WOW

I thought I wasn't doing very well with paying down my debt. I keep paying, but didn't really see the difference. I just checked my remaining balance online and WOW!!! I am down to...................well see for yourself to the right!!

I cannot believe how far I have come. I am so excited!

The support I have received from everyone has been just incredible! I know I will get this annoying amount of money paid off soon, I can feel it!

So until then, I will still watch what I spend. And even after, I will watch what I spend. I think I will celebrate and go shopping!!

Just kidding.

I swear, if I had one of these buttons I would have pushed it, like, a million times this week!!

What a stressful week. Especially yesterday.

The speaker I have for most of my seminars had to leave the country. Her father passed away. So who was left to do the seminars? You guessed it!

I was able to get another speaker in just the nick of time. Then yesterday I had a huge event that I was hosting. The food doesn't show up until 5 minutes before it started, they didn't bring the raffle prizes so I made them go to a grocery store to find something. A GROCERY STORE FOR RAFFLE PRIZES!! Who buys raffle prizes at a grocery store? It was insane.

Well, one good thing......I have been working so hard, I haven't had time to even think of shopping or spending money!

Oh, and one great thing happened......

A wonderful angel, Ken, donated $20 to go towards my debt.

Thanks KEN!!!

My debt has been paid down, but I haven't received my statement yet. I will post the change when I get it.

When I make an extra payment they are charging me $4. Do you think I should save up a certain amount before I pay extra or just pay as I get extra. Paying $4 for a $20 payment doesn't sound like a good idea. What do you think?

Day at the Beach!

My mom and I had a great time at the beach today. Here are some pictures of where we walked.

It was so nice there today. After going on a wonderful, peaceful walk, we went to this wonderful restaurant. LOOK AT THE VIEW!!

I had my most favorite drink in the whole world!!!! Can you guess the name of it?

It was a wonderful time. I am so relaxed right now................How was your day?

Great day! And the best part is................IT'S FREE TO WALK!! ok, lunch isn't free but it was the best seafood pasta I have ever had!! Ok, maybe not ever, but darn good!!

I just love weekends!! Don't you?!

Questions

So I saw on someone's blog that they had put it out there for people to ask questions about him. I thought that might be fun.

So here it is. I like the number 5 so you can ask me five questions and I will answer them.

Ask Away!

So, one of my coworkers quit and is moving out of state. He was such a great person that I wanted to give him a unique send off. So what did I do?



I SPENT AN HOUR AND DECORATED HIS OFFICE!!

With budget constraints we need to make due with what we have, so what do I use??


SEE FOR YOURSELF!!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO READ THE NICE SEND OFF MESSAGES I WROTE!

He walked in and almost fell over! I must have Post It noted a million Post Its!!

Don't you just love the chair?

He loved it! He loved it so much he couldn't stand to clean it up. I got the joy of that.

Do you know what it is like to have to put Post Its back together again? I don't recommend it.

It was so much fun and a great team thing to do. AND VERY FRUGAL!!

I bet I saved at least $30 on getting a gift. I know it's the thought that counts, but

WHAT WAS I THINKING?? WHAT KIND OF THOUGHT WAS THIS?!! :-)

It is Easter morning and there is no bunny in sight!!

I guess I will go back to bed.

Wake me when he shows up!

bleck.

So I just realized one of the signs that I am doing what I shouldn't do.

I don't blog!

The last couple days are what I did when I first started this blog.

Stupid bulimic shopping.

Ok, total honesty.

I get about 50 phone calls a day and I am on my cell phone almost all day.

I have been using my bluetooth headset for hours and hours a day and a piece broke off. It works fine except that it is very loose now. Everytime I moved, like saying no, it flaps on my ear. Very annoying. But the headset still works.

So I tried to convince myself that I needed a new one. I talk to my coworkers to back me up and then I go to Office Depot and look. They are around $100. I go to Best Buy to see if they are cheaper. They are $89. I go to Comp USA. Same thing. So I go back to Best Buy and buy it. You have to realize I spent almost four hours doing this. Ridiculous, right?

It gets worse.

I take the headset and walk to my car. I get in the car and sit there thinking.

"I have a headset that works. Ok, it is loose, but do I really need to spend $100? NO. This one doesn't even fit very well."

One thing I found out is that my ears are really small. I mean no headset seemed to fit me. I am thinking I have freakishly small ears. Never knew it.


So I never even leave the parking lot. I go back inside and buy a $15 one that has a wire.

I call people and ask them

"Can you hear me ok?"

They say "Yes, ok."

I go home at 9:15 PM. I haven't eaten all day. I spend the entire evening going on a hunt for a headset that I don't really need. But in my mind, I don't see it.

So I go to work today.

At lunch, where do I go?

I go to Best Buy and what do I do?

I buy the exact same one. I was so convinced that it would fit.

Yeah, like my ear is like my feet or something. "Hum, your feet can swell. Maybe my ears were just shrunk and now it will fit fine."

So I bring it back to my office and proceed to try to convince my coworker that it is better.

I was thinking, "Oh who am I kidding.........it doesn't fit! And it is a hundred bucks!"

So tonight, I bring not only the $100 one, but also the $15 one.

Now think about it. Everytime I charge it on my debit card................(Debit, not credit, but still) It will take the amount out of my account and then when I return it, it can take days before it goes back in. So I am down hundreds (even though it is going back in) All of this for what?

NOTHING!

This is exactly why I call myself a bulimic shopper.

I buy, then feel guilt and return.

I haven't done this in such a long time.

And when I do......

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!!

Maybe it's my freakishly small ears...........YOU THINK?? :-)

I'm still here!

I have just been working so much this week, I just come home and fall asleep.

I will try to update tonight.

I haven't been spending on anything except lunch, so it is pretty uneventful.

Let's see how exciting today is!

OH JOY!

SO NICE!!

Yesterday was a great day!

I slept until 11 AM and headed out to see my best friend. We had such a nice time visiting. I took some pictures of the Golden Gate bridge, but I gave my son the camera to take to Hawaii with him. He is there with my mom for the week. Boo hoo. I miss him already.

We had a great time making fools of ourselves. The above picture is one of the funny pictures I took of her. She is so silly! That's one of the things I love so much about her. We have been best friends since we were 9! I took this picture with my new cell phone.

On my way back I almost drove off the side of the bridge taking the pictures for you guys.........and now I don't have them!! I ALMOST DIED FOR THEM AND THEY ARE ENJOYING THEMSELVES IN PARADISE!!

oh well. :-)

And one thing I always do on the bridge I did this time. If I have enough cash on me, I pay the toll for the person behind me and tell the toll guy to tell them to "have a nice life". I love that they have no idea who I am, I have no idea who they are. I like to think it would help someone one day that needed the extra support. (you know the whole karma thing) I know, I'm in debt and shouldn't be spending, but this is something I will not stop doing. And besides I only go over a bridge, like every three months or so.

When I got home I picked up the boys and my son's girlfriend (man, that makes me sound so old!) We went to my favorite sushi restaurant. We had a wonderful time! I know it costs money, but my son left today for a week and we had a nice family time night!

Then today. Oh today! I wanted to stay in bed all day, and I would have if it wasn't for her!

My hubby dropped off my son and mom at the airport early this morning, because I was really sad about him leaving. So I thought it would be easier. I climbed back in bed and quickly fell asleep. Until my crazy best friend called and woke me up. She said she had loads of laundry to do. I told her I had her beat on the amount of laundry!

After arguing about who had more laundry to do, I told her I wanted to stay in bed all day and not do anything. She said she was starting her laundry and I better get started or she would beat me.

OK, HOW OLD ARE WE, TWELVE?!!

BUT IT WORKED!

I got up, got ready and took 17 YES! 17 loads of laundry to the Laundromat. In an hour and a half, it was done. I didn't stop there.

Next thing I know I am cleaning out my closets and rearranging my bedroom. I bagged up all the clothes I haven't worn in 6 months and am going to donate them tomorrow. I folded a ton of laundry and then plopped down to watch one of my favorite shows. Cold Case. Very good show if you haven't seen it. I don't watch much TV, but I like that one.

I wanted to go out to dinner because I have no food in this house. But instead of spending money, this is what I had.

Scrambled eggs. No cheese so you can imagine what it tasted like. Couldn't find the salt and pepper, so very BLAND!

English muffin that was, like, two weeks old! But nothing growing on it, so I ate it.

And a few peanuts.

I will eat the side of my couch to pay off my debt. So an old english muffin isn't so bad. Plus my couch would be a bit leathery. Glad I haven't gone that far!

So there you have it! My great weekend!

Oh yeah, and I finished the weekend, with sitting out front, on my Adirondack chair watching the sun go down drinking Cranberry Grape juice. Then took a hot shower with fruity shampoo and sat down on my clean blankets on my bed and watched Cold Case.

It really was the perfect weekend. Thanks to my best friend PAM!!

I love you girl!! mwah!!

So, yesterday was GOOD GOOD GOOD!

I can't say anything bad about it.

Let's see how did I save money?

Oh yeah!

Ok, so, my son is going to visit my sister in Hawaii tomorrow and has no suitcase. The last one we had FELL APART AT THE AIRPORT!!

WHEELS FLYING EVERY WHICH WAY!!! PEOPLE JUMPING OUT OF THE WAY AS TO NOT GET WHACKED BY A SELF DESTRUCTING SUITCASE!!

So, needless to say..........he needed a new suitcase.

So where do I go to get one, you say?? and how much did you spend???

Did you go to Macy's?




NO





Did you go to Mervyns???




NO



CAN YOU EVER JUST GET TO A POINT ALREADY??!!





NO!!!






No, I don't go to a store that will charge a hundred dollars for one. Which is what I would have done.


NO, I GO TO A SECONDHAND SHOP!!



I went to a place called SAVERS that is a lot like Goodwill.......but BIGGER!



I not only found him a great suitcase...........IT WAS ONLY $9.99!!


OK, so it isn't brand spanking new.........

It doesn't have all the bells and whistles on it..............(which is good, because you put bells and whistles on a suitcase at the airport and you will most likely get searched!)


But it has wheels and so far they aren't A FLYIN'!!


GREAT! I'll take it!


While I was there I looked at a couple tops and HIT THE JACKPOT!!


I go to Macy's and Nordstrom, I find nothing! I go here and find 6 tops that fit me like a glove! and they were all between $3.99-$4.99!!

So, all in all, it was a good day.


Oh yeah........for lunch at work I ate leftovers from a seminar we did. And if you knew me, you would know I DON'T EAT LEFTOVERS!!

SO a good girl I was yesterday!!


And today.............hum. We will have to see.

Long Day

Man, I shouldn't say to have a great day...........because I had a crappy day!

Sheesh, the one day I say "Have a great day" and I have a poopy one.

I think the "Have a great day" fairy got mad at me or something and said

"You don't get to tell everyone to "Have a great day" that is my job! Me and the yellow happy face. He says HAVE A NICE DAY and I like Have a great day."

So I think she was NOT having a great day and decided that I shouldn't have even a "half good" day. I mean what is her problem?

Ok, I am very worn out and tired. I am starting to think there are happy face people around. I really need to get some sleep!

One good thing is that I only spent 5 BUCKS!

Instead of buying food I saved by eating old stuff I had. I don't suggest eating old cottage cheese. It is just WRONG!

But hey! I saved money, right!

bleck.

I just wanted to tell you all to have a great day today!

I HAVE NO COMMENT.

I love getting comments, good or bad. Ok, the bad ones, like people just being mean I can live without. But comments are what helps me through this mess I am getting myself out of.

So please feel free to put your two cents in and comment.

The one thing I do on this blog is make sure I am completely honest. No matter how ugly it is, I still tell the truth. Not for anyone but myself.

I do this blog to help myself be accountable for everything I do. Some days are better than others. But throughout it all, I am honest with myself.

Yesterday was boring. I went to work, had lunch with a coworker and came straight home.

I played the harp for an hour. Hung out with my neighbors. Cleaned my patio. Fell asleep.

The day cost me $20.

I saved money by drinking hot water from the water dispenser at work. You should try it. It actually tastes fine. Not much difference than tea.

So there you have it! Drink water..........save money.........Save Leigh Ann!

Oh and I sold the two items on eBay which came to about a hundred bucks! YIPIEE!!

I HATE SPENDING LIKE THIS!

I had to get one of these for work. There are two things I hate. Spending over a hundred dollars and signing a contract.

I had to pay $400. I will get $150 back. But I still hate it!

I also had to sign a two year contract! Two years! That is longer than most marriages!

I was trying to figure out what I can do to avoid using one, but I can't keep track of 14 branches on a Franklin planner.

I got a $1,000 bonus so it pays for it, but I still hate spending like this! I need to do it for work, but.............did I tell you I hate spending this much?

These are the kind of things that cause me to do my bulimic shopping. I will typically freak out and return it. But I need it for work, so I need to keep it.

I just wish I could convince my brain!

So here I am again. Hanging out at my local Starbucks. I really do like weekends.

I just finished with my last harp lesson for a while. My instructor is about to give birth. Her due date is in a week. She piled me up with stuff to work on while she is gone. I will work on it as much as I can. I will have 2 months to practice. Can you imagine I practice it wrong and get really good at the wrong thing. That would be just wonderful!

So as I am sitting here I am thinking........what am I doing? Should I list some more items on eBay? Oh, by the way, the other two are ending in a couple hours. The Coach bag and the Sally Spicer bag. Check em' out!

So, maybe I will do that. I'm not that focused right now. Can you tell?