It's begining to look a lot like Christmas...

I've always loved that Christmas song. That has to be one of my favorite ones. It really does describe a lot of things that remind me of Christmas time. And every time I see lights on a house, stores bringing out the decoration, the brisk change in the weather I think of this song. But today I had a whole new appreciation for this song. While I was preparing for my family to come over, baking cookies and bread, setting up the winter village in my living room, the tree up, the decorations up, this song came on. And for the first time, I heard a line in the song that never impacted me the way it did today. The line is:
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.
Now, I know it's the most simplest of lines in the song to describe the sights of Christmas, but today it occurred to me...it really is true. My own front door, to my own home. It's more beautiful to me more than ever now. Not that my parents didn't do a fantastic job celebrating Christmas and decking out the house. One of my favorite memories is going to cut down our own tree... a forest of Christmas trees to choose from, right in City of Commerce where a casino now resides. My parents always had some of the best gatherings, but Christmas... there was no comparison. I owe my love for this holiday to them and those wonderful memories they made for me and my brother. Traditions we now will pass down to our kids. But there is nothing like the feeling of decorating your own home for Christmas. I realized today that it really is the pretties sight for me...my house deck out for Christmas.

http://mp3bear.com/johnny-mathis-its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas

Settling in

I've been in this house now for 3 months now. I'm so happy here and it just feels so comfortable. So many changes already are going on. First, I've already have some homeowner things I've had to take care of, some voluntary, and some unexpected. I had a wrought iron gate put in and it looks great. I purchased lots of flowers and they are all planted and flourishing nicely. I had an electrician put some outdoor lighting in the front porch and patio and cleaned up some old wiring in the garage. Things are getting in place and organized in the house. And now mom's moving. I'm glad for her to be able to have some space and have some times to herself after I get home from work. And she's looking forward to it too. She loves her little appartment. It's so cute. Things just keep changing...we'll see what comes next :)

Home buying.. from a first time home buyer's prospective

There are many expectations you have...be ready for disappointments. First off, some realtors won't even show you a home until you can provide a pre-approved letter from a lender. Once you have that you can go out and find your dream home, right? WRONG, unless you're lucky you'll spend months and months looking. Sometimes you'll make many offers only to be let down...rejected is more like it. But when you find that house, and your offer has been accepted, it's like being pregnant; you're afraid to say anything too soon, but you can't wait to tell everyone. Once your offer is accepted be ready to plunk down some money. Earnest money, as sign of good faith. Depending on circumstances it can be a pretty hefty sum. But that's just the beginning. You'll have to pay for inspection and appraisal, not to mention other fees from the finance company. Now you're on your way, right? WRONG.... now you have to get your loan approved. Wait, but you have a pre-approved letter. The pre-approval process only checks your credit and takes down your financial information. Now you have to prove it. You would think that all of these people who close home deals all the time are doing all they should be doing. I mean, they know what to do. You just sit back and let the behind the scene work come together, right? WRONG...stay on top of it! Everything. Don't wait for people to call you when they or you need something. Don't wait till the last minute for anything. And be prepared to give the same information over and over and over to several people. Then you finally get the docs, which is pretty scary. This is your life for the next 30 years laid out in numbers...down payment, finance charges, monthly payment. Oh but it's worth it... home, sweet home.

It seems like ever since I had cancer I get this little group of people now and then that either have someone, or themselves dealing with cancer. I remember on my last day of chemo, Aug 9, 2002 one of the guys at work was diagnosed with the same cancer I had. Then shortly after that another guy that I know had a sister diagnosed with the same cancer too. From then on it's been like that. In these past 4 months I've had 4 people experiencing cancer in some way; my aunt lost her mother, my friend's brother is going through chemo, a girl at work is being tested herself, and just a couple of days ago I hear of someone's dad being tested. It's such a strange thing to have this experience. I think people feel like they can come to me since I've been there, done that so to speak, and I'm glad to be there...glad to be here. I gave up wondering why this had to happen to me a long time ago. It's irrelevant. The fact that I'm still here is what matters. I might as well use my experience to help other people understand the process. It makes me feel like I didn't go through all that for nothing. It helped me learn something about myself too. Life is to short to waste on stupid stuff. Don't get me wrong, I get derailed sometimes, I have my limits too. But after kicking cancer do I really want to be miserable all the time? Me thinks not.

http://lisamgee.tripod.com/

Onward and upward

Everything seems to be going good right now. My darling friends and their girls are moving back to LA, my closing docs came in today, it's seems things are moving along. I always worry when things are going good... it's like I have to prepare for something bad to happen. When things are going good, it's like a speed trap for me. Last week was stressful with the delays on the whole house thing, then Friday I find out about court scheduled for 5/12 (3 days notice, pfft!) for a trial on the divorce. Not a good way to end the week. But luckily I already had a therapy session scheduled on Saturday. It was a good session. My therapist has great analogies. After all the tears she says, It's ok to have your moment of self pity, but think of self pity as an outhouse; you go in, it smells like shit and there are flies everywhere, so you don't want to stay in there too long. Gotta love her!
But this week was a good week. Court went well, my lawyer got a continuance for Aug 2nd. Closing paperwork is in on the house so I should have the keys this coming week. So for now, I'm gonna just enjoy! :)

Renew, reuse, recycle

So I took my diamond out of my engagement ring and had it set into this ring. Blue sapphires on each side. I call it my dis-engagement ring...hmm, I might be onto something!

Now I can say, after months and months of self doubt, I am a good mom! Words can play terrible tricks on the mind. They can make you feel insecure, betrayed, inadequate, and insignificant. I am constantly put to the test of how words control my feelings. My therapist told me "words only hurt when you give them value they don't have" I really need to keep that in mind, and I'm working on it, but I'm easily derailed. But I know my kids are happy, healthy, loving kids and I am a good mom! :)

Gift to Mom

Pics of the grandkids :) We should have done this a long time ago! Happy Mother's day Mom!!

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3970104009/a=32911138_32911138/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

wishing, hoping, waiting

I don't think I'm going to sleep until this house thing is a done deal. Why can't they just ask for everything up front instead of saying, oh now we need this, oh now we need that. So stressful. Stress is such a wasted emotion. Don't really learn anything from it. It's so draining and pointless. There is just no way to start this process all over again... well there is, but I don't want to. I just have my heart set on this now and to have it ripped out from under me is tragic. It was so hard to concentrate at work today! Yes, I know, a bit dramatic. I'm trying to stay positive. I mean, it's not like we'd be moving in now. I still have to wait for Emileo to finish the school year. Maybe it's a lucky break that I don't have to start paying a mortgage till it's closer to us actually moving in. That's sound good. Gotta stay focus, gotta stay positive. Lives are at stake...ok that's totally dramatic. Oh, let's see what tomorrow brings....

so close and yet so far away

This whole house thing has me completely stressed out. Just when I think it's done, they are asking for more documents, sometimes for the second or third time! It just feels like everything is at a stand still. It's made me feel like I'm at a stand still. All of a sudden I don't have room for all my stuff. Even though I've been living here for five years just fine, I feel so claustrophobic in my surroundings. I'm not taking time to have my breakfast or snacks ready for my work day. I'm not preparing snacks for the boys ahead of time. I'm not doing a lot of the things I normally do. I just want it all to be done. I want the keys so I can start moving things in. I want to have my own house to organize and run. (sigh) I've been having back and neck pain which I'm sure is stressed related. I just want to do a happy dance now.

More fun horoscpe

Whether it is something you set in motion or not, you'll probably see something wonderful unfold today, Leo. Change is in the air around you today, and things are ready to move on to the next level, as long as you can let go of your preconceptions and expectations, or efforts to force them to remain in a safe and comfortable form. The good news is that the focus is on fun today, and you'll get a chance to shake yourself free of your comfort zone and really spread your wings and fly.

I really only like my horoscope when it's good news, lol! Especially right now when there is so much going on!

Today's horoscope...

You can relax a little at last! That's what you could be thinking with today's celestial energy. The time is perfect to get ready for the challenges that up to now were just anxieties inside you. If you're thinking clearly today, Leo, it's because you have the strength to face your problems. Now that you have your self-confidence back, you might open your heart even wider to someone dear.
This gives me hope for recenty pending issues. I'd rather not say what, but I can only hope the stars are in my favor.

http://www.zeeavi.com/music/
I heart this cd... it's become my little soundtrack. I've seen her a couple of times live. She's opening for Jack Johnson in Oct.

Undercover Brother

I love this. Emileo is reading by flashlight, under the covers. The boys are at that age now where they like to pretend they are camping and make tents out of the blankets.

I fear my youngest son is growing up too fast!

At 3 years old I can already see that Diego recognizes there are some things Emileo needs help with. Autism is not an easy thing for anyone. But at this tender young age, Diego has become his brother's helper. It's wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. I want Diego to have a childhood, but I can tell he's gonna be the man of the house. Emileo has been diagnosed as having mild/moderate Autism. He's quite high functioning. Potty training was the hardest. But he can write his name, he's speaking in sentences, he's enjoying school and is actually mainstreamed into a traditional kinder class room everyday for an hour. He recognizes all the letters and numbers and is even starting to read. But sometimes there are meltdowns and tantrums (not as often anymore, yay!). He can be quite excitable and quite loud (usually due to something on tv that he's watching). And when Emileo gets too loud Diego will turn of the TV and say, "Emileo, no yelling" Or when they drop Emileo off at school, Diego will remind him "be a super star!", and you better believe when they pick him up from school Diego will ask "did you get a super star?"
Yes, little Diego doesn't take this role he's given himself lightly.

here we are at the "happiest place on earth"

This is me...

dealing with life after cancer, life after marriage, life after having kids, and now life after divorce.