Clean Garage

The last of my Garage Clutter has been picked up. Hopefully by someone whom can use it. The only thing that I sold at my Garage Sale that I'm feeling somewhat regretful about would be Tyler's old Ralph Lauren Polo Bear Bedding set. He won't miss it. But I've always been a little partial to the set. I was just in the mind set of cleaning out my Garage. I'm so tired of having extra stuff. There's no point in having things that aren't being utilized in some way or another.

So now its already Sunday afternoon. We went out for lunch today, we went to Red Lobster in a small nearby town. The food was great, I ordered the Shrimp Scampi and My husband ordered Shrimp Linguine. There were only two servers working, service was a little slow, for the most part, we had a great experience. We've been home for some time now, I've been continuously hoping that my daughter Adicyn would take a nap, lol. I haven't been able to accomplish as much as I'd hoped for today. I did get my SUV all clean and vacuumed. I love our Craftsman Wall Vac. Its so nice to vacuum our vehicles without ever leaving the comfort of our home. I also detailed the inside. I need to buy some leather cleaner for the interior. Now it looks great inside and out!

I've also been looking at BMW's today, now the only question is..do I buy a 3 series or a 5 series, and do I want a vert? I know that I want it to be Black on Black or possibly Silver Exterior with Black interior. I've been leaning more towards and automatic instead of a manual transmission too. We already have two Mustang's, they are both manual GT's. I'm really hoping for something that's a little more relaxing to drive. I hope to have it in my driveway within the next two weeks. Our Auto insurance is also up for renewal, so I need to check on rates to add the new car. We have full coverage on all three vehicles now and I want to keep it that way. We currently use Geico but I will be checking out other rates for the renewal, but there's no point in doing so, until I get the new car.

Ahhh, so I'm relaxing on my sofa right now, just Adicyn and Mommy. We are watching one of my favorite TV shows -House Hunters International. This woman is searching for a Summer home in Belize, A Beach Home! I can't wait until we are financially ready to purchase a Beach Home on the water. Soon, I hope.

I just love a productive day!

 Today was quite productive indeed! I awoke early, started to get my Garage Sale in order at 5:00 A.M. -I finished up my Garage Sale at 11:00 A.M., I had a few stragglers at the end, and I was so ready to finish, I told them all, "come on up, anything you want, just take it, It's FREE!" These people could not believe their ears. I went inside to get each person a large trash bag and handed them out. They had a lot of fun shopping at a Free Garage Sale. Some of them said to us, "you just don't know what a blessing that you have been to us".

I like to sell things this is true...but even better, I love to just give things away, but only to people whom are appreciative. I have always been a giver. Anyone who knows me can vouch for this. Even as a young child, if I had something and someone else said they liked it or wanted it, I would just give it to them. My son Trey gets this from me. Trey is a young child with a big heart.

Okay, so I said today was productive. I didn't just mean because of the garage sale, even though I made over $200.00 today. Nice, lol. After we wrapped everything up, Chris wanted to drive out to Butler. Yes, to look at a gun. Of course he ended up purchasing a new gun. I think that he said it's a Colt 1911, something like that. I stayed in the car. I don't care too much for chasing a two year old around a Fire Arms store. He's so excited to have another new gun.

After, we drove to Macon to eat lunch at Texas Cattle Company. The food is great, and I used to love to eat there whenever they had a Restaurant in our town. I went on a lot of "First Dates" there. lol, that's been a long time ago.

As we were leaving the restaurant, my husband says to me, "It's your turn, where would you like to go?" I didn't have to think twice.."River Crossing!" We finally made it there and omg, there was like no where to even park, we ended up parking behind Dilliard's, it's okay , we could use the exercise. We stopped in a few of our favorite stores, First, the Toy store for Adicyn, then Gymboree and Crazy 8, lol yes, of course -for Adicyn, then finally my turn. For me, it was EXPRESS and The Loft. Two of my favorite's. I didn't find anything at EXPRESS that I just had to have, but yes, oh yes. I found a really sexy skirt and some much needed -SOCKS! I don't know where my socks disappear to. I only wear socks to work at least. If I am off, then it's sandals, cute dressy shoes or flip-flops for me. Yes, even during the Winter months.

My new Lace skirt by The LOFT.

After minimal shopping for myself, on the way to the car, Chris insisted that we take Adicyn, (our two year old daughter) to Build A Bear Workshop. She picked out a Bear and brought him to life. They are so cute, sleeping now, she is holding on tight to her new bear.

Adicyn's new Bear.

Well it's snuggle time with my husband, so Good Night everyone!

I just came inside to take a break. Yes, believe it or not...I am working on my garage. We have too much stuff. Today is also trash pick up day. Great for me, because I was able to discard many things, I just piled it all up near my trash can, and they've already picked it up! Gone and forgotten about.

Now on to the sorting. It is almost overwhelming to see how much needs to be sorted through. I'm thinking about just posting one ad and getting rid of everything at once. On top of all this, I still have the attic to sort through. Bahaaahaa! What to do?

I need you like a Light House needs a Coast....

 

Short work week, yeah!

 I am so excited to have a rather short work week. I am off tomorrow and Friday. I may pick up some PRN hours in the ER, or even at the VA hospital, not sure which yet, that's one thing about being a nurse, there is always work. I feel very blessed to have chosen this career field. As crazy as it  may sound, the ER isn't even like work to me. I love the people that I work with and we are all like family, I have worked there since 2001. That's 10 years now, but I haven't been full-time since 2007.

I want to work, but at the same time, I want to be off too. As Dr. Vaughn says to me, there needs to be two Dana's. Lol, she is always telling me that she wishes that she just clone me!

I just reviewed my March schedule and to my surprise, I will have 2 Four day weekends, Yeah! This means a trip to the beach. March will be great weather in the panhandle. Somehow this year, I also have to fit in a trip to visit my friend Jaimee in NY, A.J. in Christiansburg, Virginia, and Kentucky to see my friend Kandy. Chris and I are also planning a trip to visit his relatives in Japan. We are also buying a new house, wow, it's going to be a changing year for us.

A well deserved lazy weekend...oh yeah, and my BMW!

This weekend thus far, has been a lazy one. Friday night was "date night" for us. We went to Macon for dinner. Then back home for a great night together. Saturday morning I picked up Adicyn from Jessica's. Spent most of Saturday morning at home. After lunch we drove up to Tanger Outlet, I wanted to do a little shopping. The outlet was so crowded, it was also very windy. Needless to say, we didn't stay for very long. After we left the outlet, we drove on to McDonough to eat dinner at one of favorite Restaurants - Dawgs n' Jackets. I wasn't really hungry, so I just ordered a drink.

After we got back
home, Amber and I went to the mall. I picked up some great deals at Victoria's Secret. I've never seen the mall as I did last night. Never again will I go on a Saturday Night, omg! 90 percent of the clientele were teens, it was crazy. One little girl even got arrested for shoplifting a sweater. This goes to show, Warner Robins needs something for kids to do, somewhere they can all congregate or something. I mean, literally, there were like 300 kids, and maybe 20 adults in the mall. Not a very good shopping experience at all!

When I arrived home, my husband could not wait to see exactly what was in the Victoria's Secret bag. He's like a little kid, so full of excitement!
So, he removes the items one by one, and says " hmmm a tank top, another tank top, pajama bottoms, and hmmm finally something for me, I see you bought me some new Panties" lol, he's so crazy at times. He's the reason that I own over 30 bra's and I've well exceeded 50 panties. He loves to shop for my undergarments. Not a bad thing, I suppose I shouldn't complain. Only one thing, I need a pair of plain white, and he wants to buy me all of these sexy cut, and colorful panties, I'm like " hello, what am I going to wear with my white scrub pants?" Men, don't understand. Looks like I'm going to have to sneak in a silent trip back to VS, and spend more time this trip.


Maybe I will take a trip to my sister's soon. She's the best shopping partner ever. She is a shopaholic! I want to see her new car anyway. She's gone from a Dodge Magnum with a Hemi, slammed on some 22's, to now driving a new 2010 Acura TL. Its charcoal gray with black leather interior. I've only seen pictures, but from the pictures that I've seen, its a pretty sweet ride. I'm sure that I will be driving it soon. Hopefully I'll be driving my new car up there when I go. Chris has been steadily in search of a great deal on a BMW for me. He knows that I want a black on black, or second , white on black. As far as the transmission, manual or automatic is fine with me, and I prefer less than 75k miles. I can't wait to drive something with a smaller gas tank, even feeling the tanks in our Mustang's are pricey. They are tuned for 93 octane only. My SUV takes about 75 bucks to fill the tank. We are still going to keep the SUV and both Mustang's. There's no reason to trade in or get rid of our SUV, it has no problems, is very dependable, and still looks like a brand new vehicle inside and out. It still only has 158k miles, not bad for a vehicle that is 7 years old.

Hope that he finds my little BMW soon!

Popular Blog...

Someone has been "blowing up" my blog, lol. It's okay. I guess, that's what it's here for. It's here to be read, otherwise, I would make it private. So, I guess that I can't really complain too much.

It's just funny, because I am pretty sure that I know exactly who this person is. If it's who I am thinking, she is a woman of little character and lacks personality completely. I am talking about Chris' brother's wife. She is so incredibly jealous of me from what I here. She was blowing up my myspace page, I know this , because every time we would visit Chris' parents, they would know things going on in our lives, that I only blogged about. Not only does she read mine like all day, I'm sure that she blows up others too. (She's psycho like that!)

I have no communication with her, I fixed it this way and I want for it to remain this way. She has no morals, no respect and is a very fake person. I knew this from day one. I have not seen her face in over two years and it's okay with me if I never see her again.

My husband has not spoken to his brother in over two years, all because of his whore wife. She is who she is, if Chris' brother is blinded by her lies, it's on him. He didn't want to believe anyone, now he is stuck with her.

So, have fun reading my blog and learning more about us and what we are doing, maybe one day, your life will mean something too! (Toodles)

Happy Anniversary to us!

 Today marks our three year marriage anniversary. Our Wedding anniversary is a  celebration and the most important event in our married life, particularly when we attain the 10th, 20th, and so on. Our Anniversary indeed is the best time for us as a couple to reminisce the love that we have shared together through the years.


I am planning a romantic escapade for the two of us . I think that this is an excellent idea for the two of us to celebrate our wedding anniversary. My plan and destination is dependent upon the available resources such as the budget and the time which we will be capable of making it happen. This is going to be the best trip!

  It must be a unique vacation destination. Famous European cities like Venice or Paris might be perfect for us. On the other hand, we are also into adventures at a reclusive hotel or a serene beach on an exotic island -would be a good choice. I want our wedding anniversary celebration to be enjoyable and mainly just filled with relaxation and being together, we are inseparable as it is, he wants to go everywhere with me.  I love you Christopher Kenji!

The bottom line is, this vacation must be "the" trip that of the year, way more exceptional than compared to others ordinary life and anniversaries, leaving our worries behind and enjoying this momentous occasion that we are celebrating.

Here is a little advice that I have gathered from family and friends...with love.

• "From the time we were little kids, my dad told us "Never date anyone you wouldn't marry" .... when we were kids this made zero sense, but as I got older, it became clear that a lot of people marry people they don't much like/fit with well, for a variety of reasons. She ends up pregnant, it is just "time" to marry. The selection process of who to marry is complex, but makes a huge difference. 
• "A quote from the Bible: What God has yoked together, let no man tear apart." 
• There are "... various ways in which relational maturity develops in people -- preparing them first to care for themselves, and then to care for two people, and afterwards for children too. All in a way that is life giving. Relational maturity is I believe the most effective predictor for whether a marriage is likely to last or not."
• "Get on your knees together every night and say the Lord's prayer. Even if you don't go to sleep and may have something else to do. This assures that most nights you will spend some time together before you go to sleep. If you are apart, do it over the phone." 
• "Never go to bed angry, even if you are not happy with the conditions." 
• "Communicate, respect for self and each other, trust, faith, laugh together not at each other, don’t go to bed angry or hurt, remember your vows, don’t ask what you are not ready and willing to accept and let go and remember that often time we don’t know we’re making a mistake unless we are told so speak up without being rude and hurtful." 
• "When in trouble with your husband or spouse, never ever talk about these problems with your friends, mother or parents ... if you want a real help on this, go to your spouse or husband mother or father or his or her best friend or relatives and tell them about your situation. This advice has given them very fast and some times unexpected and very good solutions, and at the same time they get to understand many of their spouses vision of the trouble, and that has in many instances changed their perspective and perception of the problem."
• "The best marriage advice I received was from my grandmother: Marriage is not always 50/50. Some days you will wake up and may have to give 90% and your spouse will give 10%. Other days you may wake up and give 25% and your husband will have to put in the 75%. I never thought of this before but it is so true." 

Maya Angelou

  I have always looked up to Maya Angelou, she is a Teacher. The best one ever. I had the opportunity to dvr, Oprah Winfrey's -"Master Class" with Maya Angelou, and I must tell you, it was the most liberating, moving and emotional thing that I have ever watched on TV. She has so much life experience and knowledge to pass down to us all.

 Biography:
Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.
Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture.
As a teenager, Dr. Angelou’s love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. At 14, she dropped out to become San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car conductor. She later finished high school, giving birth to her son, Guy, a few weeks after graduation. As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook, however her passion for music, dance, performance, and poetry would soon take center stage.
In 1954 and 1955, Dr. Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess. She studied modern dance with Martha Graham, danced with Alvin Ailey on television variety shows and, in 1957, recorded her first album, Calypso Lady. In 1958, she moved to New York, where she joined the Harlem Writers Guild, acted in the historic Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks and wrote and performed Cabaret for Freedom.
In 1960, Dr. Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt where she served as editor of the English language weekly The Arab Observer. The next year, she moved to Ghana where she taught at the University of Ghana's School of Music and Drama, worked as feature editor for The African Review and wrote for The Ghanaian Times.
During her years abroad, Dr. Angelou read and studied voraciously, mastering French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and the West African language Fanti. While in Ghana, she met with Malcolm X and, in 1964, returned to America to help him build his new Organization of African American Unity.
Shortly after her arrival in the United States, Malcolm X was assassinated, and the organization dissolved. Soon after X's assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked Dr. Angelou to serve as Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King's assassination, falling on her birthday in 1968, left her devastated.
With the guidance of her friend, the novelist James Baldwin, she began work on the book that would become I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Published in 1970, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published to international acclaim and enormous popular success. The list of her published verse, non-fiction, and fiction now includes more than 30 bestselling titles.
A trailblazer in film and television, Dr. Angelou wrote the screenplay and composed the score for the 1972 film Georgia, Georgia. Her script, the first by an African American woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
She continues to appear on television and in films including the landmark television adaptation of Alex Haley's Roots (1977) and John Singleton's Poetic Justice (1993). In 1996, she directed her first feature film, Down in the Delta. In 2008, she composed poetry for and narrated the award-winning documentary The Black Candle, directed by M.K. Asante.
Dr. Angelou has served on two presidential committees, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and has received 3 Grammy Awards. President Clinton requested that she compose a poem to read at his inauguration in 1993. Dr. Angelou's reading of her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" was broadcast live around the world.
Dr. Angelou has received over 30 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.
Dr. Angelou’s words and actions continue to stir our souls, energize our bodies, liberate our minds, and heal our hearts.

Three year Anniversary!

Wow, I can't believe that three years have almost passed since the day that my husband and I were married. For our anniversary he wants to take a trip back to Destin. He wants us to book the same room that we spent our Honeymoon in, lol. It's Jan, so I'm sure that it will be available. I would really like to wait until the weather warms up, I mean, there's just not a lot to do there right now. Of course, I could visit my family, we could walk the beach and eat, but that's about it, other than shopping. Maybe I can talk him into just taking me to our favorite restaurant in Atlanta, Fogo de chao. This is certainly very high on my list of places to make a return visit. To Chris, there is no other place to eat steak. The food is really amazing and I'm not much of a meat eater. It's kind of weird, but I'm not really into desserts or meats. Usually people whom don't really care for meat, in turn love the sweets.

 We will probably do something a little special, then when it warms, we will do something great!

Ready for a day off...and it's going to be all about me!

Yes, I admit it. I am so ready for a relaxing day off. I didn't really get one last week due to the weather, last Friday was my original scheduled day off, but we saw pt's that day because of being off the Monday before. I was supposed to work till 11;00 am, but wasn't able to leave work until 2:00 pm, after work, I had to race to pick Amber up from school, and Adicyn from day care for their scheduled appointments. It was a steady day.

So this week, I am scheduled to be off tomorrow, I am going to try and stay up late tonight, working on household chores, so that tomorrow will be free for me. I am meeting a Friend for lunch, but that's all that I have planned so far for the daytime hours. Tomorrow night, I am preparing taxes for two clients. I prepare taxes during the tax season for extra cash, and I enjoy doing it. This year my brother will be mailing me all of his records, forms and documents from Charleston, S.C. too. He has been wanting me to complete his taxes for several years now, and this year, I will finally make time for him as well as others. I enjoy helping my family every chance that I get.

Oh yes, and for my day off, I will definitely be getting mani and pedi, I am way over due! Last week after work, I finally got my hair done and my eye brows waxed, they were looking pretty rough, lol. Normally I get my eye brows waxed about once every two weeks, this time, I had to stretch that two weeks into three. The Wax Strip is favorite place to go for the waxing, but this time, I let my hair girl do it, she did an awesome job too, kudos to Misty at Signature Salon on Vineville!

So for my day off, is going to be all about ME!

Income Taxes, Debt and a lesson learned, looking forward to a great new year.

   As of last night, I finally completed Chris' 2010 Income Taxes. We always file separately. To my surprise, his refund is larger than last year. To be exact, his Federal refund is $6,976.00 and his State Refund is $1752.00. That's pretty good for him. However, he does have the maximum deducted throughout the year. He has learned his lesson when it comes to deduction's and he had to learn the hard way. It only took one time of him paying in to the IRS and not getting a refund to master this, lol. I also let him claim Adicyn's childcare expense which was around $6,400. Although, the IRS only allows a person to claim about $2,000 of that total, he also had receipts from our Good Will Donations to charity and Auto expenses, The Mortgage and Real Estate taxes, Ad Valorem taxes, Clothing for work, mileage on the car to and from his job, and a few others. He always itemizes, as I keep every single receipt through out the year, along with a mileage and an expense report that I keep up with via Microsoft Money and using an Excel Spreadsheet.

I do the same for myself. I don't have as many deductions as he does but I usually get back around $7,000, I'm not exactly sure about this year. I don't have my W-2's just yet. One, I printed from the Government "My Pay " site from my job at the VA hospital and I am still waiting on my W-2 from my "full-time" employer. The VA hospital, I work prn for extra spending money, lol. Lately, it's been very prn. Mostly, because I dread the drive to and from Dublin. I already drive to downtown Macon for my full-time job, that's enough driving for me.

Chris wants me to get a small car, so that I won't have to drive my SUV every day, as I don't want to drive one of the Mustang's every day either. I did warn him..If we get a fourth vehicle, it's going to be a BMW M3, 3 or 5 series or a Mercedes CLK 230. I was hung up on getting an Infinity G35 for a while, but that car is too small. So we have been looking at BMW's in the Atlanta GA, Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida area. There are so many great deals out there as of right now.We definitely want to buy a cash car.

We have not had a car payment in over two years since we have paid off the Mustang's and my SUV. The yellow 98 GT  vert, we paid cash for, and we drove to N.C. to pick it up.We don't want to incur any new debt, and we really can't incur any new debt because our new Mortgage application is already being processed. If we go out a get a new loan, we will have to re work everything with the under writer. I'd rather not do that. Besides, the only debt that we have right now is our current house, utilities, Auto insurance and one major credit card. Oh and the housekeeper. These are all revolving debt, just monthly expenses, nothing major. So as far as loans and lines of credit, everything is paid off and that's amazing. We are already a few steps ahead of the general population. The mortgage company couldn't believe our debt to income ratio, it's like off the charts, and this, we are so proud of.



I won't try to sit here and try to convince you that it's always been this way. Oh no, it was much different. When Chris and I moved in together, he was drowning in debt. So much, that it was overwhelming to me and I almost called it "quits", There were many times that I became pissed and outraged just at the thought - "These were not my debts, I didn't accrue them, didn't enjoy any of the benefits from them, so why am I helping to pay them off?" but I saw something in him that would make it all worth while.

His mortgage was overdue, his car was overdue and it wasn't looking good for him. He tried so hard to hide all of this debt from me, Although, he couldn't hide it for very long. The highest debt was incurred because of his ex girlfriend. He says that she attempted to become a Real Estate agent for all of like two months, and got this big idea before hand that she needed an SUV for the job, so tired of her whining, he bought her a Durango, he knew all along that she wasn't going to be good at Real Estate sales, mostly he said because she was mentally unstable.Due to lack of any extra income from her, the Durango ended up being repossessed while they were still together. It was not in her name, because she had no real income nor any credit. So yes, you guessed it that repo was on him.

Once the arrears on the Mortgage and car were caught up, the Durango loan, furniture loan, another old loan that he had for buying a mustang and his Citi-Financial loans were the next things to be paid off. We had everything paid just after our youngest daughter Adicyn was born in 2008. Paying these debts took a lot of sleepless nights, sacrifice and effort.It was a long road to travel. Now it is all water under the bridge, we ahve moved on and Chris has promised to never be that irresponsible again, so far he has stuck to his word.

I too have had previous debt, nothing of the magnitude of Chris' debt, but yes I have had real debt. My ex and I had several mortgage loans, Business and construction loans, I had a new Nissan Xterra and a new Tahoe, he had a new Dodge 2500 Diesel truck, we had credit cards and loans too. The difference is, we paid our bills because we could afford to. We never got in over our heads. He was a General contractor and I worked full-time and was a full-time college student , and even sold REAL Estate on the side. We made it work. When we would sell a few spec homes, we then would pay off a vehicle or a large loan, and we even paid down our mortgage. The housing market then was "booming". We did very well for ourselves. After I completed my degree, I was able to look for a job at my leisure while being a stay at home mommy.

Not due to finances, Eventually we were divorced, we had grown apart, we had been together since I was 15, we grew into adults that neither of us knew any longer, during that time, there was no anger or finances to be concerned about, because we had been very responsible and everything was paid and in order. We came to an amicable agreement and it was done. We have equal joint custody of our three children, he pays child support weekly for each child, that I in turn, deposit into their savings acocunts. Best of all, We have both remained good friends and we and we both continue to be responsible adults as well.

If there is one thing that I have learned throughout my lifetime, it's to be responsible with my money. It's hard to make and easy to spend. Most of America is just two paychecks away from homelessness and that is a scary thought. So live well, work hard and be happy. Do what makes you happy and never regret anything that made you smile.

Below you can see that my husband's favorite hobby is to "flip" cars,  and next to his family, this is what makes him smile...

Our yellow 98 GT, before new wheels. 89k miles -black interior, new top, and we bought it for $4,000 and drove to N.C. last year to get her!

Our current Mustang- 04' GT, 78k miles, we traded , one of our yellow mustang's for this one just last year, and picked it up at Summit! This one has so many extra performance parts that we have added and we love the cowl hood ,the wheels and tires he ordered from American Muscle.



They were like sisters in our garage, :(



Chris '90 LX 5.0 coupe, 76k , he sold this one to a local friend, and he really misses it!



Original Black Interior of the coupe.

Our Mustang Bullitt that we bought in 2010, mainly just to resale. Chris had never owned one, and thought that he may like it, he decided against it, so we sold it.



Our teal '94 Supercharged GT, Chris just had to have, it ended up being such a gas guzzler, so it had to go!



The Gas Guzzling engine.

We love them all, but this is our favorite!


......and after all these Mustang's, he's now wanting a Ford Lightning Truck, go figure...

Chris' 31st Birthday

  Last night Chris, Adicyn and myself went out for his 31st birthday. He chose Longhorn Steak House. He loves it there, mostly because he really enjoys their steaks. He is such a carnivore! I had my usual, the 7-Pepper Sirloin Salad and Adicyn being her usual picky eater self, had some saltines, well that's about all for her. Her diet mainly consist of Rice & LoMein Noodles right now. Her pediatrician says that it's a perfectly good diet for her, especially since her hemoglobin was 12.1!

Dinner was great, and at the end, the servers brought Chris a little piece of cake and sang the "Long Horn Birthday Song" to him. Of course, Adicyn kept telling everyone that it was her birthday. She is so much fun to be around, she's always trying to make people laugh.

Chris' parents stopped by yesterday around lunch to bring Chris a birthday card and his gift. They gave him a $100.00 Wal-Mart gift card. Lol, and it's all his. I absolutely do not go to Wal-Mart. I only shop at Target for the things that most would shop at Wal-Mart for, and for groceries -it's only Kroger and Publix for me.

Today, he wants to make a trip to Summit in McDonough, GA. I don't mind, because I have been wanting to take a little shopping trip to Tanger myself and when we get back he can dig in to the cake that I made for him and open his gift from me!

Helping out a long time friend...

  Please check out this Home for Sale. My friend Mary (friends since the 6th grade) is selling her house. They have "outgrown" their home and they are presently searching for a larger home. We have agreed to help each other out, by helping to share the links of our homes for sale. Here is the link...  302 Margeson Drive

So happy , it's F-R-I-D-A-Y!

 Omg! It has finally arrived...Friday that is. No plans for the weekend, I just want to get away, afar away from here! I am not quite sure of where I want to go, but I'm going some where. I have been contemplating a visit to Charleston, S.C. to see my brother and his family, or to Destin, and even Savannah. I miss my brother more than he knos, and would love nothing more than to pay him a visit. It's just best to visit him during the week, as weekends he seems to think that his IHOP restaurants can not run without him. I have tried to tell him, "you are a business owner now, you do not have to be present everyday- all day", he begs to differ. He is a wonderful employer with a fantastic staff at both sites, they think so highly of him. He is a great leader. It's so crazy, because it doesn't seem that long since I have seen him, but in actual reality, it has been a while. One of the cons of facebook to me is, I communicate so much with my family on this social site that it seems like just yesterday when I last visited with him.

Normally we don't take a lot of trips until the weather is warmer. This Summer we are visiting my best friend in New York. She lives on the NY-PA border, she has big plans for us. She grew in FWB, FL and loves the beach, so for her, living in such a dreary area of NY, she is miserable. Jaimee is an optimist so she is trying to make the most of it, she has lived there for about six years now, and I am ashamed to say, I have not been to visit her at all. That will all change this summer. I can't wait to see her, she used to be my best Destin, Florida, if you will, lol.  "partner in crime". We have so many fond memories with each other, especially when she lived here on base, I can't help but laugh out loud, just thinking about the times back then.

My BFF -Jaimee!

So onto the weekend, I am off after 2 pm today, Adicyn has an appointment with her Pediatrician at 3:00, and Amber has an optician appt at 2:00, not sure yet, how I am going to swing this....

After this, maybe a trip to Target, then have the kiddos home by 6:00 so that their dad can pick them up for a fun filled weekend at his house. I will keep you posted.....

College Savings??

Saving for college has become a primary goal for us as parents. As soon as we learned of Adicyn's anticipated arrival, we then began planning. We researched college savings plans and started choosing schools almost at the same time that we decided on potential names.


However, once we realized that the costs of a typical 4-year private school can be between $400,000 – $700,000 depending on the rate of tuition inflation over the next 18 years, we decided to make saving for college a top priority. Even with that news, there are still a few situations where it will be better for us to focus on our own finances, rather than saving for our child’s tuition. We do have other children, but they have trust funds just for college from their grandparent's, Adicyn is our only child together, so college is on us.

We have set up a plan for Adicyn's college and here are a few tips for you as well....

When Shouldn’t You Save For College?

When You Have Debt

And this is why, If you have debt, then now is not the time to begin worrying about saving for college. Most likely, you are going to earn less in investment returns on your college savings account than you will have to pay in interest on your debt. Paying off debt is one of the easiest ways to see a great return on your cash. So take your extra money and put it toward debt repayment, rather than saving for college! Even if it takes you 18 years to completely get rid of your debt, you will still be better off than if you plowed all of your extra income into saving for college. Debt has been tied to levels of stress, and even obesity! The bible indicates that someone in debt becomes a servant to the lender! Saving for college may be important, but it is not worth living under the weight of debt for decades!



If You Have No Emergency Fund

Having an emergency fund is an essential part of financial planning. If (or should I say when) a large, unexpected expense comes up in your life, it will be a lot easier to pull the necessary money out of your emergency fund, as compared to trying to make heavily taxed withdrawal from your college savings account!

Once you fully fund your emergency fund, then you can begin to save for college (assuming that the other items in this article are in order as well), knowing that you are as prepared as you can be for an unexpected event.

If You Have Inadequate Retirement Savings

In my experience, this is the one area that is most often neglected for college. Since retirement seems very far away for most people, including us, I won't retire until around the age 65 and Chris the same. – definitely much farther away than our kids whom will be going to college – we would have  put retirement savings on the  "back burner" in favor of saving for college.This would have been a terrible mistake. One of the main benefits of saving for retirement is time. However, you lose that benefit with each year that you neglect to max out all of your retirement savings options (including earning your 401k employer match)! Every year of college savings in lieu of retirement savings means that you have forgone not only the amount from that one year, but the compound interest for decades to come!



Why are These More Important Than Saving for College?

You Have Much Less Time Than Your Children

What I mean by this is that if they are forced to wait a few years after graduating high school before attending college (so they can work and save up themselves), they still have time to get a degree and follow their dreams. However, if you are plowing a significant amount of your disposable income into saving for college until you are in your 50′s, then you don’t have a lot of opportunities to make up for lost time. Also, there are more programs in place and more options available to someone trying to get a college education, than there is for someone who has neglected retirement savings, or doesn’t have an emergency fund when a $10,000 even pops up!



They Don’t Have to Go Immediately

There is no rule that a kid must head to college immediately after high school. As I stated earlier, if they have to work a few years to save up enough money for tuition, it’s not a big deal. Those additional years may also give them time to really decide what they want to do with their lives. They could also take a few classes here and there as they get the money – no rule against going part time either!


We need to get out of the mindset that college is a normal progression of life!



You Have an Opportunity to Teach Them to Save

Many people look for creative ways to teach their children about personal finance. This is a way that you can tackle two objectives at once. When you begin to talk to your children about the importance of saving money and of education, give them a goal. Anytime Adicyn  receives money for birthdays, Christmas, inheritances, good grades, etc., I save a large percentage of it. That money will now be earmarked for her college education. It may not mean much to her at age 2 or  even 3, but it will mean a great deal when she is in middle and high school and she begins to think about her future.


Hopefully, when she starts working, she will be inclined to boost her savings account with some real dollars. Once you have taken care of your financial concerns, you can begin to match their savings and watch the account grow over time.


It May Encourage Them to Make Better Choices

The numbers that I quoted above were based on a child attending a private school for 4 years (with tuition inflation ranging from 5 to 8%). However, those costs can be drastically reduced if they choose to go to a state college, pay the in-state resident tuition rate, and commute from home. Have them attend a two-year community college to drop their project tuition even further – they can then transfer into a 4-year university to complete their education.



They Can Apply For a Scholarship

A scholarship is a great way to offset the costs of college. However, many students and parents fail to do the necessary research and preparation in order to take full advantage of them. Click Here for a great site to search for college scholarships and loans. In addition to the typical academic and athletic scholarships, there are awards for music, science, various ethnic backgrounds, low-income children, etc.


They Have the Opportunity to Get a Job

Your kid can also get a job while in high school in order to save up for college costs. Then once they are in school, they can work in order to pay for classes; or if they have taken out a loan, they can begin to pay it back while they are still in school.



Your Child Can Get a Loan

Unlike when you are ready to retire, your child can always fall back on a loan in order to get through college. Of course, that isn’t the preferred solution, but it is an option. Your child will have ample time and opportunity to payoff the student loan without damaging their future.

These are just a few things that we have learned along the way, we thought that it would be helpful to pass it along to you.

Leaving work early today.

 Today it seems as though I will be leaving work earlier than scheduled. My boss wants us to leave a little sooner than 8pm as scheduled, The temperature is expected to decrease through out the afternoon and evening, hence causing the slush to freeze, causing cautionary driving conditions for those of us whom do not live close to the facility. Trust me, I'm ready today. I picked up more boxes from my friend Jessica last night, All of the others I have used . Yeah for me!  I am very pleased with my recent accomplishments. My closet was a huge deal to me. I have been contemplating exactly what I wanted to do with the space. Now I even have room for a vanity in my closet if I so wished to have one. The boys room is almost complete, The girls room is complete, the kitchen, yes that's right...complete as well. The only thing left to do is to clean out the attic. I am not taking anything to storage, unless I need it or unless it holds sentimental value to me or to my children. Most of what I feel to be sentimental to myself are my parents things, and some of my grandmother's items as well. My family is very close knit, so we tend to hang on to things for a lifetime.

Chris' family on the other hand, not so close. It's sad to me. They have gotten better since the birth of Adicyn, his dad seems to be very mellow now. That's a good thing. They want to see her as often as possible, and she enjoys their company as well. Hopefully God will help them overcome this.

Utilizing my paid day off...

Have lots of clutter? Start busting it with these 4 simple options:

1. STORE IT, IN ITS HOME: Everything in your home or office should have a home--a consistent and appropriate place where that object is normally kept. Some items that you use every day, may be on display and/or readily available for frequent use. Other items, like holiday decorations or out of season clothing, can be stored in an out-of-the-way area until needed.
   When an object strays from its 'home,' it can easily be misplaced, thus causing stress and frustration. Clutter build-up naturally occurs when items are not kept and/or returned to their homes.
   
   
2. GIVE IT: When you have something that you never use, giving it to someone who will make use of it can really brighten your day. Give it to a friend. Pass it on to a relative. Or put it in a special 'Charity Box' and make a donation to a favorite organization once per month.
   
   
3. SELL IT: Need a few extra bucks? Consider selling those things you don't use. Hold a rummage sale. Sell them to a consignment shop. Or, try an online auction or yard sale company, such as E-Bay, Robinsyardsales.com or Craigslist.com
   
   
4. Trash It: Items that are outdated, faded, broken or otherwise unusable can often be dumped. If you don't want it, and you don't know anyone else who wants it, dump it today. You'll be freeing your space--and your mind! 

 Today I will be redoing my Master Closet utilizing the steps above. It was in horrible condition. It took me quite a while, but once i got started, I didn't leave, i even took my bottled water and phone in with me. Adicyn came in and wanted to help too! I completely removed every item, cleaned the baseboards and the wood floors so that I could start out fresh and new. I have so many items to donate to charity!

So on to my closet...

I love using all matching wooden hangers. i have always had a thing about matching hangers. There is nothing worse than looking into a closet and seeing everything hung on cheap plaster hangers, at least have them match, if you must use plastic hangers. Hangers don't seem very important, but in fact, They are noticed more than one would normally think. Also the flooring and great lighting are very important in a closet. Back to the hangers for a sec...Most important factor being price. Wooden hangers are only $10.00 for a box of 20, these I purchased several years back, 2005 to be exact at my local Target, and ever since...I fell in love with the solid design and nothing beats the uniform look~

Starting with an empty room

My Flip-flops are hidden in the basket, and my Boots have a great home!

Now I can find all of my clothes, including this sexy dress by EXPRESS, (size 3/4 baby!)

A great corner spot for some of my dress shoes, and oh yeah, my nursing shoes on the bottom.

This ottoman, I purchased from Kirkland's many years ago.

This is my Husband's side, lol, most of his are stored in his dresser.

Mommy's little helper!

I wear this dress in the winter with a long sweater, and in the summer with nothing but sandals, very versatile!

Part of my husband's Nike Shox collection.

After clearing out most of my clothes to charity, looks like I need to go on a shopping spree!

Some of my shoes I love to leave in the boxes, this looks so much better.

A like to store many handbags within a handbag, helps not to have handbags hanging all over.

My facial care products, all organized as well.

Body sprays have a home to call their own as well.

Chris' Belts.

All of my clothes are organized according to color, this is part of my "PINK" collection.

---

Wintery Weather!

 

 

  I could take it or leave it, snow that is. It's pretty, but it's not all that. I awoke early this am, to my human resources manager texting me. "Don't come in today, we will be closed and we will start seeing patients again Tuesday morning @ 11am". I am so relieved. Chris says that he was not about to let me drive to Macon anyway. He loves to be macho every chance that he gets. Sometimes, it's on a daily basis. I said to him, "I'm an adult, I was an adult before I met you and I make my own adult decisions!

Lmao, yeah, he didn't like that, it wasn't quite the response that he was hoping to get. I am a very strong minded woman, and I don't like anyone attempting to make decisions for me. I wear the pants in this house. He got over it quick, he even thought that was so cute.

Our Home

Moving on, it's a Snow Day today, it kept me up most of the night, the sleet and ice beating against our house. I went out early this morning and took a few pictures.

our front yard

Our street