Jess has been back at work full time for a while now, and for the most part, is doing much better with her knee. It still aches her, but she has shown a remarkable difference between pre and post surgery. No longer does she come home every single day from work and pop a pain pill. No longer does she come home and cry from the pain. Is she pain free? No, absolutely not. But for now, it seems tolerable and she can continue with her job. Neither of us, as well as her doctor, think she can keep this job forever, but at least we have a nice cushion until she has to make another decision.
In other great news, we finally refinanced our house. A couple of years ago, we attempted to do a loan modification with a company that had a pretty great track record. We had been on a 5 year loan since we bought our house and wanted to lock in a 30 year loan so we could be comfortable knowing what our payment was going to be for the next 30 years. We paid them around $4,000 to help negotiate a loan mod with our mortgage company and it ended up being one of the biggest mistakes of our lives. Not only did our mortgage company end up screwing us (LONG story), but the loan mod company ended up going out of business and taking our $4,000 with them. So now we had no load mod, issues with the mortgage company screwing us, and were out of that money. It sucked BIG time. For the last couple of years, we have been on a one year locked in loan, but who wants that kind of uncertainty? Finally, a program came along that we qualified for, a program that rewarded those who had never fallen behind on payments, and last week, we finally closed and have that 30 year loan we have been seeking. Peace of mind at last.
In other great news, my photos are going to be on display at an art gallery in November for Second Saturday. This is beyond exciting. That someone thought enough of my photos to ask if I wanted to display them in their store/gallery is the ultimate compliment. Again, I do this whole photography thing for fun. I don't want to make a career out of it. I do it because I enjoy it and and well, people seem to like what I do. This is absolutely a hobby so to be taking this next step is more than I ever expected. I am both excited and nervous at the same time.
With that, I will leave you with a sample of pictures I have taken in the last few months. Enjoy!
Oh, and if you haven't gone and seen Avengers yet, what the heck are you waiting for?!? It was everything I wanted and more...
7 comments:
HI! So happy to see you writing here again. We plan to see Avengers on Friday! YAY!! Love, love, love your pictures and am so happy Jess is doing better with her knee. HUGS!! Nani
Glad to have you back son. Even if you don't have time everyday, when you do post, it is well worth it. I usually know what is going on in your life but I love your perspective.
So proud of Jessica. She is coming up on one year next month and her progress has been remarkable. You should have mentioned how she walked three days in Disneyland last week. Now "that" is progress.
The refinancing of your home was a huge thing because I know what you have been going through. Congratulations!
Your photography, even though you do it for fun, has really become such Art. I am so glad that you have yet another avenue to show it off. You deserve this.
That 30 year must be a HUGE relief. I can only imagine. Glad Jessica is doing better...it was fun reading about your Disney trip on FB.
And your photos, as always, are amazing.
Manuel doesn't post much here because he feels like everyone keeps caught up via Facebook. I agree that this is a great forum, and you can elaborate on what's happening more here. I always like his posts here too.
I did go back to work February 2nd and worked 5 shifts before I got pneumonia and was out again until march 2nd. I guess I was stuck in my little bubble of a house for too long with the knee surgery. I can't believe Manuel forgot to mention that because it SUCKED.
I can't believe it's almost been a year since my surgery. It's crazy how time flies. While I'm by no means pain free, and a little disappointed in that, I DO see improvement. Everything that Manuel mentioned is true, plus, like Mom said in her comment, I NEVER would have been able to walk 3 days at Disneyland before the surgery. I've come home from work and taken a pain pill exactly 3 times since March. While it's not as good as I had hoped, it's so much better than it was, and I am thankful for that.
Manuel's photography show will be awesome. It's such an honor for him. We will have to spend quite a bit out of pocket to get the photos printed and framed, but if they sell, we can at least get our money back, as Manuel's not looking to make profit from any of this (which I've chatted with him about but to no avail.)
So indeed, all is well, and I hope it's not so long before another post.
Congrats on getting your photography on display! Very cool.
I am not surprised that your photos will be on display in an art gallery, you've got an amazing eye for photography. Congratulations!!
Your photos definitely belong in a gallery, they are excellent. You definitely have an eye. It's inspiring me to get out there and take more for myself. I'm glad to have three Manuel originals on my walls.
I'm glad that Jess is doing better. I see her status updates on Facebook regularly.
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