Good morning!!!!!

Well I survived fair week, and a reunion on DH's side of the family.

Luflic-great job on passing up those biscuits!!!! Every victory, even if it seems small to others, is still an important step in your journey. We want to hear about every single one of them!!!!

Donna-How'd your husband do at the derby?

We have to go to the bank today to see if we can get a loan for our new furnace. We're installing a corn burning furnace. Our gas bill was somewhere around $800 a MONTH last winter. The corn furnace will burn about $800 worth of corn for the entire year. But it will initially cost us $5,000, and we have to pay for it by next month. YIKES! But it should be better as long as the rise in E85 fuel doesn't drive the corn price through the roof, which we're already seeing. What a strange world we live in these days.

Have a great day every one! Stick to your plans!!!

I'm getting and interview for the preschool!!! They called this morning to see if I was available for an interview and will eb calling back with a time!! I am so excited. She asked about the ages of my kids and said that we could work out something for DS who is too young for the preschool so maybe in thier daycare.

Oh Misty that is awesome about interview I will pray you get the job!

my goodness 800 a month for gas no wonder you are broke I could not afford that! Yikes.

I am depressed today because my gasoline charge for this month is 500 with driving to Ohio and that stinks. so can't imagine 800 Owwwwww

Yes Donna did he smash it up good! Was he the last one driving????

He didn't end up running, but will be running an even bigger one on Sep1 and 3rd. its a 5000 purse for 1st place that night. He is taking 2 cars, one for that friday, and one for that sunday, a lincoln and a caddillac. I can't wait!! He usually does really well, we have won quite a bit of money and trphies, I may run a big car next year if I can't find a mini car to run.
Misty, hope you get the job and the loan!!
hugs,
Donna

Hi all! Wel I've made it three days on plan. I am really struggling, but I am doing it. Today is a challenge the kids are wound up. I really want to comfort myself with something warm and yummy. Maybe I'll have tea for 1 point. Well off to cook some lunch have a great day all!

Good going being back on plan. Mini rant for me. Made it thru eating at Red Lobster, Went to Abuellos a fantastic mexican place I love and actually ordered taliapia so how proud of myself was I. Well last night hubbys actual birthday we went to steakhouse where they have 99cent margarietas on Tuesday well liking a bargain had to have one. Well I actually had figured my points for the day and would have been perfect with my counted out peanuts my steak steamed broccoli and handful of nuts and one margareita but no not me love a deal so got second margaretia and then proceeded to eat two rolls hey left off butter then stopped on way home and got frozen yogurt. Ahhh why am I so thick headed. why didn't I stop. But progress back on track today. Thanks for listening.

Luflic, your husband's birthday comes around only once a year! It's okay. I think we need to be able to let loose a little bit and enjoy ourselves! I think you did wonderful, especially considering what could have happened! I think you should be proud of youself.

Misty, so what's up on the furnace? Will you be able to get a loan? I can't fathom paying that much to heat my house. I thought we had it bad, but I think our highest bill was around $250. I guess I can't complain!

Donna, it sounds like you and your husband have lots of fun together with the derbies. That's great to hear!

Me, I've either been crazy busy at work or sick! I've had lots of migraines lately. The only reason I'm able to type now is because I had to leave work early because I felt so rotten, I went to sleep, and now I feel great!!

Keep on keeping on!!

Yeah, I got the money today and I pick up my treadmill on Friday after I get my new tattoo!! I can't wait!! I am so going to lose as much weight as I can before i go to tenn. that way I can get new clothes to wear down there, lol. I am so excited, had a good day on plan.

Misty, way to go staying on plan.

Luflic, it's not like you do that everyday, it's ok to splurge once in a while.

Steph, I do have tons of fun at derby with DH!! Hope your headaches get better, have you gone to the Dr.?

Hugs,
Donna

Good MOrning!

Steph-I hope those headaches are improving. It's hard to function so take it easy!!

Luflic-Don't beat yourself up! What counts is that you recognize that you were off track...and really not THAT much...and that you are back on track. Plus, like STeph says you only get to celebrate this once a year!

Donna-YAY! I bet you are excited about your treadmill!!! COngrats!

The loan guy denied us. He said we have average credit but b/c we don't own a home they can't do anything for us. He said they'd be more than happy to help us finance the house along with the furnace. We can't buy the house until Josh's great grandmother is no longer in need of it (she has life long lease, she's almost 101 and in a nursing home). But DH may not have a job in a year as his company was recently sold. We can't commit to a house we will NEVER be able to sell. It's not like a regular house, if you want to move you sell it. We'll be stuck with this house until we die if we buy it.

The loan guy is new, fresh out of college and doesn't have any leeway. So we're going to talk to the guy who does the farm financing and see what he can do, and also our other bank that has helped us before. I hate banks. I am also reallyf rutrated with my husband b/c I said.. I don't know how we will save $5,000. I expressed my worry and anxiety about it, and he gave me the don't worry it will work out speech. He said if we don't save it we'll put it on credit cards. So we've been paying huge chunks on our cards (which are not even as high as the average American). So I thought that was the plan. Now, the furnace is ready to ship and he decides that credit card intrest is too high...uh yeah but I thought that was the plan. I am so frustrated.

It's just one more thing. It's like we can never get ahead.

Then I am probably going to need to get PA clearences for child abuse history and they want my addresses all the way back to 1975...I was born in 1977. I moved at least once a year from teh time I was 3 or 4 until I was 13. My parents have none of these addresses. So this will be fun.

Well the kids are here so have a great day!!!!!

If the house does not belong to you why should you buy the furnace? It seems to me that the person that owns the house should buy it. If the present furnace is not functioning properly (and it isn't if it is costing you that much in heating bills) then it should be replaced by whoever owns the house. Take it up with them.

Well my father in law owns the house....sort of. He owns the farm, the house is his but my husband's great grandmother has rights to it until she dies. She is related to my husband's mother who died and really now is no rellation to my father in law. We pay rent, and help with the utilities b/c the utilities are on the same meter as the barn. So it's kind of sticky.

The current furnace is functional, but not engery efficient as it consists of two furnaces that run open heating grates. And they get HOT and they scare me with the kids. The new furnace was my husband's idea. It burns corn. Our natural gas bill was upwards of $800 a month during the winter last year. So Dh researched and found a corn burning boiller that can be used for base board heating or forced air. It would allow us to leave the current natural gas furnace in place for back up, or if we move we can take the corn boiler with us and integrate it into any system in whatevr house we find. But the old furnace would still be in this house so we're not taking thier only source of heat.

So it's all complicated. My father in law would probably float us a loan for it if he could. They are adding on to thier house right now and they aren't really able to do it. Plus they are sending my BIL to England for a semester, and my other BIL is getting married in October so it's all coming at once.

I am just disgusted with this bank. The last guy there was willing to work with us when we financed the buy out on DH's truck. But he left. We're gonna try the farm guy at the bank b/c he has better understanding of these kind of situtations and he's higher up. We'll also try the other bank we work with and if all else fails we do have credit cards.

Oh Step hope the migranes hit the road. That has to be miserable. I am fortunate and have never had one. Do you have triggers? Are you on that new medication for them?

Enjoy your treadmill Donna. I love mine. Can not even believe I just said that I have come a long way baby.

Misty. You moved every year? Was your father in the service? One nice thing about moving every year is you sure can't accumulate the junk I have!!!
Pray you get the loan. No one can afford those kind of bills! Being great grandma is in nursing home would she float the payments since it is her home???

Hi all. I think I bombed my interview. I was really nerveous, and this was only the second interview this lady had ever done and her question made it really hard to bring across who I am and what I do with kids. So I doubt I got the job.

As to my furnace we're talking to the otehr loan guy, he is much more willing to see what he can do so we'll see. They can't get around the concept that we're improving a house we don't own, which I know is weird. And most people don't think of a furnace as furniture you move when you leave, but apprently my husband does.

His great grandmother is 101 or will be a in a couple of months. She's incoherent, and unable to make any descions. Technically she doesn't so much own teh hom,e but has a free lease on it as long as she lives. Her son has power of attorney. He can't find the notorized copy of his paper work which we need in order to buy the house. She can't sign anything b/c she's not able to. Once she passes away the house is free and clear and belongs completley to my father in law. It's not like we want her to pass away, though she's not living much of a life right now. But nobody thought when she went in the nursing home that she'd live to be 101, she went there when she was 89 or 90. Her body is strong but her mind has slipped away.

Even if we could buy the house I am not sure now is a good time for us to commit to it. DH may get laid off. This house sits within 20 yards of my father in laws' barn. If we buy it and then need to move he may not have the financial fluidity to purchase it from us, and he wouldn't want anyone living that close to his barn that wasn't close family. It would be too much of a liability, people who don't understand farming would complain about stuff. Which has been our issue with staying, and why he has thus far hesitated to sell it to us.

I hate this house. I resent that I am still stuck here after 5 years. It was supposed to be temporary. When I worked we couldn't buy a house b/c of our poor credit. Now we've fixed that but we can't afford a mortgage and all teh utilities, taxes ect that that includes. Everything in my life is temporary. We've been living with "good enough" and "just to make due until we decide what we are going to do" for 5 years. With DH's job up in the air we could be living like this another year or more. Any home improvments we do accomplish are half finished. This house and my lack of control over everything has become a huge source of depression for me.

Sorry this is such a long rant. I am really frustrated with alot of things, really sad, and really disappointed with myself at my interview last night.I almost want to call them and tell them that I was really nerveous and just wanted to express my passion for kids and teaching b/c I don't think that came across last night.

Hey Misty. I understand you feeling depressed. There are so many things out of your control and it is very frustrating. I have the same feelings about my own situation. I've talked about my finances before which are a complete mess. If something were to happen to me or dh we'd be bankrupt in 2 seconds. Security is so important to women and men have no concept how much it worries us. Like my husband could care less about how much debt we have, the only reason that he has curbed his spending is that he FINALLY has some concept of what it is doing to our life. Anyway Misty I sympathize with you. You may have done better in the job interview than you though and you know it wouldn't hurt to make a follow up phone call just to say thanks for seeing me. Sometimes just that phone call will count for a lot. My husband's boss has hired people on the basis that they phoned back to say thanks for the interview.

Thanks Jen! I'm sorry things are crazy for you too, I know exactly how you feel. We're right there on the edge. I know it could be worse but I feel like we should be making it better. But every time I turn around and think we're getting ahead we fall behind. I am so depressed and DH tries he really does, but all he does is ask me if I am ok...NO I am not ok, and asking me 6 times shows me you care, but doesn't help or make me ok.

My sister who is an HR person for a big computer company told me it owuld be ok to call too. She said call tell them thanks and if they seem receptive mention that I was nerveous and hoped my passion for teaching and children came across and to ask for an email address to send a formal thank you which I guess is the thing the expect now. So I did that and I feel better, still anxious but ok. The lady seemed confuse d taht I was calling. She's new, only been a director for a week. Mine was the second interview she's done ever. The one prior to me was like two minutes. So she's very clueless and really didn't know how to conduct an interveiw. Nice but clueless and really couldn't answer many of my questions and referred me to the asistent director.

I was really thrown off my the previous lady coming out with what was obviosuly curriculum that she had worked up and examples of her work.

So we'll see.

My sister's WLS surgery was denied. She sent records for 1999-2206 and somehow they are missing 2004, and in 2003 she didnt see a doctor. She is resending 2004 and they said they'd take pictures in leu of reports for 2003. So hopefully they can appeal. SO shes really upset.

Well off to get snack