A Place for Me

Ok, so that girl at work that I had blogged about before finally turned in her resignation last week and they paid her in lieu of working out her notice. They just wanted her gone.

The downside is that now I will be working even harder, if that was possible. Sunday I came in and worked 3.5 hrs then went to my grandmother's jewelry party. Monday I had to ride to work with my mother-in-law because my car got locked up in the remote parking lot all weekend (long story) and she had to be there at 7am. So I was at work at 6:45am Monday morning and worked until 6:15pm. I had to take a nap around 12:30 to recharge because I was losing concentration. It's been a rough week. By this weekend I will have about 13 hrs overtime.

Anyway, I'm kinda rambling here but alot has happened and I haven't been able to blog as much. But we are getting the internet at home today mainly because I will be starting this new jewelry business and I will need it for that. But Jonathan is so excited because he loves eBay and now he can bid to his heart's desire. Plus I may be able to blog from home now too if Rayna will allow it :) She likes to bang on the keyboard and has a fit if I won't let her.

I should be getting my jewelry this week and I can't wait. I am getting lots of great stuff. I scheduled my training show on the 22nd and have booked my first Home Show with my friend that just got married who lives on the beach for June 5th. I'll be making a weekend of that :)

Oh and speaking of weddings, I went to a wedding this past Saturday and it was alot of fun. I even had a glass of bubbly. Just one though. This wedding had to cost like over $20K. They had all this gourmet food and dancing and alcohol. It was fun, but Jonathan had to work and it was a 2 hour drive so I opted to go by myself and leave the baby with the inlaws. I left at 1:30 and didn't get back til 11pm!

A guy that Jonathan went to school with was there and the only time I had ever seen him, I was pregnant. So after he had had a few glasses of booze he says to me, "Did you lose a bunch of weight?" I said, "Well, yes I did, but the last time you saw me I was 5 months pregnant." He said, "Well you look great." Then later on after we had all danced and goofed off he said something about he bet I could get down and he could just see me in the club with a pair of hot pants on. I said that if Jonathan had came he wouldn't be dancing because he didn't really like dancing in public. He said, "Well, you need to call me, I'll go dancing with you."
A mess! :roll:

My new favorite snack is Orville Redenbacher's caramel corn cakes with Smucker's creamy natural peanut butter. I could eat this all day. Yum!

Another thing that is becoming a favorite, and is quite scary, is coffee. I have never been a coffee drinker but I had a cup the other day with some hazelnut creamer and it was really good.

Anyway, just thought I would share.... :)

It was such a long weekend and jammed packed full of activities. I am so tired today.

Anyway, last night I posted some more pics to the photoblog. Feel free to check them out and leave comments.

It is ten minutes until Rayna is officially one.

I remember the day she was born and little things come to mind, like how I always said I wanted to look good during labor so I at least wanted my hair fixed and my makeup on. When it came time, I just really didn't care. I had to wear an oxygen mask for most of the time. I didn't feel alot of pain and I really don't remember alot about it. I know my mawmaw and aunt drove an hour to come see me and they were hoping Rayna would be born by the time they had to leave but she wasn't. I remember the doctor coming in and checking me and saying that I wasn't progressing and I needed a C-section. It was 3:20 in the afternoon and Jonathan had gone to get a mocha. Someone had to go get him. I cried when my mom came in after she heard the news of the c-section. She told me to be brave that this was happening for a reason. I was so scared. They wheeled me into the OR and I was not myself. I had never been in a hosptial, been that drugged or delivered a baby. I didn't know how to act. I didn't know my life would change forever. I mean, I knew, but I really didn't know.

I remember Jonathan holding my hand and I could feel the pressure of them slicing my abdomen open. I couldn't see anything that was going on because they erected a huge blue sheet from my neck up. I felt them pull her out after what seemed like forever. I heard them saying how she was making a mess but I had no idea what was going on. Then the next thing I know, they wheeled her to me in a little incubator. They were taking her to NICU because she had fluid in her lungs. I was seeing my baby for the first time and I couldn't even hold her. They only let me touch her for a minute and she was gone.

I was wheeled to recovery and slowly got the feeling back into my lower body. I called work and shared the news. I still can't believe I had the mind to even call them. I had not had anything to eat that whole day and I was starving. They brought me ice to "eat".

It was a strange feeling to have given birth and the fruit of my labor was not there with me. I hated her being in NICU. They wouldn't let me breastfeed until she was almost 3 days old.

But here it is a year later and look how far the three of us have come. We are a family. She looks just like Jonathan but has a spitfire temper just like me. I can't wait to see her grow even more.

That always reminds me of that Friends episode :)

Last night I went by Sears on my way home from work to pick up Rayna's 11mth pics. Which, by the way, are way too goofy. I'll have to post it on my photoblog later this week. Anyway, I can't resist looking at clothes when I go into a store so I headed over to the Junior's department. I've been curious lately if I can fit into a size 7. I spotted a rack of the super lowrise Levi's and scanned thru til I saw a size 7. I held them up to my hips to see if I could tell that way whether or not they would fit. At this point I am a little scared to try them on because I don't want to be disappointed if they don't fit. I gathered my courage and made my way to the fitting room. I slipped them on and viola! they fit! I was so pumped!:D I haven't fit into a 7 since high school. Not only did they fit, but they looked really good on me and made me look like I have a butt! (One down side to too much cardio is I lost all my butt.)

Then last night when I picked up the baby my mother in law said, "Trina, I just noticed how thin you've gotten. You look good baby."

It's such a relief to be able to wear cute spring/summer clothes without worrying if my fat rolls are hanging over my waistband or wondering if my thighs are too big for shorts. I love the fact that I am healthier now.

I'm telling you, the BFFM program works.

First of all, I forgot to mention I played Bonko Thursday night. I was called in as a sub because one of the regulars couldn't play. It was so fun and I won the overall game and got a prize. Very cool :)

Ok, now to the party. It was great! On the way to the church to set up, I got pulled over for going 56 in a 35 :( Luckily I didn't get a ticket. I was so stressed out that my hands were shaking when I handed him my ID and insurance card. When he came back to the car, I was all tears. I was so thankful because that is considered reckless driving (i think). And for you people saying that all women cry to get out of a ticket, YES I did cry but not to get out of the ticket. I was stressed out and in a hurry and I got upset.

So anyway, my stepdad was in charge of cooking the hotdogs so he fired up the grill and opened up the hotdogs and said something about them being hard as a rock. Ok, this is how nuts I was Saturday. When I took the hotdogs out of the FREEZER it didn't dawn on me that they would be FROZEN and that they would need to thaw in order to cook on the grill. HELLO?! Why Jonathan put them in there to begin with is beyond me. We are both nuts, I guess. We managed to thaw them in the microwave and then grill them, but it took forever. We did get complements on how good they were though. Little did these people know that they were frozen when they arrived :D

We then had cake and ice cream and of course Rayna was sung to and had her own cake, which she made a mess with. She raked her fingers thru the icing over and over and shoveled it in her mouth as if I let her do that everyday. She was so nonchalant about the whole thing. It was cute. I got some pictures and hopefully will put them on the photoblog soon. My aunt also took some photos throughout the party because I was so busy with everything I didn't even have time to eat anything.

In the end it was a good party and we all had a good time. As exhausted as I was, when we got home and unloaded everything I still couldn't rest because my house was a disaster and it was driving me nuts so I got to work again and cleaned. We rounded up 9 (yes NINE) loads of laundry and amusingly, but not surprisingly, 6 of them were Jonathan's. One was mine, one was Rayna's and one were towels. He seriously has way too many clothes. It is a constant thing for him to have dirty laundry and it piles up in the kitchen (where our washer and dryer are), the bedroom and the bathroom. It drives my insane so I told him that we were going to take it to the laudromat and get it all done at the same time. He refused at first, but I have my ways of talking him into things so we went to the laundromat. :D

It's been about 6 years since I was at a laundromat and man, have they improved! They have these wahers now that will hold 4 loads of laundry! They cost $4.50 but hey, it gets it all done in one load. The dryers are super fast too. Most of the clothes and stuff dried in under 30 mins.

Conclusion: Party was great. I have a clean house (for the most part anyway, I wouldn't do the white glove challenge or nothing) and all the laundry is done. I feel much better :D

Til the big party. We went to Sam's Club last night to buy hotdogs, chips, buns, ice cream and condiments. I then had to make another trip to WalMart to buy cake mix, frosting, eggs, and drinks. We also bought her birthday present which is a little baby pool. She's gonna love it.

Last night after all the shopping, I put all the candy favor bags together while I watched the end of Extreme Makeover. Rayna kept trying to get ahold of the candy and I kept telling her no. Jonathan finally had to take her upstairs so I could get it done.

Friday night I have recruited my mom to help me bake the bakes/cupcakes. That should be fun. I got some pink spray stuff to decorate them with so we'll see how that goes. Could be messy.

Oh and I got a call from a friend today who says she has been exposed to TB so she can't come to the party. That's a shame. I hope we have a good turn out cuz I bought all kind of food and stuff.

I knew that last post would get some people riled up. I mean it's politics. I hate politics. I don't ever talk politics. I posted it merely because I am sick of people bashing our president. When I visit someones blog and they have different views than I, then I just don't go back. Do I leave comments telling them how wrong or misguided they are because their beliefs don't line up with mine? Am I the judge of who is right or wrong? The answer to both of those is no.

I think it's funny how conservative people get ridiculed for not being open minded even when we DON'T voice our opinion. But the liberals aren't open minded to our conservative views. Sounds a little hypocritical to me because basically their (the majority) stand is "If you don't agree with us then you are close minded."

I do admit I don't know much about politics or everything about history, but I know that I have to stand up for what I think is right even if I lose a few readers or friends. And I DON'T believe Bush is a bad president.

That is all I will say about that. I am not getting into a debate about whether or not there really are WMD or if war is murder. I just wanted to make my stand and if you don't agree, that's fine, just don't visit here again.

(A word of caution because I'm not positive these numbers are
precise)
If I read it correctly, there were 39 combat related killings in
Iraq during the month of January.....in the fair city of Detroit there
were 35 murders in the month of January.
That's one American city folks, about as deadly as the entire war
torn country of Iraq.
Worst president in history?
The following appeared in the Durham, NC local paper as a letter to
The editor:
Liberals claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war. They
complain about his prosecution of it. One liberal recently claimed
Bush was the worst president in U.S. history.
Let's clear up one point: We didn't start the war on terror. Try to
remember, it was started by terrorists BEFORE 9/11.
Let's look at the "worst" president and mismanagement claims.
FDR led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan did.
From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year.
Truman finished that war and started one in Korea, North Korea
Never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,333 per year.
John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never
attacked us. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year.
Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent, Bosnia
Never attacked us.
He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by
Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.
In the two years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has
Liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Lybia, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. We lost 600 soldiers, an average of 300 a year.
Bush did all this abroad while not allowing another terrorist
Attack at home.
Worst president in history? Come on!

The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking,
but...
It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51 day operation.
We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for
less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.
It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to
Destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Teddy Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.
It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in
Florida!!!!

I went to a meeting last night to learn more about becoming an Independent Distributor for Premier Designs. A friend of mine quit her full time job to sell their jewelry in order to stay at home with her two girls and she has done well. My mom thinks I would do well at this also so it's definitely worth a try.

It's a great company because it was founded on Christian principles and their purpose is to Honor God and Serve People, which I think is awesome. They are also a debt free company, something that is very rare in America.

I talked to Jonathan about everything and he is very supportive. He's almost as excited as I am about it and that is huge since he's very laid back.

Anyway, it's kinda exciting. I'll get to earn some extra money and maybe someday down the road, I'll get to be a stay at home mom too :)

Jonathan and I went to Party City last night to look for party favors. I didn't buy anything. Everything was so expensive so I think I am just gonna do favor bags with candy in them, so I need to go by Sweetreats today to pick that up. And I still have to go buy the hot dogs, buns, drinks and ice cream. Oh, and I think I am going to do cup cakes instead of cake for everyone but of course Rayna will have her own cake, so that is the one that can be decorated cute. I just think cup cakes would be much easier. I haven't decided though if I should bake them myself or if I should buy them.

I made a list of fun facts on Rayna that I am gonna have posted at her party by the guest sign in book and favor basket. Here it is:

Fun Facts About Rayna Danielle

Favorite things:
Nursing
Looking at picture books
Eating (no matter what it is)
Playing with Daddy’s cell phone
Playing with the TV remote
Saying “Hey!”
Playing “Ride the Horsey”
Her pacifier (she likes one in her mouth and one in her hand)
The theme song to M.A.S.H.

Least Favorite things:
Sleeping alone
Her car seat
Taking naps
Shoes and socks
Diaper changes

Favorite things to eat:
She’ll eat anything really, but mainly she loves Cheerios, fruits like bananas and oranges, and anything she sees someone else eating. She also has a strange desire to eat lemons and limes.

Non-food items that have been retrieved from Rayna’s mouth:
Paper wad, hair clip, cap from a soda bottle, ponytail holder, etc.

Number of years shaved off my life from fear of Rayna choking:
7

Favorite books:
Her Blue’s Clues book because it has sound effects. She also loves her mini prayer books from Southern Living at Home because they are small and she can flip the pages easily.

First crawled and sat up:
5 1/2 months

First Word:
Around 7 months, I believe, she said “Hey” followed closely by “daddy”. Now, to everyone and everything, she says “Hey daddy!”

First walked:
9 ˝ months

First tooth:
10 months. She now has two and is working on a third.

Latest discovery:
That her finger fits perfectly in her nostril

I can't believe my little girl is almost a year old!

Ok, I have a quick sec to update you all before I have to go into another meeting.

The trip was great, the wedding was great and the whole deal about the accomodations worked out better than any of us could have hoped for. The Pastor that married my friend and her fiance (now hubby) knows several people that have condos in the area and he hooked us up with a 3BR/3BA condo that was in a luxury resort. It was ridiculous how awesome this place was. Oh and the best part is that we only had to pay a $75 cleaning fee between all of us, so it was only like $10 a person for the whole weekend. This resort had a 30 hole putting green and a huge pool with an equally huge kiddie pool attached to it and a waterslide. It also had a heated indoor pool and about 15 hottubs. I mean this place was AWESOME.

We had all been praying for God to work it out for us because there was not much we could do about a place at the last minute during Spring Break. When God answers prayer, He does it big time. We were so blessed.

If you wanna see how awesome this place is, go to http://www.caribebeach.com/vi...

Welcome to my drama. I have to vent so bear with me.

A little history first. My friends, Jackie and Joy, are sisters. They know this lady they used to go to church with and her and her husband have a condo at the beach. Well, the wife (her name is Jennifer) said we could all stay there no charge while we are down for the wedding. So there were 8 adults and 2 children scheduled to go and stay until Sunday.

Well, yesterday we found out that Jennifer didn't tell her husband about us staying there (for free) and he got all pissed off when he found out. So now he won't let us stay and we have no backup plan. Jackie is in Honduras and won't be back until late tonight and we are supposed to leave tomorrow morning. She has no clue about all this because we can't get in touch with her. She is going to die when she finds out. But, 4 of the people now are thinking of not going at all and one has already cancelled completely. So everything is up in the air and I have no idea what tomorrow holds. I pray we find a place for cheap because we weren't prepared to have to pay for accomodations.

This REALLY SUCKS! :x