I Won! I Won! ~

I am so excited because I hardly ever win anything! This BLOG that I read regularly called "Love is in the Details" had a drawing and here is what the winner got:

12 Piece Cupcake Decorating Set (that includes must have cupcake decorating tips)

75 Decorative Cupcake liners (cute)

1 Package of Mini Eggs to top your beauties (or just to snack on!)

2 Cupcake Boxes that hold 4 Cupcakes each (who wouldn't love getting a Cupcake gift box!

So head on over to "Love is in the Details" and look at all of her creative and fun projects!

Thank you so much, Andrea! This just made my day!

The 5 Dreams of Every Woman...

...and How God Wants to Fulfill Them.

This is a book I just ordered. Here's what it's about:

The desires have been there for as long as we can remember: to be beautiful, to be a bride, to be a mother, to be a cherished daughter, and to have a best friend. But for many of us, life took a different turn. Sharon Jaynes challenges us to dust off our hopes and dare to dream again - through God's eyes. With engaging stories of biblical and contemporary women, Sharon sheds light on the deepest longings of a woman' heart. The book includes a 13-lesson Bible study. Can you risk the hope that God still has dreams for your life? That He hasn't forgotten you? Place your hand firmly in His-take a deep breath and begin the exciting journey to a place you thought you'd never find: the dream God planned for you all along.

Go here to read an excerpt for yourself. I can't wait til it comes in the mail!

100 Things About Me ~

1. I do and always have loved puppies, any shape, size, breed. I love them.

2. I love daisies more than any other flower. I think it is the simplicity of them.
3. I have a scar on my chin from when a highchair fell on top of me and knocked me to the ground when I was a baby.
4. Some smells give me a headache in a matter of moments.
5. The first car that was mine was a Geo Metro and we once fit 7 people in it. For real.
6. I love potatoes.
7. I don’t like fish, lobster, squid, naked shrimp, scallops, or anything of the sort. Crablegs are good with enough butter
8. It takes a lot of will power for me to eat pork chops
9. I have a tattoo of a ladybug beside my belly button.
10. When I was little my dad used to tickle me until I couldn’t breathe.
11. I have a very low pain tolerance, both physically and emotionally.

12. I’m terrified of snakes. Please don’t use that information against me.
13. When Rose on “The Golden Girls” says something ditzy, it usually makes sense to me.
14. Me and my friends met some truckers on the road, stopped at a truckstop and took a look around in their trucks once.

15. My favorite kind of cake is birthday cake.

16. I was told at my last eye appointment that I have severe astigmatism.

17. I’ve always wanted to go to Africa.
18. I am very scatter-brained at times.
19. I’m allergic to earrings and morphine. And apparently one other medication now.
20. I was voted “friendliest” in 6^th grade. Whoop. Tee. Doo.
21. I got a degree in psychology to try and understand myself. Not kidding.
22. I have never felt like I fit in whether it was at seminary or a bar or church. Ok, I’ve only been to 1 bar.
23. I can make delicious cakes and taught myself how to decorate them.
24. I love Jesus and thank Goodness His blood covers things.
25. I’m too tenderhearted for my own good. Everything makes me cry.
26. When I was little I thought men sat in the top of skyscrapers, watching and changing the stoplights.
27. When I was little I thought the dogs were men and cats were women.
28. I love logic problems and figuring them out.
29. I have a big scar on my left hand where my brother’s friend pushed me down and I landed on glass.

30. I don’t use spaghetti pasta because it reminds me of worms.
31. I hate worms more than anything. Well, except for liars.
32. I hid a pig in my dorm room when I was in Bible college.
33. I have taken salsa lessons but all the Hispanic guys were too short to dance with me.
34. I took piano lessons from a woman with big bug eyes that scared me.
35. I don’t like romantic movies because they set us up to expect too much.
36. I think Dennis Haysbert is sexy and I really do believe you are in good hands with Allstate.
37. I have been married once and divorced once.
38. I expect to be married again some day. But not divorced ever again.
39. One time a boy hit me in the mouth and busted my lip for no reason at all.
40. I don’t like any lights on when I’m sleeping.
41. I can’t go to sleep with the closet door open.
42. I like to sleep with one foot out from beneath the covers.
43. I always thought the song “Secret Agent Man” was “Secret Asian Man” and I wondered how that worked.
44. Bro. Holmes told me it was obvious from reading my papers that I was a very deep thinker. I still don’t know if that’s good or bad.
45. When I was growing up my mother called me Esmeralda Daphne. I still answer to it.
46. Everyone else called me Jenny and some still do.
47. I love giraffes the most when I go to the zoo. And elephants. And monkeys.
48. The first boy that had a crush on me was in kindergarten. His name was Brent and he was really cute.
49. Third grade was probably my favorite year in school even though I got in trouble for talking too much. For real.
50. I think John Legend is super cute, especially when he plays the piano.
51. I listen to Steve Harvey every morning on the way to work.
52. It makes me hopping mad for someone to put their finger in or near my ear.
53. I really wanted my mother-in-law to be my friend but knew from the beginning it would never be possible.
54. I wish I could afford to travel. Someday I will.
55. I grew up flying in small airplanes but the last time I was on one I was scared speechless.
56. I think I could become addicted to plastic surgery if I ever had it once.
57. People used to tease me that my feet were too small for my height. Now I wear an 8 so I’m ok.
58. I have a mole on the bottom of my foot. Yes, the bottom.
59. I love old people.
60. I am better at writing than speaking.
61. I love to get pedicures.
62. I do not like crowds.
63. I went to a small private high school.
64. I don’t have many friends my age.
65. I love love love to read almost any kind of book.
66. I love Italian food and Mexican food.
67. I would never do it but I really do understand why some people go in and shoot up the place.
68. I’m very patriotic and I cry whenever I sing the national anthem.
69. I can’t stand racism no matter which way it goes.
70. My Granny used to keep me when I was little and we watched cartoons every day.
71. I also watched the 3 Stooges with Grandpa.
72. Jennifer Lee and I (and sometimes my brother) used to play Mad Libs and laugh our heads off but it was never funny with anyone else.
73. I can only remember 1 joke and it is really funny to me but not many other people. Hmmm….
74. I love Honeycomb cereal.
75. I don’t like anything with artificial sweetener in it because it tastes like a chemical to me.
76. I get irritated when someone pulls a Medicaid card out of her Louis Vuitton purse.
77. My favorite snowcone flavor is coconut and then bubblegum.
78. I’ve always had a secret fear that I would lose my mind completely someday.
79. I don’t remember ever watching Sesame Street yet I still knew all my numbers and letters when I started school.
80. Spelling and grammar have always been easy for me though you may not believe it when you hear my Texas twang.
81. When I heard about 9/11 it scared the crap outta me and made me angry at the same time.
82. Once I had a wreck when I was turning left. I went a long time after that without turning left but it took me a while to get places sometimes. I’m ok going left now.
83. I don’t like seeing unattractive peoples’ public displays of affection.
84. I don’t watch movies more than once, in most cases. I was, however, forced to watch “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” 3 times in 1 Christmas season and it was torture.
85. Christmas has become a very difficult season for me, I can’t even count the reasons.
86. I love asparagus.
87. Sometimes I crave gum. I suspect it is much like someone craves drugs, although I ‘m not sure.
88. I love to sing but not in public. My best entertaining is for myself in the car.
89. I like men who have a few extra pounds on their bones. I said a few.
90. When I was a kid I watched “The Blob” and didn’t sleep for a long time after. Ask my mom.
91. I can not eat anything that did not have a chance to grow up. Not veal, not lamb.
92. When I was a kid I used to lay beside the speaker while the record (yes, record) played the story of Little Black Sambo. It was my favorite story and I’m glad that tiger turned into butter.
93. I love coffee. As if you didn’t know.
94. When I was a small child, our next-door neighbor flashed me as I rode by on my bicycle with training wheels. What a pervert.
95. I love watching home improvement shows but the best part is the before/after part at the end.
96. I despise being cold.
97. Sometimes I feel like “running away from it all” and it very well may happen some day.
98. To those who think I don’t know, I DO know my sense of humor is different.
99. I love to laugh and wish I did it more.
100. I don’t believe TVs belong in the bedroom, any bedroom.

To Do List ~

In 2007 Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman starred in the movie The Bucket List (one of my favorites). The gist of the movie is that they were both dying and there were several things that they each wanted to do before they "kicked the bucket" so to speak. However, it is my observation that neither of them had really thought about time running out. One was preoccupied with his job and the other just didn't have the money to think about it.

Well, in my case it's both. I'm so preoccupied trying to make ends meet that it has been a long time since I've dreamt about doing anything or going anywhere. I don't know what happened but somehow the end of the tunnel opened up and I saw a bright light at the end. All of the sudden I started dreaming again of all the things, big and small, that I want to do. By the time I will actually have the means to do some of them I'm sure the list will have grown exponentially. However, I want to share some of them with you now and I'll add to it later. These are probably not in the order they will happen and definitely not in the order of importance.

1) Africa
2) Tour the town of Hershey, PA
3) Get a huge bed with a great mattress
4) Decorate my walls with paintings from art.com
5) Go car shopping without thinking ONLY about gas mileage and monthly payment.
6) Spend a day at a real day spa
7) Volunteer somewhere meaningful
8) Go get a skunk egg in West, Texas
9) See Europe
10) Get Tug up to date on all his shots and get pet insurance
11) Get yearly mammograms even if my insurance doesn't pay for it
12) Disney World
13) Run a 5K
14) Stay in a grand hotel
15) Landscape my back yard
16) Get central heat & air for my parents
17) Paint a couple of walls in my house

My mother does beautiful work ~

This is my back door. Isn't it beautiful??

For about 6 weeks after I moved in, this door had nothing over the window. And although it is in the back of the house, I just had a feeling that when the train went by the conductor could see right into my house. It was also kind of scary at night, especially when I got up in the middle of the night to get a drink. I would walk into the living room and see my reflection and freak out, thinking it was some wild woman standing right outside my window. So my mother, who is very crafty, came over and made this beautiful curtain to go over the window. It is difficult to capture the beauty of it in a picture but it is turquoise blue with a turquoise and brown tie around it. Very snazzy!!

I'm a Mandarin ~

I just took an on-line personality test. I don't know what made me do it except I was trying to figure out what type of talents I have and I came across this test.  Well, guess what?

I'm a Mandarin!
And here's what that means:

You're an intellectual, and you've worked hard to get where you are now. You're a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world's problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you're determined to try.

And here are my percentages as indicated by the test:

Talent: 46%
Lifer: 44%
Mandarin: 54%

Just go here to take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz yourself!

Random Thoughts From People Like Me ~

I know I haven't blogged about anything "deep" lately but I just haven't had that many "deep" thoughts lately. However, one of my friends sent me an email and I literally was laughing out loud (LOL) because I really have thought most of these things at one time or another. I wanted to pass it on to you and I hope you laugh too. So here we go:

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing is worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk...

That's enough, Nickelback.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger...

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no Internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot.

Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like, I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem...

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this. Ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it...

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet you a dollar that everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the heck do I respond to that?

It really ticks me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fatso right before dinner.

I'm not here, I've gone... CRAZY!

I haven't written on my blog in quite some time. Part of it is due to lack of inspiration and part of it is sheer exhaustion from the crazy schedule I've been keeping lately. First of all, I've been looking for a house to buy and the process is longer and more difficult than I ever imagined! It all started out fun but now I'm really ready for it to be over! Secondly, to pay for all the extra expenses that come with buying a house I've been working as much overtime as possible, plus working a second job. Then there is LPC supervision that comes around once per week. You would think it was no big deal to meet with someone for one hour, one time per week but it actually takes an act of God to reach my supervisor on the phone in order to decide on the time and place to meet. Then last weekend there was the premarital seminar I helped out with. And my dog, Tug, and laundry and dishes, etc. etc. etc!
They say an idle mind is the devil's playground (or something like that). If that is the case, then he will just have to find somewhere else to go play because my mind is all full up right now. Which brings me to my next point... you knew there had to be one. If I'm too busy for the devil, what about God?? Is there enough time or space for Him?? I think it is time to do a little bit of priority rearranging!! In order to keep my sanity and give God the time He is worthy of, I've come up with this list of things that have to change. Please let me know if you have any more suggestions:

1) Pray and read my Bible before anything else and believe that God will give me that time back and prepare me for the day ahead.
2) Turn off the phone when I go to bed and don't turn it on again until I've had time to wake up, had my talk with God.
3) Stop spending so much time on Facebook!! That stupid farm is taking up too much of my time!! I have to set myself a limit.
4) Stop looking for a church until I am settled into my new home. (This one has a lot attached to it that I won't go into right now). 

Hopefully this will bring me back from the edge of crazyville. If you have any other tips or suggestion, PLEASE, send them on in!!

Memorial Day Thoughts ~

These pictures are courtesy of my brother, Jeff.

One Lovely Blog Award ~

I'm very pleased and thankful to my dear friend Tawana at Anything and Everything for this lovely award.

Please visit her blog and check out her posts. The rule is that you have to pass on this award to 15 new blogs. While the blogs I'm listing are not necessarily new blogs, they are most definitely informative, fun, insightful and and inspirational and deserve to be acknowledged. So, like a few others, I'm bending the rules a bit, hopefully I'll be forgiven :) I also think maybe I can't count, you be the judge lol. (By the way, you don't necessarily have to pass this on but it's a nice way to pay tribute to some of your favorite bloggers :)

One Lovely Blog Award Recipients

The Preacher's Wife
Contentment Corner
Amid the Stench (and aroma) of Noah’s Ark
Cherie and Michael
From the Factory Floor
Mrs. Hayward
My Cup of Tea
The Big Mama Blog
The Dessert Fairy
2nd Cup of Coffee
The Flutterbye Chronicles
Dancing Practice With God
Prospering Over Fibromyalgia
My Cup Overfloweth
Anything and Everything

Speak, See, Hear No Evil ~

(Posted with the permission of the subjects in the photograph)

Here is a picture of some of the guys that live with us at the Crisis Respite/Residential Unit - Larry, Wayne, and Leroy. As you can see, we have some wonderful characters there!

(Posted with the permission of the subjects in the photograph)

And here are a couple of the guys (Leroy & Eric) helping with the laundry. WOW!

Cletus Take the Reel ~

I found this to be hilarious! I hope you enjoy it and laugh too, as laughter is the best medicine!

Prayer for a Good Husband ~

As many of you know, I was married in October of 2007. It was a year of disaster and insight and learning. It was a year of happiness and heartache, more of one than the other. In the aftermath I have questioned the big picture of my life and what was supposed to be, what really was, and what should be from this point forward. I've spent a lot of time alone figuring out how I feel and how to handle the judgments of others. It is between me and God to decide what my future holds ~ my part is to simply follow Him there. For the past 6 months I have sworn that I would never get married again for fear of making yet another mistake or being hurt even worse. But here is where I stand on the subject of life when it comes to me.
Nobody walks in my shoes but me. I have spent far too long worrying about what others think and what looks right to those around me. I deserve to live MY life. Some say that if you have been married before, well, that was your chance. I don't agree. I don't believe God is happy with divorce but I also do not believe that He expects you to continue in a marriage that is destroying you physically, spiritually, emotionally, or all three. After all, would it be right to participate in your own murder? A friend asked me that and I said NO. I do feel that somewhere along the way I will meet someone who has the same desires as I have. So in the future, if God sees fit for me to marry again, that is what I will do. It may be a long time and it may not. It will definitely be scary and require a great bit of trust on my part. But I don't believe in letting fear hold us back from the good things that are offered us. The following is a prayer that I found recently. I did not write it but it sums up what I feel in my heart.

O Jesus, the dearest Friend I have, in all confidence I open my heart to You to beg Your light and assistance in the important task of planning my future. Give me the light of Your grace, that I may decide wisely concerning the person who is to be my partner through life. Dearest Jesus, send me such a one whom in Your divine wisdom You judge best suited to be united with me in marriage. May his character reflect some of the traits of Your own Sacred Heart. May he be upright, loyal, pure, sincere and noble, so that with united efforts and with pure and unselfish love we both may strive to perfect ourselves in soul and body, as well as the children it may please You to entrust to our care. Bless our friendship before marriage, that sin may have no part in it. May our mutual love bind us so closely, that our future home may ever be most like Your own at Nazareth.

And if I never marry again, I have confidence that God will make my life all that it was meant to be. In the meantime, I will wait to see what surprises He has for me around the bend.

Unexpected Gifts ~ !

So, as I was about to leave work this morning, my co-worker handed me a card. Turns out it was a Valentine card, good for a free donut at Crispy Creme! Then, after I came home from work this morning, I heard a knock on the door. I looked out the peep hole and there was a lady standing there with some stuff in her hands. You know how people look through the peep hole ~ you sometimes can't even tell who it is because they get real skinny in their feet and head and then the rest gets bigger. Very flattering. Anyhow, I opened the door and it was my neighbor, who has 3 children that I check up on every so often. She said, " Happy Valentine's Day!" and handed me a red rose, a balloon, and a bag of chocolates with a card from her 3 little ones. I was stunned! Later, after I had done some necessary shopping and come back home I was laying around being lazy. Since I had worked overnight and was tired, my plan was to take a shower, go grab something to eat, and settle in on the couch for a movie. So after my shower I got dressed and opened the door ~ and almost tripped over a beautiful vase of flowers that had been delivered from a real florist!! I was so overwhelmed I started crying. And these gifts were additional to the card I received from my mother (with a gift card inside, YAY!) and the card my dog sent me. Who knew he could write so neatly even without having opposable thumbs!?!

So many times we overlook the lovely things in our lives. Sometimes the world seems like such a scary place and then I am reminded that there are still generous and caring people like the ones who have blessed me today. Thank you everyone!!

P.S. ~ I Love You

I watched this movie tonight. I was at work and had nothing better to do. Thank Goodness my co-worker was gone for the night because this was a real TEAR-JERKER! I am not kidding, I cried my little heart (and eyes) out. I have waited a long time to rent this one because I was afraid it would be too sad for me and then I would want to go jump out a window. But although it was quite sad, it was also really funny and so I was laughing and crying at the same time. Not a smart thing to do if your nose happens to be running. But anyways, it had sort of a cleansing effect as well. As if everything I ever wanted to cry about (but didn't) just got washed away somehow. I recommend watching this one if you are spending the night alone OR you have some friends who you aren't embarrassed to cry in front of. And it wouldn't hurt to have a big box of chocolate to help you through the grief. And tissue. The synopsis of the movie is below.

Holly Kennedy has just lost her beloved husband, Gerry, to a brain tumor. Inconsolable, Holly finds that Gerry left for her a series of letter to help cope with the grief. As months pass, Holly discovers new messages from Gerry encouraging her to go on living. While Holly's friends fear the letters will mire her in the past, they, in fact, give her the strength for the future.

New Car ~

So, on January 17th I traded my car in for a new one. I used to have a Toyota Rav4 that looks like this:

I am really going to miss it because it had a lot room and Tug liked to run to the back window and hold on with his paws while looking out at the people behind us. I'm sure they got a kick out of that :)

But anyways, I traded it in for a Toyota Yaris that looks like this:

The up side is that it is really cute and it gets AWESOME gas mileage. It has an outlet for my ipod and pretty much everything the Rav had except for keyless entry. Oh, and elbow room! However, it lowered my payments by $200 per month! I am working on an internship and, until I get my permanent license, money is tight. So I'm doing everything I can to lower expenses. I am trying to look at things with a long-term perspective ~ if I sacrifice a little now, then it will be worth having my license and being able to do the things I've always dreamed of doing. Like getting to work in the field that I feel I'm supposed to be working in. And having my own house, being a mom, maybe adopting a couple of kids, and another puppy so Tuggles will have someone to play (or fight) with. So I guess for now, I can do with a couple less cup holders and all the extra leg-room for my friends. In all, I'm pretty much happy as a lark.