Home

We are heading home in about two hours. We haven't been back in almost two years. Our flight is so early we aren't going to bed until we get on the plane. Then maybe we'll get a couple hours shut eye, probably not and it won't be comfortable.

We are taking a cat with us as well. Before we had moved out here, we took my sister's cat, Mystic, in as a buddy for Bailey our cat. My sister's house was shrinking really fast with two dogs, two cats, two kids and another on the way. Unfortunately one of her dogs passed away last year so they have room again. Mystic and Bailey weren't the best of friends so I think he'll be fine. I've never flown with an animal, we'll see how this goes.

In other news, still hunting. Sent some follow up emails and also applied at a couple more places. I've only heard back from one. Hopefully more will reply.

Made snicker doodles yesterday. They turned out ok. My husband tells me that they are suppose to be a "crispy cookie" but crispy wasn't what I was going for. This batch turned out a lot better than the last I made a couple weeks ago. Apparently when baking, your butter cannot be totally liquid when you add it to the batter. If you do, your cookies will spread and turn into paper cookies that are about 1/32" thick. I still ate them.

Irrigation & Applications

Teeth check-up today, all is good and healing well. They irrigated my sockets to help with healing and keep away infection. Basically they take a syringe full of water and squirt in the sockets so the bits of food come out. The taste is still horrible.

Applied to a few more places today. Haven't heard any replies so sent follow up emails. A little discouraging. I don't expect any replies now until Tuesday since Monday is a holiday. Also, posted a couple listings on craigslist to drum up some freelance.

Almost done reading the Suze Orman book, "The Money Book for the Young Fabulous & Broke." A very informative book! It's packed full of information and puts terms in an easy to digest format. The book is mainly Q&A but she also lays it all out there. I will admit that a lot of her ideas are polar opposites to Dave Ramsey, so reading it made me feel a little guilty but I am seeing there is more than one way to solve a problem. You have to find what fits your situation best.

The Boot

I was right, I was given the boot this morning. Of course they graciously let me finish my shift first. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders when "we are terminating you" came from my manager's mouth. I am relieved to know I don't have to make that commute anymore! I wasn't mad, pretty sure I had already come to peace about it. I was ready to leave. I even gave my old manager a hug!

A new stress is now upon me though, where's the money going to come from? I turned in a fist full of applications today and also applied to four more places online through the all-powerful craigslist. I have a good feeling but I am not one to count my chickens before they hatch. Heck, I'm not one to count the chickens after they hatch. Little buggers get snatched up too easily. Here's hoping.

Bought a new book today, "The Money Book for the Young Fabulous & Broke" by Suze Orman. I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan and it looks like she doesn't align perfectly with his values but I've caught her show a couple times and I'm interested in another point of view. The summary on the back gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Guess it's time to get more serious about this crafting thing.

Checking In

Yesterday I had my right-sided wisdom teeth taken out. I had the left done a month ago. Ah, the joys of getting insurance to pay for as much as possible. Still had to pay close to $1000 out of pocket. Not feeling too bad yet. The pain usually comes about day 3, when the healing really begins. Oh well, on a diet of pudding and potato soup. Thought I might lose some weight this time around but probably not gonna happen.

Pretty stressed about the job and money situation right now. The job is a big question. I don't know if I am freaking out prematurely but I have a strong feeling I will be out of one on Monday, and not by choice. I do try to tell myself that if I am let go, it's for the better because I despise the place anyway but it's money and health insurance. We can't afford a hit like this again. Being laid off last February was pretty devastating. I am use to leaving a job on my own terms. I don't know what else to do, I've been applying everywhere, no bites. It's embarrassing!! I'm trying to give it to God because he is good and will provide. Having the weekend to think about this is not helping.

Get This Party Started

So a new year has come. That means a new commitment to this blog. Over the years I have been dragging and not keeping this thing too current. I have set a new goal of posting at least twice a week. So here we go...

Nothing too good is happening right now. 'Course nothing catostrophicly bad has happened either. I called it quits on the seamstress job. Soul sucking waste of time! I should have bailed the first week. Lots of red flags. The current job still sucks and I might not have it after next week (God willing!!). I am fed up with the place and have been applying all over the place. It has helped that now I work there part time, but it's hurting the bank account big time! Today I turned in three more applications. One was at a florist shop and I'm pretty pumped about it. I don't really know why.

I have my wisdom teeth scheduled to be taken out tomorrow. They are going for the right top and bottoms this time. About three weeks ago I had the left side done. Not too bad so far. Still getting bits of stuff stuck in the holes.

The husband and I get to go home to good ol' Nebraska in two weeks. I can't wait!! Besides the fact they are getting DUMPED on with snow (more than 20 inches), I am chopping at the bit to be surround by familiar loving surroundings and people.

Still working at this freelancing thing. The trophies that I have been commissioned to do for my mom's dog club may be moving towards a change. I have found out sculpting isn't my strongest suit. I made a demo. The body was fine but I cannot seem to get the head right. It probably doesn't help that samoyeds are a very expressive breed and there is so much character in their face. I am going to see if I can convince my mom that paintings are the better way to go. I have come up with some pretty awesome sketches and they are going to be quite colorful. Not your traditional dog painting. I think she will agree.

Keeping with the freelancing vein: I've been picking up my own sewing jobs here and there. Slow goings but who knows what will happen with that. At the moment I am trying to decipher the tax papers and such. Last year, granted I started really late in the year, I made less than $500. Hardly worth reporting but I don't want to get into trouble so I am trying to figure the best way possible to solve the tax questions.

I listen to Dave Ramsey almost everyday for financial advice. I think I've become pretty well versed in the ways of budgeting, I've even considered making a career change to the field. That doesn't mean I am good at sticking to my budget but I do have one on paper. Why am I mentioning this? Because he has resources when it comes to tax questions and on his website he has a few people in Washington that he recommends. I think I may try to give them a call to get some advice. I am just afraid that it's all going to be too expensive, and I'll have to figure it all out on my own, then I will end up making a mistake and have mountains of penalties to pay the feds. I'll try to keep my progress posted.

So to sum things up: disliking the job, looking for something new, the feds may take my down for $500, and I get to visit home!!