Prayer request.....

Hi everyone, I haven't been able to keep up with my blog lately. I've been getting very stressed about my situation here with moving and needing to rent my house.

I'm asking that you keep me in your prayers over the next few weeks. I feel very overwhelmed and finding it hard to concentrate on anything else. It's taking up all my energy. I've been praying that someone will come along and rent our house so that we can either be here or "there". It's hard to plan anything or get excited about Christmas time. Maybe I am just mentally/physically tired and these feelings are getting away from me.

Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully I will be feeling better. It's hard not having Jim here to share in the worries that surround this situation. I will be going to see some houses in Long Beach and Seal Beach on Friday (taking off of work). The rent for these places is sooooo incredibly high. I don't think we can do it and not have this house rented. Jim spotted a place in Seal Beach that he really likes and we feel like we need to grab it because the good ones are hard to come by.

Thanks again for all of your love and support of me. I really do know that you all think of me often. Thank you.

It's Turkey Week!!!!

I am really looking forward to this weekend and Thanksgiving. Jim is insisting on cooking a turkey on Thursday so I did the shopping tonight. It's very weird to only be cooking for the two of us, but it would be too hard to have a big showdown knowing I'd have to clean house again on Friday. I'm hoping that I'll be able to just relax since it has been hard to do that around here lately.

We've had to keep the house in spit-shine condition for any prospective renters. Just picking up after ourselves constantly is making me sooooo tired all the time. Not to mention that I've been staying up late since Jim has been gone during the week. I will really try this week to get more rest. I really need it.

Sorry for the short post, but I'm really pooped right now. Love to you all and looking forward to seeing my family soon. Yeah!

A small milestone today!!!

Well everyone, I feel I need to share with all of you a success that I experienced today. Of course this has to do with my WW goals. This morning I weighed myself and it was at the lowest I've been, so I decided to get the old dress out of the closet and try it on again. The dress is what we wore at Marilyn's wedding when I was at my fittest. I WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO BUTTON ALL THE BUTTONS ON THAT THING!!!!! Unbelievable! Naturally, it was butt tight, but it was all buttoned up and that just made my day. I guess I need these kind of
"markers" to make myself believe that I've really done something here. I had been getting a little down on myself over eating too many candies the other day and to get that dress to fit, just put all of that in its place. WW is the key people!! I know that it works because I'm living proof. It's not just about the points, but paying attention to their "tools for living" really helps out too. We all know that any weight problem we have starts and stops from the neck up. Boy, isn't that the truth. Keep up the good work you fellow WW people!!

I'm so excited that it is Friday tomorrow and Jim will be home by the time I get off work at 3pm. I miss getting the hugs everyday. One of our 10 year old patients came in this week and gave me a hug when she arrived and another hug when she left. What a sweetheart - it really made my day. I don't get too many hugs around that place! hahaha

Have a great weekend everyone. I love you all. A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Austin today!!! I look forward to seeing him on Saturday for his party. I haven't bowled in years and I'm really excited about it! Thanks Mr. Audie!!!

I've been out of touch....

Wow, it has been too long since my last post. Things here have been much different and it's taken me awhile to adjust to my new situation.

As you know Jim is working in Long Beach, CA during the week and he comes home on the weekends. The first week he was gone felt very strange, but I've noticed this week seems to be a lot easier for me. At first, I would stay up too late every night. I'm really trying to get myself in bed with the lights out by 11:00.

My office hasn't found anyone to replace me yet, so it's status quo for now. That might not be a problem since I feel like I could be here until spring. hahaha Jim seems to think that this place will be rented shortly, but I think he's just trying to be extra positive for my sake.

Every morning I go through the same drill in trying to keep the house nice and neat in the chance that our agent will show the house to a prospective renter. I am getting used to keeping the bed made, bathroom counters cleared, and the dogs stuff put up.

Our primary program is set for this Sunday and I have to practice the piano this week so that it isn't a complete failure (only for my part of it). I get really nervous and miss notes and fumble around on the keys if I don't feel prepared. Please pray for me to do well. I hope Mom can come to our meeting???? Hope you all have a great week.

Today's picture was taken from the plane flying over Alaska & Canada on our way to Japan.

I'm so happy it's almost Friday!!!

I've never wanted Friday to come more than I do this week. Jim will be home tomorrow night - I can't wait. It has been too quiet here without him. I have been busy, but I miss talking to him and the dogs have been searching for him too. As soon as I come through the garage door and let the dogs out of their area, they go and run to the laundry room to see if "Dad" is home too. It is kind of sad.

It has been easy to keep with the WW points this week because I haven't been making "full-on" dinners. I just eat 1/2 sandwich, oatmeal, or other small meals. I weighed in tonight and have lost 2 lbs!! Very exciting because I'm working on a 10 lb. buffer. I can gain 3 lbs. in a flash and don't want to ever have to pay for another WW meeting.

Being in limbo right now isn't the best feeling, but I know I'll be able to deal with this situation. My eyelids started to twitch today and I know it's time to just relax and not to worry so much about everything.

Thanks to all for your messages and blogs - it is nice to keep in touch this way.

It's back to reality!

It's back to work for me today. It went pretty smoothly overall, but I did get a little exhausted in the late afternoon having to get back into the crazy part of the day. It was fun sharing the Japanese treats and pictures with all the co-workers today. Some of the girls didn't take to easily to the mochi balls and rice cracker treats, but enjoyed their gifts and seeing the pictures of the trip.

I had a surprise yesterday afternoon when Marilyn, Megan, Mark, Branden and Cooper came over along with Mom and Dad for dinner. How great it was to see Marilyn & the kids. I got to hold the little sweet pea again. Cooper is the sweetest baby boy!!

It was also back to kickboxing tonight which proved to be very challenging to come back to. I hadn't done one sit-up in close to 3 wks. Ouch! That is what keeps me going every week - so I don't get out of shape - it's so much harder then.

Jim is now officially working in Long Beach starting tomorrow. It is going to be a transition for us to live apart during the week, but Mom & Dad were able to do it. I just hope I don't get too overwhelmed with the quiet!! Hey Steph, are you planning a road trip anytime soon? I need your kids to make some noise over here. hahaha April, need to get away for the night? Well, it hasn't even been one night and I'm worried I won't be handling this very well. I've gotten really spoiled I think always having Jim here. Have a great evening fellow readers of mine. Love you all so much!!

It has been another great day still adjusting to the new time. We woke up at 9:45 this morning and felt groggy for an hour or two and then started getting some energy. Wow, it feels good to feel good. We have been washing clothes, looking for houses to rent on the internet and just cleaning up after ourselves. How wonderful it is to have some days off of work to recoup and get things done around the house. I love that.

We got our pictures developed at Costco tonight and they turned out really nicely. I can't wait to show them to someone.

It is strange to think that Jim will be moving to Long Beach next week without me. He will be staying at his partner's guesthouse until we find a place. Of course, he will drive home on the weekends (I hope). This will be an adjustment for us for awhile.

I guess I could start eliminating any excess stuff around the house to get ready to pack. I have no idea how long it will take to rent this house to someone. I sure hope a nice family comes along that will treat this house like their own.

It's great to be back home with the babies (Mr. P'nut & Missy) and to be able to take them on walks every day. I had been craving oatmeal (of all things) during our trip, so I had that this morning for breakfast. Jim and I both realized on our trip that we need to start eating much smaller meals and including snacks during the day. That is pretty much what we did in Japan and I think it shrunk our stomachs eating smaller meals. We'll see how long this lasts -hahaha.

It's good to be home!

Well, it seems like it has been such a long time, but we are back home in Palm Desert and trying to adjust back into this time zone. Between here and Japan there is a 17 hour time difference, so we are functioning slightly or as Jim says, "our brains are swimming around in our heads". That pretty much says it all. We went out to do some grocery shopping and I couldn't believe how slowly I was driving. Your reflexes are not what they should be and I should have stayed home, but we need food and need to stay awake a few more hours to try and get back on track.

I just downloaded our pictures onto the computer and they turned out really nice. The battery died in my camera on the very last day so that worked out well. We had an unbelievably great time and enjoyed our friends, Taka & Chibi. We really have fun together and it is like a crash immersion course in Japanese when we are there. We learned several new words and phrases and I kept saying over and over what all the elevators say as the doors are closing "do wa ga shimanimas!". It was so sing-songy that it was fun to say.

I kept a bit of a journal on the day-to-day events during our trip, but I will put them on blog posts at a later time. Hope all of you have been doing well and it looks like everyone had a great Halloween. All of the newscasters on the Japanese TV stations were in costume and they kept saying "treeeeeek oh treeeeeeeet" in a really strong Japanese accent. It was very cute!!

SAYONARA!!!

This is a picture of Osaka, the 3rd largest city in Japan with 2.5 million people. We will fly from San Francisco into Osaka and stay for 3 days here. Well, this will be the last posting until I return from Japan. We are very excited about all we are going to do and see and how great it is that we have no idea what's going to happen. We don't even know where we're staying. I'm determined to brush up on my Japanese during the 12 hr flight by making up "flash cards" with Jim's help. It's possible that we will have access to the internet while we're gone.

Everyone please take care and we will see you all soon. I'll be seeing the family on Saturday for Mark's baptism.

Sayonara!

Well, it has been several days since my last entry so I'm overdue. I've been worried about my friends on the Big Island due to the earthquake. I tried to call a few people on Sunday but their cell phones didn't go through. I did hear that people mostly got shook up and didn't experience huge amounts of damage to their homes. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

We will be leaving for Japan in 1 week and it's countdown time!!! I'm very excited about being able to go back to Japan again. We will meet with our good friends, Taka & Chibi, in Osaka on Tues. afternoon (10/24) and will stay there for 3 days. We will know what's next when we get there (for the rest of the trip until 11/1).

I need to brush up on the few Japanese phrases that we've learned. Konichiwa, konbanwa, sayonara, sumimasen, adigato, etc....

Today is Tuesday and I'm feeling soooo much better. I knew that I would need this evening to recoup before thinking about going back to Kickboxing tomorrow night.

Great news about Mike!! I never had a doubt that he would be back going to church one day. He has a strong testimony and always will. Way to go - we love you!!!

I love all my family members and cherish the time I have to spend with them. I always look forward to the times we can all spend together. I'm thinking that a GIRLS NIGHT OUT is in order soon! Reading April's blogs is only a substitute for the "real thing". It's making me think about being at April's house, turning the tv on and sound off and settling in for a night of incredible roars of belly rolling laughter that only stops for a brief gasp of air and continuing on and on. Let's not leave out the heads being thrown back in dramatic fashion along with the chortling of cackles. Keep it up SISTERS!!!! hahahahaha

Hello everyone! The star of my page today is my little nephew Cooper!! He is such a sweet baby Whuut!! What a fresh little hatch he is!

I'm back in business over here after being under the weather all weekend fighting a cold. I made it to work today, but felt like I should be sleeping instead. I've been taking Airborne & cold eeze to try and keep this thing in check. So far so good.

It's Monday night so that means a mad dash to get all of our clothes folded, ironed and put away before Betty (housekeeper) comes on Tues. It sometimes feels like we're doing a lot of "cleaning" before she gets here, but I'm greatful that I have the help. I just can't do everything I need to on Saturdays. That is the only day I have during the week and it doesn't provide enough time for some RR too.

The fall weather keeps getting better and better as the days pass on with the highs only being around 89 or 90 degrees. I started the morning off wanting to ride my motorcycle to work, but it wouldn't start so I had to push it back up the driveway and take the car instead. We aren't seeing patients this week due to the Dr. being on vacation, so it has been very boring. I'm planning on taking my little tv and dvd player to work tomorrow to watch some movies instead of sitting there reading or playing on the GameBoy.

Hope everyone is having a great evening relaxing and enjoying each other. I will too as soon as my work is done. Yeah!

It's Friday finally!! Whew it feels great knowing I can sleep in tomorrow morning until 8:00, get over to Gold's by 8:30 and come home and finish the 4 loads of laundry I never got to during the week. Now it's probably 5 or 6, plus the folding & ironing. Jim is really good about doing the ironing for me. He sets up the board down low in front of the chair, adjusts the tv just right and gets cookin.

I had a poem come to me on Thursday morning while I was half asleep titled "My Brothers". Once I woke up it was gone, so again this morning it came back in my sleep and I woke up running for the paper so here it goes....

My Brothers

I am blessed with two great brothers
Heavenly Father has sent to me
For years I've called them "the boys"
But their names are Mike and Danny

They are truly treasures from Heaven
to me and in God's sight
If they ever are in need of my help
I'm there...I'm ready...I'll fight!

We share many things in common
including two parents so dear
Because of the great bond we share
We have nothing to fear

My brothers haven't always had
the easiest time getting along
They've teased, fought, yelled and screamed
Thinking about it, haven't we all?

We've all been blessed, my brothers and I
with three beautiful sisters it's true
We love them so with all our hearts
And we know Heavenly Father does too

This experience of being on this earth
is difficult at best
We'll make it through, but get bruised at times
I know we'll all pass the test

At this journey's end we'll be
by Heavenly Father's side
Bound together as a family
For eternity and all time.

Today turned out to be another wonderful fall day in the desert. It was overcast with gray puffy clouds blanketing the sky and with a slightly cooler feel to the air. Gorgeous! I love it here in the fall/winter. By the end of the summer I start to wish that I lived up at 10,000 ft. somewhere and had to wear a ski parka, gloves, and knitted beanie to leave the house. I guess it's obvious I've never lived in that climate.

It is Thursday and lately, that means it is weigh day at Weight Watchers. I'm very happy to report that I am down 2.4 lbs!!! This is very exciting folks. One more week and I will officially be a LIFE TIME MEMBER and get my "key" charm and my "gold card". Whoo Hooo!

I came up with a poem during my sleep last night and named it "My Brothers". I'm trying to remember bits and pieces of it. I'll keep working on it.

This is a great way to express your feelings about a variety of subjects and amazingly I feel free to do so.

There are many decisions that are made in a day that take up our energies, but writing down a few thoughts can be difficult to communicate.

Today was such a beautiful day - the air was relatively cool during the day (91 degrees) and we are very grateful for that. Living in the desert makes you appreciate 90 degree weather which probably sounds crazy. I can tell that fall has arrived and inside I want to shout at the top of my lungs how glad I am that the heat will be leaving shortly!