I'm home...

and I have the next week off (yay) so I will/should be posting a lot this week about New Years resolutions (should you make them?), good books to read, my trip to Dallas and Oklahoma, and other random thoughts!

I got home today safe and sound. Didn't seem like I was going to make it! I was supposed to leave my parents house at 8am to make my 9:50am flight. At 8:00am my dad says, "Are you awake?" Me: "Mmm..not yet. What time is it?" "8am." Thanks Dad for making sure I was awake!! Ah! My alarm must have shut off. So I went scrambling to get ready and finishing packing up clothes I washed the night before. So we go racing to the airport (20-30min drive) and we arrive at Terminal A, which is where I thought I was flying out, BOOM. There is a HUGE line to security by the escalators. I mean seriously, it is like a 30min-1hour WAIT. I leave my dad in the line and I race to check my bags and the lady is like, oh, your flight leaves at 9:50, you're okay. I'm thinking, Lady, have you SEEN the security line? My flight leaves in one hour and boards in like 30 mins! Ha! Guess what? We were at the wrong terminal so we go RUNNING back to the car, drive to terminal D where my dad drops me off and goes to park the car to make sure I get through security and everything to catch my plane. I go inside, right through security in less than 3 mins. Whew. So I quickly called my dad and told him I'm good and don't bother parking because I'll be at my gate by that time!

After living in England and flying back twice a year (and reenacting a few times the Home Alone scene where they are running through the airport) I'm really paranoid about airport security, etc. In any event, I got home safely, grabbed some groceries and met up with some VERY excited dogs who were super happy to see their mommy. Despite there being a box of tissues torn up and covering the living room floor (thanks, Ruby!) we've had a good day together.

I need to finish getting some things organized around here, but I'm so happy to be home you have no idea. Boyfriend should hopefully be home very soon, I can't wait to get life back to normal! :)

I'm in Big D!

Hi everyone! I arrived in Dallas on Saturday on a very short, very safe flight! I've enjoyed being with my family and being able to spend time with them. Last night my sister, nephew, and brother-in-law came over and we did our gift exchange with them since they are leaving today to go to Missouri. My sister surprised my mom and myself with a Tiffany necklace and a book called Sunday at Tiffany. We were quite shocked to receive these from my sister, who in Christmases past, could never afford to give the family gifts. In any event, it was very sweet and who doesn't love jewelry, especially from Tiffany's?

I will try to keep up with what is going on around here on my Christmas vacation. I'm very excited to drive to Oklahoma to visit my BFF and her son on Friday. I get to meet her new boyfriend, see her new dog, and visit her very first apartment. I'm extremely proud of her and her accomplishments! I miss my girls terribly and can't wait to get back to them. I've already been eying what I'm going to buy them when the after-Christmas sales happen!

Today there is last minute shopping and hanging out with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law (whom I haven't seen in over a year!). I wish you all the best of holidays! :)

By the way..

Is anyone else extremely creeped out at the fact that Drew Peterson, whose fourth wife Stacy has been missing for over a year and his third wife's death has been labeled a homicide, has just become engaged?

What are these women thinking and where do they come from?!!!

Crunch time

I leave for Dallas in 2 1/2 days. :) Can't wait to be home for a nice Christmas break! Not to mention when I get home I have the next week off too.

Yesterday I was in my panic mode for some reason and needed to get to the mall to buy a few last minute presents for my BFF's son, my brother-in-law, and my uncles' good friends. I found these adorable gifts on the Disney store website and was hoping to save a few bucks by getting them in the store. Um. No. Disney store in the mall is lame. They didn't have anything related to what I wanted to get. I ended up booking it across the mall and back for nothing.

Then I went to JCPenney because I had a $15 off coupon of $15 purchase or more; I thought I could find some cuff links or something for my b-i-l. Nope. The store was a huge disappointment, I couldn't find anything at all that was worth my time.

So I went to my favorite candy store, See's Candies, where they have delicious chocolates and peanut brittle (that bf loves spoiling me with) where I proceeded to spend $53.00. On chocolate. And peanut brittle. :) I got boyfriend a half pound of turtles (his favorite) to put in his stocking for when he comes home; I got 1-pound of chocolate for my family; and 1-pound of chocolate and 1-pound of peanut brittle for my uncles' friends.

Anyway, I feel like money is just flying out the window now. BUT, I did get my BFF's son's Christmas ordered from Disney, ordered cuff links for my bro-in-law, and got sweets for my family. I'm pretty much DONE now. Thank goodness!

I'm headed off to a two-hour lunch to go home, finish boyfriend's laundry, see the girls, and figure out what I want to pack for Saturday! :)

He loves me...

Last night I get home from work and I immediately get into some pyjamas and heat up my leftovers ready to watch the finale of "The Biggest Loser." (Anybody else addicted to that show?) I'm texting my coworker when I think I hear a truck pull up. No way. I think. And I look outside. Sure enough, boyfriend is outside. So I run out there like a crazy person and jump into his arms. :)

He thought he would surprise me (yeah, that's an understatement) so he drove out so that we could go out on a date out to dinner and dessert at my fave dessert restaurant. Say it with me: Awwwww. I had already eaten but told him I would go out anyway because I was still hungry but he looked at the clock (8:00pm) and thought it was too late to go out so we just stayed at home and watched the rest of the show. Unfortunately, there were winter storm advisories (yes, we get them in Arizona) so he thought he should just leave that night to be safe. :( Of course I didn't want him to leave but didn't want him waking up at 2am to frost and ice so he left..at 9:30. I don't know when I'll see him next since I'm going to Dallas on Saturday and won't be home until the following Sunday. At least he'll be with the girls for 3 days and I get to talk to him as much as I want! :) He just wanted to be able to see me before I left for Dallas and thought it would be a good chance to spend time with me.

In conclusion, he drove 3 1/2 hours to spend 1 1/2 hours to be with me just to turn around and drive 3 1/2 hours home. I think it's safe to say he loves me.

(Oh, and that winter storm? Yeah, never happened.)

Dang it!

The night before last, I must not have paid attention when I was taking my contacts out because I accidentally didn't put one in the case. The next morning I wake up and it's all shriveled and crusty. Ugh. So I put it in the case to rehydrate it. Success! Except...it had a rip in it. U.G.H. So I had to trash it and figured I should just use a new pair. So I had one new pair left plus one extra. Sweet.

I go to put in my new contact this morning (that I just opened yesterday) and it has a rip. TRASH. So now I have no spare contacts. Zip. Zilch. Nada. So what does that mean? I have to suck it up and buy new contacts or wear my glasses when this new pair goes dead. :( I don't want to spend $200+ for contacts, but it looks like I'm going to have to..very soon.

End rant.

Time to be grateful

As I was walking my pups this morning, we were almost home and we walked past a bus stop with two elderly gentlemen sitting there waiting for the bus. Ruby immediately goes over to them and just loves up on them; it was quite sweet and the guys didn't seem to mind at all. They had big smiles on their faces and asked what her name was and they said she was a very sweet dog. (Couldn't agree with them more) She just kept getting up to get some love, one of the men told me he wished he could take her and that he wants a dog like her. He said that he lives in a homeless shelter, so he's not allowed to have any pets.

I'm always aware of how blessed I am with what I have in my life and frequently thank God that I have the ability to be in a home, warm bed, and have the ability to pay for everything. This really opened my eyes, especially after being laid off for 6 months last year; it's amazing how it affects one's outlook.

As I was walking away from these men, I said a silent prayer for them for the holidays. To think that these two elderly men (and we're talking 60s/70s) had no home really broke my heart while I walked to my heated home.

In this day and age, we all need to be grateful of what we HAVE and not what we don't, remember, there is always someone who has it worse off that we do and we need to be appreciative of what we have been blessed with in our lives. I also thank Ruby for what probably made these two men's day, sometimes animals just know when someone needs a little love in their life.

This weekend

Was so much fun! I did a lot and spent money even though I said I would not. Friday night boyfriend came down and we ordered pizza (he paid) and just hung out, I found out that he will be home for 3 days for Christmas so he's going to spend them here with the girls. I'm relieved he gets the days off but sad because I'll be in Dallas while he's here. At least the girls will have some company and not be alone for the time that I am gone.

Saturday night my good friend R and I met up with some of my coworkers and we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and then to the University of Arizona (UofA) vs. Arizona State University (ASU) hockey game. It was my first hockey game ever and was a blast! UofA won! It was an intense game the whole time and even the ref got injured when some of the players started fighting. Total money spent on dinner and the game? $20. Not too bad.

Today I decided I should pick up my layaway since this company is cancelling it (layaway) at the beginning of the year. I didn't want to risk not paying my last payment and then they put my Vitamix back on the shelves; they only sold these as a promotion so there was no way to go back and get a new one. I had a bunch of cash saved but still ended up paying $150.99 from my account. Still better than $225! :) I did buy groceries today so that eaten into my $160 spending fund, but I should be set until I leave.

It's time to put a lid on my spending since I'm leaving for Dallas on Saturday. That's $15 for baggage (ugh) plus parking and other who-knows-what-else fees.

My mom also informed me I need to send my Aunt $20 since all of the other grandkids have chipped in money for DisneyWorld tickets for my grandparents. I also have to buy 3 more Christmas presents! All this little stuff adds up quick. No more eating out this week and no more buying groceries since I'll be gone nine days, that WILL help.

Hope you all had a great weekend! Tomorrow is Monday, ugh, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel! No more work starting December 20 until January 5 for me since I have a ton of vacation and sick days left. YAY!!!

Financial Goals for 2009

Aww. British pounds. *sigh*

I figure I should post these to make myself accountable!! But here are my financial goals from now until 12/31/09:

1. $5,000 in my emergency fund


2. All credit card debt paid in full


3. $5,000 in my "buy a nice used car" fund


4. $2,000 in a "buy a home" fund

Total: About $17,000 to save and pay in a little over a year. That will mean a lot of frugality, but I'm worth it!! *flips hair*

I also desperately want to go on a cruise with boyfriend this year. We are GOING to go on a cruise, I've determined it! I need a vacation, he needs a vacation, I think we can get this debt settled soon and then enjoy ourselves (without getting into more debt!). Even if it's just for a few days, we both need a break.

Well now.

In the past two days, my two bosses have been let go. This is not a bad thing (bad for them, not for the company). This place has been so poorly run and everything was so negative around here for the longest time, I'm glad that this change has taken place. The new boss (well, interim) has moved in and I like her thus far.

Anyway, with my paycheck today I ran over to Frederick's of Hollywood because I have been desperate for new bras. I gained a little weight since I moved here so I've been tucking these babies in daily (TMI?). Lucky for me, they were having a 20% off sale and I used my Buy 10 Get One Bra Free punchcard so I got 4 new bras today for less than $60 (plus some underwear on major clearance and some stockings for a little more) Cool, huh? I didn't want to spend the money, but as all the women out there know, if you don't have a comfortable bra, it can really be a bad situation with everything you wear. I also got a super cute tote they were giving away with a $75 purchase so for less than $92 I got 4 bras, 2 pair underwear, 2 pair stockings, 1 tote bag. Totally worth it. No more tucking in. Finally.

So I figure I leave for Dallas in a little over a week and that means no more spending. I'm leaving my credit cards in the drawer when I'm so I can't use them for "emergencies." I'm getting 2 more hours of overtime this week because we have graduation on Saturday; normally I wouldn't go but 2 hours of overtime will make a difference in my paycheck so that means extra money, yet again! :)

Tickers

I decided I'm going to post some tickers that display my progress on my debt and on my savings. You can find the savings ticker already on the left hand side of the blog. My goal is currently $5,000 for my emergency fund. With my ING Direct savings account, I'm earning a really good rate so it's nice to see that little bit of money adding up. (Shameless plug: if you're interested in opening up your own ING account, email me first because if you put a minimum of $250 in your account and use me as a referral, you get $25 and I get $10, so we help each other out!)

I have to go home to find out how much my current debt is as it is on my spreadsheet that I've made using Excel. Hopefully seeing the progress of these will not only keep me motivated, but perhaps motivate a few of you as well to start saving or paying down your debt. You can get your tickers from this link here.

On another note, seeing those 10 hours of overtime has really been such a blessing today. :) I'm so grateful I worked those extra hours so that I can afford to pay a little more on my debts and buy the few remaining Christmas presents that I need.

More cash...

$12.40 towards the Vitamix fund!! :) I sold more clothes today, less clothes, less clutter..more money! Hooray. :)

$225 - $20 (Craiglist items) - $13 (clothes) - $20 (clothes) = $172 remaining layaway balance

Awesome.

Empowerment

So last night after watching The Biggest Loser (shut up) I don't know why but I felt so empowered. I got off my couch to take my dogs on their walk and it was such a great night. It was cold enough that the crisp air felt really good on my face but not too cold where I was uncomfortable. I just felt like everything was just really going well for me in the aspects of my life.

• My relationship with boyfriend is the best it has ever been. We're just really happy with one another and things are going incredibly well between us.


• My finances are getting in check and I'm spending less and less.


• My house is getting in order with clutter going out the door clearing up space for a more minimal environment.


• My weight is staying at a good point and I feel and look healthy.


• My furbabies are happy, healthy, and well-behaved.


• I have a job, a warm bed, and the ability to pay for my rental.


• I leave for Dallas in a little over a week for nine days with the family and my BFF in Oklahoma.

There is nothing to complain about in my life. Of course there is drama at work, but I'm keeping a positive attitude about it and trying to stay away from it.

I'm just really happy. Life is good. :)

Is it Friday yet?

Since I had to work on Saturday, I decided to call in sick yesterday so that I could spend a nice, long day at home with the girls. Boy, am I glad that I did! There was so much drama at work yesterday, I'm really glad I wasn't here.

I got a lot accomplished this weekend, I thought I would share.

1. Worked Saturday, got an extra 6 hours of overtime for this paycheck.
2. Met up with a person from Craiglist who bought some things I had for sale. Made $20.
3. Sold some clothes to a used clothing store. Made $19.61.
4. Traded some old books and knickknacks at used bookstore. Made $27 in credit.
5. Went through my filing system and cleaned out all the old junk. Ended up with probably 3-5 lbs of papers that were promptly brought to work to be securely shredded and recycled.
6. Boxed up all the pictures, items from my marriage and put it out in the storage shed. (Confession: it's not in the storage shed yet, but on my back porch.)
7. Collected a bag of goodies to go to Goodwill, still in trunk due to bad accident I wanted to avoid.
8. Groomed my dogs. Hurt my back in the process, but I saved $80!
9. Went to Target with a list of things to buy. Did not deviate from said list and bought only what I needed. :) What a wonderful feeling.

So right now I have an additional $40 that can go to the Vitamix fund, boy does that help! I also have a friend who owes me $30 for things she bought from me, so if I can get that from her soon, I will have $70 to put towards the remaining balance of $225, just from selling things and clearing out the clutter!!! :)

All in all, I had a great day yesterday. (And a great weekend since boyfriend came down for the night on Saturday. Can't wait till he comes home for good! :)

Hope you all are doing well! Christmas is only a few weeks away!

This weekend...

I volunteered to work tomorrow. This means I will have TEN hours of overtime on this next paycheck coming up. I'm SUPER excited. TEN HOURS OF OVERTIME is going to be great especially with the holidays coming up. I can probably afford to pay off my Vitamix next paycheck, hopefully before I leave for Christmas.

I really DON'T want to work tomorrow, but I don't have anything planned so I figured 6 hours of extra overtime was definitely worth it! :) And at least I will be off at 2pm, so really it's not that bad. I still have 3 sick days I have to use before the end of the year so I may just call in sick on Monday so I still will have a nice weekend.

My family.

So I find out that a certain President of a certain country has more than likely bought a certain house in a certain town in which my family lives.

I call my uncle, who is not a fan of this certain President and say,

"Hey Uncle S. Guess what? Looks like a certain President bought a house and is going to be living less than 4 miles from your home!"

*5 seconds of dead silence*

"Uh..hello?"

"Oh, shit."

Laugh for the day

Ahh, kids.

What the Christmas?

I just found out boyfriend is not going to be back for a while now. He may stay down on the border till February (!) which is wonderful because he's making really good money down there but this puts me in a predicament for the dogs. I have to board them for NINE days since I have no one else to watch them and my parents still will not let me bring them. OUCH. So this will have a great impact on my debt and put me in the hole another $224. Yikes. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Financial goals for December:

• Pay $400 towards debt
• TRY to pay for boarding with cash ($224)
• Pay off Vitamix on layaway ($225 left)
  

I'm struggling right now with Christmas and unexpected crap. My rent takes up almost one whole paycheck so that really hurts! I really have tried to find a place similar to mine for less, but I'm finding that I'm in a very reasonable house and I'm NOT moving to an apartment (and really, an apartment isn't much less than what I pay anyway) No offense to apartment people, but I like having my backyard for my dogs. I'm just not an apartment-type person anyway.

I have 4 hours of overtime coming on this paycheck which will help, but I still have to buy a few Christmas presents for some family members so that's going to set me back more. Grr. Are the holidays over yet? With my plane ticket ($374) and boarding ($224) and gifts (??) this is getting
expensive!