tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77695736248367970902024-03-05T22:34:35.971-06:00Misson: Debt FreeChristyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-42582070079377218142012-02-10T13:22:00.001-06:002012-02-10T13:22:26.964-06:003 years...Three years ago today my mom died. I spent last bawling and have cried sporadically today. I didn't think it would be so hard this many years later. I think hurts more now than it did when she died because I had my husband, dad, and family. All I have left is my husband and I feel alone in this world. Does it ever get easier?Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-16307466429013372172012-02-09T10:39:00.001-06:002012-02-09T10:39:04.082-06:00AT&T, I dislike you!I have spent almost an entire hour this morning on the phone with AT&T wireless. That 50 minute phone call was bad enough, but the worst part was the customer service rep barely spoke English and would get upset with me each time I couldn't understand what he was saying in his very thick accent! <br />
<br />
Anyways, on with the problem. I have an app on my iPhone that allows me to set up automatic payments to them. Well I had a payment set to go out yesterday since I got paid. It paid the bill in full for January. Well this mining I got a text from my bank stating AT&T had taken out $181!! I was really confused about that amount because my bill is always $147. I called them as I was driving to work and found out they signed me up for automatic bill payment and averaged my bills to $181. Grr! They refused to refund me my money, but cancelled the automatic bill payment. At least I won't have to pay the bill in march! Oh, how I miss Verizon!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-74069642262135438712012-02-06T10:23:00.001-06:002012-02-06T10:23:37.409-06:00Spinach/Artichoke recipe<br />
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1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped finely<br />
10-ounces of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained<br />
8-oz. yogurt, plain, lowfat<br />
1 cup mozzarella cheese, low fat<br />
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion<br />
Garlic powder to taste<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine all ingredients; mix well. Pour mixture into dish and bake until warm (20ish minutes).Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-14960204567501261822012-02-05T17:30:00.001-06:002012-02-05T17:30:14.230-06:00Sunday Night Chit chatJoining in on the chit chat from http://halfdozendaily.blog.com/<br />
<br />
Reading?<br />
<br />
The only thing I've been reading is the LCSW study guide and my bible. I'm oh so boring!<br />
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Watching?<br />
<br />
Facing the Giants in anticipation of the Super Bowl!!<br />
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Listening to?<br />
<br />
Just got the new Newsong cd at the winter jam concert and it's been on repeat in my car. <br />
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Cooking/Baking?<br />
<br />
Just finished a spinach/artichoke dip for my church's Super Bowl party. <br />
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Happy you accomplished this week?<br />
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Staying under budget!<br />
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Looking forward to next week?<br />
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The art of marriage conference and our church's valentine banquet. <br />
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Thankful for today?<br />
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This beautiful sunshiny day!<br />
Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-75182922614318768512012-02-04T19:27:00.001-06:002012-02-04T19:27:48.998-06:00Still alive!Still alive! Just temporarily forgot about the blog. We've kept up with out plan to not spend excessively. All the bills have been paid on time and without late fees. We haven't went out to eat or shopped for anything except groceries. We did go to Winter Jam 2012 in Evansville. The tickets were $20 total for both of us, we got two CDs for $10 total, & bought two sodas and a water for $13.50! My hubby did get a raise and it'll bring in about $200 extra a month and that'll go directly into the EF for a while. Hope all is well!<br />
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Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-16082289609274472402012-01-15T13:07:00.004-06:002012-01-15T13:13:47.421-06:00I love couponingJust because I'm excited about this I thought I'd share it early.<br /><br /><div>Today's coupon trip from CVS. I paid $22.42 out of pocket, received $5 ECB and just mailed in a $10 rebate for my Brita pitcher...so technically I will have only paid $12.42 for all this:</div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697938543573221490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh0Qa5zf_ni3YFkYMTf79VSm7IOdy4FcJFxc51jAD_oh_BB4-wylqWv8Gv9DPCJYkAktiPY42o1pdD5l8P-G827WE7Zr3Cky5LPaD4GUYloDZ8Xml71j9oXE2MlwAsqRLFnKVpeuOi_V-/s320/IMG_2048.JPG" />That's 12/12 packs of soda, a Brita filter, hand lotion, mascara, and 3 hallmark cards. LOVE IT!!!<br /><br /><br /><div></div>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-22947311856007829362012-01-14T23:21:00.001-06:002012-01-14T23:28:19.600-06:00Weekly spend total: $1,275.24This week we spent a lot of moolah! This week my grand total of spending was $1,275.24! This week was the first week of the new year that my hubby and I got paid so we paid a lot of our bills and bought groceries for the first time in a month. I had three days of no spending at all again. It continues to be gasoline that kills me. My high point this week in spending was getting free tickets to see the globetrotters and receiving free sodas there, so no money was spent at all at the event! My low point in spending this week is my meal at Taco Johns…I still wish I would have waited until I got home to eat.<br /><br /><strong>Sunday: Grand total $1<br /></strong>Walgreens $1 on two newspapers (the rest of the total was paid from register rewards)<br /><br /><strong>Monday: NO SPEND!!<br /><br />Tuesday: NO SPEND!!</strong><br /><br /><strong>Wednesday: Grand total: $1,050.28</strong> (OUCH!)<br />Gasoline $32.01 for my car and $7.91 at Taco Johns (I unexpectedly got stuck driving two states away transporting a kid & had to stop for dinner finally at 8pm). Paid cell phone & internet bill ($178.74), car payments for both hubby and I ($688), water bill ($48.42) & loan ($95.20).<br /><br /><strong>Thursday: NO SPEND!!<br /></strong><strong><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 215px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697725881379160178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3w4-WYO0HrnntYzFsmA-IfrpRJ_smMyuzXOl5S2LF8-DTjhTPjq9PPfh5g34MnflLBh8Eq9257l8G6xRgun5MwUL8AEdCeHgyzfhzT3PBMirQ-vr2ZEngHd_HmQdvcmFyDgdWL7VT73S/s320/Coupon.JPG" /></strong><strong>Friday: Grand Total: $93.74 </strong><strong><br /></strong>(Weekly couponing trip-includes everything in picture plus 2 gallons of milk not pictured) CVS: 13.51 spent, but I received a $10 CVS gift card and $5.75 in ECB. Walgreens $16.23. Gasoline for me $34.00 and gasoline for my hubby $30.<br /><br /><strong>Saturday: Grand total: $130.22</strong><br />Went grocery shopping for at least two weeks worth of groceries at Wal-mart $129.15 (used $27.85 worth of coupons). Picked up a huge bottle of bleach at the dollar store $1.07.<br /><br />I still have another 10 days until payday and we still have plenty of money left in our couponing/grocery budget as well as enough for gasoline. We put our extra money into our savings account for the EF. Tomorrow we will be paying money for a marriage retreat at church and our church’s valentine banquet that follows the weekend marriage retreat (total is $70 for both). Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!</p>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-36096977278523253452012-01-13T21:42:00.004-06:002012-01-13T21:57:05.187-06:00It's been one of those weeksI've been kind of MIA this week. It has been a crazy week and I am glad it's finally over! Monday and Tuesday were completely routine days...well almost. We had an issue at work and I didn't get to leave until almost 7pm, but otherwise no problem.<br /><br />I got a phone call from a lady at church on Tuesday afternoon (she does council time at church when I'm not there) saying she had to be out of town on Wednesday and wanted to see if I could do council. I said I would, but had a bad feeling about it. When I got home Tuesday, I asked my hubby if he could have a lesson planned for church "just in case" because I had a feeling something was going to come up.<br /><br />On Wednesday at work we had some problems with a client that escalated into a huge deal and suddenly at 12:15pm we find out we have to transfer her. Myself and my case manager ended up rushing around like idiots until 3:30pm when they arrived home and we whisked her away. My case manager and I were on the road from 3:30pm until 8:30pm and then I still had an hour drive home. I got home after 10pm and totally missed church. Thank God my hubby had planned a lesson!<br /><br />Thursday we had snow and it took me 2.5 hours to drive home from work because people in Indiana and Kentucky cannot drive in snow. I ended up getting home at like 8pm only to eat, shower, and go to bed. Today the kids had no school because of the few snowflakes that were on the ground so work was chaos. Since I got home I gathered all the information and material and went for my weekly coupon trip. Now I just have to get a grocery list ready for tomorrows trip to the store (Boo!). <br /><br />My hubby and I received two free tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters for tomorrow afternoon from my company. I've never been and I am really excited to go. Hopefully I can convince him that he does not need to buy anything at the concession stand tomorrow or anything as a souvenir.<br /><br />I hope everyone has had a better, less stressful week! I've been working on my weekly spend and will have it up [hopefully] by tomorrow night.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-19751474988278557152012-01-10T17:03:00.001-06:002012-01-10T17:06:32.340-06:00A small achievementMy hubby and I were talking about bills and money last night and came up with a new snow ball plan after we reevaluated our debt. We discovered that we have an extra $13,000 in debt excluding cars, house, & student loans. Ouch! We are breaking that 13k in even smaller categories so we aren't too overwhelmed and can hopefully stay focused. <br />
<br />
We had our first teeny tiny achievement today, too! Usually every Monday and Tuesday before payday we would be write checks to make it until Wednesday when I get paid and pray my paycheck went to the bank before the checks did. We would then already be short on that paychecks budget because of the checks we would write. Well, no more. I just transferred an extra $62 into my savings account because it was all left over money from our grocery/coupon and spend budget. Woo-hoo!!<br />
<br />
I know I'm a complete newbie at this, so please excuse my stupidity. But, is it best to get your emergency fund funded before beginning to pay off some smaller debt?Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-78097112933524767192012-01-08T20:17:00.002-06:002012-01-08T20:25:13.648-06:00Ready to spend some money...In regards to my left over 401k from my previous job, I am going to put half into our emergency fund and the rest to pay off our capital one credit card. Once the card is paid off, I really want to cut it up. Hubby is totally against it because he wants it for emergencies and to build credit (uh-huh, yeah right) It'll take me at least 6 weeks to get the funds because I have to prove to them that my last name has changed due to marriage (It was back in 2007 when I worked for them), so I have some time to change his mind. <br /><br />Here it is January 8th and I am still itching to pay bills and I can't until Wednesday when I finally get my first check of the new year. I really hope this urgency to pay bills and become debt free remains throughout the year and years to come. How do all you bloggers keep you mind so focused on debt repayment throughout the year.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-85813373653395833442012-01-07T18:30:00.001-06:002012-01-07T18:30:33.104-06:00Weekly spend total: $112.73We are in for the night and done shopping for the week so I figured I'd post this tonight. I ending up having three days of no spending. The most I spent this week was on gasoline as it always is with me living an hour from my job. We barely purchased any groceries because we still have a massive stockpile in our pantry and deep freezers (I love couponing!).<br /><br />Sunday 1/1/12 <strong>Day total $42.75</strong><br />Casey’s General Store: Newspapers total $6<br />CVS: (weekly coupon trip) Purchased 4 Nivea lip care sticks and 6 bottles of Dawn dish liquid (3 for me and 3 for my SIL for this quarter). I paid $5.81 and received $5 ECB.<br />Thorton’s Gas Station: $30 in gas for hubby and 2 fountain drinks to take to a family dinner total $30.94<br /><br />Monday 1/2/12<br /><strong>No Spend<br /></strong><br />Tuesday 1/3/12<br /><strong>No Spend</strong><br /><br />Wednesday 1/4/12 <strong>Day total $30.02</strong><br />Swifty’s gas station: $30.02 in gas for me.<br /><br />Thursday 1/5/12<br /><strong>No Spend</strong><br /><br />Friday 1/6/12 <strong>Day total $35</strong><br />Swifty’s gas station: $35.00<br /><br />Saturday 1/7/12 <strong>Day total $4.96</strong><br />Walgreens: (weekly coupon trip) Purchased 8 skinny cow ice creams and snack boxes, 4 boxes of Fiber One cereal, 2 boxes of Keebler Club crackers, and 4 cans of Progresso soup. I paid $16.55 and still have $4 register rewards left over. Wal-mart: Returned disfunctional chopper (+14.96) and purchased a half gallon of milk and a package of cheese for the next week. Left me with +11.59 in cash back.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-34906539694284391162012-01-07T13:52:00.005-06:002012-01-07T13:59:18.631-06:00Opinions pleaseI got a letter this week from my former employer that I had my 401K with them and have 60 days to do something with it. I was told I will lose the funds that my employer contributed, but I will get everything I put in with the exception of 20% to withhold for tax purposes. Since I only contributed for 6 months, I will only get about $515.00 back (I know, sad). So here's the dilemma: do I cash it out and pay off a credit card and a small loan OR put it in an emergency fund OR do I take it and start a Roth IRA?<br /><br />What would y'all do?Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-2995615255580301862012-01-04T11:51:00.001-06:002012-01-04T11:51:18.898-06:00Accountability NeededIn an effort to better hold myself accountable, I am going to summarize my spending on here. I don’t have anyone in my life currently that can hold me accountable, so I am putting ya’ll in blog world in that position. I figured I’ll start with January 1 and make the first day of the week for me as Sunday and go through Saturday. Please hold me accountable because I need it. Feel free to question my spending habits as well as my saving habits. God knows, I need it. I’ll either have the summary posted each week by Saturday night or between morning and evening church services on Sunday. Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-17964730806037275092012-01-03T21:43:00.000-06:002012-01-03T21:55:37.863-06:00Another hubby rantWhy is the first day back to work and your typical rountine so difficult? I feel like I've never been more tired. Got absolutely nothing accomplished today at work or at home. I did manage to have a zero spend day, which is huge for me. My co-workers did not bring their lunch so they went to pick up lunch and I didn't go or ask for anything! Huge I tell ya! I brought leftover potato soup and ate it. I also kind of worked out today, too. My hubs and I played volleyball tonight for our church for two hours. Loads of fun, but not sure it's much of an exercise.<br /><br />Any ideas on how to get hubby on board with saving money and paying bills? He continues to use the credit card even though it's in my possesion. He thought he JUST HAD TO HAVE a slice of pizza and a liter of soda at the local gas station after work. Why? I can only do so much to save money and pay bills, but it's super hard when he is still being irresponsible. I have showed him all the finances, bills, debts, and statistics. It still does not seem like he gets it. He unfortunately comes from a family that has very poor money management skills, so I don't know if that's his excuse or what. I know separate bank accounts are an option, but I know he will spend all his money and we won't have enough for bills. I have given him a spend account and he still goes through it all and then some. He gives me such grief and makes me feel like a bad person because I don't want to always go out to eat or buy fun stuff. I always end up feeling like a major control freak or his mommy. Not fun!<br /><br />Okay I am off my soapbox. I hope everyone has a great night.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-81795164518837497892012-01-02T21:43:00.001-06:002012-01-02T22:07:49.602-06:00Organizing<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zDLXTv1a7dD0GgW9q9ht_jonENKp7KIBA0ibOG7vVR1VDgncxPKtBVilLduy06G5oC92myBXkjb9uEdBJcWKIAFlU-73w1HNGQYm5BSM6sQeM6Ng2j6AAyuEe6tg2tJFXIwKgx4NR7rc/s1600/IMG_2031.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 215px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693248548276049778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zDLXTv1a7dD0GgW9q9ht_jonENKp7KIBA0ibOG7vVR1VDgncxPKtBVilLduy06G5oC92myBXkjb9uEdBJcWKIAFlU-73w1HNGQYm5BSM6sQeM6Ng2j6AAyuEe6tg2tJFXIwKgx4NR7rc/s320/IMG_2031.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_3S_8-SrfgGOUQNEID_ctqClAiZ6dLWMSTn6SaMBpwu40eejcab0nc0W8T2OdgsJTvgY9NB3lLiGa-YrG9qRY2vqDvTJrXAbkZAKj5phIm04LOK9JMuN9Px3xlAhkFAVNea1_tonltkw/s1600/IMG_2030.JPG"></a>I spent my last day of organizing my life and it literally took all day...not much else do to while the hubs and nephew played video games all day anyways. The first think I did was make a little caddy for all the loose papers that float around my home. I made a folder for incoming mail to be sorted, papers to be filed, loose or uncut coupons, all the crazy bill envelopes, my folder, my hubby's folder, and original printable forms. On the front of the caddy is the family calendar that matches the information in my Erin Condren planner. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghGR2NWS9tyEHI427dWqhzjUUfIcbQniMW7MraXQUxwhzJ7fioD0ety0eo9uJ8OwBzAsZFjeMNz2DQbhNzK4ouIfQik-XYoCWCWvqZ5cfT65CpQRC-Kmw9Jk7Wij1Vf49lH3MIFj4oRfa/s1600/IMG_2027.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693247896101354210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghGR2NWS9tyEHI427dWqhzjUUfIcbQniMW7MraXQUxwhzJ7fioD0ety0eo9uJ8OwBzAsZFjeMNz2DQbhNzK4ouIfQik-XYoCWCWvqZ5cfT65CpQRC-Kmw9Jk7Wij1Vf49lH3MIFj4oRfa/s320/IMG_2027.JPG" /></a><br />After the caddy was finished, I did our family binder. I made dividers for every category. In the front is a calendar of all activites. The first tab is the bill calendar that shows when every bill is due and how much. It also shows each payday and the amount incoming. The second tab is the bills that are all due and the snowball. The third tab is the budget. It includes budget for the year, each month, birthdays, and christmas. The forth tab is menu planning that has monthly calendar of meals, recipes, groceries in the home currently, and a shopping list. The fifth tab is to do. It has family to do, house to do, and each person has a to do list. The sixth tab is blog. It's for all the wonderful things I find that I want to do or copy, and it has lists for what I'd like to do with my own. The last tab is church. It has a calendar with all the activities in it because we have a lot going on in church and we need it keep it straight. It also has all the info sheets we get about activities and such at church.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs3KVLYN_agSREflc35scZK_UzO4omyCH3Ir_-gEMrAR0sHE6WZ3HMImtSgsyKNoxTLGIVJLH65DZFBUVCc2RLTnkMmhKtzSHRHNzkEXc79pty_FIuDsA5afT4wT4UIAVpCT_kIMkSjSJR/s1600/IMG_2033.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693247264393484162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs3KVLYN_agSREflc35scZK_UzO4omyCH3Ir_-gEMrAR0sHE6WZ3HMImtSgsyKNoxTLGIVJLH65DZFBUVCc2RLTnkMmhKtzSHRHNzkEXc79pty_FIuDsA5afT4wT4UIAVpCT_kIMkSjSJR/s320/IMG_2033.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>When you don't need the binder, it fits nicely in the caddy and the caddy rests on the kitchen counter.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693247240642628578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFHJ8N8srqTcdyNA-vNhAhJpgPbY9vFxWxwj9e9IbizMK220c_XGtNgOwX3OMfscKqPPqz2HmTIJdAGrRPaOK4kDZ4bKSar9iogfni4EVEVJDHtNS4SDznwEvjQgcNOOnW_y5JhBtugna/s320/IMG_2037.JPG" /> (2/365)</div></div></div></div>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-88111455981793584342012-01-01T21:56:00.000-06:002012-01-01T22:00:21.281-06:00Happy New Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0_1Y5CBjp7ZxlFI2F_F4mhVZnVgT8loox3BQS4fkI1D6M45it-Ah5lY_rS8sIBoPpRREy4dTvkREiY9JqfQLojfuebVcp81ZxKJr9CbdH-9YuZxnJAInP9nYnA3dbrn3U4tolMSDOxAm/s1600/ET+asleep.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 239px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692879509249505842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0_1Y5CBjp7ZxlFI2F_F4mhVZnVgT8loox3BQS4fkI1D6M45it-Ah5lY_rS8sIBoPpRREy4dTvkREiY9JqfQLojfuebVcp81ZxKJr9CbdH-9YuZxnJAInP9nYnA3dbrn3U4tolMSDOxAm/s320/ET+asleep.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Taking the nephew to our house for a sleepover with his cool aunt and uncle. Unfortunately he was knocked out within 15 minutes in the car. Luckily there's always tomorrow with Doodlebug. (1/365)</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-68704611429488317422011-12-31T19:00:00.000-06:002011-12-31T19:18:20.111-06:00!!!!!!G-O-A-L-S!!!!!!!<strong>Health</strong><br />1. Use my gym membership. Go to the gym at least 4 days a week.<br />2. Stick to my diet of no more than 1700 calories per day.<br />3. Lose at least 79 pounds this year.<br /><br /><strong>Financial</strong><br />1. Pay all bills on time.<br />2. Pay off GCX Leasing, Capital One credit card, my car, and all collector bills.<br />3. Re-establish emergency fund.<br />4. Stick to monthly budget.<br /><br /><strong>Work</strong><br />1. Take vacation days.<br />2. Take and pass LCSW test.<br />3. Learn required theory of practice for abuse victims.<br />4. Get at least 10 CEUs.<br /><br /><strong>Spiritual</strong><br />1. Read bible cover to cover again.<br />2. Spend daily time in prayer and reading the bible.<br />3. Attend church every Sunday.<br />4. Tithe<br /><br /><strong>Personal</strong><br />1. Blog at least twice a week.<br />2. Make at least an extra $150 this year without working.<br />3. Organize my home.<br />4. Organize my life.<br /><br /><strong>Marriage</strong><br />1. Pray together nightly<br />2. Go to at least one marriage retreat.<br />3. Use kinder words.<br />4. Tell him what I love about him more often.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-13024226215438760872011-12-31T18:34:00.000-06:002011-12-31T19:19:36.468-06:002011 RecapI thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and write a short recap of 2011.<br /><br /><strong>January</strong><br />Rang in the new year at church and really enjoyed it for the first time. My hubby and I started to work out and eat right for the first time ever. We spent every night in the gym and hated every minute of it. Lost 30 pounds each.<br /><br /><strong>February</strong><br />Continued to eat right and work out daily. Began loving the gym. Continued the weight loss journey. Lost 12 pounds. Celebrated Valentine's Day with a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">splurged</span> meal out at the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Nagaski</span> Inn...<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">mmm</span> sushi.<br /><br /><strong>March</strong><br />Argued over college basketball with co-workers. Switched jobs within my company (inpatient therapist to a clinical director). New job caused us to slack off on gym...went about 3-4 times a week. Lost 7 pounds.<br /><br /><strong>April</strong><br />My new position became hectic. Lost a co-worker causing my workload to double. Barely made it to the gym. Lost 2 pounds.<br /><br /><strong>May</strong><br />Allowed a family to move into our home. Work became even crazier. Stopped going to the gym. Gained 2 pounds. Started <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">couponing</span>.<br /><br /><strong>June</strong><br />Maxed out credit cards. Planned a trip to the Smokey Mountains. Barely saw my husband due to craziness at job.<br /><br /><strong>July</strong><br />Went to the Mountains July 1-5. My hubby lost his job July 6 and I lost mine July 9. Looked at all my debt and cried. Hard. Started a debt blog. Had my first ever yard sale. Started emergency fund and had it to $1,300. Hubby started new job July 24 and a July 25. I struggled to find a job and could not get one. Cancelled our gym membership.<br /><br /><strong>August</strong><br />Hubby continued working two full-time jobs. I barely seen him. I contracted meningitis and was sick for almost 3 weeks. My <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">prescriptions</span> were not covered through insurance. My hubby ate out for 3 weeks. Our emergency fund was gone :( Had several interviews after my illness. New nephew was born.<br /><br /><strong>September</strong><br />Started a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">PRN</span> job that was full time throughout the month. Hubby worked 2 full time jobs the first two weeks of Sept and quit the third shift job. Our two cars were broken into as was our home. Began extreme <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">couponing</span>.<br /><br /><strong>October</strong><br />My full-time job went to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">PRN</span>. Began looking for a true full time job. Continued extreme <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">couponing</span>. Hubby continued working one full time job with many hours of overtime. Interviewed for two therapist positions.<br /><br /><strong>November</strong><br />Landed a chief clinician position. Realized that we need to move from Indiana to Kentucky. Developed plan to move to Kentucky when bills are more under control. Quit <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">PRN</span> job. Left for 2 weeks of training for new job.<br /><br /><strong>December</strong><br />Learning my new job. Found out hubby maxed out credit card again. Paid less on Christmas this year than ever before, but had more gifts than ever thanks to extreme <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">couponing</span>. Refinanced our home to a MUCH LOWER RATE! Paid extra on my car payment. Paid for gym membership again and just now realized we <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">haven't</span> used it yet again. Lost a total of 52.1 pounds this year.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-43619135402469434562011-11-13T01:17:00.001-06:002011-11-13T01:17:08.132-06:00Opinions pleaseNow that I finally have a full time job that pays well, we are starting to attack our bills again. Here's the question, though: how do y'all keep your bills organized? Do you do an excel spreadsheet, file them, stack up in a pile!? We are trying to figure out what others are doing because our way isn't working. <br />
<br />
On a positive note, I got a call today from the training department at my new company and they're having all out meals for the next two weeks catered. So thankfully I don't have to pay anything out of pocket for food! Praise God! I am packing a few snacks and my faithful vitamin water and pomegranate juice, though. Yum!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-33578298194517546322011-11-03T19:11:00.001-05:002011-11-03T19:11:34.020-05:00A new adventure awaitsGod has been amazing and faithful to me. Much more than I ever deserve. I was offered and accepted a new position for a residential therapist position this week. The benefits and pay are better than I have ever received. I start on Monday, November 14 in Lexington KY for an academy of training for child welfare workers. I will be there for two weeks. I will drive down on Sunday afternoon and come home late Friday night. My only fear for starting this job are the expenses associated with the academy. They will pay for my hotel accommodations, but I will be responsible to pay for all my gasoline and food expenses. Luckily they will reimburse me. If anyone has any ideas on how to eat out for 6 days reasonably cheap, I'd love to know. The Monday following Thanksgiving I will start at my office, which is luckily only a little over an hour from my house. <br />
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I have also decided to keep my other job as it is only PRN. I will be able to continue to do on call for the weekends and pick up an occasional day since my new job is flexible. The extra $150-$300 I'll get from my extra PRN job will help with bills and debt. I'm so excited about this opportunity and just continue to praise my great God!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-544411229727452612011-09-30T17:35:00.000-05:002011-09-30T17:47:05.410-05:00Some debt reductionSince I have been working between 8-9 hours a day and driving for a total of 2 hours a day, I don't have time to do anything, let alone blog. Nonetheless, here's a mini update for today. I have an interview next week for a full time position that pays almost the exact amount that I made at my last job plus it's only 30 minutes away. I'm putting my faith in God for this position because I really need full time employment. Luckily that job have flexible hours and days so I will be able to maintain my prn position to bring in extra money to go to debt.<br /><br />With me working this month, we've made an extra mortgage payment and paid a little extra on the credit card. I'm very thankful the money and hope it continues.<br /><br />Next week we plan to pay off what we owe to the Indiana IRS! I'll update when we do.<br /><br />More to come later...Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-49225531676530601882011-09-19T19:58:00.000-05:002011-09-19T20:04:33.090-05:00God's planNow that hubby has turned in his notice at the second job and informed the day job that he will only be working there, the day job has informed him that there will be big changes for him next week. They will begin training him next week in the office to eventually take over an office and he will officially start for the company on Monday with a full time, insurance eligible position. God definitely had His hand in this one. No way could this have worked out any better for him. He so deserves it, too, for working 85 plus hours a week outside in the elements busting his butt and now he will be working in a temperature controlled room. Thank you, God!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-61522199978358733542011-09-18T18:48:00.000-05:002011-09-18T19:35:23.014-05:00Exreme couponing & cookingLast week my company had a class on extreme couponing. I decided to go because I have always been interested in it & have always used coupons. I was never getting anything for free, but I was saving some dough. This class taught me how to organize the coupons, where to shop, when to buy, and how to combine coupons. My hubby and I decided we would give it a try this weekend and it seemed that we did pretty well. We got all the following items for $22:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEWjWp74HD2U61TkJlbSxa0R15i6sgcYRwkygYnURAriSs-S3FBe_4G1r3wZ0PbeFllmheHyYiL9u0xK_EngriKE8SKOt_hdVjfNyXefJAyApRBBIvt5d0fqnKXgMLbBum1qAWFMPerOW/s1600/ec+1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEWjWp74HD2U61TkJlbSxa0R15i6sgcYRwkygYnURAriSs-S3FBe_4G1r3wZ0PbeFllmheHyYiL9u0xK_EngriKE8SKOt_hdVjfNyXefJAyApRBBIvt5d0fqnKXgMLbBum1qAWFMPerOW/s320/ec+1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653856288066530258" border="0" /></a><br />My favorite purchase by far was the free shirt I scored from Kohls. When we get a pretty good stock pile going, we are going to start donating to our local food bank. I am excited and hope we can do well at this.<br /><br />In other news, our church is finally offering Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University again. It starts up next Sunday afternoon and we are attending. Yay! My hubby has been on board with the finances and food since we had the talk, which has been wonderful! He is also quitting his second job that is from 6pm-4am. They increased his hours and he has been working from 5:30pm-5am and then going to the other job at 7pm. Crazy. Next Friday is his last night there. His day job has been wonderful for him in working with his exhaustion and schedule. They are starting him on the management track so he can take over an office. We will be super tight on money for a while, but we are putting our faith in God.<br /><br />Since I lost my job back in July, I really started watching food shows and have been getting more into cooking Here is my latest creation. I surprised my hubby when we came home. When he walked in the door, he said, "mmm, smells like olive garden in here." He loved it! I will continue to make it because it's yummy and cheap to make. Sorry for the picture quality. There from my cell phone.<br /><br />I put olive oil and a little butter into a hot, hot pan and then added cubed chicken to brown it along with my homemade cajun seasoning. Cut up purple onion, red peppers, and green peppers. Put them in the pan with more cajun seasoning once the chicken was cooked and removed. Once the veggies were done, I removed them. Keeping the pan on high, I added a little homemade chicken stock, cooking sherry, and whipping cream. I let it thicken and then added more cajun seasoning. Once it was thickened, I tossed the chicken and veggies back into combine. When everything was coated, I added the noodles and more seasoning. When I plated the pasta, I added fresh parsley. YUM!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3O2L1dlCZlu9HVazMQqGRMI_borO3Z29OUyjMh2D2KbBCbR1VOd4jd6CBwyMYPfhrWUkGHkuNI_eV5mEQPTdMZ3ghh1E82yu6dOFEeasp_b3e69crYAy0EMnWTzKGH0JHY2l48RM85XiW/s1600/z.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3O2L1dlCZlu9HVazMQqGRMI_borO3Z29OUyjMh2D2KbBCbR1VOd4jd6CBwyMYPfhrWUkGHkuNI_eV5mEQPTdMZ3ghh1E82yu6dOFEeasp_b3e69crYAy0EMnWTzKGH0JHY2l48RM85XiW/s320/z.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653858400315153170" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWC3bpsGZMX08hP7vqrJgzjf0tiqExXNH7JlEQwRWuks1wOrLarEa8S2yf5nAwoZrZY0No9NxVh5zWPymXLXcmBQm1grmwu1aIgjujIWN9X-xzDmfF0IzSepYTmakdsiHTMAmjpHRdi59/s1600/zz.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 307px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWC3bpsGZMX08hP7vqrJgzjf0tiqExXNH7JlEQwRWuks1wOrLarEa8S2yf5nAwoZrZY0No9NxVh5zWPymXLXcmBQm1grmwu1aIgjujIWN9X-xzDmfF0IzSepYTmakdsiHTMAmjpHRdi59/s320/zz.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653858390863356434" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8SS-2qK4IT-HHdA4KUQJw-zK7l3HdMhcPkV9Mddbnm4nswadMeCPai6z4FYu1jyg41UtHcbp9qCkS1RfbjF7zkbq91nbKPdWjJuN4FIfua7x2CZIuCTpkfU_K5Qai2SRPiR4AiGt9sd6/s1600/zzz.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8SS-2qK4IT-HHdA4KUQJw-zK7l3HdMhcPkV9Mddbnm4nswadMeCPai6z4FYu1jyg41UtHcbp9qCkS1RfbjF7zkbq91nbKPdWjJuN4FIfua7x2CZIuCTpkfU_K5Qai2SRPiR4AiGt9sd6/s320/zzz.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653858387299525186" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdmf9JgP8qZMIVeGGbvFB440QGaEOc4C_zl1-e-z2oMGDhpUSM2KXPdEjRCgrJfj42Zd7CiVd3F3LnIBm1L-yPD0w9os2O2q5-65AP5xztEQXMWoNScLQxZkflxExE6YdWtieROG-8b2k/s1600/zzzz.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdmf9JgP8qZMIVeGGbvFB440QGaEOc4C_zl1-e-z2oMGDhpUSM2KXPdEjRCgrJfj42Zd7CiVd3F3LnIBm1L-yPD0w9os2O2q5-65AP5xztEQXMWoNScLQxZkflxExE6YdWtieROG-8b2k/s320/zzzz.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653858132140574882" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5ubEmhAmQ6JAQiD9duYf7M_WkDLfxCeiKJ67av-jJwci4GnUgqAprssNw1qxAVjoB9CJQGu0D4DYbytKTELBlRpRv02d-WXzk9-02y51GoNsPX7iUZqUBERcGHZ-l6kZza1t5yMZVIbD/s1600/zzzzz.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5ubEmhAmQ6JAQiD9duYf7M_WkDLfxCeiKJ67av-jJwci4GnUgqAprssNw1qxAVjoB9CJQGu0D4DYbytKTELBlRpRv02d-WXzk9-02y51GoNsPX7iUZqUBERcGHZ-l6kZza1t5yMZVIbD/s320/zzzzz.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653858125724451794" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3cgRA1uBfT7Gbm0jnRYokd0RRSkcWNPL6KfriZwF-ITBhkICbN0vOctOG6T-bOq5NldKd-K-F7TzPxN5Lxu4GSH1ZEfcf5YBGhjiIW0-XWpRVdRB_NDIitduUlmwjgFrvS0N1rRV7v-8S/s1600/zzzzzz.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 306px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3cgRA1uBfT7Gbm0jnRYokd0RRSkcWNPL6KfriZwF-ITBhkICbN0vOctOG6T-bOq5NldKd-K-F7TzPxN5Lxu4GSH1ZEfcf5YBGhjiIW0-XWpRVdRB_NDIitduUlmwjgFrvS0N1rRV7v-8S/s320/zzzzzz.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653860815798030930" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKb8SjQbMFux-sEMAg-wj9zWYSM6GN2UBGrllu4RkOAaVc2eq2yGMtIWfCGj7JBFMOYAhgo1eg1K__SrGVyaKxZHQF82owHqZJM5lEvFNWnzNOgr5tDGbfDnLPxYuI2BzHEowFvpmU4SaU/s1600/zzzzzzz.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKb8SjQbMFux-sEMAg-wj9zWYSM6GN2UBGrllu4RkOAaVc2eq2yGMtIWfCGj7JBFMOYAhgo1eg1K__SrGVyaKxZHQF82owHqZJM5lEvFNWnzNOgr5tDGbfDnLPxYuI2BzHEowFvpmU4SaU/s320/zzzzzzz.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653858108539369202" border="0" /></a>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-27637293729276605202011-09-12T18:29:00.000-05:002011-09-12T18:43:46.127-05:00The TalkMy hubby and I did finally sit down and talk about our finances and health. I explained all my fears and unfortunately being the crybaby that I am, I cried. I backed up all my fears with solid reasons. He said he has noticed some of the problems with his health because he is just continuing to gain weight and is always crashing after junk food indulgences. He has agreed to eat whatever I make and take to work what I make for myself. He says he will try it for a while to see how it goes. Today he took the grilled chicken and steamed veggies that I made last night to his first job. For his second job he took what I made for dinner: steamed rice and grilled pork. I haven't purchased any junk food other than the baked chips that I have always bought. The snacks that he now takes includes baby carrots, kiwi, strawberries, bananas, peaches, and cheese cubes.<br /><br />I added up all the purchases that he has made on junk food and he was surprised to see that he spent over $10 in less than 8 hours on junk food simply because he was bored. He doesn't use his debit card unless he talks to me and the same goes for me. He is much more aware of our spending. He admitted that he has no idea how much our bills are or even when they are due. We sat down for over 2 hours and went over all the bills and the budget. He was shocked to see that we have so much debt. We went through the bible to see what it says about money and debt. We are both now working on the same bible study we downloaded to our iphones to reconnect with each other and God.<br /><br />This is still a new change so we will have to see how everything goes. I'm hoping for the best. So far we havent put anything on our debit cards without clearing the purchase with each other. He even became upset with me today when we were talking about lunch and I mentioned that I had subway. He said we didn't talk about that purchase and I wasted the lunch that I packed myself He forgot that today a medical rep at work was paying for my lunch and that I planned to take that packed lunch on Tuesday. I'm glad he is paying attention now!!<br /><br />I'll keep the updates coming. Now it's time for some NFL!!!!!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769573624836797090.post-14324444460339588612011-09-12T18:03:00.000-05:002011-09-12T18:29:29.090-05:00StolenWe had a very scary morning today. We were awoken a little after 230am this morning by our dogs going crazy with their barking and growling. Unfortunately we did not think anything about it because once we yelled at them to hush they did pretty quickly. My alarm went off at 430am so I got dressed and ready and headed for the kitchen to get my lunch and work stuff together to leave for work. When I went to the kitchen I found the back door half open, I quickly looked around the house but didn't notice anything out of the place. My stupid self didn't think much of it so I gathered my stuff and headed to my car and left for work. About halfway to work I realized that there was a bunch of stuff missing from my car (iphone charger, converter, my makeup, sunglasses, cds, and my ipod. I freaked out and realized that all my car doors were unlocked. I called my sleeping husband and said that I think the house and car were broken into. He said he would check his car and house. He found his car trashed. Apparently they pulled everything from the glove compartment, center console, and storage areas and threw them around his car. He said stuff was missing from his car (my camera & accessories, our sunglasses, car charger, jump box, and his meds) and from our back yard (our copper fire pit). He said that someone had tried to pry our shed doors open, too, but were unsuccessful. I called the police and they were meeting me after work. I met up with an officer I knew after work and he took all my information and checked out our property. He said it was evident that someone pried our back door open and tried to pry the shed open. Apparently they used our alarm clicker to disable my husband's SUV alarm because his keys were at the back door and they pried my car door open leaving a nice dent in the side of my passenger door.<br /><br />I am scared to be home alone now, but we are prepared in case this happens again. We are adding extra locks to our shed and changing all the locks to our home since on of our spare keys are missing now. We have unlocked our shotgun and shells. They are sitting beside my night stand. We will have to replace all my makeup (the essentials at least), the jump box, and the phone chargers. We found that turning this into the insurance is not going to replace the items due to our deductible and the fact that they are making 3 claims for the break in (my car, my hubby's car, and the home). We are just going to pay for everything from our emergency fund, which unfortunately will wipe it out. Since my birthday is in 2 weeks I'm going to get new sunglasses and cds. We have decided not to replace the ipod since we both have iphones. We aren't certain what to do about my camera because of the cost to replace it ($900). I'm crushed because I lost so many pictures, but there is nothing to be done. We have to move on<br /><br />**We have since found a bottle of my hubby's pills in floor board of my car and part of one of my car chargers down our alley broken. I also found the serial number for the missing ipod and camera. I turned them into the police and they are checking the pawns.**Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12062301227604411872noreply@blogger.com3