Turbo Jam

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Drama

I made a third trip to Georgia this past weekend.  It was wonderful!!  One of my Army girls texted me Monday last week saying that she was traveling to GA and that she already had a hotel and if I could make it, I could stay with her.  I immediately went into travel mode.  I talked to my husband and rented a car and booked a hotel for a few nights (I stayed the 1st night with her, but got my own room for the rest of the time).

The hard part was finding sitters for the boys.  I got my friend to watch the boys for the first two days.  Then I asked my ex to take the boys Saturday afternoon, all day Sunday, and keep them Sunday night and bring them to school Monday morning.  He said no.  Ok, I talked to some more friends.  Finally I thought of my neighbors.  They jumped on the idea.  They have been wanting to spend time with the boys, so it was a great idea.  And being that they live right next door, it would have been very easy to just give them a key and let them get whatever they needed from my condo.

I had it all set up, then my ex starts his shit.  He just knew I wouldn't let him see the boys because it was Father's Day.  He knew I'd try to keep them from him.  Apparently he missed the part where I asked him to take them. . .

Finally, he decided to take them.  My neighbors were heart broken, but they'll have their chance.

Ok, so I leave for GA.  I made the trip on autopilot.  I've made this drive so many times already it is like nothing.

It was so nice seeing my Army girls again!  But it was even nicer to see my husband.  :)

He had to report back on post Thursday night, but I got to keep him with me from Friday morning until I left on Sunday.  It was bliss.  Friday we stayed in Columbus.  Saturday we drove to the outskirts of Atlanta and went to Stone Mountain.  Stone Mountain is beautiful!!  Sunday we went to the Chattahoochee River Walk, which is a pathway along the Chattahoochee River.  It was also very nice, but soooo hot and humid!  We were both soaked with sweat when we left.

During the weekend, there was a problem with my boys at the babysitters house.  Their father had to go pick them up one day early (Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon).  He blew a gasket.  He called me threatening me, telling me he was going to report me for abandoning my children.  He told me he wasn't going to let me take them back, that he was going to file the paperwork on Monday for custody of them.

He is all bark and no bite.  I've learned to just ignore his threats.  On my trip back home on Sunday, I texted him when I was about 2 1/2 hours away telling him I'd be there to pick up the boys because I was getting home earlier than I had originally planned.  Then I texted him again 10 minutes before I arrived at his place.  I expected him to cause a scene considering he told me he wasn't letting me have the children back.  But when I got there he had them all packed up and ready to go.  LOL, yup, he is all threats, but never carries anything out.

Anyway, that is my past week in a nutshell.  Of course I'm leaving out details, but hey, you don't need to know every single little detail, right?  :)

Goodnight all.  Thank you for reading.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Feelin so good

I got up at 5:30 this morning.  Yep.  5:30AM.  And I feel sooooo good.  :)

I got up so I could go for a run on the beach this morning before it got too hot.  When my alarm went off I almost decided to not get up, but I forced myself to and I'm so glad I did.

I was at the beach at 5:50AM and on the run at 6:00.  It was still dark.  But it was beautiful.  The air was perfect, not too hot, not too cold, not too humid.

I'm sure me running wasn't too pretty to watch considering I haven't gone running in years, I mean YEARS.  The closest thing I've done to running is the elliptical at the gym.  But my knees handled it fine, which was my main concern.  And even though watching me run wasn't pretty, everything else was!  It was beautiful to watch the wildlife.

All of the different birds watched as I ran past them, some stayed put and just eyed me, others flew away, and a few others ran alongside me.  I watched them as they snatched small fish out of the water and crabs from their holes in the sand.  Some of the crabs startled me as they ran out in front of me and dove into the water.  They were pretty big crabs!

I also got to see many many new sea turtle nests and their tracks up and down the beach.  I found them all before the turtle nest people came out and found them.  I knew what to look for because I went on a walk with the official people last year with my two boys.  We learned how to look for the tracks and how to watch for the new nests.  There were a LOT of tracks.  Had I had my camera, I would have taken pictures.

I think the best part of my run though was the memories it invoked.  While running I was remembering my walks up and down the beach with my man.  The very first time he came down to meet me, we walked up and down the beach.  He kept trying to push me into the water and it was cold!  It brought a huge smile to my face to have those good memories and then to think that he is now my husband.  :)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Energy

I've run out of Shakeology.  It is being shipped next week.  I NEED it.  After using it for several weeks, and then stopping, I can DEFINITELY see a difference.  I have no energy.  I have crazy cravings all the time.  I want to sleep all day long.  When I'm using it, I drink it for breakfast and have energy all day long.  I don't feel the need to lay down for a nap.  I don't feel the need to eat everything in sight after 7pm.  It really is an amazing products.  Can't wait to have it in my house again!

Who knew that changing your name with government agencies would be so difficult!  For the past two days I've been on hold for about 39 hours and have been playing fax tag with another agency.  I literally faxed my ID to this one agency 4 different times.  I would fax it.  The woman would call me 30 minutes later to tell me that she had received it, but that it was too dark and I had to fax it again.  We repeated this several times.  Finally just a little while ago, she called to tell me that she had received my last fax and that it had come through fine and she was able to change my name.  Yay!  One down.

I'm still waiting on two more governtment agencies.  One I was on hold for hours with yesterday before an automated voice came on saying that there was a high volume of calls and told me to call back later, then it hung up on me.  Then today I realized that I had another number, a direct line to a woman whom I had spoken to before.  I called that number and got her voicemail.  At least I was able to leave a message for her.  Hopefully she'll call me back soon.

As for the other agency, I still haven't gotten through to anyone.  I call in, I listen to bad music for hours and nothing happens.  I'll just have to keep calling and hope someone eventually gets on the line.  Being that it is Friday, I'll start calling again Monday morning.

I do believe my husband has been working on getting me into the military system today though.  So, I'm not the only one wading through paperwork.  Once he gets me in the system, I'll be able to get my military ID.

I was really hoping my husband would be able to come see me this weekend.  But he said he can't.  I miss him terribly.  Sure I get to talk to him every day now, but I still haven't had any quality time with him.  After his graduation, we drove and drove and drove.  Then I had to leave him on post and drive some more.  We didn't get time together, and when we did we were passed out from all of the exhausting driving!  I know we will have time together.  I just wish it would be sooner rather than later.

Now it is time to get pick up my boys.  I haven't heard one peep from their father since I got back from GA.  He either has blocked me on his phone or his phone is shut off.  And I refuse to hunt him down to see if he wants to have the boys this weekend.  If he wants to see them, he could pay his phone bill so he could communicate with me or he could borrow a friend's phone to call and tell me he wants them.  Whatever.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

I'm official!

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted.

I made another trip to Georgia.  I drove up Wednesday last week.  I rented a car again.  This time I hated it.  It was very unfomfortable.  Oh well.  Now I know that I do not want to ever own or even drive a Kia Rondo again.

It was so great to see my Army girls again!!  We all went out to dinner on Wednesday night.  There were 11 of us!  It felt like I was home because I already knew my way around town.  :)

Thursday was the Turning Blue ceremony where our soldiers stood at attention while we pinned on their blue infantry cords.  They were in their class A's and they looked awesome!!  They were all also sweating like pigs because it was really hot and humid!  LOL.  After the ceremony, we high-tailed it out of there and went back and hung out at the hotel.  Of course, we hit Starbucks before the hotel though.  Finally, around 3:30 I managed to convince him to go back out. . . where did we go???

We went to the courthouse!!  WE GOT MARRIED!!!!!  :)  You have no idea how excited I am about this!!  I've been talking about it nonstop.  I'm sure people are getting tired of hearing about it.  But I just can't help it!!  I have a husband!  My name has changed!!  Wow.  It feels like a dream.

That night, I had to return him to post.  Nope, I wasn't even allowed to spend my wedding night with him.  But the next morning was graduation.  After graduation we waited for him to find out his orders and next thing I know, we are packing two other soldiers and all of their gear into the car.

My husband had a two day pass, so we drove his two buddies to the airport and from there, kept right on driving straight through to Virginia.  It was a crazy crazy drive.  We took turns, but I did most of the driving because he was so tired.

We arrived at his sister's house at 6am.  I managed to say hi to her before I crashed on someone's bed.  I was exhausted!!  I slept for about 5 hours, then my husband woke me and told me it was time to eat.  I followed him upstairs and was still half asleep.

The entire dining room table was set.  There was food everywhere and it was set up beautifully.  Because I was still so tired, I was overly nervous.  I didn't know what to do or what was considered proper because not only was I dealing with another culture, but a new religion too.  I was actually shaking!  His mom lives there too and she doesn't speak English, so that was hard.  I'm learning a bit of her language and my husband made me try to say things to her.  They all laughed at me.  Oh well, I'll keep working on it.

I ate slowly, again, because I was so tired.  The food was great!  But because I was eating so slowly, his sister was worried that I didn't like it.  I assured her that I did.  I calmed down a little after awhile and was able to have a normal conversation with his sister, which was nice.  We moved to the living room after eating.  His sister's youngest daughter was all over me.  She is 6 and she is awesome!  I fell in love with her.  She was sitting on my lap and talking to me and drawing me pictures.  She kept getting worried that we were leaving right away.

We drove around a little and hit the road back to Georgia around 3:30pm, this time in two cars.  My husband decided to bring a car back with him so he would have transportation.  We stopped in North Carolina for the night, thank goodness!!  We were both so exhausted and neither of us had had a whole nights sleep in days, so it was much needed.  We got back on the road around 8:30am.

We made it back to GA mid afternoon.  We went shopping at a Commando store and then we went out for dinner.  After dinner, I got back on the road and continued my trip down to FL.  I got in around 2:30am.

Since I've been home, I've been running around like crazy trying to get all of my loose ends tied.  I've been changing my name on everything and calling all kinds of government agencies to make sure they are aware that I'm now married and that my name has changed.  I've also been having watches fixed and collecting documents to mail out to my hubby so that he can get me into the military system.

The training he is in this time around is so much better though!  He has his phone all the time and can call me whenever and he gets weekends off!  And since he now has a car on post, he'll be able to drive down to visit me. . . hopefully.

Anyway, I'm still exhausted from my trip.  I need to just sleep for days, but we all know that isn't going to happen, so I guess the next best thing is trying to get to bed early.  Goodnight all.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Roller Coaster

Woke up this morning with a text from my ex.  It was asking if I was ever going to tell him my plans for moving or if I was just going to take the boys and see if he would do anything.  I texted back saying that yes, I wanted to sit down with him and work out the details.

I went to pick up the boys from his house today and we had a very civil conversation.  I was actually very pleased at how we interacted with each other.  Of course, it wasn't about the move.  But he was in the Army back in the day, so he totally understands the whole no communication and separation thing and he also knows that things can change very quickly with the Army.

Anyway, about an hour and a half later, he calls me.  He demands to know if I got paperwork from child support and that now he definitely isn't going to let me take the boys.  Meanwhile, I have no idea what he is yelling at me about, even though he keeps telling me that I've been lying to him about it.  Apparently, he got some paperwork (I don't know when, because today is Sunday and he definitely didn't get it on a day when there isn't mail delivery!!) from child support telling him that he owes over $10,000 for back child support.  I have not received any paperwork from child support, so I really honestly don't know what he is talking about yet.  He is ticked though.  But I sure wouldn't mind getting that $10,000!  LOL

So, after he was done yelling at me, he hung up on me without letting me say anything.  He called ME.  Then he hung up on me?  That is just dumb.  So I called him back.  I said a few things trying to get through to him, then he hung up on me again.  We did this a few times.  I think the total number of calls was 4.  Then the texting started.  He texted me several times telling me how I'm going to go to jail if I take the boys and how I had better "fix" this -- what he wants me to fix, I'm not sure.  I have not responded to any of his texts.  Actually just about half an hour ago he sent me another one saying "so now what?" which made me laugh.

But things are going to be ok. . . the only thing I'm worried about is my time restraints. . .

My soldier called me tonight.  Previously I had told him that I was going to steal him away and take him to the courthouse right there near his base and marry him.  Well, tonight he asked me if I was serious about it.  :)  I told him yes.  He said, ok then, you need to bring all of this documentation.  YES!!  I am pretty sure this means I'll be married on Thursday!!  AHHHHHHHHHH!!!  I'm so excited I could do the happy dance right now.

Not only do I want to marry him immediately because, well, because I want to! but also because once I'm a military wife, we'll get more money and I'll be able to obtain a lawyer through the Army.  This will help me with my problems with my ex.

One thing though, my soldier still insists that he goes to his post first and I follow later one.  This would be ok, but I'm running out of money.  I won't be able to pay my rent and bills here much longer.  But it would be good for me to stay because if I have to get caught up in the court system here with my ex, then I'd be here to take care of it all.  Sooo, I'm not sure how this is going to work.  But if he goes in for more training, then the Army will pay BAH to me and that will help me with my bills. . . but if he isn't in training and he is just living on base, then I'll get nothing.  Things are still up in the air, but I'm feeling a bit more positive and waaaaay super excited about getting married!!  <3

Thursday, May 27, 2010

SLACKER!

Wow, I've totally been slacking with this blog!!  Sorry!!!

Ok, so what have I been up to?  Well, Dad had surgery on his back a week ago.  He came through well and (knock on wood) his flopping foot seems to be getting better!

I was able to talk to my Love on the phone a few times on Sunday.  He called me in the morning, just to make sure I definitely couldn't make it to GA for the day (um, 7 hour drive, no I couldn't make it for the day).  His mom and sisters were at Ft. Benning visiting him.  He wanted me there to meet them.  I wanted so badly to be there.  Unfortunately I've got financial restraints.  Anyway, we texted a few times that same afternoon and joked around, which was so nice.  :)  And then he called me that evening to tell me that his mom and sisters said, "Welcome to the family!"  You have no idea how happy this makes me!!!  They have decided to accept me whole heartedly.  And his mom doesn't even care that I already have kids!!  This is big because it bothered her a lot when she first found out.  :)  Oh yeah, and I made all of the other Army Wives jealous because none of them got phone calls that night.  LOL

I've also been working my butt off!!  I have been working out every single day.  Going to the gym, going to Turbo Kick classes, going to Toning classes, and doing the Shakeology Workouts at home.  I must say, I am noticing a difference in my body already.  And I LOVE it!  <3  I've also been networking a bit to get others involved with BeachBody. . . either as customers or as coaches.  If you happen to be interested, check out my website!  www.beachbodycoach.com/Zariena

I applied for a job in TX, right on post.  It is an easy job, helping kids with their homework.  But it is salary and it pays just about as much as I was making when I was teaching full time in NY.  I'll let you know what happens with that.

While looking for jobs in TX, I've also been thinking about other trainings and getting my Masters degree.  I want to get a Masters in exercise science.  I've also decided I want to get certified to be a personal trainer, a Turbo Kick instructor, and a PiYo instructor.  I want to take Ft. Hood by storm.  I've already got some people interested in hooking up with me once we are all there to get fit, so I'm hoping it blossoms!  If it does, along with my BeachBody Coach stuff, I just may not have to get a "job"!

Speaking of not having a job, I had to go to an orientation today.  Unemployment made me go to an orientation that would teach me what help is available to help me get a job in FL.  Of course, this was completely useless to me because I'll be in TX soon, but oh well.  I had to do it in order to keep getting my unemployment benefits.

Oh yes, I also may have kind of gotten permission from my ex to take the boys out of state.  He had a really weird way of saying it (dealing with dreams and whatnot) but he seems to be at peace with it and he says he "knows it has to happen."  I'm still going to try to get him to sign something in front of a notary though.

I've also tentatively set a plan to visit VA and NY before my Love has to report to Ft. Hood.  :)  This has made my family very very happy!

Ok, I'm sure that isn't everything, but it is all I'm writing tonight.  I'll try to write again tomorrow.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Surgery and Such

My father had surgery today.  He had a blown disk.  It was blown so badly that it was squishing a nerve causing his foot to flop.  This scares the crap out of me.  I know several people who have gone through this surgery, but none of them had floppy feet and none of them were my dad.

He came out of surgery well.  It took about an hour and the doctor said it went very well.  He is staying the night in the hospital.  He was given the choice of going home today or tomorrow.  He chose today.  My mother told him she was leaving without him and she'd come back for him tomorrow.  So, tomorrow it is!  Good job Mom!!

Even though the surgery went well, we don't know if the flopping will be fixed.  It may be permanent.  We'll find out later on when he is up and moving around.

Being 1600 miles away and knowing there isn't anything I can do for him, I went on with my day today.

I got my Shakeology delivered today!!  WooHoo!!  I'm soooo excited about it.  I drank a shake within 20 minutes of ripping open the box.  What I didn't realize was that in the box with the shakes was the two DVDs of Shakeology Workouts.  Score!

I had planned on going to the gym today, but I didn't want to miss the UPS man (I had to sign for my packages), so I sat at home most of the day. . . when I sit around the house like that, I lose motivation.  I never made it to the gym.  But since I got these new workout DVDs, I used them!  Way cool!  I wish they were a little more upbeat.  I could have used a different type of music, but they got the job done.  I was sweating and out of breath and had muscles burning by the end!  I like that.

Today was Young Author's Day in my oldest son's class.  All parents were invited into the classroom for lunch and to read the books our children wrote all on their own.  The kids had set up the desks with table clothes and placemats that they designed.  I brought McDonald's for my son.  He was so excited (I don't let my kids have fast food often).  His book was awesome!  I'm so proud of him.  In the back of the book he wrote a little part that was "about the author."  In it he said that when he grows up he wants to be an illustrator.

His teacher approached me while I was there.  She begged me to try to get him into the nation's number one art school which is very close to where we live.  At which point I had to say, "He didn't tell you yet?"  She had no idea that we are moving!  I couldn't believe that he hadn't told her yet.  I mean, this is big news!  LOL, oh well, my son is much more interested in drawing than in talking to people.  So, I filled her in on our move and everything that is going on.  So, knowing this, she begged me to find something along those lines for him. . . he definitely needs to be in a school based on art.  He will definitely go places if he gets the right training.