I cannot believe it is November. I haven't been here in a long time. I was hoping to keep this blog more up-to-date. Things are going okay. A lot has happened since my last post. I will try to give a run down of all the happenings.
We moved into a new apartment in mid-August. We were fortunate to find a good deal and receive some housing assistance to boot. I am so thankful for the help we received. It was a huge blessing. Praise God for everything working out in the end. I knew it would but it was still so stressful over the summer with everything going on.
Mikayla is in the 3rd grade this year. She attends a new school and is doing well academically. She really misses her friends from her old school.. I feel so bad for her but hopefully things come along for her. She is enjoying her acting class. She wraps that up next week Wed. I am hoping that I can go to her final performance. I will have to see if I am able to go.
Joshua is in Fab 5's this year. He attends a new school and is doing very well. He has made new friends and is very outgoing. I am very thankful for that. He is learning a lot this year. I am so glad I made the decision to wait a year to put him into Kindergarten. He has a wonderful teacher right now. However, she will be moving on in about a week so Joshua will have a new teacher very soon. I hope she has the same energy and can keep Joshua excited to learn.
Joe is still trying to find a job but it is not easy. He fills out applications, goes on interviews and tries so hard to look but nothing has worked out yet. He is very frustrated about the whole situation. I feel so bad for him because I know that he feels awful about it.
I (Jennifer) keep myself very busy. I still work FT and now attend GRCC PT. I am taking Biology and Psychology. I am doing pretty well in both classes. Biology is very challenging for me. I have decided to go back to college to try and pursue a Nursing degree. I just feel that I am not in a good position in life as I had hoped so am trying very hard to make a better life for my family. I am happy to report that at the end of next week, all of my attendance points will roll off and I will have a clean slate again. It has not been an easy 6 months but I DID it!!! I am so proud of myself for staying focused and really trying to be at work sick or not. Believe me, I've had days where I wanted to stay home but forced myself to go to work anyway.
In October, we got a 1999 Dodge Caravan. The Neon was falling apart and I was just sinking money into it. I gave the car back to my sister. It was mostly paid off but just wasn't worth keeping any longer. I had to borrow money (student loan) to get this van but it became a neccessity. I put half down and owe less than $1000. My goal is to pay it off very soon so it is owned outright. I will get another Student Loan disbursement in January and plan to get things that I need and will try to make a larger payment to pay off the van quicker. The goal is to get another vehicle so that it limits wear and tear on this van. So, I am going to look into getting another vehicle from the same place in a couple of months. I just don't want to have two car payments. We'll see how it works out.
Sometime in July, my sister, Jessica, her boyfriend , Daniel and my niece, Danielle moved back to Michigan. I am so happy!!! I don't see my niece as often as I would like due to my hectic schedule but it is nice that they are here. She just turned 1 in October and I took her to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate her birthday since I had class in the evening. Jessica is working at BK right now and living at my mom's house in the upstairs apartment. My mom moved out of the house back in September so now they have the whole upstairs along with her twin, Julie.
Amy and I go to school together. We are going to try and do the nursing program together. It is fun to have class together. Joe's sister Jessie is pregnant again and is due at the end of February. She is having another boy. She plans on naming him Thomas Joseph. I think that's about all for current news.
Thanks for reading if you got this far.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I am extremely depressed.
I don't even know where to begin. I have so many emotions going on right now. I am physically and mentally exhausted. Everything in my life right now is so stressed. I'm at risk of losing my job because I ran out of FMLA time. I can't miss any more time until November or I'll get fired. That is enough stress already. Add that to the fact that Joe still doesn't have a job, creditors are calling wanting their money that is owed to them, having to find a place to live in less than 2 months, having little to no money to get things, pay bills and save for a new place to live. I'm about to go crazy!
Joe had an interview yesterday at Charter and was told he'd hear something yesterday or today. Well, he hasn't heard anything yet. It's not looking good. Joe even told me that there were other people in the lobby the day he was there doing testing and interviewing. So, with there only being 3 slots open, it's not looking so good for Joe. I'm just depressed by it. I just cannot believe that this is happening again. 2 months ago, he had 4 interviews with Comcast and didn't get the job. It's really taking a toll on everything. Why is it so difficult to get a job? I don't get it.
Kids are out of school now and the arguing, fighting and bickering has begun. I'm going nuts just having to listen to all the noise from their. Why can't they just get along? If I had the energy, I'd be out doing things with them on my days off. Their room is a mess. I try to get them to do something and they don't want to do anything. It's rather frustrating.
House is trashed. We have to get it cleaned up and start getting things packed up for when we move. The major stress with this is that it is so cluttered that I don't even know where to begin. I need some help to get things picked up and packed away. Then, it's a matter of where we are going to move. I don't have any money to move on so it makes it difficult all the way around. I just don't know what to do in that aspect. Granted, I get a paycheck, but most of the time, it is gone to bills, groceries, bank fees or for something fun to do.
Then, creditors keep calling about collection bills for medical and some other accounts. I just don't have the money to make any kind of arrangement. How can I pay them off when my income is limited and basically gone before I receive a paycheck. I don't even know what to do about that anymore.
The stress is building again very badly. I am afraid that if things don't change really, really soon, that it's only going to get worse.
I just want to scream!!!!!!!!!!! I have been trying to only focus my energies on my job and not worry about the rest of things but it is not an easy task. I've been doing okay but then something will come up and the stress happens all over again.
In fact, I wasn't even told that I'd only be getting a partial check for tomorrow until Tuesday. Well, that's just great. I have all of my June bills to pay, NSF checks that need to clear, plus gas for 2 wks. I am already into my overdraft protection but it is not helping. I really need some money or win the lotto, which I know will not happen. I can't really ask my family because they don't have money either. Times are hard right now. No one has money to lend. I just wish there was an easy answer.
I haven't been focusing on my health like I am supposed to. I'm supposed to be eating a healthy diet due to my diabetes but haven't been for the last few months. I haven't lost any more weight either. I have to get things in order or my health is going to take a turn for the worse again.
I guess that's about all I can write for now. I just wish I had answers. :(
Joe had an interview yesterday at Charter and was told he'd hear something yesterday or today. Well, he hasn't heard anything yet. It's not looking good. Joe even told me that there were other people in the lobby the day he was there doing testing and interviewing. So, with there only being 3 slots open, it's not looking so good for Joe. I'm just depressed by it. I just cannot believe that this is happening again. 2 months ago, he had 4 interviews with Comcast and didn't get the job. It's really taking a toll on everything. Why is it so difficult to get a job? I don't get it.
Kids are out of school now and the arguing, fighting and bickering has begun. I'm going nuts just having to listen to all the noise from their. Why can't they just get along? If I had the energy, I'd be out doing things with them on my days off. Their room is a mess. I try to get them to do something and they don't want to do anything. It's rather frustrating.
House is trashed. We have to get it cleaned up and start getting things packed up for when we move. The major stress with this is that it is so cluttered that I don't even know where to begin. I need some help to get things picked up and packed away. Then, it's a matter of where we are going to move. I don't have any money to move on so it makes it difficult all the way around. I just don't know what to do in that aspect. Granted, I get a paycheck, but most of the time, it is gone to bills, groceries, bank fees or for something fun to do.
Then, creditors keep calling about collection bills for medical and some other accounts. I just don't have the money to make any kind of arrangement. How can I pay them off when my income is limited and basically gone before I receive a paycheck. I don't even know what to do about that anymore.
The stress is building again very badly. I am afraid that if things don't change really, really soon, that it's only going to get worse.
I just want to scream!!!!!!!!!!! I have been trying to only focus my energies on my job and not worry about the rest of things but it is not an easy task. I've been doing okay but then something will come up and the stress happens all over again.
In fact, I wasn't even told that I'd only be getting a partial check for tomorrow until Tuesday. Well, that's just great. I have all of my June bills to pay, NSF checks that need to clear, plus gas for 2 wks. I am already into my overdraft protection but it is not helping. I really need some money or win the lotto, which I know will not happen. I can't really ask my family because they don't have money either. Times are hard right now. No one has money to lend. I just wish there was an easy answer.
I haven't been focusing on my health like I am supposed to. I'm supposed to be eating a healthy diet due to my diabetes but haven't been for the last few months. I haven't lost any more weight either. I have to get things in order or my health is going to take a turn for the worse again.
I guess that's about all I can write for now. I just wish I had answers. :(
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Memorial Day Week
The week started off by my return to work on Sunday. It wasn't too bad. I must admit it was a bit overwhelming but it really felt good to be back to work. Evidently, I went over on my FMLA time so cannot miss any more work between now and the end of November or I will lose my job. So, I am stressed to the max. My health problems are not going away so it will be a bit of a challenge. However, I am just going to focus on what I need to do and I am sure I'll be okay.
I got out of work Sunday at 3:30 pm. We had a cookout and invited Joe's family over. It was a very nice day and the food was great. We had country style ribs, hamburgers, hotdogs, sweet Italian sausage, corn on the cob and potato salad. Yum Yum! I love cookouts. I was able to take some pictures of the kids as well. It was fun!
Monday, was somewhat of a slow day. We actually woke up early around 8:30 am. We lolly-gagged all morning. Finally, just before noon we headed to the cemetery. I was able to pay my respects to my grandparent's. It was sad. I cried. I hadn't been to the cemetery since Grandma was buried in Sept 05. Afterwards, we took the kids to Richmond Park so they could play. Then, we headed home for a bit. After a while we decided to take bottles back to the store and get some things we needed. Then, we went to Taco Bell for some dinner. By this time it was already after 5 pm. We just hung around the house for the remainder of the evening. Joe did make a McDonald's run late in the evening to get us a snack while he was dropping off a bag of trash to his parent's house. They are so nice to let us do that.
Tuesday, I was back to work for my first real day back. It didn't go too bad. I actually did quite well considering I was gone for so long. We were steady that is for sure. I know OT is offered all week long. I can't work it though as the kids have school events that I do not want to miss out on. I had my meeting with Maria, Sean and John about the FMLA situation. It turns out I had 465 hours available and I went over. I still don't see how I went over but that is what they are telling me. So, I am still on final warning. Like I stated, I just have to focus on being there and being well. I took the bus home from work. With gas prices at $4.08 a gallon, it just makes sense. It only costs me $1.30 to take the bus home. The only drawback is that I am on the bus for 1.5 hours. I get home around 5:30 pm. It is a long ride home but it is worth it in the long run. We only have one vehicle so while the kids are still in school, I'll just have to take the bus home during the week. I'm okay with it. It's just an inconvenience. Joe decided to make hamburgers on the grill tonight. We had Jennifer, Kelsey and Kaden over for dinner. The hamburgers were really good. We had fries to go with it. I also had corn on the cob. Another yummy dinner! I practically fell asleep around 8ish so was able to get a little refresher.
My friend Jane called me. Her son Adrian has cancer and he is at the hospital for another round of chemo. Because there is something wrong with his kidneys, he has to stay there for 5 days under observation. Poor kid. He's only 19. I hope I'll get to visit with Jane next week.
Tomorrow, the kids will be busy with school activities. Mikayla has a morning field trip to the Gerald R. Ford Museum. I will be a chaperone for the morning. I am really looking forward to going. It will be so much fun. Then, Joshua has his end of the year family picnic at John Ball Zoo tomorrow from 4-8 pm. This is his last event for the school year. It will be a blast. While that's going on, Mikayla has acting from 5-6:30 pm. So, it will be interesting to go back and forth between the events.
Thursday, Mikayla has field day at school. I will be there for part of the day but will most likely miss the majority of the activities as Joshua also has a school event. Joshua will have his preschool celebration at 10:30 am. It is his last day of preschool. I can't believe my baby is growing up. So, I will have to split my time between both of them. That will prove to be interesting. Then, Mikayla will have soccer practive at 6 pm.
So, that is my schedule of events for the next couple of days. I always find it very exciting. I always look forward to their school events. It will be a welcome break though to have summer. I really need to work some OT to keep our family out.
That's it for now.
Jen
I got out of work Sunday at 3:30 pm. We had a cookout and invited Joe's family over. It was a very nice day and the food was great. We had country style ribs, hamburgers, hotdogs, sweet Italian sausage, corn on the cob and potato salad. Yum Yum! I love cookouts. I was able to take some pictures of the kids as well. It was fun!
Monday, was somewhat of a slow day. We actually woke up early around 8:30 am. We lolly-gagged all morning. Finally, just before noon we headed to the cemetery. I was able to pay my respects to my grandparent's. It was sad. I cried. I hadn't been to the cemetery since Grandma was buried in Sept 05. Afterwards, we took the kids to Richmond Park so they could play. Then, we headed home for a bit. After a while we decided to take bottles back to the store and get some things we needed. Then, we went to Taco Bell for some dinner. By this time it was already after 5 pm. We just hung around the house for the remainder of the evening. Joe did make a McDonald's run late in the evening to get us a snack while he was dropping off a bag of trash to his parent's house. They are so nice to let us do that.
Tuesday, I was back to work for my first real day back. It didn't go too bad. I actually did quite well considering I was gone for so long. We were steady that is for sure. I know OT is offered all week long. I can't work it though as the kids have school events that I do not want to miss out on. I had my meeting with Maria, Sean and John about the FMLA situation. It turns out I had 465 hours available and I went over. I still don't see how I went over but that is what they are telling me. So, I am still on final warning. Like I stated, I just have to focus on being there and being well. I took the bus home from work. With gas prices at $4.08 a gallon, it just makes sense. It only costs me $1.30 to take the bus home. The only drawback is that I am on the bus for 1.5 hours. I get home around 5:30 pm. It is a long ride home but it is worth it in the long run. We only have one vehicle so while the kids are still in school, I'll just have to take the bus home during the week. I'm okay with it. It's just an inconvenience. Joe decided to make hamburgers on the grill tonight. We had Jennifer, Kelsey and Kaden over for dinner. The hamburgers were really good. We had fries to go with it. I also had corn on the cob. Another yummy dinner! I practically fell asleep around 8ish so was able to get a little refresher.
My friend Jane called me. Her son Adrian has cancer and he is at the hospital for another round of chemo. Because there is something wrong with his kidneys, he has to stay there for 5 days under observation. Poor kid. He's only 19. I hope I'll get to visit with Jane next week.
Tomorrow, the kids will be busy with school activities. Mikayla has a morning field trip to the Gerald R. Ford Museum. I will be a chaperone for the morning. I am really looking forward to going. It will be so much fun. Then, Joshua has his end of the year family picnic at John Ball Zoo tomorrow from 4-8 pm. This is his last event for the school year. It will be a blast. While that's going on, Mikayla has acting from 5-6:30 pm. So, it will be interesting to go back and forth between the events.
Thursday, Mikayla has field day at school. I will be there for part of the day but will most likely miss the majority of the activities as Joshua also has a school event. Joshua will have his preschool celebration at 10:30 am. It is his last day of preschool. I can't believe my baby is growing up. So, I will have to split my time between both of them. That will prove to be interesting. Then, Mikayla will have soccer practive at 6 pm.
So, that is my schedule of events for the next couple of days. I always find it very exciting. I always look forward to their school events. It will be a welcome break though to have summer. I really need to work some OT to keep our family out.
That's it for now.
Jen
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Another day has passed.
Today was somewhat of a boring day. We didn't really do anything spectacular. Joe got the kids up and around for school. I just stayed home and basically was on the computer for the morning. I was playing Maj Jong Solitaire. I love that game! It is addicting.
Joe had two interviews today. I am really hoping something comes through soon. I am having a really hard time lately with how things are. It's been 10 months now since he has worked. It is so hard to believe that he hasn't been able to seek employment. He makes his weekly calls to unemployment but nothing has happened. It's actually quite frustrating.
Anyway, when he returned from getting Joshua, we decided to get some lunch at Empire Buffet. Afterwards, we went to Super Wal*Mart to get a prescription for his mom and a few things for dinner. Then, we went to Sam's Club to get the hamburger. By this time it was already 2:50 pm. I rested for about 30 mins and then had to go and get Mikayla.
I dropped Mikayla off at home and then went to Meijer to get hamburger and hotdog buns. I also went to 7-11 to get my tea.
I took a nap until about 6:30 pm. I was tired. I was awoken by the phone. I ate dinner and then just kinda sat around the house between the computer, reading books to kids and going outdoors for a little bit.
This was quite a boring day. I need to get back to work. I have been off work for 6 wks now. It is ridiculous. I will be going to the doctor tomorrow and should get my doctor's release so I can go back to work. I will feel so much better once I am back to work.
I guess that's about it. Joshua enjoyed Momma reading him 4 books tonight. He fell asleep around 10 pm. He is such a sweetheart. I love to look at him while he is sleeping. He looks so peaceful. He is my beautiful baby boy.
Mikayla did her homework but with resistance. She has been going through a mouthy stage these days. I hope she outgrows it soon as it is getting old.
Tomorrow is another day so I hope to live it to the fullest. I'll be busy tomorrow and Thursday so that's about it.
Joe had two interviews today. I am really hoping something comes through soon. I am having a really hard time lately with how things are. It's been 10 months now since he has worked. It is so hard to believe that he hasn't been able to seek employment. He makes his weekly calls to unemployment but nothing has happened. It's actually quite frustrating.
Anyway, when he returned from getting Joshua, we decided to get some lunch at Empire Buffet. Afterwards, we went to Super Wal*Mart to get a prescription for his mom and a few things for dinner. Then, we went to Sam's Club to get the hamburger. By this time it was already 2:50 pm. I rested for about 30 mins and then had to go and get Mikayla.
I dropped Mikayla off at home and then went to Meijer to get hamburger and hotdog buns. I also went to 7-11 to get my tea.
I took a nap until about 6:30 pm. I was tired. I was awoken by the phone. I ate dinner and then just kinda sat around the house between the computer, reading books to kids and going outdoors for a little bit.
This was quite a boring day. I need to get back to work. I have been off work for 6 wks now. It is ridiculous. I will be going to the doctor tomorrow and should get my doctor's release so I can go back to work. I will feel so much better once I am back to work.
I guess that's about it. Joshua enjoyed Momma reading him 4 books tonight. He fell asleep around 10 pm. He is such a sweetheart. I love to look at him while he is sleeping. He looks so peaceful. He is my beautiful baby boy.
Mikayla did her homework but with resistance. She has been going through a mouthy stage these days. I hope she outgrows it soon as it is getting old.
Tomorrow is another day so I hope to live it to the fullest. I'll be busy tomorrow and Thursday so that's about it.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Today has been an interesting day. I woke up around 10 am after a night of fun. The kids spent the night at the grandparent's house. So, we putted around the house a bit and then went to pick the kids up around noon.
We visited a little bit. Jessie had gotten Mikayla a box of clothes from a yard sale and Joshua got a helicopter. We then went to Sam's Club to get a newspaper and a can of pink lemonade mix for the kids. Afterwards, we went to the dollar store to get a pitcher for the lemonade. Then, home.
I wanted to do something besides sit at home so Mikayla and I went to see The Spiderwick Chronicles at the movies. I thought the movie was quite entertaining. It did have a few scary parts in it. However, I really enjoyed the magic and the way things happened. The Ogre was scary though.
Now, we are home. It's a pretty laid back evening. Joe made hamburgers and french fries for dinner. They were so good. Have you ever had a hamburger with grilled onions and pepper jack cheese on it? If not, you are really missing a great combination. Dinner was sooooo good.
Tomorrow will be somewhat busy so I'll probably have to retire relatively early.
Jen
We visited a little bit. Jessie had gotten Mikayla a box of clothes from a yard sale and Joshua got a helicopter. We then went to Sam's Club to get a newspaper and a can of pink lemonade mix for the kids. Afterwards, we went to the dollar store to get a pitcher for the lemonade. Then, home.
I wanted to do something besides sit at home so Mikayla and I went to see The Spiderwick Chronicles at the movies. I thought the movie was quite entertaining. It did have a few scary parts in it. However, I really enjoyed the magic and the way things happened. The Ogre was scary though.
Now, we are home. It's a pretty laid back evening. Joe made hamburgers and french fries for dinner. They were so good. Have you ever had a hamburger with grilled onions and pepper jack cheese on it? If not, you are really missing a great combination. Dinner was sooooo good.
Tomorrow will be somewhat busy so I'll probably have to retire relatively early.
Jen
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