The calm before the storm

I've been a little MIA in blogger land lately. Mainly, because I don't feel like I have anything to say or write about. Life just seems to be at a stand still. The phrase "hurry up and wait" seems to be what I've been experiencing. The first reason is because of my pregnancy. Yes, I'm excited about the baby. Yes, I'm finally starting to feel a little better (thanks to some different medicine!) No, I haven't bought anything for the baby. That's the question I get asked fairly often and I honestly have no desire to buy anything baby until I know what the sex is. Plus, until we move into our house, I really don't have room to store anything anyway. Right now I feel like the pregnancy is a slow-motion process. I'm almost 17 weeks which means I've almost reached the half-way point. But it still feels like April is so far away....

The other reason is because of our soon-to-be home. We went under contract on a HUD property around the middle of September. And we still don't have a closing date. It's a little annoying. Supposedly we may close this coming Friday, but I'm not going to hold my breath or anything. My husband and I have always bought re-possessed properties. And since I sold real estate for a little over two years, I'm no stranger to this process. However, we have never bought a HUD property, which are foreclosures that are now owned by the government. To say that they don't seem to be in any hurry whatsoever to get those properties off of their paperwork would be an understatement.

I was so excited to finally be a homeowner again after living on the road for two years. And, my husband and I were also very excited to have cash to actually pay for the repairs rather than put them on a credit card and then re-finance like we always did in the past. That was, until the bank informed us that their loan program changed half-way while we were under contract and that we now had to put a down-payment down. We now have very little money to re-model the house with and I hate that we will once again be living in a construction zone rather than getting everything done before we move in. The fact that we want to avoid credit cards as much as possible means it may be several months before the house is able to meet our expectations.

I know that once the day finally does arrive when we can close on the house, things will take a downward spiral from there. Greg's dad and his girlfriend offered to come and spend a week helping us remodel, and hopefully, clean, the house. The week of Thanksgiving my sister and her family will be making the trip up to visit us and help us "work" on the house. I'm excited to have family visit and only hope they like sleeping on air-mattresses and sitting on lawn chairs since we sold our couch when I joined Greg on the road! To be quite honest, buying furniture is pretty low on my list right now!

Another new aspect in my life is that I've been job hunting. It's a little hard for me to come to terms with the fact that this college graduate may have to work at Wal-Mart or be a receptionist since there are no good job opportunities in this little town. I loved selling real estate but you couldn't pay me to sell real estate here. And I'm not blaming the so-called recession either. My Realtor did inform me that she's very busy but upon further prodding I finally got her to admit that she's busy with a lot of sellers. Well, I can work with thirty sellers and be very busy, but if there aren't any buyers I'm not going to get a paycheck. That's just reality.

I haven't had any phone calls or interviews from prospective employers. I have also seen continued ads ran in the newspaper for jobs that I've applied for that I know I'm either perfectly qualified or even over-qualified for. It's a little frustrating. I'm trying very hard to convince myself that it's part of the calm of the storm.

This is what I foresee happening: We close on the house. Carl comes to visit. I get a phone call that I've been offered a job. I can no longer help work on the house or spend time with the visiting family members. It will take me a month to unpack because I'll be so busy. Dinners may start coming out of a bag that I dump into a skillet. Get the picture?

So for now, I'm trying to enjoy the calm before the storm.....

Goodbye, Cancun

Luckily one of my aunts was kind enough to remind me to post this! I completely forgot! I'm blaming the pregnancy! Our last day in Cancun was very sad for me...I actually did not want to leave! We had breakfast and then went back to our room to finish packing. Unfortunately, I got sick, so pretty much Greg did the packing! Here's the picture I took of our room on the last day. Sorry, I didn't get the balloons above the bed in the picture. And I was right about that: we did get some one's left-over honeymoon suite. I know this because on the day that Randy and Shannon got married they came back to discover balloons and rose petals in their room.



I did have a small hang-up that day that kind of still irks me. I wanted to buy a couple post-cards to send to my nieces and nephews. Since I procrastinated, I could only purchase them from the hotel gift shop. They only accepted pesos and I asked how much it would be for four post-cards. They told me the amount and I went to the front desk to have my American money converted. Turns out it would have been $27 to buy four measly post-cards. So I gave up. I figured there must have been some type of communication issue, but I wasn't feeling up to going back to figure it out. Oh well.

The hotel had a van lined up to take us to the airport and we went through everything with no hold up. By this time I was ready for lunch and they happened to have a Domino's pizza restaurant there. That sounded pretty good to me, so I ordered a slice and a drink a piece for Greg and I. It was $17. Now, I'm not sure if that's just crazy airport prices, or if it confirmed that Mexico just really wasn't as cheap as I was expecting.

We finally loaded onto our plane that would take us to Atlanta, GA. Unfortunately, the flight didn't seem as fast this time and I started doing my lovely sounding dry heaves. It wasn't very fun. Then, there was a slight delay in landing in Atlanta due to the weather. Once we finally landed, we were able to make it through customs without a hassle. I wish I could say the same for Randy and Shannon. They were carrying the sand that was used in their sand ceremony during the wedding and apparently the good ole' US of A doesn't appreciate people bringing foreign soil into our country! Finally, about maybe an hour (OK, it may have been less than that but I was so hungry it felt like an hour) later, everything was given the OK and we were free to go. Thankfully we had a four hour lay over, so at least it helped pass the time. From there we all went to TGIFridays to eat dinner. After that, I became real familiar with one of the restrooms...I'm sure you can figure out why. Not fun. We finally all just sat around in the waiting area near our gate and patiently (?) waited for our flight. Now, normally I wouldn't post such an unflattering picture of myself, but I think this really captures how ready Shannon and I were to get back home! (Yes, that is one of my popcorn buckets next to me!)



Eventually, we were able to load the plane and we arrived in OKC without a hitch. I think by the time we finally made it back to Granny's house it was around midnight. That's when I learned that when Greg finished packing he didn't check all of the drawers. So I had no clean underware. Let's just say the icing on the cake was getting to fall asleep in a pair of my husband's boxer briefs!

Thoughts Running Wild

There's really something wrong with me when I feel the need to blog twice in one morning. Watch out Perez Hilton! It's a quiet, rainy day in South Eastern Colorado and as I became increasingly relaxed listening to the pitter-patter of rain drops on our trailer I decided I might as well take advantage of the situation and take a nice nap on the couch. No sooner had I gotten all cozy when I realized I couldn't fall asleep thanks to all the thoughts that suddenly decided to run loose in my head. Hopefully getting them out in the open will ease a little of my anxiety over things that aren't really all that complicated...

*Shady needs a bath, she's starting to smell like a dog. Too bad I can't lift her up to put her in the shower anymore...
*I bet Shady really needs to pee...
*Our new neighbors will hate us once they see us living out of our fifth wheel in the driveway while we re-model...
*When is the gas company going to call...
*Where will we park all of the vehicles when family comes to visit at Thanksgiving...
*At least I get to wear my new cute rain boots today...
*Should I start a new hat bedazzling business...
*I need to go apply to be a substitute teacher...
*Subbing for a kindergarten class would stress me out; can I just read to them all day...
*When is the gas company going to call...
*I really need to dust...
*Today would be a good day to start reading "Twilight"...
*How will our home inspection go on Friday...
*What will the road conditions be like in January...
*I want to start a stock pile of diapers. What size will I need the most of...
*Is it worth it to get a Sams Club membership when it's two hours away...
*When is the gas company going to call...
*Christmas is right around the corner; I need to start shopping...
*I can't wait to bake Christmas cookies...
*I hope our house is ready by Christmas so I can decorate...
*I need to finish blogging about Mexico...
*I can't get used to the sight of my belly without my belly ring...
*I hope Greg likes his birthday present...
*When should I start the parenting classes; November or January...
*I need to call the dentist...
*When will our new insurance cards arrive...
*Maybe the pre-natal yoga DVD I ordered will arrive in the mail today...
*I need to re-list my unwanted Body Shop products on ebay again...
*How quick will our fifth wheel sell...
*Does Greg really want to go to Vegas next month...
*I want to watch Cirque De Soile if we go...
*Am I already a bad parent if I have no desire lately to read any of my baby books...
*The Dr. better try to listen for the baby's heartbeat on Friday's appointment...
*Why were my gums bleeding for no reason this morning...
*Is Greg getting tired of eating oatmeal for breakfast...
*I can't wait to be able to make Grandma's recipe for corn casserole again...
*I hope I find the perfect shade of blue to paint our bedroom...
*I hope Greg lets me paint our bedroom blue...
*I wish I hadn't broke our towel warmer during the move...
*I'm ready to start peeling wall paper...
*Where will we get firewood from for our fireplace...
*How am I going to decorate our dining room when all I have is a little table...
*I need the desire to learn to play our ukulele...
*I wish our washer/dryer wasn't broke...
*I want a cat...


I'll quit there, but you get the general idea. Am I the only one that this happens too? Maybe now I can take a nap...

Just our luck...

Last night Greg received a phone call from a guy he worked with who didn't know that Greg had "quietly" quit working for that particular company. He is a contractor, just like Greg was. And he was calling to give us the heads up that he found out that they were going to be working together again....in HAWAII!!

Apparently we would have got to live there for about three months. I definately could have handled that! Especially during the cold months of Colorado winter! *sigh* I guess we'll just have to plan a vacation there one day instead!

Cancun Day 4: Catamaran Excursion

On our last full day in Cancun, eleven people in our group decided to go on a catamaran excursion. I was pretty nervous about how I would do on the boat. Normally I don't have a problem with being motion sick or sea sick, but since I've been so nauseous throughout this pregnancy, I really didn't know what to expect. A lot of our friends took Dramamine, but I searched through "What To Expect When Your Expecting" along with the list my doctor gave me of approved medicines and I couldn't find any information about that particular drug. It may be safe to take, but I didn't want to risk anything. So I stuck with my prescription meds along with ginger pills and prayed for the best!

Now, for those of you who don't know me, let me tell you a few things about myself. First of all, I am in no way, shape, or form what one may call a thrill seeker. I'm very much a play it safe type of person. You'll never hear me saying something like, "I want to go skydiving!" Another thing about me is that I am scared to death of deep water. It never fails when we go to the lake, we always manage to anchor out in the middle of the water and everyone but me jumps in to cool off. I would rather sweat to death. Even if I have a life jacket on. That's just how I am. I know that this is one part about me that my husband desperately wishes he could change, but it is what it is.

I knew that we were going on a boat ride. And I knew that this boat was called a catamaran. What I didn't know was what a catamaran really was. Until we were about to board. And let me tell you, it freaked me smooth out. The best way for me to describe this "boat" is to say it has two long structures that kind of make an = sign. Those are on the outside. The inside is basically made out of trampoline material. I hate trampolines. Which meant the "safest" place for me to sit was on one of the side things. With basically nothing to hold on too. To say that I was nervous before we sat sail is putting it mildly. Luckily once we got going I relaxed when I realized we couldn't go very fast. And the beautiful turquoise water was so breath taking that it was hard for me to focus on the negative.

We "sailed" for about an hour until we reached the Isla Mujeres which is an island that I believe is East from Cancun. We made our first quick stop so we could have the opportunity to hold a one hundred pound shark and have our pictures taken with it (sorry, forgot what type of shark it was). Granted, we couldn't use our own cameras, we had to have the catamaran people take the pictures so they could in turn sell them to us. Go figure. From there they took us to another spot along the island so we could......drum roll please.....snorkel!

Now, snorkeling is something I thought I'd never do in a million years. Basically the only reason I did it is because before we even left to go to Mexico, Greg asked if I would do it if he stayed near me. I was super nervous, but also excited at the chance to see some cute fish! Of course as soon as we reached our "spot" I began getting super nervous. Then the guide asked if there was anyone on the boat who wasn't a strong swimmer. I raised my hand faster than you can imagine! They told me after I put on my flippers and life belt to join one of the guides. Since I was scared, I was one of the last to get all of my equipment on. Basically I was procrastinating. By this point most everyone had already jumped in, including my husband. Then, they told me to jump in. I had a momentary minor panic attack in which I said that I couldn't do it, and Greg morphed into an authority type figure and yelled, "Get in the water!" I almost cried. I was shaking. It was horrible. Then the guide had the bright idea for me to sit on the side of the boat and slide in. That seemed easier to me since that would put me a little closer to the water. I was just scared to death of going under water.

I took a deep breath, and slid off the boat. Luckily, I didn't go under the water! The life belt worked and I instantly felt a little bit better. Then the instructor came up beside me. He had a life ring with him that I was to hold on to the entire time, which I was so grateful for. He then demonstrated how to put the snorkel in my mouth and told me to put my head in the water. I couldn't believe how much I could see! It was incredible! And I had it pretty easy since I just held onto the life ring while someone else led me around. We were in the water for about twenty minutes, but I wish we could have continued all day!

Afterwards we got back on the catamaran and they took us to yet another spot on the island. This is where we were to get off the boat for an hour for shopping time. Unfortunately, we were all so wet, then hot, and hungry, that none of us was really in the mood to shop. We half heartedly browsed through a few stores, then went back and waited to load back on the boat. Our excursion was supposed to include lunch, but I made sure to pack snacks to have with me so I wouldn't get sick. What they didn't tell us was that they don't serve lunch until around 2:00. Everyone was starving, and although I had snacks, I was trying not to eat all of them because I knew I would need some even after lunch time. I was honestly expecting sandwiches on the boat, but they took us to yet another spot on the island where they had a delicious buffet. Afterwards we were in front of a small swim beach so we all just hung out for about an hour. Unfortunately, since my eating schedule was altered so much, I started to get sick. The boat ride back to the dock seemed to take even longer and I began dry heaving/spitting up over the side of it right about the time we pulled up to the dock.

We had to take the public bus back to the hotel. By this point I was so miserable and hungry it wasn't funny. This was probably about 6:00. Then, from where the bus dropped us off, we had a short walk back to the hotel. I was so weak I was bringing up the rear of the group, being sick the whole way. I think I pretty much freaked our friend Justin out but I was beyond the point of thinking it was funny at the time. Somehow I made it back to the hotel, ate dinner, and of course was sick for the rest of the night. We did manage to go visit some of our friends in their room for a few minutes, but for the most part we spent the evening in our room watching "Legally Blond". Complete with Spanish subtitles!

**sorry, no pictures this time! I didn't take my camera with me!**

Cancun Day 3: Here Comes The Bride!

Today was "the big day" and our main reason for jetting off to beautiful Cancun. Some of our best friends, Randy and Shannon, were getting married!!! The night before Shannon couldn't get over my make-up and asked me to do hers for the wedding, along with asking if I'd paint her nails. Of course I said, "yes"! So after another wonderful breakfast, I was off to Shannon's room to help her get ready. Also in tow was our friend Courtney, who was doing Shannon's hair, and Shannon's sister Shyla who was steaming Shannon's wedding dress. Once she was dressed, the bride looked beautiful and I have to say I think Courtney and I did as good of a job as any professional beautician/make-up artist! What do you think?



The ceremony was absolutely beautiful! They were married on a gazebo type structure that overlooked the gorgeous Caribbean Sea. (During the trip everyone kept referring to it as "the ocean" and I didn't have the heart to burst their bubble!) And thankfully the ceremony didn't last too long because it was hot! Afterwards everyone posed for a few pictures and then the newlywed couple went off to take pictures with the photographer.





Months before the wedding I began trying to convince Shannon to take "trash the dress" pictures. I even sent her emails of links to photographers web sites with examples. Needless to say, I followed the couple and the photographer afterward so I could take some extra pictures for the bride...and I wanted to continue to nag her to take some pictures I knew they would never forget! By this time it was just the couple, the photographer, and me. Sure enough we went to the beach! We took a couple of fun playful pictures of them in the sand and right when the photographer acted like he was finished and asked if there were any other poses they wanted, Shannon looked at me, and I said, "Uh, yeah! Get in the water and get on top of each other! We need some sexy pictures!"






I don't know if it was the sun or the pre-wedding beer Shannon had consumed, but she finally broke down and said, "OK!" That was all it took! Next came all kinds of pictures of them in the water. Since we were on the beach behind the resorts, it's pretty safe to say that this unconventional photo shoot caused quite a stir! Everyone was whistling and clapping...the climax came when the couple walked out onto a big rocky ledge and prepared to take the big plunge into the water. Everyone started counting down, "Three, Two, ONE!" And then they jumped into the water! It was so much fun and I was so disappointed that none of our other friends were there to take in the moment! What surprised me the most was that her make-up still looked perfect when she finally made it back to shore!









After the excitement of the pictures dissipated, I had to book it straight to the buffet. I was starving!!! Afterwards, I found Greg and we decided to see what all of our friends were doing. This is where it gets a little funny. All of our friends are die-hard OU fans. Greg and I are fans, but not to the extent of all of them. As our friends were trickling into the buffet room I started to notice that every single one of them was wearing an OU shirt. I leaned over to Greg and said, "I guess we didn't get the memo". Greg replied, "There didn't need to be a memo. They all know Saturday is game day and this is just their routine." And in true die-hard fan fashion, all of our friends wanted to watch the game. It wasn't playing on any of the channels at the resort, so they all decided to walk around to try to find it. (Sadly, they were unsuccessful!) And, since Greg and I are not die-hard fans, we were the only ones who opted to stay put! By the time we made it back to the room, I was exhausted. Greg found a movie on TV and as we both laid on the bed I said, "Look at us! We're in Cancun and we're in the room watching a movie! If we want to relax, let's at least do it on the beach!" So we did just that! We spent the next hour or so relaxing under a thatch covered umbrella, Greg with the iPod, and myself with a Nicholas Sparks book. *Sigh* If only I could be back at that very spot right now....

That evening the entire wedding group had reservations at the steak house that was on the resort. The meal was pretty good, but since I had gotten a little off of my eating schedule earlier that day, I wasn't exactly feeling very good. And sure enough, right when I had finished my meal, it hit me and I was off walking/running to the restroom. This was the first time I was "super sick" during the trip and it's safe to say I arrived back at the table with an empty stomach. I knew I had to eat or I'd just keep getting sick, and guess what? By the time I got back to the table it was time for desert! Earlier that day the couple did get to cut their wedding cake, but they took it away for everyone to enjoy after dinner. But this wasn't a traditional wedding cake! It was a Mexican wedding cake...kind of like a tres leches desert. I happen to really enjoy tres leches, while some people I know don't. Worked out pretty good for me, I ate my piece, then I ate Billy's piece, then I ate the rest of Greg's! I had also noticed on the steak house's menu that the meal was typically served with Baked Alaska.
I've never had Baked Alaska, but have heard of it and of course was curious. So although it wasn't being offered to our table since we had wedding cake, I asked the waiter if I could have a piece. I didn't realize that Baked Alaska involved quite a show...there was fire going and a huge presentation which everyone enjoyed, and I can officially testify that Baked Alaska is now one of my favorite deserts. It was muy bueno!



After dinner everyone had plans to go to Coco Bongo's which is another famous Cancun night-club. However, Greg and I learned that day that the clubs in Cancun aren't quite like the ones here in the states. They charge a $30-$40 cover charge to get in, which includes all of your drinks for the night. That may have been great for us a year or so ago, but since I don't drink now, and Greg only wanted to stay out for a couple of hours, we couldn't see the point in spending that kind of money. So once again, we opted to view the show that the hotel was putting on! That night the show was Grease, and I don't know if it's just because I wasn't feeling well or that I was a little disappointed that we weren't getting to experience Cancun as much as our friends, but a little half way through the performance I was over it and ready to go to bed. I managed to tough it out though.

Stay tuned....on Day 4 I may do something I never thought I'd do in a million years!

Cancun: Day 2

Friday was our second day in Cancun. It began at the best breakfast buffet I've ever been too! They even had a fresh fruit juice bar and I went a little nuts over the fresh pineapple juice. Yummy! While we were enjoying our breakfast, a lot of our friends mentioned how uncomfortable their beds were. Greg and I were shocked. We both slept so good and literally did not want to get out of bed. Our friends thought we were crazy. (Eventually we realized that our bed had a thick pad on top of the mattresses that was not on any of our friends beds.) We also asked them what type of towel creation they had in their rooms, and again, they looked at us like we were crazy. We finally came to the conclusion that our room was some one's honeymoon suite prior to us. That explained the balloons and more than likely the "left-over" towel creation. Not that I'm complaining! In fact, when we arrived back in our room after breakfast, we had an ever cuter towel creation greeting us in our bathroom!



After breakfast most of our group decided to take a stroll over to the mall and the Mexican market which was located not too far from the hotel. What cracked me up during the entire trip was how much everyone complained about the heat and humidity. My husband included. To me, the weather just reminded me of a hot summer day in Oklahoma. And I had plenty of dresses with me so I was actually fairly comfortable. The main purchase I wanted to make in Mexico were some sarongs. I am addicted to those things! I love how I can throw one on over my bathing suit whenever we're going to the lake and I don't have to look like a complete lake bum. I was able to find some really pretty ones at the Mexican market along with a pretty "Mexican" dress. Now, one thing that I was really looking forward too was how "cheap" Mexico was supposed to be. We were able to negotiate the price slightly with the store owner, but I still didn't leave feeling as though I got the bargain of the century. Then, to rain on my parade just a little bit more, once we got back to the hotel I looked at my sarongs and realized they were made in Indonesia. So much for authenticity! The mall held a store that interested Greg. You guessed it: a Harley store! He was pretty happy to have bought a Harley t-shirt that says "Cancun, Mexico" on the back.





Around lunch time we all made our way back to the hotel and helped ourselves to the buffet. Most of the group was pretty tired this day, so Greg and I decided to lounge on the chaise lounges next to the beach. It was so peaceful and relaxing! Then, later that afternoon he and I made a visit to the spa. Our trip included a $25 spa credit per person so Greg was able to get a deep tissue massage while I enjoyed a deep cleansing facial. I can definitely get used to resort life!

After our spa time we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. I thought that our group would be going out to Senior Frogs that night so although I didn't want to put make-up on my freshly cleansed face, I did! We joined everyone in the main buffet room for dinner. Friday also happened to be Randy's birthday. We told our waiter that, and they actually brought him a birthday cake at the end of our meal! I'm tellin' ya; an all-inclusive resort is definitely the way to travel!




Prior to dinner I was marveling at the fact that I hadn't gotten sick during our vacation. Shortly after Randy's birthday cake was presented to him, I realized I needed to use the restroom. I excused myself from the table, went to the public restroom....and then it happened. Mid-pee, I suddenly had to throw up. And I had no choice. I did it in my under ware. I swear, there's never a dull moment in this pregnant girls life! By some small miracle I had the room key with me so I was able to jet straight to my room to change, and went back to the buffet without any of my friends knowing the difference! (Well, unless they read this!)

Needless to say, I was no longer in the mood to experience the Cancun night life after that, so Greg and I opted to watch the show the hotel was putting on that night. It was called "Broadway" and they showed clips from famous Broadway musicals, and then performed a dance to a song from that musical. The dancers were fantastic, and of course, I would have enjoyed it more had my back not been killing me!

Stay tuned for Day 3!