​I posted this on my Instagram page as I was in the doctors office with my son for two hours. He did something to his leg, sprain/ripped a muscle. Fun times. He is 21 but at home until college starts again. I am glad he was at home when it happened, but sad that it happened. He has had to endure a lot of hip problems and problems with muscles not working correctly. I have wondered if there was anything with Asperger's that could cause that type of thing, like a pattern with others that have Asperger's, or high functioning autism, as they are now calling it.
_________________________________________
Congrats to the three @beadsbeeboutique “FREE T-Shirt of their choice” winners!! 🎉
.
It was so awesome to work with @beadsbeeboutique on this giveaway!
.
Winners, please email email@beadsbee.com and we will get your tee on it’s way to you. 
.
🔆Winners🔆
@michymama 
@mrs_garrett 
@dyrmishijessica
.
.
.
#freetshirt #free #swag #giveaway #winner#congratulations #onlineboutique #onlineshopping#beadsbee #beadsbeeboutique #fashion#womensfashion #teeshirt #womensteeshirt#curvyblogger

This journey with my children, specifically my oldest, and Asperger's has been a very challenging and interesting one. I often think that social skills, being able to read social situations and interpret body language and social ques, should be named as another sense. It affects people in the same way that touch and hearing affect people. The level of confusion and distortion can be so awful, such a challenge.

Since we didn't find out about Asperger's until my son was in 3rd grade, it was a shock. It happened after we moved, and that change just blew things up with both of my kids. That was when our lives became way different. The challenges they had, the challenges with my health and the challenges with my husband's employment all kind of exploded at the same time.

From those challenges, there is a large financial burden that we are determined to tame. Financial burdens come in all shapes and sizes. Ours comes from medical bills and from lengthy times of unemployment. We will tame those chains and my little family team are all on the same page. We are frugal and think things through. We don't live in luxury or spend money on anything fancy at this point. It sucks sometimes. I'm not gonna lie. But, in the end, we will be so blessed to be out of debt and able to live like no one else.

I think that one of the biggest challenges is the fact that other people seem to just buy things, even when they don't have the money. We should not be a slave to debt.

Yes, I went from one subject to another pretty quick there. I promise, it all ties together.

I am now back out there trying to conquer the world for the rest of the afternoon.

Thanks again to all who entered the giveaway for the tee shirts. It was a great giveaway.

Thank you to https://beadsbeeboutique.com/ for partnering with me on the giveaway.

I have spent today cleaning and doing laundry. Some days are just all chores, but I am grateful that I am so blessed to have so much to take care of.

Everyone has chores to do. It’s an interesting thing. Your chores could be as simple as clearing your plate after dinner, to taking care of a whole house and family while working full-time on your social media presence.

Me? I am the later. So overly busy that I might be a little insane 😂

As far as I am concerned though, being busy is my kind of healthy. I have severe anxiety, so I always have to put that energy somewhere. So, I anxious clean, do yoga, go on walks or bike rides when it’s not smoky, and I work work work, clear until I go to bed at night.

My best friend is my husband so as far as hanging out with friends, I got it good! 😉

Hey, the @no.33_celebrate_life is 30% off if you click on the pictures. Take advantage of their skincare. Taking care of your skin is super important. 

BTW, the tee shirt giveaway announcement with @beadsbeeboutique will be posted tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

I am a sweaty mess. Next I am going to yoga and shower, and then dinner. Ahhh Monday fun.
​
#curvyblogger #no33skincare #skincare#beauty #shopping #fashionandshopping#beautyandshopping #takecare#takecareofyourskin #deal #promo#anxiety #severeanxiety #cleaning#nervouscleaning

Here it is!

Isn't this 2012 Ford F-150 a beauty?!

My husband's brother put new tires on it for us and had it detailed. So of course, on the way home last night it rained (which we needed, so thank you Gary:).

Our other vehicles are from 2001 and from 1996, so it was time.

Yesterday, my husband, my children and myself all went up to Salt Lake County and went to the Nordstrom sale, dinner, and then a show. For part of that time, the kids went to meet up with their cousins to hang out for a while.

Since we came up in our 2001 Honda Accord and were going to pick up the truck, the kids had access to a vehicle. We were at my mother-in-law's house for a bit of the time, so she drove us over to my husband's brother's house to take care of the truck transaction.

When we finished the transaction, we drove the truck home in the thunderstorm. What a nice ride! Oh my gosh how great it feels to have moved up over a decade in technology and niceties! 

Well, we got the truck into the tight fit in the garage, got settled in at home, and the kids called to tell us that the car wouldn't start. This has been an ongoing saga with this car. 

So, my husband drove back up north to pick the kids up. The car is still up there and we will get it later today. 

Isn't it funny how things work out? We would have had to borrow someone's car to fit everyone in to get them home if we had not just purchased this truck.

Yes, we are nervous about having to make payments. However, we are more nervous about not having adequate transportation.

This picture above is amazing to me!

​I am featured as one of the cover models for Best You By HTS OH MY GOSH!! 

What I do, representing these brands and helping them to gain even more success online, it is so rewarding. I still cannot believe how fast things are growing and moving!!

Okay, I am like a little kid. We have had the same two vehicles for so long and they are falling apart. We are so grateful to have not had a payment for so many years. That saved us a few times when my husband was unemployed. 

Did I tell you that my husband is a software engineer?

Now back to why I am like a little kid.

Well, my husband's brother is getting a new Ford truck, so we have been working out the details on how to purchase his truck, which is a beautiful one...okay, most vehicles that have not been driven into the ground like ours are beautiful. 

We have had so many life changing events that have cost a lot of money over the past 13-20 years that we have been so grateful NOT to have a car payment and to only have to fix things. However, our poor, old vehicles are on their last, last leg. They have been well loved and will continue to be, but likely used closer to home. 

Being responsible for a payment is nerve racking. Things will be tight, but reliable transportation is something that is necessary.

Too bad it didn't happen in time to be able to go to the reunion in Idaho. We will have missed fun with my side of the family. However, it was going to cost too much to do that trip anyway and be responsible for things that we need here at home. Being an adult is hard. Responsibility and choosing what to do and what not to do, knowing that there are other people involved that have feelings on the subject, is hard.

However, for our little tribe of four, this is a monumental day! I am so giddy. I am so looking forward to getting in our new wheels. Of course, our two boys will not be allowed to drive it. They can use the other two vehicles at this stage;)

The smoke from these fires is really causing havoc. Everyone in my house is having quite a lot of allergies. Me? I am having fun with my inhaler...so much fun:(

So, it was a weird day. We are getting ready for the kids to get off to college. So, I went to Walmart and got some of those sets of plastic drawers and a mattress pad/cover for a twin XL.  We've done this before, which means it is easier to plan. I also got more hangers because sending them to school with my son means that they will disappear from my house forever. 

That reminds me that I need to get him a new iron. The last one we sent rusted somehow. You know how things happen at college. Who knows what it was used for, lol!

Now we are looking for a good laptop bag at a decent price that has waterproofing protection. That one is for my son who is staying at home while going to UVU.  Oh, and we are also looking for a great calculator that will go from algebra clear up to calculus. If you have suggestions on either, put them in the comments below.

What pointers can you think of to help get kids ready for college? 

Fall is just around the corner! Can you believe how fast this summer has gone by? 

We have been one car short all summer due to my oldest son needing to drive to work about 20 minutes away and my husband needing to drive about 45+ minutes away. We've been working on it, but this summer, my youngest and I have not really done much because of lack of transportation. 

Over the past month or so, we have had a car on Fridays because my husband has been able to telecommute one day per week. It's not much, but it's something.

When school gets back in session in a few weeks, my youngest will be travelling to UVU every day by train, and my oldest will be living in the dorms at BYU. That will be helpful in the transportation department.

We've been working on getting another vehicle for some time now. As I have stated before, we drive our vehicles until they cannot go any more. That's really the case with the ones we have now and one of the reasons we have not gone on any vacations this summer, and are not attending a reunion this weekend. 

Waiting on a vehicle that my husband's brother is receiving so that we can purchase his vehicle is a practice in patience. Ford has been late with all of their manufacturing due to factors like a fire in one of their plants. So, since that is what we are waiting on, patience is all you can control.

So, when we get the vehicle, my youngest and I will be taking quite a few hikes and doing some things to make up for lost time...and before the weather starts to turn, which can happen quite abruptly.

Due to so many medical bills, poor construction practices on our home, and vehicle issues, we are ready for at least one of those things to clear up a bit. Step by step. Bit by bit. We have years of trials that we are trying now to climb out of. 

We are blessed. Life is good.

Today has been a day where my body feels like the rusty tin man on Wizard of Oz. 

My joints don't want to move, my lungs don't want to work (thank you smoke from wild fires), my head hurts and I have no energy. I have faked it as much as I can today...you know, fake it til you make it.

Having days like this (where my inhaler and headache meds are my best friends), make my other days feel fabulous. I have more of these than a lot of people, due to my fight with Lyme disease. That said, I am so grateful that I have progressed out of the Lyme cave as far as I have. I have learned a ton and usually feel great (more days than not). 

I will still do yoga. I will still shower and go through the motions of the basic daily routine. 

What's the point of that? Psychological...and powerful.

If you still do your routine, unless you really are so sick that you cannot do your routine, you will still have the effect of feeling successful. You will still have the effect of accomplishment.

So, you see, I am not complaining. I am letting you know that it's all okay. Life is good.