Ramblings of an Insomniac

Well, insomnia has come to pay a visit and I just wish it would pack its bags and leave already! lol I am not a fan of insomnia, especially when it stays for an extended visit..but, then again, who is really?

This week has been pretty "normal", except for a few moments that I felt insanity was setting in...but, that was just when everyone's schedules collided at once. We try to keep a good routine here in the house, but with summer break just starting there was some fine tuning that had to be done. My work schedule is pretty routine, but hubby's tends to waiver now and again; his days off are not as set as mine and well, that just pretty much sucks. lol

We did get a surprise a couple weeks ago when our youngest son came to us and told us and his grandparents that he was joining the Army. I wish I could say I was surprised, but I think that deep down in my soul I knew this was coming...just didn't know when. I am very proud of him for taking such a big leap...and being an adult about it too. It is not a decision he made lightly, or well, I hope it was not. He will be leaving for basic sometime after the new year, or so it seems right now. He is going to grab a few more credits from college and go delayed entry...which means, if I understood him correctly, that he will leave after the fall semester is over. (sigh) I am so proud that he wants to serve his country...and I would be telling you all a lie if I said I wasn't thrilled beyond words to hear that since his Reserve unit is a brand new unit, he will not be able to be called up for active duty for a full year. Hey...just being honest here.

Our eldest grandson just graduated High School and will now be attending Indiana State University this fall. I was hoping we would be able to go and help him celebrate at his open house today, but God had different plans for us. (sigh) I just hope he knows that even though we were not there, we love him very much and we are so very proud of him!

We have been missing a lot of family get togethers on the hubby's side of the family lately...and it really does break my heart. I hate that we don't live as close as I would like to...but that isn't an excuse for missing so many things family related. With hubby not having any set days off work, it is hard to get away as a family and do family things. Yes, I could possibly go on my own...but every time I plan to do just that, something comes up. It is either a bill that has to be paid or someone gets ill....and that someone is usually me these days. Every since my lupus has gone systemic it has taken all I have just to get through my part time work schedule without calling off. My job is not the strenuous, but there are just days that my body likes to rebell. I feel as if his side of the family has given up on us, and honestly there are times I wouldn't blame them for feeling that way. I hope they understand that it is not because we don't love them and that we don't want to be with them....that life just seems to make other plans without notice.

Right now I am trying to figure out how to pull a trip to Comicon together for Katie in August. Tickets are getting higher and higher by the day it seems. (sigh) I know she really wants to go...this is something she has been wanting to do for a couple of years now and her daddy and I really want to be able to take her. She is a great kid and really, she does deserve to go and live her dream for a day. I just pray that we will be able to make it a dream come true for her. I hate to think of disappointing her like this. It is not a big thing she has asked for, and again, it is something her daddy and I really want to do for her.

I know this blog has rambled on and on a bit..but well...that is what you get when I cannot sleep. LOL Thanks for hanging in this long. I just needed to get some stuff off my mind and well, what better way than blog?

Again, thanks for listening to my rambles and I hope you all have a wonderful day/night!

Update on Life

Hello Bloggerville! I hope you are all doing well. We have been very busy around here...as you can probably tell from my lack of blogs, but I am going to try to at least post once a week...TRY being the word here. lol

Well, our youngest son, Drew, has joined the Army Reserves. He will be shipping out to Basic Training in a month or two. His Unit will be stationed here in the city where I live...which is nice as he is also wanting to move back to this area....get his own place and transfer his job to a store in town after he gets home from Basic and AIT. And, because his unit is a brand new unit, they cannot call them up for active duty for a year...and well, that helps settle my mind and heart ALOT! :)

Our youngest daughter, Katie, is now officially a high schooler. She graduated from the 8th grade today...with honors! So very proud of her! Right now all she can think of is how to spend her summer. LOL

I got a job in the next city as a Medical Assistant and am really loving my job! It is not only a great job, but a great diversion to helping me keep what sanity I still have left. lol I only work part time for now, but who knows where this job will lead me. At least I got my foot in the door and cannot wait to see what happens next. :)

Hubby is doing better...still battling the right sided heart failure issues...but he is working hard at doing the right things. We are all changing our diets and lifestyle...and that is all a good thing. So, keeping my eyes on the positives and going forward with life. (Pretty much all ya can do, huh? LOL)

I thought I would have more to say...as I have been battling insomnia...but I think sleep may be in reach now. YAY! LOL

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

HUGS!

Lazy Day

Happy Tuesday everyone. Today was truly a lazy Tuesday, infact its so lazy I am doing this blog via my phone.lol

It is a Top Ten Tuesday also....so, lets get that out of the way.lol

1) Been dealing with a sick dog today...thankfully she is feeling better.

2) I have a job interview Thursday...very excited!

3) My lupus has been causing me some pain the last two days...so being lazy and resting up for interview. Its mainly my back thats hurting.

4) I laid down for an hour power nap and woke up 4 hours later.lol I think my body needed it.

5) I want to get the new dorectv genie...i need to be able to dvr more than 2 shows at once. LOL

6) Very proud of Kbug...she has given us a lil over a months notice for her spring formal...unlike the 4 days last year.lol

7) Just found out they gave my new fav show, Zero Hour, the ax...hoping they run the rest of the episodes this summer.

8) Still trying to figure out what to do on spring break with Kbug....

9) Looking forward to getting together with an old school friend this week.

10) Oh...going to comicon this year for Kbugs bday...she has decided (for now) that she ia going as a female Doctor Who.

Well, this was pretty easy.lol Hope you all have a great day!

Lu

Out of Time Out....and a Top Ten Tuesday

Hello Bloggers! I have been on a self imposed time out of sorts the last few weeks, but I have been looking forward to returning to bloggerville. :)

I figured returning on a Tuesday, although was not planned, was a great idea as I can kick off my return with my Top Ten Tuesday post....I love it when a plan comes together. :)

1) Dr. changed my fibromyalgia meds and they seem to be working soooo much better, as I am getting around much better since starting the new med.

2) The saying, "When it rains, it pours"....I have learned that all that may be true, but if you keep your faith in not only God but your partner, God will provide the umbrella. (And the hubby will provide the entertainment. lol)

3) We have several fire detectors in our home, but the one by our bedroom (in the hall) is a talking one...or so we have found out recently when at 3am we were woken up hearing: "ALERT! BATTERY LOW!" Nice to know....lol

4) We are to be getting a winter storm today...I kinda expected this as we have had a very mild winter....In like a Lamb, out like a Lion...right?

5) Hubby and I want to start a tradition with his side of the family....we want to have a Family BBQ every year and each year someone new hosts it...kinda like my Dad's side of the family does with the golf outing every year. Now....just to get everyone else on board. LOL

6) I am trying to come up with some fun and not so costly things to do with Kbug over her Spring Break....thinking maybe a day trip to Chicago or just heading down to Indianapolis....

7) We are going to be painting the daughters (Kbug) room here soon....she has finally settled on some colors...a light green and a brighter green...and one wall will be flat white so she can paint and doodle on it and we can paint over it whenever we want or need to.

8) We have more spring/summer projects we want to get done, but this year we are starting ONE and not moving onto the next one til the first one is DONE. LOL

9) I will be renting a heavy duty carpet steamer this spring....we have a carpet cleaner, but I want to steam the carpets really well this spring. I have never done that in this house and well...after reading a report on how much cleaner and healthier it is to steam the carpet at least 1-2 times a year, I think it will only help us in the long run.

10) I hope that you are all doing well and keeping healthy! May you have a wonderful and Blessed Day!

Ten thougts and Wednesdy Wonderment...all in one

I totally forgot to get online and do my Top Ten Tuesday Blog....but that's OK cuz I am going to combine them within this blog. :)

When you make a PB&J sandwich....do you a) use two different utensils..one for PB and one for J, b) clean off utensil after PB and then use it for J OR c) Don't bother with either and just dig right in both? I only ask this because this has caused a "discussion" in my house between me and Rick (Hubby). Yesterday he made a PB&J sammie and he got jelly in my peanut butter!!!! Yes, he cross-contaminated! UGH! I just think that is WRONG on sooo many levels. What do you think?

I am about to start writing for grants...even borrowed the book, 'Grant writing for Dummies'...lol This should be interesting, heck...the worst thing is that they can say NO..right?

I am really trying to give up the soda/pop....I'm trying to give up processed foods....I gave up smoking, so I figure I should be able to do this, right? And, I will admit, I still have urges for a smoke, but I have not been giving in. :)

I am redoing my 40th birthday this year...I was not able to pull together what I wanted to do for my 40th and really, had no one to help...so, I am starting early this year and will be recruiting some to help me pull it all together. I figure, if I deserve one birthday to be how I want it to be, it is my 40th..dang it. lol And, I'm not looking for a huge party.,...just some of us getting together and maybe taking off for a day/night in Chicago. My bday is in June, so its perfect weather for a trip like that and it is still close enough to home in case there is an emergency. (I'm only an hour away from Chicago)

I think that drinking too much diet pop and processed foods may have been irritating my Lupus, and the Dr seems to agree...I really hope that we can get that under control. I hate it now, more than ever, since it went systemic on me. BUT, if there is a way to beat it back, I will find the way. :)

I worry about my son....I hate that he has put himself in a type of Limbo...no school and no job right now. I just worry about him and pray he starts to make better choices for his life. It's funny, today my daughter asked me where she would go if she was a minor and her dad and I died. We talked a bit about it and she then asked me if she would go live with her brother....I told her no, because she would end up raising him. At first I thought it was funny...but the more I thought about it, it was the actually truth. Yup, I worry about my son.

I'm over this cold and snow crap outside. Mother Nature needs to get back on her meds and figure this crap out and SOON! I am way beyond being ready for spring. lol I am starting to plan out my garden, I cannot wait to be able to get out and play in the dirt again. ;) Do you garden? If so, what's big and whats not...I mean, what works for you and what have you found doesn't? I need some tips. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful day and I appreciate you sticking around while I rambled today. :)

The Steel Workers Wife

Where should we draw the line??

Now, some of you may or may not know what is going on here in the US concerning gun control, and I would take the time to explain it all, but well, that can be for another blog. (lol) Personally, I don't have a problem with the government asking that there be complete background checks and mental health checks done on people wanting to buy a gun...I think that all makes total sense, personally that is. I know, I know, it won't stop criminals from getting guns, but please, let us all be realistic here...NOTHING is going to stop a criminal from getting a gun if he/she wants to get one. I think that if you think any different on that one, then you are just delusional. (MY opinion.)

Some people say that we should let our teachers carry weapons, some say that we should have a police officer or two...or three in every school, some think that our bus drivers should be armed....my question is: Where should we draw the line? I know everyone who thinks the above has good intentions and are afraid for the children and well, for everyone! I am just not sure where I truly stand on those points. Yesterday, in Illinois, a school principal popped off two shots from a starter pistol so the students and staff would know what the sound of a gun sounded like and could possibly get to safety faster should there be an issue....some students heard it, some did not ....so, did he really accomplish the goal he set to?

I remember when I was a kid, my parents didn't walk me to the bus stop, they didn't have the worry that I wouldn't make it down the street. They didn't worry about if there was going to be a crazed man out there taking kids hostage from their school bus. I know, I know, the world is a very different place now, but still....Every morning when my daughter heads out down the street to her bus stop, I stand and watch her and I have constant open communication with her to make sure she has arrived safely; and every morning while I am watching her walk to her bus stop I cannot help but think how sad it is that I feel compelled to watch her walk all the way of not even 2 blocks. Will I stop watching? No, probbly not. I cannot even help but think that there may come a day when I stop letting her walk to the bus stop alone, that I either start driving her down there to drop her off or that I just start taking her to school myself, bypassing all the worry. But, does the worry really stop once I know she is at school safe and sound? No, it does not. I try not to dwell on the negative, as I believe we get back what we put out there and well, that is just not something I want coming back on me, but I cannot help every now and again to wonder just how safe she really is inside her school.

A couple of months ago her school was put on lock down for more than half the day due to an altercation, with a gun, taking place outside of her school. Was I notified? No, not at all. If my daughter had not mentioned it to us, we never would have known. BUT, the school can send me a recorded message to my phone reminding me about a school dance or family fun night....now, that I believe is just plain ignorant.

So, again, I ask...where do we draw the line? Is it when I decide to home school her? Is it when it is a norm to have school teachers qualify with a weapon to be able to do their job? Is it when we let our bus drivers carry a side arm and then we sit and worry about one of the students getting a hair up their arses and taking that weapon away from the old man driving the bus? I wish I could answer this question, I really do, but I will not lie to you....we have been talking more and more about home schooling. Is it something that our daughter really wants to do? No, and I hate the thought of pushing her to do something that will not make her happy...but then again, would it just be the one thing that saves her life? So many questions and so many variables...too many in fact. My mind starts spinning just writing this blog.

I know this has been a rather long blog, but I just had to get it off my mind before it exploded. Thank you for being my sounding board.

The Steel Workers Wife

Top Ten Tuesday

Good Morning Bloggers! It is once again time for my Top Ten Tuesday list...I know, I know, you have been awaiting it all week, haven't you? LOL

1) Somedays I think it doesn't pay to be a woman.....all the time. lol

2) I think my hubby has been holding out on me for the last 10 yrs...HE CAN COOK!

3) Facebook is losing more and more of its luster for me....seriously, I only keep it because well,  I have sooo many Bingo credits and (sigh), I am addicted to Bingo. lol

4) I hate having an illness that no one can see...it hinders some peoples "understanding" and empathy.

5) I applied to Purdue to get my Bachelors Degree....it's part of our "Plan"..me and the hubby. lol

6) I think my family and I need another family photo taken, it has been several years since the last.

7) Debating on if I will add photos to this weeks TTT or not.....

8) Even though my phone took a dive into the toilet (see previous blog), it is working...with "glitches", but it is working. :)

9) I have an urge to watch old black and white movies...anything with Cary Grant in them.

10) I cannot wait for real spring to get here...cuz today is just a taste of it...a fake spring day is what it is. lol

May you all have a wonderful week....Peace, Love and Old Movies!