Labor Day – A Great 3 Day Weekend
August 30, 2008 on 10:49 pm | In Family | Comments OffI am just so happy that this is a 3 day weekend. My daughter started school again this past Monday and getting up early the last five mornings has been really difficult! It’s also been a week filled with health exams for me and I’m very glad to have them over and done with, at least for another year.
I slept until almost 8 this morning and it felt great! I plan to do the same thing tomorrow and Monday and hopefully, next week getting up early will be easier.
We have no other plans for the weekend other then spending some time together. We spent today doing yard work and swimming in our pool. It was 95 degrees, perfect pool weather!
Have a great weekend!
High Cholesterol
August 28, 2008 on 9:53 pm | In Family Health | 2 CommentsThat’s right, I got word from my doctor today. My blood test came back showing that I have a cholesterol level that is “way too high”. I’m a bit shocked. My levels have always been normal.
It’s been a few years since my last blood test, but I don’t think my eating habits have changed. Really, the only thing that has changed is that I’m no longer working outside the home. Maybe I’m too sedentary. I have started to work out more, especially since we got our Wii Fit. The Wii and my doctor both said my body mass index is just right. I’m not over weight, although, I probably do sit on this computer way too much.
Anyway, the doctor suggested some changes in diet, most of which I all ready do, so we’ll see what happens. I may have to take another blood test in a month.
First Day of School
August 25, 2008 on 10:06 am | In Family | 4 CommentsToday was the day, my daughter’s first day of school and her first day in junior high. She was so nervous this morning that she was unable to eat breakfast. I remember those days!
She finally agreed to let me walk with her to the bus stop this morning. She hadn’t wanted me too, but since she didn’t ride the bus last year, I wanted to make sure the bus came and picked her up. As it turned out, the bus was almost 15 minutes late, long enough for my daughter’s nerves to really start rearing their ugly head! It did finally show up and she boarded just fine.
When we attended the school’s open house last week, she received her locker assignment and lock combination. Wouldn’t you know, the lock wasn’t working, so we had to be added to the list for it to be fixed. It was a pretty long list! I’m hoping that it was fixed by this morning, she was very anxious about that.
I am anxiously waiting for her to come home this afternoon so I can hear all about her day and how things went.
Visiting Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
August 24, 2008 on 11:23 pm | In Some of This Some of That | 1 CommentMy husband and I are coming quickly upon our 22nd wedding anniversary. We’ve been doing quite a bit of reminiscing about the years that we’ve been together. Recently we were remembering a trip we had taken while still living in California. I was employed by a local bank and the bank employees decided to charter a bus and spend a weekend in Las Vegas, so we decided to go along.
Now, I have to tell you, the bus we were on, while it was better than a yellow school bus, it was definitely not as nice as a bus you might ride on Las Vegas tours. We found ourselves on a bus full of very loud people who were trying to party, including the bank manager. These people were also drinking pretty heavily and, to make the situation worse, the bathroom on the bus was out of order. I’m not going to go into the details of that bus ride, but let me just say, my husband and I still talk about it over 20 years later!
After arriving in Las Vegas, we found our hotel. Again, like the bus, not a hotel you would probably find on a tour. It was a little run down, flea bag of a hotel. We were newly married and we didn’t have much money, so we weren’t spending the money on a fancy hotel. We wanted to be able to see the shows and the casinos. The room was okay, although maybe not the cleanest, but for us, it worked. I wouldn’t have wanted to stay there by myself though, I felt like I needed my husband for protection!
I do wish the internet had been around back then because it would have saved us a lot of trouble (and probably found us a better hotel). We could have used online travel guides to help us with lodging and activities. But no, we didn’t have that luxury. Besides the bus ride and the shabby hotel, I don’t remember much else about this little holiday of ours. I know that if we’d been able to go some place like Madame Tussauds wax museum I would’ve remembered it! I did visit the one in London and it’s really amazing what they can do with wax!
I am really thankful that in today’s world, we have internet access. While our trip was humorous and memorable, I like having the ability to check things out online before committing. It also gives me a much better idea of what to expect when we arrive at a destination. Had I seen a picture of our hotel before hand, I can guarantee you we wouldn’t have made reservations there!
One thing I’ve done is sign up for the Trusted Tours & Attractions eNewsletter and if you sign up by August 31, you might be the lucky person to win a $150 Magellan’s Gift Certificate. Trusted Tours & Attractions offers discounted tickets to sightseeing tours in 23 cities across America so it’s worth signing up for their free e-newsletter.
Parade for Gymnast Nastia Liukin
August 23, 2008 on 9:16 pm | In Some of This Some of That | 1 CommentA parade will be held this coming Saturday, August 30, in Nastia Liukin’s home town of Parker, Texas. The parade celebrates her triumph at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games where she won 5 medals, including a gold medal in the women’s all-around gymnastics competition.
We’re Moving on Up to Junior High
August 21, 2008 on 10:09 pm | In Some of This Some of That | Comments OffWe attended Expectation Night at the junior high this evening. My daughter was able to get her class schedule and locker assignment, both something she’s been anxious about.
First thing we learned was that the lock on her locker isn’t working. So, after standing in line to report the issue, we moved on to find all her classes. She has a total of 8 classes each day plus lunch, and changes class in between every one of them. She will have to stay organized and figure out when is the best time to go to her locker and when it’s better to move on. She’s a pretty organized kid though, so I’m sure she’ll have it all figured out in no time.
Her locker wouldn’t open, they’ll have to reset the lock. That should be done before school starts on Monday. Now, the only thing we have left to really concern ourselves with is the bus.
Some Home Improvements are not Worth the Money
August 20, 2008 on 4:14 pm | In Finance | Comments OffMany years ago we were living in Houston, Texas. Houston is very hot and humid, but otherwise, a beautiful place to live. We had our home built from the ground up on a beautiful, tree filled lot in a wonderful sub-division very near to my husband’s employer. We both had good full time jobs, great neighbors and plenty to do. We really thought we would be in that house long term.
After living in our home for 5 years, we decided to take the plunge, literally, and have an in ground swimming pool built. My husband met with a pool builder and even helped design the pool itself. We got a home improvement loan and within a few months, we were swimming in our beautiful new pool in our own back yard. We worked hard and did all the landscaping around the pool ourselves. It was totally awesome, in every way.
Then it happened, my husband was very unexpectedly laid off from his job. Not only that, we had just learned that I was pregnant with our daughter. So, now we had a lovely home with a lovely pool and a lovely baby on the way, but the primary earner of our family was now out of a lovely job. My first thought was that we were going to be in need of debt help.
I have always been a very financially responsible individual and being in need of debt relief took me by surprise. Having just taken out a home improvement loan in order to put in the swimming pool, I had to look at other ways to keep ourselves afloat. One of the first things we did was to put our house up for sale, we figured we could always move into something smaller or rent, but the housing market in Houston was pretty flat. There was a lot of new home construction in the area which made it difficult to sell an existing home.
Over time, I managed to find methods of debt consolidation that worked for us. We were able to pay off our vehicles, and my husband found a new job. We did end up selling our home and moved to Connecticut. It was all an extremely stressful time and a period of time I hope never to repeat. I do know that we’ll never build a swimming pool ourselves again, it is not worth the money. The house we have now was pre-existing and all ready had a pool. That’s the only way to go in my opinion!
Michael Phelps and Sports Illustrated
August 20, 2008 on 12:58 am | In Entertainment | 3 Comments
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