Day 306 and phew!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I finished my homework. What a relief! Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers! I'm off to Women of Faith around noon. I'll try to post when I get home tomorrow night, but if not I'll definitely post on Sunday.

Coming up...
a debt update
lotion experiment update
the return of layaway

Have a great weekend!

Day 305 and homework

I am still trying to get my homework done before I leave for Women of Faith tomorrow. I know I will have a much better time if I do not have homework hanging over my head. I am leaving at noon tomorrow and will be back late Saturday night. So if I do not post over the next couple of days, you'll know why, and I'll "see" you on Sunday.

P.S. I am having trouble with this last homework assignment so I'm asking for good thoughts and prayers to get me with it. Thanks!

Day 304 and on a deadline

I'm on a deadline trying to get my homework done before I leave on Friday. So I'm just checking in briefly today with a mini lotion update. This week, I am using the Jergen's Ultra healing lotion. The instructions say to use once a day so that's what I've been doing. As of today, I'm getting a couple of itchy spots on my hand that look like they're trying to crack. So I'll keep you posted on that!

Day 303 and Women of Faith

So, I have a funny and amazing story to share about attending the Women of Faith conference this coming weekend. I signed up for it before I knew I had openings in the child care and then when all of that stuff happened, I started getting nervous about taking the money out of our budget to pay for it. I was talking to my friend Debbie who attends the conference with her sisters about it. She really wanted me to go and she told me that she'd pray for me and "maybe God would knock me over the head and tell me that I needed to go". I replied that unless God knocked me over the head with the money to go, that I'd probably stay home this year. So a few days later, I finally e-mailed the church and told them to remove my name from the list, I wasn't going to be able to go. The pastor replied that someone had already paid my way. He thought I knew, but they obviously did it without telling me! I was in tears, of course. Tears of joy, tears of amazement. Later on, I recalled the conversation with my friend Debbie and started laughing out loud (I think Tom thought I'd gone a little nuts). Isn't that an amazing story? God is so good and people are so sweet!

I was able to go to the dentist this morning (thanks Mandy)! The tooth had a cavity in it and it chipped the corner off. It was very close to the nerve, but not in the nerve yet. So he filled it and we're hoping that will work. It wasn't sensitive to cold or anything, it was mainly just annoying and aching. It took almost $200 out of the EF between paying the dentist and paying Mandy. But on the way home, I was thinking about last November. I got really sick the weekend before Thanksgiving. I ended up having to go to Urgent Care AND I had to close for a day because I was running such a high fever. All of that was stressful in itself but when I do not work, I do not get paid. It was stress on top of stress losing a day's pay that close to Christmas on top of the doctor visit and medicine. The peace that comes with being able to "just do it" is amazing. Now of course, our EF is down under $300 so we'll have to kick it into gear and get it built back up. But if I haven't said it enough, that EF is amazing!

Oh, and a little plug here. I have a link to the Living on a Dime website down at the bottom of my page. This week, they are having a free shipping sale on their print books. The Dining on a Dime book is FANTASTIC and I highly recommend it to anyone. It has lots of real recipes in it with common ingredients and it has a section with homemade gifts, etc. Anyway, check it out! If you need a Christmas gift for someone, this might be just what you need.

Day 302 and Thanksgiving

Well, I've been blabbing on and on about Christmas, I figured it's time to switch gears and talk about Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving! This year, I think we are going to Norman to see Serenity. I'm not sure if we'll go out to eat or eat at her apartment. She has offered us ramen noodles and chicken pot pie. Tasha thought that sounded great. LOL! Anyway, I've got two turkeys in my freezer, I could cook one early, freeze it, and then transport it down there to reheat at her apartment, and take other foods to cook. Serenity is happy as long as she has pumpkin pie.

This is the time of year to watch for good sales on baking goods at the grocery store. Even though the sales do not seem to be as good as in the past, keep an eye out anyway, you might find some unadvertised deals to stock up on. Keep a close eye out even after the holidays are over. Last year, one of my friends found turkeys at Wal-mart for 25 cents a pound after Christmas! That is an amazing price!

The emergency fund is going to take another hit because I broke a tooth this weekend. UGH! Anyway, I'm going to the dentist tomorrow. It's not sensitive to heat or cold so it's not down in the nerve, so I'm hoping they can just fill it in and be done with it. It is however making my jaw ache!

I'm really busy this week. I have meetings tomorrow night and Thursday night, and Friday I go to Women of Faith in OKC. Tomorrow I have an amazing story about that to share.

Day 301 and a commercial Christmas rant

Today my thoughts center not just on how commercialized Christmas has become, but on how early it all starts. I love Christmas decorations and Christmas music, but I can only take so much of them. The day after Halloween I went into Wal-mart and they are already playing Christmas music!!!!! Of course, they already had the Christmas stuff out, but that I"m used to. But already playing Christmas music? Last year, my favorite radio station (Magic 104.1 out of OKC) went to all Christmas music right after Thanksgiving. That is just too much for me!

So I have to fight off my annoyance at all of this every year to get into the Christmas spirit. Some years it works, some years I lose the battle. This year, I am going to win the battle! I am going to relax, I am going to enjoy Christmas and celebrate the season. That's half the battle right?

Tomorrow, let's talk about Thanksgiving! Later this week, I'm going to find and share some Christmas gift ideas.