Our Happily Ever After

I have been a blog neglector lately. I feel horrible about it but I have been so immersed in life that I just haven't had time to sit down in front of the computer and put my thoughts onto "paper". Opportunity struck today when I had to spend the day at home with Chloe, as she had a bit of a temperature this morning, and now that it is nap time for her I can tappity tap tap on the computer.

This week has been a trying one, even though it is only Tuesday, as we received some not-so-pleasant news from our Assistant Business Office Director, Danna, on Friday. It seems that census is down at our hospital so they have cut all non-clinical employees down to 32 hours a week. Now I know that it may not seem like much when you put it in perspective with the large amount of individuals out there who can't even get employment, but it does make things difficult for us as I share joint custody with Chloe's dad and am court ordered to drive to Wichita twice a month ( 2 1/2 hours away) twice a month so that her father can have his week with her. This is quite costly since gas has begun creeping back up.

My student loans come due next month and even though my pay just decreased by approximately $300/month, I will still have to figure out a way to make enought to pay my $150.00 student loan payment. I think that what I shall do is try to get on as a bagger at the commissary on my day off during the week, Wenesday. They don't get paid an hourly wage but they do make tips and I could cram those tips into a jar and hopefully make enough each month to pay those student loans.

I am trying my best to put my worries in the Lord's hands. I know he will carry me when I cannot carry myself but sometimes it is hard when you are the control freak that I am.

On a sunnier note, I did put in for a job working for the State of Oklahoma. Even if I start out at the minimum I would be making $3/hour more than I do right now which would be extremely beneficial to our family. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is the opportunity I have been looking for :).

Well my dryer just dinged at me so I guess I should fold the clothes before they wrinkle and get my Honey and I's sheets/comforter into the dryer so that we have something to sleep on this evening.

Have a blessed day!

So today I went for what I thought would be a regular ol' 2 mile walk here on base (the trail they commonly refer to "golf course"). Little did I know that I'd make myself a new pal because of my attempt to make a change from a very sedentary, and altogether unhealthy, lifestyle.

I left my apartment here on base with my phone in hand and my earbuds in place, listening to an old favorite, "Fancy", by Reba) and set my pace at a very brisk walk. Enough to raise the heartbeat but not enough to be lightly jogging. At about a half-mile into my walk a gentleman, probably in his late thirties or early forties, jogged up next to me. As a courtesy, as I was definitely not going his pace and would definitely be passed, I moved to the side of the trail to let him get by and muttered my usual cheerful "Hello there and how are you?" Normally I get a smile, a muttered response and I am passed. However, this was not to be the case today, Mr. Motivational (as I shall call him) slowed his pace to a brisk walk as well and asked me how I was doing. I was a bit taken aback and searched my head for an appropriate answer. I wanted to be polite but didn't want to drown him in information. So I told him I was wondeful and was out for a walk as I am making a lifestyle change. This intrigued Mr. M. So he asked if I thought I could increase my pace into a very light jog and keep pace with him. I told him that I am definitely out of shape as anyone could see but that I'd try. He then told me that he'd chat with me to make it seem as though we weren't jogging, just having a casual conversation.

Anywho, Mr. M and I continue at this pace and as he promised, we chatted it up like old pals. Mr. M asked me to explain to indulge him and explain what has made me decide on a lifestyle change... and I did. I divulged to him that I had been obese since my chubby cheeks graced this world with their presence, that I have an longing desire to join the Air National Guard and that I want to find a simple sort of satisfaction with the way I look. I know that I shall never be perfect and I wouldn't want to be either, but I don't want to be disgusted by myself either. (After I had diarrhea of the mouth and spilled all this to this complete stranger, I started to feel very silly and began to ponder if he was going to make fun of me as this gentleman was the perfect example of being physically fit) Mr. M once again caught me off guard when he began to tell me HIS story. Mr. M is an AF retiree who still continues to work at Tinker. But his story began over 20 years ago.

Mr. M, alot like myself, was overweight his entire youth and shortly before he went to Basic he found a friend who was a pro in the area of weight loss so Mr. M asked him for help creating a regiment to lose weight. M lost over 100 lbs before he went to see a recruiter. M explained to me that although he is fit and lives a very healthy lifestyle, there is still a chubby 17 year old in side of him and that will never change. He said that when he started losing his weight he had a hard time stopping, but through trial and error he learned that setting a reasonable and attainable goal, and maintaining that goal once you hit it, was the key to not becoming that overweight child again. He told me that he knew, without ever having seen me before today, that I could reach whatever goal I set. I was nearly to tears at this point.

We continued to jog and discussed our careers and before I knew it M tapped me on the shoulder and slowed the jog to a brisk walk again. By this time we had hit the officers club which meant we'd jogged a complete mile in what seemed like seconds to me (which to some is chump change as far as exercise but for this chunky chick it is amazing). He really had upheld his word when he said he'd keep pace with me and keep my mind off of the distance. M walked the remaining half-mile with me. As we were about to part paths Mr. M told me that he'd be here the same time next Wednesday if I needed a pal to keep me motivated.

And to think I had almost pushed the idea of going for a walk out of my head.

The Lord sure does work in mysterious ways...

I haven't posted in a few days as we had family in town this Memorial weekend as my honey will be shipping out very soon and his Mom and Dad definitely wanted to spend some much needed quality time with him before he deploys. So instead of writing a lot today I will instead share some photos from our very blessed weekend...


Chloe making me extremely nervous...

Honey's Dad patiently waited his turn to feed the blind Kangaroo


Chloe and Daddy feeding a very greedy goat...


Papa helping Lil Miss Chloe bowl...



The man of my dreams and I...



Hope you enjoyed!! I didn't get to snap as many of our family as I would have liked as we were just having to much fun to take pictures!!

Hey, I just wanted to post a quick note that although I have really started blogging lately, it is probably going to come to a standstill for the most part over the next two weeks. Christopher will be home from his field exercise today and I plan on spending every moment of the next two weeks enjoying my husband while I still can.

So if you don't hear from me for a while, I am still here, still alive and definitely thriving. Just taking advantage of what few moments I have left.


God Bless.

That is pretty much the only word that sums up my intense day.

My job is not physically demanding like other jobs out there, but you could never accuse it of NOT being mentally demanding. I spend 10 hours a day handling patient accounts for a eight story, two hundred and fifty bed+ hospital. I love my job but man oh man. When my fellow office guru decides to call me at 7:05am and tell me that she won't be in today, and Mondays are our busiest day phone-wise, I just knew my day would be anything but boring.

To me it felt as though the phone just never seemed to quit ringing, especially this afternoon. I love to take patient calls, even when they're mean, because no matter what I know I am helping (even if they don't recognize it) in some way. But I also have other duties I have to fulfill and when you are manning a huge hospital's customer service line almost completely alone you are bound to get frustrated, frazzled and altogether mentally fried. I walked out of work today feeling as though my brain could have seeped out of my already pained ears (as I have as sinus infection).

I guarantee you I will be talking about HCFAs and UBs in my sleep. I will snore CPT codes and HCPCs and in the morning I will wake up brushing the charge codes out of my teeth. But although I complain (as it provides a bit of mental release) I am thankful each and every moment for my job. I am not going to take it for granted at all in todays economy where people are fighting to keep minimum wage jobs. So before I lay myself to bed I will make sure to pray for those seeking jobs, those losing jobs and those who still have their jobs. I will pray for their endurance to keep looking, their faith in God and the fact that he will not ask them to carry more than they can bear and for improvement financially for our country as a whole.

So... I will leave you with this food for thought...

Our talents are the gift that God gives to us... What we make of our talents is our gift back to God.

I was going to write a lovely blog but would much rather enjoy a day indulging myself in my family so instead I am just posting this note to all the women in the world (and all you men who have to be daddy and mommy) saying Happy Mother's Day, because although you may not have bore a child of your own, you are a mother to someone :)

God Bless ♥♥♥
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P.S. I thought that the picture below of a Mbukushu Mother and Child was a beautiful photo to share on Mother's Day...