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Thursday, November 29th, 2001
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7:42 pm - In memory of Joyce and the others who have left us.
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When Tomorrow Starts Without Me
When tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see;
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn't cry
The way you did today.
While thinking of the many things,
We didn't get to say.
I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.
But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life, I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for,
So much yet to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
And all the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you
And maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
Would take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow.
But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
From His great golden throne,
He said "This is eternity,
And all I've promised you."
Today for life on earth is past,
But here it starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
And since each day's the same way
There's no longing for the past.
But you have been so faithful,
So trusting and so true.
Though there were times you did some things,
You knew you shouldn't do.
But you have been forgiven
And now at last you're free.
So won't you take my hand
And share my life with me?
So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, October 20th, 2001
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6:16 am - My Josh
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Hello All, I thought I'd send you this poem that Josh has
written and has had published. It is published in
"The Teacher's Selection Anthology of Poetry" 2001 Edition
Here it is...........
Music
The music causes you to feel lost.
You're running, in a dark tunnel.
You turn a corner,
But the beginning arrives again.
You can never leave this maze.
You can never leave the confusing life.
You're stuck; you're trapped in this maze,
Alone.
The endless melody, repeating,
Repeating fears, repeating worries,
Over and over, burning them in your soul.
It's never ending, always going.
It's a part of you,
The music will always be
A part of you.
You hope the end is near,
But it's only the beginning again.
Persisting itself into you,
Down to your heart.
It fills you,
Your soul,
Your mind,
Losing you completely.
You are thrown into a black hole,
Deeper into the maze.
You can't stop,
You can never stop.
The music continues,
You continue,
Never-ending,
Always going.
JLS-D
SHS
Nominated by eleventh grade teacher Jill Walls
This is the third time her work has been published! Go Josh!!!
Love you girl!!!!!!!! Mom =:)
current mood:  pleased
current music: None. Silence, sweet silence.
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| Friday, October 12th, 2001
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6:36 pm - Joyce
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Christie, Got your email, a fitting tribute to a friend like Joyce. We, Kala, Tara and I, came home after the funeral on Wednesday. Joyce's visitation and funeral went well,in Smyrna and in Ozark. She had friends and family, plus the church family down there come by. She was buried in the cemetery of Post Oak Baptist Church where her grandparents, aunt and father are buried. It was the same church where we got married almost 31 years ago in
November. Half the people that were at the funeral were there for our wedding also. Here is a copy of her obit:
Glenda Joyce Franks Whitt
Services for Glenda Joyce Franks Whitt, 52, of Smyrna, who died Thursday, Sept. 27 at her home will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at Post Oak Baptist Church in Ozark, Ala., with burial in Post Oak Baptist Church Cemetery. The Rev. Don Moore will officiate. A native of Ozark, Ala., she was the daughter of Velma Jewel Free Franks of Ozark, and the
late Marvin P. Franks Sr. She is survived by her husband, Marcus Lynn Whitt of Smyrna; son Tracy Lynn Whitt of
Smyrna; daughters Kala Joyce Whitt of Tampa, Fla., and Tara Dawn Whitt of Smyrna; brothers Marvin P. Franks Jr. and Henry Lynn Franks, both of Ozark; and her mother. She was a member of Florence Baptist Church and was a homemaker.
Visitation will be from 2-6 p.m. today at Woodfin Chapel in Smyrna, and from 6-8 p.m. Monday at Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home in Ozark. Woodfin Chapel in Smyrna is in charge of local arrangements.
Daily News Journal Sept. 29, 2001
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
?The Daily News Journal 2001
She loved to go riding with you at night, had me worried but I knew you guys were safe. Tara seems to be doing okay here at home, walks with Trudy and Ann most of the time. We came home on Wednesday and packed up her clothes and took them to the mission in Murfreesboro. We stayed up till around 2:00 AM working on them.
We will try and find something of Joyce's for you, I will let Tara work on that one and we will let you know. We moved the bed out of the small bedroom and moved the computer and some book cases in here. That is where I am at now, made sort of a small office type of place.
Well, email me anytime, will give you a call.
Mark and Tara
current mood:  content
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| Thursday, October 11th, 2001
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7:16 pm - Missing Joyce
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Hey Mark,
I just received the email with the photos.
Thank you for thinking of me.
Is Joyce buried in a family cemetary?
What was her maiden name?
I miss her terribly.
She was my best friend.
She and I didn't talk on the telephone everyday,
but she was my best bud.
I can't imagine what it must be like for you and the kids.
I think about her every day.
I wasn't able to go to work the Friday after she died.
I could only think of Joyce when I got home
and I had to take a Midrin for my headache and sore throat.
I know it was after 3 am when I possibly fell asleep.
I feel so guilty by not calling and giving you all my work telephone number.
I wish I had been there with her and all of you.
This is Rob's work number just in case you can't get in touch with me
if you ever need to.
xxx-xxxx
Our cell # is xxx-xxxx
Just because Joyce isn't with us physically anymore,
you can always count on me if you need me to help with Tara.
I'm sure it is going to be so hard for Tara
to stay in the house all alone now.
The memories of her mom are just so great.
Tell her to call me if she needs me.
I do hope the funeral in Smyrna and in Alabama went well.
Tara said that Joyce didn't look like herself.
I told her to remember what her mom looked like before she got sick.
That thought is what helps me to deal with this.
Now every time I pay my bills and drive them to their destinations,
I think of Joyce.
She would ride with me some nights to drop the bills off,
so I wouldn't be out in the middle of the night by myself.
Joyce would also come to my house on Pony and talk with me while I cleaned
house or was packing boxes for our move.
She also helped keep Jordan busy when she was a toddler.
I miss Joyce so much.
If you have some little something that was Joyce's that you would give me,
I would so appreciate it.
I would love to have something to remember her by.
If you and the kids can find something for me,
let me know and I can come by the house one day to pick it up.
It is still so hard for me to believe she is gone.
She was such a good soul.
I know that she could complain as much as all of us,
but she wasn't vicious.
She confided in me with lots of her thoughts and that makes me feel so good.
She trusted me.
She did love you and she so loved being a mom.
All of you were her life.
Her biggest fear of dying was leaving Tara.
I tried to let her know that Tara would be ok and taken care of by
her dad and brother and sister.
I think she knew that all of you could handle life without her.
She was just so close to Tara and kept her sheltered.
Well, I am going to hush for now.
Take care,
Christie
current mood:  melancholy
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| Monday, September 17th, 2001
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7:13 pm - Terrorist attack the USA
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The day after:
by Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald
We'll go forward from this moment:
It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.
You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard.
What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade enter, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn?
Whatever it was, please know that you failed.
Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae-a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse.
We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement.
We are fundamentally decent, though-peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.
Some people-you, perhaps-think that any or all of this makes us weak.
You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals.
IN PAIN
Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock.
We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel.
Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of the world.
You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain.
When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force.
When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.
I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future.
In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.
THE STEEL IN US
You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well.
On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish.
So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us?
It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred.
If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange:
You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of.
You don't know what you just started.
But you're about to learn.
My sentiments exactly. Go forward America and try to heal from all of this chaos.
Take care and God bless you. Christie =:)
current mood:  contemplative
current music: None. I only hear the meow of my 18 year old + Mama cat.
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| Monday, August 6th, 2001
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5:40 pm - No more Paxil!!!
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I am so happy, happy, happy that I am not taking Paxil anymore!!! I am almost back to being myself. Not physically, but mentally that is. I have been taking Paxil since March or April 1997. I had been having a pressure headache for months late in 1996 that was probably triggered by having braces placed on my lower teeth that August. My primary doc thought maybe I had a cerebral aneurysm and sent me to a neurologist. Dr. Brandes, the neurologist, had me do an MRI. The results were negative. After her taking a history of my headaches, she decided that I suffer from migraines. I thank God that my migraines aren't like the classic migraine that so many of you have heard about. I have an aura, partial blindness, my limbs seeming to be longer than normal and what I call "seeing sparkles". I have had 3 of these episodes in my life. The other type of migraine that I have is the ice pick headache. I feel as though someone is sticking an ice pick into one of my temples and/or behind an eye. I also have had a crawling sensation across my scalp and the pressure in my head and it wanting to explode. I am so delighted that my migraines aren't the excruciating headache type, with light and noise sensitivity and nausea. My husband and a sister of mine suffer these types of headaches and it has put my sister out of commission for days. My hubby now takes Imitrex for his headaches and it stops them fast. Dr. Brandes had me start on an antidepressant drug called amitriptyline, Elavil by brand name, and a ton of other drugs to keep the headaches under control. The medical profession has found out that antidepressants help with pain. Well, the first 3 months I was taking amitriptyline, I gained around 30 pounds and was having massive nightmares and hallucinations in my sleep. When I went back to Dr. Brandes for my 3-month check up, she asked me how I was doing. Well as soon as I told her about the weight gain and sleep disturbances, she knew it was the amitriptyline causing the problem. She had me stop the amitriptyline and start Paxil. Okay, the sleep probs stopped, but I was still fat and growing daily. Yeah, the constant pressure headache subsided, but I was fat! Now after 4 1/2 years of taking and topping out at 60 mgs.of Paxil, and gaining a total of 50 pounds, the last 10 or more pounds being related to breaking my left foot April 10 of this year, I am off the drug and happy, happy, happy!! Strange, because Paxil is an antidepressant and is supposed to make you happy, happy, happy!! The happy part to all of this is that my obsessive-compulsiveness has returned!!
My hubby is so elated with this new me! My girls are so non-elated with this new me!! After 4 ? years of not giving a damn about having a clean and organized house, I am now giving a damn about having a clean and organized house. Now let me update you a tad. We now own a beautiful and freshly built for us 2000 + square foot home that sits on 1.4 acres of land. We moved from a house that we had owned for 13 years and 7 months that was used when we bought it and it had only 1250 sf and sat on ? of an acre. For many of the 4? years I was taking Paxil, I just didn't care how my house looked. I had no energy and inspiration to clean and organize anything. Also, within those 4 ? years, I started a drug therapy for my Hepatitis C that I had been diagnosed with in January 1993 and was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. If you are interested, you can check out these 2 diseases at www.webmd.com. I love that web site! It is chock full of medical info which I live for!! I do have a positive comment to make about Paxil. If I had not been on this drug during my Interferon and Ribavirin therapy for my Hep C, I probably would have murdered my hubby, kids and myself! The side effects from this combo therapy for Hep C are horrendous! It took me about 2 years to finally decide to start this therapy because I was so afraid of the side effects and how I would react to them. Most people can't tolerate the side effects and stop treatment mid therapy. I am not a quitter and I did persevere through the therapy. I did 3 shots a week for 52 weeks and I am proud to say, as of today, I am in remission!! Yea!!! It was pure hell for my nuclear family and me, but it was worth it. Ok, so now I'm off Paxil and almost totally free of prescription drugs. The only ones I take now are Prevacid for GERD aka heartburn, Furosemide aka a water pill, K-Dur aka potassium, and Allegra. I may take a pain tablet every once in a blue moon for pain that I can't treat with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. These prescription drugs that I take now don't give me the problems I had with Paxil. I am a new woman these days!! I may be able to keep my new house clean and organized as long as my newfound energy burst stays!! And maybe I will lose most of the 50 pounds or so I have gained within these past 4 ? years! Oh happy days! I hope my girls can deal with all of this and roll with the changes. The change is good and definitely for the better. At this point, I am on an emotional roller coaster though. I have had a few outbursts of anger and Joshua and Jordan are like, "You need to get back on Paxil!" It is really hard for Joshua to step down from her position that I had put her in for all these years. She did come to my rescue when I was "out of it" for so long. Thanks Josh for all of your help and now you can rest and start being a 17 year old. Your mom is back and she and daddy together will direct you and Jordan in the right directions. I'm sorry, but now you have to wash clothes and clean the way I want you to wash clothes and clean. Sorry, but that is the way your obsessive-compulsive mom is. And Rob could not be prouder. He is so pleased that I am back. In his old age, he is becoming a little bit obsessive-compulsive. At the early stages of our lives together, he was so not like me. He did things half assed and just didn't care. I have always felt that if you are going to take the time to do something, you need to do it and make it perfect. Now he cares and it so makes me happy!! Now I care about things and having an organized home and he is so happy!! Now the girls are less happy!! I know they will come around. I have washed all of the clothes and with help, cleaned out our walk- in closet and got it organized. Rob worked on Jordan's bedroom and has it clean and moved the furniture around to make it better suited for living. Now all that needs to be done in her room is for me to arrange her clothes before school starts. Jordan has now found toys, clothes and other sundries that she has been missing for months, maybe years! She will appreciate the change. So will Josh. Life is so much easier and fun when you aren't struggling to find things. I have always said that everything should have its place and to always put it back in its place so you can find it the next time. Ohhhh one of the things that drives me batty is not being able to find something or finding something that doesn't belong where I'm looking!! I can already see a change for the better in Jordan. She is happier if I say so myself! Once we get the house in a livable condition and caught up with daily chores, we can paint the walls the colors that we want them to be and I can start on crafts that I have been dying to do in this house. I can't wait to be able to stencil the walls and just make this house a warm and inviting home.
We do still have a garage full of boxes to go through, but it won't be that hard to do once the rest of the house is ok. I have already started a yard sale box for things we just don't need anymore. I'm sure that most of the things that are in those boxes in the garage will end up being yard sale stuff. It is time to end the clutter physically and mentally ya know?!! Maybe when I get my home comfortable, I will be comfortable going back to work. Which Josh working and me working is becoming a necessity more and more each passing day! Oh yeah, if my headaches return, which I have been having quite a few since I'm not doing Paxil anymore, I guess I will just have to suffer and load up on acetaminophen and ibuprofen.
current mood: relieved
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, June 26th, 2001
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8:45 pm - Losing a friend
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I am so tired of my friends moving and leaving me!!
A friend of mine that I have had around 13 years is moving back home to New Hampshire. I don't see her or talk to her that much, but we do email each other. She is in my life and I know that if there was anything that I needed to talk about, she is there for me. Same here on this end. I have had so many of my friends go off in different directions with their lives and leave me. I am so selfish, I don't want them to leave.
I am the same way about people dying. I have had relatives die because they were so sick and in pain with their bodies, that the best thing for them was to die and be free of that body that was causing them so much agony. I know that these people are better off now and in a better place and free of pain. But, I am so selfish, I don't want to miss them and not have them in my life!!! Sometimes, I wish things didn't have to change. Especially, people dying. I get attached to someone and I want them here with me forever. I hope this is a natural feeling. I know we are all born to live and then die and that is inevitable. But, how I so miss that person.
I don't want JoAnn to move !!! =:'(
current mood: sad
current music: None, I only hear the hum of the computer, Rob and Jordan
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, June 24th, 2001
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1:13 pm - Boo hoo! =:'(
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I miss my Josh!!!
My oldest daughter has gone to Camp Discovery for a week to volunter for the MD Association as a counselor for an eight year old boy with MD. We drove her to the camp yesterday and I miss her already!! I am going to go insane when she really moves from home!! I am such a control freak, I don't want her to leave me!
The four of us in this nuclear family of ours, are really close. Yes, we do have our arguments and disagreements, but we are close. My two girls talk with me. They actually want my opinions. We have respect for each other. I talk with them. They know what is going on in this family. Sometimes, I think they know too much! We are just open like this.
I really miss my Josh!!! =:'(
current mood: melancholy
current music: None. Silence and the hum of the computer.
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, June 21st, 2001
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10:15 am - Marriage and life
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I love my husband. I love the sacredness of marriage. I fancy being able to wake my husband from a sound sleep anytime I want to, and do whatever I want to. And he loves it. And he feels the same way. He has aroused me from sleep a many a time and had his way with me. I wonder if other marriages have what he and I have. We?ve had our evils in the past in our relationship, but now I feel we are free of them. As long as he doesn?t fuck up that is. And he knows what I mean by fucking up, don?t you deary? You just better not be hiding anything or lying about anything from and to me the way you have in the past. Just because I don?t find it or ask you what are you doing doesn?t mean you can do it. Got it? Ok, I think I am through with that tangent for now.
It is a comforting feeling having a body that knows me inside and out so well, as my husband knows me, laying beside me in bed. I am so used to his breathing, snoring, movements in bed, the noises he makes in his sleep, his pee patterns in the middle of the night, and the way he steals the cover from me, that it would be so hard not having him there. We have been a couple for 18 years and almost 6 months. We are so comfortable with each other, which I feel I have been with him forever.
I do remember my past and my past relationships and I do know they have existed, but I feel that I have been with him for eternity. I have had relationships where I thought they would live on and on. Most of us think that our first experiences with dating, kissing and petting, that these are the true loves in our life. They are our loves at that time for sure. That?s all that we know. And our first sexual experience is to die for. You are so wrapped up in each other, body and soul; you think they are the one that you will grow old together with. Ohhhhh, and how that is so not the case. I truly believed my first love in high school was to be the one I would marry and have many babies with. But that just wasn?t to be. That male and I have talked and had a lunch or two and are still friends. I wonder if he thinks of me after all this time and the things we have done together. It?s hard for me not to think of him because he was the one that molded my high school experience. After him, I had plenty of other males in my life. Not men, just boys. I don?t think a male becomes a man until he has felt the wrath of life. And that, dear readers, takes time. Lots o? time. You have to live life to know life and only a real man can handle life and be good at it. My second major love lasted way longer than that first love. But it was so not like that first love. I was older and had been there and done that more then he. I was the teacher and he the student. We did become enriched as lovers. We taught and learned many things from each other. I guess we do learn from our past. My hubby thinks you are your past, but I do not agree with this. I have learned from my past life and have taken from it what I have needed and then I have let the rest go. You can learn more than you think if you will live your life in the now and not reside in your past life. I know I am a better person now because of this. I live the here and now to focus on my two girls and my husband. They are what count in my life. Hell, THEY ARE MY LIFE!
My husband and I have gone through so much within these past 18+ years.
In Nashville, we met at work, lived together, got a cat, got pregnant and had a baby, moved in with his parents with the baby, cat and a dog, I left him and moved to Fayetteville with the baby because he was a butthead (I could use a way stronger description, but I will let butthead stand for now), we came back together again and became a family of 3 with cat and dog in tow, moved, then moved again back to Nashville and adopted 2 more cats, then moved again to Knoxville with all animals in tow, then moved again with 3 cats, 5 newborn kittens and a dog back to Nashville and lived in a duplex, then bought a house in Smyrna and moved again, had a second baby and lived in that house for 13 years 7 months and a few days, and now we have had a house built in Murfreesboro and are finally settled into a house we are to live and die in. Of course during all of this moving and raising kids and animals, we had to deal with jobs, deaths, births, sickness, our own personalities and Rob?s gargantuan idiosyncrasies.
Now, getting back to the beginning of my journal.
I love my husband. I love being married. I love having someone who loves me wanting to come home from work and enjoy my company. I love knowing that there is someone who doesn?t want to go to work because they would rather stay home with me. I love the fact that I have someone in my life that accepts me for who I am and believes in me. I love having that someone know that I am trustworthy and honest and they know that without hesitation. I love having the closeness that we have. We have gone through hell and back, but we are still in the marriage game for life. I have put up with more than some wives would, but I am here. I can?t wait for Rob to be retired and we have 24/7 to be together. Our oldest daughter says we won?t know what to do when she and her sister are gone from home. Oh yes we will. We may finally break a hip that our oldest daughter worries about. She thinks we are trying to break one right now and we ain?t even close!!! =;)
current mood: content
current music: None, silence and sometimes the sound of cats and hamsters.
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(comment on this)
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| Tuesday, February 20th, 2001
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3:38 am - I am back......
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I will write in my journal later today. I need some sleep before the girls are up for their day at school.
Night night, my sweets!
current mood: sleepy
current music: None. Silence, just wonderful silence.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Friday, September 8th, 2000
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10:15 am - I'm back!
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I woke this morning at 4:30am and was dying of thirst. There was no tea or lemonade to drink, so I settled on the small boxes of V8 Splash I had recently bought for Jordan to drink at school. It wasn't what I was actually looking for, but it did the trick. These little boxes hold 6.75 ounces and I went through 2 of the little boxes in a matter of seconds. But I did get my thirst quenched.
I didn't even feel like trying to go back to sleep, so I decided to check my e-mail. I recently let my inbox grow to around 1500 e-mails and I don't want to let that happen again. I have many friends who send jokes and things of that nature and I also subscribe to way too many newsletters. It was so hard for me, who is a little on the Obsessive Compulsive side, to delete all of those e-mails!
I really wanted to know what was in all of those e-mails! I subscribe to many computer info letters and I really enjoy learning things about our computer. I had to make a decision and delete those things that I knew I would never read. Can you imagine how long it would take to physically read all of those at one sitting? From now on, I am going to read my e-mail on a daily basis so I will never have to delete that many at a time! I'm sure there were many educational, informative and funny things that I deleted. Never again. Of course, I've said this before, but I mean it this time. It's so hard letting that stuff go.
I did get most of my e-mail read and forwarded. I still have a few, but I will get to them maybe later today or tomorrow.
The appointment with the builder of the house we want has been changed until Monday of next week. I guess this is when we pay the big bucks to start the building process. Rob thinks the price that the builder has set is a good one. The builder knew we didn't want to go over $150,000, but his last price on the house is $155,000. I guess I can live with that price as long as my hubby can and thinks we are getting what we will be paying for.
Josh has a home game tonight to march in and then many of her buds want to do a sleepover at a friend's house. I've talked with Jessica's mom, Marilyn, and she's ready for them. Marilyn, Joshua, and Jessica will be working at the Smyrna Air Show to help with funding for the Smyrna High Marching Band Saturday morning. They need to be at the airport at 7:30am. I do hope these girls don't talk all night. They will be working until 6:00pm and then we, the 4 of us, have tickets to see a dance group at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center at 8:00pm. Josh is going to be one tired little puppy. She will be able to sleep in some on Sunday, but we do have a family reunion to go to around 3:00pm. So much for weekends when marching band is in season! We have plans every weekend in September that is pertaining to the marching band. Contests and work for fund raising!
Jordan doesn't have anything scheduled thank heavens! Poor thing, she just has to be dragged along on our band trips!
I found out this morning while reading my e-mail, that a friend of mine is engaged. This is probably no big woo to you, but I didn't even know she was involved with anyone!!! We exchange e-mail constantly and she never even brought this guys name up!! I replied to her e-mail to let her know how upset I was that she had not informed me of this engagement when it happened. It's hard for me to comprehend people signing on to their computers before work. When I worked or even now when I have an appointment, I spend my waking moments just getting myself ready and out the door as fast as I can. Tracey must be one of those early risers that have enough time to calm down and take a breath before rushing out the door. She did e-mail me right back this morning and said the engagement just happened. This guy is an old friend of hers from high school and has recently divorced. Well, not recently recently. He has an 8-year-old daughter. Tracey says they don't have too much in common, but he is so good to her. I think they can make the relationship work. If you truly love and respect the person and want to make them happy, you will find common ground. Good luck Tracey!!!
It is now 11:14am and me thinks I will try to take a nap before my girls get home. I need to wash and dry clothes before the game tonight and for this weekend. Maybe I will have a rather refreshing nap an actually feel like doing domestic work. We will see. Bye for now.
current mood: content
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| Thursday, September 7th, 2000
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3:58 am - It's been a long, long time!
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I'm sorry that I haven't been writing. I am more of a talker than a writer. I share my thoughts and feelings through spoken language than written language. I'm sure my husband Rob, my 2 girls Joshua and Jordan, and my friends and even strangers could attest to that!
My family and I are in the process of building a new house. We have picked out the house plan, the lot, and the builder. I did receive a call from my realtor the other day and the builder has a price set for this house at $5000 more than I feel that we need to spend. Now, we are scheduled this Saturday to do more negotiating on this house. This is what kills me when it comes to buying a house or car where you can negotiate the selling price. I have told this builder what we can afford in a house many, many times and he still has come back with the price $5000 more than what I have previously told him. Does anyone listen? I am a stay at home mom and do not have paid employment.
My husband works and I stay home to be with our girls. I am the one who pays all of the bills. I know what we can and cannot afford. Now we are going to have to talk one more time, at least, with this builder about that price on this house.
I do feel that he is an honest person and will do a wonderful job building this house for us. I want the lot we have picked out and he is the owner of it. My hubby thinks the price on the house is worth it. This builder adds many upgrades to the homes that he buildes and I have downgraded many of them to cut cost going into this house. I really don't know what else to downgrade. I guess I will find out this Saturday as to what we will end up doing. I will try my best to get back and let all of you know our decision and when the house will be started. If we get the building process started now, we may be in our newly built home by the end of this year. What a way to end the year 2000! The home that we have now is 23 years old and we have lived here for 13 years. We have so outgrown this house and we have been wanting to move for many years. It is going to take many hours and a lot of energy to make this house ready to sell, I don't know where I am going to find the energy. I have the time, just not the energy. Maybe when we actually write the downpayment check to the builder for $5000, that will get my butt in action! This house needs to ready and on the market and sold by the end of the building process of our new home. The builder says
it can take anywhere from 4 months to 6 months to build the house. It's all depending on the weather. I know it has been done many times before, but the closing dates on both of these houses need to be very close. This is a very stressful situation for me, because I can't see us paying to mortgages at the same time. Wish us luck! I need to stop for now and pick out what my youngest daughter will be wearing to school today.
The weather will be fall like today. Maybe she can do the blue jean thing and not die from the heat.
But then again, she is 9 and extremely headstrong and she will probably decide on her dress for today. All I can do is to try to be the best mom I can. Sometimes it doesn't pay to fight. As I am getting older, I decide when to pick my arguments with my girls. Somethings are not worth fighting about. I will save my energy for more serious situations. Well, I will try to save my energy. I still need to practice more control over my emotions. Bye for now.
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| Wednesday, June 7th, 2000
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4:43 pm - I'm awake!!!
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Well, well, well! I finally decided to get out of bed today. I woke up this morning to get my 9 year old off to her Enrichment program that is offered at her school this summer. She had almost an hour before she had to be at school, so the 2 of us laid down to take a nap. The alarm went off at 7:00a and I tried to wake her and she just slept on.
The child is so tired! She had a late softball game last night, they lost by 1 point!, and she didn't get in bed until after 10:30p. She needed her sleep, so the 2 of us slept in my bed. She woke about 10:00a and I heard, "Mother, uhh!". She had no clue that she had over slept or that I had even tried to wake her at 7:00a. Her program at school ends at 11:00a, so it was way too late to even think about taking her.
The 2 of us proceeded to feed our newly found baby female cardinal.
That little bird was hungry! She was chirping and shaking those little wings of hers. She was so happy to get a full crop once again. It is a wonderful feeling to keep a wild baby bird alive. I know the right thing to do would be to release her when she is older, but I worry she may not survive on her own. She hasn't had her birth parents to teach her to hunt for food or to fear the bad things that lurk out there.
After the feeding, I went back to bed and begged for sound sleep. But, noooooo. With my 9 year old home and awake, there was to be no sound sleep for me.
Off and on through out the day, either my 9 year old or my 16 year old was bothering me. Finally, I crawled out of bed and started my afternoon. =;)
I love sleep. I need lots of sleep to function. It's hard for me to sleep at night with my dear hubby because he snores and breathes so loud. The only good and real sleep I get is after he leaves for work in the mornings.
Ok, I going to close for now. Hope all of you have a good day. =:)
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| Tuesday, June 6th, 2000
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10:57 pm - A New Beginning
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Hello all. First attempt at my journal. Don't have time tonight, going to bed. My hubby and my daughter are doing this, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. But not tonight. Too tired. Will try tomorrow.
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