Sweet Freedom at Long Last!

Hey everyone!

It has been a crazy few days! Let me see if I can recap on most of what has happened.

As I've mentioned before, we were having a garage sale this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We had so much stuff to get rid of. My mom even contributed quite a few things to this sale as well. She helped a ton, organizing and helping me with last minute set up. I was pretty stressed out, needless to say, as I only had two tables to borrow from a friend, and was desperate in finding more. I was able to get a few more, which helped a ton!

Friday morning came, both Mike and I woke up at 5am to get ready for work, and for my getting ready for the garage sale. As I ran around the area to set up the signs, Mike was helping me by pulling some of the heavy stuff outside to attract the people. He left, and I began the long wait for shoppers to start showing up. Now, all of my signs stated that I would open at 8am, but I was having people walk in around 7am. It was pretty slow, but around 830, I started to get a consistent flow of people walking in. We did really well on the first day. We sold a ton of things, and I was happy. There were a few things that sold that I couldn't believe that someone would even want it, but hey, one person's trash is another's treasure, or so they say.

After day one was over, we were also in charge of hosting a games night at my best friend's house. We got there, and had to wait a few minutes before someone got home, but it was fun. We had a really good time with our group of friends, and I invited someone and was happy that she came. We left early, as I was exhausted from the garage sale, and Mike was still in a lot of pain from his surgery.

The next day, Mike headed to work, as I sat in the garage for round two. Mike had been up since 2am with extreme amounts of pain and I told him that if he doesn't get better than he should just come home. It was his last day at Memorial too. He did end up coming home early, as he was ready to throw up in the break room. He came home and crashed. I felt really bad that he was still in this much pain, but as you get older, it becomes so much harder to recover from these kinds of surgeries.

Day two of the sale went well. I felt like there wasn't much moving, but we made more on this day than the first. I also learned that people with thick Hispanic accents say fifteen and fifty very similarly. A woman had offered to buy my 3 CD stereo that I marked at twenty, for fifteen, but I kept hearing fifty. It took her husband who had an accent, but not as bad to explain to me what had just transpired. I laughed internally. A few hours later, I had some not so nice people come and complain and curse the entire time they were there, most of it was directed at me, but I just bit my tongue. They did end up buying some things, though they tried to low ball me so badly, that I was firm in telling them that I would take a dollar off their total. I didn't care if they ended up leaving without buying anything, because of how they were behaving. They ended up agreeing to pay $3...ha. When they finally left, I just shook my head, wondering why there are people out there like this...then I think that I have met so many people who are just that way. Some are good at hiding it, but eventually, it comes out.

Yesterday was the final day of the sale, and we didn't have many people show up, but we still made out well. Turns out that one of our key signs had blown away from the strong winds. Either way, we still did quite well. Mike had slept in a bit, but when he got himself around, he sat with me most of the day. He was still in a lot of pain, and was wondering if he had a dry socket. I told him that it's normal to be in this much pain, but if he wanted to call the office tomorrow morning, that he could and maybe I was wrong. He has been really good at taking pain medications and napping to keep ahead of the pain.

We still have a ton of things leftover from the sale, and will post the big items that are left on Craiglist, and then take the movies and cds to Entertainmart for purchase, and donate the rest. My mom made a good amount of money on her items, and was surprised by the total that she is getting.

I made a joking comment to Mike about how funny it would be if we posted our old computers on Craigslist and my brother sees them and wants to come and look at them. We laughed as we pictured him emailing us to see when a good time would be and were to go to look at them. I told Mike that I would simply reply with, "You know where I live."  That could be rather creepy, but so funny!

Mike was still in a lot of pain this morning, so he called the office to find out what was going on, or what he needed to do. They explained that it was not a surprise on their end to hear that he was still in pain. They asked if he was eating, not smoking etc. They told him to keep taking round the clock meds and to use a heating pad to keep it relaxed. Both of us were not doing well this morning, so I mentioned to Mike that we just needed a day to relax. I told him that we've got a couple of days before we really need to push it. With two of us, we'll be able to get things accomplished quicker than if it was just me.

Several people that used to work for Memorial, and current ones, had come to the sale and said how much they were sad to see Mike leaving, but completely understood why. I told Mike that I'm glad that there are people who have said some nice things. What I didn't tell Mike, and I think that it goes without saying, that I'm a little jealous that the same people that we worked with, are sad to see him go, but didn't care if I was gone. I know that I'm exaggerating a little, but that is still what it feels like. The management at Memorial did the same thing that they did to me...they didn't acknowledge that he was leaving. They never made an announcement that he was leaving, nor did they talk to him on his last day. I think that is very poor management and it goes to show how they appreciate their employees. Mike is having a good-bye party this Saturday, and I told him that I'm very happy that he's getting some acknowledgement from those that really do care. I laughed and said that it could be a secret party for me that I never got, but I just laughed and reassured Mike that it didn't bother me. It kind of does, as it's the same people, the same organization, and it does bring up some sad memories of how I was treated, and how no one cared whether I was gone or not. I remember telling Mike that the reason I even got some hugs from people we worked with was because he was standing there. We think that is partly true, but there is no way to prove it. Truthfully, it doesn't matter. Memorial is like Hell on Earth. They want people who have no problems killing their patients, they want the people who are not paying attention to what they are doing, and it's all obvious as they have had another pharmacist who screwed up two different chemotherapy drugs, which was given to the patients. Instead of firing him, or writing him up, they are just going to talk to him and make sure that he pays attention from here on out. This is the same guy who works his shift in the clean room, reading the whole time, instead of working. These are the people they keep, and Mike is the kind they get rid of. I've been saying this since I left, not only to those who have left Memorial as well, but those either thinking of leaving, or preparing to leave, that once they are gone, life is going to seem so much brighter and happier, more stress-free and you're going to enjoy what you do for a living again. I know that Mike feels weird that it's over, but I know that he is going to be going to a place that will appreciate him for all that he is, and all the knowledge that he has, and the experience he has to give. He's an amazing worker, and pharmacist, and I know that he will shine in this new place and I can't wait to see him come home happy and enjoying life, which he hasn't done in years with Memorial.

Our house is finished with being painted, and now we are just waiting for the landscapers to show up to work on the yard. Wednesday, I believe, the house goes into the MLS system. I'm praying for a fast sale, so that we can just get something in Craig and get back into the swing of life.

A friend came over on Saturday, during the sale, to take a look at Mike's and my bikes. He fixed them up, by replacing three tire tubes, and tuned up the bikes. I asked him how much he'd like me to pay him, but he told me not to worry about it. His wife, and my friend asked if she could have a key chain, and I told her to just take it. I figured that was the least that I could do for a $60-80 repair that was free. Now that our bikes are fixed, I can join in on the bike rides that the girls do on Saturday mornings. I'm looking forward to it! I told Mike that my plan is once we get to Craig, to ride my bike around the town, with my camera in tow, (which I payed my best friend's boyfriend $55 for a new camera backpack) and take pictures of the area, and the river. Sounds like a plan, he tells me.

Friday is my best friend's sister's (who is also a friend of mine) bachelorette party. I'm going to head to their house and carpool to the location, as I can't remember where it is. I'm really looking forward to going.

The weather has been so bipolar that it's insane. We had a massive storm hit a couple days ago, with flooding in the streets, and four feet of hail burying people in their cars. I was worried that the weather was going to suck for the sale, but we were in the high 70s and low 80s with sunny skies.

Well, I think that I need to get myself off the computer to help get Mike fed and get some pain meds for both of us.

Tomorrow will be busy as I will be packing up the garage sale things to disperse to the locations that I mentioned before. We also will need to move our packed items into the garage.

So until next time!

The Pressure is On!

Hey everyone!

Not much to update you on, but as I've promised to keep the postings coming, that is what I'm going to do.

Tuesday, Mike had his oral surgery done. Three wisdom teeth were removed, and he did fairly well on the first day, and a little on the second, but today, he's not doing well. He is struggling to keep ahead of the pain, and icing it helps very little. He's been stuck eating soft foods, and I know that he'll be looking forward to something solid here soon!

Also on Tuesday, I was invited to go to an impromptu girls' night, but I didn't RSVP until Mike told me that he was fine, which on that day, he was. So I went. I made the cheese ball recipe that is on the blog, look it up, it's quite yummy! Everyone really enjoyed it, and we had dinner as well. After dinner, we started to make some Pom Balls for my friend's wedding that is coming up next weekend. If you don't know what a Pom Ball is, I've supplied a picture for your viewing pleasure.

The pom ball is made out of tissue paper. There were some big ones, like in the picture above that were at her shower, but we needed to scale them down in size for her to use in her actual wedding. That in itself was a major challenge. After screwing up about two of them, we finally managed to get all six finished. We started an assembly line, which I was in charge of cutting and folding paper. I made the joke of that is the only crafty thing I am capable of, but we all know that isn't true.

Another thing to happen on Tuesday, was the painters were finally finished with all of their work. Now I am so very happy they are gone, and I don't have to feel overly creeped out. The guy tried to talk to me as he was leaving, but I wasn't going to reply much to him. Our neighbors, who recommended them to us, had called me while Mike was in surgery and was looking for a review on their services so that they could continue to recommend him to others. I've yet to call her back to tell her what I thought, because frankly, I don't think they deserve any more work. Not only were they rude sexists that send the creep vibe to all females, but they were smoking pot in our back yard and when they asked to open the doors to touch up the paint, I explained that I needed a few minutes to lock the cats up, as they are indoor only, and I managed to get two of the three locked away before he thought it was okay to just leave the front door wide open. I was furious! Mike understood what I was upset about, so I am just waiting for the neighbors to show up on our doorstep and ask me directly. They may not like what I have to say, but it's going to be the truth. I don't want to pay for people's bad habits.

I finally made the granola bars, after talking about it for weeks. We still have plenty too, which is a surprise, but then again, with Mike's surgery, he can't have any...just like the cheese ball. I sort of feel bad that I've made yummy snacks and he's not able to eat them...or perhaps it was all planned? =)

Yesterday, I spent my entire day in the garage, labelling and setting up for the garage sale, which starts tomorrow. I'm still needing to spend some quality time in there, getting things ready, but it's quite difficult when you only have two tables to set things up on and a ton of stuff to get rid of! I've been improvising a little, but I'm in desperate need of tables! I spent my whole day, and finally called it a night at midnight, in the garage. I still need to dismantle the pool table and futon and bring them up to the garage, as well as the two glass tables, two TVs and other big items. I also need to go to the bank and have change ready for the sale too. Not to mention getting the signs ready for placing in the area...as I said, lots to do!

We had a massive storm hit last night. It started about 5 or 6pm, and it consisted of heavy rain, hail and tornado warnings. We even had a bit of flooding going on in our area. It lasted until about 10 or 11pm. Mike looked up the weather tracker and the storm was just swelling above the town, not moving at all. The irony is that in the place where we will be moving to is in the middle of a high fire warning. They have 80* weather, sunny skies and a drought. We have flooding. I know we need the moisture, but this kind is the bad kind.

Well, I had better get off and get myself going. I've got a ton to accomplish and I'm running out of time.

Until next time!

Cardboard Cuts, Putt-Putt Golf, and Sewing Mishaps

Hey everyone!

So, there isn't that much to update on, but since I have a little time, I wanted to at least keep everyone in the loop of what's going on, before I don't have the time to!

As I've mentioned before, we're getting the house painted, and it's being done by some really creepy sexist men. I'm not sure why, but both my mom and I got red flags with these men. The good news is that, for the most part, I'm not really dealing with them. They would much rather talk with Mike, and that's fine with me. Even if I am standing about ten feet away from them, they still want me to "fetch" Mike. There was a day that Mike wasn't home yet, and they were ready to leave. I had the money to pay them for their work for the day, but when I explained that Mike wasn't home yet, and wasn't sure when he'd be home, they were ready to leave without pay, because Mike usually does it. So when I handed them their money, they seemed quite shocked! I told Mike about it, and told him that I wonder if they think Mike doesn't trust me with that kind of money or something. We laughed about it, but it's just the way they are...

The house is pretty much done with painting, but they still need to work on the deck. I'm not sure when or how, especially if it rains, as it has been threatening to do the last few days, but I'm hoping they can finish it and move on...away from here!

We had our second lawn treatment done in the backyard, and I can see some more green than usual. I guess it's working!

When we met with our realtor a few weeks ago, he told us that we'd have a "coming soon" sign placed in our yard within that week. Mike called the realtor yesterday and explained that we still didn't have a sign, and was following up with a few other things. It turns out that the guy who was supposed to place the sign in our yard, placed it in a different yard somewhere in our neighborhood. Mike and I joked about how some poor couple walked outside of their house, only to see this sign, and wondering what was going on. Needless to say, we did get the sign later in the afternoon yesterday. So, it's up and now we can get the interest in the "coming soon" aspects of the house.

One of the things that the realtor told us to do, was to buy some sort of fabric to cover our bed. It's simply to cover the sheets and pillows. He wanted a darker, neutral tone to do this. So Mike and I headed to Jo-Ann's fabrics, found something pretty quickly and, here's the best part, we didn't have to wait to have someone cut the fabric! There was no line at all, which is very rare for that place! They tried to get us to sign up for emails or newsletters, but after explaining that we were moving to an area that had no Jo-Ann's, she finally gave up.

Thursday was a really bad day for Mike. I felt really bad for him. He's just not getting the support from MHS, as if that was any surprise, but they are doing their typical double standards crap where they are allowing someone else who is leaving to run out their PTO, but won't let Mike do the same thing. I told Mike to bring it up, to get an attitude about it, but he says that he's tired of fighting them. I don't blame him. It's pretty obvious that they don't want him there. It's sad to see good people get treated so horribly, and the people who kill the patients are getting special treatment and then promoted. It's sickening, and it makes me very happy to be getting away from such a crooked organization.

So, Thursday, Mike had his doctor's appointment, a simple checkup, and was explaining the situation to our primary. She was not happy that these things were happening, but said that she thinks that the change will be so good for us in the long run. We both agreed with this! We know that as long as we are together, because we are so good for one another and compliment each other so well, that we're going to be perfectly fine. Mike was explaining to me that he may need some space to just be alone and calm down from this horrid day, and I understood. I told him that he could spend his time downstairs playing his game if he wanted to. I didn't mind.

I made sure to keep busy on Thursday, and made a point to get as much accomplished as possible. I installed a new smoke detector, and when it worked, after replacing the battery they gave me, I was happy that it was one less thing for Mike to do. I also spent a long time that day packing up things for Mike to take up on his first trip to Craig, and repacking some things that I put into boxes that wouldn't have worked out in the end. I still have a lot of packing to do yet, but it's coming along nicely.

Yesterday, I spent my afternoon with my mom, helping her watch Willow. She even allowed me to use her sewing machine to sew up the material that Mike and I bought at Jo-Ann's. I did have a little slip up, and ended up sewing the fabric to itself, causing a big bunch. My mom helped untangle it, as I continued to sew the long amounts of fabric. So now that it is finished, we basically have a new duvet cover for our bed!

Willow was watching me eat some cherries and grapes. She practically demanded to have some, but then it turns out that she doesn't like them after all...like we didn't already know that she wouldn't? She likes my stash of Runts though...

I was able to see Mike for about an hour before heading out again, yesterday, for girls' night. We met and ate at Fazoli's, which I haven't been to in over ten years, and it was okay. It's certainly not the best food, as mine went cold within five minutes. Blech! I was pretty hungry though, so I made sure to eat it. The bread sticks were good though! My friend's daughter was playing around with another friend of mine who I was sitting next to, by trying to throw Parmesan cheese at her...my drink caught most of it. Yum...Wild berry Parmesan flavored tea! *shivers*

After dinner, we headed to a miniature golf course and were playing just for fun, and not for score. It was really a fun time. We finished just in time before it started to sprinkle. It was packed at the miniature golf course! There were so many people there, and it finally dawned on me that school was out. I'm still not used to that, as I was in the 4th grade when I had my summer break from school. Since then, I often worked through my summer breaks. Mike was surprised when I texted him when we were done, asking him if he wanted me to bring him some dinner, but he had leftovers. When I got home, I was feeling a little ill, but after getting some water in me, I was much better! I think that my body didn't like the Wild berry Parmesan flavored tea...

Mike has a massage tonight, and I hope that he enjoys it! He's been having some uncomfortableness in his back, so I'm hoping they can work him out. When he gets home from that, he's going to grill a steak up, and I'll be making a stir-fry of zucchini and asparagus. I'm so looking forward to it! I still need to make some granola bars here soon!

Tomorrow, I will most likely be heading over to a friend's house to have her husband look at my mountain bike and see if he can fix it. If he can fix it, or at least tell me what I need to do to get it fixed, then I'll be joining the girls for a bike ride every Saturday morning!

It's going to be a crazy week, as Mike has his oral surgery on Tuesday, we have the garage sale that weekend, and a games night that Friday.

Next Friday is Mike and my turn to host a games night. Since our house is so packed with boxes, and most of our kitchen stuff is sparse, we're going to host it at my best friend's house instead, and just grab a few Papa Murphy's pizzas. Mike wasn't sure at the beginning if he'd be up for going, since it's his last working day at Memorial, but he also wants to see our friends before he's gone.

And during the times in between all of this, I'll be packing and organizing things for garage sale and moving!

I think that pretty much sums everything up. I can't think of much else that is going on...at least, not right now.

Until next time!