tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42162567446915224472024-03-13T08:28:32.749-07:00It's Our Life!!!Welcome to the life of the Cardozas.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-48837550310752679102014-08-06T15:10:00.000-07:002014-08-06T15:13:15.954-07:00It's a Brand New Business<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YsfIjuRhzgpoA5cCjvnTk8gTJiLYmYNNpY7dJXedUXRUtzuobEnw7WmhA_eZAjiq0e78HstDZr_hZyQqgwN_H0sVtN0PjePV2bs6j7rau0ak556IS9au5pZn7jZ70LrnZu5_MTPjn0M/s1600/Mike+ba2+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YsfIjuRhzgpoA5cCjvnTk8gTJiLYmYNNpY7dJXedUXRUtzuobEnw7WmhA_eZAjiq0e78HstDZr_hZyQqgwN_H0sVtN0PjePV2bs6j7rau0ak556IS9au5pZn7jZ70LrnZu5_MTPjn0M/s1600/Mike+ba2+side.jpg" height="185" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEGXHvwxfZPzncsYIdIViYH5RN9aslCRd0pg2Q58NnNPvQhdcCFg7GdtDyuYIzc7WQtZSpC3-NarpSGVBTvZRy55EWy9HHc_5LBY7hx3Pq1UJHKKBuTjRVLfabEBjv21o42dn2ctrOqs/s1600/body-wraps-45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEGXHvwxfZPzncsYIdIViYH5RN9aslCRd0pg2Q58NnNPvQhdcCFg7GdtDyuYIzc7WQtZSpC3-NarpSGVBTvZRy55EWy9HHc_5LBY7hx3Pq1UJHKKBuTjRVLfabEBjv21o42dn2ctrOqs/s1600/body-wraps-45.jpg" height="200" width="197" /></a>We have become It Works! Independent Distributors. We already love the products and are working on getting our customer base. If you haven't checked them out before, seriously consider it. Visit our website <a href="http://www.wewill-wewillwrapyou.com/">www.wewill-wewillwrapyou.com</a> to learn more. The guy in the picture on the right is my husband. Yes, I know he's already skinny but that doesn't mean it won't work to tone and tighten his core. You can use It Works! Body Enhancement Applicators (or wraps) anywhere on your body that you need them, and we even have facial applicators formulated just for the delicate facial tissue.<br />
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<u><b>The TOO GOOD Bonus</b></u><br />
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<br />RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-82650826834117294082014-05-02T19:23:00.003-07:002014-05-02T19:23:32.624-07:00A Lie is a Lie and Disrespect is DisrespectOne of the reasons that I so enjoyed moving into freelance journalism was because I put up with so much disrespect when I worked in the casinos in Las Vegas. When my husband and I moved to Illinois, my freelance work slowly declined and I've begun working outside of the home again. I try to keep my hand in by self-publishing ebooks on Amazon and Kobo, but most of my part of the income comes from working outside of the home at two different jobs.<br />
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The first job that I've had for over a year is working as a church secretary, which I highly enjoy. I get to put my desktop publishing skills to use as well as my journalism degree. I get and give respect to the people that employ me there. I love this job and wouldn't willingly give it up.<br />
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My second job is working at a local RV Park run by a casino. I give and get respect from everyone I work with there with the exception of one person. This person (L) bragged to me when she was training me that she pretty much does nothing at home to take care of her children or husband. At work, she gives respect only to one person, our director, and it's self-serving. I don't like L because I know she is a liar, is lazy, and will do or say
almost anything to get ahead because she thinks it's her due. I've also noticed that she's not above making herself or her life look pitiful/difficult to gain sympathy so people will overlook her obnoxious behavior. I've
worked with her kind before, she thinks because she wants something, she
can take whatever steps are necessary to achieve it, even if it means
accusing others of doing things they haven't done or lying about
co-workers to get ahead. She also thinks that because she had a cushy
job in the past, then she's entitled to one now. <br />
<br />
But I digress, the
reason I know L is a liar is because the second week I was there
training with her, she said that she and the director had noticed that
the trash hadn't been taken out in one of the 5 trash cans in the store
since the store opened two weeks before, and that there were a couple of
things they'd noticed hadn't been picked up and they were waiting to
see how long it would take someone to do it. Now, I know the first
comment about the emptying the trash cans was an outright lie because
when I was training with another female co-worker a couple nights
before, we both had emptied every trash can in the store and took it all
out to the dumpster. The second ticked me off because our director isn't the kind to not tell someone to clean something up that needed to be cleaned, and also because if our director knew L knew about it, the director would have asked her to pick it up. A few days later the other girl tells me that she
got written up for not taking out the trash, which I know she does.
The other thing I know is that L didn't have me do any cleaning the
nights I trained with her, though the second night I trained with her I
made sure I did it including taking out the trash.<br />
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Move forward about 2 weeks and I'm trying very hard to forgive and forget but I'm still very angry about what happened the other day when I worked. Most days I work 5 hours per evening (and only on days that I don't work at my job at the church), I come in and mostly do cleaning with a few check-ins here and there as well as a few sales at the convenience store that houses the RV Park check-in center. And that Thursday, like most days since I've finished training and work by myself, I was ready to close about a half hour before the store closed. I had my register counted down, I had all of my paperwork sorted to drop off, and I'd finished all of my cleaning duties. About fifteen minutes before I was due to close the store, my supervisor (M) and L came by to take care of an issue that I admittedly caused the first week I was working on my own, which is enough to make me nervous because I feel like I'm being checked up on. I understand they have to fix this issue and L said that I had to be there to do it. While they were waiting for the store to close, I pointed out that the co-worker that I'd relieved that afternoon had worked hard and did a really good job rearranging our candy/food shelf. L goes over there and looks at it then says, "She was here when <i>the director</i> said we were going to move all of this over to that rolling rack by this window. She just wasted her time doing this." While my co-worker may have wasted her time doing what she did, the least someone could say was, "Yes, she did do a good job and it looks great."<br />
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I ignored the comment because what can you say to someone who really doesn't want to give anyone their due. Well, M & L were not prepared to do the job they supposedly came to do because they didn't bring and couldn't recall the register check numbers they needed to fix it and spent a good 40-45 minutes searching on my register for it. Then, when I pointed out that I needed to close out my register drawer, L asks for my sign on card for the register so she can work on the other register. I hesitantly hand it over because my first rule on this kind of job is not to allow anyone to do anything that could possibly affect the count on my drawer.<br />
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She swipes my card and says, "You didn't reset this register last time you worked on it. You wouldn't have been able to just swipe your card and not have to login if you had." At this point, I realize two things: one, I know that I logged out of that register the last time I used it more than a week prior to that date and if I hadn't, our main auditor would have force logged me off, and two, she doesn't really have a clue what she's talking about because when she printed the register report to prove it to me, the total would have been much higher if I hadn't logged off and reset that register. I politely disagree with her saying, "I did log off that register the last time I used it, that's why I created this check list for myself so I don't forget. And if I hadn't logged off the total would have been much higher." She just looks at me with this disgusted smirk because I dared disagree with her and said, "We'll see if you balance when you count out your drawer." I was proven right by my count and by IT later that evening.<br />
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By that time (about 45 minutes after the store closed and about 30-35 minutes later than I would normally have been out of there), I had finished counting out my drawer and doing my drop bags (I have 2 separate ones to pay for the initial bank, and another with the money earned through store sales). Let's not get into the fact that I'm so on edge at this point by the blatant disrespect from L, and total lack of comment by my supervisor (M), that I can't concentrate and had to redo one of my bags 3 times. I wasn't about to start an argument or bring it up to M with L there because I don't want anyone to think that I'm not a team player even with someone so difficult to get along with (and I've heard nearly everyone who has worked with L complain about her). So, I figured up my totals based on another register report that I printed from the register I was logged on to, and I was proven right. I hadn't forgotten to log off the other register, what happened was because I was signed on to the other register, and the registers are technically computers, the computer recognized that I was logged on to a register, so when my card was scanned to log on to the second register, it pulled up everything that I had done on the register I had originally been using.<br />
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I told L, a bit triumphantly, "My bank balanced according to the register report, so I wasn't logged on to that register, too. I wouldn't have been able to balance if I was." She looks at me, shakes her head like I'm an idiot and says, "When I scanned your card, it wouldn't have let me log on to the register if you weren't already logged on." I wasn't going to sit there and argue with her about it but I was getting steamed mostly because I knew I was right and she was obviously wrong but managing to make me look like an idiot despite the fact.<br />
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Then, because we weren't already there going on an hour after the store closed (can you hear the sarcasm?), L decided that since she couldn't find the receipt numbers, she was going to show me and M how to void out the transactions and cancel out the check. She rang up a bag of ice, hit the button as if it was paid for in cash, then refunded and voided the ticket. L then told me I could go ahead and reset the register, but she printed yet another register report, from which I still balanced, and it clearly showed the voided transaction. I went to reset the register and it wouldn't let me close it out because it kept saying that I had an open check that needed to be closed. That check was L's bag of ice.<br />
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She kept trying to void it out and having me try to reset the register again, but it wasn't working. I tried to point out something and she throws up her hands and says, "Well, apparently you know what to do, so go ahead and do it." In the end we spent almost 20 minutes on the phone with IT, who had to connect to the registers remotely to fix the problem. The problem, which she caused not once but twice. She initially caused it by ringing up the bag of ice and processing it as a sale. Then, she complicated it because before she did the "test" sale, when she swiped my card on the second register, she logged me off when she gave up searching for the receipt number, and didn't realize when she did that, she logged me off both registers, so according to the register's computer I didn't have a bank to process the sale or the void. In the end, IT had to log me back on to the register, void out the sale, then put it in that $0 had been paid in cash for the voided sale to close out the check. I had suggested that previously, but L ignored the suggestion because I'm too new as to know what I'm talking about.<br />
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So finally, an hour and a half after I was supposed to close (and almost 2 hours over the amount of time I was supposed to be there), we got a ride back to the casino from security. Then L expected security to drop her and M off at the hotel before he took me to the employee entrance to do my drops at the cage cashier. The security officer who knows me better than her said, "Nope, we drop the person with the bank off first." So, I got dropped at the employee entrance and was about 5 minutes from clocking out. I was beyond angry at that point. I had to take the public transportation train for a half hour then was going to have to walk home in the dark because know-it-all L had to cause issues, but thankfully my mom came and picked me up instead. If I would have been able to walk home in daylight if I hadn't been that late getting home.<br />
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The bottom line is, even though I'm stubborn about being right about something, if I'm proven wrong, I will admit it. To me a lie is a lie, no matter what purpose it has been told. No, I'm not saying I haven't lied in the past and won't lie in the future, but I would never do it to harm someone else just so I could get ahead. I also believe that being disrespectful to someone because you want them to appear as inferior to you is wrong. I believe you earn respect but I give it to everyone until they've proven they don't deserve it. I believe it's disrespectful to bring that kind of behavior to work with you. I would never speak to one of my co-workers that way, no matter what they did to me, and I expect the same courtesy. RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-19651170903120453712014-04-12T20:36:00.001-07:002014-04-12T20:36:40.095-07:00Where Has the Time GoneI didn't realize it has been almost a year since I posted on here and seeing that my traffic has improved a bit, I figure that maybe I should give an update. I have updated my <a href="http://rainbowbabyquest.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rainbow Baby</a> blog more often but that one's a little more personal than this since it's about my continuing efforts to try to have a healthy baby.<br />
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I just began a second part time job, which I'm liking so far but I'm just finishing my first week and still have some training to do before I'm positive about my capabilities with it. Other than finally moving into our own place six months ago, there's not really anything new. It wasn't our choice to move out on our own because we didn't think we could afford it but we've managed so far, but it was either move or get rid of our furbaby and we just couldn't do that.<br />
<br />
We are currently battling mice in our apartment and our landlord seems to be happy to do nothing about it even though we've told him about it. It doesn't seem like there's a lot of them but we can't seem to pinpoint where they are coming from and they are avoiding our traps, we've managed to catch one in the four months we've had traps out, and had one die mysteriously in front of our refrigerator for no reason we could determine. Even though I've had bad luck with cats (one died when it fell out of a tree and broke its neck and another died from eating a poisonous mouse), we're seriously considering getting one.<br />
<br />
Oh, well, that's pretty much been our year.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-56369444322701699332013-07-25T20:11:00.001-07:002013-07-25T20:11:42.035-07:00AnnoyedI'm very annoyed with my BFF right now. I don't know if she reads my blog or not as she's never even hinted that she has and I don't freely advertise my posts on social networking. I really just need to vent about her.<br />
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I've been best friends with her since 1st grade. She and her husband got married 2 1/2 years before Mike and I did. She'd just had her oldest, a little girl that's now 7, when Mike and I got married, and a little over 2 years later she had her son, who's 5 now. I think her kids are absolutely adorable.<br />
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"What's the problem?" you ask. The problem is that ever since we moved back to my hometown, I'm her go-to babysitter. She has a lot of friends and family but I'm always the one she calls and if I tell her I can't do it, she will try to rearrange what she and her hubby are doing so that I can. I admit, I have a hard time telling her no and I don't like making up excuses why I can't because I don't like lying. One of the main reasons I hate babysitting for her is because she's always so wishy-washy on times. I mean she will literally change the time she needs me there five or six times the day I'm supposed to babysit.<br />
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"Why is that a problem?" you ask. Well, it's a problem because it's the only time she calls/texts me. For awhile, she and I would go out to bars to see a local band we like but she's started doing that with other friends because I'm just not a big fan of going to bars/clubs. Literally, other than babysitting her kids, the only time we've done anything together in a year where it was just me and her was a going to see a movie.<br />
<br />
This also annoys me because whenever she and I (or she and her other friends) would go out, her husband would stay home with the kids because he's like me and doesn't care much for the bar scene. What annoys me is whenever his best friend comes in from out of town and they want to go do something together, my best friend has to go with them, so they need a babysitter. I'm sorry but if he can stay with the kids while she goes out with her friends, why can't she stay with the kids when he does? After all, she does get to see his best friend when they go do things with him as a family.<br />
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What's really annoying me this time is the fact that she and her family have been on vacation with another couple this last week. Literally, an hour after they get home she's bugging me to babysit the kids for her because she and her hubby "need a movie night". She's not even giving me a day's notice on it either. I wouldn't mind but in my point of view, her family's been on vacation with another family for a week and sharing a condo. The movie they're wanting to go see has been out for a week, so they could have left the kids with this other couple while at their vacation destination and seen it, but no, that's not how it works.<br />
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I really do feel like we're not really friends anymore. I'm just convenient. I felt the same way with friends we had in Vegas after I lost my job at the Flamingo. I love all of my friends dearly and they've all been there for me when I really need it but I don't like feeling like a convenient friend or fair-weather friend.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-74197412054878815612013-02-23T23:52:00.001-08:002013-02-23T23:52:37.766-08:00It's Been 6 Months...Can You TellIt's been 6 months since I was diagnosed with hypothyroid. I decided that I was going to do a before and after pic to see if there's a difference in my appearance. I can tell a difference but I wasn't sure how big of a difference it would make since I'm only on 25mcg of levothyroxine. So, here's the before and after pic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtz-Sd00JSFoMlSg0oHbZ3fLSpkuNvaKcUTmXUUOzsQX5aHPe16BEzUATYjFhwoT9EMJ_a0ad9uuyzUs4UUruuiuQY4TwXvuFBuUuf-hdJb1GehoPtpW6ciuzyQCeP9-qQ2EdDoLNNngY/s1600/6+months+b4+n+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtz-Sd00JSFoMlSg0oHbZ3fLSpkuNvaKcUTmXUUOzsQX5aHPe16BEzUATYjFhwoT9EMJ_a0ad9uuyzUs4UUruuiuQY4TwXvuFBuUuf-hdJb1GehoPtpW6ciuzyQCeP9-qQ2EdDoLNNngY/s1600/6+months+b4+n+after.jpg" /></a></div>
What I can see is a big difference in my cheeks. My face isn't as round and my chin isn't quite as full. I'm so thankful for my diagnosis. I do think between the hypothyroid diagnosis and being put on metformin a month ago, I'll be overcoming the obstacles this has thrown my way.<br /><br />RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-45145066641629700272013-02-17T13:57:00.002-08:002013-02-17T13:57:41.161-08:00It's On...It is official, we are going on a trip to Las Vegas to visit Mike's family at the beginning of April. We are both so excited that we couldn't sleep for two nights after we booked the trip.<br />
<br />
Not really anything else to report.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-1881885821190146642012-10-29T19:45:00.001-07:002012-10-29T19:45:24.232-07:00Our Stressful LifeMike and I have a lot of things to stress out over right now, my health being at the top of the list along with trying to find a way to get to Vegas to visit his family because he hasn't seen them in almost 2 years.<br />
<br />
When we moved here about a year and a half ago, Mike had just lost his
job and I was working from home as a freelance journalist mostly part
time but steadily enough. It took Mike over a year to find a job. My freelance work ended last year in November but I had
started my own AVON business in June that I hoped to build up enough to
make a decent living from and I started working as a domestic aide in January.<br />
<br />
My AVON hasn't been successful mostly because
I'm a horrible salesperson and I don't like to force people to buy from
me. I really am considering just closing up shop with it and moving on to something else when I can afford to. I quit my domestic aide job in August because the family didn't really need me and called me off work more than they had me come in.<br />
<br />
Now, Mike has a great full time job that he loves and I've been searching for work for months. It has been a
difficult road for me. Because I have worked from home for so long, most
possible employers won't consider my application, and don't consider it
real work unless you have a successful company and are looking for
something on the side. <br />
<br />
I'll be honest, I hate living
with my parents, especially my mother. She's a constant pain in the
butt, and even more so now because she lost her job of 30+ years in
August, so I have to see her all the time. I love her but hate living with her. I can deal with living with
my dad but my mom just doesn't know when
to leave me alone. I can be in our room working on the computer,
and she will be talking to me through the closed door because if I'm not
paying her attention, she's going to make me pay attention to her.<br />
<br />
We really need to have two full time incomes so we can finally get back on our
feet. We both always talk about getting our own place and what we are
going to do differently than we did before. We talk about trying to buy a house again (or daydream about buying land and building a house) but there are so many things we need to do first, like de-stress our lives. We're working on it but it's one step at a time.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-26018447883115582312012-08-20T22:57:00.001-07:002012-08-20T22:57:38.354-07:00UpdateI almost hate to put "Update" as my title to this post because even though it's been 6-7 months since I posted not much is new.<br />
<br />
We are finally in an upswing but I also just quit my nanny/housekeeper job because I was being called off work more than I was working and the job was 38 miles round trip, so what I was earning each week didn't even pay for my gas to get there.<br />
<br />
Mike has finally started working, actually he started working in July. I'm looking to go to school to become a radiology/ultrasound tech. We are hoping that I can afford to go to school now and possibly that we'll get pg while I'm doing it so that we won't have to worry about me taking time off of work to have a baby, or should I say having to quit a job because I'll need maternity leave and won't be in a job long enough to get it.<br />
<br />
As far as that goes, I'm going to a chiropractor who has given me some great ideas and promised to help me get my thyroid revved up again. She took one look at my BBTs and said, "You definitely have thyroid issues." I'm glad someone is finally taking my concerns on that seriously.<br />
<br />
I am currently looking for a job but am not holding out much hope in the current economy. I'd like to find some more online work to do but the sites that offer that type of work are so bogged down by applications, you really have to stand out to get anywhere with them.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-30197477687465590112012-01-09T20:18:00.000-08:002012-01-09T20:18:55.553-08:00Ups and DownsWell, it's been a season of ups and downs for us. Mike got a job at Belleville Shoe Company in November only to get laid off today, so we are looking for jobs for him again. What sucks is that he wasn't there long enough to get any unemployment.<br />
<br />
We had a great Christmas with my family though it was a little disappointing because we weren't able to buy presents for each other at all. We were waiting until his first paycheck this year but it looks like it could be awhile.<br />
<br />
We promised each other that this is the year that we are going to make things happen for ourselves. We aren't going to sit here and let opportunities and such go by again. There are things we want out of life and it's becoming more and more obvious that we aren't going to get it if we depend on an employer paying us.<br />
<br />
My <a href="http://www.youravon.com/rcardoza" target="_blank">AVON</a> sales aren't going the greatest, but it's gas money every 2 weeks at least.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-26206944321360231182011-07-24T16:33:00.000-07:002011-07-24T16:33:10.303-07:001 Week Without Refined SugarSo it's been exactly a week since I've knowingly had anything with refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I don't really miss it and I don't have any cravings for it either.<br />
<br />
I've decided that I really want to clean up what I'm eating as far as additives and chemicals. I want to go to eating very clean, which in my definition means that I cut out HFCS and any foods that have things on the ingredients label other than what can naturally be grown.<br />
<br />
For example, I opened a jar of cinnamon applesauce the other day and after I'd already eaten part of a serving, I notice the label said it contained apples, cinnamon, and HFCS. I was looking at it thinking why is the HFCS necessary? Apples are sweet enough as they are.<br />
<br />
There are a lot of foods out there that you would would just look at and think there aren't any additives to them, but if you read the label they're there. I'm also determined to cut out meats and dairy products that are given excess hormones. So, I'm going to start reading labels and making sure everything is as natural and with no additives/chemicals as possible.<br />
<br />
I don't think I've actually lost any weight, but I don't really mind because I know that I'm already healthier than I was a week ago. We also started doing my bellydancing DVD, The Goddess Workout (beginner) with Dolphina. It's 45 minutes and is really a great workout. I remember now why I used to love doing it.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-78028851397929859662011-07-21T21:43:00.000-07:002011-07-21T21:43:07.803-07:00Getting HealthyMy mom and I have come up with a plan for us to get healthy gradually instead of making a lot of changes at once and increasing our odds of cheating. We are going to make gradual changes over the next year and implement a new change every 3 months.<br />
<br />
The first three month's change is multi-part because we have to get used to doing all of these things. We are cutting out all junk food and refined sugars from our diet. We are also going to start weighing and measuring our food so we can eat proper portions. Not really me, but my parents and Mike are big on buying junk food, and the only way we are all going to get healthy is if we eliminate the junk food. I implemented this change on Sunday, July 17th. I believe if I cut out all of the junk food and refined sugar I may be able to get my estrogen dominance/insulin resistance under control.<br />
<br />
The second three month's change is eliminating white/refined bread products from our diet and sticking with whole grains. I don't really eat a lot of bread and what I do is usually whole wheat/whole grain. Often we don't think about the fact that most pasta is made from white flour and when we go out to eat we eat the white bread/buns and don't even think about it.<br />
<br />
The third three month's change is to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. By this time, we should be eating plenty of fruits and veggies anyway but we should have made the first 2 changes habits but may not always get 5 servings of fruits and veggies in per day.<br />
<br />
The final three month's change is to focus on getting in at least an hour of exercise 5 days a week. Hopefully by this point we would have integrated exercise into our lifestyle change but if not, we are really focusing on it in this phase.<br />
<br />
By doing these phases to focus on getting healthy instead of losing weight then it won't be a constant thought in our head. It would be nice if we do lose weight while doing this but right now I just want to eliminate the foods that are causing my hormonal issues, which are mainly the high sugar foods.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-25318457664073939332011-07-14T21:44:00.000-07:002011-07-14T21:44:45.850-07:00DisappointedOk, I have to admit I'm more than a little disappointed in my friends and family when it comes to my AVON sales. I hate depending on friends and family to order from me and I know times are tough (and I don't really expect people to order from me every time a new catalog comes out) but this is just pathetic.<br />
<br />
Yes, there are some friends that I know simply can't afford to order from me and I'm not disappointed in them, but it's the rest of them that I know can afford to order (and order things online similar to what I'm selling). Heck, my mom and SIL order from me and they have little to no money to spare but they are doing it more to support me than to keep my business going.<br />
<br />
I think the reason I'm really disappointed is because I am donating $1 for every online sale I get from my facebook AVON Naturals Feeding America event and I've only had 1 sale. This charity is very important not only to food banks in this area but to food banks all over the country. There are people out there just like me and Mike who have lost everything and depend on those food banks for every meal. The only reason we aren't in that position is because of family. The reason this is a big deal is because $1 equals 7 meals. I guess it's easier to ignore the problem when it doesn't affect you personally.<br />
<br />
Yes, I will admit I want the sales, but I want to make the donations too. I don't wish bad upon anyone but I do wish that every one of those people that can afford to buy from me but have decided not to buy anything because they don't want to feel obligated to make future purchases from me could experience for a day or two what it's like to wonder where their next meal is coming from. Mike and I have been there more than I'd like to admit. We had months when we first got our own place where we weren't sure how we were going to pay our rent, buy groceries, or even get gas and we couldn't imagine how we could pay for all three at once.<br />
<br />
Those are the times that I am most thankful to God because I know He was watching over us. We went to church 20 miles across town every week (in Vegas) and even though we didn't really have the money we'd donate a few dollars or whatever change we had. Every time that happened and we didn't know what we were going to do, somehow God provided the money we needed. There are people who aren't as fortunate as we are and I think it's time to give back even though we don't know if we can afford the few bills we still <i>have</i> to pay. Mike and I can't afford to donate much but I am still donating this money and I make very little with AVON even with these sales. I think that's the reason I am disappointed the most because we are willing to give back even though we can't afford it, and there are people out there that can afford to spend $10 to donate $1 but won't do it.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-78206658604163326022011-07-06T13:58:00.000-07:002011-07-06T13:58:39.920-07:004th of JulyWe had a great time on the 4th. It was very different for Mike because in Vegas there aren't many places that do actual firework shows. We would usually go to his parent's house and do our own fireworks after BBQ if they didn't have to work that day because they usually cook all day the day of the holiday (no matter the holiday). There weren't many kids around other than our 2 year old niece Kristin.<br />
<br />
We went to my brother, Josh, and SIL, Yvonne's house for BBQ along with my mom (dad had to work), grandma, uncle Lloyd, Yvonne's sister Bobbie, her husband, Yvonne's dad, Yvonne's cousin, Malissa, and her husband Rob, Malissa's dad, Malissa's brother, Dallas, his wife Jen, and their baby Ranson plus my nephews Ash & Jax, Bobbie's kids Ginny and Aiden, and Malissa's kids Tyler and Logen. It was a crazy day.<br />
<br />
Mike and I bought Ash and Jax a little inflatable seal that has a built in sprinkler, so all of the kids were running through that, screaming, and in general having a blast. That's when it hit me just how left out Mike and I were with our angelbabies. It was sitting there watching them and trying to imagine what it would be like if our 4 year old and almost 3 year old were out there with those kids, that did it. We were the only people there at this age who don't have kids and it makes you feel almost invisible at times, or like you're trying too hard to be part of that.<br />
<br />
I love being here and getting to do the things that Mike and I never got to do together before or that are done differently here, but it is also a big reminder of just how left out we both feel because we don't have living children yet. I also feel like everyone is watching us and waiting until it happens, I mean it was kinda that way in Vegas, but we weren't around Mike's family as much, so the pressure about it wasn't there like here.<br />
<br />
Overall it was a great holiday, but now I'm beginning to feel like Mike and I are living in a fish bowl with this.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-75826044985362789602011-06-28T12:58:00.000-07:002011-06-28T12:58:56.482-07:00Starting Over....AgainWell, this last week has been a roller coaster of events. We waited almost a month for Mike to start his new job then he got let go on Friday. Both of us were kinda relieved because the job really sucked. He would go in at different times each day, sometimes less than 8 hours after he'd be getting back home, and would never know when he was getting off work. Some days he worked more than 13 hours. Then he got written up because he wasn't working fast enough for the other guys and because on his break he used an internet station at one of the hospitals he was working at, which apparently was a no-no (don't really understand that one if he paid for the internet usage and was on break).<br />
<br />
Of course, I realize that Mike isn't the perfect employee because no one is perfect but I guess he didn't realize that the guys he was working with were in such a big hurry to get in and get the job done because he's used to working at the casinos where he had to make the work last his entire shift. He also didn't realize that the guys he worked with weren't there to make friends, so he couldn't get away with goofing off as much. But I'm done with talking about it...Missouri is another state that isn't a <i>Right to Work</i> state so reasons don't matter.<br />
<br />
I haven't been getting much work lately, I've actually made less than $200 this month which is an all time low for this year. This precipitated a decision on our part for me to become an AVON rep. I've been thinking about it off and on for awhile but always was a bit scared of doing it because I'm not the best salesperson in the world. So I started 2 days ago and am more than a bit disappointed in my family and friends because I have repeatedly posted on Facebook links to my <a href="http://www.youravon.com/rcardoza">AVON </a>site and no one has even looked at it.<br />
<br />
I still have high hopes for once I get the brochures I ordered but who knows at this point. It's not like we can afford the money we are putting out to do this especially since there's a chance Mike might not be able to claim unemployment now but I had hoped at least a few people would order so that we'd break even or even make a few extra dollars a month.<br />
<br />
We are also going to put off TTC for a few months. We don't have any insurance right now and without Mike working or getting an unemployment check there's no way we can afford to get pg. We are hoping Mike can get a job as a fence installer because it pays almost what we were both making when we were working at the casinos, has 401k and health/life insurance. It may be a long shot and he may hate it but it's a good job and doesn't require any experience. I really think this may be his chance to get into a new line of work. He only has experience in one type of work and needs to broaden his range of abilities.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-55624872451864757722011-05-29T09:29:00.000-07:002011-05-29T09:29:59.874-07:00Atkins - Week 2Week 2 wasn't as good as week 1 on Atkins. I actually had 2 days where I cheated, and it wasn't light cheating, it was more of a I was hungry and we didn't have the money to go to the store, so I ate the high carb that was on hand. I am proud to say that the next day I jumped right back on the 20 net carb bandwagon and stayed on since.<br />
<br />
I do love the challenge of this program and trying to figure out how I can eat as much as possible and stick to the 20 net carbs per day. I am just going to have to learn that I can't just eat a big salad per day and that be it on the veggies. I did start incorporating pumpkin into my foods (4 net carbs = 1/2 cup) as well as ground flax seeds (0 net carbs because all the carbs are fiber).<br />
<br />
I was a little upset that I only lost 2 pounds this week taking my total up to 9.4lbs in 2 weeks, but I also lost 9 1/2 inches, so that along with those 9.4 pounds lost reminds me that this is worth doing. I have noticed that on the days that I'm on program and haven't cheated that I don't feel hungry and have no desire to cheat. I realize that after two weeks of looking back at this journey that I have to make sure that there is enough fresh/frozen veggies in the house for me each day or I will fail.<br />
<br />
Another thing I worry about with this is that I'm not getting enough calories in per day if I eat a few higher carb things because no matter how low carb you eat, your body does need so many calories each day to function. But that's part of the challenge that I like with this way of eating.<br />
<br />
I have started doing a low carb protein shake made with unsweetened almond milk for breakfast, some days with pumpkin to get a veggie in for breakfast. I also have started doing something that I remembered doing for the South Beach Diet. In the SBD they recommend eating ricotta cheese with cinnamon, lemon, or lime and splenda. So, what I started doing as a dessert is 1/4 cup ricotta whole milk cheese with a tsp of sugar free jello mix or 1/4 cup pumpkin with pumpkin pie spice and splenda. It is just like flavored cheesecake and with the SF jello it's 3 net carbs, with the pumpkin it's 5 net carbs.<br />
<br />
I'm ready for a week of no cheating and more consistent exercise.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-5048536198944113122011-05-22T21:04:00.000-07:002011-05-22T21:04:49.049-07:00Week 1 DownAfter hearing seeing a commercial about a free start-up kit and about the success of a friend on the Atkins program, I decided to check out the website. I've heard over the last few years that it's a similar weight loss program to what doctors recommend for women with PCOS to lose weight, and after a lot of research my views on Atkins changed. When the low-carb craze began to really take hold again about 8 years ago, I was skeptical because I only knew what bad things I'd heard about it.<br />
<br />
I'd heard that you only eat fat-laden meats, tons of cheese, lots of protein, and little to no carbs. Boy, was I misinformed. I realize now after researching the diet that it's the exact same thing as what most popular diet programs try to do, they want to cut out the refined sugar. If you actually find out what the program is all about without just jumping in and only eating meat and cheese, then you'll know that the majority of the 20 net carbs they want you to eat during induction are supposed to be veggies. Yes, you can load up on all the meat and cheese you want because they have very few carbs, but the focus of the plan is really on getting people to eat 12-15 net carbs per day of veggies, which means eating healthy.<br />
<br />
I admit, that after years of eating lean protein, I am still trying to get my brain around being able to eat full fat cheese and other dairy products as well as fatty cuts of meat. I am proud to say that I haven't cheated on the plan and had anything with tons of refined sugar. I am definitely a sugarholic but I've fought the cravings for a week and am still going strong. I am also proud to say that in 7 days I've lost 8.6lbs and am very happy with those results. It's also been difficult with Mike and my mom because they are constantly trying to get me to eat candy or something because they "forget" that I'm on 20 net carbs per day.<br />
<br />
I also have realized just how much I hate veggies since I started Atkins. There are core veggies that I like (which of course seem to be the highest in net carbs) and others that I can tolerate but just not eat on a regular basis, and some that make me gag even thinking about eating. I've never liked veggies. I am trying to plan better and find more ways to diversify my palate when it comes to veggies. I am determined to get more veggies into my diet because I have noticed the last few days when I wasn't eating hardly any veggies that my weight loss slowed. I understand why but still can't quite make myself eat one more salad.<br />
<br />
On the exercise front, Mike and I have been walking at least 3-4 days a week. It's not as much as I'd like but there are days where we just don't seem to have the time or the weather just doesn't allow it. Usually when the weather keeps us in, I try to do a workout video but it doesn't always happen because there are days that I am just not motivated to do it. I know logically the more exercise I can get in each day, the faster the weight will drop off.<br />
<br />
I have also experienced a side effect that I wasn't aware of...because of the drastic change in my carb intake, it kind of shocked my thyroid/hormones into a reaction. At first I was a bit concerned because it moved my cycle up by a week, but after some online research I found that this is quite common during induction on Atkins. Now, I don't exactly enjoy this side effect coming up a week early, but I'm looking at it as a positive sign.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-14719714508152633102011-04-29T13:33:00.000-07:002011-04-29T13:33:39.859-07:00We Have Arrived!!!I know I'm a week late in posting this but I just now got a wifi router so I could use internet on my laptop. We left earlier than expected on April 21st, partly because neither of us could sleep and partly because we only had 2 hours between when we finished loading the car and when we were supposed to be up and ready to go. We'd planned to leave at 4am but instead left my sister & BIL's apartment at 2am and left the gas station after topping off our tank at 2:30am.<br />
<br />
We had a short stop in Boulder City because Mike forgot he's an adult (he knows I'm kidding) and didn't go to the bathroom before we left. Our first gas stop of the day was a little before Kingman, AZ and it was a freezing cold, windy welcome. We had to dig out sweatshirts because we didn't even consider that the weather might be like 55 degrees there. We stopped about 3 more times for gas and to take our furbaby Ruby out to stretch her legs.<br />
<br />
We got to Amarillo, TX a little later than we expected at almost 7:30pm. We checked into the motel, showered, then got something to eat and were in bed by 9:30pm central time. We woke up at about 1:15am and decided rather than waiting for the complimentary breakfast at 6am that we'd just head out again. It was cool and sprinkling rain but by the time we got gas and got out of Amarillo it had stopped. Then, when we hit the Oklahoma border we hit about 100 miles of dense fog.<br />
<br />
Mike decided to drive most of the way that day though we got to Vinidy, OK and he needed a break because he was tired, so I took over for about an hour before we hit Missouri and then I could barely keep my eyes open. We decided to stop for lunch hoping it would wake us up, and it did. Mike finished driving the rest of the way and we arrived in Smithton at my brother's house just in time for the tornado warnings. Poor Ruby didn't know what to think because she got chained up in the yard first then put in my brother's utility room while we went to the storm shelter where we stayed for about 2 hours.<br />
<br />
I do have to say that Ruby did much better than we expected. Normally, when we took her in the car before she whined the entire time but she just sat there staring out the window at the scenery and didn't whine unless she had to go to the bathroom.<br />
<br />
We are relieved to be here and that the move is finally over. Now the job hunt for Mike begins and he already has a phone interview set up for the 3rd of May with SMS Children's Hospital. Hopefully, he'll get a few more set up once we update the address on his applications with a few places.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-70694801553756251112011-04-12T01:57:00.000-07:002011-04-12T01:57:58.112-07:00A Week and a Half To Go!!!First, I have to vent a little. I understand why family doesn't want us to go and that they aren't going to be shy about letting us know their feelings on it. I think Mike's mom was trying to manipulate us into staying by <i>FINALLY</i> giving us a little bit of information on his real dad's family when we went for a visit two weeks ago. Mike hadn't seen his real dad since he was 3 years old though he talked to him twice since then (he's almost 28 now).<br />
<br />
I think she was hoping that if we found his dad's family, we wouldn't leave since we'd just met them and had so much time to catch up on with them. I hate to point out the obvious, but family is family whether they are near or far. Family is supposed to want their loved ones to be happy even if that means they aren't in the same city. I will say this plainly: Mike and I are not happy in Las Vegas and have not been happy living here for a very long time. Why should we live somewhere we are miserable just to make our family happy?<br />
<br />
Second, though Mike wasn't sure about it, I contacted his cousin, Mari, and we arranged to surprise that side of the family at her daughter's birthday party. Mike knew he had a half-sister, Christina, but also discovered he has another sister, Judy, while we were there. There was some disappointment though because Mike was kind of hoping he'd get to get in contact with his dad, and his cousin and one of his many aunts told us his dad had died from a heart attack in July last year. It was a little overwhelming to say the least because they are all fluent in English and Spanish and expected him to be, too, but he only speaks English. That and the fact that there were about 50 family members there, and we still can't remember all their names.<br />
<br />
I told his sister at the party that I was happy he finally got to know that side because I know he really wanted to find them but he's the kind that unless the information is volunteered by his mom, he's not going to risk possibly making her angry by asking. The other thing was that he seemed so much a part of them while his other dad's family obviously loves him but he always seems separate from them whenever they get together.<br />
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Third and last, we are getting our room organized and ready to move. I haven't been working as much as I should, but we've been saving everything I earn for our move for extra spending money. We are going to be so busy getting ready to move, looking for a job for Mike, and me working to be sure we have enough money to make the move over the next week I don't know when we are going to sleep. Plus, we have plans with his aunt and cousins as well as his Rideout sisters this Saturday...it's beginning to become so real.<br />
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Don't know when I'm going to have a chance to update this again, so keep us in your prayers that we have a safe trip across the country. We are hoping that this move will provide us with new opportunities that we aren't able to get in Vegas. We are hoping that this move will also help us get back on our feet and maybe give us a jump on starting our family.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-64779679772624654272011-03-20T22:32:00.000-07:002011-03-20T22:32:01.936-07:00One Month to GoThis week hasn't been the best but not the worst either. Nothing really happened, it's just been more or less boring. I guess I'm anxious to get this move and everything behind us.<br />
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We did hear from the hospital again in Omaha, so Mike is going to call tomorrow and hopefully get some answers. I told him that if they called after 2 weeks (since the first call), they probably really are interested in him. He has me worried a bit because he seems so despondent about the possibility of moving to Omaha. He knows that we have to go where he's going to have a job, but he just doesn't like the idea of Omaha at all. He's hoping that we are moving back to my hometown instead because he knows there are things that he wants to do there, and we have no clue what would be awaiting us in Omaha.<br />
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Neither of us are really excited about Omaha, but I'm looking at it as, if it's where we are meant to be then that's where it will be. I'm not exactly excited about moving home, either, mostly because I don't feel like that's home anymore and feel like somewhere else between here and there is going to be the home we've been looking for.<br />
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I did have a strange dream the other day. I dreamed that we were moving into my great grandma's old house. A cousin bought the house shortly before my great grandma died but it's been sold, and I haven't been to her house for years. I was looking at houses on Craigslist the next day and one of the houses I looked at was almost the mirror image of her house except it didn't have a garage. Kinda creepy and maybe prophetic.<br />
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On the weight loss front, this week was a bust...I have the feeling it's because I've been off the NPC for 2 weeks. While I was using it for 21 days each cycle, I was having consistent weight loss, and now that I changed it to the last 14 days of the cycle, I start gaining again. I'm sure there are other factors involved but we'll see next weigh in.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-9074942321748926072011-03-10T19:26:00.000-08:002011-03-10T19:30:55.811-08:00Official Moving DateIt's official, we are moving on April 20th, the Thursday before Easter. We talked to Mike's parents this afternoon and told them we were moving. They took it a lot better than we were expecting. So, it is officially a countdown to our move.<br />
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I know that day is going to be hard for Mike because he's only ever been away from his family once and that was for JobCorps up in Reno. I think once we are officially on our way, he's going to be even more excited than he is now.<br />
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On the plus side...I weighed in 2 days earlier than usual and have lost 2 pounds this week. I think the combo of progesterone cream and acknowledging and meditating my stress away is really what's doing it.<br />
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Now, we have to get a bigger storage unit, move almost all of our stuff into it and it's going to stay here for a year until we come back next year to visit his family with my parents and then we are going to get a uhaul truck and drive it back to wherever we are living then.<br />
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We also have been talking about what we are going to do for Mike's work. We are thinking about starting a green home deep-cleaning business for him. There are some maid services and some carpet/floor cleaning businesses but not any that combine the two in the area. I know enough people there that we can probably get some business just through word of mouth and with the 2 of us doing it. We would both probably have to work for the business until we find out where it's going or if it's going anywhere, but that's doable. We just would have to come up with the money for the business licenses and equipment.<br />
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At least with our own business, if it's even moderately successful, then we don't have to worry about Mike having work and I can still do my freelancing there, so we'll have money coming in.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-27704609898975099422011-03-05T08:25:00.000-08:002011-03-05T08:25:57.133-08:00Weekly Update 3/5/11Okay, a few things happened this week that are very promising. We bought a car, a 1995 volvo 960. It's used but for the price and quality, we couldn't turn it down because even the purchase price and minor things that have to be fixed before we can license it aren't going to cost more than the $2000 we budgeted for buying a car.<br />
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The second thing is that my fertility shutdown is going very well, but because of our financial situation, I am only going to do it for 2 cycles instead of 3. So, beginning the next cycle, I'm only going to be doing the progesterone cream from CD14-CD27. I have noticed a lot of positive changes with it, one of those being that I am recognizing when I am stressed and am taking time to meditate the stress away instead of bottling it inside. <br />
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The last is that, despite not really following any eating program and only eating when I'm hungry, I've managed to lose weight the last two weeks. I attribute this partly to the progesterone cream because it's fighting the estrogen dominance which makes the weight creep up or just stubbornly stay on. Progesterone also helps women lose weight, that's why a lot of plus size women lose weight when they get pg if they were estrogen dominant before pg.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-46634034920155940382011-03-01T16:35:00.000-08:002011-03-01T16:45:26.860-08:00A Brand New LifeI know I've been going on and on about how much we want to move out of Vegas and how we can't wait to do it. We both have an idealized outlook on how we want our lives to be and it's just not possible in Vegas. The problem is, we aren't too sure that it's possible in Illinois where my family is either.<br />
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What we really want is to have a place that is ours. Not necessarily that we don't have a support system there but that they aren't as demanding of our time and as critical of our choices. We want to be able to make our decisions and not have someone there telling us we're making a mistake before we have a chance to really make a decision. Sounding boards are fine but trying to make yourself so important in the decision making process that we can't make a decision without having to hear unnecessary opinions is <i><b>far</b></i> from what we need.<br />
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Basically, what it comes down to is both Mike and I dislike being dictated to, being told what we can and can't do, what we can and can't spend our money on, and always being asked where we are going when we go somewhere. We are adults, not teenagers. We are married, not sneaking around. We have made our own financial and life decisions together for years and don't need the interference of others who so <i>generously</i> think we need their opinions to make the right decisions.<br />
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We both love our families but they are always in the forefront of things and have high expectations that have no basis on what we want. I moved to Vegas because I felt burdened by the expectations of my family. They didn't want for me what I wanted, and here it's the same for Mike. When his family does get involved in our day-to-day life, their expectations for us aren't what we want. I don't see how my family will be able to understand why I love my job because my mom already believes that my job is unstable and temporary even though I've done this for over 2 years. I can see them pushing Mike in the wrong way to be out looking for a job. They don't know what motivates him because they don't really know him, so they need to leave that up to the 2 of us.<br />
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I guess what I'm saying is that I'm looking at this move as a way to start a brand new life together away from the influences and bad advice. We need to live somewhere neutral, so that it doesn't appear we are choosing one family over the other and so that we don't have to deal with interference. I want to live somewhere that is about halfway between both families so that it's not so far to get to either of them and they can't just show up.<br />
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I want to live somewhere where we can be confident we made the right decision and have no one telling us what we are doing is wrong. We have certain ideals that we want to live by and definitely can't do it in Vegas, and it trying to live that way when it's a way of life your family doesn't understand just makes it that much more difficult when they are in close proximity. For instance, we have done a lot of research on parenting, pregnancy, and childbirth and want to practice peaceful parenting. Many of the practices involved in peaceful parenting, neither of our families understand nor would be supportive of. Exclusive breastfeeding, elimination communication instead of diapers, lotus births, not circumcising any sons we might have...even trying to explain the choices and the reasoning behind them causes arguments.<br />
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When it comes right down to it, Mike and I are very simple people. We crave a simple, low key lifestyle. Money doesn't motivate us, I won't say we don't need it, but we aren't a couple who can be bought for the highest dollar. We want wide open spaces, fresh air, and to see the changes the four seasons bring each year. I guess you could say, the lifestyle that would fit us best is a natural lifestyle. We want things that most people don't consider mainstream because of modern technology.<br />
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We want to buy about 10 or so acres of land somewhere and build an underground house. I don't mean dirt floors and walls, and bugs everywhere. I mean, digging 14 ft down and about 1200 sq ft, and shoring it up and waterproofing it the same way you would a basement. It would have above ground windows in every room, a wood-burning fireplace, wind & solar power, and a well tapped to provide water.<br />
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It sounds far-fetched and idealistic to say the least, but by utilizing natural energy and water sources we would save money on that and by living 6 or more feet underground, the house would maintain the same temperature as the earth, which is about 55 to 60 degrees year around. Yes, that's cold, so even during the summer using the fireplaces for heat would be necessary. During the winter, it would be cold yes, but unlike a house on top of land that has to be kept warm because it constantly cools to the outside temperature, an underground house is insulated by the earth, so the temperature remains constant even with heat from a fireplace or wood stove. <br />
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We want to have an organic greenhouse too, so we can grow our own fruits and vegetables. The problem with all of this is that this is our dream, not reality. This dream will probably never come true because we will probably never have the money to do it, but this is the kind of lifestyle we want. It would be a brand new life and a way of life we would both be proud to raise our future children in.<br />
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I'm also going to say something about what I want to do with the rest of my life. For so long I've wanted to be a writer, and do consider myself to be one, but I want more. I want to educate women on the choices they have before, during, and after pregnancy. After Mike gets a new job, and we can afford it, I am going to start taking classes on becoming a midwife and doula. I don't so much want to deliver babies as I want to educate parents and provide a safe haven for women like myself who are TTC or pregnant and have been lectured repeatedly about their weight by doctors. I want to open a conception to post partum education center for parents-to-be, so they can raise their babies in a way they decide is best, not in the way they've seen others do because they don't know there are other options.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-55277518937237881522011-02-24T19:34:00.000-08:002011-02-24T19:34:56.232-08:00Time OutOk, I am usually the last person that admits to being stressed and that's an issue for me. I can usually adapt to most situations pretty well but that doesn't mean it doesn't cause any stress. I try to be optimistic because there are really very few things we can actually control in this life, so going with the flow rather than fighting it seems to be the right thing to do. I do, however, feel like I need a time out or a vacation, or something.<br />
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It is very stressful living with people you don't like. I love my sister, but don't always like her. They are 100% different from me and Mike, and expect people to just go along with whatever they say/want instead of having their own opinions/thoughts. More and more, I want to just up and move without waiting out the time period we've given ourselves. They keep trying to throw obstacles at us in regards to us moving out of Vegas. I honestly think they might be jealous that we are working harder than they are to make this move work out in the best way possible as early as possible.<br />
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We got married while both of us were unemployed. We'd been planning our wedding for months and couldn't just cancel it because the casino we'd worked for decided to go out of business. It was a challenge but we pulled through it together. I got a job about a month and a half after Westward Ho closed but it took Mike over a year to finally get the job at the Imperial Palace. He worked at other jobs throughout that year, and we wouldn't have started ttc or gotten pg if he hadn't been working, but those jobs didn't work out. The thing about Mike is he's a very loyal, hard-working employee and once he's working somewhere he doesn't plan on leaving, so that year was very hard for both of us especially when we found out Nora was dying.<br />
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The problem during that year was that Mike was used to people coming after him offering jobs once he'd applied so he wasn't used to actually having to hunt for a job and because I was working at a new job, I didn't really have much time to help him look either. So, he put out very few applications and had one temp job at the convention center and two jobs during that year that were both duds before he got the job at the IP. Everyone we know were very critical of him during that time because I was supporting us, though we didn't look at it that way. We hated always hearing that he wasn't trying hard enough or looking in the right places. It was worse after I got pg too.<br />
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The difference this time is that he's put out more applications in the last 2 weeks than he did probably that entire year, and those are to locations throughout the middle part of the country. We are both really resistant to having to move back with my parents because the more we talk about it with them, the more it seems like we are going to be in their way even if we are paying rent and such. So far we've put out about 2 dozen applications in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, and 1 in Vegas. The hard part is, there really is very little available for him in the area where my family lives, but everywhere else there's jobs out the yingyang.<br />
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So, I think I'm taking a time out from the stress and am going to try to become more zen-like. Things are going very well otherwise and I'm anxious to see if my first real week back on the WW without the watchers has been successful. I haven't really exercised much because my neck and shoulder have been bothering me so much in addition to trying to get my work done and help Mike put out applications. Please keep your fingers crossed that we are heading down the right path with this.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-37303630293381729572011-02-20T14:52:00.000-08:002011-02-20T15:02:05.019-08:00Progesterone Cream TestimonialI know, I know, I already posted today but I have to post a testimonial to the progesterone cream shutdown I've been doing. At first I was skeptical about it actually working because, frankly, why would an OTC cream work when pharmacy meds haven't.<br />
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The first cycle that I did the USP progesterone cream shutdown only lasted 19 days, which is very short for me, and I didn't O during that time. At first, I was a little worried about it because that was such a short time between, but in my research on this, I've found that it's actually quite common for the 1st cycle on the PC to be very short. Despite that, I did increase my dosage to 1tsp a day instead of the 1/2tsp during the 1st cycle. Even though I was disappointed in having such a short cycle, I am thrilled that my body finally started a normal cycle on its own with only the PC to help.<br />
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I'm 10 days into my 2nd cycle, and though I haven't been following the program strictly, like going strictly organic and eating as healthy as possible, I can tell it's working. In my reading, they say once you apply the PC you should feel an instant almost tingling rush from the site that you applied it. Basically, this is caused by the influx of hormones entering your system and when you have low progesterone levels it's considered a "feel good" hormone. I didn't pay much attention before when I was putting it on, but since we've moved, I put it on when it's quiet, like in the morning right after I get up and right before we go to bed, and I've noticed that little rush when there aren't as many things calling for my attention.<br />
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I am very hopeful for this. I know I have to work on other things as well, but I am loving the effects of the PC so far. I have noticed since I started using it that I don't lose as much hair when I wash it, my hair is shinier, my skin is a little more glowy and has more color to it, I generally remain peppy during the day without as many bad moods, and I sleep much better at night than before. I have stopped the pregnenolone also because I think it wasn't helping and taking it along with the PC may have been the cause of that early cycle. I realized the pregnenolone was too much when I started having trouble sleeping even though I was dead tired...that's a side effect of too much progesterone/other hormones in your system.<br />
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So, if you are interested in using PC I recommend Emerita Pro-Gest, but any brand with at least 450mg of pure USP progesterone per ounce of cream and without parabens will work. I get a box of 45 individual packets for $16 including shipping from Amazon.com and am currently using 4 packets per day but you should start with 2 per day either together or separately and only increase it if your cycles remain irregular or if your cycles start early like I mentioned mine did. For the shutdown, I know I've mentioned how it works before, you use the PC from CD5 thru CD26 and repeat for at least one more cycle but for best results another 2 cycles. After that, OR if you don't want to do the shutdown, use each cycle from CD14 thru CD28 (basically 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off). Never use the PC for more than 21 days each cycle. It is safe to use during pg because your body should produce progesterone during that time and the small amount you'll get from the PC isn't going to do anything to harm your pg but don't stop it immediately if you get a BFP because your body might need the boost. IF you get a BFP, you can use less but don't discontinue use completely until at least 12 weeks pg and then begin weaning your body from it but talk to your ob/gyn about discontinuing it first because they might want you to stay on it.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216256744691522447.post-87425996367841641742011-02-20T12:22:00.000-08:002011-02-20T12:22:44.510-08:00Bad Week ContinuedOkay, so I know I said it was a bad week and the scale reflected that with a 3.5 pound gain. I'm not surprised but I do know that I need to get my act together and stop using the stress of moving again as an excuse to go off program.<br />
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I am still having some trouble with my neck, not so much my shoulder and neck. I don't know what it is, maybe because our bed is softer than the bed at the apartment we had, meaning it conforms better to the body, so my neck isn't as supported with my usual pillow arrangement. I've been making sure my neck is fully supported before going to sleep and it's been reducing the pain to a dull ache.<br />
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Now, I have to bitch a bit about living with my sister and BIL. I love them but really can't stand living with them. When we've shared apartments before it's always been all about them (they control the thermostat, they get the master suite but use our bathroom anyways, they never turn the heat on during the winter even when we are freezing, and they bitch non-stop about anything and every little thing our dog might do), and this time we understand they are letting us live with them out of the goodness of their hearts, but it doesn't mean they don't still do things that piss us off.<br />
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Our dog is fully house-trained but my sister's 4 dogs tend to do their business in the house if they aren't taken out when they need to go. The last time we lived with them, this practice made our dog forget her house-training and she started to go inside but she hasn't done that since we lived in our house. She's also like any other dog when it comes to going outside, if she sees the other dogs going out, she wants to go too even if she was just out 10 minutes before. BUT if she runs out without a leash on, unlike most other dogs, if you say her name she drops down to the ground and you have to practically pick her up and carry her because she won't move.<br />
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My sister sleeps till the very last possible minute on the days she works and as late as possible on her days off, but the problem with that is, either we ignore her dogs begging to go outside when we take ours out or we take them out, which isn't fair to us because they aren't even our dogs. I understand wanting to sleep in on your days off but if you want to have pets you have to take care of them and my sister is the kind that can get up take them out and go back to sleep but she doesn't do that.<br />
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The other thing I have to complain about is they are hyper-critical of us spending any money. We are used to making small trips to the store throughout the 2 weeks between Mike's paydays and that's a hard habit to change because we don't usually buy enough food to last us a full 2 weeks when we do big trips to the store anyways. Every time we go the store I feel like we have to make up excuses for it and we shouldn't have to explain our finances to them. Yes, we are living with them because it's less than having to live on our own, but just because Mike is unemployed now that doesn't mean they need to know exactly where every penny we spend goes. They are always yelling at us for leaving a light on somewhere but they don't use CFL bulbs to save on their electricity and they are worse about it than us. They leave a light on in their bedroom all the time, but heaven forbid we make a short trip somewhere during the middle of the night and leave the living room or hallway light on so we can see when we get back because if one of them wake up and see that it's on, we'll get lectured on how they are trying to save money.<br />
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We are beginning to despair having to live with them for even 4 months and are really starting to think we should just get out as soon as possible and possibly get a car and a truck instead of just a truck, at least that way we can move much more of our stuff without a moving truck. We probably will be getting rid of our furniture with the exception of the bed and the desk. It's really nice but we just can't afford to move it all and UHaul are a bunch of idiots because they claim both of our debit cards are pre-paid cards not debit cards, so they won't let us rent a truck from them and I'm kind of afraid of having to drive one of those trucks across the country.RLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208620664578467472noreply@blogger.com1