Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sitting at the Iowa80

We are sitting at the Iowa80 truckstop. 
Reportedly the worlds largest truck stop. 
You can check it out at www.iowa80truckstop.com 
I guess if we are going to be broke down and stuck somewhere this is the place to be. 
They have everything and anything you would want as a trucker or truckers wife or just a traveler. 
Restaurants and fast food galore. 
Very nice showers - we had one this morning. 
A barber shop and dentist. 
A weight room if you were so incline to work out. 
A laundry room with loads of machines. 
A movie theater. Which is nice its free and you can sit and watch movies all day if the mood strikes you I guess. 
All the shopping you could ever want. 
A TV room where you can just watch general TV. 
A truck museum. 
And the best part for me ... a wifi lounge with free wifi.
So that is how I will pass the majority of the day. 
Billy is in watching a movie and I will play here on the computer and kill some time. 
We should be able to take our truck into a shop about 20 miles away tomorrow morning so that we can get it fixed and get back on the road. Depending on how quick they are with the repairs we should be able to still make our delivery in Brighton, Colorado. 
We have had a string of bad luck with this truck which sucks but c'est lavie. 
Hopefully the company will either get it fixed right or get us into a different truck so we can run and do our job. 

Friday, December 6, 2013

First load completed

We are in Truckee, California this morning. We have dropped our first load and now waiting for the next. Hopefully we aren't waiting too long.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

New Adventure

Well here we are ready to head out on our new adventure. Billy made it thru orientation at May Trucking and we have our first load out to Truckee California. Haven't been west yet with him since I have been on the road so this will be fun. Hopefully this company does us good and we start making a paycheck. So far they seem great and it feels like a family atmosphere. Bill had success when he drove for them. Ride with us pop.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Home Time and a New Job

Well this was going to be week #4 with no pay for Billy. 
Actually week #3 that we owed England for him driving for them. 
Why are we paying them for him to work for them??? 
Not anymore we aren't!!!
When he got the second negative check we started looking at other trucking companies and we got the call last Friday that May Trucking wanted to hire him. 
This past weekend we were again hung up on a delivery that had us sitting somewhere for 22 hours so that was the frosting on the cupcake. 
Today we bobtailed the truck home from Pocatello Idaho and cleaned it all out and he took it in and turned it in and quit!!!
He will start orientation for May Trucking on December 3rd. 
Here's to hoping May will be more geared towards solo drivers and will get him the miles and money that he is wanting and needing. 
Not financing a truck at this point however.. he is just going to go straight company for awhile at least to catch up the bills and get us moved where we want to be. 
I will be going back out with him as soon as I am able to. 
We are home now for at least a week maybe more. 
This week is Thanksgiving so we will spend it with the girls and grandbabies and go into my parents house and spend some time with the family. 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

NYC

New York was crazy. I did not enjoy it at all. I was fine on the way in and crossing the George Washington bridge was breath taking. The lights on the river were beautiful. We got into the meat market to do our job. When we were done we decided to head for a rest area/truck wash in NJ for the night. HA! Easier said than done. It took us almost 4 hours to get out of NYC. Not because of traffic but because we were lost. Our GPS had a meltdown. The maps on our cell phones would not work. We went up over a bridge and we were in the left lanes and all of a sudden the road split. No trucks on the left. 13-1 clearance.  Guess who is taller than that? We got stopped and didnt hit anything. Waited patiently for New Yorks finest to come and stop traffic so we could back out and get on the right side. As soon as we get over the bridge we realize we are in downtown Manhattan with a truck and 53 foot trailer. Not good!!!! Finally we found the road out and made it to our destination. We both slept goos ROFL!!!!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Tornadoes?????

Driving through Illinois and Ohio today and there is severe weather. Tornado warnings like crazy. Well we have to stop to get lights on the trailer fixed. So we stop at a TA near Toledo Ohio. The shop says it will take about 30 minutes to get us in so we go inside to pee. As I am leaving the bathroom the manager of the TA comea in and says we have to stay in the bathroom because of the tornado. Then the power goes out. Now I have never ever been throufh anything like thisnin my life so I am a little nervous and apprehensive. Not really scared at this point until I am stuck in a bathroom with about 50 strangers. Kids crying, a lady on the phone with her daughter crying and another lady with her kids that live down the road and came up here because it is safer. Still I am ok until I turn and realize that I am all alone. Billy is gone. I get out of the bathroom and I start looking for him. He is missing. Can' t find him anywhere. I start to get butterflies in my stomach and get nervous. Tears right at the very brim of my eyes; knowing if anyone says anything to me they are going to spill over. I call him - his phone goes straight to voice mail. I text him and wait. Nothing. I call again - voicemail. I text again. Now I am getting angry mixed with all the other emotions not good. Finally on the 8th phone call he answers. I am so angry and hurt. Probably shouldnt be but in this moment I feel like I couldnt depend on him and honestly there is no worse feeling.I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

First truck stop shower

So we stopped tonight for Billy's break and we decided to shower. This was going to be my first truck stop shower. Lol I sound like I am losing my virginity or something. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a big nice room. Very clean. Nice shower with dual heads. We were able to get in get showered, get dressed and out in about 30 minutes or there abouts. Not like showering in the comfort of your own home but pretty close. The good thing too was the shower was free with our Love's reward points and they let us use one shower for both of us. Now my fear is no longer a fear.

Kinze plant

The Kinze plant in Iowa has these farm vehicles they decorate for Christmas with a tree at the top.

Yada yada yada

So we are driving along somewhere on I80 headed into Des Moines Iowa and we are having a conversation about Rod Stewart and I start sharing a story from high school and when I am done he has the nerve to look over and say " All I got out of that was yada yada yada " Grrrrrr men!!!!

Pictures...including Wyoming and Iowa

He tries so hard to be thoughtful LOL

He really does try to be thoughtful and caring. 
He went into the truck stop to get something to eat and brought a meal he thought we both could share. He was so excited and he opens it and I am like Uhhhhh I can't eat that .... his face fell .. he felt really bad. 
It was some kind of a smothered roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and it was all smothered in gravy. 
I can't eat that kind of stuff when we are out of the home because you never know what people put in their gravy or cook their meat in and I cannot have turkey based nothing so that was a no go for me. 
Poor guy he really felt bad!!!

Day 3 - Iowa

It is day #3 and we are sitting in Shelby Iowa at the Corn Crib. Very nice BP gas station and restaurant. 
Pulled in this morning and got some good sleep. 
Things are going great. 
I am so relaxed out here and just generally enjoying my time with Billy. We are talking and laughing and singing and just having a good time. 
I am learning very quickly how to get my shoes and sweater on .. get out of the truck .. run inside .. pee...wash hands and face and get back out and into the truck in a hurry LOL 
No shopping or window gazing for me. 
We have had some really good food while out here so far ... Stopped very early this morning at a place called Bosselman's. Grandma Max's restaurant ... I had a fried egg and bacon with cheese sandwich and some hasbrowns...Billy had stuffed biscuits and gravy ...they were stuffed with cheese, eggs and sausage. Then we drove for a few more hours and pulled into this place to sleep. 
Got my customary 6 hours of sleep and am awake now. Billy went back to sleep which is fine as he is the one that has to drive. 
So I am killing time on the laptop. 
Gonna try and pull some of the pictures off my phone so I can share with you some of the beauty I have seen. 
Not much so far since we do most of our driving at night. 

Thursday, November 14, 2013

First Morning

Ahhhh life on the road. 
I am quick to learn the very non glamorous side of the trucking life. 
Slept for 6+ hours which is more than enough for me on any given day and now very early morning has arrived and I must pee. 
We are a beef plant in the middle of nowhere northern Utah and there are no facilities here aside from maybe a restroom in the security guard shack who knows. Maybe they don't even let the public use it. Anyhow being female I cannot just jump out of the truck and do my thing and jump back in. Or can I?? 
I have not gotten that desperate yet and I am sure it will soon be light out and that opportunity will have passed. I wonder just how long one can hold it LOL 
I have yet to determine which is worse laying down or sitting up. I am thinking I need some kind of a bucket or something .. perhaps a coffee can like my mom used when we were growing up and camping and she had to go in the middle of the night ..hmmmmm 
If we are going to get stuck for time like this at other places I must confess I need to come up with something. 
Oh its going to be a long day indeed. 

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

First Trip

Ready for my first trip out with hubby. 
We are in the yard now and waiting for him to get the power inverter hooked up so we will be able to charge my laptop and other misc items. 
He really did spoil me and made sure I had everything I needed/wanted to come out with him. 
While sitting here in the yard he went to buy some wires for the power inverter and he was gone quite awhile of course while waiting I realized I needed to pee and had no clue where to go or what to do. 
Will be a new learning curve for me ... I am just excited to go .. lets just get this on the road and roll. I am way excited to see new sites and visit new states and what not. 
Plus spending lots of good quality time with hubby. 
There will be many many more blog entries about our life on the road. 
♥♥♥♥

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

I am going with him......

Well we have made a decision and I am going to go out on the road with hubby this go round. 
We plan on being out for about 5-6 weeks. 
Longest I will have ever been away from home and my daughters and the grandbabies. 
This will be an adventure for sure! 
Stay tuned for updates!!!!!

Monday, October 28, 2013

Being Tested

WOW!!! Are we ever being tested. 

2 weeks now been out on the road on his own. 
Hasn't made crap for money .. seems all these other things keep creeping up and being taken out of the money he is making but his bring home is not crap. 
Bills are falling farther and farther behind. 
Trying to rob peter to pay paul. 
I am going to have to get a job and try to  help out so now have to figure out what we are going to do about the mother in law. 

Relationship being tested as we have never been apart from each other like this. 
WOW!!! 
Didn't think it would be this hard! 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Today has been the hardest so far ....

For whatever reason today seems to be the hardest so far. 
I can't seem to stop thinking about him despite trying to distract myself and doing other things he just keeps popping in my head and I seem to be on the verge of tears everytime I think about him and him not being here sharing this Sunday with us. 
Day 4 of no coffee together in the morning .. Day 4 of no conversation....Day 4 of not knowing how he is doing and what is going on ... *sigh* This is a rough life. 
The only good thing is tomorrow is Monday and I should get a phone call telling me what time to pick him up and trust me I am going to make him lay in bed with me and hold me forever tomorrow night so we can catch up and I can just feel his arms around me. 
I will need it to be able to make it through the next week that he is gone. 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Day 4 .... is there life out there?!

We are winding down day 4 and no word from him ..... *sigh* he needs a cell phone ... we have NEVER gone this long without talking ... seeing each other yes a couple of times but never without talking. I just need to hear his voice. I just need to talk to him .... can I really be a truckers wife?!?! 

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

School is over and now he hits the road.

School is officially over for Billy. He hits the road tomorrow with his over the road trainer to get his 20k miles in. He leaves tomorrow morning. So I will be taking him into Salt Lake to drop him off to meet the guy. This guy that he is training with does a dedicated run so I guess they leave here in Utah somewhere and head to somewhere in Indiana and then back again to reset their hours so for awhile he will be home every few days I think. He had to go down to the truck stop this morning and get an advance from his ComData card so he would have some money to eat with over the next few days until payday. Good way to break myself in with not having him here is to have him only gone for a few days and then come home LOL talk about easing myself into it. 

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Sunday Morning ... Changes

This is the first Sunday morning we have not been able to sit and have coffee together in 15 years ... as I was sitting here in the quiet house this morning (just me and the dog) I felt so lonely. I am hoping over time I will adjust to this but man is it ever so hard and right now I should feel lucky .. for the next 10 days he still gets to come home at night .... How am I going to feel come the 21st when he is gone completely and not coming home at night ... the empty bed is going to be the hardest to deal with. 

Saturday, August 10, 2013

The beginning

This year has taken us on quite a journey. Me losing my job last November and really struggling to find another one and him being denied yet again for his disability has forced us through some really tough times and forced us to make some tough decisions..... with the latest being

He is going to be a Truck Driver. 

He has wanted to do this his whole life and just never did it. So in that respect it makes me happy that he will finally get to do something he has wanted for so long. 

On the other hand I am nervous about the coming days, months and years. I have never been alone. Yes the girls will be around and I have family but that's different ya know! Not like having your husband around. I will have to learn to do everything around the house and with the cars and everything else that needs to be done that normally he has done. Not that I don't think I can do it because I can but it will be different. Along with taking care of his mother who has dementia. You can check out my other blog "My lesson in Patience" to read about those adventures LOL 

I am so used to having him here to bounce things off .. to have conversations with ... to just spend time with and now I will be alone. It's a scary thought. My girls are grown they have their own lives and I think I will be spending alot of time alone with alot of time to reflect. 

I know there will be times I will be able to go out with him on the road and that's exciting ... I am looking forward to that! 

Right now he is in school. He is on day 6. 11 more days to go then he will graduate and head out on the road. So for now I am lucky I have him home at night but the impending changes have me nervous as all get out. 
Design Downloaded from free blogger layouts | free flash templates | vectors art download | Free Icons Download.