Update on the week...

It's been a good week, busy and that is what made it good. It made up for the sickie week we had last week.

I worked Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Friday(tomorrow). Three of those days was at the high school so I was very happy with that. I love it there and that is where I have the most friends and the most fun.

Tomorrow is payday which is always good since we cut it close this month in terms of using the credit card. Actually I did, but I am paying it off in full tomorrow so it really does not count. It earns cash rewards and it's balance is almost to the point to where I can get a certificate so I have to use it to get to that point. The paychecks landed at the wrong times of the month in February to make paying cash for every thing nearly impossible. Bills are due tomorrow but the pay does not go in until 12 HOURS after the bill is due! How stupid is that? That's my excuse for using the credit and I am sticking to it! :)

I got gas at $1.77/gallon last night and today it popped up to $1.99/gallon so that made me laugh today!

I had a weird dream last night that gave me an incredible craving for something that I am not able to have right now so I have to live without it for now! Someday I'll be able to make the dream come true! Don't have the money for it right now, but some day!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend. I am going to spend some time online and hopefully speaking to a couple of friends who I have been neglecting, not on purpose, but with making life priority. Talk to you soon!

Til later!

Another year older...wiser...nah!

How did I spend my birthday? The same way I spent the next 2 days after that. Stuck at home with sick kids. Allen and Arielle both were sick so I stayed home from work and took care of them. I worked a total of 7 hours that whole week so this week, I have made up for it by working yesterday and today at schools. Yesterday I was lucky to work in the morning and when I was working that shift, they called me to work in another school for the afternoon so that was a extra good thing. Today I worked at a school of 5th and 6th graders. It was a long day with a tornado drill and spring pictures interrupting the day schedule. I was wiping sweat off my brow as I waved them good bye.

Arielle and Allen are feeling better. I can't wait until spring. I am so sick of a cold car in the morning and a cold car at night if I have to go somewhere. and sick kids too...

Not much to tell anymore. It's been a work day and I am tired. I made meatball subs for dinner and I need to catch up on my watching shows that I taped the previous days. I am going to the library more often and checking out books, audio books and movies that I have not seen in awhile. Cheap and fun...that is my life right now. I have to save as much money as possible to make it through the summer months. Oh, I found out today they are eliminating a ed. asst job at the school I was at today and they are also laying off a couple of teachers positions for the upcoming school year. Yeah, great news for my employer...NOT! Pray that it gets better. Only God can help us now because the idiots in (insert place of idiot domain) are not doing anything to help it.

There is my rant for tonight. Time for bed. Love you! (You know who you are:) )

Til later!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Goes to show you, no one can stop the hands of time to make a day special. I am up at 3:14am because Arielle was in bed with us and started hacking up a lung coughing so I made her get into her own bed. Gave her medicine and I can still hear her coughing but now it's becoming less frequent so it's either the medicine is kicking in or she is falling asleep. Either one is a nice sound right now. UGH!


I went to my email to see if I got any birthday wishes from my facebook account. I have the account set up so if any one posts onto my "wall", I get an email from it. I had one. This goofy, lovely former boyfriend of mine, who is now famous in Hollywood, sent me a dear message. I love him. He is so funny and makes my day when he responds to something I have written him. He and I had a fling when I was a senior in high school. He is three years older than me but has never married and at times, I wish I had never let him go. We had some great times together. He is a dear friend who I would love to live closer to...

Well, let's see, it's my birthday. I am 38 years old. For the past 6 months, I have felt like I was 38 years old. No difference, I did not like 37 for some reason. Odd number...maybe..? My goals for 38 are to not use my credit cards at all, not lose my son to my EX the way I did Jessi when she turned 14, and to get a full time position at the school district, and if not there, some place else so I can broaden my wings and fly. I also want to get back down to 140 pounds since the first stint of WW didn't get me there.

Thanks to all who have wished me a happy birthday and will wish me. I am a happy person. I like my life, don't love it right now but with the economy with it is right now, who can love life really?!?! I will love life when I am debt free, the wayward child is back in my life, and the hectics of life are just there, and not trying to bring me down at every turn. I hope I work today, I hope the kids are better today from their illnesses and I hope to have an awesome birthday cake to eat. Black Forest Cake. Made the cake last night, will assemble it today, and hopefully the first bite will be so delicious (I am sure) that I am happy to share with anyone who is around.

Till later!

A quick update while here....

Today (last night) Arielle was sick and threw up twice, once at 11pm and then again at 2am. I called in sick this morning at 6am. Arielle woke up at 7:20 all ready for school. Her favorite teacher was teaching and she was not going to miss that. I let her go. She said that her tummy felt better and she did not feel sick so I went against my better judgement and let her. Today I did bills and tallied up the money that we still have to go on for the remainder of the month. Not a pretty picture. I have $35 from income tax and my birthday money going into the checking account so it can cover a few loose checks I wrote to the school for stuff that they have yet to cash. It annoys me that they can hold a check for so freaking long while it screws with my budget. Anyway, that crisis is now averted.

I pick up Allen from band rehearsal and he comes stumbling into my car and says "drive home fast. I don't feel very good." OK.......
At home he throws up like Arielle did this morning and he is now curled up in bed sleeping. Neither one of them have a fever so it can't be ruled the flu by normal standards. Maybe a stomach bug. Arielle is fine now so maybe he can just throw up a couple times and be fine. I wish that scenario ....because........my......

BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW!!!!

I can't have sick kids on my birthday! It's just cruel! TO ME!!!!

Sickness ruined our vacation in June and at least once day over christmas break is always bad because of someone throwing up or something like that.....PITY PARTY FOR ME!

My birthday is the one day the entire year I splurge and do for myself. Every other day, 364 of them every single solitary year (365 for leap year) is for everyone else. This is my day. I am making a Black Forest Cake for myself. And if I have to eat it all by myself because everyone else is sick,then I will!

I went to the library today and borrowed a few DVD's that I like so that is a free gift to me. No money spent and all is good there.

Til later!

Friday Early Morning!

Woke up at 3:43am and couldn't get back to sleep.

Checked facebook, left messages, and read a few blogs.

Last night I made batter for valentines crepes for this morning. The kids are with their father this weekend so I will not have time to be with them. I bought a card for each and am making their favorite breakfast. I hope they enjoy it.

Hubby and I were discussing who was at fault for the economy and the mess of the government. He said it was the democrats and I disagreed. It's everyone's fault that we are in this mess. Republicans, democrats, and the whole world as a whole! We overspent, used credit to indulge and now we are paying for that in the present economy. Clear and simple! Being in a recession is our own fault. We have to take respnsibility and deal with it and learn from past mistakes. This country has been in crisis before and we'll dig ourselves out, eventually. But don't come to me and say one typical group is at fault for everything. It isn't true! I really and truly scare myself when I start to sound like my father.....*WHOA*

*stepping off soapbox*

I am in love with my library. I just found out last week that they rent movies out. I love this! It's an awesome service to those of you have missed older movies and wanted to see them...Truly a gift. There are also CDs available. I haven't gotten the list of those available but I will check into that later on next week.

Off to check on more things. It's almost 6am and I will have to get up and make those crepes pretty soon. I may get a phone call too to work so I have to get these things done in a timely fashion.

Til later!

Monday morning-

The week will go as this~

Monday-work from noon til 3:45 at school.
Tuesday-hope to work, dont know, work on DVD
Wednesday-work from noon til 3:45 at school.
Thursday-kids off school, Lisa coming over at 10:30am.
Friday-hope to work, kids at dads.for weekend... get paid, pay bills.
Weekend-hope for nice weather. Hope another set of DVDs come into the library.

Money Crunch Time

There is EX trouble in the air but I am trying to focus on the things I can help to change. He is forever in hate/revenge mode and I can't change that, so...onto....


Goals for February!

Did already~
phone card for Allen
valentines for Arielle


Still have to buy~
printer cartridges
white dress shirt for Allen
pay off DIS!
Arielle wants High School Musical 3


In reality, I am doing very well. I have a job, hubby has a job, and things are going well. paying off stuff I need to is fine, but I still need to stash more money for the summer when I am not working. I have to tell myself, things will be fine, it's still winter, months before summer. Lots of stuff could happen before that. I could be offered a job somewhere....making more than I did now or before.

Faith, Andi, have the faith that everything will work out and things will be fine.

Right!

Have a great Weekend! Nice weather in St. Louis today. Have to be near it today! YAY!

Give Blood, I just did!

Enter Manic Mommy's virtual blood drive for the chance to win a trip to Sandestin, Florida or other great prizes! I just did.




See how happy I am to have a needle draining blood from my body so another human being can use it at a local hospital? During the winter months, there are many calls for blood due to the low blood supply in hospitals. Won't you make a selfless effort to do this for someone else????? I tried four times in the past month to donate. I had two separate bouts of low iron (anemia) and one broken blood bus but I managed to just quickly find another bus in this area today so I said "ok, let's try this again." I learned how to eat better, increase my iron intake and made me learn a bit of patience. It's in God's time, not mine. I was almost in tears when he said that I was able to donate. Patience, and then try again.


Won't you help out?? Just email the picture of you donating blood to Stephanie before the end of February and you'll be entered in the contest to win prizes. The workers will gladly take the picture and it'll make a great memory. It'll be worth it even if you don't win a prize. Your blood will help a person in need, who may die without it.

Thank you!

The morning did not start out well...

I was up from 1am til hubby left for work at 4:30am and then work never called so when I did fall asleep, I slept until 7:42am. School starts at 8am. We hustled and bustled and got the kids to school on time. Good thing that I didn't have to go to work because I just was not ready.

Sleeping is not my forte lately. I think I have too many things on my mind to have an uninterrupted sleep. I dream the most stupid, irrational stuff and then it affects my sleep, and my daily these around the house.

I have an irrational fear of using my credit card now. I know that I can use only cash and make it through the month. I know that I have, in the past, used the cards to soothe my own needs and wants. I wanted to make 2009 different and I am glad this month is my birthday so I can not feel guilty about buying something for my birthday.

I am paying off a huge chunk of credit with the income tax refund. It's only $400 but it'll knock out a card in whole. That will be a world of difference in my month. Can I use that as a birthday present to myself? An envelope of cut up cards, yay! I can do that! OK, now I feel better!

Til later!

Happy February!

Three Things...

The entire month of January I did not use my credit card! YAY!!!
I used cash on everything and had money left over after the month.
My FICO scores are above 710, if I need them for some kind of credit!

It's only gonna get better with this trend.


Have a great week! Have fun in Florida!~