Thursday, January 31, 2008

Flowers

I normally use this blog to complain. Usually about my mom living with us. This continues to be a challenge and a huge expense in our lives (we figured out how much we spent on her in the month of January alone and it was over $325). But my life isn't some horrible thing, not as a whole. I have a lot of things to be thankful for and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on those things.

-I have a great husband and a wonderful son. I don't always feel like I have enough time to spend with either of them, but they are great guys (my son is 18 months). They make my life wonderful and enjoyable.

-My earnings for the month of January was $520.14. This is by far the highest it has ever been, well at least from working online.

-My husband has been bringing me a bouquet of flowers every week now for over a month. It makes me feel wonderful and special as well as adding some beauty to our apartment.

No matter how life may seem at the moment, there is always some light somewhere, if only we will look to see our own blessings.

Monday, January 28, 2008

91. "There's Cheese Its?!?"

The sound of her voice from the other room makes me cringe. I don't have a problem sharing good treats, such as Cheese Its, with her. Don't get me wrong. What bothers me about having treats is how fast they go. She doesn't have any restraint. I can remember her complaining that my brother would get up in the night and eat all the good things in the house. I know where he got it from!

Two weeks ago we bought a big box of hot cocoa. It had thirty packs. My husband and I used four of them. At the end of the week she told me it was gone and that it was good so I should add some more to the shopping list! We can't afford to go through a big box of 30 hot cocoas in one week. So, I haven't bought any more. Which means we go without as well.

So, when I hear her talking to the baby in the other room.

"There's Cheese Its ?!?"

Not anymore....

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

90. Demands

There are times when I look at my life and I know that I will survive, but I am just not sure how. With my mom here, I have been stretched and my relationship with my husband has been stretched. It is certain that with the stress we have gone through in the first two and half years of marriage, we are bound and determined to survive it all.

Lately the demands have been getting to me though. Sunday mom demanded we go out and get lettuce, tomatoes, and croûtons. While at the store I learned that lettuce in the bag was cheaper then by the head. I called my mom to make sure she wanted these items for a salad (she had mentioned throwing the croûtons in with stuffing. I figured that if she wanted a salad that it would be best to get the bag of salad mix. She threw a fit. "I like it better by the head! It stays fresh longer and tastes better!" So we bought the head of lettuce even though we could have saved money and gotten more for our money buying the bag.

Today she demanded that I go to the store to get oatmeal so she could make no bake cookies and solve her chocolate craving. I didn't do it because we are out of money for groceries this month (actually we went over with the stuff we bought this weekend). When I tried to explain this to her, she told me to go around and ask the neighbors for oatmeal. This seemed crazy! I don't know my neighbors and I am not the type that feels comfortable going and asking for things from them.

But, it isn't really about me. These demands are really about her instead of me. But such as life.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Today is the Day

Today is my mom's psychological evaluation. In a few hours we will be in a doctor's office working to prove that my mom is depressed an unable to learn a new occupation. Doesn't that sound fun? As much as I would like today to already be over, it isn't. But, hopefully all goes well and today takes us closer to the next step in our lives.

The hope is that the doctor gets the paper work to the judge quickly and that he then makes his decision quickly. Then that his decision is the one we want. I am not sure what we will do if he denies her. After all we need her to move out! Plus some of the new apartments we are looking at (our place will be at least $100 more if we renewed our lease at the end of it) are townhomes with the bedrooms upstairs.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Refinance

I am never one who likes to encourage debt. However, no matter what way you slice it, most of us need a mortgage in order to buy a house. The days of saving money in our mattresses till we can buy the house outright are gone and done with (at least for most of us). If you are in need of refinancing, I suggest you check out Dollar Blvd. They will help you look for refinancing options, no matter what you are looking for, with no obligations. Florida Refinance is just one example of what they can do for you.

This has been a sponsored post. We thank you for tuning in and hope to see you again in the near future!

89. Nothing I Do Is Right

I seem to be upsetting my mom a lot lately. It is as if I make her upset no matter what I do. This is especially true if I don't make her enough food, or the right kinds. No matter what I do food wise, it is wrong. It makes me feel particularly frustrated and at times even attacked.

I know I shouldn't let the things she says bother me. But often I do. Often I feel wounded by what she says. Like I have been attacked and it has taken a toll on me. It makes me depressed and I have a hard time moving on from it.

We talked a little about it awhile back when she was commenting on my jewelry. She was like, "You used to get made at me when I told you, that you needed to practice to make your jewelry better." That wasn't quite what had happened. I didn't get made because she said I could get better. I was upset because she could never compliment me for what I had done, only tell me to keep practicing. It was like nothing I did was good enough. It still isn't most of the time. I told her that it wasn't about what she said, but rather how she said it and what she never said. She told me it was my issue, because I seemed to have a problem with her personality.

Well, whether you call it her personality or something else, her criticism and the fact that nothing is ever good enough for her gets on my nerves. It wears me down even on the best of days. It often makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry.

Find a Dentist Using Spock

Okay, we have lived in Texas for seven months. Now I need to find a dentist. Having been around the block a little, I decided to see what I could find on Spock.

I joined Spock awhile back. It is a people search engine. You can go there, add whatever data about yourself. Search people of all types using regular search words. You can even add information about friends and family, celebrities, and even dead people. There is only one problem with Spock. It is addicting and you go there for one thing, only to spend an hour there having fun and checking out whatever comes to mind.

Anyway, today. I need to find a dentist. I was rather surprised that 17 results came up for my area. Of course, this doesn't mean much. I quickly found out that dentist, doesn't necessarily mean that the person is a dentist. The first result is Clara McNeely who showed up in my search because she likes the movie: "The Secret Lives of Dentists". I myself have never heard of the movie before today. Because I am impulsive I wanted to know more about Clara McNeely she is a massage therapist. I think I could use a massage. Of course she lives in Tyler, Texas and not Midland, Texas. Being new here I don't even know how far that is.

Anyway...back to the dentist search.


There are a few honest possibilities here. They don't include much information, but more then I would get out of a phone book about the men behind the white coats. There are eight general practice dentists. A few "self-employed" dentists, though I am not quite certain what that means. A few others who claim to be dentists, but have funky profiles. Ah...the information you can find on Spock.

I must say, whether you are looking for a dentist, curious about what's on there about yourself or other people you know, or you are looking for a different type of professional, Spock can be a lot of fun! It might surprise you what's on there and where it comes from!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Making Money

So, I have been working hard at making money since about August. Some months I have worked harder then other months. I mostly write to make money. I tried the paid to read e-mails thing, but going and checking my e-mail account which was full of e-mail ads as well as a ton of spam was hard to do. It took a lot of time and was really boring.

I finally decided to join a pay to click site. I thought I might be able to do it while writing. I was right. You click on the link. You have to have that page up for 30 seconds. But you don't have to be on that page. I joined Daily Clicks, upgraded for $12 and paid the $15 for 10 referrals. In three days I have made $5. This means I am still in the whole, but it looks like I will be catching up really quickly.

They pay:
1-2 cents per click.
.05 cents for each referral's clicks as long as you haven't upgraded
1 cent per referral click if you do upgrade
Payout is $10

Upgrading is also supposed to get you more links to click on each day

If you are interested I would love to have you as a referral, just go and sign up today and start making money while doing the other things that you do!

88. I Just Know It Won't Get Done

I have been cleaning the house lately. Really really cleaning it. Not just the regular maintenance type of cleaning. It isn't that the house is filthy or anything, but we are rather messy. We don't pick up after ourselves, which means we live in the type of home that has the little piles every where. The living room looks worse (or did) because Marcus' toys were in there. I have gotten the living room, the dinning room, and most of the kitchen cleaned up and found places to put a lot of things that before didn't have homes. This weekend we are planning on finishing the kitchen and getting our room taken care of.

My mom came in and asked for an extra picture of my son. She wants to send it to my great aunt. Well, I don't have many pictures, but I told her she could have one. I am just not sure where I put them (in one of the piles on the dresser, desk, or TV table). I asked her if she could wait till this weekend when we finished cleaning the room.

She stormed off. When I asked her why she was upset she replied, "Because I know it won't get done." and off she stormed once again. This frustrates me. I am tired of her telling me what I will and won't do. The rebellious part of me wants to not do it this weekend. Kind of like a, well fine, if that's what you expect, I am going to go have some fun instead then. But I really want to get it done, so that's a bad idea.

It is just frustrating....

Friday, January 11, 2008

So, You Want a New Car

Well, many of us have had that oppertunity to drive around an old piece of crap. It is the car we have, but not the one we want. If this is you and you desire to have a new car at your disposal, it is time to check out what it will take to get a car lease. Leasing a car has a lot of advantages. First you get a new car. Having a new car is a great thing. But for most people, by time they are done paying for their new car, it isn't new anymore. In fact it is usually getting old by then. So, if you are one who likes the way a new car feels, drives, and even smells, leasing is a great option. Leasing a car will let you pay less then you would were you buying a new car, and it lets you always have a new car. Next year or the year after you can trade up for a new car.

Leasing a car also lets you get a plan that will take care of the things that go wrong with the car. They will fix it should it die, and they will even pay for you to have an oil change and do regular maintenance. It is as simple as that.

But if you are one interested in buying a car, leasing is still a good way to start. It will give you the oppertunity to check out a few different cars before you decide on the one that you want. After all, a new car is a big expense and you should know what you want before you buy it.

BuyYourCar helps you find the best prices! They will help you to get the car that you want at the price you want to pay. Nothing can be greater then that!

It's Been a Long Time

It has been a really long time. Lately I have been trying to make a lot of money using Helium's Reward-athon. This has taken up a large percentage of my time.

Things of note.

We are going to have to move out of our apartment by the end of May. This makes me very sad, after all I was hoping for a break from moving. It feels like moving is all we do. Move here, move there. It also poses a few issues with my mom. The question lingers, "What if she doesn't get her money?" This question comes with a touch of panic.

Other news. She is waiting for her psychological evaluation to find out if she is getting her money. This was supposed to happen in three to four months, but it didn't. The good news is, she has her appointment the 21st of this month...hopefully that means something.

In the time since I have last written we did an all night trip to the hospital, I continue to have problems, and she continues to complain. However, she now has an over the telephone boyfriend (who will be stopping to visit the start of next month, probably at the same time that we are supposed to have a giant sleepover with my in-laws).

Hopefully everything works out and works out well, but time will tell. Till then, I am once again apartment hunting. We want to be able to have the apartment of our choice this time.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

If It Comes With You...

If it comes with you, there is a chance of damage. It is just a fact. iPods, cell phones, portable game consoles, they all get scratched, and even damaged at times. My cell phone is a real mess. But it doesn't have to be this way. There is a revolutionary protection...invisibleSHEILD is a invisible layer you can place on your digital devices to protect them from scratches and other damage. Sure it isn't going to save it from being smashed to bits on the rail road track, but it does make it so that you don't have to have a bulky case for your phone or ipod just to protect it from scratches! Now you just place the invisibleSHEILD and away you go! This is the ipod case that will protect most digital devices that you carry with you. Macphones, smartphones, cell phones, game consuls, all those things that cost you money and that you don't want to see hurt. Plus, it is invisible, so if you paid extra money to show off your favorite color...it is still good, you can still show it off without having to hide it under some sort of case!

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I Hope Your Holidays Were Bright

I had good holidays, and avoided working that whole time. Now I am back and like, oh my I haven't posted since the nineteenth! Well, readership is down, partly due to no posting, partly due to the end of the year, Christmas, and all that jazz. I hope you had a good holiday as well...

I don't normally use this blog to talk about myself, at least not in the usual way, but I figured since it was a new year and all I would add this post. Christmas was exciting and brought about a few changes in our lives. Our son got a lot of toys from my husband's parents. This was a wonderful thing for me since we didn't have money to spend on him this year. Him being 17 months it isn't like he will remember we didn't spend a lot of money on him (I did buy him a game off of ebay, but it wasn't for much money).

My in-laws have been wonderful to me. They are taking the baby every Wednesday from three to six. It isn't a long period of time, but it lets me get more work done. Of course this hasn't happened over the holidays, but it is happening today. I am rather excited, I have so much going on that I really need the time to work. I think I need to start getting up at four again, but I am just not very good about waking up, and then I feel extra tired. Top it all off I have had a cold lately. But I am on the up from that.

I must say, since this is mostly about my relationship with my mom, I wanted to add...Monday I felt horrible and was so tired when the baby woke up. My mom actually took the baby to her room and watched him for an hour and a half. It is the second time she has helped me out since she moved in in March of 2007. I am very excited.

It does look like she will probably be moving out some time soon, though I am not sure when. I am very excited by this. Our apartment will feel huge and it will be all ours. That sounds supervillianish, but in reality it will be wonderful. She has most of the storage space and that makes it hard. Additionally having the baby in our closet is feeling horrible. We have been weaning him off of the bottle he was used to getting when going down for a nap and bed. I have put it off because he lives in the closet, but I really couldn't any longer. He isn't quite sleeping through the night and naps have become insanely short, but we are working hard at it.

Well...I must be off...I really hope your holidays were good ones!