Good, Better, Best! (part 1)

It's been far too long since I have taken the time to write anything... yes, I've been busy, but still!

 I have been trying to find ways here and there to make a little extra money- trying to make up for some of the misfortune and expenses that go with all of that- so for making a little extra money:

GOOD:

Attendance school- means I have to get up almost an hour earlier or give up my Saturday morning- nothing like getting paid to watch over some wonderful teenagers who want to make up their attendance.

BETTER:

Home/hospital- spending a couple of hours a week helping a student in his home with his geometry homework may not sound like much fun to some people, but it was actually a great experience... I had a student who was eager to listen to me PLUS he understood what I was explaining! (Guess this kind of twisted view on the world helps me to be a good teacher!)

BEST:

Being paid to eat ice cream and then give my opinion! Now if only this could be my steady job...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... Now for the Good!

Driveway before...

Driveway after!

Yes! The OZ Rally shell is sold!!! So happy! (Lest you are saddened by the news, I do still have 2, yes TWO, engines and 3/4 of Charly's car left for sale- so you haven't completely missed your opportunity!)

I also have a working washing machine! That's right! Thank you so very much, Christy! Your former washing machine is the answer to many a prayer around this house! I am so blessed by so many wonderful girlfriends who look out for me! You are the BEST hood a woman could want!

 Fall has finally come to the backyard!

These are the before...

After Jon and I cleaned up the leaves...

 And the even later after that... they are back! This is so good mostly because of the look on Jon's face when I showed him the yard- just priceless! Plus this means more time with Jon cleaning up the leaves!

And Jon is finished with the home theater! It is so amazing to watch things on this large screen!!!



Final two good things- that are really great (at least for this blog entry):

1. Charly is inches away from having her book published!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of this girl!

2. Please check out Charly's latest blog entry:
http://allsortsofdancer.blogspot.com/2011/11/beautiful-heartbreak-and-what-faith-can.html

This truly says why life is good, and why bad and ugly, though not always fun, always lead to blessings in my life!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... First the ugly and the bad!

The Ugly:

Having been a single mom for almost 16 years now, I can honestly say that the older dating scene fully qualifies as the ugly! I don't think I am being too picky when one of the only qualities I require in a future husband is HONESTY. So why has it been impossible to meet even one single man over the age of 35 with this trait?! The past couple of years, I have been lied to about schedules (yes, he had a date with someone else but couldn't let me know!), lied to about religious beliefs (telling me that you believe in God is NOT a good idea if you don't; I will notice!), lied to about number of divorces (um, yeah, it will eventually have to come out- lying up front will NOT make your past life change!), and of course, have heard the old 'you are so wonderful, beautiful, etc just because he wants the type of relationship I will NOT be giving away... Plus there was the whole, he broke into my house when I was out of town fiasco of this summer! ('Good' reason for it notwithstanding, did you really have to steal my house key and then lie about all of it AFTER you got caught?! Makes me wonder what would have happened with that whole situation if I hadn't found the fingerprints above the window to prove it!- Yes, even in this Heavenly Father has blessed me greatly!) Anyway, after all of this, am I really ready to try again? Can I really and truly believe the next man? Or will he at least be able to tell me the truth, warts and all, knowing that honesty is my number one requirement for whoever the future holds?! I sure hope so!

More UGLY (be warned this one made me want to scream...)

Here is a sample of the message I received this morning (after a text telling me how worried he is, etc.) from a man I have only been communicating with for a week- and haven't even met!:
"

Hello Darling, How are you doing? Thanks so much for your lovely message and thanks for your concern so far. I want you to know that i have not been happy all day, I have been very sad and worried. I got a call from the bank this morning and they informed me that the transfer of my money was stopped by their federal ministry of finance, They said they the reason why they stopped the transfer is because i am supposed to get the Foreign Exchange Approval Certificate before the transfer of my money will be completed. I was so sad when i got the news, I immediately called the lawyer they assisted me get the court approvals and he told me that he will be able to help me get the Foreign Exchange Approval Certificate but he said its going to cost me $23,000.00 and he assured me that once he gets the certificate for me, the bank will immediately complete the transfer  and the money will get to my account. All i have left with here is $15,000 so i immediately called few of my friends and two of they offered to loan me $3000 each, they both sent me the money 2hours ago and i have the total of $21,000 right now but i will still need about $2000 to be able to complete the money to pay for the certificate, I have been calling friends all day to see how i can raise the remaining $2000 but no luck, I did not want to bug you with my problems but i have been thinking and decided to confide in you,I want to ask you for just this favor honey, I will really appreciate it if you can loan me the $2000 so that i can complete the money to pay for the certificate, I promise you that i will pay you back immediately i get back home. I am so confused with now and i really can't wait to get this done and have my mind at rest. I swear to you that i will pay you back once i get back home, If you will love to help me,let me know so i can direct you on how to wire the money to me here. I want you to know that i really do care about you..."

You get the idea. Does he (or I guess it could be a she) REALLY TRULY think I am that STUPID?!!! Obviously the answer is, yes. SO grateful to my father that he didn't raise that stupid of a girl! But honestly, where is the honesty?! I want to laugh, scream and cry all at the same time! (So if anyone out there wonders what they can get me for Christmas this year: just asking for proof that an honest unmarried male over the age of 35 actually exists! - oh, and heterosexual would be nice too!)

The bad:

This is a pic of the shell/body of 'the bad'. The plan had been to put the engine from Charly's car (the one she had wrecked) into the shell of this car. It so could have worked! I had a friend who worked so hard and did so well in making it happen until, that is, he wasn't sure how to do something. Instead of figuring out how something came apart, he cut the wires- all looks like at least 50 of them! It was a fatal error of the worst kind because it was made by someone who meant well. Then instead of finding a way to make it right, packed up and left me with this in my drive and pieces of engine, etc. in my garage... still hoping and praying that I can recover at least the money for the one car- will never recover any from Charly's...

And the washing machine is still quite broken- anyone know of any good deals on one?

Now, lest you think that my life is at all bad in and of itself... stay tuned for the Good parts later this week!

Greg the Great!

It's been yet another long week! Worst thing- the washing machine is broken AGAIN! It's so frustrating to have spent so much money to just have the same problem again... hoping to find a more permanent solution (or at least one that lasts more than 3 weeks :)! )

But it is so comforting to know that my Father in Heaven is looking out for me! Opened the mail today to the best news and very needed miracle: Jon's neuro-psychology bill. Now I can just hear you asking. 'how can this be good news much less a miracle?!' That is easy to answer: Instead of the $1000 + bill I was fully expecting (as that is what it cost me 3 years ago and I have the same doctor/same insurance plan), I opened it to find a $300 check! That's right, I had my deposit fully refunded as the insurance paid the entire bill! Anyone who has had any experience with public employee insurance knows what I mean when I say that this is a miracle! I actually have a start to the washing machine fund! (Now to be able to sell the great auto lot sitting in my driveway! I still have many, many Mitsubishi Lancer parts up for grabs for anyone interested! ha, ha!)

Just sixteen years ago, my life changed drastically. I became a single mother... and my beautiful sister introduced us all to the best brother-in-law in the entire universe, Greg Bird! More than he even realizes, Greg has filled a place in lives of my children, while being such a terrific husband for my sister and an amazing father to his adorable children! He has helped me install sinks, remove and rebuild windows, move (twice!), fix doors and lawn mowers and washing machines, etc, etc, etc! He has helped teach my children to drive, change oil on their cars, and wire up the sound system in the basement!

See why I KNOW Greg is GREAT! And, Ardis, you made the best choice ever! Thanks sis!

Two of my best girls!

So I have attendance school duty this morning! It's a great thing in that I get paid extra- it's a not so great thing in that I miss time with my kids, have carbon-stained fingertips from signing literally hundreds of attendance school slips, and it can be incredibly boring... 

So to help with that last not-so-great thing, I played around with some cute pics and sound recordings from my playtime with my girls last night and a website I sometimes use for my class assignments. Here are the results:

Now please keep in mind, getting Adilynne to talk into the microphone was next to impossible. Both of these adorable children are chatterboxes UNTIL you turn on the mic... oh well. Also, as I sit here, I have my computer muted- so hopefully, everything worked as I imagine it did...

Just a bit of fun for a Saturday morning!

Life keeps coming and going!

Been very busy yet again! Which is a good thing...

So grateful to Greg and Jon for solving the washing machine dilemma! Yes, it cost, but not nearly as much as a replacement. It's so nice to be able to clean my clothes, and sheets and rugs in my own home!

And so grateful to Char for this! A way awesome note to me on the mirror! Makes me smile and cry all at the same time!

Grateful for all the tomato products and grape juice now sitting in jars in my storeroom... I find the only trouble with canning beautiful foods is that I want to eat it all but I don't want to open the jars that took so long to process! Guess I'm blessed to have such a quandary!

'screen' (will be framed with black)- boo had to move walls!

This is Jon's latest project... a theater for the basement- he started last year, purchasing the sound system, and he has been planning and purchasing the rest ever since. He got the great idea to just paint the screen on the wall- and well that led to some other re-painting- but now it's almost done!

Wires halfway complete- great going, Jon!

It's so fun to see all of his efforts and plans come together into something this great for all of us to share!

I am also off on the great MESA advisor adventure... and will have some Molly-time as we present at the upcoming UCTM conference- as I said, life keeps coming!





I am also grateful for the chance to touch a life today (I hope...) At the end of my last class, a young man stayed in his seat. He was crying! (I really hate that so many kids don't even realize how a careless word or two meant in jest can pierce someone to the core!) Of course, he didn't want to talk to me about it or go down to the counselor or even tell me who had said what- but thanks to my Father in Heaven, he did tell me. And again, thanks to my Father in Heaven, I think and hope and pray that I was able to say something to make it at least a little bit better. The blessing of teaching comes in being able to see a little bit of what the Lord sees in these kids and their lives. I am so blessed to be a teacher!

For the Boys...

Washing machine still out- but very thankful for my parents and their washing machine! (although after I used their machine the first time, their water softener quit, and it quit in a big way- 'black, gunky water coming out of the taps... wonder if it is just my luck these days!) Also thankful for extra work, a great friend giving me free tomatoes- as in a lot of tomatoes (36 pints of salsa, 10 pints of tomato sauce and a dozen quarts of tomatoes- yes, a lot of tomatoes!!) and so thankful for my Jon...

Jon being home alone with me has brought to my mind one of the hardest parts of being single- at least for me! A little background: I grew up between two brothers who loved to discourage the girl-type things I would do and encourage the boy-type things (climbing trees, playing with snakes and salamanders, playing video games, reading sci-fi, watching the 'A-Team'... you get the idea). And I loved every minute of it! As I grew older, and moved here to Utah, I began to realize that most of my good friends were guys. I did have several close girl friends, but by and far, I related to guys- and not in the dating sort of crush-type way... By the time I went to college, I was surrounded by men- majored in a male-dominated field and played with all the guys in the singles ward. 

One of the favorite pics from my wedding... I wished I could have had male 'bridesmaids'- but even so, these guys are still a highlight in my life!

So what's one of the hardest parts of being single? I cannot have the guy friends... Most of the time, I am single and they are married- even though my interest may be in the shows they enjoy or simply the desire to talk about a video game- I cannot do that- my mom was right- there is too much that can seem wrong, too many variables not under my control- it, simply put, invites trouble in too many ways. The single guys? well, they are either too young or, if not, they assume my interest is in getting married- what happened to being a friend?! Life is weird and complicated when it comes to any guy friends...

Leaves me feeling so very grateful for my two boys- the ones I can be friends with even though I must also be mom! I am so blessed to have this time with my Jon!