Wow, It has been a really long time since the last time I blogged...alot to blog about

Ok, so I decided to get back into the blogging routine. Sorry everyone. I kind of took a break I guess, lol. No not purposely, just been using Facebook to keep in touch and to inform everyone of everything, since I try to get on that everyday. Since it has been forever since I last blogged, alot went on in 4 months.

We moved to Wisconsin the middle of Dec. We all had a wonderful Christmas. Then I got transferred with my job finally. I am happy to have finally got this done. I work alot, I have to work as much as I can to bring in as much $$ as I can. I have a few jobs I do right now and love it. They sure do keep me busy so that is good. I work at more than one store, so I can get more hours in my schedule. Tommy still has not found a job, but thank goodness for unemployment. Hopefully something will come his way. He has applied to every job, even to places that he would have to commute to.

New Year's was nice too. Some friends came over for New Year's Eve for dinner, and we all BBQd and we went over to some other friends for New Year's dinner. Everything was very nice.

Tommy missed the deadline to sign up for classes. He tried another college and with that one, he has to start his classes in the spring. So hopefully he can get in and get his classes started. We were quite bummed about missing the deadlines, because he has the GI bill, and we want to take advantage of it.

As far as me working, and building up my Mary Kay business, nothing really is new new. Just same old same old, but different day. You know how that goes.

We have gotten more use to the area of Appleton and the state. We had gone to the mall a few times, I went bowling and played pool with a friend, I became a consultant for Mary Kay, so I am meeting more people in my area from attending the meetings and hosting classes. We experienced great coffee at a place called Jo to Go. It is so delicious. I like it better and it is much cheaper than Starbucks, which is nice. We also experienced great mexican food. There is a place called Solei and a fast food place called Taco Johns. They both are incredibly delicious. We also went to the excape artists house, which is now a museum and checked that out. That was pretty cool. Something different and fun to do.

When I am home and not working, I try to cook delicious meals. So far the meals I have cooked, Andrew likes and my husband likes everything, which is one thing I truly love. He is not picky and even if there is a meal that didn't turn out so good, he will not be rude or tell me it sucked. He will say it in the nicest way.

Our pets are good. They are finally all starting to get along, which is great. Sometimes though, they will show their moments where they don't want to be bothered, but other than that Andrew's cats and ours get along good.

We have gotten many snow storms since we have been here. Yay for Winter. The winter actually hasn't been all that terrible. We did hear though that this winter has been a mild one.
It sure is so beautiful to see all the snow on the hills and watching it come down from the sky.

Valetine's Day started out nice. We went out to breakfast with friends. Then Tommy and I spent the day together. Then we went out to dinner. We were planning to go to the movies and see Dear John, but unexpected plans came up. I did not feel well and so we went home early so I could rest. Other than that, it was a nice day. We decided to go another day to the movies. As far as a gift, I received a laptop. I love it. It was given to me early for Valentine's day and anniversary gift. Tommy always has such wonderful ideas as far as what to get me. I got Tommy guitar hero. He loves it.

It is getting time where I would like to start decorating for Easter. I will enjoy that. I love decorating.

Busy Busy...ongoing things

It has cooled down here. Especially in the mornings and at night, it has been in the 30's, 40's, and 50's but during the day it is in the 40's, 50's, 60's. It also has been really rainy. We've been having so much rain that we are sick of it. We all feel like a duck when it rains so much lol. We were actually suppose to see some snow but it hasn't happened yet. We just hope it doesn't when we are ready to move. If it happens, then it happens, but it would make things harder for us to travel. We already have to stop to take care of our pets. I am hoping maybe there can be some tranquilers our vet can prescribe for our pets so they don't freak out so much. I want them to be comfortable as possible even though I know it will be rough for them.

I had very nice spa treatments over a friends house awhile back. I was invited along with some other people for a spa party. I got to use such nice products. We had treatments for our nails, and face. There was this lip gloss that was sugar cookie and a body spray and the lip gloss is edible. I couldn't believe it. I licked it all off before the lady was done talking about it haha. If it wasn't for us not having any extra $$, I would have bought some stuff. None of it is cheap so it definitely didn't fit in my budget. I was glad I went, as it was so relaxing and all free pampering. I would love those products but just can't afford it.

I made my first preserve. It was lemon curd, which is great on toast or as a filler in lemon cheesecake tarts that one of these days I plan to make. Tommy puts it on his toast and toaster streudels and really likes it. I haven't tried it yet. It can be in our fridge for a total of three weeks

I've gotten a flat tire one day, so that wasn't fun. Not like it is in our finances, but oh well. Tommy got a new one and took care of it. He is so great and knows so much about vehicles and changing a tire. I really should learn how to change a tire and learn more about vehicles. It wouldn't be a bad idea.

I need to go back to the dentist and get fillings, oh such fun. The one tooth still needs the crown to be finished on it. I hate going to the dentist. I do have a very gentle and nice dentist though and the techs are really nice too so I am glad for that. I will have to find a really good dentist when we transfer. The tooth got it's preparation done for the crown. Boy I will tell you, I haven't ever sat in a dentist chair for almost three hours. That was a long appt. It didn't hurt, just uncomortable. The things I like the most about my dentist is first, he is very gentle for one, second, he and the techs tells me everything they will be doing and when, and third, after he works on my tooth for a little bit, he tells me to rest my jaw and to sit comfotable again. I mean no other dentists would do that for their patients I don't think so that is super nice. Even the techs told him that is so nice he does it that way. The temporary cap fell off in peices, so I went back to the dentist and the dentist made a new one with this time, he used a stronger bonding material glue to keep it on. I have to be so careful not to bite down on the tooth, or to brush or floss on that one and to chew all my food on the right side of my mouth.

For those who do not know this, there are change of plans for us moving in December. The plan was for us to move to Florida in December but now it is post-poned. We are now planning to move to Wisconsin. Finances are just so tight right now and have been for a long time. All the bills just add up and and we just can't go out and do all the things we would love to do, like get manicures, pedicures, go to the movies, eat out, go bowling, etc. It gets hard but we have been in this situation for a long time and know it is just the way it is sometimes. We mapped out our finances for Florida and the moving truck, etc and it is just way too expensive. We wouldn't have enough $$ for first months rent if we rented and things went down the drain to buy a house there. We really wanted to buy one, we are sick of renting but something things just don't work out the way we want them to and we couldn't be guaranteed a house or anyting by the time we went to Florida. Also, the job Tommy was trying to get is on a hiring freeze until January so that doesn't help us out at all. The plan for me was to transfer to a new Walgreens and Tommy has to have a job and that job would pay good $$ but it doesn't do us any good if he doesn't have it. We didn't want to chance going there and being more in the rut. We have a friend who lives in Wisconsin and would be more than happy to have us move in with him. We would split the rent and bills, and be able to save up as well as our friend. It is cheaper for us to move there anyway between paying for a Uhaul, not having to worry about first months rent and deposit, etc. Tommy is going to be using his GI Bill from the military and since we will be living in Wisconsin, we get more $$ for living there and we like that idea. That extra $$ that he would be getting would be ours to keep. Saving $$ sounds good. Tommy has to gain residency in Wisconsin in order to go to school and because of that we have to wait a year for him to begin schooling so in the mean time he will be working hopefully full time like me somewhere. He has applied to a few jobs out there. Free schooling for Tommy and more $$ to save, things are looking to happen this way for the better. We will be there for a few years and probably then some and then move to Florida when we are better financially. Family seems to be understanding but I know it somewhat upsets them. We have to do what we have to do though for us. Andrew has known Tommy for 10 years and they went to high school together. They are like brothers so we really are looking forward to being there with him. We all get along great so that is a big plus. I do not worry that things would go wrong but just in case something doesn't work out, we could always just get a place of our own there. I plan to cook and bake alot and Andew is looking forward to that. Tommy has been telling him that I love to be in the kitchen cooking and baking and will keep the place nice and clean. Like I said it is for the better and we have to focus on what is best for the two of us. Unfortunately it doesn't look to posititive to visit family and friends in Florida for Christmas. We are moving to Wisconsin because we can't afford to move to Florida right now, so financially, it wouldn't work out for vacation. We will miss seeing family that is for sure but we hope family can come and visit us in Wisconsin. Appleton is the city we are moving to and there are lots to do and lots to go see. I have looked online at alot of things and have found there is so much more to go do and go see than there is in Missouri where we live now. We are so looking forward to this whole move thing. Getting everything done in time because there is soo much to do and the list keeps getting longer and longer is what is stressing me out a little bit other than that, I am so looking forward to a new adventure with jobs, area we live, being with Andrew, saving, meeting new people, etc. We actually have traveled a lot in these few years and so we find it fair, we saw family and still was able to see them for a quite a bit. It makes us feel better that we have seen them but it is also sad around the holidays everyone can't all be together. Andrew is going to come here and help us with the move, which is super nice of him. The plan is for him to drive too and so all of his help will be very appreciated.

My managers have hired new people and have hired the person who is taking my position when I leave. I have trained them and will continue training them. They all seem like they will do fine. I am officially done working at this Walgreens store. My store manager tried to find me a new store in Appleton Wisconsin but the district manager hasn't replied back to my store manager so I will have to wait and see what happens. If things do not work out with me working at another Walgreens, then we will have to take another route for a job for me. We really are just taking it one step at a time. There is so much to work on right now between getting everything done before our move and everything.

Tommy has been doing more of his out processing for discharging from the service. He has a few days left of work and then he will work on his own schedule for appts, etc. There are still lots to do. I am glad that I will have the time to do it, it makes me feel better knowing I have the time to get it all done without feeling rushed and not organized. I don't do well if I don't organize things and plan things out. I have always written lists on my days off to get stuff done. Whether it all gets done on those days is a different story, but at least I try.

The plan for us to move is either the first week of December or the second week. It looks like we may do it the second week of Dec to make sure all of our appts, and running around, getting things done will be done. We pay for the Uhaul, gas, lodging, the move, etc but then we are reimbursed for it all after the move. This is classified as the last move so it will tenchically be free for us. They pay for the first and the last move.

We hope everyone will enjoy their Thanksgiving. We will be getting together with some friends a couple hours away so it will be good. I am in charge of doing all the baking so it will be lots of fun for me since I love baking. I have a bunch of things planned out to bake. They include pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin cheesecake, butter cookies, peppermint cookies, chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and eggnog biscuits (all homemade) Alot of these recipes I got from taste of home magazines and their website and then others I got from other magazines, etc.

Tommy's b-day is coming up. I plan to make him some special yummy foods as well. I gave him a list of foods I would make him and he chose the ones he wanted. For breakfast he wants these spicy sausage patties and mexican breakfast wraps (homemade) and for desserts and snacks he wants key lime cookies and lime coconut bars (homemade also) He hasn't told me what he wants for dinner, so we will see. He will turn 25 and so we are excited because our car insurance will decrease. YIPPY. Cheaper is better, right?? Haha. Also, we will do what he would like. He hasn't told me what he wanted to do yet so we will see.

We will miss all the close friends we have met and trust me we will keep in touch just like we do with family. It gets hard I know. :(

Halloween was just fine. I worked and we just hung out in the evening and passed out candy.
Hope everyone had a nice Halloween.

Hope all is well and will blog again. Sorry it has been so long. We love you all.

Our pets were very curious when Tommy was carving the pumpkin. The cats even ate some of the stuff from the inside of the pumpkin lol

Things going on here in our little world

So Tommy and I both have been busy working but that isn't anything different. Tommy will be working long 12 hour shifts next week and possibly the weekend or at least one day on the weekend so that isn't ever fun when he has to work that.

I went to the dentist. Had my my filling done on the same tooth that gave me trouble a couple months ago. I have to go back in a month for a cleaning, and the month after for the preparation for the crown, where they shape my tooth, etc. There are so many steps involved with getting a crown that it is so crazy. I have to go in for one thing, then make an appt for another thing, then go back and get this done before that before getting the crown actually done. Then in December, I go in and the crown gets finished. WOW, I will surely be glad when all this is done.

I started decorating for fall/halloween. I have a few decorations but not alot in our budget. We also didn't want to go all out since we are moving soon. I still want to get a pumpkin and would love to carve one when it gets closer to halloween so we will have to see.

Boots loves to look out the window...I put some halloween window clings on the window and do you see her on the counter?? yea we don't like it.

I had painted these candy dishes

These are the little puff balls I made and the cats got a hold of them and started eating them. I was like ok the end of decorating with these lol.

Tommy and I went to the 62 Air Force Birthday blast on base. It was really nice, got to talk to friends and eat and hang out. That had a mini dance floor but we didn't long enough to dance.

Tommy and I went to the Rennaisance Festival. It is great. We had gone last year and it was alot of fun. Lots of walking around but alot to see and alot of vendors who want you to buy everything in their booths haha. We didn't buy a whole lot simply because we bought what we could in our budget and alot of things are overpriced. We got this mold of hands (wax hands) as we were holding hands, we dunked our hands in water, and melted wax twelve times to make sure the wax was getting hardended enough. It was so cool. Our hands got really warm while dipping them but it was ok. The crazy thing was we had to move our legs here and there and not squeeze our hands together so that way the blood circulation was moving in our body. If we did that, then we could have passed out so that wouldn't have been good. We got my hand white and Tommy's hand blue. It is on top of our entertainment center in the living room. Other things we got were some delicious garlic rubs and dips. We tried it as samples and loved them so we got some. It is great for snacking with bread or pretzels and if Tommy wants to use them as marinades.

The parade was starting when Tommy took this picture

The garlic mustard dip, garlic jalepeno dip, and some garlic rubs for seasoning and marinades

These are the molded wax hands of ours. Isn't this cool??

Tommy is putting on the greaves that he bought. (lower leg armor)

If you look closely, you can see the hair net with silver balls in it in my hair. One lady kept trying to sell me all sorts of stuff and I didn't want anything. Didn't want to spend alot of $$ but I was just like ok I will buy the thingy for my hair. It is very pretty so she tied it in my bun and it looked nice and wore it all day.

The skull bracelet Tommy liked and got.

The bracelet I liked so I got it. It is so nice because it will match my pearls if I wanted to wear them both.

All these things we got seems like alot but actually it isn't. There were so much more we wanted to buy but couldn't afford it so we got cheaper things.

I've been baking alot of snack foods and desserts. Been trying to be good and make healthier foods but it gets hard and so there aren't alot of healthy desserts haha. One dessert I made was a chocolate pound cake another one was a cherry coffee cake. I want to make lemon bread and for lunches or a snack egg salad.

We are so excited for Carl and McKenzie. McKenzie is due with her baby any day now. Carl and Mac, we hope you like all your baby's items. I took so much time crafting many of them and enjoyed it so much.

So pretty much we have been well. Hope all is well with everyone too.

Fun little Game!

Fun little game

I got this from my Diana's blog. All of the Red/Highlighted are things that I've done in my life. Want to play too? Just copy the list to your blog and bold or highlight your experiences instead of mine. And link back so that I can see your list!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Life is very busy right now...

Wow, sorry haven't blogged in a while so I kept this blog in my drafts and just continued from where I left off...

I had something unexpected happen...The whole time I was home and not working because of what happened to my tooth, I got paid from my job. I looked at my paycheck and couldn't believe it. Haha!! not telling how much lol. So I talked with my boss and she said she did that so I wouldn't get long term disability. I was happy. We were really worried that we would get so behind with $$.

I don't feel any pain with my tooth, so that is great. I feel so much better. I still am being so careful to not chew on the left side. I am eating more meats and solid type foods now. In the beginning I was a little to worried. I just have to go back and get my crown and then the tooth will be finished.

Tommy has been good. He has been busy working alot as well as me. He has been sponsoring new people on base who will be working with him. This means, he meets them either at the airport and brings them on base or if they have their own transportation, they come on base and Tommy meets them there. Tommy gives them a tour of base and helps them out if they need anything and I when I say anything I mean that. These people are lost, they have no clue where anything is and where to go for work. ( I remember when we came here, Tommy was already here but I was like where is this, where is that??) Tommy has picked up people from the airport, showed them around town and base, and they took Tommy out for breakfast to thank him for all he had done to help them out. We kept their milk in our fridge until they got to their destinated place on base. Things like that we have done. Also, one of our friend's just recently left to go overseas for a year and his wife's lawn needs mowing so Tommy and another friend goes over and mows it. It is a very nice of them to do that. They may not be paid for it but it is Tommy's and other peoples responsibility to help out troops that work with them. It is expected of them to do that type of stuff for the ones that need help.

So online Tommy and I filled out a survey about customer service for ordering something and there was a chance for us to win $25.00 or more so why not, we did it hoping we would win something. We could use extra $$. We did the survey and won $25.00 subscriptions for magazines for a year so basically won $100.00 worth of magazines. Wow, that is crazy. 4 magazines so two for each of us. So that was cool. We will be getting magazines in the mail. Now if that were to be a check than that would be awesome. We are still happy to get free magazines.

Awhile back, we went to the State fair. We went at night, so all there was to see were the concession stands and hear part of the concert and eat food. We saw livestock and everything else was shut down so we didn't see much. It was $1.00 per person the first day and free parking so we did it to save $$. Why not, right?

Awhile back, we went to a car show in town. It wasn't very big but it gave Tommy and his friend a reason to drool on the cars hahah!! They really liked it. We showed up while they were packing everything up but at least they saw the cars.

So Tommy and I were out the door and we saw in our yard a free Kansas City Star newspaper. We were actually going to go buy one to read. Tommy likes the comics and I like to clip coupons so we can save even more $$. If I had known in the past how much we could have saved from using coupons on actual things we use, we would be doing better and less in debt, hahah!! Everyone asks me so where do I get my coupons from and how much do I usually save everytime I shop. Well when I go grocery shopping, I have a pile of coupons that are mainly manufactuer ones. I clip them out of the newspaper, use coupons from my job, and also go to http://www.coupons.com/ and http://www.smartsource.com/ It is so worth the time you put into doing this. I make time in my work schedule and time spent with Tommy and friends. I have heard of printing coupons from your computer and I have been doing that for a long while now. I love it. It all adds up and it makes me feel better that we save on so much. I have to be careful though, just because there is a coupon doesn't mean we will buy the product, we only use coupons on products that we know we will use. We sometimes do long term savings and buy some bulk but it really depends if we can do that or not at the time. Also, we have a system at my job where if a customer buys a certain product within its right size, name, etc, they are elligible to receive $$ back after purchasing it as it comes in a form of a coupon called a register reward. We use those as well when we can and do buy one get one free deals alot. I usually save around $25, $35 or more every couple weeks when I do the grocery shopping and buy other things. It is so awesome. I totally recommend coupon shoppers. Working in retail, it can be frustrating with some customers who are bent out of shape because we denied their .50 or $1.00 coupon and no I am not that bad when it comes to that. Haha!

Tommy's ear has been acting up again lately. So it is still the same that it was before he started taking that one medication for the pressure building up. His neck and arm is hurting also. He thinks it is because of his carpel tunnel syndrome. He switched his pillow, hoping that would help and he said it has but not all the way. He says laying down and taking a shower helps also. Please hope that all this clears and he gets to feeling better again.

Tommy started his outprocessing for discharging from the service. He started the paper/computer work. He no longer works on five programs at his job. He was told to just work on one and yay for him. He is much happier with that. It is pointless for them to keep him working the five programs when in a few months he is getting out of the service and they agreed they gave Tommy way too much work to begin with so now he doesn't feel that much overwhelmed. He actually builds the bombs now, which he was suppose to do from the beginning anyway.

We bought this no scratch spray for the furniture. It seems to be working a little bit keeping the cats from scratching things. We are sick of the cats scratching at our furniture and poking holes.

I dyed my hair a light brown color. It came out a lighter brown than I thought but it still looks nice. You can kind of see it in the picture.

Had to reformat my computer because of a stupid hallmark program I installed. It totally wrecked my computer. Couldn't even get to the desktop. So Tommy and I were upset. Thought I would lose all my pics and stuff but luckily only lost programs. Just have to reinstall those and I had all my pics on our camera. Thank goodness for that.

For Labor Day weekend, Tommy and I are both off Sunday and Monday. We had teriyaki chicken from the crock pot along with rice, corn, and yams with brown sugar in them. Yummy yummy. The crock pot meal sounded so good so we wanted to try it. Other than that, been cleaning the house, going through everything, getting rid of stuff, getting ready for a moving sale (we have already two tupperwares full of stuff to sell and still have so much more to go through in the house), crafting, searching online for Christmas ideas (one website I like to visit is called http://www.personalcreations.com/, and preparing for McKenzie's baby shower/family birthday party. We so want to relax one of these days and not think about work or anything. Just chill at home and do hobbies. There is always something that comes up so we can't all the time haha!!

We bought a gate for the kitchen where Duke can be in there and not be able to jump over it or knock it down and bother the cats and Haley. He is still very hyper and pees when he gets too excited and just altogether a pain in the you know what. He gets on our nerves all the time so we are working on keeping him more calm and listening. The gate seems to be working. Tommy had to do some extra stuff to keep the gate in place since it didn't fit properly but it works.

One of these days I want to decorate the house with fall/halloween stuff. I always love decorating. Thanksgiving decorations will be the last to decorate until we get settled in Florida after our move. It is so cool to think that we have two and half months left in this state.

Well I will blog more another time...hope everyone is well.

Ensure and Boost...not my favoriite right now but it works, going back to work

so ever since I got my root canal started and have a temporary filling on my tooth, I been so worried that the temporary filling is going to come off. I look and feel it to make sure but all is good with it. Tommy says I am paranoid. I've been drinking Ensure and Boost drinks with my food to make sure I am getting my nutrients as I am not eating alot of hard foods and meats. I have vanilla, strawberries and cream, and chocolate flavors. They aren't terrible, it is just that I wouldn't want to live on those things. They get kind of boring and bland tasting especially drinking them just about everyday. They are also kind of expensive but we have coupons that help reduce the price, which is good. Thank you all who care so much and been keeping in touch with me to see how I was doing.

Tomorrow, I go back to work after being off for two and half weeks for vacation and when I got sick. Wish me good luck that all goes well. I am sure it will but you never know haha!! Tommy will be working long day shifts for a week or so, which he is not looking forward to poor guy.

OK now that I have a chance, I will post all that has happened

Well Tommy and I were on vacation for a week while Stephanie and Jack visited. We went to a waterpark up in the city, Tommy grilled, I cooked, we played the Wii that we recently got. The first time we got the Wii, it worked but one of the wires wasn't working, so we ended up exchanging it for another one. We all had fun playing that. We relaxed and took them to see different things. Gave them a tour of base.

While the kids were here and toward the end of our vacation a day before my birthday, my left side of my mouth started to hurt. One back tooth and gum near my wisdom tooth was in pain. I didn't know why. So then my cheek was a little in pain. I took Motrin and a benadryl and relaxed. The pain was still there the next day and then it was my birthday. On my birthday, my left side of my face and cheek was swollen. My mouth was still in pain. So I showed Tommy and he said I needed to go into the doctors asap. Well Tommy and I went up to the city for my birthday. It was very nice. Did a little shopping, used my gift cards that I got for my birthday and ate at Red Lobster and used that gift card I got. It was good. I had a hard time chewing on that side of my mouth and because I was in so much pain it was hard for me to enjoy eating there but overall I had a good day. Then later in the day, I took more Motrin. It really didn't do anything for the pain and swelling. I got nice gifts for my birthday. Yummy chocolates, wonderful Burts Bees foot lotion, and a Wii game all from my wonderful husband. I also got a nice picture frame and drink mix from my parents and a nice necklace my mother-in-law made me. So the next day I was do back to work and Tommy extended his time off to be with the kids while I was at work but I didn't make it into work. For some reason, this just happened to happen right when I was due back to work. My boss wasn't too happy that I called out but what was I suppose to do. I couldn't sleep the night before. I woke up every hour in pain and had to roll over on my other side so my face wasn't touched in the night. My whole left side of my face was swollen and in pain and I didn't know why. I explained it all to my boss and she finally said that was fine. Tommy ended up taking me into the doctors that day to get it looked at. At first my doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong and then finally came out and said it could be an absess tooth and that is what is making my mouth swell up like that. So she put me on vicadin, antibiotics, ibuprofen, and a special mouthwash. I had to take the medication every four to six hours and because of the vicadin, I was pretty much exhausted all the time and ended up sleeping about 20 to 21 hours a day. I ended up not getting paid for the time I wasn't at work but when it comes to your health, that is more important. It just means we need to stick to a budget but what else is new haha!! I didn't come down stairs for anything unless I absoultely had to. I had the pets in the room with me and Tommy was off work for a while to take care of me since I was all drugged up and crazy haha. I couldn't drive, couldn't work, couldn't do just about anything. I almost fell over just going to the bathroom and that wasn't very far from our room. Tommy had to go back to work here and there as long as I didn't have any appts. So I was off work for a total of nine days and I know it got my boss upset but what was I suppose to do. You can't drive or work on those medications. Then I saw my dentist and he took an xray. Yup sure enough it was an absess tooth. By the time I was in to that appt, some of the swelling went down but it was still quite swollen. Unfortunately the dentist couldn't do the root canal. I had to go to an endodontist specialist up in the city for it. Tommy made an appt for me and we went. Because of my mouth being a little swollen, the root canal couldn't be done. Also, they used a big xray piece of instrument that couldn't even really fit in my mouth so we couldn't do it that day. We made another appt to get it done and hopefully the swelling would go down by then. Finally we go all the way back up the next morning to the endontist and he did the procedure. We were so tired from being up so early and the nights before I didn't sleep well. I was very nervous about the whole thing and so I think that is why. I had nitrus gas and was so worried about the needle but the endodontist and dental assistant were so gentle and nice that I relaxed some and felt better. I didn't even feel the whole six shots he gave me. He numbed me so good, that the anesteica didn't wear off until half the day. I have antibiotic medicine in the bottom of the tooth and it is filled with the temporary filling. I have to wait until the end of the month to get the permanent filling done. I am on more antibitoics and motrin. After that appt then I go back to my dentist and get the crown on my tooth. It gets so frustrating when dentists don't do all the procedures. You have to go to a different specialist to get certain things done. We had trouble with our dental insurance. Since the Air Force dental isn't the greatest, all this is very expensive to begin with but apparently not all of it is covered under our dental plan. So we ended up going with a different plan but turns out it isn't covered under that one. So we were all sorts of back and forth between the two plans trying to get something worked out. Finally we got something worked out and it is more $$ afterall but totally worth it. Things that unexpectedly arrise, we have to do what we have to do. The nitrus gas isn't included so we had to pay that out of pocket. Talk about a very stressful week. I am so ready to be completely better and in no pain. I am not in any pain now but I am always checking on my temporary filling to make sure it is still there. I have to be careful not to chew on that side. The only place I was at was the dentist and endodondist, other than that I've been living in bed. Not fun, but with how tired the medication made me, I was always sleeping. Tommy said I was a bit crazy on those meds and said and did some wacky things but I don't remember all that went on. Just that I was always tired and needed to sleep. I've been eating apple sauce, ensure, pudding, spaghettios, soft foods to be more careful. Tommy has been so great at taking care of me. I don't know what I would do without him. I promised him I would make this key lime pie yogurt dessert and a beefy tortilla cheese salsa skillet meal since he likes it so much and he has been there for me for everything.

Stephanie and Jack are back home, and now that I am feeling so much better. I've been up and about moving around again, doing my normal things, things are getting back to normal here. Laundry, crafts, cleaning, etc. It was hard for Tommy to do it all because he was also working. I want to start cooking and baking again soon too. Tommy and I have been playing the Wii so that is fun. Got a lot of fun games to play.

Tommy went in to get his ear checked. He has been having this popping noise in his left ear randomly throughout the day. When he lays down to go to sleep at night, he has a series of pops in is ear. It doesn't hurt him, it is just annoying. So the doctor told him he has what is called a Eustachion Disfunction. His doctor said his inside of the ear looks fine. It is when the tube is closed up and there is no fluid to drain and so it causes popping noises. The pressure builds. Reasons people can have this are if they have a cold, have allergies, ear infection. Tommy has allergies. So now he is on Allegra D to see if it could help with keeping his tube open and let the fluid drain. It is suppose to help keep the popping noises from coming back. He has been taking it for a few days and it seems to be helping but the popping noise isn't compeletely gone. If this doesn't work, the doctor will give him a steroid and if that doesn't work, he may need a tube put in his ear. We hope he doesn't need that and hope the pills help with all of this.


Here are pics from when Stephanie and Jack visited.

Jack liked playing with our cats

All of us at Oceans of Fun the waterpark















Tommy grilling burgers. They were so good. He loves to grill.

I was making spinach cheese manicotti. They are so good too. You can't really see, but the necklace I am wearing, is the nice necklace my mother-in-law made me for my birthday.