I always intend on writing.. in A new start in the same life

But life gets in the way. Like always, I will do a short update on a bunch of stuff.

The Florida vacation was actually pretty good. Sure the kids had issues and yes, it did rain at least once a day but overall, we all had fun. The drive down was ok. We drove to Chatanooga on the first day. My tire was being all crazy and losing air. It was because I hit a pothole awhile back and it dented my rim. I ended up replacing all of the rims last week. I was pretty nervous about the drive because of the tire but we made it. The second day we went up the Incline Railway and learned some stuff about the battle on Lookout Mountain. Then we drove to Orlando. Our resort place was pretty nice. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 screened in porches, a full kitchen. There was a pool behind our unit. We only went swimming twice because it kept raining. We were pretty comfortable. Day 3 was Legoland. It turned out to be super cool. The lines for rides weren’t very long so we actually got to ride some. Thia liked the roller coasters. Indyanna wasn’t tall enough for some rides but she got to go on a few and loved them. We all had a really good time. Day 4 we went to islands of Adventure at Universal. The Harry Potter section was insanely crowded. David ended up taking Thia and Indy to the doctor seuss area while Izzy and I wandered around there. She got Sirius Black’s wand and I got Lupin’s. When we met up with the other family half, we wander around for a bit. We enjoyed the superhero area but got rained on. We didn’t go on any rides because the lines were over an hour long. The kids would not be patient for that. They enjoyed all the souvenirs though. Day 5 was Sea World. It was so hot that I was sweating as soon as I opened the door of the car. The kids did not respond well to the heat. We did see the Orca show and got splashed by that salty ass water. Dear lord, my eyes were on fire after that. The show was cool but I kept thinking about those poor Orcas. At least no one was killed during the show. We tried to walk around but it was way hotter than we are used to. We only stayed like 3 hours. The best part was this animal show. It had cats, dogs, a pig, ducks, rats, and some other animals. Needless to say, Sea World was not my place. I am glad that we didn’t pay for the tickets because I was pretty disappointed. Day 6 was back at Universal. Izzy and I finished the Harry Potter area while David freaked out the girls with a Simpsons ride. We left after 4 hours because we were amusement parked out. Day 7 we wandered around Orlando. We went on the big wheel, went to the wax museum, and the indoor aquarium. The aquarium was pretty awesome. I was amazed by how well they did it in this building. There were some pretty amazing exhibits. The kids had fun posing with the wax figures. We also went to this Titanic exhibit which was really good as well. They gave you a person and you found out if you lived or died at the end. Mine and Thia’s lived and the other 3 died. It had recreations of the rooms and some props from the movie. It had this replica iceberg that you could touch and an actual piece of the Titanic hull that you could touch. Now, you all know how much I love history and how touching a piece of history is totally my jam, so I was giddy on the inside. I have touched the Titanic! Day 8 we headed up to Atlanta. We stayed 2 nights total. David’s friend Timmy came over and hung out. Day 9 we just hung out and relaxed. We got everything packed to go home. Day 10 we drove from Atlanta to Omaha. It was 984 miles and I drove 884 of it. We even got back in time to pick up the dogs. I am pretty proud of my speeding skills. We would have been there around 730 if I hadn’t hit traffic so we got the dogs around 830.

We got home just in time for the kids to start school. Indyanna started preschool the next day and Izzy and Thia started 5th and 2nd grade the day after that. David doesn’t know what to do with himself when all three girls are in school. Right now, Indy only goes MWF afternoons but next year, she will be all day. Then he really won’t know what to do. He better clean everything since he doesn’t have to go to work.

Speaking of work, I am back at the grindstone. It’s been fine. I’m faster than I realized when it comes to baths. I have been getting dogs done in 30 minutes. Of course, longer haired dogs take longer and dogs that need to deshed take longer. I did a husky in 1.5 hours which is really good since it required extra drying time since the parent wants the dog bone dry. And believe it or not, I did a good job. So I am pretty good at this bathing thing. I have been asking about the grooming academy because I am over the required number of dogs done and I want to make more money. There isn’t another academy until January. That kinda puts a cramp in my style.

The reason why I am not sure that January works in because after years of struggling with my weight and the last 5 months of being on phen phen with no success, my doctor referred me to the bariatric clinic. I have submitted my intake paperwork so they will be calling me this week to set up an appointment. The process takes a few months before they pick a surgery date so I was assuming in January especially since I can’t take time off in November or December. Gotta love those blackout dates. I suppose I could wait until February for the surgery. I guess that is what I will have to do because we really need groomers. The new manager wants to send the two bathers. There is one bather who is not interested in going because she doesn’t want to be a groomer. The bather isn’t that great. I think it would be a mistake to send her. She calls in sick at least once a week. She has done 3 no call, no shows. She doesn’t do a good job bathing her dogs. I’ve smelled some of her dogs while helping her with nails and they were not clean. She has a very poor work ethic and will slack off as much as possible. I don’t think she will make a good groomer and I would hate to see her take a spot of someone who would actually show up to work. Regardless, it’s not my decision. But if it’s out of town, I am not sharing a room with her. I just have to patient with both work and the surgery. Both things are important. Grooming would be easier if I had the surgery because it would help with my back pain and stuff but going to academy is important so I can make more money. Obviously the solution is simple. Academy then surgery.

Lastly, I know it is soon. I realize that many people would not do this…but I did get a kitten. Her name is Maeve. She is a ragdoll/Siamese. She has blue eyes and white feet. The girls and I just went to this pet store to look at the animals. I knew I had to have her when I saw here. I have always wanted a cat with white feet and blue eyes. Nova has only been gone for month. I still look at her spots around the house expecting to see her there. I am always disappointed when she isn’t. It’s like I won’t let myself grieve or I had been grieving all year. Every appointment I had prepared myself to lose her. Maeve doesn’t fill the hole she left but she occupies some of it. Maeve is so loving. She loves to cuddle. She is so soft too. It’s the exact opposite of Nova. They both purr very loud which makes me happy.

Alright, I am done typing. I applaud anyone who made it through. I really intend on writing more often and then time gets away from me. Until the next time.