Mamasita's Quest for Financial

Since SO is moving to DC, some of our furniture will go with her to furnish her basement apartment. We got on Craigslist this weekend to look for the rest of the furniture she will need. She got some great deals, I think she's addicted to Craigslist now!

I picked up a beautiful sectional for my sitting room since SO is taking the furniture that is in the room now. The room isn't done yet, but it's going to be fabulous! I love to read and "lounge", so this room is going to be my refuge from the world. I'll post pictures when it is complete, along with the makeover budget. The only thing that will not be done is painting. I want to hire a company to paint the upstairs and I'm not ready to spend that money just yet.

Besides furniture hunting, we did our usual cleaning and cooking for the week. I also ran 30 minutes yesterday, on the treadmill since it is too cold outside for me.

I have almost completed my taxes, just waiting on one more statement. So far I'm getting a refund, so that will go straight to savings account.

I received a $4 rebate check in the mail, my rebate account is now up to $44 for the year.

I met my exercise goals for January, now I'm starting again for February. 25 miles and 8 additional workouts. Yesterday after work I exercised with a coworker, it does make it more fun and keeps me more accountable. It is so much easier to pass up a workout when it's just me.

I am restricting eating out to just the weekends, and just one meal. Mostly for my health, because lately I've slacked off a bit and slipped in some junk meals here and there and I feel the effects. If I just stick with a planned meal out on the weekends, I can plan my menu for the rest of the meals, I've gotten good at that. I should save some money that way, too.

I'm going to get into work early today and finish some mandatory training that is due soon. Nice start to the day, to get something off of the "must do" list.

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.

I'm starting at 0 for 2013. All of my rebates/refunds/reward money will go in this account, to be used for a vacation for the family. Last year I used it for a cruise, which was abruptly cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. So we used that money towards a new car. I'm looking forward to building this account back up again in 2013! So far I have a $5 check I received last week in the mail, I won't deposit it till 2013. I am also mailing out a $20 rebate from groceries which I will receive in 2013.

I'm almost done with my December exercise goals. Yesterday I ran 2.25 miles and then completed 15 minutes of kettlebell workout/push ups/abs/lunges. I have 6 more miles to run in December and one more workout to go. I'm off today and tomorrow so I can get it all done!

For exercise I set a regular monthly goal of running 25 miles and also completing 8 or more additional workouts. I've managed to reach my goal for the past 2 years, with the exception of this year Aug/Sep/Oct. I bumped up my additional workout goal from 7 to 8 last year, but I'm keeping my miles goal the same. I used to run about 50 miles per month, but I found myself focusing too much on getting in the miles, to the detriment of other workouts. I think that I am stronger now that I am adding in other workouts, and my body weight is the same, despite running half as many miles. I guess muscle does help burn fat! Ideally I could run 50 miles a month as well as get in 8 additional strength training workouts, but I guess I don't want that badly enough! I might tweak my goal for 2013 just a bit, though, to keep from getting in an exercise rut. I need to get finished with December's goal and then I will think on 2013.

I had a fabulous Christmas with my family, and lots of down time.

I weighed myself this morning, and I'm right at 140, which suprised me. My goal weight is anything below 140 and I thought that with all of the desserts and drinks I've had during break that I would have gained. I'm not going to push my luck, though, I'm getting in a good run this afternoon!

I went grocery shopping today and spent $91, but this includes $20 for a deli platter, where I have a rebate to get $20 back in the mail. The kids will be bringing deli meat and cheese for lunch!

I came up with a budget last night with SO in order to keep the house here and keep an apartment in D.C. where SO will be working. The kids and I will stay in the house and she will commute here sometimes on the weekends, or vice versa (about 2.5 hours away). Between the both of us we can manage both places, though this will cut into my monthly savings (retirement savings is still on course). I'm going to keep my 2013 savings goal just the same, I may find other opportunities to reach that goal.

I'm not going to allow myself to get frustrated at how little I will be able to save when the move happens. If I want to stay in this area for the kids then that is the price, 2 households isn't cheap. At least the girls and I have a nice, safe home to live in and SO won't have to short sell to take her next set of orders. I'm going to be pleased with even a little amount that I can save each paycheck, and try not to think of what I used to be able to save!

Ok, I need to get off of this board and get my run in!Good luck to all of you facing fearful challenges, temptations, or difficult relationships. I know every one of us has the strength to do what we know is right, even if it makes us a little uncomfortable for a while!!!

I woke up super early this morning, so I'm sure I will take a nap later. I love naps on my days off!

My last day of work was Friday so I have this whole week off. I celebrated with plenty of food and drink this weekend! But today I have already put in a good strength training workout. I did a total of about 50 push ups, 20 reps with the ab wheel, 30 squats, 30 plie squats, and 30 tall box climbs with bicep curls. Not sure how long it was in minutes but my legs, arms and abs feel like jello so I will count it as a workout. I also want to do a "long" outdoor run when it gets light out. A long run for me is anything over 30 minutes.

The girls are with their dad this weekend, he returned from his work trip Friday evening, so they were happy to see him. They will return this evening to have Christmas Eve at my mom's house.

This morning I will also deposit the check from ex. I've already paid the bills for the month so it will go to savings to cover any other things that crop up.

I'm adding to my 2013 goals:
-Complete at least 1 pull up or chin up by December 2013! I've never been able to do one, in my whole life. I think I'm in better shape now than when I was younger, so why not do it now, I'm not getting any younger??!! I can google some training routines to help me reach this goal.

I have a hot cup of coffee, the rest of the house is asleep, I can sit down and really think about 2013!

-I will continue to save 15% of my salary in pre-tax deferred compensation account. I don't intend to touch this money for another 30 years. It has time to grow.

-Complete course requirements for professional certificate: 3 remaining courses in 2013. It might be difficult material and time consuming. It will take some sacrifices of my free time on the home front. But I am learning useful stuff and it will help me with career advancement in the future.

-Save additional $15,000 by December 2013. (I like to send money to my taxable fund in $5,000 increments). It sounds like a lot of money to save, but even if I don't reach it I will get closer than I am now. Or I could play it safer and make the goal $10,000 so that I don't feel like I am worrying about money all the time or stretching my budget too thin.

So I guess the action steps will be:
-set up my finances so that the goals can be funded appropriately. This will be the biggie.
*Goal #1 is already set up through payroll.
*Goal #2 is in progress. I register one class at a time.
*Goal #3 needs to be looked at. There are variables that impact this goal: child support from ex (I plan my expenses out of my own money so that if something goes wrong with child support at least my bills are paid), where we will be living: if we stay in the area I keep my current job, if we move I get another job.


-arrange my schedule so that I can have the time on the weekends set aside for studying.

So not all of the details are worked out yet, but I feel like I have more of a path to follow now than I did before I wrote out some goals.

Finances aren't as great as I would like, but I am keeping up with everything. I also have a supportive SO who will help me out if I ever need anything, so I have that to be thankful for.

I'm almost done with this class I'm taking. I have a test to complete this weekend, and then next week I study for the final. I take the final after New Years and then I am done.

I want to take a break from classes but I also want to utilize the tuition assistance I can receive for this school year from my employer. It is only for a few hundred dollars (the class is $890), but that is a few hundred I don't have to pay. I suppose I can push through another class. There are five classes for the certification. I am finishing up class #2 of 5 right now. The certification will really put me ahead for my career, especially when I can get direct supervision hours. It's a long term goal, not something I want to complete right away.

Still thinking about my 2013 financial goals, it seems as if I can barely think past this week.

My finances may be murky right now, but they are improving every day. This year I had the child support cut in half due to ex not finding steady employment yet. That really impacted the finances.

I also have the issue of SO getting new orders. That has still not completely played out, but we are getting closer to finding a solution every day. It was a lot of added stress in 2012.

Right now I am focusing on remembering the good that is in this world. One sick individual created such devastation, but I must remember that goodness and love is pouring out of others who are heartbroken by this evil.

I have some kid and dog maintenance expenses coming up, so probably not much extra going into savings anytime soon. Especially with Christmas expenses this month.

I really need to think about my 2013 goals. I want to arrange them so I can see my progress. As it is this year I made a goal, reached it, and then I deleted it and created another one. So I have no evidence of my progress from one deadline to the next.

My progress on current goals:


{+}Additional $3,000 by December 2012 ($2219 on 11/24) *Should meet this goal on 12/15 with my scheduled deposit*
{+} $5,000 to 457 plan (on autopilot)*Met this goal*
{+} Complete 2nd class in certification series of 5 classes *I'm assuming I will pass, I have two more tests and then the final!!!*
{+}Remain close to family and support network *Looks like we will be staying in this house and area while SO lives in a nearby big (and expensive) city, will commute on weekends*

I admit, I didn't set any goal that was too tough to reach, but they were all important nonetheless.

I'm going to catch up on some other SA blogs and get some ideas for 2013!

Yesterday I didn't spend any money, typical for a week day. I don't want to spend any extra time coming in and out of stores after work so I just plan all of my errands for the weekend if possible. Then I knock them all out in one trip and have the rest of the time off.

Tonight I should be coming straight home as well. I have my online class meeting after dinner so it will just be our regular after school routine and homework.

The bright side to the work week- less money spent!

To make a financial-related post today, I spent some moolah and just about finished off my Christmas shopping. My kids are all done, now I just have 3 more gift cards to pick up and some stocking stuffers.

I've increased my contributions to my pre-tax savings account starting next month and received confirmation of this in the mail today. So my paycheck will be smaller, but in the long run, it will pay off. I just have to learn to live with the smaller paycheck. That and the increase in insurance premiums will have a noticeable difference in my paycheck I fear. I'll know what to expect starting in January. And I'll learn to live with it!

Usually I am easy going, and I like to be flexible and try to accommodate everyone. But I hit my limit at work yesterday. It felt great to tell this over-bearing battle-axe to quit trying to dictate the schedules of the assistants so that she could do less work. Of course she huffed off to the administration, who told her yes, the additional assistant was going to work in my room Friday. It was great how she back-tracked, acting like I didn't tell her why I was assigned the assistant for that day. She came back, acting like it was "her" idea to "let" me use the assistant. As if she was the one who made the decision! Eh, whatever lets her save face! I will have no problem dealing with this pushy woman again.
Since it felt so nice dealing with a problem head-on, I am going to start doing so more often. It feels like it is the next step to my whole life change, the one where I stop procrastinating and putting things off. My whole theory is that if I get things done early, and meet issues head on, I get them taken care of and then there is less stress on my system. It feels like it is working.

After a much-needed 4 day break, we are back at school. I spent no money today. It is the first no-spend day in quite a while!

My girls and I enjoyed a quiet evening after school. I worked out for 20 minutes this morning and then ran 2 miles after work, before dinner. I get the exercise in whenever I can, somehow. Although to be honest, there are plenty of times that I can exercise but don't exercise.

I also finished all of my classwork tonight, fortunately this week is a shorter unit than all of the others. 4 more weeks to go, then class #2 of 5 will be finished! It feels so good to have the schoolwork done ahead of schedule, one less "have to do" hanging over my shoulder all week. The trick was to go directly to my school's website, instead of checking email, bank account, or this site! Once I start surfing I get lazy and don't want to do the important stuff. Maybe that will work for me in the morning, too. To not even get on the computer before I exercise.

Yesterday was a pleasant day off. SO and I put together a storage cube set for the girls' room. The girls played Wii nicely together and made a gummy dessert all by themselves. I ran two miles with little DD on the scooter behind me. We cooked our holiday dishes, I studied about an hour, and then we went to dinner at my brother's house.

On the way home from dinner I stopped at Walmart to pick up some jeans on sale for little DD. It was a mad house, but the store seemed to have it under control.

SO is commuter car shopping so we are going out today to check out some models we researched online. Other than that, running 3-4 miles and studying 2-3 hours are the only other tasks on my "have to do" list. We won't need to do much cooking for a few days as we have plenty of leftovers.

Any purchases I have made this week have been on the credit card so that I earn cash back. So today I will transfer more money to the credit card to cover those expenses.

I know lately I've felt pretty crazy: work is nonstop during the day, the usual homework/showers/lunches at night, my own homework for a tough class on the weekends, and trying to fit in exercise throughout the week. When I feel overwhelmed I start to forget things. And procrastinate. It has gotten to be a bad habit, and it needs to STOP.

Game plan: I'm still working out the details.

-Slim down my "priority" list.

-Delegate computer/vegging out time to after the night routine, and save the early mornings for exercise. Exercise will make me feel way more relaxed and ready to start the day than some quiet time on the computer. I need to not even turn the computer on in the morning. I can putter around the kitchen and do some cleaning while I wake up and drink my coffee, then do my run on the treadmill before waking up the kids. I've done this twice this week, baby steps.

-I need to commit to one night a week as the "cleaning and laundry" night. It won't take long, maybe an hour tops if everyone pitches in. Then I won't have household chores hanging over my head throughout the week. Wednesday night is best for our family schedule.

-Plan a few minutes after work to make calls to doctors and service providers, so that these chores don't build up. Just make it automatic after quitting time (I can leave at 3, so most places are still open), to mentally go through my phone call list. Better yet, I'm going to set up remnders on my phone to pop up at 3pm to "call doctor/bank/etc".

I know that when my life runs more smoothly everything else will fall into place: my finances, my fitness, and my family life. Just takes some time to form into habits. By Christmas these should be habits!

Are there any tips/suggestions that work in your life that others can implement to make things simpler or more streamlined? I know I am always looking for new ideas that work!

I feel like it should be Friday evening, after a long week at work, not Tuesday morning! But I'm assuming once I get the kids up and we are in the car, the day will just pick up as I get into the routine of the week. Just a bit worn out, that's all. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break, it will be our first holiday off since the beginning of the year.

I didn't finish all of my homework last night. I can finish it during the week, it is maybe 2 hours of video and note taking. The class online is tonight, so that will help answer a lot of questions when I talk with my instructor. It's just a tough unit. Then I take another test this weekend. By Christmas I should have the final exam finished and I can enjoy my break before I decide when to take the next course. If I complete 2 out of 5 then I must keep going until I earn the certificate, really.

We are taking a break from hula lessons until January because of my class. I hate to do that because we really enjoy the lessons, but I can't do everything all at once. When this class is done I will get back into it. A few months off is understandable.

A coworker and I exercised after work yesterday, I always feel better when I exercise. If I don't I feel like I'm missing something important. I need to listen to that nagging feeling that I'm missing something and go exercise instead of ignoring it. I know that exercise helps keep me sane!

Nothing exciting on the money front until payday Thursday. I'm only half-way looking at real estate deals. I don't really have the energy to look for investment properties right now. I think I just have too much on my plate. Work, family, school, it's enough for now.

I took a 2 mile jog around a nearby neighborhood this morning with my little DD on her scooter. I had to cut the jog shorter than usual (because that one leg doing all the pushing on the scooter gets tired after a while!), but it was worth it to have DD with me.

After a quick shower we all went to church, where SO's coworker and her family joined us. Then we went out to lunch. SO, her friend, and her friend's husband are all active duty military, so they each got a free appetizer that we all shared. After a leisurely lunch we stopped at a nearby grocery store to pick up a birthday cake for my mother. SO received a 12% discount on her grocery bill, that was a nice gesture from the grocery store!

Back home big DD gave the dog a bath and dressed her in a cute little summer dress because it has gotten so warm here today. We are taking her to my mom's tonight for her birthday dinner, our dog plays with her new puppy! I quickly sewed a dog bed to give to my mom along with her birthday present. This bed didn't take too long, I'm getting the hang of sewing! I'll take a picture of it tonight with the dog testing it out and upload it to my blog later.

All that is left on my "have to do" list is some homework and then dinner at my mom's house. All in all a peaceful, productive Veteran's day. I'm refreshed and I'll be ready to take on another week at school.