Our "Family" Cabin

The Cabin, or what I call it "The Lake" has been in my family for over 70+ Years! Now let’s just say that’s history in the making!! The cabin is located in Forest Lake, on Coon Lake. It’s a quiet dainty little area, but during the busy time of the summer, the lake can get a wee bit crowded.

This has always been a happening hot spot for my family to gather on the weekends during the summer. I must admit, this is my favorite place and most relax able spot to go during the summer. It's got a lot of fun things to do. You can watch the boats, go swimming, and just be yourself. I have been going here for over 28 years, and I LOVE IT! It's a place to remember all of my family memories, and for me to create new ones with my family. I will always be great full to my Grandparents for this opportunity in my life to have a place to go to be with family.

We enjoy all the all of the fun that goes along with it. We love to go out on the boats, go fishing, water skiing, water tubing, and having a lovely feat of food for supper. We love spending time with family/extended family, and all of us enjoy catching up on "new news" that goes around, and we love to reminisce about the old days.

(Inside – the porch, and the kitchen where all the chatter happens)

(Outside - The Water where all the activities take place.)

After my Grandparents passed away, my Mom's family has decided to sell the cabin. It was heart wrenching, but understandable, as most of them can't physically take care of the place themselves, and with all the work that has to be put into it, it's a lot for one family to do. So, for now, we enjoy the time we have, create memories and love being there.

Due to the economic downturn this past year, my family decided to keep the cabin, and try to figure out a way for all of us to enjoy it together, and for each family to have their own time up there as well. This has been a consistent struggle for them to say the least. I hope my 2 Aunts will come to the rationale that it is important to all of us and that we want to be fair, but equal for all. I hope and pray to GOD that the 4 of them will come to some solution, which will work for everyone and everyone can live with.

Will see what's soon to be told come summer.. Keep your fingers crossed for the best.

How a 2 year old can make fun of his Uncle.

It's a quiet evening at home. My family and I are all gathered at the dinner table. We seem to get into series of strange topics at the table.

This one topic we were talking about the other evening was how when we eat spaghetti, that it can make some of us retain some gas. My Bother is one who can't seem to tolerate spaghetti, because the acidity, and it in turn makes him gassy but yet, he eats it anyways.

Austin is at the table with us, and it's not like a 2 year old can understand what our adult conversation was all about. But of all people he decided to be cute and make fun of his Uncle, not knowing what he was doing.

The noises you are about to hear are totally out of the blue for Austin. But, he was also starting to learn how blow with his mouth that week, so I think he was trying to do something of that sort.

So, as he started to make some farting noises, I in turn had to take this opportunity to make fun of my brother with it, and in turn, we got this cute video.

Take a look.

Bet me a beer and I can getter done!

At the office this week, we were having a dilemma with some technology. We were trying to take a word file, and make it a PDF. Well, while I already know how to do that, I was then offered another daunting task by a co-work.

Their or I should say her request was to see if I could get page numbers inserted on the PDF, along with seeing if I could remove the text that was already placed onto the PDF document. She said to me, I bet you a beer at Great Waters that you can’t figure out how to do that. I said, your on!

Since there’s now insensitive for me to do this tedious task, I though what the hell. What can it hurt to just take a look at it and see what I can do? I can’t hurt the document; I can only try to destruct it.

While I meander my way over to my PC, I pull up my Adobe Acrobat Professional, I begin to think what have I gotten myself into. I can’t do this; I know nothing about this program. As I tell myself, don’t think that way Christy, you can do it, you’re the SPP! Plus there’s a “Free” beer at the end of this, if this works.

I begin to click through every single tool bar I can, clicking on everything to see what it can do, I think this is impossible. After spending about 30mins click on a bunch of nonsense, I stumble across what I think could work for part one of this project, inserting page numbers on our lovely document.

Oh yeah, “Free beer here I come!”

It appears that I simply have to just add a Header & Footer to my document, click on insert page number, and put it into my footer section of my page. While I think, this is too good to be true, it usually is. I finish entering in my information, and pray for a miracle. I click on the OK button, and Wham! It worked! I got the pages to have page numbers now. WHOO HOO! Go me!

Now, I figured I am now on a roll, and almost closer to that “free” beer, I decide to do the part 2 of this request.

Trying to erase info... Hummm.. Again, I start clicking through the laundry list of items, and come up with zip. God help me, where is this info that I have to click on to make it work. I continue to keep clicking and clicking....

I stumble across what is the Tools Tab. I read the options endlessly. I click on advanced editing, (who know it would be under here) Of course, it would have to be “advanced” for geekie people.. Dughh. I then click on Touchup Object tool. It highlighted the info, and I think to myself SWEET! We’re getting closer to that Beer. I then hit the almighty “Delete” key, and pray it works. Ready, set, Wham! It deleted all the info. Now if I can’t work magic, I don’t know who can.

Of course now, I have to go and tell my co-worker the good news. Shucks, she’s not in yet. She finally arrived, but shucks, she’s in training. My mind wonders how I am going to spread this wealth of knowledge quickly. I know, I will send her an e-mail. As I write my e-mail with glowing pride that I accomplished something, I can really only seem to brag to her that all I thought about the whole time was that beer that she was going to owe me.

See, a little beer, and little incentive can go a long way to doing something tedious.

Beer, here I come!

25 Questions about me.

Had a little 'free time' and so I'm swiping this list of 25 questions.

1. What are your five favorite kinds of candy?
Hershey's plain chocolate bars, Reeses, 100 Grand, Twix, Snickers.

2. Do you think that gift cards are suitable gifts to give? Do you find them to be impersonal?
They are for somethings. Yes, I find them inpersonable, beceuase you can always find a gift for someone. It may not be exactly what they want, and it maybe a challenge to find something they like, but you can always give something other then giftcards.

3. What is your blog about? How long have you been blogging? Why did you begin blogging? Is it the the same reason that you continue to blog today?
It's about whatever is on my mind, whatever's bothering me, or it's usually full of my rants and complaining. I began blogging a few months ago, and I love it. My friend at work got me into blogging. I was interested in it, and wondered what it was all about. I also heard it was becoming quite 'the thing' to do back then.

4. What is your favorite Hostess treat?
I USED to like Hostess chocolate cup cakes with the cream filling inside. But now, I am trying to totally avoid any and all sweets, and for the most part, I am doing an okay job.

5. How much money is in your wallet right now?
About $50 - probably the most I've had in there in a LONG time.

6. How connected are you? Can you be reached by cellphone, internet, email, etc…. at all hours of the day? Do you ever (would you ever?) shut it all off, and how long could you go without technology?
At times, I am connected all day at work and other times, I am not near it all day. I have a cell phone, but I try to use it only for emergency's, or if I am calling long distance. I use the internet alot, as it's a part of my job, and I like to surf the web for things that are of interest for me, or if there is something medical I am looking up. I have e-mail, and I use it more then I like. I check my e-mail once a day if I can. I would like to try and "shut it off" for a month. I think back to myself, what did we do before all of this technology stuff? We all survived didn't we?? I think I could do it, it would be tough, but I could manage.

7. If your bologna had a first name, what would it be?
SPP!! I am the solvings problem princess, as I totally discoved a new thing today at work..

8. What celebrity are you tired of hearing about lately?
Brad & Angelina. Or the Octo Mom.

9. Which are your favorite blog plug-ins and widgets?
I dunno, too many.

10. When I turn my head left:
The escape to freedom at work.. The EXIT!

11. If you had a crystal ball that could tell you the truth about any one thing you wished to know about yourself, life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?
If how and when my life would get any easier to deal with.

12. How do you know when you're in love?
When your ready, you will know. If your not, your heart will tell you so. Don't do anything your not comfortable with.

13. Do you order Girl Scout Cookies? What kind are your favorites?
Oh yeah.. I was a girl scout, so I have to live upto my past of being the cookie girl. I usual order Tagalogs, Samoas & Thin Mints. Samoas are my Fave!

14. If you could teach one person a lesson in humility, who would you choose?
My friend, or my Husband.

15. What’s your favorite romantic song?
Faithfully by Journey.

16. What is in your nightstand?
My phone, and photo of my son.

17. If you had to pick a game to play from the following, which one would you pick: Chess, Backgammon, Scrabble, or Battleship?
Battleship or Backgammon. I like both of them.

18. If you could pair up any two single people you know, who would you pick?
My Brother, and a really great girl (yet to be found)

19. What websites are you willing to admit to visiting daily?
Bloglines, Facebook, AOL, and several of them that I use for work.

20. Someone says February and you think:
My anniversay day of when I met my hubby. Valentine's Day, and lots of candy/chocolate.

21. What was the first conscious thought you had this morning?
Diet Dr. Pepper.

22. When you get online, what do you do first?
check email.

23. What was the first conscious thought you had this morning?
oh crap! it's Monday. back to work/school.

24. When you get online, what do you do first?
check email.

25. What's the best thing in your life right now?
My Son, family, and my Hubby.

How do you Sleep

I found this on my great blogging friends blog. Must give credit where credit is due. :) Sleep is a big issue in my life right now, so I could not pass up doing this survey.

1. How long do you sleep each night?
Currently, I average about 7 hours. It is sometimes interrupted due to my super cute 2 1/2 month old who sometimes wakes up for no particular reason. I still cannot figure why he wakes up at times. So, he eventually ends up in my bed with me, because I am to tired to rock him back to dreamland..

2. Do you fall asleep easily?
I usually do, but that's probably because I'm tired. I have trouble sleeping though if there's something small that's distracting me from drifting off.

3. Do you fall asleep at times not in your bed?
Sometimes if I am really tired, I will pass out on the couch. But, I usually try to just sleep in my bed.

4. Do you listen to music or use “white noise” to sleep?
No, I can't stand it. It would distract me to much from sleeping, which at this point in my life, I love to sleep.

5. Do you sleep through the night or get up a couple of times?
I'm down and out for the count until the alarm gets me up.

6. Do you have trouble sleeping away from your own bed?
No, I can usually sleep anywhere else.

7. Do you need an alarm clock to get you up?
Unfortunately I do. I have to get up at 5a.m. on work days, but then durning the weekend, my little guy wakes me up usually around 7-7:30 a.m. ish.

8. Do you ever take medication to help you sleep?No, I don't believe in that. I have only taken cold drugs when I have been sick to help me sleep better.

9. Do you/have you slept with pets?
We don't have any pets, and I won't let my husband get any. So, that would be another NO to the second part of this question.

Baby gets a Boo Boo

The sun’s shining, the temperature is just right and the fresh air smell all are the signs of spring. Saturday rolls around, Austin and my Husband and I decided go outside and go to park. Now I will have you know, you can’t just go to the park for a few minutes with Austin, he likes to spend as much time there as you will allow.

At the park, Austin loves playing on the jungle gym, climbing up and down the stairs, and going down the slide repeatedly for about an hour. He finally decided that he wanted to take a break from the jungle gym and go on the swing. So, of course I say sure, and off to the swinging land he goes.

Austin likes big a big boy, and swing in the big swing, and not in the kiddy swing. So instead of him throwing a temper tantrum while we’re at the park, I give in and say ok, you can go on the big swing. After pushing him for a while, I ask him if he is done. He signs more, and of course I should have know that. He loves to swing; he could swing for hours if I let him.

After I give him a few more pushes on the swing. I look at him for a brief moment, and he beings to sign all done. But, before I could get to him to stop the swing, he decided that he was going to be a “big boy” and get off the swing himself. Not a good idea, this is just an accident waiting to happen.

Sure enough, I am not fast enough on the draw, and Austin slides off the swing, and goes face first down on the ground. He skinned up his face, got a few scratches on his nose, and a bloody mouth. I must say, he scared me to pieces, but he was a trooper, and he screamed for all about 10 seconds.

After the screaming was done, I took a better look at it, and decided that I should take him home and play Dr. Mom and fix him up. He got mad and threw more of a temper tantrum when I said we had to leave. He didn’t want to leave; he wanted to keep playing even though he was injured. Who know he was such a tough cookie. So, we get in the house and I clean him up, wash his face, and put a few dabs of some antibiotic ointment on his scrapes, and he’s good as new.

So, the lesson I learned is to not let you 2 year old get his way on the swing, and if he does, at least be on the other side of the swing, so I can stop it. Oh well, accidents happen, and I am sure this is just the first of many more to come.

To Do: Clean house while hubby & kido are away.

While I am home early from my hard day’s work, I decided that now would be just as good as time as ever to start doing some spring cleaning. I spent my lovely afternoon on Thursday cleaning my house. I thought, where do I want to start. On the inside, or the out. It was a bit brisk outside, so I picked the in.

It was around noon, so I gathered myself some lunch first before I started my labor intensive afternoon. After I finished my lunch, I pondered the idea of where do I start first? I thought to myself man; this is going to take me all day.

Once I made up my mind, I started with the following:

Project #1 the kitchen floor. Who knew a floor could get so dirty? Talk about crap on the floor!!! Sticky goop all over, spilled milk, and junk all over but I guess that’s what I get with a 2 year old. So, I got my mop and broom, and now she’s a sparking! Wiped down the counters, and put away the dishes..

CHECK!!

Project #2. The bathroom. Let’s just say NASTY, NASTY, NASTY! It’s been over a week, and it’s a week to long. But, I put some elbow grease into it, and off and away I went. Sinks, toilets, tub, mirrors, floor, and windows all are fresh as a daisy now. Few another one done..

CHECK!!

Project #3. Austin’s room. That kid has toys all over the floor.. Mercy, I never knew a kid to have soo many toy. I sorted out the toys, made his bed, cleaned out the widow seals and washed the windows, dusted and Windex the appropriate furniture, cleaned the ceiling fan, vacuum the carpet and put away the clothes.

CHECK!!

Project #4. Master Bedroom. Let’s just say the Hubby & I live like pigs sometimes. We have crap all over the floor, the bed isn’t made, and I have clothes beyond clothes to pickup and put away. I made the bed, cleaned out the widow seals and washed the windows, dusted and Windex the appropriate furniture, cleaned the ceiling fan, vacuum the carpet and put away the clothes.

CHECK!!

Project #5. Taking down the Christmas Decorations outside. After I finally got done with the inside work, I thought, okay, I have to get this Christmas stuff out of my front yard. I put on my coat, and off I go outside. I bundle up the lights and put those away. I then attempt to put away the deer and the x-mas tree. My first attempt is not successful; as I come to find out they are still frozen in the ground?? What the heck?? Why are they still frozen, we have had so much warm weather lately, are you kidding me?? Oh well, I at least got down what I could.

All in all, this whole project took me over 4 hours to do, and I got a TON done. I have a clean house now, but who know how long that’s going to last me.. I give er a few days tops!

Saying good bye to a loved one.

Today, I was thinking about those in my life whom I have lost over the last few years. They have touched me in so many different ways, shapes, and forms. They have influenced me with so many positive outlooks in life. They have given me so much love throughout the years, which all of it is going to be forever impossible to replace or fill the void that no longer is there in my life. When my second Grandpa passed away, it was so hard for me. I was there through it all with him. I saw him strive to beat his illness, but in the end struggled to survive till the end.

One way I was able to cope with my feelings was to write him a good bye note, and express my emotions to him, and to let everyone else know just how much he meant to me, and to all of us, and how he touch all of our lives so much. After the note was read at his funeral everyone asked me, how come your not a writer? I simply replied to them, "because usually I don't write like that." It's much easier for me to write my emotions or feeling about something that's close to me, rather than writing about something in general.

Lone and behold today someone at my work said to me, why don't you post the letter on your blog.. So, I thought, why not, why not show everyone just how much my Grandpa meant to me.

Here's the first letter I wrote.. Hope you enjoy it.

As we come here gathered together today in sadness, we have come to realize just how important a loved on is in our lives. To never take life for granted, and to treasure each and every moment we have with someone. It’s not just to grieve the loss of our loved one, but it’s to bring the love from that person out in all of us, and show each other just how much we loved them, we will share all the happy times together, which in turn brings all of us closer together as a whole.

I would like to take a few minutes to share with you just how much my grandpa meant to me, and to all of us. Grandpa, where do I start? You are one of the strongest survivors I have ever seen. Never willing to give up, always wanting to succeed in life, no matter what the situation, and always willing to put others first in your life and I admire your for that. You are a terrific husband. A very kind and caring person. You are a humongous generous hearted person. Very loving, giving, committed, dedicated, forgiving, emotional, honest, trustworthy, and strong person. Very artistic & handy. A great fisherman. A person who could carve anything out of wood. The one and only big brother to your sisters. A wonderful grandfather who I wouldn’t trade for anyone else in the world. A father who would do just about anything for one or any of his children, and you have an undying everlasting love for your wife, but most of all you are loved by so many.

When Grandpa went into the nursing home a couple of weeks ago to help him recover from his stroke, I was there when the speech therapist came in. She asked him, if you could go anywhere in the world today, where would you go? He replied, “I want to go to the lake.”

The lake meant so much to him; it’s where he spent a lot of his weekends, with his family. One special moment I will never forget is that every Sunday, he would do the paper run, or should I say candy run. He would take all the grand kids with him that came up and stayed overnight that weekend at the lake, to the store. Sometimes, it would only be a few, others the whole crew came along. He would always make sure everyone got some kind of candy. He would always reply when it came time to pay, my goodness that was an expensive paper I bought. But hey, he would always make sure that someone had something, especially Grandma and her nut goodie bars.

When I was younger, I can remember that we would always use grandpa as our jungle gym. All of us grand kids would climb all over him, and wanted to just be around him, to make sure that he new we all cared about him, and that we still will from this day forward, whether he is here or not.

He loved to fish. I think that fly fishing was his favorite. He could sit down on the doc for hours and catch not a thing, but he didn’t quit, because he was determined to catch something, and it’s something that he loved to do.

Every time we would go to the lake, he would have to fill the bird cages with seed, for the birds. My grandpa loved to watch the birds. He could sit in the porch, and watch them fly by for hours. He knew a lot about them, and could tell you which ones where which, when I had not a clue.

Every year when we would put up the doc around mothers day, Grandpa was the supervisor. He made sure that we put it that doc up straight, and was inline with the flag pole on the other side of lake. The guys Dan, Kurt, & Craig were in the water and in charge of putting the doc together, the grand kids had to do the grunt work of course, and carry the doc, and the women would watch up at the top of the hill and gab, and Grandma would worry and make sure no one got hurt as usual.

We would always play games and cards together at the lake. Poor grandpa, he always have to keep score, only because he was the best at it. It seemed that he would get the worst cards, and couldn’t win a hand. But yet, in the end, he seemed to some how ending out wining. I am not sure how he did that? I am still trying to figure that one out, maybe because he would be the score keeper?

Another thing that Grandpa always did that I will remember forever is he always called me and everyone Butz. I don’t know where he got that name from, but I think he called us all Butz because, there were too many of us to remember our names, so we were Butz.

It’s going to be weird not seeing you at the lake this year. Having to fill your shoes is going to be difficult. But, knowing you are with us in love and spirit, I think will help us get through it. It’s not going to be easy, but as a family I think we can accomplish most if not anything together.

Grandpa & grandma your dedication to each other is unbelievable. Let’s just say when the time comes for me to get married, who knows when that day will be, I want it to be exactly like your marriage has been. They had been married for 60 Years! Now that right there to me is complete and total utter dedication. How they did it, is still completely unbelievable to me. But, these past few days have showed me how they have. My Grandma had been at his bed side from day one, morning, and night. He would wake up, and look to see where Ma was, and of course right next to him through this tough time. I can remember a moment in the hospital when he was done with dinner and broke down, and started crying. He grabbed my grandma, looked into her eyes and they embraced each other into their arms. That to me was a special moment for the both of them. The feeling that I got from looking at those 2, is indescribable. The love they share is going to be irreplaceable. Those 2 have showed me how hard it is to loose your soul mate after 60 years of being attached at the hip, and how hard it is to say goodbye, and show them you still love them till the end. I admire you, and love you both so much for your dedication to each other, and to your family.

My mom Mary Jo, Aunt Janice, Aunt Bonnie, and my Uncle Dan’s dedication to their father these past few days are should I say is hard to describe and indescribable. They have been there from day 1 for him. Always going above and beyond to make sure that he was comfortable, and doing ok. They are always going to see him, and being there for support for my Grandma and for each other. These 4 kids are some of the most dedicated children I have ever seen. Then there are the grandkids all 9 of us. Jeffrey, Christine, Elliot, Melissa, Thomas, Gregory, Allyson, Joelle, & Nicholas. We were all their for him, showing him just how much we care about him as a Grandpa. Trying not to cry, holding in our tears, because we wanted to be strong for him. It’s ok to cry, its part of the grieving process, and it just goes to show how much love we had for him. His love for us is going to be irreplaceable, and we are all going to miss him. Then there are all of his sisters and Brother-in-laws that came down also, to show him their love and support, which to him, I know meant the world to him. Finally, to all of the rest of you that have shown up today to say your final goodbye’s, please remember, he loved you, cared about you, and will always be in your hearts in some way, shape or form.

I love you Grandpa, and will miss you dearly.

Okay, no matter how many times I read this letter to this day, I still get teary eyed, and even cry...

A day in the life of a Junk Yard Junkie.

A friend of mine asked me last week if I would care to join her in a journey on Saturday. This journey consisted of going to a junk yard. I thought at first, how thrilling. (okay, maybe not so much) She was in search for a piece of plastic/roller liner that would serve as a cover/liner for her new ride. The original piece was missing from her vehicle, and to get a new one would be over $200.00. So, without any hesitation or reservations I simply replied “Sure, I will go with you.” I had nothing better to do besides the fact of sitting home alone on my duff and being bored.

Saturday rolls around, and I think to myself, what am I getting myself into? What has Lesley got in store for me? So, anyways, I get up in the a.m. and get myself ready for this junk yard bit. I think hum what should I wear? Should I wear normal clothes or dirty old scrubs so I don’t get myself full of crap out there? How dirty am I going to get? Are boots in order, so I don’t get full of mud, or can I survive wearing just normal sneakers? Decisions, decisions, decisions…. After a long debate with myself, I decided on jeans and sneakers. (Will this be a wise decision in the end)

2:00 p.m. rolls around, and Lesley pulls up in her ride, and were off and running to the junk yard. We pull in, and she asks, “Where can I find a part for this kind of car?” Is there anything comparable to it, and if so, where do we start to look. Of course, the guy standing outside is of no help, so the 2 of us were off on our scavenger hunt. We enter the massive dirty, grungy, and smelly joint. We enter through the back, and trample through miles of long dirty, icy, muddy and piles of old torn apart vehicles.

We approach Isle #1. As we try to sneak around the back of the cars to get a better look at them, were trampling through muddy, icy, and full of useless vehicles. No such luck with Isle #1, so the determined old gals that we are, were onto the next section.

Isle #2, just as bad a #1, and still nothing. Now, that our shoes are completely muddy and filthy, we take a short rest and say, why in the world didn’t we come better equipped for this?? Why didn’t you tell me to wear boots Les?? Oh well, you probably didn’t tell me because you knew I wouldn’t mind getting a little down and dirty with the mud on this adventure. Besides, a little mud never hurt anyone.

We stop and look around at the rest of the isles and think to ourselves is this a waste of time, or are we really going to find something out here that will work. Just as we think the end is nearing, we decide to go for one more isle, which is lucky isle#3.

Isle # 3, a muddy mess, but yet we find something in a car that is a workable piece. We hold onto it, and continue to search for something better. We come upon car number 2, could this be the piece? Could we have just struck gold?? We find something bigger and better. However, were still not sure it will be right.

So, onwards and upwards we go to the exit. Grasping both pieces tightly, and trying to keep both from hitting the mud. Successfully we make it out to the car, and check to see if these pieces will even work.

With much contemplating over it for a while we check to see if and how we can try to figure out a way to jimmy rig these pieces, to make them work, so we can have a valid reason for making it worth our wild, for coming out to this joint.

The imaginative Les pulls together her ingenious ways to come up with a solution that maybe will work. Of course, she says, and has a final diagnosis that will work for one of the pieces that was found.

We go back into purchase the piece that was selected, and the grand total came to $10.00. Who knew that you could find a piece to work out of a junk yard that would save you $190.00. What a deal! GOO LES!!!

All in all, it was worth getting a little muddy, and I was glad to be a part of the fun, yet experiencing adventure.

Cold/flu season

It’s 5:00 a.m. the alarm goes off.. Beep beep beep. I hit the snooze and take another 5. 5 minutes later beep beep I hit the snooze again, and go down for another 5. Finally the 3^rd time beep beep beep, I get up and turn the alarm off. I begin to stretch, and lean over to give the hubby a good morning kiss and then off to the shower I go.

Struggling on what to wear to the office I dig through the pile of clean laundry, and try to find something comfortable and acceptable for the office. I find the outfit and get myself ready. I then meander back to the bathroom and find my 2 ½ year old sitting naked, on his big boy potty and doing his business. (He’s got such an adorable little tushie.) Then I struggle to get him ready for the day, he finally cooperates and lets me help him. I get him all dressed up and ready for the drive to daycare with daddy. Off they go to get in the car, or in Austin’s words he calls his dad’s car “Dadda” (so cute!) I then get myself in my car and off to work we go.

I arrive way too early at the office this a.m. I think to myself if I leave early, I can get out of work early. Who can pass that deal up? I enter the dark but yet calming office. All the lights are off and I only hear the calming sound of the white noise. In my cube I go, I sit down in my chair, recline back and hear what I call peace and quiet for the moment. The computer goes on, the lights are on, and I am off and working.

But, today, there is one drawback in my day; I have gotten a really bad cold. My nose has a drip, I have the sniffles and I am blowing my nose and beginning took look like Rudolph.

The decision was made to help my nose by taking some Sudafed to help with the stuffiness, and I was able to scrounge up a box of Kleenex for my post nasal drip.

I have yet to wonder when this dang thing with start to dissipate and I will begin to feel a little bit perkier. Heaven will only know the answer to that. So, in the mean time, I keep on popping those drugs, and downing the fluids to hopefully flush this dang thing out of me.

Home Mortgage Dilemma

Here we are, in a world of despair, major crisis, and in a world where God can’t provide relief efforts for those who are in good credit standing, who pay their bills on time, and who have minimum debt.

Instead, the president decides that he wants to help the undeserved, reward those who have neglected to make payment, chosen poorly in life, couldn’t pay their bills, and or have debt beyond belief. Honestly, what makes you think these people are ever going to change?? HELLO!! I am sorry, but my opinion on this whole thing is why you would help those who don’t deserve to be rewarded, and why wouldn’t you want to help those who can make their monthly payments, and reward them for doing so.

You would think that they are helping the world get out such a mess by helping the undeserved, but yet they are only going to hurt us. I say this because, the ones who can make their payments are only going to be eventually going into foreclosure, because they are not going to be able to make their payments because of the costs of living is getting so high. They are only hurting us, and this economy instead of maybe overcoming this debt situation.

Here’s an example to help you understand my reasoning behind this:

My husband and I own a home in Coon Rapids. We have lived there for over 3 years now. When we bought our home, we bought it when the market was actually “GOOD”. We got an okay interest rate, but we have been trying to refinance, and see if we could get a lower rate. So, I have been looking at other alternatives for us to help lower our monthly bill.

Finally, a light of hope has come our way. The president pass this whole new bill, and I think to myself, maybe just maybe we have a shot at something here. There may be something here to go after.

1) We could maybe do a loan modification.

2) We could see if we could apply for this Home Owner Affordable Plan.

3) We could see if we could actually re-finance again. But the word on the street is that refinancing is out of the question, because we owe more on our house, then our house is worth at this point. Thanks to all of you out there, who have made this process for me IMPOSSIBLE!! Thanks to the Interest only loans, foreclosures, the great adjustable rates, etc etc etc…

4) Go online to the Fannie Mae & or Freddie Mac loan sites to see if we are so called “under this for them owing our mortgage” If they do, then we could possibly qualify for a Home Affordable Refinance. But, that has yet to be told. So, will see what this cookie has to offer, or if it will crumble in our lap.

Of course, knowing my suborned ways, I have to look into every possibility right of way. I am always looking at ideas to help lower our monthly mortgage payments.

So now, after going through all of these steps, I just have to wait and see what I can do next to proceed with this lengthy process, which I know is going to be a challenge to see if we can even do anything about this mess.

UGGGHHH.