Another Jumbled Blog

It's another one of those nights. I just feel the need to just let a few things out of my brain. It could get rough. I'm all over the place tonight. Here come the bullet points.

• Saturday is the big girl's birthday party. We are doing it big this year. Hubby has been working a ton of overtime and we are greatful and thankful and praise God every time he gets the overtime text message. He has been faithful and true to us. We have gotten quite a few bills paid off and have made a dent in several others. That feels really good. But we decided it was time for a little fun. The big girl seems to get jipped on her birthday some how. It's just not usually a good time financially. That's how we came up with special days. But Saturday,we are renting a water slide for her party. It's kind of for us, too. She has about fifteen kids and some parents coming over. We are all excited. Hubby is even taking Friday off so he can help get things straightened up around the house. It will be nice to have him home for a little while.
• There has been a big coupon sensation going on in my homeschool group. It really is fascinating to see the savings that some people are able to achieve. I have couponed for years, but these ladies make it a sport. I love it. I've even learned a thing or too. I went to Target the other day with a handful of coupons. They were $1 off General Mills cereals. Target has their single serving size of GM cereals on sale for $1. They put more in those than I would normally give my kids. I bought 10 of them and a Pepsi. It cost me $1.36. That was for the Pepsi. It was awesome! We went to KMart last Sunday. It's Double Coupon Days. They double anything from $2 and down. We went armed with coupons and even picked up a couple from the flyers and cut our bill in half. I had three $1 off coupons for Colgate toothbrushes. They had some on clearance for $1.49. The coupon doubled to $2. They paid me to buy toothbrushes. I like that part. You should try it if you haven't. Yeah, I know, "I always forget." Blah, blah, blah. You don't want to save any money. Come on now, no cop outs. Try it. Make your list, get your coupons, look at the flyers for the best deals, and go. It's fun. Check your stores coupon policy online. Most take competitors coupons in addition to manufacturer's and their own. That's three coupons for one item.
• I had a couple of really nice compliments on my hair. My friend Scott took one of those Facebook quizzes and it asked who had the best hair. He said me. He called it amazing. My friend Frances concurred when she took her quiz. Thanks, y'all. That makes me feel really good. I have enough hair for a small country. It's kind of a trademark. It scares me to let it out when it's really humid. It soaks up the moisture and just gets bigger and bigger. Sometimes I feel like a chia pet. I love my hair. I hated it when I was a kid. I almost know how to keep it somewhat tamed now.
• I helped the kids clean their rooms. I took an afternoon to help each one. I started with the big girl, then the baby, then the boy. The boy had a full 13 gallon trash bag. I vacuumed the floors, except the boy's. He has tile. He volunteered to sweep his floor. You could have knocked me over. The big girl was funny. We were about half way done and she said she would finish the next day. Oh no, Little Missy. We are in this for the long haul. The baby actually cooperated. She cannot stand to clean her room, but she stuck with it. She didn't whine or complain once. That was a big relief. I did threaten them to within an inch of their lives if the mess them up before Saturday.
• I have this weird pain in my thumb. It doesn't hurt all the time, just when pressure is applied. It's between the joint at the hand and the next one up. It started about a week ago. If I put pressure down on the tip, into the joint, no problem. But if I put pressure like trying to hold something with it, it can almost floor me. Weirdest thing.
• We have decided not to bury as much of the pool as we had originally planned. At this point, it's not worth the hassle. We are going to level what we have now and start putting that bad boy up. We might actually get to swim sometime this year. I'm almost excited about it. When we get to swim, I won't be so jaded. Until then, I'm jaded.
• I finished my story about Tyler and Lydia. I had planned a to do two more chapters, but Caleb and Amanda are pushing them out. I should say now that any part of this blog and all other posts on this blog, including comments, are my property. They cannot be reproduced without my permission. Caleb is Josiah's older brother and Amanda is Caleb's ex. I have the whole family in a story and relationship of some kind. Simon and Gillian, who I referred to briefly, started this whole thing. Then Josiah and Josie followed. Caleb and Amanda are next. And bringing up the rear right now is Abe and MaryAnn, who I also touched on. But there are six brothers and one little sister, Rebecca. Poor Rebecca. Six older brothers who are alpha males. Tyler made an appearance in Josiah and Josie's story. I may tell the stories, or write them down one day, who knows.

I think that's good enough for tonight. I have a busy day tomorrow. I'm gonna check Facebook one more time, and I am out. See ya' later.

Chapter 9

Lydia held on tightly to Tyler as he maneuvered the powerful motorcycle along the idyllic streets. She was terrified. She had never been on a motorcycle and to get on one of this size was quite daunting. Tyler was enjoying the grip Lydia had on him. She was flush against his back, her arms wrapped under his, her hands up around his shoulders. It was all he could do not to drive down one of the quaint alleyways and ravish her. By the time they got to Lydia's house, they were both shaking balls of nerves, but for very different reasons.

"Remind me to never do that again," she all but whispered.

Tyler smiled and took the helmet she handed out to him. "I had a great time," he responded, missing the warmth and feel of her body. The smirk she gave him just made his smile that much bigger. He took her hand and guided her to the place they had had most of their important talks, the swing in her back yard.

"I might have to get rid of this swing," she muttered, her body tingling from the ride or being so close to Tyler, she wasn't sure which.

"Not yet," he quipped back. Sitting by the swing was the ever present cooler. This time it was filled with soda. As they sat, he handed her a cold drink.

"This is my story," he began, taking a sip of the drink. "My mom and dad were both alcoholics. It wasn't so bad when I was a baby, maybe even a toddler, but the older I got, the more they drank. It got to the point that I was taking care of myself by the time I was nine. I had to make sure I had clean clothes, food, whatever I needed to survive. It seemed like nobody gave a crap about me."

Lydia had reached over and was touching his hand. He realized it was more a gesture of support than pity. Support he could take. Pity would have torn him apart.

"I was coming around the back of the middle school one day and there were the four McCready boys getting ready to pound the stuffing out of Josiah. I don't know where the rest of the Todd boys were, but Josiah was about to be in a world of hurt. I stepped in and the McCreadys stepped back. From that point on, Josiah and I were almost inseperable. Nadine took me in pretty much. I practically lived with them. I did for about two years.

"What I really wanted was attention from my parents. I started acting out in class, acting out everywhere else. Nadine saved me every time. I don't know why, but she treated me like one of her own. Sheriff Johns and I had what you could call a close personal relationship. If she hadn't stepped in time after tme, I probably would be in prison right now.

"After Josiah introduced us, I couldn't get you out of my mind. Then there you were walking down that dark road. I had you all alone in my car. You were going to ask me in, and I knew where that was going to lead. Kissing you at the party was my down fall. I just wanted to get my hands all over you, but I knew I would ruin you. That day at the lake was my turning point. I knew I loved you to be able to walk away from you."

By this point, their hands were clasped. Lydia had known part of the story, the part about his parents. She didn't know how close he was to Josiah and his family. She hadn't known that he loved her, too. As Tyler talked about his life after Lydia, she realized how important and difficult it was to hear his story. He had chosen to withdraw from life, instead of living it.

"What's that line?" Tyler asked. "In all the places in all the world, I had to meet you here. I couldn't believe that you were living in this podunk town. I know that I cannot go back to living my life the way I was. I know that without you in my life, I might as well crawl back to my island and never come back. I also know that I never stopped loving you." Tyler slipped his hand from hers, shifting, making her look at him. "I know that I love you now and I will love you always. My question to you is do you love me?"

Lydia stared into his eyes, trying to see doubt or fear or anything except the love he felt for her. She couldn't. But she was scared. Scared to put herself out there for him, for her, for them. Would he leave her? Her mother and father had both left her. Her sister was making her own way now. Could Lydia trust him enough and take a chance?

"I never stopped loving you either," she said softly. "I had so much to be responsible for, I didn't dare hope that I would ever see you again. I didn't want to see you. I didn't want to see anybody."

Tyler had gathered her close, kissing her face, her eyes, the tip of her nose. "I'm here now, and I need you," he told her. "I need you to make me feel alive. I need to stay with you. Will you have me? Will you marry me?"

"Yes, Tyler, yes I will marry you!" Lydia exclaimed, happiness surrounding her as tightly as Tyler's arms. "Wait, wait, where will we live? I can't live on your island and run a business."

"I can, but I see your problem. I don't need that island, I need you. I can do my job anywhere. But what a great vacation spot we have," he said, picking her up, cradling her close, walking towards the house.

"Where are you going? We have to get to the cookout," Lydia protested between hot kisses. Tyler stopped abruptly. He had forgotten about that.

"Fine, but when we get back," he trailed off, leaving no doubt in Lydia's mind what he meant.

That was alright with her. She knew that Tyler would never leave her. She knew that he would be a great husband and one day a father. She knew he would always be there for her. They would always be there for each other. Tyler knew that their love would carry them through, that they would always be together. As they walked towards the shop and Lydia's car, they knew that they had found something lasting.

The Pool Saga

I have learned the hard way that you don't air your dirty laundry. I have confided in people that I have considered friends, best friends, close friends, whatever, and it has bitten me in the butt. HARD. But this story is actually kinda funny. At least I'm trying to keep laughing because this is just one more example of how screwed up people are. And I married into this family.

Back in May, my hubby's oldest brother called and asked if we wanted their pool. They have an above ground pool that was dug into the ground. It takes up quite a bit of room in their yard and it was time for it to go. We were really excited. We have wanted a pool for quite a while. We have minimal shade and we need something cool to do in the yard. The kids jump on our trampoline quite often, but we usually have to turn the water hose on it while they jump because of the heat. A pool seemed like a great idea.

Hubby went over to BIL's house and dug like a fool to get the pool out of the ground. His older brother went along and helped. They dug and dug and got most of it out. Whoo hoo! There was still quite a bit to do, but a lot of the grunt work was done. We were getting closer and closer to owning a pool with a minimum of costs. We also had the assurances of hubby's brother's that they would help put the pool in.

Here's where I start pulling my hair out. I feel like if you make a committment to someone, you have made a commitment. If something comes up that is unavoidable, we can work around it, not forget totally about our commitments. Work around things. When it rains, hubby works overtime. We depend on that overtime to pay our bills. No overtime, very little bill paying happens. Wouldn't you know it rained. And rained and rained. Hubby worked his regular 40 hour weeks, then added at least 20 hours of overtime to each week. We paid off some debt and got a good start on some others. But while he was working until 8 or 9 every night, BIL was doing nothing about getting the pool out of the ground. He works less than 40 hours a week and gets no overtime. How bad do you want that pool out of your yard?

Hubby managed to get over there another day and got all but a few posts out of the ground and bring a load of pool parts home. Those promptly got unloaded and sat. And sat and sat while hubby worked his tail off. I would ask hubby, "Did you call your brother? How's the pool coming?" Hubby got tired of hearing it, I'm sure. I got tired of asking. Every time I asked, the answer was the same. BIL didn't have a chance to work on the pool. Know what I think: bullshit. Lazy is his middle name. Most of the work was done for him, why should he bother with the rest.

Finally, finally, I get the answer I want to hear. The pool is completely out of the ground. Now the next question comes up. "When are they coming over to help dig the hole?". We are also going to bury the pool. Not as deep as it was. We just want to bury about 2 feet of it. That leaves two feet above ground. We have lots of sugar sand, so the digging isn't hard, it's just time consuming. The answer to my question is, they aren't. All that talk of help was, once again, nothing but a steaming load of crap.

When hubby's brothers call and need help, he goes. I encourage that. Being far away from my family makes me miss them so much. I can't run over when I'm on the phone with my sister and she needs help with a project or go over for dinner or just spend some time together. We can't get hubby's family to come over just to hang out and throw something on the grill. Family is family. When they need help or just want to spend time, you do it. Your family will not be around forever. Mine is 1600 miles away one way and about 1000 miles the other. I would love to really take my pork chops over to my sister's and share her pot roast when we tease about it.

This saga started in May, and here it is August. I have the beginnings of a hole in my backyard thanks to a friend of hubby's that is always there when we need him. To me, he is more like family than hubby's own brothers. Whenever we have needed someone, he has always been there for us. Everybody else is whining about getting a bobcat to do the digging (the machine, not the animal). And who is going to pay for that? Oh, yeah, US! Meanwhile everyone else wants to come over and use it. Do we have the money for a bobcat? NO. That's why we need help digging the hole.

We have been working on it, slowly but surely. I have half a mind to just recycle what we can and get rid of all of it. We can buy a new pool next year when we get our taxes back, but that's just stupid and wasteful. We aren't going to get to swim this summer. We were hoping we would be swimming by my birthday. That didn't happen. June has come and gone. Fourth of July is great for swimming. No, not for us. So August is here, and quickly fading. My excitement about the pool has faded, and I am fast approaching jaded.

Has it been worth the hair pulling, screaming, and feelings of anger and resentment? No. Will it be worth all the hard work and sweat? I hope so. I really do not like feeling this way about hubby's brothers. Some days I just cannot help it. They have no idea what it means to give your word and live up to it. At least as far as hubby is concerned. I always say I got the best one and I did. If I had married any of his brothers, I would be divorced, in jail, or both.

Thanks for listening to the rantings and ravings of a crazy Hawaiian. It feels good to get it off my chest. If you happen to be in the neighborhood and have a shovel, we'd love for you to come over and help dig. I'll even make you dinner. And when the pool is in, you'll get the first invite to come swim and throw some meat, or whatever you want, on the grill.

Mish Mash

Just a few things running through my brain tonight. Who am I kidding? My brain runs 36/8 baby. It is really hard to turn it off. That's part of the reason for my bouts of insomnia. It seems that the more I have something on my mind, the more useless drivel runs through my brain. I think it's to keep me from worrying. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Here's what I'm thinking right now. Hold on.

• I love using bullet points. A friend of mine uses them and I like the way they look. It seems so professional. It also helps me keep track of what I'm writing. There's a bonus.

• Did anyone see the video of the Russians snubbing Obama? You could tell he was irate. They would shake the hand of the guy behind the President, but they pointedly and obviously ignored Obama's outstretched hand. I am very unhappy with his performance and his programs that are costing us money, but not netting any results. That does not mean that I would ignore shaking his hand. I am bigger than that. What does that say about what the world thinks about our leader? The Islamic world is ecstatic, but nobody else will even shake his hand. Scared yet?

• We have an incredibly busy weekend ahead of us. We have dance sign ups, a dinner at church, and an outside ministry coming this weekend to do training with us. Our church signed a three year contract for them to come in and teach us how to be a church. I still don't really agree with it, but I was out voted. I think we need more staff. We are severely understaffed and I think our church would benefit from someone who can be there full time to help in the areas we're having problems in.

• We started school this week. It has been a really interesting. The baby is schooling with us now. She sits with us and does bible, science, and history. Then we break up and I work with her on her phonics. She is one smart cookie. I feel like she doesn't need me, even though I know she does right now. The boy has decided he wants to learn how to write in cursive. This is the same boy that cringes when he has to write anything. If he could write with building blocks or legos, he would be much happier. I have some cursive sheets that I printed last year for him to do, but I forgot about them. I gave them to him for when he's done with his work, and he is one happy boy. The big girl loved her book for language arts. She read "Island of the Blue Dolphins". Now she starts the book study. She is actually looking forward to it. I am looking forward to our lap book next week. Hubby is trying to decide on a project.

• I'm trying to read the healthcare bill that is being put together. Go here to read a copy. I want to do a big blog. I cannot believe that people are just going to roll over and take it. That pisses me off. We do not have to accept this bill. We need to let our representatives know that we are unhappy. Please pick up the phone and tell them what you think. You can go to your state's website, they all have one, to look up who represents you. Look at your license plate. The address is there more than likely. If not your's, look at someone else's. You'll find it. If you are unhappy as well, open your mouth and say something. Apathy should be your enemy. This is our lives that we are fighting for. Do you want to be put out to pasture, or floated away on an ice block, because you're too old to take care of anymore?

• Some of my friends have done mucho traveling this summer. I am a little jealous. We are saving our pennies for a really big trip, but still. I want to go somewhere. It could be just an overnighter and I would be good. We talked about going to the beach and hanging out for awhile, but then hubby hurt his back. No beach for us. Hopefully soon. We have a little beach we like to go to on the Gulf side. It is shallow, peaceful, and no waves. I like that part for the kids. We take hot dogs or burgers and grill them, swim until we just can't move and burn to a crisp. Life is good.

• We have paid off four credit cards. We have four more to go. Yuck! I am so tired of paying bills. We got ourselves into this mess, and we are slowly digging our way out of it. Hubby has been working his tail off and we are thankful for it. God has been good to us. It's been rough. Whatever extra he works at work, I work at home. It starts to grate after awhile. We try to stay connected and spend as much time together as we can. Paying off the credit cards is one more reason we aren't going on vacation any time soon. The more we pay now, the more we can save later. That's what we keep telling ourselves anyway.

This turned out to be longer than I thought. Having to put lots of space between bullet points didn't help. Oh, well. And I have Tyler and Lydia ready to tell another chapter. I probably only have three more for them. Already Josiah's brother Caleb and his ex Amanda are playing in my head. Like I need to hear any more voices. To sign off like my hubby says to his brothers and my friend T signed off the other night:

Peace out.