State Fair of Texas part 2

Just a few pics. :P

First up is Joanna with Miss Texas. She was very nice. Hubby was very happy.



The next pics are our day at the fair. She won a pink monkey, rode the swings and petted a donkey in honor of her father. Hee hee! She got to meet Barney and took a pic of us. All in all it was a nice day with just the three of us.

So far behind!

I have the State Fair pics, the Holt dinner and the Holt Family Day in San Antonio, to post.

We invited Carmen and her family along and spent the night in SA. It was a nice time. Hilarious was when one of the zombies walking around chased this teen. He was right behind her and she dropped her drink and took off like a rocket! He kept up with her until she finally ran back and rejoined her family. She was shivering! Then the zombie was posing for pics when the father came up and said "Just so you know, that little girl you were chasing, lost her drink and necklace." I have no idea how it was resolved but, I know people were kind of booing the dad. I mean, come on, its Frightfest, you know spooks were going to be walking around. If you are scared like that, you should wait for Holiday in the Park!

Pics later......swear! Joanna got her face painted, it was her favorite part.

Do you want your daughter to be like you?

I was asked this yesterday and I busted out crying.

Texas State Fair 2008

We were barely there 10 minutes when we bought a special $10 package at the Texas Lotto booth, that allowed you to spin the wheel for a chance of free scratch offs or get in the wind machine. Well, hubby spun and got the star. He would get one scratch off for every dollar he'd catch. Ended up with 43. We scratched them off and won $33 plus 8 free tickets for the Texas Two-Step drawings. It was prett cool.

In other news, my sweet nephew Mario was hurt at his football game yesterday. They broke his femur. We were at Baylor til 11pm. They operated and put a rod in his bone and thankfully, it was a clean break so there should be no problems. Poor baby!

I will post pics of my own baby later. I'm about to crash!!!

Garage sale!

Wow! Monday is Joanna's fair day and all we had was my check. So, we decided to sell some of my free stuff. We made $360!! And I sold cheap!

Dawn dish detergent .50 each
Softsoap hand soap .50
Electrasol dishwasher tabs 2.00 each
Shampoos $2 or 2/$3
Razors same
Lysol Neutr air - the big one that sells for over $10 - $5 each
Glade scented oil plug ins $2 or 2/$3
Glade air sprays .50
ETC!!!!!!

Lots of things were free for me. The most I paid for anything was $1 and I tripled that and was still a big bargain for the non-coupon shopper.

Some ladies took all of one thing. The first one there took all the softsoap and dawn. $20.50 right away!

Now I have to restock. Tonight I bought 8 tubes of Crest and paid $0.00. The ones I had at the garage sale sold for $1. Wednesday the Softsoap will be on sale at Kroger and I'll be getting those for free.

Love it!

Now we will have a great day at the fair. Whoooooooo hooooooooo!

Can't add worth ^%$#^&^

My post, all out there for everyone to see!

And I see that I can't add.

9x7= 62

Wahhhhhhhhh!

What a doofus. LMAO

Rolling, rolling, rolling....at CVS

When I would get ECBs from CVS, I would just spend them on whatever. Just like before coupons, I was just...oh, ok.

Now, I finally get it! When you get an ecb, use it to buy a product that will produce ecbs! Doh!

Right now I have $16 in ECBs. Extra Care Bucks from CVS Pharmacy.

I just went and got 2 Bic Soleil razors. On sale for $5.99 and you get $4 in ECBs. I printed out a coupon for $2.00 off. So, using ecbs from another purchase, I paid $0.00 out of my own money and used $8.00 in ECBs and received $8.00 in ECBs. I did buy 7 jumbo pens for 9cents each and paid that with my gift card so that it wasn't so obvious I was rolling. Still was zero oop (out of pocket) since the gift card was from a refund.

$5.99 x 2 = $11.98
$0.09 x 7 = $0.62
__________________
$12.60
- $4.00 Bic Soleil coupons
________________
$8.60
- $8.00 ECBs
____________
$0.60 plus tax
Used GC to pay for it, received $8.00 in ECBs.

I like this rolling. :)

Tough love is so hard.

Michael moved out a while ago.

Today I was visited by a truant officer. He was checking on a claim of domestic violence. I told him the truth that he didn't live here anymore and was with the neighbors. I kinda hinted that if anything was wrong, he would move back in with us.

Well, my sister and he spoke to someone at school and he has two options. Move back in with me or move back to Mesquite. Well, he could stay if by Monday, the neighbors apply for school guardianship. I don't think they will and Michael will think nothing of it to ask it of them.

If he were to ask me if he could come back. I will still say no and cry afterwards. I feel like he has nowhere to go. But, I also feel like its his own fault. Not 100% but, 95%.

I just hope he doesn't make the wrong decisions.

He feels like no one loves him but what it is, is that no one loves him the way HE wants them to love him.

What we've done is not good enough. And I feel like a failure in trying to make him understand.

SIGH, SIGH AND A BIG SIGH.

Happy Birthday Beli!

38 years of being a pain in my %&&^#@. But, I love ya, sista. I hope you have a GREAT day! Happy Birthday!!

Happy 50th, Monk!

I appreciate your visits. :)

My friend's son is Monday and my sister's is Tuesday. Libra's unite! :)

Phoenix Sinclair is here!

Born around 8:30pm ET. I don't know the details but, here are the pics Gabriel sent from his phone. What a cutie!

Like I said....if its not one thing...

Since I have to go in late because of Joanna's school, I stayed late at work til 1:30 in the morning to hopefully get my 40hrs.

And today was the day to put me at 40. And guess what? I have a flat tire. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH

Waiting on "da man" to come change it. He has the jack.

Now, I will have to stay late tonight.

This must be the ups of hell days. Cause, I know the devil is giggling.

If its not one thing...

Michael has moved out. Before he got the boot, actually.

After many misgivings, I registered him for school. A 17yr old freshman. He was not embarrassed. He swore he would do good. He swore that it was not for friends.

Last night on the way home from work, I find out he moved out because his girlfriend is 3 months pregnant.

When Gabino took him back in last January, one of the rules was that if he got someone pregnant, he had to move out. Gabino's logic is never sane but, Michael agreed to it.

So, one week into school....do I withdraw him or hope he doens't do me wrong and start skipping where IIIIIIIIIIII will be responsible for his truancy. In December he turns 18 and will be on his own. School said that if he skips they kick him out without any further obligation to his education.

I looked up his myspace and his mood is "scared" and his quote say "don't know what to do."

I told him not to believe a girl when she says she's protected. Why donn't they ever listen?

And he brought up to my mother that Gabriel, Sabrina and Veronica all have babies and no one thinks the worst of them. Well, if he wants to compare cousins and brother, Gabriel and Sabrina graduated.

Ugh, what do I do????????????????

And its out!

Her tooth came out. The other chiclet is already on its way in. This was so fast! It was like one day it was loose and next day, auf wiedersehen. The pics are lousy but it was in a hurry because she was on her way to school. Oh my baby!

Welcome Cristobal!

I'm a grand-Aunt again!

Cristobal was born to my niece Veronica and hubby at around 3:45am. I love the number 5 so, this is an even sweeter day!

I can't wait to see him! Pics later.

Stupid Dog!

Acutally, she's not stupid but, this dog gets on my nerves. She's chewed her way through I don't know how many wires and things. And my sister babies her. Also funny is how she barks if anyone "fakes" hits my sister.

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Tears starting to form....oh my baby....growing up.

Joanna has a loose tooth!

OMG, almost brought tears to my eyes. We were in Target and she showed it to Carmen. What? Let me see! There it was, a wiggly tooth. One of the bottom front. Wahhhhhhhhhhh! I took a picture but, you can't really tell it's loose.

Yesterday was Meet the Teacher at her new school. I had called earlier to request her being switched to a regular class instead of the Dual Language class. Well, it wasn't updated and we spent 3o mins. in the wrong class. Sigh...and once we learned where her real class would be, we find out her teacher was out sick. So, Monday we will meet her and then leave her to join the other parents in a Boo-Hoo Breakfast.

Wow, she will be in class for the WHOLE day!


In other news, my mom was taken to the ER night before last. She was having the same symptoms as before when it was a heart attack. Thankfully, it was not a heart attack. They couldn't find what was wrong but, they said she had gallstones......and that it was not anything to be worried about right now but, to keep it in mind. WTF? Shaking my head at that.

R.I.P Philip

August 18, 1947 - July 29, 2008

My mom goes to dialysis 3 times a week. She, as usual, made some friends.

One whom was Philip, or as I usually called him, Charles. He looked like a Charles. Then about a month ago, he told me his middle name was Charles. Imagine that.

Sometimes he wouldn't show because he'd end up in the hospital. He had ulcers in his feet and just touching them on the floor brought him moans of pain.

Well, last week he hadn't shown for more than usual. So my mom finally asked today. And yes, he had passed.

I am so angry at myself that I couldn't take the time to go to his apt to check on him. We'd give him a ride home most of the time. Supposedly I've been too busy. I'd only remember when taking mom to dialysis and I'd forget by the time we got home.

Philip was a sweetie. I will miss him. I got to meet his mom the last time I took him home. He said he hadn't seen her in 3 months. Thank you, God, for that.

I'm sorry Charles. Too little too late, I know, but I'm sorry. R.I.P.

We're going to be Godparents!

To this beautiful baby boy....



His name is Cesar. He's Mayela's, hubby's sister in Mexico. OMG, he's so cute. And not fussy.

They are planning on a December baptism. Joanna will have to miss out. :( That's the only thing I hate but, I can't expect Mayela to wait on us til he's 5!! ARghhh!!

Dang immigration!!!

Anyways....

It was a sorry ass trip and I will never ride Turimex again. And Monteczuma got his reveng!

On the way to Monterrey

Mexico, that is.

But, Joanna still can't come. :(

We're taking our nephew to the American Consulate for a voluntary deportation while he awaits his appointment to Cuidad Juarez.

I had to stick like glue because I wanted to see the friends. I do feel extremely guilty leaving her but, I asked Victoria to stay the weekend with her. That made it better for her. She loves Victoria even if Victoria is annoyed with her sometimes. Pffttt!

Adios for now....

My first sweat check.

$129.55. Whoo! And I sweated every hour for 20 hours for that chump change. But, guess what, its MY money. I made it. If I wanted to, I wouldn't have to depend on anyone. Freedom!

Yeah, anyway....lol

It does feel good, tho.

BTW, I now have a job at the Dallas Cowboys warehouse. Folding, tagging, bagging and packing merchandise. It is easy easy easy. But my feet! I just worked a whole week and its getting better.

Hubby had a test on heat stress and it says that the body takes 5-7 days to adjust and I guess its true.

I think I'm gonna make it. :)

In coupon heaven and hell.

I haven't stopped. I think I've found the alternative to sweepstakes. The difference is that, with coupons, your win is in your hot little hands right then and there!

I have so much freaking shampoo, Joanna's kids will be using it.

I have 32 packs of gum!! I didn't even buy any before. What free will do to you!

This coming week, hopefully it will be food I will stock up on. There's some great sales coming.

If you are interested in couponing and getting obsessed like me, go to http://www.hotcouponworld.com

It will blow your mind!

Somebody help me!

I've gone coupon crazy!

I'll be back in a few with a bagful of shampoo and dishwashing detergent that will have cost me NOTHING!

Why didn't I know about this way before???

Who needs a sweepstakes win for a rush? Coupons, my man!

Coupons Pt. 2!

Today at Kroger I got:

3 cans of Planters peanuts
9 pks of Kool-aid
3 jars of McCormick Grinders (sea salt and peppercorn)
2 boxes of Suddenly Salad
1 box of Hamburger Helper
3 pkgs of Weber Grill Mates seasoning
10 - 2ltrs of Coca~Cola sodas (diff flavors)
______________________________________________
After Kroger card:
$27 and change
After coupons:
$7.66

AND a coupon for $4 off my next Kroger purchase was given to me for buying the peanuts.

So, in reality, I paid only $3.76.


I gave the coupon to my mom who was right behind me. :D

Meet Tickles....

Joanna has her first pet of her own. We went over to my SIL's house and they have 2gerbils. Momma G had 3 babies. After that we went to a garage sale and they had a beginner habitat for $1.

So, yesterday, we went to Pet Smart and got a Dwarf hamster. They only sell males so we have to look at an unpleasant anatomy part of him but, otherwise he's really cute.

My coupon experience.....

Wow, just wow!

Sure, I had the occasional freebie coupon that I would redeem but, I had no idea!

My friend, Carmen, would always tell me what she got free at the store and I just oo'ed and aww'ed but, I never got motivated enough to clip any coupons myself.

Well, last night hubby took like a demon with the scissors to the coupons. He was determined we were going to be like her and save tons.

Today we met up with her and we bought $224 and paid $53!

First stop was Target. It was the most expensive stop. I got 8 bottles of shampoo, 2 tubs of Lysol wipes, 1 bottle of Pine-Sol, 8 - one lb bags of cat food, 2 - 24ct family size Lipton tea bags, 2 big bottles of Hellman's mayo, 2 - 15pk of razors for hubby. The only thing not with a coupon was 2 boxes of patches for my mom and a 6pk of plastic bowls for 0.48c on clearance. Total was $75 and change. After the coupons, it was $32 but, aha! She forgot to take off 2 coupons off of the shampoo for $1 each......so $30!

Kroger is too long to list.....it all scanned at $109. After scanning the Kroger card, it was $70. After coupons, it was (drumroll................) $8.47!!!!!!!!!!!

Then we took a break and ate and then hit Albertsons. It was over $40 and I paid $13. That includes 3 boxes of cereal, 2 Kraft mayos, 2 rolls of Owens sausage, a 6pk of Yoplait for kids, a 4lb bag of sugar and a dozen eggs.

And the sugar was on sale for $0.99 and we had a coupon for $0.30 off....tripled, the sugar cost us 9 freaking cents!!

Carmen made her kids go in line with the sugar because there was a limit of 1. I made out with 9 bags of sugar for $0.81 cents!!! Carmen gave them to me.

Oh yeah, in the Kroger deal, I bought 8 - 2pks of Lever bar soap, $1 a pk. We had coupons for $1 off!!

OMG, she's hooked me!!

Hubby is in awe as well as me. All this time paying retail with the occasional coupon. NOT ANYMORE!!!

Our vacation at the Zoo.

Hubby took Thursday off so we could take Joanna to the zoo. It rained that morning with chances of rain all day. Thankfully, it only happened in the morning. Cooled the day off till about 3pm. Then OMG, I was soaking. What a day to forget my deodorant!

There was a mandrill that was sitting at the window. Only thing separating us. For some reason he took offense with hubby. He was hitting the glass and playing with his $^&%*%. He was so beautiful. The colors on his face...wow. It may be sad to see them like this but, seriously, we would never get to be that close ever, without a zoo....

There's a new thing -- Stingray Bay -- I got to feed one. He sucked up that fish from my hand without touching me. Hubby chickened and dropped the shrimp right when he was about to get it from him. Ha ha!

Joanna really enjoyed it. We didn't tell her anything until we drove up.

Ever feel like you're drowning and there's no water in sight?

This is one of those days. And I can feel someone pushing my head down....

Last day of school!

Yay! I get to sleep in tomorrow. Yes, that's all I thought of! Not really...hee hee

I'll post her pic later.

She says she's ready for KINDERGARTEN!! Not me!!

Ha! Proof that hubby loves my cat.....

.......and my cat and I found out the hard way.

Kitty Kitty escapes me when I am wheeling out my mom in or out the apt. So he is out for a couple of hours a day. Since we grew up with outdoor cats, I was a bit more "its ok" about it.

So, last night he was out. Hubby ran an errand and when I went out to help him unload, I saw 4 people sitting at the picnic table in the courtyard. When hubby was coming up the walkway, he saw one guy with his arms around a girl walking and then WHAM, he kicked my cat really really hard. Hubby yelled out to him,, hey thats my cat!! He said the guy got really pale but, the other guy in the group went up to his face and started saying crap in English to him. Hubby gave him the eye and the guy's girl pulled him away and they ran off. Hubby called the police.....not much they could do.

So we took off looking for my cat. He came out of the bushes after 15min. Hubby was just petting and petting him. Looking for any injuries, which, thank goodness there are none. Kitty kitty is acting like nothing happened that I had to ask hubby if he was sure it was our cat........yes, he's sure.

This morning I had to take my mom to dialysis. Hubby wakes up enough to tell me to give him the cat in bed while I leave so he won't run out.

So in the end.......he loves him. And I love my hubby. And my cat is staying in from now on whether he likes it or not!

Another First!

Joanna trying to catch her first Lightning Bug!! :)

My Little Gymnast

Yesterday was the last class of the year. Summer session will begin soon and she will be in a new class. She's no longer a toddler! Wahhhhhh......

The lady in the pic is her coach, Ms Shelly. She asked me if Joanna was going to continue classes and when I said yes, she was happy because "Joanna's one of the good ones." It always makes a parent happy to reach for the checkbook. :D

Happy Birthday to ME!

Last birthday was hell and this one is not much better. That's all I have to say.

Oh yeah, I told Joanna that I was 39yrs old. I am old. She said, "Why don't you say you're 36 so you won't be old?"

Out of the mouths of babes.........

Happy 1st Birthday Julissa!

Happy Birthday Julissa! OMG, when you smile, the day is brighter. I love you so much! We all do. :) Here's to many more great birthdays!

Mother's Day

Almost every year, we take our mom to put flowers on her mom's grave. She gets very emotional but, I can't feel anything. My Grandmother died in 1973. I was days from my 4th birthday. I didn't get to know her.

But, I feel that her tears will be few compared to what I will shed if my mom should leave me. The older I get, the more it freaks me thinking of the possibility of her going. God give me strength.

But, despite me being morbid and negative, it was a beautiful day. The temperature was just right. We went to a nearby park after leaving the cemetary. Hamburgers and hot dogs. Friendly game of volley ball. (I didn't play) No one getting angry...it was very nice. I hope we have more days like this.

Gonna score ore ore tonight!

Not what you think! Grease 2 reference! :D We went bowling the night of my momma's b-day party. I got ONE strike! Hubby skunked! Joanna had fun.

He mentioned it to work friend and now he wants to go. We might go this Saturday.

Joanna now knows her name in sign language. She picked it up quick! I found a beginners book at a garage sale. I already knew the alphabet so, I showed her how to sign her name. She showed everyone...they were most impressed. :) I've always been fascinated with sign language and now it will be more fun to learn with my baby.

Happy Birthday Momma!

Its my momma's 63rd B-day!

Saturday, my sis gave her a party. She hired my mom's favorite music, mariachis!

Happy Birthday Momma, We love you!!

Elmer's Squeeze 'n Brush

I won a set of these brushes from a blog. Joanna was so happy. They're pretty cool. Here is what she painted asap.

Happy Birthday Joanna

Wow, I hate posting late but, weare just getting back to normal.

Saturday was my baby's 5th birthday. Since her daddy turned 40 on Friday, we decided to do a double party. We had a nice turnout. Thank you Beli, for taking over the grill. It freed up Gabino to be with his family.

Happy Birthday Gabino

The big 4-0!! I hope your birthday party Saturday rocks! Love you!

RIP Midget

I called my Tia Julia tonight. She was sniffling. She said Big Mike called her to tell her that Midget died. My sister ran over him by accident. :(

Midget was about 10yrs old or so. He was an indoor cat but when my brother went to live with my sis, he escaped. He came alive again once he got a taste of the outdoors. He used to be always sleepy, bad back, ear mites.......then he was reborn. I think he was happier these last 6 months.

I know my sister feels so bad about what happened, who wouldn't? But its not her fault. He was on the outside porch and for some reason ran under her truck after she started it up.

He will be missed, big time.

A nice Sunday!

Finally, we feel better! Sunday, we took Joanna to the park nearby. It was a little humid but there was a nice breeze. Here's a couple of pics. :)

Happy Belated Easter

Ughhhh.......we are sick. Joanna's had a cough since last Thursday as well as I. Then Saturday we went out to eat with some friends when I felt my eye sting. It got pretty bad and in the morning, it was glue! So Sunday, Joanna gets her own Pink Eye. Took her to the clinic today. Gave me 5 different meds for her. It was heck giving them to her....she's tired of medicine.

She'll be out of school til Thursday.

We were too miserable to have an Easter for her yesterday, so we went to Target today to get her a few goodies.

So, happy Belated Easter to everyone....

Blog winner and a shout out.

I won an organizer from this blog, http://www.iknowamomblog.com/ . I really enjoyed reading her blog and its in my favorites.

The organizer is from this site, http://www.trulymom.com/ . I loooooooooove this site. I wish I had the moola for other things. I love their stationary. I have an online friend who now and then will mail me a letter...a letter! So, once I get the funds, I want to buy some special stationary to mail to her.

This is the organizer I won, http://www.trulymom.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=271 . Wow, I will be almost afraid to write in this beautiful organizer. I hope it gives me the kick in the pants I need to start getting organized. Anyone who's seen my desk, knows I need it!

So big thanks to Whitney at http://www.iknowamom.com and Kim, Maria, Michelle and Kristen at http://www.trulymom.com !

Random happiness.....

My cat: Julissa:

The orchids I received for doing taxes:

To ER or not to ER

I finally broke down and agreed to go to the ER for my leg pain. Now I have a pain that, if it were on the right side, I would think it would be my appendix........but its on my left. And my leg pain is slowly spreading itself to my left buttock.

We get there and omg, what in the heck is a major city county hospital thinking??? 12 chairs in the ER. 3 pre-assessment rooms. A computer where you log in your complaints.

We stood next to a lady who had been there 3 hrs and hadn't even had her blood pressure checked. A woman who was soooo obviously in pain asked how much longer. She had chest pains and tingling in her hands and feet. The triage nurse (no fault of hers) told her she didn't know but soon. The lady said forget it and was leaving. Her eyes haunting me...so much pain...

The nurse was scribbling her name off the list and don't know what hit her but, she ran after the woman and got her to sit down.

I told Gabino...too many people worse off than me. All I wanted was to go home and lay down. This pain is ugh...but standing there for hours wasn't going to do diddly. And Joanna was upset when I left. So home I am. Took a goody and put my knee on a heating pad.

Another day....

Snow, I think.

This was 2 nights ago. It was gone in a hour. :) I don't envy those with the snowstorms but I wish we had enough to build a snowman. Whine whine.

Update on my mom.

Turns it out it was a small heart attack. :( She's out of the hospital. Seems and looks good.

The upside of today is Michael was hired by Braum's. Ice cream for everyone!

Explaining

I tried to explain to Joanna about adoption to see how much she understood. All she knows is that she has two mothers. I was too choked up to go further. Slowly but surely. Step by step. My heart breaks.

If it were up to me, she'd never know. I want to be the only one. Selfish? Normal? Who the heck knows?

My in-laws are ugh. I have to beat them to it. And I'm angry about that.

I'm so angry and tired and sad and selfish............

Reminder

Don't forget to visit my friend's website!
http://www.ibsurdities.ca/
Unique Visual Imagery
Check out her scratchboards too, they're awesome!

Other news

My nephew is here again. But this time, Gabino is dealing with him. No more "Hey, tell him to wash the dishes, take the trash, why is he still up, no more computer..." YOU TELL HIM. I'm not in it this time!

To be truthful, I don't want him here. Just another headache. I'm watching my mom, taking care of my niece's daughter, Joanna and the child-man I married. Plus my leg hurts so much, I'm in a bitchy mood all day. And now my nephew????

Gabino spoke to him, gave him a bunch of rules.....any one of them broken, he is out. Of course he nodded yes to every one of them. What else is he going to do?

I wish my nephew would grow some and work towards being independant. He supposedly wants to go back to school. Hmph. Gabino told him, once he's 18 in December and he's still here...he's paying rent. Whether it be $1 or $100....it won't be such a free ride anymore.

I know he can be a good kid but he's so much like his mom, he gets on my nerves. They want to be helpful but they want whatever done their way. Ugh.

Last night my sister asked him to watch Julissa because I'll be going to see my mom soon. I had no idea he told her he wanted to get paid. This morning when my other sister (his mom) dropped the baby off, she gave him $20.........I asked him what that was and that's when he said he was being paid for babysitting. He then gave me the money and said it was for food...we were out of milk.

Oh yeah, everything's hunky dory at first. I'm just waiting for the bomb to go off.

Someone's going to explode.

Mom in ER

She's doing ok.

Yesterday she had an appt in Plano and being the chicken I am driving in ice, I asked my sis to take her.

She no sooner arrived when they came right back. She fell ill with an embarrassing malady....she needed to change clothes, if you get my drift.

Afterwards, she laid down in bed. She started having the shivers, then would get hot.

Finally she complained that she couldn't breathe. So because it was almost the same symptoms of her heart attack last July, I suggested the ER. The paramedics came, checked her out and mentioned that one lung sounded wet.

ER said the same...she had fluid in her lungs. So they kept her....and they are doing dialysis right now. They haven't given her a room,, they full.

So, that's our scare for the week. :(

Computer's got hit with the bug, too.

From what I am reading on tech forums, its a corrupt registry thing. At the welcome screen, the user icon is missing. I can't log on. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhh

I will have to reformat. Thank goodness I have a separate hard drive for my music and photos. And thank goodness for this laptop!

Another thing....I do taxes for my relatives online. I use Turbotax.com Its free for them and I like doing them.

well, as usual, they've got their friends coming to me........my SIL's neighbor was the latest one. But, I called today to make sure they got their direct deposit. He was so happy, he said he had something for me. My SIL brought it over......an orchid plant and $50. Whoo hoo! I always say I do them for free but its nice to be appreciated!

I'll have to take a pic of the orchid. I've never had anything so fancy! :)

Sick!

Tuesday Joanna had a fever. Once it was up to 105. It was 4am so I went online to see how to break it without covering her totally up. So first link is about egg whites. Soak cloths or paper towels in egg whites and then wrap the feet in them. Either put socks on or ziplocs. So I did. 30min later she was cool and was able to sleep for 3 hrs.

Later that night, again, high fever. So Wednesday, took her to the clinic. They did a stick on her finger and checked for strep. Normal test is 6.8.......she had 21.8. Shot in the butt, antibiotics. 1hr later she was good to go. Today we went for a follow up shot. She cried but was really brave too. Mostly because she knew why we were there and didn't put up a fight. I love my girl!

She missed the whole week of school.....ughhh. And I still didn't get to sleep in!!! LOL

And now, I don't know what I ate but, I'm visiting the throne every 5min. Sigh...at least I'm getting some reading done. Hee hee!

What else am I suppose to do??

We were over at my SIL's house on Sunday. It was nice, MIL was there as well as SIL's two grown daughters.

Then.....one of them said "Does Joanna still get a knot in the back of her hair like her mama's?"

I smiled and said, "I never got knots in the back of my hair.......but her biological mother does."

But I was dying inside......seems that no matter how long or what's done.........to his family, Miriam is the mama. I'm just his wife....who's taking care of Joanna.

Joanna will know she's adopted........in our own time. But this is not the first time they mention Miriam as her "mama".....

I wish they could at least respect my feelings. Its bad enough that I fear for the day Joanna yells at me that I'm not her real mom.....and i've heard stories that it will eventually happen in the heat of a moment.

I guess all I can do is continue to love my baby.........she is my baby....I felt it the second I saw her 4 1/2 yrs ago.

I just wish I didn't care what his family thought.

Happy Valentine's Day

O Canada

I have a very talented Canadian friend who has started her own business. I think she rocks!

http://www.ibsurdities.ca/

Unique Visual Imagery

Check out her scratchboards too, they're awesome!

My bad side

Hubby recently found his daughter on youtube.com. Long story but, all he does now is come home and see if she posted any new videos. I try to understand but I do get angry. And jealous. Only because I don't think he's happy here and he's getting happy somewhere else.

Anyway......she is trying to be a singer. She has gotten jobs at local shows and such. He's so proud of her. He says he's not going to tell her anything.........

But I have to admit how mean I am. She posted a new video today and what I saw was that she can't dance worth crap. And I smiled. I smiled.

I'm going to hell.

Counseling

There was a slip of paper in Joanna's backpack the day before yesterday. It said that my child has been referred to the counselor for counseling. I had to sign it if I agreed to her having the counseling. So, I called to see what up. She was very nice. Joanna's teacher suggested it because.... 1. She's super shy. 2. She's over dependant. 3. She wants the teacher's attention all the time.

Yeah, I knew that already.

1. For the first two years of Joanna's life, it was just the two of us. I didn't know anyone in Mexico. So, the only face she saw was mine except for the few trips to the neighbors. Hubby came down every 2 weeks but it was probably 24hrs total he was there. So, she really doesn't know how to interact with other kids.

2. She has a bad habit of saying she can't do something. Believe me, I do not do everything for her. I saw how my nieces and nephews can't do squat for themselves and if Joanna later says she did it without help, I will be happy. Of course, we are here for the big stuff. But to make a sandwich? She can do it and does. But, obviously, she is using the can't do it at school.

3. She loves her teacher and we explained to her that she has 18 other kids to watch and teach. But, Joanna loves approval and probably wants her to say "Good girl" for every little thing.

I agreed to the counseling. She said that it was a small group of kids, one on one time and lots of reinforcement on thing and choices the kids make on their own.

One of the newest things is that Joanna wants to be escorted to her class by someone when we arrive at the door. I tell her she can do it herself and has!

I had to laugh this morning.......she had her first counseling yesterday...and now raises her fists up and says "I can do it!"

Well this morning, we're walking up to the door and she raised her fists up and said "I can do it!" and walked to the lady at the door and said "Will you walk me to my class?"

OMG.

I love a good deal but, really!

I have a notebook adapter listed on Craigslist. The cable company goofed and brought it when I was getting set up for wireless by mistake. I paid for it anyway. $30. I have it listed for $20.

Here's the email I just received:

HIM: hello, how negotiable are you on the price? i am very interested in one for my son's laptop.thanks also where about in xxx are you located?

ME: Firm on price. I paid $30 through time warner and it is listed at $29 on Amazon. TimeWarner messed up in bringing it and it was too much hassle to return it, so I didn't use it. Thanks!

HIM: thanks for your respond, Amazon.com has it for $22.50. and the fact that i have to come to xxx from xxx i have to spend at least 5.00 for gas, i can pay u $15.00. i am going for jury duty 2morrow if come to xxx i can meet u somewhere or if i can get out early i can meet u in xxx .thanks

ME: Wrong link. The one I have ishttp://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WPC54G-Wireless-G-Notebook-Adapter/dp/B00007KDVK/Model is WPC54G , not WPC54GX4The one you linked has $8 shipping, so it would still be $30 for you.Plus, from what I see on craigslist, I'm the lowest price.Thanks!

HIM: so is there any room for negotiation? also are u coming to xxx 2morrow around down town, like i mentioned, i have jury duty and i'm sure we get an houre for lunch, i can meet u somewhere in the midle.thanks

ME: Again, I'm sorry. I can't go downtown. That'd be $5 of my own gas.I'm not making any profit as it is, just put it out there for someonewho might use it. Thanks for the interest.

A BIG FAT SIGH.

Then he responds that if he gets out of jury duty early, he'll come and buy it. I don't think I've ever haggled with someone like that. I usually price really low to sell fast. Whew!

10 years together

Wow! Hubby and I have made it to the 10yr mark. I have to say right away, it has been hard!

We physically met on Dec. 26th, 1997. We got married Jan. 9, 1998. It was not supposed to last. It was for other reasons that we married at all.

But here we are. 10yrs later. :)

We've both have suffered each other but something keeps us going. I'm not going to deny any of the hardships, they are what make the good parts of us better.

All I can say is, I'm thankful I had him by my side these past 10yrs. Thank you, Gabino.

OMG, CMT is playing Pure Country. I Cross My Heart is our song. A sign that we will forge on? :)

Like ham?

This pic cracks me up. We took our nieces and nephews to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags.