YEAH ME!!

Hello Everyone,

I am blogging from my new smaller (much less expensive) modem. I traded in my fancy modem, digital phone box, and cable box yesterday. So my bill is now 1/2 what it was. I came home last night and popped in a DVD for the girls. After the 8th one my DVD player finally found one it would read. I just about cried, because I had just gotten rid of the cable with all the kids shows. So I think I will be adding a DVD/VCR combo to my christmas list (since I don't have a spouse to buy me a big christmas gift I will just have to buy it for myself). So far the list is either a DVD/VCR combo, or a Printer for my laptop. Will have to see which it is.

Don was suppose to come by and get the girls. I want to drive over and wring his neck. He called 10 minutes late and said it was sprinkling so he couldn't come. He said it is suppose to quit raining this afternoon and would I be home for him to come then. He had previously stated he was going to come get his stuff, and the girls. So I am guessing that the rain is stopping him from getting his stuff more then it is stopping him from getting the girls. He never actually said anything about picking up the girls when he called. ARGH!! I told him he would have to call and see, because I had errands to run.

So instead we are having craft day. I had all the stuff for reward posters. Not the old western kind, but the reward for good behavior kind. I think that is what we will do today. MAybe if Dahlia and Bobbie help make their posters it will make it more personal for them. Honesly I figure they will last 1 month max before the girls destroy them, but still I could be surprised. I am thinking I will outline spots for several stars, and then put the girl's names on the top, with some ribbon down the sides. When they behave and earn stars the can put them in the outlined spots, and be able to know how many more they need to get their reward. I figured I could make one for Mommy too, and see if that helps me to behave a little.

I will post pictures when we get done.

And you thought I was dead

The girls and I went to the zoo and had a fun time goofing off. I am working 4 days a week so far. Don't have the October schedule yet, so we will see what happens then.

The girls are getting bigger. I have started to put them in cold weather clothes, and much to my dismay have discovered that they are lots bigger/taller then they were last year. It's one of those things where I knew they were growing, but just didn't realize how much.




Mom and Dad were here this weekend and I drug Mom to Super Saturday with me. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mormons it is when the ladies get together and go craft wild. As you can see from the above picture I have been bitten by the Super Saturday Bug. Amanda W. helped me figure out what to do. She suggested the antique-like finish. It came out REALLY nice. Best part is it only too about 30 minutes from start to finish. Since I hadn't signed up for any of the other crafts we left early and went shopping.



Dahlia got her bangs cut this afternoon.



Bobbie got her first bang trimming today.

Silly Me

Arrrrgh!! I don't remember how I posted all the pictures to one post last time. I remember I did it from Picasa, but there is a trick to it and I can't remember the trick.

Bummer. I guess I will have to post a couple of really short blogs, because there are 2-3 pictures I want to share. Or do it the old fashion, but more labor intesive way, until I remember what I forgot to remember. hahahahaha I'm not too crazy, I hope.




Bobbie's response to Mommy telling her chalk is not for eating, it's really for drawing with.




Dahlia finds her own entertainment, but needs a little help with the finale.




Dad (Grandpa Jones) is reminding Dahlia to avoid the cow poopy, last time we were down there.




Dahlia's driving the tractor with Grandpa, but she's still not to sure about it.

The last two picture are from when Mom and Dad took the girls after my courtdate and then I went down for the weekend, and to get the girls back also.

Court Decision

Well, I've emailed my family with the nitty-gritty details so I won't bore you again with them here. But court did happen today. I got a call at 0700 from my daycare provider to ask me a question, and my mom told me after I got off the phone she thought it was the court telling me my case had been cancelled for today. I told her that wasn't even funny.

We showed up 45 minutes early (no 10 car pile up on the freeway like everyone predicted). Mom forgot she had a small pair of scissors in her purse, and Dad had a small pocket knife in his . . . . yep pocket. So the guard sent Dad back to the car with everything. Then we went up to wait outside the courtroom. So we talked about an interview I hear on NPR regarding schools and the real reason teachers are complaining. What other objects are banned, the new ban of all liquids on airplanes (which I hadn't heard about), then we talked about how to make bombs, and smuggle alcohol into a dry county in the bible belt. Actually the last 3 topics were Dad and I, with Mom trying to shush us so we get thrown out or arrested for plotting bad stuff. I was geting nervous becaue my lawyer said to meet 20 minutes before court, but didn't show up until 10 minuted before. Crazy.

The other crazy part was the judge left the room to go into the 'other courtroom and deal with somehting there'. So my lawyer went to the potty. the judge came back and my lawyer was still gone. It looked like the case before us was going to end much more quickly then the first one, and I leaned over to Mom and asked her if I should just tell the judge my lawyer was in the potty and look helpless. But luckily my lawyer came in before it was our turn. Crazy!!

There was a lot of stuff up in the air, and now we have answers/guidelines for most of it. So that helps me to be able to move forward, and make some plans.

I think in the end Dahlia and Bobbie definately won. Neither Don nor I got everyting we wanted. But the girls get to see Daddy, as long as he arranges for supervision. I get the peace of mind knowing that the girls have someone to turn to if Daddy isn't okay during their visit. Hopefully this will gently force Don to see his doctors, and stay on his meds. Time will tell!!

It is so quiet here with out the girls. I miss them, but it is nice to be able to open the fridge door without worrying about squishing someone in it if it swings shut on it's own (Bobbie isn't big enough to hold the door open and check out the shelves at the same time).

Goingo Crazy

So I have court on Tuesday. I have made arrangement to possible get my hair cut Monday.

Either court will go really well for me, or it will go horrible wrong. Somehow I don't see much middle ground. Though there is always the possibility that I am being overly dramatic, and overthinking things again.

I have a new job. Not the exact set up I want, but it is work. I will be work in a set of 3 sister clinics. OB/GYN, Peds, and Womens Health Center. The pay is fantastic, the hours are not garunteed, and there are no benefits. Why in the world did you take this job you ask?? A great question, the potential is definately there. There is another nurse that is leaving as soon as she gets a job, so I will have first shot at her position. They are offering me tons of work at a really great rate. Benefits are not cheap, but affordable. It is a temporary solution to a big problem.

What is the big problem you ask?? One of Don's biggest arguments is that I am expecting too much by refusing to take a night shift job, thus forcing myself to hand over the girls to him several days a week for child care. That divorce is difficult on everyone and it is (I love this word) unreasonable for me to expect to maintain my level of lifestyle without making any modifications or adjustments.

I found this and realized I forgot to post it, so here goes (just a few days late).

WOW!! Look at my clean apartment.

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The living room, all cleaned up. The girls love to play in here now. So much fun to put the pillows on the floor and watch movies/cartoons.





The girls room. You might even be able to see the girls sleeping. Dad painted the cute purple toy chest in the middle of the room.





The bathroom. Not much to say about it.




See Mom, I do make my bed sometimes. Dad and I have an ambitious plan to rearrange the bookcases, bed, and computer desk to help open up the room. Will post more pics then.



Hopefully this picture doesn't come out sideways. This is the hallway, finally more then one person can walk down it. Now I don't trip over the girls when the stop dead in the middle.

Mom and Dad gave me tons of help and encouragement!! It wouldn't have happened nearly this fast with out them.

Finally got pictures

 

I finally figured out how to add pictures to my blog. More accurate is I have finally gotten all the pieces in one place.

Mom came up and helped me finish cleaning out all the boxes in my apartment. WOW!!! It is so much bigger then I thought. With all the boxes out of the middles of the rooms it suddenly looks like it can hold the 3 of us.

I owe Mom and Dad tons of thanks. More then I can possibly repay. With the cleaning help, and the fix-it help, and the moving of large furniture help I would have gone crazy trying to do it myself.

I will add some pictures of the place so you guys can see it all cleaned up. 

Delay, Deny, Distress

As you can see from the lack of update, nothing happened at the court date. Why you ask?? A good question, young grasshopper!! That's because the court appointment never happened. Don's lawyer filed an rebuttal saying lots of stuff that isn't true, better yet I can prove it. Long story short (let me know if you want the whole story) the judge granted them more time for his lawyer to prepare. No news on a future court date yet.

I am not frustrated. I am not frustrated. (do you think if I say it enough it will be true??)

Happy 24th to you

To those of you not from Utah. The 24th of July is a HUGE holiday here. It is the date of the founding of the state of Utah.

Dahlia and Bobbie enjoyed their first ever parade. The loud noises from the muscle cars was a bit much for them. The fire trucks were a big hit!! We got lots of candy (yeah for them, ugh for me). We were sitting right at the end of the route on the corner so everyone was unloading the last of their candy real quick. There were tons of people we knew, and people home visiting for the weekend. Was like a big town reunion.

Dahlia and Bobbie were going to ride the Fire Engine with Dad, but they were crying and when I went up to trade Dad places the firemen told me to hop on, and not worry about not having a ticket. Once the truck got moving Dahlia calmed down, and Bobbie kept looking around, like what are we doing up this high??.

Then Dad stood in line for Navajo Tacos while Mom and I took the girls around to the kiddie booths. They fished for plastic duckies, Dahlia played Spin the Wheel, and the both got a star painted on their cheek. By the time we got back to where Dad and Mom (she left part way through to help Dad with the food) where waiting in line for food they had just reached the front of the line. Navajo Taco's are very popular at the fair and the 24th celebration. A couple of years ago they sold out, and Mom still hasn't quit talking about it. We sat in the shade and ate.

After that the only thing left to do was get a sno-cone and walk back to the cars. Grape Sno-cones are not exactly haute couture but is tasted fabulous on a hot summer afternoon. Between Mom, Dahlia and myself we ate it in the 4 blocks back to the car. Dad got double-stroller pushing duty.

All in all it was a great way to spend 4 hours.

Ran into Shawna from school. She asked about my missing the 10 year reunion yesterday. I told her about the Martina Tickets, and she laughed saying she would have done the same thing (Attended the Martina Concern and drove down the next day). She said about 20 people showed up, and they voted to skip the 15 year, and just do a 20 year reunion. I told her I was sure I could make that one. I guess I can come back to see how everyone has done 20 years out from high school.

Oops, forgot to type a message

Saw the cute tickertape (different model though) on someone else's blog, and thought what the heck I'll make one of my own for fun. They have tons of different options. It turned out cute, and I had fun making it.

Martina McBride RULES!!!

I went to the Martina McBride concert in SLC last night. WOW!! The opening act was Mark Wills (sp?). I cried when he sang Don't Laugh at Me. But then again all the women around me cried too, so I don't feel so bad.

Martina sang all of my favorite songs, and a few I hadn't heard before. It was totally awesome!! Julie, you would have loved it. I got up and danced for a couple of songs. The gal that went with me had never been to a concert, but loved Martina too. We had front row center seats on the balcony. A perfect view of the stage and crowd. There were screens up on either side of the stage. Martina looked like a little barbie doll, but the screens showed a lot of close-ups on her face.

I did feel a little bummed when she sang one song (My Love, My Valentine). But I got over it really quick.

She sang a Pat Benatar (sp?) song ---> Hit Me with Your Best Shot. She sang Concrete Angel, Broken Wing, Independance Day, In My Daughter's Eyes, My Baby Loves Me. Tons of great songs. She also sang a lot of cover/tribute songs. She sang songs from Johnny Cash, Loretta Lin (sp?), Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, and a few other names I have forgotten. She sang Stand By Your Man, and in the back ground they showed footage of Tammy Wynette rolling, and it looked like she was actually singing. That had to be difficult to time the band and Martina's vocals to match video footage from years ago. Definately a memorable portion of the show.

She had been singing lots of fast songs, and then she stepped back and the stage went dark. There were purple spotlights moving around, and new-age sounding music, for about 3-4 minutes. Then she sang Concrete Angel. They showed footage from her music video, and I cried like a baby. (I tear up just thinking about it). It didn't effect me nearly as much before I had the girls. Now it just about tears my heart out to hear the song (or see the music video). The little girl in the video is a blond hair, blue eyed absolutely adorable little thing. I can't help but want to gather her up and take her home. I keep thinking that I should be doing something more to help kids in that situation, but I don't know what. I know the obvious things, like report abuse, educate people about alternatives, etc. But it doesn't feel like it's enough. As you can guess I pretty much sobbed during this part of the show.

Luckily she followed it up with a fast song. I felt there was some irony in the fact that the next song was Independance Day. Hmmm interesting timing, someone has a sense of humor.

I have to say that I would definitely go to one of her shows again. Maybe in a year or two she will come back through Utah. Would be a blast if Val, or Julie, or Mom (or all of us) could go together.

Yeah for Internet at home!!

Hello All,

The cable guy just left and now I finally have internet at home again. YEAH!! No more going to the little internet/computer room at the rental office and trying to keep the girls from going crazy while I check my messages, and use the internet.

Dahlia wants to type now.
gcdxzwaqhh u yededvbtt5ertoojhvfvhf


Soon I will figure out how to add pictures and then we will be all spiffy looking.

Goodby for now

I am not stressed. I am NOT stressed!

As you can guess from the title I am not stressed. I figure if I say it enough I will really believe it. Ahhh, one can only hope.

Things are coming along well. I have a few more ducks to line up and then I will be doing great. I need a job, and for my divorce to become final.

The girls are doing well. Active and cute. Dahlia is getting more independent by the minute. Bobbie is really starting to show her personality. I'm not sure yet, but she is definately not shy.

New Fangled Inventions

Well, I suppose I better join the world before it passes me by. Seems I am one of the minority that isn't blogging, or pod-casting. Since pod-casting sounds complex, I better give blogging a try.

The girls are full of energy. What do you expect for a 13 month old, and a 2 1/2 year old??

I am soo excited. Mom and Dad came up 2 days ago and helped me get the apartment set up a little more. Pictures on the wall. Clock on the wall. Bookcases secured so my little monkeys won't pull them over when they climb (note the when, not if). The livingroom, and dining room are looking great. The kitchen still needs some love, mostly the counters. The bathroom needs to be de junked, again!! The girls room has way too many toys. The girls are spoiled!! My room is the junk room at this time, but that will change over the next few weeks. I am getting tired of tripping over stuff I am not sure I even need.

I am down in Monroe to buy Sister Barney's car. She is selling it for a reasonable amount. The previous owners are the Wingets (Corrinne and Glade). So I'm pretty sure it has been treated well.

It's a little scary. Soon I'll be a single mother of 2 girls. Never really thought my life would turn out this way. But it is for the best. I feel better and more calm/peaceful as time goes on. Well some days I have moments where I panic and think what in the world am I doing, what had I gotten myself into. But they are getting fewer and farther inbetween.

My family has been absolutely wonderful. Very supportive!!

Oops, gotta run. The little ones are planning a revolt if I don't feed then now.