Gone too long...

I'm sure that not many of you have even checked this link in quite a while, it's been dead for so long...why bother? LOL But I am alive and well...just been taking a much needed break.

Stress has been running rampant and really taking a toll on me. Life is a bit of a roller coaster ride and I'm hoping that my ride is about to end...but the gate isn't in sight just yet.

Finances have been pretty tough, I've been working to try and keep my kids on track in school, at home, and in the way that they treat each other and Brian and I are still working at living together and getting our financial ducks in a row.

The past month has also been filled with more deaths than I even care to think about. Our nurse at work lost her dad and grandma in the same week...so we had to take her shifts and add them onto ours to cover...no big thing and the extra cash came in handy, but it was very sad to watch her struggle through it. But she's back to work and doing well now, so that's definitely a good thing. Still very sad though.

My best-friend also lost someone very near and dear to her, due to the war. That hasn't been easy because she really struggled to deal with it and I was left feeling useless, because I knew that there really wasn't anything I could do to just make it better for her. She's also doing pretty well with it now...still has her moments, but she's better.

Now, a good friend of mine has just lost her brother, (who was only in his 40's), to cancer. He was a wonderful guy, with a great big heart and I'm truly gonna miss him! He was like another big brother to me, and even though we didn't see each other all that often...when we saw each other, it was always like a day never went by without us keeping in touch. I loved that about him. Just always happy and he had a way of making that happy-go-lucky attitude rub off on you...even when you didn't want it to! LOL So tomorrow, I head to the funeral home after work and see Mikey for the last time. Not something I look forward to, but isn't that just the way life goes?

So, now I am trying to get my Christmas shopping out of the way and get the gumption to get the tree up. Terrible, I know...it's almost mid-December! I'm banking on this weekend to get the job done. Pray that my weekend doesn't get too "hectic" with other useless stuff and that I actually get it done!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holiday season!