Last Post For Tonight

I mentioned my eventful day and all the things that I want (merchandise, merchandise). I am just reflecting that nothing would be possible without the gracious love of the Lord. I thank my buddy Jerrod for bringing me and the kiddos back to church. I pray for everyone right now still without power. If you look at the picture above I still don't understand how I have electricity, I really don't. But, I prayed, the kids prayed and God answered our prayers. I am pretty lucky these days. I don't have all the flashy merchandise but I'm content with what I have. I also like giving back to others, so today I went to Bliss House and dropped off a boat load of clothes, movies and nick-nacks for them. I thought about having a yard sale when the weather got better but it was senseless. There are so many people who are not as fortunate. My daughter got on board and cleared her closet and little Gaby picked out toys he didn't like (I think he will regret it tomorrow, he's too young to realize what he's doing). I hope this will help someone.

Dr. Collier

Many people are trying hard to follow their New Year's resolutions, some are having more trouble than others. As a member of the medical field I understand that some people have different genetic make-ups that make it hard to lose weight. Some have reached the end of the rope and find that there is no hope in sight. I stumbled on this doctor who can assist people with their weight loss programs. What I know about Lap-Band is that it is much safer than Gastric Bypass Surgery. There is hardly any large incision marks and long recovery period for this procedure. My brother is morbidly obese and he is considering Lap-Band. He has asthma and finds it very difficult to do strenuous exercise. Once he loses the weight he can start participating in aerobic exercise since he won't be so constricted by his weight.
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Much Accomplished

Today was a hectic day. I made a list of the things I set out to do. The first was to call my Student Loan holders because they keep calling me all the time. I knew something was terribly wrong. So I call and they tell me I haven't made a payment in 5 months. Well as bad as it seems they couldn't access my account because the wrong birthday was listed. Since it was wrong they couldn't give me any information over the phone. So for the past 5 months they have been reporting that I have been late for 5 months on my credit report. Tomorrow is a new day for me to get on the phone again with them so get this fixed. I then proceeded out in the snow and ice to get my coworker a birthday gift. Lucky for me I love this coworker as a sister and I didn't mind handing $5.00 for it. So I had $65.00 total to spend. I think I came out very well. My friend is a frugal person herself so she didn't ask for a whole lot. Most of the things I got her were from consignment shops, thrift stores, and the Goodwill. She will be so proud of me. This is no joke, she likes that type of stuff. I am currently reading Confessions of a Shopoholic. I feel like that most of the time. Although my plan is to save money the idea of spending said money is very alluring to me. Spending other people's money for this birthday felt invigorating.
Next on my list was to call the school that I am eventually going to attend. I have to make monthly payments for my classes so I do not pull another loan. This is very exciting. I can't wait to go back to school. I cooked and cleaned as always. Then I did my PTC sites, which was boring but still productive on my part. So now I am winding down on the money I spent today out of my own wallet. $200.00 went to the electricity bill. I hated handing that money over to them but we don't have a fireplace, so we have incurred 3 space heaters. My husband was too lazy to put up plastic sheeting to help insulate the house. (Let me side tack a little. The reason I am disgusted is because I work as well as take care of the children, plus, I cook, do the grocery shopping, go to school and participate in community theater. My husband does work 13 hours a day, but he has to do some type of work in the house instead of sleeping all day. I even take out the trash, do all the laundry, bathe my kiddos, cook, and prepare for the next day. So please excuse me if I call my husband lazy.) I'm thinking of going to the Amish Country and buy one of those heaters that heats the whole house, that would be nice. I finally ended up in Kroger's and bought a marinade for dinner, an onion, and a bell pepper. That total was $5.96. So my total spent today was $205.96. I don't think that is too bad except I know where to cut down. I need the heat for these kids, other than that, appliances are unplugged and unnecessary things are off. Phew! More to do tomorrow.

A Day Off Work

There's a lot for me to do on my day off but I have been lazy. I did make a list and created a monthly budget for February. But, I am still bored. So I started check out WAHM sites. I am not a stay at home mom but I would like to be. There are some cool sites that have a lot of useful information. I also started online shopping again. Since I'm trying to be frugal with my money I just browsed. I made another list of things that I want to buy. These are "wants", not necessarily "needs". Below I have listed a few of them and the reasons I think I want them.
1. A new laptop. This will give me the easy access I need to the internet when I am away from home. When I do community theater and have a lot of down-time I can flip my laptop open and do either school work, write an article, or surf the internet. I want one so bad because I find that the hubby likes to hoard the home computer to play his video games. Cost for said laptop $450.00.
2. A Wii game system. This is a total want just for the shear fact that it is fun to play and it gives me some family time with the kiddos. Plus I hear that they have a Wii fit board that shows you how to do yoga moves. Have you ever played a Wii. It's a great workout for your arm. The first time I ever played it, my arm was sore for two days. Cost for Wii system plus Wii Fit $350.00
3. lia sophia jewelry. Because of the icestorm I had to postpone my party. But by having a party I am earning free jewelry for all the friends that I invite and who purchase jewelry too. I am addicted to this stuff. Jewelry is like the icing of a new wardrobe and I want lots of frosting. Cost for jewelry FREE if enough people buy, but I plan on spending $60.00.
As you can see I really don't have a huge list. But if want these items I have to work hard to save a little bit more each payday. I think it's doable.

So Long

It has been so long since I have been on my blog because of all the ups and downs that life has thrown at me. I read that the last time I wrote on here was when we had a large windstorm. Now we are going through a major snow/icestorm. It's funny to see life come full circle again and again. I have been involved in many activities and haven't been very vigil about my budget but I have started again the 1st of the year since my electric bill was a whopping $300.00. It was a big slap in the face and I was so disgraced by the whole thing I had to start keeping myself accountable again. Luckily my husband has finally jumped on board to help me out. My job is stable in this crazy economy but not as fulfilling as it once was. My children are getting older and with that they have more needs (expenses). So now I am back on track and still saving for a house which has not left my mind yet. I started buying the Sunday paper again and sifting through deals. I'm going back to school and taking advantage of the time to myself. So much has happened and I'm glad they did.