My apologies

I know as a 'blogger' I'm suppose to post something a little more often than once a month - sorry - what can I say??  I think of all these great things to type about while I'm driving, then its my time off and I'm tired - or we do a 'movie night' - or I'm doing 'office work' in a moving truck and after doing that, I want off the computer as soon as possible (trying not to spew!!) 

So how are we doing - pretty good I guess.  We stuck with our DM and she has kept us moving.  We are heading back to CA for a little bit of home time (Gary has a Dr's appt).  Taking home time does mess w/the miles a bit though because she has to aim us and the loads might not be timed right or that long a distance.  Seeing the kids is important to us though... yes she is a big girl now, and married and a mom, but I need the hug.  Plus its just not the same to talk on the phone, although we did try the Skype and that worked 'ok'... back ground noise and connection was a little rough - but we can work on that :) not driving down the road might help - LOL!

Now how am 'I' doing - that's a good question - LOL!  It depends on what is happening at the time and what I'm thinking about.  If I'm driving and enjoying the view from my office - I'm glad I made this career change... if I'm getting dressed after hardly sleeping to wander into a LOUD/BRIGHT dirty truck stop to go pee before I either start driving or go back to sleep - yeah I have some doubts.  If I'm thinking about everything we left behind - I greave some and think back to the 'old days'.  Then I start thinking what might have happened if we didn't choose this path - and I'm glad we took the path we are on.  So all in all I'm glad to be rolling down the road with my best friend/husband <grin>.

On the WLS front - I'm really disappointed in myself :( I tell myself I'm going to stay away from the nuts and I'm going to cook meals, and I'm not going to eat unless I'm hungery and I'm going to drink water and not as much coffee... then I start driving and my other 'robot' self kicks in and the hand goes down to put food in my mouth.  Habit I know... I'm not hungrey really, just need that hand to mouth going while I'm driving... thank goodness I don't smoke anymore - I can so easily see myself going through 3 packs a day if I did!!  When we first started munching on nuts and jerky, we were thinking that it wouldn't be so bad - they are low on 'carbs' and they have protein - yeah and they are LOADED with calories!! So easy to say - do veggies - and we tried them, but getting to a store (parking the Freightliner) and storage (only have a 1.7 cu fridge) - there are some challenges... Damn it though - I DO NOT WANT TO GAIN ANY MORE WEIGHT!!

Sigh... well this blog has taken a couple hours to do - (ADD type of thing - squirrel!!) - and now I really need to get some sleep - driving again in a few hours...

Bye for now...

1/2 Century...

Yep my 50th is coming up - and will have been on this earth for a half a century!!  That makes me sound SO OLD!!  I remember I would look forward in time and think it would be SO long until I was THAT old... well that time has come.  What is weird though - I don't really feel 'old'.  I feel no different really from when I was in my 30's... thinner, and a few joint aches I didn't have then, but basically the same.  Thank you Lord for putting the gastric bypass in my life - I don't think I would feel this good without it.  Also talk about a midlife change of careers!!  From nursing to truck driving - B I G change!  I'm just glad I'm not doing it alone... I do miss a few things though - my family is first and foremost.  My daughter in now married and has a child of her own, so we are now on the fringes - but I would LOVE to be there more often and just be a total pest - LOL! I also miss our house - we havc and are sacraficing to make sure it stays in the family, but I'm also glad to be able to witness the passing from one generation to the other - while I'm still alive to see it!!  It does raise some questions as to where we will go when we 'get off the road'.  Will we move back into the front bedroom?  Or get our own place? Who knows what time will bring...  Yeah as I get older I realize that God really laughs when we make plans.  If he agrees with the plans - no problems, but if he doesn't - it really messes with what we want to do - LOL!  I'm just glad he has agreed with our wish for a healthy grandchild and a happily married daughter - with those things we are the richest people... (yes I'm getting mushy). 

So here we sit getting loaded with some sort of fruit - about 200 miles away from Sacramento.  So close and yet so far - being this close make me miss them even more - but we do have 'home time' scheduled for next week (my birthday) and our DM (bless her heart) has done great in getting us there on time.  Miles will be less than what we want - but we will be able to see family!!  The next scheduled 'home time' will be during Thanksgiving. 

Oh and we stayed with our original DM - we had dinner with her the other night, and it finally clicked - she really doesn't have much power over what loads we get - its the PLANNERS that hand out the loads - she is just the intermediary between us.  So it might have been a mistake not to go Dole - and we might try that bridge if (after this home time) the miles shrink again.  However we did say to her we would give her 2 weeks to bring up the miles - and she has.  She has also worked her fanny off getting us home on-time for Eddie's birth and my birthday.  So we will continue this 'Grand Adventure' not knowing where we will be sent next... and not really looking forward to the winter - but we got to take the cold with the hot - LOL!

PS - reminder to self - pick up chains for the truck...

Should we or shouldn't we... that is the question...

And I think I know what the answer will be... in fact I'm pushing for it myself.  That is to go dedicated.  I'm thinking of it in a practical aspect.  We need the miles CONSISTANTLY... not just when we bitch and threaten to go some place else.  From what I've heard about this fleet - it is a LOT of back and forth across country... however it is TO just a few locations, however on the return trip there might be some veriety. (ps sorrry for any typos - done in a moving truck - LOL)  Also it sounds like they would be able to run us through our home town - want to be able to see our kids and grand - we really are missing them!! So we said we would give our DM 2 weeks - and Monday is the end of the 2 weeks.  So decision time is at hand.

Oh - and by the way - I'm a Grand Mother!!  <silly grin>

So for a run down of this last week...lets start in IN - picked up a bunch of bread crumbs and took them to NE (706 miles).  From there picked up just down the street (nice) in NE and took it to a trailer drop yard in IL (563 miles).  Then headed to MI to load and take it to UT (1500 miles). Then we got some yogurt in UT and took it to OH (1595 miles).  Then some more yogurt in OH to AL (711 miles).  From there we had a bust ass run from AL to CO (1285 miles - in 26  hours or less!!) - now we are on a run from CO with one stop in OH then PA (1824 miles) - so this week has been a good one (these span from the 17th until today - so a touch over a week - (8184 miles))... but its not consistantly like that.  We also have had to PUSH to get those - and bitch about runs... such as one they assigned us - 500+ miles dead head (basically paid just enough to cover costs) for a run of only 450 miles... NOPE we really don't want that one!!

Well we just got off the freeway near my BIL house - (one of the nice things about this job) - going to visit - so bye for now :)

Not yet...

Today has been so surreal in a way - my baby is having a baby - WOW!  It really is going to happen <big grin> Things are going well and it is so cool to see those two together.  They are going to make good parents. Nothing really happened today - basically paperwork and getting things set up.  So maybe tomorrow, or who knows, now that I'm back at the house (giving them some alone time - as alone as you can be in a hospital - and some privacy to rest/sleep) Eddie just might decide to wake them up and make his appearence.  Kinda bummed that Gary can't be here - but we both understand why.  The company though KNOWS what is going on - I talked to our DM this morning.  Why they are having him do a run from UT to CO (he is in CO tonight - delivers at 0500) then from CO to ID and no run scheduled yet to CA... makes me nervous!!  So just as well things are going slowly - that way Gary just might be back here at the same time Eddie makes his appearence!!  Now that would be perfect timing :^) However I'm not sure Lynn wants to wait for too long - and I really don't blame her... so we will see how things go.  For me it now already tomorrow, and I have a feeling it will be a long day.  I want to get the oven clean in the morning (it was on a list of things Lynn had wanted to do - but its something I can do for them).  Not sure if I will get to the lawn - priorities you know - LOL!  So off to bed I go...

Today is the day the Lord has made!!

Well today is the day for my Grandson to start his emergence into the world... now the question will be how long will it take... Gary is finishing up the load in Utah and I'm here in Sacramento.  I feel like I was able to help out some around the house yesterday - vacuumed and cooked dinner. I just wish I could make time flow faster.  Waiting again - LOL!

I'm going to do some running around for Lynn today - medication for Momma - stuff like that... then driving them to the hospital and getting settled in... not sure if I will stick around there, or head back to the house - just going to go with the flow.  I learned a great lesson from a friend of mine YEARS ago - to not impose what I think things should be into 'their' situation.  So I will just be in the background and enjoy the day - wishing Gary could be here - but I know his work ethic - just one of the reasons I love him so much!!

The count down continues...

Well the count down until I get to meet my Grandson continues... the time now stands at Monday - 1630 induction begins... then it will be up to God and him as to when we will meet.  The timing of getting a load in the area and being able to be available to help out has been a bit of a tight rope.  I'm happy to say though that Central has been helping and conciderate of our needs (as much as they can be and still run their business).  So what we are looking at right now is that we dropped our load in Stockton (drop yard) and won't have to wait until Monday to deliver it.  I was pushing for a load out today - but that just wasn't happening (sigh) instead we have a load to pick up in the morning (Sunday) that goes to UT - set to deliver on Tuesday.  That wil actually work out OK I think (even God has a hand in at Central - LOL).  We pick up in Tracy (tomatoes) tomorrow 0700 - we swing by the house and kick me out of the truck - Gary continues on to SLC arriving Monday - to deliver first thing Tuesday (and hopefully Eddie will have been born) an!!d head straight back to CA.  (with a load please!!) He will then be able to take a day or two to play with his Grandson (I feel bad in a way that I will have more time than he does - but I'm selfish too) then we will need to get back on the road.  We are planning on asking for 'home time' in CA more often now (needless to say) and are planning on Thanksgiving in CA... Christmas though will be for the new Caluza clan and we will swing by to visit sometime in that time frame.  That is our long (sort of) range plan - now if God agrees with it will be the question - LOL! 

So for right now we are sitting at the Stockton drop yard - with the ICON going and the curtains pulled - both playing on the computer and having some down time... just wish it was cool enough to have the windows down, but then we are talking bugs - oh well...

Oh and this solution of dropping me off at the house, will also save $$ by me not having to fly to Sac :^) also there was a 'gift from heaven' - a small amount of $$ that was found that will ease (a tiny bit) the concerns of the truck being still for 2-3 days - until we get rolling again... Thank you Dad!!  I really miss you and wish you could be here to meet your Great Grandson!! I think you would be proud of your Grand Daughter - she has turned out to be one heck of a good person... and will be a wonderful Mom!!

Close...

Today was the closest I have come to saying Fuck it I want out!  Every once and a while I get 'emotional' - and I use to blame it on 'that time of the month'... well I don't have 'that' time any more - but today was one of THOSE days.  Started out fine - dropped off a load in Brea, CA - went smooth - I was driving and we were both in great moods.  Got to the next stop - it's s load of pineapples from a Port in the LA area.  First off the adedress they (the company) gave us for the 'escort' (since we don't have TWIC cards) was wrong.  Then we were told only one of us could go into the port - even though we are both drivers, and a team.  THAT is what put the spanner in my works today.  I freaked - I haven't done a run on my own.  The one time I attempted  it I was SO glad I snuck Gary on board - because he was able to help me through it.  Well with me freaking out - Gary is like - we just won't take it.  Now I'm freaking there because I don't want it to adversly effect our 'jobs'.  We were told that if we didn't do it - it would be a service failure.  Plus Gary didn't want to drop me off at a 'coffee shop' in a strange town so he could do the delivery. (I was better w/that option) So needless to say - I've been an emotional mess today... He did drop me off at a Subway right out side the Port - and did the pick-up with no problem and on an up note - less than a week until I get to meet my Grandson Edward Gustavus Caluza :) Love a good ending!!