Cash Only

The holiday rush has begun! I have done a bit of shopping but I am holding out for the stellar deals. I have also decided to pay cash for as much as I possibly can. I am hoping that it will provide a bit of identity theft protection if I don't use my credit or debit cards. I am not sure how effective that will be but it makes me feel better. I also want to pay with cash so I will be more apt to stay within our Christmas shopping budget. Since this is the only time of year I really get to shop anymore it is easy for me to get carried away. So cash is the way I am going this year. Wish me luck!

Solution

Well break out the AED machine! I have discovered a way to help us afford a new vehicle and pay off a few debts. It is not the best solution but it is better than slogging along like we have been. I took out a loan against my life insurance policy. This will give us a little wiggle room and hopefully help our credit score, too. Like I said it isn't the best solution since we will have to pay it back with interest. However, I feel like this might give us the boost that we need to get back on track. I sure hope so!

Travel

My inbox has been full of emails touting new york city hotel deals or cheapest flights to Las Vegas. I know there are a lot of folks who travel over the holidays but I am not one of them. So those emails are just lost on me. However, it would be fun to be able to book a trip somewhere. We have not been anywhere in a really long time. And by anywhere I mean farther away than 250 miles. It would be great to see the Grand Canyon or visit Wirsing, PA again. Right now is just not the time. I guess I will get to travel when I am no longer parenting a passel of kids.

Holiday Prep

The holidays are barreling toward us at a frightening rate! I am looking forward to the hubbub of the holidays like I always do. Well, until I feel like I am behind the 8 ball and wishing I had a dip machine, 12 maids and a chef. I always have a list that is far longer than I can possibly accomplish by myself. I am going to try to take advantage of my kids as much as possible this year with some of the cleaning and organizing that needs to be done so that I don't turn into a person that I don't like. I hope it works!

Remembering

A long time ago in an animal physiology class I had to learn how to take a person's blood pressure. For the life of me, I don't remember why that was a necessary part of animal physiology. I learned a whole lot in that class but obviously it hasn't all stuck with me. I might have learned about conjugated linoleic acid in my animal nutrition class but I don't remember. I think that if we could remember just a very small fraction of the things that we forget we would all be geniuses. And why is it that we forget the things we want to remember and remember the things we want to forget? Crazy, I tell you!