So, Greg got a new job.  He's a graphic artist for a shop that's falling apart.  The people who were working there before, hadn't gotten anyone's jobs done in a month.  Files were saved in the strangest places on the computer, and with the strangest file names.  So, Greg's been working loads of hours, trying to fix the way the shop runs.  His boss is a "grumpy old man", as Greg puts it.  He hates his job, but won't quit because he's got a family to support.

I feel bad for him.  It can really suck, having to drag yourself out of bed every morning, for a job that you can't stand.  He's a hard worker, and I'm afraid that he's being taken advantage of.  I hope something better comes along, and soon.

As 2006 ended with a flash, and far too quickly for my taste, I sit here and reflect on all the things that have happened, good or bad, this year.

I found a temp-to-hire job at the beginning of February, which ended abruptly toward the end of April.  They had decided to bring in an employee who had worked for the company previously, and let me go.  I got a call after 6pm on a Friday, from the temp agency, telling me that I couldn't get my things from the office, either.

If I hadn't lost that job, I wouldn't have been able to be a stay-at-home Mom for 7 glorious months!  My son is thriving, and he is so cute when he talks.  He turns 3 this month, and talks like he's a year older, at least.  Now, if I could just find the "Off" switch for the violent behavior and destructiveness, I'd be even more happy.

My husband had found a MUCH better job in July and gave his ass-boss his notice, but left the job before that two weeks was up.  His new boss was a dream come true, helping us to get back on our feet, from bills piling up.  The job was going great!!!

I was able to make it to Las Vegas in September, to see my brother have a committment ceremony with his life-partner.  It was a beautiful ceremony, and I couldn't ask for a better brother-in-law.  It was a wonderful visit, seeing some of the sights of Las Vegas, and my son getting to see his uncles.  My brother, Chris, was even able to make it from Chicago, and it's the first time that our entire family had been together since my wedding 4 and a half years ago.

My brother, Chris, left the big city life in New York City, to move to Chicago.  He's doing all right, though things could be a little better for him.  He finally got a twin-sized bed to sleep on, instead of the couch or floor, and his roommates were ecstatic about it!  The simple things in life ...

Halloween was fun for Bobby.  He wanted to dress as a pirate, so we bought the costume and he had a blast trick-or-treating.  It would've been better if he had taken a nap during the day, and hadn't been so tired by the time we were done, but it was cute to see him at every door.

Thanksgiving was just terrific!  We went up to see Greg's sister and her family, in Oklahoma.  We had a good visit, and look forward to being able to see them again soon.

On the 22nd of December, Greg was fired from work.  What a time to lose a job ... so Christmas was interesting, to say the least.  We had already bought all of our gifts, for friends and family, so there was no way to take them back.  We visited with Debby, Bob and Dan, opening gifts at their house on Christmas Day.  Bobby had the motherlode, this year, in gifts.  My best friend, Vada, even sent him 5 gifts from Washington State, even though she's never even met him.  It was wonderful to see the joy on his face when he opened all his gifts.

Greg's been looking for work and has had a couple of interviews already.  He's got a few more scheduled over the next few days, and we're really hoping he can get himself a job again.  We decided that it would still be best for me to be able to stay at home, so I haven't been steadily looking for work.  We're sure that something good will come out of this.  We're hoping he can find a job for a little bit more money, and with benefits, considering his arthritis and medical expenses.  Two of his medications are over $50 a month, and we really need a co-pay on those!!!  LOL

We found out, yesterday, that the reason he got let go, was because his boss is closing his print shop, completely.  The other girl who works there, is not being warned, so she will up a creek without a paddle in a few months.  The only problem had been that we had found an absolutely gorgeous apartment, finally!  It had a garden bathtub in the master bath, a private alarm, sprinkler system and full-size washer/dryer connections.  The rent was significantly higher, so we weren't able to sign the lease, due to no income at the present time.

So, 2006 ended with a BANG, almost literally.  However, things are beginning to look bright already for 2007, or at least, we can hope so!

Been so busy the last few days.  Working in the house, getting it all cleaned up and organized (somewhat).  Greg promised me last night, that if I got the house cleaned before I left, he would make sure it stayed that way while I was away.  I can't wait to get it totally taken care of.  I think the task that will take the longest, is reorganizing my bedroom closet.  I have to buy hangers, so that we can hang up all of our dress clothes.  There isn't much room in the closet for Greg's stuff, cuz the "Clothes Closet" at my church keeps giving me more clothing!!  I've asked her to stop, but she hasn't, and I figure that I have plenty of dress clothes to wear now.......

I just figured I would blog real quick, before I take off for the day, to get more cleaning done.  I have to sweep under the stove and wash the sides of it.  Then, I'm going to get the living room taken care of, so that Bobby can't get into so much.  The bathroom will get cleaned up tonight.  Then, it's on to my bedroom tomorrow....ugh.

I took a little hiatus, that I'm not quite done with yet.  Things have been so hectic here, so allow me to fill you all in..............

Greg's new job is amazing.  When he was hired, he was told he would make $30,000 annual salary, with bonuses of 1% at the end of every month, if the company pulled in more than $50,000 in profits.  Well, the first month, they came dangerously close to that goal, but not quite close enough to receive a bonus.  The last two weeks, Greg's been working overtime, having to stay late because the press operator was on vacation.  Poor Bobby never saw his Daddy, except one day a week on Sundays.....

So, Ray (Greg's boss) takes him aside the other day and talks to him about a number of things.  Now, remember Greg's old boss took advantage of him, never paid him overtime when he was on an hourly wage, expected him to stay late, and so forth......  Ray tells Greg that he is NOT to stay late anymore; he has to spend time with his family after work and on the weekends.  Ray also lets Greg know that he's paying him "under the table".  Greg receives $600 weekly, no taxes taken out.  That's just under his gross pay, but a BIG help.  He also tells Greg that he's changing the bonus structure for him.  If the company makes his annual salary ($30,000) in one month, Greg will get 2.5% of anything above that.  So, if the company makes $45,000 in sales again, this month, Greg will receive $375 in bonus money.  We're hoping for more than that, but that will help for my trip to Las Vegas next month.  Ray also told Greg that in a few years, Ray is hoping to make Greg a partner in the business.  So, things are looking up (really up) with his job, right now.

I had an ear infection in my left ear, last week.  You can read my previous blog on that.  When I woke up in the morning on Saturday, this past weekend, my right ear was beginning to swell.  Sure enough, on Sunday, I was in horrific pain all over again, but in the right ear this time.  Thank God the doc gave me samples of oral antibiotics, cuz that was helping to clear out the middle ear, even though it was just starting.  Instead of 3 days of holy pain, I only had to endure one.  I feel better, but both ears are still pretty plugged up, and I can barely hear.  I'll tell ya, I'm glad that Bobby's never had to go through one of these; they're absolute hell.

Today is kind of strange with Bobby.  When he was finished eating his lunch, I let him watch another half hour of TV.  Then, when the show was over, I told him it was "quiet time" in his room, he walked up to me, asked for a hug and went straight to his room, and has been playing in there for almost 15 minutes without coming back out.  Usually, I have to keep putting him in his room, because he won't stay in there.  *knocks on wood*  Maybe, this will be a good thing.........  After his quiet time, he is supposed to take a nap and then we have a few errands to run.  I just love having a second vehicle to run around in during the day!!!

First, I have to vacuum the living room, dining room, hallway, bobby's room......
Then, I can get the dishes finished up.......
Finally, the bathroom needs a good scrub, top to bottom

Then, it's time to cook and serve dinner
Then, Bobby and I eat.  If Greg's home, he eats with us

Then, it's time to go swimming.
After swimming, time for Bobby's bath and bed

so, greg's on his way to work yesterday morning and looks in his rearview mirror to find his old boss, mathew, following him.  now, greg works a little further south than his old job, and there was no reason for mathew to be in that neighborhood to begin with.  so, greg sees him there and turns left into a residential area.  mathew follows.  greg speeds up and goes right, takes a left and another left, just to see mathew's tail end going straight to continue to follow.  greg speeds up and loses him.  i told greg that the next time he sees mathew behind him, to call 911 and report someone following him; remain at the same speed and, as much as possible, on the same road.  mathew can be ticketed or arrested for stalking and harassment.

see, he's been trying to figure out where greg is working now that he's left.  i'm surprised to know that mathew hasn't been calling greg on his cell phone and he hasn't been calling here, either.

meanwhile, the other graphic artist, who incidentally left two weeks before greg did, had to go back to work for mathew.  the job that she had gotten for $11 an hour, worked her a lot of overtime in her first week there, but then told her that she'd be part time, only 3-4 hours per week.  single mom with two kids.....she ended up having to go back to mathew.  mathew, of course, is now offering to pay her $12 an hour, but he's out of the office so much that she has to run the entire shop.  she's brand new and doesn't know a whole lot, but he's expecting her to run it for him.  greg's trying to get his boss to hire her where greg's now working.  even if it's for only $12 an hour, it'd be a calmer and better environment than where she's working now. 

I'm using red because it's the color of anger, and I am absolutely fuming!!!!!!!

First off, Greg had a doctor's appointment yesterday and his boss originally told him that he couldn't go.  Mathew doesn't know how to run the shop without Greg there.  He took off for a delivery and didn't show back up at work until 5 minutes before Greg's appointment started, and it takes Greg at least a half hour to get there.  Greg demanded his paycheck (Fridays are paydays) and Mathew tried to get him to stay anyway.  Anyway, Greg finally showed up at the doctor's office, discussed medications and treatment for the arthritis and then we went home.

Mom and Dad helped us out with the $200 we needed to cover the rent and they treated us to dinner, too.  They came over today to talk about our bills and Mom finally realized that we truly are living penny to penny.  We actually pay out $12 more than Greg makes.

I went online last night to find out if we can continue coverage on our own with Greg's insurance company after he leaves his job.  We got an email this morning, stating that his coverage ended 5/31/06 and he needed to talk to his local benefits provider to get more information.  The problem is that Mathew has been taking premium payments out of Greg's paychecks all through June.  That's $150 that he's stolen from us, and we'll end up being billed for all medical appointments in June.  He had a Remicaide infusion a couple of weeks ago (June) that is over $2,000 for.  I am absolutely LIVID with his boss.

Greg contacted Ray, who offered him a job, but asked that Greg give Mathew 2 weeks notice, and Ray stated that when he wants to start working for him, he'll get him started right away.  He also said that whenever we needed help, he would be willing to advance us and take a little out of each paycheck to pay it back.  Greg figures that we are going to attempt to get our premium money back from Mathew and if he refuses, we'll flat out tell him that he'll hear from our attorney.  It's fraud and a Class A Felony, and he should be arrested for it on the spot, but Greg doesn't want to ruin our weekend by dealing with stuff from work.

I'll make sure to keep everyone informed as progress continues in this matter!  And, I want to thank all of you for caring and keeping us in your prayers.

greg works for a prick!!!  that's the best way to get it started.  he left for 3 weeks to visit family in india, and comes back to make greg work almost 10 hours of overtime in one week.  the problem comes in that greg is on salary, and we're pretty sure that he was only put on salary so that his boss wouldn't have to pay him any overtime.  he's saving a buttload of money by not having to pay the overtime.  he's working greg like a dog for a measly $28,000 a year.  any manager in another company would be making over $35,000 a year.  he's getting such a ripoff and i feel so bad for greg.

in the meantime, greg's been interviewing for other jobs.  he's finishing one up today and the guy is offering greg $35,000 as just a graphic artist, with no supervising involved.  then, after a few months, when the current supervisor leaves, greg will get that position and a raise.  the guy also owns a car dealership and is willing to help get us a new car.  (thank God, cuz ours is a POS)

the guy is wanting greg to give a week's notice to his current boss, no matter what illegal practices he is doing.  i advised greg to ask if he can give 4 days, instead because we want to make sure he'll get his final paycheck.  if greg leaves, and the current graphic artist's last day is monday (tomorrow), then mathew won't be able to keep the business running...hehe.  we need that paycheck and mathew won't be able to keep the money coming in, so he'll have to close his doors, and it's possible, he won't have the money for a final check for greg.  so, i guess we'll have to see how it goes.......

he had another interview yesterday with a national company based out of PA.  he said that they're talking about $40,000 a year, and trying to figure out how to get his insurance started immediately.  greg's not sure which company he wants to work for...one is further south than where he works now, and the other is east, where we want to end up living.  it's confusing.....but, i know he'll do what he thinks is right and best for his family.

meanwhile, money's so tight we're not sure we can make rent next week.  we can't keep affording an extra $100 in late fees on our rent, if we're going to be able to pay our bills.  we're about $200 short for the rent next week, and trying to figure out where we're going to get it.  please, keep us in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

we're also trying to figure out where we're going to get the money to make it to Las Vegas for my brother's wedding in September.  he and his life-partner found a chapel in Vegas that does gay weddings, even though they're not technically legal.  it's more of a committment ceremony and james has asked that his family be there.  we're going to fly, and the tickets are around $200 a piece, so we'll have to come up with $700 just to get out there, and then spending money would be nice!!

i guess we'll just have to hope and pray that a job falls into his lap and we're able to get the bills taken care of, while still buying our air fare and putting other monies aside.  *bows head*

ALMOST DONE!!!!!

I have laundry to fold and hang up or put in the dresser.  I'm making room in the dresser for all our stuff by putting winter clothes into boxes.  The dishes are finished, except for what was used for supper.  I'll be waiting for Greg to get home before I can finish them (would rather get them all done at once, instead of most of them now, and the rest later).  I did 3 loads of laundry today, and now that I'm out of detergent and dryer sheets, can't do anymore til Greg gets home.  I'll ask him to stop and get some for me....that's what he gets for having to work late........

I feel really good about what I've done today, and can't wait to finish up for the day.  I can't wait to get the bedrooms taken care of, so that we can switch with Bobby.  He's got the master bedroom, and I want the 1-2 extra feet.........

I've been so busy over the past week, that I haven't been able to blog much.  For that, my friends, I apologize.  But, you need to understand that with my husband and myself both working full time, the house was in such a state.  I've been catching up on laundry and getting the house clean!!  The living room and dining room are now complete.  The living room has been rearranged to make it more roomy.  The dining room table is clean of clutter and washed with windex.  I walk into my apartment and don't feel like it's my own place.  That's how organized everything is getting.  Now, during the day, it gets a little cluttered with toys because Bobby's up, but when he goes to bed, everything is put away and the floor is picked up.  I just love it!!!!

I think I may have finally found my niche in life.  I always wanted to stay home full time with my kids because I think that my brothers and I are better off because my mom stayed home until I was in high school.  Now, Greg's the one who told me that it's pointless for me to work, just to bring in an extra $50 or so every week, after extra gas, food and day care expenses.  He's the one who told me to stay at home, that things will be just fine and we will manage.  I'm going on my second week, and I feel (truly feel) that this is where I belong.  I couldn't be happier!!!

It had to have been the weekend from hell....................

I left work on Friday, picked Bobby up at the day care and got Greg.  We drove home, after stopping to deposit Greg's paycheck, and I ran up to the apartment so that we could get clothes for Bobby and found the note.  "Rent due immediately.  Eviction will be filed on Monday"  Panic set in.  Where were we going to come up with $500 on the spot?!?!?  Greg only had $440 in his check and we had 2 payments that were going to come out of the account.  One for the day care and one for our TV.  While we were on the way to my parents' house, we stopped at the bank and got a money order for $399, which was the amount due for the rest of the rent that we owed.  The late fees, however, were a whole other story!!!  The late fees are charged, as follows:  $50 for the first day you're late and $7 every day after that.  So, if you add $50 to 21 days at $7, you come up with almost $200.  I thought it was completely hopeless.  The good news:  We came up with the $200 in late fees.  They accepted the money order for them, so now they can't evict us!

I was up, talking to neighbors until 2am on Friday night.  I get home and decide to check voice mails, which I tried to do before going to Mom and Dad's house.  I had a message from Office Team, telling me that the employer that I was working for had decided to end my assignment.  I was supposed to be temp-to-hire, and I was 1 and 1/2 weeks away from my 90 days.  I was told that they decided to offer it to an old employee who is moving back to the Dallas area.  Here is the email that I also received from her:

You probably don't have strep throat, because you aren't complaining of a fever.  But, we're going to give you a prescription for Amoxicillin and have you stay home for 2 days, as if you do have strep.  So, I'm home today, but I'll be back at work tomorrow.  Yesterday, my throat was so sore and swollen that I was having a hard time breathing.

On a side note.....we have now had the opportunity to pull a foreign object out of Bobby's nose!!  He kept putting his finger in his nose last week and saying "Uh Oh" over and over again.  I took a look in his right nostril on Saturday and noticed it was blocked.  I told my mom that it could just be a really hard booger that he couldn't get out.  Well, I decided that it needed to be removed on Sunday because every time I went to take a look at it, he would wince in pain.  Greg held Bobby on his lap, holding his arms down with one hand, and holding his forehead still with the other hand.  I reached in with tweezers and tried to get the item from Bobby's nose.

After a few minutes of Bobby just screaming at the top of his lungs, we gave him a short break and tried again.  I could finally get a hold of it, and couldn't believe what I saw as I pulled it out of his nose.  It was a rock!!!  My mom asked if it was a really hard booger when I told her it was a rock, and I said "No, Mom.  An actual rock!"  He must've picked it up on the playground at the day care and put it in his nose.  Unbelievably, he tried to put another small rock into his nose right after I took this one out!!  What a weirdo!!!!!

Well, life is really good right now.  I'm working full time, and everyone at my job seems to just really enjoy my work and attitude.

Bobby will be heading to a new day care, as soon as we get the money together.  I need to have him closer to work because there's no reason to keep driving a half-hour out of our way if we don't have to.  So, I found one that's really nice right by where I work!!!

Greg got a raise of $1.10 at work......HAHAHAHAHA
His boss says that without more sales coming in, there's no way he can pay greg more money.  I told Greg that he needs to learn how to run his business.  The main problem that he's having, is that he's hurting business himself.  When a customer is quoted one price, they expect to pay that price.  Well, when Mathew goes to deliver the order, he raises the price by at least $100.  The customers get [censored]ed off and end up refusing business with him.  He's such an IDIOT!!!!

OH, well......maybe someday he'll learn!!!    LOL

I am walking on Cloud Nine, right now!!!  I had a phone call yesterday from Office Team, who I've been working temp jobs with for a few months.  They had an opportunity for a temp-to-hire position as a receptionist for me.  I went in today, for a working interview....basically, to see how I would like it and whether or not they would like me.

They didn't have enough compliments for my recruiter today!!!  They were all impressed as to how confident and happy I sounded on the phone!  They were all impressed that I learned the programs quickly!  They even gave me a 50 cent raise, already!!!  I'm only earning $10 an hour, but that could quickly go up, depending on how much more I can learn that isn't in my "job description".

I now have a full-time job!!!  We can catch up all of our bills!!!  I'm sooooo happy!!!!!  Thank you, all my friends, for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!!  It's amazing how much God can help you, when you ask for it.  I believe, truly, that He placed me into the job that he meant for me to have!!!

Oh, and on a side note, the band that I auditioned for did finally contact me.  The singer who was going to leave, has decided to stay.  But, the lead member of the band did tell me that he had a LOT of people come up to him at the bar last week, just to let him know how well I sang.  He's keeping my contact info handy, so that if he sees anyone else looking for a singer, he will give them my info!  Maybe, I can sing in a band someday, too!!!

I have a job interview (AT LAST!!!) on Wednesday morning.  It's for a company called "Regal Aviation".  My husband's boss has been trying to get local businesses to keep me in mind for positions that they may have available.  Well, Debbie finally had her assistant get in touch with me for an interview.  I'm actually surprised!!!  My resume isn't that great......a month or two at each job.  My skills are fantastic.  Typing speed over 85 words per minute.  Ten-key by touch speed over 9,000 keystrokes per hour.  Alpha-numeric data entry speed over 13,000 keystrokes per hour.  Excellent customer service scores when QA'd.

So, I hope that I get this job offer!!  It's supposed to be a really great company to work for.  Robin Leech did a piece on it years and years ago on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous".  Please keep me in your prayers and/or thoughts that this works out for me.  I need to be working full time!!!

Thanks much!!!!