Hello, my long lost friends! I feel like I've been out of the loop for a while, but I'm slowly catching up...For right now, I'm just gonna post my Top Ten on Tuesday & then I'll try to post an update later...Here goes:

10 Favorite Articles of Clothing

1) New z.cavaricci faded jeans with cool rips & patches
2) Tan hooded very heavy coat with fleece lining
3) Tan Lands End boots that go perfect with the coat
4) My staple Levi 501 button-fly jeans
5) My orange v-neck Gap T-shirt
6) Black petite Dockers-very slimming & go with everything!
7) My flannel jammie-pants that have snowmen & say "Snowbody's perfect"
8) My maroon tank-top that has a real bra built in!!
9) My tummy-socker-inner-aka-Bridgett Jones undies
10)My cream-colored satin cami w/ the wide straps so I can wear a bra underneath (but I never get to wear, since it's low cut)

Egads! I just finished the last tape that is due tomorrow, this one being for a doc that I've only done once before, who also has a special format & happens to pay the least! 18 patients on his, alone! This one took me 3.5 hours & I think by the time I got through, it'll average out to roughly $10/hr. That's just a little disheartening! Oh, well, it keeps me in Brenda's good graces, which means she'll keep giving me extra work, and all the other docs are getting really easy now, so the pay/time ratio is much higher. Counting this tape, I did a total of 9 tapes this weekend, plus held my starter show (which topped out at $507 in sales, so that paid for my $350 starter kit, plus gave me a $257 "shopping spree" for more product & brings me to 5,000 points toward the 19,000 needed by March 31 to get an all-expense 5-day trip to Aruba with a flight straight out of Medford! Woo-hoo!! THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH to all who attended, purchased or booked a party from mine - or did all three)! Today (after 2 nights of 5 hours of sleep), we got up & went to Hometown Buffet for breakfast (I'm SO hooked on their breakfasts!!) as a reward for Tyson for helping out with 5 little girls, two of which were 21 months old + two 5 y/o & a 7 y/o. He was NOT thrilled to be helping me with that aspect, but he did a great job & complained very little, for him. After stuffing our faces, we went to church, picked up my new license plates for the Jeep, then met with Tracey (my candle leader) and her leader, Vicky to sign all the formal paperwork, etc.

Part of me is glad that this weekend is over, but then again, I wish I could just have my whole weekend back! I just keep telling myself this will all be over soon...Oh, in the meantime, I woke up this morning with no voice & still can hardly croak out any words. I'm hoping I can talk at work tomorrow, but I may just have to let my calls go to voicemail & call them back the next day. I'll be doing payroll in the morning, anyway. Well, I think I've managed to stay up late enough tonight already, so I'm gonna fling myself from this desk chair to my bed in one swift movement on the count of 1.....2......ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Well, so far so good...I did catch Tyson's cold, which progressed into sweats & vomiting last night, but I managed to work until 1pm, then finally gave in & came home for a nap. When I woke up, I did a few tapes, then had to go pick up 5 more in town. I've already done one more & all of these are due on Monday, so I think it'll work out ok. I do still have to clean for the candle party & Tyson has a basketball game tomorrow beforehand. It doesn't help that my garbage disposal backed up & the Drano didn't work. I'm not quite sure what to do yet, but I'm thinking I may have to be Ms. Amateur Plumber sometime tomorrow & open up the pipes under the sink, since I can't call the maintenance guy in, because he might see that I have a cat & I'm not supposed to! Never a dull moment!

Well, I'm off for now to actually sit down & watch a movie with Tyson. He's been so helpful & understanding through all of this. Man, I've got the best kid ever!

I really shouldn't be up right now, but this is my last night before all hell breaks loose & I'm drowning in transcription & candles, so I feel obligated to at least say a temporary goodbye to all of you...so if you check in here & don't see anything new, keep coming back - I'll return to the cyber world before too long!

Back to the craziness of my normal life! I guess that's what I get for complaining of a plateau period...

Tyson started basketball on Tuesday. I know both of his coaches & they're great guys who are less concerned about winning than teaching the boys & giving everyone play time, so I'm thrilled! Tyson's really enjoying this & the schedule is much more convenient than other sports have been, since both of the coaches actually work until 5:00, so practice is from 5:30-6:00 on Tues & Thurs., with games on Saturdays.

So, this Saturday is his first game. I was going to have my candle party afterward, but I've rescheduled it to the following Saturday & it will be my starter show, because I'm going to become a consultant! This means that I'll be earning points toward a trip to Aruba, as well as actual income, along with free stuff & discounts on candles. I'm really hoping I can make it work & not totally burn myself out. I will also be working in the 3-4 y/o classroom at church on Sunday, as I've mentioned before, so I went over the curriculum last night & gasped in horror! I mean, we're talking a real class here, not just babysitting! I think I can handle it, but it will be a lot more work than I initially thought!

On top of all this, I've agreed to do some backup transcription while the regular lady is out of town for four different days & five different docs! This will be the same weekend as my candle party! I'm probably crazy, but it helps to keep busy& extra cash is always nice!

Well, I figured out a solution to my need for spontanaety and change: I got a Jeep Wrangler! I've wanted one ever since I was a kid; then later my dream car was between that & a VW bug convertible. (At one point, I desperately wanted a 'Vette convertible that would be either hot pink, turquoise or a purple body, with a checkered top - thank goodness that was just a phase! Can't tell I was a child of the 80's, can you?)

Anyway, after church today, Tyson & I stopped by a couple of lots & test drove a Jeep & a Dodge Durango. Between the two, we were actually moving in the direction of the Durango, because the Jeep we drove was all jacked up & really tossed us around. I had my reservations about the Durango, though, because of the high miles. The next lot that we pulled into, I just wanted to compare prices on the Durangos, and we know a guy who works there (from Ty's football team), but when I pulled in, I immediately saw a pristine white Jeep Wrangler with a tan soft top. I was thinking that this was a beaut, but would be out of my price range, since I really didn't want to increase my payments beyond what I was already paying on the Honda. It didn't have a list price on it yet, because they had just gotten it in. Well, we talked to Dave & took this baby out for a spin, and I fell in LOVE! First of all, it's a 5-speed, which is a must when you're driving around something like this - I mean, you gotta feel all manly! It ran much smoother than the first one, & the engine idles really nice & smooth, plus, both the interior & exterior are in incredible shape! It's a '98 with only 53 K miles on it. Of course, it has 2 & 4-wheel drive (which I've never used before, but I'm sure I'll figure it out sooner or later)! I managed to get it for no $$ down, except for what I'll get back from Honda on my warrantee, and my payments will be the same. (They would've been about $20 lower, but I wanted to buy the 3 year warrantee, since it is a little older.) It also came with a really nice Clarion CD player with a removable face plate & a car alarm, which is something I didn't have on my Honda. All of the other Jeeps that I've looked at in the past week have only come with tape decks & no CD player. I just can't wait to be able to take the top off & cruise around! Down the road, I'd like to pick up a little trailer so I can haul stuff if necessary, like the quad that I hope to eventually get, or a little tent trailer/camper. One thing at a time... The only negative (besides the excellent warrantee, gas mileage & resale value of the Honda) is that I had a lot more cab room & trunk space with the car, but the back seat of the Jeep folds down & I can fit Tyson's bass in the back, even though the neck of it extends to between our seats.

This was just what I needed to shake things up & feel new again! Next Saturday, the church is having a snow day up in Greensprings at the Box R Ranch, so that'll be a fun little trip. After playing in the snow, I'm going to host yet another candle party. I know, call me crazy, but I'll tell you what: it's the best way to get great candles & holders etc. for free & for incredible savings! Partylite has a bunch of new stuff, including new scents that just came out. I've been thinking about becoming a consultant...there's no buy-in, and if I could do that & my transcription, I really think I could make around what I do now, with working 8-5 + transcription at night. I'll probably continue to just think about this for now, though, because dangit, I really am responsible, and I know that if I hang in there & stay on track that things will continue to get better.

I'm getting excited about just waking up & driving my Jeep to work tomorrow! I'm such a dork! I'll take some pics soon & post them here so y'all can eat your hearts out!

I figured I'd better post something before I completely lose any audience I may have acquired...

Life is in a plateau zone right now, which is better than it could be, so I'll be grateful for that! I have many great friends, a good job & extra side career, a wonderful family & a sweet, albeit incredibly strange, cat. What more could a girl want, really?

I don't know - I have this underlying feeling lately of needing to break free - ride a roller coaster, eat a hamburger (even though I stopped liking those about 15 years ago) or ride a quad & get dirty. I just feel that I've become so focused on being a good parent, a responsible person, keeping everything organized, clean & just so, that I've strayed too far from the spontaneous, loud, trusting, grubby country girl that I used to be. Not that I want to have a crazy, dirty, disorganized life; I've become quite comfortable in my sane zone, but I think that I need to have a release of some sort to help me remember who I started out as & to know that it's okay that I still have some of that in me somewhere. Maybe this won't make any sense to you, but it's very real to me. I just don't know what I'll do about it yet. Of course, my spontaneous escape from my everyday reality will have to be meticulously planned, so that I can maintain the balance that I've fought so hard to keep.

Maybe I just need to have a day/night out without Tyson...I love that kid with every fiber of my being, but it's not good for either of us to spend so much time with eachother & no one else. He's getting way too used to having me all to himself. Sometimes I feel just a little suffocated by him; for instance, if I try to read my email, he's right there looking over my shoulder & gets his feelings hurt or gets suspicious when I ask him to leave my room so I can check my email or write in private. I know it's irrational, but I feel guilty about it, too! But, you know, if I wanted to complain about something Seth did, like in my previous blogs, or write about it to a friend, that's not something I want Tyson to see. At the same time, if I can't express my frustrations to others, how am I supposed to deal with it?

Anyway, enough whining...off to church tomorrow morning, where I'll be given my curriculum for the 3-4 y/o childrens' class I'll be starting to help with on the 15th. I'm really excited about the opportunity, if a little apprehensive.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2005 wasn't nearly as bad as I'd figured it would be, and I just know that 2006 will be even better! I've given up on resolutions long ago, as they tend to be just another way to feel guilty about all the things you know you should be doing, but aren't (or maybe, the things you are doing that you know you shouldn't be)!

This was a very relaxing weekend - we did the usual clearing out of Christmas stuff, and I went after Christmas shopping, which I probably shouldn't have done, because I spent entirely too much money at Bath & Body Works, but what was I supposed to do in the face of 50-75% off sales? I really had no choice! I also scored on a great area rug & picture for the living room, so I did some redecorating. I've been perusing this Trading Spaces book that Robbin gave me for Christmas, and it really gets me going! The picture is actually a painting on canvas in black, with a spotlight on a trumpet player sittig on a stool. I don't know the correct term for it, but he's made out of some sort of material that stands out from the canvas, all 3-D like. Really cool stuff!

Anyway, today is the last day to veg before our work & school week start again, so we're taking full advantage. As a matter of fact, I'm typing this naked! Just kidding! Wanted to see if you're really paying attention...But I am in my PJ's and have no desire to do anything about it! Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas & a safe & fun New Year.