I've Been Tagged!!!

Lisa from .http://kittytigerskitchen.blogspot.com/ has tagged me! So now I have to tell 3 random things about myself.

The rules for '3 Random Things':

1. Post 3 random things about yourself.

2. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.

3. Tag at least 5 other bloggers.

4. Let them know you've tagged them by commenting on their blog with an invite to participate.

OK, here goes......

1. I collect Coca-Cola items. My tiny kitchen if full of Coca-Cola items, many of which I bought off Ebay. The living room has been included too since there is a five foot wide doorway connecting the two rooms.

2. I met my two best friends when I was only one year old! Their names are Bobbie and Lula and they are twins. Their older brother was friends with my two older brothers so Bobbie and Lula were at my 1st B-day party. I literally don't remember life without them!

3. Hmmmm.....very random.....I use both feet to drive even though I've never driven a stick-shift. My dad drove with both feet too..... Maybe it's because the cars we've always had died if you took your foot off the accelerator! LOL I've tried to drive with only my right foot, but it just feels funny.

I'm tagging........Arggh, Lisa already got most of the people I was going to tag!

Katie @ http://spay-them-all.blogspot.com/

Amy @ http://newlywed07.blogspot.com/

Well, I guess that's it for now..........don't visit many other blogs regularly. Hmm, will have to think about this tomorrow.

Loosing Battle's Babies

Feels More Like Friday the 13th!

My day started off fine..... for the first two hours. I was a late leaving for work, then my car stalls at the intersection just a block from my house. It wouldn't start at all. It's a 23 year old Chevy so it has it's quirks. One of it's quirks is that the choke light flickers....when I say flicker, you have to look..no stare at it to see it, but you can hear it tick. It's been doing this for years, probably 4 or so years. Now the choke is sticking and I'll have to "unstick" it with a screwdriver to get it started when it acts up. :( I was told 2 years ago that it needed a new carburator, but couldn't afford a new one at $600+ labor. I guess I will have to either buy a new one (really don't want to spend that much!), or try to locate a good used one. Buying a new car at this time in my life (or even a good used one), isn't in my budget. I don't drive much or very far at a time right now so I'm going to try to make this one last as long as possible.

The other thing that has made my day less than happy is my brother. To make a long story short, he and I are complete opposites. I'm responsible, follow the rules, attend church on a weekly basis, never even tried a cigarette or beer. My brother on the other hand is well......the exact opposite. Currently he's paying his dues for something that he got caught for last summer (it will be over on 4/23 or 4/30). Well, he's mad at me because I wouldn't take in his family AGAIN while he's serving this month in jail. They (all 6---2 adults, 4 kids) lived here with my mother and I for most of June '07 through Feb '08 because he woudn't face up to the trouble he got into. Now he's calling me a hypocrite, because he's "found God" and he says I don't practice what I preach. I feel bad for the kids, but I can NOT live with these people. It was HORRIBLE, constant screaming/fighting. My house is only ONE bedroom/ ONE bathroom. Yes, it has a FULL basement as his GF of the past 10 years tells everyone. But that full basement is just a concrete box consisting of 2 rooms. One has the furnace, water heater, washer/dryer, a shower and storage. The other has an exit and the stairs with my gym equipment in it. Oh, did I mention that there's huge puddles in the floor everytime it rains hard? Not exactly a good bedroom for 4 kids and 2 adults. He sent my mom a letter telling her that she's the only family he had and when he gets out, he'll move back to TN and when she dies there will be no reason to come back to IN..............that is of course, until he needs money, then I'll be his sweet little sister again. Did I mention that he's 48 years old, not some twenty-something???

There are some things to be thankful for........even today!

• My neighbor got my car started for me and showed me how to start it when it acts up.
• I met with the principal and she likes my plans for summer school.
• I'm going out of state with my church's ladies' group Friday.
• My good friends at GC (AJ and Love ECBs) sent me some great coupons!
• Last, but not least, my salvation!

My Baby..........

My baby boy, Coal, is jealous. He's seen Pinball's picture and he wants to be famous too! His mama cat was pretty feral, but she trusted me enough to bring her baby to me. At first glance I thought he was a mole! Instead, he bacame my "little lump of Coal". He was raised with a bottle and he's now six and a half years old. As you can see in the second picture, he has a very short tail but I've never seen a Manx around here. He also have two toes on his front paw that was fused together so I assume the tail is also a birth defect. He was the only kitten out of that litter to survive. I know he had a least one littermate who didn't survive. He shares his home with Ginger the dog, seven other cats and his two servants...........my mom and me! As you can see from the last picture, he likes to be "on the computer" as much as I do.

My Stockpile.....

Before joining the GC messageboard, I never really thought of it as a stockpile. I just thought of it as "extras" that I happened to find on sale. As you can see I have an addiction to Bath and Body Works and just HBA sections in general! I like to try new shampoos, conditioners and body washes, so I have a variety of everything, most that have been paritally used then abandoned for something new. I knew I had a lot, didn't realize how much! I'm going to try to use up a lot of half empty bottles before I open any new ones. I want to say I'll stop buying anymore, but CVS has ECBs for Pantene and Sunsilk, plus I have coupons!! All the haircolor is a neccessity due to finding my first gray hair at the young age of 21! Thanks so GC, specifically Dhunny I believe, I got them all for 1/2 price with BOGO coupons. Since I just realized that I have a stockpile, I'm working on getting it organized. Right now it's in the bathroom, and basement. Oh, I didn't take a picture of the 3 kinds of Dove shampoo and conditioner and one type of Pantene that my mother uses (she keeps that in the kitchen!). I am going to have to find a new system to get it organized so I'll know what I have and what I need, but it won't be accessible to outsiders who like to help themselves to my "store".

Teaching Pre-K Summer School

This summer, I have the privilege once again to TEACH pre-school for four weeks. I started at this school district in August 2006 as a pre-k assistant after not being able to find another special education teaching position. Last summer, I was given the opportunity to teach four out of the six weeks of summer school. This time, however, it will only last four weeks and I'm in charge the whole time!

It was so much fun, but it's also a lot of work. There is so much preparation needed to teach and entertain twelve to sixteen 3, 4, and 5 year olds!! I am going to continue using the ocean theme I began last summer (it's much easier if you have a theme to go by!). The picture at the top is what I recently purchased to use this summer. It will be added to what I purchased for last year. At a teach supply store in a nearby town, I found most of the items at 50% off! The entire basket of supplies cost a total of $81.49 with tax. As you can see in the bottom picture, three books alone normally cost $69.97! All the books, at regular price would have been $92.95 before tax!! Not only did I find a good deal, I also will keep my receipts so that I can deduct them from my taxes next year.

Vacation's Over! :(

My two week Spring Break ended today. I didn't get nearly as much completed as I planned. I wanted to clean/organize my basement, but didn't get around to it. I did get a lot done:

• cleaned up and organized my bedroom (still need to do more in there)
• organized one bathroom cabinet
• went through/threw out make-up
• gathered clothing/items for donation
• re-organized DVD/VHS cabinent
• began cleaning out desk

There is still much left to finish, but it feels good to get these things completed!

Where to start?

Well, I've started this blog to help me with my goals. One goal is to save money.....or more specifically add to my EF (currently a little over $2,000), pay off the last of my student loans (a bit over $1,200), and to live within my means. I have a high FICO score, 782 the last time I checked, and luckily, I carry no CC debt. I would like to be able to add to a 401(k) again. I contributed to one between 2001 and 2005 when I taught special education in KY. However, I lost that job and haven't been able to afford to add anymore. It's currently around $6,000. The last time I received a statement, I think it said I had made a profit of 48%. I also have around $6,000 in stock with the company I work part-time at as a cashier.

My next goal is to lose weight. This has been a challenge all my life. I have recently lost about 10 pounds! However, I'm still 32 lbs above my lowest adult weight (during the summer of 2002). That's my problem........I lose weight, get stressed, eat like there's no tomorrow, and gain it back! I'm back on the right track now so I'm going to get back down there. I've got a whole slew of like new clothes that I want to wear again!! Once I get to, or closer to my goal weight, I will post before/after pictures. I have the before picture (in a bathing suit of all things), but not ready to share it with the world yet.

My third goal is to get organized. I've been working on this in the past couple weeks, just trying to do spring cleaning and get rid of things I don't use. It feels so good to see progress. I just hope I can keep it up.