Please don't forget to read my posts from earlier this day, I had some good ones in there!
Renting Vs. Owning
Weight Loss Update
Mom I'm Bored!!
Thanks everyone! I'd hate to think I wrote all that and no one read it ;o)
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Mom! I'm Bored!!!
Welcome to this weeks edition of What Works For Me Wednesday, hosted by Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer. This week's edition is titled "Mom! I'm Bored", as summer vacation is upon us. Well, not all of us yet! My three kids' last day is June 17th, but then they also don't start school till after labor day.
This year will be our 2nd official summer vacation, as my two older kids are just ending first grade. I don't remember what we did last year, but this year I have plenty of ideas to keep them occupied.
1. harass the new next door neighbours so we can use their pool! LOL and yes, it does work, we've used it already ;o)
2) banishing them to outside to ride their bikes, play in the yard, play with the neighbour kids!
3) We'll be enrolling them in swimming lessons at the end of this month, and my son is also in Karate twice a week, so when he does that at the YMCA, the girls and I play in the Adventure zone for an hour. I'll also be working out as well during the summer at the YMCA, so they'll have stuff to do while I am there as well. Plus there is family swim. Ugh, does this mean I have to get my fat butt in a bathing suit? I'm scared! LOL
4) Day trips with Daddy. Once my hubby comes home, we'll be going on several day trips around the area. It is too expensive to go anywhere else, so we're sticking close to the house.
5) And of course the usual, color a picture! it seems to work well with my kids, as they are really into crafts and art.
Do you have any good ideas to beat summer boredom?
please don't forget to scroll down my blog, I wrote a few interesting things today and would hate for them to get missed in the hubub.
Luxury Watches For Less
I am not a big jewelry person, I just find that necklaces always get tangled in my long hair, and I can't be bothered with bracelets. I do however, always wear a watch, every day. My dear hubby bought me one almost 5 years ago that I am in love with. I don't have a picture of it, but it is yellow gold and white gold, and just the prettiest watch ever. I actually feel naked without it. It is a women's Couture Sports watch by Klaus Kobec.
I have never owned a luxury watch though, so I like to "window-shop" sometimes. I came across a website called The Watchery that has really nice Jewelry Watches. They offer many brands including Bvlgari, Cartier, Gucci (just to name a few of the brands I recognized), and also have Breitling watches.
I found this ladies watch that I love. I am not a big "fussy" person, so I don't like a lot of frilly things, but this is nice and simple, and perfect for my tastes.
The Watchery has great deals right now! The watch I picked is only $695 on their site, with a list price of$1,195.00. What a great deal! If you purchase that watch, you can get either a free watch that is worth up to $350 MSRP, or choose from a selection of other watches at a savings of 80% off the MSRP. They are also part of the BBB Online Reliability Program, and PayPal verified.
Check out The Watchery if you are looking for a great deal on a Luxury Watch!
I have never owned a luxury watch though, so I like to "window-shop" sometimes. I came across a website called The Watchery that has really nice Jewelry Watches. They offer many brands including Bvlgari, Cartier, Gucci (just to name a few of the brands I recognized), and also have Breitling watches.
I found this ladies watch that I love. I am not a big "fussy" person, so I don't like a lot of frilly things, but this is nice and simple, and perfect for my tastes.
The Watchery has great deals right now! The watch I picked is only $695 on their site, with a list price of$1,195.00. What a great deal! If you purchase that watch, you can get either a free watch that is worth up to $350 MSRP, or choose from a selection of other watches at a savings of 80% off the MSRP. They are also part of the BBB Online Reliability Program, and PayPal verified.
Check out The Watchery if you are looking for a great deal on a Luxury Watch!
Renting Vs. Owning A Home, And The Impact On Our Finances
I wrote quite awhile ago about Renting Vs. Owning your own home.
To update, we put our house on the market mid to late january, had a buyer with our first showing, and finally closed late April. We've been renting since the beginning of March though, as we decided to vacate our house while we had the time. We have now lived in our rental for three months, and have been paying rent for four months.
Renting has it's ups and downs to be honest. My dishwasher just broke, and all I had to do was call the property management office and they took care of it. Now it's fixed! With our house, we had a European dishwasher that was broken, and we didnt even bother to fix it because the service fee alone for a company that could fix it was $125.00. And we just didn't have the money. My rental is being fixed up outside, painted, new trim etc. We have a fence too. Unfortunately, we didn't have the money for any of that when we owned our home. I guess a downside to renting is that it just isn't ours. I can't really see too many "downs" to renting right now to be honest with you.
So, the impact on our finances...
Our mortage payment, with taxes, and insurance included was $1863.00 a month. Ouch! Our rent here is $1025.00. We also do not have a water bill anymore, as we're on a well, so that has saved us $50.00 a month. Just with those factors, we're saving $888.00 a month!!
We did splurge and enroll at the YMCA, which costs us $77.50. That brings us to $810.00 a month saved.
Our middle child is no longer in pre-k, so I am saving money on that, but I also use the money from her pre-k to go to childcare at the YMCA for the baby when I work out. So that balances itself out.
We've also added internet costs, as we purchased a much needed computer with our tax returns. My hubby also has internet for his lap top, so both internet costs are around $100.00 a month, bringing us down to $710.00 a month saved. However, our home internet bill will go up another $20 in a few months, but that doesn't bother me at all. So we're saving around $700 a month, give or take a few bucks.
Now, we have not started a savings account yet, as we're waiting for the summer miles for my hubby to start rolling in. That has just started happening, so I will be doing that shortly.
We don't have a lot of debt, just our van, and two small credit cards. Our credit card balances are less than $1500 together and our van is around $11,800.00. I always pay more than the minimum of the credit cards, and we just pay the van as it is, the payment due each month.
We still hope to purchase another home, but it probably won't be here. We plan to move out of state to somewhere cheaper. And probably not for at least 3-5 years. We want to have a nice sizeable downpayment for a nice sizeable house on some property.
And don't forget, I have posted a few times today, so don't forget to read those as well. I updated on my weight loss!
To update, we put our house on the market mid to late january, had a buyer with our first showing, and finally closed late April. We've been renting since the beginning of March though, as we decided to vacate our house while we had the time. We have now lived in our rental for three months, and have been paying rent for four months.
Renting has it's ups and downs to be honest. My dishwasher just broke, and all I had to do was call the property management office and they took care of it. Now it's fixed! With our house, we had a European dishwasher that was broken, and we didnt even bother to fix it because the service fee alone for a company that could fix it was $125.00. And we just didn't have the money. My rental is being fixed up outside, painted, new trim etc. We have a fence too. Unfortunately, we didn't have the money for any of that when we owned our home. I guess a downside to renting is that it just isn't ours. I can't really see too many "downs" to renting right now to be honest with you.
So, the impact on our finances...
Our mortage payment, with taxes, and insurance included was $1863.00 a month. Ouch! Our rent here is $1025.00. We also do not have a water bill anymore, as we're on a well, so that has saved us $50.00 a month. Just with those factors, we're saving $888.00 a month!!
We did splurge and enroll at the YMCA, which costs us $77.50. That brings us to $810.00 a month saved.
Our middle child is no longer in pre-k, so I am saving money on that, but I also use the money from her pre-k to go to childcare at the YMCA for the baby when I work out. So that balances itself out.
We've also added internet costs, as we purchased a much needed computer with our tax returns. My hubby also has internet for his lap top, so both internet costs are around $100.00 a month, bringing us down to $710.00 a month saved. However, our home internet bill will go up another $20 in a few months, but that doesn't bother me at all. So we're saving around $700 a month, give or take a few bucks.
Now, we have not started a savings account yet, as we're waiting for the summer miles for my hubby to start rolling in. That has just started happening, so I will be doing that shortly.
We don't have a lot of debt, just our van, and two small credit cards. Our credit card balances are less than $1500 together and our van is around $11,800.00. I always pay more than the minimum of the credit cards, and we just pay the van as it is, the payment due each month.
We still hope to purchase another home, but it probably won't be here. We plan to move out of state to somewhere cheaper. And probably not for at least 3-5 years. We want to have a nice sizeable downpayment for a nice sizeable house on some property.
And don't forget, I have posted a few times today, so don't forget to read those as well. I updated on my weight loss!
Abracadabra!
Do you like magic? I've always been pretty skeptical, but I found this pretty neat site today that made me think twice. Wizmagic.co.uk is a really neat magic site that sells all sorts of magic tricks, and even has demo videos.
Check out this video: Exploding Lightbulb Magic Trick. It shows a guy holding a light bulb and he instructs you to concentrate on the light bulb, and then magically the light bulb explodes as he is holding it! The magic trick is really neat! If you do this in front of your friends, it will amaze them! Maybe even make their jaws drop! Best of all, you can perform the trick over and over again, as many times as you like.
Right now the website is selling the trick for 26.99 gbp (British pounds), and comes with everything you need except the light bulb. I might get this for my son for Christmas, it really seems like a cool gift to get, and he likes magic too.
Check out this video: Exploding Lightbulb Magic Trick. It shows a guy holding a light bulb and he instructs you to concentrate on the light bulb, and then magically the light bulb explodes as he is holding it! The magic trick is really neat! If you do this in front of your friends, it will amaze them! Maybe even make their jaws drop! Best of all, you can perform the trick over and over again, as many times as you like.
Right now the website is selling the trick for 26.99 gbp (British pounds), and comes with everything you need except the light bulb. I might get this for my son for Christmas, it really seems like a cool gift to get, and he likes magic too.
Weight Loss Update
I weighed myself this morning and I am down 7lbs. And I said before that I have been exercising for a whole month, but I realized that my first official exercise day, when I really started to put effort into it after my hubby left, was May 12th. It is June 3d today, so I think that is pretty darn good! I have 4 months exactly till my cousin's wedding.
Today I did a half hour (33 min) on the elliptical machine, plus a half hour of strength and resistance/weigh training.
Yaay Me!!!
So can I reach my goal of 50lbs by that day? I have 43 more to go!
Today I did a half hour (33 min) on the elliptical machine, plus a half hour of strength and resistance/weigh training.
Yaay Me!!!
So can I reach my goal of 50lbs by that day? I have 43 more to go!
Need Money For College?
These days College and University have gotten really expensive, so it pays to look around for alternative funding options.
That is why College Scholarships is a great place to look for Scholarships that are available to you.
Scholarships.com is a great, free website that offers a comprehensive scholarship search, with individual results tailored to you! They have been around since 1998, and are the "largest independent online resource for free college scholarship searches and financial aid information. Our mission is to assist students in obtaining college scholarships and to help them and their parents explore the many available scholarship opportunities."
If you have a child going into College this fall, or you are going yourself, check out the website. You never know, you might actually qualify for a scholarship!
That is why College Scholarships is a great place to look for Scholarships that are available to you.
Scholarships.com is a great, free website that offers a comprehensive scholarship search, with individual results tailored to you! They have been around since 1998, and are the "largest independent online resource for free college scholarship searches and financial aid information. Our mission is to assist students in obtaining college scholarships and to help them and their parents explore the many available scholarship opportunities."
If you have a child going into College this fall, or you are going yourself, check out the website. You never know, you might actually qualify for a scholarship!
Monday, June 02, 2008
All Things Organic
A big thanks to FocusOrganic.com for including my post Organic Makeup in this weeks edition of All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume 2
this is carnival #2 for me, so I am still learning all the "carnival" ropes.
this is carnival #2 for me, so I am still learning all the "carnival" ropes.
Zeusy, Our FlufferNutter
Here are some pictures of our Zeusy. We love him to bits. We do have another cat, Hades, and a dog...Braddock, but Zeus is the funny one (Hades likes to keep to himself and hides all day). He loves to lay on his back with his paws folded. He is a pure-bred Maine Coone, and one year old. Maine Coones can take up to 5 years to mature, so he will get a lot bigger than this.
please excuse the quality of the photos, they were taken on my cell phone.
What kind of pets do you have? I love cats. Zeus and Hades were my birthday presents last year. Braddock was my birthday present for my 23d birthday. Notice a trend? lol I hope I don't end up with a fish this year.
please excuse the quality of the photos, they were taken on my cell phone.
What kind of pets do you have? I love cats. Zeus and Hades were my birthday presents last year. Braddock was my birthday present for my 23d birthday. Notice a trend? lol I hope I don't end up with a fish this year.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Writers Block
I am sorry I haven't written since friday! Frankly, I've had a writers block. Really, I haven't had a clue as to what I should write. So I thought I would share some facts about me. Some of you may know them already, and some might not.
1) My hubby and I met on the internet and have been married almost 9 years
2) I LOVE sour soothers candy. Every time my sis comes down from Canada, I have her bring me a huge bag
3) I am a purse fanatic. I love to buy new ones all the time.
6) I have only lived by myself for a whole 4 months in my life.
7) My feet grew with my last two pregnancies. I now wear a women's size 11. ACK!!! But I am also 5'9" tall, so I don't have clown feet. lol.
8) My 7 year old son wears a men's size 5.5/6 shoe. He is only 3 sizes smaller than me (i wear a men's 9), and about 55" tall or so.
9) I spend entirely too much time online when I should be folding laundry
10) Cooking is not my forte, though I do it because I have to. But I LOVE to bake.
11) I love to read. Too many books to list, but I am an avid book reader.
12) I also dislike gardening. Plants in pots are about all I can handle.
13) I am counting down the days till the next Futurama movie, The Beast With A Billion Backs, comes out. My hubby is buying it for me for my birthday if I don't get it beforehand. I probably will though. The kids and I are crazy about Futurama.
14) I don't "love" the summer. I LOVE the fall. The cool crisp air, the leaves falling.
15) Christmas is my favorite "season". LOVE it. After that comes Halloween. I usually start to buy christmas gifts in september. I've already started to stockpile gift ideas for my kids.
16) I am shamelessly addicted to buying Gymboree clothes for my youngest daughter. Sometimes for the older kids, but I don't like how they fit them as well, so I buy for them mostly from The Children's Place. I just make sure my kids look presentable at all times.
17) A pet peeve of mine is when I see parents out with kids who look dirty and un-kempt. How much work is it to brush their hair and wipe their faces, and make sure they have on clean clothes?
18) Another pet peeve is seeing kid with pacifiers who are older than a year.
19) I have to have Diet Caffeine Free Pepsi in the house.
20) I have no regrets that I didn't finish college/university. I enjoy being a stay at home mom and I am forever thankful to my hubby for working hard enough so that I can stay home and not worry about having to find a job.
21) I love the smell of the pacific ocean. I have lived within an hour of it (sometimes less than 5 minutes) all my life except for a year in Germany and half a year in Alberta.
What are some interesting things about you? any pet peeves you have? things you can't live without?
1) My hubby and I met on the internet and have been married almost 9 years
2) I LOVE sour soothers candy. Every time my sis comes down from Canada, I have her bring me a huge bag
3) I am a purse fanatic. I love to buy new ones all the time.
6) I have only lived by myself for a whole 4 months in my life.
7) My feet grew with my last two pregnancies. I now wear a women's size 11. ACK!!! But I am also 5'9" tall, so I don't have clown feet. lol.
8) My 7 year old son wears a men's size 5.5/6 shoe. He is only 3 sizes smaller than me (i wear a men's 9), and about 55" tall or so.
9) I spend entirely too much time online when I should be folding laundry
10) Cooking is not my forte, though I do it because I have to. But I LOVE to bake.
11) I love to read. Too many books to list, but I am an avid book reader.
12) I also dislike gardening. Plants in pots are about all I can handle.
13) I am counting down the days till the next Futurama movie, The Beast With A Billion Backs, comes out. My hubby is buying it for me for my birthday if I don't get it beforehand. I probably will though. The kids and I are crazy about Futurama.
14) I don't "love" the summer. I LOVE the fall. The cool crisp air, the leaves falling.
15) Christmas is my favorite "season". LOVE it. After that comes Halloween. I usually start to buy christmas gifts in september. I've already started to stockpile gift ideas for my kids.
16) I am shamelessly addicted to buying Gymboree clothes for my youngest daughter. Sometimes for the older kids, but I don't like how they fit them as well, so I buy for them mostly from The Children's Place. I just make sure my kids look presentable at all times.
17) A pet peeve of mine is when I see parents out with kids who look dirty and un-kempt. How much work is it to brush their hair and wipe their faces, and make sure they have on clean clothes?
18) Another pet peeve is seeing kid with pacifiers who are older than a year.
19) I have to have Diet Caffeine Free Pepsi in the house.
20) I have no regrets that I didn't finish college/university. I enjoy being a stay at home mom and I am forever thankful to my hubby for working hard enough so that I can stay home and not worry about having to find a job.
21) I love the smell of the pacific ocean. I have lived within an hour of it (sometimes less than 5 minutes) all my life except for a year in Germany and half a year in Alberta.
What are some interesting things about you? any pet peeves you have? things you can't live without?
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