Saturday, August 30, 2008

Day 230 and an Interesting Dream Last Night

I had an interesting dream last night that I thought I would share. I was somewhere with a bunch of people (like a conference or something) and these three guys were threatening to beat me up. Noone, not my friends or any strangers would step up and help me. It was me against them and I was terrified. Then I realized that I didn't need to be relying on people to help me anyway, I needed to rely on God. So I got on my knees and prayed. I woke up right after that, with just the weirdest feeling and thinking about how this applies to my life today. I feel overwhelmed and terrified at times, by bills, income (or lack of), and well...let's face it, lately car repairs. LOL. I realized that I don't rely on God enough in those times. I rely on myself or on my friends too much and forget to rely on God. Not that there's anything wrong with relying on your friends, but you can't forget to rely on God first. Sometimes God sends you friends to help you through those times, but I think we should get down on our knees and pray to Him first.

Yesterday, I added the $25 I got for reviewing toys to the EF, so it is now at $255. Hard to believe that just over a week ago, it was at $0! God has really been blessing us there.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Day 229 and Yeah-a 3 day weekend!

I'm so glad for a 3 day weekend, even though I should spend a good part of it working on homework. Hopefully I'll be able to relax some too.

Tonight I went to Enid and made a deposit and went by Jumbo's to get some stuff. They had extra lean hamburger meat on sale for 1.89 a pound (like gas, I think it's sad that 1.89 sounds like a good price on hb meat now. UGH), plus I found some Eckrich smoked sausage for 99 cents a package so I bought several of those. Tomorrow I'm going to brown up a good part of the hb meat for the freezer, and I"m also hoping that I can talk Tom into grilling some burgers, sausage, and hot dogs this weekend. Yum! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Day 228 and August is Back

So anyone notice that August is back with a vengeance? LOL. I sure was enjoying those cool mornings and in the 80's days. But it is August after all. It looks like we might cool back down a bit next week, so that would be nice.

When Tom gets back from making a deposit today, we'll have $230 in our baby EF. Go us! I got my $25 check for reviewing toys today so that will go into the EF. We could be getting close to $400 by the end of next week! Just knowing that it's not $0 anymore has given me a great peace of mind. Since I have two drop-ins coming right now, I'm putting all that money into the baby EF until we get it built back up. Then I'll start putting that money towards our debt on top of what we're already paying.

Tonight I have my first Grant Co. child care association meeting of the year. Things are really starting to get busy for me!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Day 227 and the Wal-Mart Clearance Aisle

I love the Wal-mart clearance aisle. Sometimes you can find great bargains there. Sometimes you can find junk you don't need there. LOL. But recently, I came across some plastic water bottles marked down to 25 cents each. Since my kids are always hollering for a drink of water when we're outside, I bought a bunch of them, put their names on them, and now we've got water with us wherever we go. I had a little plastic tote already that the 8 bottles (7 kids and mine) fit perfectly in. I can fill the bottles in the morning, stick the tote in the fridge, and grab it when we go outside or go for a walk. The kids love it and I'm loving it too.

Some other great deals I've found on the Wal-mart clearance aisle: A couple of years ago, I found the nice pocket folders (the ones I usually won't buy because they are not 5 cents at the start of school) for 2 cents each! This would have been a better bargain had I not spilled something all over them and ruined them. Last year, I found some really nice calendars that I bought to give as Christmas gifts. I also found 35 mm disposable cameras for $1 there last fall. Well, I thought they were disposable. Turned out they weren't. They came pre-loaded with film, but they could be re-used! I used some as Christmas gifts and kept a couple for when my kids wanted a camera for something.

The bottom line when you're doing any kind of shopping, even if it's on the clearance aisle, at the thrift store, or at garage sales: Make sure you have a real use or need for what you're getting. Don't just get it because it's on sale. Even if it's super cheap, you're just wasting money and space on stuff you don't really need and will probably end up throwing away (or spilling something on) later.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Day 226 and in over my head

Dang! I may be in over my head with this one class I'm taking. It's called "The Dynamic Universe" and it's about space, astronomy, etc. I was reading the assignment for it yesterday and I didn't understand most of what I was reading. Then I was doing some more reading today and thought I understood it better until I started trying to take the quiz for it. Then I wasn't sure anymore, LOL!

I feel kind of like I"m trying to come down with a cold or my allergies are really getting to me today so I'm going to hit the sack early and see if a good night's sleep will help.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Day 225 and Motivational Quotes

Another of the lessons learned from Denise Ryan at the conference a few weeks ago was to use motivational quotes to keep yourself motivated. I love quotes! I have some favorites. One is by Mother Teresa: "It's not what you do, but how much love you put into it". I think that sums up my job perfectly. Another is from the Bible: Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men". I try really hard to keep that one in mind on those days where the kids are really acting up or I'm feeling wiped out. I'm not doing this job just for me. I'm doing it for the kids, the parents, and most importantly for God. Another one of my favorites (from a t-shirt I used to have and on my business cards now): "Home child care is where the heart is". I know it's where my heart is. Do you have any favorite motivational quotes that you like?

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Day 224 and Tomorrow's the Day

Well, my summer is officially over. I start my online classes back up tomorrow. I'm nervous (new teachers always make me nervous), and I'm not sure if I"m ready. But it's coming anyway. LOL.

As always, this weekend flew by in a blur, but I got several things done around the house yesterday. Hope all my friends and family and readers have had a good weekend!