Just knowing there is that little safety net between you and your next pay check is great. It’s better if you have a few months rent/mortgage in the bank, but this much is still enough of a nest egg to get you through most minor emergencies.
I want to do 100 things to make a difference in 2007… that’s an average of 8 1/3 things a month. January is almost over. Better get my butt in gear.
So far this year:
1. Sent off 50 valentine’s goody bags to soldiers in Iraq (Update: rec’d a letter confirming that it really DOES make a difference…I didn’t “need” the letter, but it is good to know)
2. Cut my hair and donated 24” to Locks of Love
3. Gave reviews and encouragement to my staff
4. Some post cards to soldiers in Iraq
Bought $20 of little galvanized containers for my herbs. They will have to be lined becasue we don’t want to overdose the plants or ourselves with zinc, and they are a little on the small side, but they should still be good.
Going to set up my shelf & grow lights this weekend.
Been eating cuttings from my garlic sprouts all week. Light garlic taste, mostly for smell and green color. But with my eating habits, eating anything green and vegetative has gotta be good for me!
Cinimon Basil, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, Greek Basil, Sweet Basil, Purple Basil… and some marjoram and oregano… and, of course, more garlic sprouts, as the ones I have will eventually give out… oh, and bought me a ginger root at the grocery store today, too.
Short term goals are not so hard; long term ones not so easy. Still, I am making progress. Keeping my promise to myself to clean my room is huge… next, to fulfill my committment to my volunteer work.
Do you believe that I spend over $20/week on junk food?! So, I didn’t eat out a few times this week and also used some of my over time from the last pay check and bought a $25 2-drawer filing cabinet from WalMart. Cheap, yes, but really, how many times a day am I going to go in it? I put it next to my bed, placed back of the head board so that we won’t roll eye-first into a sharp corner. AND HOLY COW! I’ve got a place to plug in my blackberry, DH’s cell phone, a lamp! AND THE WHOLE PILE OF MAGAZINES NEXT TO THE BED FIT IN IT! With room to spare, even! Who could believe that a $25 filing cabinet could make such a difference.
I was going to used the balance of my OT to buy books and seeds, but, to tell you the truth, I have more books and seeds than I know what to do with. In fact, that is a lot of the problem with my room! Too many books and too much garden stuff… soooooo… I’m going to buy 3 more filing cabinets! I looked in my medium sized walk-in closet and was reminded how short I am. There is so much room under the clothes on my side of the closet that I have boxes and junk piled up under them… a place for more filing cabinets! For $120 (if you include hanging folders), I’m going to get organized and have a NEW ROOM! I’m sooooo excited!
Emptied my bathroom garbage can. Kept my bathroom pretty clean so far. If I can keep this up for two more days, cleaning the bathroom on Saturday will only take 5 minutes!
Also refrained from adding more junk to my room for THREE days in a row. I unpacked my books from Barns and Nobel and actually put them away. Flattening out the box for the burn bucket. It still amazes me that I can walk through my room and not trip on stuff in the morning! Took about 2 hours to get a path made – but done in 15 and 20 minute increments, it wasn’t too terribly painful. It feels great to be making progress here. I wonder if my husband will even notice… well, I don’t even care if he does or not—it feels great just for ME!
Going to take some of my over time and buy another filing cabinet. That will give my farm and garden reference magazines and see catalogs a place to live. I’m getting excited – I even have a spot cleared out for it!
Still not quite a habit, but I’ve drank a 20 oz bottle of water on the way to work each morning for the last 3 days and part of one on the way home. Still need to increase water in take, but am already reaping the benefits of what little more I am drinking now.
I was backpacking in Southern California and in those days, you could camp on the beach for 50 cents a night. I was doing fine, thank you, but the den mothers thought it horrible that I, a single girl, would be out alone. Ok, so the hot chocolate was good. I did finally pry myself away, but they insisted I sleep within site of their camp.
The area we were in had some amount of light polution, but the stars were still brilliant and the sound of the waves lulled me to sleep with their soft, dreamy roar.
I’m pretty well traveled, having been to Switzerland, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Texas, and nearly half of the States in the USA. But Alaska just Blew Me Away.
But it’s worth it. I love My (no longer active duty) Marine, but boy they sure know how to stretch your limits. After being out of the Corps for over a decade, in 2004 he went to Iraq as a civilian contractor because he just couldn’t stay away. He was too old to re-enlist (although still in excellent physical condition), but he just HAD to go, because his BROTHERs needed his support. Ok, so what can I say. It’s not like I had a choice and could veto this Crazy Idea. I mean, to him, it made perfect sense. Some guys find a blonde and a red corvette to salve their Mid Life Crisis. Mine, he goes to Iraq so he can dodge mortars and hear gun fire. So I stood by him and supported him. I’d do it again (for all I know, I will have to – he wants to go back, but this time with a gun/rifle in his hand…icky, icky…). ...this is what you get for wanting to have that wedding picture with you all in white with him in his Dress Blues.
For me, it was totally worth it. I’m hard headed, thick skinned, independent, loud, and don’t know when to stop beating my head against a brick wall. I am good at paperwork and can stand a fair amount of BS from The System. I survived the USMC not too badly, although I admit, I did not get the full indoctrination – My Marine was on his last two years when we married. Still, I have had to put up with the Marine Corps way of thinking since day one, and nearly 20 years later, it doesn’t seem like it will go away. I’ve learned to accept it and move on (for the most part, any way… did I mention I am hard headed?).
Don’t marry your Marine if you think you want to be the Center of His Universe. You aren’t. You won’t ever be. But it’s OK. You’ll be the only woman in his life, and he’ll love you dearly – you just will not be the Most Important Thing in All Creation to him. You’ll get to see him in those gorgeous Dress Blues on your wedding day. Watch him work out in those cute little red shorts. Maybe go to the firing range on his day off and watch him plunk bullets into the middle of a target for hours on end. Perhaps you’ll follow him around the country or the globe. He’ll love you to bits, yes, but you better have a hobby or two for when he is with his mistress (the USMC, not another woman, silly).
Don’t marry a Marine if you know you’re a wimp – unless you really intend on developing a strong, independent, hard headed streak. I don’t mean you have no muscles or are tiny boned or short. I mean if you don’t have Thick Skulls somewhere in your family lineage, you are probably better off marrying a normal man. Men test your patience to begin with. Your Marine has 100s of years of Warrior Men behind him to teach him how to be a Real Pain in The Neck.
In this age of War In The Middle East, it’s pretty scary to be contemplating marrying a Marine, I would think. You Marine is a Warrior. Don’t beg him to stay when he needs to volunteer to ship out to Iraq. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. Means he is compelled; he has A Calling; he can’t help himself. What he will need is a smart, independent woman who will be able to make do with whatever life throws her while he is in The Sand Box – so he doesn’t have to worry if she knows how to pay bills or get the oil changed – so he can concentrate on the War and on Staying Alive.
Be aware that the paperwork for anything with the Marines is a nightmare – and you, being the one with the Power of Attorny, will be the one doing all of it – NOT your Marine. You will sign your name, his name and make endless copies. Even if they don’t require copies, make copies of everything for your self and know where you put it. For all its wisdom, the USMC often loses things at the most inconvenient times. Your copies are your saviors.
If you’re considering marrying what they call a “Lifer”, consider even more carefully what you do. Lust is great. Lust with a Marine is really great. But Love is more than chemistry and what happens between the sheets. And sometimes you will feel like you are the only one working on the relationship – and you will be right – and you will have to accept that as The Way It Is… or you can go crazy… or divorce Your Marine.
Would I do it again? In less than a heartbeat. Would I recommend it to anyone I know. Absolutely Not.
The only thing tougher than a Marine is – His Wife!
Bless our Troops and Those Who Wait for Them, for They also serve.
mmmmm, they are ALL dashing in their Dress Blues… and so rugged and handsome in their BDUs. I liked dating mine so much that I Married The Corps and kept him.
If you know a deployed military member who needs some cheer from the good ol’ USA, send them here. Also, if you want to be one of those sending cheer to a deployed military member, visit here, too.
Bless our Troops and Those Who Wait for Them, for They also serve.
Ok, so I wrote the same letter to all 3 of my deployed soldiers. In the past, I’ve tried to change them around a bit, but since I don’t really know them well and I’ve been pretty lame about writing, I thought at least this way they will have mail in a few weeks. If I get a reply, then maybe I can write more personal letters. I hope they don’t mind typing, because if they expect to get a hand-written letter, well, they can wait until H*ll freezes over or the sun super novas. I just can’t do the pen or pencil thing very much any more. So I sort of feel like I wrote a letter.
I volunteered to send 50 valentine’s treat bags to a US military unit in Iraq – deadline, tomorrow. Bought candy last night, signed cards during lunch today, packed up the pink & red hearted treat bags after work. Boxed, printed my customs form. All I have to do is put them in the mail tomorrow. Feels good.
Also, followed through on my promise to donate my hair to Locks of Love last night. Short hair is making my head light, but knowing my little dead hair cells will be useful to someone makes my heart light.
I’ve been spending about 15 minutes a day towards cleaning my room, too. Following through on promises to myself seem harder than promises made to others. Maybe I don’t value or like myself as much as I do them?
I was born to have a cause to fight for. I’m neither young enough, strong enough or built of the Right Stuff for going over to the Sand Box to defend our country. But I can send post cards and candy and care packages to those who can and do. Makes me feel like part of something good. That if we have to have this war, and if our men and women have to go and fight (Thank God they are not fighting on our streets), then perhaps I can do some small thing to lighten their load.
Today I packed up a box of 50 valentine treat bags. They will go to APO AE – Iraq – tomorrow.
Donated almost 2 feet of hair. And, to make matters sweeter, I didn’t know that Fantastic Sams is a partner, and they cut my hair for free. Go do it. It’ll make you feel lighter, taller – and more importantly, it’ll make you a better person.
