SUCCESS!!

S-U-C-C-E-S-S, that's the way you spell SUCCESS! An old high school cheer that I shouted in the SUV yesterday after my interview. I got the job before I even uttered a word, to my amazement. It wasn't "If you are selected..." but rather "when you start..."

Knowing you have the job right off the bat sure changes how the interview goes! I met all the key players at the hotel--oh, did I forget to mention that I will be working at a very nice hotel called Inn on the Lakes? It has a spa and an outstanding restaurant, not to mention a pool that sits amid fantastic landscaping with a killer view of Little Lake Jackson. I will be the Executive Housekeeper--a funny title in the hospitality industry which simply means that I will be managing the housekeeping, maintenance, laundry and grounds for the hotel--the back of the house functions, or what is often called, the heart of the hotel.

It is a role I am very familiar with, as before falling into caregiver mode, it was exactly what I was doing before--albeit for a hotel more than twice the size. It is only about 5 miles from my folks' house, so it is convenient. I start on Monday, so I will get to generate income--yay! Nothing like being completely broke to make you appreciate the value of a buck.

The best part is, I can start saving money to get Bud and the dogs down here. I need to start looking for a home to rent. There are lots of rentals, but I need to find one that is close to work, allows dogs, is reasonably priced, and has a fenced in back yard.  I have found several candidates, but not "the one". I have time. I need the money and deposit saved first, and of course, money for utilities. Bud has already determined it will cost about a thousand dollars to make the move down--our most expensive move yet, if you don't count the move back to Michigan after caring for M and C in Alabama in 2011.

I have two craft fairs I will be attending with my wares: those necktielaces I make. I have been a crazy tie-making fool for the last two weeks, and have made about 30 of the sets.  I am hoping to make about 10 more before the first craft fair in the 9th of February. Hope they sell!

I have lost 22 pounds since coming down at the end of November,and hope to lose about 50 more. Even if I lose another 50, I will still be overweight, but at a very comfortable size for me--a weight I maintained for years and felt great.  I got a nasty wake-up call after getting down here.  I used to regularly check my blood sugar, as my father, mother, and a brother all have diabetes. I hadn't checked it in a while, as we just didn't have the money for the test strips. Dad had an extra meter and LOTS of supplies, as he gets his free, so I checked it shortly after getting here: it was 187! I thought it might be a fluke high reading, but they continued to be high, mostly in the 160's.

I went on the Aktin's diet and was eating no more than 3g of carbs a day--hard to do, for someone who loves fruit, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes--but I did it. I think I pooped off most of the weight, as the extreme change in diet didn't agree with me and I spent half the day on the throne.

I also started exercising.  I started slowly: one hour of walking in the pool every morning. Then I started going to water aerobics, and was walking one hour in the pool before water aerobics, doing the water aerobics, and working out for another 1/2 hour doing stretches in the pool. I also walk in the nature preserve occasionally with my father. It is actually a very good workout, because it is all sand--easy on the joints, but it really gives you a workout!  With my arthritis, I found, too my dismay, that bike riding was out of the question. My hips and knees just can't do it comfortably.  So the support of the water and the softness of the sand are my best friends.

Step-mom is almost completely healed. She still used the rolling walker as a crutch--she doesn't need it, but it makes her feel more secure. Dad is looking at surgery in the near future, so the decision to move down here is a good one--almost a no brainer. The weather here has done me so much good! It got cold last night, and I awoke to temps in the low 40's. But the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and the pool is heated. So I am off to burn more calories and enjoy the pool. After Monday, I won't be able to do my morning walks in the pool. That's okay--my focus now is getting the money saved to bring my beloved down here to be at my side.