So that was my day, going to the doctor, going shopping with my mom, and watching my Giants win against the Vikings.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

A Summary of the Last 3 Days

Sorry I haven't posted in the last 2 days but I've been hanging out a lot and having not such a good time with my husband.  But I'll just try to sum everything up.  On Friday our friend called us and invited us to go to Reidsville, NC to go to this toy shop that had action figures half off that day.  So I love toys but I don't necessarily get into small action figures.  So he picked my husband and another friend up and we all drove in the same car.  When we got there, it was way more than I expected.  First of all, all of the toys were old school.  I'm talking Rainbow Bright, Star Wars, Star Trek, Mickey Mouse, etc...  So I was very happy.  I ended up getting this purple and pink stuffed animal that is a Pegasus (a horse with wings but no horn like a unicorn) and it was only $4.  Then I got a small Mr. Potato Head because I collect them as well.  I also got a giant Millennium Falcon from Star Wars (The ship that Hans Solo drove) for $22.50 because it was half off.  I mean this thing is huge,  I would say at least 2 feet wide.  My husband didn't get anything because he's just not into toys as much as me and my other friend didn't get anything either but the friend who invited us, got a bunch and put some things on law away because he's really into toys even though he's 32.  LOL  So after we left there we went to a "Japanese" restaurant in Reidsville where they offered what I thought was sushi and hibachi.  I ended up getting steak and shrimp hibachi which filled me up but when I was about to order the sushi, the only kind they had was imitation crab meat and shrimp.  Well my favorite kind is Salmon.  So this place basically had fake sushi and I wasn't happy about it.  This is the second restaurant that I've been in in Reidsville that is fake.  The first was their first Elizabeth's Pizza which when you walked in looked like all of the rest of the ones they have in Greensboro, Burlington, Winston, etc... but there was a BIG difference.  First you seat yourself, then they don't have real menus, they just have take out paper menus, then I order my favorite meal of all time, Linguine with Clams with White Wine Sauce.  I've had it at many restaurants but Elizabeth's makes it the best.  So when they bring my order out, they made it with red sauce which is the equivalent to noodles topped with marinara sauce, not my thing.  So I asked my husband to take it back because they don't serve you there either.  You have to get up for your drinks, food, even it's a huge pizza, they just won't do it.  If I were in McDonald's, I would expect this but not in Elizabeth's.  So I ended up just eating pizza with my friends and we didn't pay for the food that we didn't order in the first place.  Also when we walked in we noticed that they had blaring loud music and it was rock music, kind of weird for an Italian restaurant but who cares.  But then we realized that it was Marilyn Manson playing.  Well we're all Christians and since he's a satanist and sings about that openly, we didn't want to hear that.  I mean, is this not a family restaurant or what?  So we asked the manager if he could change it and his response was "No because it was entered in in the jukebox".  So I was like, this is crazy because we have to listen to this crap with the cuss words in it, I might add, as children are walking into the restaurant.  So my friend put money in and played some black eyed peas because they didn't have any Christian music to counteract the satanic mood the previous selections had caused.  But we weren't aware that they didn't bleep any of the cuss words out of that album.  So then we felt guilty that there was still cussing going on on the radio. 

So back to that day, after we left the restaurant, we went back to Greensboro and went to "Barnes and Nobles" at Friendly Shopping Center and I remembered that they had a baby line as a part of their store with gift ideas for babies which included RUBBER DUCKS!  Now like I explained in previous blogs, I have a huge collection of rubber ducks and I was ecstatic to see they still had some ducks in colors that I hadn't gotten yet available.  So I ended up getting 2 ducks, one of which was yellow and the other which was light green and they both had white spots on them.  SO CUTE!  So after looking around, I figured that everyone was ready to go but I couldn't find my husband anywhere so I called him.  He said he was in the bathroom so I waited by the bathroom for a while and then gave up and started looking around the store again.  Then I heard his voice from the magazine section and he was talking to this white man about the Lord so I figured that he knew him and when I walked up they just continued talking about different topics and eventually, my husband introduced me to him.  Long story short, they ended up talking for over an hour while I looked through every section Barnes and Nobles had to offer and finally we left the store.  But the guy was just another Christian who felt the need to fellowship with my husband.  So after we left there, we went home.

Then on Saturday, my husband and I went furniture shopping.  We started at the "Habitat for Humanity" thrift store on High Point Rd. in Greensboro and then went to Goodwill across the street, then to Goodwill on Cone Blvd but we didn't find anything.  But while we were at the one on Cone, I found a rubber duck liquid soap dispenser, and a rubber duck toothbrush holder for my bathroom.  So my bathroom is definitely duckied up now.  So after we left there, we went to see the newest "Chronicles of Narnia" movie and it was great except without giving the movie away, there was a part in the movie that reminded me of my friend that died this year on June 30th.  He was my best friend from middle school on and he drowned while vacationing with his family.  So after the movie, I became emotional and I started talking to my husband about my feelings about my friend's death and how I feel that I'm going through another stage of grief even though it's already been 6 months and we were originally going to go to "Carrabbas" on High Point Rd. and we made it to their parking lot and he kept saying, let's just go home, because I was so emotional but I just kept saying, just let me get it out and I'll be fine.  So my husband is a preacher.  He doesn't have his own church or anything but he does preach at our church sometimes.  And sometimes when I need my husband, he turns into a preacher.  For instance, when I was crying instead of him saying something like "it's going to be ok", he says "that's why I tell you to get in your word and the Lord will heal you".  Like I get that but at that moment when I'm sobbing, I need my husband, not a preacher.  I'm not at church, I'm not his congregation.  I'm his wife and he should treat me as such and sometimes I feel he doesn't know how to do that.  So then we got into an argument about why he just can't support me instead of preaching to me all the time and he ended up dropping me home.  So this is where things for me get bad.  So my husband knows that I cried the whole way home, that I was feeling hopeless, useless because I can't find a job for the life of me, etc...  And because he's mad about the argument, he just leaves and eats at "Chilli's" restaurant with our friend for over an hour.  So when I got home, I was still crying, so I just got in the bed and cried myself to sleep but about 2 hours later, I realize that he's not there.  Now I was going to call a friend and talk to her about it but it was late so I didn't.  So I called him and he admits that he's just been having fun and eating good food while I'm at home sobbing and starving and he didn't even call to see if I wanted anything to eat!  So of course we argued some more on the phone and I just told him that I had to go back to sleep because I was too hungry to stay awake. (I know a little melodramatic) but I wanted to be.  So of course when he got home, I could hear him but I pretended to be asleep just so I wouldn't have to talk with him. 
So I went back to sleep and woke up around 4 am to put my retainer in, take my medication, and wrap my hair for the night.  So after I took the medication, I started working on my hair which entails me getting the knots out of my hair and then putting my silk product on and then brushing with a wet brush to create waves for the next day.  I then put it in a ponytail and put a female doo rag over my hair while it's still wet.  Trust me, it works.  But while I was doing my hair which only takes 5 minutes, I first started to feel warm, then hot, then burning up, so I turned the heat down.  But when I started back doing my hair, I started to feel like I was going to faint.  So I hurried up and finished my hair quickly and held on the sink because I honestly thought I was going to fall right there.  So I ran to the bedroom and when I laid down, I could feel my heart just pumping loudly in my chest and my stomach was in pain and I just felt horrible.  Well after about 10 minutes of that, I just fell asleep and it didn't come back.  But I think it may have been from this new drug I'm taking that controls my bowels.  I got my gallbladder removed when I was 15 and the gallbladder produces the chemicals that make your dookie, solid.  So most of the time I just diarrhea (I know gross, but I'm just being honest) and I've gotten used to it until I went to a specialist and he prescribed these pills which are like a miracle.  No more diarrhea!  But the pharmacist did tell me that I didn't have to take the pills with food but if  I felt nauseated or feverish that I should take them with food from then on.  So that night, I only had movie popcorn and I think the pills took a toll on me.  But no more episodes since then.

So this morning, I was awakened by my husband getting ready for church and I was surprised that I had slept that long.  I didn't set my alarm clock because really, even though I spent an hour arguing on the phone, I still went to sleep around 10 pm so I figured that I would naturally get up early the next morning, nope not this time.  I didn't get up until after 11 am.  So that's over 12 hours of sleep.  So he ended up going to a different church today called "Destiny Christian Center" which some of our friends had gone to in the past but this is the same church that the man in Barnes and Nobles goes to, so my husband got to see him again and talk with him some more.  So before church I could see that my husband was still a little angry but after church, it was like a peace came over him and it was like nothing ever happened between us. 

So while my husband was still out after church, I decided to go shopping because shopping is like therapy for me.  So I went the Goodwill on Elm Eugene St. in Greensboro and when I first walked in, this lady, white, middle aged came up to me and doesn't hi, or how are you doing, but just says to me  "you know that joke, keep your head on your shoulders, well where else would your head be?"  And I was like "Oh yeah"  And she was like "yeah that's a good joke, I could be a comedian, don't you think so?"  So I was like "Yeah, yeah" of course thinking by this point that this woman is off her rocker.  So after she left me alone she said the same joke to this person behind me and I was thinking, Let me get the hell away from her because she's crazy.  So I first looked at Housewares and then made my way to clothes to look for some gifts.  I know what you're thinking, why would she get gifts from goodwill?  But you would be surprised at how many shirts, blouses, skirts, housewares, still have the tags on them or are still in their original packaging.  So I found pretty much every one's gift between the 2 goodwill's I went to besides my dad and my husband's gift.  So I overheard the woman talking to various people while I'm in the store and to sum this up, she went from talking to strangers about how she thought that O.J was guilty to how she was afraid to have a statue of Mary at her house and wouldn't have Jesus there, to how she lived in the homeless shelter down the street and how the only reason there's a fire department there is because of her, to how she wanted to shoot somebody. (My sign to get the hell out of there).  To her sitting on the floor taking her socks and shoes off and trying shoes on, etc...  So after I went to checkout, this woman behind me asked me if this bag on the floor was mine and I said , No but thank you.  But I knew it was the homeless woman's.  So she comes up and the cashier asked her if it was hers and her response was "yeah, you're going to take care of me right, because if you don't I'll never shop here again".  So I was thinking, it's going to be some ish about to go down in here, so I'm glad I've already checked out. 

So after that I went to the Goodwill on High Point Rd. and then the dollar tree on the same street and got some much needed cleaning supplies.  Then I came home and we had Chinese food and watched Dr. Phil and the Cowboys and Eagles game.  So that's a summary of the last 3 days.  Whooo that was a lot to type.  So I got some cool toys, pretty much finished my Christmas shopping, and encountered a mentally disturbed woman who I'm going to pray for from now on.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

A Laid Back Day With Friends

So today I woke up around 10:30 am because my dad called me to confirm my phone #'s to give to my grandmother on his side.  He thought I still had an old number but I told him that I only had the one he called me on.  So then I went back to sleep and woke up around 11:30 when my grandmother called me to catch up and ask what I wanted for Christmas.  Now, this is my grandmother on my dad's side.  My grandfather on his side passed away a few years back.  But I'm not as close to my grandparents on my dad's side as I am to the one's on my mom's side.  I grew up with my mom because she divorced my dad when I was 1 year old.  But my mom and dad still lived in the same city so I even though I lived with my mom full time, I do have a great relationship with my dad.  But the reason that I'm not as close is simply because I spent more time with my grandparents on my mom's side than my dad's side.  I also have some issues with them as well.  To me, it seems that my grandmother is just a negative person and I myself have struggled with depression in the past and it makes me wonder if I inherited it.  But I'm determined to be a positive person and not to complain too much as she has.  Also there have been times when my dad just wouldn't tell me when his side of the family would go on vacation until after they left or he would call me a week before knowing that I couldn't take off work that quickly.  BTW, my dad remarried and I have a half sister because of that union that I love with every cell in my body but she is 7 years younger than me so there was always a generation gap of sorts.  So I still have a great relationship with my dad and my step mom but when I was younger I butted heads with my stepmother.  She was very strict when I went over to their house....

There was one incident when I was really young, like 7 years old and I remember going to the bathroom, doing number 2, and then wiping.  I left the bathroom like usual and all of a sudden, my stepmother was screaming at me asking why I used so much toilet paper.  I just said, I'm sorry I didn't know I used that much.  So she then ordered my father to spank me because I had used too much toilet paper.  So of course I was traumatized and when I went back to my mom's house I told her what happened.  I think she had some words with my dad about it and she then decided to drive to my dad's house and drop off over 50 rolls of toilet paper at their doorstep as if to say, if you need toilet paper that bad, then here's enough for the whole year.  LOL My mom is crazy.  Anyway that's just one of the many incidents that made me hate my stepmother when I was younger but now we have a great relationship.

So while I was talking to my grandmother this morning she talked about how she only sees her grandchildren once or twice a year and how she's had so many surgeries this year, etc...  Now you're probably saying that's horrible and I should feel bad for her, which I do, but you have to understand that this woman is ALWAYS negative.  I mean some might say it's because she's getting old but I know that 20 years ago, I noticed it too, even as a child and when I had depression issues, I started thinking that maybe she has a mental imbalance because for someone to be that down all the time is just not normal.  So when I sit and talk to her on the phone and she says these things, I just think, "she's just trying to get me to feel sorry for her".  I mean I know it's been hard for her since grandpa passed but even before that, she was the same.  The last, I would say, 5 times I've talked to her on the phone at the end of the conversation, I'll say "I love you" and her response is, "ok you take care".  She, I don't think has ever said, I love you to me.  I could go on and on about the non existent closeness that I have with her.  I mean 2 years ago, she came down for Christmas and when she saw me she said, "Oh I don't know if you're getting taller or wider".  WTF, Who says that!  Now my great grandmother (her mother) RIP, I was ok with.  We got along and everything was great but then she passed away.  Anyway, my grandmother already told me that she's going to send me a check for Christmas which is great because I'm still unemployed.  So I appreciate that I can talk to her and spend time with her when it's possible but there's always that little voice in the back of my head that dreads having to go see her or talk to her.

So after I talked to her, I went back to sleep until around 12:30 and decided to just stay home today and relax and finish looking for furniture tomorrow with my mom.  Then I let the dogs out and attempted to plug the hole they dug under the fence so they wouldn't escape, yeah right, they escape all the time if we don't have them on the chains or in our dog room as we call it.  So they escaped and ended up in the front yard and I let them spend the rest of the day in the dog room.  I just can't spend hours every day trying to plug holes in my yard so they won't escape and I'm not getting a new fence installed to a property that I don't even own, it's just not happening.  Anyway after all the dog drama, I had some leftover Chinese food from yesterday and my husband came home and to my surprise, he had gotten the new Playstation Move system which is like the Wii, but for the Playstation 3.  So I was very excited because one of my favorite games called Little Big Planet is compatible with the Playstation Move.  So my husband played this sports game and for some reason, I got really tired while he was playing and I didn't even get to play it before he left to meet a friend at the mall.  So I took a nap on the couch and was knocked out.  Then my husband calls me and tells me that our friend is coming over which is ok because the house is clean enough for him to come by.  But then he says that another friend is coming over too which is also ok but I wanted to tidy up a bit and because I was in such a deep sleep, it was like when I woke up, I was out of it and had to really struggle just to get everything neat.  But I did, and when they came over, we had some food from "Cook Out".  I know if you've read my other blogs then you know I just had some "Cook Out" the other day but who cares, it's food.  So then they played with the Playstation Move and really liked it.  After they left, I watched the Celtics game against the 76ers and it truly was a great game.  With less than 6 seconds left and with the Celtics down by one, Garnett made the jump shot and won the game for the Celtics. GO CELTICS BABY!  So that was a perfect end to this day.  I REALLY get into the games and I was screaming at the top of my lungs when they won.  I think I get more into it than my husband who's favorite team are the Lakers.  BOO! 

So that was pretty much my day, I talked to my grandmother over the phone, had some friends over, and watched an awesome game that ended well.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

A Great Day of Thrift Shopping :)

So today my husband woke me up around 11 to tell me that he was leaving to get the money from the check he got yesterday.  Then around noon, he woke me up again to tell me that the money was on the TV in the bedroom for me to use today to look for furniture and groceries.  So I called my mom and told her that I was awake and that I was getting ready.  But I went back to sleep until around 1 pm.  Then I got up and got ready to go shopping with my mom.  My main focus today was to find some furniture so the first place we went was the Salvation Army on Lee St. in Greensboro.  I actually found a Burgundy colored curve around couch (you know that couches that are in pieces but when put together, they all form a large connected letter C.  So my mom thought it was great because it was clean, had a sleeper sofa attached to it, and was large enough.  So I called my husband and he told me to send him a pic and he liked it.  Then we got the number to a man that can deliver furniture and when we called him, he said it would only cost $20 to deliver it which is dirt cheap but I told him, I'd call him back because I had to talk to my husband first.  So then my mom decided to rest her feet and casually sat on the couch but then literally sunk into the couch because the sleeper part of the couch made it so that when you sat down, you were almost sitting on the floor.  So unfortunately, I didn't get the couch.  But it was only $185 which would have been a steal. 

So after that, we decided to go to Goodwill on Elm Eugene St. in Greensboro and I didn't see any furniture that I liked there, so we decided to just get little stuff that we liked.  I got a bunch of Christmas decorations including a music box, a stuffed Santa, a nativity scene which had snowmen as the characters, and other stuff.  But I also found some rubber ducks.  Oh yeah, I collect rubber ducks.  That's right, the ones that 2 year olds play with in the tub.  I probably have over 100 of them, big and small.  But today I found a classic yellow small duck and a pair of valentine ducks (one male and one female), cute cute cute!  Then I found a bathroom tissue holder that had a rubber duck on it and a small dragonfly attached to the top of it that moved around because it was attached to a spring.  So I got a rubber duck whammy today.  Some of this stuff, we also got at the Goodwill on Battleground Ave. in Greensboro as well, which we went to later in the day.  But I also got a new silverware set.  Now this set is so unique.  It actually has a different color on the handle for each type of utensil.  So the big spoon is green, the knives are orange (my favorite color), the big forks are blue, and so on.  And the whole set was only $10!  Then I got a knife set made by Cutco.  Now let me explain a little about Cutco.  I used to sell Cutco knives door to door when I was in college and they have since been deemed the sharpest knives in the world.  They are made in the USA and at any time I can send them in to get sharpened for free!  They truly are the best knives I've cooked with ever and I cook a lot.  So to give you an idea of how much they usually cost. A steak knife cannot be found any less than I would say $20.  A carver knife wouldn't be found any less than $40.  Get this, I got a set with a steak knife, a carver knife, a spreader knife (it's a flat large knife which you can use to get the last bit of peanut butter, mayo, etc... out of a jar without having to throw the jar away and you can use the same knife to cut the sandwich you made because it has a serrated edge on one side), and I got a parring knife all for 10 BUCKS!!!  So I saved about hmmm idk $70.  So it's been a really good shopping day for me.  I also got a TFAL frying pan and a stuffed animal of a cat.  My mom also got some really great things too.

So after we went to the first goodwill, we went to this new place near the Wal Mart on Elm Eugene St. called "Bamboo Grill".  It's a place that has Chinese, Hibachi, and Sushi but it's nice because they have a real sit down area that is well decorated and the food is so fresh and not too heavy.  My mom got the shrimp fried rice and some chicken wings.  I got the shrimp lo mien platter with a salmon sushi roll.  The food was great as usual.  So after we left there, we went to Wal Mart and got presents for my grandmother and grandfather and I got some cat food and contact lens solution.  After we left there, we rushed over to the Goodwill on Battleground Ave before it closed at 8 and that's where I found some of the stuff I listed before.  After that we went to Food Lion and then I dropped my mom back home.  Then I went home and my husband wanted Chinese food for dinner and I was like, whatever, I'll just order something I didn't eat earlier today. So I got sweet and sour chicken.  We decided to watch the Celtics game and of course they won again against the Denver Nuggets.  But it helped that Carmelo Anthony was still inured and couldn't play.  GO CELTICS!!!

But that was my day in a nutshell.  I went shopping, had some great food, and my Celtics won again.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

A Day of Cleaning

So originally today I was supposed to go shopping with my mom for furniture and a gift for my grandmother but... UPS was supposed to deliver my husband's check here and it didn't get here until 5:10 PM.  So of course the banks were closed and my mom and I decided to go shopping tomorrow because of lack of funds.  And of course my mom had to give me her lecture on making plans without money.  She was like "I've told you this a million times, Don't plan anything until you have the money in your hand".  That was when I knew to get off the phone ASAP because she was going to start going on and on and on and on.  She can turn one subject into 50 in a matter of seconds and you'll be stuck on the phone for hours off of one sentence that you said.  So I gave a stupid excuse like "Oh my husband is calling or I have to finish this laundry or sometimes I just am blunt and say, OK OK I have to go" and then she gets the message.

Anyway today I woke up around noon and I was a little lazy at first and decided to lay in the bed with my cats for a bit but then my husband told me that the repair man was supposed to come at 5 pm today to assess what tools he would need for one of the repairs to the house.  You can read in previous posts about how everything my landlord says is a lie and how we had to get the city involved just to get things fixed.  Anyway I got up casually because I was like, hey I have 4 hours to clean the litter boxes out and bleach the dog room and it usually only takes 30 minutes top for me to do that every day.  But then my husband said that all of a sudden, he decided to tell the repairman not to come at 5 because he had to go to bible study and so the repairman suggested that he come within the next hour or so when he could get "his man" as he called him, to come over and look at it on his lunch break.  So of course, I then had to go into Speedy Gonzalez mode and do the litter boxes and bleaching quickly.  But at the same time in the back of my mind, I was thinking that he was not going to show up because he never shows up.  But this time he did but by the time he go here I was finished with cleaning and I just waited in our bedroom while they looked at what needed to be repaired.  They were only here for 5 minutes so it was cool.

After they left, I started to finish the laundry from yesterday and then I took a shower in between loads.  I then cleaned the bathrooms and finished folding laundry.  After that I just watched some TV with my husband and had some food from "Cook Out".  It was great as usual and then after we watched Law and Order SVU, I played Final Fantasy XIII for about an hour and a half.  Now I'm about to watch Dr. Phil about his Dr. Phil Housewives.  It's soooo entertaining but I think I can identify with some part of each of the women except for that old brunette with her voodoo magic as I call it.  LOL.  So an uneventful day but I'm glad I got to focus on cleaning, laundry, and relaxing.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

A great Tangled 3D movie day with my mom :)

So today, I woke up around noon because my mom called me and woke me up because we were supposed to go shopping today.  So I got up and my husband called me and suggested that we do majority of our shopping tomorrow because he gets paid tomorrow and because he wanted to see a movie with a mutual friend, he also suggested that my mom and I go to see a movie today.  So I thought it was a good idea and I called my mom and explained to her that it would be better to go shopping tomorrow and go to the movies today.  Now my mom isn't the most social person.  Usually, if I ask her to go to the movies, she thinks of an excuse for not wanting to go.  I know not to ask her to go to the movies on the weekend because she'll be like "there's going to be too many people there, I'm not going".  So I figured asking her to go to a movie on a Monday afternoon when kids were still in school, she wouldn't have a valid excuse. 

But of course she did have something to complain about to get her out of having to go out to the movies.  Her excuse/complaint was that we didn't need to spend the extra money on the movies and that she just wanted to get the shopping out of the way and get my grandmother's gift today.  But I broke it down to her explaining that tomorrow I'd have much more money and we would have more to work with for my grandmother's gift, groceries, and hopefully some furniture.  My husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told him, I wanted some living room furniture because we have a den and a living room.  The den is fully furnished and that's where we play our games, watch TV, eat, everything.  But in our living room, there's just a bow flex machine and it's huge so it takes like a 4th of the living room.  But my thing is, we're paying for a house that has a den and a living room and we're only using the den.  I hate it when I have a lot of company over and if one group wants to play video games, the rest of us have to just sit there and watch them because there's no where to sit but in the den.  Well that's going to change after tomorrow, hopefully because I'm going to have me some living room furniture.  I plan on getting it at some thrift shop (Goodwill, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, etc...) so I'm not paying $1000 for a living room set.

Anyway after re explaining to her the benefits of going shopping tomorrow and seeing a movie today she finally caved in.  So we decided to see Tangled in 3D.  It was wonderful!  It was just such a great twist on the story of Rapunzel and it was heartwarming, funny, and just an all around great movie.  So originally we were going to get hot dogs at the theatre because we were hungry and at the Carmike 18 in Greensboro, they have concession specials during the week.  But they didn't sell hot dogs so we just ended up eating popcorn and nachos.  So afterwards we went to "Poblanos" Mexican restaurant at Friendly Shopping Center and it was great as usual.  After that we went to this store right next to "Poblanos" called "Gotcha Covered" and they have college team memorabilia, flags, collectibles, etc.. and I decided I needed a flag pole because I had purchased a Christmas flag with Snoopy on it and I needed somewhere to hang it.  So after I figure out how to install it, I'm going to be one of those people with flags hanging year round for each season.  Then we went to her house and she showed me some renovations she had made to her dollhouse that she bought at goodwill the other day with me.  My mom loves to buy new things and rearrange things.  She's retired now so she will move furniture, start projects, and play with her toys, in this case it was the miniatures inside the dollhouse. 

So after she showed me all the changes in the house she made and the dollhouse, I watched a little of the new show skating with the stars.  I don't think I'll be keeping up with that one.  Way too many injuries and I'm just like, Why would anyone put themselves on the line just for some extra fame.  Dancing is one thing but skating, No way.  Anyway after we watched some TV, I went home and watched my husband's team the NY Jets get their asses kicked.  LOL.  And at the same time, we watched Monday Night Raw WWE Wrestling.  Yes, I watch wrestling because my husband got me in it.  I just have to say GO JOHN CENA!  Anyway after I watched a little of wrestling, I decided to tackle the laundry and dishes.  So even this very minute I'm waiting for a load to dry at 2:09 am.  But it's ok because cleaning makes me so happy.  I mean it's like therapy for me.  I just feel so much better when my house is in order. 

So that was my day.  I argued with my mom, went to see Tangled 3D which was great, and had some great food.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

A great day with friends. :)

So today started out with my husband waking me up (who by the way is a preacher, but doesn't have his own church, he just preaches sometimes at our church), and I was having some weird dream so I said to him, "did you get the square in the quadrant" and then I realized that that sounded weird so I just said what are you doing and he was like I'm getting ready for church.  I didn't know what time it was and I'm a night owl so sometimes I just sleep into all hours of the day.  So I was going to get up and attempt to get ready for church but while I was in the bathroom, he was like, I'm going now to church and I realized it was already past 11 which is when our service begins.  Now I know what you're thinking...  How could a preacher's wife not go to church.  Well I'm not a morning person at all.  Even with 12 hours of sleep, if I wake up at 6 am for instance, I feel like crap but I can wake up at noon with 5 hours of sleep and feel fine.  I think it has to do with me liking to sleep with sun in my face.  It just does something to me.

Anyway, for some reason my husband doesn't wake me up for church.  He just doesn't.  There have been times when I will set my alarm and sleep through it, and he will just let me sleep and when I ask him while I'm rushing to church, why didn't he wake me, he's like it's your responsibility to wake up for church, not mine.  Even our friends agree that that's wrong.  I mean I'm not asking him to be a human alarm clock but at least warn me that if I don't get ready soon, I'll be driving to church alone in my car.  That's another thing.  If I take too long or he thinks I'm getting ready too slowly will make him extremely late for church, he will just leave me to drive my car to church and show up separately which I think looks bad and makes people talk.  "Why would a married couple show up separately, are they having problems?  What's her deal that she can't get here on time, etc"...  So if he leaves me, I don't go, plain and simple.  I just feel horrible walking in later than him and a lot of times it's not just the sleep thing, it's also that Sunday is my laundry, bathroom, kitchen, mopping, etc... day.  And if I actually have a job, which I don't know, but if I do, I don't feel like sitting through a 3 hour church service, eating afterwards, getting the itis (the involuntary urge to sleep all of a sudden after eating a large meal), and then having to do 4 to 6 loads of laundry and everything else that has to be done before whatever time I have to be at work the next day.  So maybe my excuses sound selfish but at least I'm being honest.  But of course I didn't go today because my husband left at around 11:15 so if I had gotten ready I wouldn't have gotten there until like noon at the earliest and that wasn't going to happen.

So I went back to sleep until around 1:45 and when I woke up, I was very surprised at how much longer I had slept but then I realized that since I'm on my period, it sucks all the energy out of me, even with taking iron pills every day, and that's probably why I slept so much longer.  So about 5 minutes after I woke up, I was in the bathroom and my husband calls and is like "Oh baby, don't you want the guys from church to come over for some dinner", and I'm like ummm first of all,  I just woke up and haven't even put my contacts in or nothing, and second, I haven't bleached my dog room, cleaned the cat litter boxes or lit the incense yet so you're going to have to give me some time.  And no my house doesn't stink, I make sure of that by doing those chores I just listed every day.  I just light incense because I know with a house full of animals, you can never be too careful.  Anyway I guess when I told him all of this, he heard the teacher in Charlie Brown's voice and 15 minutes later he was like "How are you coming along baby because Paul's on his way".  So I freaked because I was just about to fill the bucket with water and bleach and the incense hadn't been lit.  I didn't even do the cat litter boxes because they had just been filled with new litter less than 12 hours ago and so I wasn't ready.  So I told him that I would kindly tell Paul that he would have to wait outside for a few minutes, not to mention I hadn't taken a shower yet or changed out of my Pajamas!  So my husband was like "you have a bra on right" and I was like yeah but I look like crap.  He then told me that he wasn't going to have Paul waiting outside anytime and that he could come in when he got here.  So I quickly got the bucket filled it up and mopped like a madwoman.  Thank God my husband got here before Paul and he asked if I was ok because I had literally burst into tears because I don't let anyone in my house unless it's clean.  I just don't.  Because no matter what anyone says.  If it stinks or if it's dirty, people always ask, "well why didn't the wife clean it?" 

So I made sure that the toilets were clean in the guest bathroom and everything was in order and I hopped in the shower.  My friends started showing up while I was in the shower but I had the door locked so no one would burst in and I changed in the bathroom so there wouldn't be any streaking going on.  After I got out of the shower and composed myself, I went up front and my friends were up there and we had some Church's Chicken.  It was nice because Paul actually bought some ingredients from the store and made some green beans and some nice mashed potatoes.  So a little home cooking added to the meal.  After we ate, we played with the new Kinect for Xbox system and played the sports game.  They played the boxing game and then I joined in with the bowling game which I didn't do great at because I'm still getting used to the Kinect system.  I've had the Will now for a year and I love it but the Kinect is literally like the Wii except without a controller so your hands are the controller.  It takes some adjusting to.  Then I put the new Michael Jackson game for the Wii and we all played that.  In the game you literally dance Michael Jackson's dance moves for each of his hit songs.  It's a great game.  We had a ton of fun playing the game.  It was actually the hit of the get together.

So after everyone was worn out from dancing with the Michael Jackson game, they left and my husband started doing his homework for the week.  He's getting his Bachelors degree and should graduate this summer if all goes well.  And I proceeded to play my new obsession.  Final Fantasy XIII for Playstation 3.  Like I said in my last blog, I warned my husband that I'd be obsessed with it and I have probably played for 3 hours total today.  Of course because of the company that arrived, I haven't gotten any laundry done, or chores of any kind.  But there's always tomorrow.  Maybe not because I'm going shopping with my mom because originally we were supposed to go yesterday but because of the snow, we didn't go.  Also my husband and I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up my birth control pills along with some other medications and we decided to eat some Coldstone Ice cream at Friendly Center.  That's the place where you start with a base ice cream like chocolate or vanilla and then add all the fresh ingredients you want, for a fee of course, but it's soooo good.  So after we ate the ice cream, we got the prescriptions and headed home where I played more Final Fantasy XIII and wrapped up the night.  On another note the NY Giants won today against the Redskins.  That was as my dad would say "A Butt Whooping".  GO GIANTS!!!  Also the Celtics won against the Nets today, Big surprise there.  GO CELTICS!!!

Well that's pretty much my day, had some friends over, had a great time, and both of my teams won today.  What a great day.  Thanks for listening and God Bless

What a wonderful snowy day :)

So first of all I'd like to apologize about not posting yesterday but I fell asleep early and didn't wake up until 5 am just to take my contacts out and go right back to bed.  But I promise that I'll be posting every day from now on.  But just a quick recap of yesterday's activities....  I had a job interview at 3 pm but first I was awakened early because my husband said that the repairman was coming to fix a lot of stuff in the house.

Just a quick back story on that... We've been renting this house for almost 2 years now and about a year and a half ago a pipe busted in our laundry room which flooded the hallway and part of 2 bedrooms to the point where when we stepped on the carpet it squished because it was so saturated.  So we called the landlord and they sent out these men to clean it up.  Well they came with what looked like a cheap carpet cleaner and when they saw all of the water they said that they would need to replace the carpet and come back another day.  Well to make a long story short, a year and a half later, after the soaked carpet air dried, nothing has been done about it.  All our landlord does is lie and lie and lie.  They did fix the leaking pipe but did not replace the carpet.  So recently we contacted the city inspector about it after my husband overheard a person talking about how the best thing to do in a similar situation is to contact the city about it.  So when the inspector came, it was great because not only did he look at the carpet, but he pointed out everything that was wrong with the house, (leaking ceilings, toilet running, etc...  So our landlord had 45 days to get the stuff fixed and of course it hasn't been fixed yet.  So the inspector came by again and said that they would incur a $250 fine and a $25 fine each day after the 45 day period that was originally given.  So now there's going to be a court date but we don't have to be there because we don't own the house.  Basically the whole issue is that when the landlord moved us in, the house wasn't up to code and he didn't get it inspected so it was illegal for him to rent it out.  But maybe after $500 of fees, he'll wake up and get some stuff fixed.  Oh well it's not my money that's paying for fees that could have been avoided.

So back to why I was woken up.  For some reason the repair man that has been saying for a month now that he's going to fix everything but hasn't, told my husband that he was coming around 1:30-2:00 pm so my husband woke me up early even though I really needed the sleep before my interview to tell me that I needed to make sure that everything was clean because he was going to be in the dog room which I bleach every day because it's like a mud room that's being used as a dog house to keep them warm at night.  So I bleach it to keep it fresh and sanitized.  Anyway I get up early and do all of this, half asleep, and then go to my interview.

So the interview was in Winston Salem which is about a 45 minute drive from my house.  So I left an hour early thinking I'd have plenty of time to get there.  Nope.  Why you ask.  2 reasons. 1 because I-40 seemed to be more backed up than usual on the way there and 2 because I have come to the conclusion that people in Winston Salem cannot drive.  I mean who waits a full minute to go through a green light with no one in front of you.  So Thank God, I got there literally at 3 pm.  So the interview, I think, went great.  The only problem is that I have a foot condition called plantar facitis which basically means the muscle that is in the middle of my foot gets inflamed when I'm on my feet.  And I would say that after an hour of standing, I have to be able to sit or the pain will get so bad that I literally can't think.  I've had it for years and I know if I lost weight it would at least make the pain less.  So I mentioned it to them because I didn't notice any chairs or stools for the employees in the store and there response was that I would be able to sit during my breaks and lunches.  So I figured that if I told them about my condition that they would be like "Oh well we can find a stool for you since you have this condition" but no, they just said that with the position I'm applying for, I'd be standing for 99% of the time.  So I mean, I really want the job but the last job I took that was on my feet, I literally quit after a day because I was physically ill the day after because of the pain.  So it's one of those situations where if  I get an offer for a job, I may have to turn it down.  Oh well.

After the interview I met my husband at "Mi Pueblo" Mexican Restaurant but for some reason right after he told me to meet him there he also told a family member he'd help her get something out of layaway from Kmart for his nephew.  So I get to Mi Pueblo and I don't see his car and then he called and told me he was waiting but that it would be another 30 minutes before they even got to the front of the line because there were so many people there.  Now keep in mind that I had already driven from Winston which probably took 30 minutes to get to the restaurant.  So I was so tired that I just slept in the parking lot waiting for him.  It ended up taking him about an hour to get to the restaurant because once they got to the front of the line, Kmart couldn't find their stuff.  But it was ok because I got a much needed nap.  So the food was great as usual.  Then we came home and I crashed after watching some TV.

OK I'll make today a little shorter because I went on and on about yesterday.  But today I was supposed to go shopping with my mom but it started snowing like crazy here.  Now I know in some northern states snow is just the norm but in NC, it's like a holiday when it snows so I decided to play it safe and stay home and play with my dogs in the snow.  Then my husband was already out watching a movie with his friends and then he went to the mall but they were all supposed to come back here to the house so I made sure the house was "company clean".  You know there are different levels of clean.  There's just me and husband clean which is neat but who cares, then there's close friends clean, which is clean but if there's 1 dish in the sink, who cares, but then there's company clean, which is spotless, dusted, swept, vacuumed, etc...  Now don't think I'm an untidy person because every week I clean the entire house so that when company does come over, I just have to do a bit of touch up cleaning.  I also don't go to bed unless all the dishes are clean.  It keeps me sane. 

So apparently because of the snow, all his friends, which are by the way, all my friends too, decided to go home.  So all the extra cleaning was for nothing.  Oh well, at least there's no dust on the TV.  So I ended up ordering some pizza and wings from a Fox Pizza because the pizza place in the mall was trying to charge $4 dollars for a slice of pizza!  My husband came home and I played with the dogs some more and as usual while I wasn't looking, they escaped twice.  That's a whole other topic.  But they're back inside now.   But my husband did get the Michael Jackson game for Wii, Final Fantasy 13 for PS3, and a Xbox Kinect system which we tried out last night.  It's really fun but it's going to take some time to get used to after using the Wii.  But I tried out the Michael Jackson game today and it is so much fun.  You literally do his dance moves and there are so many of his songs on there.  Then I played Final Fantasy...  I warned my husband that I would instantly be addicted to it but he didn't believe me.  2 and a half hours later and I was still playing while he took a nap.  You probably already guessed this but I love it.  Now it's almost 3 am and I'm thinking about playing it again.  I probably shouldn't but it's so tempting.

So that's the last 2 days of my life.  Nothing still isn't fixed in the house, I had some great Mexican food, and I got some great games.  Thanks for listening and God Bless.

I got my hair done...Finally!!!

So today I woke up around 11 am because I had a phone interview at noon.  This was my second interview with this company.  So the interview started a little late at around 12:08 but that was ok as long as they didn't bail on the interview alltogether.  The interview consisted of an introduction, 7 situational questions, and what their company would be offering me if I was chosen.  Well the interview went great and I felt like I had a wonderful rapport with the interviewer.  She seemed to be around my age, black, and could relate to my past experiences.  So after everything was said, she said that they were still aggressively interviewing canidates but that I was definitely still in the running and she called me back to schedule a live interview tomorrow with one of the managers in the store where I would be working.  So that went very well.

Then I realized, Oh Crap! My hair looks like Bomshiqua (My alter ghetto ego) and I can't go into an interview looking like this.  Now I haven't gotten my hair done in a while because of lack of funds and I just honestly never got the hang of doing my own hair so I've just been putting it up in a ponytail, but I knew it was in bad shape.  So first, I called one of my friends who had offered to do it later this week, hoping he could fit me in today, but he didn't answer.  Then I called my husband to see if we had any money so I could run up to the beauty hair school to get it relaxed (A perm that turns your hair straight), for a cheap price but seeing that today is the day before payday that didn't happen. but I'm glad it didn't because I have really been trying to keep my hair natural with no chemicals.  So I called my mom and she had been going on for weeks about this product that she uses on her hair and how one day she wanted to try it on mine so since she was free, which she usually is, she said to come on over and we would experiment with my hair.

So I went over with leftover CiCi's in tow and some summer sausage that wasn't opened for Thanksgiving and first we pigged out on the food and then we got down to business.  So at first I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower and I could already tell that something wasn't right because the right and left sides of my hair seemed to be normal and had long flowing hair but the back middle portion just wouldn't come down from the scalp so I thought I may have had a large bald spot.  But after I got out of the shower my mom saw the real deal and as I wasn't aware, she was extremely worried when she saw it.

So I sat down in the hard uncomfortable chair and she started added her products and blow drying, etc...  But it started to get painful when she started to tug the knots out of my hair.  Apparently most of my hair around my scalp was matted because I have been trying to go natural (when a black person decides to not add any chemicals and wear the hair that God gave them).  So because the new growth was more curly and knotted and I hadn't been taking care of it, it just matted over.  Kind of like when you have a Persian cat and you look up, if you haven't been brushing it and there are mats all over it and you have to cut them out.  But there was going to be no cutting of my hair, no ma'am! 

So my mom and I have always had this argument that the hairdryer does or doesn't work in helping get the tabgles out of my hair.  She says "well if you just get a blow dryer with a comb, then that will get them out" and I say "No it won't because I've tried that and it won't comb through anything".  So today she was proven wrong.  At some point after the 20th try of combing my hair with the blowdryer's comb extension, it didn't do anything, she was like "this blowdryer ain't doing nothing" and I was like, "what did I tell you".  So after the blowdryer didn't work, she tried spraying some oil sheen on my hair and seeing if that would ease the pulling of the knots out and it did somewhat but then she got the big dog out.  It was called "Feels Like Silk" by "Elasta QP" and it's like an oily liquid but not as thick as a gel and lighter than like a pink moisturizing lotion.  But Hallejula, it worked!

It was still painful for her to get the tangles out but they seemed to coming out much faster.  So after all the tangles were out, she combed through my hair which is about a little lower than shoulder lenghth so it's a lot of hair and she brushed it and told me to look at it.  I was very happy with the result because for the last few weeks I haven't been able to do anything to my hair but put it up in a ponytail and now I could wear it down.  But it became apparent that in a matter of 20 minutes my hair was starting to poof out which means instead of looking like Beyonce, I looked like Albert Einstein.  So I was like "I told you this would happen and I'll just have to wear it in a ponytail again".  But she was determined to fix it so we experimented with putting more silk in it, that didn't work, then my mom had an idea of wetting  a brush and brushing some water into my hair.  By that time I was about to head home so when I got home, my husband said he really liked my hair (SCORE!!), and I realized it had been way over 20 minutes and that my hair wasn't poofing out like a Chia pet.  So Thank God again because we found the solution.  So all I have to do is put the silk product on my hair tomorrow while I'm getting ready and then right before I leave, I'm going to brush it with a hard bristle wooden brush with water on the ends and my hair will not be poofy but get this, it actually created these sexy waves in my hair.

So interview, here I come tomorrow with beautifuly styled hairdo and a load of confidence that will hopefully get me the job.  On another note Lebron kicked the Cavs ass tonight.  I'm a Celtics fan but this game was fun to watch.  And as of last night the Celtics won their 5th game in a row.  GO CELTICS BABY!!!  So wish me luck on my interview tomorrow and thanks for listening once again.
God Bless

Pap Smear Day! YAY!!!

So today was the day for my annual pap smear at my primary care physician.  It went well but there were a few bumps along the way.  The day started out with me waking up around 11 am so I had plenty of time to get there by 2 pm.  Then I found out that my husband was going to be off today because he worked an extra day on Saturday so I was happy about that.  I was right on time getting ready for the appointment and as soon as I hopped out of the shower, I got a call from a company for an interview.  Well it was an interview over the phone.  Apparently they liked what I said because I have another interview tomorrow at Noon over the phone again because the interviewer couldn't make it into town so she's doing the interviews over the phone.  So wish me luck. :)

So of course when the interviewer called, the first question she asked was, Do you have time to answer a few questions? and I was thinking heck no because I'm going to be late for my pap smear.  But of course I told her yes, I have time.  If I hadn't said yes, I know I wouldn't have that job waiting for me.  So I was late to my appointment but I called to let them know and that doctor office is like a hair salon.  You make an appointment at 2 and you don't start getting shampooed until 2:30 so it was nice to make them wait for a change. 

So after getting checked in and all of my vitals checked, the doctor came in who I ususally don't see, but my doctor was booked and I had to get this pap smear done this week before my period started on Friday and before I had to get my new pack of pills on Sunday.  But it was a woman doctor so that's all that mattered.  I just don't want some man staring down my va jay jay and sticking in something.  You get what I'm saying.  Anyway, she did the breast exam and got ready for the pap smear and she looked over at the speculum ( the long metal or plastic thingy that they stick in you and crank you open to get the specimen), and she said "I'm not using that on her.  It's way to big".  Well I hadn't really paid any attention to it but when I looked over it was a clear speculum the size of a mandigo penis times 4!  So I'm glad she noticed.  Then she stepped out of the room and started talking to the nurses complaining about how she can't work in a medical office that doesn't stock supplies and how stupid it was that they only had a size XL speculum to work with.  Then she started going on about how these small young girls can't come in here and have that used on them.  Then she made clear that she wasn't made at them but that she was going to bring it up to someone there.  Of course she didn't know that I could hear her.  But thank God she found a metal smaller speculum and when she walked back in she said "they were trying to get me to use that one that's for a woman who's had 5 babies and you've had none so I'm not going to torture you".  So that was a relief.

So after the pap smear all the results were clear, Thank God, and I decided to get a flu shot and tetnus shot as well.  So they drew some blood because of some levels that were high from the last time I went to the doctor and they gave me the shots.  I'm fine with needles, shots, blood, all of that because I've had surgery before so that part was a breeze.

So after all of that I talked to her about a bariactric clinic here in Greensboro about possibly getting the lap band surgery.  Yeah, I'm a big girl and apparently I'm so big that I qualify to get that surgery.  She said that most likely since I'm that fat, my insurance will cover it which would be great.  I talked to my husband about it and he said he would go to a free seminar with me about it to learn more info.  I'm excited whether I decided to do it or not, I know I can get some good info on other options on losing weight if I go to the seminar.

Speaking of losing weight, after I left the doctors office, we decided to eat some Cici's pizza.  LOL.  So I ordered for take out because they have a great deal where if you order 3 mediums, it's only $9.99 so we went with that.  But while I waited I decided to go to dollar tree and get some laundry supplies.  After I left the store it became apparent to me that the shots had taken their tole on my arm because I could barely carry a bottle of bleach.  I was pitiful and I almost didn't make it to the car.  So then I picked up the food at Cici's and went home.  The pizza was great.

So now I'm home for the night and the nurse did warn me about the shots causing me to feel like a may have a fever but I just feel high as a kite.  I was watching the last Final Destination with my hubby while we were eating and I almost fell asleep.  But I knew I had to write this blog.  Oh and FYI if you're 21 or over, you should get a pap test every 2 years and if you're on birth control pills, like me, then you HAVE to get one every year or they won't prescribe any more birth control for you until you get it.

I would like to know your thoughts or experiences on the lap band surgery thing or anything else that is on your mind.  Thanks again for your time.
God Bless