What was I thinking?

I was at QVC.

I just bought this:

don't worry, it was on Easy Pay.

But still. OMG. I am in a world of hurt. 90 days. I have to do this 90 day challenge.

I have to; I spent the money. Did you see the word "extreme?"

Guess I will be sharing the before, during, and after with you all.

{ Booked our trip to the North Pole }

YAY! I am so excited!!

It's a trip based on the movie (eh, book?) The Polar Express.

Looky

This trip will be replacing all of our family's little one's birthday's for November, December, and January. There are 30 of us going.

Oh the fun. Oh the chaos. Oh the snow?!

I hope not! lol... I am a spoiled Phoenician! I am sure I will post tons of pics come December.

See, now you have something to look forward to.

{ WOW }

I just saw this on another blog I frequent [whatever]
it's too darn cute.
get a load of this video:

Click Here

{I dont' know how to embed, sorry}

{ Making the Grade - and other things }

So, I finally earned a 100% on one of my Business Law papers. I was getting worried, but now I know I am capable!! I still have a solid A in the class... so I am happy.

I am now done with my graduation announcements and party invites;

they are being mailed today. Graduation (for my Bachelors) is coming up pretty quickly.

Here's a photo I included with the handmade announcements and invites; I think they turned out okay (considering!):

{ Alrighty... I think I am done }

So... I may still add bits and pieces here and there...

One thing you have to know abt me is that I LOVE Palm Trees. So, I think this is pretty fitting!

Tell me... Do you like it?

If you haven't been by before, then you have no idea what the old design was like. It was boring; trust me. I know the old logo had my kid's pictures... I will get them posted again! :)

{ Under Construction }

Guys...[hello? anyone out there?]
I am not lovin' my blog design.
Just wanted to give you a heads up.... I'm gonna be dressin' it up a little. If you happen to arrive mid-construction - lo siento [I'm sorry].

Meal Plan Monday

Well ladies... this wasn't easy. I had to browse through the menus on I'm an Organizing Junkie to find some meals that would work for us. I was losing inspiration. =[

We are still trying to eat pretty healthfully and I am not buying any sugary snack or junk foods. It's hard because the strawberries aren't looking as pretty as they used to - still buying them though [the kids love them!].

I went shopping today and spent $80 at Costco [for the life of me, I can't remember what I bought], $45 at Fry's [Kroger], and $63 at Wal-Mart.

You know, I shopped Wal-Mart for a while, and didn't feel they had the best produce selection and their milk was never as cheap as it is at Fry's [$1.27/gal today]... but I did find out today that my favorite tub of yogurt is .50 cents cheaper, our Smuckers Strawberry spread [no chunks for me, please!] is .80 cents cheaper... I may have to start going back to Wal-Mart.

Anyway... enough rambling - here's our meal plan for the week:

P.S. The Smoked Sausage is Turkey! :D

Got My Eyebrows Did

I went to JoAnn's (Craft Store) and Target & Hallmark today with a girlfriend. We are both graduating next month with our Bachelors Degrees (yes, kind of weird that I have already started my Masters)... and we are making our own announcements. We found cardstock/invite stuff, but nothing really for graduation (we were looking for stickers and stuff). The issue with Arizona, is our high schools (and elem. and middle) are done at the end of May... so by July, why would they have any graduations stuff?! I cannot find any "Class of 2009" stickers a-n-y-w-h-e-r-e. =[ Anyway... I LOVE JoAnn's - they have cute signs and stuff (I am a sucker for Americana!!)... These two lovelies called out my name, so I HAD to oblige...(they aren't Americana, more like country - but I love them!). PLUS - they were 50% off - so $7 each.

To make up for the fact that we couldn't find any graduation stuff...we had Taco Bell for lunch. =]

And we got our eyebrows done. My girlfriend goes every 2 weeks; this was only my second time in MY LIFE. It [HURT!]. And now I am pink. lol.

Before - sorry for the half-drunken look! lol

After

Is there even a difference? lol Kinda reminds me of some Infomercial. Scary.

Anyway... had a great day! Now I am home cleaning up (well, abt to start) and getting ready to fix dinner for the hubby (who claims he will be home "early" tonight. Crossing my fingers.

Booked Our Vacation

We just booked our vacation to San Diego!! :) We are going for 3 days, leaving on July 6.

We were going to do a staycation but decided that Nic was ready to meet Shamu. Plus, we've worked so hard paying off all our debt, we deserve a little break, doncha think?

Sides, it will be an all cash trip!!

Here's a pic of our hotel (got it on HotWire...4 Stars, $89 a night!)... It's called the Hotel Solamar - it's in the Gaslamp District!!



I promise to take tons of pics... =)

I think my Professor hates me.

My Business Law instructor is really quick with getting us our grades, but I am losing a lot of points and don't really know why. I emailed him today to ask for specific feedback; let's hope he responds.

Any lawyers out there that want to view my briefs (yeah, you heard me!)?
;)

A Horse is Horse, of Course

These are from back in April - but saw them on the camera and wanted to share! :) This was for Isabel's 10th birthday:

Nic hung out with me and grandma while Alex, Isabel and Grandpa went on the ride.

She had a blast!!

Really... should he have a target on his back out in the desert? :P

Dirty Face >:[

I've been neglectful...

I promise, I haven't mean to be. This new class is a whole lotta work. I am enjoying it - but it's keeping me busy.

Kids are doing well with summer so far. They went to the library today and got a few books. Isabel just read "Are you there God? It's me Margaret" by Judy Blume. She really liked it - unfortunately, they were out of any other Judy Blume's books this trip.

The kids are going to make Mac & Cheese for dinner (I will be cooking the chicken). Should be a nice, easy night. The weather has been beautiful, so I think I will be taking another walk tonight.

100% A

Yes! Just got my final grade for my first class of my MBA!

That feels good. The next class will be more difficult, but I think I will really like it; it's Business Law!

So for now... I think I will enjoy my 4.0! =)

$3266

That's how much we paid off this past week! I updated our side bar with the figures, and am pleased to announce we don't have too much further to go!

It was such a strange feeling to only pay towards one credit debt this month, as opposed to the MANY we've paid previously. All of our cards will be paid by the end of June [except for Dell], so that means I do not have to make minimums - just the full amount.

Our monthly budget is getting sooo skinny! Love it!

Grocery Shopping Day, Meal Planning, Horse [?] Racing

I didn't wake up as early as I wanted to, but we still got the shopping done with out too much trouble. I knew, before going shopping, I would have to clear out some of the veggies that we still had left over. I decided to cut them up, add some salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme, and then freeze them. I had two large bags; each held zucchini, squash, mushrooms, carrots, spinach, and egg plant. I mixed them [to get the seasonings coated on all the veggies], took as much air out as I could, and then put them in the freezer. One bag is ready for my homemade chicken soup, the other for anytime I feel like veggies! I am pretty pleased with myself, and we didn't waste any food!

• At Fry's [Kroger], I was under budget by $31. Pleased as punch abt that.
• At Costco, I was right on budget - that's even with taking the whole family and having the husband continue to add things to my list. [grrr.]

Here is our meal plan for this week [still cooking healthy style]:

*As a reminder, the hamburgers are bunless, and actually have veggies built right in!

Wanted to share a cute pic of the little one... he was at his cousin's 6th B-Day party on Friday - having a blast!

Waiting, waiting, waiting

It's 9:07 pm....do you know where your husband is?
Mine is still at work. :[ I am waiting for his call so that I can go pick him up. Once home, I will direct him to the stove where his dinner is waiting, then head off to the gym.

I haven't been in a few days; however, I have been swimming laps each day. Good for the arms, me thinks! :]

So, here I sit... just waiting, waiting, waiting.

I am sure you've heard the old saying...

"Don't count your snowflakes before they fall..."

I am too excited NOT to! I am waiting on two major snowflakes this month! Those, including my snowball, will eliminate all but ONE final creditor.

Here's the breakdown...

Snowflake 1: $4165
Will melt away American General [$2400] and Kay Jewelers [$1169]

Snowflake 2: $1470
Will melt away Orchard [$680] and Capital One [$727]

Snowball for the Month: $1190
Will kill Best Buy MC [$690]
Will pay off a bill that came in this month [$142]
Trip to Hoover Dam & 1 Night in Las Vegas [$350]*

Once those all clear, we will only owe $2400 to Dell. DID YOU READ THAT? That motivates me so much! We will spend July and August paying off Dell. I am due another snowflake of $1470 at the end of August, so I KNOW it will be a goner by then for sure!

* Every year, for vacation, we got to Mexico for a few days. It's close, it's cheap, it's the BEACH! We decided to save some money, and take the kids to Hoover Dam, and then stay in Vegas for a night. We, as a married couple, totally agree on the fact that it's NEVER to young to start teaching children how to gamble. Okay, I am kidding about that part. We actually found a hotel that doesn't have a casino inside. Crazy, but true. We haven't been to Hoover Damn since the older were younger [much!], and we thought Nic would love it! Or, at least, we'd love it for him!

What's after Dell, you ask?!
Well, I have to admit... we have a few medical bills that are in collections. As I think I've mentioned, Nic was born 3 months premature, and while most of his bills were paid for, I was in the hospital at least three times following his birth. With our other bills about to be paid off, I went ahead and pulled our credit reports [scores up an average of 60 points from 3 months ago!] and created a spreadsheet of our accounts that need to be paid.

With one last scheduled snowflake of about $2200 coming in, plus Snowballs for Sept, Oct, and November - we will really be done. Kinda. :)

We will have the Van payment and my Student Loans [which are deferred].

Starting in Jan, we will put money away for the house down payment, as well as pay an extra $400 - $500 on the Van each month.

See what I mean about counting snowflakes - it gets me ahead of myself. So, as long as we stick to the plan, and so does the rest of the world [no surprises, thankyouverymuch] - we will be sitting pretty by New Years!