Whole Bunch of This and That

I spend so much time writing blog and twitter posts in my head but they just never make it to the big screen. Here's a smattering of what's going on in my head and in my life...

First up - my son came down with Lyme Disease. We wasted time and money with a trip to our local Medi-Quik and the doctor diagnosed it as NOT Lyme Disease. He gave us an Rx for an antibiotic and sent us on our way. The NEXT morning he wakes up with a huge bullseye where once there was only redness. We took a trip to our trusted pediatrician group and it was obviously Lyme Disease. They put him on doxycycline for 21 days and that was it. I think we caught it soon enough because he hasn't had any of the flu-like symptoms or achy joints. Some people never get the bullseye so we were doubly lucky. Until....

My son broke his hand. In a fight. At a concert. The very next weekend. He calls me into his room the following Sunday and says "I have something to tell you" which of course would make any mother's heart sink! He brought his hand out from under the covers and it was VERY LARGE. After the previous weekend, and knowing the emergency room where I'd have to take him I told him he would have to wait until Monday. The ER would have us wait for at least 6 hours, take an x-ray, tell us it was broken and for us to call our doctor in the morning. Which is what I did on Monday morning. We couldn't get an appointment until Tuesday but the nurse said it wouldn't start healing on it's own.

Tuesday's x-ray showed us a broken bone in the hand below the pinky. The doctor gave him a shot and set it and casted it and HOPED it would set. In fact, he set it a second time when he didn't like the results the first time. Follow up today and the bone separated. It's pins for his hand. We've got our fingers crossed that they are able to squeeze it in tomorrow - whatever time, 6 at night we don't care! - because Monday the football team starts practice and he's one of the head managers. I haven't heard from the hospital yet but I'm keeping my hopes up!

I have been doing really well in my quest to take care of myself physically and mentally. I have started running again, really putting effort into my workouts and keeping a journal of my food and my moods. With all my efforts, since the 14th of July, I've lost a whopping .6 pounds. I didn't stutter -- SIX TENTHS OF A POUND. How is that possible you ask? Well, when I started it was at 126.6. The following week 124.8 (yay!), the following week 128.8 (Gasp!). That's when I begin to question what I'm eating, my workouts, me. I mean come on! 4 pounds?! I only went to a wedding and a party after. I don't think 3 vodka cranberries, 3 jello shots, and some eggplant parm are gonna add four pounds are they? So I start weighing myself on Thursdays too. That brought me to 128.2, to 125.6 on Tuesday and now to 126.4 on Thursday. This I know: I'm 49 years old, I'm 4'10 3/4", I have 1/2 a thyroid so I take levoxyl, I'm perimenopausal and I'm obsessed with THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE.

But through it all, I have not wavered. I didn't storm into the pantry after gaining four pounds and eat whatever I could get my hands on, I went out for a kick ass run. My muscles are sore and I feel good. My shorts are fitting a little better. I had a pair of capris that I had to shimmy into this morning that still looked good by this evening. So with the negatives so far, come the positives.

Next Thursday my husband and I are heading into New York to see JOHN LEGEND at Madison Square Garden!! When I saw he was going to be there I decided I had to see him. I turned my husband into a fan too with his latest album so he agreed to go with me (I would have gone alone). We are going to stay overnight and come home the next morning. I checked out the tickets at Ticket Master but I didn't like the seats that were coming up randomly so my cousin told me to try StubHub. I found two tickets in Section 209, Row A, Seats 1 and 2. AISLE SEATS! Check them out! My husband loves aisle seats so I went for it. I Can't Wait!

Oh I feel so much better now! Really, the thoughts DO roll around in my head!

Nine Months From Now...

...I will turn 50 years old.

I have decided to use these nine months to work on myself. To focus on what I eat, my workout, how I feel physically and mentally. I'm an analyzer - haha, just noticed the first for letters of that work are "anal" and that is an apt description! I like to put things into black and white, write them down examine the documentation and come up with a conclusion.

I know that along with the physical part of the process, I really have to work on the mental aspect. I'm really, really, hard on myself. Really hard. I've come to realize that for someone who is so positive and everyone's cheerleader, when it comes to me - I'm my own worst enemy. I am so negative and can't even look in a mirror without thinking how ugly I am, or how rotten my hair looks or OMG my thighs are so huge. It's got to stop and I have to learn how to love myself.

I've started working out - slowly working out. Just cardio for now, walking/running or riding my bike in the morning for about 30 minutes. I'm writing down what I eat - going back to basics with three meals, a snack if I'm hungry and plenty of water. I can drive myself insane trying to decide what workout to do or wondering whether I ate enough of this or that that's why I'm sticking to the basics.

I want to start out the next half century of my life in the best physical and mental shape possible.

The Mortgage Industry

I now know why the mortgage industry is going (or has gone?) to hell in a handbasket.

We used our local TDBanknorth in the past for a mortgage on a commercial building my husband and a partner bought. Of course I handled all the paperwork and the bank couldn't have been nicer. Bent over backwards to accommodate our needs, had the closing in their office, got phone calls on a regular basis from the person at the bank on the status. So we used the same bank, same branch when we applied for a mortgage on the cottage.

Things were a little different. Grace at the bank had moved on and the person there had been transferred from another branch and wasn't thrilled about being there. She sat me down at a desk at the bank, set me up and had me complete the loan application over the phone with the mortgage department. Ok, not the best method but it was done. They asked if I wanted to use the closing attorney selected by the bank and I said "sure!". Didn't know they would select one for me who was 40 minutes away! For a FIVE MINUTE MEETING. Ok, learned my lesson there.

Fast Forward to May 2009. Rates have dropped, cottage has been remodeled, time to get out of our high interest mortgage. On May 14th, I go to the same branch of TDBanknorth again. Kevin, new CSR says he can help me. We complete an online application. I'm asked to provide a closing attorney name. I use the name of a local attorney in town. Finally everything's in the computer we're all set.

May 28th, I get a phone call from the loan processor,Diana, introducing herself telling me there will be a packet in the mail for us. The following week we get the packet, sign the papers, fax them all to her, follow up with an email letting her know they've been sent. And that's when it all started falling apart....

First, I get an automatic email from her telling me she's out of the office on vacation and that Natalie would be covering her work. So I send Natalie an email telling her I've sent it and asked her a few questions. I then get a reply from Natalie telling me Bill is handling our loan while Diana's gone and to send the information to him and she would forward my email. No reply from Bill, no reply from Bill, no reply from Bill. I email Natalie again and tell her I haven't heard from Bill. Bill promptly gives me a call after that! I find out what I need.

One of the items they needed was our ENTIRE tax return from 2008. We're self-employed and it's about 50 pages. My new accountant had my only copy so they made me one and I brought it to the Kevin at the bank and he said he'd fax it. This was on June 10.

I wish I could tell you how much time went by before I heard something. But it looks like it was June 29th when Megan, who was helping the Diana, left a message to give me an update on the remaining outstanding conditions. Come to find out - they were still waiting for the tax return! To make an already long story short, Kevin at the bank was faxing it to the wrong number! Does that mean it never went through? Or some local hardware store in Maine now has a copy of my tax return including my family's social security numbers? I don't know. I don't want to know.

On July 13th I called the loan processor to check the status because -- it was the last day of the locked in rate! She told me they would extend it for us.

The other day she realized she didn't have our homeowner's insurance information. Gave her the agent's phone number so she could get that information.

Today, July 22nd, she calls and asks for - my husband. When I say "this is Nancy" she said "Oh! I've always talked to your husband, but I can talk to you". Uh, ok.

She was calling to see if my closing attorney had completed the title search. First of all, WE OWN THE PROPERTY. WE'RE REFINANCING. Second of all, I gave YOU the attorney information. What did you ask for it for if you weren't going to use it and if I had to have them do something, why didn't you tell me? But I bit my tongue, told her we'd use their attorney as long as they were local to us and of course, this will delay the closing a few more days.

And THAT'S why I'm not surprised that the loan industry is in the condition it's in.

Retail Therapy

Well! money is tight but that didn't stop me from shopping today and wait til you hear what my out-of-pocket was!

First, I went to a toy store and bought Bananagrams. One of my sisters brought it with her to the lake this weekend and, although I just watched them play it, it looked like alot of fun and something anyone can play. That was $14.99 plus tax.

Then I traveled down the road to Bed Bath and Beyond. On my way there, I drove down the street where we priced a kitchen for some people a few months ago. A kitchen cabinet company brought us in for the carpentry part of it. The man was just ok - sort of devoid of any personality - but the woman was a nutcase. She was a real Jekyl and Hyde. First meeting she was fairly pleasant but the second meeting - oh boy!. Maybe she just had a bad day at work, but I think it was more like a major life crisis and she decided she just didn't care who was in her way. Needless to say, none of us got the job and there was a dirty old panel van in the driveway and a dumpster in the back but no real sign of work going on. But I digress...back to shopping!

Bed Bath and Beyond! I had a $25 gift card from my sister for my birthday. I just wandered the aisles and found a polished silver over-the-door double hook for my bedroom at the cottage. I know my husband will be thrilled (smirk). I'm tired of having to lay my bathroom across the dresser or throw it on the floor. Now I have 2 hooks. Then I found an Olive Oil Mister - one of those fancy silver Misto ones. Then I picked up a garlic holder so my garlic will stay fresh instead of rotting away in a tupperware container in the pantry. I saw birthday cards (those really funny animal ones) so I picked one up for my son because I'm giving him $$ for his birthday to finish off his tattoo. Not my first choice of a gift, but oh well. In addition to the gift card, I had a 20% off any one item which in this case would be the $9.99 mister. The total of my purchases came to 14 CENTS!

With all that retained wealth I made my way over to a place called Bob's Store - or Bob's. It's clothing for everyone. Everyone except me because nothing ever fits, and definitely nothing fits now because I haven't exactly been working out like I should. BUT, they have the best shoes - and shoes always fit! Today they had alot of sales and so I found a pair of Bjorn flat thong sandals of the dressier variety on sale for $19.99. I used a 20% off coupon from the paper AND a $10 off any purchase $10 or more which conveniently CAN be used with other coupons and so I paid $5.99 for the shoes!

The total for ALL my purchases came to under $22. It felt good to buy something and I don't have any buyer's remorse.

Summer Session

I never thought that 3.5 hours working outside the house would be so exhausting. And that's after having worked fulltime for 20 years! I guess there's a difference though between sitting behind a desk and monitoring five lunch waves in a lunchroom and washing tables after each one!

Today is Day 1 of Summer Vacation. Although I'll continue working in my husband's office, I feel such relief! that I don't have to pack a lunch and run out, work, then come home and try to jump back into what I was doing. The last 2 or 3 weeks have been hell as far as that was concerned. Everyone was suffering believe me!

So, it's 8am, and one this Day 1 I will be making plans and putting them on paper as to what I'd like to accomplish this summer. The #1 goal on my list will be be get myself in shape - mentally and physically. I know when the physical part starts coming along the mental part will follow. Other items on the list will include cleaning the attic, cleaning the basement - both involve serious throwing out of junk, cleaning the house on a regular basis and keeping the weeds out of my very small garden. Things that will be more fun include spending an afternoon once a week with my "little" and finally teaching myself how to play the harmonica with the book and harmonica I begged for many years ago (now I have to find a tape player to play the instructions on!)

I feel like I've been given this gift of time - weird I know - and I want to make sure I enjoy it.