It's over..

Thanksgiving and Black Friday that is. Isn't it crazy how people go NUTS for bargains that they're willing to camp outside the store for days or wake up super early? Ah, yes. American materialism at its finest, right? And what do you think about the poor guy who got trampled to death at Wal-Mart? Ludicrous on the part of Wal-Mart and the people involved. I don't know, I just don't get it. STUFF is not that important to me, no matter what the deal. My safety (and my sleep!) is way more important then any of that nonsense.

I enjoyed two whole days with the boyfriend, eating, relaxing, and just spending time with him. I cooked a nice big dinner for him, just because. :)Yesterday we needed to get out because he wanted to get a few things and I saw that I Am Legend and Juno were on sale at Target, $3.98 and $5.98, respectively, and we wanted those movies. We got out the door about 10am, hit up Target, which was NOT crowded at all, thank goodness. I resisted the urge to buy my dogs Christmas clothes (at $5.00 each) and just left with Juno. See, I'm doing better on not spending money!

Boyfriend needed a haircut in the WORST way so I remembered this place was advertising $11 haircuts. He got that done while I headed out to Tuesday Morning to see if they had any good specials for the day. Nope. But I did get those wonderful flocked hangers 20 (or was it 10?) for $8.99 so I bought two sets. If you haven't used them, they are the BEST when it comes to keeping your closet organized. Because they are slim they take up a third of the space of regular hangers and plus they have the velvet flock (is that word?) on them so they don't slip off; I have a tiny closet it really keeps all my clothes looking organized (plus they're hot pink too so they make me smile). Anyway, I got those and some yummy green and red spice drops (they remind me so much of Christmas) so I did pretty well on not spending unnecessary money.

After that we ran over to Goodwill where I had a trunk full of donations (yay!) to drop off. The rest of the day was spent on the couch watching movies and cuddling, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've really committed myself to spending as little as possible. I'm at work today for a few hours (exciting, huh?) and turned down my favorite breakfast burrito to save myself $4.00. Wasn't easy, but I know that having more money in my account is much better for me.

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving! :) Gobble, gobble!

Call me crazy...

But I really want one of these houses:

No, it's not a shed, it's a house made by Little House on the Trailer. I know what you're thinking. "Umm. why?" Because houses in Tucson are damn expensive, that's why! For $65,000 I can have my own place while paying a mortgage that's probably less than my rent. Plus, you're able to MOVE it around. Ok, ok. 400 sqft isn't a lot of room, but if I could afford to buy this house and get a nice lot to put it on, I could save up the money to build my own smaller house. Like this one from Tumbleweed Tiny House Company:

Too cute, right? And I would totally have to downsize my goods, and you know how that would make me so happy. :)

Via Apartment Therapy.

Black Friday (of doom) and other random thoughts

So I'm sitting here at work looking at PF (Personal Finance) blogs listening to my coworkers talk about Black Friday ($20 500-thread count sheets at Walmart! Ugh, I need new sheets). I haven't been to a Black Friday in over seven years and frankly, as good as the deals are, I can't afford to go. The idea of waking up super early to go fight traffic and fight crowds just makes me want to stay at home with my dogs. Are any of you planning on hitting the sales?

Anyway, I'm going to the library on my lunch break to get some books that I've been wanting to get on personal finance and debt. I need to get focused and get boyfriend on track with spending no money. Since he's been in down by the border, the only time he spends money is when he comes back to visit and last visit we spent a chunk. This is good because it keeps his spending next to nothing and me in charge of the finances (of which I love being in control). I'm slowly taking care of his finances and keeping them on track for him. With him being gone it has greatly improved our relationship as well as his debt.

In other news, I've also put a number of items up on craigslist and we'll see if any of them sell. If not I'm going to take them to my fave used bookstore and see if I can get store credit for them; otherwise they're definitely going to Goodwill. For some reason I just want to load up my car with things that I just can't stand to have around the house anymore. I really should have a yard sale but I'm one of those impatient people that when I want something done, I want it done now. I'm going to see if one of my friends wants to do it at her house, I'll see if she's down for it. That would help put money down on my VitaMix or for my contacts that I desperately need. Even if I make $100, that would almost pay off my blender. Maybe that's what I should do before dropping it all off at Goodwill...but right now that stuff is clouding my brain and that's bad Feng Shui. Why does it seem like stuff is taking over my life? AHHHH...

money money money...MOOONEY

Grr. I feel like my money is just flying out the window. It's like once you cheat on a diet, it's a lot easier to continue cheating. I don't know why I'm having such difficulties, when I was married I was on top of my game with money; maybe it's because I'm only accountable to myself that I am able to spend more money. It's like two steps forward, one step back.

I finally bought my coat from Ann Taylor; I sucked it up because I figured that it was of really good quality and will last me years. I called the store here in Tucson to see if they had my size and would hold it for me. Because we are considered a "hot" store, they didn't carry it so she told me to just order it online. The salesperson was nice enough to give me a code to use online to save 30%. (Sweet.) So I typed in the code and not only did I save 30%, I also got free shipping. :) Instead of paying almost $200 (including tax and shipping) I got my coat for $127.77, with tax, meaning I saved over $56. Patience pays off, huh? So I'm really excited that I'm going to finally have a nice coat for winter, especially since I'm going to be in Dallas.

I've decided that I need to just pull out my budget money and then hide my debit card...I can't be trusted to keep it in my wallet. I'm going to get back on track this week, I swear. The good news is that I was able to fill up my car for $17.00 yesterday. :) How nice is that? It's also been almost two weeks since I filled up last so it looks like my monthly gas bill will be less than $40. No complaints there.

Okay, back to the straight and narrow. I'm feeling better already.

Grrrrrrrr

The spending monster is out of control. Details tomorrow....

This weekend...

I feel like thrift shopping... on a mini-break at work today my coworker and I went to a yard sale where I snagged a really cute fleece jacket for my pups. Cost? $2. Now my doggies can stay warm on the cheap...

I just feel like putting on my fave jeans, hoodie, and flip flops and hitting the local places (and ones I haven't been to before) to find some cheap goods. With boyfriend being gone, it's so boring and this is something fun to do that doesn't cost a lot of money.

Anymore I've been really good about what comes into my house, I absolutely HAVE to love it and can't live without it before I will buy it... well, just felt like sharing.

Oh, and this REALLY pisses me off.

Budget vs. Spending Plan: Does changing a few words make a difference?

Hmm. This is a really informative article from the Wall Street Journal about making a spending plan. (Wow, what do you know, it's entitled How to Make a Spending Plan.) The article starts off stating that budget is one of the most hated words in the financial vocabulary and it's on the same par with the hatred of the word diet. Now, do I agree that by substituting the word budget with the words spending plan make me feel any better? Well, as good as I feel when you say, "I'm going on a lifestyle change." When we all really know you mean diet.

I guess spending plan does sound better than the word budget, just like the word meat sounds a lot better than flesh.

"What are you having for dinner tonight?"

"Why, we're cooking up a big plate of chicken flesh tonight, want to come over for dinner?"

In any event, I don't know why we get caught up on words so much when they all mean the same thing; if it gets one person to spend less or if they feel more confident in their choices by not drifting off of their spending plan, well great.

Anyway, don't know why I'm hooked on wordplay today. Maybe because it's Friday and I have to work tomorrow for three hours, or maybe because my spending plan was a little off last night because of some pancakes...

Is it bad...

That I really love it when people get busted by the speeding camera? I love to see the lights flashing knowing they're totally going to get a major ticket...

Going off budget tonight..

I've been doing really well these two weeks on living only on cash and using my debit card for a few things that I don't pay for in cash...but tonight I'm going to have to go off budget.

My good friend R just texted me and his girlfriend broke up with him. :( R and I dated over a year ago for a little over a month and since then have remained really good friends; he's probably my closest friend in Tucson! Anyway, he was totally in love with this girl (whom I have met and thought she was totally great for him) and gave him the axe tonight, apparently she's not over her ex. Boo.

I told him this calls for some sympathy pancakes (we Loooove I-Hop) and he said, "how about tonight?" So I'll take one for the team and buy us dinner tonight, I think he deserves it. :(

A little bit of nostaglia for you...

Via Allrecipes

This weekend...

...I'm hoping to get rid of a lot of clutter. I started boxing up stuff from my marriage (pics, flowers, notes from high school, etc). I can't bear to get rid of it yet, we had too many years and are still really good friends, so I'm just packing it up and putting it in my storage shed. This will completely clear up a nice space in my house. Yay.

I also spoke with my BFF in Florida and she was telling me how my eldest godson really wants a stereo for his bedroom for Christmas. Because they are on one income and have 3 growing boys, it's hard for her to go out and buy everything brand new for Christmas and birthdays. I remembered that I have a stereo in my storage shed that I haven't used since I moved to my new duplex..ding ding ding! So I'm going to mail it out to him as soon as I can. My boy gets a new stereo, BFF saves some cash, and I get clutter out of my shed. :) Score 2.

I'm also trying to figure out something with my friend to do a clutter swap or just have her buy the things she wants from me. We have similar retro tastes so I know she'll love what I have and I'm all for a swap but if she doesn't have anything to offer, we'll just do cash. :) This saves me from having to put it on craigslist. Boyfriend and mom have always been leery about me having people come over to pick up things. I'd really like to build up my VitaMix, contact lense, or Winter Coat Funds, so cash would be superb. Whatever she doesn't want, I'll just put on craigslist with the hopes of making some dough.

Anyway, I'm really trying to pare down on my things, I really have a lot of stuff for just one person so I'm going to go through my house again and see what I can do. I can't believe it's Thursday already! Hooray.

Side note: boyfriend called last night and he just sounds miserable. He says he's tired and I can imagine 10 hour days/7 days a week is tiring but I think he's ready to come home. Hopefully he gets Thanksgiving off. More than 3 hours with my hunny would be so nice.

Things I remember: My Grandpa (Baba)

Last night I had a dream about my grandpa. It was very vivid and very real. When I woke up, I was pretty surprised I had remembered as much as I did.

Baba (Bah-bah) died on July 7, 2006 from a stroke. He was 85 years old and had been struggling with leukemia for a year and a half when he passed; my mom was alone with him in the room but he hadn't been conscious for a number of days before that. I was still in England at that point and because it was July, it was the most expensive time of the year to fly and I couldn't afford to come home for his funeral.

Being raised in a military family has a lot of benefits and a lot of setbacks. One of the negatives is that you can't see your extended family that often. I think I saw my grandparents two or three times a year but every time I saw Baba, it was good times. I won't go into my thoughts on Mama, my grandma, but let's just say that the highlight was seeing Baba. He was always a big guy with big hands (his dad emigrated from Wales when he was 19 and his mother was also full-blooded Welsh, but she was born and raised in the States) and was a farmer. He had a great smile and soft curly grey hair. He always treated my brother, my sister, and I very nicely and I loved being around him and getting hugs from him because he was so big.

When we would visit them in Illinois, they had a large finished basement. The thing about the the basement though was that it had no windows, the lighting wasn't adequate, and it was wood paneled, so it was pretty dark and scary for us as kids (and even as adults!). He would always tease us that lions lived down there so we had to be careful when we went down there, my sister and I were terrified and didn't like being down there for long. In the basement, Baba had a full-sized pool table that we could only play when he was down there, so that's how I learned to play pool...Baba taught me.

Things I'll always remember about Baba:

• His smell.
• His big blue cardigans that he always wore.
• The fact that he loved Old Fashioned Creme Drop candies.
• He loved putting popcorn in his milk.
• He always wore big belt buckles all of the time.
• He used to go to Casey's General Store (a gas station chain in the Midwest) to get coffee and a paper every morning.
• His smile and his laugh.
• He always wore copper bracelets.
• He taught me how to play "chicken scratch" with dominoes and we loved playing "Uno".
• He loved living in Tucson for half the year and loved playing golf.
• Before leukemia, he was completely healthy and was on no medication. He still drove from Tucson to Illinois twice a year (no small feat for anyone).

When I found out he passed away, I knew my mom would be devastated; and she was. My mom was very close to her dad and really couldn't wait for him to live next door to her in Texas so that they could have coffee every morning together. He passed away before that happened. I always tell my mom that Baba knew that she could handle his passing and that's why he chose to die when only she in the room.

A week after he passed, my grandma paid for me to fly to Illinois to help her take care of things before she was moved down to Texas. Because my parents still lived in Missouri and my uncles in Dallas, no one could take the time off to stay with her. Walking into their house for the first time really hit me harder than I expected. I was just waiting for him to come out of the living room, grab my shoulder, shake it really hard, and say, "How are you doing, kid?" while gritting his teeth.

I got to see his final resting place at this tiny Welsh cemetery in rural Illinois where a lot of my relatives are buried and just seeing that mound of dirt was like, indescribable. Everyone says how handsome he looked in his casket but I still regret not being there..especially for my mom. I wish I would have had a chance to say goodbye to him, but everyone in the family understood why I couldn't be there. One night in England shortly after he passed, I was in bed writing my thoughts about Baba in a book and the lamp next to me started flickering for about 15 seconds and then stopped, it had never done that before or since, but I think that was Baba's way of telling me that it was okay.

Anyway, having that dream last night was really special. He was just really happy, that's what I remember the most. He was always happy and I'm lucky that I had him for my grandpa. I wish that he were here right now, especially since I'm in Tucson; I think it would have been really cool to have Baba here and go to his place and play cards or out to dinner together, I think that would have been really special.

Seven days, no spending.

Ah yes, CNN Living again has a very interesting article about a guy who decides not to spend any money for seven days. Basically he does it as an experiment to see how much money he really uses in a week; interesting how we burn through x amount of dollars and aren't even aware. Although this dude sounded like a cheapskate to begin with, sounds like maybe he won't be so much anymore after his little experiment.

In trying to pay off as much debt as I can in order to be debt-free and buy a car with cash within the next few years, I'm really watching every penny that leaves my wallet. I rarely eat out anymore and am cooking a lot more at home (yay!) I'm so tempted every where I go to buy something. These sexy high heels at Guess ($115):

and a new winter coat at Ann Taylor Loft ($169):

This coat is way cuter in person, and looks way better on me. hehe.

I typically don't ever go to the mall but when I was in Dallas I walked past Ann Taylor Loft and fell in LOVE with this winter coat and since I don't have one and will need one, I'm contemplating buying it but I would definitely buy it with cash. I probably could afford it now but I'm trying to pay off my Vita-Mix on layaway so boo, I don't think that will work. Maybe boyfriend will buy it for me. :) I found another cute coat at Old Navy for half the price, but do I sacrifice? Why not spend the money on something I LOVE that is made of higher quality materials that will probably last me a lot longer? Doesn't that make sense in the long run? Buy quality even if it is more money? Budgets suck but so does debt and taking two steps forward and one step back is just asinine. I guess I'll have to figure a way to fit it into my budget if I really want it, right?

In any event, read the article and let me know what you think. Spend no money in 7 days? Ha. I don't think I could.

Ah yes, Shelter #10, I remember you well.

Remember how I said I got out on Sunday to get some fresh air? I decided to walk a different way to the dog park that morning and oh boy, the grass gods did not let me get away with that one. So I'm walking my two dogs on their coupler leash (so that they can walk together thereby sparing me having to deal with two different leashes and have Ruby eventually rip one of my arms out of the socket. "What momma? You have another arm.") and in my typical workout gear. Long black pants, tank top, and cute green zip up jacket.. sunglasses and hair up in pony tail. Girls looking all nice and in shape, groomed fur, Ruby with a t-shirt on. Just a typical young woman walking her overly spoiled dogs..no?

Obviously not. As I approach said dog park a middle aged guy with the worst teeth in human history.. seriously, it was like a freak accident. You want to look away, but you just can't... is like, "there they are!"

Me: uncomfortable laugh.. "he he..heh"

Butter teeth: "Haven't I seen you here before?"
Me: "Probably, I'm here a lot."

Butter teeth: "Yeah, I remember you. You were at Shelter #10 and was telling me how you were picking up your animals."
What I said: "Umm. Nope. Wasn't me."
What I was thinking: "A shelter? Really? I spend more on my dogs in one month than you have on toothpaste in the last two decades." (Bitter and bitchy? Yup.)

Now I know I was sick, but honestly.. if I really looked as bad to be mistaken for a woman at a shelter, I should have stayed home another day on the couch. With the blinds closed. And a blanket over my head.

Note to self..

Don't take Benadryl at work. Just makes a lousy job even more unbearable. I think I shall escape to my car and take a nap....

Is it really Monday? Really?

My new best friend

This weekend went by pretty fast, I guess that is considering I spent all Saturday on the couch. Watching TV. Sleeping. and doing not much else. I caught whatever is going around. YAY!

Friday I woke up with a sore throat, not feeling bad at all. I went to a country western gay bar with my friend Erin on Friday night. :) She works non-profit and they were having a benefit for families living with HIV/AIDS so we went to check it out. (It was also benefiting the Gay Rodeo Association, yes, that does exist!) Boy I'm glad we finally talked each other into going. We had a BLAST! There were two drag queens who hosted the event, one of whom I'm very familiar with after going to one particular gay bar in Tucson with my old roommates, and they were fantastic. I ended up buying raffle tickets and won! First off, I won the most hideous cake, Martha Stewart would not have been pleased. Honestly it looked like a 5 year old made it! Erin was so excited though and we couldn't get over it..and it's hideousness. I wish I had a picture to show you, because it makes for great material, but I ended up trading it and some brownies for a large ceramic chicken from three guys. (Hey, they had THREE of them, who wouldn't want my cake, right?)

Basically the cake was square, had strawberry icing and three plastic dollar store Indians circling a brown lump (looked like poo) that was supposed to be a bonfire. Then in red gel icing, it said "RODEO" that looked like a first grader practicing his letters. Ah. It was priceless. I could have given you the description that the hostess gave, but I don't think it was appropriate! LOL.

I also won this very interesting teddy bear and some homemade truffles. I was like, Oh, a teddy bear in a bag. Ok. cool. Better than my poop cake. But upon closer examination and reading the label (oh yes, there will be pictures later) this poor bear was dipped in wax and is supposed to be used as a "room freshener." Sigh. No, I'm not kidding. Someone actually has a candle shop and dips poor unsuspecting stuffed creatures. In wax. Scented wax. And then shoves their poor distorted fur-covered bodies in bags and sells them. Well, at least it smells like Banana nut bread! Sigh.

Anyway, woke up Saturday sicker than a dog and pretty much did not move until I forced myself to go buy myself some soup and tissues. :( Being sick is the worst when you don't have anyone to take care of you. I remember the first time I was sick in England, I cried so hard for my mom because whenever I was sick as a kid she would always lay in bed with me, rub my back, and tend to my every need. Not having boyfriend here was hard, and even harder since I couldn't call and tell him I was sick and earn some sympathy points.

Sunday the girls and I got out for some fresh air and went to the dog park. I cursed the congestion gods and got out of the house. And then to Sonic where I got a grilled cheese and chocolate malt. Because really, doesn't that make it all better? Finally boyfriend called (yay!) and surprised me again and came down. :) When he comes down it is such a short visit (he gets in about 7:30-8pm and has to leave at 2am to get to work on time) but totally worth it. He brought me a chocolate shake since he knew I was sick. Aw.

Anyway, that was my weekend. Mostly good, but even better since I saw boyfriend. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. :)

Christmas shopping: In store or Online?

Christmas is almost here (can you believe it?) and it's the time where most of us go out in search of bargains for our lists of loved ones for the perfect Christmas present.

Since I am flying to Dallas to be with my family, I have done the majority of my shopping online so that the presents can be directly shipped to my mom and sister so that I don't have to pack them in my baggage; this is due majorly to the convenience it saves as well as the ridiculous baggage fee airlines are charging today. Every year I try to get everything done early, way before Christmas so that I don't have to rush out at the last minute for presents. I also haven't experienced a Black Friday in about 7 years or so since I lived in England for six and last year I was out in the desert camping with my hunny.

What is my stress-free holiday strategy?

1. Keep your eyes open. Throughout the year if you see something that a family member would love, pick it up and store it in a closet with a designated "gift area" you know, like a cardboard box. This March at a street fair in Tucson I found an ichibana made by a local artisan for my sister-in-law. She loves flower arranging and got into ichibanas when she lived in Japan. Perfect gift for her and I get to support a local artist!
2. Buy early. Don't wait until the last minute to buy gifts. Throughout October, November and December, designate a certain amount of money to be spent on Christmas gifts and spend only that. For one paycheck buy Mom and Dad's presents, the next buy your niece's and nephew's, etc. Waiting until the last minute just puts too much stress on you and your wallet.
3. Find out what they want. If you have read my blog since the beginning, I'm a big proponent against clutter. I hate giving it and I hate receiving it. So I always ask around to see what each person wants. My brother has a running wish list on Amazon so I just go there when I need gift ideas. This way I get something for him that he wants but obviously hasn't taken the time to buy for himself. I call my Dad to see if Mom has been talking about something that she's be eyeing at a certain store. Why give a person something that's just going to end up at Goodwill or the next yard sale when you can give them a gift card to pick out something that they want?
4. When in doubt, gift cards. My brother-in-law is difficult to buy for but he loves to buy suits, ties, and cuff links. I just asked my sister his favorite stores and I'm getting him a gift card so he can pick out some new clothes or help put a dent in a nice expensive suit he's been eyeing. Gift cards are something I think everyone enjoys receiving and it takes out the stress of finding that "perfect" gift.
5. Have it shipped. Instead of dealing with hauling loads of presents with you in the car or airplane, just have the item shipped to a family member who can hold the present for you. This eliminates the stress of forgetting anything or packing too much in the car or luggage.
6. And probably the most important...MAKE A LIST! Write down the name of each person for whom you are buying and to the side, the gift you want to give or have already bought. Either make a check mark next to the name or cross it out when that gift is bought so that you know that person is taken care of. There is nothing worse than buying too many gifts because there was a lack of organization on your part! Save money and stress by making a list and checking it twice! (Sorry, had to!)

I hope this helps with your holiday shopping! Remember, only 40 more shopping days left until Christmas!! Happy Holidays! :)

Budget time...again!

So I'm back on the whole budget kick to get my ass in gear with paying off my debts. After watching an episode of Real Simple. Real Life on TLC (which is a pretty good show but sometimes too "white bread" for me, if you know what I mean) where they really helped this graduate student get her bills on track I got motivated to sit down and evaluate my paycheck. Here's what I've come up with:

• 20% goes to debt
• 10% goes to savings
• $160 cash goes towards gas, food, and fun items.
• Debit card is used only for dog and cat necessities (food, litter, and treats), bills, and prescriptions, and Christmas presents.

I'm also saving cash to pay for a few things. I put my beloved VitaMix blender on layaway after I found it at an awesome price ($479 when it's normally $525) so I'm hoping to have that paid off before the end of the year. I also need new contacts desperately so I have a separate envelope for that. And I also have started a VACATION envelope and I'm socking away $20 of my money and $20 of bf's money every paycheck so that one day I'll say, "hey babe, let's go on vacation" and I'll whip out this huge envelope full of cash and it's all paid for...how sweet would that be?

So far I'm doing great and I've learned that after all of the bill paying and everything else, I will have more money left in my bank account (as in hundreds) than I normally do at the end of the two weeks between paychecks. This is going to allow me to save more money and pay off more bills. I also don't have a winter coat and couldn't afford one last year since I was unemployed, so maybe some of that extra money can go towards LL's Ann Taylor Loft winter jacket fund! I'll keep you posted!

New Favorite Show: Whatever, Martha.

Ooh, if you have not seen this on the Fine Living Network, I highly recommend you check it out.

Alexis Stewart (Martha's daughter) and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt (Alexis's best friend) sit around in the cutest set ever (ok, irrelevant..) and watch old Martha Stewart clips and make fun of her... her hair, her flirtiness with EVERY man that comes on the show, and the stuff that she has people do. They try to recreate crafts that Martha makes on the show..sometimes they're successful, other times, notsomuch.

Alexis has a very dry sarcastic sense of humor which I love and Jennifer is a little more bubbly and airheadish but they complement each other well on the show. I think this humor is probably best for late 20s early 30s crowd as the humor can get a little, well..blunt with sexual references. I'd tell my mom to check it out but I think she's too old-fashioned..especially since Alexis said that she has sex on EVERY first date.. my mom wouldn't think that's too funny (or classy..cuz my mom is so classy and a little prudish).

Anyway, I look forward to coming home and watching my show everyday on my DVR.. Please check it out a few times and let me know what you think.

Veteran's Day

Yes, it was yesterday and I said my thank yous but I should make a more personal shout out.

• To my Mom who was an Army captain (6 years).
  
• To my Dad who was in the Army AND Air Force for over 20 years, retired officer.

• To my two uncles, one in the Navy and one in the Air Force

• To Boyfriend who was in Special Forces in the Army and loves his country deeply, disabled vet (8 years and desperate to get back in!).

THANK YOU! I love you all!!

Stuff = issues

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. — William Morris

so the ex dropped me off in dallas, spent the night and bravely made another 8.5 hour drive to missouri on his own to collect a lot of belongings.

he filled up the entire back of his toyota matrix (including the seats folded down) with stuff from x number of years ago and brought it to texas with him so we could bring it back to tucson. and two more loads are in storage at his grandparents' house. ugh. really? really?

i don't even know what the heck is there. we went through the stuff he brought back to make sure that we needed everything. um no. we didn't. let's see.

*figurines that i got every year on my birthday
so i was a little sneaky, brought them back and promptly took them to goodwill. my mother would KILL me if she found out. whoops.
*hideous pottery i made in high school
my mother: "are you sure you don't want that?
me: "yes mom. i don't want it"
mom: "are you sure? you couldn't use it to put your keys in it or something?"
me: "no mom, i don't want it and i have a ton of things that i can use to put my keys in."
mom: "well, are you sure you don't want to keep it? i don't want you to regret later on that you got rid of it."
me: "YES. i'm sure. i don't want it. i'm not going to regret it. it's ugly."
mom: "okay."
*old toys that i have no sentimental attachment to
*my Furbies (oh heck yes i kept them.. and i even found the original receipt! lol)
*gummies (back in high school my ex and i would go to the mall and always buy gummies..why i kept these 8-9 year old gummies, i have no idea.. the really scary thing? they were still soft and he wanted to eat one!!)

my mother is the number one problem i have with getting rid of things. my mother guilts me into trying to keep a lot of it and then really gets on my case if i get rid of it.

well, in any event, i was left to take care of a number of boxes full of stuff so i was forced to go through my house again and declutter. i took a nice trip to the goodwill and got rid of a huge box of stuff. yay! i also have stuff i need to post on craigslist so that i can make some extra cash and free up some space.

while i was happy to find some of the goods (silverware that was a wedding present that i couldn't wait to finally use and a huge waterford crystal bowl), i was extremely overwhelmed. i had lived without this stuff for seven years, why did i want to bring it in my life? a lot of it came home with me and a lot of it stayed in dallas for my mom to put on her next yard sale.

i really enjoy living in my small duplex. it's most likely under 800sqft. but i'm not too sure on the dimensions. what i do know is that i can't have a lot of stuff and really, how much stuff does one person and 3 animals need? not much. to have a spare closet overflowing with stuff is just not sensible. so when anything new comes in, i'm always the first to make sure one thing goes out so that my house is perfectly edited to my tastes.

i live by the saying (not verbatim, obviously) "don't have anything in your house that doesn't make you happy or make you smile."

right now i have a number of items in my house that don't do that. i think this weekend i'm going to get that stuff up on craigslist and get rid of the clutter in my house as well as the emotions that are attached to a particular object...wish me luck

Oh my..

has it really been that long since i've blogged? oops. well, in all defense i've been lazy..err busy. lots has taken place since october 22:

• boyfriend left on october 23 for unknown amount of time to go live/work on arizona/mexico border. :(
• took 15 hour car ride to dallas with ex to see my family for 5 days
• currently trying to get back on schedule with everything!! work, dogs, home, sleep!!

things at work are so crazy right now. everything is just such a downer, the work environment is extremely negative and it's getting old with all of the high school drama. *i thought i escaped that when i graduated eight years ago? guess not!

anyway, seeing my family was great. i got to see my BFF, my soul mate, A and her son J who is now two years old, walking, talking, personality galore, and is as beautiful as his mama. she drove down from oklahoma and we went to the dallas zoo and ikea. was soo good to see her considering the last time i spent time with her was june 2007. ugh. i hate that more than anything. i keep trying to convince her to move to tucson but things in her life are going so great, she can't. :( but that's ok, i'm really happy and proud for her.

i also got to see my nephew who is almost two and a freaking hoss. i mean this kid is huge (not fat). he is about 5 inches taller than J even though J is 4 months older than my nephew. he honestly looks like he is three years old. he's not talking like J though but his coordination seems better. it was so cute to see them together.

i spent time with my uncles, 90 year old grandma, my uncles' two friends whom i LOVE and adore, and of course, my parents, my sister.... it was good fun but i was ready to get back home to my girls. who were more than ready for me to be home.

anyway, now that i'm back in the flow of things, i'm going to get on it and be back with full force!

:)