Posted on March 19, 2008
Amanda Overmyer left American Idol tonight. I liked her….but her Janice Joplin voice is an acquired taste, and I knew she would never survive the American Public at large. I was, however, surprised that Carly Smithson was in the bottom three. I don’t care what Simon says, Blackbird is one of my favorite Beatles songs and I think she sung it beautifully. And she has been consistently one of the best singers on the show. I guess that next week, I am actually going to have to vote. I don’t usually vote until the field narrows a bit…but I don’t want to see one of my faves voted off before we get to that point. I just wish there was a way to vote people off. If there was, Chikezie would be long gone. I mean, really, does EVERYTHING have to be turned into a ho-down? (okay, so I am not a fan of blue grass….sue me.)
Posted on March 19, 2008
when she is concentrating really hard, she sticks her tongue out. Its the CUTEST thing. (Okay, one of the many cute things)
Posted on March 19, 2008
I am ready to go…where? I have absolutely no idea, but I am ready! It is the most bizarre feeling for me, because up until two years ago, I honestly thought I would live in Colorado forever. Its also odd because I actually do like it here in New Jersey! I know that sounds strange, but I have found an amazing group of women out here with Gymboree and the Mom’s Club, and I am making more and more friends almost everyday as more women join the club and my book club. I have established strong, I think life long, friendships with Ellen and Misty, and I think I would be really sad for our kids to grow up separately. I like our house and our town, and I love that we live less than an hour away from New York and Philadelphia, and I honestly feel like we are taking advantage of that as much as we can with our busy schedules. But here I am, ready and willing to go!
Now, don’t take this as an announcement that we are going, because as of right now we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. For one thing, even though John is frustrated with his job, it still pays well and it is keeping us very comfortable financially. With the housing market the way that it is, we don’t think we could make money on our house if we were to sell it, I think we’ll be lucky to break even, quite honestly. (I do think we could sell it though, everybody who visits our house tells us how beautiful it is.)
I think for now I am just going to have to be happy with planning our New Years trip…hopefully that will be enough for now.
Posted on March 18, 2008
I highly recommend paying bills online through your bank, many companies have the option for electronic bills which means you don’t get a paper copy and often they email you when when the bill comes due which keeps those late payment fees down. Some companies (like American Express) even have an option for the bill to be paid in full automatically. John is a stickler for not paying interest on credit cards, so this option works great for us. Our bank allows you to choose what date bills should be paid, and if you have a reoccurring bill that is always the same amount, like a mortgage, you can set it up to pay automatically every month. This option also saves money in stamps, envelopes and purchasing checks.
When you receive a paper copy of a bill, immediately discard the envelopes, including the return envelope if you pay your bills online. (For some reason that I will never understand, John keeps all the envelopes. Envelopes just add to paper clutter and are completely unnecessary.) Pay the bill as soon as you receive it, write the date that it was paid on the bill, and file it. I know that some choose to sit down and pay their bills all at once, and that’s fine as well, I just found that I was misplacing bills and then those bills weren’t getting paid. Or they would all end up in an unattractive stack on my desk (that dreaded paper clutter issue again!) If this is the case, I would suggest having an active bill folder where you keep a check book, stamps, a pen and any unpaid bills all in one spot. I also suggest checklist for all of your bills so as you pay it you can check it off. That way if you did misplace one, you know to go looking for it. Just make sure that after the bills are paid, they get filed and don’t start stacking up.
I use an accordion file and file my bills monthly instead of by type, I just find it a lot easier and faster to throw all bills in the “March” section then “gas,” “electric,” “water,” etc. This also makes it easier to track when its time to start shredding. When my yearly file is full, I pull everything out, and shred anything we don’t need to keep. Anything we do need, gets filed in our filing cabinet under “financial documents.” We so rarely have to look for anything, and it takes less time to file everything together than it does to separate it out. And if you’re anything like me, if it takes less time it is more likely to get done.
Posted on March 18, 2008
Ok, so I am probably only 1/18th Irish, and don’t even ask me what that makes Chloe, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still identify with that culture…right? I mean, everyone needs a heritage!
Posted on March 16, 2008
Dot painting, the best invention for toddlers EVER!
There’s a reason why we keep reinventing the classics…Chloe is obsessed with this Winnie the Pooh Jack in the Box, which was actually Tabby’s, and then Sabrina’s. This is a well loved toy!
Our little scientist discovering the mysteries of magnification. (Toddler safe magnifying glass, the thing is virtually indestructible.)
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