Something's Changing

Lately, I've been feeling some things change.   Ever since the triathlon (and probably even before), I can never seem to get enough sleep.

I always wake up tired, even if I get 8 or so hours of sleep.  Then, by the middle of the day, it's time for a nap.

When I wake up, I'm stiff and sore, like I'm pasted to the bed.  My fingers are swollen and cramped, and usually my hands and arms have fallen asleep.  It takes all the effort I can muster just to get out of bed in the morning.

Lately, on top of that, I've been having stronger-than-usual cravings for foods that aren't good for me and soda.  While training for the triathlon I all but stopped craving soda altogether.  As soon as it ended, I couldn't help myself.  I can't believe how sudden it was.

I've taken a pregnancy test, which turned up negative, so that's not really a possibility as an explanation.  Relieving, on one hand, but also it is frustrating that I have no real obvious thing to explain this and so it's hard to determine what to do about it.

Any suggestions?

Today I Joined The Great Recovery!

So the U.S. Economy isn't at its peak right now.  It doesn't mean the world is coming to an end.  And the economy's state is not necessarily the government's fault, and it's not the government's responsibility to "fix" it--not that it could effectively do so, anyway.

The Economy isn't fixed from the top down, it's fixed from the bottom up, starting with each individual U.S. citizen taking responsibility for his/her own finances and not depending on the government to solve the problems.  In case you haven't noticed, the good ol' government has got plenty of its own issues to deal with.

Dave Ramsey is convinced that if each individual, church, community, town, city, etc., can start to believe and practice the principles of using money God's way, we as a nation could ultimately FIX the economy.

There is HOPE!  Don't believe everything you hear in the media, most of it isn't true, especially the part about the world ending because of a down economy.  Just focus on setting yourself and your family straight, and the rest will follow. 

I joined, and you should too.  Commit to wise saving, spending, and giving practices of your money, and you WILL see a difference.  It's really incredible how Chad's and my finances have really bucked up and met our needs more easily than it used to, and we are almost completely out of debt but our mortgage, thanks to Dave Ramsey and his financial guidance.

Regardless of religion or political philosophy, This idea is so valid and important, that I think every single person could benefit hugely from this.  Please, check it out at the very least.

Go to either DaveRamsey.com or TheGreatRecovery.com  and see what all the hype is about.  It'll be more than you expect, I promise.

My new outlook on Nutrition: Thrive in 30

This is a very interesting program that I've discovered through a friend.  Thrive In 30 is a program developed by a vegan Ironman triathlete.  It is a free 30-day subscription, where you get 12 lessons via email, each of which covers a specific topic regarding optimal nutrition.

One thing I really like about it is that they don't try to convince you to become a vegan.  The topics are generally principles that, when incorporated into your life, will benefit you greatly.  The segments are very educational and eye-opening, especially since I'm participating in a triathlon myself.  I'm excited to incorporate the principles into my life and get to feeling better, one thing I could always improve.

New job, new money.

Well, I sure haven't kept my promise to do more blogging.  Woe is me.  Well, at least I have an excuse, or a reason, however you may want to put it.

I now have two jobs.  One day job at the day care, and a night job at the bar.  For two weeks I worked MON-FRI @ the daycare, and then TUE-SAT at the bar.  Massively ridiculous hours, people.  Then last and this week I only had to work THUR-FRI-SAT at the bar.  Not so hard, except for the fact that actual triathlon training started in the midst of all of this.

My schedule has been crazy, Crazy.  And then if you add another, not-so-well-trained dog into the mix, one often wonders how I'm not in the looney bin, or simply 100% out of commission by now.  I thank my lucky stars for that.

Anywho, we demo-ed the basement today with my husband's parents.  They did a bunch last night and tonight while I was at work, too.  While I am excited to be moving forward with this project of ours, it is quite disheartening that every time I turned around today I found another leak in our basement (and some in our garage); just more that we have to fix.  6 days of rain is more than enough, thank you.

I need a massage and a chiropractor.

On the other hand, even though there is hardly enough energy for anything else in my life now, there IS extra money, with a second paycheck AND tips every night.  In a little over a month, I made over one thousand dollars in tips.  I keep them in a jar, and Chad and I decided that they will be my "clothing fund."  That will offset the expense, since I plan on getting to my goal weight and purchasing a whole new wardrobe sometime this year, which can sure get spendy.

Also in the news, WE PAID OFF OUR CAR last week.  Chad and I (and hopefully the rest of our family in the future) will NEVER, EVER have a car payment again.  What a triumph among all the doom and gloom and blah-ness that is our life right now.

Either way, it feels good to be meeting goals, and making progress, and feeling like we're actually doing something good with our lives.  And I need to practice remembering how much good we have in ratio with the bad.  So often I get so zoomed in on the negative that all the positive just shoots out of my mind.

Any suggestions on how to improve on that?  Any and all advice is welcome.


Good night, non-raptured world.

Best. Easter. Weekend.

Soooooo, the weekend was planned.  Chad's parents were going to come in Thursday night, his sister was arriving Friday, as was my mom.  We had lodging and food set up for the whole weekend.

The week was extremely slow, and Chad felt under the weather both Monday and Tuesday so he didn't work.  When do they decide to call him "up north," as we call it (Dickinson up to Canada, basically)?  Thursday morning.  It was supposed to be a quick trip, then home.  But that would be convenient and logical!  When his parents arrived, I got word from him that everything that could go wrong DID go wrong, and he was on his way home--two and a half hours--to pick up a piece of equipment, sit for half hour to eat, then go back--another two and a half hours--to finish the job Friday.

Friday comes, and things go well, Chad's parents and I have a pleasant lazy day, hangin' around town.  Chad is expected home by midnight.  Mom is expected around six.  She calls from Bismarck, scared to continue driving in the blizzarding weather, and I convince her to keep on truckin'.  I go in to work, and a few hours later, she comes in to the bar (I'm working) and sits down for dinner.  I go to get a menu, and in come MICHAEL, my brother from Sacramento!!!  THEY SURPRISED ME AGAIN!!  Probably the best Easter gift ever.

Chad arrives at 3 in the a.m. and we all go to bed.

Saturday, Tara (Chad's sister), Matthew, the kids and Sandra (his other, pregnant sister) come over, and we have lots of fun dying eggs and prepping for the barbeque next door, which included lots of runs to the the grocery store and various other places around town.  We, the closest guests, are late to the barbeque (no big deal; it's a Williams thing) and we have a blast.  My brother, as always, is a big kick, the life of the party.

We sleep.  We wake early, start fixing the roast, and head off to Easter Sunday church, to the first church I've set foot in in Baker.  We finish the roast and stuff, family arrive again, and we eat.  Good times.  Lots of stories, some fun banter, fantastic food, wonderful weather, and great company from family (it was actually pleasant!).

Today I drove all the way to Bismarck with Michael, caravanning with Mom; ate at Ruby Tuesday, and said "goodbye."  Everyone is back home, and the wheels have slowed considerably, yet I am still energized (could be the Frappe i had).

Now I'm home, waiting for Chad to get here so we can do yoga and go to bed.  Lots of cleaning to be done, but it is TOTALLY worth it.

Gotta love surprise visits, and shifts in plans.  And regardless of my anal-retentive need to be in control, I had a fabulous time with the ENTIRE family this time, and I am happy it went the way it did.

Happy Easter, people, and Happy Spring.

New Leaf

Since I haven't blogged since April 1st, I thought it would be a good thing to try and get back into.  It's been a while since I've had the time and the attention span to blog, or even just spend any more than about 3 minutes on Facebook every few days lately.

Well, since I last posted I officially started a new job.  I now work at Heiser's Bar and Casino in addition to Bright Beginnings Early Learning Center.  So in a sense, I'm a babysitter for children by day, and a babysitter for adults by night/weekend.  Teehee.

My days, evenings and weekends are now pretty much booked, and as of this coming Friday night I will have worked for 14 days straight, no days off.  WooHoo, what a trip.

This is going to be a busy, stressful, yet exhilarating spring/summer.  I will be working two jobs, Chad and I will be working on the house (basement, foundation, windows, garage, etc.), trying to travel and enjoy ourselves, AND spending a good part of the money we're making to reduce our debt, all at the same time as training for the Baker Triathlon in July.

At this point in our lives I am SO very happy and consider ourselves blessed that Chad and I do NOT have children right now.  That is not to say that we don't like or want kids, but not having kids at this point in our lives has allowed us to do so much more than we would be able to with little ones.  

Another thing I consider a serious blessing is Dave Ramsey.  He and his program have also allowed us to do fantastical things with our money that, without him, we never would have thought to do.  If he hadn't been introduced to us, we still would have most of our student loans and other debt.  I am telling you that if you haven't, you MUST check him out, regardless of your religious or political views, and regardless of where you are financially.

Either way, April has been a busy busy month, and will continue to be till May.  Hopefully amidst all of it, I will attempt to keep up on my blogging.....and my working out, at which I have failed massively this month.  But tomorrow is another day, and another chance to get on the ball.

April Fools

Happy April Fool's Day.  You know that feeling when you had a great idea that you thought would make a big splash, and no one even turns their head to see?  That was this morning.

It's kind of a bummer to have that experience first thing in the morning.  Oh well.

New month, newly funded budget, new ridiculous expenses, yet nothing has really changed.  I just hope this month goes well.  I am feeling optimistic, yet slightly let down for some reason.

This month, we need to get the basement completely emptied, and the walls torn down to the studs and the foundation.  That way we can have a contractor come in and tell us how much money it's going to cost us to fix it, in addition to the foundation at the back of the house, and the new basement windows we want to install this summer.
Not only that, but Chad wants to buy a furnace and install it in the attic, basically giving our house forced air (sort of).  Lots and LOTS of money.  But it's as exciting as it is stressful.

I sure am optimistic that things will get done; we'll do our spring cleaning and do all the construction stuff done and get fit in the process.

~~~

Since Dave Ramsey sort of came into our lives and we started doing a budget, we really did feel like we got something of a raise....it also helps that Chad did actually get one....but either way, it's been nice.  It also helps that we live totally on his income and mine goes straight into our savings funds for our vacation in November and our household repairs.  We've already saved up enough to pay to repair the foundation in CASH which is totally awesome, and we'll be paying for our vacation in CASH as well.  It's very comforting to know that we are actually capable of staying with a program and committing to the principles of it all.

The one thing I have issues with is, it seems like no matter who we tell about this program we're doing, Financial Peace University, everyone seems to blow it off like it's a stupid idea.  I am honestly stunned.  I guess that makes me naive, but I really thought people would be more excited for us and more open to a slightly different way of thinking than the mainstream that big financial institutions have brainwashed into believing.  Even the evidence of us paying off such a ridiculous amount of debt in such a short amount of time doesn't seem to phase people much.  It's really frustrating.  But Dave did tell us that was going to happen.  I just didn't think it would happen to me.  ...  Now that sounded naive.

The Secret

Last week sometime I got really, and I mean REALLY down on myself.  I was redundantly mad about something I couldn't control (which just made me angry), and then there was a string of the tiniest little mishaps that just put me over the edge.
I resorted to calling my brother, who ironically calmed me down.  He suggested I watch a little movie called "The Secret."  It is really easy to access via Facebook, but it's a very basic, very B movie/documentary type flick.

Its title refers to the secret to success in life.  I'm still not sure if this was just a cheesy thing that someone made, or if the people in the movie actually fully believe what they are saying, but regardless, it is definitely something to think about and go by in life.  I, for one, believe it's very similar to the idea in the movie "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey.  He follows it as if it were gospel, but toward the end of the movie the person who originated the idea of "Yes" said that it is just a thing to guide you, you don't have to say yes to everything in life.

Either way, I think that everyone should watch that movie.  It's very enlightening.

Meow Meow.

It's been a while, because I've suddenly gotten busy.

Either way:

We have officially begun our spring cleaning, the first spring that my husband and I have spent together in our home.  As of April 4th, we will have owned our own home for two years, but last year I went back to school to finish college.
In that time Chad's sister, brother-in-law and two kids have lived with us/him, up until last August.

It was nice to have help with rent and groceries, but we are also happy to have OUR home back, to do with it what we please.  We have very slowly been reorganizing our stuff, and last weekend we finally got 99% of Tara and Matthew's stuff out of the main house part.  There is still stuff in the garage, but we'll deal with that when it's warm out.

I am excited to completely be happy with the way our house is situated for once....hopefully that will come soon.

Every time I look at my house, I get slightly overwhelmed by the fact that there is just so much to be done, and the fact that we just don't have the cash to REALLY do with it what we want, like new flooring, and such.

We are doing this Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University thing, which is surely going to be awesome and totally worth it when we've paid off all our debts in about a year, but it also kind of sucks right now that we have to "live like no one else," which basically means not get what we want for some time.

But we just have to continue persevering and looking ahead and not getting discouraged when we see all our broke friends doing things on their houses that we want to do.

~~~~~Changing the subject:

I work at a day care here in Baker, at minimum wage.  I like it there, it's very rewarding, but the board seems to be very slow moving and lazy.  I've been there since Nov, and have still not gotten my 90 day evaluation and raise.....Plus, they desperately have needed to hire someone new to take a little bit of strain off of the rest of us since January, and we've seen no results.  I don't even know if they've actively tried to find someone.
It's incredibly frustrating, especially since there are other, higher paying jobs that I could be doing instead, like working at the bank (which has the same exact hours as the day care) or one of the bars (overlapping hours).  I've spoken to the bar owner, and I could feezibly do both jobs, but I just have to lighten up on my day care hours.  That can't be done unless they hire someone new, and until my hours get adjusted, I can't start training at the bar.

I don't know what to do about it.  Technically we don't NEEEEED the money, since we're living on Chad's income alone, but it would help us pay off our loans so much faster and save up for other things, and that would help a lot.  Chad keeps telling me to just give the day care a sort of ultimatum, saying,
  "Hey, i like it here, but you guys need to find someone else.  We are trying to get out of debt, and the fact that i haven't gotten my evaluation/raise yet isn't helping us any.  If something doesn't give (like hiring someone so i can cut down my hours), I'm going to have to find a job that will accommodate me better."
Although i agree that this delay is a bit ridiculous, I also would feel awful sort of threatening a small company--one that probably can't afford a big raise anyway--into paying me more or getting their buts moving because I would be putting them in a near impossible situation.  I just don't know what to do.

Any advice?

~~~~~~

I also want to do a serious detox/get healthy kind of program of some sort.  Since I graduated from college and stopped dancing as much as I used to, I am not in the best shape of my life, and it has started to show physically and emotionally.

If anyone knows of a detox program that works, I would love to know about it.

New To Blogging

I've done the whole Xanga thing, the Myspace thing and the Facebook thing.  I am now officially a blogger.
I felt that Facebook just gets too overloaded with the whole "every minute detail" of one's day, and that there's another place for it.
So here I am.

For a while I was too nervous, and too busy to bother exploring this new journaling outlet on the web, but now that things have (sort of) begun to settle down in my not-so-new life, I have jumped in.

As of now, I don't know what to say, or how exactly to say it, but I'm sure things will come more easily for me sooner or later.  Hopefully sooner.  I would like this to be therapeutic for me.

I feel okay about this new chapter in my life.  Go me.