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Yep – I’m a Joiner!
First Day At Gymnastics!
Oh my darling little Abby!
Here we are right before leaving for her very first day of gymnastics.
She was a little pensive at first, but gosh, I had no idea how cute she’d look in pigtails. Usually I let her hair stay down but I figured in a sport she would have to have that hair under control a little more, and I didn’t want to do a ponytail because that could hurt when landing a somersault!
The drive there was mostly uneventful. Forgetting to give her Dramamine before the trip was my only big mistake. But we had a towel in the car and Abby has a great sense of aim so we were able to keep the issue off of her gym leo and confined to towel-land.
It was torrential downpour rain all the way there and I could barely see the car in front of me. I started to get worried this was a bad sign.
Once we got there I my anxiety was high. When we saw only two cars in the parking lot and I figured that those were probably the staff my anxiety spiked and I was almost whimpering. We went in anyway. (What was I going to do, turn around and go home? LOL)
We asked at the desk and found out that the 3 year old class is usually late but we were there on the right day. We met Abby’s coach, Miss Amy, who is originally from Georgia and thought it was amazing that we were teaching our kids to be so respectful using the “Miss” in front of the first name. I was starting to feel better.
Unfortunately, no pictures can be taken inside of the gym. Privacy, blah blah blah. So I don’t have shots of Abby doing somersaults, crab walking across the top of parallel bars, or doing a saddle swing (where you hold the bar and put your feet up on either side of your hands and hang there). She was so adorable, and so completely fearless.
There were a few issues with listening, but overall she was a champ. I asked the coach at the end if she was okay and the coach said, “All the kids were like that when they started in September. She’ll get the hang of it in a couple of weeks…they all did.”
Which is when I realized she’s in the fifth term of a five term year. All the other kids have been doing this for five terms and Abby is there and it’s day one for her. So when September hits and she’s still in the 3 year old class she’ll be a crazy rock star compared to the new kids.
At first I was afraid I had hindered her by putting her in a class too advanced. Now I realize she’s getting a jump start.
Whew.
The drive home was uneventful and her eyes were sparkly-bright asking, “Can we do it again?” I felt so happy to be able to respond, “Next week sweetie.”
PR Funny Of The Day (Finance Beat)
As you all know I get a lot of requests in my inbox. It’s something that I really should have my assistant manage, but until then, I scan them once a day.
Here is an excerpt from this morning’s release.
Cocktails, fast lanes, late night rendezvous, glitter and shopping for labels! Shopping for labels! Of course, as the Duchess Fergie sings, ‘a Prada bag will never break your heart’ and all you know is that you have a big smile when you walk out of the Chanel store with those big shopping bags.
Sounds familiar? Yes! You are already living it or wanting to live that life. Rudder is here to help you continue to live it or help you, start it.
Living life a la ‘Sex and the City’ might not just burn a hole in your purse but can also cost you, your beauty sleep. Going through those innumerable bills, keeping track of your spends and keeping a mental note of how much you can spare to buy that gorgeous Joop shades you saw down the boulevard can be tough. Not anymore! Just relax your Manolo clad feet and let Rudder (www.rudder.com) do the slogging for you and help you stay clear of any financial mess.
Ok, I don’t know what kind of list they were sending this out to, but if you look very closely you’ll see “Mom” in my blog title as well as my domain name. I have a debt calculator thingie in my sidebar. I mean, who is shopping for labels right now?
How did I end up in a list that got an email referencing high-end stores, name brands, and high-end shoes?
The only part of this that hits the right demographic is the Sex and the City reference. Because I’m old enough to have watched the show … I’ve never lived it.
Yeah, I left the link in. I don’t use the service, and don’t plan to. I already use Mint.com and am absolutely thrilled with the service and the net worth and the home value and being able to add my car as an asset now that it’s paid off. The only thing Rudder has that Mint.com does not is an email reminders of bills – which all of my bill companies already do without using a middle man.
Maybe Rudder is trying to say they are a name brand, that they are brand new like bags of overpriced clothing from Chanel. If that’s the case, why tout you’re free? I mean if you can afford all the stuff in that email, you probably have a fainancial advisor, right? I mean that is not a middle-class shopping spree. So, not only am I not the demographic, not only did they position themselves weirdly, but there’s nothing in there that would make me consider switching. I mean, if I’m just a label shopping money-spending idiot that only wants to know if I can afford a pair of sunglasses…I probably want an online financial service that I pay for in exchange for concierge service.
So it’s kind of a fail on both ends. The person this is written for wouldn’t want some rinky-dink free service and I am not impressed by a whole bunch of label name dropping.
I’ll be sticking with Mint.com while rocking out in my ultra-fashionable Payless slip on shoes (they are cute, though – and I got them BOGO!) while toting my big Wal-mart bags with a big smile. Because a $6 purse will never break your heart. I have to admit, my kids do wear Tommy Girl and Ashley Taylor and other name brand clothes. Not because I’m a snobby preschool mommy, but because my town has an awesome consignment store and those high-end kid brands are $5 an outfit.
Disclaimer: Wasn’t Paid. Didn’t Get Stuff.
Time To Create The Mobile Office
Tomorrow Abby’s gymnastics class begins.
So every Thursday morning I’ll be out of the office from 8:15am to about 10:15am.
Doesn’t sound like a lot, right?
But it’s work hours, and now that I’m working as a contractor I need to be available during normal work hours. So, what to do?
I think, first things first, I have to get Randy a new laptop – so I can borrow it constantly.
Then, I need to see about adding remote wi-fi access (probably through my current cell phone company, AT&T) to the laptop. I have a friend that uses Cricket at $40/mo. with unlimited use and it seems to work okay, but I don’t know anyone else that uses the company so I don’t know if Cricket is a good company. (If you have experience with them, let me know, k?) AT&T looks like a minimum of $60/mo. and that’s not even for an unlimited plan.
I just want to make sure I can do work when I need to do work. That requires a laptop and cell phone.
My cell phone is on its last legs, but the contract expires in June so I can look at replacing both of our cell phones with better ones. We did not do a good job of picking cell phones last time around. Randy’s sometimes doesn’t ring or register missed calls, and mine? Well…it’s okay…but it’s pink. I was going through a phase.
I also considered one of those adorable, easy to carry mini-laptops, but I need a full-size keyboard to be even remotely effective. Besides, what if I have writing work to do? A mini-laptop might drive me nuts!
Am I forgetting anything?
My Mother No Longer Wants Me To Give Birth In The Hospital
As you may know by now, barring any unforeseen horrific emergencies, I’m having my baby at home.
When my mom first found out about it she was very supportive. She told me none of her labors lasted more than four hours and one was only two hours so it made total sense.
Of course, after a couple months to think about it she has decided that there is no reason I should be at home when I could be “waited on” by nurses.
I tried to explain the kind of “waiting on” that happens to me in hospitals during baby delivery but she wasn’t having any of it.
Thankfully, when I talked to her today she was full of awful Swine Flu stories and how horrific it would be to catch and how there was an outbreak somewhere in Indiana and wasn’t that awfully close to Illinois? (My mother and geography are not best friends.)
Seeing my break, I jumped for it, “Mom…can you imagine delivering a baby in a hospital filled with swine flu patients?”
A long silence followed….then she said, “Maybe home is best…”
That’s right mom, home really is best.
Disclaimer: I respect all mothers. I don’t care if you had Stadol, an Epidural, and snorted blow before you had your baby to keep the pain at bay. I don’t care if you had an elective c-section, formula fed, or put your baby up for adoption. Honestly, I don’t care if you have fur babies you consider your children. I believe that we are all individuals and should not be judged for our childbirth decisions. Except the blow. That’s probably unhealthy for the baby. Not that there have been any studies done on that, so I can’t know for sure.
Did We Really Need Four Tires?
So I was toying with the idea of buying a new laptop for my husband.
Seriously, seriously, considering it, actually. Had it picked out and everything.
Then he calls me from the gas station to tell me the right front tire is really low and he’s filling it up at the gas station and will check it again when he gets to gram’s house. Then he called back from gram’s to let me know the tire needed to be replaced and, hey, while we’re at it…we’re going to just replace all the tires.
*sigh*
I know it makes sense. I know it is logical to replace the tires.
But I also know it hurts to blow $500 on something necessary I wanted to spend on a new computer (aka something necessary and FUN) for my husband.
Ok, not blow. His safety – and the safety of our family – is more important than a laptop.
Really, I should be counting my blessings – he called me, told me we needed tires, and then went and bought tires. I don’t know that we’ve ever done that before.
I wonder if this is how people with credit cards feel when an emergency happens. You just pay for it and get it fixed. But I think it’s different because we don’t have to pay for this over time.
We just…have tires.
I remember someone saying once, “Money turns emergencies into inconveniences.” (It may have been Dave Ramsey.) I have to agree. I’d much rather be annoyed I can’t buy a laptop right now than be sitting trying to figure out who we can call to borrow money from to buy tires.
Small Piece of Advice: Randy and I used the power of cell phones and the internet to get a good deal + warranty on the tires we did purchase. Nothing scares a salesman more than having a customer say the price into the phone and coming back with what nearby places had those same tires cheaper.
Mommyblogging With No Content = A Giveaway/Review Blog?
Yet another post where I wonder if I could get fired for writing it…
Over on the Queen of Spain Blog (if you’re a conservative, the first few entries are probably safe, but don’t go too deep or your eyes will bleed) there is a phenomenal post calling out the blogging carpetbaggers.
The best part is that it isn’t just cool on the grounds of using old school words like carpetbagger. Which I happen to adore. But because it’s so true – the giveaway blogs that have no content are kind of sleazy.
For those of you that don’t know the definition (and I have to admit even though I think the word is cool I was not 100% on the exact definition):
Carpetbagger = Any opportunistic or exploitive outsider.
Basically, someone who only blogs to get junk and give stuff away and slap the mom label on themselves in order to niche more effectively.
I love my giveaway blog, really, I do. The chance to offer free stuff to people is really cool, and I don’t feel like I’m selling my soul when I do it. I try to post videos when possible so there’s at least an entertainment factor.
But lately I’ve been wondering if I should shuck the whole thing.
Mostly because I just don’t have the time and the return on investment for writing a review post is pretty much negative – I could always be doing something to make more money than the sticker price of an item I received for free. I’m happy I at least had the foresight to not merge all the giveaway stuff into this blog – my life/work/finance/everything blog. I was worried it would junk the place up.
Of course, had I meshed it all together I may be getting cooler offers and trips, but you know what, with the social anxiety I don’t even know that it would be worth it. Sure, I’d love to go on a trip, but having to listen to marketing people tell me stuff without being allowed to shoot it down and correct where they are making horrible mistakes just isn’t my bag.
Companies are still not very well versed in a crap blog vs. a quality blog. I know that I spend a lot of time helping people out and showing them what a “good” blog looks like. It’s not a perfect science, but eventually everyone is going to catch on and blogs that aren’t doing anything but shilling product are going to go out of business because they will be seen for what they are.
Carnival games.
And, much like carnival game prizes…the time and effort you put in to get them is never as much as the actual prize is worth.
More Improvements To Mint.com…
…and how Mint integrates into your already existing financial planning system.
I love Mint. I’ve been using it for just under a year and they’ve made some serious improvements over that time.
Of course, it’s bigger than Quicken Online at 1.1 million members, so I can see why they feel the need to keep improving. It’s catching on with everyone, not just me.
The newest feature they are introducing today is the Financial Fitness section. It’s based on three rules (because every financial system has easy-peasy rules in “step” format, right?)
1) Know your money
2) Spend less than you earn
3) Use debt wisely
While they seem like no-brainer steps, there is more to the system than meets the eye. When you go to the new “Ways to Save” tab on your Mint.com dashboard you’ll see this:
The first tab that pops open automatically is credit cards, and Mint will ask some questions about how you use your credit cards in order to find the best way to help you save.
Of course, if you’re a Dave Ramsey person or have just decided to live a life without credit cards, there are still four other tabs you’ll be excited to check out.
There are other ways the financial fitness section will help you out as well:
There are sections with customized to-do lists, and they are totally customized. If you have a credit card with a high interest rate it will have a to-do that says, “Hey, transfer that crap to a low-interest credit card!” If, like me, you don’t have credit cards, Mint won’t give you any to-dos that have anything to do with credit cards.
It won’t matter if you follow Suze Orman
I’m looking forward to the release of more of the features, because it’s not going to all be revealed at once, but over time – to make sure it doesn’t all come crashing down would be my guess – and that’s great, because I like my financial websites to be cautious. Just like I am with my money.
If you aren’t using Mint.com yet and are working from home or are a freelancer or contractor, you should give it a whirl. I have all my business expenses clearly marked in there and it remembers all my transactions, so come tax time…it will make my accountant’s life a LOT easier, which means cheaper taxes.
I like tools that are not only free, but really….really useful. It’s nice to see my net worth right there, with the tools Mint provides to find and enter your house value, your car value, and other tangable items that contribute positively to your net worth. It’s not just about bills and negative net worth.
I always enjoy logging into the Mint.com site – it’s well put together and easy to navigate. I also love that it tracks my student loans.
Disclaimer: I was not given jack to write this. Not money nor product nor a pony. I’m just excited that Mint has new stuff coming out and thought that y’all might dig it too.
Take Your Kids To Work Day – Consultant Style
Here is how I celebrated Take Your Kids To Work Day.
- I refused to let them nap. Mommy doesn’t get naps, why should they? (As a result, my children proceeded to whine most of the afternoon – they sound a lot like me without coffee…I didn’t give them coffee, that must be why…)
- I put on cartoons for them but used the DVR to skip through half the show. As a consultant, I never have time to watch a whole show – just give me the good bits and I’ll move on.
- By the end of the day I had them answering the phone. I may keep this in the rotation … I’ve always wanted an in-house assistant.
- We’re still working on it, but I think they’ll be able to say "soulless corporate drone" by the end of the week. They can say the words, but I need them to look down their noses and sneer knowingly when they say it.
- I thought about putting them on mommy’s pre-pregnancy diet of coffee, water, coffee, water, and a piece of string cheese sometime in the afternoon…but figured I shouldn’t actively neglect my children just to make a point about my work.
For the full effect, I should have let one or both kids onto my computer for some serious work time – but no one – I mean no one touches mama’s computer. They don’t mind. Heck, my kids aren’t even sure what I work on is a computer. I taught them to call it an ATM Machine.
We’re all going to top off our day the same. Vegging out in front of the TV trying to reclaim precious brain cells that were lost trying to figure out an illogical problem that had no solution.
Then we’ll all read and go to bed with a sense of accomplishment and exhaustion – ready to do it again tomorrow.
I wonder why they keep saying how excited they are to go to school tomorrow?
