I woke up early this morning and got the house cleaned! It was done by 11:00. No I didn't completley dust or get to the kids bathroom...but that can be done tomorrow. The main part of the house looks pretty good.

They came and picked up the rabbit this morning! One down. Going to go to the lake this afternoon and hang out. DH is going to camp...I will be coming home. Definately not a camper! Plus someone has to take care of the animals!

It looks like I am going to have to transfer some out of savings to get through the rest of the week. Bummer. But at least I have it!

I listed the rabbit on craigs list today. My daughter doesn't take care of it and I don't want to! Selling the cage and all! Hopefully it will be gone by Sunday. I also listed an old tv for free...I have asked several times for it to be put in my car. It is too heavy for me to lift. Just want it gone!!!

Yesterday was almost a NSD. Spent $4 at the gas station for dr pepper and newspaper.

Filled up my gas tank today. Should las through the weekend. Don't have any plans to go anywhere so hopefully will last even longer! DD and I have hair appointments tonight.

I think I am going to start saving to have someone clean the house every couple of months. I don't mean spotless, just come in..dust, and cleanthe bathrooms. These are the tasks that I jsut can't seem to get to. Every other month would be an improvement over now!

DH and I had a real long talk last night. I don't know that anything was resolved but at least things are out there. We will see what happens now. Our anniversary is a week from Tuesday.

I am trying to make today a nsd. The problem I have is that when I have the extra money in savings, I end up buying things that I need, but have done without.,..like the ace bandage I bought yesterday...or the special shampoo for my DD...or the fly traps for the kitchen. I am trying very hard to not spend any money today.

DH isn;t working today. Apparenlty they don't have any work. He is broke again. Not sure why. He only drove to work three days this week(one he was sent home!!). But I am resisting the urge to give him gas money. I have it, but don't want him to know I have it. Then he relies on it and acts like I am supposed to give it to him.

On other news...I haven't had a cigrette since Monday. I am not what I would consider "addicted" to the cigarette, but rather the act of smoking. I quit with both of my pregancies and I don't smoke at home...only at work. So at best, I smoke about 3-4 cigarettes a day. But I have been cutting back, not really wanting them. So when I ran out, I didn't buy anymore. I will probably breakdown and buy a pack, but at least I am making progress!

Over the weekend, I tried a breakfast bowl. I didn't really think I was going to like it, but I really did! They are a little on the expensive side (2/$5). Okay alot on the expensive side, for one meal. But I bought 4 of them this morning to keep in my freezer at work. I will alternate them with the bagels that I keep here. Even at $2.50, it is still less than if I went to McDonalds or Burger King.

We are doing a fund raiser for my daughters cheerleading this week. We are trying to find 300 businesses to donate $20 each. Each girl is responsible for at least 10 businesses. We have a definite yes from 4 so far. And a maybe from 3. Will spend tomorrow driving her around to different places. Wish us luck! The more businesses we get, the less I have to pay for uniforms!!!

I also filled up my car today. $34. Glad gas prices are starting to come back down again. It should last me until Friday now.

Well, yesterday was my "adopted" daughters birthday. She turned 16. There was a cabin rented and about 6 teenagers there. I was nominated as a chaperone! Didn't get much sleep, but I am back at work!

Spent $20 to get gas yesterday. DH took the car to winder and back. Was supposed to get an oil change, but didn't so I will have to get that done today.

DH took the car to Dahlonega yesterday, so I filled up again...$28. Gas is .10 cheaper at Walmart that in Blue Ridge! Glad I went there!

I also got the crab legs for DD birthday. I guess I am niave, but I didn't know they were so much! $55.07 for the legs. We ate every bit of them and they were delicious! But I never would have spent that money normally! Lesson learned.

Budget is still on track for the next month. Still planning on getting the mortgage caught up. I won't be able to make as large as a payment as I would like to the credit card, but I can start that again next month. The prescription savings are going to make a big difference this month.

Have alot of cheer expenses the next couple of weeks. Having a donut sale again this weekend. Donuts anyone??? We sold 600 dozen two weeks ago! But it helps alot toward her expenses and they have some really great ideas for fundraisers. Just have to get busy.

Today is my daughters 12th birthday. We got her the Wii Fit. It is pretty cool. I might even use it!

Yesterday was an expensive day. I filled up the gas tank, $39. Got it at Walmart, which was .05 cheaper than anywhere else. I then got the Wii Fit and another game for $117. I had planned this in the budget, so it was not budget wrecking.

Each year, the birthday person gets to decide what they want for dinner. DD wants crab legs!!! We live no where near the ocean! The seafood places around here are only open Thur, Fri and Sat. We found one that the owner happens to be at for the next couple of hours so he will sell us something! Small Town Living! Now I just need to figure out how to cook them!

Financially, I am looking pretty good come the end of the month. I am cutting it close, but will have the mortgage caught back up by month end. That means making 2 mortgage payments this month due to the extra payday. The ot I am getting this month is helping too. DH hasn't been working so I definatly will not get any help the next couple of weeks. Good thing I don't count on it!

Need to get some stuff posted on EBAY but I don't know what to post! There is lots of stuff that we don't use, but I don't think it would sell. I have already taken a bunch of stuff to goodwill. I went through my daughters dresser and got 4 big bags of clothes. Was going to take it to goodwill, but do you think I could see it by the bag on ebay or craigs list? Everything is in good condition because she hardly wears anything once it is bought! I can always try.

I am in shock about Michael! It is just so unexpected! I remember when Thriller debuted(?). We made a big party out of it! WOW...that was so long ago!

Nothing really new financially. I am trying my best to not spend any money and seem to be doing well. Except for the breakfast yesterday, I haven't eaten out. I have made dinner every night for two weeks, with the exception of one! I even made hamburgers for DH last night and I don't eat them! The kids weren't home. Change in medication has really done me good!

Okay...I stopped at Mcdonalds this morning for breakfast. Here is what happened. I was supposed to take my daughter and her friend to my mom's house. She usually feeds them breakfast. I haven't bought any breakfast food in a while since we aren't there except for the weekends for breakfast. But this morning as we were getting ready to leave, I remembered the my mom had a doctors appointment and I couldn't take the girls there. Since we had nothing for breakfast, I had to get them something on the way. THAT SUCKS!!! I guess the lesson is to always have something quick in the house for breakfast! This puts an end to our no eating our record. That really sucks...

I am so proud of me! I went to the grocery store and only spent $68!!! That is awesome! I don't have alot of money to get by until next Friday(had to borrow from dad) but we were desperately low on food! I got enough meats for meals for the week, a meal in a box, and a few other salad things. Mix in some frozen vegetables and french fries and call it done! I am extremely proud of myself, especially since I was hungry when I went! I didn't cave for what we didn't absolutely need, which is unheard of!!

Yesterday, I had been thinking about going to pizza hut for dinner. I know that I don't have the money for it...but was going to go anyway and then worry about covering the check later.(This is part of my problem!) I had already made up my mind and was going to go! But I didn't! I went home instead and made a salad! I was very proud of myself. I know that this is the decision I should have made and I shouldn't be proud of doing the right thing, but it is hard for me to resist.

Put $10 worth of gas in my car yesterday and today. Just enough to get me through until tomorrow. Man, I hate being like this. Good news is that according to the budget I have laid out, I will be out of this mess by the end of July...since July is a 3 paycheck month. I can't wait!

Finance company called for DH again last night. Said that he needed to call before it went any further legally...I am thinking how much further could it go??? You already turned it in to the sheriff as if he was hiding the car(NOT!!) So I am thinking that they didn't indeed turn it into the sheriff. That would be good!

That same collection agency that I have been dealing with called me yesterday about a different account. I told them that I had made a payment with a note telling them how I intended to make payments...she said no on authorized that. I said I know, but that is all I can do. She verified the last 4 of my social and said thank you. As if that is going to scare me! Put it on my credit report....still doesn't mean that I have any more money to give you!

All in all, I am feeling pretty upbeat given the daily cirmcumstances right now. I see a light at the end of the tunnel if I can just get there!!!

I plan on getting alot done this weekend.

1. Clean bathroom
2. Mop kitchen(after picking up DH and DD mess!)
3. Vacuum
4. Clean car seats
5. wash sheets

Okay so it doesn't sound like alot, but it does seem like alot!

Yesterday was a NSD, sort of. The only money that was spent was paying bills. I paid my dad back the $250 that he loaned me earlier in the week. Paid the cell phone bill, paid the car insurance, and the phone bill. Paid alot of high expenses this week. Looking forward to July...a 3 payday month. Will be able to get stuff caught up a little bit.

I am working from home today. It is a yucky rainy day and I just didn't feel like getting out!

I once again gave into temptation yesterday and got dinner. No one was home and I was craving pizza hut. I have got to learn to not give in to my urges for fast food. My son is taking my car today so not only will he put gas in it, but I also have a NSD! COOL!

Daughter is coming home tomorrow. She is homesick and ready to come home! She doesn't like to stray real far. Hopefully DH will come home today. Haven't seen him since Monday morning. Getting kind of lonely here.

As I stepped out of the shower this morning, the power went off. As I am on a well, this was perfect timing! I was very pleased that the forces of the local EMC had the decency to wait for a power failure until all soap and shampoo was rinsed off! LOL

I stopped and bought breakfast this morning...shame on me. I am out of cream cheese at the office for my bagel and gave in to temptation to get something quick instead of going to the store to get cream cheese! Bad Me!

My son and I went over his checking account yesterday. He forgot that I told him that some transactions don't always show up right away so you can't go by the balance in the account. He had two pay at the pump authorizations so I had to transfer $15 into his account to cover it. Turns out that there was only one charge and he was on top of how much was in his account. I can transfer the $15 back into my account now.

Still no progress on the upcoming expenses, but I am sure something will happen.

Hubby woke up in a FOUL mood this morning...not sure why. But he barely spoke to me before he left. I might hear from him today and I might not.

He did give me $75 before he left so I deposited that into my account. That will help toward the shortage on Friday, since we have an insurance payment due that we weren't planning on.

Went to the grocery store yesterday and got just the items we were out of. Spent about $47...which is good for me. I usually overspend. But we needed cat food, dog food, laundry soap, etc. All of the expensive things.

Back to work...UGHHH!!! This weekend was a good weekend money wise. I only spent $20 all weekend! We went to the dirt track races on Saturday night, but since it was rained out the weekend before, we didn't have to pay to get in! DH bought the tickets the week before so I bought dinner on the way. Of course his brother(leech) went too. He heard me talking about cooking on the grill Sunday and invited himself(after TELLING DH that after DH came to take him to do laundry)!!! Fortunately that never happened, the cookout anyway.

Well, planning the week ahead. It is going to be a tough one. Even after payday. We are out of a bunch of groceries and things, but I don't have room in the budget for anything! It is all going to bills this week! YIKES! It will work out, it always does.

I spent a total of $1.92 yesterday for a coke. I waited until we got home for dinner, even though we ate pretty late. But we didn't spend any money! YEA!!

Found out last night that my DH thinks I am rich. My son, DH, and I were talking about not having any money. We all said that it sucked and he looked at me like you aren't broke. I said what and he just said "uh huh". Oh well. Just because I am able to plan for things now, I am considered to have money. I just hope he still gives me some money to keep my budget on track.

My daughter wanted to stop for Dinner after her LONG violin practice(3 1/2 hours getting ready for recital!). I told her I didn't have the money so we would have to wait until we got home! She volunteered to pay. I probably shouldn't have let her, but I thought it might be a learning lesson for her. Now she doesn't have as much money to take on vacation with her. Hopefully she will learn that spending now just because you have it isn't always the smart thing!

My son's checking account is up and running. I am very excited about being able to teach him this! I think he will do well.

I checked this morning and nothing went through yet! I am so lucky! The child support will post today so I am out of the woods!

I stopped today and got a bag of ice tokeep at work. But I brought frozen meals to keep in the freezer and a 12 pack of coke.(CVS has them for $2.60/12 pack). So I am in good shape today.

I got paid yesterday! YEA! I filled up the gas tank...yes filled it up. Haven't done that in a while! Felt good.

I paid the cell phone bill, the homeowners insurance, and a loan payment. The Sallie Mae payment will come out of my account on Monday.

I am one step closer to getting everything caught up. I can't wait to get back to where I was. I have about $120 in savings right now...but I might have to use it before I get paid again to be able to stick to my budget. But eventually, I will be able to just let it sit there! Can't wait!

DH got the escape to start the other day. That is the car that my son flipped. He is trying to get it working so he can drive it. He spent $70 in gas yesterday!!! That is crazy! He is working a little bit away and he had to drive to different job sites. But hopefully he can get the other car working.

My son is going to prom tonight. Dropped him of a little while ago. Wierd arrangement...he isn't dating the girl and they are each paying their own way! Seems wierd to me but that is fine, since my son doesn't get his first check until next week!

I am not a morning person! I usually go back to sleep after the kids leave until 9:00 or so. I don't have to start work until 9:00 and since I am working from home this week, I can crawl out of bed and be at work in a matter of minutes! But this morning, I started working at 6:30! I don't know what has gotten into me! But it is 7:52 and I have booked a very complicated airfare that involves 3 different airlines and 4 different flights! I have entered those flights into outlook and sent them to my boss. WOW!! So this is what morning feels like...

Yesterday was a NSD. Of course it helps that I can't leave the house! I can't wait until Thursday! I can start driving again! YEA!!! DH brought me home some chocolate ice cream yesterday. That was sweet of him...and unexpected. But we are out of milk, so I will have to come up with something else for breakfast!

I have been fighting the gnat problem for a while now. I can't figure out how to get rid of them!! I this spray that I spray...it is supposed to be bio-friendly. And it does kill them. My counter ends up looking like a gnat burial ground! Pretty nasty! I keep the dishes done and the sink empty. I can't find the epicenter! I am convinced that these creatures were sent by the devil to drive me insane!! Does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of them? I have tried a few of the old wives tales that I found online, but they don't work. I am at my wits end!

Spending wise, yesterday $45 was spent out of my account...how you might ask since I am confined to the house. Nice trick huh. My son used $21 for the flowers for prom. My DH used $24 for gas. Now if I could just figure out how to get money in my account when I don't leave the house, it would be perfect!!!

I am home and recovering. They were able to do the surgery laproscopicly, but it is not looking like it solved the problem. Fun.

Since I have been stuck at home, I have had NSD. Although the other members of my household have been spending for me!!

Feeling pretty worthless because I can't do anything for myself! I did do the dishes today because they were driving me crazy! Shouldn't have but perhaps my DH will feel sufficiently guilty about leaving me home alone today...LOL.

I spent $30 on gas yesterday(got $10 in the morning and had to come back for more in the evening! Will sure be glad when I can get back to filling up!) and $5 on lunch. I had to buy a veggie plate and a large cookie for end of year party for cheerleading...total of $18. So yesterday was a pricey day. The grand total was $53. Wow. That leaves me a little over a dollar short in my account.

I got breakfast again this morning. I am kind of caught in a vicious cycle. I don't have the money to go to the grocery store, but I don't have the money to eat out either. It seems easier to spend a little each day instead of trying to go to the grocery store to prevent that! I need to make some adjustments to my budget for this week to be able to go to the store. Don't know how I will pull that one off!

Yesterday was a semi-good day as for spending. I had to get gas and wasn't prepared for breakfast at work.

Breakfast: 5.35
Gas: 20.00

I am back to just getting enough gas to get through. Can't wait to get out of that again!

I realized with my surgery next week that my gas budget will be less. I won't be driving to work for at least 2 weeks. YEA!

While we have been on vacation, we have done really well with our spending! We hav eonly eaten out the one time a day we had planned. Yesterday was $46. That was awesome! I am very proud of the way we have managed to do that. Of course, there is no fast food places here, so that helps alot. We have done the breakfast at the hotel every day and eaten sandwiches.

I am sunburned on the back of my neck...I have always had long hair so I have never thought about it but I can hardly move my neck! No more sandollars today. Dh and I snuck out before anyone woke up this morning and walked on the beach. It was very nice.

Home tomorrow. It will be nice to get home again.

Well, we are just about ready to go. My DH has spent most of the day getting the house cleaned up and doing laundry. I hate to come home from vacation to a dirty house. I am packed. He is packed. Daughter is packed. All that is left is son...who will wait for the last minute and throw some stuff in a grocery bag.

Had to get dog food and cat food today to leave here. The neighbors are taking care of the animals for us. Such a relief. I know that they will be taken care of well.

On a non-financial note, my DH is driving me crazy about my son. It is as if my DH is jealous of what my son gets away with or is allowed to do. I almost feel like DH is looking for things. But I am dealing with that as best as I can...but it is starting to get to me. Son is a teenager and is doing what most teenagers do. I am also one of the stricter parents in my sons circle of friends...so I am not sure what else I can do, other than be totally unreasonable and call him on everything!

I spent 1.07 yesterday on my morning coke. And $26 to fill up the Escape. Looking at my gas budget, I only have $13 left until next Friday. How did that happen, you ask? Well, I have filled up the explorer twice(trip to Atlanta took one of those) and the Escape twice. All of this I paid for. So I told DH last night that he was going to have to fill up the vehicles next week because I am out of funds! The escape will not need gas again until sometime next week. Good thing.

Lost my energy yesterday. Very tired on the way home. Decided to just sit on the couch for a few minutes before I started the task I wanted to accomplish last night. Next thing I know, my daughter is coming home at 9:00! YIKES! And I laid down at 11:00 and went straight to sleep. I don't know why I am so tired lately, but I wish I could figure it out!

I made a large payment to my applied card and it is now $10 below the limit! YEA!!! Of course, when they add the interest for this month, it will go back up, but not like it was! I managed to get all but one of my credit cards under the limit this quarter! Now to paying them off!

The guy at the gas station kind of irked me this morning. He is as nice as he can be...good ole country boy. But he told me that we deserved the new car because we work hard. How does he know? He doesn't know us from anywhere else? He doesn't know what other debts we have? I know he was just trying to be nice, but sometimes people speak without thinking! I know that whitestripe has blogged about that before, but I guess that it personally didn't hit me until he said that this morning. He has no clue!!

I haven't eaten out since Saturday. That is great! I have been struggling with that lately. Going to the grocery store helped alot.

I have also found my energy again. When I got home last night, I folded more laundry that DH had washed and cleaned our bathroom(scrubbed the shower even). Since DH isn't working, he is taking care of most of the stuff around the house, including taking daughter to cheerleading...so I just get to come home. Another YEA! I think that cleaning the house is a sub-conscience(?) thing about going on vacation. I have this fear that something will happen to us and someone will have to come into my house. Doom and gloom...that is me. Does anyone else fear that?

I got energy on Sunday to clean the kitchen and the living room! It felt so good. Of course then I had to lay down and take a nap! UGHHH!! The Energy Spurt continued into Monday evening when I came home, sorted the mounds of laundry in the bedroom and starting laundry. It at least looks like a controlled mess now. DH will continue with the laundry today.

We went to the grocery store on Sunday. Spent ALOT of money, but we hadn't been in a while. So this will curtail the eating out, since we have things at home now to eat.

I did get the new car, well new to me. I know that I probably shouldn't have, but I still have problems telling myself no when I have the opportunity for something that I have wanted for so long. Plus it gives my son/DH a dependable car to share(my old one). Neither one of them seem to have a car that they can rely on. So in many ways, it was a smart decision. Just feeling guily about it now. This is how I got into this mess in the first place. I can justify just about anything to myself and others if I want it bad enough. Good news is that the gas mileage is better than it was in my old car. We checked it out yesterday when DH drove to Marietta.

We leave for vacation a week from Wednesday(Jekyll Island). It is the first real vacation that I have been able to give the kids. I am thrilled and can't wait. It will have to be a little tighter since the new car purchase, but that is okay. We are staying in a hotel that has breakfast and has a refrig and microwave in the room. We are going to take lunch meat/sandwich things for lunches and snacks. Then we will only eat out one meal a day. The hard part is that my DH and I love to eat out, so controlling ourselves is what will be hard. But we have the beach and the pool, that should be enough...oh and they are taking a deep sea fishing trip. So that should be plenty. It will truly be relaxing, what a vacation should be.