Going to call and have them start working on my car today. We're going to have to use whatever is left on all three credit cards. I can't wait till we get everything paid off through the re-fi. At least it will be a monkey off our backs. I just have to get better at budgeting my money. It kind of sucks because life is so short, and I really like to spend small amounts on just doing something for the day. I hate thinking that all there is to life is working and paying bills. Welcome to reality!O:-)

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the panhandle of Florida have been hit by Hurricane Katrina. There is widespread damage and flooding. What a mess! The storms are becoming more frequent and severe each time. I can only wonder how long our area will remain in tact this hurricane season.
:-(Another problem I am facing here is my vehicle not being repaired yet. I went back to work today, there was no school, and Dan was off, so getting there and back was no problem. Tomorrow is a different story as Dan has to drive to Orlando for an all day meeting, leaving me without transportation. I have no one to get a ride from and really don't want to call in my second day back. I also don't want the kids to miss school. This is so crazy. I'm trying to talk Dan into renting me a car ....sigh......

:-DSamantha's birthday party was yesterday. It went nice. We had Sharice, Brittany, Ericka, Isabella, Dominique and her mom Lois here. Everyone had a good time swimming and munching. She got 3 bratz dolls, $20 walmart card, and a radio alarm clock (pink). Cute! Jen and Dave sent her $10 and so did Uncle Mikey...so she was happy. I still owe her a present though.....lol.....gotta get back to work!

:'(Hurricane Katrina is now headed toward the gulf coast. It has become a category 5 hurricane...the highest it can go! My friend, Cindy, lives in Alabama and they have to watch. But the real problem is her daughter, Keri, who is in LA with her husband and child. His mother died myseterisouly last night and they are trying to get to his family which is 80 miles away from where the hurricane is scheduled to make landfall. Cindy hasn't been able to reach them as of yet and is very worried.
Neither her nor I feel that 80 miles is far enough to be going. But he has to be with his family right now and I guess they will decide from there what to do about evacuation. I hope everything works out for them. It's a scary situation.

Not too much new to report. It's getting closer to the time I return to work.....I'm actually nervous...but am sure that will pass quickly:-P
Tropical Storm Katrina became a hurricane and hit the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area last night. Apprently it caused 4 deaths. The main area of concern was flooding as most of Florida is at 100% or more than normal saturation for this time of year. This was the 11th named storm of the season and we have three more months to go. Hurricane season officialy ends November 31st, so there is still more time for much to happen. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Melbourne can make it through without concern.

:-XIt appears that Tom's girlfriend, Rachel, has been trying to basically force herself upon Amanda and her new baby. She sends an e-card to her and signs it grandma dunaj....she's not even married to Tom yet. Amanda was pissed and when she tried to express herself to her father, he basically made her feel like she should accept Rachel no matter what and not feel the way she does. This woman acts like no one got hurt when she and Tom hooked up and because it's been a year, everyone should be just fine with
it all. She does not understand how or why Amanda feels the way she does. She thinks it's all Cathie..that she is still bitter and just doesn't like her because of that. It isn't true. Cathie is over Tom and his bullshit. She just wants to keep Rachel out of her life and only deal with Tom when it comes to matters of the kids. But Rachel doesn't even allow that. She responds to all emails and answers most calls. Bitch! >:o I sure hope she wakes up and smells the roses soon before words get exchanged.

Not too bad of a day today. I actually got quite a bit done around here. We're getting ready to paint next month so I am trying to clear the plant shelves. We have vases and bottles up there and they have 3 years worth of dust on them....ewwwww!
I managed to also get a lot of vacumming done, the curtains in dining room washed, blueberry muffins and jello made and cooked a steak for dinner. Yes, I am tired! Just finished putting the girls to bed and now am going to watch some tv and possibly spend time with Dan without interruption.....hmmm..wonder if that is possible! Chris is over Kym's house. She will drop him off in the morning so he can catch his school bus. Nice he can spend time away from home without compromising his school time.

Had another pretty decent day today. In the evening, the kids and I went to see Amanda's new baby girl, Shyanne. She's so adorable. She was a premie and only weiged 5 lbs, so we could only see her through the glass...but she was right up front, so it was easy.....awwww!
This week is Samantha's birthday so I have to figure out what to get her. I wish I could have a really nice party for her, but with money the way it is, I don't see that happening. She's inviting some kids to swim on Saturday so I'll make a cake for then and cupcakes for class on her actual birthday. She always likes when I do that! We're hoping to take the kids somewhere nice next month or in October like water mania or something. They need to get out after being cooped up all summer long...poor things! I
think it will be good for everyone of us.

today was the best I have felt in a loooong time! What a great feeling. You don't get this feeling too often as it usually takes you being in pain or really sick before you realize just how good you feel normally...like you take it for granted. Even little things you don't think about like using the bathroom and not having it hurt anymore.....wow....now that makes me feel like a very happy camper! I can drink tons of water without fear of actually having to rid some of it from my body...muahahaha!
Today I had alot of running around to do. I took Dan to work at 330am. Slept in till 6pm. Took the girls to school by 8pm. Then I dropped off paperwork at my job and came home to make some calls. Then Dan called and said his kidney was bothering him and could I bring him some pain reliever, so I drove back there and hung out with him for some of his break. On my way back, stopped in at Davidson's Tire and inquired about whether I could leave my vehicle for an estimate and asked a price on a tire for Dan's
car. Got back home close to 1pm and checked email. Then it was time to leave and drop off my car at Davidsons....Danny followed me and the traffic was so bad, we lost each other and he went to the wrong place...but we found each other again. Took him back home and then it was off to pick up Dan, again, for a doc appt at 4. Next it was off to get an xray for him. Then I took him and Danny home and went to get the girls by 6pm. Got his prescription filled and Walgreens and was FINALLY home @ 730....Then .....
I made grilled cheese and salads and now breathing again! DAaaaaaaaaamn. I'm gonna chill tonight and whoever bothers me gets shot on site! 8-)

I had the stints removed today......that was SOOOO not fun! He had to try twice to get it out. If he couldn't get it out on the second try, he was going to have me go to the hospital again, put me out and then do it. What happened was some of the stones attached themselves to the stint and they are calcified (very hard) so basically made it harder on removal. I cried and breathed like I was in labor the whole time...but he said I did really well. How the hell I have birth to 4 children is beyond me!
I guess it's a good thing we do this when we're young and not almost 40. I seriously don't think I could do it again if I had to! I'll be on antibiotics for about a week and am not to do any heavy lifting. Does cooking include heavy lifting? How about folding laundry? Using the remote?? hahahaha. I will return to work on the 29th...I decided that to be the date...one more week couldn't hurt to make sure I'm healed enough to not kill myself again!

The doctor's officed called me in an antibiotic that I start taking tonight before going to appt on Thursday. He's doing a systoscopy...look into bladder and kidney and taking out the stints too. Gee I can hardly wait. I then continue taking the antibio until it's gone. Hopefully I can go back to work next week. That would be good...even though I'd love to stay home the rest of my natural life...lol.

Drove Dan to work this morning. Came home and fell back asleep before waking kids up for school. After taking them, I stopped in and applied for food stamps. Not something I wanted to do, but considering I became ill and have no income right now, I guess it's the best thing to do. Went home after that and tidied up some of the house. Dan got off at 1pm, so before I knew it, I was off to pick him up. Got home...made three big calls and then it was time to pick up the girls.
then it was off to the bank to get a pin number for my new debit card. Dropped off water bill payment, stopped at Mcdonald's and then 7-11 for gas...finally back home. Damn, I'm tired now! Hopefully I can outlast the kids!

Spending mo' money!

Got the new air conditioning unit today.

 What an expense that was..but at least we're cool and can breathe. It's just something you can't live without in Florida. We decided to look into a small home equity loan so we can pay off the credit cards and Dan's car. This would give us about 700 more a month to use on other things. Then we can get out from under this cloud that's been looming for the past couple of months, only being made worse by my being out of work and things like A/C units dying....
not to mention the car too.....someone close the floodgates please!

We just got back from the video store. Had to rent some games for these kids as they've been bored out of their minds. First, they were at other people's houses while Dan and I went to NY to see Jennifer and the family. Then, they came home a few days and I became ill. So for another 2 weeks while I was in the hospital, they were again at other people's houses. Even after I was released, we stayed at grandma's so she could help me out. Now that I'm home, I don't have a car, but also am too tired to go
anywhere for very long periods of time and don't have the money to either. So they've been stuck inside mostly and on each other's nerves. I feel so bad for them. Overall they've done really well.
My sister, Jennifer, goes back to work Monday since having Ryan in April. She's not looking forward to it, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Besides, she'll have time off when she has the next little Bender....which she says she's going to try for soon. Wow....where have all the years gone? My siblings are all grown and and leading their own lives, my firstborn daughter is going to be a teenager in one more year, Chris 18 in 2 years and Samantha a teen in 3 more years. I swear just yesterday I was 16 myself
without a care in the world more than where I would be going on a Friday night and whichboy would I like?? It all goes way too fast! Well, time to settle down and watch the idiot box for a while....guess I should be happy it's here for my entertainment...lol. More next time......

When it Rains, it Pours

As if things couldn't get any worse, our A/C unit died last night. It's been one helluva hot day today. So now we have to spend almost $5,000 for a new unit. That depletes one savings account and maxed out a credit card. When it rains it pours, but this past 6 weeks has been a downright flood. Looks like it's going to be tight the rest of the year around here. Amazing how far behind you can get just from an illness. I guess I'll just have to keep focused on the light at the end of the tunnel to get me thru!

Back to School

School started back today...thank goodness! The kids get so bored by the time summer is almost over, they were actually wanting to go to school

.
Two more days until my lithrotripsy. I wish I didn't have to put under..I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime.

Tomorrow, I have to be on a clear liquid diet all day. I have to drink an 8oz glass of clear liquid every hour until as late as I can..then nothing after midnight...nothing at all. Oh such fun. I also have to do a bowel prep which means drinking an oh so yummy 8oz bottle of magnesium citrate. If you don't do all these things, the kidney stone won't show up properly.
If that happens, then you can't have the procedure done. And if you don't drink enough liquids, you can't go home after the procedure until you 'pee' enough....sheesh. I'll be so happy when all of this is over and done with.

 

What a few weeks it's been

Wow....it's been a harrowing past couple of weeks. I'm really lucky I'm here typing in this journal. Below is a brief recap of just what I've been through recently......

I woke up for work one morning and felt lower back pain, like a kidney stone, which I've had before. I took Motrin, hoping it would let me go to work and get through the day until seeing the doc, but after an hour, it hadn't worked. I knew I need antibiotics, so decided to go to the ER. They gave me some demerol and took blood. In the meantime I called my fiancee and told him what was up and also asked him to callwork for me as I couldn't talk too well at that point. That's all I really remember. Apparently, in between the time i called him and the time the blood tests came back htey found out that my blood was septic...poisoning itself. The kidney stone blocked the tube between the kidney and bladder not allowing the flow. My fever spiked to 103.5 and I was getting lethargic. They had to put an emergency drainage tube  into my back to drain out the bad fluids and give me 5 units of blood...I had tons of tests do0ne and everything. If the septic blood had been able to spread, it would have went to my lungs and heart and eventually the brain. This is how the Pope died recently....scary. I had to stay in ICU for about 5 days and then spent another 6 days in a regular recovery room. Boy it wasn't fun. They actually had to put me in a morphine induced coma to keep my organs from over working themselves. SUCH JOY! I still have to get the lithotripsy done....you lay on a table, get knocked out, and they shoot a laser beam through a gel pad to break up your kidney stone. Then I get the stints out that are keeping the tube open that the stone was blocking...after THAT, I find out when I can go back to work. I've already missed three weeks..so I should be comepletely broke by then...woo hoo!

So, as you can see....things haven't been the greatest. Not having income coming in doesn't really make me too happy. Just paying what bills I can right now. What made it worse is that someone took my debit card while I was in the hospital and made quite a few charges and caused my account to go negative. So until I could make a police report and get to the bank to report it all, I didn't have a dime when I got released from the hospital. How much does that suck??? A lot!   

Samantha has a friend overnight, so I am going to lay them down to watch a movie and relax. I get tired pretty easy still. That will happen for a while I'm told. Will write more soon.