Going to eat cake and enjoy it!

Forget my last post...I'm enjoying this today....Happy Birthday to me!

P.S. I have no idea how many "points" this is, so I'm not counting it....:)

Do you have any cheese with that whine?

Okay, I'm going to whine now. If you have been following my blog for a while you would know that I recently lost some weight. About 24 lbs. worth. I did it by following the Weight Watchers program (which I would highly recommend to anyone wanting a lifetime approach to weight loss). Without going too much into depth about the program, you are given a certain number of points to use daily. (Each food equals a points value..i.e. veggies - 0 points, bread 3 - 40 pts. depending on the amount, etc.).

When you reach your goal weight (which I did in May), you are given a few more points to maintain your new weight. You must still exercise and keep track of your points. I reached "lifetime" six weeks later by maintaining my goal weight. I am suppose to weigh in once a month to maintain lifetime status (which is free weight watchers).

October was not a kind month for weight maintenance. Call it laziness, or just not paying attention, but I gained 5 lbs. So, I must lose that weight before my next monthly weigh in (next week). But, I'm just not motivated to do this plan again.

So here's the kicker.

Tomorrow is my birthday. It seems to be a magical number with weight watchers because I now have to lower my points because of it.

Sigh.

Okay. Whining is over.

On a brighter note, my friend Elizabeth is a giving away this book on her weightloss blog, Small Town and Skinny. This blog chronicles her journey to weight loss using the weight watchers point system. Stop by and cheer her on...she's doing a great job, especially since she just had a baby! :)

Fall Beauty....

Yesterday I took Ben for a walk. It was an exceptional day, sunny, crisp and so beautifully "Fall". I decided to take a few pictures along our walk...
Sometimes I forget to see the beauty that surrounds me...
But you can't help but notice the bright orange, red and yellow leaves....



And finally home again. I LOVE our maples in the front yard!

Extreme Debt - A remarkable story...

This is an inspiring story of how a family from New Richmond, Wisconsin climbed out of $123,000 worth of debt. When most people would run to bankruptcy court, this family dug deep and got out of their debt in 4 years and 4 mos.

What they learned from this experience:

• You can do anything if you know it’s not forever.
• You can do without many of the things you thought were “must-haves.”
• It’s ok to say that you can’t afford something.
• It’s ok to let your loved ones help out.
• God wants to provide for us, and He doesn’t charge interest.
• You can “play injured.”
• Our financial plan wasn’t working, and there was no shame in admitting it.
• It was a family effort that got us into debt, and it took a family effort to get us out.


Wow.

The results of the interview...

Not a very enticing office environment, right?

I left the house at 7:30 a.m. for my 9:00 a.m. interview just in case there was alot of traffic. The office was about 15 miles away, but of course in No. Virginia, that could take anywhere from 30-60 minutes. But I made it in 45 minutes. 45 minutes ahead of schedule. So far, so good!

I knew the building was a bit run down (my husband and I took a drive out on Sunday so that I knew where I was going) but I never imagined the inside would be worse. Ceiling tiles were coming down, it smelled musty, etc. When I walked into the office, I was just as appalled as when I walked into the building. Dust was about two inches on every piece of rundown furniture. It was a small space, with very old equipment. (I swear the computer was vintage 1995). How could a $1.7 million dollar company (that's what they grossed last year) work like this? But, knowing that they will be moving to another location, I decided to stay for the interview.

The gentlemen I was meeting had on old jeans and a sweatshirt. The environment obviously warranted casual dress...(and perhaps a face mask too!) The interview went fine, he was pleasant, asked me a couple of questions, and I had a few questions as well. (Like, how much did you make last year as a company, and do you think you are going to stay in business???) They obviously didn't believe in pouring any of the money into the office space.

Needless to say, unless they moved tomorrow, I could not work for them. (and not for the reasons I originally thought!) They were extremely flexible on hours and such. I left with a headache (that I didn't have when I walked in) and I'm assuming it had something to do with the environment. I wouldn't be surprised if there was mold lurking in the walls...

They are going to call me back for a second interview....should I be honest and tell them their office is a pit?

Since my last post....

Thank you all for your kind comments on my last post...

Since posting, I was called by this company to come in for an interview. It is scheduled for Monday at 9:00 a.m. Although I'm strongly leaning towards not taking the position, I decided to go ahead and interview anyway. I really would like the opportunity to "practice" interviewing. However, if they like me, and I like them, I might be able to negotiate different terms...(i.e. less hours, or less days) and it may work out to my advantage to take the job. Who knows.

What I do know is what I value most about my life. My family, my home and most certainly, my health. I do not need more stress, and time is very valuable to me. Time to do the things that help my family and my home run smoothly. Time for friends, and time to myself.

I'll keep you posted.

What am I worth at home?

What am I worth staying at home? Can you give yourself a monetary amount?

Since my job's hours have been decreased, I've had more time to do things at home. (I, sadly, let our cleaning service go as I couldn't justify the expense any longer.)

I started thinking about this as I may have a job offer to work 30 hours a week, plus about 8 hours of commute time. The hours would be from 8:30 - 2:30 p.m. with possible "overtime" if something needed to get done. I'm waiting to hear back. But I'm just not sure I want to do this. The pay would be about $4.00/hr lower than what I'm making now, but my take home would be more (because I'm working 30 hours, not 10). But, money is not everything.

This week I did some work that I might have would have hired out to do if I were working.

For example: I shampooed the carpeting and upholstery in our familyroom. I spent about $12.00 for cleaning supplies. If I had called out Stanley Steemer (which I have done in the past), it would have cost me close to $250.00.

I also cleaned all three levels of my home. My cleaning service would have charged me $125.00. (albeit the best $125.00 I would have spent!) I also walk my dog in the mid-afternoon. If I worked, I would probably hire a dog walking service (at $75.00 a week).

You could say, that by me being at home, I saved our family $450.00 in expenses. True, I'm not going to need my carpet and upholstering cleaning done every week. But the point is clear.

Staying home frees up time to do laundry, ironing, grocery shopping, meal planning, and general home maintenance that would obviously have to be shoved to the weekends. With more time, I'm able to plan menus and save money. I'm not as stressed. I'm refreshed when the kids come through the door at 3:00 p.m. with news of their day. Sometimes it's not good, and they need to be comforted. Sometimes it's GREAT news, and they need to share it. If I were not home from work, the moment would be gone. If they are sick, or need to go to the doctors, I'm there for them.

But most of all, I'm enjoying my time at home. It's quiet, peaceful and it does save us money.

So, what am I worth staying at home? My family will say it's priceless, but actually seeing the savings in black and white is helpful for my decision making.

As long as I can hold onto the 10 hours a week and my husband stays employed, I think know I will be happy with things just the way they are.