Check-In: $1157.54
This would be a good balance if I didn't know that there are about $850 worth of uncleared checks taking a chomp out of this balance (that's what I hate about using checks instead of a debit card or cash). That really only leaves about $370. And, I have to make a car payment tonight. So, we won't go in the hole, but we're definitely on restriction until the next payday (and probably 'til the payday after that, too)!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Weekend Weigh-In: 04/19/08
Weigh-In: 285.6
down 4.2 lbs! :)
I'm gonna make this short and sweet... it's been a long day: pancake breakfast at church, working at Recycling Fun Fair at my school, a 90th birthday party, and a visit with my grandma! I weighed in this morning, happy to see a loss (finally!). A 24-hour bug yesterday may have helped that out a bit, but I'll take it however I can get it! Especially because the rest of the week wasn't especially good in terms of healthy eating (lots of eating out/ fast food in the evenings). I did get more sleep this week, so maybe that was helpful (I've been tired a lot lately... crashing out soon after the kids are in bed). At any rate, I'm glad to have another loss to report. This is a new low since I've been losing weight over the past few months, so I'm happy to be blogging tonight! Yay me!
down 4.2 lbs! :)
I'm gonna make this short and sweet... it's been a long day: pancake breakfast at church, working at Recycling Fun Fair at my school, a 90th birthday party, and a visit with my grandma! I weighed in this morning, happy to see a loss (finally!). A 24-hour bug yesterday may have helped that out a bit, but I'll take it however I can get it! Especially because the rest of the week wasn't especially good in terms of healthy eating (lots of eating out/ fast food in the evenings). I did get more sleep this week, so maybe that was helpful (I've been tired a lot lately... crashing out soon after the kids are in bed). At any rate, I'm glad to have another loss to report. This is a new low since I've been losing weight over the past few months, so I'm happy to be blogging tonight! Yay me!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
gotta add another one
My post-posting blog-surfing led me to 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet (a joint-effort of three sassy sisters from the South who have been fighting the battle of the bulge for most of their lives) where I found a write-up about this book: Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? and I just had to post about this because it sounds like it was written for me! Actually, "clutter and stuff" is a third area that I'd like to address and attack, once my weight and money issues are progressing steadily. But the title of this book just spoke to me. It is definitely going on my Amazon wishlist!
blog-surfing bits...
Today I am home from work (YAY!) with a sick child (boo). Since Princess Tippytoes is supposed to be napping right now, I am prohibited from blasting music and attacking the scary rooms in my house in a cleaning frenzy. I suppose that not feeling especially energetic today because I stayed up until 2 am last night/ this morning to finish reading a book might have something to with my lack of motivation too. So, what should I do? Hop online, of course!
I began with my beloved Gmail account. In addition to all of the regular email and forwards that fill my inbox, I subscribe to quite a few e-zines and blogs. Today was the perfect chance to catch up on all (well, some) of the articles that I've been missing lately. Inevitably, those articles have links to other articles or websites and before you know it, the blog-surfing has begun! So, what "share-worthy" things did I find today? Here's a few...
While reading through a post on The Simple Dollar (totally my favorite thing to read online right now!), I heard (read?) yet another reference to "The Fitness Ladder". Since I have been walking regularly, I have been feeling good about finding a way to fit some exercise into my busy day. The problem that I've been having lately is that I'd like to up the ante... increase what I'm doing. I tried adding an extra block or two, but I've found that all I get is sore legs, feet, and/or ankles. That's not a good thing to do in the morning before walking into a classroom full of students with autism... students that require you to be on your feet almost all the time! Time to investigate further... I clicked on a link (or did a search, I'm not really sure) and found this page (gotta love the title... "What, Me Exercise?"). It basically outlines the why and what regarding "The Fitness Ladder". Just reading through the top portions of this page, I felt I'd finally found someone that understood my feelings about exercise! The bits about exercise calling up all the unpleasant memories of high school gym class and how there were sooooo many other ways that I'd rather be spending the precious little bits of my free time... can we say kindred spirit? Scrolling down a bit more reveals a logical arguement for why we should exercise, backed up by one of my favorite programs, MS Excel. Handy, dandy spreadsheets (that I can alter and personalize, no less) to prove his point? Gotta love it! And then we get to nuts and bolts of "The Fitness Ladder" Here's a quote that sums it up pretty well:
Since exercise seems, on the face of it, so distasteful and the time devoted to it stolen, perforce, from other more pleasant activities, I've designed this exercise program around the following goals.
-Minimum time per day.
-Time spent doesn't increase as you progress.
-Easy to start, regardless of the shape you're in.
-No pain.
-Progress at your own pace.
-No equipment needed. Exercise anywhere, in private if you like.
Sounds good to me! I scrolled further to find an outline of the program- a ladder that you ascended the rungs of, to attain physical fitness. Each rung is comprised of a given number of repetitions of 5 exercises that can be completed in about 15 minutes- that's 15 minutes total, not per exercise. At the introductory level (the first 15 rungs), the exercises are: Bends (toe touches), Sit ups, Leg Lifts, Push ups, and Steps (actually running in place alternating with jumping jacks). He recommends staying on each rung for a minimum of 5 days, but beyond that, you just progress at your own pace. The Lifetime Ladder (rungs 15-48) actually contains the same exercises at a bit more challenging level and, of course, more repetitions of each exercise. Only 5 exercises? And I know how to do most of them already? Where do I sign up? I enjoyed reading this page so much that I began to hit the back arrow at the top (or bottom) of this page to see what else he had to say. What I discovered was an e-book (?) called The Hacker's Diet written by John Walker, "an engineer by training, a computer programmer by avocation, and an businessman through lack of alternatives". Because of his unique background, he presents a completely different viewpoint and attack-style than any other dieting/fitness/health-person/guru/author that I've ever read before. He comes at it like a) "somebody who spent most of his life fat," b) an engineer/ computer programmer/ businessman, and c) a regular person that had "decided being fat was a problem to be solved, not a burden to be endured". I haven't read it all yet, but what I've read so far is good enough for me to be posting this here and recommending it.
And, as if that wasn't enough, I also found this little gem through a link at "Blogging Away Fat" brought to you by Tricia, who also does Blogging Away Debt. (These are 2 of the newest additions to my email subscription list. Definitely check-it-out worthy!) Tricia brought the myth-busting to life with a link to One More Bite and this visual (and accompanying info). NOTE: you may not want to click this link while eating or just after eating- it's not bad, but it ain't appetizing either!
"What is it?" ask the squeamish that couldn't bring themselves to click for the visual? It's basically just a replica of 5 lbs. of fat vs. 5 lbs. of muscle- See? Not even the real thing, you big baby! The accompanying info basically just talks about how 5 lbs. is 5 lbs. but that 5 lbs of muscle is leaner than 5 lbs of fat. This article definitely helped me reckon myself with the scale because I've been stuck within the same 5 lb window for a while now and, as much as I write that "it's okay because of this or that," I'm getting a little tired of not seeing progress on the scale. It's especially frustrating when I have been feeling better, healthier, and more energized... when I know that my clothes are fitting better and I've been buttoning up clothing that hasn't been buttoned in years, if ever. So, I thought that this link/ article was "share-worthy" just in case any of you are stuck where I am- on a plateau.
And, since I've written on and on for soooooo long about just these 2 things (and there are a wealth of other links to click on within the links I posted here), I'm going to stop writing so you can go check them out now. Happy blog-surfing!
I began with my beloved Gmail account. In addition to all of the regular email and forwards that fill my inbox, I subscribe to quite a few e-zines and blogs. Today was the perfect chance to catch up on all (well, some) of the articles that I've been missing lately. Inevitably, those articles have links to other articles or websites and before you know it, the blog-surfing has begun! So, what "share-worthy" things did I find today? Here's a few...
While reading through a post on The Simple Dollar (totally my favorite thing to read online right now!), I heard (read?) yet another reference to "The Fitness Ladder". Since I have been walking regularly, I have been feeling good about finding a way to fit some exercise into my busy day. The problem that I've been having lately is that I'd like to up the ante... increase what I'm doing. I tried adding an extra block or two, but I've found that all I get is sore legs, feet, and/or ankles. That's not a good thing to do in the morning before walking into a classroom full of students with autism... students that require you to be on your feet almost all the time! Time to investigate further... I clicked on a link (or did a search, I'm not really sure) and found this page (gotta love the title... "What, Me Exercise?"). It basically outlines the why and what regarding "The Fitness Ladder". Just reading through the top portions of this page, I felt I'd finally found someone that understood my feelings about exercise! The bits about exercise calling up all the unpleasant memories of high school gym class and how there were sooooo many other ways that I'd rather be spending the precious little bits of my free time... can we say kindred spirit? Scrolling down a bit more reveals a logical arguement for why we should exercise, backed up by one of my favorite programs, MS Excel. Handy, dandy spreadsheets (that I can alter and personalize, no less) to prove his point? Gotta love it! And then we get to nuts and bolts of "The Fitness Ladder" Here's a quote that sums it up pretty well:
Since exercise seems, on the face of it, so distasteful and the time devoted to it stolen, perforce, from other more pleasant activities, I've designed this exercise program around the following goals.
-Minimum time per day.
-Time spent doesn't increase as you progress.
-Easy to start, regardless of the shape you're in.
-No pain.
-Progress at your own pace.
-No equipment needed. Exercise anywhere, in private if you like.
Sounds good to me! I scrolled further to find an outline of the program- a ladder that you ascended the rungs of, to attain physical fitness. Each rung is comprised of a given number of repetitions of 5 exercises that can be completed in about 15 minutes- that's 15 minutes total, not per exercise. At the introductory level (the first 15 rungs), the exercises are: Bends (toe touches), Sit ups, Leg Lifts, Push ups, and Steps (actually running in place alternating with jumping jacks). He recommends staying on each rung for a minimum of 5 days, but beyond that, you just progress at your own pace. The Lifetime Ladder (rungs 15-48) actually contains the same exercises at a bit more challenging level and, of course, more repetitions of each exercise. Only 5 exercises? And I know how to do most of them already? Where do I sign up? I enjoyed reading this page so much that I began to hit the back arrow at the top (or bottom) of this page to see what else he had to say. What I discovered was an e-book (?) called The Hacker's Diet written by John Walker, "an engineer by training, a computer programmer by avocation, and an businessman through lack of alternatives". Because of his unique background, he presents a completely different viewpoint and attack-style than any other dieting/fitness/health-person/guru/author that I've ever read before. He comes at it like a) "somebody who spent most of his life fat," b) an engineer/ computer programmer/ businessman, and c) a regular person that had "decided being fat was a problem to be solved, not a burden to be endured". I haven't read it all yet, but what I've read so far is good enough for me to be posting this here and recommending it.
And, as if that wasn't enough, I also found this little gem through a link at "Blogging Away Fat" brought to you by Tricia, who also does Blogging Away Debt. (These are 2 of the newest additions to my email subscription list. Definitely check-it-out worthy!) Tricia brought the myth-busting to life with a link to One More Bite and this visual (and accompanying info). NOTE: you may not want to click this link while eating or just after eating- it's not bad, but it ain't appetizing either!
"What is it?" ask the squeamish that couldn't bring themselves to click for the visual? It's basically just a replica of 5 lbs. of fat vs. 5 lbs. of muscle- See? Not even the real thing, you big baby! The accompanying info basically just talks about how 5 lbs. is 5 lbs. but that 5 lbs of muscle is leaner than 5 lbs of fat. This article definitely helped me reckon myself with the scale because I've been stuck within the same 5 lb window for a while now and, as much as I write that "it's okay because of this or that," I'm getting a little tired of not seeing progress on the scale. It's especially frustrating when I have been feeling better, healthier, and more energized... when I know that my clothes are fitting better and I've been buttoning up clothing that hasn't been buttoned in years, if ever. So, I thought that this link/ article was "share-worthy" just in case any of you are stuck where I am- on a plateau.
And, since I've written on and on for soooooo long about just these 2 things (and there are a wealth of other links to click on within the links I posted here), I'm going to stop writing so you can go check them out now. Happy blog-surfing!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
a new reason to ditch the restaurants
Today, Miss B and I joined my parents, sister and nephew for lunch after church. We got 3 separate checks. As we were ordering, Miss B was not sure what she wanted- only sure she wanted soup- but she lit up at the mention of the ham dinner that several of us were ordering. So, I offered to share my meal and just order an extra cup of soup. She was happy with this and I was happy at the prospect of cutting down the cost of our meal by splitting the more-than-generous-portioned meal (after we ate, we still brought home enough leftover ham for DH to eat some ham for lunch and still have enough to put in his salad for dinner!). When I got the bill, it was not bad, but still more than I expected. That's when I noticed the new reason that we should eat out less. I already knew that restaurant food is not generally prepared in a healthy manner and that portion size was outrageous, leading to the consumption of lots of unecessary calories, fats, cholesterol, sodium, and just about anything else that's bad for you. And, I already knew that eating out was not really budget-friendly. But I did not know that there is almost a 10% sales tax on restaurant food (9.75% to be exact). That's like adding 25% on top of the menu prices (when you add sales tax and the tip)! YIKES! I had no idea the tax was so high! With that motivation, I'm off to plan my menu for the week.
"quote" plus
“The road has been rocky and some times we kick some debt booty and I feel like I am on top of the world. Other times we suffer a financial blow and wonder if we will ever be debt free. That’s the thing about debt reduction. Unless you come across a windfall of money, it is a roller coaster journey and you are bound to hit bumps in the road. What matters is how you choose to deal with those bumps in the road. When you fall, you get right back up.”
I came across the above during one of my adventures in "blog-surfing". I thought that it just summed up the whole thing so beautifully that I just had to share it here. The last sentence is the key: "When you fall, you get right back up." So, that's what I've been doing and I try not to sweat the small stuff. I try to remind myself that I'm better off than I was a few months ago. That's one way that journaling or blogging really comes in handy. When I'm feeling bummed and asking myself Why? or Is this really worth it? I can look back at past posts and see where I was and why I don't want to be there again. I did a bit of that tonight, and it really helped. There are times when I feel on top of the world... something goes so right... a big weight loss, a good eating week, an energized feeling that comes from exercising and drinking my water, a debt paid off, a decent balance left in the bank, etc. And then there are those "bumps in the road"... times that turn your stomach and send you into enough of a panic that you spend your Friday night with budgeting programs on your computer instead of your loved ones. In the grand scheme of things, those individual times don't matter so much. What matters is that you don't let the good times make you too cocky and you don't let the bad times get you down or stop you altogether. It's like that annoying, yet catchy Chumbawamba song from the 90's says:
-Tricia at bloggingawaydebt.com
I came across the above during one of my adventures in "blog-surfing". I thought that it just summed up the whole thing so beautifully that I just had to share it here. The last sentence is the key: "When you fall, you get right back up." So, that's what I've been doing and I try not to sweat the small stuff. I try to remind myself that I'm better off than I was a few months ago. That's one way that journaling or blogging really comes in handy. When I'm feeling bummed and asking myself Why? or Is this really worth it? I can look back at past posts and see where I was and why I don't want to be there again. I did a bit of that tonight, and it really helped. There are times when I feel on top of the world... something goes so right... a big weight loss, a good eating week, an energized feeling that comes from exercising and drinking my water, a debt paid off, a decent balance left in the bank, etc. And then there are those "bumps in the road"... times that turn your stomach and send you into enough of a panic that you spend your Friday night with budgeting programs on your computer instead of your loved ones. In the grand scheme of things, those individual times don't matter so much. What matters is that you don't let the good times make you too cocky and you don't let the bad times get you down or stop you altogether. It's like that annoying, yet catchy Chumbawamba song from the 90's says:
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down...
(and now I'll bet you're going to have that song stuck in your head all day... mwahahahaha...)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Weekend Weigh-In: 04/12/08
Weigh-In: 289.8
Well, "good, bad, or ugly," I promised to weigh-in and post today, so here it is. Actually, I don't think its really good or bad. Its just there. Its better than it was a week ago... not as good as it was a few weeks ago. Sorry I didn't post sooner... I decided that if the weather wasn't going to cooperate to make it feel like spring outside, I would make it feel like spring on the inside by doing some 'Spring Cleaning'. So, that's how I spent my day (minus the time that I got sucked into blog-surfing... but I found some great new blogs in the process!) So, there's my weigh-in for the week. And that's all I'm going to write since I'm typing this with my thumbs on my phone. Talk about being all thumbs! Delete/ Backspace is becoming mt new favorite key!
Well, "good, bad, or ugly," I promised to weigh-in and post today, so here it is. Actually, I don't think its really good or bad. Its just there. Its better than it was a week ago... not as good as it was a few weeks ago. Sorry I didn't post sooner... I decided that if the weather wasn't going to cooperate to make it feel like spring outside, I would make it feel like spring on the inside by doing some 'Spring Cleaning'. So, that's how I spent my day (minus the time that I got sucked into blog-surfing... but I found some great new blogs in the process!) So, there's my weigh-in for the week. And that's all I'm going to write since I'm typing this with my thumbs on my phone. Talk about being all thumbs! Delete/ Backspace is becoming mt new favorite key!
Weekend Weigh-In: 04/12/08
Weigh-In: 289.8
Well, "good, bad, or ugly," I promised to weigh-in and post today, so here it is. Actually, I don't think its really good or bad. Its just there. Its better than it was a week ago... not as good as it was a few weeks ago. Sorry I didn't post sooner... I decided that if the weather wasn't going to cooperate to make it feel like spring outside, I would make it feel like spring on the inside by doing some 'Spring Cleaning'. So, that's how I spent my day (minus the time that I got sucked into blog-surfing... but I found some great new blogs in the process!) So, there's my weigh-in for the week. And that's all I'm going to write since I'm typing this with my thumbs on my phone. Talk about being all thumbs! Delete/ Backspace is becoming mt new favorite key!
Well, "good, bad, or ugly," I promised to weigh-in and post today, so here it is. Actually, I don't think its really good or bad. Its just there. Its better than it was a week ago... not as good as it was a few weeks ago. Sorry I didn't post sooner... I decided that if the weather wasn't going to cooperate to make it feel like spring outside, I would make it feel like spring on the inside by doing some 'Spring Cleaning'. So, that's how I spent my day (minus the time that I got sucked into blog-surfing... but I found some great new blogs in the process!) So, there's my weigh-in for the week. And that's all I'm going to write since I'm typing this with my thumbs on my phone. Talk about being all thumbs! Delete/ Backspace is becoming mt new favorite key!
Friday, April 11, 2008
little things mean a lot...
especially when those "little things" are expenses that can really add up!
So, I mentioned earlier that "I went a little more into detail than usual," on my Monday Night Money last week. What was this detail? A handy, dandy little thing called PearBudget. Last fall, when I first renewed my resolve to pay better attention to my money, I was searching for something that would help me do that. After downloading a few different budget programs, spreadsheets, etc., I found that PearBudget was just about what I was looking for. It got away from the individual entering of a wealth of information for each and every transaction (name, date, payee, category, memo, etc.), like I had suffered through with Quicken and MS Money in the past. And it got away from the whole balancing-the-checkbook aspect, which had also frustrated me with Quicken and MS Money because if there was one missed statement or one tiny mistake, the whole thing would be ruined and I'd have to start over again. So, I kept up with PearBudget for a while, but experienced a few set-backs that initially led me to drop it: there was still all of the data entry that comes with tracking expenses (just entering dollar amounts in the designated column) and there was the frustration of having a false analysis at the end of previous months when I made adjustments to the budgeted amounts to reflect the needs of the current month (which I solved by saving a new copy of the file each month). Anyway, in December, I dropped it completely and developed my own system- the calendar/ budget worksheets that I refer to occassionally. And, for the most part, the calendar/ budget sheets are sufficient for tracking the bills and regular expenses that occur in our budget. However, they lack the ability to track all of the variable expenses that are at the root of my money problems. And so, I dusted off the PearBudget program last Monday night so that I could take a closer look at all of my variable expenses. Boy! Was it an eye-opener! As of tonight, this month, we have spent:
$300 on household expenses (groceries, cleaning supplies, laundry soap, etc)
$300 on eating out!!! (shock of the century!)
almost $100 on gas for the car (sadly, not a shock, but normal...)
$60 on leisure/ entertainment
$80 in cash (which I still have over $50 of)
and $16 on clothing
That's $856!
I must say, most of this was spent before I did the PearBudget last Monday night and realized what a spendthrift I was being. Some of the eating out was as part of our Spring Break vacation (well, a vacation from cooking, anyway). But just by looking at what's up there, it's obvious that I NEED TO USE A PROGRAM LIKE THIS TO KEEP TRACK OF AND EXAMINE MY VARIABLE EXPENSES!!! So, I'm going to try to keep up with it this month. Guess that's another goal to add to my list!
Now, you may be wondering about this PearBudget program... What is it? How does it work? Where can I get it?
PearBudget is a beautiful Excel file that is really very user friendly. Just follow the tabs at the bottom, beginning with the one labelled, "Start Here". It will walk you through the process of setting up your budget. The other tabs are labeled, one for each month, plus there's an analysis for the end of the year (automatically generated from your monthly worksheets) and an example month. Expenses are divided into 3 basic areas: Regular Expenses, Irregular Expenses and Variable Expenses. Once you get past the "Start Here" page, it's pretty easy. Budgeted amounts are automatically transferred from the "Start" page to the monthly pages. As you enter the amounts spent under the various headings, PearBudget will automatically calculate the "total spent", compare that with the "budgeted" amount, and tell you the "difference". If you go over budget in an area, the "difference" is automatically written in red, so it's easy to see where things are going awry. There is also a column that figures your "total spent" for the month, another column for your "income" and a column that automatically figures out "what's left" for the month. At the bottom of the page is an Analysis section that will take a look at your overall spending for the month. At the end, it gives you a nice "Income vs. Expense Overview" that just sums it all up... letting you know how much you earned, how much you spent, and answers the question, "Did we end up saving anything?" It really is nice. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to track their variable expenses but not wanting to do the math for themselves (again with my hating of the math!). PearBudget does everything for you! There are now 2 versions of PearBudget. There's the version that I just told you about, which is an Excel spreadsheet that can be used in most spreadsheet programs, and there's a web-based program now that is allegedly better, but costs $3 a month after a free trial (I believe). I say "allegedly" because I don't know. The Excel version of PearBudget really does what I need it to do, so I haven't complicated matters by checking out the new, improved version. Plus, I don't want to check it out, find out that I really do like it better and then try to justify spending $3 a month to use the program (even though that's still substantially cheaper than any other online budgeting/ money-management programs that I've seen out there). Sometimes it's just better to not know what you're missing out on. So, if you love Excel like I do and just want to see a beautiful example of what Excel truly can do at it's best (in my opinion), click here. If you've been searching for a FREE tool to help with budgeting or tracking your expenses, click here. If you've been looking to simplify your money management system from a cumbersome, time-consuming program like Quicken or MS Money, click here. And, if you suffer from multiple personalities and clicked all three of those links, only to realize that they all lead you to the same place, sue me. It's a good program, solving each of those problems... well worth checking out. So, what are you waiting for?
PS- if PearBudget really doesn't work for you and you're still searching for something, click here. There are a bunch of links with something for everyone.
So, I mentioned earlier that "I went a little more into detail than usual," on my Monday Night Money last week. What was this detail? A handy, dandy little thing called PearBudget. Last fall, when I first renewed my resolve to pay better attention to my money, I was searching for something that would help me do that. After downloading a few different budget programs, spreadsheets, etc., I found that PearBudget was just about what I was looking for. It got away from the individual entering of a wealth of information for each and every transaction (name, date, payee, category, memo, etc.), like I had suffered through with Quicken and MS Money in the past. And it got away from the whole balancing-the-checkbook aspect, which had also frustrated me with Quicken and MS Money because if there was one missed statement or one tiny mistake, the whole thing would be ruined and I'd have to start over again. So, I kept up with PearBudget for a while, but experienced a few set-backs that initially led me to drop it: there was still all of the data entry that comes with tracking expenses (just entering dollar amounts in the designated column) and there was the frustration of having a false analysis at the end of previous months when I made adjustments to the budgeted amounts to reflect the needs of the current month (which I solved by saving a new copy of the file each month). Anyway, in December, I dropped it completely and developed my own system- the calendar/ budget worksheets that I refer to occassionally. And, for the most part, the calendar/ budget sheets are sufficient for tracking the bills and regular expenses that occur in our budget. However, they lack the ability to track all of the variable expenses that are at the root of my money problems. And so, I dusted off the PearBudget program last Monday night so that I could take a closer look at all of my variable expenses. Boy! Was it an eye-opener! As of tonight, this month, we have spent:
$300 on household expenses (groceries, cleaning supplies, laundry soap, etc)
$300 on eating out!!! (shock of the century!)
almost $100 on gas for the car (sadly, not a shock, but normal...)
$60 on leisure/ entertainment
$80 in cash (which I still have over $50 of)
and $16 on clothing
That's $856!
I must say, most of this was spent before I did the PearBudget last Monday night and realized what a spendthrift I was being. Some of the eating out was as part of our Spring Break vacation (well, a vacation from cooking, anyway). But just by looking at what's up there, it's obvious that I NEED TO USE A PROGRAM LIKE THIS TO KEEP TRACK OF AND EXAMINE MY VARIABLE EXPENSES!!! So, I'm going to try to keep up with it this month. Guess that's another goal to add to my list!
Now, you may be wondering about this PearBudget program... What is it? How does it work? Where can I get it?
PearBudget is a beautiful Excel file that is really very user friendly. Just follow the tabs at the bottom, beginning with the one labelled, "Start Here". It will walk you through the process of setting up your budget. The other tabs are labeled, one for each month, plus there's an analysis for the end of the year (automatically generated from your monthly worksheets) and an example month. Expenses are divided into 3 basic areas: Regular Expenses, Irregular Expenses and Variable Expenses. Once you get past the "Start Here" page, it's pretty easy. Budgeted amounts are automatically transferred from the "Start" page to the monthly pages. As you enter the amounts spent under the various headings, PearBudget will automatically calculate the "total spent", compare that with the "budgeted" amount, and tell you the "difference". If you go over budget in an area, the "difference" is automatically written in red, so it's easy to see where things are going awry. There is also a column that figures your "total spent" for the month, another column for your "income" and a column that automatically figures out "what's left" for the month. At the bottom of the page is an Analysis section that will take a look at your overall spending for the month. At the end, it gives you a nice "Income vs. Expense Overview" that just sums it all up... letting you know how much you earned, how much you spent, and answers the question, "Did we end up saving anything?" It really is nice. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to track their variable expenses but not wanting to do the math for themselves (again with my hating of the math!). PearBudget does everything for you! There are now 2 versions of PearBudget. There's the version that I just told you about, which is an Excel spreadsheet that can be used in most spreadsheet programs, and there's a web-based program now that is allegedly better, but costs $3 a month after a free trial (I believe). I say "allegedly" because I don't know. The Excel version of PearBudget really does what I need it to do, so I haven't complicated matters by checking out the new, improved version. Plus, I don't want to check it out, find out that I really do like it better and then try to justify spending $3 a month to use the program (even though that's still substantially cheaper than any other online budgeting/ money-management programs that I've seen out there). Sometimes it's just better to not know what you're missing out on. So, if you love Excel like I do and just want to see a beautiful example of what Excel truly can do at it's best (in my opinion), click here. If you've been searching for a FREE tool to help with budgeting or tracking your expenses, click here. If you've been looking to simplify your money management system from a cumbersome, time-consuming program like Quicken or MS Money, click here. And, if you suffer from multiple personalities and clicked all three of those links, only to realize that they all lead you to the same place, sue me. It's a good program, solving each of those problems... well worth checking out. So, what are you waiting for?
PS- if PearBudget really doesn't work for you and you're still searching for something, click here. There are a bunch of links with something for everyone.
goals revisited...
So, a few weeks ago, I wrote about my goals... ones I'd done, ones I'd kinda done and ones I shoulda done. Given the "kinda dones" and the "shoulda dones", all of my goals were "to be continued." And, thinking about it, I guess most goals should "be continued" for a while. They say it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. That's three whole weeks of consciously making yourself do something new before it becomes a habit. And, after all, that's what this is all about- changing my habits, my lifestyle. Not just trying something new for a week or a few days. So, it is without regret that I am revisiting my goals and stamping them with a big fat "To Be Continued".
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!). I've been pretty good about it this week. Last week? Not so much. But this week, the checkbook and debit card spent the week in the drawer. They came out on Wednesday night because I forgot that I had cash that I should have used to buy dinner for DH and myself and today because DH had to write a check at the dentist's office. And, I'll admit, they had a field trip to Target too, but we limited ourselves to the Dollar Spot and getting some cash out for the coming week. Both the checkbook and debit card are now safely back home in the drawer where they now live.
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system. Okay, before I said that I had done this- twice. If I want to be totally honest, I've actually done this 3 times. Once, a few months ago, and I've been unable to find the coupon organizer since! So, I went back to the office store and bought the exact same one, then found one that I liked better at Target a few days later. And somewhere between then and now, I've managed to misplace them again! So, I'm modifying this goal to: Finding the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes! I've got the cash. I've actually been using it (some... when I remember that I have it). Once the above goal is accomplished, I'll try again.
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu. I didn't actually write out my menu, but I had it in my head and I followed it! Using my gmail recipe file, I was even able to look up a recipe while I was at the grocery store when I realized that I needed to make a crockpot meal for Tuesday evening! Let me tell you, that was handy! Let me just say, once again, that I love using a Gmail account as a recipe file! Gmail Rocks! With all of that said, I haven't actually planned my meal for this coming week yet, but given my financial panic earlier today and the realization that I need to "be extra-good for the rest of the month", meal planning isn't exactly an option. It's a requirement. We will be living off of what we have on hand as much as possible for the rest of the month and meal planning is an essential key to doing that so we don't end up eating "pumpkin-tuna-bean surprise" or something equally frightening because those are the only ingredients left in the pantry!
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. I did this over break. I did this some after our big shopping trip to Walmart, but when I did, I realized that the original, most recently saved copy of my price book is still trapped in my mom's laptop and I need to send it to myself from her computer sometime. So, this goal becomes: Send myself a copy of the Price Book from mom's computer this week.
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! I did this (finally)... exactly one time. I may be doing it more in the near future, as I extended my walk this morning, and appear to have done something funky to my right leg/ankle/foot. Don't know exactly what I did or how, but it hurts. Maybe riding the bike would be less impact? I don't know, but I do know that I won't be going for lengthy walks anytime soon.
7. Lose some weight. Okay, this one remains to be seen. But, I promise to weigh-in and actually blog about it and post it sometime this weekend- good, bad or ugly!
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!). I've been pretty good about it this week. Last week? Not so much. But this week, the checkbook and debit card spent the week in the drawer. They came out on Wednesday night because I forgot that I had cash that I should have used to buy dinner for DH and myself and today because DH had to write a check at the dentist's office. And, I'll admit, they had a field trip to Target too, but we limited ourselves to the Dollar Spot and getting some cash out for the coming week. Both the checkbook and debit card are now safely back home in the drawer where they now live.
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system. Okay, before I said that I had done this- twice. If I want to be totally honest, I've actually done this 3 times. Once, a few months ago, and I've been unable to find the coupon organizer since! So, I went back to the office store and bought the exact same one, then found one that I liked better at Target a few days later. And somewhere between then and now, I've managed to misplace them again! So, I'm modifying this goal to: Finding the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes! I've got the cash. I've actually been using it (some... when I remember that I have it). Once the above goal is accomplished, I'll try again.
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu. I didn't actually write out my menu, but I had it in my head and I followed it! Using my gmail recipe file, I was even able to look up a recipe while I was at the grocery store when I realized that I needed to make a crockpot meal for Tuesday evening! Let me tell you, that was handy! Let me just say, once again, that I love using a Gmail account as a recipe file! Gmail Rocks! With all of that said, I haven't actually planned my meal for this coming week yet, but given my financial panic earlier today and the realization that I need to "be extra-good for the rest of the month", meal planning isn't exactly an option. It's a requirement. We will be living off of what we have on hand as much as possible for the rest of the month and meal planning is an essential key to doing that so we don't end up eating "pumpkin-tuna-bean surprise" or something equally frightening because those are the only ingredients left in the pantry!
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. I did this over break. I did this some after our big shopping trip to Walmart, but when I did, I realized that the original, most recently saved copy of my price book is still trapped in my mom's laptop and I need to send it to myself from her computer sometime. So, this goal becomes: Send myself a copy of the Price Book from mom's computer this week.
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! I did this (finally)... exactly one time. I may be doing it more in the near future, as I extended my walk this morning, and appear to have done something funky to my right leg/ankle/foot. Don't know exactly what I did or how, but it hurts. Maybe riding the bike would be less impact? I don't know, but I do know that I won't be going for lengthy walks anytime soon.
7. Lose some weight. Okay, this one remains to be seen. But, I promise to weigh-in and actually blog about it and post it sometime this weekend- good, bad or ugly!
Friday Night Finances...
like Monday Night Money, only earlier!
Check-In: $2211.08
Seriously, as I said in my last post, the extra bills that popped up in the last 2 days kinda freaked me out. Evidently, my reaction to the dentist bill freaked DH out, since he went to his employer to talk to him about the "emergency fund" that he has set up for his employees- even though I told DH not to talk to him until I'd had a chance to look at our finances- and DH also tried to call the dentist's office (tonight) to cancel his oral surgery that is scheduled for Monday. He's quite the reactionary! After taking a look at things tonight, it's really not too bad, we will just have to be extra-good for the rest of the month, but we should be fine. Most of our ER fund money will probably be wiped away, but I'm appreciative to have that extra cushion to get us through these times. We won't be any worse off than when we didn't have an ER fund and we can just build it back up again. Of course, it will be a lot slower going this time around... without having a tax refund to boost it from $0 to $1000 in one fell swoop!
The good news for this week was that I finally got ahold of claims services for the hospital and the insurance company to straighten out our "coordination of benefits"- just so I could tell them that there's nothing to coordinate... we have no other insurance. The result of this (aka- "good news") is that we owe the hospital nothing for Miss B's trip to the ER in February, nothing for Mr. C's trip to the ER in February, and only $331.24 for DH's 3-day hospital stay in February. Before insurance, these 3 trips totalled almost $14,000! All I can say is THANK GOD FOR INSURANCE!!! Of course, having such good insurance that I pay nothing for is one of the things that is making my what-to-do-with-my-job/career/life decision that much harder! But that's another blog...
Check-In: $2211.08
Seriously, as I said in my last post, the extra bills that popped up in the last 2 days kinda freaked me out. Evidently, my reaction to the dentist bill freaked DH out, since he went to his employer to talk to him about the "emergency fund" that he has set up for his employees- even though I told DH not to talk to him until I'd had a chance to look at our finances- and DH also tried to call the dentist's office (tonight) to cancel his oral surgery that is scheduled for Monday. He's quite the reactionary! After taking a look at things tonight, it's really not too bad, we will just have to be extra-good for the rest of the month, but we should be fine. Most of our ER fund money will probably be wiped away, but I'm appreciative to have that extra cushion to get us through these times. We won't be any worse off than when we didn't have an ER fund and we can just build it back up again. Of course, it will be a lot slower going this time around... without having a tax refund to boost it from $0 to $1000 in one fell swoop!
The good news for this week was that I finally got ahold of claims services for the hospital and the insurance company to straighten out our "coordination of benefits"- just so I could tell them that there's nothing to coordinate... we have no other insurance. The result of this (aka- "good news") is that we owe the hospital nothing for Miss B's trip to the ER in February, nothing for Mr. C's trip to the ER in February, and only $331.24 for DH's 3-day hospital stay in February. Before insurance, these 3 trips totalled almost $14,000! All I can say is THANK GOD FOR INSURANCE!!! Of course, having such good insurance that I pay nothing for is one of the things that is making my what-to-do-with-my-job/career/life decision that much harder! But that's another blog...
back to blogging...
finally...
It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and yet 'crazy' seems to be the new norm around here. We had a partly nice spring break- interrupted by things like a broken down van, a shortened vacation and my 96-year-old grandma going into the hospital. Then, I went back to work... back to the antagonizing, stressful insanity that my work environment has become. And grandma stayed in the hospital (or at least she should have stayed in the hospital... leaving against her dr's orders only to end up back in the hospital again 2 days later). Now, she is out of the hospital again, basically because there is no testing or treatment that she's willing to put herself through (and I don't blame her- who wants to have a bone marrow biopsy or go on dialysis at 96?) and because she has someone to stay with her at her apartment for the time being. I don't know if it's stress or what, but my weight was up last weekend (around 293? I think) and I was just not motivated to post. I figured I'd do a "belated weigh-in" again (maybe my weight would come down some by then, right?). Then came Monday night. And I did my Monday Night Money, like I'm supposed to (even though I totally didn't feel like it after dragging my husband and children through the aisles of Walmart to "just pick up a few things"... $200 later, we made it out of the store). But, I went a little more into details than usual (more to come on that later) and with the late start, it was midnight by the time I got through with the normal money stuff. The end of an 18-hour day is no time to be blogging. Although brain-dead, sleep-deprived blogs are sometimes amusing, they are rarely ever helpful. And then the week happened. Time and the motivation to write just never crossed paths. Fast-forward to tonight, when I asked DH how much he'd written the check for at the dentist's office today. It was almost double what I'd anticipated and, added to another unexpected $500+ bill, nearly sent me into cardiac arrest! So, when we got home, it was time for a panicked episode of "Friday Night Finances" and here we are...
It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and yet 'crazy' seems to be the new norm around here. We had a partly nice spring break- interrupted by things like a broken down van, a shortened vacation and my 96-year-old grandma going into the hospital. Then, I went back to work... back to the antagonizing, stressful insanity that my work environment has become. And grandma stayed in the hospital (or at least she should have stayed in the hospital... leaving against her dr's orders only to end up back in the hospital again 2 days later). Now, she is out of the hospital again, basically because there is no testing or treatment that she's willing to put herself through (and I don't blame her- who wants to have a bone marrow biopsy or go on dialysis at 96?) and because she has someone to stay with her at her apartment for the time being. I don't know if it's stress or what, but my weight was up last weekend (around 293? I think) and I was just not motivated to post. I figured I'd do a "belated weigh-in" again (maybe my weight would come down some by then, right?). Then came Monday night. And I did my Monday Night Money, like I'm supposed to (even though I totally didn't feel like it after dragging my husband and children through the aisles of Walmart to "just pick up a few things"... $200 later, we made it out of the store). But, I went a little more into details than usual (more to come on that later) and with the late start, it was midnight by the time I got through with the normal money stuff. The end of an 18-hour day is no time to be blogging. Although brain-dead, sleep-deprived blogs are sometimes amusing, they are rarely ever helpful. And then the week happened. Time and the motivation to write just never crossed paths. Fast-forward to tonight, when I asked DH how much he'd written the check for at the dentist's office today. It was almost double what I'd anticipated and, added to another unexpected $500+ bill, nearly sent me into cardiac arrest! So, when we got home, it was time for a panicked episode of "Friday Night Finances" and here we are...
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Weight-lifting...
I mean "weight-lifting" not as a physical exercise, but as a mental one. I'm talking about the weight that we carry around on our shoulders and about the effect of having a weight lifted off of our shoulders. For a while now, I have been in a funk. It's not as bad now as it was before, but it's still been with me. There were momentary "good times"... momentary "ups", but then this weight would come right back and descend upon my shoulders. I hadn't pinpointed any one thing as the cause of this weight, but looking now, I think a large part of it was due to "uncertainty".
There were several things going on in several very important areas of my life... things that caused me to question who I was, what I wanted/ needed, where I was supposed to be, what I was supposed to be doing with my life, etc.
Without going into a lot of details, there were things that happened at church that led me (us, our family) to leave the church we were attending. This left a big, gaping hole of loss- losing good friends, support, and people that have been like an extended family (I'd gone to this church since I was a child). I went through a lot making this decision to leave. It was definitely a period of uncertainty. What was right for me? What was right for our family? What did we need in a church? Where could we find it? Should we stay or leave? What does God want me to do? Where is He leading me? There were a million and one questions. And, just as quickly as we had found a new place to worship, we were led back the the "old" church that I had grown up in. Again, there was uncertainty and again there were all the questions waiting to be answered a second time. And all the while, I was straining to hear God's voice... I'm still straining to hear it... to go where He is leading us (or stay where He wants us).
About the same time things began to change at work. Suddenly, we had more students than we've ever had in our classroom (with no more staff), staff was taken away or "reassigned", students were placed in our classroom that should be in more intensive, specialized programs. Add to that an administration that is scrutinizing my classroom/ program (and me), and I began to wonder if it was all worth it. Then came more questions: Should I keep teaching? Do I want to keep teaching? If I don't want to teach anymore, what do I want to do? And even more pressing were the questions about meeting my family's needs: What job (or jobs) can I do to keep insurance for our family? What can I do to make enough money to support us? What can I do without needing any further education? The kicker came on the last day before spring break when I discovered that our classroom was not included in the plans for the following year. We had been removed from the "classroom assignment floor plan" for the 2008-2009 school year without forewarning or explanation. I only discovered this during the staff meeting where the classroom assignments were handed out. I would think that out of professional courtesy an adminstrator would, at least, share this information with me before the meeting and offer an explanation of where we would be going next year (and that's all I'll say- venting doesn't do any good, anyway... just makes me mad all over again). I guess professional courtesy's not what it used to be...
And, as if the uncertainty of the church and job situations weren't enough, I went through the painful process of watching my intelligent, artistic, creative six-year-old struggle in first grade because of difficulty attending. I watched her struggle and fall further behind, despite interventions at home and at school. Finally, when our interventions weren't helping, we went to her pediatrician where she was diagnosed with ADHD (something I never saw coming- especially for this child) and she began taking a low dose of medicine to help with her inattention. The road to this place was paved with self-doubt and more questions: Is this something were causing at home? Is there something we should be doing differently? Is she eating too much sugar/ red dye/ high fructose corn syrup/ etc? Is it a behavioral reaction to one (or more) of her asthma meds? Is it a lack of sleep because of her asthma or anxiety? Did I push her too hard? Not hard enough? Should she be in the school she's at (an accelerated magnet school for kids at or above grade-level)? The questions and doubts go on and on... Of course, I know the rational answers to many of these questions, but it doesn't stop the thoughts from niggling at the back of my brain. And once she was diagnosed, there were even more questions: Should we use medicine to help her? Should we move her to another school? Should I homeschool her? And if I did homeschool, how could I possibly meet some of my family's other needs (like clothing, food, shelter and insurance)?
And, of course, there are always a few other uncertainties that crop up. Where will Princess Tippytoes go to Kindergarten next year? If I'm at a new school, will they let me register her there or will she have to go to her neighborhood school? If she has to go to her neighborhood school, how will she get to and from school? Who will take her? Will I have to ask my parents to take on yet another of my parental responsibilities? Is that fair to them? And where will Mr. C go to preschool next year? (I'm not overly fond of where my DD is going right now and want to send him somewhere else) I'm sure I could think of more, but you get the idea. Too many questions and not enough answers! Trying to figure out what I should do and what was best for our family is exhausting, draining, it just plain sucks!
In the past, whenever I'm supposed to do something or change something in my life, God has been pretty clear about it. I just knew that Culver-Stockton was the college that I should go to. (That college led me to my best friend, who in turn led me to my husband.) A few years later, I just knew that I was supposed to move back home. After having several different options, there was just this huge feeling of rightness when I was talking about moving back home and I knew it was what I was supposed to do. Fast-forward a few more years and I just knew that I was supposed to marry my husband (we didn't even technically date before we got engaged). In terms of my job, I can look back and see a natural progression that God has led me through. I can see why I didn't get the job with an autism program in another town... that a few years later, I got to work where I do now and create my own autism program for the district in my hometown. And I just knew that this is the house we are supposed to be in (even if it's not my first choice in terms of style) because things just fell into place... a friend of the family offering to sell it to us for less than it appraised for... for what we could afford... a house with a layout very well-suited to a family with young children and enough space to stay in for many years to come (if not forever). And if that's not enough of a "sign", the house number is our anniversary: 1009 (we were married on October 9th)! I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've always been able to feel God leading me... letting me know where I'm supposed to go or what I'm supposed to do. But these events lately... well, I'm just not getting those feelings. Or I'm getting mixed signals. Whatever it is, I just wasn't finding the answers that I've been looking for. And so, I've been in my funk... preoccupied with finding the answers to these questions whenever something else wasn't taking up my attention, and sometimes even when other things were taking up my attention. I'd be busy doing things or enjoying myself, but as soon as there was a lull, the weight would come right back and settle on my shoulders. The questions would come back, hungry for answers.
And then came yesterday. Yesterday, a few things became a whole lot clearer. I found out that the reason that we are not going to be at our current school next year is because they are extending the autism program, creating another classroom for 3rd- 5th grade students with autism (something I have been wanting them to do/ telling them they need to do since our program started 5 years ago). We will be moving to a school that will have 2 rooms as classrooms and a room between to share as a sensory/ break room for the students. Best of all, this school is our neighborhood school. Yes! I will have a 2 block commute! How awesome is that- especially with the price of gas! I have heard nothing but good things about this school and the principal (so far), and I am looking forward to moving there next year! This puts an end to my many "job-search, possible-career related questions". I can stay with the same district, doing what I love and keep my salary and insurance for our family (wow! we will be able to eat!). This also answers the question of where Princess Tippytoes will go to Kindergarten next year, since it's her neighborhood school. It also goes a long way to convince me that Miss B should go to this school next year too. It will make things easier, having both girls at the same school- especially if it's the school where I teach. It will also solve the issue of after-school care for Miss B. I realize that next year, Mr. C will still be at my mom's, but after that, all 3 kids will be in school. It would be nice to have them all at the same school and to have them at the school where I teach. That way, we won't have to worry about who will meet the bus and watch the kids until I get home.
As for Miss B, with her ADHD issues, I contacted the teacher after she'd been taking the medicine for a week, to see if she had noticed a difference. I received a glowing report, stating how Miss B was focused, participated in class discussions, and hadn't needed to be redirected at all during the week! It was like Miss B's teacher was finally seeing the wonderful child that we know her to be!that was another huge weight that was lifted... So many of our doubts were cured with that one note (at least for now).
And, as for church, we're where we're supposed to be for now. That's all I need to know.
So, with all of this weight lifted off my shoulders, I feel better. I feel positive. I can breathe a little deeper now. I don't have to spend so much energy trying to figure out the answers to all my questions and that translates into having more energy for other things. I actually walked today (something that I'd been scrimping on lately, if not slacking altogether). And tonight I actually did 2 other good things. First, I made dinner- a dinner that I had planned on my menu! And second, I actually cleaned off the exercise bike and I rode it tonight- for the first time in 3+ years! So, all of that blabbering on was really just to say that "weight-lifting" can have a really powerful, positive effect on you. Not only in solving some of your problems (problems that are the proverbial weight on your shoulders), but also by freeing up energy to focus on and do better things for yourself! Of course, it was also just a big old excuse for me to vent... to write down and work through some of the things that have been piling up and attacking me for a while. So, I also thank you for listening/ reading if you've made it this far.
There were several things going on in several very important areas of my life... things that caused me to question who I was, what I wanted/ needed, where I was supposed to be, what I was supposed to be doing with my life, etc.
Without going into a lot of details, there were things that happened at church that led me (us, our family) to leave the church we were attending. This left a big, gaping hole of loss- losing good friends, support, and people that have been like an extended family (I'd gone to this church since I was a child). I went through a lot making this decision to leave. It was definitely a period of uncertainty. What was right for me? What was right for our family? What did we need in a church? Where could we find it? Should we stay or leave? What does God want me to do? Where is He leading me? There were a million and one questions. And, just as quickly as we had found a new place to worship, we were led back the the "old" church that I had grown up in. Again, there was uncertainty and again there were all the questions waiting to be answered a second time. And all the while, I was straining to hear God's voice... I'm still straining to hear it... to go where He is leading us (or stay where He wants us).
About the same time things began to change at work. Suddenly, we had more students than we've ever had in our classroom (with no more staff), staff was taken away or "reassigned", students were placed in our classroom that should be in more intensive, specialized programs. Add to that an administration that is scrutinizing my classroom/ program (and me), and I began to wonder if it was all worth it. Then came more questions: Should I keep teaching? Do I want to keep teaching? If I don't want to teach anymore, what do I want to do? And even more pressing were the questions about meeting my family's needs: What job (or jobs) can I do to keep insurance for our family? What can I do to make enough money to support us? What can I do without needing any further education? The kicker came on the last day before spring break when I discovered that our classroom was not included in the plans for the following year. We had been removed from the "classroom assignment floor plan" for the 2008-2009 school year without forewarning or explanation. I only discovered this during the staff meeting where the classroom assignments were handed out. I would think that out of professional courtesy an adminstrator would, at least, share this information with me before the meeting and offer an explanation of where we would be going next year (and that's all I'll say- venting doesn't do any good, anyway... just makes me mad all over again). I guess professional courtesy's not what it used to be...
And, as if the uncertainty of the church and job situations weren't enough, I went through the painful process of watching my intelligent, artistic, creative six-year-old struggle in first grade because of difficulty attending. I watched her struggle and fall further behind, despite interventions at home and at school. Finally, when our interventions weren't helping, we went to her pediatrician where she was diagnosed with ADHD (something I never saw coming- especially for this child) and she began taking a low dose of medicine to help with her inattention. The road to this place was paved with self-doubt and more questions: Is this something were causing at home? Is there something we should be doing differently? Is she eating too much sugar/ red dye/ high fructose corn syrup/ etc? Is it a behavioral reaction to one (or more) of her asthma meds? Is it a lack of sleep because of her asthma or anxiety? Did I push her too hard? Not hard enough? Should she be in the school she's at (an accelerated magnet school for kids at or above grade-level)? The questions and doubts go on and on... Of course, I know the rational answers to many of these questions, but it doesn't stop the thoughts from niggling at the back of my brain. And once she was diagnosed, there were even more questions: Should we use medicine to help her? Should we move her to another school? Should I homeschool her? And if I did homeschool, how could I possibly meet some of my family's other needs (like clothing, food, shelter and insurance)?
And, of course, there are always a few other uncertainties that crop up. Where will Princess Tippytoes go to Kindergarten next year? If I'm at a new school, will they let me register her there or will she have to go to her neighborhood school? If she has to go to her neighborhood school, how will she get to and from school? Who will take her? Will I have to ask my parents to take on yet another of my parental responsibilities? Is that fair to them? And where will Mr. C go to preschool next year? (I'm not overly fond of where my DD is going right now and want to send him somewhere else) I'm sure I could think of more, but you get the idea. Too many questions and not enough answers! Trying to figure out what I should do and what was best for our family is exhausting, draining, it just plain sucks!
In the past, whenever I'm supposed to do something or change something in my life, God has been pretty clear about it. I just knew that Culver-Stockton was the college that I should go to. (That college led me to my best friend, who in turn led me to my husband.) A few years later, I just knew that I was supposed to move back home. After having several different options, there was just this huge feeling of rightness when I was talking about moving back home and I knew it was what I was supposed to do. Fast-forward a few more years and I just knew that I was supposed to marry my husband (we didn't even technically date before we got engaged). In terms of my job, I can look back and see a natural progression that God has led me through. I can see why I didn't get the job with an autism program in another town... that a few years later, I got to work where I do now and create my own autism program for the district in my hometown. And I just knew that this is the house we are supposed to be in (even if it's not my first choice in terms of style) because things just fell into place... a friend of the family offering to sell it to us for less than it appraised for... for what we could afford... a house with a layout very well-suited to a family with young children and enough space to stay in for many years to come (if not forever). And if that's not enough of a "sign", the house number is our anniversary: 1009 (we were married on October 9th)! I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've always been able to feel God leading me... letting me know where I'm supposed to go or what I'm supposed to do. But these events lately... well, I'm just not getting those feelings. Or I'm getting mixed signals. Whatever it is, I just wasn't finding the answers that I've been looking for. And so, I've been in my funk... preoccupied with finding the answers to these questions whenever something else wasn't taking up my attention, and sometimes even when other things were taking up my attention. I'd be busy doing things or enjoying myself, but as soon as there was a lull, the weight would come right back and settle on my shoulders. The questions would come back, hungry for answers.
And then came yesterday. Yesterday, a few things became a whole lot clearer. I found out that the reason that we are not going to be at our current school next year is because they are extending the autism program, creating another classroom for 3rd- 5th grade students with autism (something I have been wanting them to do/ telling them they need to do since our program started 5 years ago). We will be moving to a school that will have 2 rooms as classrooms and a room between to share as a sensory/ break room for the students. Best of all, this school is our neighborhood school. Yes! I will have a 2 block commute! How awesome is that- especially with the price of gas! I have heard nothing but good things about this school and the principal (so far), and I am looking forward to moving there next year! This puts an end to my many "job-search, possible-career related questions". I can stay with the same district, doing what I love and keep my salary and insurance for our family (wow! we will be able to eat!). This also answers the question of where Princess Tippytoes will go to Kindergarten next year, since it's her neighborhood school. It also goes a long way to convince me that Miss B should go to this school next year too. It will make things easier, having both girls at the same school- especially if it's the school where I teach. It will also solve the issue of after-school care for Miss B. I realize that next year, Mr. C will still be at my mom's, but after that, all 3 kids will be in school. It would be nice to have them all at the same school and to have them at the school where I teach. That way, we won't have to worry about who will meet the bus and watch the kids until I get home.
As for Miss B, with her ADHD issues, I contacted the teacher after she'd been taking the medicine for a week, to see if she had noticed a difference. I received a glowing report, stating how Miss B was focused, participated in class discussions, and hadn't needed to be redirected at all during the week! It was like Miss B's teacher was finally seeing the wonderful child that we know her to be!
And, as for church, we're where we're supposed to be for now. That's all I need to know.
So, with all of this weight lifted off my shoulders, I feel better. I feel positive. I can breathe a little deeper now. I don't have to spend so much energy trying to figure out the answers to all my questions and that translates into having more energy for other things. I actually walked today (something that I'd been scrimping on lately, if not slacking altogether). And tonight I actually did 2 other good things. First, I made dinner- a dinner that I had planned on my menu! And second, I actually cleaned off the exercise bike and I rode it tonight- for the first time in 3+ years! So, all of that blabbering on was really just to say that "weight-lifting" can have a really powerful, positive effect on you. Not only in solving some of your problems (problems that are the proverbial weight on your shoulders), but also by freeing up energy to focus on and do better things for yourself! Of course, it was also just a big old excuse for me to vent... to write down and work through some of the things that have been piling up and attacking me for a while. So, I also thank you for listening/ reading if you've made it this far.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Price Book Power!
Well, at least I'm told that they have power. As I said before, I've never been able to stick with doing one long enough to witness the power. It's always been a time-consuming task and I just haven't seen a quick enough payout for the time I was spending on the darn things, and they've always been abandoned.
So, here we go again. Trying the price book thing...
I spent a good part of a day over Spring Break, just looking up several different price books online. I looked at what people do, how they do it, why they do it. I looked at paper/ pencil Price Books vs. computer spreadsheet Price Books. In the end, I went with the computer spreadsheet method. What can I say? I love Excel! The ability to put in the information, tell it what to do with it (IE; make it do the math for me!), and then to have the ability to sort and manipulate that information... Well! It's just too much fun to pass up! So, armed with the information that I wanted to be able to track, I set up a spreadsheet with the information that I wanted. Here are the column headings that I used:
List: this column is used to mark items that I need to get for the week so that I can sort the information in my spreadsheet and get a condensed list of what I need at the store for a grocery list (hence the heading, "List")
Category: Produce, Meat, HBA, Dairy, etc. This helps by putting similar items together- for comparison and for easier shopping (all dairy is together on the list, all produce is together on the list, etc)
Item: This is for the generic name of the item (not name brand). For easier comparison, I put a broad item name, followed by specifics (ie; pork- boneless chops, pork- loin roast, etc) so that similar products can easily be compared.
Other: This is where I put any other information about the item (like a brand name)
Store: Since all of the stores that I might be shopping at in our area start with a different letter, I just enter the first letter of the store name here.
Date: I guess this is important if you want to know how often a product goes on sale. It can also be used to find the current prices if you enter info from the sales ads before shopping.
Amt: quantity
Unit: pounds, ounces, each, pack, etc.
Price(1): This is the total price of the product. (I didn't realize that I ended up having 2 columns with the heading of "Price" until I was all done and sorting things, so I may change one of these.)
Price(2): This is where I make the spreadsheet do the math for me by figuring out the unit price of the item. This column is technically the "price per unit" column, but the spreadsheet wouldn't do the math if I had text in there with the numbers, so I split it into 2 columns. Hence, the next header...
per unit: per pound, per ounce, each, per pack, etc.
Note: Here I note anything noteworthy (duh!). Some things I've noted so far are:
- if you have to use a loyalty card to get the sale price (I hate these!)
- if there is a requirement like BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free) or 5/$10, etc.
- if there is a limit to how many you can purchase of an item
- if I need a coupon for an item
Armed with the store ads from last week, I entered information. Then, came the ultimate test: using the sort feature. This has got to be one of the best things on Excel! And this is where the coolness of the price book lies. You can sort by 3 columns at a time. So, first, I sorted by "Category". This put all of the items in a department together (something that always irks me about my random, handwritten grocery lists because I end up wasting time traipsing back across the grocery store to pick up something that was in an aisle that I've already been through). Next, I sorted by "Item" and then I sorted by "Price (2)" (unit price). This let me compare the prices of the same or similar items to see what was the best deal. I suppose in the future, I will also have to sort by date, to get the most current prices together. Now comes the functionality of the price book. It turns into a shopping list right before your very eyes! I just went down the "List" column and marked what we needed ( I suppose you could use a letter "O" and that would give you a nice circle to check off for the grocery list). Then, go back to the sort feature and sort by "List". This will put all of the items that you need at the top of your list. Voila! You can print out this portion of the spreadsheet and have a shopping list! At this point, you can also look at the "Store" column of the sheet to see which store you should shop at (whatever appears the most in this column is the store that has the most good deals). Unless you have all the time in the world to hop from store to store, raking in only the best of the deals, but I never have the time, nor the inclination, to do that. By now, I'm sure this is all as clear as muddy water! But it is a system that makes sense to me. If I can figure out how, I'll try to post the actual spreadsheet that I came up with so that all you visual learners out there can see it. Or, if you're just dying to know, I can always email an attachment. In the meantime, trust me. It works and it's cool. Or it will be cool if I can keep up with it long enough to witness the power of the Price Book!
So, here we go again. Trying the price book thing...
I spent a good part of a day over Spring Break, just looking up several different price books online. I looked at what people do, how they do it, why they do it. I looked at paper/ pencil Price Books vs. computer spreadsheet Price Books. In the end, I went with the computer spreadsheet method. What can I say? I love Excel! The ability to put in the information, tell it what to do with it (IE; make it do the math for me!), and then to have the ability to sort and manipulate that information... Well! It's just too much fun to pass up! So, armed with the information that I wanted to be able to track, I set up a spreadsheet with the information that I wanted. Here are the column headings that I used:
List: this column is used to mark items that I need to get for the week so that I can sort the information in my spreadsheet and get a condensed list of what I need at the store for a grocery list (hence the heading, "List")
Category: Produce, Meat, HBA, Dairy, etc. This helps by putting similar items together- for comparison and for easier shopping (all dairy is together on the list, all produce is together on the list, etc)
Item: This is for the generic name of the item (not name brand). For easier comparison, I put a broad item name, followed by specifics (ie; pork- boneless chops, pork- loin roast, etc) so that similar products can easily be compared.
Other: This is where I put any other information about the item (like a brand name)
Store: Since all of the stores that I might be shopping at in our area start with a different letter, I just enter the first letter of the store name here.
Date: I guess this is important if you want to know how often a product goes on sale. It can also be used to find the current prices if you enter info from the sales ads before shopping.
Amt: quantity
Unit: pounds, ounces, each, pack, etc.
Price(1): This is the total price of the product. (I didn't realize that I ended up having 2 columns with the heading of "Price" until I was all done and sorting things, so I may change one of these.)
Price(2): This is where I make the spreadsheet do the math for me by figuring out the unit price of the item. This column is technically the "price per unit" column, but the spreadsheet wouldn't do the math if I had text in there with the numbers, so I split it into 2 columns. Hence, the next header...
per unit: per pound, per ounce, each, per pack, etc.
Note: Here I note anything noteworthy (duh!). Some things I've noted so far are:
- if you have to use a loyalty card to get the sale price (I hate these!)
- if there is a requirement like BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free) or 5/$10, etc.
- if there is a limit to how many you can purchase of an item
- if I need a coupon for an item
Armed with the store ads from last week, I entered information. Then, came the ultimate test: using the sort feature. This has got to be one of the best things on Excel! And this is where the coolness of the price book lies. You can sort by 3 columns at a time. So, first, I sorted by "Category". This put all of the items in a department together (something that always irks me about my random, handwritten grocery lists because I end up wasting time traipsing back across the grocery store to pick up something that was in an aisle that I've already been through). Next, I sorted by "Item" and then I sorted by "Price (2)" (unit price). This let me compare the prices of the same or similar items to see what was the best deal. I suppose in the future, I will also have to sort by date, to get the most current prices together. Now comes the functionality of the price book. It turns into a shopping list right before your very eyes! I just went down the "List" column and marked what we needed ( I suppose you could use a letter "O" and that would give you a nice circle to check off for the grocery list). Then, go back to the sort feature and sort by "List". This will put all of the items that you need at the top of your list. Voila! You can print out this portion of the spreadsheet and have a shopping list! At this point, you can also look at the "Store" column of the sheet to see which store you should shop at (whatever appears the most in this column is the store that has the most good deals). Unless you have all the time in the world to hop from store to store, raking in only the best of the deals, but I never have the time, nor the inclination, to do that. By now, I'm sure this is all as clear as muddy water! But it is a system that makes sense to me. If I can figure out how, I'll try to post the actual spreadsheet that I came up with so that all you visual learners out there can see it. Or, if you're just dying to know, I can always email an attachment. In the meantime, trust me. It works and it's cool. Or it will be cool if I can keep up with it long enough to witness the power of the Price Book!
goals...
So, last week, I said, "... it's Spring Break and I always like to plan lots of things to do over Spring Break. It's kinda like the tax return... spent several times over in several different ways before it even gets here!"
So, I should have known that everything wouldn't get accomplished.
Here's the goals that didn't get done. At all.
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!).
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes!
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! I'm embarassed to say... not even once!
7. Lose some weight.
And here are the things I kinda did:
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
I actually did this twice. Once, finding the standard plastic "13-pocket coupon organizer" that I have used for a "cash only" system in the past, and once with the neato (and more stylish, yet cheaper) "reciept file" that I found in the Target dollar spot (file pockets on the left side, a pad of "list paper" on the right side, a pen stashed in the middle and a black elastic band to hold the stylish cover closed). I don't suppose I get extra points for doing one goal twice, though...
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu.
I kinda did this. I spent a day looking up menu planning on-line. I found an amazing array of services that will charge you to send prepared meal plans and shopping lists! It seems odd to spend money on something that you're trying to do in order to save money. Plus, after looking at some sample menus, I could see that our tastebuds weren't always on the same wave-lengths. Still, I found some yummy recipes to send to my gmail recipe file. I think that this type of access to recipes and the ability to search by ingredients will be crucial to successfully planning meals based on sales and loss-leaders. Only time will tell. I'll try to keep you posted on how this is working. I also found some forms that I think will work for meal planning or I may just use the week-by-week magnetic calendar (similar to the one shown here) that I still have on the fridge from the last time I was into meal planning. Again, we'll see what works best. So, the only part that I didn't do was actually planning a menu for this week! If I have the time/ energy when I'm done here, that's next on the list for tonight. Luckily, everyone was content with leftovers tonight.
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. Pick one and try it!
Okay, I really did this one. I looked up several different price books online. I looked at what people do, how they do it, why they do it. I looked at paper/ pencil Price Books vs. computer spreadsheet Price Books. I looked... I figured... Suffice it to say, I did it. More to come on this in another post.
So, that gives me three-and-a-half goals that were completed last week. Can you guess what my goals will be for this coming week? I can sum them up in one phrase: "To be continued..."
So, I should have known that everything wouldn't get accomplished.
Here's the goals that didn't get done. At all.
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!).
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes!
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! I'm embarassed to say... not even once!
7. Lose some weight.
And here are the things I kinda did:
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
I actually did this twice. Once, finding the standard plastic "13-pocket coupon organizer" that I have used for a "cash only" system in the past, and once with the neato (and more stylish, yet cheaper) "reciept file" that I found in the Target dollar spot (file pockets on the left side, a pad of "list paper" on the right side, a pen stashed in the middle and a black elastic band to hold the stylish cover closed). I don't suppose I get extra points for doing one goal twice, though...
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu.
I kinda did this. I spent a day looking up menu planning on-line. I found an amazing array of services that will charge you to send prepared meal plans and shopping lists! It seems odd to spend money on something that you're trying to do in order to save money. Plus, after looking at some sample menus, I could see that our tastebuds weren't always on the same wave-lengths. Still, I found some yummy recipes to send to my gmail recipe file. I think that this type of access to recipes and the ability to search by ingredients will be crucial to successfully planning meals based on sales and loss-leaders. Only time will tell. I'll try to keep you posted on how this is working. I also found some forms that I think will work for meal planning or I may just use the week-by-week magnetic calendar (similar to the one shown here) that I still have on the fridge from the last time I was into meal planning. Again, we'll see what works best. So, the only part that I didn't do was actually planning a menu for this week! If I have the time/ energy when I'm done here, that's next on the list for tonight. Luckily, everyone was content with leftovers tonight.
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. Pick one and try it!
Okay, I really did this one. I looked up several different price books online. I looked at what people do, how they do it, why they do it. I looked at paper/ pencil Price Books vs. computer spreadsheet Price Books. I looked... I figured... Suffice it to say, I did it. More to come on this in another post.
So, that gives me three-and-a-half goals that were completed last week. Can you guess what my goals will be for this coming week? I can sum them up in one phrase: "To be continued..."
Monday Night Money
Check-In: $1168.67
Take a week when most of the bills are due, add in a mini-vacation, spring break, an eye exam and new glasses, a trip to the dentist, a medical bill paid off, and a car towing & repair bill and you get the above balance. Ugh! At least I know where the money went this time... mostly to things that we needed. I can't say we needed the tickets to Medieval Times or to eat out as much as we did last week, but we sure enjoyed it! And what's life without some enjoyment? At least now we are not in a "big bill" time of month. We actually have very little that is due at the beginning of the month, which is good, given the above balance. All in all, I'm okay with the above balance. Of course, I'd be even better with it if I had pulled out the $1000 for our emergency fund and still had that balance sitting in the account! Still, this is a learning process... a lifestyle change... and changes don't always come easily and they definitely do not change over night! This is progress and improvement and that is what I'm aiming for: To do better than I have been. In that sense, I'm seeing success.
Take a week when most of the bills are due, add in a mini-vacation, spring break, an eye exam and new glasses, a trip to the dentist, a medical bill paid off, and a car towing & repair bill and you get the above balance. Ugh! At least I know where the money went this time... mostly to things that we needed. I can't say we needed the tickets to Medieval Times or to eat out as much as we did last week, but we sure enjoyed it! And what's life without some enjoyment? At least now we are not in a "big bill" time of month. We actually have very little that is due at the beginning of the month, which is good, given the above balance. All in all, I'm okay with the above balance. Of course, I'd be even better with it if I had pulled out the $1000 for our emergency fund and still had that balance sitting in the account! Still, this is a learning process... a lifestyle change... and changes don't always come easily and they definitely do not change over night! This is progress and improvement and that is what I'm aiming for: To do better than I have been. In that sense, I'm seeing success.
belated weigh-in (again)
Weigh-In: 288.3
For a week of spring break with a vacation mentality, not too bad. I certainly didn't watch what I ate (really) and we ate out a lot. I didn't drink my water. I didn't get my exercise (no bus stop= no walking in the mornings). I didn't expect my weight to be as good as it was. Now, spring break is over and so is my time off the wagon. Today I walked and drank my water!
For a week of spring break with a vacation mentality, not too bad. I certainly didn't watch what I ate (really) and we ate out a lot. I didn't drink my water. I didn't get my exercise (no bus stop= no walking in the mornings). I didn't expect my weight to be as good as it was. Now, spring break is over and so is my time off the wagon. Today I walked and drank my water!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Goals...
Last Week:
1. To continue the practice of using cash. Any checks that need to be written can be done so on Monday nights when I do money. The debit card can only come with on trips when absolutely necessary (like the gas station, so I can pay at the pump and get a reciept to use for the Illinois Green Fleets E-85 Fuel Rebate at the end of the year). Does part time count? No... I didn't think so, but it was worth a try. I actually kept my checkbook and bank card home most of the week. They came out on Good Friday and have been busy ever since! They are going back in their drawer! Tomorrow, I am going to Office Max, buying a coupon organizer (for my envelope/ cash system... it's so much easier than carrying around a bunch of envelopes that fall apart after a week of use) and getting cash out of the bank!
2. Assign the "leftovers" in our budget. I've got a pretty good handle on our monthly fixed expenses, but I haven't delved into the scary world of variable expenses yet and that is where the leaks are... where our money disappears because I don't have a good spending plan developed for this part of our budget. So, it's time to study our variable spending, attack and conquer! Last Tuesday night, I took sometime and looked at our budget. I adjusted a few categories of our regular spending to compensate for the reality of the past few months. What I found was not promising in terms of our monthly expenses and my prospects for possibly changing jobs at the end of this school year- especially factoring in that my current job includes medical insurance for my whole family. The cost of prescriptions for DH and Miss B, alone, would be astronomical! I took a quick trip into Variable-Expenses-Land... looking at groceries and what a realistic budget might be for our family to meet our various needs (low-sodium for DH, low-fat for DH and me, healthy for all, edible to the kids (willingly), and easy-to-prepare/ not time-consuming for our sanity (since DH and I both work full-time). I looked at this, but there was nothing concrete done (in writing). I definitely need to do some more work in this area. As I stated last week, I'm going to try to take some time to look at frugal, healthy meal planning this week and I think I will also add looking into a "price book" for grocery and household goods. I've started these a few times in the past, but I've never found a way of doing a price book that makes sense for tracking prices, stores, and dates (pricing cycles) in a way that has made sense and made it easy for me to get the information that I want out of a price book. In other words, I've never stuck with it because it was a huge investment of time (and typing) and it never paid off in a way that made it worth it to me. Still, there are people that swear by their price books, so there must be a way to make it work. I'm going to try to find something that will work this week. So, if any of you do anything like this and it works for you, please share!
3. Clean off and start using the exercise bike and continue walking in the mornings. I kept up the walking on the days when we had school. Sometimes morning schedules and circumstances caused me to shorten my usual morning route so that I would have more time to get things/ kids ready at home. The exercise bike, although in the house, is still sadly neglected (IE- yet to be used). The good news is that it hasn't become a receptacle for anything yet. There are no clothes hanging over the handle bars... no books or mail piled on the seat, so I hold out hope that since it has not found another function to serve in our home that it will remain a piece of exercise equipment and not become another dumping ground for "stuff".
4. Show a real loss on the scale this week! Okay, I kept this goal for the week "because meeting this goal makes me smile". I didn't have a loss this week, but hey... I still weigh less than what it says on my driver's license... that's gotta count for something!
This week (recap):
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!).
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes!
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu.
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. Pick one and try it!
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! (Gotta start somewhere)
7. Lose some weight, or as Pianomomof3 says, "Remove some weight" (Since anything we "lose", we might hope to find again and I for one surely do not want to "find" any of this excess weight ever again!!)
I know that is more than my usual number of goals, and some of you that love me may warn against setting so many goals for the week, but actually, I just broke them down into smaller steps, which makes it easier for me to accomplish more. Besides, it's Spring Break and I always like to plan lots of things to do over Spring Break. It's kinda like the tax return... spent several times over in several different ways before it even gets here!
1. To continue the practice of using cash. Any checks that need to be written can be done so on Monday nights when I do money. The debit card can only come with on trips when absolutely necessary (like the gas station, so I can pay at the pump and get a reciept to use for the Illinois Green Fleets E-85 Fuel Rebate at the end of the year). Does part time count? No... I didn't think so, but it was worth a try. I actually kept my checkbook and bank card home most of the week. They came out on Good Friday and have been busy ever since! They are going back in their drawer! Tomorrow, I am going to Office Max, buying a coupon organizer (for my envelope/ cash system... it's so much easier than carrying around a bunch of envelopes that fall apart after a week of use) and getting cash out of the bank!
2. Assign the "leftovers" in our budget. I've got a pretty good handle on our monthly fixed expenses, but I haven't delved into the scary world of variable expenses yet and that is where the leaks are... where our money disappears because I don't have a good spending plan developed for this part of our budget. So, it's time to study our variable spending, attack and conquer! Last Tuesday night, I took sometime and looked at our budget. I adjusted a few categories of our regular spending to compensate for the reality of the past few months. What I found was not promising in terms of our monthly expenses and my prospects for possibly changing jobs at the end of this school year- especially factoring in that my current job includes medical insurance for my whole family. The cost of prescriptions for DH and Miss B, alone, would be astronomical! I took a quick trip into Variable-Expenses-Land... looking at groceries and what a realistic budget might be for our family to meet our various needs (low-sodium for DH, low-fat for DH and me, healthy for all, edible to the kids (willingly), and easy-to-prepare/ not time-consuming for our sanity (since DH and I both work full-time). I looked at this, but there was nothing concrete done (in writing). I definitely need to do some more work in this area. As I stated last week, I'm going to try to take some time to look at frugal, healthy meal planning this week and I think I will also add looking into a "price book" for grocery and household goods. I've started these a few times in the past, but I've never found a way of doing a price book that makes sense for tracking prices, stores, and dates (pricing cycles) in a way that has made sense and made it easy for me to get the information that I want out of a price book. In other words, I've never stuck with it because it was a huge investment of time (and typing) and it never paid off in a way that made it worth it to me. Still, there are people that swear by their price books, so there must be a way to make it work. I'm going to try to find something that will work this week. So, if any of you do anything like this and it works for you, please share!
3. Clean off and start using the exercise bike and continue walking in the mornings. I kept up the walking on the days when we had school. Sometimes morning schedules and circumstances caused me to shorten my usual morning route so that I would have more time to get things/ kids ready at home. The exercise bike, although in the house, is still sadly neglected (IE- yet to be used). The good news is that it hasn't become a receptacle for anything yet. There are no clothes hanging over the handle bars... no books or mail piled on the seat, so I hold out hope that since it has not found another function to serve in our home that it will remain a piece of exercise equipment and not become another dumping ground for "stuff".
4. Show a real loss on the scale this week! Okay, I kept this goal for the week "because meeting this goal makes me smile". I didn't have a loss this week, but hey... I still weigh less than what it says on my driver's license... that's gotta count for something!
This week (recap):
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!).
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes!
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu.
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. Pick one and try it!
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! (Gotta start somewhere)
7. Lose some weight, or as Pianomomof3 says, "Remove some weight" (Since anything we "lose", we might hope to find again and I for one surely do not want to "find" any of this excess weight ever again!!)
I know that is more than my usual number of goals, and some of you that love me may warn against setting so many goals for the week, but actually, I just broke them down into smaller steps, which makes it easier for me to accomplish more. Besides, it's Spring Break and I always like to plan lots of things to do over Spring Break. It's kinda like the tax return... spent several times over in several different ways before it even gets here!
Monday Night Money
Check-In: $3261.05
Okay... not a bad balance, but not too good considering $1000 of that is ER fund (I know, I know... I NEED to get that out of there before it disappears!) and the fact that the balance includes my paycheck which I'm not due to get until this coming Friday (since we're on Spring Break, they paid us a week early).
Why is it that I always blow money when I have it? And if feels like it's worse this time, because I'm not spending it on any one worthwhile "big ticket item" that we can at least look at, enjoy and have around for a while. There's nothing to point to and say, "That's where our tax return went." It's just trickling away... a meal out here (and there and there), a little trip here, some clothes there... it's painful to look back on, yet virtually undetectable when it's happening. Despite getting in the habit of not carrying my bank card and checkbook, these purchases are sneaking in when I do take them into a store. WHY?!?
Trent, over at The Simple Dollar, recently posted a review of the book, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. He begins his review by writing:
"I find that time and time again, my greatest opponent when trying to make intelligent and well-reasoned personal finance and time management issues is myself. I’m my own weakness. ... This is a persistent problem for pretty much anyone who strives for something greater in their lives. We rely on their own rational behavior, but are often undermined by our own irrational impulses. Why? ... Predictably Irrational focuses in on this exact question, digging deep into the causes of such irrational steps and laying bare some useful solutions."
(If you struggle with this (like I do) and it interests you, you can read the full review here.)
The title of chapter 6 looks like it could be the story of my life: Chapter 6 - The Problem of Procrastination and Self-Control: Why We Can’t Make Ourselves Do What We Want To Do!
Another article, also by Trent at The Simple Dollar (can you tell I LOVE his blog?), offered up this gem:
"Personal finance is not just about dollars and cents. It’s about emotions and how we piece through the daily dilemmas in our lives. It’s about figuring out our goals and what the most important aspects of our lives really are. Doing a budget and living frugally doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t open our eyes to what our real values are.
The problem is that the average consumer gets emotional fulfillment out of spending. The guilt doesn’t come from the spending, it comes from the bills that come in later. People don’t feel bad about the purchase of a flat panel television - in fact, it’s usually a rush. The bad feeling comes when the credit card statements roll in and the paycheck isn’t big enough to cover it."
The same could easily be said for, oh... I don't know... eating a ginormous serving of S'mores at a Chocolate Cafe. The bad feeling doesn't come as you're eating the S'mores. On the contrary... it's quite a good feeling (endorphin-releasing chocolate paired with a sugar rush from the marshmallows, not to mention the pure pleasure of the smooth, sweet chocolate melting on your tongue...) The bad feeling comes when you step on the scale the following week and see where all that pizza and eating out and chocolate landed you.
Weight... money... the root of the problem (at least for me) seems to be the same: following the path of least resistance, doing what feels good (at the time), instant gratification. When I first began this blog -this journey- I struggled. In the past, I've always thought, "Which problem do I attack first? Weight? Money?" The two areas of my life seemed too overwhelming to tackle at once- even to the point where goals in one area seemed to contradict improvements in the other area (despite the fact that everyone insists that it "doesn't have to cost a lot to eat healthy"). So, I think part of my problem in the past was being paralyzed by feeling like I had to choose between the two goals. And so I tackled none. As soon as I decided to tackle them together, things began to fall into place. And honestly, I think that it's because the roots of these problems are so closely related. There are things about myself- character traits... character flaws...whatever- that lead me to repeat these patterns of behavior. Despite knowing in my head how to manage these two areas, doing with my body didn't always follow. Doesn't always follow. And so, there are things that I must change about myself. That's why I will refer to what I'm doing as a "process", "a change of habits", "a lifestyle change", "a journey", etc. There are many things that I will call it, but I generally do not refer to this as a "diet" or "budget plan". Both of those words are very limiting with negative connotations. They are also words that communicate a temporary state to me (especially "diet") and I do not want these changes to be temporary. I want to develop healthy habits (physically and financially) that will be around for a long time, possibly forever. That is why I also allow myself to make mistakes without allowing myself to get discouraged (well, not too discouraged) by these mistakes. It's because these changes are becoming a part of the rest of my life and I can't forsee being perfect everyday for the rest of my life. Rather than beat myself up or quit when I have a set-back, I try to look at what happened honestly and examine it so that I can try to fix the problem. I realized that when I carry my debit card, it's way to easy for me to spend money without really being conscious of how much I'm spending on a purchase or how quickly those purchases are adding up. So, I 'fessed up, looked at the problem and developed a solution (well, kinda). The solution is helping some, but not as much as I would like, so it's time to re-examine what's going on, why, and what can be done to fix the problem (the rest of the way). And that brings me to goals for this week...
Okay... not a bad balance, but not too good considering $1000 of that is ER fund (I know, I know... I NEED to get that out of there before it disappears!) and the fact that the balance includes my paycheck which I'm not due to get until this coming Friday (since we're on Spring Break, they paid us a week early).
Why is it that I always blow money when I have it? And if feels like it's worse this time, because I'm not spending it on any one worthwhile "big ticket item" that we can at least look at, enjoy and have around for a while. There's nothing to point to and say, "That's where our tax return went." It's just trickling away... a meal out here (and there and there), a little trip here, some clothes there... it's painful to look back on, yet virtually undetectable when it's happening. Despite getting in the habit of not carrying my bank card and checkbook, these purchases are sneaking in when I do take them into a store. WHY?!?
Trent, over at The Simple Dollar, recently posted a review of the book, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. He begins his review by writing:
"I find that time and time again, my greatest opponent when trying to make intelligent and well-reasoned personal finance and time management issues is myself. I’m my own weakness. ... This is a persistent problem for pretty much anyone who strives for something greater in their lives. We rely on their own rational behavior, but are often undermined by our own irrational impulses. Why? ... Predictably Irrational focuses in on this exact question, digging deep into the causes of such irrational steps and laying bare some useful solutions."
(If you struggle with this (like I do) and it interests you, you can read the full review here.)
The title of chapter 6 looks like it could be the story of my life: Chapter 6 - The Problem of Procrastination and Self-Control: Why We Can’t Make Ourselves Do What We Want To Do!
Another article, also by Trent at The Simple Dollar (can you tell I LOVE his blog?), offered up this gem:
"Personal finance is not just about dollars and cents. It’s about emotions and how we piece through the daily dilemmas in our lives. It’s about figuring out our goals and what the most important aspects of our lives really are. Doing a budget and living frugally doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t open our eyes to what our real values are.
The problem is that the average consumer gets emotional fulfillment out of spending. The guilt doesn’t come from the spending, it comes from the bills that come in later. People don’t feel bad about the purchase of a flat panel television - in fact, it’s usually a rush. The bad feeling comes when the credit card statements roll in and the paycheck isn’t big enough to cover it."
The same could easily be said for, oh... I don't know... eating a ginormous serving of S'mores at a Chocolate Cafe. The bad feeling doesn't come as you're eating the S'mores. On the contrary... it's quite a good feeling (endorphin-releasing chocolate paired with a sugar rush from the marshmallows, not to mention the pure pleasure of the smooth, sweet chocolate melting on your tongue...) The bad feeling comes when you step on the scale the following week and see where all that pizza and eating out and chocolate landed you.
Weight... money... the root of the problem (at least for me) seems to be the same: following the path of least resistance, doing what feels good (at the time), instant gratification. When I first began this blog -this journey- I struggled. In the past, I've always thought, "Which problem do I attack first? Weight? Money?" The two areas of my life seemed too overwhelming to tackle at once- even to the point where goals in one area seemed to contradict improvements in the other area (despite the fact that everyone insists that it "doesn't have to cost a lot to eat healthy"). So, I think part of my problem in the past was being paralyzed by feeling like I had to choose between the two goals. And so I tackled none. As soon as I decided to tackle them together, things began to fall into place. And honestly, I think that it's because the roots of these problems are so closely related. There are things about myself- character traits... character flaws...whatever- that lead me to repeat these patterns of behavior. Despite knowing in my head how to manage these two areas, doing with my body didn't always follow. Doesn't always follow. And so, there are things that I must change about myself. That's why I will refer to what I'm doing as a "process", "a change of habits", "a lifestyle change", "a journey", etc. There are many things that I will call it, but I generally do not refer to this as a "diet" or "budget plan". Both of those words are very limiting with negative connotations. They are also words that communicate a temporary state to me (especially "diet") and I do not want these changes to be temporary. I want to develop healthy habits (physically and financially) that will be around for a long time, possibly forever. That is why I also allow myself to make mistakes without allowing myself to get discouraged (well, not too discouraged) by these mistakes. It's because these changes are becoming a part of the rest of my life and I can't forsee being perfect everyday for the rest of my life. Rather than beat myself up or quit when I have a set-back, I try to look at what happened honestly and examine it so that I can try to fix the problem. I realized that when I carry my debit card, it's way to easy for me to spend money without really being conscious of how much I'm spending on a purchase or how quickly those purchases are adding up. So, I 'fessed up, looked at the problem and developed a solution (well, kinda). The solution is helping some, but not as much as I would like, so it's time to re-examine what's going on, why, and what can be done to fix the problem (the rest of the way). And that brings me to goals for this week...
Belated Weigh-In
Weigh-In: 288.0
Sorry for the delay... car problems kept me away from my computer on Saturday. Sunday, of course, was Easter, which was a whirlwind stretching from Easter baskets at dawn (well... it felt like dawn) to Vegas Showdown at my sister's in the wee hours of the morning (which I won, of course :P). Due to the car problems- van problems to be exact- we took my parents' car to Indiana. Since there was no room in the car for the dogs, our trip was cut short by a day. So, we crammed as much into today as possible... a trip to a Children's Museum (taking advantage of our ACM membership and getting in for free) and a visit to the South Bend Chocolate Cafe (totally not diet-friendly, but soooo worth it!). And now, we're finally home... kids in bed. It's Monday night, so onto Monday Night Money!
Sorry for the delay... car problems kept me away from my computer on Saturday. Sunday, of course, was Easter, which was a whirlwind stretching from Easter baskets at dawn (well... it felt like dawn) to Vegas Showdown at my sister's in the wee hours of the morning (which I won, of course :P). Due to the car problems- van problems to be exact- we took my parents' car to Indiana. Since there was no room in the car for the dogs, our trip was cut short by a day. So, we crammed as much into today as possible... a trip to a Children's Museum (taking advantage of our ACM membership and getting in for free) and a visit to the South Bend Chocolate Cafe (totally not diet-friendly, but soooo worth it!). And now, we're finally home... kids in bed. It's Monday night, so onto Monday Night Money!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Monday Night Money
Check-In: $3985.96
I'm okay with this balance. Not thrilled, as I know there is a $1000+ check still floating around out there and I still need to take $1000 out to fund the ER fund. Still, that leaves a bank balance of almost $2000 plus a $1000 ER fund, which sure beats the heck out of the financial picture that I was looking at when I started this blog! I know that we have been eating out too much lately and that there was a little (okay... a lot) of extra spending when we got our tax refund, including a virtual weekend away with DH while the kids were at my sister's. But, the amputation is complete. The bank card and checkbook have not been with me in sometime. They now live at my house and only come out when there is a specific need to spend money (like buying Easter shoes or materials to build a leprechaun trap!). It seems to be going well that way, so we'll keep it like that for a while. Now that things are getting better, I need to work on menu planning and assigning a day for grocery shopping. I think that will be my spring break project.
For now, my goals are:
1. To continue the practice of using cash. Any checks that need to be written can be done so on Monday nights when I do money. The debit card can only come with on trips when absolutely necessary (like the gas station, so I can pay at the pump and get a reciept to use for the Illinois Green Fleets E-85 Fuel Rebate at the end of the year).
2. Assign the "leftovers" in our budget. I've got a pretty good handle on our monthly fixed expenses, but I haven't delved into the scary world of variable expenses yet and that is where the leaks are... where our money disappears because I don't have a good spending plan developed for this part of our budget. So, it's time to study our variable spending, attack and conquer!
Onward and upward!
I'm okay with this balance. Not thrilled, as I know there is a $1000+ check still floating around out there and I still need to take $1000 out to fund the ER fund. Still, that leaves a bank balance of almost $2000 plus a $1000 ER fund, which sure beats the heck out of the financial picture that I was looking at when I started this blog! I know that we have been eating out too much lately and that there was a little (okay... a lot) of extra spending when we got our tax refund, including a virtual weekend away with DH while the kids were at my sister's. But, the amputation is complete. The bank card and checkbook have not been with me in sometime. They now live at my house and only come out when there is a specific need to spend money (like buying Easter shoes or materials to build a leprechaun trap!). It seems to be going well that way, so we'll keep it like that for a while. Now that things are getting better, I need to work on menu planning and assigning a day for grocery shopping. I think that will be my spring break project.
For now, my goals are:
1. To continue the practice of using cash. Any checks that need to be written can be done so on Monday nights when I do money. The debit card can only come with on trips when absolutely necessary (like the gas station, so I can pay at the pump and get a reciept to use for the Illinois Green Fleets E-85 Fuel Rebate at the end of the year).
2. Assign the "leftovers" in our budget. I've got a pretty good handle on our monthly fixed expenses, but I haven't delved into the scary world of variable expenses yet and that is where the leaks are... where our money disappears because I don't have a good spending plan developed for this part of our budget. So, it's time to study our variable spending, attack and conquer!
Onward and upward!
Prelude
Monday Night Money is coming (after the kids are in bed) but I was reading some blogs in the mean time... "blog-surfing", as I saw someone refer to it. I found quite a few more financial blogs to check out and enjoy, so look for some additions to the "Money-related Links" in the near future. Anyway, as I was "blog-surfing", I came across this article: Your Tax Dollars at Work: $42 Million Just to Mail Out Tax Rebate Reminder Letters. I just couldn't help posting it here. $42 MILLION!!! Can you believe our government?! Sadly, I can. Just last week, when the glorified postcards came out, I was lamenting the waste to one of my co-workers. They recieved 4 different notices at their house- one for her, one for her boyfriend, one for her high school-aged son, and one for her ex-husband (that has been living in the Netherlands for almost a year now!) But now, seeing an actual dollar-amount spent for this, I'm just sickened! Who here thinks that $42 million could be spent on more worthwhile endeavors? Sheesh!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Weekend Weigh-In: 03/15/08
Weigh-In: 287.0!
Yay! I've finally surpassed my previous low! It's taken a while, with some yo-yo-ing during and following the time when everyone in my family was sick and my "funk", but I finally did it! So, I'm really happy! I've gotten to walk most days this week and have even added an extra block on a couple of days as time in our morning schedule allowed. I also tried really hard to listen to my body this week. If it said I was full, I stopped eating (what a concept!). So, seeing a loss of 2 pounds this week makes me feel less guilty about not cleaning off and using the exercise bike that I've been intending to bring back into the house for a few years and finally did last weekend!
So, let's take a look at my goals for this past week- at least the weight loss ones...
1. Eat out less. We've been doing way too much of that lately. It's not good for our budget or our health. Yup! I did this. Although I did eat out a two times, I tried to make a better choice on Wednesday night and last night I filled up on a salad before my main course came so that I didn't eat as much of that.
2. Get back to drinking more water and less diet coke. Yup! I did this too. The only time I had caffeine this week was on Thursday at lunch when I thought that it might help my killer headache. It didn't, so I had to follow it up with some Excedrin as soon as I got home.
3. Amputate connections with my bank account (IE; debit card and checkbook) and only carry cash. Yup! I did this! I got cash out at the store on Monday night and promptly put my checkbook and bank card in a drawer for the week. It was fairly painless except that I forgot to write a check for Princess Tippytoes preschool and I didn't have it with me to do when I remembered.
4. Clean off and start using the exercise bike and continue walking in the mornings. As I said above, I got half-way there... keeping up with the walking, but not getting the bike cleaned off, adjusted and used. So, we'll continue this goal for next week.
5. Show a real loss on the scale this week! Yup! Yay! I did this! Still, I like this goal and I will keep it for next week because meeting this goal makes me smile :)
Yay! I've finally surpassed my previous low! It's taken a while, with some yo-yo-ing during and following the time when everyone in my family was sick and my "funk", but I finally did it! So, I'm really happy! I've gotten to walk most days this week and have even added an extra block on a couple of days as time in our morning schedule allowed. I also tried really hard to listen to my body this week. If it said I was full, I stopped eating (what a concept!). So, seeing a loss of 2 pounds this week makes me feel less guilty about not cleaning off and using the exercise bike that I've been intending to bring back into the house for a few years and finally did last weekend!
So, let's take a look at my goals for this past week- at least the weight loss ones...
1. Eat out less. We've been doing way too much of that lately. It's not good for our budget or our health. Yup! I did this. Although I did eat out a two times, I tried to make a better choice on Wednesday night and last night I filled up on a salad before my main course came so that I didn't eat as much of that.
2. Get back to drinking more water and less diet coke. Yup! I did this too. The only time I had caffeine this week was on Thursday at lunch when I thought that it might help my killer headache. It didn't, so I had to follow it up with some Excedrin as soon as I got home.
3. Amputate connections with my bank account (IE; debit card and checkbook) and only carry cash. Yup! I did this! I got cash out at the store on Monday night and promptly put my checkbook and bank card in a drawer for the week. It was fairly painless except that I forgot to write a check for Princess Tippytoes preschool and I didn't have it with me to do when I remembered.
4. Clean off and start using the exercise bike and continue walking in the mornings. As I said above, I got half-way there... keeping up with the walking, but not getting the bike cleaned off, adjusted and used. So, we'll continue this goal for next week.
5. Show a real loss on the scale this week! Yup! Yay! I did this! Still, I like this goal and I will keep it for next week because meeting this goal makes me smile :)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Mantras, Motivation, Moving Ahead...
Today, I was filling some time between work and picking up my husband by going through the inbox on my Gmail account. One of the things that I love about Gmail is the nearly unlimited space. I never have to throw out any emails, which works quite nicely with the "Search" feature. I have quite a few e-zines that I subscribe to. I get them, read them, keep them and then, when I'm looking for information on a particular topic, I just type in what I'm looking for and voila! All of the emails and articles that relate to that topic pop up! I love this feature so much that I've opened up a second Gmail account just for my recipes. If I come across a recipe that I like, I just send it to this account. I also include other important information that I may search by (kinda like tags)... slow cooker, breakfast, Christmas, low-calorie, etc. Then, say I have chicken, carrots, and rice that I want to use up and I know that it's going to be a long, busy day, so a crockpot dinner would be ideal. I just type "chicken carrots rice crockpot" in the search box and Voila! It brings up all the recipes that fit this criteria! But, I digress... that's not what I really came on here to write about. I just love Gmail so much that I can't help gushing!
So, what I really came to write about was something that I read in an old email that came across during this foray into ancient email-land. I had written to a diet buddy from Sparkpeople several years ago regarding my mantra about making changes in my life: "Improvement is improvement!" It's kind of a twist on something that Flylady says: "Housework done incorrectly still blesses your family". Things don't have to be perfect for them to be an improvement or a blessing. It also comes from working with the students that I do (kids on the autism spectrum) For them, even little bits of progress are improvement. If I looked at the "big picture" and didn't see them achieve it, I think I would get totally burnt out in this job. But, I can look at where they were and where they are now and celebrate the little successes. In our classroom, we celebrate the small things a lot! In fact, one of my biggest joys in this job has been from something that is so simple, we take for granted that our "normal" kids will do it with in the first year of their life. I had a set of twins, both with autism, that I had been working with for at least 3 years. After working with them for 3+ years, they finally called me by name! I tell you, when I heard them say my name, my heart melted and they could have just about anything they asked for! It just made me so happy because I am a person to them now. Before I was just a tool they could use to get what they wanted, but now I am a person, and that is a huge breakthrough for them!
Another mantra or philosophy that I have adopted is: "Life's too short to waste calories on eating things that I don't like!" (unless it's something good for me and I'm setting an example for my kids). I've decided that it's not worth it if I don't enjoy it...like pie crust...I don't usually care for it, but I used to always eat it because it was part of the pie. Now, if I don't feel like it, I don't eat it because, what's the point? I'll admit, it took a while to be able to "waste food"! Afterall, we were brought up to be members of the clean-plate-club! But, then I got to wondering, "why?" So, I quit.
I guess the point of all of this is that we don't have to do it all at once. As the song says, "little things mean a lot". They can add up to big changes... big improvements..."Babysteps" as FlyLady and Dave Ramsey call them. I think that it is important to still enjoy the things that we like, just in moderation. I know if I deprive myself, I will not stick with a diet! But if I can make small changes- like fat free cool whip instead of regular, or half a piece of pie instead of a whole piece, then I am likely to follow through and keep moving ahead. And that's what this is all about... moving ahead and keeping moving.
So, what I really came to write about was something that I read in an old email that came across during this foray into ancient email-land. I had written to a diet buddy from Sparkpeople several years ago regarding my mantra about making changes in my life: "Improvement is improvement!" It's kind of a twist on something that Flylady says: "Housework done incorrectly still blesses your family". Things don't have to be perfect for them to be an improvement or a blessing. It also comes from working with the students that I do (kids on the autism spectrum) For them, even little bits of progress are improvement. If I looked at the "big picture" and didn't see them achieve it, I think I would get totally burnt out in this job. But, I can look at where they were and where they are now and celebrate the little successes. In our classroom, we celebrate the small things a lot! In fact, one of my biggest joys in this job has been from something that is so simple, we take for granted that our "normal" kids will do it with in the first year of their life. I had a set of twins, both with autism, that I had been working with for at least 3 years. After working with them for 3+ years, they finally called me by name! I tell you, when I heard them say my name, my heart melted and they could have just about anything they asked for! It just made me so happy because I am a person to them now. Before I was just a tool they could use to get what they wanted, but now I am a person, and that is a huge breakthrough for them!
Another mantra or philosophy that I have adopted is: "Life's too short to waste calories on eating things that I don't like!" (unless it's something good for me and I'm setting an example for my kids). I've decided that it's not worth it if I don't enjoy it...like pie crust...I don't usually care for it, but I used to always eat it because it was part of the pie. Now, if I don't feel like it, I don't eat it because, what's the point? I'll admit, it took a while to be able to "waste food"! Afterall, we were brought up to be members of the clean-plate-club! But, then I got to wondering, "why?" So, I quit.
I guess the point of all of this is that we don't have to do it all at once. As the song says, "little things mean a lot". They can add up to big changes... big improvements..."Babysteps" as FlyLady and Dave Ramsey call them. I think that it is important to still enjoy the things that we like, just in moderation. I know if I deprive myself, I will not stick with a diet! But if I can make small changes- like fat free cool whip instead of regular, or half a piece of pie instead of a whole piece, then I am likely to follow through and keep moving ahead. And that's what this is all about... moving ahead and keeping moving.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Oh yeah... goals for this week...
1. Eat out less. We've been doing way too much of that lately. It's not good for our budget or our health.
2. Get back to drinking more water and less diet coke.
3. Amputate connections with my bank account (IE; debit card and checkbook) and only carry cash.
4. Clean off and start using the exercise bike and continue walking in the mornings.
5. Show a real loss on the scale this week!
That's it. I'm going to keep it at 5 because 5 is my favorite number and I think it's do-able number of goals to keep.
2. Get back to drinking more water and less diet coke.
3. Amputate connections with my bank account (IE; debit card and checkbook) and only carry cash.
4. Clean off and start using the exercise bike and continue walking in the mornings.
5. Show a real loss on the scale this week!
That's it. I'm going to keep it at 5 because 5 is my favorite number and I think it's do-able number of goals to keep.
Monday Night Money
Check-In: $3005.39
Like sands through the hourglass... so are the dollars of our tax refund.
Actually, it's not all gone yet, but I do have to admit to some extra spending. A new console for the entry way that will actually make it a functional entryway (where we can actually hang up coats instead of just tossing them on and over chairs)... growing kids and a 40% off clearance sale at Kmart (that's 40% off the already reduced clearance prices)... a trip to IKEA to use a gift card... a night at a hotel while the kids were away... it's really easy to make money disappear. So, the rest is getting saved. We are going to "cash only" and the bank card and checkbook are getting left at home! Actual spending of the tax refund is now on hold until after my husband's dentist appointment and we get an idea of how much that will cost. As for my goals that I listed last week, here's an update:
1. Develop a list of needs and wants and prioritize that list to determine what to do with our tax refund. I did this on the back of March's calendar/ budget sheet. The list is way longer that the money will last, but I was thinking that it would be a good idea to keep such a file on the computer desktop so that we would have a prioritized list for when we do have some extra money to throw at something besides debt.
2. Complete the calendar/ budget sheet for March. Done. It's a fairly painless process and I find that I don't mind doing it at all.
3. Assign the leftovers... what will I do with the money that's left over after paying bills? This step is also on hold until after DH's dentist appointment.
4. Remove the bank card from my wallet/ checkbook! Do not carry my bank card or checkbook with me! Obviously, from the difference in the balance between last week and this week, that didn't happen. Checking-in tonight gave me a good reality check and I realize that this is an amputation that needs to take place immediately! It will happen tonight.
And.... my one, true goal for last weekend: making room for and bringing in the exercise bike. Check! Done! Look! (Okay, I was going to post a pic, but the camera batteries are dead, so don't look... just trust me). It's sitting in the living room in front of the windows, between the couch and a chair. It's not the best piece of interior decorating that I've ever done, but it will do for now (at least until we get the electricity taken care of in the family room and I can move it in there- another item on the "where to spend the tax refund" list).
Like sands through the hourglass... so are the dollars of our tax refund.
Actually, it's not all gone yet, but I do have to admit to some extra spending. A new console for the entry way that will actually make it a functional entryway (where we can actually hang up coats instead of just tossing them on and over chairs)... growing kids and a 40% off clearance sale at Kmart (that's 40% off the already reduced clearance prices)... a trip to IKEA to use a gift card... a night at a hotel while the kids were away... it's really easy to make money disappear. So, the rest is getting saved. We are going to "cash only" and the bank card and checkbook are getting left at home! Actual spending of the tax refund is now on hold until after my husband's dentist appointment and we get an idea of how much that will cost. As for my goals that I listed last week, here's an update:
1. Develop a list of needs and wants and prioritize that list to determine what to do with our tax refund. I did this on the back of March's calendar/ budget sheet. The list is way longer that the money will last, but I was thinking that it would be a good idea to keep such a file on the computer desktop so that we would have a prioritized list for when we do have some extra money to throw at something besides debt.
2. Complete the calendar/ budget sheet for March. Done. It's a fairly painless process and I find that I don't mind doing it at all.
3. Assign the leftovers... what will I do with the money that's left over after paying bills? This step is also on hold until after DH's dentist appointment.
4. Remove the bank card from my wallet/ checkbook! Do not carry my bank card or checkbook with me! Obviously, from the difference in the balance between last week and this week, that didn't happen. Checking-in tonight gave me a good reality check and I realize that this is an amputation that needs to take place immediately! It will happen tonight.
And.... my one, true goal for last weekend: making room for and bringing in the exercise bike. Check! Done! Look! (Okay, I was going to post a pic, but the camera batteries are dead, so don't look... just trust me). It's sitting in the living room in front of the windows, between the couch and a chair. It's not the best piece of interior decorating that I've ever done, but it will do for now (at least until we get the electricity taken care of in the family room and I can move it in there- another item on the "where to spend the tax refund" list).
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Weekend Weigh-In: 03/08/08
Weigh-In: 284 or 289, depending on the scale...
Personally, I like the 284, but that reading was on a scale in the fitness center at the hotel, not the regular scale that I use every week. Still, I wanted to weigh myself first thing this morning since it was my regular weigh-in day and time. By the time I got home at 2 pm this afternoon and stepped on my regular scale (just after eating lunch), the scale said 289. Still, I won't complain. This week has been good (except for too much eating out and/or on the go). Things are slowly getting back to normal and my funk is disappearing. The kids are at my sister's for the weekend (THANK YOU wonderful sister!) and so far, I've enjoyed some quality time with my husband without the distractions and interruptions of kids- something severely lacking in our two-working-parent household with young children. Now that DH is at work for a few hours, I also plan to work- on the house- getting things back to a liveable state and making room for and bringing in the exercise bike! I know, I've written about that before, but that is my one, true goal this weekend. Anything else I get done is just icing on the cake. So, instead of sitting on here and typing (minimal, if any, calorie burnage), I'm getting off the computer, playing some loud obnoxious music, and cleaning and organizing to my heart's content (or at least until I have to go pick my DH up from work).
Personally, I like the 284, but that reading was on a scale in the fitness center at the hotel, not the regular scale that I use every week. Still, I wanted to weigh myself first thing this morning since it was my regular weigh-in day and time. By the time I got home at 2 pm this afternoon and stepped on my regular scale (just after eating lunch), the scale said 289. Still, I won't complain. This week has been good (except for too much eating out and/or on the go). Things are slowly getting back to normal and my funk is disappearing. The kids are at my sister's for the weekend (THANK YOU wonderful sister!) and so far, I've enjoyed some quality time with my husband without the distractions and interruptions of kids- something severely lacking in our two-working-parent household with young children. Now that DH is at work for a few hours, I also plan to work- on the house- getting things back to a liveable state and making room for and bringing in the exercise bike! I know, I've written about that before, but that is my one, true goal this weekend. Anything else I get done is just icing on the cake. So, instead of sitting on here and typing (minimal, if any, calorie burnage), I'm getting off the computer, playing some loud obnoxious music, and cleaning and organizing to my heart's content (or at least until I have to go pick my DH up from work).
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
:) :) :) :) :)
I got to walk today! And it felt so good! Breathing in the clean, cool air... taking a break from the morning rush of "we've got to hurry up and get everyone ready and get out of the house"... just me and the birds. Ahhhh...
I have vowed that there will be a loss on the scale this week. Walking is one way to help me get there, but even more importantly, it's a nice chance to step back from the day, look at what needs to be done, and organize my thoughts... or to think of nothing at all :) I've never been one to enjoy exercising. Aerobics? No thank you! But I do enjoy physical activities and I find that I always feel better when I'm doing them on a regular basis. So, I was thrilled to be able to start up my morning walks again. There was no fresh-fallen snow to trudge through or newly-formed ice to worry about. Everyone was healthy enough to allow me to be away from home long enough to squeeze in my walk after Miss B got on the bus. Ahhh... What a great way to start my day!
I have vowed that there will be a loss on the scale this week. Walking is one way to help me get there, but even more importantly, it's a nice chance to step back from the day, look at what needs to be done, and organize my thoughts... or to think of nothing at all :) I've never been one to enjoy exercising. Aerobics? No thank you! But I do enjoy physical activities and I find that I always feel better when I'm doing them on a regular basis. So, I was thrilled to be able to start up my morning walks again. There was no fresh-fallen snow to trudge through or newly-formed ice to worry about. Everyone was healthy enough to allow me to be away from home long enough to squeeze in my walk after Miss B got on the bus. Ahhh... What a great way to start my day!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Monday Night Money
Check-In: $5609.45
I'd like to say that this large balance is due to us being really good about spending (or not spending) our money. But, I have to credit Uncle Sam with this one. Our tax return came through! Now comes the fun job of sitting down and figuring out exactly where all of this money will go. It's not that I don't have any idea of where to put it (or what to put it toward), it's that I have too many ideas about where to put this money! So, it's time to crunch the numbers and prioritize. I'll let you know how things come out. I also need to do my March budget/ calendar tonight. I've come to the realization that I really need to narrow my focus and step up my budget plan. Now that I've got a good grasp of the monthly bills (and the ability to pay the rent and car payment earlier in the month, thanks to the tax refund), I need to sit down and "assign" an expense to each penny (according to Dave Ramsey). I don't know if I can get it down to the penny, but some assignation needs to be done and I've got to get back into the envelopes or, at the very least, ONLY carrying cash with me. I've decided that my bank card is my downfall, so we are parting ways... at least having a trial separation. The bank card is moving out of my wallet/ checkbook and into a new home. So I guess- to take a cue from my sister's blog- my money goals for this week are:
1. Develop a list of needs and wants and prioritize that list to determine what to do with our tax refund.
2. Complete the calendar/ budget sheet for March.
3. Assign the leftovers... what will I do with the money that's left over after paying bills?
4. Remove the bank card from my wallet/ checkbook! Do not carry my bank card or checkbook with me!
I'd like to say that this large balance is due to us being really good about spending (or not spending) our money. But, I have to credit Uncle Sam with this one. Our tax return came through! Now comes the fun job of sitting down and figuring out exactly where all of this money will go. It's not that I don't have any idea of where to put it (or what to put it toward), it's that I have too many ideas about where to put this money! So, it's time to crunch the numbers and prioritize. I'll let you know how things come out. I also need to do my March budget/ calendar tonight. I've come to the realization that I really need to narrow my focus and step up my budget plan. Now that I've got a good grasp of the monthly bills (and the ability to pay the rent and car payment earlier in the month, thanks to the tax refund), I need to sit down and "assign" an expense to each penny (according to Dave Ramsey). I don't know if I can get it down to the penny, but some assignation needs to be done and I've got to get back into the envelopes or, at the very least, ONLY carrying cash with me. I've decided that my bank card is my downfall, so we are parting ways... at least having a trial separation. The bank card is moving out of my wallet/ checkbook and into a new home. So I guess- to take a cue from my sister's blog- my money goals for this week are:
1. Develop a list of needs and wants and prioritize that list to determine what to do with our tax refund.
2. Complete the calendar/ budget sheet for March.
3. Assign the leftovers... what will I do with the money that's left over after paying bills?
4. Remove the bank card from my wallet/ checkbook! Do not carry my bank card or checkbook with me!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Weekend Weigh-In: 03/02/08
Weigh-In: 290.3
First, let me preface this with a big SORRY. Things have been crazy around here (see last post for a condensed version) and on top of the craziness, I'm beginning to see that I'm in a funk. It's not depression... that's a long-lasting, chemical-imbalance-induced kinda thing. But, this weekend, I think I've finally recognized that I'm in a definite funk or have a case of the blues or whatever you want to call it. Is it the weather (we just had our 35th measureable snowfall this winter)? Is it the fact that things at work have me questioning- for the first time since I began teaching- whether I still want to teach (and, if I do, do I still want to teach in the autism program that I developed for our school district)? Is it the fact that everyone in my family has been taking turns being sick for the past month (including my husband who ended up in the hospital last weekend)? Is it the fact that Miss B is having a tough time in school right now- possibly due to ADD- and I don't know how to make it better? Is it the jerk at the theater today that basically told me that I'm a bad parent for bringing my kids to see a live, stage musical (in my kids' defense, they were very good, the girls sat with me and only occassionally whispered questions that were directly related to the show)? Is it the fact that there wasn't a sitter for choir practice tonight, and so I had to leave practice to come home with the kids (the "oldest child" in me hates to bow out of responsibilities)? It's probably a combination of all of these things.
Many years ago, I read a book called, Pursuit of Happiness (or something like that) when I was doing a teaching experience at a residential behavioral school. The whole school was based on Glasser's Reality Therapy and Control Theory (now called Choice Theory- guess Control wasn't PC), and this was one of the books they had the students read. I wish I could find it so I could share it with you and read it again for myself, but I've scoured Amazon and, even though they have a b'zillion titles relating to the "pursuit of happiness", I can't find the one that we used. Part of the book basically stated that we all have pictures in our minds of how things are supposed to be. If these pictures match our reality, we are happy. When the pictures in our minds don't match the way things really are (or when they don't match other peoples' pictures), that's when we have problems. It's very easy for me to picture the way things should be in my mind- an ideal- but there is no way that my reality can live up to all of those ideals, so something gives. This causes a domino-effect, as one area of my life doesn't match my ideal, I feel bad (guilty) about it. I get a bit down and my motivation/ energy level decreases, leading to a shortfall (or discrepancy between pictures) in another area, causing an even lower motivation/ energy level and... it's a vicious, downward spiral until I'm in a full-fledged funk. So, that's where I am right now. Some of these things that have happened this past month were in my control. Most were not. But, the other important thing I learned from this book is that we have a choice. We are in control of how we react to the events in our life. So, although I feel like this right now, I have a choice about what I'm going to do about it. Not that making those choices is always easy, but I can choose to take positive steps to get myself out of this funk. I can choose to clear space in my living room so that I can bring the exercise bike in the house and start using it (exercise raises endorphin levels and all that stuff). I can choose to continue making healthy choices about my food, taking my vitamin and drinking my water (all of which help my level of energy and general feeling good about myself). I'm proud to say that through all of the crap this past month, although I have gained a bit back from where I was (last week, when I didn't get to write a "Weigh-In" post, I was at around 294 lbs), I still weigh less now than I did a month ago. So, things are moving in the right direction again- even my mood. I plan to keep it that way.
First, let me preface this with a big SORRY. Things have been crazy around here (see last post for a condensed version) and on top of the craziness, I'm beginning to see that I'm in a funk. It's not depression... that's a long-lasting, chemical-imbalance-induced kinda thing. But, this weekend, I think I've finally recognized that I'm in a definite funk or have a case of the blues or whatever you want to call it. Is it the weather (we just had our 35th measureable snowfall this winter)? Is it the fact that things at work have me questioning- for the first time since I began teaching- whether I still want to teach (and, if I do, do I still want to teach in the autism program that I developed for our school district)? Is it the fact that everyone in my family has been taking turns being sick for the past month (including my husband who ended up in the hospital last weekend)? Is it the fact that Miss B is having a tough time in school right now- possibly due to ADD- and I don't know how to make it better? Is it the jerk at the theater today that basically told me that I'm a bad parent for bringing my kids to see a live, stage musical (in my kids' defense, they were very good, the girls sat with me and only occassionally whispered questions that were directly related to the show)? Is it the fact that there wasn't a sitter for choir practice tonight, and so I had to leave practice to come home with the kids (the "oldest child" in me hates to bow out of responsibilities)? It's probably a combination of all of these things.
Many years ago, I read a book called, Pursuit of Happiness (or something like that) when I was doing a teaching experience at a residential behavioral school. The whole school was based on Glasser's Reality Therapy and Control Theory (now called Choice Theory- guess Control wasn't PC), and this was one of the books they had the students read. I wish I could find it so I could share it with you and read it again for myself, but I've scoured Amazon and, even though they have a b'zillion titles relating to the "pursuit of happiness", I can't find the one that we used. Part of the book basically stated that we all have pictures in our minds of how things are supposed to be. If these pictures match our reality, we are happy. When the pictures in our minds don't match the way things really are (or when they don't match other peoples' pictures), that's when we have problems. It's very easy for me to picture the way things should be in my mind- an ideal- but there is no way that my reality can live up to all of those ideals, so something gives. This causes a domino-effect, as one area of my life doesn't match my ideal, I feel bad (guilty) about it. I get a bit down and my motivation/ energy level decreases, leading to a shortfall (or discrepancy between pictures) in another area, causing an even lower motivation/ energy level and... it's a vicious, downward spiral until I'm in a full-fledged funk. So, that's where I am right now. Some of these things that have happened this past month were in my control. Most were not. But, the other important thing I learned from this book is that we have a choice. We are in control of how we react to the events in our life. So, although I feel like this right now, I have a choice about what I'm going to do about it. Not that making those choices is always easy, but I can choose to take positive steps to get myself out of this funk. I can choose to clear space in my living room so that I can bring the exercise bike in the house and start using it (exercise raises endorphin levels and all that stuff). I can choose to continue making healthy choices about my food, taking my vitamin and drinking my water (all of which help my level of energy and general feeling good about myself). I'm proud to say that through all of the crap this past month, although I have gained a bit back from where I was (last week, when I didn't get to write a "Weigh-In" post, I was at around 294 lbs), I still weigh less now than I did a month ago. So, things are moving in the right direction again- even my mood. I plan to keep it that way.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday Night Money
Check-In: $744.78
That's okay... enough to pay the bills coming due this week. That's about all I'm up to writing right now. We just got my DH home from the hospital tonight (he's been there since Saturday morning). This coming on the heels of my sick 3-year-old son, coming on the heels of my sick 6-year-old daughter, coming on the heels of looking at an ADD diagnosis (possibly) for the 6-year-old daugher, coming on the heels of my sick then 4, now 5-year-old daughter has just completely destroyed the past month and I am just drained- physically, emotionally, and intellectually. The only bright spot in this month was the birthday of my middle child (and boy, is she ever a "middle child"!). So, although it doesn't have much to do with Monday Night Money, I'm going to close with the one thing that made me happy this month: Princess Tippytoes "Fairy Princess" birthday!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Monday Night Money
Check-In: $1217.56
May I say, Wow!
When I checked my bank account, I had to delve deeper, thinking that maybe they hadn't taken out any of the money that I spent this weekend. But they had! That includes taking out cash for this coming week! I have to admit, we haven't been as frugal as we were a month ago. A month ago, it was out of necessity. Now, it's by choice, but by making that choice, I don't have to feel guilty about taking the family out to eat, renting a few DVD's, or spending a little more on Princess Tippytoes birthday party (like buying pre-cooked chicken to use in a recipe instead of cooking and dicing it myself because time was of the essence). Actually, I think I was about on target, budget-wise, for the party if I take into account that I bought some regular groceries for this week while I bought the food for the party. Anyway, looking closer at my account, there's a $130 check out there that has not cleared. The car payment is due, I owe my mom for daycare, and I need to pay my dad the rent sometime soon. So, it's not like all of that money doesn't have someplace to go, but at least it's there for the going!
May I say, Wow!
When I checked my bank account, I had to delve deeper, thinking that maybe they hadn't taken out any of the money that I spent this weekend. But they had! That includes taking out cash for this coming week! I have to admit, we haven't been as frugal as we were a month ago. A month ago, it was out of necessity. Now, it's by choice, but by making that choice, I don't have to feel guilty about taking the family out to eat, renting a few DVD's, or spending a little more on Princess Tippytoes birthday party (like buying pre-cooked chicken to use in a recipe instead of cooking and dicing it myself because time was of the essence). Actually, I think I was about on target, budget-wise, for the party if I take into account that I bought some regular groceries for this week while I bought the food for the party. Anyway, looking closer at my account, there's a $130 check out there that has not cleared. The car payment is due, I owe my mom for daycare, and I need to pay my dad the rent sometime soon. So, it's not like all of that money doesn't have someplace to go, but at least it's there for the going!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Weekend Weigh-In: 02/16/08
Weigh-In: 289.7
Yup! That's it! Up only .3 lbs! Why am I excited? A little background...
This has been a week from you-know-where...
It began with me not feeling great last weekend- just some sinus stuff that, while not making me super-sick, made me really tired and made me lose my voice. I had to go to work on Monday with no voice because we had a meeting set up with a parent from you-know-where... a meeting that was ever-so-fun because I had no voice to speak up for our classroom or to even voice my opinion.
On the heels of this this meeting, I flipped roles from teacher to parent and went to Miss B's parent-teacher conference... a conference that was attended by myself, her teacher and, the principal (you know it's not going to be good when the principal makes a special point to attend your child's conference). Actually, the conference was pretty much what I expected- we're all concerned about her difficulty attending and the effect on her school work. She's getting straight C's, but she's at an accelerated magnet school for kids at or above grade-level, so that's not so bad, but it could be better if she were able to focus on her work and complete it in a timely fashion. As I said, I was kind of expecting this. There's a family history and we've seen these things when we're working with her at home, but it doesn't make it any more fun to go through or deal with.
On Sunday night, Miss B had begun to complain of a sore throat. Since my DH was staying home with the other two kids on Monday anyway, I kept her home from school, figuring she was getting the same thing I had. Then came Tuesday night- when Miss B's inhaler was doing her no good and we had to make a trip to the ER. Two nebulizer treatments and a dose of steroids later (about 5-6 hours), she was doing better, but still wheezing some. We got home about 2 am. Wednesday morning, after another dose of steroids, antibiotic, and nebulizer treatment, she was still coughing and wheezing, which led us to the doctors office. Well, she must have been doing pretty badly because the doctor gave her another neb treatment there (with 2 meds now, instead of 1) and another dose of steroids! She increased all of her meds and instructed us to give her neb treatments every hour for the next 3 hours, every 2 hours for the next 6 hours and then every 3 hours until we saw Miss B's regular pediatrician for a follow-up on Friday. And there went the rest of our week!
So, to get back to the original topic: why am I so glad that I only gained .3 lbs?
1. It was a stressful week and stress tends to be a trigger for my eating when I don't really need to be eating.
2. Miss B was out of school for the week, I didn't take her to the bus, so I didn't get my usual walks in. So, I didn't get much exercise in this week either.
3. It was Valentine's Day. Although I didn't get any chocolate hearts full of candy, there were LOTS of goodies around. Since I didn't know how many (if any) students were bringing treats (since I wasn't there to send a note home reminding parents to send treats), I picked up a box of donut holes for the students and a dozen donuts for the staff in our classroom. And wouldn't you know it that this is the first year that every single student brought something! There were cakes and candies and juices and cookies and donuts! It was a sugar-filled mine field!
4. On Tuesday morning, I ate breakfast at Burger King with 2 of the kiddos while running errands. On Wednesday night, I ate dinner at Burger King (chosen by Miss B, her consolation prize for missing Valentine's night at LOGOS when her brother and sister got to go). On Friday night, we ate at Golden Corral (a buffet). Since I figured this week's weigh-in was already shot, I might as well go all the way. DH and the kids have been asking to go here for a while, so I figured that it was a good time to go. Now, what I ate there wasn't horrible, but I'm sure it was far from healthy and, like many people, I tend to eat too much when I'm at a buffet.
So, after all of that, I told myself that, no matter what, I would step on the scale this morning. I could have sloughed off a little longer... after not writing for a week, what's a few more days? I probably would have done that in the past, but I'm on a quest for truth and accountability now! So, although I fully expected to see a few-pound gain, I stepped on the scale this morning. I had already told myself that it was okay... that there were times in life when it was okay to fall off the wagon and that this week was certainly one of them. And, I told myself that there's nothing wrong with chasing down the wagon and hopping back on, just like nothing had happened. And, I'll be darned if all of that talking to myself was for nothing! Now, it just irritates me a bit because, just think... If I hadn't written this week off and said, "Oh well, it's already a lost cause," I wouldn't have made some of the choices that I did and I would have actually had a loss! Well, forewarned is forearmed, they say, so next time I'll know. When a crappy week head's my way, I'll know to perhaps count a day as a loss, but not the whole week. Next time, there will be no excuses!
Yup! That's it! Up only .3 lbs! Why am I excited? A little background...
This has been a week from you-know-where...
It began with me not feeling great last weekend- just some sinus stuff that, while not making me super-sick, made me really tired and made me lose my voice. I had to go to work on Monday with no voice because we had a meeting set up with a parent from you-know-where... a meeting that was ever-so-fun because I had no voice to speak up for our classroom or to even voice my opinion.
On the heels of this this meeting, I flipped roles from teacher to parent and went to Miss B's parent-teacher conference... a conference that was attended by myself, her teacher and, the principal (you know it's not going to be good when the principal makes a special point to attend your child's conference). Actually, the conference was pretty much what I expected- we're all concerned about her difficulty attending and the effect on her school work. She's getting straight C's, but she's at an accelerated magnet school for kids at or above grade-level, so that's not so bad, but it could be better if she were able to focus on her work and complete it in a timely fashion. As I said, I was kind of expecting this. There's a family history and we've seen these things when we're working with her at home, but it doesn't make it any more fun to go through or deal with.
On Sunday night, Miss B had begun to complain of a sore throat. Since my DH was staying home with the other two kids on Monday anyway, I kept her home from school, figuring she was getting the same thing I had. Then came Tuesday night- when Miss B's inhaler was doing her no good and we had to make a trip to the ER. Two nebulizer treatments and a dose of steroids later (about 5-6 hours), she was doing better, but still wheezing some. We got home about 2 am. Wednesday morning, after another dose of steroids, antibiotic, and nebulizer treatment, she was still coughing and wheezing, which led us to the doctors office. Well, she must have been doing pretty badly because the doctor gave her another neb treatment there (with 2 meds now, instead of 1) and another dose of steroids! She increased all of her meds and instructed us to give her neb treatments every hour for the next 3 hours, every 2 hours for the next 6 hours and then every 3 hours until we saw Miss B's regular pediatrician for a follow-up on Friday. And there went the rest of our week!
So, to get back to the original topic: why am I so glad that I only gained .3 lbs?
1. It was a stressful week and stress tends to be a trigger for my eating when I don't really need to be eating.
2. Miss B was out of school for the week, I didn't take her to the bus, so I didn't get my usual walks in. So, I didn't get much exercise in this week either.
3. It was Valentine's Day. Although I didn't get any chocolate hearts full of candy, there were LOTS of goodies around. Since I didn't know how many (if any) students were bringing treats (since I wasn't there to send a note home reminding parents to send treats), I picked up a box of donut holes for the students and a dozen donuts for the staff in our classroom. And wouldn't you know it that this is the first year that every single student brought something! There were cakes and candies and juices and cookies and donuts! It was a sugar-filled mine field!
4. On Tuesday morning, I ate breakfast at Burger King with 2 of the kiddos while running errands. On Wednesday night, I ate dinner at Burger King (chosen by Miss B, her consolation prize for missing Valentine's night at LOGOS when her brother and sister got to go). On Friday night, we ate at Golden Corral (a buffet). Since I figured this week's weigh-in was already shot, I might as well go all the way. DH and the kids have been asking to go here for a while, so I figured that it was a good time to go. Now, what I ate there wasn't horrible, but I'm sure it was far from healthy and, like many people, I tend to eat too much when I'm at a buffet.
So, after all of that, I told myself that, no matter what, I would step on the scale this morning. I could have sloughed off a little longer... after not writing for a week, what's a few more days? I probably would have done that in the past, but I'm on a quest for truth and accountability now! So, although I fully expected to see a few-pound gain, I stepped on the scale this morning. I had already told myself that it was okay... that there were times in life when it was okay to fall off the wagon and that this week was certainly one of them. And, I told myself that there's nothing wrong with chasing down the wagon and hopping back on, just like nothing had happened. And, I'll be darned if all of that talking to myself was for nothing! Now, it just irritates me a bit because, just think... If I hadn't written this week off and said, "Oh well, it's already a lost cause," I wouldn't have made some of the choices that I did and I would have actually had a loss! Well, forewarned is forearmed, they say, so next time I'll know. When a crappy week head's my way, I'll know to perhaps count a day as a loss, but not the whole week. Next time, there will be no excuses!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
life on hold,
blog on hold due to major sickness.
Asthma + Bronchitis= NOT A GOOD THING!!!!
Hopefully we'll be back next week, better 'n ever!
In the meantime, head over to Oprah's site (gosh, never thought I'd be offering that advice!) and download- totally FREE- Suze Orman's book... something about women and money. I've never read any of her stuff, but I've heard from/ read from plenty of people who swear by her stuff. And it's FREE, so what can it hurt? It was Oprah's giveaway today. She wanted to do a giveaway for all the viewers at home, so this is it. From my understanding, you can download the entire book from her site. I'm heading over there to do it right now.
PS- I think you have until 5 pm on Thursday, February 14 to do this.
Asthma + Bronchitis= NOT A GOOD THING!!!!
Hopefully we'll be back next week, better 'n ever!
In the meantime, head over to Oprah's site (gosh, never thought I'd be offering that advice!) and download- totally FREE- Suze Orman's book... something about women and money. I've never read any of her stuff, but I've heard from/ read from plenty of people who swear by her stuff. And it's FREE, so what can it hurt? It was Oprah's giveaway today. She wanted to do a giveaway for all the viewers at home, so this is it. From my understanding, you can download the entire book from her site. I'm heading over there to do it right now.
PS- I think you have until 5 pm on Thursday, February 14 to do this.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Weekend Weigh-In: 02/09/2008
Weigh-In: 289.4
Down 2.7 lbs! :)
Woo Hoo! What else can I say? I'm excited and encouraged! Things are moving in the right direction again. Not having those donuts yesterday was so worth it! The feeling of looking down at the scale and seeing an almost 3 lb. loss is much better than the feeling you get from eating a Homecut Donut- and anyone who's had Homecut Donuts knows that's saying a lot (still-warm coffee rolls might come close)! I must admit, I was a bit leary of stepping on the scale- feeling bad because this has been very busy week, neccesitating a few trips to a drive-thru or the food court at the mall. It has also been a very snowy week, with more snow coming almost daily (but not enough for a snow day). The daily delivery of snow and ice has wreaked havoc on my daily walk after the bus stop plan. I have no doubts that I will pick up that plan once the weather reaches an even keel again, but I missed doing it this week. I only got to walk once or twice in the morning this past week. I have also not gotten the exercise bike back into the house yet and now that plan is on hold until after Princess Tippytoes' birthday party next weekend (which is, ironically, the reason the bike got taken out of the house a few years ago). So, over-all, I'm feeling optimistic and happy. My goal for this week is to plan my meals. My sister has been doing this and blogging about it here. Seeing what she spent on groceries last week has inspired me to get my butt in gear and plan my meals! Her grocery bill for herself, DH, and a teenage son was $20! Granted, she has some stuff stock-piled and one of the perks of her job is getting food that the store can no-longer sell, but an average grocery bill of $20 would be a great boon to our budget! I have no illusions of getting my grocery bill down to $20, but I do believe that we could lower it by planning meals based on what we already have at home and then supplementing with our trips to the grocery store. This past week, I spent about $50 on groceries. I didn't feel that was too bad for a family of 5, but when you add in a trip to the food court one night and a trip for 2 through the drive-thru another night, it doesn't look quite as good (about $30 for the food court, but only about $6-$7 for the drive thru trip for DH and I). Just because we actually have money in our bank account again doesn't mean that we should spend it. That's a trap that's waaay too easy to fall into! Okay, I'm off to meal plan. If I get the chance, I'll pop back on to share with you.
Down 2.7 lbs! :)
Woo Hoo! What else can I say? I'm excited and encouraged! Things are moving in the right direction again. Not having those donuts yesterday was so worth it! The feeling of looking down at the scale and seeing an almost 3 lb. loss is much better than the feeling you get from eating a Homecut Donut- and anyone who's had Homecut Donuts knows that's saying a lot (still-warm coffee rolls might come close)! I must admit, I was a bit leary of stepping on the scale- feeling bad because this has been very busy week, neccesitating a few trips to a drive-thru or the food court at the mall. It has also been a very snowy week, with more snow coming almost daily (but not enough for a snow day). The daily delivery of snow and ice has wreaked havoc on my daily walk after the bus stop plan. I have no doubts that I will pick up that plan once the weather reaches an even keel again, but I missed doing it this week. I only got to walk once or twice in the morning this past week. I have also not gotten the exercise bike back into the house yet and now that plan is on hold until after Princess Tippytoes' birthday party next weekend (which is, ironically, the reason the bike got taken out of the house a few years ago). So, over-all, I'm feeling optimistic and happy. My goal for this week is to plan my meals. My sister has been doing this and blogging about it here. Seeing what she spent on groceries last week has inspired me to get my butt in gear and plan my meals! Her grocery bill for herself, DH, and a teenage son was $20! Granted, she has some stuff stock-piled and one of the perks of her job is getting food that the store can no-longer sell, but an average grocery bill of $20 would be a great boon to our budget! I have no illusions of getting my grocery bill down to $20, but I do believe that we could lower it by planning meals based on what we already have at home and then supplementing with our trips to the grocery store. This past week, I spent about $50 on groceries. I didn't feel that was too bad for a family of 5, but when you add in a trip to the food court one night and a trip for 2 through the drive-thru another night, it doesn't look quite as good (about $30 for the food court, but only about $6-$7 for the drive thru trip for DH and I). Just because we actually have money in our bank account again doesn't mean that we should spend it. That's a trap that's waaay too easy to fall into! Okay, I'm off to meal plan. If I get the chance, I'll pop back on to share with you.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Well, after visiting and messing around with Tickerfactory for an insane amount of time, I could not find anything that adequately conveyed the "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your Emergency Fund grow?" theme. So, I abandoned it in favor of the "Godzilla-scale Piggy Bank, stomping the evil Debt City" theme. Okay, so the city doesn't really look that evil, but that's just what they want you to think. Debt doesn't look evil either. In fact, all the commercials make it look nice... Hey! Buy stuff! Then you can be just like everyone else, while still remaining uniquely you, and you will be happy! (Those "priceless" commercials of a certain credit company have got to be the worst of these money-can-buy-happiness messages!)
THEY ARE WRONG!
Does having more month left at the end of your money make you happy?
Does wondering how you will buy diapers or formula for your babies or how you will put gas in your car because the bank balance is super-negative make you happy?
Does waking up exhausted in the morning because you were tossing and turning half-the-night with dreams full of financial anxiety make you happy?
Does realizing you could have paid off several of your bills with what you ended up having to pay in overdraft charges this month make you happy?
Does not being able to provide the "extra" things for your children make you happy?
Does being stuck renting houses, renting furniture, or paying exhorbitant interest rates because your credit is so bad make you happy?
Does having a nervous, anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach everytime you check your bank balance make you happy?
THEY ARE WRONG!
Does having more month left at the end of your money make you happy?
Does wondering how you will buy diapers or formula for your babies or how you will put gas in your car because the bank balance is super-negative make you happy?
Does waking up exhausted in the morning because you were tossing and turning half-the-night with dreams full of financial anxiety make you happy?
Does realizing you could have paid off several of your bills with what you ended up having to pay in overdraft charges this month make you happy?
Does not being able to provide the "extra" things for your children make you happy?
Does being stuck renting houses, renting furniture, or paying exhorbitant interest rates because your credit is so bad make you happy?
Does having a nervous, anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach everytime you check your bank balance make you happy?
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