Jessi’s Blog

It was a beautiful day outside on Wednesday, which happened to be my day off. It was warm and sunny, so I had to be outside. I decided it would be a fantastic day to get a start on our yard for the year.

My Chris came over, and I handed him a trashbag and sent him into a bush that is between my yard and the empty place next door. Then I made him pick up the sticks/branches in the yard and put them in our pile we use for our fire pit.

I got out my leaf blower to blow leaves. Not that there were many leaves in the yard, since I got rid of most of them in the fall…But I really like playing with the leaf blower. I also cleared leaves/junk out of the flower bed around the tree.

The house to my other side is also empty. There is a flower bed right on the edge of their property and mine that had been irritating me for the last 3 years since they moved out. It was full of dead plants/bushes/leaves/trash and who knows what. I had enough.

So I got it in my head, I was going to clean it out. How hard could it be?

The blisters on my hands could tell you….First, I had to get the leaves and crap out. Between me freaking out about the “roly polies” and worms crawling around in there, and the weeds that had the crap ensnared in it, it took me 2 hours just to get it cleaned out. I even found animal bones in there…I don’t know what kind of animal, and I’m not sure I want to know.

The last thing for me to get out of there was the bush. I’m convinced this bush was from another planet. It had roots going to China, Im sure. Well it wasn’t going to get on MY nerves anymore…I got out the shovel and dug the thing up. It wasn’t easy. It took close to 2 MORE hours to dig it out. The whole time I’m using foul language and saying things like “DIE ALIEN BUSH!” and “I HATE YOU!” I finally got it up, and threw it in the cornfield behind my house.Then I took a brick and threw it on top of it..Just out of spite.

Well I got it cleaned out, and the yard(s) look much better.

Like I did last year, I’ll compare this to the “good credit journey”.

No matter how hard you work in the past, maintainence is an ongoing process. You’re going to need to keep cleaning it up forever.

Not only maintaining, but adding to your credit can make things even better. As long as you do it in moderation with careful planning, it can make things even better. But if you overplant, you can put yourself in more trouble just trying to keep up.

Love you guys!

Jessi

I really don’t have much to write about….I just haven’t written in a while, and I’m very bored tonight.  I should probably go to bed, but I don’t want to. Andy Griffith is on, and I still need to run the vaccum tonight.  I don’t feel like running the vaccum yet, so I’ll just waste some time.

I think I’ll just write about what’s on my mind today.

Ramble #1

It’s officially Winter here in Ohio.  It’s buttcheek cold outside. This morning it felt so cold going out to my car that it hurt to breathe.  It’s so cold, that there is ice on some of the roads.  What is it about ice on the roads that makes people drive like MORONS?  I have common sense, so I slow down.  But this idiot this morning came flying around me because me going 55 (Which is the SPEED LIMIT on this particular road by the way) was just TOO SLOW.  And since it’s MY FAULT that he/she left their house too late this morning, and that 3 seconds earlier that they’re going to make it to work is life or death.  Don’t people realize that it takes MILES of driving at a faster speed before it even really makes a difference? I think it’s funny when I pull right up behind them at a stop light.  And it’s even more funny when I pass them and pull into the parking lot of my job. 

I do have a bit of driving paranoia ever since I had my car accident and broke my leg.  Even driving in the rain makes me a nervous wreck.  But I think of it as a positive that I have the common sense to slow down.  I’d rather be late to work then not show up at all because I went into a ditch, or caused a serious accident. But that’s just me.

Thought 2

When I’m at work selling a vacation to someone why is that that when I tell someone to have a safe trip, they almost always say, “You too!”  I’m not going!
Thought 3

Why do people think it’s OK to ditch in line?  This has happened to me twice in the last few days. 

Chris and I had “date night” Friday night, and decided to stay downtown in a hotel just for the heck of it.  SO I’m standing in line waiting to check in, and some members of a group that were staying there were ahead of me.  Then some more of that group came in…They all just crowded in front of me.  I tried to be nice about it, but I know they knew I was very irritated. Especially when I turned to Chris and said loudly, “I WONDER WHERE THE LINE BEGINS? I COULD HAVE SWORN I WAS STANDING IN LINE.” Luckily, the lady behind the counter had seen me and asked me to come up to get checked in.

Then this evening at the grocery store I was standing waiting to get some turkey from the deli.  And this lady came up in a huge rush for her salami.  She asked for it as I was giving my order to the guy behind the counter.  So me, being the smarty that I am, ordered some very thinly sliced swiss cheese…A whole pound, just to piss her off. 

 I’m in no mood for peoples crap this week.  I’m on week 2 of my training class which has me just about drained for energy.  I’m doing VERY well….Better than I thought anyway…My exam scores are very high which is good. I’ll get more comfortable with it as we get further into it.  And I’ll be especially glad when I actually get to work.

 Well, I’ll quit it for now…More to come soon.  Feel free to ramble with me so I don’t feel like a jerk….lol

Ok everyone…

As you know, I just took a small vacation to the Bahamas.  It was awesome.  I can’t describe how great it was to finally get away.  The weather was perfect. It was around 80 degrees, with a terrific breeze.  It wasn’t hot..It was just perfect.

This was leaving Pittsburgh…I took this picture about 7:30 a.m. last Tuesday the 24th of October…We were above the clouds and the sun was just starting to come up.  Gorgeous.

 This is Nassau, just as we were beginning to land.

 We only spent 3 days which is no where NEAR enough time.  We stayed at a resort called Paradise Island Harbour Resort.  It used to be owned by Holiday Inn.  It’s nothing fancy, but it’s a great place to stay. It’s an all inclusive, so all of your meals and drinks are included.  They also have activities at night.  If you’re planning a trip to Nassau/Paradise Island–I recommend it.  It’s in a great location on the harbor, and just down the way from Atlantis, which has the casino.

Our hotel building..I took this from the pool.

The waterfall in our pool

This is a picture of Atlantis, taken from our hotel window. Atlantis has 3 towers.  They have a casino, and a TON of stores…Mostly high end type where I didn’t dare even walk in…I.E. Versace, Gucci…I’d have come back extremely poor….Hey–I could have got a PDL and bought a purse!  Yeah right..LOL

Chris and I at Atlantis sitting in this really cool throne.

Some kind of neat glass sculpture inside Atlantis.

Sitting at the beach….Not the one at the hotel, this one was about a 5 minute walk away….Gilligans Island was filmed very near to this beach…There is a little island out a ways, where it was filmed. 

We met this guy at the beach….He’s got that box BALANCED on his head…He was selling rum in a coconut. 

Ok, these waves were INSANE!  I still have a bruise on my hip from having my butt kicked by the ocean.  These waves would literally pick us up and throw us. I’m kinda little…I’m 5 foot 2 and I weigh about 120….Chris is a big boy. He weighs about 215…He’s not FAT, but he’s awful big to be thrown like a pebble…It was so cool.  Now, if someone on the street would pick me up and throw me on the ground I’d be pissed.  But this was awesome.

Here’s Chris after being thrown.  He looks like he’s on a Slip-n-Slide.

Here’s my foot…The rest of me is covered in water.

I have more pics, but these were the best of them…I’ll add more soon…

Today at work, they sent some of us home at 12:30 since the call volume was low.  I was glad to go home early because it was a gorgeous day, and there was a lot of work to be done around the house.

One project that is long due is to coat our roof.   We have an old aluminum roof on our house, and it needs to be coated every few years to keep it insulated and keep it from leaking.  I’m planning to go up there on Tuesday to do it, but I decided to go to Lowes today and get all the crap I’ll need to do it…Which is the actual roof coating, roof brushes, and we needed a ladder.  I bought the ladder at Walmart for $109, which apparently is a bargain for a big tall ladder.

This ladder is the coolest ladder ever.  It’s a ripoff on the “Little Giant” ladder which is on the infomercials.  But that version costs about $350..It’s a 5 ladder in one deal…Step ladder, Extension ladder….And whatever other kind of ladder you could possibly need…and it is like 17 feet tall when you fully extend it.  COOL! 

 Ok so I’m rambling…..I thought I was all done for the day…I wanted to come home and cut the grass and be done with it for the day and just enjoy the sun while it’s still around..Maybe take a nap.

So I got out the lawnmower..This lawn mower is about 15 years old.  But it’s always been a good lawn mower…Today my uncle and I spent a good hour trying to get it started….He tried a few days ago and couldn’t get it done either.  It was a true “Lucy and Ethyl” moment.  We could win on American’s Funniest Home Videos if anyone had taped it.  At one point he was standing on top of the lawn mower while I layed on the ground to pull the cord….No luck. The neighbors were probably thinking “How many people does it take to start a lawn mower.”

So back to the store we went, this time to Sears hardware, which is slightly closer to my house. I  found a decent mower for $139.  Nothing fancy, but it cuts the grass.

I finally finished about 7:30…

But at least it’s done….And I’m pooped.  :-P  My days off are Tuesday and Wednesday and I’m ready for them.

Sometimes I just get in “a mood.”  Not really a bad mood so much as just a MOOD.  I don’t feel much like talking, and there’s nothing really wrong..I just don’t feel like talking.  And for some reason that bothers people.

Examples.  I stayed at Chris’s house last night, and came home this morning to get ready for work.  My aunt Judy apparently stayed at my house last night, and she’s sitting in the kitchen when I get there.  I haven’t had any caffeine yet, since I’d only been awake for about 15 minutes…Immediately, “What’s wrong?”  “Umm, nothing?” And I get in the shower and come out, and “Are you sure everythings ok? You seem upset.” “No, it’s just that it’s 7:30 a.m. and I’m tired…” 

Then I get to work, and the phone rings immediately at 10 a.m. and it’s my mom.  She’s blabbering something about her dogs, apparently they got new chains and they really like their new dog food.  I’m sorry I didn’t get all excited, mom..lol Should I come over and take a picture of you holding their leashes with a bowl of their dog food?  Geez…

I am a little down, as far as the weather is getting better, and I wish I could take some vacation time and enjoy it…But I need my commission checks to keep coming so I can pay these bills off faster..And I keep telling myself if I keep on it, things will get better…But I might spend the entire summer like this…I just want my money..So that has me kind of blahhhhhh lately.  But I don’t believe that even if I had money I would have felt like talking today..I just really don’t. 

Ok…So those of you who know me, know what I do for a living.  For those that don’t, I sell mattresses. 

Sounds boring, but it’s actually pretty fun.  I basically get paid to do a whole lot of nothing.  Even most of the “work” I do, isn’t really hard…A customer comes in, and I get to talk to them for anywhere between 1 and 90 minutes, and hopefully the end of the conversation goes something like, “Your bed will be delivered between X and X, thank you for shopping with us today!”

The job also comes with great perks, like vendor sponsored outings.  We usually go bowling, because the alley we go to has all you can bowl on Sundays between 9 and midnight. 

Simmons took us last night, and paid for our bowling, food, and drinks.   Unlimited, which means that many people take advantage of the unlimited drinks.  This makes for a great photo op, such as this one that I got.  I swear to God, that I was asked to take this picture with this phrase…

“Jess! Come take a picture of me and Nick comparing our balls.”  Think about it for a minute, but someone sober would probably THINK about what they would say before they did it..lol

Steve (Right) and Nick (Right)

Ok, and about Nick….Do you see the face he’s making?  That is the way it looks ALL THE TIME. It’s not that it’s a bad picture where he’s making a dumb face…That’s just how he looks…He can’t help it.

So yeah, we have good times here.

I got my hair cut yesterday after work…And I bought some new perfume! YAY! (I have a serious perfume problem. I LOVE it)

Yeah, I can’t really afford to spend the money right now, but it’s been a while. And my hair looked pretty bad..lol And I was getting tired of smelling like Clinique Happy Heart, so Macy’s had a special box set of Burberry Brit perfume with shower gel and lotion…A $100 value for $62.00. 

You know something funny? I won’t even spend $62 on clothes, but I’ll spend it for a tiny bottle of scented water..lol 
But it smells really good…Kinda citris and a little sandalwood…It’s yummy.

And my hair looks good..I always feel better after a haircut.

If I just had some cake, I’d be set…I have potato salad. That will have to do for now.

Ok, I don’t usually get all metaphorical, and/or sentimental.  But today something got to me, and I’m going to get it out of my system.

This is going to be long, so I would recommend going to the bathroom and getting something to eat before you start to read..ol (Ok, there’s my sarcasm)

Ok, so today I decided I’m going to finally get out in the yard and get some things taken care of.

I live with my uncle, in the house we lived in when my grandmother was still alive.  She would have been ashamed with the condition of the yard.  lol  It’s not dirty, but we haven’t done much else but cut the grass in the last three years…Just haven’t had the drive.  We never even got the leaves off the cement patio out front last fall…Just let them stay..

So today, I’d had enough…I dug them all off and into the yard so I could run them over with the lawn mower and suck them into that bag thing on the back.  I also managed to do this even though there were WORMS and those one creepy crawlies…What are they? Centipedes?  Little spawns of satan…*horrified*

While doing this I just kept thinking over and over..WHY DID WE LET IT GET THIS BAD? GROSS!

Then I got out the mower and got the yard cut.  There was only one part in the yard that really NEEDED it…The spot where the dogs do their business is the only spot with really nice grass..lol I should start moving their chains around the yard so they can fertilize.

I did develop blisters on each of my thumbs, and that made me kind of mad.

While going around the yard, I kept finding other things that need to be done…The flower bed by the tree in the side of the yard needs weeded out…That could look good again…And we definately need some flowers…But not the ones that require a lot of attention, because I can’t be trusted to take care of them.

Now that I’m done for the day, I am thinking that I did all of this for a reason.  Maybe to bring all the work I’m doing in my financial life into perspective.

All the dirty work has to be done all the time…Even though it can be disgusting and irritating.  The worms and blisters represent this. 

It’s all going to need to be done again in a week or so…And I’m always going to be paying for something…Even when I get caught up, I’m still going to have to pay someone something…

When the yard was finished and cleaned up and looking better, it was all worth it…I can be proud to live here! (And gramma wouldn’t throw a fit!) And the same goes for my finances…Cleaning it up and keeping it that way is what’s going to make me better.

Ok, I’m done for now.