My husband, Carlos, has glaucoma and has had it probably since he was a baby (diagnosed at 6). For those of you that don't know anything about glaucoma, it's a disease that affects the optic nerve. It's usually found in people over 60 and it's damage can lead to blindness (there's much more about glaucoma than that, but those are the things that are important for this blog). It can be controlled, but with his case, the doctors have to look at how long they're going to be treating this. He's currently on his last medication (the others haven't worked) and if this fails, he'll need surgery. Due to a variety of circumstances, he was without his medication for a couple of years. Because of this, his eye pressure shot up to 24 (bad!). Thankfully, he got back on his medication and saw a specialist about 3-4 weeks after this. At that appointment, his pressure was taken again. It's now 16 in both eyes (good!)!!! I couldn't be happier. I don't want him going blind  Not only is his pressure down, though, but he has no visual damage due to the glaucoma at this time

For anyone that's interested in learning more about glaucoma, the Glaucoma Research Foundation has a website here.

My life has always been stressful from a young age. I've always been pretty good at handling that stress, but stress will take it's toll on you, well handled or not. Finally, it's caught up to me. I went to the doctor on Saturday and found out that I have shingles. For those who don't know what shingles is, it's kind of like adult chicken pox. I had chicken pox as a kid, but you're still able to get shingles. After having chicken pox, the virus goes dormant into your nerve system. Later in life, coming into contact with someone that has chicken pox can cause you to have shingles, or more commonly, STRESS can bring it on. Yay me! Lol! The doctor said that it was common for people to get it before some stressful event, like exams.  With me personally, it just caught up :P

These stupid things are annoying and more painful than I ever would have thought. My mother acts like I have the plague. Although, to her, I probably do since she has a weakened immune system. I wish you COULD get chicken pox twice, they're much, much better with this. I can't figure out which is better, this or my recovery from gallbladder surgery. That's actually how the pain first felt, like my old gallbladder attacks. And let me tell you, THAT sure as hell freaked me out.

So, the moral of this story is, don't stress out peoples! This is definately NOT worth it.

Halloween night our dog Lacy got hit by a car, possibly intentionally. She died instantly. She still had many, many more years ahead of her. She was our baby girl. Technically, she was my mother's dog/family dog, but I was living there when she was younger and still saw her often. It hurts so bad to know that she's gone. I didn't find out until yesterday. My mother is so strong, she didn't want to ruin any of our Halloween plans so she kept it all to herself. I worry about her. She's very, very sick and Lacy was her baby, kept her company. It's not fair. Lacy was such a good dog. A little princess who was so loveable and still had so much life. I miss you Lacy. Love you.

As those of you who actually read my blog already know, I recently started a home based business and will be keeping a business blog about it. It won't only about how things go with me personally, but just working at home in general. That's what this one is about, more of a general business blog :)

So many people have it set in their mind that they need to get rich quick. This is why so many people fall into scams. Yes, they sound too good to be true and that usually indicates SCAM!, but who can resist something that tells them they can make $1000 a day? Not a lot and those that do use a lot of effort to do it.

A lot of people are looking to work from home and who can blame them? You get to be home! Lol! Some people just want to work from home, others want a business. I personally, would have taken either, but I wanted to have my own business. By having a business, I can achieve financial freedom on my own time and on my own terms. With a work at home job, you can achieve financial freedom as well (depending on whether or not you play your cards right), but you're still tied into someone else's rules, someone else's time schedule, etc.

Back to the original topic, though. Everyone these days are so into quick, quick, quick, faster, faster, faster! Some things happen quickly, yes, but most things don't. That mindset is what keeps people from accomplishing their goals. Why do so many diets fail? Because people don't see results as soon as they want and don't want to stay in for the long haul. That's just one example of many.

I love my new business. I truly believe that I'll be able to achieve the financial freedom I want, but it'll take time. I have time, though, and I'm willing to put in the time needed to achieve my dreams. Is it always easy? Of course not! I grew up in and am living in a world dead set on instant gratification. It's the long term that matters though, and it's the long term that I'm in here for.

So, my advice to everyone, lose your get rich quick mindset. Once you've gotten rid of that, you open up thousands of real possibilities for yourself. And this applies in all areas of life. "Get _____ quick!" usually doesn't work, remember that :)

Oh my God! I am so incredibly happy right now, I mean seriously! As none of you know (I was gonna tell you, don't worry) I just started my own home-based BUSINESS (not job). I technically started last Thursday, but really got started (after training) only yesterday. And guess what? Today, JUST NOW, I got results!!!! I did it! I did it! I did it! I just had to share! I want to go outside, run around, and shout it to the world, but people might think I'm bonkers! Lol! Yay! This is going to work, I know it. My future will be set. I promise to tell you all more about this later. I'm going to start a business journal blog, let me know what you all think of that idea. Once again:

I did it! YAY!!!!!

Hi Everyone,

Let me first say that I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to write an update on Jadon. For those of you who don't know about Jadon, check out He's only a baby! and my first Jadon Update. As you can see, this is also a vent. Jadon did end up coming home. It was nice seeing the little guy again. My sister's husband is kind of out of the picture due to court orders- he has supervised visits and can't live with them for I'm guessing a year. He goes to some of his visits, but misses a bunch as well. Sad thing is, Jadon already know when these visits are, so when his "dad" misses one, he's crushed. Carlos and I were babysitting him one time after he had missed a visit and he was pretty much crying saying dada over and over again. It made me cry.

Well, aside from my sister's husband missing his visits, he taken up his drug habit and has been in jail again. Also, my sister decided to live with my mom for awhile, while everyone else there took care of Jadon. Thankfully, she's court ordered to go to parenting classes, but I don't see them working. She's still the selfish "mom". It drives me crazy! I feel so bad for Jadon. He's a happy baby currently, but that's because he has so many OTHER people picking up the slack. He's already been taken away once and my sister is risking him being taken away again, which is where my vent comes in.

My sister's husband isn't allowed to be around Jadon aside from the visits. It's a court order, meaning if it's broken, Jadon can be taken away again. Well, my sister keeps wanting to, and I'm sure she is, meeting up with her husband, WITH Jadon! You cannot be selfish after having a child! It's so unfair to Jadon. What if he gets taken away again?!?! She doesn't think about that, only what she wants. Nobody cares about the children.

That's not even the worst part, though. My mother came to visit me awhile ago to see if I could help her with something. She mentioned that my sister was trying to use her new place as a place to meet up with her husband. I told my mom that that was risking the loss of Jadon and that she shouldn't let it happen. She agreed with me and says she wasn't going to let them do that. Well, I call today and THEY'RE BOTH THERE WITH JADON AND SPENT THE NIGHT!!!!!! I just want to scream right now!!!! It [censored]es me off that my sister would risk losing her baby again and even more that my mother would help her! My mother knows better than that about this!!!! I just wish people would stop thinking of themselves and start thinking of the children.  I can't take this anymore, it's too painful.

Yes, that's right, I'm offering a reward. To who and for what? To anyone who finds the thermostat to the sun! It is 6:30 AM here and already 80 degrees outside! It's going to reach 100 (and beyond) in not too long. That's crazy! And we have to wait until NEXT Friday for any significantly cooler weather (92 high!). Thursday is going to be a killer with a 106 high. So again, whoever finds the thermostat to the sun will be getting a nice reward from me. I promise to only use it with good intentions and to not cause any extreme weather conditions. I only want cooler weather, enough to where I no longer need my air conditioner. Also, any tips leading me to the sun's thermostat myself will be rewarded. Anyone with any information, please drop me a GrabMail. Thanks!

Yesterday, July 9th, was my birthday and it was the greatest day. Last year was the first birthday of mine that Carlos and I spent together, but, for various reasons, it didn't go well at all. Carlos really wanted to make things up to me this year and had been planning things forever. I think he was more excited than I was! Lol! Because he was so excited, we kind of started things on Saturday. Carlos decided to give me two gifts that night. Two CDs, the newest from my favorite bands, Ten Thousand Fists by Disturbed and Hypnotize by System of a Down. When he gave them to me he told me that I was the one that got him into those bands and for that he thanks me :) After that, he made me stay up until midnight, so he could tell me happy birthday ASAP. I didn't think he was even paying attention to the clock (I was on the computer and he was playing a game behind me), but as soon it turned 12, he was up giving me a hug and kiss saying happy birthday :)

The next day (yesterday), we woke up around 9. Well, I woke up at 8, tried to go back to sleep, and then kind of bugged him until he got up, which was 9. He was going to do a breakfast in bed thing, but had forgotten something he needed at the store and we just really needed to spend some time together. Before he left to the store, Carlos gave me another gift (or the 1st, depending on which way you look at it). It was the special collector's edition of The Chronicle's of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Seeing it made tears come to my eyes, but I'm not sure if I could explain it so people would be able to understand why. We had been planning on buying it, but I wanted the collector's version, but Carlos said that all we need is the regular one. After giving me the gift, he told me that he had had such a wonderful time with me when we saw Narnia together (in theaters) and that he was glad that we were able to see the very first one together, which made me tear up more.

Carlos then went to the store, came back, and made me a HUGE breakfast! It was so delicious. After breakfast (although it was around lunch time by then), Carlos left to go buy the rest of the gifts he had planned for me and to buy my mother's gift for me (she's sick). When he returned, he gave me another gift, a PS2 game: Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. It's the 3rd one and I'm almost finished with the 2nd one. He knows that I enjoy playing those games which is why he bought it. The little bugger has already beaten the 2nd one though! Lol! He had one last gift for me, but has to order it online (along with my mom's as the store was out of both). He showed it to me, though. I'm getting all of the Harry Potter movie DVDs :) We then went and visited my mom at her new place. While there, she gave me a different present she already had for me. A sister for Spike! :) I named her Stickers! :) Lol!

Carlos had planned dinner and a movie for us, but seeing as the movie we were going to see was Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead Man's Chest, we stopped by the theater before dinner to buy our tickets 2 shows in advance. Since I've lived here my entire life and Carlos wanted to surprise me with dinner, he took us on a wild goose chase of streets all while I had my eyes closed. I knew where we were for a little bit, but then he got me completely lost! Thankfully, he didn't get himself lost. After driving around for awhile, we finally arrived at the restaurant. I till had to keep my eyes closed (and almost tripped because of it! lol), but when he got me out of the car, he had me open my eyes to see that we were at Cafe Delicias, a place we had been wanting to go to together, but never did. It was so nice :)

After dinner, we headed straight for the theater as the ticket guy recommended us getting there an hour early to get a good seat. We got a good place in line that was thankfully in the shade and just talked while we waited, which was really great. The seats we got were the same we always chose, so that was cool to. The movie (for those of you who haven't seen it, I'm not including any spoilers, so feel free to read on) was great! The first one was better, in my opinion, much funnier, but I was really glad to see this new one and recommend seeing it. My favorite part was when everyone was fighting on the beach :) Lol! To anyone who sees it, stay after until the credits are over.

When we got home, Carlos had me get on the computer. Ten minutes later he brought me out a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to me. The whole day was just wonderful. I am so very blessed to have him in my life. And one thing I realized while we were enjoying our cake was that our next special occasion cake will be our wedding cake...

WARNING: I am going to be talking about the fights here and their results, so if you're planning on watching a later viewing of this and don't want to know the outcomes, don't read this.

 

Is anyone else here into the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)? Did you watch last night's fight? It was so great! Two of the biggest grudge matches were scheduled. Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock (<- the fight Carlos and I were really looking forward to) , who absolutely hate eachother from before they ever fought for the first time. Ken was mad at Tito because he felt he disrespected him after a match that Tito had with another fighter. They later had their own match, which Tito won. Then, they were opposing coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 3. Tito did very well in coaching his team and won most of the matches, where Ken's teaching style was horrible. I think he was only there because of Tito. Well, moving on, last night's match was their rematch. Carlos and I were wanting Tito to win, like many others did. And he did!!!! YAY!!! It was a great fight! Ken came out swinging, but Tito got him to the ground and started getting him with elbows. The first one seemed to stun him really bad, so the ref stopped the fight after the next 5 elbows as Ken was no longer intelligently defending himself. The only thing that really sucked, though, is that the match only lasted 1 minutes 18 seconds into the first match. Everyone was expecting a longer match, so the crowd was booing. We were shocked too, but the ref knows what he was doing and it was a fair match. I can't wait to see if there's going to be another match between them.

The second main event (the main, main event, although, I think the Tito, Shamrock one was the main one to everyone more than this one) was the rematch between Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski to finally see who the real Heavyweight champion was. The first fight between them Arlovski won with a submission. The second fight, Sylvia won. Arlovski had gotten Sylvia with the same right that had gotten him in the first fight they had had and it knocked him down, but this time he got up! Then he hit Arlovski in the chin with just a short jab, which knocked him down, so Sylvia took advantage of that, went after him and the fight was stopped. So, they had a rematch last night to finally settle things. The good thing with these two is that they both have a lot of respect towards eachother (unlike Tito and Ken). We both really weren't sure who we liked for this fight, it was really a back and forth. One thing I like about Sylvia, though, was that he was able to get up from that right in the second fight, while Arlovski got knocked by just a short jab. Since the rematch was a championship fight, it was schedules for 5 5-minute rounds, instead of the normal 3 5-minute rounds. The first 2 rounds were great, but then things slowed down after that (even the ref was telling them that they had to get going). It came down to a judge's decision, in favor of Sylvia. Sylvia did rightly win, but Arlovski had more heart into the fight towards the end, so I was a bit upset that he didn't win. All in all, though, still a great fight.

Then, there were the other fights. Yves Edwards vs. Joe Stevenson was a great match, that had to be called off due to doctor's orders. Joe cut Yves head with an elbow and as most of you probably know head wounds (even minor ones) bleed a lot and his wouldn't. It was sad, though, because Yves was still willing to go on. Another fight was Josh Burkman vs. Josh Neer. I was excited to see Josh Neer fight because he's a new fighter for me, but I was pretty disappointed with him. He had some good attributes, but Burkman ruled this fight and won. The last fight (not of the night, but here in writing) was Dan Christison vs. Frank Mir. I don't know why, but for some reason this fight was just plain boring. Even the audience didn't seem to be as into it. Int he end, though, Frank Mir won, which he is very happy about because he is after his title again that he lost after a motorcycle accident.

UFC 61 was the first PPV UFC event we got and I'm glad we did. It was definately worth it. UFC 62 is scheduled for next month (along with The Ultimate Fighter 4), with Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral, which should make for a good fight. I'm not sure if we're going to order it, though, as we're still saving up for our wedding. If Chuck wins this fight, though, he'll be fighting Wanderlei Silva in November, which seems like it'll be an awesome fight, so if that happens, we'll probably be ordering it. Dana White (president) announced that fight to cheer people up after the short Tito vs. Shamrock fight. I'd love to see Tito vs. Chuck now, too. To anyone who has never watched the UFC, it's worth checking out.

YAY!!!! :D Today, I received some packages that I've been waiting years for. After my father died, my grandparents from his side took a suitcase of his that was at friend's house. It wasn't theirs to take and belonged to my family. All I knew of what was in it was my ruby ring that my great-grandma willed to me. I later found out that it also contained old silver coins my father used to collect for my me and my sis on our birthdays. Since they took that suitcase, I've tried calling my grandparents over the years to get it back. All it ever resulted in was getting hung up on at best or being told they've already "forgotten" I existed at the worst of it. Finally, my grandpa agreed to send the contents of the suitcase to me for my birthday. That was a few months ago. I called him again a few weeks ago to give him my address and he called back last Friday saying they were being sent out. Today, 2 of the 3 packages arrived (the other should be here tomorrow). I finally have the stuff back! After a long emotional ordeal, it's here. I haven't opened them yet as I want to Carlos. I'm kind of nervous to. My dad's been gone since I was 10 and this feels like receiving a gift from him. I'll be seeing all the stuff I would have received at some point if he hadn't died. I'll let you all know what's in it when I open it. Wish me luck.