Post Holiday Wants

So now that the holidays are over, I have no reason to slack off.  Okay, maybe I do, but why is the holiday season so dang hectic?  Normally I don't expect anything for the holidays except money.  Cold hard cash pays the bills and that's what I want.  This year, though, I wanted a pogo stick.  And I got it.  I'm in love with it.

I love having this blog and the fun things that I get to review.  One of my favorite companies to blog for is CSN.  I know you've heard of them because you are on the internet and they are all over the web.  You go to one of their 200+ websites and you can get everything from high heeled shoes (like I have before) to a laptop messenger bag to a copper pot and everything in between.

I will be doing an upcoming review for them again, but have yet to decide what I will review.  Now that Christmas is over, it's more about what people didn't get and what they want to get for themselves.  With my upcoming move, I'm sure I will think of a million things I need.

Anyway, look for my upcoming review, but in the meantime- was there anything you didn't get over the holidays that you really were hoping for?

Do Holidays ALWAYS Have to Have Drama?!

So get this latest update to throw a kink in our Christmas:

I found out today that my husband's family (mom, dad, sister, brother) are contagious. His sister and brother have been throwing up for the past two days. So, here I am on the verge of flying to Florida and all the holiday festivities are coming up starting tomorrow. Of course DH's family does not think that they should unattend the holiday gatherings, so I must make the choice to stay home with the kids so they don't get sick.

It will be interesting to experience Christmas with only MY family.

N's grandma told me that it's a holiday tradition for SOMEONE to be sick...

Oh, the Holidays!

Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's is my favorite time of year. I know, this is quite unoriginal of a revelation, but I can't lie and come up with a more clever time of year. This is not just a fat person thing to say, but one of my favorite things is the food- good and free! I'm all about tasty food that I didn't have to buy or cook. And there is always an array of choices, not just the boring ho hum turkey and taties. I also love the spirit of giving. I'm a bigger fan of giving than receiving and I love putting thought into gifts.

On that note, why I'm not a fan of receiving is because I hate feeling guilty and gifts always do that for me. If I don't like them, I feel mass amounts of guilt. And I hate showing fake joy at receiving a gift that I'm hoping came with the receipt. Likewise it makes me curious to know if the people I give gifts to feel the same. All right, now I just became a little bitter about the season, so I'll move on, lol.

The downfall of holidays is having to spend it with those relatives that you don't actually enjoy their company. Whether it be an overly critical blood relative or that in-law that punched me in the face once, it is difficult to spend time with "family" that you don't want to be around. And is my family the only one that isn't fake with each other? We all know where we stand with each other, but my in-laws all pretend to be lovey dovey, but tell me otherwise when their backs are turned. Which is better?

But, what always brings the smile back to my face is the excitement from my children. They love playing with cousins, opening presents and being the center of attention. It makes it hard to be miserable on holidays when you see how happy your children are and it brings you back to the time of your own youth, when the future seemed less grim and bleak and Santa was the coolest guy in the world!

Happy Holidays!

The Almighty Dollar

I've spent many years trying not to be a slave to money. I feel that I am a very unmaterialistic person and pride myself in being thrifty and not overspending.

Right now being in school and only having one income makes money very tight and hard to come by. My New Year's Resolution last year was to not freak out so much about bills. I was letting it take over my life because I did not want to be late on a bill for fear of getting thrown into some debtor's prison in Uzbekastan. I've since learned to breathe first and pay bills second. Of course I don't shirk my duties, but if the gas bill is two days late, I don't go postal about it.

Unfortunately, I believe I'm cursed with Murphy's Law. Everything bad always seems to happen and when it comes to money, that's definitely true! It seems like just when we might be establishing a cushion, something breaks down, wears out or gives up. (Washing machines, water heaters, vehicles.) And now is no exception. Holidays are always stressful for most people and especially for financial reasons. My kids both have birthdays around Christmas, so that's 4 rounds of presents. Then, there's the gifts for everyone else, the traveling and so forth and so forth.

So of course it was no surprise to me that when my not old car would not start this morning that the problem would be I needed a new battery. Seventy bucks I could would much prefer to spend elsewhere!

But, no matter how down in the dumps I am about money, I know there's better times ahead once I graduate and get a job teaching. HARP refinance rates are low right now, maybe I can save money with a refinance.  And no matter how poor I may be at the time, I know there are people worse off than me, which is why I always donate whenever there's someone outside Hy-Vee or WalMart with a bucket/boot/jar. I also think it gives me good karma.