Daddy vs. Technology.

I've always been a Daddy's girl. For my whole life, he's been my biggest fan. We've had our tiffs over the years, but neither of us can stay mad at each other.

He's reeeeal country. He's always had a simple life. Work, pay bills, fish, hang with family, go to church. He's not big on technology. He's very intelligent; he just doesn't need a lot of gadgets in his life to prove it.

A few months ago, he purchased a new Tahoe, complete with a 6 disk cd changer. After BL and I pointed out that feature, his response was, "Well, I only have 1 cd. Guess I better go buy 5 more." He has no idea how the internet works and is hesitant to use his debit card. He's old school. And I love him for it.

Two weeks ago, he bought a Kindle Fire. Why? So he could have a reader to use when he teaches his Sunday school class and so he could have his devotionals at his fingertips. This is a man who JUST upgraded to a flip phone not too long ago. Yes, upgraded. As in, he had one of those mini brick cell phones for years. His new flip phone takes pictures, which he uses to send me pics of babies at church. As hints, you know. To get busy making him some grandkids.

Anyway. The Kindle. After numerous phone calls, I've finally explained to him how the internet works, how wireless connections work, and how to access Amazon. I've had migraines after every phone call. I love him, so I take the time to painfully explain every little thing. It's exhausting.

Just say no.

I hope I'm not the only person this happens to...

Every time I take a drug test, I'm worried about the results. I'm really not sure why. I mean, it's not like I do drugs. Well, I didn't do drugs before Saturday, but after my trip down the stairs, I'm on some pretty awesome pain killers and muscle relaxers.

So I took a drug test on Friday afternoon, and I'm scared shitless it's going to prevent me from starting this job. AND I DON'T DO DRUGS. I mean, the only thing I put into my body Friday was a bowl of cereal and a salad. And that's pretty typical.

Every time I get an email, I'm worried it'll be the recruiter saying thanks, but no thanks. Gah. I wish I could just start work already!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

We'll start with the ugly:

Yesterday morning, I fell down our stairs. Yep. It wasn't all of them, but I still did some damage. I slipped on the very top step, went airborne (think cartoon-ish situation), and landed on the 4th step down and the landing. It wouldn't have been too bad, except my lower back made the first contact with the edge of the step. My lower back is already screwed, and that little mishap didn't exactly help my situation. I ended up at Urgent Care, where Dr. Brown told me I had blunt force trauma and muscle stiffness. No shit, Doc. He gave me some good drugs and sent me home.

The bad: Bob is leaving tomorrow for his "fake deployment." He deploys (for real) all the time. Now, not only does he real deploy, he fake deploys as well. Basically, there are people in the military who will NEVER deploy. Finance people, office people, on-base people. Tomorrow, those people are being "deployed" so they'll know what to do should they ever be deployed. EXCEPT THEY WILL NEVER ACTUALLY DEPLOY. Bob is the pilot for their "mission" so he has to go sit in ______, Georgia, for 5 days. It's just pure bullshit.

Now for the good: The amazing actually. I'd like to say thank you to everyone who thought happy, job offering thought to me. I GOT THE JOB!!! My absolute dream job. They called and offered on Thursday, and I accepted immediately, with a start date of February 11. YAY!!!!

Professional Job Hunter.

So. Since I've been in Charlotte, I won't tell you how many jobs I've applied for, mainly because I haven't kept count. Lately, I've felt like a professional interviewee. I've been to several interviews with no job offer following (not counting the sub position, which technically I never really interviewed for... I just knew the right person).

Today, I had another interview. For my all time dream job. The job that I've been searching for since I left college and a job for which no one else would be more perfect. And it went really really well. I'm trying not to get too excited, because I've been here before. Sitting in front of a job that I thought I wanted, that I thought I'd be perfect for, that I thought I had in the bag. Only to get a rejection.

So. Please think happy, job offering thoughts for me.

If you can't tell, I'm working through these life decisions one at a time (completely unintentionally). Got the dog. Need the job to get the car. Vegas to celebrate. Foot surgery to repair additional damage done from walking all over Vegas. Life complete.

Meet Hank.

Remember those life decisions we were trying to make a week or so ago? Well, we figured a couple of them out. Namely: Hank.

Meet the newest member of our family!

Jess and I drove to Nashville to meet Hank's foster Dad for the adoption. 

I loved him at first sight. Hank, not his foster Dad.

How could I not love this sweet face? 

He was so good in the car for the 7 hours from Nashville to Charlotte.

He made himself right at home. Obvs. 

He has a bed downstairs that matches our living room. He also has a monster pillow in our bedroom where he will sleep at bedtime. He loves it. And yes, he's using his puppy dog as his pillow. Adorbs.

He met Jack. And they did fine. Today, Jack has had fun playing with Hank's tail, boxing his new brother, and playing chase. It's such a pleasant change from our last experience. 

We love our new baby brother!

Crazy sad.

So remember how I was complaining about Bob being home for so many days in a row? He's been gone since Tuesday. And it's been the longest week ever. I got so used to him being around and hogging the laptop. Now I miss him terribly.

One pre-flight "I love you, beautiful" text from him this morning reduced me to tears. What a sad sap I am.

Ridic.

Calling all parents!!

Pet parents, that is.

I never go in TJ Maxx. Like ever. A friend recently told me they have pretty amazing deals on pet beds, and they were right!

They had one of those massive monster sized memory foam pet beds for $39! And toys for $2 and $3. Like good toys. Toys puppies wanna play with.

Soooo. If you need a new bed for your baby dog or kitty cat, go check them out.

Grammar lesson.

On my other blog, I addressed typical grammatical errors. I'm too lazy to go find the link, but here's another mistake that's currently driving me NUTS.

Lose- I'm going to lose weight by chain smoking and doing crack. (Kidding. I'm just going to stop eating instead.)

Loose- My clothes are going to be loose.

Losing- I'm in the process of losing my Christmas present to myself... my extra pounds.

Loosing- No. Just... no. NO.

SJ Thursday: Sunday Edition.

Since I forgot about SJ Thursday (a lot recently), I thought I'd post Sarah Sunday. This picture was from the holidays and I meant to post it earlier, but forgot that too.

Words are confusing.

So there are lots of things that are different in North Carolina than in the "deep South."

Today's example:

I've always called the thingamajig that holds money (and credit cards) a wallet. The contraption that holds the wallet (along with anything else that will fit) is a purse.

In Charlotte, my purse is called a pocketbook. In my mind, a wallet, if anything, should be called a pocketbook, because if it's actually small enough it can go in your pocket. My wallet (a massive clutch-sized Hobo) is no where near small enough for my pocket. However, I would not call a purse, especially one the size of mine, a pocketbook either.

So when I hear, "I love your pocketbook" and my wallet is no where in sight, I get confused. Massively. Then I remember where I am and that they mean my purse. Oh. Thanks.

Stock options.

You know those places you go over and over again? The ones you should own stock in so you get something out of all the money you spend there?

Here are our top five:

World Market
Moes
5 Guys
Meineke
HH Gregg

Seriously. I may need shares. Like now.

Oh. And Pottery Barn Kids. You know those 58 babies born last year? Half got the standard monogrammed PBKids blanket from me. HALF. Balls. That's a lot of blankets.

Life decisions.

Today our choices are:

1. Get a dog

2. Fix my car.

3. Buy a new car.

4. Go to Vegas.

5. Quit my part time and start subbing or suck it up and continue working this measly shit job.

6. Have foot surgery.

Now let's break this down:

1. Get a dog. I am torn on this. I want a dog to keep me company when Bob is gone for work. A friend of mine in Little Rock, who I adopted a dog from previously, has another bundle of adorableness available. He's a sheepadoodle, gets along with cats, and will be massive when he's grown. I know this friend is being honest about the dog's temperament and we won't encounter a situation like Reesie again. Downside is that I'll have this dog alone when Bob is gone. I'll be it's sole provider. Am I ready for that? And if I am, how the balls do I actually obtain the dog? Fly to Little Rock and rent a car to drive him home? He sure as shit won't fit under the plane seat to fly his ass back here.

2/3. Fix my car or buy a new one. My car is dying a slow painful death. We're about to replace the power steering pump for the second time in a year and a half. And that's just one of it's issues. At what point do you stop putting money into an old car and just suck it up and buy a new one? Preferably when I have an actual full time, good paying job. Which means that is not now. With our financial situation and the deals we can get, now is not a BAD time to buy, it's just not perfect. And I wouldn't necessarily get exactly what I want (a Mom car). So I'd get another smallish sedan and hold out for a Mom car when I get impregnated. Someday.

4. Go to Vegas. I get free flights. My girlfriend, Elizabeth, gets free flights too. Another friend of hers called today and said, "Let's go to Vegas." So E calls me to tag along. Do I go? Or stay at home and save money for a new car/dog/whatever?

5. I have a hours guaranteed part time job. I can take off whenever I'd like. I get reimbursed for mileage. I barely get paid minimum wage and the person I work with/for drives me nuts. I am in the process of becoming a substitute teacher. In order to sub, I have to quit/take time off of current part time job. Do I rock the boat? What if I don't get as many hours subbing as I want/need to potentially pay for a dog and/or a new car?

6. Foot surgery. It's needed and my doctor says I need to have it now. Do I take time off work/push back subbing until fall/wait for summer to be cut on? Then it interferes with summer vacation plans. Bob's schedule is anything but easy to work with. We need to coordinate his time at home, plus time for another friend/family member to stay here with me when he does go back to work.

Gah. Balls. Shit. I hate being a grown up.

Baby. Bebo. Bebe.

I'm getting sneaky. I sent Bob to pick up lunch. I have the house alone for a few precious minutes. Jack and I are basking in the open window sunlight. With the laptop. Squee!!!

On Christmas morning, Bob and I had a conversation about all the babies who were experiencing their first Christmases that morning. We kept naming all these babies and eventually made a list. Guess how many are on the list as of last night... (we keep remembering more)?

58. Our friends had 58 babies in 2012. And these aren't just acquaintances. These are actual good friends that we speak to on a regular basis. Included in the 58, there are 4 sets of twins. FOUR SETS OF TWINS. Bob and I are scared shitless of having twins. They run in my family and Bob says Murphy (as in Murphy's law) hates him enough to give him twins. Don't get me wrong. We'd adore any number of babies, but we'd prefer to adore one at a time.

In looking at the year ahead, we already know of 9 babies scheduled to arrive. Who knows. Maybe Bob and I will add to that number before the year is over. Maybe. As soon as someone invents a device that makes dealing with poop easier for me.

Hostage situation.

Bob and I have been together since December 23. He's called in to work sick twice since then. That means we've been together for lots of days in a row. Too many hours to count. Plus he's been sick. I'm grateful he's been home, but sweet lord.. It's the most time we've spent together at one time in a while. Maybe since July?

He's been occupying our laptop since we got back here after Christmas. He's working on his flight logbooks. Every single day. For hours on end. Which is usually what I do. Except I don't work on logbooks. I shop.

Anyway. I hate blogging from my itelephone and the ipad, so that accounts for my absence. I only blog when I get precious laptop time. He supposedly goes back to work on Sunday. Expect a lengthy post then.

But for now, the 'puter goes back to him. AGAIN. The first thing I'm pricing once I get unlimited laptop time... a new laptop.