My rewards check from Chase came today, for $31.44. This bumps my rebate account up to $40 for the year. Slowly moving along!

My former BIL (well, I guess I still consider him the BIL) is a very talented IT guy. He is going to host a website for me that I have been wanting to start. I am going to sell a small selection of teaching and active play products especially chosen for kids with autism and other special needs. Products that I have tested out in the classroom and can give personal feedback on for the customers. I can also sell my own products if I can find enough time to make some more. It will be a niche store that will mostly appeal to teachers, parents, and grandparents of special needs children. The site is still under construction but we are working on it!

It snowed here last night, which caused everyone's world to spin upside down. Instead of 15 minutes, our drive was 1.5 hours, and we saw 11 cars stranded. It only snowed 2 inches, mind you, but it's a huge deal here! I would just stay home this weekend to avoid it all, but I need to get groceries. I'm hoping when the sun comes out some of this stuff will melt, I'm not a snow girl.

I checked my emergency/investment account this morning, and I have a little over 6 months salary saved! This is separate from my retirement accounts. Also, SO and I keep the "yours, mine, and ours" accounts, so this is mine.

After the divorce I walked away with a "clean slate"... no bills, but no real assets, either, with the exception of some retirement money and of course child support for the girls. (The girls will also have much of their college tuition covered by my ex, so that is worth a lot right there). It's up to me to take the next steps towards financial improvement.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we all have the ability to remake ourselves, each day. Would it have been easier if I had chosen a more lucrative career than teaching? Yes. But that doesn't stop me from improving. I can take additional classes to advance in different directions other than the classroom. I can start a small business related to teaching.

I know that a parent who isn't receiving child support will have less to work with, but that parent still has the power to grow and improve each day, little steps forward at a time. Lots of people do it.

Two income families or single income families, we all have choices to make regarding our occupations and what we spend our money on. We all start out at different points on the path, but we are responsible for ourselves. I know plenty of two income families that are financial train wrecks, so having two incomes doesn't necessarily make you more financially successful than a family with one income. Single ladies and gentlemen have their own advantages over DINKs. It's up to the individual to make it all work.

I cashed in $31.44 in Chase rewards, so the check is on its way. I will add it to the Rebate money account when the check arrives. I rarely use that card anymore so I figured I would "cash out" while I was thinking of it.

It was way too cold for me to run outside after work. Instead, I took the kids home like usual and then got right on the treadmill before starting dinner. The kids didn't seem to mind that we ate dinner later than usual, they usually get a snack after school anyway. I had plenty of energy after my 3.5 mile run, enough to get me through the nighttime routine. Now I'm ready for bed, I have a few more busy days ahead of me this week!

What a renewing weekend! Saturday I did all that exercise, grocery shopped, and baked some banana bread.

We spent Sunday in D.C. looking at a few places for SO to call her new home. We found the perfect place, and the owner is fine with me, the girls and the dog coming down to visit and stay during our down time. (Mostly she will be coming back to see us, though, easier that way). While we were out there we met up with a friend of SO's that she hadn't seen in ten years but kept up with through facebook and text messages. We had such a good time! She invited us to stay the night. Since the kids were with their dad for the weekend and we had nothing pressing to do the next day, we went ahead and stayed over.

This morning we got up early and headed back home. I would have loved to stay for the Inauguration events, but unfortunately have to work tomorrow. We had lunch together at Olive Garden and have been relaxing at home ever since. I've been working on my side project, it's fun stuff! I'll show you all when it is at a sharing point, it is still very much under construction. I also completed a job application for another school, I like to keep my options open each year.

The kids are on their way home now and then we will have dinner and get ready for the short week. We spent about $80 on eating out, gas and shopping for the weekend, all in all not bad.

It's beautiful outside, except for the air temperature! It was 40 something, not weather I usually run in, but it was so sunny and pretty outside I decided to go for it anyway. I bundled up, then SO and I took our dog to a local park. The dog didn't want to walk, she is a little thing and I guess she got cold. Either that or she got embarassed in her puffy pink coat! So SO waited with her in the car after ten minutes of walking. I ran for 20 minutes and then headed back to the car. After lunch back home I got on my treadmill and ran 3 more miles, then I did some weight training for about 15 minutes. So I got some great exercise in today and I feel good!

Tomorrow we are headed to D.C. for the day, need to check out some possible apartments for SO. We won't be moving up there with her, the girls' dad is having issues with it and I'm not going to drag the girls through any drama. I'm disappointed but I'm not going to dwell on it. At least D.C. is only 3 hours away so trips back and forth for all of us will be pretty convenient.

I made it to Friday! I have a few pressing tasks to complete this morning at school during my planning, then I should be well caught up from my assistant being out. She doesn't make nearly enough money for what she does, which I've always known, but she is a very special lady and hard worker!!!

Last night I went to Dollar General while DD was at dance and I picked up some supplies for the classroom, $9.83. Then I went to CVS for the BOGO on vitamins, 2 big bottles for $9.49, which I paid for with a gift card, so no out of pocket expense for those.

This weekend I NEED to get out some thank you cards!!! And log some miles in for the month.

I ordered some materials to "test out" in my classroom, if I like them I will sell them on my website that I am slowly building. It's a project of mine that has been stewing in my mind.I have a website (well, an address!) and a resellers license from the state. I can also sell some of the related products that I make. Just a fun project right now!

I was able to get a 20 minute Jillian Michaels workout in during my lunch break. Not the ideal situation but I had a meeting after work and I really needed to exercise for my sanity.

My assistant has been out with the flu, so my tough classroom has been even tougher, I'm exhausted! Tomorrow is Thursday, though, I'll make it through the week.

I spent $1.87 at Mc D's for a coffee and apple pie, sometimes in the morning it's nice to have a hot cup of coffee to look forward to on a rough day.

Wednesday already! This month is zooming by... I've gotten so much accomplished at work, though, so I feel good about that.

I'm not feeling too pleased with my exercise progress. I've always been an exerciser, so it's not a resolution-thing, it's just I've let my thoughts and concerns get in the way of my workouts. Since anxiety and depression run in the family, I'm well aware of how thoughts can snowball and affect the rest of your life. I'm breaking myself out of the worrying habit, because worrying really does nothing- it doesn't bring action, it doesn't bring solution. Now I just need to get the uneffective thoughts out of my head and replace with better ones. I let go and let God, so to speak. Keep myself open to what I need to do. I'm rambling, I apologize, but have to get it out!

Bottom line, exercise helps me feel good. I need the endorphins to kick start the good feelings. When I feel better, I have better thoughts. During lunch today I will exercise, even if I just get in a quick 20 minutes. I can change my clothes before hand, clean off with baby wipes after, change back, and be able to finish my day. It's something I need to do, really.

Savings update: $100 to savings, $4 to rebate fund.

I was able to look up my pay statement for Tuesday's deposit. Looks like the tax changes, my medical insurance, and dental for the three of us will take an additional $55 per pay period. Not so bad, I suppose. Good medical coverage for me, and dental for my children and myself, for $110 a month. Fortunately the children are covered on my ex's health insurance.

Yesterday was an emotionally draining day, dealing with ex and my impending move with the kids 3 hours away. This issue will require more discussion between the two of us.

It was a great plan, but it didn't pan out. We decided to meet up at a local restaurant with a fabulous Happy Hour special, where I can get an amazing burger, fries, and beer for under $10. I guess the word got out, though, because by the time we arrived there were no seats available anywhere. We ended up going to a nearby restaurant for a regular meal. So it cost $20 instead. It was still good, it just would have tasted better at under ten bucks! But I wasn't going to ruin a night out by being cheap- the main purpose was to get together with friends and share a meal. I can make up the difference in cost somewhere else.

We were very careful at the grocery store this morning. We usually budget $80 a week, but to make up for going over last week we only spent $55 this week. And we have some good, simple meals planned. We are very careful to use what we have and to not run to the store for little things here and there, I end up spending too much that way. We just go grocery shopping once a week.

Tonight we plan on staying in, I'm looking forward to that! We have some dvds to watch, and there's always some cooking to do if we feel up to it. I plan on taking a nap soon, though, I enjoy taking a short nap on the weekends!

I am almost out of my spending money for this pay period. I have $36 left to get me through the weekend. I am sure I can manage on that. The girls don't have any purchases that have to be made, I still have half a tank of gas, and groceries come out of a separate budget. We plan on eating dinner at home Friday night and then meeting up with friends for a drink, so that shouldn't cost more than $10. I just have to leave it at one drink only! I am also a beer fan, so maybe I can get by with $5. I'm limiting those extra calories anyway. I don't need more than one drink.

Yesterday after work I ran 4 miles, it was gorgeous outside!!! This morning I did a quick kettlebell workout, so I'm ready for my day.

I too, am waiting for payday. In addition to the tax adjustments, my medical insurance premiums will increased. I also started the dental plan since ex has retired and the kids were no longer covered. I will adjust to it all somehow.

I am getting over some sort of bug. Not a head cold, but a really nauseous, under the weather/dead tired/ drag-down feeling. I couldn't even drink coffee or tea, that's how blah I felt. Each day I wake up, though, I have been feeling a little better.

I miss working out, I haven't done anything since last week. Well,I walked for about 10 minutes yesterday during my lunch break, just to get the sunshine and fresh air. I'm feeling good enough today to get some exercise in. Today I plan on jogging around the school neighborhood as I wait for my DD2, she has to stay afterschool for a club. There is always work to be done in my classroom, but I figure getting in exercise is more important today. I want to get back to healthy after being sick this week.

I took the final last night and I have officially passed and finished my course! I have 3 more to go, but I'm going to wait until April to start the next one. These classes are tough for me, and take a lot of time. I need to catch up on the rest of my life for a bit before I dive back in. Not to mention that I am paying for them myself as tuition reimbursement has been reduced to a pittance, so I want to build up more savings before I take out the full tuition.

I am in the process of refinancing my vehicle. It is at 1.9% but if I get the same rate at my other credit union they offer a $250 rebate! I figured I might as well go through the paperwork to get $250. Hopefully, though, they still honor the offer when all is said and done.

SO and I have decided that we will all move when she gets her new orders in a few months. 4 years is just too long to be commuting on the weekends and school holidays. If we had no other choice we would do it, but I don't want to put our lives on "hold" for so long. The new area has an excellent school district and lots of "big city" opportunities for my girls. They don't want to move, but it is only 3 hours from our hometown, so we can visit frequently. Plus I still get school holidays and summers off so we will be spending lots of time back home during these breaks. I have a one bedroom beach condo that I can keep available to stay in for these trips. The condo is very inexpensive, and once the tenant moves out it will be empty. The kids of course would be staying with their dad during these visits, but I can stay in condo.

I'm very excited about the career opportunities for me in the new area. I've been stuck at the same first year teacher pay for 5 YEARS, since there was a salary freeze right after I was hired. I've spent lots of time and money trying to become the best teacher I can be for my students, but honestly it makes absolutely no difference to my financial situation.

The great news about this new location is that teachers of my experience and education make...$20,000 MORE than I am making now!!! Yes, cost of living is higher, but not that much higher. Plus SO also receives cost of living increases as well. Not only that, in this new area I will have ample opportunity to get the supervision hours I need for my long-term goal of becoming certified. So this move should be a very good financial and career move for us.