My Return To Work...

This week I tackled going back to work full-time. It's something that I've been meaning to post about but my internet connection went away for a couple of days...actually, the modem broke.

Last Tuesday was my first day back to work. It didn't get off to a smooth start though. I had to run out to the store Monday night to grab a few items. I didn't get out of the driveway - my starter went out. My fiance' was able to get his mother's car for Tuesday...thank goodness! What a blessing! My other option would have left me in tears and bald... Work went good and some people were shocked to see me. I guess they should read my blog. They would have found out I was coming back.

Wednesday didn't go too smooth either. My son got sick. It was awful. Let's just say it left my sister sick to her stomach and my fiance' had to come home from work. I couldn't call off on my second day of work.

Thursday my fiance' had to head out of town for what he thought would be an overnight trip and return on Friday.

Friday my cell phone buttons quit working. If the phone rings and I get to it to answer it, I can talk on it. I can't text or dial out. NONE of the buttons work. I think my fiance' jinxed me. He was going to buy me a new phone for my birthday but I declined the offer. I wanted to stop my service when the contract is up which is a little over a month away.

On Monday, I had to attend a new employee orientation. It was pretty boring. I had heard it all before...after 5 hours, I was ready for lunch! My fiance' also had to head out of town again. Lastly, I got to the daycare 10 minutes before the daycare closed. I'm glad I wasn't late - it would have cost me $20. Then I get home and find out my modem is broken.

Now doesn't that sound exciting? Should I be happy that I returned to work? I wonder if all this would have been a big deal had I not been working. I'm thinking I would have blown most of it off but with being on the go constantly it seems like I can't get ahead of the game. Here's to a better second half of this week!

Visit Tackle It Tuesday to see what others are tackling and Talk About It Tuesday to see what others are talking about.

Talk About and Tackle It Tuesday: Taxes!

This week I didn't exactly tackle the office as I wanted to. Instead, I did my taxes. I was actually quite surprised at how quickly and smoothly it went. I claimed one of the kids this year versus both of them (as it was my year to claim both). My fiance' had to claim our son in order to carry insurance on him. Next year, I will claim both to help with the taxes that I will owe on my unemployment.

Anyways, I gathered all the paperwork and laptop then headed for the living room floor. Within an hour, I was done! Not only that but I am getting a refund. A much larger one than expected.

One thing I had done when I found out (actually got the feeling I was being laid off), I switched my tax exemptions from 1 to 0. Some people would disagree and say I should have kept the money rather than give it to the government to hold on interest-free terms. Had I received it, I probably would have spent it because it wouldn't have been that noticeable. Once I was laid off I was no longer paying the ridiculously high child care fees so that amount was put towards my debt. Now that I've been trying to survive on a less than 50% off my old wages, I will be getting a lump sum of money that was "planned" (in the budget). For me, it worked. I didn't blow the money, I grew my savings and I focused on paying my debt down (all on my measly unemployment check).

Sorry to bore all you with the details but that's what I tackled this week and have been trying to tackle over the past couple of months. I didn't tackle all my debt but hope to by year-end.

Visit 5 Minutes For Mom to see what others are tackling. Visit Lazy Organizer's Talk About Tuesday to see what others are talking about.

Talk About and Tackle It Tuesday: Making Rooms Complete

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to do some catching up. However, it's been at home versus on my blog or even my emails (sorry folks). I finally got around to getting some curtains hung in the living room. It looks so much better in there. They aren't the most expensive valances but they complete the room. It should have taken three but I made do with 2.

Before

AfterWe also spent some time working on the family room that I painted a few months back. We didn't have seating out there. We now have a futon. I even put the train table back together so it could get some use before my youngest son out grows it. The treadmill finally got moved out of the family room and into the workout area in the garage. Now I need to work on the computer area which is in the same room. We'll see if I can accomplish that before next week.

Before

After

Besides working on the house and finishing rooms up, I've been doing a lot of volunteering. This is one area that I didn't do a lot with when I was working full-time. I hope to be able to continue volunteering when I find full-time employment (or even a part-time job).

To see what others are tackling, visit 5 Minutes For Mom's Tackling it Tuesday or to see what others are talking about, visit Lazy Organizer's Talk About It Tuesday.

Talk About Tuesday: My Window Needs Treatments

I haven't participated in Talk About Tuesday in a while but I need some assistance. I have a window that really needs a window treatment of some sort. I don't know what kind of window treatment. My fiance' doesn't want to get rid of the blinds. Working around them is kind of hard though. I tried thermal window panels that were floor length that we could open and close. They worked in the sense that they covered the metal plates at the top of the blinds but they kept getting stuck on the blinds and were bulky behind the couch.

Now I'm asking the readers - what kind of window treatments would you recommend? The only requirement that I have is that it covers the metal rods and top of the blinds. They don't have to be able to open and closes...the blinds take care of that problem.

Visit Lazy Organizer to see what others are talking about.

Talk About Tuesday: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas In My Home!

This month's Talk About Tuesday Home Tour is a few of my Christmas decorations. I've scaled it down some this year since I've just redecorated a few of the rooms and I didn't want to have to box up stuff. This year nothing had to be boxed. This helps in taking things down. It will go a lot faster!

The jingle bell wreath is in place on the door - it's not as annoying as it may sound!
The ventless fireplace was moved into the living room and decorated this year. Oh how I wish we had a real fireplace even though we have been heating our house off this fireplace. (for the most part anyways)Now for the tree - I put few decorations on it so the kids could add candy canes to it. I would rather use candy canes as decorations than leave them sit in the candy bowl...To see what others are talking about, visit The Lazy Organizer's Talk About Tuesday.

Talk About It Tuesday - Preparing to Look for a Job

I'm a little late getting this post out here. I had a super busy day yesterday but that's what I'm going to talk about today.

As part of my "package" from work, I was given the opportunity to meet with a placement counselor. The counselor would assist me in my job search, revamp my resume, and train me on interviewing. Since I had been working for the same company for many years and only interviewed with two people that I had previously worked for, I knew I needed to jump on this opportunity. Plus the job market in this area isn't the best...we've had some big hits lately. The best part - the counselor works with me until I find a job whether that be 2 weeks, 4 months, or 3 years!

To start the process off, I had to fill out a 30 page document about my work history, references, schooling and general questions. I also provided them with a copy of my resume.

The second meeting was all about me! Sounds good, huh? Not for me, I don't like to be the "star". However, it wasn't that hard. I had to list 15 sparkling words, write a summary about myself, list job titles I would like to hold, and then describe my ideal job.

Yesterday we met again. This was an information packed day. I started off writing down everyone I knew. My thought - "Hello, how long are we going to be here today?" I just asked for a few more sheets of paper and got to work. After that I had to tell, who I have let know that I was looking for a job and companies I have contacted. My thought again - "Hello, how long are we going to be here today?" I tell everyone! I really believe in networking - from the guy at the coffee shop to the nurse at the pediatrician to the soccer moms that were at away games. (There was a good article in Business Week a few weeks back that mentioned not yelling at the referee that's at your child's game - you never know where he might come in during your job search, he could be the one interviewing you.) I found out that hidden jobs make up for 80% of the job market. Networking helps to find these jobs. Then it was time for the mock interview. The first question stumped me - "Tell me about yourself." I almost replied, "Well, tell me what you want to know." But I got through it and finished the interview. I found that the exercise we did the week before were the answers to each question she asked except for those about the company and why I left. We went through do's and don'ts as well as the "better" answers to the questions. It will make my next interview a lot easier (yes, I am determined to get an interview). Before leaving, I did get to glance at my "new" resume. WOW - it looked nice! It sure made my old one look bad.

Now they will send out my resume and cover letter on my behalf. The only ads they will not answer are those that need to be emailed versus mailed. They will send me an email and all I will have to do is send it from my email. Pretty simple...hopefully finding a job will be that simple! =)

Sorry for the long post...I wanted to get an updated out here.

To see what others are talking about, visit Lazy Organizer's Talk About Tuesday.

Talking About and Tackling Tuesday - Updating the Family Room

With being out of work, I get bored really easy. I’ve tackled just about every room in the house and even had a garage sale to make a little money off the junk. We cleared out a ton of toys. It left us with a family room that we could actually us. There was a problem – it was ugly and uninviting. I got the idea that I would update it as we did the rest of the house. My fiancé was out of town so I had to do it on my own. He didn’t know what he was in for when he left me with paint brushes and rollers…LOL. I didn’t pick up the paint until Monday after he headed out of town.

When we converted ¾ of the garage to a family room, we added numerous outlets, stomped the ceiling and put down new carpet. The paint was dull and lifeless. The walls remained bare.

Now we have a warm and inviting space in Milk Chocolate (hum, wonder what I was craving?!?). There's also a trim border going around the room that tops it all off. I removed more clutter from the room, cleaned the carpet and rearranged a few things. My treadmill ruled the room. It’s now out of the way when it’s not in use. We have room for a couch now. Since we moved our ventless fireplace out and into the living room, I need to find a wood entertainment center that has a top shelf to it and some storage. Then the room will be complete and ready for the Wii on Christmas morning!

To visit other’s Home Tour on Talk About Tuesday, visit the Lazy Organizer. To see what others are Tackling, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

Talk About Tuesday - Halloween

I have to say that I like Halloween more now than I did when I was a kid. I'm not working so I didn't get to wear my costume to work as I normally do. It kind of put me out of the costume mood. Therefore, there is no picture of me in a costume...maybe next year. It didn't change things for my kids. They loved running around for weeks before Halloween in their costumes and/or masks.

Here's my little ninja. He doesn't like costumes with masks but he wanted the swords...so he dealt with the mask. Here's the my scary young man. I have to say I didn't care for the mask. I'm not a fan of clowns and that's what crossed my mind the first time I saw it. The black cover he is wearing has been used for 3 years now . We used it for Darth Vader and Scream in previous years. We might use it again next year. We will change it up a bit and add a few things to it.This is out "momma" cat. She stayed on the roof most of the night. She didn't like the costumes. Once things slowed down, she came down and hung out on the truck tire (still hiding from trick-or-treaters). I was a little disappointed by our trick-or-treater turn out. It was the lowest I have seen in the 6 years we have lived here. Now I have all this to deal with...on top of what the kids brought home.To see what others are talking about, visit Lazy Organizer's Talk About Tuesday. Stop by next week for TAT Home Tour Edition. I will be sharing my family room makeover.

Talk About Tuesday - Electric Scooter

I’ve decided to try to squeeze in some extra exercise this week while my fiancé is out of town working. To do that, I decided we would walk to get my older son from school. Sound easy, huh? Not really. My younger son rides his bike and my older son hates to walk the .8 mile from the school to the house.

On Monday, I decided that I would ride my older son’s bike to the school and let him ride it home. I don’t mind walking. Bad idea! Fifteen minutes before we were going to leave I got the bike out and the chain was off. I spent fifteen minutes trying to fix it – no luck. We walked while the younger one rode his bike. We did decide on a better solution the electric scooter. So, we charged it.

Today, we waited a little later to leave since we were going to be able to zip that .8 miles to the school. Nope! I didn’t know how to get the electric scooter to go. I guess I should have asked but I’m mom and I’m supposed to know, right? We got to the school and my son wanted to know where his scooter was…my reply, “In the garage, it’s broke!” We walked again while the younger one rode his bike.

When we got home, I decided to have my 8 year old show me how to work the scooter (like above). He didn't have teh seat on it. Let’s just say I know why you should always wear a helmet (and full body gear in my case). He gave me a quick lesson and off I went. But how do I stop?!? Wow – I was all confused. I finally, after a couple mishaps, got the hang of it and it is pretty slick! I might have to use this to go get my extra papers on Sunday morning or a quick run to the bank.

To see what others are talking about, visit Lazy Organizer's Talk About Tuesday.

Talk About/Tackle It Tuesday - Apples

On Sunday, the boys went 4-wheeler riding. It’s been a couple months since we’ve been able to find the time. For me, it was great to get all the walking, jogging and hills into my workout. Yes, it’s a workout chasing two “adventurous” boys on 4-wheelers. As we were leaving, I noticed that there were quite a bit of apples on the four apple trees. I decided to pick a bag full to bring home to make Applesauce. I’ve never made applesauce so I’m excited to see how it turns out and share it with the family…especially the ones I picked the apples from. After I started the crockpot this morning, I found that I could possibly make Apple Butter too. My fiancé says it’s harder than I think so I might just have to show him “I can do it!” The only problem – I might be busy over the next few weeks making and freezing this stuff for the whole family. There were lots of apples left!

Now that I have shared my story and tackle, go see what others are Talking About and Tackling!

UPDATE: I finished the applesauce. It's rather sweet. I don't think my kids will eat it. How can I tone down the sweetness? Or does someone have another applesauce recipe they'd be willing to share?

Talk About Tuesday: House Hunting

I think were finally going to start looking for a bigger home with a yard. Our current house is rather small for 2 growing boys, a dad with toys (aka tools) and a mom that loves her space. As for the yard, there isn’t much of one (which would explain why we have cats instead of a dog). We have a garage that takes up half of our backyard and a pool that takes up the rest.

Our first trip out and we found the perfect yard…2 1/2 acres! The house didn’t have everything that we wanted; it was missing the basement. We were ready to put a contract on it since there was room to build the house out, if we found it necessary. The living space was much more than what we have though. After multiple calls and emails to the realtor, she finally called us back. The call lasted for over an hour only for her to tell me the house already had a contract on it.

Now it’s off to another one…not the perfect home but again the perfect yard - 3 acres. It’s got a couple out buildings which would be great for all the toys (aka tools). The house appears to be a little bigger than the other. This house is on a busier road but front of the property is lined by trees which blocks a lot of the view. We just need to schedule a visit to check it out.

In my opinion, it’s going to take us forever to find the “perfect” house. We are looking in two school districts that seem to attract buyers. They are both country settings. It seems like more people want land versus being arm lengths away from their neighbor.

I’m soon to be the city girl turned country. Wait! I pretty much already am…I ride an ATV and play with pigs!

To see what others are talking about, visit Lazy Organizer’s Talk About Tuesday.

Talk About Tuesday - Planner

I’m a little late but I wanted to get my post up for Talk About Tuesday since it was already typed. Why didn’t I schedule it? Good question – I don’t know the answer. Wait, I do know the answer! I didn’t have it written in my planner. Before getting laid off from work, I had them order me refills for my Franklin Covey Planner. I really didn’t and haven’t used it too much. It was packed in boxes with my other personal stuff from work. I’m one that will get everything or as much as possible done on my to-do list, if I have one. If I don’t have one, I waste a lot of time. Monday I decided to pull out the planner and put it to work for me. I made my task list and got to work. Needless to say, I completed everything except 2 items. Now I use my planner and take it just about everywhere with me. I’ve updated all the calendars, contacts, and birthdays…it’s ready for use again. I still use my handy dandy calendar at home but this is great for on the go and getting me on the go!

To see what others are talking about, visit Lazy Organizer’s Talk About Tuesday.

Wind Storm - Ike Remnants

Yesterday, we experienced hurricane strength winds. There wasn’t rain to go with it…just lots of wind. In North Dayton, there were wind speeds reported near 70 MPH. In the Dayton area (DP&L), there are still approximately 200,000 customers without power. They are expecting some of the outages to last through the weekend. Our friends and neighbors near Cincinnati (Duke Energy) are also experience a high number of outages. At last check, the number of Duke Energy customers in Ohio without power was approximately 600,000. These outages could last at least one week.

The only damage that we had was some shingles from our roof blew off. Nothing major though. There were a few times that our power had flickered but I was had the generator ready to go if the power did go out. As we went out last night and today, we found that many of the neighborhoods in our area are without power. Gas stations are without power. This is causing a supply shortage in some areas. Bags of ice are another item that is becoming hard to find.

I have family that was without power. I passed our generator on to them and offered other family members our other generator. I’ve also offered to make dinner and give them a place to stay that has electricity. None of my offers were taken. I can understand them not wanting to stay here but why not the warm dinner offer?!?

The wind storms have proven to be very difficult for many families – here in Ohio and other paths of the hurricanes. Many families are without power while others have begun the process of making insurance claims, cleaning up the debris, and/or adding up their losses. My prayers are with those that do not have power and hope that no one was injured as result of the extreme weather that pass through here. I know this was a real wake up call for us.

To see what others are talking about, visit Talk About Tuesday!

Talk About Tuesday - My 1st Month of Being Laid Off

I really don’t know what to talk about but I really want to talk…LOL.

I can’t believe it. I’ve been laid off from work for almost a month! I haven’t really accomplished much in the month either, which is sad to say. I did get my son to start pooping in the potty but that took place the day after he found out he wouldn’t have to attend daycare any longer. I should be applying for jobs on a regular basis but finding a job here is pretty hard. I have to make sure that I do not apply for a job at a competitor until my severance benefits run out. I search every job search website and well-known company website in the area. The jobs are slim-to-none. There are more companies shutting down and/or laying off than what are hiring. If we would more a little further south or east, I would have a better chance at find a job. I have applied for 4 jobs since I left work. That averages out to one a week.

I do have some good that has come out of not having a job and being able to stay at home with my kids. I have saved $1,000 in child care expenses, $430 in gas, and $40 in not having to attend the weekly business lunch. These are the ones that stick out the most but there are probably more. I’ve been able to move closer to being debt free. But like the old saying “All good things must come to an end”, my pay (and insurance) is only going to continue until the end of the year. With that said, I need to find a way to make up for the money that I was pocketing and find affordable insurance for me and son #1 (son #2 will be covered by my fiancé's insurance). How? I don’t know yet – I’m still working on that part. Maybe I will figure it out pretty quick and Talk About It in the coming weeks.

Sorry to bore you with all that…I needed to get it out. I would talk to my kids about it but they would say “No, you don’t need to get a job…we hate daycare!” To see what others are talking about, visit Lazy Organizer’s Talk About Tuesday.

Talk about Tuesday - Bedrooms

This week is the Home Tour edition of Talk About Tuesday over at the Lazy Organizer. Today, I wanted to talk about the kids’ bedrooms. Our house is rather small and what I call lifeless and boring. When we bought the house, every wall in the house was white. They were almost off-white since they hadn’t been painted in what looked to be DECADES! I’ve been spending time adding a little (ok, maybe more than a little) color to the kids’ bedrooms. I wish I had before pictures to show you. Instead, I have the after pictures.

Son #1



Son #2

To see what other's are talking about, visit the Lazy Organizer.

Vacation Quickly Approaching!

I’ve found a blog carnival to participate in on Tuesday’s. It’s over at Lara’s blog, Lazy Organizer. I thought I would participate because I LOVE to talk! I could go on and on about anything and anytime! Here goes my first Talk about Tuesday.

We love to take a family vacation when school gets out. This year school will be out a couple days into June and our vacation will quickly follow. We are headed to Myrtle Beach, SC.

Original plans were to rent a camper, drive down, and camp for a week on the beach. It sounded like a lot of fun and a new adventure for some of us. The travel park had a lot of amenities – lake, pool, playground, and arcade to name a few. After thinking it over, there was no maid service, more and more people wanted to join in on the fun, and we couldn’t find a camper for a reasonable price so we decided to change our plans.

On Monday (yeah this past Monday), we booked a beach house! Not just a beach house but a HUGE (to me) oceanfront beach house. It has 7 bedrooms with 2 queen beds in each room, 9 bathrooms, 2 washers and dryers, 4 refrigerators and microwaves, 2 dishwashers, 2 stoves, game room (pool table, card table, gaming systems), 13 tvs (each has a DVD player or VCR), and a private pool.

I am ready for the sand, sun, warmer weather, and most of all – NO WORK. As a matter of fact, it can be hot that week and I will be fine with it. I just want away from this Ohio weather!! Forecast here: Mid to upper 60’s with a chance of rain Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.