Hoarding

I go through times that I feel like I’m hoarding.  Sometimes, it is with plastic milk jugs.  Other times, the plastic sour cream containers.  Lately, I have been hoarding several things.  I guess it’s not hoarding, but probably just obsessively compulsive about keeping things.  One is plastic containers (like the sour cream containers.)  We buy large jugs of salsa and split them into smaller containers to freeze so they don’t go bad.  They are also the perfect size for lunches.

Another example: Egg Cartons

Why? We will be getting chicks in the next 3 months, and when they produce, we will need cartons, right?  May as well start saving them up now (or so I try telling myself.) 

Last thing: Library Book

Yes! I have been hoarding library books again.  But this weekend, I decided that I’d write down all the titles (because they are all books I want to read,) but when I get a chance, I will take them out one by one to read them.  Right now, I have 2 books from the publishers to read and review.  Once those are gone, I will get a book to read from the list.

Am I the only one that does this?

Weight Loss Status

On Monday, January 17^th, I decided enough was enough, and I was going to start watching my portions again.  After my pants shrunk (wink – wink) over the holidays, and me not being able to stop shoving my face full of food, I had to put an end to the over-eating.

Within two days, I lost 4 lbs.  It amazes me how much the body can shed in a short period of time.  I don’t know if it was water weight, or just the fact that I didn’t have as much food in my system, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The biggest kicker to me is that I’m not even hungry.  I seriously could eat a half a box of cereal in the morning, or even a ham, egg and cheese bagel (homemade, of course) in the past.  But this morning, I wasn’t even hungry enough to eat the full ½ cup of oatmeal with raisins and honey.  I gave most of it to Lana. 

So…we will see where this weight loss goes.  As much as I’d love to see the numbers on my new scale (I got for Christmas) go down, I just want to be healthy.  I want to feel my pants get bigger instead of smaller, and I want to have a picture taken of me that I’m not afraid to post on the blog or facebook.

I am still not brave enough to list my weight on the blog.  I see people that I think are my size, but they weigh 40 lbs less than me!  When I told a friend here at work how much I weigh, she said, “You cant tell!”  Well, I can tell.  And quite frankly, the numbers don’t lie. 

Holy Terror

I was reading up about when puppies grow out of their puppy stage, and one article notes that if you don’t train them while they are puppies, they can grow up to be “holy terrors” as adult dogs.  That is what Lana is going through right now.  She is 7 ½ months old, and “holy terror” is definitely how I would describe her.  It is to the point that I’m at wits end! 

Last week, Lana about knocked me out.  I was in their house, picking up Squiggy’s food dish.  As I was bending down, she decided to run under me and jump up.  I can honestly say that I saw stars.  Her thick block-head hit my jaw at an angle, and I think it did something to my jaw, because I’ve had horrible headaches since.  Not to mention, the bone is still bruised and hurts to the touch.   At that moment, I thought I could have really hurt her.  I was in so much pain and so angry.  But she is a puppy.  As much as I wanted to tan her hide, I just screamed really loud in pain.  It scared her quite a bit, and she was submissive for a few minutes until I got over it.

This weekend, she was able to slip through the fence.  Todd mended the fence, and within 24 hours, she figured out that she could jump OVER the fence.

Todd and I are at a loss.  What the heck are we going to do?  We got Lana to keep Squiggy busy.  She is barely even with Squiggy other than to sleep with at night and to antagonize him.  What were we thinking to get a puppy?!?

I think that part of the problem is that she has WAY too much energy.  We had been going on walks in the morning (over a mile) and then at night, I’d kick a ball around the back yard until it was dark.  That does not happen anymore.   It is dark by the time I leave work at 5:30, and when I get home at 6:30, it is pitch black. She has all of this pent up energy and no way to release it.  We tried this weekend to put her on the treadmill.  It didn’t work too well, but we are going to try again tonight.  And I will do it again tomorrow morning, and then tomorrow night again.  She has to get used to the treadmill.  We need her to get her exercise.  It is too dangerous to take her for walks on our roads right now (too icy, and not wide enough for a car and a pedestrian.)  So…if I have to wake up an hour early and try to get Lana on the treadmill (as I try to work out too,) sobeit.  It has to be done.

I also have to show her who’s boss.  I spoil and baby her.  Todd is definitely the disciplinarian.  Well, she doesn’t jump at Todd at all.  As soon as she sees me, she jumps 6 feet in the air.  I need to learn to be more firm with her and let her know that I am the alpha-dog in the house. 

Squiggy used to be the alpha, and Todd hated that because Squiggy would chase him around the yard (charging him.)  Now, Squiggy is completely submissive since Lana came along.  Lana has beat Squiggy into submission.  I am a little thankful for that, but now she needs to be put in her place.

So…I will be taking out any movies I can on dog training and learn to train a dog to do what I want it to do.  It will be a rough road, but we’ll get there, eventually.

Sunshine Award

Today, I received a sunshine award from my friend, Kim.  This definitely brightened up my day after having a rough one worrying about my little niece, Natalie who has been pretty sick.  Thank you so much, Kim.

There are 2 rules for accepting this award:

1)Thank the person who gave it to you!
2) Pass it along to 8 other blogs that bring a beautiful ray of Sunshine into your day!!

My Sunshine Awards go to (in no particular order:)

Feathers In Our Nest
Life on Sylvan Drive (recently moved.)
Missy's Musings
Our Cozy Robbins Nest
Practical-Parsimony
Simply Life of the Boreings
Just A Family
Amelia's Adventures

Thanks again to Kim, and to all of the bloggers who make my day.  Kim, yours is definitely included. :-)

Selling Books

Since the beginning of January, I have been selling books on Amazon.com.  I am surprised at how easy it was to list the ISBN numbers and the orders started coming in within hours.  I listed 9 books, and sold 5 of them the first week.  With the sales, I have made over $55.  Not bad at all!

Our local library has a book sale twice a year at great prices ($0.25-$0.50 for paper backs and $1 for hard cover books.)  I have been thinking about trying to sell books from home to make some extra money and pay down the mortgage (or bulk up our emergency fund.)  The books I’ve sold have been pretty much brand-spanking new.  I sold them as Used – Like New.  The bindings had not even been creased.

I am worried that if I purchase 10-15 books from book sales (who am I kidding? It would be more like 25-50,) that I may not be able to sell even one. It is a risk. 

Upon further investigation, I found out that there is a business out there for Book Scouts.  Yes, that’s what they call themselves.  They go to these book sales, can scan the book ISBN and see how much they are selling for instantly on their PDA or web-activated cell phone. 

There is software you can download to use at these sales.  How much does it cost? $7.99/month or $20 for 3 months.

However, I do not have internet on my phone.  So that would be an additional cost.

I find myself getting so excited about my next business venture that I don’t spend enough time on one business to make it grow and become a source of income.  I want to get the other two businesses off the ground in 2011 and build a steady customer base and income stream, but I’d also like to get into this book selling business.

I have a book requested from a library “out of network.”  I’m not sure when it will come in, but it is all about the book business.  I cant wait to get it, read it, and then decide on what to do.  In the meantime, I may go to a book sale or two in my area and limit myself to 10 books, and then try my luck at selling them.  We’ll see.

Decision, decisions.

What would you do?

Home Renovation Conversation #2

The day I wrote the blog about Todd and his crazy ideas, he came home with a large list of questions for me.  He does this from time to time so that he knows what I would want.  Mind you, we are NOT doing ANYTHING to the house anytime this year. 

When I saw the list of questions, and the possible answers, I had to just laugh.  The way his mind works cracks me up.  This is what it looked like:

(Circle One)

Do you want an additional full or half bath?  Full - Half

If full bath, what kind of shower/tub do you want? Standard tub – 2 person shower – one person shower – large tile 2-person shower.

What kind of sink do you want?  Pedestal - Standard

What size 3^rd bedroom do you want?  Small – Large

Do you want to have access to the house from the garage? Y-N

What size laundry room do you want?  Large – Laundry Closet

The questions went on and on. 

I answered them all, and gave them to him.  He looked them over, looked up at me, and said, “You just made my life so much easier…and saved us thousands of dollars!”

Did he really think I wanted a huge 3^rd bedroom?  A large tile shower with two shower-heads?  He thought I would be opposed to getting to the house through the laundry room.  If that were the case, he would have to move some walls around.  When we first bought the house, we weren’t able to get into the house through the garage.  We had to go out of the garage, outside, and then into the house.  Todd cut a few door-ways and made it an entry through the laundry room.  Unfortunately, through the laundry room is the 3^rd bedroom, so we have to go through the 3^rd bedroom to get to the rest of the house.  Well, he is looking to make the house so that we wouldn’t have to go through that bedroom.

I’m not sure who he thinks he’s married to, but I don’t want big, modern, fancy stuff.  I am OK with the way he has been redoing our home, and the way it turned out - inexpensive yet practical.

Negativity

I need some advice, desperately. 
I'm actually surprised I lasted this long on the blog without asking for this help, but I am in desperate need.

My husband is very negative.  Very rarely, anything positive comes out of his mouth.  On the way home from work today, I listened to Joel Osteen's service  from yesterday, and it was about taking the the sand you are given and making it into a pearl.  Rough things happen in your life to teach you.

I cant see Todd doing this.  One statement that was made was that one needs to look back over the past several years.  Has your attitude changed?  If not, then you need to GROW UP.
I completely agree.  And to be honest, Todd's hostility towards others and his negative attitude is exactly the same as it was when we first met.

He talks badly about my boss when I tell him something that was said at work.  My friend and her husband who came over on New Years Eve, he makes fun of the way they live (talking about he is going to buy them a year's worth of food for next year: a box of crackers and cheese because they dont eat much, and those are their favorite foods.)  It seems like anytime I have something to say, he comes up with a negative comeback.   Everyone on the road is a bad driver.  He acts like everyone is out to get him.

So...how do I say something without saying it in a way that will cause an arguement?
He is miserable about his job, but he talks about the people from his job in such a negative way.  Maybe it's HIM.  He does not like his half-sister because she is a bit crazy.  But the way he talks about her just breaks my heart.  He has spoken of her in this way since we've met.  It just bothers me.

All of this is mentioned in daily conversations with my husband.  It really wears on me, and is part of the reason we went to counseling last year.

So what do I do?
What do I say?
HELP!

Moderation

Since the Holidays, I have been eating non-stop.  My pants and the scale can attest to that.  I decided that it has to end.  I have felt AWFUL for the past few weeks.  I get winded by walking outside and getting Lana and feeding Squiggy.  I am tired, all of the time.  It has been defficult trying to watch what I eat knowing that we have so much food in the fridge.  But it is all gone.  There are no more excuses. 

My water intake has been minimal lately.  So that will change as well.

I will be 30 in a few weeks, and my goal was to lose 40 lbs by this time.  That did not happen.  But that doesnt mean I cant start today.

For breakfast, I will have an english muffin with peanut butter and a glass of milk.
Snack at work will be an apple.
Lunch will be 1/2 can tuna and some goldfish.  Apple for another snack.
I'm supposed to be going out to dinner with the girls tonight, so we'll see how that goes.

I weighed myself this morning and put it into my Armstrong App.  I will keep my caloric intake and weight with that again.

Wish me luck!

I’m Convinced Todd is as Crazy as I Am…

Yes.  That’s right.  I said it.  Maybe that’s why we get along so well together (and sometimes, we want to strangle each other!) 

My husband should have been an engineer as a career.  He is always thinking.  Sometimes, when I’m talking to him at dinner, I can tell he’s thinking about something else, and that urks me to no end.  Then, the next day when I mention it, he says, “You never told me about that.”  Umm…yes I did.  Actually, four times.  You were just thinking about something else.

At any rate, since we purchased the house next door in 2008, we haven’t decided exactly what we wanted to do with it.  At one point, Todd wanted to gut it and use it as a shed, another time, he wanted to tear down the part closest to the house, but then keep the garage and cement driveway.  Then, he said he wanted the whole thing torn down.  We use the land behind the house as Squiggy & Lana’s house and play area as well as the garden.

NOW…this week, he wants to add on to our primary residence and tear down the house next door.  I asked him how much it would cost.  He said, “With a contractor, about $40,000.  But I can do most of it myself and it should be about $15,000.” 

*sigh*

Even though I will admit that I’m a bit nutty, and my brain is on overdrive most of the time (I am completely convinced that I have adult ADD,) Todd’s is as well.  He said that being with me, there will never be a dull moment.  Well, I am learning that being married to him, it is the same.  However, his projects are LARGE projects that cost money!

So, he is completely consumed about saving up money to renovate the house in 3-5 years. 

All I have to say is…oy!