A To Z – Part Three (FINAL and pic heavy)

I have stolen this from the lovely JezzyBelle! When I was contemplating stealing it, I didn’t realize that you had to pick your own topics for each letter. Finding that out scared me a bit but I decided to see if I can keep it interesting by just using the first thing that comes to mind.

T-TOMATOES. If you know me at all then you had to know this would be my “T”. I loves those little red balls of sunshine more than any other fruit/vegetable. My favorite way to eat them is fresh and home grown, on a sandwich. I love them with lunch meat and BLT”s but truthfully all they need is a little salt and I’m happy. When I was pregnant my obsession with them was out of control! I would eat 4 or 5 at one sitting, at least once a day during the summer. That’s probably why Aimee doesn’t like them now lol.

U-U?? Ukulele? Utah? I know – UNDERWEAR! What kind do you wear lol? I have to be honest and admit I’m a granny panty girl. Being a little chubby – ha! – I’m all about the comfort. I do like them to be in pretty colors though 🙂 I like my men (all of them lol) to wear boxers or boxer/briefs. No tighty whiteys please!

V-VIRGINIA. My home state! I have lived here my whole life (except for a very brief period in GA) and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I’ve been all over this state and it is so beautiful.  We have mountains and beaches, beautiful state parks and caverns, theme parks, historic sites, you name it!

W-WATER. I love the water, being in it, on it or near it. It instantly soothes me. It’s also my favorite thing to drink!

X-X-RAYS. Okay I’m getting desperate! How many have you had? Not counting dental x-rays, I’ve had about a dozen; broken leg, broken finger, broken toe, sprained ankle (twice), sprained wrist and a few chest x-rays. Clumsy much? Yep.

Y-YOU. I love you, my dear favs. You lift me up when I’m feeling blue, you give me advice and encouragement, you make me laugh, you keep me in your prayers, you are the definition of a true friend. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life.

Z-ZOO. I live just a few miles from “The National Zoo”. I haven’t been in years but every time I go I am amazed over and over.

Whew, I’m glad that’s over. Those last few letters were tough ones.

In other news, and I do have some for a change, some good things are happening in my life.

First and foremost, we got a new car!!! Actually an SUV. Oh gosh I can’t even begin to tell you what a blessing this is. Our old car was ready to go at any moment in my opinion and I worried constantly that it wasn’t safe. We have bad credit and still owed on the car(more than it was worth) so the possibility of getting a new one seemed remote. But God is so good!

We actually traded in the old one and got a 2009 Dodge Journey and it so beautiful. It only has 22k miles on it and lots of extras, It seats 7 people so you want to go for a ride? Of course the car note is outrageous, about twice what we were paying, but we can do it. We just have to be very careful and conservative and stick to our budgets. For going so deep in debt I feel surprisingly peaceful about the whole thing. To know we have a safe and reliable vehicle, which doesn’t cost a small fortune in gas every week, makes it so worth it. Here are a few pics of the new addition to the family:

Isn’t this a beautiful color?!?

The other good news is that I may be getting a J O B!  Yep, you read it right, a job! There is this program sponsored by the Social Security Administration (SSA) called “Ticket To Work” which helps people who are receiving benefits get jobs. It works sort of a like a temp agency. SSA has these companies all over which work with you to find a job. They do all the screening, recruiting and finding employers. It’s a pretty intense process. Between the paperwork, training and assessment tests, it will probably be about 30 days before I’m even eligible to work.

Through this program, participants can earn a certain amount without having it affect their benefits. I had heard about this years ago but never really understood it or looked further in to it until recently. The agency I’m working with specializes in helping people with disabilities work from home, either as a call taker for an off site (at home) call center or as a medical transcriber. I’m really excited and could sure use the extra money. I’ve already submitted my paperwork and taken 1 training course. I have another one this evening.  I’ve also taken 4 assessment tests (and passed!) including a typing test.  Wow, you can sure see the difference in my typing speed since I haven’t been working. I’ve been known to type over 100 wpm but only got 61 on this test. Still more than enough to pass though so I’m okay with it. I’m hoping to work 20 hours a week and am even going to set up a little home office in one corner of my room. I know I can find a cheap, or even free, desk and chair on craigslist.

I’m feeling incredibly lonely and bored! Everyone but me is at the beach! I miss my girls so much!  Makayla and I are so close that it’s hard for me to be away from her for even a day. She’s my little buddy.  But I know they are having a blast and will be home soon enough.

My little Leah turns 1 year old on Saturday! I can hardly believe it!  We are just having a small family party for her on Sunday.

This heat is horrible and I know most of you are feeling it too. God bless and watch over those who works outdoors and those without A/C. Stay hydrated!

Well I’ll end this and throw up some random pics of the girls.

Little Miss Blue Eyes looking precious as usual:

I love her little earrings and that hand! So cute!

Aimee and the girls in the little matching outfits that Bonnie bought them:

This is Bonnie’s oldest granddaughter and Leah’s sister, Kaliyah. It was her 10th birthday. Long time readers will remember her from when she was just a little girl:

Here’s Kayla having a blast at her best friend Lily’s birthday party:

Kayla and Lily:

Piñata Time!

Last but not least, here is what I think is a really good pic of my best friend Bonbon (aka “the other grandmother” lol):