Saturday, January 30, 2010

The 3rd Row

I have to say I was initially skeptical about the 3rd row. To begin with, it’s an odd number. It’s not the coveted 1st row or the cool “back row” as in school buses and movie theaters. No, it is the 3rd row…

The 3rd row of my SUV that is!! It is great! We drove to Naples today and, to be polite, I gave my mother-in-law the front passenger seat. I would have loved to sit with my boys but sitting between two car seats and on the “hump” didn’t register as comfort during a 2 hour drive. What was left? The 3rd row!!

For the entire week prior to this day, I dreamt of the quiet time I would have in the 3rd row. I could crochet, read and redo my budget…

It was the best seat in the house . I am slowly but surely going to finish this blanket for Gabriel, even if it ends up being his college dorm blanket. I read a bit of my book, and tried to work on my budget but lost my pencil before leaving Coconut Creek. That’ll have to wait for another road trip.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Heaven or Hell

This weekend has been jam packed!!! Yesterday I loved the coffee talk with my long time friend, Cat, followed by a baby shower for Jamie. At the shower Cat started (remember the word “started”) a conversation about religion with one of the partygoers. I don’t know how Cat could have subconsciously picked a more religious person to discuss this with. I honestly don’t know how the conversation began, but somehow it was me who was the only one left for the ending.

Don’t get me wrong – the lady was super nice, and super religious. I mentioned that my mom is jewish and my dad is catholic somewhere in the middle there, but I don’t think she even heard me. Somehow I ended up with The Book of John and a clearer understanding that you should never answer a loaded question like, ” do you think you’re going to go to heaven or hell?”.

A bit too heavy of a conversation for a baby shower…Cat realized this and went to get tea and I stayed, not wanting to be impolite, and ended up with an earful.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Zap, Ouch! Zap, Ouch!

So I just got back from my first laser hair removal session. I think this concept is amazing (barring that it works!!). I walked in and Susan, the RN, was super nice. She brought me into the “laser room” and before I sat down she told me not to worry about being shy because she was a labor and delivery nurse for over 20 years. OK – so basically she has seen thousands of vagenes – it did make me feel better as I was standing in only my bra moments later…

I had to lay on the table with my arms above my head (for the under arms) and my ankles together, knees bent with them out like frogs legs (sorry if this is TMI but I was wondering how this would work and I am sure maybe others are too??). It took all of 10 seconds for my lip, 2 minutes for my underarms and about 5 minutes for my “lower area”. I won’t lie – it hurt! But when she was done, so was the pain. Yes, there were times I was like, “Can I take a break?” and, “Ouch that really hurts”, and moments where I was breathing in a lamaze-like fashion. BUT I am so glad I agreed to do this!

I have to go back 4 more times, each time being about 5-6 weeks apart.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

What "really" is a budget for?

OK – I have to say one of my most favorite things in the entire world to do is shop…I love it and I think I may do too much of it!! At work, when I am bored (90% of the time), I browse the world of online shopping. There is so much out there!!! I find things I need and then I find things I “really” need…and then I find things needed for the house, and then for so-and-so’s birthday/christening/baby/mother/uncle…you get the idea.

I am going to stop the unnecessary online shopping. It is going to be hard considering the amazing deals I get via the internet, but I really do have to categorize my shopping into the true “needs” and “wants”.

Sadie, Sadie, Shady Lady!



Sadie is getting bigger by the minute. She has the last installment of her puppy shots this Saturday followed by a puppy grooming. I can’t wait to see how much she weighs…she is in so many ways my little baby girl .

She is doing well – very playful, likes to eat the window blinds by the front door, is working on being house trained, loves Gabriel b/c he is her height, and is very loving. I wish she could sleep in bed with us as she looks like a good cuddler but Rich does not agree – hahahaha. Oh well…I was thinking of letting her sleep on the bed when Rich was in Vegas but then I would get caught when she jumped on the bed when he got home. Nathan slept in Rich’s spot and it was fun – we watched Sesame Street followed by HGTV until we fell asleep.

I am learning through many puppy-related conversations that she will eventually not poop and pee as much, not bite and pull as much; and that one month is short in terms of the time frame needed to un-puppy Sadie.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Why is the word “Customer” even in the phrase “Customer Service” anymore??

LA Fitness sucks. I finally got off my ass to go to the gym Saturday morning and was hit head on by the worst customer service…nice way to start the new year, right???
My friend agreed to meet me at the gym and help me get back on track – teach me how to use some of the machines and to keep me motivated. I was so excited!! I brought Nathan and Gabriel with me so they could enjoy the Kids’ Club and Rich could get some quiet time to clean out the garage.

I get to LA Fitness and give them my little key fob to check in. The receptionist tells me that my home gym is not this one and to drop the kids off and then come back to talk to her. I do as told, and she now had the sales manager behind her. He states that she is correct and for a $99 flat fee I can get a national membership. I explain that I have been to this gym numerous times in the past and no one has said anything to me at check-in; that my husband signed me back up/reactivated my account and that this should be my “home gym”. He starts getting snotty (I am annoyingly embarrassed at this point in time…) and told me that I can work out there today but then I have to go back to the other gym and work out the issues. He says nothing about calling the other gym and helping me rectify the situation…nothing about working out the confusion, etc. So I told him that after this time I am going to cancel my membership. This makes him listen a bit more now, so he states that he doesn’t want that to happen. I was so pissed off at this point that I stared at him and growled, “Then fix it” and walked away.

I was so angry – angry at his rudeness and lack of service, angry that I was even allowing this to get to me…I never usually get this worked up. The only word that comes to my mind when I think of him (that I won’t regret posting on this blog) is JERK. I am over it, but will not be calm until this gets rectified…I sicced Rich on him.

New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year! This year is going to be a great year – I can feel it now!! I am going to get healthy, eat healthy, spend as much time as I can with the kiddos, and budget. I HAVE TO BUDGET…

I have Quicken, I am an unashamed coupon cutter, I look for sales, I do all of the above and then some, but I cannot seem to save $$$. I created a fabulous spreadsheet when my husband thought we were not allocating our funds properly…he was shocked as well (not at the fact that I created the spreadsheet, but that we shell out more money than we ever thought).

It is not too late though (I keep repeating that over and over) – I am going to turn us around…I am going to actually look at the cool graphs that Quicken offers (that I swore I had to have and would use) and analyze them. I am going to ignore the Shop It To Me, Rue La La, Gilt Group, HauteLook, and Shop Style email alerts (unless of course it is a final sale…). I am going to clip coupons with a fervour and actually use them.

I am going to log my ups and downs, my great deals and my savings. Here I go…wish me luck…I will need it BIG TIME!!