Toystoryduo's Journal....Moving Forward From Here

[eyor44]

Hi Tracy
I'm glad you are starting to feel better. I was beginning to worry about you. Maybe a little Disney withdrawl hanging about also??????

Hope you accomplished all of your goals today. Decluttering is a great idea. Something I have been trying to do FOREVER. I hope you way more success than I have had.

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Amy and Lisa.

Still not feeling 100% yet. This thing is really lingering around way too long! I bet the colder weather isn't helping any.

We're still working on the clothing transition. We've sorted out the girls' clothes and got a bag of stuff to give my niece. Now, my DH and I need to work on our clothes and then we'll get the fall and winter stuff out of storage.

I did finish the Disney budget. We need about $500 for the trip. My DH will deejay twice ($300 + tips), we have $50 coming for cell phone reimbursement, $20 from a survey, and hopefully, $50 from SR if I can earn enough in time. We haven't counted our change jar yet either, so I think we should be good to go.

Christmas budgeting is a different issue. Usually, by this time, I have about 75% of my shopping done. Out of 40 people, I have gifts for 5! I need to get busy on this! I need to figure out an amount we can afford and then start shopping asap.

Did I mention that I need to plan DD8's birthday party as well?

Today's Plan:

* homeschooling
* workout (maybe)
* start planning DD8's birthday party
* Christmas budget and list
* fire/police station open house (weather permitting)

Well, that's about all from here...Hope everyone has a wonderful, water filled Wednesday!

 

[toystoryduo]

Good morning friends,

We have a super busy day ahead of us. My DH found out yesterday that he needs to work in Michigan tomorrow. Our car needs some work that he wont have time to do before leaving for Michigan. So, long story short, we decided to book a car rental for the weekend. We're picking it up today and dropping it off on Sunday.

Homeschooling will be postponed until the afternoon. Then, I am meeting a friend for coffee at 6:00 p.m. After that, it's come home, get paperwork ready for my DH, pack his lunch for tomorrow, and get to bed early. He has to be at work at 6:00 a.m. and then will head out to a local job and then drive to Michigan.

The weekend?

Friday: DH in Michigan, come home, get paperwork done
Saturday: Soccer games x 2, DH leaves at 2:30 p.m. to deejay
Sunday: Return rental car, get ready for week ahead

Since we will have the rental car all day Saturday, I may take the girls to do some Christmas shopping. After making our list of people to buy for, we are at about 40 people! Some are clients of my DH's, but most of them are family. I only have 5 gifts at the moment. I really need to sit down and figure out our budget as soon as possible. That way, maybe we can get some shopping done on Saturday while my DH is deejaying.

That's about all from here...Have a great day everyone!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Hey Wish Sis,

I hear you on the budget thing! Like you, I have our DL trip all set money wise, but Christmas is not even close (I have done nothing) to being started let alone where I should be! But it will get done for both of us. It always does!

I am sorry you are still not feeling 100% and I hope that changes very soon!

You have a busy weekend ahead, take some time to chill if you can!

I wish I was the friend you met for coffee tonight, I could use a face to face Tracy meeting!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Amy. We will have coffee one day! (And a Mai Tai too! )

The trip to and from Michigan was a lonnnnnngggggg one. We got home around 2:30 a.m. and had to get up for a soccer game at 8:00 a.m. The only thing we have scheduled for tomorrow is to take the rental car back. The rest of the day should be a relaxing one.

I really need to get back OP with my weight loss. I'm holding steady weight wise, but I just don't feel healthy or fit right now. Gotta get back in the groove!

We need about $500 for our WDW trip in December...I ordered a $25 gift card from SR today and we got the $50 reimbursement check we were waiting for. My DH is deejaying tonight so that will add more $$ to the fund!

Not much else going on...We're going to a football championship game for my DH's best friend's son tonight and then we'll head home and chill for the rest of the evening.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

 

[toystoryduo]

My DH added another $150 to the Disney fund last night! Right now, we have $225/$500. He's deejaying again next week, I'm still waiting on a survey check, and we have yet to count the change jar. We also have a ton of cans to take to the scrap yard plus some scrap metal my DH has leftover from work. I'm also hoping to cash out one more time from SR before we leave for WDW.

We have to return the rental car in about an hour or so. My MIL is going to take the girls to church while we return the car. After that, we'll pick up the girls and head out to the local outlet malls to see if there are any good deals to be had. Then, we'll come home and relax before tackling invoicing for the past week.

Hope everyone has a nice Sunday.

 

[toystoryduo]

Monday morning came way too quickly this week! I need a weekend from my weekend!

After we got home from dropping the rental car off yesterday, my DH and I took naps and we both slept for about 3 hours! I guess we were still worn out from the marathon to Michigan trip from Friday. We did manage to go to Walgreens and Walmart last night. We spent the rest of our Register Rewards at Walgreens and I used my Walmart gift card to buy ink for the printer, milk, paper clips, shampoo, and soap. And I still have $4 left on the card!

Today's Plan
* Homeschooling
* Clean the front of the garage
* Head to outlet mall after DH gets home from work
* Watch Snow White

We got the Snow White Diamond edition DVD/Blu-Ray last week. $19.96 @ Walmart and I had a $10 off coupon. Plus, I have a rebate form for the movie and Hefty plates so I'll be getting $5 back from that. I haven't seen Snow White in years...I'm looking forward to it!

Well, that's about all from here...Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

 

[toystoryduo]

We had a good day yesterday. The girls got done with school early so we went with my DH to work and then went to an outlet mall. We walked around there for an hour (and got DH 2 pairs of jeans for $15!) and then came home and walked for another 45 minutes. It felt good to get some exercise in!

I'm going to see if my MIL can watch the kids for a couple of hours this afternoon. Toys R Us is having their buy 2 games, get 1 free deal and I have a $10 coupon. I'd like to get the girls a couple of DS games for Christmas. Maybe I can convince my DH to take me to lunch as well.

We didn't get a chance to work on the garage yesterday due to the emergency work order my DH had to take, but I'm hoping to get to it this week so I can list some things on Craigslist. We have way too much junk.

Today's Plan:

* Homeschooling
* Toys R' Us/ Lunch with DH
* Work on the garage?
* Disney Meeting

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Just getting caught up with you sweetie, you have been busy!

If you want to see some junk, come see my neighbor's garage! This guy has a three car garage, plus a big shed and yet can't fit his cars or anything else in his garage. It sort of cracks me up. Of course my garage isn't going to win any contests on HGTV either!

Wow, I am betting you will have your whole WDW trip in the bank before the end of the month at the rate you are going.

And as usual, you kill me with your deals. And put me to shame. I still think you need to have your own show called "Tracy's Bargains". With this economy, people would tune in big time!

I bought Snow White too, I love that movie. She's my favorite princess. My stepdad told me recently that was the first movie he ever saw when he was around 12 years old (over 70 years ago) and he still remembrs the thrill of it. Even her squeaky voice is endearing to me!

I think you should focus on the positive of your weight being steady. That is somethign given all the stress you have had plus being back from WDW not that long ago. Its a big challenge and heaven knows I am right there with you. But I still say we can do this!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Amy.

Not much going on here....The girls' final soccer games of the year are this weekend. They play on fields right next to each other about a half an hour apart. That way we can see both games! After soccer tomorrow, my DH is deejaying the last wedding of the year as well. (Maybe something will pop up for November! )

Today, we're just chilling out at home. The girls have the day off from homeschooling and are playing video games. I'm doing rewards programs and DISing, and reading a book. (Not all at the same time! ) We may go on a job with my DH later on. He's not sure if he will go today or Sunday so we're just waiting to hear.

I am re-working the Disney and Christmas budgets. I want to put some extra money in savings, so we'll be trimming both budgets.

That's about all from here...Have a wonderful weekend!

 

[toystoryduo]

Good evening friends,

Today has been a good day. The girls did a great job on their final soccer games of the year...They both did a fantastic job on defense and DD8 scored a goal! It was freezing cold outside so I'm glad the season wrapped up today.

I did my first Walk Away the Pounds DVD today. It was a 2 mile walk and I really liked the workout. It helped me to work out some stress that I was experiencing and it got the blood pumping. I like it!

The only things we have planned tomorrow are church and my DH will replace the brakes on the car. (Lifetime warranty=free) After that, we may go to a thrift store and get some winter clothes for the girls or we may just stay home and do nothing. My DH will be in PA on Monday and in Toledo on Tuesday so he may just want to relax.

Hope everyone has a nice evening!

 

[TimonTracy]

Hi Tracy ! Just wanted to say awesome on the WATP DVD !! They can be really nice and you feel like you've accomplished something right away. I will try to catch up on your entire thread over the next day or 2. Enjoy the rest of your weekend !

-Tracy

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Tracy.

Yesterday was a good day. We did end up going to the thrift store and my DDs got some really nice clothes for $20. We came home with two medium sized bags of AE, Aeropostle, Gap, and Limited Too shirts, pants, and jeans. The thrift store has each item marked with a certain color price tag. Yesterday, orange and yellow tags were 50% off so the girls stuck to those color price tags to get the most for the money. They did a great job!

Lots to do today:
* Homeschooling (minimal because I will be doing evaluations)
* Library
* Laundry
* Workout
* Clean out box in bedroom
* Work for DH (invoicing)
* Rewards Programs (If weekend surveys credit, I'll be able to order another Landry's gift card for RFC today! )
* Menu Planning
* Budgets (household, Disney, Christmas)

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[eyor44]

Hi Tracy
I am all caught up with you now and gosh you have been busy. and your DH is going all over the place! Hope he gets more DJing jobs.

Congrats on the SR cards. I saw you were going to order a RFC card. Did you see the coupon on their web site? $10 off $25, but it can't be used with the Safari Club discount if you have that.

Way to go on holding steady with the weight!

Congrats to your DDs for successful soccer seasons. We still have another month of my DD's, then DS' starts up through mid-Feb

Y'all did great at the thrift store. teaching the girls about bargaining shopping is a very smart thing to do. You get some of the best deals.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Tracy, Way to go at that thrift store! I love good bargains on kids' clothes. It sounds like you got some great deals and have two good little shoppers in training at your house!

I am a big fan of WATP series. I love Leslie Sandstone and its a great thing to have on the days you can't get out of the house or just don't want to get out of the house!

Good job putting some money in savings. Maybe I could do that someday!

 

[lovinaz]

You always find the best bargains!

It's interesting to read that your soccer season has already ended and that it was cold! It was in the 90's here all last week, so we have been baking at DD10's games, and our season doesn't end until Dec! Glad the girls had a good season.

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks ladies.

My grandma had her pacemaker surgery yesterday and is doing quite well. As long as the pacemaker is working properly, she will be allowed to go home today.

Today looks to be a good day ahead:

* Homeschooling (minimal- evaluations and planning for this quarter still going on )
* Library
* Laundry
* Work for DH
* Enjoy the weather!
* Count the change jar

I need to get busy with birthday shopping for my DD8 and Christmas shopping as well. I've decided to focus on getting the girls and my DH's gifts now and then when our families decide what to do about exchanges, we'll figure the rest out later. We do have a budget in place so even if we do end up buying for everyone, we have to stick to that budget no matter what.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!

 

[eyor44]

YAY! for grandma! I pray she is doing well enough to go home today.

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Lisa.

It's been a busy day here and we've gotten a lot done, except the laundry. We're planning on going for a walk, finishing a load of laundry, the girls will head to bed, and DH and I will discuss Christmas and Disney. Then we'll call it a night too.

Hope everyone has a nice evening!

 

[eyor44]

Hope you had a nice walk this evening Tracy. Don't sweat the , it will always be there. Christmas talks. OOOOHHHHHH, I them.