Random Ramblings

This blog has gotten stale.............

2010-02-27T18:59:00.001-05:00

So it is time to say good bye. I have started a new blog, a "mommy makeover" of sorts. If you are interested in following me, send me a message and I will give you the link :).

Well, it's been awhile

2009-11-20T15:35:00.004-05:00

July to November...............I guess you can say time really has flown by over the past 5 months. My son is now almost 11 months old. I took him recently for his holiday and 1st birthday pics. I will be sending out invites to his birthday party before I know it.

Life otherwise is pretty routine. Which I am not sure is a good thing or a bad thing..........I pretty much continue to work Monday-Friday and finally, really enjoy my job. Well, for the most part. Being a social worker still can be completely draining sometimes. Especially when I am dealing with clients who have super unrealistic expectations about what I can do to help them, are in denial of their issues, have a toxic family or just have adapted to years of living in a dysfunctional situation overall.

But otherwise, I can't really complain. It certainly could be so much worse. I have almost survived my first year as a new mom, and a working one at that! Go me!!!!!

I love Target's new Up&Up brand!

2009-07-17T17:54:00.003-04:00

It's pretty cheap and the quality is great. The best thing for us is the diapers and formula. I am so excited that my son can drink the soy formula now because I've been getting him the Up & Up brand. It's only about $13.00 a can (and it was on sale for about $12.00 last week!) vs. costly Similac which can be almost double that, and the Target brand has the same nutritional quality.

The super-size pack of baby diapers is around the same price as well vs. Huggies or Pampers which are also twice as much.

I also have started to buy my baby wipe refills at the dollar store.

I've heard some parents say that they buy the costlier brands because "they can afford it" or they don't "want to go cheap on their child", but c'mon, it's all basically the same, and with diapers and wipes especially, they are going straight into the trash. Why throw $$$$ away on that if they work just as well?

Don't spend a lot...........

2009-07-11T12:25:00.003-04:00

on baby clothes!!! It's such a shame...........I spent the other night packing up a body-sized bag of Matthew's 0-6 months clothing.........some brand new with the tags still on, some he only wore once, maybe twice. I am going to pack it away because we are thinking about having another baby in a year or so, but what a waste of $$$ in the meantime. It's so hard to resist spending on this stuff too because it seems like wherever you go, there are such cute little outfits for kids. Even at $3.00-$5.00, it's really NOT a bargain though if the kid is only gonna wear it once. Or not at all. The mom's who shop at yard sales, thrift shops or who just accept free hand-me-downs are totally on to something there.

Speaking of saving $$$$, I was in Target yesterday and saw they now sell one of my favorite Bath & Body Works scents, coconut lime verbena, for only $3.49. To me, it smells pretty much the same as the $12.00+ stuff.

Just thought I'd share. That is all. Now time to go outside and get some sun for free!

Here's a couple other good links for Long Island SW agencies

2009-06-27T12:05:00.005-04:00

Forgot I had this and this bookmarked under my faves.

This is a great site if you are looking for non-profit work in general. Do a chapter search, perhaps there's one near you. I have a daily email subscription to the one for the NYC chapter, and every day I get job postings.

My agency right now (I work in homecare) is actually hiring for some non-social workey kinds of positions (i.e. accounting, billing) so that's another tip of places to look if you aren't necessarily interested in working in human services.

Anyways, the weather here is absolutely gorgeous. I just finished cleaning my house, I am almost done with one of my library books, so I think my son and I are going to head out, return the book, get a new one, and then go sit down in the park by the water. Have a good weekend!!!!

Places in the NYC area to look for Social Work employment

2009-06-23T18:00:00.003-04:00

I know this is the time of year a lot of new grads are looking, or people are just looking in general. In no particular order, I am going to make a list of some agencies I know that are usually always hiring, from entry-level to more seasoned positions. Some of these agencies I have also either worked for, or worked with at one point, if not currently in my day to day professional life. If I haven't listed a website, usually a quick google search can help you find the contact info of the agency. Here's my only partially-finished list............Happy Hunting!!!

1.) Transitional Services for New York
2.) New Frontiers in TBI, Inc.
3.) Gallub Services for TBI
4.) The Center for Family Support
5.) The Puerto Rican Family Institute
6.) CUCS
7.) International Center for the Disabled
8.) Catholic Charities
9.) JASA
10.) CPA of NYS
11.) AHRC NYC/Nassau/Suffolk
12.) Long Island Head Injury Association
13. YAI
14.) VNS
15.) Jewish Board of Family & Childrens Services
16.) CIDNY
17.) The Bridge
18.) Fountain House
19.) Goodwill Industries
20.) RES TBI services
21.) UCP Nassau/Suffolk
22.) SCO Family Services
23.) LIFE'S Worc
24.) Mercy Haven

I also recommend going to websites such as socialservice.com. My favorite site to do a search by key word and zip code is Indeed.com. Check out all the local hospitals as well. They are often hiring for all kinds of positions. Oh, also check out home care agencies. A lot of them often hire for SW case managers depending on the program/population served. I also have found through personal experience that they tend to pay more than non-profits since home care agencies mostly are for-profit agencies.

For those of you who may just be starting out, or wanting to get your foot in the door in this field..........remember that any kind of experience is good experience and a stepping stone to moving up. Often if you can get hired somewhere, even if it's not your "ideal" position, a lot of agencies promote from within. If you are good at what you do, they tend to promote pretty quickly. Also keep in mind, that if you work in human services, you are always meeting people from other agencies where you may choose to apply down the road.

I also keep a huge binder on my desk at work that I am constantly adding business cards of other professionals, as well as just contacts and resources I come across. You never know when this info is going to come in handy down the road.

There are even lots of good online networking groups to go to for employment information. I have found that Meetup.org, Myspace and Facebook all have active discussion groups about local employment and where to look!

A good thing I have found about our field as well, is that a lot of agencies host regular "job fairs" or welcome "walk-ins" to come in and apply at any time. Social workers often are willing to talk with you about their job and share resources of where to look as well, so definitely don't rule out that option either.

Anyways, I promise, promise, promise I am going to *try* to update this list sometime in the near future. However, I am neglecting my son at the moment who is starting to fuss. Good luck with your search and feel free to share this with anyone you know who may be looking as well :)

So

2009-05-22T15:30:00.003-04:00

I made it through last weekend without spending money. And I also made it through the week without spending $$$$ except on things I needed like gas and my LIRR ticket into the city one day to see a client (which I will be reimbursed for). I did take out $20.00 for weekly "spending" $$$$ but I do that each week regardless, and try to follow a "when it's gone it's gone" attitude. I still haven't spent it all :D. We also made do by eating left-overs and what I had on hand already in the house. I made a huge pot of sauce last Sunday which we ate from a few times, and I also froze the leftovers for a couple more meals. So what I have observed is not spending unnecessary money can be done and I have realized that has been my issue with spending too much lately. It's Memorial Day weekend (my favorite holiday of the year since it's the beginning of summer!!) and I am planning to just grill out back, lounge around outside, read and make some frozen drink concoctions. I also am planning to go one day this weekend and use one of my giftcards for the nail spa. I love relaxing weekends like this, and thank goodness the weather is finally starting to cooperate.

In other "news" my younger sister just broke up with her boyfriend of 5 years. I don't want to look like I am judgmental or anything, but I think it's probably for the best. He is a few years younger than she is and at a completely different place in life in terms of goals and such. She even said that over the past year, she was feeling he was holding her back from doing a lot of the things she wanted to do. She is actually considering relocating to Long Island at this point where there is more job opportunity. I am helping her in this regard, by offering her a temporary place to stay and I also handed her resume in for an open position she is qualified for at my job, so we shall see what happens with that. It should be interesting!!!!

Cleaning out closets & drawers: Where shopping is NEW again.

2009-05-16T11:45:00.002-04:00

So to follow the theme of my "$$$$ free weekend", I decided to keep myself occupied and clean out my closets and drawers this morning. I've been putting off this task for awhile, and it's started to look like a bomb exploded. I have had a lot of my pre-pregnancy outfits mixed in with maternity stuff, and stuff that I plain don't wear anymore, either because of style or because it doesn't fit anymore (Since having Matthew, my hips have expanded and I still have a bit of a "pouch"). My sister is also coming down to see me for a few days and she is on a pretty limited budget herself because she doesn't make a whole lot of money, working in the arts field. So I decided what I no longer want/can wear I will let her look through and have, the rest I will probably either donate or Freecycle.

I came up with two huge piles of stuff, mostly pants, that don't fit anymore. I could technically hold onto this stuff, hoping my body goes back to how it used to be (HA!), or follow the rule of getting rid of stuff............if you haven't worn it for at least a year, let it go.

So that is what I have decided to do. In the meantime, I also came across of ton of spring and summer clothes I haven't worn in awhile (mostly shirts) because during the spring and summer last year, I was too preggers to fit into them. So it was like going shopping all over again, but in my own closet LOL. I also realized coming across all of this stuff satisfied my "urge" I usually get when I am sitting home on the weekends and I feel like going out and doing something (which usually involves shopping and spending $$$).

I also have been doing laundry this morning................endless loads. We have a rule in my house as well, that since I do the laundry, I get to keep whatever change I may come across in the pockets. My husband tends to NEVER empty his pockets so in addition to a few dimes and pennies, I also found a 5 dollar bill that's now mine to keep. SCORE!

Dollar-free weekend?

2009-05-16T08:31:00.004-04:00

It seems like I've been spending an awful lot of money lately on nothing. I think one of my problems is that I tend to shop (even on little things that don't seem to cost much) out of boredom. This totally makes my heart race with unnecessary anxiety, especially when my savings account seems like it's been at the same amount for awhile now, or we've dipped into it for this or for that. Because of this, I am going to try an experiment this weekend which comes down to trying really, really hard not to spend $$$$ on anything. So far I made breakfast and iced-coffee here at home. I took some meat out of the freezer to grill out back later for dinner. I have some potatoes and onions to make as a side. We can make a can of tuna for lunch, instead of running out to Panera Bread and spending fifteen or twenty bucks just for "something to do". I am going to avoid my usual weekend trip to Target and Stop & Shop. (It seems I go in both for just a few items and end up leaving with at least fifty bucks worth of stuff from each). There's really nothing that I can think of that we actually "need" right now. Sure, I'd like to get some more facial scrub, but I think I can get by on what's left in the current tube I have by squeezing a little less out for just another week. When I need more, I will look in the 99 cents store instead of spending $3.99 (or more) at CVS. I'm going to avoid "stocking up in advance" on the dogs food and go get a new bag when I actually run out of it. Yesterday, I did meet a lady from Craigslist to purchase my son's special formula, but that was for a month's supply 1/2 the cost of what it normally goes for. Other than that, the challenge is on to NOT. SPEND. MONEY. I am hoping that if I can get through the next 2 days by not spending anything, I will throw that $$$ back into savings. Wish me luck!!! I know it's going to be really, really hard. But I am looking forward to keeping my mind occupied with reading a fun new book that I took out free from the library.

In celebration of Mother's Day (a few days late!!).........

2009-05-13T06:46:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to share a pic of my favorite little one. I actually found out ON Mother's Day of last year that I was preggers with him. I am so, so happy that he's here. I got a couple gift certifcates for "spa days" for Mother's Day so now I just need to find a baby-sitter. It can't be my husband either because I left him home alone with the baby for an HOUR over the weekend............an HOUR. About a 1/2 hour in he was calling me to come home because he couldn't figure out why the baby was screaming (he had a poopy-diaper). Part of me thinks he PRETENDED to not know why he was screaming LOL. I think there is hope though for the future, because Matthew's primary caregiver while I am at work is his grandfather. He had my husband when he was 19 and believe it or not, never changed a diaper until my son came along. Now the two are best friends and he totally dotes on him! He even kept stealing him away from me on Mother's Day!

We are still seeing the allergist at the end of the month to find out how we are going to proceed with the milk protein allergy. Hopefully this will get the formula covered by the insurance company. In the meantime, I am supposed to meet a woman from Craigslist over the weekend to pick up a bunch of it she is selling half-price. I am still also looking for ways to save more $$$. I am planning to meet with my HR person tommorrow when I am in the office again, because she thinks she has a health insurance plan that will be a bit cheaper compared to what we are paying now. I may just stick with what we have though if the formula is covered! I really don't want to continue to jump through hoops all over again.

I have been dealing with a couple of very unstable clients at work as of late, so I've been busy, busy trying to get them to accept services so they won't continue to down-hill spiral. That is always such a challenge. Both have a mental health diagnosis/personality disorder which are so difficult to treat. I am meeting one at her doctor today to try to convince her to follow his recommendations with some of her health issues.

Well, it's time to drag myself away from the internet and begin my day. Have a nice week everyone. At least it's hump day!!

And another rant.........

2009-04-23T19:24:00.004-04:00

I feel like quality in our country is going down the tubes. I fell in love with a puccini-print Vera Bradley diaper bag after many, many recommendations from other seasoned moms about this product. I haven't even been using it for 4 months yet and the bottom is already tattered and torn. It hasn't been washed yet (no need) and I only use it a few days a week, so I just don't get it.............I wrote to the company and I am still waiting for a response.............I guess that goes to show that even if you shell out more $$$$ for a product, you are not necessarily getting a good investment............I had a giftcard for this so it only ended up costing me 1/2 the normal price but still..........not right!!

Insurance companies!

2009-04-23T18:46:00.003-04:00

Have I said before how much I hate insurance companies?

The latest is my son is allergic to cow's milk protein so he has been placed on a special formula, Alimentum, which is made by Similac. It is sold over the counter, but it's pretty darn expensive (almost $30.00 for a 3-days supply).

Many moms who have been in similar situations, have suggested trying to get it covered by the insurance company, because this does usually work. Oxford may cover it, but they are certainly making me jump through hoops to do so. So far the pediatrician has had to write a letter verifying medical need. Denied. It was then requested for the pediatrician to send his visit notes describing my son's symptoms. Denied. Now my child has to go meet with an allergist who will need to "confirm" he is indeed allergic and needs this formula. I booked the appointment, but since I want him to meet with the best, the earliest I could get was not until the end of May.

My pediatrician has been generous and given me free samples every time I go there, but sheesh! I feel like I pay enough for our health insurance ($357.21 to be exact) each WEEK that it's ridiculous I have to even go through this!

My husband recently tore his achille's tendon and it took him TWO weeks to get an approval from the insurance company to even be able to meet with an orthopedist to look at his leg. It was then a huge long process before he could have surgery. We are now receiving letters in the mail from the insurance company requesting us to fill out in detail exactly what happened, where we were and who else was involved because they are looking to see if maybe "someone else" should be responsible to pay.

This is a damn shame that this is how our health care system is run in our country. I think it's also pathetic that I WORK in health care and half my paycheck each week goes to pay for such a crappy health plan!!!

Monday already?

2009-04-06T05:12:00.004-04:00

I really didn't do much at all this weekend, but it still ended up going by super fast. Weekends always do seem to go by so quickly it seems.

I don't have a crazy week planned for work (at least so far) so I can't say I am dreading going in today at least LOL. I will probably end up working from home at least one, possibly two days this week on the never-ending paperwork for my job. I've been trying to schedule everything just right so I can have my "work from home days" fall towards the end of the week, on Thursdays and especially Fridays.

Today I have to go into the office, I will probably get there around 8-ish, file some stuff, write up a couple reports, send some faxes and a few Fed Exes to other providers with some documents, then I have a team meeting for a new client around 2 at one of the Structured Day Programs for brain injury, and that will be my day.

Tommorrow I might work at home on service plans, Wednesday is "office day" and supervision with my newish-boss, Thursday I am in the field all day (I have 3 client meetings planned so far) and hopefully Friday will be another paperwork at home day.

Then next weekend is Easter already. That sure came about quickly too. The poor little boy will probably get tortured that day. My family has gotten him a bunch of Easter-themed outfits complete with "bunny ears" and such that will probably end up as blackmail pictures A LA A Christmas Story when he gets much older.

Anyways, I am in desperate need of coffee. Have a good week everyone if I don't get back on here.

Sad story

2009-04-05T10:00:00.004-04:00

I am a member of a message board community for my local area. There is a pregnancy and parenting board on there I am especially fond of. Anyways, I just found out that another poster who had her baby around the same time I did, her baby daughter was killed a few days ago............apparently the investigation shows she was "shaken" to death by the boyfriend of this baby's mom. I don't know these people in real life, but it really has hit me hard for some reason to know that there are people out there capable of such horrible things.

I know I have been blessed with having a good baby (he rarely cries.......just when he is hungry, wants to be held or needs to be changed) or maybe I just have a lot of patience, but still, even the times when he is screaming and being totally uncooperative, I haven't gotten to the point where I feel like I am going to lose it like this. Even if I do get to that point, it is so much easier to walk away, go to another room or ASK FOR HELP. I just really don't understand such a loss of a precious life. My heart goes out to this family.................I never thought I would believe this, but once you become a parent, you really do feel the pain of other parents who are going through loss or a hard-time related to their own child.

Finance stuff!

2009-04-05T09:40:00.003-04:00

I was eligible to sign up for my 401K at work this week since I've been there over a year. I decided to invest 10% of my income in a "conservative" fund. With everything going on in the financial sector these days, even though it was recommended to me to go agressively, I just didn't feel comfortable doing that.

We also got an unexpected check in the mail last week from the mortgage company..............we overpaid towards our escrow account last year. So I took that $ and applied it to our hefty gas bill and put the other half in savings. Go us!!

Uh oh.........

2009-04-05T09:35:00.002-04:00

I think Matteo is coming down with his first cold. His right eye was very crusty and gooey this morning, and he has been coughing and sneezing off and on. My husband has been sick lately so I hope he hasn't caught it from him! The poor little guy is also still struggling with the itchy skin all over his head and face. I've been keeping his hands covered as much as possible. He got inside his ear yesterday to scratch and it started to bleed. It sucks because for new babies, with both colds and this skin stuff, there's really not a whole lot you can do for them, except make them as comfy as possible and just wait it out..............

He's sleeping now in his swing and has been "talking" and laughing all morning so I hope that those are good signs that he can fight this stuff and get better soon!

Baby "Must haves" and savings tips

2009-04-03T06:57:00.008-04:00

So being a "seasoned" new mom LOL, I thought I would post about the items I have for Matthew that I feel are 110% absolute necessities:

1.) Baby Aquaphor (or the CVS knock-off brand). I don't know if it's because he's a winter baby, or just a baby in general, but my son has been blessed with super-dry, itchy skin, mostly all over his head and face. This is what my pediatrician and all other new moms seem to recommend to get rid of this yuckiness. I also often put a little cap and the infant gloves from Gerber on his head and hands to help prevent him from scratching so much (babies do have very sharp nails even if you file/trim them daily). He often looks like he has been through a warzone and back!

2.) Fisher Price Papasan cradle swing. Also recommended to me by a seasoned mommy, this is probably my most favorite gadget invented ever. AKA the "sleep machine" it's a blessing in disguise when I need to get work done around the house, or especially showered and dressed for the day and DH is not around to help out. I also have the matching vibrating seat, but we don't use that nearly as much as the swing. Another "tip" I learned is to pick up a ton of batteries at the 99 cents store to keep on hand. If you use the swing regularly like I do, you go through batteries really quickly. There's no "cents" shelling out the costly prices for batteries at the local pharmacy or grocery store when they work just as well from the discount place.

3.) Baby gowns for night-time. They sell these at places like Target and are my favorite clothing for bed-time. I especially like the 0-6 month size because there is a lot more "room" for DS to move around and they cover his legs and don't ride up as much. They make middle-of-the night changings an absolute breeze. (They are also made out of thin cotton, so he won't sweat as much with the next must-have product).

4.) The Swaddle Me is another product to pick up a couple of. I have found this is the dream invention that does in fact keep my son in a dream-like state all night long. He rarely wakes up in the middle of the night when I use this product. Also, keep in mind that you are never, ever supposed to use blankets, even swaddled tightly on a baby. They can easily wiggle their way out and cover their face with blankets. This actually happened within the first couple of weeks of DS being home so we never, EVER use blankets anymore.

5.) I have found a good way to cut costs are buying my diapers and baby wipes for half the price by using Target brand. They work just as well for my son as the name brand Huggies and Pampers, that are twice as expensive. I learned however that I really can't go cheap on the formula (I switched to Target brand from Similac for a week and it gave him massive diarrhea). However, you CAN sign up on the brand-name formula websites and they often send you $5.00 off coupons in the mail regularly. I also look for sales on these products and have asked my family and friends to sign up too so they can give me the coupons. (Similac is normally around $23.00 a can where I live and this often lasts a little less than a week for a 2-3 month old).

6.) Giftcards: Tell your family and friends for your shower or welcome-home gifts for baby, to buy you giftcards to Target, Babies-r-us, etc. instead of giving you yet another outfit he or she is only going to wear one time (babies get so many clothes at showers it seems and they outgrow them so fast). For our first couple of months, I spent very little out of pocket on his formula and diapers and just applied the giftcards to these necessities.

7.) Invest in a Brita water pitcher and a regular old-tea pot. I boil the water for his formula every couple of days and then pour it into the Brita and keep it on my kitchen counter. I make his bottles from the powdered formula and serve them to him room temperature. Things like "bottle warmers" are really a huge waste when babies are perfectly content drinking their milk at room temp. There is also absolutely no reason to purchase a ton of bottled water when you can make your own for free!

8.) The Bundle Me. If you live in a cold climate or have a winter baby like I did, skip the snow suits and just get one of these. It makes life so much easier with dressing and keeps baby toasty warm. Most of his winter fleece is going to get donated because we never even took off the tags because of this great invention. (Oh btw, they also make a Bundle Me "lite" for the Spring and Fall months or warmer climates ;) ).

9.) Skip expensive detergents like Dreft. Keep in mind that most of the time, baby's skin will be up against what you wash your clothes in anyway. If he or she is not getting rashed rubbing against you, they should be fine with your regular old detergent that is probably 3x cheaper then products like Dreft.

10.) My most favorite "tip" of all is to remember that every baby and family is different. What works for you may not work for someone else. When you have a baby anyone and everyone is going to start giving you all kinds of advice on how to raise your child. I have learned to let it just roll of my shoulders and go on with my daily routine. Before you know it, everything will become completely second nature for you as a new parent ;).

I haven't posted in so long

2009-04-02T07:34:00.002-04:00

Not so much because I've been busy, but honestly, I really don't have anything exciting to write about. I feel like there's only so much I can discuss about work and I am sure everyone gets tired about reading about mommyhood. With that said though, I guess life has been pretty good as of late. I did have some drama going on at work, but knock on wood, it's been taken care of.

DH is dealing with a torn achille's tendon but he's still been going into work almost every day. Mostly to just "supervise", but hey, it gets him out of the house and out of my hair LOL. My husband tends to be somewhat of a workaholic, and he is also one of those people who constantly needs to be "in control" of the situation so this has really thrown EVERYONE off.

I also wanted to share a recent pic of Matthew. He was 3 months old on March 30th. Beware of the scary bunny!!!

He's here............

2009-01-03T15:46:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to sign on really quickly to say that our little baby, Matthew Robert, was born on his due date, 12/30/08 at 12:03 AM.

We've been home since 12/31 and are slowly getting adjusted to the change. I have to say that so far, this is probably the most difficult "job" I've ever had, but at the same time, the most rewarding.

It seems so surreal that he is finally here..........

I will write some more later and probably add some more pics, but we have family coming over to see him in a few minutes. Then I am going to catch some much needed ZZZZZZZZZZZ's. His days and nights are off and I honestly haven't slept much at all since coming home from the hospital.

Even though I am exhausted, he has given me a renewed energy I absolutely cannot explain though..............I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo in love!!!!!

Could this be it?

2008-12-15T18:41:00.004-05:00

I saw my doctor today, and she said while I am not yet dilated, the baby's head has moved down into my pelvis and there was "blood in my urine" which is the indication of the "bloody show". She also said she would be very, very surprised if I lasted until January 1st. My SIL is convinced for some reason I am going to have this kid tommorrow, on her anniversary. I don't know about that though..............I haven't had any contractions (at least painful ones) at all and still am in the mindset that I am going to be preggers forever. If anything, at least the end is near........my parents are coming down to stay with us "till the end" next weekend so hopefully there will be some action at that point.............Something else I've noticed is both my pugs have been "super mushy" around me lately so maybe they do sense something that I don't..............

Feeling the financial crunch..........

2008-12-13T07:58:00.002-05:00

Well, I am officially home now on maternity leave and we are already feeling the "financial crunch" of me giving up work for the next several months. Thankfully I still have a couple of regular paychecks and then all of my vacation time coming to me, before I have to file for disability. I find it really pathetic though that in NYS that I can only file for a max of like $170.00 a week for 6-8 weeks and that's it..........all other leave is unpaid. Oh, did I mention I also have to pay for most of my health insurance out of pocket during this time too?
My husband has a "friend" on the other hand who is basically a waste of space, who has been sitting around for months now, collecting unemployment, twice that amount, and he's not even bothering to look for a new job...............

We are lucky that we have a pretty good savings which we've added to in anticipation for this baby, but it's still stressful knowing we may need to live off some of that even for a couple of months.

We told our families as well we are not going all out this Christmas either.

We knew all of this ahead of time, and planned for it, but it's still a pretty sad reality that you feel like you are being "punished" in a sense for taking time off to spend with your new child........

I guess I will never be able to be a SAHM. At least not as long as we live here on costly Long Island.........I have asked for a change in roles at my job though when I return, which will allow me more flexibility to spend with my son, work from home more and just not have to deal with a lot of the corporate BS that I've been dealing with for the past year.........That's a major positive at least!

In the home stretch now.........

2008-11-28T08:32:00.004-05:00

I am approximately 1 month away from my due date. I can't believe that's he's almost here! He's actually measuring a few days ahead of 12/30 but they couldn't change the date in case he -God forbid-is "later". Which apparently is pretty common with first-time births.

I had my shower a few weeks ago and got a ton of great stuff, the nursery is pretty much done (just waiting for the blinds we ordered last week to be delivered), we are waiting for our new master bedroom furniture to be delivered (probably sometime next week but we do have an extra bed in case that does not happen before he comes), I just need to do a couple more loads of "baby laundry", take my car to the carwash to be cleaned both inside and out, install the carseat, sterilize my baby bottles and pack my bag for the hospital!

I am sure there is something else in there I may be "forgetting" but these are the only major "big things" I can think of that I have left to do at least.

It also is definitely true what they say about the last month.............you are feeling exhausted, achey, annoyed and ready to rip anyone a new one for pissing you off for things like breathing the same air as you............and the biggest thing I have noticed is that I am absolutely no longer scared at ALL about any aspect of how this baby is going to finally come out........I just want it to be OVER at this point. Any and ALL kind of pain or icky bodily functions associated with childbirth really does not phase me anymore. I have completely come to grips that millions of women have been doing this for thousands of years and this is what our bodies were made to do. Period.

And the earlier, the better............he is considered completely full-term now so there really is nothing to worry much about if he were to come TODAY in fact. Just his father's anxiety and worry ;). We are definitely all super-excited to see how HE is going to make it through all this..........

Violet Beauregarde

2008-10-29T19:03:00.006-04:00

My husband bought me this coat a few weeks ago from Old Navy. I wanted a coat that would fit me despite my growing shape, but I could not justify spending the going rate of $200.00 or more for a maternity coat that I would probably only wear 10 weeks or less!

Now he has taken to calling me the "girl that blew up into the giant blueberry" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. (Her character name is actually Violet Beauregarde).

Normally I think I would find this kind of offensive, but for some reason I find it hysterically funny.

Probably because I am actually starting to feel like a giant blueberry at this point...........I think it's almost that time where I am going to need to request to modify some of my duties at work, primarily field work. Travelling around, especially by public transportation is really starting to wear me out. Unfortunately I don't think giving birth to this little guy is going to be as easy as squeezing the juice out of Violet in the juicing room!!!

I can't believe..........

2008-10-20T19:58:00.002-04:00

that this kid could seriously make his debut anytime in the next TEN weeks!

WHERE did the time go?

I have my 30-week growth sono on Friday (this is the sono which will show his size, amount of fluid, any "concerns", etc. and ultimately gives a good "idea" of time I will probably pop), hospital tour next Monday, childbirth education class on 11/2 and semi-surprise shower on 11/16 (I know the date but I don't know the location ;).

Again, where the HECK did the time go?!!!!!???!!!

It's Friday!!

2008-10-17T06:37:00.002-04:00

I am so excited, made it through another week............to back track and update a little, I did thankfully pass my glucose test so I have no worries about having to sit through the 3 hour one.

Things are moving along pretty quickly now with Baby M. I saw my doctor last week and she said his head is "really really low". Don't know exactly what that means in terms of delivering "early" because she says there's really no way to tell, but she recommended I go out and purchase a maternity belt which I've been wearing during the work day which is supposed to help with "keeping him in position". If anything, it's certainly helped my back not hurt as much at the end of each day.

We've made no progress on setting up the nursery yet, but hope to get to that in the next couple of weeks. Our master bedroom is pretty much finished, M just has to put some finishing touches in my new closet, and put the bedroom door in. Then we need to purchase furniture, but we do have an extra queen size bed our friends gave us that they barely used, so we are not in a huge rush.......I can make do with walking up and down the stairs to my dressers/closet in what will become our "spare/guest" bedroom for the time being too.

It's just going to be a little bit at a time I think from here on in..........I basically only have 10 weeks left before he could make his big debut and even less time to get everything in order, but I am sure we will get the big stuff done on time.............at least I hope LOL.

Today I have to go into Manhattan for an emergency discharge planning meeting for one of our clients who is in an inpatient psych unit. This woman has definitely been a challenge as of late, but she does thankfully have a really supportive team and we have come up with some pretty good ideas of what our next steps will be with her. If only she agrees though, which is the "challenge" for us as providers.

That will basically be my day though, so it will be a pretty nice Friday after a really hectic week at work otherwise.

Today's the day!!

2008-09-24T06:31:00.004-04:00

I go in for my glucose test. I don't know how I am going to make it through the morning without eating. I've been up since 5 (earlier than that if you count the at least 4-5 times I got up during the night to pee!!!) and I am "starving" already. My appointment is not until 9:10 either (and knowing my doctor's office, it will probably be even later than that when I am seen because she's always packed in general,comes in late from L&D, is overbooked, etc.)

My FIL agreed to thankfully drive me though this morning because I am actually really nervous about passing out. I have gotten dizzy and light-headed and passed out once before (a few years ago though) after having blood taken. This test is going to suck big-time because they take blood purposely on an empty stomach.

Afterwards though, I've been promised a big meal and we may even go to Buy Buy Baby to pick up the stroller I want. Two things that will make this preggo very happy!!!!

And guess what!!!!! My SIL confirmed last night..............she is definitely preggers with twins!!!!!

Wish me luck today so that I will pass (the test, and "not out" that is!) so I won't have to go through the 3 hour!!!

Been MIA............

2008-09-18T06:56:00.004-04:00

but really, I just haven't had a whole lot to talk about lately.

Life is pretty much routine. Work M-F, relax and catch up on chores on the weekends, rinse, repeat.

I do have some exciting news though.........it looks like my SIL who has been trying for awhile is pregnant............with TWINS!!!!!! Her Obgyn saw two sacs during the ultrasound and she goes back to confirm for sure next week.

I am really keeping my hopes up that everything works out. I know it's been really hard on her seeing me and my husband expecting and she's not. I would love to share this experience with her more than anything. And it would be so, so wonderful to have 3 little babies, 5 months apart, and a 15 minute drive away to be able to grow up together!!

As for me, the belly is getting bigger and bigger (I will probably take more pics this weekend).

I also go for my glucose test next week and I am scared to death that I am going to fail. I think because for one, diabetes runs in my family, and two, I fully admit I have not been the healthiest of eaters. I try, but have also found myself making plenty of justifications this pregnancy to have say, ice cream every day because "it has some calcium in it and the baby needs it". In the beginning of my pregnancy, I also was craving a lot of greasy, fried foods like McDonald's or Burger King breakfasts. And do you think I said no?

I am just worried that this is somehow now going to catch up with me.

The work week is flying by thank goodness. Also the job is being quite accomodating with my upcoming birth and I think they are going to try to be as "family friendly" with me as possible after he's here. *Fingers crossed*.

Anyway, I really don't have a whole heck of a lot more to say..........so it's time to get up and get moving. I have to drop my puppy pug off this morning at the vet to get spayed. Maybe that will calm her down a little LOL.........probably not though. Pugs take at least 2 or more years to calm down as I have learned first-hand with her brother.

Short week!!!

2008-09-03T06:28:00.002-04:00

I am so excited that it's Wednesday already. I love, love, love having short weeks at work. We got out early on Friday (around 3) and then had off on Monday for Labor Day. Today I have to go to a training for work in downtown Manhattan, then I am headed to the doctor's for my monthly follow up exam.

Things seem to be going pretty well with the baby. I saw my family over the weekend. They haven't seen me in a few months so were impressed with the size of my stomach. Starting last week, he's also been moving all over the place. In fact, I've been feeling him for the past hour since I've been awake. It really is such an amazing feeling. Sort of a "thump thump thump" over and over again.

This makes me feel a little bit more at ease at least that things are going okay with the pregnancy. I also came across this website from one of my pregnancy message boards I frequent. Totally explains in great detail what to expect at the very end ;). So worth reading I think for those of you wondering what goes on during the labor process.

Anyways, let me run. Have to blow-out my hair then catch a 7:46 train into the city.

Simple solar homesteading

2008-09-02T19:38:00.003-04:00

I just ran across this site by the same name from a thread in the Wise Bread Forums. While it certainly looks like it would be quite an interesting lifestyle to lead, I don't know if I personally could be that frugal. It is fascinating to think about what some people are willing to give up though to live as simple of a lifestyle as possible. I say that as I am getting ready to watch the season premiere of the New 90210. LOL. Talk about two completely opposite lifestyles!!!

Oh no!

2008-08-27T19:05:00.004-04:00

I received this link today that my favorite college bar had a fire this week. So many fond memories from times gone by. Thankfully it looks like there wasn't much damage that can't be fixed. Just hearing the name "Pigs" makes me smile and think back to so many happy times. P&G's and anything New Paltz in general will always have a special place in my heart. I can't believe it's been TEN years since I graduated. I am really getting old!!!

Social workers paid far less than many other helping professionals

2008-08-25T19:19:00.004-04:00

While this is certainly nothing new, I liked this article that was posted today that calls attention to this subject yet again. I also think the field is getting worse and worse in terms of social worker responsibilities, the negative ways we are often treated in general, and just the overall lack of compensation (and not just weekly paycheck!) for everything we go through day in and day out. I try to focus on the "perks" of my current job though which for me at present, do count for something positive at least. I also thankfully make a half-way decent salary compared to many other social worker professionals. However, next to my teacher-friends on Long Island (a comparison profession that was mentioned in the article), I make about $20K LESS per year (although I do know that teacher pay also depends on the area). I KNOW the starting salary for NYC teachers is much less than Long Island, and the schools are much, much worse. *Sigh*. I happily made it through another Monday though. Have a great week everyone!!

40 tips for life.........

2008-08-19T21:03:00.003-04:00

Got this in a forward from my MIL and just wanted to share. Hope it makes you smile and think about the positive things in your life today ;).............

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Make time to practice meditation, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8.Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a life time.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
26. Forgive everyone for everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. REMEMBER, GOD heals everything.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
33. The best is yet to come.
34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!)
37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today accomplished _________.
38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about. I just did.

May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing but happiness come through your door!

My new favorite food..........

2008-08-19T17:45:00.003-04:00

Spaghetti squash!!!!! Yum!!! And so easy to make.......I just poke some holes throughout with a sharp knife, bake for an hour at 375, then remove from oven and chop in half, scoop out the contents in a bowl, remove and throw away the seeds, then add mozzarella cheese and sauce. So, so good. And cheap too!! One of these babies costs a couple of dollars at the grocery store and lasts for a few meals/lunches. AND, it's just as good as pasta in my opinion!! Healthier too!!

DH said maybe I can be a SAHM........

2008-08-16T18:33:00.008-04:00

if he decides to give up his business, which I really don't think is likely. At least not for the next couple of years. Either way, I still have to keep working for the time being at least, main reason is primarily becase he can't afford the cost of health insurance for all of us. (speaking of "that" topic, I am in a mini-battle right now with my insurance company, that I pay $250.00 pre-tax per weekly paycheck to approve a denial of coverage for my routine, medically necessary 18-week anatomy screening of the baby. I will let you know how it goes.........)

Anyways, I can still dream, right? And who knows what the future may bring. I have started reading this book in the meantime from my local library.......a pretty quick read and it does offer some good tips.

I'm still not totally convinced it's possible, or wise, to live on one-income in my area of the country though. But I guess that's also a very personal decision, of which, I am sure will only continue to be discussed in my personal life. Anyways, have to run and get ready for a BBQ. Just waiting for my husband to get his butt in gear already......

I'm a transplant here but from what I can see, most of these are true.......

2008-08-16T18:16:00.003-04:00

YOU KNOW YOU ARE FROM LONG ISLAND WHEN....1. Flip-flops are normal, even in January.2. You know what they mean when they say "No change at Jamaica"3. You know that The Drift Inn and Neptunes are in the same building, but you also know that they are NOTHING alike. 4. Screw the SAT, you know the exact pronunciation of Islip, Wantagh, Commack, Mattituck, Shinnecock, Quogue, Ronkonkoma, Hauppauge, Mineola, Islandia, Massapequa, and Patchogue.5. You and your friends are going to the beach, but the word beach never comes up in the conversation. Instead, it sounds something like this..."Well, we could go to Jones, but Robert Moses is closer, the North Shore is too rocky...whatever lets go to the Hamptons."6. You have no idea what jimmies are, or why someone would want to put them on their ice cream7. You have never used "wicked" as an adjective 8. You know that Americana Manhasset is NOT a type of coffee 9. You know that it's possible to take Jericho all the way to queens...but you would never EVER do it 10. Parallel parking in your drivers ed class was pointless...you only had to do it next to one car11. You live in the shadow of the greatest city in the world, but you almost never go there.12. When you're away from Long Island, you love it and when you're home, you don't.13. You think if you're not from Long Island or NYC, you're not really from New York.14. You know the exact point at which Queens turns into Nassau simply on intuition.15. You don't go to Manhattan, you go to "The City."16. You never realize you have an accent till you leave.17. Everything north of the Bronx is "upstate."18. At some point in your life you've gone clamming.19. Either your parents or your grandparents lived in the city.20. You'd pay $11.50 for a movie. 21. You don't live in Long Island. You live ON Long Island. 22. You know where the Commack Motor Inn is. 23. Your distant future might involve the state of Florida.2 4. You know the location of 6 malls and a dozen McDonalds and 36 7-11's. 25. You've tried to find the Amityville Horror house. 26. No, you don't want mustard on that burger!! 27. You can't understand why a diner would ever close.2 8. You've had a seagull poop on your car.29. You don't really see the big deal about the Hamptons, unless you got smashed at the Boardy Barn.30. You know White Castle is terrible for you and it gives you a stomach ache, but you periodically "Get the Crave."31. You want the Yankees to stay in the Bronx, but would probably go to more games if they moved to Manhattan.32. You think that somehow, the Jets and Giants still play in New York. 33. You've missed that "Drunk Train," the 2:42 out of Penn, and had the dreaded wait until 5:30. 34. You or someone you know has owned an animal that came from North Shore Animal League. 35. You've never taken an MTA bus. 36. The Long Island Expressway isn't really as bad as everybody thinks. 37. You don't associate Fire Island with gay men. 38. You know which parts of the Godfather were filmed on Long Island. 39. You've paid a $10 cover charge to get into a bar, but got nothing for it. 40. You miss whiffle ball and running through sprinklers. 41. Billy Joel said it best, "either you date a rich girl from the North Shore, or a cool girl from the South Shore." 42. You have or someone you know has fallen asleep on the LIRR and ended up in one of these three places; Babylon, Port Washington or Hicksville. 43. You know that there is a big difference between any of the other hamptons, and hampton bays 44. The Belt Parkway sucks! 45. You've been stuck in a traffic jam for more than 2 hours (without moving). 46. Your parents took you to All American, Nathans or Carvel (on the way home from the beach). 47. You don't have to go far to see your family. 48. You remember Grumman. 49. You know the color of the water at Jones Beach is not BLUE! 50. You were upset when all the Roy Rogers turned into Wendy's and Arby's closed for good. 51. You can spout off all the LIRR stops between Penn Station and Ronkonkoma. 52. Paying $35 for a haircut doesn't sound so crazy. 53. You think the people from Brooklyn are "da wunz dat tawk wit a accent."54. You went sledding in the sumps.55. You knew of Massapequa before the Amy Fisher-Joey Buttafuoco nightmare. 56. You think going to Queens is a hike. 57. The first time you heard the term "Long Island Iced Tea" you were somewhere else and you laughed. 58. When you live somewhere else and are astounded to see that people actually stop at yellow lights. 59. Its rare to get really bad bagels or pizza on long island, almost as rare as it is to get good bagels and pizza anywhere else.60. You can name at least three bands that came from Long Island. 61. You've partied in the woods at least once in your life.62. You know what Pilgrim State and Sweet Hollow Road are...and you are NEVER going again 63. You are never more then 20 minutes away from the water.64. You have been to at least one concert at jones beach.65. When you hear "the end", you think Montauk. Orient Point never crosses your mind.66. Wandering around Fire Island trashed is an acceptable plan for any night.67. Doing 90 over the Robert Moses bridge or on Ocean Parkway is perfectly fine.68. When you say that you are going to "the outlets", Tanger is implied.69. You have a friends who swears they saw Billy Joel somewhere in Oyster Bay 70. When people ask "where are you from?" you answer Long-Guy-Land and automatically assume everyone in the world knows that answer means New York. 71. You've seen the commercials, and you've craved their shakes, but you know damn well there are no DQ's or Sonics on Long Island. 72. You remember all the good times had at Nunleys, and the emotional distress it caused when it was closed down. 73. When you or someone you know attends SUNY Albany, Buffalo, or Binghamton............

WHAT ARE SOME STEREOTYPES WITH SOME TRUTH ABOUT YOUR AREA?

Update: almost a month later........

2008-08-02T08:03:00.004-04:00

And the sex was confirmed yesterday!! We are having a baby boy!!! I have some really great pictures of everything. I know I really, really have to post some of this stuff so I am going to try to make it a point this weekend to scan for all of you to view. My fave pic is where he is just laying back and chillin' with his feet crossed. It's so funny because this is exactly how his father sleeps LOL. The doctor checked the heart and everything looks great (this was my huge fear). The spine and head also looks perfectly normal as well. And of course, we have some vivid penga pics! They took pics of EVERYTHING yesterday so I got to see his little hands and even his toes. SO NEAT!!!

The tech also said my placenta is in the front, so it may take me a little longer to start feeling kicks and jabs. I have felt some "bubbles" and one day at work this week I had movement where my stomach felt like it turned inside out. Never going through this before though, I am not sure if this is the baby or my imagination.........

The doctor said yesterday it looks like I am actually a couple days ahead of my due date, but they will not change it again because "a couple of days" still falls into the same range.

I am thinking of hitting up some stores later this morning to see what kind of baby boy summer clothes I can get on sale. This time next year he should certainly be able to fit into 6-9month outfits. If they are 50-80% off that's a really sweet deal as well. I can also now really focus on my baby registries. I have signed up for both Target and Babies R Us.

Just wanted to share the news!!!!

Some more news!!

2008-07-08T17:41:00.001-04:00

So I went for my ultrascreen at the hospital today and they were unable to do it.........apparently I am much farther along then my ObGyn originally thought. I am no longer due on 1/15/09 but my actual due date is 12/30/08. Looks like this is going to be either a Christmas or New Year's baby for sure!!!!

Anyone have any guesses on the sex? They were pretty much able to tell what I am having from the sonograms today. I will probably know for sure-for sure though in a couple of weeks.

New find

2008-07-06T16:43:00.005-04:00

I came across this site today after stumbling across the blog on another site:

http://www.wisebread.com/forums/

I know some of you have gotten into the frugal living thing just as much as me. Check it out when you have some time.

I can't believe the 4th of July weekend is almost over. If anything, I did get some much needed R&R and actually feel somewhat motivated to go back to work this week. I realized this weekend I only have about 6 months left there to decide if I really want to stay (or if they will let me stay on my own terms)..........I wish it was in the cards for us for me to just be a SAHM but as of right now I really don't think that's going to be a realistic possibility anytime soon.

I can dream though, right?

Anyways, hope you all had a great weekend and that you have a good week when you return back to work tommorrow.

It's nice to have a day off!

2008-07-04T13:37:00.004-04:00

To do pretty much nothing. I slept in a bit this morning, read some more of a book, made some dessert for the BBQ we are going to later (rice pudding, yummy!) and ate some left-over pizza from last night. That's been the extent of my day so far.

I'm debating getting into the shower soon, as I probably should do a quick grocery store run. I am just not looking forward to doing that on the 4th of July but there are a couple things we need in the house.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday weekend!

I'm okay!!

2008-06-25T19:00:00.005-04:00

I know a few of you have messaged me, so thanks for checking in :) Just been really busy lately (work mostly, what else is new?) and honestly, haven't had a whole lot to say otherwise.

Since I've found out I was pregnant, I've really been setting the boundaries with work. I gave up most of my caseload and have been delegating a lot of other tasks to everyone. I also have been trying hard to go into the office early and leave at a normal hour----at least by 4 or 5 every day after getting there between 6:30 and 7 LOL. Needless to say, I've been feeling a lot less stressed, which is a positive thing. Especially because a few weeks ago I had a little scare with the pregnancy and cramping. Everything was fine, but my doctor said it could be related to "work-stress".

Things are going well so far otherwise with the pregnancy. I gained 10 lbs in one day yesterday. That was fun to step on the scale and see. I think it's mostly "boob weight" though.

All of my co-workers have commented on how huge they've become. My belly is starting to protrude a little bit too. I go back for my monthly Ob-gyn visit on Monday and then we have the Down's Syndrome test the following week. I think that is also the time they determine my exact due date.

I am almost outta the first trimester!!!! I can't believe it!!!! I also didn't have morning sickness (just a whole lotta fatigue).

We've been trying to guess the sex of the baby. Initially, I had twinges that it was going to be a boy, however, I've actually had a couple of dreams lately that it's a girl. M also thinks it's going to be a girl. We shall see. My mom did the "needle test" over Memorial Day weekend and it showed "boy" but I recently did an online quiz and it came up 50/50! So yeah, again we shall see.......

We're pretty positive we are going to find out the sex. I think I really will want to know.

I already have decided that if it's a girl I am going to do a "butterfly theme" with the nursery. Boy----no clue yet...........anyways, I am off to make dinner. Have a great week everyone :)

Welcome summer!!!!

2008-05-23T16:22:00.000-04:00

I can't believe Memorial Day weekend is here already! Although I am certainly not complaining, as this is one of my most favorite times of the year.

With our most recent news though, I will have to make some slight changes, which means avoiding getting a ton of sun at the beach like I usually do this time each year. Oh well.........I think the trade-off will be worth it ;).

Anyways, this weekend is pretty packed already...........tonight I am planning to go grocery shopping to prepare for our big shin-dig backyard BBQ we are throwing on Monday. My reason for going so early is to beat the crowd through the rest of the weekend. We have over 35 people coming on Monday so I also have to get started straightening up the house, picking up extra chairs and such from the in-laws, going to the liquor store for booze I can't drink LOL and just getting everything ready to go in general.

Tommorrow is the big annual Jones Beach airshow which we plan to hit early with our friends from down the block. That's something we've been looking forward to since this time last year.

Sunday is my friend Jen's Memorial Day BBQ so that will be a good time to catch up with friends.

And then it will be Monday already. The weather is supposed to be sunny in the high 70's-low 80's this weekend. I can't wait! I am making the big announcement to the rest of my friends and family who don't know about the little peanut on Monday!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and stay safe!!!

So it's been awhile..........

2008-05-17T15:02:00.000-04:00

since I last posted. I guess my life had become somewhat boring and monotonous for a bit, which was my main reason for not posting on here. That and well, I've been quite nervous since last weekend...............with that said, I do have some new earth shattering news though (at least in my world!).......I find it laughable that my last post was about getting a new puppy..........because I confirmed this morning in fact that I am about 6.5 weeks preggo with our first child!

S/he is due around January 14, 2009.

I had my first sonogram today and I saw the baby's heart beat!! It was probably the most amazing experience of my life so far. Now, coming to terms with the fact that there's a living human being growing inside me, I don't know what to do with myself. I cannot describe the feelings that are going through my mind right now........

I do hope that I can maintain the same attitude my husband and I had about conceiving to begin with and just let whatever happens, happen. I want to enjoy this experience and take it in stride.

I also feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel now in terms of what my decision with work/career is probably going to end up being...........stay tuned........

We got a...............

2008-04-27T12:16:00.001-04:00

new pug puppy yesterday!! Her name is Emma. She's black and such a little squirt. I've been having a great weekend so far playing with her and Darby. He's been keeping her in line, it's amazing how he's been showing her "who's the boss" and what she should/should not be doing. Stay tuned..........pics will soon be posted..........

The library

2008-04-26T08:47:00.001-04:00

I am going to go check out and join the local library this morning.

Being a new homeowner, we get lots of "community" type mail for our new town. One of the mailings that came the other day is a bi-monthly newspaper that is written about all the goings-ons at the local library.

I read it and then went to check out the website, and I am amazed at all the stuff our neighborhood branch offers. And the most exciting piece of it all, is that mostly everything is either FREE or very low-cost.

They have free classes in a ton of different things almost every weeknight after work (which totally works for me!). Yoga, meditation, various kinds of jewelry making, a variety of cooking classes, and free movie showings are just a few of the things offered.

For smaller fees, they do regular trips you can sign up to participate in around the local area.

One that looks quite fun, that I might treat my history-buff husband to is a "historical boat cruise around Long Island" that obviously discusses all things past-related to our island, while you are on-board a boat for this day-long event.

They even have a cafe inside the library that serves coffee, tea, sandwiches, salads and snacks.

You can also check-out new release CDs and DVDs at the library. I feel like such a nerd, but this looks like too great of a place to pass up!

A little sun will do ya good!

2008-04-19T13:43:00.001-04:00

Well, spring has officially sprung!

I have been walking around much of the day so far on my back deck/yard in a tank top and cropped pants. It's in the mid-70's here and the sun is blarring high in the sky. My favorite kind of weather!!

I also feel much better then I have for the past few weeks or so. I feel like I've been in a funk about work stuff, but it's not really bothering me anymore.

I was able to catch up on a ton of stuff over the past two days, as well as just laugh and vent with my co-workers about how annoying people at work can be.

Related to that, we are also starting an "unofficial" supervisor-support group for those of us "in charge" of this wacky waiver program. My friend A who is also one of my boss's at my P/T gig is setting it up and is coming up with a list of good "bars" we can all go hang out in to drink and vent LOL.

I also went shopping earlier this morning and got some new spring clothes and some fun dresses at NY&CO and Old Navy.

We're going to a wedding tonight for our friends C & J. It should be a fun time. We've decided to splurge on a car service with our friends D & R who live in our neighborhood who are going as well........that way we can all "party it up" and not have to worry about someone having to be the designated driver.

R's brother also has offered to drive us to the reception, so that way we only have to pay for the car on the way home.

It's amazing how a little good weather can really lift your spirits and make you feel positive towards what lies ahead!

Have a great weekend everyone. I am going to go back outside on the deck and enjoy the rest of this beautiful day!

Latest dramantics at work.......

2008-04-18T06:42:00.000-04:00

So as I've written about oh so many times on here, I am kinda majorly going back and forth with wanting to stay in social work, at least in a leadership position anyways. I am getting to the point where I would gladly take a pay-cut to go back to being just a regular entry-level Service Coordinator, if it means I can work from home, set my own schedule with my clients, and basically, not have to deal with the powers that be and their moods every single day. Anyways..........fast forward to Wednesday.

My agency wants to start this new program which is basically designed to allow a person with ANY kind of disability/disease/condition/whatever who wants to come out of a nursing home, and who can safely reside in the community, to do so............My agency of course sees $$$$$$ signs with this kind of program.

Having worked for a very similar waiver program for the past 3 years, knowing the philosophy of that program, as well as having my roots in social work values & ethics, I KNOW that's not how it works.........it's not all about $$$$$$ and it's certainly not about clients coming into the community very quickly...........it's a huge long freakin' process as I mentioned earlier, a safe discharge is the key.

So anyways, you are probably asking what my point is already.........basically, I had to accompany my rich boss--who really doesn't know much about what the program I oversee does to begin with---to an interview with the state for our agency to head up this program on Wednesday.

During the interview process, my boss pretty much hit me blind-side in front of both state people that I will not only be heading up my current program, but this one as well.

Happy joyous occasion this was. I was pretty much silent the entire time, as the two state people starred me down and not my boss, because I know they were trying to get a reaction from me.

Needless to say the "interview" didn't go all that well, because the one interviewer, let's call him Steve, basically came to my defense, wondering how in the H.E. double hockey sticks I am going to run both programs safely and effectively. He also shot down the new program manuals my boss had spent literally thousands of dollars on to write up and have all nicely printed.

He did give us a chance to come back again, to give the agency a chance to redeem itself, but who knows.......I feel that we probably will get the program, as the state needs as many providers as possible to help these people who want to come out of the nursing home.

However, and again, I guess the point I am trying to get to is just how much is too much? When do you throw the towel in completely? When is it clear that a place is trying to cut corners, and run things as cheaply as possible by not hiring the workforce that they need to get the program to run correctly? I mean, you can spend thousands on manuals, but why not put that money into hiring quality employees (this was touched upon at this interview btw!!).

These are the things I've been frustrated with the program I am working with already. I can't imagine having to oversee this new venture as well. And the biggest thing----I am SURE it would probably come with a really great pay raise, however, I already feel like my life is sucked completely dry from me Monday-Friday. I can't imagine giving up even more of my life for this, just for a few extra dollars..........or even for A LOT of extra $$$$. I really think I will end up leaving first...............Anyways.......I am so, so happy it's Friday, and that I won't have to deal with this stuff, at least until first thing Monday morning. Have a great weekend everyone!

New hobby:

2008-04-13T18:18:00.000-04:00

Gardening!! My husband and I started planting seeds earlier this evening in hopes of what will be our very first garden. I also planted some herbs in some small pots last weekend and they are already starting to sprout!

I'm so excited. The price of fresh veggies and herbs around here seems to be absolutely ridiculous so I am really looking forward to not having to spend $$ on them if we can grow our own on our kitchen counter or in an outdoor garden this spring/summer.

Speaking of "outdoors" we were at Home Depot earlier today and DH bought our very first lawn mower and "weed wacker" as well LOL. He spent most of the afternoon doing yard work.

I also got one of these in the cool purple color that was on sale at Home Depot. So pretty!!!

Headed Upstate!!

2008-04-12T08:42:00.000-04:00

to get our free kitchen table!! (sounds dismal but my parents' got it for us from their close friend that recently passed. It's from Ethan Allen in great condition though!!).

Have a great weekend everybody :) !!

I heart the Dollar Tree

2008-04-05T10:10:00.000-04:00

Uncommon Cents writes a similar post earlier this week about the great finds you can get for practically dirt cheap at the local 99 cents store. I just checked out mine in my new neighborhood.

I got for $11.00 (plus tax, total $11.95):

1.) A measuring cup (threw my old scratched one out in the move)
2.) Two Soft Soap brand liquid hand soaps in black raspberry vanilla and soothing aloe vera
3.) Instant hand sanitizer in strawberry melon scent
*these above two purchases I usually get in the Bath & Body Works variety and they are obviously several $$$ more there*
4.) toilet bowl cleaner
5.) a large Ajax antibacterial orange dish washing liquid (higher cost at the local grocery or CVS).
6.) a 4-pack of tooth brushes
7.) a 4-pack of toilet paper
8.) and to cease my shopping urge to buy something for "me", I bought a variety of 5 funky head-band accessories

Pretty good deals, I must say.

Now, it's time to stop procrastinating by spending my time online.........I REALLY need to sit down and begin my wedding thank-you's. BTW, the post office has 41 cent "forever" stamps in rolls of 100 for $41.00. May be good to pick up a few rolls, since the cost of stamps is going up again in May!. If you pick these up now, you don't have to pay the difference when the price changes in May.

Freakin' landlord

2008-04-05T08:25:00.000-04:00

So we moved out of our apartment we had been living in for the past 2 years.............a month early at that, so the landlord decided to "take that month out of our security". Fine, whatever, it sucks, but we expected that.

Well, this is the next piece that totally irks me............the apartment is pretty old. The closet doors were always falling off the tracks. The medicine cabinet in the bathroom is ancient and one of the sections fell off as well and is missing a screw. (We basically proped it back together which is how it was when we moved in).

The landlord called me yesterday and left me a message that if WE don't fix those items since M is "in construction" she is going to charge us out of our security. WTF?

I haven't called her back yet............At least she has decided to replace the carpets. I was expecting to hear a rant about that, but they were old and had stains when we moved in so that's a positive at least. Freakin' landlords!

Still thinking about other careers.........

2008-04-05T08:12:00.000-04:00

I had to go meet a client yesterday who is temporarily "housed" at a local hotel. She wasn't ready to meet with me when I arrived, so I hung out in the lobby for a bit. I got to observe some of the front desk hotel staff, and honestly, it seems like working in a hotel could be a pretty cool job.

In college, I did actually work at a hotel as a waitress (one route I don't want to go down again), but the staff who ran the hotel, or managed banquets and weddings and such seemed to really love what they did. Yeah, there was some stress involved, but from what I observed, nothing at all like the stuff social workers run into on a day to day basis.

I am definitely going to look into this field a bit more. Another message board I post to recommended I check out this site.

A lot of people are encouraging me to stay in social work, but just to "work with a different population". I really don't know if that's the answer though.

I am just feeling like with all the recent budget cuts, and just overall unrealistic expectations that are piled onto me and my colleagues on a daily basis, it's going to be problematic like that no matter with WHAT population I were to work with. It's really more of a quality life/quality of service issue at this point, and not even a matter of being paid more money or just "switching environments".

*Sigh* God help us all if any of us are faced with the need for serious help in the future............and I'm not even religious!!

Yay!!

2008-04-03T17:12:00.000-04:00

I have home access to the work server as of today so I can officially work from home/wherever if need be!!!

I hope I didn't just open Pandora's Box by asking for access to this now LOL.

I like the structure of going into the office everyday, however, at the same time, I've found work is just more stressful in general if I am in the office everyday. People can FIND me then LOL.

I let my Service Coordinators work from home, as long as they are on time with their paperwork, and accessible via cell phone, I think it should be the same for me. Thoughts? Do you feel more productive working from home or "the office"?

Cool or Uncool?!

2008-04-02T20:06:00.000-04:00

It's April!

2008-04-02T18:18:00.000-04:00

Which I am excited about because that finally means spring and nice weather are right around the corner.

Work so far this past week has been pretty stressful. Just a bunch of bureacratic B.S. more or less. I am dealing though. I have too many other better things going on in my life to let it get to me that much.

I also have decided that I am going to work from home/the field at least part of the week so I can avoid a lot of the B.S. as much as possible. I am actually bringing my laptop in tommorrow to have our IT person install the company email program so I can access it without having to go into the office. Another positive is that I was told I can work out of one of our other offices which is about a 10 minute drive from my house vs. where I am now which is average 45 minute drive to and from most days because of traffic ;).

I am pretty pleased about that at least.

In other news, we got our first mortgage statement over the weekend. It's due on 5/1. M's business has been doing really well so far this year so financially, we figured he would be able to completely pay for the monthly payments, at least for the time being. I was able to recently pay off all of my debt except for my monthly student loan payment, so we are planning on just banking my paychecks for now. I feel very fortunate that I really don't have a lot of bills otherwise.

We pay for our utilities and entertainment stuff out of our joint account. As a couple, I also feel really fortunate to say we really have no debt. His is mostly related to his business, so that is covered by the company. Let's just hope that this so-called "recession" doesn't impact us negatively in the months to come. I've still been playing around with the idea of changing fields completely within the next two years, but with the way they are talking about the economy as of late, I don't really know how realistic that is going to be for me!

Well, I really don't have much else to blog about. Happy hump day everyone!!! Tommorrow's Thursday----yay----2 more days until the weekend. Thank. God.

Social work finance article

2008-03-27T18:09:00.001-04:00

Just saw this article in Social Work Today that is interesting to share.

Budgeting and and basic financial skills and overall worries is something that the majority of clientele I've worked with have struggles/concerns about.

This is good stuff for everyone in general to read. Even if you don't think it affects you. You may learn something ;).

Starting to feel settled!!!

2008-03-27T16:35:00.000-04:00

So we finally moved into the new house this past weekend.

I've slowly been unpacking everything and getting the house set up. (I also realized how much "stuff" I got from my showers that I probably am not going to use anytime soon really that is already starting to collect dust in the basement. Sad, I know!).

M has already completely demo'ed the master bedroom, and we've budgeted for about the $2K it's going to cost us to put in the new hardwood floors as well as paint and trim ourselves. In addition to that, M had a VERY costly accident last night which both of us are still very upset about..........he was putting together the entertainment center and a piece of it fell down, into our year-old LCD TV...........

It doesn't work anymore obviously, so that's another $2G we are going to have to spend right away for a new one that we really hadn't budgeted to be spending this soon.

And unfortunately, M didn't have protection on it, and accidents like these are considered "normal wear and tear" so they are not covered under our home owner's policy.

So yeah, this really sucks, but what can we do? Just shows the joys we are running into already with our decision to be homeowners.

This weekend we have to go back to the Long Beach apartment first thing to clean and remove the rest of several small items we left behind. So when that chore is done, I will finally feel like we are completely settled, without it hanging over our heads anymore.

I must say though, despite last night's first "disaster", I am really, really lovin' finally being a home-owner. I mean, having MY OWN washer and dryer for one thing, has totally made my life lately. It's also great to be able to let D out to run around the backyard while I am blow-drying my hair before work in the morning.

And even though our house is considered "small" by Long Island standards, it still seems pretty huge to us. Our 2 cats get lost in all this space!!

Anyways, I just wanted to provide a quick update to those of you who follow my bloggage. I am now off to fold my laundry and put some more stuff away in the basement!

Happy almost weekend everyone!!!

Luck of the Irish........

2008-03-11T18:12:00.000-04:00

..........will hopefully be with us on Monday. We got our closing date set for that day!!!! I already went ahead and set up all of our utilities for then. I had a strange red-flag convo though with Cablevision. The salesman had on record that someone was living in our soon-to-be-house, so he had to call him to let him know the accounts will be switched as of 3/17. Well.............he comes back on the line to say that "the guy said he's not moving out then". Don't really know what this means, but I left a message alerting our attorney and REA.

I know that the seller's son at one point had an illegal apartment set up in the garage. I definitely want to do our final walk-through this weekend to ensure he's movin' his butt out by Monday.

Fingers crossed, fingers crossed!!!!

Got this from my mom.........

2008-03-09T21:43:00.001-04:00

and I liked it!

It's a nice way to kill some time at least:

Click here.

Packing up!!!

2008-03-09T21:09:00.000-04:00

I don't have a whole lot to talk about really..........I did get a lot of packing done this weekend at least. I have 2 large "body-sized" bags of clothes I am planning to donate. I am going to see if there are any organizations in my area that do pick-up, but if not, there looks like there are several drop-off boxes for a local women's shelter nearby, so my stuff may end up going there too.

I basically went by the rule "if I haven't worn it in a year, it's going". With the stuff I was having a harder time parting with, I reminded myself that there's probably someone out there who needs these items a lot more than I do, especially if I haven't worn them in more than a year.

It feels really, really good to purge some of my stuff. It feels even better to have such a jump-start on the packing, and I am so pleased that I have even less "stuff" to pack this time around.

Last time I moved I had so much more. Probably because back then I had no real budget, impulse bought, and spent so much of my money on clothes that I did not need.

This move alone and the lack of "leftovers" really signifies how far I have come in my quest to be frugal, in just a short couple of years.

I think back to two years ago and how much I ended up getting rid of at my last apartment, that probably could've gone to someone else in need---I just had so much back then that it was completely overwhelming to go through, I ended up throwing most of it out.........that's pretty sad, but I vow to never get like that again.

Less definitely is more!

So excited!!

2008-03-05T20:12:00.001-05:00

They are opening up a second location of our favorite BBQ place ever, Smokin' Al's, right near our new house! If we are going to continue to spend some of our money to eat out, at least it's not $80.00 a person here!! And the food is great, and there are enough leftovers for at least 2 additional meals!!

If you are a Long Islander, and enjoy BBQ, you gotta check out Smokin' Al's. You will wait a bit for a table, (they don't take reservations!) but I guarantee it's worth it. There's a bar area there to pass the time before you are seated, or a quiet, lower key bar with lots of seats next door that the hostess will even come and get you at when your table is ready ;).

With spring coming, it's well worth it to take the trip out East to Bay Shore, to the original location. Maybe go to Fire Island during the day, and stop here on your way back home. Happy eating!!

It's peanut butter & jelly the rest of the week..........

2008-03-03T00:17:00.000-05:00

because I totally just blew my budget on dinner out. I tried The Melting Pot tonight. I spent close to eighty bucks on me, myself and I only, and the food was mediocre--at best. Talk about major buyer's remorse. It's PB&J for me the rest of the week! I guess this is the type of place everyone can feel free to try at least once, but as for me, I probably will not be going back. I learned an expensive lesson tonight..........stay far, far away from the hyped-up chain restaurants. Actually maybe I will stay away from restaurants in general for awhile. I think between M & I we just spend way too much money eating out. 'Nuff said.

My husband is insane!

2008-03-02T13:10:00.000-05:00

So we are supposed to close on the house the week of March 10th. We have decided to move in right away, even though we still will have one more month on our lease (basically we don't want to leave the house empty for fear of it getting broken into).

Anyways, he came home about an hour ago with a ton of boxes, bags and packing stuff. He has half the apartment torn apart already and packed!!!

Talk about getting a jump on things!!! I'm just sitting here watching. Is that so wrong? LOL...........

It's been a long week!

2008-03-01T09:21:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it was being sick for over a week last week, this nasty cold weather, picking up some challenging new cases, or a combo of all, but it has been a really lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng week at work this past week.

I am so happy Saturday is finally here. Today M & I are headed Upstate for the day to visit with my parents. We'll probably be back really late tonight.

Tommorrow I am planning to sleep in, hopefully finish this really great book I picked up for my book club, then head out to this fondue place I've been dying to try for dinner with some new friends.

I hope this week goes by faster!!! Happy, happy everyone :)

Reasons I am sooooooooooooooooo itching to move.......

2008-02-29T18:25:00.000-05:00

1.) I am looking forward to purging a lot of the "junk" I have accumulated living in my current apartment over the past 2 years.

2.) More space! Right now we live in a 1-bedroom apartment, with a living room, bathroom, and tiny non-eat-in kitchen. I am so looking forward to having 3 bedrooms, an attic, full basement, living room and a huge-ass kitchen with tons of counter-space and cabinets!!!

3.) I will no longer have to walk the dog. (I am procrastinating that chore right now by writing here). Actually, I don't mind going for long walks with him. Except in the freezing cold or other not so great weather conditions. Or when I need to rush off to do something, which is pretty often. When we move, I can just open the sliding glass door and he can go out and do his business in our fenced-in backyard. (M will have to pick up his little "treats" though LOL).

4.) Planting a garden!!! This is something M & I are VERY excited about.

5.) Buying a grill and having weekend backyard BBQ's!! A Long Island tradition!!! And now we finally get to play host and hostess!!

6.) Using all my new stuff that I got for my showers and wedding gifts!!! This goes back up to number 1..........I can't wait to throw out our crappy chipped dishes and mis-matched plates and silverware. My inlaws have been holding onto all of our new stuff for us since last summer/fall. It'll be great to finally bust out the new things.

7.) Shopping for new furniture, and not so-new furniture. We have a budget for the necessities, however, we have also been promised some really nice gently used stuff that we can start off with from my parents and the inlaws. We don't have to buy new living room furniture at least!! My mom got us a nice kitchen table & chairs that sits 6 that was from a friend of her's that passed away.

8.) Using all our giftcards for Macy's & Target!!!

9.) Being closer to good friends and family. I love, love, love the area we live in now, however, it's still about 30-60 minutes away from everybody.

10.) Demo!!!! I can't wait to get the keys to the new house so I can tear up the living room carpet and nasty floral wall-paper in the kitchen. I can't wait to paint. I want to take down the kitchen cabinets, and put up new ones, but M wants to wait a year or so until we save up some more dough to really re-do the kitchen the way we want.

More to come later..............but M just got home. I will probably check in later this weekend.

Sick all week

2008-02-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

I've been horribly sick all week. I think what added to it, was I forced myself to go into work because there was just so much to do. Big mistake!! It really has caught up with me. I did finally make the decision to stay home from work today. I just need a day to stay in bed all day and not be running around and responsible for everything. Luck also is kind of on my side, because there's a snow storm here today so I am assuming a lot of people probably didn't make it in for that reason alone. I am actually feeling a little better already, although I still have a cold, and my stomach is still kinda icky. The coughing at least has gone away for the most part, and my nose is not as stuffed up as it's been. Hopefully I will be back to normal by Monday.

ING savings anyone?

2008-02-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

www.ingdirect.com

If anyone is interested in starting an ING savings, and making a little extra money on top of that, please let me know!!

If you accept my referral to start an ING savings with at least a $250.00 initial deposit, ING will deposit another $25.00 into your new savings account, and $10.00 into mine for referring you.

They also have a checking account incentive too. Send me a message if you are interested. Thanks everyone!!

I feel sick but............

2008-02-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

I am going to work anyways. Something has been going around our office, because it seems everyone has been leaving early lately with bad cold or flu-like symptoms. I have to plug along this morning though because not only am I on a serious deadline with an assignment, but it's also payday!

I am not waiting until Monday to get my paycheck. Especially because our $1317.60 monthly Cobra bill came in the mail yesterday ;). Maybe that's what is making me feel so ill! Ironic, isn't it.........

I am going to get some tea and some carbs in my stomach and I think I will feel a little better. Happy Friday/weekend everyone!!!

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day.

2008-02-11T07:02:00.000-05:00

Isn't this puppy the cutest thing? Just had to share with all of you out in cyberspace. We aren't doing a whole lot for Valentine's Day. We'll probably just go out to dinner at our favorite sushi place in our building. I also have booked a "seal cruise" around Hempstead Bay for my husband and I next Saturday. This was relatively cheap ($20.00 per person) and the $$$ goes to benefit endangered marine wildlife and sea turtles in our area.

My husband bought me several new shirts for work yesterday, for my "Valentine's gift".

I don't believe in spending all that $$$$ on roses that are just going to die, so I suggested he get me something practical. Chocolate is okay, but that goes straight to my hips so I can probably do without that too!!

Anyways, Happy Monday everyone!!!! Hope it's a great week and stay warm. It's like 11 degrees outside here today.

My new favorite obsession: Aromatherapy from B&B

2008-02-10T16:46:00.000-05:00

They had the bath gels on sale for $5.00 each last week. I picked up a minty smelling one and an orangey smelling one. At that price, you really can't go wrong.

I also discovered this amazingly yummy-smelling hand cream today, in black currant vanilla.

If you have less than $20.00 to spend this weekend, and want to scratch that shopping itch, I highly recommend!

(Plus my receipt offered a chance to call in to discuss my shopping experience, and I will save $10.00 off my next $30.00 purchase!).

Maybe Bath & Body Works offers the same by you.

A marriage plunge

2008-02-09T09:39:00.001-05:00

I have decided that I am pretty much going to close all of my personal accounts and go "all-joint".

It's just seems easier to me, instead of having our money all over the place. Not only that but I am really displeased with the bank that I have my personal checking at. It seems like every few months or so, I will get a notice for overdraft charges. I am totally convinced that this is a scam with this particular bank, after having read many articles about the same thing happening to others, knowing full well that there is a significant amount of $$$ in my account.

Banks seem to do this when you use your debit card a few times in a row...........they put a "hold" on the overall funds in your account until those 1 or 2 debit charges clear completely. That way, they can easily collect $30.00 or more from customers, and it's usually more of a hassle then it's worth to get these charges cleared.

I also no longer have direct deposit, and love the bank where we have our joint accounts, so this is another reason I want to move my business over completely to one institution.

I think I am still going to connect my personal ING accounts to our joint. Psychologically, I think I still need to have some of my money seperate from "our" money. I NEED that sense of financial independence.

I also feel really blessed that my husband and I have similar attitudes about money, that he lets me be the one "in charge" of our finances (ie. bill paying and account oversight), and that he always asks before he purchases anything from our joint account.

We also have a shared number that we never want our joint savings to dip below, and we both agree that we will not touch one of our savings accounts (except to deposit funds!) for this reason.

I feel like I've reached a huge new step in our relationship today.

It's finally Friday!

2008-02-08T06:55:00.000-05:00

It has been a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng week. I am so glad today is going to be a pretty laid back day. I have to go meet a potential client out East this morning, and then I am going to head into the office for a few.

I've started to really love Fridays even more since starting the new job, for no other reason really, besides the fact that we get paid every Friday! Ultimately I make basically the same amount of $$$$ I used to make bi-weekly, but for some reason, it feels like I "make more" when I am paid on a weekly basis.

This weekend is going to be pretty low key and I am so looking forward to that. I have to catch up on some paperwork for my P/T gig tommorrow morning, but other than that, don't have a whole lot to do.

I might go buy some new pants for work. NY&CO is having their Buy 1/get 1 50% off pant sale. Just thought I'd share. I also have to pick up a book for the new bookclub I am joining. Actually, I am probably going to re-join booksfree.com so I can save more $$$ on books. I still need to actually make an effort to join the library, but I think now that's going to have to wait until we move since that's right around the corner.

Speaking of moving, I got an email from the mortgage broker yesterday and we are pretty much cleared to close!

We are almost homeowners!!! That's the next big thing I have to look forward to...........packing up and well, purging a lot of my crap. So exciting!!!! I can't believe it's almost real.

Which reminds me, I need to get in contact with the mortgage company in general to see if we have the option of paying our mortgage payment bi-weekly or twice a month, instead of monthly. All financial sources seem to indicate that this is a really great way to pay the mortgage off faster and of course save on a ton of interest.

So if we can swing that financially, and if the mortgage company allows it, I think this is the way we are going to go. Have a great weekend everyone :)

It's Tuesday!!

2008-02-05T05:58:00.000-05:00

And I get to collect on my "free" cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee this morning. (They've started giving out cards where you buy 5 cups, you get one free). It doesn't take much to get me excited LOL. P.S. If you go to their website, you can sign up for coupons and free offers and such to be sent to your email box ;).

In other areas, I feel like my social life is pretty stagnant as of late so I've decided to check out this site http://www.meetup.com/. I've found a couple women's social meet-up groups that look pretty fun. I also am getting involved in a book club with another women's social group that I am already part of, and working with my sorority alumnae group on ways to make it more active---including not having everything on the island of Manhattan.

I think that's one reason my social life has taken a nose-dive as of late. I'm just tired of having to commute an hour or more each way to just hang out with people.

What are good ways that you have met new people? Discuss!!!

So............

2008-01-31T20:10:00.000-05:00

I spoke with our mortgage person today and she said we should be able to close on or around 2 weeks from today!!

It hasn't hit me yet..............we are almost homeowners!!!!!

Money angel

2008-01-24T21:36:00.001-05:00

Money Angel

This is a money angel Pass it to 6 of your good friends, or family and be rich in 4 Days. Pass it to 12 of your good friends or family and be rich in 2 Days. I am not joking. You will find an unexpected windfall. If you delete it, you will never know!

LOL, I really don't believe in chain letters, or little girls on clouds throwing money down from the sky, but hey, it's free to share this (or at least an added part of our monthly internet bill, or job's internet bill), and like it says, you will never know if you don't pass it on! Stranger things have happened. May lots of or even a little bit of money come your way soon!!! Here's also best wishes for overcoming those unexpected negative financial windfalls that creep up on us from time to time. May the "angel of money" protect you, in whatever form you believe her to be ;).

What do social workers make????

2008-01-24T08:10:00.000-05:00

WHAT SOCIAL WORKERS MAKE by Karen Quinnelly Arrington, LBSW

Karen now lives in Koscuisko, Mississippi where she works in Hospice Social Work. Karen received her BSW from the University of Alabama in1987 and is currently licensed in the state of Mississippi. It’s a touching argument about the value of a social worker.

Her article:

A group of friends and I were sitting around one evening discussing life. One guy there (whom I had just recently gotten to know) decided to explain the problem with social services and how they help those who won’t help themselves (social workers making little or nothing $$$ themselves.) He argued, “How’s a person going to benefit from someone who has decided their best option in life is to become a social worker?” He reminded everyone what they say about social workers-“bleeding heart liberals.” To stress his point, he said to me, “You’re a social worker, Karen. Be honest. What do you make?”

I, having a reputation for honesty and frankness, replied, “You want to know what I make?” I paused for a moment and began, “Well, I have made safe places for abused children. In the process, I did my best to make them feel that they didn’t deserve the treatment they got, so they could go out and do better in their lives.”

“I now make arrangements for the terminally ill to stay at home in their last days with exceptional end of life care. I see that caregivers don’t burn out making the patient and caregivers last days comfortable and worry-free.”

“When a young widow or single mother doesn’t know where to turn social workers make sure they know (whether people like it or not) what benefits they are eligible for. And we try to make sure she doesn’t get lost in the bureaucracy. We make plans with clients so they can get jobs and homes.This is only a start.”

“You want to know what social workers make?” I asked again. ”We make visits in neighborhoods that most people won’t go to on a bet, because we know people there are in need, and we make friends there who invite us backto their weddings, cookouts, and openings of community centers we have campaigned for.”“We make time to listen to the elderly, the mentally ill, the lonely. And we have the knowledge and skills to help them make improvements in their lives.”

“We make appointments with officials and testify before legislature to get everyone in the community a fair shake.”“Some of us teach, to make the next generation’s social workers.”“And sometimes, we make plans with our families and friends-only to break them because there is an accident, a fire, a disaster or death and a social worker is needed.”

I then paused one last time and then continued. “So, when people want to judge me by what I make, I hold my head up high and say, “I make a difference…..What do you make?”

Free refills at Starbucks & a "dollar menu"????

2008-01-23T17:02:00.001-05:00

I'm not a huge fan of Starbucks coffee myself (prefer Dunkin' Donuts), but this looks like it's a half-way decent deal. I also recently learned that they have always had a cheaper "short" cup available, but don't actually advertise it on their menu. Too bad I don't work above a Starbucks anymore. The one nearest my job is kind of a PITA to get to now, but maybe I'll take a break from time to time and head over there if this deal is extended to the island.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080123/starbucks.html?.v=4&.pf=banking-budgeting

RIP Heath Ledger

2008-01-22T21:50:00.000-05:00

My heart goes out to your family and friends. RIP.

1/22/08

To COBRA or not to COBRA

2008-01-20T10:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I think for us, there really is no question. I think we are going to have to, just for the peace of mind and added financial security. I probably won't continue with the dental coverage piece of it, but the medical insurance coverage is $1285.74 a month for both of us. That's an awful lot of beans that we may just be throwing away, but I think being out a few thousand dollars is better then being in debt THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of dollars down the road for an unexpected medical emergency that may come up. My husband also works in quite a dangerous field (construction) so having the continuous insurance just makes me feel better. Who knows? Maybe my SIL the accountant can help us get some of this $$$$ back in our taxes next year. Also several wise people in my life, have suggested that if you have the money there in an emergency fund (which we do), that this is one of those emergencies it should be utilized for. Thoughts? Comments? (Besides the fact that the cost of healthcare in our country is ridiculously insane!).

I survived!!!

2008-01-18T17:49:00.000-05:00

My first week at my new job, that is. And I must say, I really, really like the place so far. I feel all warm and homey there already. Everyone is super, super nice and so far, while my position appears that it will be quite challenging, it doesn't seem unmanageable or overwhelming at all. I am very glad that I had this opportunity come along, and hope that I am here for a long, long while.

I am going to have to re-vamp my budget soon, because we get paid weekly, instead of bi-weekly like I am used to now. I can't remember the last time it actually even was that I got paid on a weekly basis. So I will probably take a look at that this weekend, since I receive my first paycheck next Friday.

Speaking of the weekend, I plan to catch up on some work for my P/T gig, visit family, work-out a bit and watch some Netflix and just plain veg! I must say, that without having to commute into the city everyday, I feel so much more relaxed! I am loving this "newly found time" as well. I can leave later and I get home earlier. It's great!! On that note, have a great weekend everyone!!!

Just checking in to say..........

2008-01-15T08:08:00.000-05:00

that I really like my new job so far. More to follow..........I am going to reward myself with some Milky Way hot chocolate from D&D this morning..........I am using a coupon of course ;).

Simple, Cheap, Yummy

2008-01-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

Made this today. Got the recipe from the weekly free newspaper, The Long Island Press:

Simple, Reliable Split Pea Soup

One large onion, diced
Two carrots, diced
Two stalks celery, diced
2 tbs. olive oil
1 cup broth - chicken stock or vegetable base
2-3 cups water
1 cup dried split peas, sorted, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté vegetables in olive oil for five minutes or until tender. Add broth, two cups water, peas. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add additional water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread and a salad for a great winter supper.

**I also added ham to mine** Another favorite blogger of mine, English Major, also blogs about the frugalness of soup today.

Happy eating!!!

Read it!!

2008-01-11T20:48:00.001-05:00

Don't have a whole lot to say today..............except that you absolutely have to read this book. I really enjoyed The Kite Runner, but this book just takes the cake even more in my opinion. I finished it in less then a week and I can't get it out of my head.

It has also made me think about a new financial goal: giving to those who are in even worse need then myself or believe it or not, even some of the people I help on a day to day basis in my own professional life.

Yeah, it's just "a book" but it made me realize how good those of us living here in even the most dire straits, are so much better off than others in "far off" lands.

I am going to start researching organizations that provide assistance to people in war-torn countries such as Afghanistan. Thoughts? Experiences?? Discuss!!

I re-re-re-re-RESIGNED!!!!

2008-01-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

And I am so happy with my decision. I am finishing out the week at my present job, and then I will start at the new place on Monday. It's kind of crazy and most of all scary because I will have a lot more responsibility, but I am willing to give it a try.........I don't want to look back and have any regrets.

Financially-speaking, this new job seems like a good decision as well. It offers a slight pay increase, my very first 401K with a company match, it's closer to home so I will save time and a little bit of $$$$ on the commute, and it appears to not be real close to a lot of "take out" places so I should be able to save even more $$$ by focusing on bringing more of my meals and snacks to work (and not running downstairs to a Starbucks just because anymore).

Well, I have to say a great big THANKS for listening to me ramble on about this over the past several months everyone!! I am so ready to begin this new chapter in my life. Wish me luck!!!

I got a job offer!!

2008-01-06T08:56:00.000-05:00

Well, one of the places I interviewed with (see below post) called me back yesterday and gave me a tentative job offer. She said they are still waiting to get in touch with one of my references, however, wanted to let me know over the weekend that they were planning to offer me the job so I don't go elsewhere LOL. I am probably going to take this job by the way...........but we shall see. The perks are it's really close to home (right now 15 minutes by train and when we move, it will still be only about a 30 minute commute), better benefits (ie. 401K with a company match, never had that before!), a salary increase, as well as promotion in what my role would be. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my chest!!!!

Why I love giftcards!

2008-01-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

I just got back from the mall where I was able to get a brand new pair of cute, warm Ugg boots on sale and I didn't have to pay a thing..........I used my mall giftcard. This is great because this is one of those items that I really would love to have, but also have a really hard time justifying the expense, especially because I still have a pair (although to be honest, they are now about 3 years old and in not great condition........there's even a small hole in one of them!). I don't feel guilty either because I didn't spend my $$$ to buy them. I still also had some money left over on my gift card to get some new long sleeve tees that were on sale at GAP Body..........something I do need btw because I only have about 2 and they should probably be tossed because they are worn out and mis-shapen.......so all in all, it was a great shopping trip..........and this is again the reason why I am a big advocate for giftcards. I know many people are against them, feeling they are not a "personal enough" of a gift, but I really beg to disagree.

In other news, on the job front, I got a voicemail last night from one of the women I interviewed with at a top choice place to work, to call her on her cell anytime this weekend. She sounded really positive and stated that she really needed to speak to me. So far I've left her two messages between last night and this morning and have not heard back. I am on pins and needles over here waiting to find out if I may have gotten the job! Wish me luck!!

Words to live by in 2008 (thanks Krista!)

2008-01-04T06:50:00.000-05:00

As we start the New Year, here are tips for an exceptional, superb & powerful life! Happy New Year!

1.) Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate antidepressant.2.) Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you haveto.3.) Buy a Tivo (DVR), tape your late night shows and get more sleep.4.) When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'Mypurpose is to________ today.'5.) Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.6.) Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you didlastyear.7.) Always pray and make time to exercise.8.) Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age ofsix.9.) Dream more while you are awake.10.) Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in factories.11.) Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.12.) Try to make at least three people smile each day.13.) Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let newandflowing energy into your life.14.) Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues ofthe past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, investyour energy in the positive present moment.15.) Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class.......but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.16.) Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like acollege kid with a maxed out charge card.17.) Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.18.) Life isn't fair, but it's still good.19.) Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.20.) Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.21.) You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.22.) Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.23.) Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.24.) Ladies - Go on and burn those 'special' scented candles, use the 600 thread count sheets, the good china and wear our fancy lingerie now. Stop waiting for a special occasion. Everyday is special.25.) No one is in charge of your happiness except you.26.) Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'27.) Forgive everyone for everything.28.) What other people think of you is none of your business.29.) Time heals almost everything. Give time, time!30.) However good or bad a situation is, it will change.31.) Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch with them.32.) Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.33.) Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. God provides…remember?34.) The best is yet to come. (Heaven)35.) No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.36.) Do the right thing!37.) Call your family often.38.) Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: 'Iam thankful for __________.' Today I accomplished _________.39.) Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.40.) You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoythe ride.. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don'twant a fast pass.LIVE, LOVE, and LAUGH. LIFE'S A GIFT ... UNWRAP IT! Have a Blessed day.

Interviews!

2008-01-03T20:04:00.000-05:00

So I've gone on 3 interviews so far this week, and I feel positive about all 3 of them.........except for pay overall for 2 of them. One of them I really liked the people and the environment, but seriously, I don't know how I would really live well on the salary they are offering. It is seriously like a $20K pay-cut. 2 or 3 years ago, maybe, but I have too many finanical responsibilities to worry about now. *Sigh*.

The other one seemed like a cool place to work, but they told me I'd have to start out at a lesser salary then I am making now and then "prove myself" for a pay-match/increase. That doesn't sound really promising. Like, my resume and reputation is not enough for you already?!

The third one would probably pay me what I am making now, or slightly higher, but is going to be going back to a ton of responsibility for everyone else's issues again, being the main person in charge (ie. screamed at when people don't do their jobs!), in the office all the time, obviously loads more stress, etc. etc. etc............'nother **BIG SIGH***

I also have 2 other places left to talk to that I would LOVE to work for, but I know it would be a slight pay-cut for both. The upside would be I would probably be able to work from home most of the time, so it would probably average out with my regular commuting costs and such that I am paying now.........so I still have a lot to think about and I still don't have any actual "offers" yet, so nothing really is written in stone.

Get this too............I am off this week from work, but I needed to stop into my office to pick up something I forgot to bring home with me..........my friend pulled me aside to say they are planning to clean out my office so someone else can use it and set me up "elsewhere". Of course, that makes me worry even more that I am about to get the ax at work, so I am happy for being proactive about all of this, and I feel very blessed to at least have as many opportunities as I have been presented with in this time of uncertainty. I still think my heart belongs in social work though, as much as I try to sometimes convince myself that it does not when I get caught up with the bureacractic nonsense.

Anyways, it's freakin' COLD outside too! I am going to snuggle under the covers with a big ole cup 'o tea and watch some of my Law & Order. Happy almost Friday everybody!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

2008-01-01T16:05:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a happy and safe NYE! Yesterday, we went and had a huge dinner with my husband's family, then made our way to our friend's house for a party to ring in 2008. It was a great time overall. We actually even slept in until 11:30 this morning.....now that's something we never seem to do LOL. Now just lounging and watching The Long Island Lolita of all things. (Anyone remember the Amy Fisher/Joey Buttafuoco mess?!).

Overall, I'm super content because I have taken the rest of the week off. What a great way to start off the new year! I also have scheduled another interview with one of my top choice companies to work for tommorrow afternoon so wish me luck! I really hope to have some positive news where work is concerned within the next 2 weeks...............HAPPY 2008!!!!!

What are your goals for 2008?

2007-12-29T08:02:00.000-05:00

As a social worker , I am expected to motivate my clients to have goals, but what are YOUR goals for the upcoming year? Mine are as follows:

1.) Get a new job that I love!

I've already started to work on this goal. I also have made a list of things that I am looking for in a potential employer, which should help me in making my final decision.

2.) Finish closing on and moving into our first house.

This is pretty self-explanatory and we've already started working on this goal too. They took the listing off-line, and there's a sign on the house saying "in contract" so hopefully all will continue to go well with no major surprises (except good ones!!).

3.) Make new friends!

I kinda feel like this was an area that has been majorly lacking in my life this past year. I think I need to start putting myself out there more. Which also leads to my next goal:

4.) Do something social at least once per week with friends/family.

A positive in all this, is that when we finally move into our new house, we will be closer to our friends and family. Right now it's like a 30-60 minute drive to visit with most of our friends/family. They will be closer now, so I plan to take advantage of them!

5.) Continue to pay down my/our debt:

Going into 2007, I felt like I/we had no skills in this area, and I couldn't do this at all. However, as 2007 wraps up, I see how easy and fulfilling it is to do this, even a little bit at a time.

6.) Continue to save a nice cushion of $$$$$$.

Like #5, saving seemed impossible at the start of '07. Now I see how easy it really is to save, and again, how fulfilling and FUN it is to watch that cushion grow.

7.) Learn something new/take a class somewhere.

Also another area in my life that I feel has been lacking. I want to try some new things this year. One class I am thinking of taking is ballet! Also maybe pottery or jewelry making. Crocheting looks like it would be fun as well.

8.) Continue to work on my marriage.

Just because it's too easy to take each other for granted on a daily basis................

9.) Continue to work out and eat healthy(er!):

Because I need to!

10.) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it's easier to get wrapped up on the day to day things that are lacking or I feel bad about in my life.........it's also really easy to fall into the trap of comparing myself to others, or getting caught up in negativity of others/things in general. As I wrote in previous entries, this is an area I really want to pay attention to this year. I want to be thankful for the positive things I do have in my own life right here and NOW!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 EVERYONE AND STAY SAFE!!!!!

Stepping up the job search

2007-12-29T07:37:00.001-05:00

I know I said that I wanted to wait until after we got into the new house to look for a new job, however, a recent turning of events has made me want to step up my game. Basically, as 1/1/08 looms near, I haven't gotten anything in writing from my current employer actually guaranteeing me the position they have discussed. I am really worried that as we approach the closing on our house, that I will end up with nothing at work, which would obviously screw up our chances of securing our mortgage and losing our downpayment on our home. I spoke with our attorney and she advised me to speak to the mortgage company to see what they say about changing jobs in the midst of the contract phase. So I did. And they told me it is okay. I will just need to provide new paystubs and a letter of employment from the new agency.

So with that weight off my chest, I have sent my resume out like crazy this past week, called up people who I know who are hiring, and even have met with colleagues of other agencies over coffee for a "back scoop" on what they love/hate about their agencies who are hiring. In addition to that, I have gotten four interviews scheduled for this upcoming week, one verbal "the ball is in your court if you are interested in working with me", and one "I need to check with my Executive Director to see if we can still hire you" (I had previously interviewed with this person, and this is one of my top choice companies). Oh, lastly, I am employed Per Diem at a company and was told I should speak to the Director there when he returns this week from vacation if I am interested in F/T employment. The best thing this week, is that my boss has allowed me to take the week off after Monday (which is a half day!!!). So that way, I don't feel "guilty" like I am sneaking behind my current employer's back to go on interviews.

She told me that she really feels I still have a job at home base, but I really can't go on word of mouth right now. I need to really look out this time for #1. Wish me luck!!!!

Who has to work today?

2007-12-24T05:16:00.000-05:00

I do unfortunately. Not like I have much to do anyways.............I have to make an "appearance" though at work. I'm probably going to go in until noon. (The office will most likely close at 2PM anyways).

I think one of my major goals in the upcoming year is to take some days off just because. If I do stay where I work presently, at least I will have about 4 weeks vacation time. (I started there mid-year this past year so shot through my vacation time pretty quickly with the wedding, especially because I only was entitled to 2 weeks off).

Still really not sure what I am going to do job-wise..................this is weighing on my mind a lot lately. I'm not going to lie. Not having clarity in that area is really starting to get to me.............plus again I really don't have much of a choice but to stay until we go to closing on the house and everything is settled with the mortgage. I could probably leave and it would be alright but I am not sure I want to raise a red flag with the mortgage company and risk screwing things up.

Anyways, I am going to try not to worry about this again until after the new year. It's Christmas Eve afterall!

Happy happy everyone and stay safe!!!

WWW: Land of Free Stuff

2007-12-23T11:10:00.000-05:00

Business Week has a great article about the hundreds of things you can find for free on the internet. Everything from free TV shows to free samples of food, shampoo and condoms to a website that lists where there are free daily drink specials in your local city. Read it!!

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2007/tc20071121_708667.htm

Ready to go!

2007-12-22T15:29:00.000-05:00

Well, I finished all my Christmas shopping last night. I was very surprised because the local strip mall was pretty dead. I got in and out in about an hour!

I also finished wrapping all of my gifts this afternoon. M & I are going to probably drive everything up to his parents' house tommorrow since we are having dinner with them for his sister's birthday. I feel like we spent a lot this year, however, we took the $$$ out of our Christmas fund and extra money we had left after paying all of our bills, so I feel that's huge. Last year we charged mostly everything!

I no longer plan on going into debt (even for a month or two!!) over Christmas anymore.

Tonight I am trying to convince him to take me to go see The Kite Runner or Juno. We'll see.........he's being whiny today LOL.

Have a great weekend everyone and again, Happy Holidays!!!

Merry Christmas to my "Nutty" friends!!

2007-12-18T15:03:00.001-05:00

This was too funny not to post!

My yearly wrap-up

2007-12-18T06:40:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's almost that time again. I was reading through some of my old posts on my blog this morning, and I saw how jam-packed 2007 has been.

For one, I got MARRIED! What a huge change! I'm still dealing with everything related to that, and I am so relieved the wedding madness is over and I don't have to do that again (at least for me. I'd be glad to help anyone else LOL).

I also realized how much more financially responsible I have become in just one year's time. Without having a savings goal at all, I have actually managed to sock away 10% of my yearly salary. That's a huge accomplishment, because only a year before, I had no clear budget and seemed to spend all my money on things like Starbucks and clothes I barely wore. I have also been able to tackle some major debt and hopefully that will be completely paid off very, very soon........

I've been through some negativity and major change on the job front, and I remain a little bit unclear in that area, however, I am still pretty confident that whatever is going to happen, will happen for the best.

Speaking of negativity, I've seen how negative habits and just negative people in general have caused a lot of unnecessary stress in my life. I am still confident in my decision of leaving some negative habits/people behind in my life. This year I want to focus even more on staying away from those things..............jealousy, gossip, one upmanship, putting people down............What does it accomplish afterall in the end? Nothing good, that's for sure! You know who you are, and if you don't like me for whatever reason, well, that's your issue, not mine, and I really don't need, or want you in my life. That's all I am going to say about that, because again, nothing good comes out of focusing on the Negative Nellies.

The house! M & I made some unwise decisions about buying one house earlier this year, however, we learned from our mistakes and have ended up going to contract on a home we absolutely love! I am sure that the next few months will be stressful, but I am going to keep trying to remind myself that this is positive stress! We are almost homeowners!!! Yay!!!

Family & friends! I feel blessed to have gained a whole new family this year, as well as some new friends. I am looking forward to getting even closer to everyone in 2008.

Time! I've seen how fast time flies. And how precious my time is in general. I hope to take advantage of my free time off this coming year, to do something positive for myself.

Vacation! We went on a honeymoon this year. Which has inspired me to open a vacation fund. We have made it a goal to at least go on one nice vacation every 2 years.

The little things! I have learned that while I shouldn't focus so much on the little things, many of the little things are in fact the major positives in my life, that I shouldn't take for granted.

Well, I am completely behind schedule and need to hop in the shower and get ready to begin my day. But I am glad I took the time to just write in my blog this morning. That is one of those "little things" that I enjoy afterall. Have a great day everyone!!!

I got a bonus!!!

2007-12-17T20:35:00.000-05:00

OK, it wasn't a whole lotta $$$, and I'd be embarrassed posting the amount knowing full well the bonuses some of my peers receive, but hey, it's still $$$ I didn't have before, or really expect to have for that matter. I'm going to deposit the money in my savings tommorrow and call it a great day!!!

Could it be, the Lemon Tree?

2007-12-16T16:36:00.000-05:00

OK, so not like I consider myself one of those high-maintenance kinda gals who frequents the salon exactly every 3-4 weeks like many women I observe around me in this area. However a good, quality hair cut and color is something I am definitely willing to splurge on.

Anyways, I usually go to this awesome guy, Stacy, in Chelsea about every couple of months or so for a hair cut and every 3-4 months for highlights. With the holidays fast approaching, I didn't know if I would get in to see Stacy anytime soon. Most high end salons are not open on Sundays around here, or at least not with an appointment. In any event, I had some free time today and really needed the split ends trimmed.

I remembered seeing a Lemon Tree near the train station so I decided why not give it a try? What's the worst that could happen? (OK, don't answer that question because if you've ever been the victim of a botched haircut, it's not pretty.........it's often quite traumatic to say the least). I actually never went here before because the name alone made me nervous. The LEMON tree............like I would be getting a "lemon" of a poor, messed up haircut if I went...........

Well, I decided to go, and I am most pleasantly surprised. For $27.00 + tip, the woman did an amazing job of cut and blow-dry. It actually cost a that much only because my hair is really long and very thick (it takes about 30-40 minutes to do a blow-out). I also noticed they have coupons online, so maybe I would consider trying them again, and save more $$$. I feel like that's such a betrayl to my guy Stacy, but hey, $12.99 for a hair-cut and around $40.00 for highlights (coupon cost) is unheard of around here. What do you think? Is it worth the risk to go to a lower-end salon? Should I try them for highlights?

http://www.lemontree.com/

Pretty pic

2007-12-15T12:43:00.000-05:00

Got this from my sister. Just thought I'd share. It has a great message. That is all :)

LinkedIn.com

2007-12-15T10:51:00.000-05:00

Anyone use this site? I had signed up for it a long, long time ago and then forgot about it. A friend sent me an invitation earlier this week to join her network so I did. It really looks like a great place to network and find out about job vacancies. I also sent out invitations and was able to reconnect with some old friends I haven't spoken to in awhile. Check it out!

Live well on Le$$

2007-12-15T10:40:00.000-05:00

This is the title of this month's article in Redbook mag on the importance of living on less $$$$, no matter what you make. If you have time to check it out, I recommend it.

Speaking of $$$$, I am pretty much done with all of our Christmas shopping. I went to the Source mall last night and got most of it out of the way. Even scored some decent deals. (The Source has a GAP outlet where I picked up 4 sweaters for several male family members all for under fifteen buckaroos each).

Suprisingly, the mall wasn't even that crowded for a Friday night which really, really surprised me. I think a lot of people are saving time and avoiding the crowds by shopping online this year. I did do that with two of my husband's gifts actually. It did serve me better I think to suck it up and go to the mall for most of my other gifts though, because they had the sizes I needed in stock. (Can't say that so much about some of the websites I browsed).

Now I just basically need to pick up some gifts for the grandparents and I can do that at the Kohl's right near my house. Also, I am going to pick up some spare bags of candy at Trader Joe's for anyone not immediate family who I may have forgotten. Not too expensive and it taste's great!

Then I will run into the 99 cents store down the block for wrapping paper and gift bags and I will be good to go. Happy weekend and happy pre-holiday everyone!!