The Weekend So Far

 The weekend so far has been great! Friday evening, Gary and I mostly spent kicking back at home. We drove a few places, but nothing caught our interest...so we just headed back home and went to bed.

 Saturday, though, was fun! We got up early, showered, then headed out to Taft to visit Gary's parents. There I helped chop up veggies and stir a delicious meal. It was realllly good, and we brought home some of it. It was like egg roll stuffing; zucchini, mushrooms, cabbage, diced chicken, carrots, etc etc. Then we got a tortillas, spread plum sauce along it, then filled it with deliciousness. Mmm. Gary's sister and her husband Doug then stopped by and visited for awhile. They showed us a video of their upcoming marathon, and it looks amazing! Those two and their children are all runners, and are always running fantastic marathons. This was definitely motivating to me. I used to love running, and did it all the time back in the day. I definitely need to get back into it. This will definitely change my body!

Anyway, after a visit with the in-laws, we headed over to Bakersfield. We stopped at a nerdy store, where we bought a little bit of D&D stuff, then stopped by for a visit with my parents and family; they didn't know we were in town. We let ourselves into the house, and I heard Jazmine blasting her teeny-bop music and giggling about something. I was pretty sure she was talking to herself again. Anyway, I sneaked my way to her room, and slowly opened her door. Then I pushed it open and went "RAAAR!" Sending her flying back and screaming bloody murder. I also managed to hit her cousin Tiffny with the door, which scared the heck outta her. Lol, whoops. But hilarious nonetheless. This sent concerned parents down the stairs to see why Jazmine screamed like that. Haha. Anyway, we visited for awhile, talked politics, then headed back home.

The weekend isn't over yet. Gary has tomorrow off, so we're heading back out to Ventura. Gary was going to use a vacation day for tomorrow, but his boss said, "Nah, don't worry about that. You have some comp time." AWESOME.

I suppose I should start getting ready for church! Gary is now in the nursery. There were sooo many kids with just Megan and I, so Gary and Josh were both called to nursery, and now it's split. Gary and I have senior, Josh and Megan have junior. So today will be fun! Looking forward to Fast Sunday and hearing the testimonies of our awesome ward.

So, that's that! Oh yeah, and Thursday, while I was running around town, I made a quick stop at Bridgeport just to sit and relax for a bit. Didn't get to walk a lap since I had parked there and wasn't planning on staying long, but I wanted to spend a little of my Spring day watching the ducks. So, here's our Spring: *pushes Dexter off of her* (he likes kneading my legs, but this involves backing up and sticking his butt in my face while he sits on my collar bone)

Okay, bye!

Good News, Embarrassing Moments, Etc

 Let me start with the good news all around, then I can share my horrifying moment yesterday.

 On Tuesday, I got a call from Petsmart. I applied with them back in February when I was on a big job hunt. They wanted to interview me. So, yesterday, I had my interview...and got the job! The guy was looking for a pet care specialist (Quinny's job) to work early early mornings. He also wanted to make sure I was really okay with handling reptiles. It seemed like it wasn't working out with other people in the past; they'd claim they could handle the animals, then freak out about the reptiles. I explained how I grew up in an outdoorsy family, and was playing with snakes and lizards when I was a kid. I have absolutely no issue with reptile handling. I'd be going into work like 6am or so, and tending to the store animals. Cleaning cages, feeding, cleaning aquariums, tending to sick animals, playing with kitties, etc etc. Sounds like a job for me, right? Quinn was thrilled to hear this news, because now we have the same job :)

I'm looking forward to it. It will help with my school payments, and it will pay off our debt. We can also start saving more money, and we'll have some sweet extra spending money for Catalina. I also am looking forward to working in the mornings...this way I can be done early, and be home when Gary comes home from work. This leads me to my 2nd round of good news:

Gary was invited out to dinner by the CFO of the company. His direct boss was there, as well as other head people. They took him and a few other coworkers out to an expensive Italian restaurant. After dinner, the CFO said, "I didn't just bring you out to dinner. I wanted to personally thank you for all the hard work you've done and put into this company." I don't remember the entire speech, but it sounded marvelous! He then pulled out an envelope, and handed it over. Inside the envelope was another thank you letter from his direct boss, as well as a Visa card with sweet amount of money on it. I was thrilled when Gary brought this home. He deserves it! He's been at this company almost 2 years, and he's been given so many wonderful things. This is why we're staying here. He's treated so wonderfully by his job.

So, that was the great news; good day yesterday! Okay, so a moment of my day yesterday was just horrible, but the rest of the day in a way cancels that out. This obviously brings me to my embarrassing moment.

TMI warning: After my interview, the guy sent me to go get my drug screening test, since it was required. I had to do it that day. So, I drove down there, and then was handed a cup to do my business. Sexy, huh? Anyway, after I do my business, the worst thing happens. The cup cracks and breaks. You can imagine what kind of embarrassing mess this made. While I was repeating to myself, "This cannot possibly be happening," I grab paper towels and everything I can to clean. But since it's a drug testing room, there's no running water. Eventually the woman on the outside taps on the door and asks if everything's okay. I exclaim to her that her cup broke; she comes in, looks at the cup, and says, "This wasn't cracked before." Yeah, like I purposely broke a cup because I like having pee on myself. This is TMI, isn't it? To make matters worse, I couldn't go home. I had to stay there until I could provide another sample. So, I had to sit in the back, humiliated. I used the sink in the back to soak myself with water; anything, to clean up. Eventually I told Quinn who super lol'd at me, which got me laughing. I also discovered the nurse lived in this exact same apartment in the past. Neat, huh? What a wonderful moment to meet. After many cups of water later, I was finally able to get the job done and leave. Then I came home and showered and washed everything I was wearing. Haha.

I'm sure that was the most charming story you've heard from me thus far. Definitely brings out my romantic side. Wait, what?

Anyway, today I get to do some Visiting Teaching, which I'm looking forward to doing. Always makes my days sooo much better. And since perfect Spring weather is here, I'm pretty certain I'll be strolling around the lake and snapping photos. Off to breakfast and a shower! Have a wonderful Spring day everyone! And yes, pictures of Spring will be up soon :)

I Really AM Healthy-And Other Stuff

I got impatient yesterday. I hadn't received my results via mail yet, nor were they posted up on my medical group web page yet. Although the doctor said healthy, I just had to see for myself and compare...I'm crazy like that. Just a warning; I'm going to babble on about my results and health, so it may completely bore you.

Finally, yesterday, I sent an e-mail to the medical group, then called them 5 minutes later, haha. The nurse on the phone looked up my information, read me the note the doctor left me, then said it was mailed. So, I asked her politely if she would be willing to read me the results over the phone. She hesitated for a moment, then said there were a lot of results. So, I explained to her she could just give me the numbers and I'd figure out the rest. And she did; and I thanked her a lot for taking the time to do that for me. Then I searched away online.

Yup, I'm healthy. I'm going to go ahead and post my results on here.

Estradiol (Estrogen hormone) : 30.9

Progesterone: 0.3

LH: 9.4

FSH: 7.2

Testosterone: 40

TSH (Thyroid): 0.272

Prolactin: 8.9

According to my doctor's note, she did realize my thyroid was a bit on the low side. Okay, it's pretty low. That's why she wants to see me in a few months to check it again. I didn't understand the nurse's accent when she read the rest of the note, so I'm not sure what else my doctor said. This is what happens with Hashimoto's, though. Your thyroid hormone fluctuates; so technically, with this result above, I'm hyperthyroid. Funny. But it's better than the opposite, according to a girl online who also suffers from Hashi's. Her doctor said so anyway, and I believe it.

My only small concern now is my LH and FSH. While the results are both within very normal range, the fact my LH is higher than my FSH may be an indicator of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). However, in most cases, testosterone would be raised as well...and my testosterone is on the lower end of the scale. But not everyone with PCOS has raised testosterone levels. The LH/FSH ratio of a normal healthy person is around 1:1. Usually higher than 2:1 may be considered diagnostic for PCOS. My ratio 1.3:1...slightly higher than normal. If I do in fact have PCOS, it's very mild. I don't believe I have it at all, but if for any reason I do, it's a mild case.

Anyway, those were my results and that was the update on my health.

In different news, the weekend was fun! We recorded conference for Saturday, so we didn't get to watch it yet (watching it in sections in the evening times is a marvelous way to keep the spirit). But we had fun ourselves. We discovered most Saturdays, Santa Clarita has what they call the "Saturday Garage Sale". A bunch of people meet in a large location (usually the Saugus Speedway), set up a booth, and sell their stuff. I can't believe we didn't know about this earlier! Since Gary and I both love bargain shopping, we went and checked it out. Although you can get the good stuff in the beginning, we like going near the end because people are more likely to give you a deal and just sell their stuff to get rid of it. So we drove over there (free parking and everything), and checked it out. There were a lot of neat things, but we ended up bringing home a whole lot of fresh fruits and nuts that were homegrown. Next on our list was an antique mall we went and checked out. We've been here before, but we still love going. It's a huge place of antiques. We saw these gorgeous bronze statues, and Gary loved them. $5000, so uh, no, but

they were nice to look at and pretend! Lots of neat things.

We stopped for chocolate-dipped ice cream, then headed home to get the fruit to stay fresh! We hung out at home for a bit, snacked on delicious fruit and hot dogs for lunch, caught up on some TV shows, then headed out again for a last minute trip.

While we had been sitting on the couch, I told Gary we should go to the ocean sometime. His face lit up, and he said, "Let's go right now." I asked, "seriously? Okay!" and jumped up and got ready. We stuffed a couple of towels in our bag, then headed out. It's sooo nice being so close to the ocean. Gary had been a bit congested earlier as well, so this definitely helped him clear up. The drive to the ocean is always really nice, since the 126 is never crowded, just free-flowing. We reached our destination in a little over half an hour, then spent our evening on the sand.

Just in time for the sunset:

And then a little of Ventura at night:

This spot on Ventura beach is gorgeous! And, parking is free! We discovered this on accident. The parking is literally steps away, behind oceanfront homes. And no, they're not private. But the area is a bit rocky, so if you want less rocky, you may have to go somewhere else. We didn't care, though...beautiful spot. And it doesn't get rocky until you get to the water itself, so the sand is nice and soft.

We also notice a big black owl on one of the homes. I've never seen an owl with seagulls before, lol. And yes, it was real.

After we spent time on the sand, enjoying the waves, we headed over to Oxnard and did a little bit of shopping. We stopped at a Border's on Esplanade, and purchased a few things, including a hot stone massage kit, rocks and everything included. It took a bit of studying the manual to figure out the technique, but it's so relaxing and worth it once you get it.

So, we headed home after our trip, and stayed up late. Much later than expected. First, Gary's phone got wet when Dexter knocked over a cup of water. I told him to use the rice technique, which he did after trying a few other things. Then, we just couldn't sleep. He came out on the couch, then back to the bedroom, and I went to the couch maybe 10 minutes later. Then Gary came out and told me he wanted me back in bed (so sweet), so I headed back. We didn't fall asleep until close to 4am! It was nuts. We did get up and watch conference, though. It was very spiritual and wonderful to spend time together and listen to such inspirational talks. The rest of Sunday was relaxing and extremely peaceful.

Because the sleep schedule had been thrown off, Gary came home from work yesterday and immediately crashed on the couch for a nap. So did a couple of others:

Had to sneak that picture in!

 Anyway, this post is long, so thank you for reading it! If you did. Once Gary realized the ocean is much closer than expected, he explained to me how much he loves the drive there, and wants to do it much more often now. He's even considering moving to the beach because of how the salty air is an amazing cure to his allergies. So we'll see. We'll probably go more often in the evening times now, but he took Monday off, so we'll get to spend an entire day there. Fun stuff!

Well, that's all peeps. Bye!

Hello, April

Yay, onto April now! Seems as if these months are flying by.

I remember I was so confident last month about treating myself medically. But you know, it all worked out. Had I not done so, and went to the specialist to spend tons of money, I would have never ran into my regular doctor who ran all those tests for me anyway. See, it worked.

While yesterday I wasn't happy to hear everything was okay, today I feel much better. While Gary and I were saying our nightly prayers, I realized I should be happy I'm healthy. So this morning, I gave prayers of thanks for being blessed with a healthy body. And now I just feel wonderful about it all. Knowing my body is healthy is a huge blessing...even if it had to take years of tests! I feel confident, peaceful, happy, and blessed.

My doctor wants to see me again in 4 months, just to retest everything. Hormones can be crazy; one week they can show normal levels, the next they can be crazy. That's why it's important to have updates. Gary expressed he was a bit overwhelmed with my doctor visits, but I hugged and kissed him, and thanked him for being supportive anyway. Besides, I told him, I'm healthy, which means no reason to keep going back.

Our next goal is to figure out what to do next considering children. As for now, I have a goal to lose weight, be healthy, and feel better about myself. In fact, I'm interested in starting a new program. This includes eating plant-based proteins. The first 2 weeks will be a usual detox; 2 plant-protein shakes per day, followed by a regular meal for dinner (and healthy snacks in between). Most people who have done that have lost 20 lbs just in the first 2 weeks. After, their diet focuses on eating more vegetables and protein...plant protein, not animal. The difference includes saturated fats that come with animal protein, making it harder to digest. This doesn't mean I'm putting off meat. This just means I'm cutting way back. We'll see how this goes. This is a good way to "cleanse and rejuvenate" the body. I'm looking forward to it. I will also have to get off my lazy butt and exercise more. I like yoga, I'll do yoga. I should also do my Wii games.

In other news, as some of you know, Gary and I had a bit of a splurge for ourselves last night. Okay, not complete splurge. I know I mentioned we should save our money more, especially when it comes to my health and fertility, but we already had money planned for something like this. We went furniture shopping.

We spent a couple of days looking around, and ended up at the same place we bought our bed. Simply Discount Furniture, in Saugus. They have a huge warehouse of furniture, really well priced. They even have a giant clearance section in a completely different room. And I mean big! And since the store is moving/closing, there was a sale going on at the same time. We browsed and browsed, until we found something we knew would fit very well inside our apartment. A new sofa! It's a sectional sofa, but it works so perfectly. We have a good sense of space and vision when it comes to buying furniture; even color and style. So, behold, our new addition:

It fits so well in our cute little apartment:

It's sooo comfy and relaxing! I spent all morning reading my magazines on there. I'm like Grannie when it comes to magazine reading; seriously.

Someone else claimed it. A well deserved nap indeed.

I'm still sore as heck from moving it last night. Quite sore. The first part, which was the sofa itself, was horrible. It started with me going backwards up the stairs, but Gary was pushing way too quickly, he almost knocked me over. When I told him to slow the heck down, he made us switch places. This was by placing it the best we could on the railing, while we traded. However, since I'm a weakling, and because the way it was positioned on the railing, I couldn't push at all. I used every muscle possible to push. It was sad because it didn't do much, and Gary kept saying, "Emilee, just push it already!" Uh, my muscles were about to rip out. So he had to do most of the work himself to get it up, but I tried my hardest, dangit, lol. Finally we got it up, and slid it into the apartment. We put the old couch outside for now.

The second part I was dreading as well. When I was able to get a grip on it, we carried it to the stairs. On the way, I felt it slipping, and with my weak puny muscles shaking as it was, I told Gary I needed to reposition. Heck, I said a little prayer that we would make it up without any accidents or injuries. Just as I finished my little prayer, and man and a woman stepped out of their apartment; dressed nicely might I add, as if they were going on a date; and when I was sure it was going to fall, man to the rescue! He immediately jumped in my place, and he and Gary struggled their way to get the thing up the stairs. He also helped push it inside for us. We thanked him several times for his help, and he nodded politely and went his way. See, Heavenly Father does answer prayers. Haha. At this point, Gary took a breather, then made me a deal. Since he had to do the work on the second part of the couch, he said he was going to run to the comic book store, and while he was there, asked if I would unwrap the sectional (it was wrapped in layers of plastic and cardboard), and set it up. No problem! I was looking forward to that part. So, I set up the couch, cleaned up the apartment, threw away the mess of boxes and plastic (unfortunately I had to take away a piece of Dexter's heart since these boxes galore were paradise), and made the place look nice. Gary came home, we showered, then crashed. That was fun; and I'm super sore.

Anyway, that's the updates.

Oh yeah, and I did something awesome yesterday. For Gary's lunches, I trade off between giving him carrot slices and apple slices for a snack. Anyway, yesterday morning, I decided to use our giant cheese grater to slice his apples. It had a large crinkle-cut slicer, which I was planning on using. For future reference, slippery apples don't work well. Now, TMI warning: I was pressing down to slice the apple, and whattaya know; it slipped. Next thing I knew, I lifted my hand to find that my thumb collided with slicer...crinkle-cut slicer might I add. It looked pretty awesome, I admit. Gross, but awesome. I said, "Hmm, I do believe that wasn't supposed to happen." I had to throw away that part of the apple, because well, you can guess why. I headed to the bathroom to clean up, and Gary noticed, then saying, "Um, how about I make my lunches for now on, to keep you from killing yourself?" Totally sexy story, huh? But, I'm fine. I cleaned it up, wrapped it up, and all is well. It bothered me all day yesterday, but today it's okay. I can't bend my thumb at all, and it's uncomfortable with minor pain, but it's not serious. No stitches or anything needed. So that was my cool story of Emilee's clumsy adventures for the day.

I suppose I should go now. I have terms to study, things to shop for, and a mini to paint. Later!

Time to Move On

Well, the doctor finally called, and told me my levels were all within normal range. She's mailing the results, so I'm anxious to see them. While this is great news, it's also extremely frustrating.

If it's not my organs, if it's not my hormones, then what in the world is it? I can't even count how many tests I've had (at least 50). I'm overweight, but my cholesterol is normal, triglycerides are normal, glucose is normal (so no diabetes). The only the abnormal was the thyroid, my Hashimoto's. But I've been getting treated for that. In fact, my recent tests included my thyroid, which are still normal since medication. My blood pressure is normal, blood sugar is normal, ANA (no Lupus) test came back normal, CBC came back normal (Complete Blood Count)...EVERYTHING freaking came back normal. Normally a woman at my weight would have at least SOMETHING wrong with them. But me? Nope. I'm healthy. Very healthy.

Gary just mentioned, however, it could be tied to psychological issues. I'm so convinced there's something wrong, my body acts like there's something wrong. I'm so convinced my body is sick, it acts sick. Does that make sense? I'm starting to believe he's right. But how do I fix this? Seriously, any ideas? Could it be possible my own mind is causing my infertility? What about my weight? I make everything from home. I hardly eat out, I avoid fast food, soda, coffee, tea, alcohol, and I eat pretty healthy. Could it really be it's all in my mind?

It looks like it's time to move on. Fertility treatment, adoption, etc. Guess it's time to go over our finances.

Anyway, that's the update.

Last Minute Trips, Getting Lost, and Light Shopping

When Gary came home from work yesterday, I mentioned having a date night. We've been setting money aside so we're able to have a date night at least once or twice per month. Gary lit up and was happy about this proposition, and suggested we head to Burbank, since he wanted to check out a couple of comic book stores. So, we drove there first.

The comic book store was wonderful, with rows and rows of nerdiness. However, they were out of what we were specifically looking for (a female gnome mini for my character). So we called around for a few more places, and didn't have much luck. However, one guy referred us to the Glendale Galleria.

So using my Google map app, I quickly got directions to where we were headed. However, I misread the first set of directions...which said go south on north Hollywood. I got the north and south mixed up, so I told him to head north. Whoops. We went maybe a few blocks in traffic before I realized my mistake. So, Gary decided to take the next left so he could flip around. So, he made the next left...right into the Bob Hope Airport. Megan, you probably know that we couldn't get out right away, lol. We had to make a complete circle, in a bit of traffic, around the airport before we could get back to the street. At this point, I was laughing my butt off because I thought it was hilarious. Gary, who was trying to be frustrated, eventually gave in and laughed as well, teasing me for being an airhead. So we finally made it back to the main road. We also passed by the Warner Brothers Studio, so I was able to wave hello to Megan's job.

We were back on the road, heading to Glendale (which was like 6 miles or so from where we started). Glendale had A LOT of shopping places and everything. Here I thought the Glendale Galleria would be some sort of mall that would be easily found. Oh boy! We traveled through streets of shops and other things, and ended up parking in an indoor parking structure. We walked around the streets and shops for a bit, thinking that this whole outdoor thing was the galleria. Finally we stopped at a hot dog place, and had hot dogs and fries for our dinner. The next corner we turned, there was a huge Inn-N-Out. Poor Gary, his favorite place. But he did admit the hot dog was good, and the people were super friendly. We also noticed a group of guys playing Magic the Gathering, and asked where the comic book stores were. They sadly informed us they were all closed by now...so we never got to explore the comic book stores. We did enjoy strolling around with each other, though. We even gave some fries to a guy who was sitting down against a wall with a friend. We were full, but didn't want to toss them. Haha. He was thrilled to receive them, though.

Finally we headed back to our car, and on the way out, passed by a huge mall which said, "Glendale Galleria". We couldn't help but laugh...it was an indoor mall, but for some reason we missed it. It was blinded by all the lights, buildings, and shops on the outside. Oh, well. At least we had fun. We got a little lost on the way out, but luckily my Google maps got us back to the freeway. We did have a nice time together, though, even if we didn't get what we were looking for. Burbank and Glendale are sure beautiful! A bit too city for me, but still nice.











(Of course it was flooded with people, which doesn't show in these pics. I stole these from a website, so they're not mine).

Our traveling adventures didn't end there, however. We did crash when we made it home, and it felt nice, too. Today, though, was another adventure.

We got up this morning, showered, had a little breakfast, then headed out once again. We stopped at our local Goodwill and Salvation Army, which we like to do, and browsed. Gary found a bookshelf which caught his attention, and bought it. He's been wanting his own bookshelf for his gaming books and other things, so he was determined to find one. It's cute.

After we came home and dropped off the bookshelf, we headed out again. This time we drove to Chatsworth/Northridge/Studio City/Canoga Park area, and checked out their local comic book stores, as well as thrift stores. We couldn't find anything we were looking for. However, a place in Canoga Park named Collector's Paradise, had lots of awesome things, none of which we were looking for exactly, were super friendly and looked up places we could go next. We were determined to find something. We then went next door and ate some delicious pizza at a cute place named D'Amore's Pizza. The customer service there was wonderful as well, so we left a tip :) .





Since we were unable to find what we were looking for here, we went back to the original place in Burbank. Here we were able to buy a few different minis. The store is named The Last Grenadier.

We then headed home, but stopped by Michael's first, where we bought paint so we could paint our minis. We cleared the dining room table, and painted away. Here they are (I am not that skilled...I painted the female, the one with the crossbow, Gary the other 2):





I didn't get my gnome, but Gary bought one online...so she's coming later :)

Anyway, dinner is ready. Time to eat with husband, then make a trip for ice cream to finish our wonderful weekend so far together. Bye!

PS- The second week of the D&D campaign was way better! I was able to come out of my shell thanks to the hilarious group (one speaks in a British accent, the other in a Russian...all faked of course, but funny and quite talented). Okay, bye!

I May Consider...

Naming my firstborn daughter after my doctor. She is amazing, really! I would be crushed if for any reason I lost her as a doctor.

I may not have to see an expensive specialist after all. The only reason I'd have to see one is if I'm going to get a procedure like IVF, or something of that nature.

As you know, I saw my GP (General Practitioner) today, to talk to her about my mood swings, and possibly get a referral to an Endocrinologist. She listened as I described my symptoms and sometimes depression, as well as my mood swings. She then told me, "I don't want to be one of those doctors who just gives you depression medication and sends you on your way. So what I'm going to do, is I'm going to test all of your hormones. Your thyroid, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, and prolactin (and etc if I missed any). Then, if you want, I'll start you on the Provera challenge to see how that works." She's even willing to prescribe me fertility medication, which would normally cost a fortune! I wanted to cry right there I was so happy. So, all in one visit, I had all my hormones tested. About time, huh?

Obviously results take time, so she said possibly by the end of the week...unless there's something pretty out of control, then she'll call me in. She said if it's all normal, we'll continue from there to check for any other possible imbalances. She said she feels it's probably hormones and not depression based on when and how my mood swings are. I was getting quite sick of being diagnosed with depression in the past! Besides, depression medication hates me. Really, it does.

So, there's the update with that. I'll let you know as soon as I get my hormone results in.

In other news, studying studying studying! Yeah, that's me. Gary's a big help as well. I have to memorize and know prefixes related to numbers, measurement, position, direction, color, and negatives. I also have to learn roots and suffixes in medical terms, related to common diagnostic and surgical procedures and pathological conditions. And then, to add to that, know medical terms related to body structure, organization of the body, body cavities, and body planes. Flash cards are amazing!

And in more updates and news, we are keeping this apartment for another year. We have no reason to move, anyway. Besides, if we sign another 12 month lease, we get $500 off our May rent. This money will be our Catalina money. So we're excited! We do love our place, and hate moving. It's nice being able to walk everywhere, too. And we can save money, too; not to mention giving Gary another year of experience at his job. Speaking of saving...

We finally switched banks. We were banking with Bank of America, but we had enough of their horrible customer service. Gary eventually wrote a negative review to the BBB (Better Business Bureau), to tell our story. We had an issue with bill pay; a few months later and at least ten customer service reps later, absolutely nothing has happened. They owe us money! So, we left. We decided to go with Lockheed Federal Credit Union, and opened up a checking and savings account yesterday. A lot of Gary's coworkers bank there, and they recommended it to us. His company is even a sponsor, so we get wonderful benefits. Plus, their customer service was amazing. What's even better, though, is they looked at Gary's credit card debts (that he had to use for books and stuff throughout school), and said, "We can cut those interest rates in half." And they did! All we had to do was bring in was proof of income and credit card statements, and bam, his interest rates are now in half. Yay!

Anyway, hubby is home from work...so time to go! Bye!