True to typical Tracy, I had a complete meltdown yesterday. My first in a really long time, but it was bad enough to ooze into today.
For whatever reason, I was so tired yesterday. I don't typically get alot of sleep....6 or 7 hours a night. By the time I get the kids settled in and I do my evening routine it's pretty late by the time I get into bed. If I'm lucky, I fall asleep easily. I'm not that lucky. Then I get up at 7am to get the kids off to school.
Regardless, for some reason I was really tired yesterday. I was just exhausted from doing laundry and packing all day. I didn't feel like making dinner, a first since I've been at home. Typically I have dinner going by 4:30 or so and have some type of desert made. Streusel cake, or pound cake, or chocolate chip cookies. Something for the kids to have after dinner. But yesterday I didn't have anything going. Pizza sounded good.
First of all, Lowell doesn't have a decent restaurant. Makes me so mad. I watch alot of Food Network shows and one of my favorites is "Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives". They go all around the country to small towns and visit really good places to eat. Lowell is a small town, not teeny tiny, but it's small. And we don't have a singe good place to eat. When we want pizza, we order from "Three Brothers Pizza" which is ok but nothing really special.
When you order from them you have to be specific on what you want. First of all, the owner is a major grouch ass. He typically answers the phone and he sounds like he'd rather be doing anything else in the world but talk to you about ordering pizza. So yesterday when I called, I get a woman on the phone. Now, we order the same exact order evertime we buy pizza from them. The SAME! So, I order my two pizza's and some cheesy bread. I ask her to cook the pizza's a few extra minutes to brown the cheese and skip the romano. (They sprinkle romano on the pizza crust after the pizza comes out of the oven and it's disgusting.) So, then she asks pick-up or delivery and I tell her pick-up. Ok, "cook it a few extra minutes to brown it and skip the romano on everything?" Yep, perfect.
See, if you tell them you want your pizza delivered, this also annoys them. They let out a big sigh and tell you "well, it's going to be at least an hour, hour and a half for delivery". These people have some real customer service skills....NOT!
Instead of waiting that long, Scott says he'll go pick it up. Ok, 20 minutes and it'll be ready. Scott get's back home and the first pizza has pepperoni and bacon. Good there, except they didn't cook it to brown the cheese so it's white and the crust is soggy. We open the second pizza and instead of pepperoni green olive, it has pepperoni bacon.
Of course I'm instantly P.O.'d I call the pizza place back and I get the grumpy old troll who owns the place. I tell him that one of our pizza's is wrong and he says, "well my daughter took that order and that's what you ordered". So, after 3 or 4 minutes of arguing with him, because I don't know what I ordered....or have always ordered for the last 4 years, I tell him they didn't cook it longer to brown the cheese either.
Then he get's pissy with me. "Well, do you want me to remake the entire order for you or what?" Excuse me, my family is already digging into the pizza that's right....with the exception of the brown cheese. Then, as I'm telling him that it's white and soggy he gives me the silent treatment. So I hang up on him.
Are you kidding me? This is a small town, and I guess he just has too much money to worry about what people actually think about his pizza, if it's good or not, and what about customer service?
Last time I knew, you took care of your customers when you're in that type of business. Does it make you mad sometimes, well sure, but just because his DAUGHTER took my order doesn't mean it's right. He tried to tell me she read it back to me. Ok, she read back the part about it being cooked longer and no romano but that's it.
My mood went right into today. I woke up pissy and it lasted all day.
You know, I'm sick and tired of being taken advantage of. Now that I'm a stay at home mom I'm just supposed to sit back and let my family walk all over me. I'm supposed to wait on them hand and foot because I'm not working. Nobody in this house wants to lift a finger all of the sudden. Mom can take care of it, she doesn't work. So, my morning starts at 7am taking care of kids and it just ended about 10:15 pm. A good 15 hour day, but that doesn't matter because I'm the one who wanted to stay home right? So it's my own fault.
I guess I'm just too cranky to even post tonight. Oh well, needed to get it off my chest. I could go on and on because I'm mad like I haven't been in a long time. Tomorrow could be a really long day if I don't pull myself out of this funk!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
It's A Crafty Business
Busy, busy, busy! We had the appraisal done on our house yesterday so now I'm pulling everything off he wall and getting the closets packed up. As much as possible, we still have to live here for four more weeks.
You probably remember a while back my friend Janice and I had a falling out. Basically, our kids were dating and some things happened that, at the time, were out of our control. And, it affected our friendship. Janice didn't want it to, but what happened to my son hurt my so deeply that it's taken me over a year to start letting it go. Honestly, it still feels like pain inside of me, but I'm trying really hard to let it go.
Scott asked me how long I was going to fight Jason's battle? Well that was the start of my road to recovery, so to speak. I explained to him I was just being a mom and protecting my son. He told me that Janice was probably doing the same thing, don't ya think. Well, it was tough to argue with that.
So, I think we'll be ok. And I have missed my friend. I have missed her so much and this week I talked to her a few times, and it was really nice.
AND, she has a business opportunity for me. See, way back before all the shit hit the fan, we had done some craft shopping because we decided we were going to make Toothfairy Pillows. I also make a few other crafts, but at the time we were focusing on the pillows. I've made some and they are so damn cute. Anyhow, Lowell has this really great Farmers Market that they start up in June and it runs until September. They are also up and running during 2 different festivals that are held in Lowell. They're a big deal.
For years, the Farmers Market has been at the Lowell Fairgrounds. It's a grassy area that isn't exactly pleasant to be in on a rainy day. Now, the Farmers Market has moved to the front of TSC (Tractor Supply). It's right on Fulton so it'll get much more traffic and it's on a paved lot. Well, anyone can sign up for a booth. It's not just your typical farmers market that people would come in and sell the veggies they grew in their gardens.
They sell fruit and veggies, plants, crafts, even Great Harvest Bread Company out of Grand Rapids comes in with a truck each week. I know that Tina has bought her pickles there for when she cans her dill pickles. And Scott and I have bought summer squash, greenbeans, blueberries and strawberries. Delicious!
Anyhow, she knows the people who run the Farmers Market and they asked her if she wanted to have a booth for crafts. I thought, this sounds ok....but how much. So they run for 18 weeks plus they do the two festivals and you can pay by the week for $10 a week or $130 for the season. Duh!
I'm trying to figure out if I can pull something together for this. Basically you commit to 6 hours a week and set up your booth, and then sell whatever you have....well, you try to. Scott and I have a new pop-up canopy thingy that is 12 X 12 and goes up in like 30 seconds and Janices dad has the long 8 ft tables. So, we don't really need to invest in anything. I've got a huge roll of plastic table cover from when Jason graduated.
If you know me, then you know that I'm a very artistic and craft person. My art teacher back in highschool was disappointed because I didn't go on to Kendall after highschool. She thought that I had talent. Well, I enjoy doing crafts. I can sew, Scott bought me a scroll saw for Christmas so I can work with wood. I make homemade Christmas ornaments, lavender rice bags (any size) toothfairy pillows, quilts, wood benches, wood shelves, and wood knick knacks. And one of my favorite things to do, I love to paint on clay pots.
I buy these really nice sized, not to tall but wide, clay pots and then I prime it and paint them a solid color. I make one for my sister and her bathroom has a huge jaccuzzi tub in it. It sits in a corner so there is a corner area for something. So I painted this large clay pot a mint green (same as her bathroom) and then I sponge a pearl white on top of it. Then along the top edge of the clay pot where it's wider, I use two shades of darker green to dry brush a layer of foliage, then I top it with a dry brush of the pearl white. Then I put a tiny dot of dark pink paint next to a tiny dot of white paint. Then you use a toothpick to swirl the pink and white together, making tiny pink roses.
When it's done, I spray with with clear top coat, let it dry and then do a fancy fold on a bunch of white and mint green washclothes and fill the pot with it. Totally looked cute on her bathtub.
Matter of fact, I have a ginormous corner jaccuzzi tub in our new house, I'll have to do the same but in blues.
Anyhow, I do clay pots of all sizes. I make them into bells for the christmas tree, or angels. I even have one painted in mint green with the pearl white drybrushed over it, and then I put a mint green candle in it and it sits in my bathroom. A very nice accent.
I have tons of ideas. Every week in the newspaper you can find a 40 or 50% off one item at Joanne Fabrics, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby. I try to buy a pattern book every couple of weeks. I'd like to build up my pattern collection. When we were moving back from Ohio, for some reason I never thought I'd do crafts again and I got rid of all my patterns. STUPID STUPID STUPID.
So, i'm searching ebay, I'm buying them half off at the store, and I'm getting free patterns off the internet.
Any thoughts on this? I want to do this with Janice and I want to take a chance. I don't know if I'll make money or not, but I can try. Oh, I almost forgot....I make gunsocks. Are you wondering what they are? Well, I make them out of a really soft heavy materal and it's basically a sock for a rifle or shotgun. Guys LOVE them. Most men have a gun safe and you can't fit a big gun case in it, so you put your gun in it to protect it from scratches etc while its stored safely away. Oh, and I spray a coat of water repellent on it. Just in case it gets out on a damp day.
I sold these on ebay a few years back when we were struggling for money. It was when we first moved back from Ohio to Michigan and I didn't know what I was going to do about Christmas. We were so broke it wasn't funny. I sold them for $7.00 plus s/h and I sold a butt load of them and was able to do most of my Christmas shopping with that money. Maybe selling them and being outside TSC (a definite guy store) I'll do better.
Ok, I'm looking for some moral support here. Good idea or stupid? Scott is worried because we are getting ready to move and he's wondering if I can get enough made between now and the second week of June? Well, I don't know about the wood stuff. I'm not really set up for that right now, but my sewing maching isnt' packed yet and all my material is in big totes. I can knock them out pretty quick because I cut them all out at once and then sew them. The toothfairy pillows are more work. Lots of sewing, lace, buttons, and a pocket. Takes me a day to make 3 but so worth it. They are cute as hell and i think people will like them.
Anyone with a little kid who believes in the toothferry would love them. John is bugging me for a boy one. I've only made them for little girls so far. I have tons of boy material, but haven't gotten that far yet.
Maybe that's what I'll do when I break from the packing. I'm getting alot of packing done, but I can only pack so much since we are still living here. Plus, I learned a valuable lesson working for Two Men And A Truck.....never mix items in a box from more than one room. Don't pack linens with stuff that you aren't going to be using for a while....and then pack the rest of the linens in a different box. It's worth it to just pack them all together when it comes time.
Well, that's my story for tonight. I'm pondering a new adventure. I wouldn't probably worry about the farmers market, but it's been going for many years and they are ALWAYS busy. That is encouraging. We need to sell one pillow a week between the two of us to pay for this....then we get 5 free weeks and the two festivals on top of that.
Until next time.....
You probably remember a while back my friend Janice and I had a falling out. Basically, our kids were dating and some things happened that, at the time, were out of our control. And, it affected our friendship. Janice didn't want it to, but what happened to my son hurt my so deeply that it's taken me over a year to start letting it go. Honestly, it still feels like pain inside of me, but I'm trying really hard to let it go.
Scott asked me how long I was going to fight Jason's battle? Well that was the start of my road to recovery, so to speak. I explained to him I was just being a mom and protecting my son. He told me that Janice was probably doing the same thing, don't ya think. Well, it was tough to argue with that.
So, I think we'll be ok. And I have missed my friend. I have missed her so much and this week I talked to her a few times, and it was really nice.
AND, she has a business opportunity for me. See, way back before all the shit hit the fan, we had done some craft shopping because we decided we were going to make Toothfairy Pillows. I also make a few other crafts, but at the time we were focusing on the pillows. I've made some and they are so damn cute. Anyhow, Lowell has this really great Farmers Market that they start up in June and it runs until September. They are also up and running during 2 different festivals that are held in Lowell. They're a big deal.
For years, the Farmers Market has been at the Lowell Fairgrounds. It's a grassy area that isn't exactly pleasant to be in on a rainy day. Now, the Farmers Market has moved to the front of TSC (Tractor Supply). It's right on Fulton so it'll get much more traffic and it's on a paved lot. Well, anyone can sign up for a booth. It's not just your typical farmers market that people would come in and sell the veggies they grew in their gardens.
They sell fruit and veggies, plants, crafts, even Great Harvest Bread Company out of Grand Rapids comes in with a truck each week. I know that Tina has bought her pickles there for when she cans her dill pickles. And Scott and I have bought summer squash, greenbeans, blueberries and strawberries. Delicious!
Anyhow, she knows the people who run the Farmers Market and they asked her if she wanted to have a booth for crafts. I thought, this sounds ok....but how much. So they run for 18 weeks plus they do the two festivals and you can pay by the week for $10 a week or $130 for the season. Duh!
I'm trying to figure out if I can pull something together for this. Basically you commit to 6 hours a week and set up your booth, and then sell whatever you have....well, you try to. Scott and I have a new pop-up canopy thingy that is 12 X 12 and goes up in like 30 seconds and Janices dad has the long 8 ft tables. So, we don't really need to invest in anything. I've got a huge roll of plastic table cover from when Jason graduated.
If you know me, then you know that I'm a very artistic and craft person. My art teacher back in highschool was disappointed because I didn't go on to Kendall after highschool. She thought that I had talent. Well, I enjoy doing crafts. I can sew, Scott bought me a scroll saw for Christmas so I can work with wood. I make homemade Christmas ornaments, lavender rice bags (any size) toothfairy pillows, quilts, wood benches, wood shelves, and wood knick knacks. And one of my favorite things to do, I love to paint on clay pots.
I buy these really nice sized, not to tall but wide, clay pots and then I prime it and paint them a solid color. I make one for my sister and her bathroom has a huge jaccuzzi tub in it. It sits in a corner so there is a corner area for something. So I painted this large clay pot a mint green (same as her bathroom) and then I sponge a pearl white on top of it. Then along the top edge of the clay pot where it's wider, I use two shades of darker green to dry brush a layer of foliage, then I top it with a dry brush of the pearl white. Then I put a tiny dot of dark pink paint next to a tiny dot of white paint. Then you use a toothpick to swirl the pink and white together, making tiny pink roses.
When it's done, I spray with with clear top coat, let it dry and then do a fancy fold on a bunch of white and mint green washclothes and fill the pot with it. Totally looked cute on her bathtub.
Matter of fact, I have a ginormous corner jaccuzzi tub in our new house, I'll have to do the same but in blues.
Anyhow, I do clay pots of all sizes. I make them into bells for the christmas tree, or angels. I even have one painted in mint green with the pearl white drybrushed over it, and then I put a mint green candle in it and it sits in my bathroom. A very nice accent.
I have tons of ideas. Every week in the newspaper you can find a 40 or 50% off one item at Joanne Fabrics, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby. I try to buy a pattern book every couple of weeks. I'd like to build up my pattern collection. When we were moving back from Ohio, for some reason I never thought I'd do crafts again and I got rid of all my patterns. STUPID STUPID STUPID.
So, i'm searching ebay, I'm buying them half off at the store, and I'm getting free patterns off the internet.
Any thoughts on this? I want to do this with Janice and I want to take a chance. I don't know if I'll make money or not, but I can try. Oh, I almost forgot....I make gunsocks. Are you wondering what they are? Well, I make them out of a really soft heavy materal and it's basically a sock for a rifle or shotgun. Guys LOVE them. Most men have a gun safe and you can't fit a big gun case in it, so you put your gun in it to protect it from scratches etc while its stored safely away. Oh, and I spray a coat of water repellent on it. Just in case it gets out on a damp day.
I sold these on ebay a few years back when we were struggling for money. It was when we first moved back from Ohio to Michigan and I didn't know what I was going to do about Christmas. We were so broke it wasn't funny. I sold them for $7.00 plus s/h and I sold a butt load of them and was able to do most of my Christmas shopping with that money. Maybe selling them and being outside TSC (a definite guy store) I'll do better.
Ok, I'm looking for some moral support here. Good idea or stupid? Scott is worried because we are getting ready to move and he's wondering if I can get enough made between now and the second week of June? Well, I don't know about the wood stuff. I'm not really set up for that right now, but my sewing maching isnt' packed yet and all my material is in big totes. I can knock them out pretty quick because I cut them all out at once and then sew them. The toothfairy pillows are more work. Lots of sewing, lace, buttons, and a pocket. Takes me a day to make 3 but so worth it. They are cute as hell and i think people will like them.
Anyone with a little kid who believes in the toothferry would love them. John is bugging me for a boy one. I've only made them for little girls so far. I have tons of boy material, but haven't gotten that far yet.
Maybe that's what I'll do when I break from the packing. I'm getting alot of packing done, but I can only pack so much since we are still living here. Plus, I learned a valuable lesson working for Two Men And A Truck.....never mix items in a box from more than one room. Don't pack linens with stuff that you aren't going to be using for a while....and then pack the rest of the linens in a different box. It's worth it to just pack them all together when it comes time.
Well, that's my story for tonight. I'm pondering a new adventure. I wouldn't probably worry about the farmers market, but it's been going for many years and they are ALWAYS busy. That is encouraging. We need to sell one pillow a week between the two of us to pay for this....then we get 5 free weeks and the two festivals on top of that.
Until next time.....
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Pleasures of Packing
When I discovered I would be staying at home full-time I decided that I needed to tackle a project of some sort each day. Some days it might be something simple like cleaning the bathroom from top to bottom, or maybe the kids room. Other days I might plan a bigger project, but I wanted to make sure that I accomplished something around the house each day.
Yesterday, I thought that I would start to pack some of the things I don't use every day. We sold our house and we will be closing on it, along with our new house, in about 5 weeks. We are a family of 6 and you don't just pack up a house in a couple of days. So, I thought I would start in my craft room.
Scott and I bought boxes a couple weeks ago and they've been out in the garage just staring at me, waiting to be taped and filled. I grabbed a couple of boxes and headed down to my craft room. I filled 4 boxes and barely made a dent in what I have. Just packing up this little 15 by 15 area started to overwhelm me.
My answer, go into Scott's hunting room and pack some things in there. Good plan. This room is the only one in our house that isn't completely finished. It's downstairs and the walls are painted but we didn't put a drop ceiling in like the rest of our basement. It's big, the same size as our family room. Scott has all of his hunting stuff and reloading stuff on one end and the treadmill is down on the other end of the room. I have a couple shelves and filing cabinets next to the treadmill that are filled with office supplies and books as well as my paralegal books.
I did actually get this area packed up. I also made a HUGE pile of crap that I don't need to haul to the new house. Our trash guy is going to hate us over the next couple of weeks because our dumpster is full with several bags sitting on the side. Sorry dude!
So my big adventure was packing up 6 boxes and I'm wondering how I'm ever going to get this house packed up? I have so much stuff it's ridiculous. Big families have lots of shit right. Well, the amount of stuff we have is beyond "lots".
The task of packing just feels overwhelming to me right now. I'll pick away at it and then we'll get closer and closer and I'll really be freaking out. I'm trying to sort through stuff and take what I don't need to
Goodwill. I've already got a big load to take. I was hoping to go tomorrow, but Scott thinks he'll need my truck again. It is spring, after all, so Michigan is under a winter storm warning and we got ice last night. Scott works 25 miles north of here, and it was even worse so he needs the 4-wheel drive.
And, even though our new house is much bigger and has more storage and closet space, I don't want to move all this crap. I've been sorting through the kids clothes to take the things that don't fit them anymore. Why move it when it won't be worn again right?
Working for Two Men And A Truck for a few years, I've learned a few shortcuts for packing and moving. Hopefully it won't be as bad as I think it is. :)
I was thinking about when we sold our house up in Chippewa Lake and moved to Ohio. We moved from Chippewa Lake to Ottawa, Ohio then back to my parents house in Michigan for 3 weeks, then to a house we rented until we bought the house we live in now. In 14 months we moved 4 times. WTF, I don't know how I still have so much stuff. You'd think I would be tired of hauling boxes from place to place.
All I can say is that Scott will be hard pressed to get me to move again once we are settled in this new house. We knew when we bought this house we wouldn't stay in it long term. It's in town and living in town sucks when you're used to living in the country. Plus, Scott and Jason like to hunt and target practice. And we have a big dog that has bitten our neighbors dog.....not cool. We just weren't meant to live in the city. I like it here, but I'll like the bigger house and having woods around me instead of neighbors.
I just have to get past the packing and unpacking business. If I had a butt load of money, I'd pay movers to come in and pack us up and move us. People do it all the time. But, it's expensive. Plus, I don't want the guys I used to work with sorting through all our stuff, lol. How embarassing. I'm too cheap anyways.
Wish me luck, I'm going to need it.
Yesterday, I thought that I would start to pack some of the things I don't use every day. We sold our house and we will be closing on it, along with our new house, in about 5 weeks. We are a family of 6 and you don't just pack up a house in a couple of days. So, I thought I would start in my craft room.
Scott and I bought boxes a couple weeks ago and they've been out in the garage just staring at me, waiting to be taped and filled. I grabbed a couple of boxes and headed down to my craft room. I filled 4 boxes and barely made a dent in what I have. Just packing up this little 15 by 15 area started to overwhelm me.
My answer, go into Scott's hunting room and pack some things in there. Good plan. This room is the only one in our house that isn't completely finished. It's downstairs and the walls are painted but we didn't put a drop ceiling in like the rest of our basement. It's big, the same size as our family room. Scott has all of his hunting stuff and reloading stuff on one end and the treadmill is down on the other end of the room. I have a couple shelves and filing cabinets next to the treadmill that are filled with office supplies and books as well as my paralegal books.
I did actually get this area packed up. I also made a HUGE pile of crap that I don't need to haul to the new house. Our trash guy is going to hate us over the next couple of weeks because our dumpster is full with several bags sitting on the side. Sorry dude!
So my big adventure was packing up 6 boxes and I'm wondering how I'm ever going to get this house packed up? I have so much stuff it's ridiculous. Big families have lots of shit right. Well, the amount of stuff we have is beyond "lots".
The task of packing just feels overwhelming to me right now. I'll pick away at it and then we'll get closer and closer and I'll really be freaking out. I'm trying to sort through stuff and take what I don't need to
Goodwill. I've already got a big load to take. I was hoping to go tomorrow, but Scott thinks he'll need my truck again. It is spring, after all, so Michigan is under a winter storm warning and we got ice last night. Scott works 25 miles north of here, and it was even worse so he needs the 4-wheel drive.
And, even though our new house is much bigger and has more storage and closet space, I don't want to move all this crap. I've been sorting through the kids clothes to take the things that don't fit them anymore. Why move it when it won't be worn again right?
Working for Two Men And A Truck for a few years, I've learned a few shortcuts for packing and moving. Hopefully it won't be as bad as I think it is. :)
I was thinking about when we sold our house up in Chippewa Lake and moved to Ohio. We moved from Chippewa Lake to Ottawa, Ohio then back to my parents house in Michigan for 3 weeks, then to a house we rented until we bought the house we live in now. In 14 months we moved 4 times. WTF, I don't know how I still have so much stuff. You'd think I would be tired of hauling boxes from place to place.
All I can say is that Scott will be hard pressed to get me to move again once we are settled in this new house. We knew when we bought this house we wouldn't stay in it long term. It's in town and living in town sucks when you're used to living in the country. Plus, Scott and Jason like to hunt and target practice. And we have a big dog that has bitten our neighbors dog.....not cool. We just weren't meant to live in the city. I like it here, but I'll like the bigger house and having woods around me instead of neighbors.
I just have to get past the packing and unpacking business. If I had a butt load of money, I'd pay movers to come in and pack us up and move us. People do it all the time. But, it's expensive. Plus, I don't want the guys I used to work with sorting through all our stuff, lol. How embarassing. I'm too cheap anyways.
Wish me luck, I'm going to need it.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
To Be Or Not To Be......A Stay At Home Mom
It's spring here in Michigan and true to it's unpredictible nature, we have a winter storm warning until tomorrow night. I was sitting at the kitchen table posting comments on my facebook page this afternoon and I looked out front to see rain, and then a few minutes later it was sleet. Then, heavy snow started to fall. Guess Mother Nature can't make up her mind what she wants for West Michigan.
I'm so ready for spring. I have so many plans for the summer, now that I'm a stay at home mom. For the last 6 or 8 months I'd been back and forth about wanting to take the plunge and stay home. It took weekly therapy sessions and a job offer to actually get me to take the step. Then, a meltdown at my Coldwell Banker job led to me being home.
It came about in an odd way, but my kids and my husband are really happy about me being home. For the first time in a very long time, I am caught up with the laundry and my house is clean more than 2 hours out of the week. I make dinner every night and even bake goodies for my kids. They keep telling me how much they like me being home.
When Jason and Jourdan were young, I couldn't stay home. Jason was 3 and Jourdan was only 9 months old when I left Paul and moved into my very first apartment. I had to work full time. Actually, at that time I was working 55 hours a week as a bookkeeper for a sod company. The job was good, but it was tough being gone so much. I didn't see the kids as much as I wanted. They were so young and I missed out on alot. I had to work. It was the only way that I was going to feed my kids and keep a roof over their heads. At the time, Paul paid $40 a week in child support. For two kids. Amazing isn't it?
So, I worked and I had babysitters raising my kids. When I look back on it, wow did it suck. Paul got out of work early so he would get the kids after he was done working so it was a little bit easier on them. They were with a babysitter until 2:30 instead of 5pm.
Anyhow, I always regretted that I wasn't at home with them when they were little. But I did what I had to do to survive. When John was born, we had just sold our store and were trying to sell our house so we could go to Ohio to be with Scott's mom. I was able to be home with him when he was little, and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Life went on and we had alot of changes. We moved to Ohio and then back to Michigan and had Sami. When she was a baby I got my job at Two Men And Truck and stayed there for almost 3 years. I loved working there, it was a great job. But, I was missing out on raising my kids....again. Sami was in daycare all day 3 days a week. I know, that's not full-time, but it was still hard on me. And I think it was hard on her.
Sami started on this kick of whining and crying about everything. She would give me a hard time about going to daycare. I know it wasn't the daycare because she used to cry when she didn't go there. There were lots of kids her age and I know that it wasn't daycare that was bothering her. She just wanted to be home with her mom.
Last week when I told her that I didn't have to go to work, she kept saying, "mommy I so happy".
So what am I really giving up here? We're going to sell our camper. But, Scott is going to buy a boat so I guess that really equals out. What I'm really giving up is a daycare bill, $75 a week in fuel to drive back and forth to work, and eating out all the time. When I was working I would be so tired when I got home....it would be 5 or 6pm and everyone would be ready for dinner and I had no idea what to make at the last minute. So, we ate out alot. We did on the weekends too. Since I've been home we haven't eaten out once.
I went through our checkbook and added up what I was spending on daycare, fuel, and eating out and we were actually behind compared to my income. We just had the idea that since I worked we had extra money and we could eat out anytime we wanted. Stupid! When I really looked at our money, I realized that we were pissing away alot of money.
So, I'm home now and we'll tighten our belt some so we can still be comfortable. One of the things that we wanted was to sell our house. We live in town and have city water and sewer. These two bills alone cost us $200 a month. Well, we sold our house and with the difference in our interest rate we are getting a house that is twice as big, almost twice as expensive and only $100 more a month on the house payment than we have now. And no water/sewer bill. Yay! Plus, our property taxes will be about $1000 less per year.
So now, my mission is to find ways to make a few extra bucks here and there. I've been doing tax returns for people. I also do Chapter 7 bankruptcies. I'm working on one right now. I've been thinking about putting an ad on Craigslist and in our local shoppers guide for preparing Chapter 7 bankruptcies and maybe even offering to type of wills. I have a friend who's an attorney, so that is helpful. I've talked to him to see what I can and cannot do....don't want to get into any trouble.
I made $275 this week on one tax return and a bankruptcy. Not bad for a weeks work huh? I just need to get the word out.....and not give any legal advice.
Not a very exciting post tonight. I had soemthing political in mind....but I think I'll save that for tomorrow. ;) For now, I'm going to try to sleep. I was up way too late last night and the kids are up bright and early for school.
I'm so ready for spring. I have so many plans for the summer, now that I'm a stay at home mom. For the last 6 or 8 months I'd been back and forth about wanting to take the plunge and stay home. It took weekly therapy sessions and a job offer to actually get me to take the step. Then, a meltdown at my Coldwell Banker job led to me being home.
It came about in an odd way, but my kids and my husband are really happy about me being home. For the first time in a very long time, I am caught up with the laundry and my house is clean more than 2 hours out of the week. I make dinner every night and even bake goodies for my kids. They keep telling me how much they like me being home.
When Jason and Jourdan were young, I couldn't stay home. Jason was 3 and Jourdan was only 9 months old when I left Paul and moved into my very first apartment. I had to work full time. Actually, at that time I was working 55 hours a week as a bookkeeper for a sod company. The job was good, but it was tough being gone so much. I didn't see the kids as much as I wanted. They were so young and I missed out on alot. I had to work. It was the only way that I was going to feed my kids and keep a roof over their heads. At the time, Paul paid $40 a week in child support. For two kids. Amazing isn't it?
So, I worked and I had babysitters raising my kids. When I look back on it, wow did it suck. Paul got out of work early so he would get the kids after he was done working so it was a little bit easier on them. They were with a babysitter until 2:30 instead of 5pm.
Anyhow, I always regretted that I wasn't at home with them when they were little. But I did what I had to do to survive. When John was born, we had just sold our store and were trying to sell our house so we could go to Ohio to be with Scott's mom. I was able to be home with him when he was little, and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Life went on and we had alot of changes. We moved to Ohio and then back to Michigan and had Sami. When she was a baby I got my job at Two Men And Truck and stayed there for almost 3 years. I loved working there, it was a great job. But, I was missing out on raising my kids....again. Sami was in daycare all day 3 days a week. I know, that's not full-time, but it was still hard on me. And I think it was hard on her.
Sami started on this kick of whining and crying about everything. She would give me a hard time about going to daycare. I know it wasn't the daycare because she used to cry when she didn't go there. There were lots of kids her age and I know that it wasn't daycare that was bothering her. She just wanted to be home with her mom.
Last week when I told her that I didn't have to go to work, she kept saying, "mommy I so happy".
So what am I really giving up here? We're going to sell our camper. But, Scott is going to buy a boat so I guess that really equals out. What I'm really giving up is a daycare bill, $75 a week in fuel to drive back and forth to work, and eating out all the time. When I was working I would be so tired when I got home....it would be 5 or 6pm and everyone would be ready for dinner and I had no idea what to make at the last minute. So, we ate out alot. We did on the weekends too. Since I've been home we haven't eaten out once.
I went through our checkbook and added up what I was spending on daycare, fuel, and eating out and we were actually behind compared to my income. We just had the idea that since I worked we had extra money and we could eat out anytime we wanted. Stupid! When I really looked at our money, I realized that we were pissing away alot of money.
So, I'm home now and we'll tighten our belt some so we can still be comfortable. One of the things that we wanted was to sell our house. We live in town and have city water and sewer. These two bills alone cost us $200 a month. Well, we sold our house and with the difference in our interest rate we are getting a house that is twice as big, almost twice as expensive and only $100 more a month on the house payment than we have now. And no water/sewer bill. Yay! Plus, our property taxes will be about $1000 less per year.
So now, my mission is to find ways to make a few extra bucks here and there. I've been doing tax returns for people. I also do Chapter 7 bankruptcies. I'm working on one right now. I've been thinking about putting an ad on Craigslist and in our local shoppers guide for preparing Chapter 7 bankruptcies and maybe even offering to type of wills. I have a friend who's an attorney, so that is helpful. I've talked to him to see what I can and cannot do....don't want to get into any trouble.
I made $275 this week on one tax return and a bankruptcy. Not bad for a weeks work huh? I just need to get the word out.....and not give any legal advice.
Not a very exciting post tonight. I had soemthing political in mind....but I think I'll save that for tomorrow. ;) For now, I'm going to try to sleep. I was up way too late last night and the kids are up bright and early for school.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Movie Critic
I discovered a wonderful thing several months ago. Netflix! I know, you're thinking this topic is...dullsville! But wait, I have a great reason for loving it.
Scott and I have some seriously different tastes in movies. We have a routine here in our house. Scott gets up super early so he usually goes to bed first. By the time I get the kids around for bed and tucked in, he's got some stupid blood and guts guy movie on in the bedroom. Makes me want to bang my head against the wall.
So, my answer to this problem was Netflix. They send us one DVD at a time, which I will put in my laptop and watch with my earphones in. I can completely block out his stupid movie, and it's probably pretty entertaining to watch me crying or laughing to myself while watching the computer. Oh well.
The other thing I love is the streaming movies. I discovered "The Ugly Truth" with Gerard Butler.....hot! This movie is not for kids, but I have watched it probably 50 times. When there isn't anything on TV I'll watch it. After all, we only have 250 channels on Directv......
Anyhow, they have hundreds of movies you can stream on your computer. My kids like it because they can watch movies on their Ipods and Jason can watch movies at school.
This has me thinking. I could be like a film critic and blog about the movies I watch. I'll become rich and famous and people will hang on my every word when it comes to which movies to watch. LOL Just kidding. I'm not a big movie goer. Scott and I used to be. But have you seen the price of a theatre ticket lately? And we'd have to take out a second mortgage if we wanted popcorn and a soda.
Maybe I could watch old movies and report. Yeah, that would be exciting wouldn't it? Guess I should probably come up with a different get rich scheme.
At any rate, I love Gerard Butler and I could watch "The Ugly Truth" over and over. It's definitely not for kids, it's a little raunchy in spots....I forward past them. Oh, they just started streaming "The Bounty Hunter" with Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston. That's pretty good too.
I like the romantic comedy. I think that's probably my favorite type of movie. "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock is good too. I like that they go to Sitka, Alaska. Ever since Scott and I visited Alaska I've been a little partial to the state. Don't want to live there of course, but it's a great place to visit.
I'm trying to think about my other favorite movies. It's so funny because Scott likes movies like "Godzilla vs. Mothra", "The Beguiled" (did I even spell that right, lol?) and every evening he subjects us to "The Rifleman" with Chuck Conners. Talk about a nerdy show, I roll my eyes and give Scott the stink eye everytime he makes me watch it.....just about daily.
It all works out though, he falls asleep early and I usually get to watch whatever I want. Last night I sat in bed and watched "The Ugly Truth". What I failed to mention earlier is that the earphones are also a great way to block out the snoring.....
Until next time....
Scott and I have some seriously different tastes in movies. We have a routine here in our house. Scott gets up super early so he usually goes to bed first. By the time I get the kids around for bed and tucked in, he's got some stupid blood and guts guy movie on in the bedroom. Makes me want to bang my head against the wall.
So, my answer to this problem was Netflix. They send us one DVD at a time, which I will put in my laptop and watch with my earphones in. I can completely block out his stupid movie, and it's probably pretty entertaining to watch me crying or laughing to myself while watching the computer. Oh well.
The other thing I love is the streaming movies. I discovered "The Ugly Truth" with Gerard Butler.....hot! This movie is not for kids, but I have watched it probably 50 times. When there isn't anything on TV I'll watch it. After all, we only have 250 channels on Directv......
Anyhow, they have hundreds of movies you can stream on your computer. My kids like it because they can watch movies on their Ipods and Jason can watch movies at school.
This has me thinking. I could be like a film critic and blog about the movies I watch. I'll become rich and famous and people will hang on my every word when it comes to which movies to watch. LOL Just kidding. I'm not a big movie goer. Scott and I used to be. But have you seen the price of a theatre ticket lately? And we'd have to take out a second mortgage if we wanted popcorn and a soda.
Maybe I could watch old movies and report. Yeah, that would be exciting wouldn't it? Guess I should probably come up with a different get rich scheme.
At any rate, I love Gerard Butler and I could watch "The Ugly Truth" over and over. It's definitely not for kids, it's a little raunchy in spots....I forward past them. Oh, they just started streaming "The Bounty Hunter" with Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston. That's pretty good too.
I like the romantic comedy. I think that's probably my favorite type of movie. "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock is good too. I like that they go to Sitka, Alaska. Ever since Scott and I visited Alaska I've been a little partial to the state. Don't want to live there of course, but it's a great place to visit.
I'm trying to think about my other favorite movies. It's so funny because Scott likes movies like "Godzilla vs. Mothra", "The Beguiled" (did I even spell that right, lol?) and every evening he subjects us to "The Rifleman" with Chuck Conners. Talk about a nerdy show, I roll my eyes and give Scott the stink eye everytime he makes me watch it.....just about daily.
It all works out though, he falls asleep early and I usually get to watch whatever I want. Last night I sat in bed and watched "The Ugly Truth". What I failed to mention earlier is that the earphones are also a great way to block out the snoring.....
Until next time....
Sunday, March 6, 2011
A New Direction
I realize it's been a really long time since I've been here. Writing on my blog has been such a great release of tension for me, and lately I haven't even had time to do that. But here I am, and I'm asking for your help.
I'd like to take my blog in a new direction. I've written about just about every topic I can think of, and alot of times I'm just rambling on and on. If you stop in regularly you know what I'm talking about. But I'm starting a new chapter in my life. One that focuses on my family. My family has taken a backseat to an awful lot in my life lately. My job, stress, anxiety, yada yada yada. I'm tired of that.
So, I had a couple of ideas. I was thinking about blogging about different things that happen in my life. Opinions I guess you could say, on restaurants, stores, online shopping, books. Things like that. I guess I don't have to just nail myself down to one thing. I'm looking for ideas.
I'm pretty craft, I've been thinking about starting a craft business of sorts, and opening a little ebay shop or something like that. Not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm damn creative. Years ago when Jourdan was just a baby I did a craft business and made pretty good money at it, and this wasy way before Ebay. I actually had to go to craft shows and such.
And, I could always talk about politics, lol. I could go on and on about politics. But that might alienate some of my more liberal friends....if I actually have any left. Just kidding.
I was thinking, as I am sitting here listening to the music that plays on my blog, I should probably update that as well. I could write about being a stay at home mom and all the things I go through, trying to relate to other mom's....we could talk about how many times a day we watch "Dora The Explorer". No, that's no good, lol.
I've got a second blog set up that has recipees on it. But I'm the only one who posts anything there.
I think that people are just busy. As I just wrote, I've been so busy that I didn't even have time to get online and write on my blog. I don't even get on facebook that much anymore, all because of time. So, if I'm going to have the pleasure of someone stopping by and reading my blog, I don't want it to be dribble.
So, friends of mine, I'm putting it out there. I'm looking for some ideas. I'd like to get my friends to start blogs of their own. I'd like to read books and then write about them here. And I want to read my friends blogs and post comments. I really miss that. For the longest time I looked forward to getting the kids in bed at night and turning on my computer so I could write in my blog and then read Beth's post from the night before. I haven't done that in so long. I'm goint to remedy that tonight.
Something is changing in my life. Not everyone knows yet, so I need to be careful....just for today...but things are going to be changing in my life. For the good! I'll have the time to do some things that I enjoy for a change. And I'll be able to take care of my family like a mom should.
With that said, I will say goodnight. I will have something wonderful to write about tomorrow, I promise. If you choose to follow my blog I appreciate it. Please, feel free to comment on my posts. And feel free to share any ideas you may have for me.
I'd like to take my blog in a new direction. I've written about just about every topic I can think of, and alot of times I'm just rambling on and on. If you stop in regularly you know what I'm talking about. But I'm starting a new chapter in my life. One that focuses on my family. My family has taken a backseat to an awful lot in my life lately. My job, stress, anxiety, yada yada yada. I'm tired of that.
So, I had a couple of ideas. I was thinking about blogging about different things that happen in my life. Opinions I guess you could say, on restaurants, stores, online shopping, books. Things like that. I guess I don't have to just nail myself down to one thing. I'm looking for ideas.
I'm pretty craft, I've been thinking about starting a craft business of sorts, and opening a little ebay shop or something like that. Not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm damn creative. Years ago when Jourdan was just a baby I did a craft business and made pretty good money at it, and this wasy way before Ebay. I actually had to go to craft shows and such.
And, I could always talk about politics, lol. I could go on and on about politics. But that might alienate some of my more liberal friends....if I actually have any left. Just kidding.
I was thinking, as I am sitting here listening to the music that plays on my blog, I should probably update that as well. I could write about being a stay at home mom and all the things I go through, trying to relate to other mom's....we could talk about how many times a day we watch "Dora The Explorer". No, that's no good, lol.
I've got a second blog set up that has recipees on it. But I'm the only one who posts anything there.
I think that people are just busy. As I just wrote, I've been so busy that I didn't even have time to get online and write on my blog. I don't even get on facebook that much anymore, all because of time. So, if I'm going to have the pleasure of someone stopping by and reading my blog, I don't want it to be dribble.
So, friends of mine, I'm putting it out there. I'm looking for some ideas. I'd like to get my friends to start blogs of their own. I'd like to read books and then write about them here. And I want to read my friends blogs and post comments. I really miss that. For the longest time I looked forward to getting the kids in bed at night and turning on my computer so I could write in my blog and then read Beth's post from the night before. I haven't done that in so long. I'm goint to remedy that tonight.
Something is changing in my life. Not everyone knows yet, so I need to be careful....just for today...but things are going to be changing in my life. For the good! I'll have the time to do some things that I enjoy for a change. And I'll be able to take care of my family like a mom should.
With that said, I will say goodnight. I will have something wonderful to write about tomorrow, I promise. If you choose to follow my blog I appreciate it. Please, feel free to comment on my posts. And feel free to share any ideas you may have for me.
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