Goals for 2009

I'm keeping most of last years goals, but adding a couple new ones.

1. Keep reading (never a problem) and keep reading stuff out of my comfort zone.
Shouldn't be hard with the book club. I also follow several book blogs and they are the ones who give me ideas what to read. Thanks all you book bloggers!!!!!
And since we have the book club, I will be meeting new people. So, I took that goal off.

2. Continue to pay down debt. Currently at $29,000 appx. Want to be at $15,000 or less at this time next year.

3. Continue to do more cheap family stuff. We won't be doing many open houses in the cold weather. Reading to my son and playing family board games are on the list. Oh, and we can all play the Wii together!!

4. Volunteer more. Once the Humane Society is complete and on my side of town, my daughter and I will start going there again. In the meantime, I really need to find something else to do. Our church will be a good place to start.
5. Continue to go to church twice a month. I also want to get into a better habit of reading my daily devotional books. I have Daily Walk with God, and Simple Abundance.

6. Blog more pictures.

7. Exercise. I've started my habit this month. I've been getting on the Elliptical machine every morning. I want to do the Wii Fit at least 3 times a week. In the warmer months I will find a class at the YMCA to take. Eating better only takes you so far, the exercise will get you where you want to be.

8. Continue to eat healthy and watch portion sizes. Jenny Craig has really helped with this one. I honestly can not eat as much as I used to, there is just no room in my tummy anymore! I want to stick with their meals until I reach my goal weight, then I will start to practice on my own.

Update on 2008 goals

Well, I went back to read my 2008 goals. I forgot a couple, but it looks like I did pretty good!

1. Read more. CHECK! I've read a ton and really expanded what I read.
I read the Twilight series. I wasn't going to, but my friends basically forced me. I love them for that.
A Rare and Curious Gift is something I would not have picked, but I'm really enjoying it.
Jen Lancaster.............I really did not like her book. Something about a prada bag. I don't even want to remember the name.
Eat, Pray, Love..........I haven't finished it, but it was a really good book. I started it in the summer, and haven't finished it. I think it's a summer read. But, it is on our bookclub list for April so I need to get it done!
David Sedaris. I read Holidays on Ice and LOVED it! I'm defiantly going to check out his other books.
There were more, but I can't remember. They should be in my Library Thing sidebar.

2. Pay down debt. CHECK! We are doing great on this. We could have done better, but since we like to spend money so much.......we gave ourselves rewards. If we wouldn't have done the rewards, we would not have kept up with the payoffs. Our rewards for this year were the new Camera, Elliptical machine, TV, and Wii.
The camera gets tons of use, but I do need to get some pictures posted!!
The elliptical machine has been used alot. I did it every morning last week and plan to continue. It should soon be a habit!
The new TV was not planned, but a great deal we could not pass. We really wanted just a small one to put downstairs for the new Wii. But we found a 42" LCD for only $600. Just a couple hundred more than a smaller one. Paid in cash.

3. Do more family stuff. CHECK! We found a very fun and free activity this summer. We went to open houses on the weekends. As a family we discussed what features we wanted in a new house and what we did not like. We also discussed prices, advantages/disadvantages of certain areas, taxes, insurance, interest rates on loans, the national housing crisis, and anything else that came up. I think our kids have a new appreciation of our current house and now realize what goes into owning a home. They loved it!

4. Not get pissy about DH travels. This was so easy in the second part of the year. He hasn't gone anywhere since the summer.

5. Meet new people. CHECK! One of my friends started a book club. I expanded it by starting a meetup.com group for it. Lots of new people have joined, but only 2 have came to the meetings. I expect this to increase after the holidays. The 2 ladies I did meet were great! This also ties into me meeting my reading goal.

6. Stop watching so much TV. OOPS! Even with my schedule being so busy, I still watch alot of TV.

7. Volunteer more. OOPS! I promise that once the new Humane Society is built, I will do this. With the gas prices up this year and my schedule getting so full, it was really hard to drive all the way down there. I know there are other places that could use my time, but this is where I want to do it at.

8. Go to Church more. CHECK! We go twice a month. Our daughter even goes to the school at our church now. This time last year, I would have never thought that possible. It is such a great school and we have a completely new daughter out of the deal. It has been so good for her.

9. Blog more. I'm off and on for this one. But I think I'm doing ok. I just need to do more pictures!!

Full Disclosure: Credit Card Debt

Here we go:

I'm going to list each credit card, the balance a year ago, the balance today, and the interest paid and the rate.

Credit Card..... 120/30/07 .... 11/30/08....... Interest......... Rate
Wells......... $7,152.87....... $ 5,887.66....... $1,072.54 ....13.9%
Chase ........ $14,962.23 .....$11,066.55 ......$1,991.12 .....14.51%
BOA .......... $13,528.08 ..... $10,437.62 ....$2,364.24 .... 24.99%
1st Horizon.. $1,8890.93 ......$1,482.59 ......$199.17....... 11.99%
Lawyer .......... $1,438.54......... $ 0.00 ........ $183.40
DH Sears........ $1,867.85 .........$ 0.00......... $237.60
My Sears......... $915.11.......... $ 0.00 ......... $94.02
Home Depot ... $714.73.......... $ 0.00 ........$ 0.00........... 0%
Medical bills ...$2,000 appx.....$ 0.00 ..........unsure....... unsure

There it all is.
The 2 sears cards had the highest interest rate, so we paid those off first.
Home Depot was a no payment, no interest deal, so we paid that off right before the deal was over.
We could easily pay off the 1st Horizon in a few months, but it is our lowest interest rate, so we are paying $25 above the minimum due every month.
Wells is the second lowest interest rate, we pay $150 per month, about $30 above the min. due.
Chase and BOA used to be close in interest rate and in balance...........we were splitting the payments on them, much higher than is due.
Then BOA jacked our interest rate up, for no specific reason. So, we are paying about $50 above minimum for Chase, and aggressively trying to get the BOA paid off.

We want to pay less in interest over this whole deal, which is why we choose to pay the higher cards first. Most people decide to pay the smaller balance cards off first. But they end up paying more in interest.

My lawyer was on a payment plan of $50 per paycheck. I chose not to pay extra on that because it did not show up on my credit report. So, it wasn't affecting my credit score.

Our total balance owed last year: $44,470.34
Our total balance right now: $28,874.42
Interest paid: $ 6,142.08

Total Paid this year: $ 15,595.92

Wow! It just amazes me 1) how dumb we were and 2) how great we've done this month 3) what we could be doing with that money if we didn't have the debt!!! I mean seriously! We paid over $15,000! I could have a very nice savings account, furniture downstairs, a new washer and dryer, and both kids in private school (instead of just one). And we could have had a family vacation this year.

Our goal is to have the rest paid off by this time next year, but I don't know if that is going to happen. We will definitely have it all paid off within 1 1/2 years.

FAR FROM YOU release celebration and context!!

Lisa Schroeder, author of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, is celebrating the release of her upcoming YA novel, FAR FROM YOU, and hosting a contest with LOTS of great prizes!

For three days leading up to the book’s release date of December 23rd, you can watch VLOGs and hear some excerpts read from the book. The VLOG schedule is as follows:
Sunday, December 21st – Liv’s Book Reviews - http://livsbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 22nd – What Vanessa Reads - http://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, December 23rd – Lisa Schroeder, author - http://lisa-schroeder.livejournal.com/ AND http://myspace.com/writerlisa

Help spread the word, and you might win a fabulous prize!

Copy and paste THIS entire blog entry into your blog between now and December 21st, then come back to Lisa’s blog at either Livejournal OR Myspace and leave a comment with the link to your blog and you will get TWO enteries to win a number of prizes.

Wondering what you might win? Here is the list (there will be multiple winners):
~ An Advanced Review Copy of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, by Carrie Ryan
~ An Advanced Review Copy of SOMETHING, MAYBE, by Elizabeth Scott
~ Young adult novel GIRL, HERO by Carrie Jones
~ Young adult novel, THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Freitas
~ Young adult novel, UGLIES by Scott Westerfield
~ Pair of YA fairy tale retellings by Cameron Dokey (BELLE and BEFORE MIDNIGHT)
~ TWILIGHT movie soundtrack
~ $15.00 Barnes and Noble gift card along with some Harry & David’s chocolate moose munch
~ And of course, a signed copy of FAR FROM YOU

For more chances to win, watch one or all of the VLOGs and leave a comment on that vlogger’s page, and you get another entry. That means if you post the schedule on your blog AND comment on all three VLOGs, you can have FIVE entries for the contest!

A live drawing with winners announced will be done by Lisa Thursday morning, December 24th, in a special holiday VLOG.

A Rare and Curious Gift

I got this book at our gift exchange at our bookclub. We all grabbed a book from our shelves, wrapped it, and had a free gift!!

I received "A Rare and Curious Gift" by Pauline Holdstock. It is NOT my type of read........that award belongs to Dean Koontz.
But, since I am expanding my horizons on the book front, I was excited to get this. I've never read anything like this. I'm only a few chapters in, but I really like it.

So far it's about a girl who has odd skin. It is smooth, but both black and white, like a brindle dog. There are artists........gross men.......rich people........and that's as far as I've gotten! It takes place during the Italian Renaissance.

Thanks bookclub!!

One more Christmas gift.

I couldn't resist. I became obsessed! I had to have one!
The whole reason I agreed to get a Wii was because I wanted the Wii Fit.

We got the Wii. I thought I could wait for the Wii Fit. But after seeing that they were almost impossible to get at regular price, I became determined to get one by Christmas.

I took some time..........and lots of moments when I thought I had one, but it disappeared......but I have one now!!

I just ordered off of Amazon, for the regular price. Should be here by Christmas!!

If you are trying to get one, sign up for alerts.
www.wiialerts.com
amazon text sign up
slickdeals.net

There are more out there, but these were the most reliable.
I listed them in order of when they sent me the last deal.

My progress with Jenny Craig

This is going very well!!

Another thing I need to do during my winter break is get into the habit of exercising! I have NOT been doing that.

Just by eating their food I have lost around 15 pounds. My goal is 35 pounds, I'm almost halfway there!! I average about 2 pounds per week.

I'm sure once I start exercising, things will go along faster.

What am I going to do?

I'm done with classes until January. That means I have at least 3 weeks, maybe more, of............time? I don't know what that is like! I'm always over booking myself. I usually have 2 jobs, or a ton of volunteer stuff, or school....something that takes all my time.

During my break from summer to fall classes I painted my daughter room.

I was told that I could not do any projects during this break. I'm already caught up on reading all the blogs in my google reader. I've paid bills and balanced all of our accounts. I've gone over our budget. I guess I could do a credit card update.

The living room needs another good cleaning, but I can't do that now because all the boyscout popcorn is in here. Have to wait for that to get delivered.

I did buy a new entertainment table for the TV we are putting downstairs and a new bookcase. I've run out of shelves for all my books! Got them pretty cheap at walmart yesterday. The bookcase was on sale for $27 and the TV stand was only $55. Nothing fancy, it's just there to serve a purpose.

We bought a new TV last week. It is a 42" LCD HDTV. We had no intention of this, but came across a GREAT deal. It was only $600. And I LOVE it!
The original plan of a new TV came about because Santa is giving us a Wii for Christmas. Well, there is no room in the living room to play a Wii, so it has to go downstairs in the sparse family room. We were going to buy a cheap TV to put down there. But, we could only find stuff for around $300-400. I did NOT want to spend that kind of money for a TV in the basement. Then we saw this deal. So, we have a new nice TV upstairs, and the old one goes downstairs.

But, we needed something to put the TV on, hence the new TV stand.

This Christmas has cost us more than expected. But we used cash for everything. DH did some extra side work this month. Normally that money goes to extra credit card payments, but instead went to our splurges for the month. Well, some of it did, we still have some left over for a cc payment.

It has been almost one year since we've used a credit card!!!!

It's times like this that I think about all the stuff we could do if we didn't have the credit card debt. We pay at least $1,000 per month to our cc's. If we didn't have that, we could be putting that money in savings for all kinds of things. A bigger emergency savings, a new washer/dryer, a new couch, both kids in a better school instead of just one, and vacations!

Someday we will be debt free. And by that I mean only a mortgage. I like being able to itemize my taxes. Cars will be paid for, student loans paid, lots of money in savings, and being able to travel. Someday.

Now, back to my original reason for this post. What am I going to do for the next few weeks?

I did get a new book in our Christmas book exchange for our bookclub. Definitely not something I would have picked for myself, but that's the point! It does look interesting. A Rare and Curious Gift. I will have that read by new years.

I also have a book, Find More Time that I should read while I have the time! Then maybe I can handle next semester better!

I should also go over my goals that I set for last year and see how they fared. And set new ones for next year.

I will do a debt post.

Do some deep cleaning in the house.

Take the Christmas tree down. I neglected this last year. The tree is obviously not real, and in the family room in the basement. I never go down there except for laundry, so the tree really wasn't an issue. But, it will come down this time.

I have so many pictures to post! Last time I tried it didn't work and I was so frustrated that I gave up. I will be more patient this time and get them up!

Research some other blogging sites besides Google. I get frustrated with this one too much.

Well, that all sounds like a good place to start!!

Oh, and if anyone knows where I can get a Wii Fit, for a decent price, let me know!!

Done with classes!

I took four classes this semester.

Marketing - lasted 3 weekends and has been over for a bit. I got a B.

Business English - Teacher doesn't have all grades in, but I have an A right now.

Business Calculus - I finished with an A. We were able to take the final early!

Algebra - Took the final yesterday, grade has not been posted yet, but I currently have an A.

I hope those two teachers hurry up and get the final grades in! This stress is driving me nuts!

OH, and I must say that while I did survive the semester, I don't know if I survived the celebration of it being over. I JUST got out of bed. It is 12 pm.

I will know on Wednesday what classes I get to take next semester!!

AT&T. I don't like them.

I know I've ranted about Cox. Not it's AT&T's turn.

I've been with AT&T for awhile now, maybe 5 years or so. I used to have a phone, don't remember what it was because I've tried hard to forget it. It was one of those windows mobile devices (like a treo, but i think a step below). We were on the phone ALOT with them regarding problems. The problems were never really fixed, I just had to adjust and not use the phone for the reasons that I bought it. It was very upsetting.
And I threatened them a few times to change carriers. They flat out did not care if they lost my business or not.
But, because of the breaking contract fees and other things, I stayed with them. I was determined that once the contract was up, I would be taking my business elsewhere.

I decided what new phone I wanted, a blackberry. It was a specific blackberry, and at the time that I got it, AT&T was the only one who carried it. It was a very hard decision, but I ended up staying with AT&T because I wanted THAT specific phone.

I've had the phone since sometime this summer, maybe around May? And would be happy to report NO problems. But I can't do that. Last night we had problems.

You see, I like to text. I'm a very busy person and I hate to talk on the phone, usually don't have time for it, or I'm in a place where it's not appropriate. So, I text. I text my friends, my daughter, and most often my husband.

You know the husband texts, "can you pick up some milk" "don't forget about the game tonight" "i'm working late" etc....

Well, the husbands phone is his company phone. The company has decided to ban texting. They don't want to pay for the texting plans, and to use it without a plan is too expensive.

My first response was, "Well, they're not going to be happy because you're getting a new phone to text on and won't be carrying both around. They won't be able to get ahold of you!"

Have I ever mentioned that I'm not a rational person??

DH is rational. He has been finding a workaround to this problem. Since we both have blackberry's , he thougth we could use the blackberry messanger. We both have unlimited dataplans, so no big deal.

Well, my blackberry messenger would not work. DH finds another solution. You can install MSN messanger. Yay! Then I can chat with all my IM friends while I'm on my phone!

It became a big deal. It would not work on my phone.

Even though blackberry offers these services, AT&T won't support them. My rational is that if the phone you buy from a company offers services, then the place you bought it from should support them!!!

Anyways, now that I'm getting to the point. DH calls AT&T last night to find out why these things aren't working on my phone. He spends one hour and 52 minutes on the phone with them, and speaks to 5 people. Thank you honey, for being so patient.

The first person seemed to be going ok. But they couldn't find the problem and she wants to do a hard reset. The term "hard reset" scares the crap out of me. I had to do the with my old phone, or at least they told me I had to. Even though I backed up, I still lost stuff. It is a VERY time consuming task.

Wow, I started this post a few days ago.........and I can't seem to finish it. It is way too long!!

After a few more people that couldn't help us, we FINALLY got someone who did. I don't know what he did, but he made it all work. He said he ran some updates and other things..........he's not even sure exactly what he did to make it work. It could have been one thing, or a combination of things.

We it was fixed, I told DH to get his supervisor on the line to compliment him. So often we only ask for the boss in order to complain. I think offering compliments are a great thing to do. We do this in retail stores and restaurants too.

OK, that is it. Thank you DH and the guy that finally wanted to help us.

the week ahead

Ok, here goes. I love how inconsistent I am with this :(

Today is Sunday. I worked on my Calculus until I couldn't figure anything else out. My final is on Wednesday. I started and completed my research paper and powerpoint for the oral presentation. My goal for tomorrow is to loose my voice so I can't do it. I should be working on some of my Algebra right now, but my brain hurts and I have more time in that class.

Monday.
Be sure to grab all homework/food for the day, as I won't be home until bedtime.
Take Alex to school, be at work by 8:15.
11:00, leave for class, go to Calculus and then Algebra. Last day of Calculus before the Final.
1:45 be back at work.
5:00 Leave for Alex's basketball game
6:30 hope the game is over so I can head to class.
DH is taking son to boy scouts.
7:00 English. Present oral report and turn in paper.
9:30 go home and crash.

Tuesday.
For some reason my italic and bold would not turn off there.
Alex to school and be to work by 8:15.
12:00 leave for Algebra class
1:45 be back to work
6:45, leave work, pick up Alex from basketball practice
7:15 eat supper, study for Calculus final, work on Algebra problems
If you're wondering why I am taking Calculus and Algebra at the same time, don't ask me. My only answer is that my advisor sucks.

Wednesday
what is up with this bold thing??
Again, Alex to school and maybe be at work by 8:15. I may take off to study.
11:00 leave for class
11:30 Calculus Final
12:30 Algebra
1:45 back to work
6:00 home, eat and study for Algebra final. check grades for Calculus final and see if I have to retake it. It's pretty awesome of our teacher to give us this option!!!

Thursday
Alex to school, work by 8:15
12:00 leave for Algebra class.
1:45 back to work
5:15 Jenny Craig to weigh in, crap I'm supposed to exercise 2ce this week. I promise I will get up early and do this!!!
Run my food home to the freezer and grab my book for bookclub! Oh, another reminder to myself, I need to find a book for the Christmas book mystery exchange!!
630-8 DH is going to have to take/pick up Alex from practice
7:00 bookclub at Sarah's. We are reading Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. This is the first of his books that I have read, and I am loving it. Thanks to Cassie for picking such a short and easy read during this busy time of year!!
hopefully home by 9:30 to sleep

Friday
Alex to school
There is study day at school today, depending on how I am feeling about Algebra and if I have to retake my Calculus, I may attend this. There will be teachers going over things in rooms and others available to help with particular problems.
12:00 I do have to be to work by this time if I take the morning off. We have a Trust signing this afternoon so I can't skip.
6:00 head home, study for Algebra final and maybe Calculus.
Alex has a birthday party to go to from 7-9:30, but DH can take her

Saturday
9:00 Alex basketball game
1:00 Algebra final
9:00 hopefully I have some friends to take me out for a drink?!?!?!

Twilight - the movie

Well, it's taken me awhile to get to this post. I think it's because I've had to think really hard about how I felt about it. I know that books are ALWAYS better than the movie.

The second movie that my husband and I went to was Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. I've been a Stephen King fan since I started reading. Anyways, I'm really surprised my husband saw me again after that movie. The beginning wasn't all that bad, but by the end I was literally yelling (under my breath) at the screen. The ending was HORRIBLE!!! But, he did see me again, and now he's stuck for life.

Back to Twilight. We went on opening night. A group of about ten 30 year olds. The showing was at 10:15 and we got there at 9. The line was already going out to the parking lot, and it was cold.

I did not like the movie. I was the only one in our group that felt that way. I guess my expectations were too high. The movie was really choppy. I don't feel like they got even 1/2 the story in.
I was able to laugh at the cheesy parts, there was nothing else to do but laugh!

But, they left way too much out! There was no character development. We have no idea what anyone else is like. Rosemarie was the least talked about in the book and the most developed in the movie. WTH?!?!?

So, I had expected to like it and promised to take my daughter on Sunday. We made a family event and DH and son went to.

Son liked it the most, DH wasn't sure. Neither of them have read the book. Daughter was like me, she wanted character development. I think this is the first movie she has watched after reading the book. I tried to warn her not to compare the two, but she did.

Since my thoughts were so low, I actually enjoyed it the second time!

I am still excited for the second movie. I just hope the budget is bigger and the movie is longer. I want more character development. They did so good in the book!

Oh, and I was talking to the in-laws foreign exchange student last night. She saw the movie and loved it, but hasn't read the books. So, I immediately bought her all 4 for Christmas. (another reason for the over budget)

Our Christmas budget

I thought I was doing great with our budget for Christmas. We budgeted $800. This is for our two kids, and 9 other adults. We are now at $986. Oops.

I forgot to put the presents to us from the kids, stocking stuffers and the grandparents when I did the budget.

We averaged $80/couple, $50/grandparent, $100/kid, $100 in family Santa gifts/stockings, and $300 for the big Santa gift. (we normally don't do a big Santa gift, but caved in this year)

Our big Santa gift this year is the Wii. We played it a few times at friends houses and loved it. The Wii fit is awesome!! I can't wait to play with it!

So, any money that DH gets from his side business this month will go to our Christmas oops, instead of towards the credit card bills.

Coupon!!

B&N Coupon Code
Enjoy Extra Savings at Barnes & Noble
Save 15% on one item with Coupon Code: M8H7N3F
The 15% discount will be applied to the most expensive eligible item in the order (exclusions may apply).
Run dates: 11/25-12/02

I hosted our book club tonight!

It was a very good time. We read "Water for Elephants" . I'm not a good book reviewer, so I won't bore you with that. But, the book was very good. We were able to stay on topic for 40 minutes! Then we wondered off to Twilight and other topics.

I have people to host the next 4 months. We will be reading Holidays on Ice, Digging to America, The Club Dumas, and Eat, Pray, Love.

I only have to buy one of those! The rest were picked from my 'to be read pile'.

Good books, good wine, and great friends. What more could a girl ask for??

More Twilight....Eclipse

I managed to borrow a friends copy of Eclipse. It was killing me to wait on Amazon. I got it Saturday night and was finished by 4 on Sunday.

I don't know how Stephanie Meyer does it, but damn...she does it well!

I'm now looking for someone with book 4 because I don't want to wait for the mail!!

I was informed last night that was alot of disappointment about book 4. Some people were even demanding refunds?? Well, I really hope I like it. I don't see how I couldn't, the first 3 were amazing. I can't remember the last book that I couldn't put down like that.

I'll let y'all know how it goes!

BTW....I'm torn between Jacob and Edward. I started leaning more towards Jacob in this book..........

blogger.com does not like me

I was going to post some pictures of Halloween. But Blogger isn't uploading them. This isn't the first time either. It's getting really old.

Last time that I did get some pictures to upload, they were all sideways and I couldn't fix them.

Are there other options out there? Other blogging sites that I could keep my same name?

Do others have these problems?

Can we talk about Twilight???

I am obsessed!! Really, I am.
I wasn't even going to read them. I mean come on, vampires? So not my thing. Romance? not at all.
But I have these friends. And these friends have been going on about these books. And these friends are going to the movie on opening night.
I wanted to go to the movie with them. So, I gave in. I told them, since I knew I wouldn't like it, that I would borrow a book and read it.
What do these friends do? They say NO! I couldn't borrow anyone's book because they were all reading them for the SECOND time!
What kind of friends do I have??
Reading a book for a second time? In such a short time period? INSANE. There are very few books that deserve being read more than one, and it's usually good to put a few years time span in there.

Anyways, I got on Amazon and saw that the first 2 books in the series were only $6. So I ordered them both. Oh, and to get the free shipping I also grabbed something off my wishlist. I don't recall what.

The books came sometime last week. After we were done trick-or-treating on Friday night, I decided to start the first book.
By the time our next President was announced on Tuesday, I was done with the SECOND book!!! And these are big books! Both over 500 pages.

I did really good Saturday. I made sure I followed my homework schedule and did any chores around the house that needed done. But, I stayed up until around 2 am reading.
By Monday my schedule was shot. I had a paper due Monday night. I started it right before class, and finished it. After class I was supposed to work on algebra. I didn't. On Tuesday night I was supposed to do more Algebra. I didn't.

So, now I am behind in Algebra. My test is tomorrow. I did study for it tonight.
Only because books 3 and 4 haven't arrived. I am behind 4 assignments. They aren't due until Nov. 14th, but I like to keep up with the chapters. We are almost done with chapter 2, and I still have homework from chapter 1. Not good.

Hopefully I won't get 3 and 4 until next week so that I can catch up on homework. I know if they get here sooner, I will be screwed.
I have no control
I am obsessed

the week ahead

I haven't done this in awhile, but it did me some good when I did do it.

For this weekend:
I have about 20 episodes of my soaps to watch. I really should give this up! But, I'm multitasking and doing this and my homework at the same time.

I have an English paper to write.
English quiz to study for.
I've completed 2, and have 3 Algebra assignments left to complete by Monday.
I have a Calculus test to study for.

Balance bank accounts, and make sure bills are set to be paid. I love online banking!!

I want to read more of Twilight. I started is last night after taking the kids out for Halloween. I read 217 pages before I made myself put it up and go to sleep. I'm forcing myself to finish my homework before I touch it again.

Today: I'm working on all of the above. Son has a birthday party to go to, then we are off to in-laws Church for a Thanksgiving dinner.

Sunday:
Bible study and church, then groceries and working on all of the above.

Monday:
work, both algebra and calculus class, back to work, home for a quick bite to eat, drop son off at boy scouts, daughter off at basketball practice, then off to English class. Maybe work on some homework when I get home. Read myself to sleep, the goal being to finish Twilight that night.

Tuesday:
work, algebra, back to work. I get the evening at home. I've already voted, so I will have time to do homework and start on Twilight book II.

Wednesday:
work, calc. and algebra, then take daughter to orthodontist to get braces put on. I have to go to confirmation class with her, but should be able to study for the two tests that I have on Friday. Read myself to sleep. I want to have all the Twilight books done before the movie comes out.
Thank goodness I finished my book club book early!!

Thursday:
work, algebra, work, stop by Jenny Craig for weigh-in and meals, and then home for the evening. Daughter has practice, but DH should be able to take her. That way I can make sure I got all my homework done and am well studied for the two tests.

Friday:
work, calc and alg. tests, back to work. Then take kids to their dads for the weekend. I will spend the night relaxing and reading, maybe even a glass of wine (or two).

October update

Jenny Craig has been good to me. I have lost 5 pounds in 3 weeks. That is just with the food, as I haven't started exercising yet. I hope to make myself start that soon.

_________________________________________________________________

Our yard work is done!! I know, you want pictures.

_________________________________________________________________

My new camera is great. I haven't had time to download any pictures, but hope to soon.

_________________________________________________________________

We will be heading to a friends soon for a pumpkin carving party!!

_________________________________________________________________

Is there anything else?

_________________________________________________________________

First book club went great! Now I'm reading for the next one. I was doing a chapter a night, until last night. Last night I couldn't put it down until it was done. Great book!!
Water for Elephants.

__________________________________________________________________

School is going. Marketing class is over. Now I just have Calculus, Algebra and Business English. Calculus is kicking my butt, but the other 2 are ok. I really should have finished Algebra before starting Calc. Oh well.

___________________________________________________________________

Jenny Craig

I started the program yesterday. So far the food tastes great. They put me on the 1200 calorie meal. I think I was doing around 3-4,000 before. I never really paid attention and I know my portions were way to large.

Yesterday was a decent day. I pretty much stuck to the menu, except there was some cookie dough in the fridge that I couldn't resist. I also played Tennis. DH used to play all the time, but that was a first for me. I wanted to go again today, but he says it is to windy. So, we're heading off to buy him a Racquetball racket and we'll play that instead.
I think those are easier for me because they really don't seem like the dreaded 'exercise'. And I tend to be pretty competitive.

Sorry, I've teased you with my new camera and not put up any pictures from it! Things have been busy with my schoolwork and the kids.
Daughters volleyball tournament started today, so we'll be doing that all next week.

Canon Rebel XSi

That is my new best friend. I will be posting pictures soon........I'm not sure where it even start with it!!

My daughters 'finally' finished room?
Our progress on the back yard project?
The dogs?
My daughters volleyball games?
Random pictures of the TV? I was testing how fast I could take pictures.
The dogs?
Random stuff in my house? Testing the zoom.

I'm a changed person. Don't expect to see me without it. Oh, unless DH wins and gets it for the day.

Why is it when.........

I ask if you want tea, pop or water................you say you want coffee??

One of the things I hate about my job is seating clients. Not because I hate seating them, but because I hate coffee. I have never once offered coffee, but do you know how many people ask for it anyway?

I hate coffee. I hate the taste and I especially hate the smell.

When I was pregnant with my daughter I worked in a Bakery. I was 18. The smell made me throw up every morning. I was lucky enough that the afternoon lady traded me shifts until I was able to stop getting sick.

Anyways, I hate coffee.

Inner Peace

So, we all know I've been craving some of this "Inner Peace" stuff lately. I received this in an email and while I didn't get any peace, I did get a good laugh! Maybe I should actually do it??


CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES
I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.' So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now.Pass this on to those whom you think might be in need of inner peace.

I won!!

Check out this link to A Peek at My Bookshelf! I won on day 5, Bringing Home the Prodigals.

And there are many more books that she is giving away, at least one every day for the rest of the month!! I have a link on my side bar so you can check it out every day!!

Thanks Deena!

It's time for some football!!

Just a short post to get geared up!

My #1 team is the Broncos. This is the team that I have rooted for since I started rooting for football. When I was growing up, my mom was a Raiders fan, my step-dad a Chiefs fan, and I was the Broncos fan. Football season was always interesting!
Now, my husband is a Chiefs fan. Some new interesting times. When our teams play each other, we have to watch the game in public, just to make sure we don't say or do anything that will lead us to divorce court! We've been to KC twice to watch them play Denver, but haven't made it to Denver yet.

A couple years ago, I started paying attention to the Colts. They have earned my cheers and are my #2 team. I know that you should only have 1 team, but I like to break the rules.

This year I have a 3rd team to cheer for. It's just a spite thing and I have no real reason to cheer for them, expect that it's just the way I do things. This year I have a #3 team, New York Jets. I feel for Farve and I want him to say "Fuck You, I am worthy!" And after today's game, that looks possible! I usually like the underdog. (hence the Broncos being my lifetime #1 team).

Do you want to win 10 books?

If so, then head over here to enter!

1. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World By Vicky Myron , Bret Witter ISBN: 0446407410 $19.99 Audio book, eBook, large print also available

2. The Book of Calamities: Five Questions About Suffering and Its Meaning

By Peter Trachtenberg ISBN: 0316158798, $23.99 eBook also available

3. Say You’re One of Them By Uwem Akpan ISBN: 0316113786 $23.99 Audio Book, eBook available

4. Bo’s Lasting Lessons: The Legendary Coach Teaches the Timeless Fundamentals of Leadership By Bo Schembechler , John Bacon $13.99 ISBN: 044658200X Audio book, ebook also available

5. Knowing Right from Wrong: A Christian Guide to Conscience By Fr. Thomas D. Williams $19.99 ISBN: 0446582018 eBook also available

6. Titanic’s Last Secrets: The Further Adventures of Shadow Divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler By Brad Matsen $27.99 ISBN: 0446582050 Audio book, ebook also available

7. A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative By Roger von Oech (25th Anniversary) $16.99 ISBN: 0446404667

8. Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs To Know By John Maxwell $9.95 ISBN: 0446578096 Audio book, Audio book, ebook also available

9. The Self-Esteem Trap: Raising Confident and Compassionate Kids in an Age of Self-Importance By Polly Young-Eisendrath $25.99 ISBN: 0316013110 Audio book, ebook also available

10. Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey By William Least Heat-Moon $27.99 ISBN: 0316110256 Audio book, ebook, large print also available

What my house looked like this morning

OK, turn your head to the side. I swear blogger is doing this!! Anyways, this is my room. With a bunch of daughters crap in it.
Still my room.
Our kitchen table.
The entryway.
And my son's room. Things are changing now. They are cleaning her carpet and once it dries all of her stuff goes back to her room!!!

The second color!

How's that look???
When we took the tape off the ceiling, parts of the ceiling came with it. Not just the paint, but the old drywall tape came off. I have no idea what we are going to do. Right now we are moving on and getting the house back in order. We will have to deal with this later. It did this all around the room.

The green took several coats. I think 4? USE TINTED PRIMER!!!!

Priming and the first color.

This shows more of the holes we had to patch.
Another picture that blogger rotated!! We started priming. NO MATTER what the guy at Home Depot tells you, get tinted primer. And if you have questions, call the # on the paint can. They know what they are talking about.
And here is the first color!! I covered pretty well. Only two coats.
Isn't is nice?? And we got the new fan put up. Oh, and the light covers!

Preparing to paint daughters room.

This is very annoying. For whatever reason, blogger rotated some of my pictures. And I can't drag them to be in order.
Well, the first picture is of her ceiling. See the 'cottage cheese' ceiling? I hate those!! It will be gone soon. Oh, and those lights? They will be gone too.

Here is a toy I picked up. It doesn't work that great. But, it does lessen some of the mess.
I'm doing some finishing touches.
That is one of her walls. That is how many fickin' holes were in her walls.
We put in recessed lighting.
Some of her crap in the hallway.
More of her crap in the entry way.
And more of her crap in my sons' room.

What her room looked like. Why did it rotate?????

Peace and Serenity.

I need me some of that!
Seriously, I have so much going on right now, and I've had a few little breakdowns along the way. I am closing my business, but figuring out how to give everyone's keys back is crazy! I don't even know how many keys I have, around 100 if I had to guess. But, that part of my life is almost over.

The painting of my daughters room is almost over. 3 weeks late. So, my house should be back to order by tomorrow. I never realized how a disorganized home could create such a bad feeling in a person. I told my kids that they HAD to keep the kitchen counters cleared off because it was the only bit of sanity I had in the house.

I feel I need to find my center, my balance. Does that make sense? I'm pretty sure I've heard something like that somewhere. How does one go about doing this?

Where can I find my calm?

I have a couple daily mediation type books. Maybe I should find the time to read them. I have "Daily walk with God", "Purpose Driven Life" ( i tried to read that, but didn't like it. Maybe I could try again, it was 5 years ago) and another one that I don't see on my shelf right now. I think it may be in the bedroom.

Right now, I think I'm going to get the kids started on chores, and get laundry sorted. My room is a mess since daughters stuff is all over it...........Maybe with my house back in order, I can feel like my life is somewhat in order.

More free books!!

Have you noticed this has turned into a book giveaway blog? Quit a change from the beginning of the year.

Anyways, head over here to enter!!

Who else does this??

Track your package

Date
Time
Location
Event Details

August 27, 2008
08:58:00 AM
COMMERCE CITY CO US
Arrival Scan

August 27, 2008
12:08:00 AM
SALT LAKE CITY UT US
Departure Scan

August 26, 2008
01:07:00 PM
SALT LAKE CITY UT US
Arrival Scan

August 26, 2008
01:18:00 AM
SPARKS NV US
Departure Scan

August 25, 2008
01:18:00 PM
SPARKS NV US
Shipment received by carrier

August 22, 2008
02:16:03 AM
US
Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit

I stalk amamzon when I know my package is on its way!!! I'm just too excited to get new books! They are in Colorado now!

Chickenpox

Let's discuss.

Do you remember when you were a kid? If you're friend had chickenpox and you had not yet had that pleasure, your parents were rushing you over to the chickenpox infected home. They WANTED you to get the chickenpox. Because the earlier you got them, the better.
When we were growing up, it wasn't a matter of if you would get them, it was a matter of when. So, let's just get it over with.

I went through about 12 years of my life thinking I wasn't going to get them. I had some immunity that other kids didn't. How lucky could I be. And hey, my mother never had them, so I wasn't too far off in this thinking. But, the week of July 4th, when I was 12 years old, I got them. And I got them bad. And my mom wouldn't take care of me because she didn't want them. They are deadly in older people, and the older you are when you get them, the worse they are. Which is why parents rushed their kids over to friends' houses to be infected.

Then around 12-15 years ago (I'm making that up, I have no idea how long ago), they came up with a vaccine for this horribly itchy, scar causing stuff. My daughter got the vaccine. And my son got it. And then sometime after that, the chickenpox vaccine people decided that another round was needed later on. Somehow my kids fell through the cracks on this second round.

So, my daughter gets this rash. I have no idea what it is, so I have DH take her to the Dr. this morning. He calls me back to say that daughter is being reported to the Health Department. WTF?!?!? All these thoughts are running through my head, what could it possibly be??

Chickenpox.

We're taking son to get his second dosage today. Too late for daughter. At 12 years old, just like her mother, she gets them. At least she doesn't have to miss out on the Fourth of July!!

And, she is quarantined. It's not like it used to be. She can't go anywhere. The school had to put up notices and send letters home to parents letting them know that their kids have been exposed to the horrible chickenpox.

My week ahead

Well, here is my week ahead post……….
Yesterday I went to work, Calculus class, and Business English. I have to tell you my thoughts about this Business English class.

I read the Syllabus online before going to class, and thinking “what a witch!” It was tough and very strict. When I got to class I was expecting an old woman whose been doing this since before I was born and thought the youth today were horrible and that she was the one to put them on their place.
But, what walked in was not an old woman. It was some Mario Lopez wannabe who looked 10 years younger than I am. Yes, I have a newbie teacher. And he is strict. And he probably doesn’t give a shit that I work full time and have two kids and a husband to take care of. (some teachers do care and I have shamelessly received empathy from them). I hate writing, I hate English. I am always second guessing everything I write. “did I say it correctly?, am I going to be made fun of because I wrote bare instead of bear? and on and on…………” I took English I in 1999 and II in 2002. It’s been awhile since I’ve brushed up on my grammar and whatnot. So, I’m probably not going to do well in Mr. Mario Lopez Wannabe’s Strict English Class.

I think that was my Monday.

Today I was to work all day. Then do homework tonight. Hopefully I will get it done so I have time to read some of Eat, Pray, Love. But, I think my daughter might have chicken pox. DH has her at the Dr. right now.

In my Marketing class we have a team project to do. About the 4 P’s of Marketing, Price, Place, Promotion, and Product. So, I will be reading a lot on those and coming up with questions for us to use for our interview of the VP of Marketing of Fidelity Bank.

Wednesday I have to work and have Calculus. I should have plenty of reading time after the kids are in bed. I hope my new book for the new book club arrives soon so that I can get started on it.

Thursday is work all day. Then daughter has a mandatory parent meeting at her new school. I don’t think I’ve talked about her new school………..I’ll do that soon.

Friday is work, Calculus Class (if anyone out there is a calc whiz, let me know!!) and family night. We will be getting pizza from our fave pizza place around the corner and playing games.

I’m really hoping DH is going to get daughters room finished this week. I don’t have time to deal with it, it was supposed to be done before school started.

I’m hoping this weekend to get caught up and maybe ahead on some of my class work.

Win a book contests

Here are some links of some give-aways I came across today.

TESTIMONY by Anita Shreve

and

A Summer Affair

Even if you don't want the book, you should still check out these sites!!

I won a book!!

I'm so excited to be getting a new book! Thanks Cheryl!

I will be receiving Mr. McFadyen's The Face of Death.

A review of my New Years goals.

Without looking at them, I would like the think that I have done fairly well. In January, I posted a list of goals, things I wanted to improve in, start doing, etc.... I tried to pick some that were reasonable.

Now, lets see how I'm doing.


1. Read more. I think I've done well with this one. I'm not sure how many books I've read, I guess I could start tracking that. But, I know I've tried several new authors and I have enjoyed them all.

2. Pay down debt. We have done great with this one!! And we continue to work on this one. It will be a little harder now that I have closed my business and that income is gone, but we will still stay on track.


3. Do more family oriented stuff. We've been spending more time playing games and stuff. We also came up with a fun and free activity that we have been doing on Sunday afternoons. We go to open houses. The kids love it! We started this because we wanted to see some of the other houses in our area and compare them to ours. We are doing several home improvements and want to make sure they are reasonable for our area. We also want to get an idea what we can list our house for when the time comes. So far things are looking good!

4. Try not to get pissy with DH on all the traveling he is going to be doing. He's not here to ask, but I think I have been better.

5. Meet more people. Yes, I have meet some new people.

6. Stop watching so much TV. TiVo makes this really hard.

7. Volunteer more. No, I still suck at this one.

8. Start going to church. Yes, we have been going once or twice a month. I'm even transferring my membership from my home church. That is huge for me.

The first book club book.

I think this was where I was originally going with the previous post, but obviously got sidetracked.

Here is our first book we will be reading! It looks like a very good read!
When I ordered this through Amazon, I was not really paying attention. Apparently I had some other items in my shopping cart. And when I thought I was just getting this one book, I bought some others that I was thinking about. In all, it was just under $100. Oops! Oh well, I will get to them eventually.

Here is the list that I bought:

Items not yet shipped:
Shipping estimate: August 28, 2008

1 of: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor, Revised Edition Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC 1 of: My Heart Remembers Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC 1 of: Water for Elephants: A Novel Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC 1 of: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC

Items shipping soon:
Shipping estimate: August 28, 2008

• 1 of: The Story of the World: Activity Book 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor, Third Edition
  Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
• 1 of: The Lace Reader: A Novel
  Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
• 1 of: Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unempl

I'm joining a IRL Bookclub!!

A good friend of mine is starting up a book club, and I'm joining in. I've never been part of a book club before and I'm really excited. I've tired, but always chickened out because of my shyness. It's really hard for me to meet new people, I have problems carrying on conversations.

Of course my friends look at me and say "Shy? You? NO way, the farthest from shy" I guess they don't remember when we first met and I didn't say anything. Now, once I get to know someone I really don't shut-up. I've been working hard on this shyness thing.

I think it all started when I joined the meetup group for Girls' Night. I remember that first night like it was yesterday. I almost didn't go.

Ok, I guess I'm not on the book club thing, but I will get back to it, because I think this all ties in.

So, my first girls' night out. It was at Crown Uptown. A musical. Footloose. I love Footloose, so I was excited. I had been living here for a few years and didn't really have any friends. I was so nervous. There was a message on the meetup board about attire. I had been to Crown Uptown and knew you didn't really need to dress up............but I wasn't about to post that, being a newbie and all. So, everyone else decided we needed to dress up. Now this is back when I was pet sitting full time, and I had gained some weight. So, I really didn't have much to wear, my wardrobe consisted of jeans and tee shirts, and a bunch of stuff that didn't fit. I found a skirt and jacket that fit, but felt completely stupid. I showed up and walked down to our table. There were other newbies...........I sat next to Cassie (she went shopping and bought a new wrap that was very pretty) I did my best to participate in conversation, but I know I was quiet. I remember Rebekah, Anna, Jen and Serena. There were others there, but I don't remember who.

This was on February 17, 2007. 1 1/2 years ago.

The show was great and afterwards some of us walked across the street to a dive bar. Here is where I felt embarrassed again. We put our purses in the middle of the table. Everyone had these cute LITTLE purses, and mine was big. Why would this embarrass me? I obviously have issues. Do you know what I did the next day? Yep, I bought two small purses to use on Girls' Night Out. Wow.

So, I remember the night I met those girls. I also remember the night I met the woman who cornered me and would not stop talking about breastfeeding. Breastfeeding. Her 2 year old. Yes, I said breastfeeding her 2 year old. He was almost 3, and she thought she might need to cut back. Cut back on breastfeeding her almost 3 year old. I don't remember her name, and I never saw her again. This was the St. Patricks day house party. It was a very successful party. Lot's of girls there. This was the night I met Autumn and Tammy. And made friends with Serena. There was drama that night, but I won't go into that now, maybe later. It's a funny story.

I remember my first conversation with Tammy. She brought the guacamole dip. I was staring at it, trying to decide if I should eat it. I'm a very picky eater. As I was staring at this dish, Tammy came up and said "It's Guacamole." She was looking at me like I was crazy. I am somewhat crazy, but I didn't want her to know this. So, I ate it. And OMG, it was good!!! It's one of my favorite appetizers now. Thank you Tammy! I don't know how I went through 30 years of my life without guac.

Ok, so those were my first two events, and 1 1/2 years later and I'm still going strong. I've made some great friends, and I've even had conversations on the phone!! Mostly with Amy, but still, I can do it. I hate it, but I can do it.

Does anyone else HATE talking on the phone?? I cringe when the damn thing rings.

Back to the book club. I'm really excited about this, and I hope to meet new people. I set that personal goal 1 1/2 years ago and I think I'm doing well. I want to continue to meet new people. I love the friends that I have made and want to make more.

Back to the book club again. I'm nervous, even though I will know most of the people there. I'm usually the loudmouth, the class clown maybe? Now that I'm comfortable around these people, I just say whatever comes to mind. Sometimes it comes out wrong, or too loud, or at the wrong time. But, they usually laugh. Or maybe they really want to run and hide. Which brings up a funny story from last night. It was Sarah's wedding. I missed the wedding because of class, but went to the reception. Remember how stressed I am?? Yeah. So, I had a little too much to drink and apparently was giving the DJ a hard time at the end of the night. So, the DJ asks (on the mic) "who invited her?" Not in a bad way, in a funny way. All my friends yell "the bride". As the bride is walking up the dance floor. So he says "you invited Her??" Sarah gives me a hug and says "OH, she's just drunk"
Ok, so as I type that it really isn't that funny. One of those 'you had to be there' moments.

Back to the book club again. Since I'm usually the funny one, do I have to be serious in a book club? What if I don't sound 'intelligent' enough?? What if they're like "Stephanie can you just shut-up for awhile?" What if I don't get the book read in time? What if I hate the book and everyone else loves it and I don't want to admit my true opinions in fear of them thinking "we don't want her again".
Yes, these are the things that I worry about. Kind of ironic since I started this post out with my shyness problem and not being able to talk to people. I obviously have issues.

My weekend will suck.

Ok, so classes started today. I got online this morning to print the syllabus's and OMG! I think I had a heart attack.
I have a weekend class, Marketing. It is on Friday 5-9 pm, Saturday 9-5, and Sunday 1-5 pm. It is three weekends. I just go my books the other day, hadn't even opened them.

I have an exam on Sunday over 8 chapters!!!

And I have a wedding to go to on Saturday. OMG.

Needless to say, I did not return to work after my Calculus class at noon.

I went home to read some Marketing chapters. I started Chapter 1 and fell asleep. Now I am blogging and class starts in 45 minutes.

Anyways, that is what I will be doing this weekend.

Weekly menus

I'm pretty good at doing this during the school year, but I completely fail in the summer. I just went through the house and thought I was making a menu through next week.
In my house, right now, we have stuff to make supper every weeknight, and breakfast, lunch and supper on the weekends until...................



September 14th!!

I will need to go buy 2 lbs of hamburger and one loaf of garlic bread, but that's it! WOW!!

Another book giveaway...

Wow, I never realized there were so many of these out there!

This is for Sweet Life. The review looks good!!

My week ahead............

Ok, so today is Tuesday, and I came across this blog and it encouraged me to put my week down on paper (or in this day and age, the Internet) I've kind of done this on my own a few times, but never really stuck with it.......

Tuesday........I already took my daughter to her new school, first day. I took the morning off work because she only has a half day and I will be picking her up at 11:30. I have a lot of stuff to do during this little 'break' i have.
I drafted my 'closing my business' letter
I made labels to send said letter to all my clients
I am in the process of catching up on all the blogs I read.
I need to do payroll
I need to get a bank deposit ready and take it to the bank
I need to balance my checking account.
I need to make a 'weekly' menu for our house.
I did call the Dr. and make an appointment for a sports physical for my daughter, she decided to play volleyball.
I have some forms I need to fill out for both kids' schools.
Then I need to pick up my daughter, feed her, and take her to work with me. (she did a bunch of filing for me yesterday, very nice!)
After work, I need to go by Parker and buy her some uniforms.
Then we will come home, eat supper and I will continue to work on her room.
No reading for today

Wednesday.
A full day of work.
Working on daughters room
Hopefully have some time to read.
Finish stuff from Tuesday's list that I didn't get done because I was typing this.
Remember to have son take trash out.

Thursday.
A full day of work
Hopefully FINISH daughters room
Get ready for college classes that start tomorrow

Friday.
I have 3 pet sits today
A full day of work
Calculus class
Marketing class
DH will take kids to their dads for the weekend while I am in class

There we go!! Let's see if this works out!

Book give away (not mine)

I wanted to enter this contest and to do so, I have to blog the link.

It looks like a good one to expand my horizons with! I was telling DH last night how proud I am with the variety of things I have read this year. And the fact that I have enjoyed every single one! I feel an entry just on this topic coming soon, first I have to put up the drama with my daughters room.

During my school break

I'm not a person to just do nothing. If I do nothing, I become really lazy and really just do nothing. So, to keep myself from becoming lazy during this little break before fall classes start, I decided it was time to paint another room. Keep in mind we are still working on the backyard, of which pictures are due.

But, I'm at work and can't post pictures now.

The room that we choose was my daughters room. It was great when we bought the house, but she has informed me that she is not a little girl anymore and needs to tween room. So, here we go.

Amanda over at Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker is having a book give away. It looks like a great book to expand my readying horizon with. She also suggested to me that I try The Last Summer (of You and Me). I will take her up on that suggestion.

Summer school is over, and I survived! But, I am not Super Woman.

I really expected to get A's in these classes. My first degree was easy. I'm not sure if it was the school, or the teachers, or what the deal was, but I got 2 B's and the rest were A's. That was my Criminal Justice degree. And most of them were 8 week classes. So, I went into this new degree expecting everything to be as simple as the last. It's is not. This summer kicked my ass.

I took a 4 week Microeconomics, a 4 week Macroeconomics, and an 8 week Managerial Accounting class. Did I mention they kicked my ass??

After a discussion with some friends last night, I think I realized why my new classes got B's. And why my ass was kicked. The Criminal Justice degree was a bull shit degree. A lot of paper writing and essays. I could write whatever and eventually touch on something that got me some credit.
An Accounting degree is not like that. I'm not going to be able to bull shit my way through it.

This was my schedule for June/July:
6 am, (sometimes earlier) get up and ready, go do any pet sits.
7 am Work at the Law Firm (except on Fridays, I had a test every Friday and stayed home to study)
9:30 am - go to Economics (every day of the week)
12 pm - do any pet sits and snarf some sort of food down
1 pm - back to the office
5 pm - any pet sits
6 pm - study/eat
7-10 pm on Monday and Wednesday Accounting class
other night, studying, writing papers, reading Wall Street Journal, taking online quizzes (2 per week), reading and making note cards so i would remember something.
10 pm - pet sits and then bed
(notice I did not mention kids. They were at their dad's for the summer)

I did this for 8 weeks. I had 2 serious breakdowns. I have decided that I am not superwoman and that something has to give. I will be closing my business soon. My business insurance is up in September, so that is looking like a good date. I cannot continue this way. And with the kids being here for school, life is going to give me as much studying time.

It's a hard decision to give up something that I started from scratch. This is MY business, something I accomplished, and now something I am giving up on. It's also something that controls my life. I work everyday, every weekend, starting at 6 am and ending at 10 pm, every holiday. It's stressful on my family when they want to go do something, but I can't because I can't take off. So, this is the part of my life that needs to go.

So, maybe fall semester will be a little more manageable without the business. Let's hope anyway.