I Want New Ornaments ....

I would like to have new ornaments for my Christmas tree this year. I got to looking online and it's quite pricey to have new ornaments so .... I believe JD and I are going to make new ornaments for the tree! He's 3 so this should be FUN!

Here are some of the sites I'm grabbing ideas from:
Family Fun
Kaboose
Craft Ideas

Also, I was thinking about making extras so HE can give them away as gifts to the grandparents and all. CUTE! :o)

Whoa! It's November!

Dude, where did this year go?? Seriously ... this is kinda scary. I was in CVS the other day and they already have out Christmas stuff. I was like "good grief Charlie Brown". And it hit me, I was one day away from Halloween.

I started thinking about this year and what all I have done with myself. As we get older sometimes we get into going through motions and never really stop to think about what we're doing.

I have successfully read cover to cover about 7 books this year! I'm so proud of myself. There were a few years there where I didn't even read one, so 7 is great for me. haha

I've also managed to pay off a credit card and a line of credit. :o) Yay!

I also did something I've never done before ... taxes! Yes, I worked with Jackson Hewitt this past tax season and was a seasonal tax preparer.

I've done some other things to but I don't want to bore you with all of them.

The most important thing I've done though is strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ. I've stepped up to the plate and have taken up my cross to follow after my Savior. In that process I've encouraged other people to do the same. Our preacher said one morning, "What's the last thing you've done for Jesus?" ... It made me think about all he's done for me ... And what have I done in return.

I watched an awesome video a few months ago and I would like for you to watch it. This video is FOR CHRISTIANS ... The Fire! It's pretty great! It's by a man named Nate Pfeil. This video didn't make me feel good ... It made me think!

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

As many of you know my cousin Jessica passed away January 2008. You can read her story under the Updates of Jessica posts on here.

She was a regular patient at the Children's Heathcare of Atlanta. She made good friend with some of the nurses and doctors and when Jessica passed away these wonderful people came to her funeral.

Jessica's birthday is December 13. I've made a pledge to raise $1,000 by that day to help benefit this wonderful hospital and I need your help.

Check out my Fundraising Pledge.

Thank you!!!

5 Years Strong!

Daniel and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary tomorrow. I can't believe we made it this far. Seriously ...

We're actually celebrating Saturday but the big day is tomorrow. We're both working. haha ... Gotta have some money. I'm working a double and when he gets off at EMC he's going to work at the restaurant. He's working up there where I work on Thursday and Friday nights. We're trying to stay afloat.

Anywho, Saturday we're going to Pine Mountain to do this animal safari thing with J.D. I'm excited.

Well, I haven't updated my blog in a while because I've been pullin' too many hours. Hope all my bloggin' buddies are doing great.

Great News ...

So, yesterday I posted about settling with a credit card company. :o) I was up some of the night praying and asking for guidance and help and really got myself into the mind set of getting this stuff paid for. We can do it if we get our butts in gear, ya know.

Daniel had mentioned something about filing for bankruptcy and it just didn't sit right with me because we 'could' make the payment if we put our minds to it. Either way, bankruptcy or not, it's going to have to get paid for, right? So why not just pay for it and avoid changing your life completely. I finally talked him into NOT filing for bankruptcy by reading THIS ARTICLE to him. Finally, he understood.

Well, today I talked to Heather and she agreed to let me work an extra night shift to help pay it down. I was super stoked about that. And also, we had two other companies call and agreed to work with us. So, by the end of this year we will be out from under two cards. Woo-Hoo!

I tell ya what ... We haven't used a credit card in over two years and don't ever plan on doing it again. We got ourselves into a bind by being irresponsible and IT SUCKS. We know what we did wrong and have definitely learned our lesson.

Pray for us though ... That everything falls into place.
Matthew 6:33

I Need $1,400 ...

So, Daniel and I are in some credit card debt ... along with everyone else. Well, we had a creditor call this evening and offer to settle with us for $1,400 but it all has to be paid by October. Well ... I don't have an extra $350 a month laying around. I mean, if I did ... I'd be makin' the payment. ?? Duh!

Well, here I am trying to figure out where we can get an extra $89 a week to put towards our bill. I'm going to ask Heather if I can work an extra night or two each week at the restaurant to help get this paid down. I hope and pray she says yes. She's already fully staffed so .. We'll see how this goes.

But, I've also been lookin' online for other ways to get some cash. Well, I know of all the scams so I'm cautious about everything. And I'm planning on having a yard sale but I'm not sure how that will go because I don't have a whole lot of anything to sale. lol ...

Do you know of anything? I'm not interested in direct selling businesses ... I don't have time for parties or long conference calls. Ugh, I don't know .... At one point in time I sold Avon, Home Interiors and Melaleuca. And all three helped to get me where I'm at today. In debt. :o) Minimum orders and all that crap add up.

I will say this ... Them wanting to settle has definitely got me motivated. Because it makes us feel like there's an end in sight. Ya know? We've been reading Dave Ramsey's book about budgeting and all that good stuff but how do you budget when you don't have money to budget with? We just have more going out than what's coming in. And we HAVE to get it under control. Working in a restaurant definitely doesn't help. Some weeks it's beneficial and some weeks it's not.

So, if you'd like ... help me out! :o) What are your tips ... Thanks!

The Wishing Jar

I just finished reading The Wishing Jar by Penelope J. Stokes and I loved it.

If you read and visit the library often do you ever feel like sometimes a book finds you rather than you find the book? Well, that's how I felt Tuesday when while I was searching for a book to read to get my mind off of the D&C I had last Friday.

I had searched through all kinds of books waiting to feel like I found the one I wanted to read and then I finally came across a green book with a jar on the front. There was a symbol on the side that read Christian Novel with a cross on it. I had the urge come over me and I picked it up and walked up to check it out. I didn't even read the back to see what it was about.

In all, it took me about 7 hours to read the book in a span of 3 days of reading. I highly recommend this novel to anyone. We all take things from books and I took from this one not to ask "why me" when we go through trials and tests but to find God in the situation and go from there. I look back at the miscarriage and don't think about the miscarriage but trust God with no questions asked. I learned at church one Sunday that sometimes God chooses us for certain things because we're strong enough to take it. I choose to roll with that answer and move on to the next task.

If you get a chance, check out the book at the library and read it. Come tell me what you think about it.