Well, we are back from New York! I worked Saturday and Sunday at the real estate office and tomorrow back to the nanny job! Oldest will be off school all week. Not sure what we will do, but hoping to play at the park as something free to do!

New York was cool. Very loud and busy. Just missed MJRube. Was right outside her office! I know she is swamped with the stock market in the current shape it is in!

Here is a picture of DD1 and I in Central Park:


Going to try to keep this a no spend week.

DH got his first check from the new job. Of course in a check, no direct deposit, grrrr...

Updated my debt amounts on the sidebar. Not sure how I will finish paying the bills this month. Seriously out of money!! Juggle I will. May need to borrow the insurance money from mom again, so that amount will go up. Sigh.

Happy Spring everyone!

Soooo, in January I got to go to New York FOR FREE! I booked my daughters girl scout troop with EF tours and not only do I get my trip for free, but I got to go on a training trip so I could see first hand what happens on our tour. It was SO COOL! New York city was AWESOME! My flight, hotel,2 meals and tickets, and transportation were all FREE! I took about $140 and brought home almost $100. All I had to buy was lunches and I did not buy any souvenirs as I decided to wait until I went back with my daughter.

We fund raised long and hard for this trip. It is well deserved for my girls! In the end, we ended up only having to pay $200 for my daughters ticket.

We leave on Sunday for our trip! I am sure this time will be a little more expensive, but I will try not to overdo. I am excited for my daughter to see the city. Two Broadway shows, Mama Mia and Anything Goes.

Sounds more fun than the good news and the bad news!

Good news! DH got a job! Although he is going to keep working at his commission job (although he has still yet make a commission!) he will start working at Home Depot part time. Does not pay much, but it does offer benefits. He did not get the store close to home, but hopefully after a while he can transfer. Gas is too high.
I must admit, he is NOT happy, but I am THRILLED!!

Bad news. Ugh. DD1 did not get the full ride scholarship she interviewed for. They brought in 30 kids and were giving away 5 scholarships. She was number 6. She is very upset and I don't blame her. She is an alternate, so that if anyone chooses not to accept, she will get it, but the lady said it sounded like all would be accepting. Cross your fingers one of them gets a better scholarship to a school they want to go to school to more. An alternate gives you a sense of hope that I don't want to count on.
So, we are busily filling out every scholarship application we can qualify for!!

Had chili in the crock pot for dinner. Not sure what to have tomorrow night.

Woo hoo!

How about that! I am very excited and thanks to everyone who sent well wishes!

Now I need to shake a stick and get back on here.

Since Dh has been "self employed" the last couple of years,we have had to have our taxes done. Our guy charges $175, which I don't think is too bad.

Looks like our "income" will be around 32000, but our medical expenses alone (with premiums) will be around 20000! Hope we get some back!

Still waiting on a K1 from the ex brother in law, and I have to find the interest report from the bank, then we will be ready to call him.

This year more is at stake as I have to apply for FSFHA for DD1 and myself so we can get college money. I can't wait to see what our ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME is. Maybe being poor will pay off in this situation.

Still trying to get DH to get a job that pays money. Hmpf.

I have been reading up on all of you (yes, stalking)! and it is wonderful to see what everyone has been up too! Looks like many of you will be happy to see this year go and many of you accomplished amazing things this year!

I am hoping to be back in the saddle for the New Year with a few attainable goals.

So happy you are all still here keepin the frugal train running!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! :-)

Won't have time to update! Too much to do! Will catch up on Febs totals when I'm coherent again!
Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes!

(Forgot to tell you, they are going to use a ROBOT!! Wonder what he will charge! Reminds of a song from the 80's!)

Right???
We are still up in the air, up side down, up a creek, etc.. etc..
DH has still not taken over paying the bills, I am still robbing Peter to pay Paul and wondering how we do Christmas, tires, front end alignment, car inspection and renewal, personal property tax, and on and on.
Anyway, some had wondered where I went. I am still lurking in the blogs. I am just disgusted with our financial life still. Someday my blog will be spunky and frugal again....

Still a financial mess. When will I grow up and get out of this? Stay tuned.

Still have to post pics of the bathroom upstairs. Haven't forgotten!

Still have to open new checking/savings account at the credit union.

Still have to be firm and make DH pay these stupid bills. He has slowly dumped it back on me!!

Still have to decide about Christmas. Thinking of doing Kmart layaway.

Still......

Two of the abandoned new homes subdivisions I pass on my way to work have sprung new life. Can't wait to see what happens! Especially since the first time homebuyer money will be up soon!

Still need to take pics of the bathroom. Will get to it soon!

DD1 turned 17 today! Wow! She can legally see rated R movies. She is very excited about this!

Back to work is going fine. Learning how to pump the car seat again. Those things are heavy! Mainly, feed the baby, change the baby, rock the baby, rinse, repeat!

Can't wait for my first check this weekend, so I can go open my own savings account at the credit union!

Well, tomorrow I go back to work. (The nanny job). Instead of focusing on how uptight the mom is, I have decided to focus on the kids. When I went to visit on Friday to get the run down on the routine from mom, the three year old ran up and hugged me so tight. She missed me so much! I can't wait to spend time with her again! And the baby was really good.

I am still working weekends at the real estate office too, so I guess I am working two jobs! And in November, my friend is opening up his Christmas Store at the mall and I will be working there too!

Still have a few things left on my "to do" list that I did'nt get to. Will try to squeeze in finishing them up. Mostly getting the girls bathroom finished before our German exchange student gets here in two weeks. I took before picks, so I will post when I am all done! The pics of this bath are in my archives. How quickly the kids can tear up a bathroom, it was only two years ago!

That's it. Just, I'm eating M&M's. I guess, to make it financial, I could say I splurged on some M&M's, but whatever. They are good. I love chocolate!

Boy, we are poorer than dirt, but I love being a SAHM again! I believe that is my true calling in life! The weather has been gorgeous, DH is home during the day, so we get to spend more time together, and I have been getting TONS done around the house!

I have proposed to DH another payment plan that includes borrowing from the 401K and turning all the bills over to him. Still waiting for his answer.

This is insane! Our local Hummer dealer could'nt sell his autos any more. So he has become an ARMS DEALER TOO!! Hummers on one side, automatic rifles on the other. I guess its whatever it takes in this economy, but OMG! Got Glocks??

The friend I baby sit for had her baby today, a little early. A healthy little girl.

I had figured up the bills hoping to get two more checks in August. Am hoping to still be able to do some sitting this week so that I still get my check Friday. Will try to sell some stuff on ebay to make up for some of what I will miss from the one on the 28th.

I had applied at the school district for subbing, I just have to drop off my background check form and a $9 money order for them to send it in. Picked up two cleaning jobs that will help out some.

We have a $75 rebate Mastercard coming. Am hoping to use this for food.

$112 dollars later and 3 medications, it looks like our dog did not have a stroke, but has a bulging disk perhaps? The vet can only guess. She has steriods, antibiotics and pain killers. We could have gone for the $2100 spinal work up, but hey, I will be unemployed soon. So we try the cheap route and hope for the best!!

We leave for vacation on Thursday. We rented a condo at "The Lake". If you are from Missouri, you know exactly where we will be! Trying to keep this as frugal as possible, we will probably only eat out once at our favorite restaurant there and maybe one fast food time. Planning on a little boat time, lots of pool time and some family game time! :-) I will search the outlet malls and see if I can find any awesome bargains that I can resell on ebay.

Have a great day everybody! Looks to be a rainy one here! Having our bbq. Not too expensive as everyone pitches in. I guess the most expensive will be the hamburger and brats. I already had the hot dogs.
Anyway, enjoy, whatever you are doing!

There are just those moments in a girls life when you can't get between her and chocolate, ya know??
Took DD3 up to Walgreens and we picked up the 3/$3 special. Yum! :P

Took DD2 to camp last Sunday. I couldn't sleep Sunday night thinking about her in this heat! Right now it is 93 degrees and it is 11:45 at night!! I will get to pick her up Sunday for a short "home" visit and then take her back. I hope she is having fun despite the heat, but I have'nt received any letters from her yet. Will keep you posted!

Hope all you fantastic Dad's out there on the blogs have a spectacular Fathers Day!!

Any suggestions would be helpful! Assuming my position stays as is, this is what I have come up with:

More play doh!
Legos! the girls don't have any. Will look for some in garage sales.
Free movies. Two theaters show them!
She has dollys and a doll house.
Library?
Baking/cooking

Bring em!!!

Just found out one of the little girls I babysit for broke her leg over the weekend. No weight on it for 6 weeks. No swimming, no Six Flags, no park, no playplace. Ugh. My own kids have been in casts in the summer time and I am okay with that part. I am just concerned because mama is waiting to see if she will get the ax for her job and taking more time off to go to the specialist and etc. will not look good. She also came home early on Fri. because she did not feel good, so they had sent her home from work.
Will keep you posted.

On a better note, had a great weekend! Got taken to the winery for my belated "going away party" from my old job. Then we have had graduations and graduation parties! Fun! Tomorrow we are going to an awards ceremony for DD1's Girl Scout Gold Award. This award will help with scholarships! Yeah!

I was buoyed by my two payoffs, but am now back in draggin' land. Seems like the "I need" emergencies keep popping up like crazy with the end of the year festivities. Barely able to juggle and rob Peter to pay Paul. We are still eating in and the cupboard is getting a little bare. We are going to start reaching the freezer burn yum yums soon. June should be a little better as far as the money, but I think that and the "I need" emergencies pop up again!

Enjoying the new job as much as I can. I already got a raise and they have begged me to continue in the fall when the baby comes. I will tell them yes, as prospects of a "real job" are still extremely slim right now. I will tell them we will reassess at Christmastime.

DD1 is doing a German exchange student program. Our student comes in October. I am pleased to say, besides spending money, which she has saved for, all it will cost is the plane ticket. What a relief! We will start fundraising soon!

While my friend Ray is off on her lovely Mexican holiday, I am going to stay at home and catch up on well, lots of stuff! I get a nice vacation this weekend. I am off from Fri to Wed!! And it is a paid vacation. My little family that I nanny for is off for a Florida vacation, so that makes a vacation for me! Today I checked a few of those pesky things off my list that have been staring at me. We had some really dusty air return vents. My daughters dresser needed a nice fresh coat of paint and the office, well, is a mess! I have a lot more cleaning and touch up painting to do, plus some organizing as well. But I am going to do it at a leisurely pace and hopefully spend some fun time with family and friends too!

Have a fun holiday weekend!

Since we are at about $0 in the account, we have been eating from our pantry, freezer. I sure like that DH has been cooking since he has been working from home. I scrounge and he cooks! Hamburgers last night, chicken tonight. Wonder what I will find for tomorrow night??

Mothers Day was nice, even without the high cost! I gave my mom a nice card, DH gave his flowers and candy. Time spent together was the best gift of all!
Love that DD1 gave me a whole bag of Reeses Peanut Butter cups! I am guarding them with my life from DD3!!! DD2 sewed me a cute elephant and gave me flowers and DD3 gave me a candle and some "coupons". The hub gave a box of chocolates and took us to Bread Co for lunch/dinner (had a GC)!
Redeemed my Mypoints for a $25 Red Lobster GC to use for DH for Fathers Day. Searching Craigslist for a golf push cart that rolls your clubs for you. Probably give him that and some GCs. Gotta plan ahead!

I recently was watching an infommercial on the "In-Styler" hair tool. It allows you to straighten your hair, while curling your hair? Anyway, I thought it looked neat and with three girls, we do experiment occasionally with different hair "gadgets". The price was reasonable, $14.99 + shipping, but I am too cheap to really get it. But then I thought about my PayPal account which has some money just sitting in it. Perhaps I could find this cheaper on ebay? So off to ebay I went. Here is where the gullible part comes in, these things were going on ebay for $60+ dollars!!! Holy cow people! Go to In Styler.com and get it for $14.99!! Geeze! So now I am thinking, the infommercial offers 2 for $14.99. Perhaps I will purchase this and sell the other one on ebay and make my money back, plus some. I am just amazed that people do not research before they buy!

Yes, I took the nanny job and now I am working out my two weeks notice. I am cautiously optimistic about the way things are moving. If I hate it by the end of the summer, I will move on and find another job.
More money! Will keep you posted on the transition!