Oh, Yes I Did...

This will be short today since I have to leave soon to get the boy from his dad's house.

Yesterday was full of nothing but me stress eating, and then making a short shopping trip for plastic bins that will serve as garage storage. We had a ton of card board boxes in the garage, from about a month ago, when the wife's mom and dad moved to town. They "gave" us things that they no longer wanted. This means, we now have more things to store. The flood destroyed the boxes, but luckily (I guess) the contents of the boxes were saved.

Since we're about to be hit extremely hard financially when we close on the building, and then again when we get the repairs done to our home from the flood, I've been looking for ways to save money. This means my search for plastic storage bins, took me a bit out of the way... to Walmart. Yes, I did it. I went to Walmart. Don't get me wrong... I'm not a snob, I just don't like Walmart. They're like a cult (you would know if you'd ever had to visit their corporate offices), and they treat their employees horribly.

Plus, I've got some psychological issues with Walmart... thats right, that's what I said! You see, I know what it is to struggle financially. I know what it's like to walk into a store with a calculator in hand, just to make sure I don't go over a certain amount, causing me to bounce a check. I know the stress of  having to buy "back to school" school supplies for two kids, and then not have enough money to buy food. Walmart was the only store I went to for years, and years... because I had no choice. Well, now I DO have a choice, and I've steadfastly refused to walk through those doors... until yesterday.

I went in for plastic storage bins, like I said, but I decided since I was there already, to fully peruse the store, and its contents. I was searching for certain things... organic fruits and veggies, hummus, low sodium deli counter lunch meats, and then the things the kids eat (which I know they always have). Guess what?? They had all of these things. So, I made the decision yesterday, that I would do most of my grocery shopping there. We need to save money... we will be running a business and a household.

The wife was thrilled with my decision. Since her parents have moved to town, her mom has been talking non-stop about how much more money we spend at the grocery store, as compared to what we would spend at Walmart. My refusal to shop there was only stronger, because I'm stubborn like that. I really appreciate the wife not trying to "make" me shop there. She let me make the decision on my own, which was the smartest, easiest thing she could do!

So there you go... and now I need to go! 

This House is Haunted (or Jinxed)

This past week has been nuts. So, I guess I'm here to whine about it... I'll post more pictures, than words though, so maybe that will help us all get through this.

I'll start with some good stuff (to make me feel as if I'm a positive person by nature).

We are supposed to close on a building for the business this week!!! YES, it's true! I have never felt more sure of a building, in the whole year we've been looking. I started my mobile unit... I have 1 child right now, but that's because I haven't gone out marketing yet. There's a reason for this. 

Oh, this is where the chaos begins, by the way. 

When I ordered my equipment for the mobile unit, I was told by the company that my card was denied. Hmmm... that's weird. We called the card company, and apparently there was a $950.00 transaction that was stopped right before I ordered my stuff. Someone thought Western Union online would be a great way to get free money. Thank goodness for a card company that was on top of it. Anyway... we had to shut the card down, then I had to wait to order my equipment again. It's all ordered now, and as soon as I get it in, I'll hit the pavement. 

Next: I signed up to volunteer for many activities before we made the final commitment to get this business up and running. I sit on several HOA committees, I am a medical director for a local pet rescue (I decided this would be the best way for me to help because I cannot go into shelters... I think we may be bordering on pet hoarding as it is), and I started volunteering for an adult special needs Sunday School class. I love it! So, right now, I'm feeling a bit pulled... in many directions, but this is a good thing... until this week.

I was feeling great, actually. I had gotten a lot accomplished as far as the business, I was caught up on the house work. I guess I was feeling over-stressed about the kittens... Oh yeah, we saved three little kittens from shelter death row a few weeks ago. I forgot to mention that... here they are.

I also forgot to mention I'm allergic to cats. These cats are itty bitty little things, a LOT of work, and stink. Bleh. All of this stink, and all of their clutter was getting to me. I was constantly running around the house, mopping, and trying to keep things in order. Well, apparently the universe decided I needed to learn a lesson, about what chaos truly is.... 

Friday, I had a doctor appointment. I kind of guilted the wife into going with me, and then we went to lunch. It was a nice "get away" for me, because I felt overwhelmed with animal duty. We didn't take a long lunch, because the kittens had an appointment later that day, and then the wife and I were planning on going out that evening with friends. Woohoo, two get aways in one day!

Anyway, we walked straight into a disaster when we got home. Our home was flooded... then while the special flood guys were here doing what they do, it flooded again.  The looks on those guys faces, was priceless in a non-funny kind of way. We told them the house was jinxed. So, we've got a LOT of water damage. All of our hardwoods will need to be replaced, along with a few other things.

Right now, we have over 35 flood fans blowing, and three de-humidifiers. Our home is in total disarray. See...

I didn't even post pictures of the living room. 

Oh, I forgot... I woke up at 4 am after the night of the double flood, and for some reason decided to get up. The front door was WIDE open! Who knows how long it had been open. Obviously, I couldn't get back to sleep after that. Nope, I spent the rest of the morning looking through the play backs on our security cameras to be sure no person, or animal came in. My biggest fear was running into a king snake while doing my best to clean up some of the mess. 

SO yes, the house is jinxed, haunted, whatever you want to call it. 

Evidence:

1. The day we closed on this house it was struck by lightning. It knocked out all of our a/c units, and fried the breaker box. Every outlet in the house had to be replaced. It took months to repair the damage.

2. We found a snake in the house our first Easter here. Luckily this past Easter was quiet.

3. Car vandalized.

4. We had a gas leak. There was a small hole in the thick, hard pipe that attaches to something. Very unusual they said.

5. The Great Flood... door wide open at 4am, even after I made sure it was locked. 

We've only been here a little over a year. We're kind of stressed over it all. The wife was even looking at available homes earlier today. 

This too shall pass... right?!?

On The Go!

Today has been disappointing... why? Because I woke up with this panicked feeling, I have a ton of stuff to do, and I'm bored. I think I am in ADD Hell... that's when you have a ton of stuff to do, but you look at it, and cannot for the life of yourself make it happen,because your mind keeps wandering...

So, I thought this post might serve as a bit of a calming tool. Carmi's thematic this week is centered around pictures taken with smart phones. I love this theme, because smart phones capture those moments in our life, that are small, yet important... and quite unexpected. So here it is! My life on the go! I've loved doing this because I've been able to revisit some past moments. I've been able to focus!! Enjoy!

I was pulling into the driveway, and thought this would make a really cool picture. This was a beautifully cool, Fall weekend! 

Another Fall day... this one was spent in the Harbor. 

We were headed out the door, and I just wanted to capture this before we left. 

A rainy night on the road... 

A spring night out with friends

A night of relaxation for me!

A sailboat race!

Early morning surprise "visitors" The dogs weren't happy. LOL

Florence going for an outdoor "walk"---I'm leaving this initial caption, BUT I had to come back to edit. This is not Florence. This is a turtle I came across while on a run. He/she was in the middle of the road, and I attempted to save it by placing it in the nearest yard! :)

A sunset on our way into the city

A goofy moment in a Mississippi beach restaurant 

A very pouty boy

A rare victory!

An even rarer win! Woohoo! Makes me want to go gamble ;)

Some really neat things can be captured with your phone!

Some really "creative" things can be captured as well... LOL

A quiet morning... rare indeed

A recent date night!

Now this is an old picture! The kids at our old house, when my car was new. Now we're looking at selling it :( I still love it... but business comes first. I can't fit my equipment in it, and the girl has no business driving it.

My severe storm emergency kit. Seriously! :)

An indulgence... I like to take pictures of these types of things.

One of the kittens we rescued this weekend from shelter death row.  We'll be finding them homes after we get them healthy enough, but for now I'll be all "allergied up." :)