It was my nickname when I was in the Air Force. However, it was a second hand nickname. It belonged to my sister Amanda when she was an airman at her first base, long before she showed up at my first base and mentioned it to my leadership.
Well, nothing has changed. I have always talked too much, and I will always talk to much. There is no changing me. Sometimes I will interrupt and go off on a tangent because I think my story is more important. I'm sorry. However, now that I have accepted this, and am aware that I do it, I have become desensitized to people telling me to shut up. I'm used to it, and I sometimes expect it. I will not get sad if you just come out and tell me to stop talking. I will appreciate it, really.
Today I had a few conversations (in person and via email) in which I, in retrospect, might have gone a little overboard. As I'm talking or typing, I'm convinced that the person on the other end is dying to hear what I have to say next. Then, looking back, I realize that they were probably just waiting for me to hurry up and make my point (if I even had one). Unfortunately, I think this happens more often than I am aware of.
Please don't be afraid to stop me, people. With that said, this blog is over. :)
The bad news is my blogs are long.
The good news is that they are clean!
Please don't be afraid to stop me, people. With that said, this blog is over. :)
Three weeks and two days. On March 15th, my sister and her two boys will be coming to visit again. They lived with us for two months last summer while Amanda filled a reservist position at Hickam AFB. I watched the boys every day. This time, They will be staying for four months. They won't be living with us, but I still get to watch the boys every day! Jocelyn is going to have so much fun having playmates again. And, I will get a taste of what it is to function with four children under the age of four (at least until Trevor turns 4 on March 29th, which also happens to be Jocelyn's 2nd birthday).
Amanda and I are the two who have always had to miss out on family Christmases, baby showers, and niece and nephew birthday parties because of our military affiliation. So, it is nice for us, and for our kids, to get to spend this time together. When Brad retires from the Navy, we will most likely live in Nebraska, and our kids will not get to grow up with all of their cousins in California.
I've been considering doing in home CDC care for some extra income, but haven't been motivated to actually go fill out the paperwork. Having Trevor and Parker here for four months, will let me know for sure, if I'm ready to do that. I'm really excited, and a little bit anxious for this to happen. I have been telling myself that it will be a piece of cake...but, I'll keep you posted. :)
I was tagged by Kaysie to complete this 'wedding interview'. It's taking me back to the days when I was addicted to myspace surveys. Yeah, I used to do like ten of those things a day when I was bored in Japan, pregnant, with no job and no husband. Anyway, I happily accept the challenge, and here it goes... 1) When was your wedding day? New Year's Eve. December 31, 2005. We didn't necessarily plan for it to be on the holiday. I always wanted an outside springtime wedding, but NYE just happened to fall on the last available Saturday before Brad was supposed to move across the world, and I wanted as much time to plan as I could get! 2) What day of the week was it? It was a Saturday. I was actually kind of surprised that I was able to book a place on a Saturday that was also a major holiday, when I called less than two months in advance. 3) Did you get married in a church? We got married on the quarterdeck at the Naval Postgraduate School. We stood in the exact spot where I had my junior prom pictures taken. Ha. :) I had always thought about getting married there (in the rose gardens, in the spring). Who would have known that I'd actually end up marrying a Navy guy?
4) How many in your wedding party? There were five bridesmaids, my four older sisters, and my best friend (who actually introduced me to Brad in the first place). There were four groomsmen, Brad's cousin, his childhood best friend, and two buddies from work. We had two flower girls, Riley and Hanna (Brad's best man's daughter, and his cousin's daughter). My nephew Joseph was the ring bearer. Also, my brother-in-law Dean got ordained so he could officiate for us. Thanks, Dean!
5) How many guests were invited to your wedding? We invited about 130, many of whom we knew probably wouldn't make it (military in NE and long distance relatives). We ended up with about 65, which was a nice number. I wish I could do it again though, and invite more young people, more old friends from high school and what not, because NOBODY danced! People who didn't know me all that well would have come, right...for free dinner? When we renew our vows in Vegas with a star wars theme wedding, I'm going to send out like 1000 invitations to everyone I've ever met! ;) Maybe my sister Stacey will be kind enough to make AWESOME handmade invites for me again.
6) How long were you together before the engagement? We met in January 2004, after about six months of my friend Amy attempting to get us in the same place at the same time. He proposed in September 2005. So, you could say we were together for about twenty months before we got engaged, but we were only physically together (like in the same city/state/continent) for about ten of those twenty months thanks to the wishes of the Navy and the Air Force (I don't recommend that combination).
7) How long did you wait to tie the knot after your proposal? Our wedding was exactly 3.5 months after he proposed. It took a couple of weeks after the proposal to convince him that he was going to marry me BEFORE he moved to Japan, then a little while longer to convince him that this wedding would be taking place in California. By Halloween, we (I) had decided on New Year's Eve and got to work. There really wasn't any waiting involved. :)
8) How did he propose?? Well, he will be mad/embarrassed that I am bringing this up, but it is kind of funny (now). I thought I was getting engaged on a trip that we took to California, for him to meet my family, and for a romantic weekend in San Fransisco. Why did I think this? Well, someone told me that he bought me the ring I wanted (that someone was him). What was I supposed to, expect him to hang onto it for a few months before giving it to me? Well, that's what he did. He realized that telling me about it was a HUGE mistake, and he became worried about how he was supposed to surprise me then. Maybe he should have thought about that before telling me about it? Anyway, I went so long expecting it, and threatening him with ultimatums, that I finally just gave up. I fell asleep in the car on the way from Omaha to Superior to spend my birthday weekend with his family. He woke me up and we were parked on some dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I was tired and hungry and pissed, thinking, "what happened. Where are we?" Brad's grandfather left him 40 acres in Bostwick, right outside of Superior, NE. That was where we were. I didn't want to be there. Then he started talking about the house he wanted to build there someday, which I'd heard before. *yawn* Then he went on, "Our house, our kids, our future together, yada yada yada." Oops! I realized that my mood was about to change drastically! He was nervous, even after trying to catch me off my guard for months. I definitely didn't see it coming at that point in time, on a dirt road, with cows nearby, especially since we had been to a few nice dinners and romantic places. It was a total surprise, and I was like, "Finally!!!"
9) Did you register for gifts? If yes, where? Yes we did, at Macy's and Target. But, most people were aware that we were going to rent out our house so that I could move into a one bedroom apartment, because Brad was moving to Japan two weeks after our wedding. We had everything we needed already, and had to put most of it in storage anyway, so people mostly got us cash and gift cards.
10) Who did you hire as your photographer & videographer? We didn't have a videographer. Video isn't very forgiving to images of the bride who didn't lose as much weight as she wanted to before the wedding. We hired a guy (www.expressivephotographics.com) to do our photos, but my favorite ones ended up being the ones that our limo driver took with my camera at the beach after the reception!
11) Did you have a DJ or a band? We had a DJ. We had the same DJ at the reception as we did later that night at reception number two (our New Year's Eve party at the Salinas Airport). The reception music kind of sucked because I left my wedding songs CD in Nebraska! I was so mad, but it was my fault. The party later that night was karaoke, so that was great fun!
12) What was your first dance to? Our first dance song was supposed to be "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" by KD Lang and Tony Bennett. However, since I left my CD in Nebraska, it ended up being to "A Kiss To Build A Dream On," by Louis Armstrong. Not quite what I wanted, but it could have been worse. We'll get it right at our next wedding.
13) Did your father walk you down the aisle? Yes! I will always cherish that! If we had waited two years (while Brad was in Japan), like Brad originally wanted, I might not have had the luxury of having my dad walk me down the aisle. Good thing I forced him into marrying me before he was ready, right? ;)
14) What color were the bridesmaids' dresses and groomsmen's vests? Even though we had a winter wedding, we still used the spring colors that I always wanted: sage and rose. The ladies dresses and the men's vests were sage (I think David's Bridal called them Cerulean). Anyway, I told the girls what color to get, and then let them all pick out their own dresses. Different styles look different on different people, and if I'm going to spend $100+ on a dress, I want to pick something that looks good on me! My maid of honor got a long one, and my sisters all got tea length ones. It worked out great.
15) Did you have a bridal shower? Ha! I barely had time to take shower between getting engaged and getting married! I wish, though! I had a pretty great bachelorette party, though!
16) What type of limo did you get? We got a black Excursion limo for the Bachelorette party (Miss Universe pageant style), and a white Hummer limo to take us from the reception to the beach for pictures, then to the hotel...then later from the hotel to the New Year's Eve party.
17) What were your flowers? I didn't think about this at all. In fact, I forgot to order flowers until we arrived in Salinas, two days before the wedding. I went to Flower Magik on Thursday and was like, "I need flowers for my wedding on Saturday." So, I ended up having very simple pink and white rose bouquets. We went to Michael's and Dollar Tree the day before the wedding, and spent the evening before the wedding making the center pieces.
18) What flavor was your cake? I don't want to talk about it. But, I will. This is what it was supposed to look like:
This is what it looked like at 11:00 pm the night before my wedding:
My mom told me she could make a Kransekage (the traditional wedding desert in Denmark). She lied. :( I'm still holding it against her, that she would not let me order one from the bakery in Solvang...the bakery that she stopped at on her way to my wedding anyway! I was pissed!!! We ended up having the pastries that she bought at THAT SAME bakery...right out of the pink boxes. Classy! To this day, I still tear up when I see a beautiful wedding cake.
19) What type of wedding gown? I went into David's with the intention of finding something simple, possibly tea length and maybe even on the $99 sale rack. Didn't happen. The first time, I found two different tea length ones that I really liked. One was beaded and gorgeous, and the other one was a little bit simpler, and classic. I told Brad about them, and he expressed his desire for me to wear a full length gown (I later found out that was because he didn't want the tattoo on my foot to show). I went back with a friend who was also shopping for a wedding dress (just not quite in as much of a hurry as I was). She made me try on this giant, heavy, poufy dress, that I told her wasn't interested in AT ALL. Plus, I really didn't want to spend $1000 on a dress that I was going to wear once, even if it was for my wedding. Well, I put it on and I never wanted to take it off! I must have walked around the store in it for at least an hour. I felt like a princess, even though that hadn't been my original goal. I had to have it. :) I sold it on eBay for $500 two weeks after the wedding. The girl who bought it was so excited because she had tried it on, fallen in love with it, and her mom said no because $1000 was twice their budget for her dress. Well, aren't I just a dream maker! Anyway, I liked my dress a lot more than the dress that I wore the last time I had my photos taken in that room (unfortunately, my mom wasn't lying when she said she could make a prom dress!!)
Uh oh, is that a tattoo I see? Or more importantly, are Stacey and Amy about to throw down??
20) What was the weather like that day? It rained all through the ceremony...and we got married in front of a giant window. But, the rain was good luck. It cleared up for pictures before the reception, then was dry and beautiful just in time for us to take pictures at Lover's Point after the reception.
21) Did you have an open bar? We just had champagne because it was a luncheon reception (noon - 3:00). We had a make your own drinks open bar at the airport later that night! Way cheap, but very effective!
22) Where did you go on your Honeymoon? I've always wanted to go to New Zealand, but obviously that wasn't in the cards (Melynda and I still plan on going eventually, to the penguin farms!). Our honeymoon was eight months on separate continents. :( We are going to make up for that with our plan to see all the world wonders by our 40th anniversary. I met his ship in Australia for five days, when we'd been married for a year and a half. We did everything, ate some amazing food, climbed the bridge, went to the opera, met a couple from New Zealand, and conceived our first child...so I guess that could count as our honeymoon, even though he was technically there for work. People don't usually arrive at their honeymoon destination by separate means!
23) What was your favorite thing about your wedding day? Knowing that, despite the rush, the things that didn't go as planned, and the crazy unknown future that was in store for us, there was nowhere else in the world that either of us wanted to be, and nothing else that we would have wanted to be doing. Knowing that I married the man who is perfect for me is my favorite thing, not just of my wedding day, but of every day.
24) Did anything go wrong? Lots! Jodi was supposed to sing, but got laryngitis...so Kylie sang instead. The whole cake debacle. The room our reception was supposed to be in got flooded due the rain, which in turn got us upgraded to the grand ballroom...nothing to sneeze at. The music didn't work exactly right. Someone forgot to tell a couple of my sisters that we were taking pictures at the beach afterward. But, hey, it was pretty decent for having planned it from another state, in less than two months. I had some great helpers. I got a super husband out of it, so really I shouldn't complain too much.
25) How long have you been married? 4 years, 1 month and 16 days. It's really easy to do the math when you get married on New Year's Eve! :) However, according to Brad, we've been married almost five years. He called me when I started writing this blog, and he asked what I was doing. I told him that I was writing a blog about our wedding. He said, and I quote, "Why? That was like almost five years ago." Gotta love him. I do.
Brad says that I am a hoarder. I kind of am, I guess. Not the general kind of everything hoarder, though. I specialize in certain areas: clothing and shoes. I've referred to myself as a collector before, but I think it's time to hang my head and admit that Brad is right. I have a problem. I have things that I haven't worn in years, and know that I will never wear again (even if I were to get skinny, my boobs are way too big for the stuff I could wear when I was 19). It's worse than just keeping stuff that will never fit me again. I have never once, since I moved to Nebraska in early 2002, had all of my laundry clean. I have never once DONE the laundry until it was DONE. I can't, It is impossible. I have nowhere to put everything once it is clean. Laundry is a chore of necessity, and it was never necessary for me to do it. There were times that I'd go two months without doing a single load of laundry because I wasn't going to run out of clean clothes. Then, I'd run out of clean towels, clean sheets, and clean bras and I'd find the motivation to do SOME laundry. When I moved to Japan, I packed dirty laundry. I spent nine hours and $75 at the laundry mat the day before the movers came (and even gave away a huge box of stuff to a young girl who I met there), and still had them pack up dirty stuff. When I moved to Hawaii, I had quite a few boxes of laundry, despite the fact that I did 18 loads the week before the movers came. Reflecting on these things is how I've realized that this is a serious problem. It is disgusting. When Brad tells me that I have too many clothes, I say, "That's not the problem. The problem is that I don't have enough closet space!" I used the closets in all three bedrooms in in our house, the two dressers in our room, and the dresser in the spare bedroom...and it was not sufficient. I still had cardboard boxes, Rubbermaid containers and under-the-bed garment bags full of clothes. I was right, though. Having too many clothes was not the problem. My inability to get rid of anything was the problem. Also, I have been clinically diagnosed as a shop-o-holic, which was never going to help my clothes hoarding complex.
I was talking with a friend recently about how her husband suggested that she get rid of one old thing for every new thing that she buys. Ha. Brad and I figured that a good number for me would be 25 old things for every one new thing. I spent ALL night Thursday night (started at 8:30 and didn't go to bed until 5:30 am - I was in the zone) going through some stuff in preparation for a garage sale. Now, after boxing up a bunch of clothes, I can go get 22 new things. Yes, do the math, that is right. I was able to weed out over 550 items of clothing from my bedroom/closet/dresser/boxes/suitcases. Skirts, jeans, pants, dresses, tops, sweaters, bathing suits, and more (the 550 doesn't include chonies, socks and bras that I trashed). I still cannot get everything that is left into my closet(s) and my dresser. I was going to take a before and after photo of my bedroom, but the before picture is just WAY too embarrassing (let's just say I own at least four times the normal amount of laundry baskets that someone should possess, and I needed more). These are the AFTER photos:
Two very full dressers, and a some baskets and boxes of clean clothes in the corner:
More clean clothes with nowhere to go, it's not like that bassinet is good for anything else:
Sam's bedroom closet (I have a bunch of formal dresses crammed into Jocelyn's closet with our spare mattress, but she was sleeping when I took these pictures):
Vacuum bags under our bed for maternity clothes and sweaters(I didn't want to get rid of all my favorite cold weather things, even though I won't be wearing them for a couple years):
Our closet (barely a walk in, I think it holds less than the kids' closets):
Yeah, so if those were the after pictures, use your imagination to think about what our room looked like before I cleared all of this stuff out of it:
Also, these two brown tubs, and the brown suitcase off to the left, are full of clothes. I haven't decided whether or not to even go through them, or just get rid of them without looking.
I still have about three loads of [recent] laundry to do, but I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to put it.
I'm not going to disgust you further with the details of my problem. I am, however, going to disgust you with some 'farewells' to items that had no business in my wardrobe to begin with. Brace yourself.
Farewell, ridiculously, loosely, low cut thin green shirt. Though, I don't think you should be allowed to be called a shirt at all, being as your back half is missing and has been replaced with some very skimpy cold metal rings. As I recall, we had a good time in Vegas on my 21st birthday, but I still can't believe that I didn't opt for something else. Adios. You will not be missed.
Goodbye, hoochie-mama red and rhinestone top. You are the worst of your kind. I didn't even have boobs when I wore you, thank God, because that would have upped my hooch-bag factor by at least 25%. Now I have boobs, and this photo will be the only time I ever wear you with boobs. Get-outta-here, you disgust me.
See ya later, black tube top with mesh/netting halter. Just kidding, I will not see you later. In fact, no one will see you later because you don't even get to see the goodwill/garage sale pile..you are going straight to the incinerator. Burn, baby, burn.
Even though I was much thinner the last time each of these things were worn, there is still no excuse. I'm sorry for ever having worn them, and I'm sorry for posting pictures of them now. But it was necessary for you to understand how awful they were/are.
I feel so amazing, having boxed this stuff up and am preparing myself to watch it go away, far away. I'm going to to price everything at $0.50 per item or $3.00 for whatever you can stuff into a plastic grocery bag. Whatever is left is getting donated to the KidneyClothes.org people (except for the name brand things that I think I can sell on E-bay) .
I didn't even mention that I am also getting rid of over 30 pairs of shoes? Don't get me started. I still have to go through all the other non-clothes/shoes stuff in the house to find garage sale fodder.
I was passing time in a diaperswappers forum the other day, and noticed a woman talking about how she was on her second surrogate pregnancy. She had three kids of her own, but wanted help other couples have children. I thought this was super cool, so I stalked her around the website and read her updates and stories from her previous surrogacy.
I then 'googled' information about surrogacy and read the welcome pages of many different agencies, as well as the success stories that were posted by the surrogates and the parents. I think the idea of surrogacy is so amazing! The stories are just so eye opening. I can't stop reading them.
I'm a a total advocate for adoption, but I understand how and why people really want a baby that is made up of parts of them and their spouse. And, I think that would be such an awesome gift to give someone who can't do it by themselves.
Anyway, there are some states that aren't super big fans of surrogacy, Hawaii being one of them. That doesn't matter though, because we will definitely not be done having our own kids at least until our tour here is over. But, California is surrogacy friendly, and the agency that I like best has headquarters in Southern California and in Maryland. So, if we go to San Diego for Sea Duty once we are done in Hawaii, I can keep busy being pregnant while Brad is underway.
I know this whole idea probably sounds really weird to some people, but I think it would be one of the coolest things I could ever do in my life.
Compensation ranges from $15,000 to $30,000 (depending on the agency), which is pretty amazing considering that you could still work another job while pregnant. It would kind of bring a whole new meaning to work-at-home-mom. ;)
I have read articles about this subject. Some of them religious, accusing surrogacy of tampering with God's plan, and others super feminist, accusing surrogates of "whoring" out their bodies for a price. I realize how controversial this is, and how people think it is wrong for families to search for a surrogate instead of adopting a child who is already alive and needs a family. In some of the stories that I have read, the family has already adopted one or more children, and just wants to have one that shares their genetic history. Is that so horrible? Plus, if the eggs take (which sometimes can take up to 18 months of trying once a month before it results in pregnancy), I would consider it to be part of God's plan.
This is a quote from a blog that was written about an article published in Newsweek, regarding surrogate pregnancies:
"The basic angle of the 4,500-word article is that while American women are paid $20,000 to $25,000 to carry someone else’s biological child to term, it is an act of love more than a simple sale of services. I appreciate that angle and the article itself is very detailed and compassionate."
I could never see myself doing this kind of thing solely for the money, and I think the agencies seem to do a good job of screening surrogates to make sure, that they truly want to do it as a loving gesture to a deserving family. You cannot even apply if you are on any kind of government assistance, you have to have insurance (in most cases), and you have to have a full and complete background check performed.
There is so much involved in the legality of it, regarding things like whether the biological parents would want an amniocentesis (which I'm kind of against), and if the results of such a test would make them desire to abort their baby (which I'm really against). SO many details have to be spelled out specifically in writing because of all the the things that could go wrong with a pregnancy. The good thing is that the surrogates interview the potential families, and pick the one they'd like to help...not the other way around (which is kind of weird). Meetings and get-to-know you sessions are held before any decisions are made. One family met with her potential and eventual surrogate at Disneyland. That was a fun story to read. :)
Anyway, it will be a few years before we will even consider being done having our own kids. I just thought I'd share what has been going on in my head.
Unlike in the movie Baby Mama, all surrogacy agencies require surrogates to have carried at least one child to term and be raising it themselves.
Here it is. I've been wanting to blog this for a while. Of course this has the potential to go on forever, so I will try to keep it to 1000 words or less. Ha. ;)
I am thankful for:
* Team Hayes. And, not just Brad and the kids...for all four of us, our family dynamic and how we influence each other to good things on a daily basis. The love that Brad and I shared before JJ and SJ joined us, has only been multiplied in ways we could never imagine.
* Friends. This is not a blanket statement, though I am thankful for all of my friends. There just happen to be a few who I don't think I could live without. Melynda is my shining star of hope, whenever I need a lift. She is a breath of fresh air, a devoted and loving friend, and one of the most forgiving, kind, and good people that I have ever met. Stephanie is a new friend, that I am so happy that I have met since moving to Hawaii. She is fun and patient, generous and silly. It is also very convenient that she lives right down the street! Like I said, I'm thankful for all of my friends, new and old...but those who have been here for me recently, I can't thank enough(Amy-your late night text messaging meant a lot to me).
* String Cheese. I love it. Brad loves it. Jocelyn loves it. It's just good...especially with a glass of boxed white zinfandel. I love that I am so classy.
* Great babies. Jocelyn is pretty much all potty trained after a couple weeks of hardly any effort on my part, and she turns two in a month and a half. Sam has been sleeping for 11-13 hours every night for a while now. These kids make being a mom so easy, how could I not want three more?
* Hawaii. I wasn't the most optimistic about getting orders to come here, but I have changed my tune. I love the weather, especially after seeing all of the snow pictures on Facebook recently. I get to wear flip flops every day. I can go to the beach all the time. The military allows us to handle the cost of living here, and provides us with a nice home, new fitness facilities, as well as a bunch of other benefits for tours and activities on the island. I'm pleased, and though I've been planning on Sand Diego for our next duty station, I might just let Brad convince me to stay here for three extra years. Who wants to move with a bunch of kids anyway?
* Income, bonuses, tax returns, and promotions. I am addicted to the military families forum on www.diaperswappers.com, and recently some women were talking/joking about how nice it would be if their husbands made overtime, or were paid as much as their civilian counterparts. For the most part, they were just being silly, but I couldn't help but point out that military people are NOT underpaid. Some people look at their W-2 and see that they made $35,000 in 2009. They think this is not sufficient. Especially when they see a civilian friend who has $70,000 on line one of their W-2. Housing allowance ($2500/month for us), cost of living allowance ($400/month), Subsistence allowance ($320/month) and other benefits are NON-TAXABLE, so they do not show up on our W-2. BAH alone adds $30,000 to our annual income, and we are not taxed on that. That is such a cool deal for us! It makes our taxable income low enough to qualify for tax credits that are giving us a $10,000 tax return this year (goodbye debt). Many military people take their benefits and pay for granted, but I am SO thankful for it! Between base pay, housing allowance, subsistence allowance, cost of living allowance, reenlistment bonuses, clothing allowance, medical bills that we did not have to pay, and being able to shop on base at the commissary, and at the NEX tax-free...we would have needed to make about $120,000 as a civilian to maintain our same lifestyle. That is nothing to sneeze at! Yeah, military people "put their lives on the line", but your civilian husband has better chance of dying in a car accident on his way to work, than my husband has of dying while deployed on an aircraft carrier. Another thing to be thankful for - Brad is not in the Army or the Marines carrying a gun in a war zone (I'm thankful for the guys who are, and their families)!
* Love handles. Yes, I am thankful for my flabby tummy. I have been so discouraged lately because my workout plans have been ripped to shreds by Brad's schedule, my knee pain, and my inability to remain injury free while washing dishes. Well, I am still motivated. These belly rolls are my tangible motivation factor, and until they are gone, my motivation isn't going anywhere. I am patiently waiting to heal and then get right back on track. I have earned my muffin top by bringing two beautiful children into the world, and I'm kind of proud of it. However, I know it's not just kids that have given me this flat tire, which is another reason I'm thankful for it. I eat like there is not tomorrow. My doctor even told me that I was a 300 pound girl who is trapped in a 150 pound body. I eat whatever I want when I want, and that makes me happy. I never want to have to eat yucky things just to lose weight. I am thankful to have a super metabolism that allows me to only have a chubby middle when I should probably be morbidly obese. I plan to lose these love handles someday, but until then, I will appreciate them for what they represent to me.
* No car payments. We don't have new cars. But we were able to pay cash for them and it feels so great to not have any banks, sitting on their butts, making interest off our purchases! Not to mention that we are saving on insurance. I think I might have even helped talk someone out of buying a new car this morning, which makes me feel really good, because their quality of life will be better for it!
* The internet. It's just amazing, and I honestly don't know how I would survive without it. I mean, if it were never invented, I'd be fine. But, now that I know what I'd be missing, and I'm so used to just "googling" stuff, I don't know if I'd make it through the day without it. I didn't think I'd survive without my P&T stroller when it broke, but I've managed. The computer is a whole different thing, though. It provides me with information, entertainment, social networking, a way to complete a degree without paying for day care, and so much more. I am just thankful for how technology has made my life super convenient. I couldn't imagine living this same life ten, twenty, thirty years ago, much less 100 years ago!
* People who leave comments on my blog. This is not a cheap ploy to get you to leave me a comment. It truly makes my day to get a comment. It tells me that there is someone out there who is actually interested enough in my life to take time from their day and their schedule to read my super long stories and opinions...and then share their opinion on what I have written. There really aren't many better feelings than that. How can I ever be depressed when there I get a new comment on my blog? That sounds dumb, but it is true!
Okay, there is so much more I'm thankful for, but I'm pretty sure that this is more than 1000 words, so I'll quit. These are just some of the things that have been on my mind recently, and I'm aware that I'm lucky to have them.
P.S. As I finished writing this, I went to Photobucket so I could add some pictures to this blog. Photobucket made my internet browser crash and I had to restart the computer. So, I'd like to add that I am thankful that Blogger automatically saves my progress every 20 seconds or so! Whew.
P.P.S. I bet you cannot guess what I am eating, right now.
