New Header

I have a new header (for now) and I have several more in the making. I found a cross-stitch font and it's super cute so I'm playing around with it.

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I'm still looking for a job that fits. It's SO hard to juggle work hours and home schedule as well as keep everything clean and everyone fed.

I'm working on getting more PartyLite shows scheduled...I'm even giving away product as an incentive now (approx. $50 worth if you book a show for before Oct 31) so if you know anyone within 2 hours of me who might be interested in getting a bunch of free stuff, let them know and give them my info!!!

I'm really hoping this is going to work out for me to make the extra $200 a month we need. It's not a lot of money but our economy is going to shit and it seems no one has money these days...it's hard to have hope that it will work out. And if it doesn't, it's hard to have hope that I'll find something that will work around our schedule.

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The second coming of the Great Depression????

Wtf? The whole bailout plan for the states is all effed up. I don't think it's a good idea. I don't think it's going to make much better. I really feel we're headed face first into another depression only it will be worse this time because we're a generation of I WANT IT AND EVEN THOUGH I DON'T REALLY NEED IT I'M BUYING IT. We're not used to not having things. We're used to wasting whenever.

I think this won't be pretty.

New Blog

I've added a new blog to my profile. It's my Wedding Blog. I'm not "officially" engaged yet, as it explains in the first post of that blog...but that's only because my ring is currently being made. :D

Check it out...there is only one post but MANY more to come....I LOVE talking weddings and I think my friends get sick of it sometimes lol so I figured, why not make a blog, then I can 'talk' all I want and if you don't feel like it, you don't have to read!!

http://amieandjeremyswedding.blogspot.com/

Living Frugally

Ok, in light of the job thing, I'm continuing to search for ways to save money/make money on the side/live more frugally and still be able to stay home and be with my kids and keep my house clean and be a typical Domestic Engineer.

Here are the things I'm doing currently:

1. We've stopped eating out. If we feel like pizza, I make it from scratch. Everything else is stuff you can make at home anyway. Not only is this saving us money, it's way healthier.
2. I bought my sewing machine. I plan to sew my own diapers for the future babe. We will still use disposable on occasion but they will not be our sole form of diaper which will save us money in the end. Also, I plan to mend clothing as well as make some items if I can...things like pj's and aprons for myself.
3. Speaking of aprons, I am hoping to start making my own bread. We'll see how that goes but it's SO expensive to buy it in the store. 2.29 a loaf yesterday.
4. I've stopped taking Jer to work so I can have the van as often as I was. This saves gas and keeps me at home baking, cooking and cleaning.
5. I'm making a lot of Christmas presents this year. I am purchasing Cross Stitch kits on ebay for super cheap and I will personalize a lot of the stuff I make. I am planning on making cookies and chocolate and caramel covered apples to give out as well.
6. I'm scaling back how much I buy for the boys for Christmas this year as well. They have more toys than they can play with as it is. I will buy them each a board game and possibly a video game and then clothing and a few little things from the dollarstore.
7. I'm researching my options on our cable and cell phones as well to see if we can save there. We currently have the movie channels on our cable and we do use them often. We don't go out, we don't drink, we don't smoke or do drugs so really, cable is our form of entertainment and having the movie channels is way cheaper than renting the amount of movies we watch.
8. I'm clipping coupons. It doesn't save tons but every little bit helps!

So, what do you do to save money? Is there anything I'm missing?

Well, since you asked nicely....

I guess I could update lol

Well, I started the job at IMAX yesterday and hated it sooo much that I quit today.

Yeah.

I was late picking up Jer from work and I was almost late picking up Jonah from the bus. I was so stressed about that I felt like throwing up. On a normal shift, I wouldn't be able to leave until my till was counted and balanced. It's just not worth that kind of stress for $8.75 an hour.

So yeah, back to the drawing board.

I'm really going to focus on PartyLite and my very good friends are going to help me out ;) I'm forcing them :D

Other than that, I may put an ad out as a cleaning lady. Then I can set my own hours (as I can do with PartyLite).

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In other news, I'm on to cycle number two TTC. My luteal phase is still short since having Niko. I bought some progesterone cream today to see if that will help lengthen it some. If it's not better in a few months then I'll make an appointment with my OB/GYN to see what else we can do about it. The cycle before last it was 4 days, last cycle it was 7 days and so I'm hoping it's on it's way up and that progesterone cream will help restore it back to it's normal 12 days.

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So, how do we all feel about the upcoming election?

Normally, I vote for the sake of voting. This time, I'm going to look at all the platforms and see which matches my views best. I usually vote NDP but I may go Green this year.

I want to see some changes in our governments attitude towards social assistance and poverty. I want them to acknowledge that we are currently in a recession and heading for a depression. I want to know what they're going to do about it.

What do you think?

Woo hoo!!

I got a new job and a new hair! :D

I went for two interviews today and pretty much could have which ever one I want. The first was at Willow Cakes and Pastries as a counter person. They wanted me to come in for a trial shift on Thursday and were going to see what they could do to work around my schedule.

The second was at IMAX Theatre and this is the one I will take because it is only 5 minutes from home. I was hired on the spot there! Woot!

So, in light of my job interviews today, I decided to get new hair:

She layered it, gave me bangs and curled it for me...and that made me decide that I need a perm! I LOVE the curls :D

So, yay for new hair that got me a new job that starts Monday!

How's everyone else's Monday going?

It's Oh So Quiet

No kids, no spouse, no animals, no music, no neighbours, no dishwasher running, no laundry being done.

It's almost eerily quiet.

Time for hot tea and me.

Kitchen Sink

Well, today is the first day of Grade Six for my little (ok, not so little) boy. I cannot beleive how quickly he is growing up!! 11 years old in November, was it really that long ago? Am I the only parent who THOUGHT 11 years was a long time but when it's in your children's age, it seems like yesterday??

Jonah starts on the 11th. Junior Kindergarten. SERIOUSLY! I'm amazed at how much he's grown and a little sad that he is no longer a baby and is entering the next phase of his childhood already. 11 years feels like yesterday, 4 years feels like an hour ago!!

And so, with both of them off to school, I am feeling a little un-needed at the moment. But, we are also starting the next phase of our lives as well...trying to conceive. #3 for me and #1 (biologically) for him. I'm beyond excited!! I can't believe that in the near future there will be another little one in our family...I had thought that it would be a few years before we decided to do this but with what happened after Niko's birth, it kind of changed all of our priorities. We are hoping to be married in October 2010...we should know more where we stand financially by next summer. Why are weddings so damned expensive?????

In other news, I am looking for a part time job. Just something to ease up on the bills and to have some extra money coming in. Hopefully I'll get something that won't have us strapped for care for the kids and I'm not working just to pay for daycare...though if I was offered a job that made it that way I probably wouldn't take it...doesn't make sense to me to work just to pay for daycare (which is outrageously expensive and I don't trust people to take care of my kids...).

I also thought about going to school but it's just not an option right now...I really need to work rather than finish my high school right now. I will get there eventually though.

I've started PartyLite again as well...so I'm hoping that generates a little bit of income in the near future.

I posted my first listing on eBay today...hoping that might generate some income.

Once I finally get some things made that are worth selling on my sewing machine, I'll list those as well...I'm very excited to make some cloth diapers to save us money too.

All of these things were an effort to stay home but it's just not bringing enough income in at the moment...but after our new baby comes, I won't be working and so I'm hoping that these will be established enough to help cover my share of the bills and what not. Before and after school daycare is expensive enough, full time daycare for an infant is more than I could bring in with a part time job (and then also, again with the not trusting people to take care of my kids)...

So, that's my news (everything and the kitchen sink)...in a nut shell and kind of scrambled, like eggs. My head is just like that...going every which way at once!! Hoping once the routine of the kids being in school is established then my mind won't be so busy and hectic...

Hope everyone is well!!!