Mike and I are currently in the process of saving money. Which is really hard to do. Especially because currently it seems like we have an excess of it. I know what you're thinking: wah, wah, boo hoo. And, after your fake tears for us, I imagine that you'll do a double take and think - what? it's hard to save money because you have too much of it? Please explain.
Certainly, I will.
You see, it seems as though currently money is just pouring in. We received a down payment on the car we're selling, we finally received the money the marine corps has owed us for the past 8 months, Mike is scheduled to receive a bonus for extending his contract with the marine corps for an extra 2 years, and due to the extra money we made while Mike was deployed we paid off some bills so our monthly income stretches farther than it used to. Having access to all that extra money naturally makes it a little bit difficult for us not to consider ourselves RICH.
The truth of the matter is, though, that we certainly are not rich. Not even close. Our bank account might currently feel a bit bloated, but there are certain things looming in our future that require that we have a sizeable chunk of change put away for worst-case-scenerios.
So looking at the bank account and seeing unheard of numbers in there is almost like playing with monopoly money. It's there, but it's not really there. We can't use it.
During my commute to work this morning I was thinking about what Sarah-of-five-years-ago would think about my current money situation.
I very clearly remember getting my first credit card. It was my senior year in college, and my first ever purchase on it was a $100 bathing suit. It was the first and last time I ever spent that kind of money on a bathing suit; because, on my drive back to my dorm I nearly threw up from the buyer's remorse that rushed over me. Of course, I paid off that bill as soon as I possibly could because that $100 was haunting me. I could not stand the idea of such debt.
I also remember when Mike bought his first car. We were engaged at the time and he dropped a whopping $12,000 on a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I was too scared to tell my family how much he spent because I believed that to be an ungodly amount of money to spend on a car. I remember telling my brother-in-law, bracing for his reaction, and then being shocked that he didn't really seem to think it was that big of a deal. How strange.
And, of course, there was the night I found out how much I was going to owe on student loans when I graduated. I pretty much freaked out. It's pretty funny actually to look back on that night when I broke out into a coldsweat because of my student loans. Especially considering that currently my student loan payment is by far the lowest payment I make every month. I actually pay that bill with joy every month. It is not painful like the rest.
I grimace to think how much smaller that measly payment is compared to seriously ungodly house payment I make every month now.
If I told the Sarah-of-five-years-ago the kind of bills she would be paying five years down the road, I seriously believe she would have keeled over and died of shock.
Which brings me back to my first point. Though the bloated bank account might currently make me feel rich, it's extremely important for me to remember that I am not. And, if ever I have any doubt of that, I will just take a walk down memory lane and remind myself of the days when I thought it was absolutely disgusting to owe $12,000 on a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sucker
We're coming down to the last weeks of the school year, and I'm really starting to get sentimental about it. This year has flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. The 8th graders have really grown up, and *tear* I really am going to miss them when they move on.
And, I AM SO ANNOYED!
This is exactly my problem. Every year I struggle through the weeks and months stressed beyond belief, declaring loud-and-clear-for-all-to-hear that I am officially NOT cut out to be a teacher. I am too stressed. I am too frustrated.
About three quarters of the way through the year, every year, I have officially decided that after I have kids, I will pursue a different career path.
And..
Then..
The final days of school arrive. And, I am sucked in once more. Sucked into seeing how much the students have matured and grown over the years. Sucked into laughing at the memories (that at the time had me blowing smoke out of my ears or holding in tears of frustration). Sucked into feeling so much a part of these students' lives. Sucked into believing I have made an impact on them. Sucked into the happiness and pride of watching them grow up and move on.
I am such a sucker.
And, I am so very incredibly mad about it.
And, I AM SO ANNOYED!
This is exactly my problem. Every year I struggle through the weeks and months stressed beyond belief, declaring loud-and-clear-for-all-to-hear that I am officially NOT cut out to be a teacher. I am too stressed. I am too frustrated.
About three quarters of the way through the year, every year, I have officially decided that after I have kids, I will pursue a different career path.
And..
Then..
The final days of school arrive. And, I am sucked in once more. Sucked into seeing how much the students have matured and grown over the years. Sucked into laughing at the memories (that at the time had me blowing smoke out of my ears or holding in tears of frustration). Sucked into feeling so much a part of these students' lives. Sucked into believing I have made an impact on them. Sucked into the happiness and pride of watching them grow up and move on.
I am such a sucker.
And, I am so very incredibly mad about it.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sleep Train: Your Ticket To a Better Night's Sleep
Yesterday Mike and I went mattress shopping. We had decided before he left for Iraq that when he got back we would buy a new mattress. We thought we had changed our minds, until we started to realize how incredibly uncomfortable our bed really is. I thought that Mike just really liked to cuddle and that's why he was sleeping in the very middle of the bed every night. We got into many small spats where I accused him of hogging the bed and he claimed that he couldn't help it b/c the bed sloped into the center.
This month-long-ongoing argument ended by us switching sides of the bed. The very first night I slept on "his" side, I immediately realized that he hadn't just been being a bed hog. The bed really does dramatically slope down to the center. It's terribly uncomfortable.
So. We went bed shopping. It was so much fun! We went to Sleep Train, which truly does live up to its advertising. The salesman was very helpful but not at all pushy. We had fun testing out all of the different beds. We even got to choose a pillow and carry it around with us while we did the testing. So fun!
There was one very clear winner that we both agreed on. It just happened to be a bit over our price range, so we settled for the second runner up. But, since we hadn't actually looked at beds anywhere else, we decided to go home and do some research before taking the plunge.
It was a good thing we did, because we actually found our number one choice online for the price of our number two choice bed. We couldn't believe our luck! Because Sleep Train promised to beat any other price by 5%, promised to give us a $100 military discount, and promised us no sales tax (just like we would have gotten had we decided to buy the mattress on base) we ended up getting a darn good deal (including the pillows that we used for our mattress testing 1/2 off!)
Our mattress arrives Tuesday, and to be quite honest, Tuesday cannot get here soon enough. I fully expect to wake up on Wednesday morning feeling like a new woman.
This month-long-ongoing argument ended by us switching sides of the bed. The very first night I slept on "his" side, I immediately realized that he hadn't just been being a bed hog. The bed really does dramatically slope down to the center. It's terribly uncomfortable.
So. We went bed shopping. It was so much fun! We went to Sleep Train, which truly does live up to its advertising. The salesman was very helpful but not at all pushy. We had fun testing out all of the different beds. We even got to choose a pillow and carry it around with us while we did the testing. So fun!
There was one very clear winner that we both agreed on. It just happened to be a bit over our price range, so we settled for the second runner up. But, since we hadn't actually looked at beds anywhere else, we decided to go home and do some research before taking the plunge.
It was a good thing we did, because we actually found our number one choice online for the price of our number two choice bed. We couldn't believe our luck! Because Sleep Train promised to beat any other price by 5%, promised to give us a $100 military discount, and promised us no sales tax (just like we would have gotten had we decided to buy the mattress on base) we ended up getting a darn good deal (including the pillows that we used for our mattress testing 1/2 off!)
Our mattress arrives Tuesday, and to be quite honest, Tuesday cannot get here soon enough. I fully expect to wake up on Wednesday morning feeling like a new woman.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Oh My Lanta
I am humbled.
I just spent several hours messing with my blog in order to turn it into the beauty-ful-ness that you see before you.
I'm proud of it, but not of the amount of time it took me to figure out how to do this. Seriously. I'm only 27-years-old and, apparently, I am not so very internet savvy.
It's a little embarassing, really. I think I'm hip because I am a proud owner(?) of a facebook page, and I even write a blog.
But, when it comes down to it, I'm practically living in the dark ages. I'm stuck in the year 2007, apparently.
Because, Twitter is so far beyond my comprehension that I really just think it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. I do not get my the internet or facebook or even email on my cell phone. And, if I were to own an iPhone I wouldn't be able to do anything more with it than make a few phone calls to my friends and family.
At this rate, by the time I'm 75 not only will I apparently not have figured out the secret to being youthful, but I will still be using my desktop computer and unable to figure out the iphone chip that my children had inserted in my brain as a christmas present.
I guess what it all comes down to is that I started out trying to update the appearance of my blog.... and now I'm going to go to bed having nightmares of being lost in the technology of the future.
Like I said...
Oh My Lanta!
I just spent several hours messing with my blog in order to turn it into the beauty-ful-ness that you see before you.
I'm proud of it, but not of the amount of time it took me to figure out how to do this. Seriously. I'm only 27-years-old and, apparently, I am not so very internet savvy.
It's a little embarassing, really. I think I'm hip because I am a proud owner(?) of a facebook page, and I even write a blog.
But, when it comes down to it, I'm practically living in the dark ages. I'm stuck in the year 2007, apparently.
Because, Twitter is so far beyond my comprehension that I really just think it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. I do not get my the internet or facebook or even email on my cell phone. And, if I were to own an iPhone I wouldn't be able to do anything more with it than make a few phone calls to my friends and family.
At this rate, by the time I'm 75 not only will I apparently not have figured out the secret to being youthful, but I will still be using my desktop computer and unable to figure out the iphone chip that my children had inserted in my brain as a christmas present.
I guess what it all comes down to is that I started out trying to update the appearance of my blog.... and now I'm going to go to bed having nightmares of being lost in the technology of the future.
Like I said...
Oh My Lanta!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Spring Break and How I'm Going to Become a Millionaire
Tomorrow at exactly 12:00 noon, I will be free. Okay, so maybe it will probably be more like 1:00 before I actually get my butt out the door of my classroom and into my car for a week of freedom, but noon sounds oh so much better than 1.
Spring Break. Those words are like music to my ears.
It's the getting to Spring Break that is the hard part. The last hour of the last day before vacation, my 8th grade students put on a Stations of the Cross dramatization that is a huge deal at the school and pretty big in the community as well - aka, the church is packed. It's a huge stresser in my life. Because of this dramatization, I am unable to fully relax until the very last minute of the very last day of school before break.
But alas, I am tired of complaining.
Really, it's a great way to end school before Spring Break because I will undoubtedly be filled with pride after watching my students perform their hearts out and pull off an incredibly reverent and emotion building presentation. It's just the getting to that performance that's the hard part for me.
Speaking of getting to that performance... there's a tradition at the school that after the Stations of the Cross are over, the soldiers in the dramatization stand guard in front of the tomb. It's a beautiful part of it all... but it requires that a tomb be created.
Hmm..
Last year a parent did it for me. I didn't have to do a thing. I went home on Thursday and came to school on Friday to find a beautiful tomb had been built. It was kind of like a miracle. Kind of.
This year I was not so lucky. I put out my plea to the parents for someone to step up and help, but alas it was not to be.
Therefore, where did I find myself for 3 hours this afternoon after school? Why, working to create a tomb, of course.
Not that I didn't have any help.. because I did. My help was the 75-year-old art teacher at the school. But, if I'm going to be honest, I would have to say that I was helping her and not the other way around. I mostly stood ever-so-slightly helplessly as she crawled around on her hands and knees pinning, stapling, tucking, and creating. I did my best to help, but since I have absolutely ZERO creative vision, I mostly just took orders.
She was incredible. I am amazed. Did you catch her age, people? She's 75 freaking years old! And she was crawling around on the ground with more energy than ME! She is the most active 75-year-old person I have ever met.. and working with her today certainly had me thinking about my future.
When I'm 75-years-old I want to be in the shape that she is in. Not that I want to be crawling around on the ground creating a tomb or anything. I mean, seriously, I didn't even want to be doing that today, and I'm only 27. But, I'd like to have the option of crawling around on the ground doing that if I so choose.
To Do:
1) Find out art teacher's secret to staying youthful
2) Find a way to bottle the secret
3) Make millions
Spring Break. Those words are like music to my ears.
It's the getting to Spring Break that is the hard part. The last hour of the last day before vacation, my 8th grade students put on a Stations of the Cross dramatization that is a huge deal at the school and pretty big in the community as well - aka, the church is packed. It's a huge stresser in my life. Because of this dramatization, I am unable to fully relax until the very last minute of the very last day of school before break.
But alas, I am tired of complaining.
Really, it's a great way to end school before Spring Break because I will undoubtedly be filled with pride after watching my students perform their hearts out and pull off an incredibly reverent and emotion building presentation. It's just the getting to that performance that's the hard part for me.
Speaking of getting to that performance... there's a tradition at the school that after the Stations of the Cross are over, the soldiers in the dramatization stand guard in front of the tomb. It's a beautiful part of it all... but it requires that a tomb be created.
Hmm..
Last year a parent did it for me. I didn't have to do a thing. I went home on Thursday and came to school on Friday to find a beautiful tomb had been built. It was kind of like a miracle. Kind of.
This year I was not so lucky. I put out my plea to the parents for someone to step up and help, but alas it was not to be.
Therefore, where did I find myself for 3 hours this afternoon after school? Why, working to create a tomb, of course.
Not that I didn't have any help.. because I did. My help was the 75-year-old art teacher at the school. But, if I'm going to be honest, I would have to say that I was helping her and not the other way around. I mostly stood ever-so-slightly helplessly as she crawled around on her hands and knees pinning, stapling, tucking, and creating. I did my best to help, but since I have absolutely ZERO creative vision, I mostly just took orders.
She was incredible. I am amazed. Did you catch her age, people? She's 75 freaking years old! And she was crawling around on the ground with more energy than ME! She is the most active 75-year-old person I have ever met.. and working with her today certainly had me thinking about my future.
When I'm 75-years-old I want to be in the shape that she is in. Not that I want to be crawling around on the ground creating a tomb or anything. I mean, seriously, I didn't even want to be doing that today, and I'm only 27. But, I'd like to have the option of crawling around on the ground doing that if I so choose.
To Do:
1) Find out art teacher's secret to staying youthful
2) Find a way to bottle the secret
3) Make millions
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Future
Every now and then I'll be minding my own business, going about my life when all the sudden out of absolutely nowhere I will be broadsided with a horror-stricken thought.
MY FUTURE IS 100% UP-IN-THE-AIR! I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER ANYTHING! PANIC!
There are certain people in my life who regularly ask me if we know whether we're going to stay in San Diego or not yet.
The answer is no.
No idea. We have no idea. Not only do we have no idea, but we also have no idea when we will find out. Mike** thinks it could be a year before anything changes. He hopes this, for reasons that are too Marine Corps complicated for me to get into right now.
The awful and scary truth of the matter is that a month from now Mike could find out he's being stationed in Japan. You think I'm kidding?
I wish I were.
I'm concerned about our up-in-the-air future more than I ever have been in the past for a couple of very good reasons.
1) We own a house. In San Diego. In this housing market. So, if we have to leave we are going to find ourselves in an interesting predicament - to which I am certain the only answer will be RENTING our house. Which is another nightmare in and of itself.
2) I hate my job. There. I finally said it. I loathe going to work. It is a toxic environment and the toxins have sucked me in. If I were to find out I was moving and didn't have to go back to work next year, on some levels I would actually breathe a gigantic sigh of relief. Moving would mean I wouldn't have to feel obligated to continue to be gainfully employed at that place. If I'm still here, I have no good excuse to leave. It's a job. In this economy. I must keep it.
3) I want to get pregnant. Very. Very. Badly. Having a future that is completely up in the air is not the greatest circumstance for planning the start of a family. Thus, for now, I am left just really really wanting to get pregnant and really really wondering when it will be an okay time to do so.
And there you have it. It's amazing that I go about life all the time convincing myself that I am just a regular person leading a regular life when clearly that is not the case at all. I am a person standing in the middle of a forest with a thousand possible paths all around me - waiting for someone to show up and point me in the direction I'm supposed to go.
No matter which path is chosen for us, I am certain of two things: It will be a challenge, but we will be OK.
I'll keep you posted.
**I've given up on calling him Hubby and will be calling my husband by his real name MIKE from now on.
MY FUTURE IS 100% UP-IN-THE-AIR! I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER ANYTHING! PANIC!
There are certain people in my life who regularly ask me if we know whether we're going to stay in San Diego or not yet.
The answer is no.
No idea. We have no idea. Not only do we have no idea, but we also have no idea when we will find out. Mike** thinks it could be a year before anything changes. He hopes this, for reasons that are too Marine Corps complicated for me to get into right now.
The awful and scary truth of the matter is that a month from now Mike could find out he's being stationed in Japan. You think I'm kidding?
I wish I were.
I'm concerned about our up-in-the-air future more than I ever have been in the past for a couple of very good reasons.
1) We own a house. In San Diego. In this housing market. So, if we have to leave we are going to find ourselves in an interesting predicament - to which I am certain the only answer will be RENTING our house. Which is another nightmare in and of itself.
2) I hate my job. There. I finally said it. I loathe going to work. It is a toxic environment and the toxins have sucked me in. If I were to find out I was moving and didn't have to go back to work next year, on some levels I would actually breathe a gigantic sigh of relief. Moving would mean I wouldn't have to feel obligated to continue to be gainfully employed at that place. If I'm still here, I have no good excuse to leave. It's a job. In this economy. I must keep it.
3) I want to get pregnant. Very. Very. Badly. Having a future that is completely up in the air is not the greatest circumstance for planning the start of a family. Thus, for now, I am left just really really wanting to get pregnant and really really wondering when it will be an okay time to do so.
And there you have it. It's amazing that I go about life all the time convincing myself that I am just a regular person leading a regular life when clearly that is not the case at all. I am a person standing in the middle of a forest with a thousand possible paths all around me - waiting for someone to show up and point me in the direction I'm supposed to go.
No matter which path is chosen for us, I am certain of two things: It will be a challenge, but we will be OK.
I'll keep you posted.
**I've given up on calling him Hubby and will be calling my husband by his real name MIKE from now on.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
One Hell of a Week
This has been a hell of a week for a couple of reasons.
First of all, I had to brave the doctor's office this week. I HATE going to the doctor. I probably would never have gone except that my husband threatened to call my mom and tell her I needed to go if I didn't call and make an appointment. (He knew that my mom hassling me about it would be the only thing that could get me to do it.. smart guy that he is). After I made the appointment, I considered backing out of the appointment several times. I convinced myself there wasn't really anything wrong with me and the doctor was going to think I was silly for coming to see her in the first place. Well, I ended up going and my doctor ended up doing the opposite of telling me I was stupid for coming in to see her. She actually took my problem very seriously. Go figure.
Second of all, my husband's best friend is in town. For NINE days. Yep, you heard me right. No, that's not a typo. I'm generally annoyed by my husband when he is around said best friend, so I wasn't necesserily dreading the visit, but wasn't looking forward to it either. Luckily, I've been working every day this week and when I get home I'm too exhausted to worry about them, so I've just been letting them do their own thing. I have also learned over the last 4 years of marriage that if I get annoyed that's my choice. So, I'm choosing to try really hard to not be annoyed by Hubby and Friend and to just let them have their boy time while it lasts. I'm holding strong for now, but prayers would be rather helpful. ;)
Third of all, I have had it up to my eyeballs with teenage angst. I understand that it's natural for all teenagers to think the world revolves around them, but I've had about enough of that for one lifetime, so I had a little bit of a teacher breakdown yesterday. Luckily, it occurred after the students had left the classroom. I locked myself in my room, put my head on my desk, and screamed inside of my head, "WHY ME?!!?!?!?!" Then, I drove home, came up with a game plan, and came back to school and laid down the law for them today. After I got through talking to them this morning I am 250% certain that not a single one of them is the slightest bit confused about my expectations for them for the rest of the year. *Crossing My Fingers* !
Fourth of all, I found out that my school is in worse shape than I had even realized. Not only might all the teachers be taking a pay cut next year, but we will be losing even more staff. No, don't you worry, my job is not in jeopardy. In fact, as far as I can see, I'm an all star player and without me the jr. high would shatter into tiny pieces. My only concern is how in the world the school could possibly survive with any less staff than it currently has. We are already terribly short-staffed with teachers doing double classes and everyone working way too hard for the crappy salaries we're receiving. But alas, what will be will be. My plans are to only stick around for another year anyway, so I guess my only real worry is HOW IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO MANAGE TO GET THROUGH NEXT YEAR?!
Fifth of all...
Ok, so maybe there is no fifth of all. But, I do want to add that if any of my students were to read this blog they would be appalled. No, not because of all of my complaints and negativity (though, I am very anti-negativity in the classroom), but because my transitions are so boring. First of all, second of all, third of all, fourth of all.... I would never let one of my students fly with that kind of shabby writing technique.
*Sigh.
It's been a hell of a week.
First of all, I had to brave the doctor's office this week. I HATE going to the doctor. I probably would never have gone except that my husband threatened to call my mom and tell her I needed to go if I didn't call and make an appointment. (He knew that my mom hassling me about it would be the only thing that could get me to do it.. smart guy that he is). After I made the appointment, I considered backing out of the appointment several times. I convinced myself there wasn't really anything wrong with me and the doctor was going to think I was silly for coming to see her in the first place. Well, I ended up going and my doctor ended up doing the opposite of telling me I was stupid for coming in to see her. She actually took my problem very seriously. Go figure.
Second of all, my husband's best friend is in town. For NINE days. Yep, you heard me right. No, that's not a typo. I'm generally annoyed by my husband when he is around said best friend, so I wasn't necesserily dreading the visit, but wasn't looking forward to it either. Luckily, I've been working every day this week and when I get home I'm too exhausted to worry about them, so I've just been letting them do their own thing. I have also learned over the last 4 years of marriage that if I get annoyed that's my choice. So, I'm choosing to try really hard to not be annoyed by Hubby and Friend and to just let them have their boy time while it lasts. I'm holding strong for now, but prayers would be rather helpful. ;)
Third of all, I have had it up to my eyeballs with teenage angst. I understand that it's natural for all teenagers to think the world revolves around them, but I've had about enough of that for one lifetime, so I had a little bit of a teacher breakdown yesterday. Luckily, it occurred after the students had left the classroom. I locked myself in my room, put my head on my desk, and screamed inside of my head, "WHY ME?!!?!?!?!" Then, I drove home, came up with a game plan, and came back to school and laid down the law for them today. After I got through talking to them this morning I am 250% certain that not a single one of them is the slightest bit confused about my expectations for them for the rest of the year. *Crossing My Fingers* !
Fourth of all, I found out that my school is in worse shape than I had even realized. Not only might all the teachers be taking a pay cut next year, but we will be losing even more staff. No, don't you worry, my job is not in jeopardy. In fact, as far as I can see, I'm an all star player and without me the jr. high would shatter into tiny pieces. My only concern is how in the world the school could possibly survive with any less staff than it currently has. We are already terribly short-staffed with teachers doing double classes and everyone working way too hard for the crappy salaries we're receiving. But alas, what will be will be. My plans are to only stick around for another year anyway, so I guess my only real worry is HOW IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO MANAGE TO GET THROUGH NEXT YEAR?!
Fifth of all...
Ok, so maybe there is no fifth of all. But, I do want to add that if any of my students were to read this blog they would be appalled. No, not because of all of my complaints and negativity (though, I am very anti-negativity in the classroom), but because my transitions are so boring. First of all, second of all, third of all, fourth of all.... I would never let one of my students fly with that kind of shabby writing technique.
*Sigh.
It's been a hell of a week.
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