Friday, February 25, 2011

Life is sucking hard! My Husband needs a job NOW!

So my husband lost a job of over 2 years back in May 2010, and was unemployed for 5 months. Then he got a new job that was a nightmare. Crazy boss and it was impossible to make any commission because of that crazy company policies and they tracked every phone call, and every email, and even had GPS in the Blackberry so they could track their employees out of the office. Well luckily Lloyd was able to leave that job for what we hoped was a better job with a better chance of making a decent commission...... WELL.

This boss was absolutely crazier than the last, and when I say crazy I mean absolutely certifiably CRAZY.
And just when Lloyd was about to land a job that was going to be double what the whole office had done for the entire last year he was fired. That's right fired! He had just had his final meeting with the company that was potentially going to give his office a nice chunk of work and Lloyd a very nice commission. And this guy comes into my husbands office at 4pm and tells him that the company is going in a different directions and how it was nothing Lloyd did wrong but that he was being let go right that minute and they handed Lloyd his final check.

Both Lloyd and I are in absolute SHOCK. How the heck can a company do this to people? How do they justify in their heads letting go of a man that single handily just increased their revenue to over double what the entire office did in the entire time it had been open?
THE only good thing that came out of it was that the insanely crazy boss got fired too, but that does not good to us now that Lloyd is unemployed now.

I have absolutely no idea how we are going to survive until Lloyd finds a new job. I am praying hard he can get back on unemployment but they cut out the extra $25 a week they were giving to prior military, and I am just hoping we can still get the max $250 a week of unemployment, if we can't get it or do not get the max we are for sure going to be in HUGE trouble.
I am also praying that it does not take Lloyd another 5 months to get a job because I am sure we will be homeless long before then.

Right now I am so angry at the world you have no idea. How and why does this keep happening to us? Why can't we catch any kind of a break? Why can't Lloyd find a decent job?
I am not asking to be rich, I just want us to be able to pay our bills and maybe even get out of some debt.
If we didn't have 3 dogs we could go live in a small apartment and be in pretty good shape. But how the heck do you get rid of 3 members of your family to do that?

I am so angry and upset all I know is  that I have to turn this whole situation over to God because I know that I can not handle this with out him. I keep telling myself that God has to have a plan for us and we just can't see it yet, because I don't know why else this could possibly keep happening to us.

I know that Lloyd is a hard worker and this can't be anything he has done or hasn't done, but we have to find him a job and one fast.

So if anyone knows of a outside sales position or any other job that pays over $30,000 I don't care if it is digging ditches please let us know.

Lloyd email address is lloydstites@yahoo.com

Friday, February 18, 2011

This weekends plans

Tomorrow I am going in search of buying this....
image 2192139098-0
I found an ad for it on Craigslist and I am going to go look at it.
I want to buy and redo it and see if I can't resell it for some nice cash.
There are a couple of issues though
1. I don't know if I should paint it or leave it a wood color

2. What if when I am done with it I fall in love with it and don't want to sell it?
I am afraid if that happen that my Husband will be made and not let me buy more of these to re-purpose.

Well cross your fingers that it is worth buying to re-purpose as I am very excited at the prospect of having this as my pet project.
I have another small table at home that I purchased at a Goodwill that I also want to re-purpose and sell and I need to get started on it soon.

I am looking for more cabinets like this, small tables, bookcases, cabinets without glass fronts, and bed side cabinets to re-purpose.
I am also looking to buy an old solid wood door and/or one that has some stain glass in it as I have a friend that turns doors into benches. So if you know of such a door for $25 or less please let me know.


As for the rest of my weekend...Megan has a sleep over at  Friends house Saturday night, Sunday we have church and I took Monday off to hang out with my Daughter and my Husband. So it should be a good weekend. I am for sure looking forward to it despite the project rain and cold weather.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tennis Elbow aka Lateral Epicondylitis

This is what I have in my left elbow. This has been going on for just 1 month shy of a year. Not sure if you all know this but it is a very painful condition. So much so that I realized something was wrong whenever I would go to reach for something and pick it up with my left arm it was followed by excruciating pain and it could be something as light and small as a pen would cause the horrible pain.

This first started to cause me pain in March of 2010. I had no idea why my left elbow hurt, and burned. In May I was at my primary care Doctor for another issue and mentioned that my elbow hurt. He examined it and said I had Tennis Elbow, and that he could fix it real fast by injecting it with a steroid and some numbing medicine. Well all was fine and dandy for 3 month, well except for where the injection turned my elbow white, and ate away some of my muscle in my elbow.
So jump to September my elbow starts really hurting me again, and not at home, at work. I realize that the job I do was causing my elbow pain. So I told my boss and I went to Occupational Health and started the Workman's Comp process.
Sept 13, 2010 I start at the Doctor for Occ Health, I am told to wear a Tennis Elbow brace and start PT. I go 3 days a week for 2 months, no improvement.
Then Occupational Health Doctor sends me to a Surgeon. Surgeon says continue PT for another month, take and anti-inflammatory and rub some arthritis cream on my elbow 4 times a day. I go back 1 month later and still no improvement. So then the Surgeon sends me for MRI on the elbow.
When I get back the results it says I have "severe lateral epicondylitis" and blah blah blah

This is kind of what my elbow looks like, only mine is worse than this patients.
The Surgeon says that I have 2 choices that I can do.
1. a PRP injection- now this is not FDA approved and is considered experimental on the elbow.
It involves the following. They draw out my own blood, then spin it down until they can get to just the platelets. They suck up the platelets into a syringes and inject them into my elbow is 5 different spaces.
Now I know you all are thinking "big deal", well you would be right, and here is why I do not want this procedure done.
They do not numb up your elbow, or sedate you this is done without anything for pain. They don't just inject the platelets into your elbow, they put it in the tendon in question by scraping the tendon with the needle all the while injecting the platelets AND they do this 5 times in 5 different spots.
Now I don't know about you but this sounds pretty painful to me.
The Doctor never told me anything about the procedure AND he left his MA to tell me all about it and the pain part.
I said well how painful is this, and she said "some people scream, some curse, some yell, and some do nothing."
Well I am the one doing nothing because I am not going for the procedure. PLUS I have been told by a few people that it doesn't do a darn thing so NO.

and the
2nd opinion is Surgery

Where they go in and some how fix the tendon.
The down side is the it takes a long time for it to heal but it is more likely to fix the problem.

Well because this is Workman's Comp related I have to go threw a Case Manager. I called him and told him what the Doc said and told him I did not want the PRP, and I would like a 2nd opinion.

6 weeks later after waiting for the approval and actually getting an appointment I FINALLY go my 2nd opinion TODAY.
This Doctor tells me that I could do the PRP, the surgery, OR another experimental procedure where they use shock wave therapy to fix the tendon.
The same shock wave thing they use to break up large kidney stones, they would use on my elbow. I have no idea how in the heck they think  that will fix the tendon.

Soooo I call back my Case Manger and tell him what this Doctors says, and now my Case Manager wants to send me to a THIRD Doctor for another opinion.
My CM called it a Independent Medical advice. So I am supposed to hear from some one by the middle of next week to find out where I go next with this elbow thing. And if it is anything like last time I was waiting to get into see this last Doctor it was 2 weeks NOT a couple of days/
I have hear that Arizona is one of the worst States to have a work related injury and I completely believe it now.

So I don't know what this new Doctor is going to say, all I know is that I want my elbow fixed and I want it fixed right and fast.
This is a very painful deal, and I am tired of my elbow burning and hurting all the time.

So I guess all that is left to do is pray that God will help me threw this and that he will give the Doctors the knowledge and the skills to fix my elbow.

BTW typing in one of the things that cause Lateral Epicondylitis.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Our Foster Dog Emma did find a new home

This is the couple that adopted Emma this weekend.
We were very sad to see Emma go. Of all the dogs we have fostered she was by far the best, and if we didn't already have 3 dogs we would have for sure kept her.
Unfortunately this couple changed her name to Zia, they had her no more than a hour and said she wasn't answering to her name so they changed it to Zia. Well I promise you Emma knew her name, she is 4 years old and came to us with that name and she knew it very well. We didn't care for her name but we wouldn't have changed it because of the fact it was the name Emma knew.
But whatever people do the strangest things, and as long as they are a good loving family to Emma I guess it doesn't matter what they call her.
Emma we miss you very much and it feels like our home is empty without you. If you ever need to come back to us we will gladly take you whether it is today, tomorrow, or 10 years from now we will gladly take you back.
Good luck Emma! and much love to you!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

My Valentine's Day Gift

This is my AWESOME gift from my Daughter.


When I was younger like in my Teens and 20's I always wanted some one to buy me a heart shaped box of chocolates and I never got one. Well that was until this Valentine's Day when my beautiful loving Daughter Megan go me the above box of chocolates and the beautiful home made card, which by the way are the only kind of cards I like to get from her.

So I just had to share with everyone my wonderful Valentine's gift!


Thank you Megan and I love you with all my heart!

Megan's First Band Performance

Megan had her first Band performance recently and I was shocked at how well the kids played for them only beginning to play their instruments in September of this year. It was a little hard at times to tell what song they were playing but I was so incredibly proud of the job they did.
The Band Instructor told us to watch for them bouncing their feet to the beat of the music, if they kept their eyes on her, and if they held their instruments in the correct resting position. Megan did everything perfect (of course, but I am not prejudice) and did an amazing job.
Here is a picture of her before the concert
I played the flute when I was her age too and I was never as good as she is. She pays attention and is eager to learn and really know her stuff. She can read the music very well, and that was the part I never paid enough attention to.
She is now going to be in Honor's Band which means she will be attending band twice the amount every week that she is currently doing it now. I really hope she keeps this up and continues to play threw High School and beyond. I can see her playing in High School Band and Orchestra.

I was shocked to see so many boys playing flute, I just for some reason didn't think that boys would want to play flute.

It was so funny before the concert began there was so many parent clamoring to get pictures of their kids that the Band Director finally said "okay if you want to get pictures now is the time to do it, for the next 5 minutes take all the pictures you can." Let me tell you the parents went nuts. It was really quite funny to watch. I wasn't able to get the pictures from the right angle I wanted because there was so many relatives taking pictures, I at one point had to even get on a chair to get a shot of Megan.
After her concert we took her out to celebrate her awesome job and we went to her favorite place Yogurtland. She loves that place, she gets about 3 flavors of frozen yogurt, and about 6 toppings, I am surprised she can eat all the stuff she puts in her yogurt, but it makes her happy so I do not care.
When I was a kid my Mom always took us out after any performance at church or school to celebrate and so I wanted to have the same tradition with Megan.

Yesterday I was looking at a picture I found of Megan last year, and I was just overwhelmed and had to sit and stare at the picture for 10 minutes. I can not believe that God blessed me with this awesome loving, beautiful child. I just can not figure out what I did in my life to be blessed with her.
Now I know all parents think their kids are the best, and they should, but I am just awe struck by what an amazing gift from God she is.
She is beautiful, smart (way beyond me at that age), she has a heart of gold, she never wants to hurt anyone in any way, and would be crushed to find out if she has hurt some one's feelings. She loves animals of all shapes, sizes, and breeds. I literally thank God every day for blessing me with her.

So anyways I digress, I look forward to hopefully many more band concert with my Daughter.
and just because I love her and think she is so amazing here is another picture of her from that night.

I probably shouldn't brag about my daughter, but I am so very proud of her and everything she does, so please forgive me.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Gotta Love Goodwill!

I love Goodwill, heck I love second hand stores. My husband and I went this weekend because Saturday was 50% off day. He needed work clothes and I like to go there any chance I can. I love looking for clothes, household items, items to use on photo shoots, items to make craft projects with, and you name it and I like to buy it at Goodwill or any other second hand store I can find.

Saturday my Husband got 5 dress shirts and about 3 pairs of dress pants for work and I think it came to some where near $25.
I bought like 5 pairs of shorts, one pair of khaki pants, and 3 tops for my daughter and it came to around $25.
I am not saying which Goodwill we went to or which ones I frequent because I love them and want all the good things I find for myself.

I currently have a list of items I am on the hunt for at second hand stores, I need wood decorative picture frames of all sizes and shapes, an decorative stand that may have been for a candle or something like that, that is about 4 to 6 inches high, don't care about the color or anything because it will be getting painted. glass, wood, or metal material for the stand all would be okay I need it to make a cake stand. I am also looking for little cabinets, little tables, book cases, or end tables made of wood that have potential to be re-purposed.
And then I am always looking for clothing items for my self, my family or for the household things.

I just wish I had more time and money to go to more second hand stores. Money is the biggest reason I do not get to go more second hand shopping. I seriously get up Saturday morning at 7 am, not shower or do my hair and shop the entire day and not care how far I have to drive. That would be a dream OR not to have a budget either. I would love to be able to go to second hand stores all over the entire State of Arizona. I am not under an illusions I totally understand and know that one time you can go to your favorite store and find a ton of great items only to come back a week or so later and not find anything good for a month, but I am okay with that. Sometimes that is the fun because you never know what you are going to find IF you find anything at all.
In fact the weekend my Husband and Daughter are going out of town for the entire weekend is 50% off Saturday, but now I am torn between sleeping in super late and then crawling to the couch to spend the ENTIRE day watching HGTV, or getting up early and spending the entire day shopping at Goodwill stores.....
I guess that will eventually be determined by my wallet that weekend. :)
Hope to see you at a second hand store near you!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Soon to lose another Foster Dog from ABCR

My Husband and I have had 16 foster dogs at our house for ABCR, and we are about to lose our latest dog to her new forever home.
Our all the dogs we have had in our house, including the one Border Collie we kept, Emma is by far the best dog we have had with us. She absolutely do not have ANY bad habits.
The only thing Emma is guilty of is occasionally being a little possessive but that is easily corrected.
She is a little bit of a picky eater and thinks she has to have wet food mixed in with her dry, but other than that all she wants to do is be petted by anyone that is willing to pet her.
I also have never seen a dog that likes to be brushed more that her.
It took us forever to get her to use our dog door but she is completely potty trained so it really isn't an issue.
She came to us a owner turn in, because her former owners said they didn't have enough time for her.
Everything her former owners told us about her was completely off base. They said Emma didn't like women or kids, and that she only liked men. Totally NOT true, she loves me, my Daughter, and all her Friends, and my Husband.
They said Emma didn't like to go for walks, NOT true, she LOVES going for walks.
Emma is just an awesome loving dog. When we first got her she acted like she didn't know what a pet was, but now she will come up and beg for pets, and if you start to pet her and then start she will hit you with her paw to try and get you to pet her more.
Every morning when I get up she wants me to scratch her bum in her lower back nearest her tail, and then she will lie on the floor and show me her belly and wants to be scratched there as well.
I would say 90% of the time when a foster dog we have goes to their new forever home it is very sad, but Emma is one of those that will stay in our hearts forever. We have had her 2 months yesterday. I am sure Emma thinks we are her forever home, and we would love nothing more than to keep her forever, except for two things. One we have 3 dogs currently that are our children and 4 dogs forever would just be too much. Secondly, if we were to keep Emma then that would mean we have no more room in our home to save any more dogs, and we would like to continue to save dogs lives. Plus we are always very careful in picking out our dogs new forever homes and make sure they go to the very best new homes.
So even though it will break out hearts to let Emma go, we will know in our hearts that she is going to a very special new home with people that will love her and treat her the way she should and deserves to be treated.
So here is our pretty girl....


So Emma we wish you well when you leave our home to go live with your forever home, and we hope you never forget the love we showed you, but we hope you will live out your life being petted and brushed like no other dog out there.
We will miss you and you will remain in our hearts forever!
Good luck Emma!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Megan's 10th Birthday Party-Sleepover

This year for Megan's 10th Birthday party we had the party at our house with a sleepover.
We had 7 girls plus Megan. We had a lot of activities planned because I learned long ago when you have this many girls you need to keep them very busy.
The theme Megan choose was Egyptian. So one of the activities we planned was a Mummy wrapping contest




















We also had a very successful Scavenger hunt in the back and front yards combined. They had to find a list of items from something that doesn't belong in nature, to something that starts with the letter M, to things we planted like a compass and snakes to go along with the Egyptian theme and exploring.
We then had a egg toss just because they are fun. This activity was one of the girls favorites.
In fact one of the girls had another sleep over at our house after the Birthday Party and asked if they could have an egg toss. So it was a very simple game that the kids loved very much.
Then through out the night we made cupcakes and decorated them, we decorated pillow slips for the girls to take home. We made melt beads, played Twister, and the girls had their own whacky talent show and here are a couple of pictures from those activities.


Then we made virgin Shirley Temple's because Megan wanted drinks in "fancy" glasses with umbrellas.

I heard a lot of the girls saying that this was the funnest party they had been too, and that it was even funner than their own Birthday party.
I was thrilled because I just wanted Megan to have a good time and I think she did.
And here is a group shoot of all the girls at the Party.

I know that the girls talked about her party for a while at school.
I would not mind having a party like this again simply because it was so much fun.














Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Megan's Art Exhibit 2011

So Megan was attending the Boys and Girls club every day after school and all summer. Now she will just be attending in the summer. Well during this last summer Megan made an Owl Collage with her Art group. They have contest every year for each age category, well Megan's owl received 2nd place out of her age group for the entire Boys and Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale. And the Art Director for her branch Jen Hughes (whom I love) was able to have all the winners Art pieces shown at the Phoenix Art Museum for the entire month of January. Well of course we had to go check it out and below are some pictures from the Exhibit.
She wasn't in the best mood this day but you can't really tell from the pictures.
Lloyd and I are very proud of her for doing so well, of course.
I am thankful to God EVERY day that he blessed us with such a wonderful, warm, big hearted, loving, bright daughter. She is the apple of my eye!

                         The Family

                  Megan's beautiful Art Work

This is Megan's Art Instructor Jen and Megan with her beautiful art work!