Ahhhhh.....

Ahhh...Preacher Man actually came home today and helped me to clean the downstairs living room, downstairs kitchen, and downstairs bathroom! He even mopped the floors! I even cleaned the washer and dryer! Man, it feels SOOOO good to have at least a couple of clean rooms!

Now, I've just got to get my FlyLady/SHE system in place....When Preacher Man gets home every day, I will meet him at the door and hand him his SHE index cards with tasks to complete before he gets to go to bed! LOL!!! Seriously....that's what I'm gonna do! :) Preacher Man has said for *years* that he could help me clean the house, if ONLY he had a list of stuff to do. Hmm...okaaaaayyyy...like you can't see the garbarge overflowing into the floor? You can't see the pile of clean clothes in the laundry room, stacked so high it covers the top of the mirror? LOL! But I can't really complain....I'm not known for my top-notch housecleaning anyway. Now, I have an excuse - a bad back (had back surgery 1 1/2 years ago). But still, I do need to do more. :)

Update on Late Fee Challenge

Since the library has been emailing me notice of when my books/movies are due, I have been doing better. It lets me renew them online, too. One day I had good intentions of getting to the library. Had the books and movies in the car, went to town. But for some reason, I had to get back home. It was hard, going back home, knowing that I was going to have a $3.30 late fee. I haven't paid it yet, so I haven't listed it on my sidebar yet, where I'm listing all of my late fees for May. But it will be there soon! LOL!

My Week (thus far)

I'm really sorry I haven't blogged this week. I give many thanks to my readers for keeping on checking my blog. :)

My week has been so busy.

* My DH's, whom I've decided to call Preacher Man on my blog (uh, guess what he does?), great-aunt died. So Preacher Man was at the hospital a lot and preached at her funeral.

* I had to go the the tire place TWICE! Once for a flat tire, and once for a bubble in the sidewall of a tire - a blowout waiting to happen. I spent HOURS there.

* Me and the kids took a 3-hour trip both ways to visit with my grandmother. Very tiring for me.

* Two make-up soccer games on different nights.

* Two more soccer games today, which I'm fixing to leave for.

And I haven't even bought Mother's Day gifts or made their cards!! UGH! And I've got to find time to go and get DD (whom I will call Curly Sue on my blog) some shoes for church for tomorrow. All she has to wear are these black glitter mary jane's that are very winter-ish. LOL!

I've got to run. Everyone is in a frenzy because they can't find any of their soccer gear. It happens every time. And I haven't a clue where to start looking.... (sigh) Because I'm NOT ORGANIZED!!!!!!!!

Late-fee Challenge Getting Off To A Bad Start

Well, my challenge started yesterday (May 1) and already, I've failed. Yep, I've failed, failed, failed!!! If only my kids hadn't gotten sick, and I could have gotten to the library and movie store on Wednesday....Then the late fees would have been on April's tab, and not May's. But, alas, that didn't happen. I take my overdue library books and pay $8.30 in late fees - and find out two books I have couldn't be renewed because a hold was on them so they are going to be late now. And that is just the late fees on MY library card - I haven't even sorted out the problem of my DD's $20 late fees or my DS's card that has over $7.00 in late fees on it. Then I went to the movie store and had $6.XX worth of late fees. So a total of almost $15.00 of late fees on the first day of my challenge. Wow, what a way to start.

This is sooooo NOT frugal! Do you see what I'm talking about? How much money I'm wasting because of late fees????? That's $15 I could have used at yard sales or Stampin' Up or groceries! Wasteful...

I'm in the process of getting a system together to combat this problem. And it IS a problem. I'm looking at FlyLady and Sidetracked Home Executives. I'm trying to combine the two systems into my own personalized system that will work for me. I'll try and post when I figure it out. :)

Thank Goodness I Didn't Hit "Buy"

I have been looking around, trying to find an affordable blog designer to design a homeschooling blog I want to do. I had found several just doing web searches. One I found was really cheap, and her designs were really cute. I was just about to hit the "Buy" button when I thought of a question I needed to ask her. I searched everywhere for her email addy and finally decided to hit "Complete Profile" to see if it was there. When I hit it, there was a long list of other blogs she owns. I hit one or two, trying to figure out why she had so many blogs. Then I saw one with a title referencing witc*es. I hit it, thinking surely it wasn't going to be what I was thinking. Yep, it was. I felt sick to my stomach. She was a witc*. And I'm not talking New Age stuff. I'm talking spel*s. Thank goodness I didn't hit the "buy" button!!! So this is just a reminder before you give your money to someone who has a blog...check their profile to see what their interests are and if they have any other blogs. You might be surprised at what you find.

Nifty Trick for Getting Stuck Ring Off of Finger

My wedding rings were stuck on my finger this morning. I called my sis, who used to work in a jewelry store, if she had any tricks for getting them off. She said to spray Windex on my finger, which causes constriction. Yep, sure enough, with Windex and a little bit of cooking oil and lots of twisting, it came off! Neat trick. Hope that helps someone in the future!

Frugal Challenge for May - No Late Fees!

Last week, I paid an enormous amount for late fees at the library and movie store. At the library, I had to pay $9.60 for a lost book (that we found today on my DS's dresser when he finally cleaned his room!) plus $20 in late fees. I went back to the library a few days later, and was told I had another $20 in late fees. I triumphantly pulled out my receipt (thank You, God, for letting me find it!) and said that I had already paid it. She said, no, it was for other fees. I was and am still not convinced that it's not for the same thing. But assuming it isn't - that is $40 late fees on one library card, plus $9.60 for the lost book (which wasn't lost at all). I always have late fees at the movie store. I would guesstimate that I spend AT LEAST $20 a month in late fees at the library and movie store. Of course, this month is way over that amount.

So I am going to challenge myself for the month of May to not have ANY late fees, anywhere!! Can I do it? I don't know. Here are a few things I'm going to try this month to help me achieve my goal:

* Put all library books/library movies in one place.
* Write down somewhere when all library items and movies are due.
* Before I leave the house, check my list to see if any items are due that day to avoid another trip to town!

Late fees are not frugal!! I have got to get this under control!