Still Leaning! I Hope I Don't Fall Over!!

Once again, it has been a while since I have updated. To say life is a bit crazy right now would be an understatement…Well, not life, per say, but my mind’s handling of life. In the last four months Michael has retired from active duty service, Brendan has graduated high school, I went to visit family, Michael was hired in his “new” civilian career, Brendan chose to move with us (YAY!), we moved from a southernmost state to a northern state, AND we unexpectedly started house hunting an entire year earlier than we had planned. It is the house hunting that is going to be the death of me. Really. I should have a defibrillator on hand. I already have certified user on hand-just need the machine.

We thought when we started all of this that being preapproved meant things would go quickly. It may be going quickly, but if this is quickly I sure would hate to see what happens if you start all of this without pre-approval.

After about 4 weeks of open houses mostly in the rain, we found our house. Only I am a big chicken, so after 2 more weeks and many more houses…also mostly in the rain, we put in an offer on the house. Seller countered, we countered, seller agrees! Yay! We are done, we own a house. Yeah, not so much. You know how on HGTV, when the universe aligns, the angels sing, and the buyers and sellers agree to terms the always say (I’m talking to you Sandra!) “Congratulations, you bought a house!”? Well, they lied. That is really only the beginning…or the end of the prologue –you decide. Because now enters the antagonist of our story…the mortgage broker.

The mortgage broker gets your hopes up, tells you things will be done within 2 weeks, and then surreptitiously sends you a 42 page document in your email for you to review, fill out, sign, scan and return…right away. Right away, so you can wait. And wait, and wait. Your 2 week time frame comes and goes and then said mortgage broker goes on vacation. VACATION. Can we sue for Prozac?

Then, like a ton of bricks, you learn the mortgage broker is not the true antagonist, he is merely a red herring. Enter: The Underwriter (insert evil laugh here). The underwriters must have done really, really well in their Critical Thinking class because their entire purpose in life is to take every branch in a person’s financial life, and see how many kinds of documentation proving the EXACT SAME THING they can come up with to request. Do they ask for all of this at one time? No, that would be too easy. Perhaps they think we won’t notice how redundant their requests are if they space them out. But guess what? I did really well in my Critical Thinking course as well, and I am on to them. Yep, I am positive they work for the government, or Satan.

So here we sit, VA appraisal is in (Another government scam, by the way. Why am I paying what will be at least $625 for an appraisal that protects the government and not me?!), All of our paperwork is in, and all we can do is wait…again, and closing is in just 3 weeks. Before waiting a month for the underwriters and appraiser to turn in their paperwork that was supposed to take 2 weeks, I would have thought, “Wow! 3 weeks we have time to spare!” Not so much now. Now it is more like, “Three weeks! I hope we close on time!” On time being before I need to use that defibrillator!
Oh, and remember the part about it raining almost every time we went house hunting? Well, if you have a drought in your area for a nominal fee and travel expenses we will go to open houses in your area. Be sure to book soon. Slots are limited.

Still Pathetic, Different Reason...Kind Of

A whole 2 days earlier than I could get in to an insurance covered eye doctor I was able to get an appointment at Wal Mart, and because I am incredibly patient I took the Wal Mart appointment. While waiting for my appointment I decided it would be an excellent idea to get contacts. Now mind you, I can't even watch someone touch an eye on television, so why I thought I could not only touch my eye, but purposely put something in it, I have no idea--none whatsoever.

It started out pretty well. The technician was very patient with me while I repeatedly closed my eyes *just* before getting the contact in my eye. After about 15 minutes, I managed to get one in. Then, I had to do it again. The second one didn't take so long, but I still had several missteps. I was thrilled! I managed to actually get the contacts in my eyes...both of them, even!! Then she gave me the horrible, terrible news. I had to learn to take them out. Take them out?! I just managed to get them in! But I did it. I took them out. Well, I took one out anyway. And, I managed to get it back in.

I left, went to the glasses area, and ordered a pair. You know, just in case, my eye gets irritated or something, but that wasn't going to happen, but I knew I should have a pair for "an emergency". After ordering my glasses, I went to the jewelry department because now I can have more than one pair of sunglasses, and I needed them to drive home. Cool.

I went home, and spent the day randomly trying go adjust my glasses that were not there. I was reveling in my new found freedom from the lens. No more smudges. No more fogged up lenses. No more rain on the glass. Until, I started to get tired. Then I rubbed my eyes. Not good. Apparently, if you rub your eyes with contacts the contact pops right out. Hmmmm. Didn't think of that. Ok, it's alright. I can learn to not rub my eyes. Really, I can. Then, I did it again. I decided to leave them out for the night, and start again in the morning.

Thaaat went well...NOT! It took me for.ev.er to get the contacts back in my eyes. Not only that, but, as hinted at by the name of my blog, I can be a bit obsessive. My new obsessive thought? I was going to miss something while washing my hands, and I was going to transfer a virus to my eyes, and then I was going to have to have people put things in my eyes. In them! I had to puuush that thought back. Way back.

Later that day, we went shopping. My eyes hurt. I felt like I had an eyelash in them, and I was getting sick to my stomach. I could not wait to get them out. Except I would have to wait. Because I could NOT get them out. I tried. I panicked. I gave up. I tried, again. Repeat and repeat again. I finally get them out, and I put them away for the day. Determined to try again later.

Then that obsessive thing comes in to play again. See, between every try I was washing my hands. Which would be great if it weren't for the fact that I am allergic (sensitive?) to anti-bacterial soap. I woke up in the middle of the night with my fingers so red and swollen that I could barely get my wedding rings off, and so itchy that I had to slather them with hydrocortizone cream. Not fun.

The good new is that when my new glasses came in about 2 weeks later, the skin was almost completely healed on my fingers. Oh, that, and I chose glasses that I really, really like, and not just some "they are ok, but they are not really going to be used so get the cheapest ones" glasses. Sometimes, *I* don't even know how well I know myself.

I am Officially Pathetic!

In the last week I have managed to break both my glasses and my backup glasses, so now I am sitting in my living room watching television and playing on the web in my sunglasses.

WHYYYYYY did I not make an eye appointment when I broke the first pair?! Today I called the 3 (really, Tricare? 3??) eye doctors in my area that take my insurance, and the first appointment isn't for more than 2 weeks. Add to that the fact that I wear frameless glasses, so they have to be sent out adding another 2-3 weeks before I get glasses, and I am going to be looking all cool (or like I am trying to hide a black eye) for quite a while.

Hopefully, I will be able to get in to WalMart or Lenscrafters or the like to at least get the eye exam sooner. I will have to pay out of pocket, but really, how long can I live in sunglasses? After all, I do have a teenage boy, and I won't be able to hear anything over his laughter if I sit around like this all day.

The bright side is, I do have the Rx sunglasses (well darkened bright side, anyway) because without them I wouldn't even be able to drive, and THAT would be fun...NOT!

Yesterday I signed my own death warrant

Also known as joining a gym. Not only did I join a gym, but I prepaid for 4 months because we are moving, and they usually only do 1 or 2 year contracts. The exception: military. Thank you Anytime Fitness. I really wanted to wait procrastinate until we moved...got a house...unpacked...settled...died to join a gym, but since the gym was willing to work with our short term status they took away my second best excuse (first best being this pesky herniated disk that refuses to heal).

Today I took the first steps (no pun intended)to serve that warrant. I actually went to the gym. Wisely, (<--- I don't get to say that much), I went immediately after dropping Brendan off at the fire station. Do not go home. Do not use brain cells. Only listen to the radio and drive blindly to the gym or torture chamber. You choose. It is only semantics anyway. I managed to survive 15 minutes on the elliptical. My heart rate was too high at 195, so my mini goal right now is to work up to 20 minutes by Monday, and to get my heart rate down. I'm not sure what is a reasonable time for that one, though, so I will go will by the end of next week. Hmmm. I will have to do some research on that one.

So far the gym costs are $285 per visit. I guess I will have to go more because, well I don't know anyone who gets paid $1200 per hour - much less anyone living in this house!

Lean on What???!

Proverbs 3: 5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

We hear this verse so often, that it has almost become cliché. You find it printed on calendars, pens and dish towels. It is repeated often when it is “your path”. You don't hear it so often when it is “My path.”

With Michael retiring from the Air Force in just a few months, we have had to make some quick decisions without a lot of information, and it is really just starting. Michael has been applying for jobs left and right. He wants to continue working for the government, so that means his applications have been all over the US. The problem with applying all over the US is that you are applying ALL over the US. Which means even more decisions.

Our first big decision came just before Christmas with a job offer in Alaska. Prior to this he has been too far out from actual retirement for a position to be held for him. Now we had to face the reality of moving about as far away from our family as physically possible and still be in the same country. On the plus side the pay was right, it would get his foot in the door for a government job, and we could leisurely explore a beautiful state. On the negative side, our families would be far away, and it would not be a quick car ride to get to them if we needed to, and our almost 18 year old son pretty much insisted he would not go to Alaska—whether that would hold true in actuality depended on his ability to...I don't know...get a JOB! Another big negative...We had only ½ of a day to make a decision. That is not a lot of time to decide to uproot your entire family and move several thousand miles away to an area that you are not at familiar with. After a brief time in prayer and a walk or two around the block we decided to turn down the position.

After that Michael only applied for jobs in areas we would actually be willing to move to. This brings us to the next few applications Las Vegas, Charleston, San Antonio and Columbus, MS. We were really hoping for Charleston or Columbus, preferably Columbus. It would be almost perfect, and when I reasoned it out in my head it made perfect sense. It was closer to my cousin's house. The housing was relatively inexpensive, same pay as the Alaska job, and it was a position that Michael would have some authority in. See? Just right. You know other than Moody or Vandenberg, but they don't have openings right now.

Enter: the week before last. Michael gets an email that the positions in San Antonio and Columbus have closed out and his application was forwarded to the hiring authority. On Wednesday Brendan goes to youth group, and they do a talk about Proverbs 3: 5-6. Okay, nothing unusual. No flags here. Then comes Thursday...starting to do homework for Beth Moore's Esther study that I am doing, before I start I start thinking about the 2 applications that have been forwarded. What if he was offered the job in San Antonio, but the job in Mississippi was still pending? How would we decide whether to take the job or not? We don't want to keep turn down work in this economy hoping for the “perfect job”.

So, I decided to pray that if the Mississippi job was the right job for our family that they would contact Michael first. Then “that the right job would contact us soon. Maybe even this morning.” I went on to pray that I would be open to where God wants us to be. This is not a prayer to be taken lightly, and I didn't. I knew going into it that I was opening myself up to a result that I did not necessarily want.

Not 10 minutes later Michael calls. It turns out that he asked his boss if he would call the person hiring in Mississippi to put in a word for him. His response? Sure I could do that, but last night I was called by the person hiring in South Dakota, and he wants to hire you. There is a bit of back story to this. Ever since Michael was stationed in South Dakota he has wanted to go back. While we were there people were talking about retiring. Now, 5 years later someone is retiring, and retiring right when Michael is looking for a job.

So, leaning on my understanding, Mississippi is perfect, but apparently God has other plans. More evidence? The Michael's application was forwarded to the Charleston job and the same day someone else was selected. That means they already had someone in mind when they put out the job announcement—not entirely uncommon, and...we have heard nothing from Mississippi or San Antonio, and to top it all off, the Las Vegas job was canceled all together. Oh, the job that was supposed to open up here in January? Rumor has it the position will not be filled.

Could I be reading the situation totally wrong? Of course, but at this point in time it appears that all roads lead to South Dakota. Hmmm...take that Rome.

Really, Louisiana??

I have always heard stories of cities shutting down because of bad weather. Bad weather being relative to the area. I've live in places where schools were shut down because of the threat of snow, and having just moved from South Dakota, I was not impressed.

Obviously, though, they had to take into account the areas ability to clear the roads, and, I hope, the bus drivers' and others' ability to drive in ice and snow, so while South Dakota would have scoffed, it was probably best for Virginia.

Louisiana, however, takes the cake! Today we are in a winter storm warning status. When we woke up this morning there was some sleet, and a little ice on the sidewalks. The road were wet. Brendan was scheduled for his first behind the wheel driving class at 8:00 am. At 7:30 the instructor called to see if we still wanted him to drive today. Since it wasn't too bad. The roads were not icy, and visibility was good we decided to let him go ahead and drive.

While Brendan was in his 2 hour driving class, Michael and I went to breakfast. The couple behind us was talking about how they went to church, but services were canceled due to weather. The waitresses were talking to regulars about staying home if you don't need to go out, and one person mentioned that interstate 220 was closed. No way! We had to have heard that wrong. Maybe there was an accident, and a lane was closed. Surely they had not closed an interstate when the only thing going on so far was sleet that had already changed to rain.

After eating breakfast we made a quick trip to Lowes to pick up some materials for a project I am working on, and then decided to run home for a few minutes before driving back to pick up Brendan. Near Lowes is the entrance to the 220. That is when we saw it. A sign, “Road Closed”. Really, road closed. We just about fell off of our seats. Good thing we had on our seat belts. This road is a 17 to 18 mile bypass around Shreveport. It is pretty much a straight shot—well, a giant curve shot that seems straight because the curve is so wide. It actually seems more dangerous to have that road closed since now you have more stops and traffic on wet roads to get from Haughton to Bossier to Shreveport.

After we picked up Brendan we went to the Dollar Tree to pick up some newspapers. They were supposed to be open, but the key holder wasn't there, yet. Why? Because 220 was closed, and she had to find a way through city streets to work. After we finally got in, the shelves where food goes were almost empty. Really empty.

I understand wanting to be prepared. I understand wanting to stay home in cold, bad weather, but really. It is not that bad. No need to panic people. Can I just say, I am sooo happy to not be working in grocery right now?!

At this rate, I am expecting a school closing announcement for tomorrow by dinner time tonight!

BTW: Brendan, did great. He was worn out after 2 straight hours of driving, and had no desire to drive home, but he felt good about it, and the instructor only gave us a couple things for him to work on between now and his next class.