I'm baaack....

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted on here and my whole life is so different now than it was almost five years ago.

First of, I managed to lose a bunch of weight and am down to about 152, eight pounds less than my goal weight of 160.  I look pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I also got divorced in May of this year.  Kenin and I had a lot of good years but we also had a number of not great years so we separated in April, 2017.  Please don't shed any tears...  I didn't.  I'm very happy being on my own and have been enjoying the single life.

I've been dating a lot and have decided that I don't know that I'll ever be monogamous again.  I believe in love, but not necessarily that I'll find it again.  I don't mean that in a bad way, either.  On the plus side, I've been seeing someone for almost year now and I waffle back and forth between trying to decide if it's love (or could be at some point) but as of right now, it's just whatever it is.

I was fired from Dish earlier this year, but that was definitely a blessing in disguise because I never knew how miserable I was there until I left.  The said that I was termed due to poor performance but it was awfully suspicious when they didn't even tell my manager they were firing me and waited until a day he was off to do the deed.  I felt pretty vindicated when they appealed my unemployment and they lost.  It was particularly gratifying to hear my old manager say that when I was fired that I was meeting expectations.

Ashlyn and boyfriend are now Ashlyn and husband, which is pretty awesome.  It's been almost 9 years for them and while they haven't given me a grandchild yet, I do have a granddog, which is pretty cool.  But make no mistake, I'm still holding out for a human.

Jena is in the process of getting divorced and in addition to my three amazing grandsons, she's finally giving me a GRANDDAUGHTER in December.  All I have to say is that it's about damn time.

Patrick is living in Texas with his bio mom and is doing really well from what I hear.

Hunter has his own place here in Denver and is struggling with addiction, so please send him some good thoughts, light and love, especially since we just found out some life changing news.

Now that I'm back into this, I imagine it's going to go more in the direction of kind of a diary, so folks, it's no holds barred.  I didn't really hold back before, but now I'm REALLY not going to hold back.

I'm back...

So much has happened since I last posted and yes, I know  that was 5 months ago, thank you very much.

We finally got Patrick into a group home.  When we found out he'd been approved, we decided it'd be a good time to downsize, so we moved into a loft apartment in downtown Denver.  Then, I decided to quit my job as a Significant Special Needs (SSN) Paraprofessional because it would a monsterous pain to have to drive back and forth to Highlands Ranch every day.  So now I'm going to be concentrating on my photography and jewelry design. 

Gosh, to see it written down it doesn't look like much, does it?  It honestly was way more than it appears so I guess that gives me topics to expound uppon in the future, doesn't it?

here he is!

Paul Anthony, meet the internet.

brand new Nana

At 7:54 pm CST on January 9, my grandson was born.  Paul Anthony weighs in at a healthy 8 lbs. 4 oz. and is 19" long.  According to his very tired mother, he's got a head full of dirty blond hair and big feet.  And having already seen a picture, this brand new Nana says he's perfect!

back to business

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy for me, as work and school have both started up. I think I'll do okay in my classes (Interpersonal Communications and Intro to Reimbursement) if I can ever manage to find the time to work on them. Work is still the same in that I still think I'm smarter than my boss, so I can just see that it's going to be a banner year for me. Oh well, at least it pays the health insurance premium.

Since returning to work I've come to the conclusion that there are only 2 types of jobs that will really suit me. The first one is a job where I'm in charge of everything and I can tell people what to do. The other type of job is one where I'm left alone and don't have to deal with other people and their idiosyncrasies/idiocy. There really is no middle ground where I can be truly happy. Either let me fix everything, or leave me the hell out of it altogether!

Good news on the home front - we finally got new carpet. It has that stinky new carpet smell, but at least it looks decent and now I won't be ashamed to invite people over.

I swear I'll write more later, but I'm off to do whatever it is that I do. Caio!

More WOW

I recently discovered that in my 5/19 WOW post, I was apparently so very speechless that I forgot to let everyone know exactly which one of my daughters is pregnant. Thanks for your patience (although you and I and those 3 homeless people from the library all know that no one reads this damn thing anyway) in allowing me to reveal who's going to be a Momma. Jena is the one who's pregnant, and not, thank goodness, Ashlyn.

And I swear Jena's going to have a girl. It's just a feeling I have, but it's that really strong feeling that you just can't deny and have to give in to, even if it flies in the face of all that's right in the world. A girl would be a miracle though, because Huffstetlers only produce boys. But I'm telling y'all, she's going to have a girl. And I'ma be a Nana. Tee Hee

Patting Myself On My Back

I'd like to think that I'm not usually one to brag about things that I do. And even if that's not the case, I want to think that it is, so please don't burst my bubble. However, I've changed a couple of things in my life lately and just wanted to share them with you, the lone person who's subscribed to my blog, and the occasional computer literate homeless person who hangs out at the library when it's cold.

Since August 13, the day school started this year, I've lost 33 pounds and weigh, for the first time in a very long time, less than 200 pounds. (I realize that posting that on the internet increases the chances of me being laughed at or made fun of, but what the hell, I have no secrets anyway.) I've done it mostly by watching what I eat, eating slowly, listening to my body and stopping eating when I'm not longer hungry versus when I'm so full I want to puke. Also, I indulge myself from time to time. If I want pizza, it's okay for me to have a slice or maybe even two, but the days of eating 3, 4, or 5 pieces are over. I still crave sweets though, and I've discovered a wonderful thing: Weight Watchers desserts. My favorite is the chocolate chip cookie dough sundae and it satisfies my craving and is low calorie, compared to "normal" food and doesn't sacrifice taste. Ugh! I sound like I'm preaching, so time to change the subject.

The other thing that I've done is that I've quit smoking. Again. It's only been 3 weeks, but I think this time it's for good. I'm taking wellbutrin, which works great to help you quit and has worked well for me in the past. It's also an anti-depressant, so it helps to keep me on a more even keel and hopefully I'm less bitchy as I go through withdrawal. About 3 years ago, I quit for 4 months and the reason I started back was that several boulders fell on me at once (going to court with Kenin's ex, Kenin getting a new job, trying to find a new place to live, and then moving, all within a month's time) and I gave in. This time I feel much more ready to quit and I think I have better coping skills to deal with stress. Besides, I wasn't smoking a whole lot anyway, so why smoke at all? Keep your fingers crossed for me. I will beat this thing yet!

Kenin's Surgery Update

Just a quickie to let everyone who cares - yep, all 3 of you - that it doesn't appear that Kenin's going to have to have another hip surgery, at least for now. He's walking with crutches for another few weeks, but if everything continues as it is now, he's got 10-15 years before he'll have to go back under the knife. Yee Haw!! :)