Wednesday, May 30, 2018

I Love My Crazy Life!

The month of May has come and gone and as per the normal around here, it was fast paced and crazy! For the first 2 weeks of the month, I was in the Big Ass truck with Jimmy for the final trip until after school begins again in the fall. Once our Little Witch is out of school for summer break beginning June 8th I'll be the one here at home making sure her summer is fun-filled and active. And yes, there will be those rare quiet moments when she wants to chill and watch a movie or color or read, but mostly we will be in the pool or going to one of the indoor trampoline parks or perhaps even a movie at the theater with lots of popcorn and Dr. Pepper.

Mother's Day was wonderful. My girls were here (YES! Niffers, too!!) and they all made me feel oh so Blessed. Debbie & Cheyenne gifted me with a beautiful custom-made leather TN cover from Print Pressions, which is my newly found obsession. Of course, the color is purple, but a lighter one called Iris. It's a "B6 Chunker", which is an extra wide design. It has pockets on both the front and back cover, 8 elastics which will hold up to 16 inserts if I decide I need to be THAT organized! But, the best part for me is that it also has plenty of space for my Mini Happy Planner! Currently, I have it set up to hold 4 TN inserts and my MHP. And I have to say, I'm so in love with this system.

Tanya and Niffers surprised me with a new vaping Mod. I'd been obsessing over the iJoy Avenger ever since I found it in pre-sale the end of March. Both of them were a bit worried that it would be too heavy for me to use comfortably because it has two heavier batteries than the ones I'm used to carrying around. But after Jimmy got the Devilkin for me the first of the month, I guess they figured I'd be OK, LOL! The Avenger is my current favorite (not taking anything away from the others I use), it's got so many bells and whistles, I haven't found them all. I can tell you it is voice activated/controlled and lights up in a rainbow of colors. The tank is one of the largest I've had yet, BUT the flavor it produces is awesome! Never fear, there are a couple more I want ...

The best part of the day by far was being gifted with a new car. The Iszuzu was beginning to have some issues and I was feeling a bit worried when I drove it. After much consideration and wondering if we'd just be band-aiding it with any repairs, we decided to begin searching for a newer model. After a very tense 2 weeks trying to make a deal on a vehicle while driving the Big Ass truck all over the eastern US, we finally found a dealership that stood by the things they told us without backtracking or flat out lying about not only the vehicle but the financing as well, we came home and Jimmy brought this beautiful new car for me to drive! It's a 2015 Ford Edge Titanium and is completely loaded with everything imaginable. My most favorite *extra* is being able to be completely hands-free on the phone while driving! No more blue tooth earpiece! To say I'm blessed is an understatement. I am spoiled and readily admit to it, LOL!

The only thing that could have made the day any better for me would have been for Justin, Tiffany & the girls to be able to be here too. The last time we were all together was in 2012 in AZ for Momma's memorial. But, they live and work in TX and it's challenging to travel 1,000 miles either way. Perhaps one day soon.

Often times I find it difficult to write about the material blessings in my life because I know there are others who are struggling. I've been where they are, we have struggled, sometimes more sometimes less. And when we have a good period in our life, we try to make wise choices about how we spend any of the money. Each time Jimmy gets back in the Big Ass truck, we all sacrifice in some way. He's away from home as much as 3 weeks at a time, he misses SO much of what anyone with a regular job gets to see happening with their family. We rely on phone calls, pictures and the time he does get to be at home. And before you say something stupid like "he can get a real job and be at home", no he can't. We tried that and almost lost everything we had. His field of expertise is truck driving, and last year he DID come off the road and worked locally. For 8 months and if it hadn't been for Debbie, Tanya, and Cheyenne, we would have ended up homeless. There is nothing here in our area that pays enough to simply pay our bills. No, we do not have credit card debt, I'm talking about rent, utilities, car payment, insurance, and food.

So, we all sacrifice and then celebrate when he is able to be home for a day or two or 5 like this past week. Because Jimmy does get in that truck and spend most of his time away from home, we were able to take the Little Witch to Myrtle Beach to kick off her birthday celebration. Going to the beach has been her choice each year and she talks about it from the time we get home until the time we go next year (we had planned to go to Great Wolf Lodge this year, but she quickly vetoed that idea in favor of the beach). Back here at home on Saturday, we had a birthday party with family and some of her friends from school complete with the pool and a water slide. The smiles were constant and she kept saying Best Birthday EVER!

Yes, I'm spoiled but more than blessed and thankful for everything in my life no matter if it's tiny or huge.