David is a full time permanent employee again! You may recall that his company in New Jersey had him on a trial period as a remote employee. The trial period is over. He will continue working for them from home in Texas! We are so thankful for God’s Providence.

Above is a photograph a friend of ours took to express our emotions right now. We got to move back to Texas. We didn’t have to go on COBRA. David got the job. His Psoriatic Arthritis is in remission. We are so blessed! But we know that even if things get bad again, even if David goes back to having flares that leave him bedridden, God is in control.

So, please check out our friends photography at Still Light Media!

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I have a lot to be thankful for this week.

David’s six month contract with his company here in New Jersey ended Friday, and they told him he will start as a permanent employee on Monday. Although I’d love to be going back to Texas, I am very grateful God has provided David with this employment.

We also received word from Abbott Patient Financial Assistance that David has been approved for another year of free Humira due to our extraordinary medical expenses. I assumed we would be approved again this year, but it was still a huge relief to get the phone call. You may recall that when Humira was first prescribed, we found out that many health insurance companies (including ours) don’t cover or only slightly discount TNF inhibitors. We cannot afford to purchase it for $1,500 a month.

Unfortunately, the New Jersey rheumatologist wrote the script for a 90 day supply instead of a 12 month supply, and he got the injection frequency wrong. As if we weren’t looking for a new rheumatologist anyway.

Today, David was able to go to a men’s prayer breakfast at church, and then he went for an acupuncture treatment. It must have been a really good treatment, because a few minutes ago, he picked me and spun me around while I screamed, “Stop! You’ll hurt your back! I want to go to church tomorrow!” He seems to be having a really good day.

Praise God for his providence.

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God has provided us with renters for our house in Dallas! We’re so thankful! We are going back to Dallas in July for a vacation, and I can’t wait!

I’m worried that David isn’t taking care of himself. He’s working long hours trying get his department caught up. He’s not taking lunch breaks. He just eats lunch at his desk. I’m fairly certain he’s not getting up to stretch or walk around like he did at his old job. I know he feels a lot of pressure since the job is six months contract to hire, but they love him. He’s already helped out so much. And what good will it be to have a job in six months if he’s too sick to work?

Sigh. At least he likes his job and is making friends. I really miss our family and church. I joined a local Christian women’s group that isn’t affiliated with a specific church. I’ve met one of the ladies and she was very nice.

I wanted to take a class or two at the local community college this summer, but unfortunately they only offer classes that meet Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I’m not sure if this is common in other areas, but at the colleges I attended in Texas, classes met Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. With all the company we are eagerly expecting, not to mention the joys of finding all new doctors, I can’t go to class four days a week.

And of course, there’s the other problem: Henry. This dog is chained to my body.

Me and Henry

I love him. I just didn’t realize how much we relied on the backyard at our house in Texas. I would have said he was an inside dog, but he’s really not. When I go to the grocery store now that we live in an apartment, I can’t take my time. I have to rush back to the car because Henry’s in there. I leave the windows partly rolled down, but I still worry about it getting too hot.

When we lock him up in the bathroom while we go to church on Sundays, he will not eat or drink or play with his toys. He is in distress. We can’t leave him on our screened patio 1. Because if he saw a squirrel he could break through the netting and 2. He’d be exposed to the elements.

We’re looking into doggy day cares, but of course, that costs money.

This is the glamorous, fabulous life a Jersey housewife.

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We survived our second week in New Jersey. Except we weren’t in New Jersey the whole time.

Monday when David came home from work, he said, “I put in a request to go to a training conference in Virginia. It’s Wednesday through Friday. They’ll never approve it on such short notice.”

Tuesday afternoon, David calls me and says, “Pack my bag. I’m leaving in three hours.”

Seeing as we live so close to such a rough part of town, and I don’t know a single person here in New Jersey, I didn’t feel comfortable staying by myself for three days.

I tried to fly home to Dallas. I learned that flying with a pet is very difficult. It cannot be done on short notice. Henry would have to have seen a vet within 10 days of flying, and it seems that most flights (and all of the flights available to me) don’t even accept carriers over 28 inches long. Henry needs a carrier between 42-48 inches long. So I couldn’t take him with me.

When we were sneaking Henry into the hotel, I had tried to board him at Petsmart. We then discovered that our vet in Dallas didn’t tell us that Henry was way overdue for a Bordatella shot. Petsmart suggested a vet that also boards dogs. I called them, and they said that Henry would need to get the Bordatella shot two weeks before being boarded. So I couldn’t board Henry here and fly home.

I ended up driving to Virginia with Henry. David left on such short notice that he was making his own travel arrangements anyway, so we were able to stay in a pet friendly hotel.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me complaining about a domestic disturbance our neighbors were having. It was neighbors at our hotel. This lady was screaming obscenities and kicking her husband (or perhaps boyfriend) out because she missed her hair appointment. This was happening while I was in the hotel by myself and David was at the conference. So much for staying in a safer place. After twenty minutes, the guy left.

Later that afternoon he came back and the screaming started again. I called the front desk to report the disturbance and was told, “Oh, room 207? That’s a nice lady. She’s just arguing with her husband. They won’t bother you. Oh, and I’m not going to charge you the pet fees. I didn’t see your dog. It’s okay.”

Wow. Basically, they just didn’t want me to call the cops. I would have, had the fighting next door not stopped while I was on the phone with the front desk. It made me so mad. I mean, what if that fight had escalated? It was pretty bad. The man could have come back with a weapon to kill that crazy lady. I was trying to be a responsible citizen.

Anyway, David loved his training. He was very happy the company sent him. I got a good bit of reading done in the hotel. Virginia was very pretty. The weather was great, and we went to Bull Run one night. David and I had a really nice time on the drive back. We got in a lot of talking, and we had our Garmin, so we weren’t stressing about getting lost.

David is very happy in his new job. We should be finished unpacking this week, barring any unforeseen trips.

David’s arthritis has remained remarkably stable, praise God. After the crazy week we had, he wasn’t up to visiting church this Sunday. We were so looking forward to worshiping with other believers and meeting new friends, but we’ll just have to wait until next week.

The only major concern I have right now about David is his diet. David can’t have gluten, and he’s had gluten at least twice now while eating lunch with co-workers. Many people have dietary restrictions. What’s the big deal in saying, “I can’t eat pizza. I’ll just order something else.”

As for me, the appliance I wear at night for my TMJ Disorder is not right. I need to see my specialist back in Dallas for an adjustment, but that’s probably not going to happen any time soon. I’ve had a lot more jaw pain this week, and even some headaches. My gums are bleeding every morning when I wake up. Maybe when we find a chiropractor, he’ll be able to help some.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

Love,
A Young Wife

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Well we survived our first week in New Jersey. If I were to give you directions to our apartment here, the final step would be to turn right between the liquor store and the dry cleaners. We’ve made lots of Chris Farley jokes about living in a van down by the liquor store this week.

This first week was rough. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you know that our movers were late, they damaged my piano, they didn’t even deliver my piano bench and they only sent one mover, so my father-in-law had to help. There was also a lot of trouble with the apartment complex.

We are having a lot of trouble driving. Things are just so different here than in Texas. There are no u-turns, and if you miss your exit, you can’t just pull off at the next exit and loop around. We have a Garmin on the way.

I think I had a pretty good attitude before we left Dallas. I was staying positive and thinking of this as an adventure. Now, I honestly can’t wait to get back home. I’m counting the days until the lease is up on this apartment as I’m furiously scrubbing everything.

Tonight David wanted to get away from the boxes and mess, so we drove to the nearest Apple store. It was in a nice shopping area complete with a White House Black Market. David saw a Chipotle and said, “We’re not in h***!” Yeah, it’s been that bad. We just hadn’t seen anything nice. Mostly we’ve seen places where I wouldn’t drive after dark.

I’m really looking forward to visiting a church this next Sunday. Perhaps that will help us feel more at home.

David likes his job a lot. It’s a company that was outsourcing their IT department, and is just now bringing it in house. This is a wonderful opportunity for David to code and create the way he wants to, not just the way things have always been done. We are so thankful that God has provided him with employment. Also, we are grateful David’s arthritis hasn’t been too bad this week.

Thanks for all your prayers! We still haven’t found renters for our home in Texas, so please continue to pray about that.

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We’re still not sure where we’re going to live in New Jersey. We have found a rental property manager for our house here in Dallas. He was such a nice man. Our house is a disaster right now. It’s covered in boxes and we have stuff spread out all over the floor. He said, “This is a clean house. It will show really well.” Bless his heart. Just pray we find renters immediately!

Plans keep changing. First, David was going to fly up on the 28 and then start working on the 29. I would follow by car with Henry. Now, we’re thinking about driving up together the 27 and 28. Basically, all we know is that David starts to work on the 29.

David keeps telling me I’ll have so much to blog about with the move. I keep thinking, “I don’t have time to blog! I’ve got to find new doctors and a pharmacy! I’ve got to select movers and pack! And once we’re up there, how long will it take for us to get the computers unpacked and internet hooked up?” So we’ll see how much blogging I do over the next few weeks.

Poor David did too much this weekend, packing and getting ready to move. He was in a lot of pain Sunday night. I was almost asleep when I realized David should have taken his Humira shot Friday. Oops. That’s probably why he was hurting.

Here’s what’s on our to do list:

Find a place to live in New Jersey
Select movers
Get haircuts
Get oil changed, tired pressure checked
Move stuff to storage (We’re leaving a lot of things here for the time being.)
Cancel internet service
PACK

Am I forgetting something? We’re going so fast, I’m sure I am. I’m also trying to get into see my TMJD specialist before we leave. They’ve got me on a waiting list, so pray that I can see them. I don’t know if I could make it till Thanksgiving or Christmas!

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David has accepted a job in New Jersey. We are so grateful God has provided David with another job. Moving from Dallas, Texas to New Jersey is a little bit overwhelming. We have a lot to do in two weeks. Any tips?

David asked his rheumatologist what he thought about us moving to New Jersey. He told David, “Well, there are people all over the world with arthritis. There are some climates better than others for arthritis, but you’ve been doing better. You really won’t know until you get there.”

Dallas has dramatic, rapid changes in weather. At least in New Jersey when it gets cold it will stay cold. Perhaps the more stable barometric pressure will be good for his Psoriatic Arthritis.

The company is only giving us a $1,000 moving allowance. Since there will be public transportation in our area, we won’t need two cars. We plan to sell my Explorer to help cover the moving costs. On such a limited budget, we are leaving a lot of items behind.

Please keep us in your prayers. We need to find good tenants to rent our house. We’re also trying to find a rent house or apartment that will let us bring Henry.

We are sad to be leaving our family and friends, but we’re very hopeful that they will come visit us!

Love,
A Young Wife

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Recently, I’ve been asked a few questions that I thought perhaps I should answer here just in case any readers were wondering the same things.

1. Why doesn’t David take an entry level job while he looks for a mid-level developer position? Well, most entry level computer jobs require physical work, such as lifting heavy equipment or moving and installing computers. With David’s arthritis, he cannot do that sort of thing. Other jobs you might suggest that he can’t do: waiting tables, being a sales clerk or cashier. He cannot be on his feet that long. So keep praying for David to find a job.

2. You guys want to have a baby!? Um, yeah. Really bad. David’s done a cost/benefit analysis of cloth diapers and everything. Unfortunately, with all the medication David is on, we are currently unable to conceive.

3. Is David going to the rheumatologist for each Humira injection? No. He gave himself the first few, and then my parents had to help him once. Usually David gives it to himself now, but I keep my hand over his so that he doesn’t pull away too soon. The last time David needed an injection, he was having trouble, so after two or three minutes he asked me to push the button. We are really proud of our progression! We no longer yell at each other when it’s injection time.

Any more questions? I really like getting questions, because it gives me blogging material, and it clears up any confusion or misperceptions. I love good communication, so please, ask away.

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Click here to see more great Works for Me Wednesday Tips.

Different bloggers have different goals for their blogs. Some want to earn money, some want to become popular and some just want to share pictures and stories of their kids with their family.

The best blogging advice I have is to treat blogging like a job. I love blogging. It’s a really fun “job”. Here are a few things that work for me.

*Decide how much time you want to devote to your blog. In my opinion, this time should include time spent promoting your blog on Twitter, Facebook, answering emails, etc. Do you want to blog every day? Once a week? Whatever you decide, be consistent. Readers appreciate knowing how often you post.

*Network. Just like any other job, you need to network. Create a Twitter account. Comment on blogs you like. Participate in Blog Carnivals like Works for Me Wednesday and The 730/365 Declutter Challenge. Join groups like SITS. You’ll meet interesting people and you’ll get a lot of new traffic this way.

*Finally, just like any other job, you need continuing education. Seek advice. Learn about new things, such as My Blog Spark or Google Alerts.

That’s what works for me! Hope it works for you, too.

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Here’s a quick update on our status.

David has had lots of interviews, and one very promising interview yesterday with a company that is located very near my part time job. If he got this particular job, it would mean we could carpool sometimes!

David saw the rheumatologist yesterday. I’ve worked quite a bit more than usual at my part time job lately, because the receptionist has been out sick. So, yesterday was the first time David went to the rheumy without me.

David has had a lot of pain in his ribs and neck lately. The doctor said that even though the ribs aren’t joints, it is psoriatic arthritis in his ribs. The rheumatologist said he is seeing improvement in David’s Psoriatic Arthritis, just as we are, and in fact, he recommended that David contact Humira and ask them if they will approve David for injections every ten days instead of every fourteen. I imagine this won’t be an issue since they simply ship us whatever the doctor prescribes.

And well, apparently many people have David on their minds today. My boss asked me a lot of questions about David’s arthritis, and then called me from his house to ask how to spell “Psoriatic”. Then my doctor’s office, my TMJD specialist, called to say that there would be a special on the Channel 11 News tonight about new breakthroughs in arthritis. They’ve never called to tell me to watch a show on TMJ Disorder.

It is sweet that people are thinking about him. I really appreciate all the care and concern. But I had to call my mommy and ask her if she’d make her special Martha Washington candy that she only makes at Christmas for me for my birthday in January. She said yes. And she asked how I was.

Love,
A Young Wife

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