Sunday, October 23, 2011

Good morning


Good morning!  I'm trying to post a little something every day along with Love Every Day and will hopefully be able to keep  you all in the loop with what's happening with me.

I've done more research on San Francisco and am getting a bit excited.  Mike brought up an additional idea but I think he's more comfortable with the thought of moving out there.  He doesn't want to be alone...  I can understand that but for me, I've never had the opportunity to take my big road trip and to spend some time alone.  I want to make sure I do this at least once in my lifetime and I think that this would be a great opportunity.  Of course, we're looking at doing this all further down the road but still...  We'll take it one day at a time.

I guess that's about it.  I don't have a whole lot to say so far this morning...  It seems beautiful out so I'm going to go open the windows and maybe even go for a walk. 

Have a wonderful day!

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Hello Again Friends

Whew! I don't know about you but I've been very busy. It seems as though life flies by and the next thing you know it's almost Halloween! I cannot believe it. *shakes head*

So there's a lot that's been going on and I've been trying to figure out more of who I am and where I'm going. I've decided that I want to move to San Francisco. Michael and I are young (well, not getting younger anyway) and we don't have any children yet; no house to tie us down and if we're going to do something like a major relocation, we should do it now.

Mike has asked me why I feel like I need to go. I feel as though when we were there, I was happy. I felt different. Not because it was vacation (which was great anyway) but there was just something else underlying.. It was like I had an inner peace. It's all silly, I know, but I'm completely unhappy in this area - with the exception of family. I'm tired of the crappy winters and the humid summers and I'm tired of feeling like I'm stuck.

So I think I'm going to do it. I've started some job & apartment searching and have found some potential leads. It will be difficult but I feel like this is something I at least need to try.

The sad thing is that I'll be away from my mom and during the transition, I'll be away from Mike. We don't want another Indiana situation with nothing to come back to so we'll try to work this out.

It won't be for a little while but it's definately something in the works.

Mike says that he thinks I'm trying to run away. I don't feel like I am. I'm thinking about the whole thing logically and seriously and not letting my emotions just make the decision for me. If it was just my emotions making the decision, I'd either leave tomorrow or just go back to bed and not go anywhere. It's nerve-wracking (is that the word??) and I can feel it in my stomach and nerves the more sure I feel that it may be a healthy choice for me.

I am afraid of people thinking I'm selfish. I don't want that. I'm not trying to be selfish. I'm not used to making healthy decisions for me and I need to start or I don't know where I'll be.

Anyway, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written. I'll try to keep up a little better for you. You're always welcome to stop by DecideToLoveEveryDay.blogspot.com (I post more regularly) where I try to find at least one good thing - big or small - in my day.

Feel free to share this with a friend. Maybe someone else has similar experiences or knows someone I can room with in San Francisco while I settle into a job and find a permanent place to live with my husband.

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Dreaming of France

So I had a dream last night that I flew to France.  I remember getting on the plane but when I was in France, I didn't remember any of the flight (looking out over the ocean, going through the airports...) and I was upset about that.  Mike went to the hotel room and crashed and I went out to explore.  It was morning and I walked into a cafe or bistro or something and decided to order a coffee with milk (cafe au lait) and a pastry of some sort but I was speaking in french!  I was remembering the french I learned in high school & while I spoke slowly, I was doing pretty well.  Even the barista or whatever she was was impressed.  I remember being nervous in the dream that I was an American but the girl didn't seem to care.  We started talking about my travels (this is when I remembered that I didn't remember anything about the airports or the flight) and I discovered that I didn't have a passport.  For whatever reason, nobody had asked for one.  I panicked so after drinking my coffee and eating the delicious pastry, I contacted the US Embassy & found that I had gotten a passport and that someone had delivered it to them as a found item.  I was completely relieved and went to pick it up then I started to explore.  I spent the whole day walking around and enjoying every bit of beauty there was.

This dream was pretty strange for me because it was very non-descript.  With good dreams, I usually have a lot more detail.  There's a lot of color and I'll remember the specific locations or faces or at least what they were wearing or can describe where I was.  This one was black & white with greytones.  I don't remember what the girl who helped me looked like and cannot describe the buildings that I saw.  I remember being in awe of the beauty but I didn't see any of it in my dream, I only saw myself with a fuzzy background.

I want to travel.  I want to go to France.  If I was alone, I would probably travel a lot and do odd jobs to stay somewhere for a while.  Living in cheap places..  Own only what I can carry..  It sounds like it would be a pretty amazing life.  What do you think?  Where would you go?  Have you ever dreampt about a vacation?

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Monday, May 30, 2011

A Quick Update

So, it's been quite a while and for that I apologize.  I've been so distracted that I haven't taken the time to write to you & let you know about the things going on in my life.

I'm not going to take a lot of time here but I figured a quick update would assure you all that I'm still alive and doing ok.

My husband & I decided to adopt a pair of green cheek conures.  We've named them Booth (born on 01/01/11) & Bones (born on 01/04/11) and they're pretty well bonded and seem to enjoy being around us (for the most part).  The dogs are very excited and for the 2 "incidents" we've found that they would be more than happy to make them a snack.  It's kind of stressful but pretty cool since birds are one of the animals that I've secretly harbored an interest in owning & working with.  They can be expected to live 20 to 30 years although with proper care can live up to 40 years!  Isn't that amazing?!

Anyway...  They're all sitting at home with my husband while I'm here at work.  I volunteered for this holiday because an email was sent out announcing that if nobody volunteered for it then people would be selected at random.  I'd rather volunteer for a late shift than be chosen for the early shift.  It's just so much easier.

I hope this post finds you all well.  Happy Memorial Day!

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Thursday Already?

Just a quick post today to let you know that I'm ok.  Ha!  That rhymes.  I love when I rhyme without meaning to.  For whatever reason, it always makes me giggle.

I hope you're all doing well.  I know that I haven't been posting regularly on Love Every Day but I hope to get better & more consistent with it.

Wow. It's already Thursday. The days of this week seem to completly drag but when I wake up in the morning I feel surprised that it's closer to the end of the week.

One of my co-workers has been having trouble with her car. She got a flat tire the other day on her way home from work, then her spare went flat then yesterday the spare went flat again & she couldn't fill it at all. She brought it somewhere to have it fixed (apparently it was off the rim or something?) and came in to help at work for a few hours.

I've been invited to be a part of a project at work to get everyone in Operations some product training. I'm so psyched and have another meeting tomorrow to make sure we have all of the products that people want/need training on and get a "plan of attack" for how to get this accomplished. I've been so busy at work this week that I haven't had time to get my list but luckily, I've been thinking about this for a while and have most of it written down or in my head so all I need to do is organize my thoughts.

Well, I've got to get to work in a few so I've got to go. I'll write again soon!

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Have you heard?

I've started a new blog called Love Every Day.  I'm attempting (failing, mostly) to post something every day that made me smile or laugh the day prior.

I hope that from what I have posted, you have been enjoying my posts.  I'm trying to include a photo every day as well.

My baby brother is 21.  His birthday was yesterday.  It's so hard to believe that he's 21 already!  I remember holding him as a baby, watching him pose for a photo with his new glasses & glasses case, watching him run outside and play with the neighbor boy, watching him with his first video game experience and then suddenly, he was 16 and driving and then 18 and graduated high school and now he's 21 and can drink!  Where did the time go?

If I feel this way with my brother, how will I feel with my children??  Wow.

I guess that's about all that's going on.  I hope you'll take a moment to support my new blog and share it with your friends.  We all need a pick-me-up every day.

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

April Showers...

Good morning!  I hope this finds you well and excited that it's a new month!

The saying goes, "April showers bring May flowers" and so far, we've had a pretty cool thunderstorm and it has rained 3 out of the past 4 days.  I don't know about you, but I can't wait until May.  May is one of my favorite months.  Not too hot, not too cold and not too muddy!

I'm excited to begin this new month.  My husband & I have filed our taxes and got back a little more money than we expected.  So we've put some into savings & have decided to buy a couple of gifts for ourselves.  I have finally purchased a decent camera.  It's not a DSLR which I really wanted but it's a close to top of the line Canon "point & shoot" digital camera.  I've been using it to begin my new blog Love Every Day.  I hope that you'll check it out for daily updates.  I'll post a photo and tell you about something great that happened in my day.  Please do not hesitate to share it with your friends.  I have links to share to Facebook and Twitter and even have an email sign-up so that you can receive an email with every post.

I hope to see you there!

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

An Apple A Day...

Hello friends!

It's been another long while since my last post.  I apologize for not writing consistently for you to keep you updated about the goings-on in my life.  I would like to tell you that I've been busy with projects but honestly, I've been kind of lazy, depressed and unmotivated.

I have been to the doctor (exciting, I know) and am working on trying to be a "better", healthier me. 

I discussed the headaches that I've been getting for a couple of years now & she said that they are indeed migraines and has prescribed some medication to help.  The first time I tried the medication, I had some pretty severe reactions to it.  My throat got tight, I felt extremely light-headed & dizzy, I was extremely nauseaus and almost went home from work.  There was also what felt like an extreme pressure in my head until the headache faded.  These feelings lasted about 2-3 hours.  I talked with my doctor about this & she mentioned that those are side-effects that can occur.  She prescribed a lower dosage and the last migraine I had, I took one of those pills.  I felt a little pressure in my head for about 30 to 45 minutes then poof!  It was gone!  I haven't had another migraine since & it's been 3 days!  She wants me to go in for an MRI to make sure there aren't any underlying problems causing the migraines so I'll have to schedule that appointment soon.

We also started discussing some other issues that I've been having. 

For my insomnia, she told me that I can continue to work with over the counter sleep aids (since they are working & once we go down the path of prescription sleep aids, you can't really go back) or I can try taking a melatonin supplement to try and regulate my sleep schedule.  So while I was picking up my new prescription, I picked up some melatonin & have been taking that.  It takes a couple of months to assist but it's a more natural way to train my body to sleep than taking medication.

I talked about my weight & overall health.  I got my bloodwork back & it looks pretty good.  My cholesteral isn't bad but could be better and everything else looked ok I guess.  I'm going to have to call to discuss the results over the phone so I'm sure I understand everything.  As far as nutrition goes, she's referred me to a nutritionist and told me that trying to focus on small accomplishments (for example, telling myself to walk 30 minutes, 3 days a week instead of, "You must go for a walk every day") will help me get started.

She also referred me to a phone number so that I can find a therapist that is covered by my insurance.  That will be really helpful and help me with my depression.  I know I'm depressed & my doctor mentioned something to me that it appears as though I've been dealing with it for so long that I've just accepted that this is how I feel and I've coped with it as best as I can.  Well, I'll tell you all - I'm tired of coping with it!

I found out something interesting...  Depression can lead to insomnia, migraines & weight gain (well, that part I knew) & I know it has a huge effect on my motivation to get up & excercise or eat right.  Maybe if I can get that under control, the rest will fall into place.

I will be heading to another doctor to get the "womanly" stuff worked on.  Maybe the depression has something to do with the reason why I haven't gotten pregnant yet.  We'll be looking into all of that soon too.

How are you doing?  Have you been to the doctor recently?  Are you working on making yourself a healthier, happier person?  What are the struggles you deal with when trying to be healthy?

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Monday, March 7, 2011

It's March Already?

I know...  It's been a while...  A LONG while.  I'm sorry, readers.  I've kind of been on a "bender" of sorts.  No, there's not been any liquor involved (I'm not sure if that part is good or bad but I guess it is what it is) but I have been pretty out of sorts.

I'm pretty certain that there comes a time in everybody's life where everything just seems so overwhelming.  It's hard to feel like you're in control, which in reality, you're not.  That fact is very unnerving to me.  To feel completely out of control and so unsure of anything and everything...  I forget that with my faith, it is these times that I should be lifting my worries up to God & letting Him handle them because after all, He is the one that is really in control.

I'm struggling a lot with what information to include in this blog.  I really don't have a problem with sharing different tidbits of information but there are other people in my life that feel that personal information & venting should be done in private and not in a public forum.  I find that it can be helpful for me to write my thoughts down "on paper" and share certain things with others to obtain a different point of view and perhaps some advice.  For things that I believe too personal to share with just anybody (especially on a public blog where most people know exactly who I am), I do have a private blog but I hate to keep so many of you in the dark (assuming, of course, you actually enjoy reading my "real" thoughts!).

I would like to be able to write about how I really feel and not worry about people being upset with me.  I feel as though people believe Facebook should only be for the "happy" things in life and never to vent or voice your opinion about a personal situation.  I don't want to just write about the "happy" things.  That's not being true to myself or being honest with those around me.

I do agree that you shouldn't bash people publically on Facebook (for example, to have your status be:  My [sister, brother, mother, father, spouse] is such a/an [insert name-calling here]!  I can't believe [he/she] [insert exactly what they did here]!) , however I feel that it is ok to state that you're frustrated/upset with someone (leaving them nameless) & to vent a little.  It gives your friends an opportunity to share some perspective & support your way.  I know I could use all the support I can get.

So what do you think?  What would you consider to be too personal to share through a public blog?  Where do you think the line should be drawn?  Is it ok to write about your encounters with other people as long as you don't include their names?

Feel free to share this blog with others!  I'd like as many opinions as I can get!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

So many thoughts..

I've been hit with a bit of nostalga this morning...  It started with thinking about snowball fights and the fact that I've never been in one.  Mike was stunned.  He then asked if I've ever thrown a snowball & I told him, "Yeah.  Like at you."  I went on to explain that I didn't have many friends while growing up and that I was on the edge of the school district.  All the other kids in my neighborhood were either a couple of years older or 3 years younger than myself.  Except for one girl.  We played Barbies in her closet.  She had one of those 3 level homes with the elevator on a string.  Recently, she sent me a friend request on FaceBook but I didn't respond...  The last time I remember being together was when we were having a sleepover and she was playing loudly with a whoopie cushion and my father came downstairs and smacked me.  The next night, we spent the night at our other friend's house & we got into a fight and I bit her.  She called me a vampire and told me she wasn't going to be my friend any more.  Talk about awkward.

Now, I'm a "grown up".  I am an adult with responsibilities and many insecurities.  They say that the past shapes us into who we are today.  I know that's true.

I have dreams, ideas and goals...  Many hopes and desires...  There are so many things that I would like to do with my life that I feel I cannot focus.  When I feel like I get a handle on what I want to do with my life I am struck with a feeling of ...  I don't know what the feeling is but I'm reminded that I had another goal and I question why I don't want to or am steering away from that goal when I want it equally as much.  I find myself unable to prioritize my dreams.  Obviously, I can prioritize them in order of reason - which is the most sensible to follow, which is the most financially feasible...

For example:
  • I want to be a teacher.  Either 3rd grade-ish or high school english/literature.
  • I want to be a veteranarian.
  • I want to be a marine biologist.
  • I want to open my own restaurant/bar & grill.
  • I want to be a stay-at-home mom.  I want to home-school my children or get them in private school.
  • I want to get a degree - in communications, in education, in english, as a veteranarian.
Those are just my professional goals.  Yeah.  They're pretty different.  Obviously, becoming a teacher, veteranarian & marine biologist require a specific degree.  I need school for those and lots of it.  To open my own restaurant, I need funding.  I have screwed up some finances so much there's no way I'll get funding for that.  To be a stay-at-home mom I need two additional things:  Mike needs a well-paying career & we need a child or two.  Yeah.

So one of the things I was exploring with my education (so that I can choose one of these) was to get a degree in communications.  This would allow me to explore my teaching options as well as give me a "fall back" for other businese solutions (ie: working for corporations).  I decided to go this route and then finances fell through and the world dropped out from beneath my feet and I didn't complete my AA Degree.

Now I'm starting to dream about it again.  I want to succeed.  I want to get my associate degree.  I have to be honest...  Mike never liked school and when we left everything behind in Indiana, he focused on school and has his AAS degree.  Then he was going on to get a Bachelor's Degree and we found that the school was pretty crappy.  I'm jealous.  He hated school.  He didn't want to go.  I've sacrificed my education to work and to attempt to provide for us.  It's one of the things that makes me resentful but that's another story for another day.

I have ambition.  I know I do.  I have confidence, sometimes, and I want to do my job to the best of my ability.  I want to be successful and impress people. 

I felt proud when I started at Lane Bryant back in September 2009 as a part-time sales associate and within 3 months, I was promoted to a full-time sales leader.  When they announced that they were closing our store, I worked my butt off to get things done.  I stayed late, I came in early, I planned the floor, I packed the store...  I was even the person who would stop into a store and by chance, someone wouldn't be coming in & I would be asked to work their shift.  I was the person who drove 4 hours in a snowstorm to get home from a location that was about an hour away because they needed help.  Then, it felt like all of that didn't matter. 

There were two people, I think you know who you are, that were supportive and kind.  One in particular brought me over to her store after mine closed so that I could keep a job and maintain my seniority.  It was hard though.  I began having major issues at home, I was having my own emotional issues that now were going untreated (I had finally started getting them treated) because I no longer had medical benefits, and I was irritated at the person who couldn't tell me more than one week before I wasn't going to have a job whether or not I was staying with the company.  Then, when I moved to the new store and was with my supportive team, the district manager became someone cruel and unreasonable instead of supportive but firm.  This attitude trickled down to my store manager and it got to the point that I was ready to leave and needed some time away to clear my head.  We both felt the pressure from the district manager and I felt completly lost.  That's when she "came back"...  My store manager who was my mentor...  She sacrificed and gave me what I needed and greeted me with open arms when I came back 3 weeks later even though I fully expected to be unemployed when I came back.  From what I hear, the district manager, remains a cruel, unsupportive, unreasonable "b-word".  It makes me angry to see that the people who were my friends; the people who gave me my strength and support are being treated so cruelly.

It makes me want to do something. 

But what?  What can I do?  I don't work for the company anymore, although I know now that they would give me a weekend job if I asked.  Even if I did, I would be unable to do anything because I would be starting over again.  I would be a sales associate - sorry "stylist".  :)

Anyway...  I've apparently opened up a dam of my thoughts and they keep pouring out.  I should stop here otherwise I'll keep going until I'm late for work!  lol

I hope today finds you all well.


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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Day After Valentine's Day

Hello family & friends!

I apologize that it's been so long since I've written last.  Things have been busy at work and our home computer has been out of commission because the A/C Adapter thingie was, as the Best Buy Geek Squad guy said, "Broken."

So now that work is slowing down a little and our home computer is working, you'll probably see me posting a little more often.  Hopefully, you'll enjoy it!  If not, you'll just ignore my Tweets & FB posts for my blog and go on with your day.

So far, I pretty much hate 2011.  We have had our beloved Cavalier totalled, Mike was "temporarily" brought down to only 20 hours at work on January 3rd (only to be laid off four weeks later), there is a hold on my Flexible Spending Account, we're in collections for some late utilities (on top of all our other collections accounts) and on Sunday, Anna had two seizures.

I'm tired.  I feel as though every time we try to take a step forward something happens in life and brings us 3 steps back!  It's very frustrating and stressful and it's so hard.

So I've decided to take a look at our 5 year plan and re-evaluate.

Last May, we started our "5 Year Plan".  It looked something like this:
  • pull credit reports & contact all creditors (every year)
  • begin making regular payments for our debt/collections accounts (in 1st year)
  • get organized (in 1st year) & stay organized (every year)
  • get a full-time job (both of us) that we can grow with into a career
  • keep expenses to a minimum (ie:  Netflix & internet without cable; minimize eating out)
  • establish a savings account
  • regularly deposit money into said savings account
  • build savings account to cover 6 months of expenses
  • buy a new car - reliable & sensible (requirements:  not red, power door locks & windows, 4 doors)
  • stay in one location for 3-5 years
  • build stable employment history
  • grow in faith
  • grow in our marriage
  • eat healthier
  • be more active
  • spend more time with the dogs
  • move out to San Francisco (5 years)
  • take time for mini-vacations
Here's where we're at:
  • we have a new car
  • we have established a savings account
  • we have been regularly depositing money into the savings account
  • we pulled our credit reports last year & contacted all creditors
  • we have made regular payments (except last month) to the creditors
  • we both have had full-time jobs (& Mike now has a new one)
  • we've both passed 1 year marks with the companies we work(ed) for
  • I have been attempting to make it to church
  • we have worked on our marriage & are continuing to
  • I am attempting to eat healthier - it's portion sizes that are my big problem
  • we have been successful with limiting our expenses
  • we have spent more time with the dogs but I'm not quite where I'd like to be
Doing this has helped me to realize that we've actually accomplished a lot, despite our struggles.  I hope that when you're feeling down about life that you can take a step back and look at the things you have done and accomplished.

What do you think?


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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Two Weeks

It's interesting... It's only been two weeks since our computer was last working (or has it been 3 weeks??) & I feel like I'm going a little crazy not being able to blog. I guess I could have/should have been blogging on my iPod but I feel like it's such a pain typing on here. I also haven't spent any time writing in my journals.

Anyway, here I am. I'm not lost or missing so I hope none of you have worried too much. :)

Mike & I are getting ready to go out to have dinner with some old friends that we haven't seen in a long time. Shocking, right? Yeah. We know. We never go out & do anything with anybody. It's like we're afraid to or something. I can't explain it.

I'm actually kind of nervous. Isn't that silly??

I guess I'm not just nervous about tonight. I'm also worried about the changes that are happening with us.

I think that I shared this year's beginning with you all. We lost our car due to an accident with some Polish guy who forgot the "Rules of the Road" & went out to get a new one. Our first payment is coming up soon (in just over a week) & we're pretty strapped on cash.

Mike was told at the beginning of the year that his department was going through more cuts. He went from 40 to 20 hours a week in a matter of minutes. Ugh! They said it was only temporary - to last for a minmum of 2 weeks and a maximum of 6 weeks. Well, it's been 4 weeks & there's no light at the end of the tunnel yet. Thus began the job search. Within an hour of submitting his resume to Canon, a position that he applied for last year & never heard back about, they called, gave salary info & scheduled an interview. He went to the interview on Wednesday & they told him that they had a few more candidates to interview & that they would contact him by the 4th of February. Well yesterday afternoon they called him & extended an offer. :) We're excited & nervous - both of us. He's going to accept the position & will start on February 14th.

I put in for a major promotion at work. I had my 2nd interview on Tuesday & did not get it (I wasn't expecting to) & they told me that they've got plans for me. They were extremely impressed with my interview & would like to give me the experience that I need and lots of opportunities to learn & grow. I'm extatic!!

So it looks like this year is just full of new opportunities & will have a lot going on. Hopefully, we'll both be able to learn & grow & build our careers so that we can have a happy & healthy future together.

I hope that you all are doing well & that God is working in your lives as He seems to be working in ours.

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

A Beautiful You

So every Sunday, Dan over at http://www.danoah.com/ posts photos of his fans submitted to him on Facebook.  I enjoy looking through them to see the smiles & bright faces of families.  Some make me a little sad, some make me proud and all of them make me smile.  This week, my favorites are the third one down from the top & one of a soldier with what appears to be his daughter.  The soldier photo makes me feel proud of our service men & women.  We need to recognize and appreciate them every day.  It's hard work and it's very difficult for them to be away from their families.

So go ahead, check out http://www.danoah.com/ and enjoy your smiles today.

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Finally!

Sorry it's been so long...  I've been really busy & completly stressed...  I don't know how we're going to make it work but we have to so I guess it will just happen.

I'm currently working on my volunteer shift until 7am since our Dublin office is closed...  I'm a little tired but excited to be working about 10 hours of overtime this weekend.

For those of you who don't know, on December 27th, my husband was hit by a stupid driver.  The driver hit my 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier on the passenger side rear wheelbase.  He hit my husband so hard that the bumper cover thing (the piece of plastic over the actual bumper material) flew off the rear of the car, attached by only a small piece of plastic on the driver's side of the car.  While putting the Cavalier up on the tow, the bumper cover came off completly. 

At the tow yard:  This is a photo of where the driver hit my car...
Thankfully, even though the car fishtailed pretty wildly in the morning rush hour traffic, my husband was able to control the vehicle & bring it to a stop before colliding with oncoming traffic and nobody was injured.  It was also really nice that we weren't at fault and the gentleman had valid insurance so we would be covered.

Unfortunately, this meant a couple of things...

1)  We now needed a rental car

Ugly Chevrolet HHR

2)  The Cavalier was probably going to be totalled so that means a new car or an old car with double gas & more maintenance.

So we waited 24 hours before calling his insurance company to obtain the adjuster information & find out where we go from here.  When I called on Tuesday, the guy who was at fault hadn't filed a claim with the insurance company yet!  I panicked for a moment until the lady told me that I could file it for him.  So I did.  After a week or so, we were able to received more information and found out that the Cavalier was declared a total loss.  We found out the settlement amount and began our search for a new car.

Oh, yeah..  On Monday, January 3rd, Mike was told that they were cutting down his hours to part time.  Yeah.

So we were able to find a car, stop paying the rental (which will be reimbursed, thank God) & have finally received the paperwork for the total loss and settlement. 

Our New Car!  A 2010 Chrysler Sebring
I have said goodbye to my Cavalier and actually found myself tearing up a little.  Mike didn't make fun of me though!  It's been my car since I was 19 years old.  My first major purchase.  My mother helped me with it on numerous occasions and it's been a "family friend" for all those years!
I would post a final photo of the Cavalier but this program isn't giving it the proper tribute...  I guess I will try again later.

I hope you're all doing well this new year.  I will write again soon!
 

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Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New Year/I Need Help Being Cheap - I Mean Frugal!!

Happy New Year!  My first post of 2011 and already, something interesting to write!

So New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful (which was both good & bad) and New Year's Day was spent hanging out with someone I haven't seen in a while - about 2-3 years.  It was really great.  I don't really remember why we stopped talking although it probably had a lot to do with the fact that she was friends with my ex & I didn't really want to be around him and the fact that I'm terrible at keeping in touch.

Anyone else have that problem?

So onto me needing to be cheap!

Last Monday, my husband was in an accident.  It wasn't his fault (thank God) & he wasn't injured (thank God even more for that!).  Unfortunately, the way the guy hit us, the car is falling apart and will probably be totalled (the responsible party is dragging his feet and we don't have any information as to whether or not they'll fix it or total it) which is good & bad.  It's good because we wanted to get a new car anyway.  What's bad is the fact that we are unable to get financing and can't really afford a new car - payments and all - anyway.

Of course, this means that we have to rent a car & although we'll be reimbursed, it's still $500 so far.  Thank God we've been a bit frugal lately and had the money aside for an anniversary weekend that I was planning.  Of course, rent is now going to be late and we have some upcoming bills to pay since that's what happens every month.

Now for needing to be really cheap....  My husband was just notified today that the company is "temporarily" putting most employees on part-time employment.  Starting tomorrow, my husband will work 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.  Yup.  That's right.  The promotion that he just got less than a month ago...  He'll keep doing the same thing (which is good since he enjoys it) but now he'll be part-time.  He was offered an opportunity to go back to telemarketing but that's a lower guaranteed hourly wage & it would be part-time anyway.

So yeah..  It looks like Ramen, rice and beans for us!  It's going to be a looooooong year.

I do find myself trying to be optimistic...  Here are my thoughts:
  • You should always celebrate new opportunities
  • At least with his new schedule (which he got to pick) I won't have to sit at work for hours before my shift begins
  • He'll be able to spend more time with our dogs
Yeah.  *sigh*

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I Just Want to Be Ok by Sarah A. Manning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.