Pain

I have no idea why I feel that I need to write this today. It is like the story is eating me from the inside. Trying to chew its way out. Maybe it is because after reading other blogs with their stories mine wants out.

Now as I get ready to type the first line my mind goes blank. There is no easy way to say it. When I was 16 my little brother was hit by a car and killed, he was 12. It took me 15 years to write that sentence the first time, and to write it the second time, it has been 17 years. Sitting here the tears are beginning to roll down my cheeks and I am beginning to freeze up.

Growing up in my family we did not talk about these things. I'm sure that I could have if I really wanted to but re-experiencing the pain was too much. Even now it makes my husband uncomfortable. So I keep it in and don't let it out. If you don't acknowledge it happened it doesn't have to be real right?

It did happen though.....and it changed my life forever. In that one second my whole world was changed forever. It altered the course of my life and I have never felt that I was going on the right track since.....

What I learned from Blissdom Pt. 1

I Went to Blissdom! I spent 3 days there learning and 2 whole days driving there and back. Over the next few days I will give some revelations/observations that I had while I was there. It has been hard to order all of my thoughts so I decided to do this in small bits as it comes together cohesively in by brain....Here we go!

There are a lot of bloggers out there and it is a huge community. Being new to blogging I never realized how huge it is. Then to be hit with the realization that it is bigger than you ever imagined....wow.

So many blogs with so many unique names. The creativity in that room was amazing. Each individual had their own style and way to express it. Writing from the heart about thing that they were passionate about.

It was so nice to be in a place where so many people 'get you'. You can just be yourself, sit back and enjoy. Absorbing everything as it heads your way. To take it home and let the creativity run free to create something even beigger than you started with. All the while knowing that you have a huge community and tons of new friends behind you....

Now that is a great realization........

Thank you, Cozi!

So I am going to Blissdom. Yep, I am leaving my family for five whole days and going on a 10 hour road trip with two of my best girlfriends. I know sounds fun dosent it!!

I am so excited to go! I was even more excited when I found out that Cozi was going to sponsor our drive. Did I mention that...




What a great resource to use to keep yourself and your family organized. So a huge thank you to Cozi! I think that I'll be saying that more and more in the future as I utilize all of their great online tools.

Following my Bliss

What am I going to do to Follow My Bliss this year..... It all began with a day that I was having a pity party for myself. I was in a rut. Feeling like I was in a dead end job and going nowhere. My youngest child will be starting kindergarten this next year. I will have a ton of time on my hands. What will I do...

Then as I was in the middle of my pity party it came to me. Start a Blog about what I do ( I'm a cosmetologist) and grow it into an online empire. That will be my bliss.

There are So many ideas running through my head that I am about to explode!

What a great way to start by going to BlissDom! It will give me the skills to channel everything that is in my head and

Target on Black Friday

Guess what I was doing at 3am on Black Friday...Standing outside in the freezing cold at Target. Well OK, I was awake at 3am, at Target in line at 3:30. Need I say that it was freezing outside! I had to get out of the warm car because there were already 60 people in line. By the time that the doors opened there were probably 500+ in line. The line wrapped around the back of the building.

What was I there for you ask? A Barbie scooter on sale for $17 regularly priced at $35. Everyone else was in line for electronics,TV's, DVD players, cameras. Just a scooter for me and a few other bargains since I was there.

I have to give kudos to the employees at Target. They were on top of everything. There were carts blocking the line from the street so no one could budge. They started handing out maps of the store at 3am. The greatest though was when an employee came out, started at the beginning of the line and asked each person what they were looking for. He then proceeded to give you directions to where you were going. As well as helpful tips: don't worry about getting a cart they are scattered throughout the store, the sale TV's are already sitting in carts just walk up and grab one.

At 5am when the door opened we were off. I just worked down my list right around the store, Tinkerbell movie, Barbie scooter, Legos, sheet sets, blankets, throw in a new dvd player and I am done. Yes! Mission accomplished!!! I was in and out of Target in 15 minutes!

Now that is how you do Black Friday!

Going Rogue

Thanksgiving is almost here and I am not sure if I am looking forward to it. Of course I am looking forward to my Mother-in-laws food *drool*.

The thing that I am not sure about is my Father-in-law. Whenever we are around each other lately he corners me. What with you ask??? POLITICS We are both very passionate about our views. I research things and the decisions I make are not uninformed. He as with the other men in his family just know everything (ie: my husband). He is all wrapped up in the "Parties". I on the other hand am just me, an American. I believe in the Founders of our country and the Constitution. I don't care what party you are from if you represent my views, I will vote for you.

This year I have had to ask my husband to intervene for me if his Dad starts in. DH believes as I do (smart man). So when I asked him to help me out....his response "How about you just keep your mouth shut. I will argue with my Dad and when we start yelling at each other my Mom will jump in and tell us to knock it off."

So I think that I will just take a book to read and sit in a corner. I wonder if I would be "Going Rogue" if I took my new book.......hmm

Girls day out on a budget.

Last Wednesday I had planned on going to Panera in Ankeny to take advantage of their wi-fi, work and have no kids. Of course though when Jody asked if I wanted to "run errands" instead, I jumped at the chance. What would be more fun than a day out with a great friend.

We were going to the I_Blog Conference in Perry, IA. Jody was hosting and I was attending. There is always something that you need when you are going away. So 'run errands' meant go shopping!! .

Wednesday gets here I get ready, get the kids to school and head to meet Jody. On the way I get a text from her saying that she will be a little late. No problem, except to me a little late is 5-10 minutes AFTER you are supposed to be there. For my wonderfully organized friend that means ON TIME! I finally get there and off we go.

After a quick stop at the optometrist we are off to Jordan Creek Mall. the first store that we so to is Ulta. They sell Bare Minerals makeup that I love and I had worked to save the money to get the things that I was out of. I had carefully budgeted it in and had enough left over for Lunch. That was the extent of my spending for the day. When the cash is gone, I am done.

We just started to so a monthly budget and get our finances in order. Jody was the one that introduced me to Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University. It was neat to see how a budget works and how successful you can be on one. Little did I know that today was the day that my role model would fall right off of the wagon right in front of me.

After Ulta we were off to DSW the shoe store. Need i say more. A huge store filled with endless rows of shoes. *drool* Talk about heaven. Jody was looking for boots I was along for the ride. We looked and tried on, and looked some more. We were is the clearance isle and what did I find. The CUTEST pair of ankle boots ever! Black leather with a 4" heel. Yes, I know that they would be responsible for lots and lots of foot pain, but they were so cute! They were $140 on sale for $90. Now before I wouldn't have thought twice. I would have bought them. Now with being on a budget no cash, no boots. I walked away.....Jody bought hers....

Next off to the mall for lunch. We had a great time and great food at Panera. Since we were in the mall it wouldn't make any sense to just leave. Of course we have to go and look around. Jody was on a mission to find a shirt to go with her new boots. You know the ones that she just bought. Off to Ann Taylor Loft. This is one of the stores that I NEVER go in. If I do I zoom for the clearance rack because it is the only thing that I can afford. We looked around and Jody finds this fabulous coat. It was perfect for her and totally her style. While she was pondering whether to get it or not we took another swing by the clearance rack. I pull out the black, gray, and purple empire waist wool coat. I tried it on looked in the mirror and it was like a light shone down on me, the heavens opened and the angels sang. It was MADE for me. I looked thin, and sophisticated. Oh no....then I remembered.... no cash no coat. In that instant my heart broke. I had to walk away......Jody bought hers......

So by this time my Dave Ramsey role model is feeling a little bit guilty. She got the boots and she got the coat. Before she paid for the coat she looked at me and said "This is NOT how you do Dave". My example of financial peace fell off the wagon that day....

Now to be fair to Jody, she has been on the Dave train for over a year. Her and Doug have been very successful. Check it out HERE. We have only been on a budget for 2 months. They have a little more wiggle room in their budget. She never used credit to pay for anything. So she stayed with the program even if she would need to readjust the budget for the month.

Oh, one more thing our last stop was Godiva chocolate no cash no chocolate....I walked away....Jody bought hers........

Ultimately I had a great day. It hurt to walk away from the 'stuff', but more importantly I got to have a great day out with a great friend. That is a priceless thing for me. Worth much more than any amount of stuff could be.