Should Have Been

Today should have been the closing day on our house. Should have been. Instead, we got word that our next projected closing date is Monday. I really hope it's first thing on Monday. I made us reservations to tour the new Gila Valley LDS Temple at 2pm that day.

But, instead of being down and depressed, I'm adopting a positive attitude.

"I'm not giving up! And neither are you!! And neither am I!!!"

(Name that movie.)

Things will work themselves out -- after we put in all the effort possible to make them happen.

The Real Love Story

If you remember, a little while ago I posted my complaints of the literary license taken by Taylor Swift in her song "Love Story." Today, on Facebook, my friend Maggie posted this video.



It's still a bit of a literary faux pas, but the song is pretty darn realistic. I just had to share.

The Darn Dominoes

I cleaned up Matt's room today. I took all of the toys (his room was previously the playroom) and separated them by kid and then boxed those suckers up. It's time for us to begin moving, even if it's taking forever for us to close on this house.

I was having one of those "Bad Mommy" days as it was. You know what I mean. The days when you sit there and think, Why did I sign up for this?

I was finding broken toys, unused toys, dirty toys, toys I'd never seen before. But I was feeling pretty good about my progress. It was slow, but I was making piles throughout the room and getting things done. One of my piles consisted of Cars dominoes. Ever seen these?

Don't buy them. They are possessed.

I found at least one domino in every room of the house today. Then I'd put them in their own pile and turn my back to take care of other toys. By the time I turned back around, a single domino would be 12 inches away from the pile. I'd put it back, scan the area, find nothing else out of place and turn my back again. When I'd come back, guess what? Another domino about 12 inches away from the pile.

I swear, they are possessed....roaming the house of their own accord, making curse words fall out of my mouth. The darn dominoes.

Bloggest Loser -- Week 1

Okay, people.





It was our first week of our weight loss competition. Holy cow, could I have had any more temptations thrown at me than I did this week? (BTW, we are most likely delayed in the closing for our house because of the confusion of my maiden/married names. We were promised we wouldn't be charged the usual per diems for closing extensions. We should be signing the papers by next Friday.)



My eating was horrible. My exercising was sporadic. My stress level was HIGH and I justified the poor eating and little time exercising. I had a 1.38% weight loss this week.



So, inspire me. First, go here -----> calculate weight loss.



Next, leave your comment with your percentage weight loss. And, as always, add whatever other comments you have. What were your highs and lows?

Also, to keep it fair, I think we need to have our percentages turned in for the week by Monday evening so we're not getting too far into the week. And, remember, remember, remember this first weight you are entering. It will be the weight we'll use at our halfway check-in and our final weigh in.

Now, to some fun stuff. If you're watching The Biggest Loser, what are some of your calls for the Final Four? I'm not decided on this one yet. But, I love Sam and Koli. Also, I can't wait for make over week. I'd love to see Daris with a new 'do. I really like him too. And, I missed the first half of this last episode due to a DVR issue, but I did tune in soon enough to cry with O'Neal. Really, it's amazing how watching someone else's struggles can put your own into perspective. Do you think Vicky was the right one to vote off? I think she didn't get a chance to really "get" it, but I didn't want Sunshine to go.

And be sure to vote in the poll about exercise. We'll see if I can think of enough things for us to vote on each week.

One final thought (from Josh's cousin's Facebook status):

"I wish I was as thin as I was when I thought I was fat."

Stressed To The Gills!!!

Things are slowly coming together for the house. S.L.O.W.L.Y. I appreciated Michelle's comment about David's letter about his legal name. You'll never guess what the biggest problem is. MY NAME!!!

Evidently, it is impossible for the government (because we are, unfortunately, trying to use a government financing program to buy this house) to figure out that I got married and changed my name. And it was legal too.

Yesterday I sent them a letter explaining that I legally changed my name when I married -- almost exactly 11 years ago!! It's not like we just got married a year or two ago. It's been ELEVEN YEARS!!

Today I had to give them a copy of my Social Security card. What's tomorrow? Our marriage license? Witness statements from our parents? A DNA sample?

I'm also upset because our tax return is being delayed. We don't need it for the closing of the house, but it sure was going to be nice to do several things around our new home before we moved in. Now they'll have to wait a while longer.

Today the government is not my friend. So glad we don't have to rely on them for every aspect of our lives.... {Insert your own witty, sarcastic retort here.}

Mortgage Murmurings

Warning: This is a long one.

Tonight my status on Facebook reads:

"You think that because I'm a movie star I don't have feelings. Well you're wrong. I'm an actress. I've got all of them!"

In case you didn't recognize it, it's a quote from Goldie Hawn in First Wives' Club. One of the best movies ever. And one of the best characters ever.

I'm not a movie star. Although, I was in a film student's final project. I played a bank teller. I never saw the movie, but I'd be shocked if I didn't end up on the cutting room floor. Anyway. My point is I've been feeling a lot of emotions lately. And, unfortunately, most of them stem from my frustrations with our future mortgage company.

Less than three weeks before our closing date we were told the underwriter had approved us and we just needed to provide some more information in writing. Fine. We gave all the information they asked for by 10am the next morning (we had been on our way to the Phoenix airport when we got the call).

The weekend came and went. No word. We figured all was well. Monday, no word. All must still be well. Then came Tuesday.

Suddenly we needed to provide them with additional information and we found out for the first time that we needed to complete a homeowners' education course. Here's where I began to get really frustrated. At the beginning of March when we began this search for own home, we signed up for this education course just in case we would need it. The classes generally fill quickly. So, to work around Josh's schedule, I enrolled us in a class that was to be held weeks away at the end of March. That was tough to find a day off that would work. But, I did it. Then we found this house and the class wasn't required, so I cancelled the class. I was fine with that. That meant Josh and I got a date instead of spending eight hours in a classroom in Phoenix on a Saturday.

So, when we were told fifteen days before our closing date that the underwriter wanted us to complete this course, I about freaked. How were we going to do this and get it to the underwriter in time for them to take it to the funding people in time to get it to the title people in time for us to close on time? Are you catching that I've been feeling like we are running out of time????

Luckily, Josh found an online version of the course. This class is usually free, but to expedite our access to the course, we had to pay $10. Whatever. Josh took the course and we submitted it within four hours of being told we had to take it. Take that, Mr Underwriter.

We figured we were done until the next morning when we had to sign some more papers and submit some more info. We were told everything would be submitted and taken care of. Silly me. I believed them.

Thursday and Friday came and went. So did the weekend. No word. Then this morning they wanted YET MORE information from us. How much more info can we give them??? I swear it seems like they want our life stories:

Dear Mr Underwriter: My favorite color is green. I don't like body odor. When I was six I was bitten by a dog on the back of my head. I don't really know how to swim. And if you ask me for my bra size, I'll be forced to knee you.

We close in 8 days. The underwriter accepted everything this afternoon (that's the official word). We may actually close escrow Monday. I don't really know what that means, but I know it's one of the last things we need to do to get the keys to our new house.

To sum it up: Buying a house = Emotional Highs & Emotionl Lows.

Sunday Thoughts

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Ether 12:27

This verse was mentioned in church today. It goes along very well with how I've been feeling lately. It's one of the reasons I want to truly push myself to lose weight. And be a better mom. And keep my house cleaner. And be a better wife.

It seems my weaknesses stare me right in the face quite often. And I want to win and overcome those weaknesses. I will stare back at them and see who blinks first. Unfortunately, having a staring contest with your weaknesses is like having a staring contest with a statue. I keep losing.

I'm tired of losing. I'm going to start working on some of the things I know I can improve and pray for the ability to discover the things I don't yet understand. With Heavenly help, faith, humility and work, I'll be the woman (including mom and wife) I want to be.

The Amazing Times of Shelly Johnson

It's amazing.....

...how much better a vacuum works when the belt is replaced.

...how long it takes a person to realize the belt in their vacuum needs to be replaced.

...how quickly a one-year-old can walk onto a football field when a fifth grader is running toward her.

...how slowly a mom feels like she's moving when her baby is about to be creamed by fifth graders playing football.

....how quickly a kitchen floor gets dirty after it's been mopped.

....how long it takes to get the gumption up to clean the kitchen floor for the second time of the day.

Yep, my life is pretty amazing.