A Whole New World

It all started with cutting back on expenses. My hours were shortened to four days a week for a few months, over the summer. I struggled month to month, finally in September I went back to five days a week. Things were smoother, but catching up takes time. I had to prioritize. Cable went to the bottom of the list. It didn't help that I absolutely HATE our cable company. I like Direct TV, had it for 7 years, but it's inconvenient in an apartment.

Anyway, I started noticing a disturbing pattern. We were just watching the same shows, the same reruns, over and over. The new shows I watch were all on network channels anyway. Finally, I made the decision to cancel cable. And I did. We have those old rabbit ears anteneas on both TVs (living room and my room). I need to get the converter boxes soon. My mom hasn't had cable for years, and already has a converter box. The channels come in almost cable clear.

I ordered AT&T DSL for my internet service since that was part of cable. I am still saving between $50 and $70 a month after the cost of DSL. And we didn't even have any movie channels! Once we are on our feet, which will be very soon, I plan to use the money we save from cable on DVDs, movies as well as a few favorite kid shows for Brianna to watch. That's the one drawback, there aren't many kid shows on network TV. Before we very rarely bought DVDs. I also want to join something like Netflix. We used to have a Blockbuster membership, but it just became to0 expensive for the monthly thing, and I never remember to turn them in on time just renting them the normal way.

As a bonus, I've noticed the kids don't instantly ask for the TV to come on when we are home. And I don't turn it on right away either. We go hours with no TV going, and we listen to music more. And I'm not sure about the girls, but I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything at all. I am glad I finally canceled it. :)

I really don't like video games...

...but I gave my oldest a Brain Age game for her Nintendo DS, and this thing is neat! I want a DS!!!

Christmas Eve To-Do List

1. Vacuum
2. Give Brianna a bubble bath
3. Bathe the dog
4. Dishes
5. Febreze all the carpets while dog is quarantined in bathroom to dry
6. Pick up the girls portraits before 2:45
7. Febreze the bathroom once the dog is let out
8. Bake chocolate chip cookies with the girls
9. Leave cookies and milk out for Santa
10. Watch The Polar Express in my room with the girls just before bedtime

I very rarely complete a day's to-do list. Today I did!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Be!
Happy Holidays, whichever you choose to celebrate.

My word cloud

Must See!

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

Quick Rundown...

So Tuesday the Ex says he's laid off. Wednesday, he got the job he'd been wanting for three or four years, coinky dink? I think not. He is going to be working at the Naval EOD school on Eglin Air Force Base near Destin Florida. In an instruction capacity. He went through the school there nine years ago.

So he waited til yesterday to pack up. He's on his way here now to leave Tristin with me. It will be late, very late. I have to get her enrolled in school tomorrow. When I told him we have to get up around 6:30 he said, and I quote, "I don't give a fuck." Nice.

But I'm calm. Things are going to be good, assuming he keeps those checks rolling in. He is afraid of losing his security clearance since I went to child support services last year, so I don't see a problem there. And in a few months I will have the money to finally make it all permanently over. Two and a half years to get a full divorce. Tennessee divorce law sucks.

And I'm still calm. My baby is coming home after almost a year. She will be better, we will be better, things WILL be better. I'm in a better place, I'm calm. And I will get her the therapy I told her father she needed a year ago. Divorce is hard on older kids. My little one was just two when it ended, she doesn't really remember before it was just us. We are going to take it one step at a time.

And I'm calm.

As Seen At Xmichra's and Karma's

ThREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Kat
2. Kathryn
3. Weesie (My granny nicknamed me that when I was born and still uses it.)

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. KatEyes
2. KatEyes4
3. Kat

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. eyes
2. smile
3. boobs

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. tummy
2. the melasma on my face (hormone induced splotches! not very obvious except to me but I hate them)
3. tummy

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Cherokee (25%)
2. Celtic
3. not so sure what all else

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. being alone too long
2. if its so dark I can't see (i have nite lites everywhere at home)
3. tornados

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. cell
2. computer
3. caffine
They all start with C!!!

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING NOW:
1. tshirt
2. undies
3. uhhhh...no third thing right now...


THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. Evanescence
2. buckcherry
3. ack! I dunno. I change it all the time.

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS RIGHT NOW:
1. Reach out by Hilary Duff (seriously!)
2. Keeps Getting Better by Christina Aguilera
3. Good Enough by Evanescence

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Intelligent conversation
2. comfort
3. hot sex

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
1. I am now thinking about sex
2. I'm not thinking about sex
3. I have blue eyes


THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. eyes
2. smile
3. arms

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. blogging
2. reading
3. cross stitch

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. finish my book, but watching Greys...
2. eat ice cream...will after I finish this!
3. hot sex comes to mind...(Dumped monday, daydreaming about what the next guy will look like on thurs. wow. I don't even really want a next guy yet!)

THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/YOU’VE CONSIDERED:
1. Writer
2. Online store owner
3. fortune teller (But not seriously, I would have to talk to too many people.)

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. The British Isles
2. France
3. Italy

THREE NAMES YOU LIKE: (Other than the ones I used for my girls...)
1. Alexander
2. Elizabeth
3. Michael

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Publish a novel
2. finish all the crafts I have started or bought but not started
3. See Europe

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
1. I luvs sparkly lip gloss.
2. I cry at some movies, songs, and tv shows. But not many.
3. Realy nice men's abs make me drool

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. I notice when hot chicks walk by. (don't want them, just notice)
2. goofy girls that squeal and hug make me naseous
3. I can belch out loud rather awesomely.

Tired

I am so tired right now. Deep down tired. This coming weekend is a four day weekend for me though, hopefully I will get the recharge I need. I don't have too much planned, we don't have a very large family locally. Thursday will probably just be me and my girls, Tristin is coming down for the holiday. Friday their dad is taking them to his mother's. I get them back that evening to take them downtown for Christmas lights and Santa. :) Saturday evening we are having our "family" dinner at my sister's house. It will just be both my sisters, their significant others, my niece, me and the girls. I invited the guy I'm seeing, but he wasn't sure about his own family goings ons. So not too very much going on. Plenty of time just to sit back and relax.

I followed a link...

from my statcounter and came across an interesting way my blog was found.


Click the picture to see it bigger.















Number 4 on Google!!!

Heard from the backseat...

"Happy Birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
you look like a monkey,
and you smell like one too!!!"


My kid is hilarious.

Lyrics of the Moment

Keeps Getting Better
~Christina Aguilera

Step back, gonna come at you fast
I'm driving outta control
and getting ready to crash
Won't stop shaking up what I can
I serve it up in a shot
So suck it down like a man

So baby yes I know what I am
and no, I don't give a damn
and you'll be loving it

(Chorus:)
Some days I'm a super bitch
up to my old tricks
but it won't last forever
Next day I'm your super girl
out to save the world
and it keeps getting better

Kiss kiss gotta tell ya right now
I make it sweet on the lips
and simply knock you out
and shut up I don't care what you say
'cause when we're both in the ring
you're gonna like it my way

Yeah baby there's a villain in me
so sexy sour and sweet
and you'll be loving it

(Chorus)

Hold on
it keeps getting better
Hold on
it keeps getting better

In the blink of an eye
In the speed of the light
I'll hold the universe up
and make your planets collide

When i strap on my boots
and i slip on my suit
you see the vixen in me
becomes an angel for you

(Chorus) 2x

Hold on
it keeps getting better
Hold on
it keeps getting better

Interesting

I find it interesting that when I first started this blog, I would say just about anything. I did not worry about who would see it. I didn't have many friends. I was a stay home mom trapped in an unhappy marriage. I didn't care. I made the blog private for a time because my ex wouldn't stay off of it, questioned me about stuff that was none of his business. When I made it public again I was a new person. I had a job, people I work with, more friends and acquaintances that might come across the blog. I edited all my old entries, hid some posts. I decided to keep some things to myself.

I'm more careful about what I say online now. It isn't that I have anything to hide, it's just that some things are personal. Some things aren't meant to be shared with the world. Some things are best left to private emails and conversations with friends. I love this blog, it was very therapeutic and most likely the first thing that started me towards freedom from a loveless marriage.

It will remain here, no matter how rarely I post.

I been a bad blogger...

Today I reconnected with a blog friend through Facebook. In the process I found that another old blog friend had a new blog and I missed it! My links on the sidebar are all old, some don't even work anymore. I will fix. Soonish. Also I have been going through my own archives and plan to make collective links to old short stories and poetry.

I will be a better blogger. :)

Change is good

I did this a long time ago and found it perusing my archives. I redid it without reading the old answers to be fresh with it. The old one is from June 19, 2006.



I know ~ I'm going to be ok.

I believe ~ in fairies!

I fought ~ for my freedom.

I am angered ~ by controlling asshats.

I love ~ my girls.

I need ~ peace.

I take ~ only what I need.

I hear ~ music.

I drink ~ occasionally.

I hate ~ very little.

I use ~ music to feel better when I'm down.

I want ~ to be a good mom.

I decided ~ to take it one day at a time.

I like ~ to read.

I am ~ happy. :)

I feel ~ good.

I left ~ because it hurt too much to stay.

I do ~ like my life.

I hope ~ because without hope, there is only darkness.

I dream ~ of good times.

I drive ~ a long way to work.

I listen ~ the best I can.

I type ~ fast.

I think ~ too much.

I wish ~ for a long healthy life for my girls.

I compensate ~ for my intense-ness by holding back a little.

I regret ~ no regrets. I learn from my mistakes instead, so I won't make them again.

I care ~ too much.

I should ~ relax more.

I am not always ~ crazy! ;)

I said ~ just enough for once.

I wonder ~ how I have changed so much in just a few years!

I changed ~ because I was unhappy, and it affected my children.

I cry ~ very rarely now. :)

I am ~ almost done with this.

I am not ~ a bitch.

I lose ~ patience sometimes, but not as easily as before.

I leave ~ my bitterness in my past. There is no room for it in my future.

I'm Crafty!

KatEyes.etsy.com


Support the arts. ;)

Adventures in Banking

Two months ago my ex gave me a bad check. The account that my ex so royally screwed up is finally, as of Saturday, fixed. Yes, it took him two months to get all the fees paid off. And the bank was very nice to me. I called and explained the problem to them twice and they worked with me, and never treated me rudely. They charged me $75 just because his check bounced. That was before they even took his check amount back out and charged me for my transactions. So beware taking checks from people you don't trust. Even if you wait before using the amount, they will still charge you a ridiculous fee.

Speaking of fees, I have a rarely used account at a bank I shouldn't name. *cough* SUNTRUST*cough* I opened it in the first place for the $50 checkcard offer, while I was cashing a check I had been given from that bank. Every time I go to use the account, they piss me off. You can't cash a check for more than the balance in your account. You have to wait 48 hours to get your money if you deposit it after 2pm. Etc, and so on. It's just a hassle, and one teller pissed me off trying to say another bank had the same policies. Well, I have an account there too, and I beg to differ.

Anywho, I miscalculated this last time I used the account, and aquired a fee of $35. The amount of my mistake?? Three cents. Yep, three lil ol pennies. I emailed the bank, letting them know I generally take the fee when it is my mistake, but come on, 3 cents? That's a bit silly. I was informed that they could do nothing about it, I had to pay the fee. Well that pissed me off, I've never had a fee at that bank in all the four years I've had the account. Give a gal a break. I replied that it was the last straw, I'd had it with their stupid bank and I was closing my account.

They refunded my fee the next day.

Today, I deposited three pennies and cut up my debit card.