A Game Plan

I am sick of being broke (I believe my husband is too). We are going to set a game plan. Our first step has already started. We borrowed Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University from some good friends. And we have started listing to the lessons and taking notes. I think after the struggles that we have both gone through before we got married and in the last few months since we got married have made as angry enough to take action. I am determined to never go into debt again. Getting collection calls all day every day sucks. Worrying about losing the house sucks. Trying to explain to the kids that we can't go out to eat any more sucks. I have listened to his pod-casts in the past but didn't have the drive or determination to set a budget and stick to it. I am declaring right here, right now, I will make it though to the other end of this struggle with my husband and be happier in the end. We will win!

Goal Update

I had four goals for this last week. I did a good job this week. FINALLY!

My first goal was to walk the dogs at least 3 times. Chad and I went on two walks with the dogs and walked Jasper when picking Noel up from school the day after my last blog. I know that I can't attribute any weight loss to a few walks, but I am getting out and moving. Hopefully, I will be able to find the time to exercise soon, but for now walking the dogs is better than nothing.

My second goal was to my assignments Monday. I started reading one chapter for one class on Monday. I struggled to find time to read all week, and I was still up late finishing my assignments. I am going to have to revisit this area so that I am not struggling on Saturday night to get my assignments done and turned in by midnight.

My third goal was to read the scriptures to my kids every night. I am happy to say that I only missed one night that I had them (they go to their dad's  most Friday and Saturday nights). I am really hoping that the kids are getting something out of it other than it is cool when Nephi cuts of Laban's head. Either way, I am doing what I feel I need to do to teach my children the gospel.

My forth and final goal was to get at least one more show booked. I honestly didn't get this one done. I am having a hard time getting the courage up to call people and ask them if they want to host a show.

My goal for this week:

1. Walk the dogs 4 times
2. Read a chapter a day until they are all read
3. I will continue to read scriptures each night
4. I will make at least one contact a day for Pampered Chef

I know that I can accomplish these goals!

Yard Sale

Ok. I don't do this a lot, but I feel the need to advertise the yard sale my sister and I are having this weekend. It will be at her house (if you need the address let me know). We will both be selling tons of movies, some furniture, bikes, kid stuff, and much, much more! If you are interested, come on over. We will also have a lemonade stand ran by my adorable nephew if that helps persuade you...

Stressful Day

My day was so frustrating today.

It started with my 8 year-old being angry with me for making him a sandwich for lunch instead of packing cereal for him. It got to the point that he was yelling and screaming and crying because I made him pack the cereal for himself if he wasn't going to pack the lunch that I had made for him specifically. Once he calmed down from that fit, I got all the kids loaded up in the car. Then, the same child realized that he forgot his homework folder and book that he needed to bring to school. He demanded that I go get them off of the kitchen table. I calmly explained to him that he needed to go get them fast. He said I was a bad mom. The kids, then, ended up being late to school because of Sean's humongous fit.  My decision after dropping them off at school was that he will not be playing video games until his attitude gets better.

Work wasn't horrible for the most part. About a third of the way through, I got mad. I have been working hard. My stats are good for the most part. I have earned rewards. Someone who I feel didn't deserve a privilege that I have been trying to get, got that very privilege again. I was furious! My team leader agreed with me. I am going to go in a bit early tomorrow and talk to him again and make it known that I would like to be noticed for my sales at very least.

I vented to my wonderful husband on my way home from work and let it all out. I think I freaked him out a bit when I started crying. I am glad he just let me vent though. I kind of wish I was home when I was crying. I love being in his arms, and I know I would have felt better faster if i were in his arms instead of driving alone.

The good  news is that if these are my worst problems of the day, my life is better than it was 6 months to a year ago.

Don't Know What to Do

I find myself in need of money in a short amount of time (I won't go into details online). I have so far planned a yard sale with my sister and scheduled two Pampered Chef shows. (I will be making calls through this week to try to schedule more.) My wonderful husband who I clearly don't deserve is donating many things such as movies and video games to the yard sale as well as selling some of his gadgets online. I don't want to nor can I go farther into debt to bail us out this time. All I can think of to do is work my butt off and sell, sell, sell. I just hope it is enough.

Goals

It is no secret that I struggle when it comes to reaching goals. There are so many things that I want to do in life. The problem is that I don't have the time to do it all now. I do have time to do a few things though. I know I have to concentrate on the things that are most important right now. I have decided the important things to me right now are finishing school, teaching my children the gospel, building my Pampered Chef business, and losing weight.

I have been working on losing weight. I have been walking the dogs more often with my husband. I have been eating less. My happy news about my weight is that last Friday when I weighed myself, I finally got down to 170! I have been working towards this goal for about a year. Somehow I was able to get down to 171, but then I would start gaining back. Now I am down to 170.  Woo! Hoo! Now on to 165!

I successfully completed my last term without giving up. That is a big step for me. When I got to the point that the classes were getting harder and more overwhelming and I wasn't sure if I could do it any more, my wonderful husband encouraged me and let me bounce ideas off of him for the papers I was writing. I am on Spring Break this week, so I get to rest my mind for a bit before I start my new classes on Monday. I would like to get B's or better this time around. I tried for it last term, but fell short of my goal. I am going to work harder this time to succeed on my goal.

My kids are being given messages about how bad religion in general is, especially my religion. I can tell by the way the act when at church or when church matters are brought up. I have the kids most of the time. I need to have a greater influence on them. I need to do my job as a mother to tech my children about Jesus and what He did for us. I hurt my heart on Sunday while the speakers were talking about the resurrection, my oldest child told me he didn't believe any of it was true and there was no point to what they were saying. The gospel has always been a part of my life. I need my kids to learn the things that I hold so dear to my heart.

When it comes to my Pampered Chef business, I had gotten discouraged last month and let it get me down. I need to get it built up so that I can stay home with my kids and give them the attention that they deserve. I am tired of working to pay for daycare and gas and insurance. I really don't feel like I am making any money once those things are paid for. In fact, my husband I I think that it may cost more for me to work than it would for me to quit, but I need to build up my business before I can quit my job because I have to make the money to pay for gas and insurance at very least.

I am going to do my best at updating my goals still. I believe that the things that I am concentrating on are what are most important to me and my family.

My goals for this week:

1. Walk the dogs 3 times
2. Start my assignments Monday
3. Read scriptures to the kids before their nightly story
4. Book at least one more show

Morning Adventure

This morning, while taking my kids to Grandma's and Grandpa's house so that I could go to work, my wheel started wobbling. I stopped the van, got out, and checked the tire that seemed to be the problem to see if it was flat (I thought that was a reasonable conclusion). The tire was not flat, so I decided to continue my journey. As I got closer to my destination, it shook more and more. I slowed down and hoped that I would make it to the Crumpleys' house so I could explain what was going on and, hopefully, be on my way to work. About a mile away from my safety point, I heard a very loud pop and my front driver's side wheel flew past my window as the car skidded slowly to a stop. All of the kids were in the car (which is what made it more scary). Noel's response from the back was, "What was that?" Eric started shaking and talking about how scary it was.  Sean had the more humorous response. He said with all of the enthusiasm imaginable, "Did you see how high that went?" I, then, proceeded to call Rob to rescue me. As he was on his way, I called my loving husband who offered to call in to work to help me. Luckily, Rob was able to make arrangements to get me to work and offered to work on my car while I was working. Chad picked up the kids after work (have I mentioned how much I love that man). Marleah (the best sister EVER) picked me up from work and let me hang out with her until Chad could pick me up. My day started out interesting, and became a lesson in how much I am loved by many people.

Goal Update

Ok. I know I am way late on this, but life is happening. I won't go into the specifics right now.

So exercise is not something that happens much. I have walked once or twice to pick up the kids when off of work. I say that totally counts. I'll do better. I just have to make the time.

When it comes to school work, I am doing good. I am not getting the work even started until Saturday, but I am getting everything in on time. So far, I have brought one grade to a B and the other one is really close.

This week I will go on a walk at least 2 days, and I will get all of my assignments in on time and do my best on them. That means I need to start them tonight!

Goal Update

Yep. It is that time again. Time for me to share how I have been doing on my goals.

I am going to start with my school goals. I didn't meet them all this week, but I did get my assignments turned in on time. I can't blame anyone but me. I didn't really get started on any of it until Friday night. I was finished around 11:30 Saturday night. I just checked my grades. I got good grades on the assignments, only missing a few points for not siting my reference on one assignment. So my grades so far are: 78.86% in Introduction to Business and 70.91%  in Principles of Management. I have 5 weeks left of this term. It will be a lot of hard work, but I can pull B's out of these classes!

When it comes to my goal of working out, I am not doing well at all. I have felt so overwhelmed with life the last week that I have not wanted to add anything to my daily routine. I need to. I know that . Not only will working out help with my appetite and weight problem, it will help with my moods. I am far less depressed and overwhelmed when I work out.

With how overwhelmed I have been feeling, I have added something else that I am quite excited about. I truly believe that it will take a lot of pressure off of me when I get into the groove of it. I am now an independent consultant with The Pampered Chef. I am so excited about it. I am going to work hard on building my business so that I can make it my only job and work my own hours.

Ok. Now for my goals for this week. I am going to have my Intro to Business chapter read by Tuesday night. I am going to have my Principles of Management chapter read by Thursday night. I am going to have my assignments started by Friday night and turned in on time Saturday night. I will work out at least 3 time this week (this time I'm serious). I will get at least one solid booking for this month. I will fill my prescriptions so that I am sane again (that one is more for my sister and husband that have to listen to me complain).

Jackpot

I think I hit the jackpot! I married a great man this time. He loves me for me. He constantly reminds me of that, too. He steps in and helps with the kids when I need him. He lets me cry when I am overwhelmed with life. He helps clean the house. He lets me know that the things I do are good enough. He understands me more than I do. He loves me more than I deserve!

I have the most beautiful little girl! She is smart and adorable. I love when I get the chance to spend time with her.

My boys are so special! They are the smartest little boys I have ever known. They are so loving. They always tell me that the would rather be with me than at anywhere else.

I love my family!

It All Costs Money

After finding out that my oldest child once again took the time to grind a bar of soap into the drain, I explained that everything in this house costs money. They looked at me like I was crazy. Noel, in her cute 6 year-old way, said, "You mean even my toys?" LOL

Feeling Like a Failure

I have been working outside the home for almost 3 years now. I have one child that really remembers when I was able to stay home with him, one child who kind of remembers, and one who only remembers that she could pretty much do anything she wanted while Mom slept because of working the graveyard shift. I don't want to work outside the home all of the time. Don't get me wrong. I like working. I just don't like the stress it puts on my kids, me, and my new husband.

I currently work until 8pm. That means that I take my kids to school in the morning and come home in time to put them to bed at night. I see my kids maybe 2 hours a day, and pay someone else to see them a lot of the other time.

Due to this work schedule, Sean has been acting more depressed, Eric was flat out refusing to go to school today, and Noel has been a lot more clingy. I started trying to set a side more time to spend with Sean on Sundays. Most Sundays I can do this, but the last few weeks have been hectic with trying to clean out Chad's apartment and the washing machine breaking. I don't even know what to do about Eric. I got him to school about an hour and a half late today. The poor kid seems like he has the wight of the world on his shoulders. I keep trying to tell him that all he needs to do is be a kid, but it doesn't seem to help. Noel is just reacting to every thing the only way she knows how. I have started reading to all of the kids at night lately. When I read to her, I sit next to her on her bed and let her pick the book. It seems to help. I just wish I could do more.

Any one who says that working moms are selfish and don't really love their kids are wrong. I work because I have to. I have bills to pay. All the love in the world doesn't keep a roof over the kids heads and food in their bellies.

Goal Update

Ok. I know I'm a day late. Yesterday was a crazy day. I'll get into that on another post.

For my weight  loss goal. I sucked at this one this week. I was having problems motivating my self to do anything. In other words, I didn't work out at all. I need to start running sometime this week so that I can be ready for the Boulder Boulder and Color Run this May. I know I am crazy for doing both of them so close together, but I have always wanted to try the Boulder Boulder, and the Color Run is for a good cause and something I think the kids can do.

As for school work, I got all of my assignments turned in on time! Woo Hoo! I didn't meet my goals of having the chapters read by Wednesday, but I was close. They were finished on Thursday. Since that was a day late, so was the goal of getting my assignments started. They were started on Friday. The good news is that I was able to get them done on time though. I had a team assignment that I ended up doing on my own. I got 100% on it! I now have brought both of my grades up to C's with 6 weeks left in this term. I know I can get them up to B's in no time.

Ok. Goal time. I am going to start running this week. I will start tomorrow morning after I drop the kids off at school (I have errands to run today before work). I am going to follow the Couch to 5k program. I know the Boulder Boulder is longer than that, but I need to start somewhere. For school, I am going to keep the same goals. I will have the chapters ready by Wednesday night and the assignments started by Thursday night. By reading on my lunch breaks and before I go to work, I shouldn't have a problem with this. Wish me luck!

Goal Update

It is Sunday, goal day.

My first goal for the week was to exercise at least 20 minutes three times. I was concerned taht this wasn't going to happen. Then I went to Chad's apartment to help him clean it up and get everything moved out. Yesterday, I spent at least 20 minutes going up and down the stairs twice. Today, I spent even more time going up and down the stairs. This apartment is on the third floor. My butt, legs, knees, and back hurt so much. It totally counts!
My other goal for the week was to get all of my assignments done and turned in on time. I got half of my assignments in. I was foolish enough to procrastinate my homework until Saturday, the day they were all due. By the time we got back to the house last night, it was about 10pm. I can usually get my work done on time within the 2 hours. I probably could have last night had I not been so exhausted.

I am going to keep my exercise goal for this week. I will get exercise for at least 20 minutes 3 times. When it comes to homework, I read the chapters needed for each class by Wednesday and start the assignments by Thursday. Wish me luck!

Complement From the Teacher

I worked hard on a paper for my Introduction to Business class last week. I even went through the heartbreak of my paper disappearing into the abyss. Luckily, I had most of the work in my head, and I was able to re-do the paper and get it turned in only a half hour late (I have online classes). When I opened the grade book I found that not only did I get a perfect 80 out of 80 points, I got a great compliment from my teacher.

"You did an excellent job on this paper in many ways.  I was truly impressed by the way you expressed yourself in this paper.  It is obvious to me that you not only understand the material but put a lot of effort in making this a successful paper.  I especially liked how you integrated into a descriptive paragraph all of the components that Eric needs in order to build a successful business plan.

Your APA style is good. Please continue to use the same format for the rest of our class.

I am sure that you can tell from your grade that your efforts really paid-off! 

Thank you again for this truly enjoyable submission.

Professor Shaps"

I love being rewarded for my efforts!

New Year, Newish Goals

I made new goals for the year. I am going to actually lose weight this year. I am going to run the Boulder, Boulder. I am going to get a B or better in all of my classes this year. These will be challenging goals, but I can achieve them. I will achieve them.
The first goal of losing weight is something I have been saying for a few years now. I am determined that this is my year. I am going to be down to 135 pounds by the end of they year. Had a good start in January. I am down to 171 pounds. The only thing I really changed is that I have been drinking less soda and taking my lunch to work. These changes were made partially because I wanted to lose weight and partially because I can't afford to have vending machine lunches anymore. I am also going to start working out again this week. My goal for this week is to get at least 20 minutes of exercise 3 times.
My next goal for the year is another one that I have listed before. I am going to run the Boulder, Boulder. I have wanted to do this since my dad participated when I was in high school. I am now married to someone who loves running, and he has ignited this dream again, I can't go running outside while it is this cold because of my asthma, but I will start running as it warms up. I am going to do the couch to 5k plan. I have an app on my phone that will help me do this. I am hoping to be able to start this 9 week program in 2 weeks. That will give me time to get up to the 5k level as well as give me a few weeks to continue running the distance before taking on the race with my husband.
My other goal for this year is to get a B or better in each of my classes. I have been struggling in school for quite a while. Last year I was kicked out for non-participation. This year, I am on academic probation because I failed both of my classes last term. I have finally decided that the degree program that I carefully thought out 3 years ago is the right one for me. (I really do like learning about business.) I think that I just needed to get through some junk in my life before I could focus on my future. Now that my present life is better, I am determined to keep up with making it better. I am going to get my degree and have the life that my family deserves! The way that I am going to do this is by getting all of my assignments turned in on time. So far I have C's in each of my classes, but I am only 4 weeks into my 12 week term. I will keep working hard and bring them up to B's in no time.
I know I need to report my progress to someone to meet my goals. I have support at home from my husband to talk to about my daily progress and ways to better fit my goals into the time that I have available, and I will report on my blog weekly. I don't expect that everyone will want to read my progress, but I can track it better by writing and reading my weekly posts.

2.1.12

I married the most wonderful man who loves me for who I am...no matter how crazy!

Pampered Chef Grand Opening

I am excited to announce that I am starting a Pampered Chef business. This Saturday will be my Grand Opening at 6pm at my house! Everyone is invited! The good new is, since I am now a Pampered Chef consultant, you can book your own show with me if you are not able to make it!

Noel is 6!

My sweet girl loves sharing a birthday with her cousin!

Happy Birthday, Noel and Tommy!