Tuesday, January 31, 2012

I Saved $706 A Year By Switching To......

Esurance!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot even tell you how excited I am about this.

We have always gotten our Car Insurance Renewal Policy at the end of Janurary; and needless to say, I wanted to know what the yearly rate would be.

Imagine my shock when Liberty Mutual sent a bill for $1,944!!!

Wait......

$1,944???

Good Credit- Check
Excellent Drivers-Check
No points - Check
Pay On time - Check
No Claims filed- Check

So why the BIG increase?

Of coarse I give them a call and told them my concerns.

$1,944 was TOO high and I wanted to know if that amount can be lowered.

After a few minutes of working their "magic"; They said they could take $7 off the rate!

$7.00 was the BEST they could do......

I told the agent thanks and I proceeded to shop elsewhere.

After numerous quotes; Esurance (a company we were with in the past); gave us the Cheapest rate for practically the same coverage.

$619 every six months! Down from $972 every six months.

Just by spending a little time and shopping around.....

Another way of keeping more of our hard earned money in our pockets.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sunday Night Chit-Chat-1st Timer

Hey yall,

I've been seeing you guys participate in this for the past few weeks, so I'd thought I'd join in.

Reading: Blog Posts & Forums

Watching: NOTHING! Don't feel like being depressed by the news and awards shows SUCK nowadays.

Listening: To myself chew loudly to this sweet mint gum by Orbit. I try to be polite but its so good. I think it may replace Winterfresh as my favorite!

Baking: Nothing at the moment. Did bake some Talipia for dinner and its my favorite fish! Yumm-O!

Happy I Accomplished This Week: Our Taxes! $2,113 Refund after making almost 6 figures is awesome! Was concerned we would have to pay! Thanking God for Mortgage Interest, property taxes, student loan interest and our 2 kids!

Looking Forward to next week: My DH going to a GI specialist Tuesday. Doctor thinks he may have a sour stomach and acid reflux.....poor hubby!

Thankful for Today: For being alive, our health and blessing and for God's love and mercy. Also for coupons! I love coupons!

Nite Nite All!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Honestly & Easy Ways to get extra $$$$$

I wanted to write up a post about ways I earn extra money for my home.

Although my husband makes a pretty good living, still I have come across some easy ways to earn a little extra.

Earning extra from these resources actually allows us to save money we wouldve spent out of our own checking account.

Surveys
I know it may sound weird, but there are many survey companies out there that are legitimate. I had one recently call my house. I actually had no idea who the number was from and one night decided to just pick up the phone. After answering some questions, they asked for my address to send me out $10. A few days later, in the mail was $10 cash in a envelope. Since then, I sent another survey back a few days ago and they are sending me $50 in cash, which should arrive today! That's $60 bucks for 30 minutes of my time. Yesterday, I received a post card from them asking me to fill out an online survey and they'll send me $25!

Reward Points
I have written about Amex before. Signing up with Amex is one of the BEST things my DH and I could've done. Amex is safe, secure and we have no limit balance. We also carry $0 balance since we pay off the card each month.

One thing Amex has is a rewards programs attached. You earn points and can redeem those points for Gift Cards. We were nearing 10,000 points; so I cashed 5,000 of those points in for a $50 Season 52 Restaurant Gift Card.

Same thing with Best Buy. Every time we purchases something we earn points. We now have enough to get a $40 Gift Certificate!

Writing Companies
One thing I've learned is that if I have a problem; its ok to make a little noise about it.

I bought bad meat once from a local supermarket. And although they refunded my money and let me pick out another meat for free; I wrote the supermarket headquarters and explain the situation and they sent me a $20 Gift card too.

Same with Hefty. I bought some kiddie cups for my kids and some of the cups had slits in the bottom; leaking the juice everywhere. I wrote them and they sent me a free product coupon.

The same happened with Huggies, 2 free coupons for diapers and a bunch of other coupons as well.

Reduce Bills
I have learned that either reduce our bills or finding special promotions as a way to get "extra" money because we dont have to pay it.

We signed up for a promotion with our cable provider for internet, phone and cable and are paying less than what we used too for these 3 services and the current services we have now are better. Just picking up the phone and asking them is all that it took.

What ways do you know of to earn extra $$$$???

Monday, January 23, 2012

Under the weather again......actually the 3rd time since september

I cannot believe I have a cold again.

My son caught it from someone in church, which now passed onto me and my daughter.

I tell ya, next year, me and the kids will be getting the shot.

.............With that said, I am finishing up dinner.

We are having wild caught salmon, salad and oven roasted potatoes.

I'm really hungry, to say the least and my mouth is super dry.

I'm hoping to rest more so I can get over this cold, but we'll see.

Hoping to watch Alice in Wonderland tonight (Johnny Depp version) and then the Republican debate.

My husband and I find them very entertaining; especially as of late.

Nite All

Friday, January 20, 2012

Is Night Time Fright Time?



As any parent would tell you, preparing a baby or child for bed is a rough task. Giving a snack, washing faces, brushing teeth, a bedtime story and finally, we wish that all is well.
At least that is what we hope.
Reality is, bedtime is like a 12 round bout with our little wee ones. As much as I try to follow what the countless parenting books suggest, night time in my home is everything but calm and quiet. If you happen to walk into my house at 9pm, you might hear crying, whining, jumping up and down on a bed, banging on a wall or just babbling to themselves.
It’s as if going to bed is like saying no more sweets or treats until you’re 18.
To help combat against this I have found a few things that help motivate my little ones to not only be happy about bedtime, but embrace it. If not now, they will when they start working!!!!
First, I’ve learned that kids will follow whatever you want them to by making it fun. We start with bath time. Crayola Bath Art Center is a great start! You can color the bath water; kids can paint the inside of the tub and even themselves! These easily washable, non-toxic crayons and paint are a great start to our night time festivities.
Next, washing them with Johnson’s Soothing Baby Wash relaxes them to the point of squeezing out a yawn or two before we leave the bathroom. Just the action I want to see; long and sometimes loud yawns from my little ones. Then we apply Johnson’s Soothing Lotion and we’re ready for the next phase of bedtime; teeth brushing.
After they are washed, dressed and teeth brushed, we say our prayers and pick out a book. One of the all time favorites is Good Night Moon! It’s a classic and a hit with the kids, plus it’s short and sweet. We then give our snuggle kisses to each of them and explain that sleeping gives energy to play outside the next day. No energy, no outside. That seems to be motivation enough.
Night lights are on and main lights are out. For the baby, Fisher Price makes a fabulous Rainforest Mobile that plays relaxing classical music with twinkling lights; enough to lure my little one to sleep.
Night time now is something that is looked forward to and now, appreciated in my home.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

No More Stressing From Me...

I'm back after a little break.

I continued to worry about my breast and just went ahead and made an appointment with a breast surgeon.

I couldn't take it anymore and it was affecting my life.

I had my appointment this morning and was anxious, to say the least.

Now, this surgeon had to cancel all his appointment yesterday because he was going to be in surgery all day.

He also is one of the top surgeons in my area...so I was happy to know that he would be seeing me.

I don't think my exam took more than 5 or 6 minutes.

He did another exam and even asked me if there was a spot I was concerned about.

I showed him and he felt.

He said I felt fine to him numerous times and didnt even suggest a mammogram or ultrasound.

He did ask me how long was I planning to nurse and I said another year or so.

He said fine and wanted to see me in 4 four months; but I felt fine to him.

I have to admit I again started to worry because I figured if I felt fine why do I have to come back....but I'm not going to worry about it.

I trust his assessment. He has operated on boobs many times and knows a bad lump when he feels one. In fact I dont have a lump, just dense tissue and milk ducts.

Sometimes, I could slap myself for worrying so much.

He did tell me to continue when the breast exams, which I will.

Thank God, I can move forward and learn from this situation.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Really, An Organic LED TV? Like, Seriously.....



Now there's an Organic LED TV....just great!

Really, how do you make an organic t.v.?

......Feed it recycled electricity?

Do they NOT know I'm trying to move my husband away in small steps.

And he doesn't like small t.vs, not even medium sized ones. They have to be BIG, really BIG!

Between this & the new PS4 I'm gonna lose this battle...LOL

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Chest Update

Ok, after a lengthy chat with my doctor last night she said that in her professional opinion I felt fine. She said I could see a breast surgeon to ease my mind.....but I felt fine.

Aunt Flo came to visit me the day after my original GYN appointment and she said that what's usually happens and the fact that im nursing explains it too.

So.... I go to do another breast exam on myself (even though she told me to wait and do the exam within a week AFTER my period) and my boobs feel fine. The "lumps/bumps" are practically gone, except for the small pebble like bumps from being a nursing mother!

I had my husband do an exam on me just to be sure and he said it feels normal and he believes it was my hormones from my impending "Aunt Flo" visit.

He also said that going to an breast surgeon is extreme if there was nothing wrong and I agree.

I will go on my doctor and husband's word and the fact that my boobs feel much better.

Now I wonder if my milk ducts were clogged or something; which I learned causes lumps too.

Knowing and understanding my breast now at 27 years old will help me when I get older.

One thing I can appreciate from this experience is getting to know my body. I have a better understanding of it and also not OVER analyzing things.

Being paranoid and worried all the time is no way for me to live and I need to trust my doctor, husband, GOD and my own body. Making something out of nothing will cause me stress and we all know stress kills!

Thanks everyone for listening.

Friday, January 6, 2012

My Love-Hate Relationship with my chest...-Update

Update*

Talked with Husband again and 2 nurses too!
I will settle down; relax and not worry.
The doctor who did the exam said that I not only felt fine but there were no masses.
So,I'll wait until I stop nursing and still do my exams and watch my breasts. My DH who did an exam on me too(he was here when I had my 2nd cyst removed) said he felt my milk ducts but nothing close to what I had when we first met. The nurse also told me, I may even have clogged milk ducts. Everyone keeps assuring me that my chances for breast cancer are slim and since I don't exhibit any signs and I get my annual exams, I'm fine. Also, mammograms are difficult to read while nursing so I would'nt get an accurate reading anyway. My Dh has mroe faith in my body than I do sometimes. We prayed and I'm confident GOD can and will heal my mind. I worry too much! Thanks guys for your words and advise.


I tried to put the title as nice and clean as possible.

Since I was 19, me and my breast have had a love-hate relationship.

1 big lump in each, which I had removed at 19 and 21.

They were just cysts; Thank GOD!

Fast forward to now, I go to my annual gyn exam yesterday.

I do Breast Exams often on my self and thought it felt weird that my breast, although no big lumps, felt bumpy/lumpy across the top.

Upon the doctor doing the exam, I expressed my concern and she said that they felt fine to her and I just have "lumpy/bumpy" breasts.

I started to worry and she said that I felt fine and I am young (I'm 27).

She also said that the fact I'm nursing my 1 year old son could play a factor as well.

Although, she said I was fine,I'm scared.

She said she'll see me next year even.

But I then start looking on the internet when I got home, which I dont know is good or bad; and became more than worried that I may have cancer or be pre-cancerous.

My Husband even told me to stop searching stuff online related to health.

I guess I expect my breasts to feel smooth like when I was a teen.

Maybe all breast are different....

I also asked her if it was ok to have one breasts bigger than the other. She said ALL women have one breast bigger than the other and it was normal.

I have some crazy anxiety issues and my husband even said I worry myself to much.

Last year, I went to the doctor so much and had many tell me that I'm fine and even one told me to "settle down".

I'm thinking of just getting a referral for a mammogram and be done.

I dont know, you guys have any advice or words?

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Me Make New Year's Resolutions?? Nah.......



It the past, I have made many, MANY New Years Resolutions.

They have ranged from, not being stressed, to losing weight to saving more money.

And as usual, by mid-Feburary, I have either forgotten the resolutions or have no interest in keeping up with them anymore.

This time around, I decided NOT to make any resolutions.

And it felt quite good to be honest.

I realized that as long as I do my BEST in what every situation I am in, then that covers any and all resolutions that I could come up with.

What about you. Did you make any New Years Resolutions?

Its Over......boo hoo :-(



Vacation that is.

Its both back to work and school time for this household.

That means no more sleeping in late, hanging out, etc.

I have some posts lined up and can't wait to share them with you all.

Until then, Good Morning Everyone!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year......now going back to sleep.


Hope you all have a Happy New Year.

I feel asleep at 8:45pm and am still tired.

I cant do midnight anymore, really; actually, ever since I had kids, my bedtime get earlier and earlier.

We'll I'm off, I am enjoy this time off from blogging and enjoying my DH time off. He goes back to work Tuesday and I'll return then.

Good Night, got church tomorrow.