Thursday, April 30, 2009

My Inspiration Revisited



The past year has been a tough one for us, financially. With both of our businesses on the front lines of this horrific struggling housing market, this is an issue we have been dealing with for well over a year now. Ty losing his job & me losing the majority of my accounts,was definitely something none of us ever seen happening.

Ty & I are very driven people, we did what any parent/human would do, kept going. Kept looking for work, working for little money, barely making the bills & at times we were unable to make some bills. The stress was over whelming to me & from that, it put strains on my marriage & family life. During this time I was not the wife I was always happy being, and surely not the happy mother my kids deserved. The quality of life just wasn't there anymore.

So recently, after about 8 months of this, I found myself on the phone with Ty doing the same thing I had been doing for months, bitching & complaining. I'm not really sure what he had said to me in our conversation (he was already in a bad mood prior to my call) but all that I remember was him say to me in his rather irritated voice, "well then do something about it!"

Thats when it really hit me...OMG, I'm throwing myself a pity party! I'm being the victim! I, who can't stand the victim role, am acting like a type of person I despise. That's the moment when I realized, again, nobody will find my happy place for me...I must do this on my own & quickly before I drive myself to the looney farm.

This is where the book comes into play. About 3 years prior, My wonderful Father-in-Law brought me this book when we were going through a "financial crisis" & I was stuck in a mindset that "we were screwed" so to speak. I really can't say I was pleased when he showed up at my door, un-announced out of the blue, just to give me a "change your attitude" book (as I used to call them). Frankly, I was a bit irritated. Many questions ran through my head as to why "I" received the book & not Ty. However, in respect of my father-in-law, I read the book he gave me. After the first chapter, the book had already had me inspired to read more, by the middle of the book I had begun to realize the benefit factors of energy, and by the end of the book...it had changed my life! It had changed my attitude. And for the first time in a Long time, I felt this amazing happy feeling, its undescribable to most, but to those of you who are into this sort of thing...you get it. This book taught me how to be in control of my feelings(on a more powerful lever), my energy, my destination & my life's path. Many things I thought I had no control of, I always used to think it was luck or my laid out path.

After reading this book the first time (3yrs ago), my business grew practically overnight to a place I never saught imaginable. My relationships were better then I had ever experienced & my spirit was just, "serene".

Its amazing to me how I can go from that feeling (then), to almost pure depression all because of "things"(just recently). (jobs, money, toys,etc) When really, these things are of no monetary value if you can't find peace & acceptance without them..Right?? These things had me so stressed out it was unbearable, I couldn't even talk about it without crying. OK, so I'm not saying that "things" defined me by ANY means...but to be perfectly honest, I was embarassed to have people see us lose them. Like maybe we would be "Ir-responsible" or "in-over our heads" or "talked about".

Today, I will be the first to tell you, YES, we were in over our heads. We made crazy good money & lived comfortably. Now that we have lost income, one of our houses, our timeshare & will be getting rid of our boat...it's not that scary to me as I thought it would be. Reading this book made me remember that I don't need these things to be happy (And trust me I know..making these payments don't make you very happy) Now... I could care less if anyone knows, or what people may say or think about us. It's all about how we feel. And I feel Great! LOL

So, my point for this babbling, is to simply share my story. After my talk with ty on the phone that day, I did just that.. I dusted off my old book & re-read it & I was able to bring myself back to the place where I was the most happy & in control...purely feeding off of my own positive energy. It's amazing the speed things started to turn around once I got rid of my "pity party attitude". Its the Pure "Law of Attraction" at work.

Beleive me when I say, I was inches away from throwing up my hands & dumping the business. I went through terrible times trying to find good employees, ones who would not steal, cheat & take advantage of me. Hell, I would be blessed if they even show up to work! I busted my butt to get more clients & accounts, just to see them all jeapordized by my employees. I went through times where I would get so mad, I would fire every single one of them. (OH, this was a LOVELY time! Pure Joy FOlks!) I would work 10-12 hour days, sometimes alone, for weeks straight. I did all this, just so I could get back to where I was before (before the housing plumet) so we could live comfortably again.

Wouldn't you know, that once I got my mind & attitude back on track, I got slammed with new customers & even managed to suddenly aquire new wonderful employees. Our finances are looking better, I have less stress & I feel so much better all around. Everything seemed to just flow the way it was supposed to.

I will always be grateful that I have a father-in-law who cared so much about me to stop by that one day 3 years ago & give me that book. For some its just a book, but for me, it was my life saver! And still is! I Love you Bill.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

A party with the Morgans/Dannenburgs

This saturday was little Allianna's 1st birthday party. Alli, is my sister in-law Hayley's little girl. As I said before, she is just a doll! I had it all planned that I would take many pictures of all our kids & share them with the family, but as always, I was late as usual and forgot the camera! UGH!

The party went great, Alli devoured the cake her parents got her, ofcourse! All the cousins were together & had a blast as usual. Chelsey & the kiddos came up from mesa to spend the day with all of us.

After the party, all of us girls just hung out & had a blast. It was so fun to hang with ty's mom & sisters. By the end of the night, and many glasses of wine, I was feelin' good & havin nothing but fun! lol. (boy did I pay for that this morning) Ty had to drag me out of hayleys to leave..LOL. There wasn't one minute I dont think I wasn't laughing hysterically. The funniest thing of all, was ty refused to come outside with us. I think he was scared...LOL...as he should have been!! LOL

Our family is great! I'll snap some pics of the kids soon..


Wednesday, April 22, 2009

My Happy Husband...

Oh, Ty is so happy & looking forward to his very first hunt! After trying last year for deer & elk with no luck, this year he was luckily drawn for elk. Yesterday he received his Elk Tag in the mail, needless to say, he was gleaming! Ty is so excited to go hunting! Our family has become quite fond of Elk meat, thanks to the hoy's, and we are crossing our fingers he will get one.

I'm sure Billy is anxious to get Ty out there in the woods, he's been after ty for years to go hunting with him. I think its perfect....billy & ty go hunting for a week....me & robin go to vegas! Yea, Right! Like anyone can really afford to go on vacation right before christmas! Hmmm...seems like maybe it was purposely planned that way. Maybe


Thursday, April 16, 2009

...Peace...

At least I think that's what you would call it, "it" being, my mood, my attitude. For the first time, in some time now, I feel at ease with everything, my mind is not clogged up or over worked & tired.

So many stresses & frustrations come with my job...many of them lately seem to be so overwhelming to the point that I am losing a sense of who I am & what makes me happy. Some may ask, "what kind of stresses or difficulties do you face at your job, your just a cleaner"....
My answer: Many & we'll save that for another day, for today is my good day.

I try to live by the "Laws of Attraction" daily....but some days are easier said then done. Some days I have to just accept the fact that I cant take on the whole world, just take one day at a time. Even though the truth is: I CAN take on the world. I am the MASTER of multi-tasking! Sadly, multi-tasking has taken its toll on me. I have to quit being so stubborn & listen to my husband...Relax & take ME time. (whats that?)

My house is cleaned, my laundry's done, my errands are completed, I will be able to prepare dinner before 6pm(yipee),my kids are calm & happy & I am at peace! I will do nothing but enjoy the rest of my evening with my family.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

HOLY CRAP!

I'm a little freaked out here right about now! Yesterday Paige got off the school bus and she said there was tons of cops, a couple ambulances & firetruck down at the creek in our housing community here. Paige said she seen a lady laying on the sidewalk.

WELL. This morning I found out what had happened. We have this creek in our development that is heavily populated with people who pan for gold. A mother & her 13 year old were down on that trail & the daughter was attacked by a bobcat. The mom started fighting off the bobcat & the bobcat in turn, attacked her. The police ended up shooting & killing the bobcat after it lunged at them when they went down to the area where it happened. Mom & Daughter are OK...thank goodness...but they think the bobcat had rabies due to his aggressive bahavior. This is so scary for me!!

All the time we hear about mountain lion sightings in our community & bobcat sightings, but never a rabid one. I hear about the incidences in Flagstaff with the rabid foxes, but not here.
Our backyard is open desert, followed by a mountain full of all these little critters.

I'm a little freaked about even letting my kids outside to play! They say that when animals get rabies, they go insane....they have off the wall behavior. Makes me wonder how many of those scary little cats that are back in the open area behind our house have rabies????

Ty hikes the mountain (right next to our house) atleast once a week, on many occasions he has seen bobcats. Our neighbor even said that some of these bobcats have been spotted in other neighbors' backyards!!!! YIKES! Not very hard when your backyard fence is only 36" tall. Anyways, Ty said that when he walked up the mountain sunday, there was something staring at him at the top of the mountain. He said he couldnt tell what it was, but he could see it was looking at him... why he kept proceeding up the mountain is beyond me...apparantly when he was walking back down the creature was gone! FREAKY.

Hmmm....was it the same bobcat??? Ugh...gives me chills just thinking about it.

So , My questions is this: Am I a paranoid worried mother if I won't let my kids play outside without me present? Or, should I be totally panicked? I must admit, I do have a slight teeny weeny little tendancy to "overreact"...Maybe I am just totally over protective and fearing the worst? I dunno. Ty's reaction is this: Ahh..there kids! They'll be fine! You worry too much! Maybe I do.....

Hey Brittney, I will take your little 21" lizards over rabid bobcats Anyday!

Damn Arizona Desert!

Monday, April 13, 2009

For the Baseball Fans

I just thought I would share this quickly with those who are D-Back or just baseball fans.

I recently signed my kids up for the No Chew Crew at d-backs website, a friend of mine who does my hair (The best Hair Dresser in Prescott!!!) told me about this program as she does it with her children.

Once you sign your kids up, online, they get free tickets to every sunday home game during the regular season. Many programs & fun things for them to do before the games too in the sand lot. So let's be real here, the tickets are not for the Rockin' Seats....they are for the section 305-327...BUT, they are free to all kids under age 15. Only tickets that need to be purchased are for mom & dad. Last year Ty paid over $100 for 6 tickets to the game. Huge savings here....even for cheaper seats.

Here's the catch, its based upon availability. SO, what WE are going to do is pre-buy all the games we want to go to upfront. (you give them your kids' voucher, they give your kids tickets)
Dodgers, rockies will more then likely sell out quickly.

Anywho...just thought I would share that with those of you who like to watch baseball & save some $$. Anyone want to attend a game with us, let us know.



What do you think??

Today has been a long day... I have managed to stay busy all day & accomplish nothing but changing my blog template. LOL. The magnificent wonders of life! Or..MY LIFE! So what do you think? Is it too boring? I LOVE brown & Blue, but not sure how I like it. I get so bored of things so quickly. I will post easter pics of the kids when I get a chance...its off to work tomarrow. Ta-Ta for now....

Easter Fun...

I hope everyone else had a wonderful easter! We did. This was the very first easter we have stayed home in years, usually we either go camping or quadding. Good thing camping wasn't an option for us this year, it rained like cats & dogs all night & day!!! I must tell you, that I was pretty bummed at the thought of breaking this Traditional "Easter Outing" our family has become so accustomed too. The thought of staying home...when camping is such a blast really bummed me out. THEN AGAIN....Hmm...soggy stale muddy terrain, stinky wet sleeping bags, god knows WHAT kind of bugs emerge from this weather & nasty poodled up frizzy hair....NOPE! I was just "meant" not to go this year. He must have known all along. (I was feelin' for you Robin).

We did end up having a wonderful day afterall. We had Hayley, Jake & the Kiddos over for Dinner & such. It was relaxing. We got to spend time with the kids & watch how fast our little neice Allianna is growing up. (Hayley is Ty's Sis') She just turned 1 this week. Yikes. She is so CUTE!!!! It sure does make you realize how quickly your OWN kids grow up. The Morgan family has not had any babies in the family since little Brenton (Chelsey's son)..so Allianna is such a treat for us all! Have more Hayley...Many more!! It's a good thing this mama is fixed, not long ago I had a ache for another baby...something fierce! But 5 is an odd number, dont like odd numbers, I would of had to have another to make it even, that would have made 6 & they just dont supply enough "happy drugs" for that!!! LOL

Thought I would add some pictures of our weekends events... I know I know....I dont EVER add pictures of the family.....Yea Right! LOL. Its Just me..AKA..."Picture Nut".

The Easter Egg hunt in the morning was hilarious. The Easter Bunny hid "FRESH" eggs all over the house for the kids (fresh meaning...hard boiled then we had some fake ones too). The kids woke up at 6am Easter morning as if it were Christmas Morning! The twins were peaking around the corner smiling from ear to ear...and giggling because they seen their baskets and eggs all around. SO...after they go on the egg hunt, ty counts the eggs to make sure all the fresh eggs were found...nope...they werent.

That Darn Easter Bunny hid those eggs so good that none of us could find the rest of the real eggs! Our main worry was Bo...anyone who knows about bulldogs KNOWS that bullies CAN NOT eat most real food...ESPECIALLY EGGS!!! After 2 hours of searching for the darn egg...we find it. Behind the Air Purifier. RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES. Idiots! Geesh. It was funny though.
Ah..see, they can smile!






She is "thrilled folks"!








Tuesday, April 7, 2009

bla bla blog...

Well...as I figured, I was too tired to take a trip to vegas. For the first time in all my trips to vegas, I was an official LAME-O! All I wanted to do was sleep, and sleep, and sleep. Ty had to force me to stay up late, until 10:45 folks, and watch a band. Ugh, I felt so horrible for him...only one thing we have to do now...GO AGAIN. I'm all refreshed now & rearing to go!

One thing we did do that I really enjoyed, is eat at the Benihana. OMG, I loved it. All I kept thinking about, is how wonderful of a time my kids would have had there! (typical outing alone, always spent thinking about the chillens) I am destined to find a restaurant like that close to home so we can share that experience with our kids. They would totally dig the fire & knife throwing right infront of their eyes!

Ty is buying a truck tomarrow, FINALLY! I thought this day would never come! Ever since he was let go at his company in December, he has not had a vehicle. He's been putting thousands of miles on my truck since then & now we fight over who gets to use it!! Hello??? I always win!! I'm such a brat, I know. But seriously, with me being as busy as we are at work...I need the company van & my truck to run all the work load. Let me just tell you, this truck buying experience with ty has not been an easy one. There were many times when I thought I was going to choke him! It went like this:

Ty: I'm not going to be picky, I just need something to get me to flagstaff everyday

me: OK, here's a truck here, it looks reliable

Ty: its not extended cab, I need extended cab, I have too much stuff

me: OK, heres a truck thats extended cab & reliable.

Ty: its too old, too many miles

me: Ok, here's a truck with low miles, newer then the last, extended cab & reliable

Ty: Its a ford....I dont like ford

me: OK, here's a truck that is NOT a ford, low miles, relatively newer, xtended cab & reliable

Ty: Its a dodge...I dont like dodge....I only want a chevy

me: OK, here's a CHEVY truck, lower mileage, relatively newer, xtended cab & reliable

Ty: Well, that isnt a 2500. I need atleast a 2500 to haul the trailer...

me: OK, here's a chevy 2500, lower mileage, relatively newer, extended cab & reliable

Ty: But its not diesel, I need diesel. I cant drive all the way to flagstaff with the trailer without diesel!

me: OK..Pain in my ass! I have found you a truck now that meets all your "criterias"...

Ty: Its red, I dont like red. Lets keep looking

You want to know what he ended up with? Oh this is great! He is going down tomarrow to buy...get this....

A Red Dodge Diesel truck!

Pretty funny huh? Especially for someone who's not picky. (guess now he likes the color red & dodge) For the record, I told him next time he is looking for his own truck. I like him too much!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Is it Friday Yet?????

Is it? I think it's Friday but my brain has been in overdrive these past 2 weeks, I cant even remember what I ate for dinner last night!

I have absolutely no topic to blog about...so I'm just gonna blog!

So yes, the calender says its Friday & that means only 1 thing! VIVA LAS VEGAS!!! It's time to kick off the sneakers & put on my dancing shoes & dance the night away. My only hope is that I wont fall into a deep coma'd sleep & miss out on all the fun I can have in vegas...this would be strictly because I have had maybe 20 hours of sleep in the last 5 days! C'mon people...everyone knows there is no such thing as "sleep" in vegas!!! My stomach even churns at the thought of how I will feel monday morning with a full work week ahead. Why am I doing this to myself? As my dear friend Robin put it..."that's what you call DESPERATE"!

Oh yes, we are very desperate for a getaway. Not to mention, free rooming to vegas is kinda hard to pass up!

I have been working long 10 & 11 hour days these past 2 weeks. What an incredible toll this takes on your body when it's pure physical labor the entire time. Weight loss is good but the mind is wacked out! I have agreed that I will hire another employee to help us, this way we can all be sane again & I can go back to my managerial work as I should be doing. I've been so behind on my billing, bidding & ordering, it's ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, not a day goes by that I am not grateful for all the work I have...I'm just loosing my marbles! My family stuffed & labeled 700 envelopes last weeked for me, I am soliciting more work. Well, I'm pleased to say that my phone has been ringing like crazy & we have already acheived even MORE work. FINALLY!!!!

All the lovely house duties are calling my name.......guess I still need to pack....it IS friday. Geesh!