Amy's New Start : Comments Welcome!

[toystoryduo]

Amy~

Please don't be so hard on yourself, WISH sis! You got a great workout in yesterday! Plus, you're allergies are in high gear, you haven't been sleeping well, and you're concerned about Dan's work situation. My friend, please, please, please be easy on yourself.

GREAT job on SR!!!! As far as surveys go, most surveys (Your Two Cents, AMP, SSI, My View, and SurveyHead) should all credit at the top of the hour or at the top of the second hour. (note: The Your Two Cents survey credits at the top of the hour for Super Members, but there may be a delay for other members. I'm not 100% sure.) The Greenfield Daily Survey credits the next day or on Monday when surveys are taken Fri-Sun. If you have any questions, please let me know. You may want to check out the forum too. There are lots of GREAT tips there and contests too! In the offers section, there is an offer (or used to be) where you can earn $0.10 just for joining the forum!

I hope you have fun at Happy Hour with your friends tonight!

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Julie and Tracy.

Happy Hour was fun last night, I ate too much and had several rum and diets but for some unknown reason the scale showed I lost a pound over what I weighed yesterday morning. I am sure it will find its way back to me given what I ate yesterday!

Man oh man, ds has been trying my patience lately. He got very disrespectful yesterday afternoon several times and it finally ended with me literally throwing a Wal Mart card that I went out and bought for his friend's birthday party. This after I rearranged my plans a bit so I could get him over to this party. So when he popped off, that was it. I was fuming mad the whole way over, and sort of mad at Dan for not getting on him. Well I guess Dan had decided he didn't want to deal with it when we were all rushing around to get where we needed to get. So he picks up ds last night and I was doing laundry, heard the garage door open but they didnt' come in. So I am kinda wonderign what is up, open the garage door and see them in the car and can tell that Dan is really giving it to ds. So I let him do his thing and ds came in a bit later, apologized and has been his old self today. I must say, I enjoyed having Dan be the bad guy, usually with his work schedule and his personality, its my job to do that! Even though I know ds is a teenager and so heads and above better than many, it kills me to have him be this way with me. What happened to that little guy who always said he was going to buy the house next door when he grew up so he'd be close by? I guess its just life but I must say, teenage years prepare the parent to be very much okay with their kids leaving home and going off on their own!

Well, if I goofed off on Thurday, I have made up for it the last two days! I have just about got the carpet finished. Julie, thanks for the tip, I did what you suggested and I think its worked really well. It looks very nice and really and truly, it wasn't so bad to do it myself.

I didn't get a walk in today, I was so busy I literally didn't have time. But I got a lot of activity with cleaning all the carpet, walking around Sams and Wal Mart, unloading and organizing $500 worth of groceries and all the other stuff I did.

Tomorrow Dan and I need to get up very early, and head up to the spot where we will do the ashes next week. Its been awhile since we've been up there so its good for us to get up there and make sure we know the exact way to get there. Its a lovely spot, you can see the Continental Divide from one end to the other (about 100 miles worth of mountain range I think). Then we need to come home, work in the yard and get some other stuff done.

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend and maybe something more exciting and fun than cleaning carpet and tons of grocery shopping!

Tracy, I didn't get onto SR until just now and couldn't get a survey. I hate it when you go quite a way through only to be told you don't qualify! I think maybe late at night is not the best time.

 

[keenercam]

Amy -- I am so glad you are feeling so good about how much you accomplished this weekend. I am sorry for what you are going through with DS. It is so normal, and yet it is nearly unbearable when we are going through it. Just remember that if you let them live long enough while still demanding good behavior from them our self-centered teens can turn into really awesome adults. I promise.

 

[toystoryduo]

Sounds like you had a busy weekend! Great job getting everything done!

How's SR going for you? Yesterday, I only got 2 surveys. Today, I got all 6!

Sorry to hear about DS's attitude this weekend. I'm glad that Dan had a talk with him.

I hope you have a nice evening!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracy and Cam.

All I can say is that I am pooped! Its 1:00 a.m. and I have been up since about 6:00 going non stop. Ds had his last day yesterday, dd had a half day today and thank goodness they were home because I put them to work! I got a lot of cooking done and also got the basement (where our guest room and bath are) all cleaned up, beds made up, various articles of junk put in the crawl space and it looks nice down there if I do say so. Also made one last trip to Sams and the grocery store for what will HAVE to be the last time since I am out of room in my kitchen frig, my garage frig and every bit of space in my cupboards is taken up!

I am going to have to get up super early to get the rest of the house cleaned up and laundry put away but I think by the time they arrive tomorrow in the late morning, I should be ready.

So my big news of the week is that I had a job interview yesterday. She finally called me back and I got the distinct impression from our phone conversation that she had already found someone she was wanting to hire but she said "I promised my sister I'd call you" (I know her sister from my church and mentioned to her I was job hunting which was how this got started). She called me at 4:00 on Monday and asked if I could come that afternoon so I hustled, got ready and drove over there thinking it would be strictly an "interviewing experience". But I ended up being there for almost an hour and half and then she asked me to email her my thoughts after I had time to think about what we had discussed. So that seemed positive. It would be 20 hours a week, in her home (or rather mansion, what a place!) and it sounds challenging and the pay was better than what I had imagined. So we'll see. I still think she'll end up going with someone that has recent work experience but whatever happens, at least I finally got an interview.

I keep saying I need a "Ginny". Ginny was the woman who hired my mom back in 1972 right after my dad had died and my mom had been out of the work force for around 13 years. She gave my mom a chance at a job she was basically not qualified for and my mom ended up working there for years and they were friends until the day she died. Its just hard to find anyone like that this day in age since the work force changes so drastically over time. But I am still hoping that if not this job, another one will come up for me soon.

Dan still has not heard for sure but does know he is in the running with one other person for the job he has had two interviews for. And still has several other good opportunites. So still looking really good, just so hoping something comes up soon.

So that's my latest. I will try very hard to stay on journals over the next week but I must say, I have a jam packed seven days with my inlaws. So bear with me!

Food has been good, I have not exercised per se, but I have also not sat down very much either!

Tracy: I have been so busy I have not done any survey's since Friday. Very bummed! I am hopeful I can get some done in the next few days. I was on a roll but with this company, I got derailed a bit!

Cam: You are too funny! I know its the norm but as you say, its not easy! Somewhere up in heaven my mom is laughing her angel's wings off because payback is very funny when its happening to somebody else!

 

[keenercam]

Amy-- I know you have so much going on with your ILs visiting for the next week, but PLEASE keep us posted on the job situations. I promise I will keep you and Dan in my prayers. You deserve so many good things, including a Ginny.

 

[toystoryduo]

Way to go on the interview! Sending good thoughts and prayers for both you and Dan.

It sounds like you have gotten a lot of cleaning done! Great job!

I hope you have a nice time with your in laws this week.

P.S. Thank you so much for signing up for SR with my referral number. Once you hit the $5 mark, I got the $2 referral bonus in my account. That extra $2 will definitely help me on my quest to SMPlus! Thank you so much, Amy!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks so much Cam and Tracy!

First of all, if you could say prayers for my brother and his wife, my sil's mother was visiting them this weekend and she has had a major stroke and is in ICU. She's had cancer and they think maybe that has triggered this. Her 98 year old mother came with her and it will be so sad if something happens. So I really appreciate any prayers for "B".

Our visit with family has gone well. We did get the ashes scattered up in the mountains. It was cold, rainy, some snow, some hail but it cleared a bit and we were able to do them. Seeing Dan lovingly scatter his dad's ashes really got to me. His aunt brought up three roses, in different colors. One for my fil, one for dh's grandpa and one for grandma (they were scattered in this same spot). It was very touching but very sad. But so good to get it done.

I have been cooking and cleaning up the kitchen a lot! But my food has been very good if I do say so and we have had lots of time to visit and be together. The first two days the weather was lovely and we spent a lot of time on the deck, then Friday afternoon a front came in and its been rainy and in the 50's since. Bummer, it was nicer when it was warm and sunny!

Fil's partner came to the service. He stayed in a hotel but was here a lot. I like him very much but it was stressful. For obvious reasons Dan's 73 year old aunt had a hard time dealing with her brother's lifestyle change and while the partner can be very sweet he can be really hyper and sort of outlandish and inept. Dh and I will likely keep in touch but I must say, I am glad I don't have to be with him and my in laws at the same time again. A couple of times I was about to slap him because he was being thoughtless towards dh's aunt's feelings. Thankfully he flew home tonight. But I am glad he came and I know fil would have wanted him here. Families for sure come in all shapes and sizes!

My weight has remained steady and in fact in the frantic pace of getting ready for company I took off the half pound I gained plus another half pound. In spite of a lot of food, I have held my own and did manage to walk and aquasize on Thursday and Friday. I didn't yesterday or today but I am okay with that. Today was the first day I had a food fest. I had made brunch so I ate that, then when dh and I took fil partner to the airport we stopped at Wendy's on the way home and split a burger. I think the stress and just gotten to us. Then I had popcorn at the movie, followed by dinner tonight. Yikes! Oh well, considering what I have been dealing with, I think I have done pretty darn good because stress generally causes me to go bonkers with food.

We saw Prince of Persia and I really liked it. I loved the POTC moveis but this one was good. And it was easier to follow, the POTC movies I had to see a couple of times for them to make sense. This was easier on my feeble brain. And Jake Gylenhal, well he was very easy on the eyes! But his British accent was dumb. Don't think the Persians back in B.C. times had those accents!

Tomorrow I am taking dh's aunt and cousin way up north to visit a friend and after I drop them off I get to spend a few hours with my friend Deb and her kids. Can't wait! I never get to see her due to the distance (over 40 miles) so its a treat. Then I am making a healthy dinner. Then Tuesday we'll go to the pool (its supposed to warm up) and my inlaws are taking us out to dinner.

Dan has not heard on his interview but did manage to get the third extension at his current job. This really does appear to be "it" and his last day will be July 9th. Benefits for the whole month of July! And four weeks to find something else.

Never heard from the Mary Kay lady and I fear that means I didn't get it. She said she would make her decision within a couple of days of the interview. I just didn't have that feeling I tend to get when I know something has come through. But its okay, in some ways that job might not be the best fit due to the commute and in some ways when I do go back to work, I sort of want to be working where I meet more people, not in some woman's basement with just her. After 16 years at home, it might be nice to work in a setting where I can really feel like I am back in the work force. But who knows, she may still call. For some reason, I don't really care and its not bothering me if I didn't get it. My "Ginny Job" may be a ways off or it may be this one. Who knows!

 

[toystoryduo]

Sending a your way, Amy. You've had a lot going on in the past week.

How is your brother's MIL? Sending prayers for her and her family.

I'm glad that the visit with family is going well.

Good news that Dan got another extension! We're praying that he has a job offer really SOON!

Hope you have some time for rest and relaxation this week!

 

[keenercam]

Amy-- Thank you so much for updating us, even with how busy you are. Even though I'm sure Dan would prefer to be elsewhere I am so grateful on your behalf that the extension goes into July so that you have benefits for another 6 weeks or so. I hope the perfect job comes through for you.

Kudos on the food and doing so well to stay in control, even with sad times and family drama. Keep up the great work!!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Cam and Tracy.

Wow, I am beat! My inlaws left today, we had a very nice visit and I'll miss them. Although I must say, its nice to have things returning to normal. It was really good to have my father in laws ashes spread, now Dan has that closure at long last.

I ended up working out three times in the seven days they were here which given how busy I was, I am proud of that. Hopefully I can get back up to five days a week beginning tomorrow!

My brother's mil had surgery today. It turns out she didn't have a stroke but rather had two cancerous tumors, one of which caused the bleeding. She had kidney cancer a couple of years ago and these tumors are related to that. They got things "cleaned up" in her brain and she did well in the surgery and they feel like they got it all. Now they need to wait and see how much damage that brain hemorrage on Sunday night caused. She has some paralyisis but its just too soon to tell what the long term prognosis is. So continued prayers for her and the whole family are appreicated. She's a nice lady and I would so hate it if she's permanently damaged to the point she can't resume some sort of normal life.

Tomorrow I intend to go to aquasize (okay gals, you heard me say that right????), finish cleaning up the house and then maybe take dd to the pool for a couple of hours. I told her she could have a sleepover tomorrow night which means I'll be ordering pizza. I cooked so much this past week I told everyone the kitchen is closed for a few days!

Friday is the day I intend to weigh in on the Wii. Since I won't be going to WW for a bit, that will be my new weigh in tool. It wil be interesting to see how this goes, typically I need WW to keep me accountable but right now I don't want to pay for it! I am also heading up to my friends that day to help her pack. She is losing her house and isn't sure where she is going but she's got to start getting things packed up. I told her she and her two kids and skittish dog could stay here and then had one of those "omg, what did I just say" moments. But I can't have her homeless so if she needs to stay here for a month or so, well that's just the way it will be.

We don't have plans on Saturday and then Sunday we have friends coming over for Father's Day. Dan is going to smoke a brisket, he actually loves to smoke meat (he loves to have a good excuse to sit there and mind the smoker and drink his beer lol) so he says he is looking forward to it. True confession time. I told stepdad a white lie that we were camping this weekend and would do Father's DAy with him on Wednesday next week. I just wanted this day to be for Dan. Last Father's day we were in WDW and spent the day at Old Key West with his dad (who was in town for a conference) and I know he'll be thinking about that. Stepdad does have his own son but I doubt he'll do anything for him. We hardly see him much anymore and in all liklihood his girlfriend will take him over to her sons. If not, well I am okay with that because I am putting Dan first and center for a change of pace.

Cam: It is so true, although Dan is anxious to get out this situation, any job that has benefits and enough salary to keep us going is a blessing. We are very thankful. But very ready for this to be over!

Tracy: I didn't get much rest in today and the rest of the week is busy, but I am hoping the weekend gives me some down time!

 

[eyor44]

wow Amy! Have you been busy! Glad the visit with the inlaws went well. and that you got in some exercise while they were visiting. Good for you!

Praying hard about Dan's interviews. Even though I haven't been on lately, I have been thinking of you all and praying he finds something soon. What a blessing to have another extension.

on the possible WDW trip. I do hope you all get to go. When are you looking to visit?

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Lisa (I knew you'd be back when you could and I am so glad to see you!). Our dates are 10/21-31. Just a bit over four months if it all works out!

Speaking of that possible trip to WDW, I was able to get my reservation switched to CSR. CSR and POR are our favorite mods and I think the plan is to take turns between the two. When I originally called, CSR had no availablity so I then got a very nice cm who suggested a pirate room at CBR. That looked cool, but its $250 more for that room over a standard mod and ever since they redid that main pool at CBR into what I think is a theme geared towards very young kids I haven't liked it as well. I also don't care for thier food court. So I was pretty waffly on that resort all along and when I called last night to see if CSR had opened up I was thrilled to find it had! Now I just need a good code or discount. If I don't get one, its all for naught and I'll probably end up switching to Pop Century. So we'll see. Still hoping like heck for Free Dining!!!

I am going aquasize tonight in just a bit. I got up early and got five surveys done (yippeee) and then got busy with laundry and cleaning. I also took dd to the pool along with her friend. I took grapes and carrotts and drank a huge bottle of water. Didn't swim at all, I did go in and cool down a few times, the rest of the time I sat in the sun and read. It was worth getting up when it was still dark to make the two hour pool break happen!

I need to post my food. So here goes:
Breakfast: 1 whole bagle with 2 t. butter
Lunch: two small pancakes, 1 cup grapes, 1 cup carrots
Snack: Slim Fast shake
Dinner: 2 pieces of pepperoni pizza and raw green and red peppers with 1 TB ranch dip.

I really should not eat white bread, but I have that on hand still from company and wanted to eat it up. The pancakes were left over from brunch on Sunday and they called my name. Now they are gone thank goodness. I also know the pepperoni pizza isn't the best, but I told dh to save me two pieces from when I get home from aquasize. I was really doing good before company came of avoiding carbs and junk, now its time to get back on board with that!

My brother's mil is recovering from her surgery and the neurologist said it would be a very long recovery from the brain bleed. I'll update as I know anything more or different. Assume no news is good news or that she's just about the same.

On a good note for my brother, the puppy they have reserved has been born! The litter arrived on Tuesday and they'll get to pick up their labradoodle puppy in early August. Her name will be either Gracie or Ginger. We'll see which one of my twin nieces wins the coin toss to get her name assigned to the puppy! I am glad they have some good news and something fun to look forward to. My poor little nieces are so heartbroken about their grandma, they were there when she collapsed Sunday night and totally freaked when the ambulance came and took her out. So this is a nice little ray of sunshine. Thanks for all your prayers and concern.

 

[toystoryduo]

Sending lots of your way for free dining!!!

Great job at SR!!!

Sending a prayer for your brother's MIL. Please keep us updated on how she is doing.

How cool that your brother's family is getting a puppy!

Have a nice evening, Amy!

 

[keenercam]

Amy -- I am so sorry to hear about your brother's MIL and that your nieces were traumatized. Poor girls. I am so happy they have the puppy to look forward to. You should be so proud of yourself for working out 3x while you had all of that family stuff going on. Kudos to you!!! I am keeping my fingers crossed for you for free dining. I think you are doing really well with your food. Even if your meal choices aren't your best ever, you haven't been snacking in between with lots of high calorie items. I'm sure it will be easier to get back on track when your life gets back to normal. Still keeping my fingers crossed for the job situation for you and for Dan, too.

Have a wonderful Friday!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Cam and Tracy. My nieces got to see their grandma today, she was moved to a regular room. She's going to need extensive rehab and now my brother and his wife will have to figure all that out. Its not looking my sil will be able to come to my mom's memorial service but my brother and the girls should be able to. So that's something. I think seeing their grandma today reassured them a bit after the scare last Sunday.

I obviously did not get the job I interviewed for. On one hand I always feel that things work out as God intends them to so I am sort of saying "it wasn't the right job for me or it would have worked out". On the other hand, I am really bummed. I wish she would have the decency to call or email me to let me know for sure. She seemed convinced I wouldn't be able to handle working again. Even when I assured her that in this past sixteen years I had volunteered my buns off, organized fund raisers, worked in many a classroom, done over a database at my old church, run not only my house but my mom's, she sort of had this attitude that I would fall apart the first time it snowed and I had to drive in it or the first time one of my kids got sick. Oh well. I always knew I was running a risk by getting out of the workforce for so long but somehow it hurts to have people think I can't handle the "real world". Of course this woman has someone who is basically her nanny/housekeeper/personal assistant/errand runner, so I guess she's not superwoman either!

Today I went and visited my friend who is losing her house. Her lovely husband left her with the huge mortgage, a mountain of debt and two kids to go off to Texas and she just can't keep up with the payments. I went with her to look at an apartment. Don't ask me how the three of them plus a dog and two cats will cram into a two bedroom apartment but it was nice and clean and in her school district. And on a greenbelt perfect for walking the dog. I took her and the kids to Reb Robin for lunch and we all pigged out but it was fun! She and I were best friends in 5th grade then she moved away but thanks to Facebook we reconnected. She's my soul sister and I love her to pieces. I came home to Dan and my home and realized again, I am so lucky to have what I have. I find myself ashamed for whining I might not get free dining for the trip we probably won't even get to take. Perspective is hard to accept sometimes!

On the long drive home from my friend's house, I had some time to really think (dd was zoned out like she always does in the car lol) and I realize that I have basically done nothing the last three months since we left for WDW. Not a pound lost since March. On the flip side, I did manage to keep off the 16 pounds I lost between January and March. Company is gone, vacation is over (like two and half months ago for goodness sake) and its time to get back and be serious. I know I'll be eating more than I should on Father's Day but I also plan to spend the weekend cleaning out all the contraband food out of the house and finding some good recipes that are easy to make this summer. I really like Cam's turkey/veggie skillet idea so that's for sure going to be prepared. I even may put it in individual containers and freeze it. It just bums me out knowing that I had stuck with my regimen, I'd be down another 15 pounds for 30 total. Oh well, can't undo the past but I can work on the future and move forward!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, Happy Father's Day to the guys who made us all moms!

 

[toystoryduo]

Amy,

You are an AMAZING woman and anyone who hires you is going to be a very blessed person! Please don't let that lady get you down. God has the perfect job out there waiting for you!

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I hope that everything works out for her.

Continuing to pray for your brother's MIL. I'm glad that your nieces got to see her yesterday.

I wanted to tell you that I have been making meals from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook and some of them have been very tasty and very affordable! I'm not sure how they would work with WW since I haven't been counting points, but the recipes are pretty good.

I hope you have a nice weekend, my friend!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Amy,

You are an AMAZING woman and anyone who hires you is going to be a very blessed person! Please don't let that lady get you down. God has the perfect job out there waiting for you!

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I hope that everything works out for her.

Continuing to pray for your brother's MIL. I'm glad that your nieces got to see her yesterday.

I wanted to tell you that I have been making meals from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook and some of them have been very tasty and very affordable! I'm not sure how they would work with WW since I haven't been counting points, but the recipes are pretty good.

I hope you have a nice weekend, my friend!

Tracy, I saw that cookbook at the store the other day and now that payday has arrived, think I'll buy it! I'll try my best to stick with points but at this point in my life, meal budget is about to trump everything else if you know what I mean!

Got three surveys done this morning so that's good.

Need to walk, grocery shop, make a cake and potato salad for Father's Day and clean up the house.

I am feeling very blah, time to get the juices flowing and get moving!

Still no pin, no idea why I put myself through this. I see the hundreds, even thousands of dollars people save while I save nothing. On the trip I probably won't even get to take! Again, why do I do this to myself?

I really miss my DVC. I had forgotten how awful it is to wait for a discount. Can't help but long for the days when I knew how many points I had to work with, no stressing about deals, codes, discounts etc.

Okay enough whining, hope everyone has a great day!

 

[eyor44]

Amy
I hope you are having a great weekend. Sorry about the job. Tracy is right. There is one out there for you, just be patient. You'll find it. God takes care of our needs.

Last year the Free Dining for the Fall came out the end of July. The last Monday I believe. Do you have a Disney Visa? Visa holders were able to get it the Friday before.

How wonderful you were able to visit your friend. Poor circumstances, but you are there for her and I am sure she really appreciates your support. I hope things go well for her.

Your food looked okay. You kept the portions reasonable and didn't do a lot of snacking. That's great!

Happy Father's Day to Dan. Is the smoker and beer ready to go?

 

[toystoryduo]

Sending a and your way today. I hope you have a nice day and a wonderful week ahead!