Get down on your knees and thank God you’re still on your feet.
Over the past week I have felt one thing constantly. Gratitude. Not that I am not always thankful, but this week I really began to appreciate all I have in life.
There have been times where I’ve barely kept my head above water and I still felt grateful. Though it is true that you are more appreciative when things are going your way.
I am married to my best friend. *And not by default. To find someone who has seen you at your worst and loved you even more for it is an amazing feat. To know that I could forgive any and all faults of someone I did not give birth to is an incredible feeling. I have found this wonderful person and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Luckily, he feels the exact same way.
*I’ve lost some friends in life, but I know that people come and go, and it’s not up to you or them. They are there for a period of time not determined by either of you, and for a specific reason. I’ll elaborate on how grateful I am for friends past later.
Not only is my husband a perfect match, but I couldn’t have married into a better family. His sisters not only graciously accepted me into their lives, but have become some of my closest friends. His father is a riot and of course his mother and I often gang up on Robby and his dad because truth be told, they are exactly alike. As are his mother and I. You know how they say that men marry women who are like their mothers? That has never been more true. My friends have said they are jealous that my in-laws are wonderful people and we get along so well. I just remind them that MY side of the family is the crazy one!
Lanna. I love cats. I do. I’m terribly allergic, though. So a dog was a must. I am a dog person, but I’m also a cat person. Lanna has become such a huge part of our lives. I love how she cocks her head when I ask if she wants to go to the park. She gets so excited when I put on my shoes because of the very possibility of a walk. The only commands she follows is ‘sit’ and ‘go get mr. quackers!’. She cuddles with me when Robby has to work at night and she tries to sit in my lap as though she weighs 10 pounds. And of course I let her.
My job. As of late the patients drive me crazy and I could wring Faye and Leo’s necks sometimes. But you get those patients who make your day brighter. The ones who ask YOU how you’re doing. I had called a patient to the desk one day and I apologized for the wait. And she simply said, “Don’t.” I mumbled some kind of excuse about why we’re so busy and she just said, “You have nothing to apologize for. You are doing your job as fast as you can. People need to learn some patience.” (I truly believe the term *patient* is some kind of joke.) But regardless, I still enjoy my job, I am grateful to have one in this economy and the crazier patients just make for good stories when Robby gets home. My co workers are still great, and it is to be expected that you should be annoyed with someone you spend WAY too much time around, eventually.
My family in California. Despite their own brand of insanity, I know they love me and miss me and when we do get in touch I am quickly reminded of that.
My sister. It’s that kind of unconditional love you can only have for a sibling. I know she’ll always be there. And I will always be there for her, too.
My old friends. Everything I am is because of everything I’ve done and everyone I’ve met. I can’t imagine the person I’d be without ever knowing Colin, Amy, Samantha, or Jenelle. I’d be completely different. They each influenced me in very different ways, some good and some bad. I’m extremely lucky to have had such amazing people in my life, but I don’t miss them. I cherish the memories.
Last week Robby got a great job as a Route Service Representative (fancy term for lab courier) with Quest. Yes, the company I work for. Yes, he works my route and I get to see him during the day, even if only for a brief minute. The compensation is great and it’s far less stress for him.
The really exciting part of my week came yesterday. Because of the new job we were able to expand our rent search a little. Just by a couple hundred dollars. Our criteria was 2 bedrooms, a backyard, and pet friendly. A garage would be nice, too. And it needed to be in the beaches area. Preferably under $1,100. I didn’t think it would be that hard to find something, but no one wants to allow pets. I had several conversations that went like this:
Me: Do you allow pets?
Owner: (hesitantly) …what kind of pet?
Me: (even more hesitantly) …a dog…
Owner: (painfully drawn out) …what size/kind/breed?
Me: (as quickly as possible in one full breath) A lab, but a small lab, she’s only 35-40 pounds, and she’s done really well in an apartment, we just would like a yard for her to play in!
Owner: (not budging) I’m sorry, I’ve just had really terrible experiences with large dogs.
*click*
Our lease is up March 31st. Since January I’ve spent hours online, almost every day, looking for places to rent. Anytime I got off even a little early from work I’d drive up and down and up and down the streets in the neighborhoods we wanted to live in. I’ve gone over the same neighborhoods several times just to see if there were any new FOR RENT signs. First I had a lot of people tell me that a deposit wouldn’t keep the home off the market until the end of March. A lot of times no one would answer the phone or return my message. Once, we were excited about a town home right by the beach for only $875! I called and they said they’d set up a viewing and call me back before the weekend. When I called that following Monday, they told me that they already had an approved application. This wasn’t turning out to be as easy as I had thought. When I turned in our 60 day notice at the end of January I started getting really nervous.
Then this Monday I was up late, and had spent several hours online, clicking on property managers links, searching for the right zip codes and price ranges when I saw something in *gasp* Ponte Vedra Beach. The duplex was listed at $950 and I was thrown. I hadn’t seen anything with a back yard for under $1,300 in Ponte Vedra. (We preferred a duplex or town home, a full sized house is too big for us right now.) When I looked at the location on the map and the pictures I got really anxious. I scrolled down slowly to the pet info and saw Allow Pets: With Pet Deposit. I just about lost it. I got the address and the phone number and planned on calling her the next day. I called Tuesday morning, set up a viewing for lunch that day and ran over on my break. The house was still being packed up by the previous tenant, but I was in love. Tile throughout, two bedrooms, two FULL baths, walk in closet, one car garage, hot tub, screened in porch and a huge back yard. FOR $950 IN PONTE VEDRA! Plus, it has a doggy door! I got an application from the property manager and promised to fax over the necessary documents the next day. I faxed everything on Wednesday and called to let her know. Thursday I called in the morning to see if everything got in okay and she said yes. She said they’d run the credit check and rental history and forward the information to the owner. She told me that no news was good news and she’d call me when she knew something. Friday afternoon she called and said I could drop off the deposit on Saturday (since I’d be in Orange Park near their office). She called me Saturday morning just to confirm and when I saw her on my lunch break I could barely contain myself. I wanted to hug the poor woman! The most amazing thing is that this all feels so perfect. So *meant to be*. We wanted to move around the 15th so we’d have time to clean the apartment. The move in date for the home is the 15th. I googled the address and the home is only listed on two sites, the one I found it on and an old listing for the house from 2008. The chances of me stumbling upon this were so slim. I am so happy to have found a place that we didn’t have to settle for AND I’m relieved that my search is finally over!
We’ve paid off Robby’s car, we’re working on my car and his credit card. This time next year we should be debt free and able to buy a house! Maybe we’ll add a baby or a new dog? Or both?
Okay, I just went on a tangent about the house. I apologize.
My sister-in-law, Trisha, is in labor in North Carolina. I am going up next weekend to see her and to meet baby Aiden. I’m putting this in near the end of the post because I hoped to have had a picture emailed to me of him by now, but she’s still at 9 cm. Kristi and Stacy are up there now. I wish I didn’t have to work!!!
A quick review of Noble Pig. Tana turned me on to her site and aside from the AH-MAZING recipes, she’s frickin funny, too! And, she lives in Davis, crazy, huh? Anyone know her? Check her out, Tana’s tried some of her recipes and gave all thumbs up. We even made her pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving. (One box yellow cake mix, one 15 oz. can of pumpkin, mix, bake. Ta-da!)
Someone’s secret…
I can understand why people don’t believe in God. I’ve been there. I agree completely with some of their points of view. But for me, my faith is personal. It is not decided by the church (though I do find Catholic mass comforting, it reminds me of my grandma.) it is between me and God. My faith gives me someone to thank when things are going well and something to trust when things go down hill. I don’t like not having a reason for bad things happening. I like to believe that there is a reason for everything and that a higher power is making those calls. It is the only way I’ve been able to accept my Dad’s death.
Ok, sorry for being all serious. Seriously.
I took Lanna for a walk and we ran into a HUGE yellow lab and Sophie, the pig. Lanna was excited by the new dog, the dog tried to get a little aggressive with Lanna, Sophie freaked out and started squealing and Lanna HATES Sophie, so she practically knocked me over trying to run away from Sophie but then decided she wanted to go back and sniff the other dog again. I love our late night walks.
I want to see Britney Spears in concert. Aside from the ticket prices, I think the only thing that stopped me was imagining the people who go to see her in concert. I immediately envisioned those people who have whole houses covered in pictures of Britney from Teen Bop and Tiger Beat. Creeeeepy.
laugh out loud.
The Youth In Asia 