Been in denial...

but I can't stay that way forever.  My little girl is growing up and before long she will be a young woman with all the drama and woes of being a teenage girl and all that jazz.  Her father chooses to stay in that denial for now but pretty soon he is going to get the smack of reality.  I will revel in that by the way.

I have been teaching Katie about proper hygiene for awhile now.  Getting on her to take showers and brushing her hair every day and whatnot.  For the most part she is on top of keeping herself clean and presentable but she has been experiencing break outs that normal cleansing products aren't cutting it anymore.  She is only ten and I really don't want to introduce her to the stronger stuff yet so is there any acne treatments out there that maybe you have tried that is gentle on young skin?  With all the changes she is going through I really would hate for her to be so self conscious about the pimples.

She is already begrudgingly resigned to having to wear training bras and to use deodorant that I would really like to ease the rest of the growing pains for now.  I have tried the white tooth paste but all that does is make her skin all red the next morning and her skin is so sensitive that even the gentle cleansing soaps that I have gotten for her dry out her skin.  I am stumped.  Any suggestions or helpful hints would be greatly appreciated.

Dealing with an Ear Infection at 39 years old.

It really boggles my mind that me, an adult, battles every few years with ear infections.  I have no clue as to why or how I keep getting them.  I have even taken precautions so I don't get them and yet here I am dealing and battling with one. 
I have has this stupid infection since Tuesday.  I have drugged myself silly with alternating between Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen to battle both the pain and the swelling.  My poor hubby has been nursing me with occasional pouring of the hydrogen peroxide to kill any infection inside the ear and has been wiping out the disgusting ooze that has been leaking for the last few days.  He even took my place on Wednesday and cleaned for me at the condo association. 
I think I may need to go to the hospital tomorrow though.  I know I need antibiotics to get rid of it but to tell you the truth it really isn't all that pain full anymore and the swelling has gone down significantly but the ooze is driving me nuts and well the only way it is really going to go away is with antibiotics.  I don't have health insurance so the ER is the only route for me at this moment.  Hopefully I won't be there for hours upon hours.  It's the only reason why I hesitated in the first place.  Believe me though if my kids or Chris were in my situation, my ass would be kicking their butts to the car to drive them right off the bat, but when it's me, I could really care less. 
The last time I personally went to the ER was when they admitted me for the Quasimodo sized lump in my throat.  I didn't have to wait that long, in fact I don't think I even waited five minutes to be rushed to the actual waiting area. Katie was with me because there was no one available to take her right away so she got to see them hooking me up to all the monitors and inserting the IV. She was so interested in all that they were doing and asking questions and they were so polite and told her the whys and hows of everything that they were doing.  By the time my parents showed up, she was the one that told them what they were going to do to me next.  Smart Cookie that one!   I remember for awhile after my family left some dumbass doctor was looking all over the ER for his cell phone.  He kept insisting that he knew he had brought it with him and how he had just bought the damn thing and the nurses were teasing him about maybe dropping it while in the bathroom and did he have insurance on it and he just got very frustrated and testy and told them that he didn't get the iphone warranty because he has never had the need for it before and was very careful with his things.  I thought for sure I would be hearing about how they found it in the toilet or a wash basin (which would have made me laugh because he was just driving me crazy with his frantic searching) turns out that he left it home because his wife came in with it with a HUGE smirk on her face.  And that is when  the real teasing began for him.  Apparently the nurses and some of the doctors to that to him a lot because it affects him the most.  I was glad that he wasn't my doctor that day.  I probably would have been sent home with the diagnosis of having the Mumps.

Wanting to go from Shamu to Bow Chicka Bow Wow!

I have seen so many more weight loss product commercials in the last three days than I have seen in months.  What is up with that?  The funny thing about it is most of the commercials were around a two hour time frame centered around this show called Most Daring which went with the theme about  fat people doing stupid things.  As I was watching the shows I felt more and more self conscious about my own weight problem.  I was initially told by my doctor that after the surgery to remove Quasimodo from my neck that I would have no problem shedding thirty pounds within a few months.  She believed the tumor was obstructing my thyroids ability to function properly.  Since I have not dropped the pounds like expected she is now convinced that my thyroid has been compromised and will need some assistance to work like it is supposed to.  Blood work has shown a significant problem before and after the surgery. 
I will have to find a primary physician and get the ball rolling on that once I have health insurance.  Which should be in the near future since I now have to have health insurance through  my company since I am not eligible for workman's comp insurance.  I am still hoping to drop the weight with all the cleaning jobs that I have taken on.  When I clean for the condo association I come home like I am coming back from a wet T-shirt contest.  It is a work out in itself and sweating so much has to be doing something, other than dehydrating me, which I don't think it is doing since I am constantly sucking down the water.  I just hope that I can shed the excess weight without having to spend money at the doctor's and prescriptions. 

Still Organizing

I am learning that I am not Superman by any means, and there is no ability to leap steel buildings in a single bound on my end.   I have been trying to do it all and I am failing miserably at it.  Today, I realized that I need to start delegating the small stuff and just relax and not worry so much. 
So, I have taken a day off from work (by not scheduling any cleanings for today) and just relax.  Now, I have done a few things around my house, such as, getting things in the proper places so it does not look like we are still moving in. 

As far as everyone else though, they have had jobs appointed to them.  My husband, took care of the minor handyman work.  He put up a curtain underneath my kitchen sink to hide the area where there are no cabinets and to hide the exposed kitchen sink pipes.  He also got my washer and dryer all hooked up and he also cleared most of the storage from the bonus room and found places for everything. 

Katie has rearranged her room several times already but I think she has finally found the exact way she wants it... hopefully.  She has more stuff than I know what to do with and she is going to need the under the bed storage.

Jeff is still trying to come up with an organizing system. As he would say, It is an Epic Fail Mom!  We just don't have a clue as where to start with his room.  He doesn't have a closet so most of his clothes are getting folded and put in his dresser, which is busting at the seams because he has a lot of clothes.  His shoes, skateboard, and miscellaneous items are getting stored under the bed.  I would like to put up shelves for a lot of his baseball memorabilia but that will not be anytime soon. 

Two weeks into the move and we are still trying to find areas to store important things in.  I hope that by the time we are here a month it will be a lot better.

 

Landed another contract!

I am rocking the cleaning business thingy... I just landed a new contract at the same condominium complex.  This time it will be for the Clubhouse and Office. YES!!!! Finally all my hard work is starting to pay off. 

The down side to cleaning the common areas of the condos is that there is no ventilation.  Yes there are windows that are opened in the hallways during the days, but unless there is a breeze it is stifling in there.  I sweated my ass off this past week and I am hoping beyond all hope that maybe this will be the kick start to me finally dropping the pounds and if not, than I will be needing some kind of magic weight loss wand. Seriously, I have not worked so hard as I did this past week. I sure hope a few more weeks of this and I will start seeing my waist line shrink.

 On top of that more and more of my clients are calling for cleanings and I will definitely be needing to hire one individual to help me.  At least help me clean for the condo association so I can get at least one client in per day.  Many of my clients prefer just me to clean.  There are a few exceptions but they are few a far between.  My husband helped me last week and he will help again this week coming up, but it will be to train someone to take over for him. I have a person in mind and he has previous cleaning experience.  He cleaned a chocolate factory for a few years before they cut their staff to a skeleton crew. 

So all I need to conquer now is getting the contract for the high rise buildings.  The same company that had the mid rises and the clubhouse is still doing the high rises.  I am hoping that changes here quickly.  Than I will definitely be established.

Space: The final frontier. As in I need more space for my junk!

It has been a very emotionally draining process with the move and the business that I just don't know where to start on getting the "new" house organized.  Surfing the web for ideas that just leave you with the click here mentality to see all the different ways of hiding the clutter or storing away the junk that no one can seem to part with. 

Many people have given me great ideas and I have been researching those ideas because for right now they seem to be the solution, and as we slowly and I do mean slowly as in snail doo doo, go through each box of what the heck is in there because no one remembered to label said boxes, I am more and more buried in the "where the hell are we going to put everything" mode.

The biggest culprit is my husbands tools and out door stuff.  We really need some type of outdoor storage.  He is wanting to get a nice big shed to put everything into but does anyone know how truly expensive those are?  I could buy a few more Oreck vacuums for that kind of money. 

Right now I think I will invest in a closet system, one that my husband can install, so that we can have an neat and organized area.  All three closets need it. They don't even have doors on the closets.  Something the last tenant decided they could not part without. Just like they took the a/c unit out of the master bedroom wall and my husband had to retro fit the one the landlord bought to replace it and is half the size of the hole in the wall.  It's nice to walk into our room and see the big hole encompass the tiny a/c unit. NOT! The landlord seems to think it fits fine and we can just enclose the hole to surround the a/c.  Ummm... not if you want the a/c to work. But that is another ball of wax all together right?

I figure within the next few months, we will be truly moved in established once all the crap is put in its place.  I hope so, because I am tired of walking through a room as if it were a maze. 

I am in business!

Things are starting to look up for my business, now that I have officially become a L.L.C (Limited Liability Company).  It has opened the door of opportunity with a Condominium complex that has already contracted me to clean their three midrise buildings.  I have also submitted a proposal for the Clubhouse and their sales/management office.  Although after speaking with the General Manager today, I will need to tweak it to fall in line with their 2010 budget which was done in January.  He seems to really want me to get the job and will definitely up the budget with the board members for next year if I will accept their budget for the last 5 months of this year. I don't mind taking a cut if it means that next year will be better. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours type of deal. 

I am just so happy to be given this chance to finally start making a decent living off my hard work.  Don't get me wrong, I love cleaning for individuals but the money just isn't there for residential cleanings.  Although I have picked up a few more residential, to me they are just the bread and butter.  The condo however, is my lifeline.  That will enable me to take care of my family once my husband goes back to school. 

I am also faced with the possibility of having to hire an outsider to help me with the ever expanding work load.  Something that I wasn't all that comfortable with.  That means that either I add them on as an employee or possibly a sub contractor so that they alone are responsible for their own taxes and insurance.  I am still tossing between the two choices.  The pros and cons are very heavy on either side of the coin.  I will need to get expert advice from my soon to be accountant.  She was recommended to me by my husbands dad.  She takes care of all his company's dealings and apparently is very aware of all the changes that are about to take place.  Something that I am completely clueless on at this moment.  It is all so scary to me right now, but at the same time very exhilarating. 

Nevermind keeping up the with the Jones', he needs to stop keeping up with our parents...

My parents are back from Ohio from a much needed break and visit with family. My niece graduated from high school and they wanted to catch up with everyone that is still in Ohio.  My dad was supposed to be scheduled for knee replacement surgery once they got back, but that is postponed for now.  Apparently his surgeon is very ill and they have to find a replacement surgeon for all of his patients.  Not sure how long my dad will have to wait to be able to have the first knee done.  They were hoping to have both his knees done in time for the trip to Germany.  My mom is a part of the singing Christmas Tree performance that our church has put on every year for over thirty years.  They were invited by the military to perform for our troops stationed in Germany.  This will take place in December.  Not sure if my dad is going to be able to go unless they get him in fast or he may opt to wait until after they get back.  Not sure how that is going to happen though. 

While they were in Ohio, my dad almost purchased a motor home.  My mom was a little miffed at the idea because they live in a retirement community of manufactured homes with limited parking spaces for boats and motor homes.  They already have to pay extra for their boat and my mom wasn't really wanting to have to pay more for another parking space and on top of that motorhome insurance.  She isn't totally against the idea of owning a motor home but would rather utilize it on a daily basis, as in, traveling in it for most of the year.  My dad on the other hand just wants to use it for road trips every now and then.  Something my mom cannot wrap her mind around.  Although they may both want one, I don't see them getting one in the near future if they can't agree on what to do with it.  Every time my parents have an idea to do something, my husband seems to jump in on their bandwagon.  He now wants a motor home.  He thinks it would be a perfect family vacation vehicle.  Although we will not be getting one anytime soon, he will talk about this idea for a least six months. 

We haven't taken a vacation since we took the kids to Disney World in 2005.  Not that we couldn't afford to take more but when Chris worked for his dad, he couldn't take more than three days at a time.  Who can enjoy a vacation on three days?  I would need a vacation just to recover from such a short vacation.  So, we would just take the kids to Busch Gardens a few weekends during the Summer and once in the Winter.  Now? Well... we just need to focus on maintaining my business and him returning to school.  With only my income and the little income he gets from unemployment, we managed to pay all our bills and the necessities.  I don't foresee a vacation until at least next summer.  And that is if Chris takes the summer off from school otherwise it may be at least 3 years until we can manage one.  Until then, I will just schedule little things for the weekends, that way Katie gets some quality out of her summer vacation from school.

Happy Independence Day!

In Appreciation to our Forefathers!  Thank you!

Needing a few ideas, please!

I did my best to downsize our belongings before making the move.  Needless to say, we still have way more crap than this house can hold.  So... I am in dire need of some expert organizing advice. 

The kitchen is, I think what most would call it an efficiency kitchen or maybe a utility kitchen.  It has one wall of four cabinets and two cupboards.  Barely enough to store dishes, glasses, Tupperware and casserole dishes. No real counter top space to prepare meals on, so I may have to start using the dining room table to do that. No biggie though, it reminds me of my grandmother's house and how no matter how tiny it was, she made use of it.  But at least she had a defined kitchen area. Here there are no defining walls for the kitchen and it opens up to what we use as a dining room, small entertainment area for Katie, because she has no room in her bedroom for her t.v. and my office.  This room is actually the main part of the house. The house was originally a two bedroom and one bath home.  The carport was enclosed and out of that they utilized a laundry area and a third bedroom.  On  the other side of the house which used to be an enclosed lanai, they also build walls and extended the roof to make what they tried to call a fourth bedroom but it actually serves as a bonus/family room.  They even had a fireplace installed with a chimney.  I don't think it works though and I am not sure I really want to find out. That is the room that has the leaks in it and so far we have not been able to enjoy it and it is now serving more as a storage room than a family room. Don't worry we have kept the furniture away from the wall that has the leaks but boxes and storage containers are up against the wall because we have run out ideas for what to do with all that stuff.  The house has no garage and no outside storage.  Down the road, when we can afford to, we will be installing a shed and a few other outside secured areas for the outside stuff and my husband's tools. Right now they are all in the house.  There is no fence surrounding the house otherwise I would keep my daughters bike outside too.  But as we live on a very busy street there is not telling what thievery would go on.  We have already had our mailbox flag ripped off by some punk after only moving in a few short days ago.  The first day we moved in, two sheriffs used our yard to park their patrol cars, so they could go arrest some wife beater a few houses down. We had to wait until they left so we could resume moving our stuff here. We were prisoners in our "new" home for over two hours.  What a welcoming committee that was!

My husband is going to "help" me later on today by going through and trying to find the perfect spot for everything  and hang pictures to cover up some unsightly holes but I have this sinking feeling that I will be doing this on my own.  Ever since he started playing that stupid computer game, Evony, I am pretty much on my own with things anyhow.  Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should be allowed to enjoy a computer game or two. I am a huge Sims fan.  What I don't think is right, is allowing that to overtake your responsibilities.  That is something that both my husband and son do. 

So again, if anyone has any ideas on how to organize and has creative ideas on utilizing storage, please drop me a line.  I would be ecstatic to have any ideas at all.