I while ago I made a photo book for a good friend for her wedding day, kind of like a pre- Wedding album. It was pretty freakin’ awesome if I do say so myself. I think photobooks are the easier way to go when it comes to keeping your photos. The photo albums I have all the pictures are falling out of and I’m definitely NOT a scrapbooker so that’s out.

One online photo book company is Photoproductions.com. They are the first (and still only) company in the UK to produce premium photobooks direct to the public, without them having to go through a photographer who will increase the cost. They also provide the easiest, most user friendly website of anyone producing these premium albums. And they provide full online proofing of the Photobook designs once completed.

You can do so much more that wedding albums. I keep telling myself I’m going to make a photo book every year… And I’m telling myself again because these things are awesome!!

We currently have cable thru our phone company. My parents, on the other hand, have DirectTV. I’ve never had Direct TV so in order to learn more I visit Blogtelevision.com.  You can learn more and order straight from their website.  You can check out current offers, learn more about HD tv, and things like the NFL Sunday Ticket- which I know my boys would LOVE. It’s a great explanatory site. I learned more about the DVR- which now I can’t imagine NOT having. I also was able to look thru the different programming packages to find the best fit.

If you have more questions about Directv you can also call their toll free number. It’s definitely a convenient site to have to answer questions and order the great service for your tv viewing.

Sleep with a cop. haha I do 3-4 nites a week, but the other nites he’s out protecting and serving others. That’s when I am extra thankful for our Home Security system. It gives me some peace of mind knowing that if that alarm goes off ADT has my back. ADT offers home security monitoring in almost all 50 states. The other day Livie set off our panic alarm with our keychain remote. ADT called immediately and were sending the cops because Sei couldn’t remember our password. I LOVE that!!! That’s great customer service.

I highly recommend looking into Home Security Systems for your home. They aren’t expensive and so worth it. Cops can’t be every where, every minute. A home security system  could save your life.

Idk if I can say I’m a quitter, but I worked so hard on my medical transcriptionist course until the summer. Then I had 11 kids here on a daily basis and it made it impossible for my brain to do. And ever since then I have had the hardest time getting motivated. I have until Feb. 15 to finish before I have to pay for an extension. I just feel like I have sooo much going on and my brain is having a hard time concentrating on any one thing. I’m an independent distributor for Advocare. I’m an independent beauty consultant for Mary Kay- which I’m really enjoying. I babysit. I email lawyers back and forth everyday. And I never miss a kiddo’s game! So…  yeah, for right now I don’t see any type of healthcare jobs, including transcribing, in my future. I feel lame for quitting, but I’m spreading  myself too thin. I just wish there was a way to get the money I paid for the course back. That’d be nice to have that money to put towards the stack of lawyer bills we’ve collected…. But anyway… I just made this decision. I mean, I can always pay to extend it, but right time, THIS time in my life, it’s just not gonna work- which sucks because I was excited.  But, I’ve gotta do what I feel is right, right?

I can’t decorate. I can’t. And what’s worse- I DO NOT CARE. I don’t see things at stores and think, “That’ll look great in that room…” I couldn’t even think of a clever line there because I have no clue about decorating. My husband, on the otherhand, is much better at it than me. He can pick great furniture – we just  can’t afford it. He can move said furniture to the best position in the room and decide what color to paint the room to boot. Me… I’d be fine sleeping on a mattress and having my clothes in storage boxes. I kid you not. Sei would be fine that way too- furniture isn’t important to him- he’s just better at all that.

I wish I was better at decorating though.  I envy people that can see something at a garage sale and know exactly what to do with it and where it’s going in their home. I see cool couches or a cool painting, but I wouldn’t know what to do with it in my home. It’s definitely a talent I don’t have, but would like to.

I enjoy math and I’m pretty good at it, which is really funny to hear myself say because I thought math was going to kill me in jr. high and high school. My first algebra teacher was a jerk. He was. The students called him “Garden Weasel.” He was the boys basketball coach and would hand out points right and left to help the boys pass so they could play- but he’d never help the girls. My class had about 25 kids in it and I would say probably about 18-19 of us failed during one 6 weeks period. To me that says there’s a problem with the teaching, not the students.  Now I can solve math problems quickly with no problem, but in that class it seemed like a foreign language.  I remember one test he gave us had 2 “train problems.” That was it. If you missed one you failed. I failed.  Sure I could go in for free math help with him, but that was awkward and REALLY uncomfortable. Plus, he’d just reteach it the same way he taught it to begin with… My next algebra teacher was missing 1/2 his tongue because he had mouth cancer. Yeah… kinda hard to understand him.  Hold your tongue and talk. That’s what he sounded like. And then my geometry teacher had a son in jail for murder and never, ever turned around to face the class. He’d write everything on the board and then go sit down. I’m surprised I know algebra at all and I still don’t know geometry!

I wish we’d had programs like Tutorvista back then. They provide free online math help to first time users. If your kiddo needs help with math check out Tutorvista. I know I will be using it with my kids! TutorVista is the leading online tutoring company in the world. They offer an incredible unlimited monthly tutoring package for only $99.99 a month for all subjects – students can use the online service as much as they want 24/7.  They provide free demo for first time user where they can try the service for free. That’s a pretty cool deal!

I’m writing this with a fuzzy, flu-head, so I hope it makes sense. It’s October already. OCTOBER. Christmas is in less than 3 months. I’m freakin’ out big time here. I have 5 kids to buy for that will be here, plus my 2 step-daughters who won’t be with us this year, extended family members, teachers… I’m starting to hyperventilate. I’ve been trying to come up with ways to save money, although this year with all the lawyers fees we’ve had it’s been next to impossible. I’ve been trying to come up with cheap gift ideas. Or maybe one BIG gift for the kids rather than a bunch of little ones. Sei and I actually talked about building a skate ramp. That’d be rad. And since we have so many kids to buy for it’d probably be cheaper to go that route.

I just hate the stress of the holidays because it overshadows what it’s all about. Celebrating our Savior’s birth shouldn’t stress us out or force us into major financial crisis. I had a friend who one year just wanted her son to have a great Christmas so she took out one of those small payday loans. At the time that was her answer. My answer so far has been to start picking up things now. If I see something on sale I try to buy it and put it away. My only problem there is that I usually end up with waaaaay too much because I forget what I’ve purchased. I’m also trying to stick a little from each paycheck into savings so we have a little to work with. I have to remember that heating costs will be going up- thankfully I’m in Texas so they aren’t that bad. But before that happens – like most of Oct. and Nov.- we basically don’t use our heat or a/c. I don’t think the a/c has clicked on all week. We should take advantage of that and put the money we usually use towards heat or a/c towards Christmas instead. I need to learn to be more disciplined.

What are your best holiday savings tips? Or savings tips in general??

Tristan has been going thru a major growth spurt for, oh, about a year and half. When we moved to Texas he was about an inch shorter than me. I’m 5’3″. He is now atleast 5 inches taller than me and weighs the same as Sei. He’s grown out of 2 complete wardrobes and is now wearing Sei’s pant, shorts, shirts, shoes… I’m not sure how long that will last. I used to shop online for him but now it’s impossible because I don’t know what will fit. His newest thing to outgrown is his church shirts. He’s wearing Sei’s dress shirts, but Sei only has a few as it is. Oh- and he’s on the last notch on his belt.  I’m hoping it doesn’t get too cold this winter because I’m positive the sleeves of his coat are too short. Idk what to do! I can’t afford to feed AND dress him. We went to McDonalds yesterday and he ate four, yes FOUR (4), McDoubles plus some fries. I am now accepting donations for FEED MY CHILDREN.

It’s true. Bad stuff happens to really good people. And sometimes it can really affect you financially.  This past year and half my husband and I have been hit hard. We’ve had both exes take up to court over stupid stuff. We’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars for just one of the cases. The other just started and I have a bill for $922 sitting on the counter– and we haven’t even DONE anything yet! I went outside to pick our money tree to find it was bare.

I know we aren’t the only ones with stuff like this in our lives. I know others have it much worse. The truth is if it weren’t for family and good friends Sei and I would have really bad credit because it would have all gone on cards and then we wouldn’t have had the money to make the payments!! Thankfully if you need to fix your credit because of hard times messed it up there are great credit repair programs. Of course, I’d prefer a program that helped jerk exes learn to live their own lives instead of bein’ all up in our’s, but… whatever.

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