Wow, I have been gone a long time…and I see in being gone, almost every contact has been deleted…not sure if that’s a system thing or a personal thing, either way, it’s a wake-up call!

Joe and I are still together – we had a rocky moment back in November but have decided to see where this goes. As he said, I am currently learning to be a “tax widow” – as a CPA he is hardly around now, working late hours, working Saturday, then doing returns on the side.  However, this is giving me time to work on other parts of my life – my house, my kids, my health, and most of all – my relationship with Christ.

My work has changed- I am once again the DSL/HSI specialist for Verizon New England and am thrilled to be doing this job again.  I feel tremendously challenged and rewarded – not many people can say that about their job.  However, it does involve a commute to Andover which is up by the NH border…my regular office is near the RI border.  It’s quite a commute, right thru Boston at rush hour, but I just love it when I get there.  I try to get there 3 days/week.  Each Monday, however, I have been taking customer calls.  Although I don’t care for it, I am grateful to have a job and try very hard not to complain.  My concern is with THIS Monday, my calls will be in regards to FIOS which is a fabulous product, but I have been away from the FIOS world for so long, I am very nervous about taking calls…my fear is appearing like a blithering idiot with the customer and then the customer losing all confidence in their experience with Verizon.  Others in the same position have demanded training, but some of my friends were thrown online unexpectedly a couple weeks ago (in the same boat as myself) and they survived – I don’t even think there was any scarring.  If they can do it, I can do it.  Or, at least I can laugh at myself at the end of the day!!  My team leader has promised to sit with me and coach me until I feel more comfortable – she’s AWESOME!!!

The kids are all well, my youngest is spending the weekend with me, my daughter is spending the weekend with her dad, and Colin got off work at 3pm today so he is now home as well.  The dog, Goosie, is asleep near my feet.

My February vacation is coming to an end tomorrow – it was quiet for the most part, but I have spent time working on some of the rooms.  Still need plastering/spackling done and so much painting…but since in this economy the house has little value, I might as well give it a good facelift since I’m clearly not leaving anytime soon!

Health-wise I have been sick off and on, although that evil flu that has been going around did remarkably little damage other than give me a good enough case of bronchitis to have multiple asthma attacks.  I spent a good deal of January hooked up to my nebulizer.  I did get a chance to see the difference in both my blood pressure and my pulse when I am NOT using the neb when I am sick…my blood pressure sky rocketed as did my pulse!  My doctor said, “It’s because your heart is working so hard to pump oxygen!”  YIKES!  No more convincing needed.  I have also battled stomach bugs that creep up on me, slam me for a day, then are gone as mysteriously as they came.  However, since mid January, I seem to be doing MUCH BETTER (praise God!).  Just had my yearly physical & the doctor said I HAD to lose the weight – I was too young and my family history between type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure was too ominous, I needed to start taking better care of myself.  I agree !  I tire easily and have no stamina.  Therefore, my daughter and I are going to try one week of the Flat Belly Diet…we have our menus and all our food, and although it will be quite a change, we are both looking forward to it !  I’m curious to see what a week on it will be like.  The main thing is to eat sensibly but make sure you have a MUFA with each meal – MUFA = monounsaturated fats – the “good fat” that drives good cholesterol & weight loss.  My cholesterol is good so far (yay!) and my blood pressure is a tad high, but not enough to treat with anything more than diet and exercise.  We start this Monday (but had to factor in one cheat day – Friday 2/27 – she has youth group and I have a Bake&Bring in Andover).  Joe is skeptical, but that’s ok, I will prove him wrong, be slimmer and more energetic, and he won’t be skeptical anymore.  He very much wants us to exercise together once tax season settles down.  That will be fun!

My relationship with Christ is not bad nor is it “on the rocks” – I just feel that I need to pursue it more.  I need a personal revival.  Been reading my Bible a lot, been doing devotionals, spending a lot of time in prayer (although sometimes I get distracted while I am in prayer and my mind wanders…that’s frustrating).

Not sure what else to write at the moment…I need to do some blog hopping (made easier now that I have just downloaded ALL of Windows Live applications).  You can also catch up with me on facebook – a different forum but fun.

Take care and God bless !!