It's a major makeover in progress going on right now. AND, the scale is finally going in the right direction, too. Yowza. I'm getting ready to start my new job tomorrow, so I thought I'd step up the style a notch. Here's me, today:
Look at the cool theme Retta made for me! Isn't she rad? I'm so happy to be less generic. I LOVE IT! I hope y'all like it, too. Of course, now I have to re-tweak everything and re-add a lot of stuff, but it is SO WORTH IT! See, I may not have been blogging regularly, but I'm still thinking about it. (And avoiding my training homework at 9:49 pm. Ooops. MUST STOP PLAYING WITH BLOG THEME.)
~t
As you can see, I sure haven't been blogging much. I've been trying to get the rest of my life in balance and then I'll be working on fitting blogging back into that.
I started my new weight loss program, which is taking up some time, and ironically, not working yet. (Just made some alterations, so fingers crossed, next week!)
I finally had everything together and got our taxes done. Yahoooooo to that!
I'll be going to training for a week starting next Wednesday to finally be in the right job at work. Yahooooooo to that. I'm really looking forward to it.
After that, I hope to have a regular schedule (and a regular income to go along with it.) Then I'll be able to get my bloglife a little more in order. I am a bit concerned that my schedule may still be up in the air. Grrrrr. Not a fan of that one, but we'll see what happens. I've got a couple more weeks to float through anyway.
So, stay tuned, and I'll pop in when I can. Or see you more in April, I hope.
It's all about balance. Balance is good.
~t
Zane greeted me this morning by saying, "Some other one guy, kissin' you, Mommy."
"Wow, really? Was this in your dream?"
"Yets."
"Did you like him?"
"Yets."
"Was he cute?"
"Yets."
Kevin wakes up.
"DON'T tell your dad about your dream." (Joking.)
"Some other one guy kissin' Mommy, Daddy."
~t
Being a mom can be a tough job. I cannot imagine doing it solo. Hopefully, I won't have to worry about that, but I know a lot of people who are parenting solo. Add a career to that, and how does one find a potential mate? And, of course, as a parent, you want to be sure to find a person who is supportive of that role.
You know I've been a proponent of online dating in the past. Now there's a special dating site especially for Single Moms to try to meet someone who is interested in all they have to offer.
Of course, it's great for single parents to be able to check people out from home. And, the site is free. Check it out! As always, be safe!
~t
Well, let's see.
Mercury has been retrograde. So, a lot of crazy communication blips have been going on. Some with spouses, some with machines. Some with pirates in restaurant offices. Huh? Well, we had to go pick up some of Caspian's clothes today since he missed the last day of theatre camp. We were supposed to go to this restaurant office, which we did, and it was full of pirates, but no clothes. Odd, that. The one non-pirate who was supposed to have the clothes said they were in his car at home. Go figure. We'll have to go back.
Kevin is supposed to be having a contract sent to him for his first story being published. Still waiting on that.
I'm supposed to be training for my real job at work. Still waiting on that.
Luke is supposed to be housetrained. Still waiting on that.
But, I have decided to make a cool slideshow of some ultra-cute pictures Kevin took of Luke in the past couple of days. Are you ready? Well, I have to go make it. Just a sec. Ok, here it is:
I had heard about moneymaking opportunities at Helium for a while before I actually took the plunge in the end of October. I wrote three articles, but nothing happened for a while. Then I started making money, slowly. Very slowly. But here's the magic thing about Helium: it's residual income. You can make money on your articles there forEVER.
And TODAY, I'm on the front page with the very first article I wrote there, on going back to work after having a baby. Check it out! Page down...I'm writing under the name Terri Valerian. (If it's no longer March 2, 2007, you can find the article here.)
This is what it looks like on the front page:
If you want to see all of my Helium articles, go here. But beware, I have been writing on a weird mix of topics because I go there and write on whatever whim strikes me. You can also write your own article, but it can take a couple weeks to get original topic articles approved. I like going there and seeing all the different things people have written. It inspires me to come up with something myself.
If you are a writer and are interested in writing for Helium, I can send you an invitation. Please only request one if you are serious, as I have a limited number to give out. Email me at terri@shamelesscreations.com. As I said, the money is slow to build, but I have faith it will grow.
~t
I'm so happy to be writing again. I'm so happy to be a mom. But the two don't go together real well. Blogging may be the only kind of writing I can really do right now. Short bursts while the child sleeps or is momentarily happy entertaining himself. But while he sleeps, he could wake at any moment (and he often does).
I take different assignments on my blog. Some from myself for my own well-being. Some from others because I am interested and I get monetary reimbursement. I sit here considering assignments, and in the back of my mind, I always think, "Will this assignment, like many, many others, be interrupted or aborted or finished too quickly because of the call of 'Mommy'?"
It's a tough balance. Do I take this assignment and take that risk? Do I let it go? Do I wish away my child's younger years? So far, I have not. But until recently I was content to just be mom. Now I have the writing bug again. I cannot just be mom for the rest of my life. I will now always be mom. I need to be more again. But can I? Or perhaps the question is, "How can I?" How do I create the balance? How do I win the gamble? Will I get this done? Should I try? If I do, will it be good enough? Will it matter to anyone but me? If it matters to only me, does it still matter?
Ahhhh...Mercury Retrograde.
~t
Credit cards can be a life saver, when used wisely. Conversely, they can chain you to debt when used unwisely. The best credit cards, obviously, are the ones with the lowest interest rates, so you'll want to shop around and compare credit cards if you're in the market for one.
It's easy to be sucked in by cash back credit cards, but be careful. The cash back is only a reward if it is not actually costing you more money in the long run. (i.e., Are you paying more in interest than you're getting back?) If you can pay off your credit card each month, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, remember, you're not really gaining anything.
I have not always had a lot of extra money in savings for an emergency or last minute opportunity. Credit cards have helped me immensely in these situations. The best thing I have done is to use a credit card and then switch it on a 0% balance transfer, thus saving myself a lot of money in the long run. If you pay your bills and maintain good credit, these types of opportunities can really be helpful. Just remember to try to pay them off as soon as possible!
Good luck!
~t
Allright, apparently after I say, "I don't feel like blogging," then I really start to blog. Well, I didn't want to wait too long to report on Zane's second birthday.
The crazy, cold, snowy weather we've been having that is signaling winter's last hurrah (I hope) has me dreaming of the summer to come. Also, I talked to a woman today who is about to leave for Hawaii.
If you fall into either the "dreaming and planning" category or the "lucky to be going on a tropical vacation" category, you should check out these rainbow sandals. These things look amazing. They are attractive sandals, yes, but also so much more. These puppies are made to last, with life support parachute stitching and 2,000 lb test military spec strap. They also mold to fit the wearer, so they become very comfortable with time. Very nice.
~t
The acronym in the title of this post is for a little phrase my family used when I was growing up. It stands for, "too pooped to participate". That's how I feel, unfortunately. I was going to just write an entry that said, "I don't feel like blogging." But then, I decide to throw that little bit of family history in there. Wiz bang. I need to write an entry about my little main man Zane's 2nd birthday. He is so sweet. I need to get professional photos of him taken, too, methinks. There is a lot I need to do. Good lord, I only work 20 hrs/week right now. WHAT will I do when that is 30 hours minimum? How do people live? It's crazy. I'm sure I'll get it together. Eventually.
~t
