Saturday, August 27, 2011

Working on a Saturday

Here I am yet again working on a Saturday, hoping to get the promotion I am working towards.

What's funny is, regardless of whether I want or will get the promotion or not, I would still probably have to come in because there is just so much work to do!  I am exhausted but it's not over yet.

I think the next few months will be the most exhausting and challenging of my life and I am merely hoping to survive!

We'll see how it goes.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Random Tuesday Thoughts

- I don't do random Tuesday thoughts very often but actually got my post on the right day this time!

- I posted before that my boss quit a few weeks ago and life has been crazy ever since then.  I work in a three person department and we are losing one temporarily so there will be a lot of extra work in the next few months.  I have been working extra hours and taking work home with me almost everyday and I don't see that changing anytime soon.  I am excited for the potential promotion that may come from this but also nervous about the major responsibility that comes with it also.

- We went to Ikea last night and I found the cutest bunk bed that I want to buy for my son!  It is kind of expensive but it's super cute and I would love to get it for him.  He is 33 months and at this point is still in his crib!  The reason we haven't converted his crib to a bed is because he doesn't try to climb out of his crib yet and we know if we switch him to a bed before it's necessary, we will have mega bedtime struggles with getting him to stay in bed.  I know we will still have those issues once we do switch him over but we are delaying that fight as long as we can.

- On the subject of my son, he is absolutely obsessed with trains these days!  Thomas in particular but he likes almost any train.  We bought him an inexpensive train and track set from Ikea last night.  That was his first train set as he has some small trains, but no tracks or any other pieces.  For his birthday/Christmas, we are going to get him some more train stuff since he will be 3 and I know he would love to have more.  I am going to try to get him some cool stuff without spending a fortune.  We will see how that goes.

- I always have good intentions of wanting to work out, eat super well and be healthier, but now that I have been so busy, it has been even harder than before.  I want to work out so bad but feel like I literally have three hours or less a day in free time.  I get up way earlier that before right now so there is no way I will do a workout in the morning.  Most days I am not getting home before 6 and because I have been getting up so early, I am trying to go to bed by 9 or a little after most nights.  That leaves three hours or less to have dinner, do any chores around the house that are needed, give my son a bath, get him dinner, get him ready for bed and spend time with him reading or playing.  Oh and not to mention getting any work done that I bring home.  I am really not trying to make excuses at this point but they are basically built in right now. 

- I don't like to think too much about the money part of a promotion or a job because I don't want to get my sights fixed on it too much in case it doesn't work out.  But if I stop and think about this promotion that I am going for and the raise that would come along with it, I can't help but think about it and how it would affect my family.   A raise is always nice and in some ways, I already have plans for things we need to/want to do with extra money.  Again, trying not to get ahead of myself but it's hard to not think about it even a little bit.

- Pictures!  I can't even tell you how many thousands of pictures we have on our computer that I have never ordered.  I literally haven't printed one picture from probably the last year or more.  I always make excuses and never seem to find the time, but memories are important to me and I want to get some albums together soon if it kills me!  The problem is, I have some vacation time I can use up, but we are going to use some of those days for a trip back to Nebraska this fall so I won't be at home where I could do anything with pictures if I wanted.  The other days I have I want to save for the holidays to spend time with my son and do Christmas shopping, baking and other fun holiday things.  No time for pictures once again.  I guess I need to make it a priority on weekends to get it done.

- My diabetes management has been going much better now that it was a few months ago.  I am being a lot more careful about my medicine and testing my blood sugar and am excited to see how my next doctor's appointment goes.  I also am excited to get an insulin pump soon, but it will have to wait a little longer right now.

- Hoping this week goes well and I don't stress too much or get sick.  I was sure I was getting sick last week due to the stress I am under at work but so far so good.  I am excited for Labor day as it will be my first day off in a while and I will really need it by then with the way things have been going.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Balance

I'm not doing so well finding it.

This has been a tough last two weeks and it will probably get harder before it gets easier.  I am exhausted and I feel like I have at least 2-3 more months of similar work hours/stress before it will get better.  I know I will end up super sick if I'm not careful.

I am just going to do the best I can to try to keep my stress in check and to get enough sleep.  I feel like all I have done for the last week or so is work and sleep.  It's kind of sad. 

I just want more time with my baby so no matter what, this weekend I won't go into work like I did last weekend and I will take very little, if any, work home with me this weekend.

I'm excited for what might happen with my job but unsure and also stressed.  I think exercise would probably help but I am so exhausted and nauseous feeling every night that it's the last thing on my mind.

I think I am going to try to make a plan this weekend for the next several weeks and try to set myself up on a good schedule so I feel in control.  Also, I need to make serious to do lists so nothing falls through the cracks as they easily could since I am so distracted.

It will all be over eventually, but for now I have to take it one day at a time.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

A very stressful week

So, my boss quit this week.  I have been working a ton and doing work at home nearly every night in an effort to learn everything he does and to gain more general knowledge in general.  I want his job.

I can't say one way or another what will happen, but I am excited for the possibility.  The other awesome thing is, even though it won't be right away, I will probably get to move office locations to our location further south that is closer to my house.  That would be one of the best parts about this situation - a shorter commute.

Also, it now looks like I will be travelling to Wyoming and Montana for work now also.  I will probably go in the next month or so, hopefully before we get any snow. 

This is all pretty sudden and very strange to me.  I am going to work super hard over the next few months to make sure nothing falls through the cracks and everything stays on track as it should.  The hardest part of this whole thing is, there are three of us in the department.  Me, my manager and our coordinator for the department.  Now we are down to two.

It will be an interesting next few months to say the least, but I am pretty excited also for what's ahead.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

A huge opportunity!

Something nearly fell into my lap this week at work.

I can't say a whole lot.  It is a possible big promotion with a big salary increase.

My chances are looking good but it's hard to know for sure.

More on this as I learn more.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

A new week is coming

Since it is Sunday night (about my least favorite time of week other than Monday morning) I thought I would just mention that this week I am going to try to look at the new week different than in weeks past.

New chances, new opportunities, a clean slate.  All that happy stuff.  I am not sure how much I believe it, but I want to feel it and to be able to have a positive attitude.  I hate Monday's and I live for the weekend, where my time is my own.

I want this week to be the start of some changes.  I want every week, even every day to be the start of some changes, but this week I have actually thought ahead.

I am going to get many things on my to do list done.  I am going to work out a few days this week.  I am going to plan some of my meals in advance so I save money, eat better and can better manager my blood sugar better.

I've already done more on this Sunday than I do on most Sunday's so I already feel accomplished for the week and it hasn't even started.  I am also about to go down to my basement and work out and that is also a good start to my week.

I can do better.  I can get things done that I want to get done.  I can be healthier and lose weight.  And I'm going to. 

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Diabetes and me

I am struggling to figure out how to make my diabetes a main focus of my life.....for the rest of my life.

I know it is not everything, but it is such a big part of me and can't be ignored if I want to be healthy and not die young.  I want to take care of myself, but it has been so hard.  I am only now doing what I should have been doing for the last 5 year.

I have had major ups and downs with my disease.  I have had good control for a while, but of the 5 years I have had diabetes, I have only had good control for less than 2 years of that time.  Terrible.

So now I have to figure out how to make it all work.  I don't think there is one answer to this.  I think this is going to be an ongoing challenge, probably for the rest of my life.

Right now I am in transition.  Transitioning to eating better, taking insulin more, testing more often and starting a new medicine.  I will eventually get an insulin pump (hopefully in the next month or two) and will continue to be in this phase until I have that all figured out.  I know I won't have everything magically figured out once I get my pump, but I think it will improve things for the better.

So now I am just taking it day by day.  Struggling more days than not.  Trying to make the right choices and eat the right things and test my blood sugar enough.

That's all I can do and I just have to hope it all works out and things continue to go well and hopefully get easier for me as time goes on.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Money Saving

I read this awesome blog every day and am inspired to try to do more to be frugal and save money.

I admit there are certain things I just won't (or didn't) do to save money.  I refused to cloth diaper my son.  I refuse to be like the crazy people on 'extreme couponing' and try to get $1000 worth of stuff for free.  I won't grow my own garden, though I love the idea (I would kill every plant before they even had a chance). 

But there are many things I will do or want to do.  I've been wanting to try using a cash system, at least for several things.  This last weekend was the first time we tried it out and though we have somewhat failed (spending more than our allotted amounts in some areas), it has already taught us some lessons (in three days time no less)!  Lessons like, we don't need that 2nd (or 3rd) box of granola bars this week (we can buy it next week or the week after when we run out) and I don't need to buy a new shirt every three days (I have plenty in my closet already, I just need to use what I have and cycle through all of my clothes, not just my favorite ones). 

We took cash out last Friday for two weeks of daycare because we pay our daycare provider every Monday, and we get paid every two weeks, so when that second week comes around, it always seems like a shock when another $130 is gone from our account.  Going forward, I am going to start withdrawing the $260 needed for the next two weeks every time we get paid so the money is out of our account and accounted for and there are no surprises later.

We also took out cash for food.  $80 for groceries for two weeks and $20 each for fun money, as well as $20 total for 'eating out' money.  That's not a lot for two weeks so I told my husband we would have to eat at cheap places or not eat out at all.  We are already out of the $20 for eat out money (go figure) so it forces us to think twice before we eat out again.  I am not saying we will never go over the allotted amount, but it really makes us realize how much we are spending on eating out and think about it before we do it.  Also, the $80 for groceries for two weeks is mostly gone also.  I figured that would be a very low amount, but again, putting a limit (or trying to) on what we spend on groceries, makes me think twice about each purchase and if we really need it or can afford it.  This is also forcing us to eat from the freezer/pantry to use up stuff we already have.

At some point, I would like to set up either a separate bank account for gift/holiday/special occasion money also as I am not sure cash is the best way to do this category.  I admit with cash, I am a little afraid of losing it, it being stolen or the house burning down and it being gone (super unlikely I know, but don't want to have a ton of cash that we could lose somehow).  I have heard of other people budgeting for gift money so when someones birthday comes up, they aren't surprised and don't have any extra money for a gift.  I also want to start saving now for Christmas as the cost of gifts seems to shock me every year and I always spend more than I meant to.

I feel pretty good about the idea of the cash system though and even if we don't fully utilize the plan, we can make some changes to how we look at and spend money.  I think this is a good attitude overall and will only help us in the long run.

I want to curb my spending big time.  I think I just feel like I should be able to buy whatever I want, whenever I want, but that is not a good idea and also not practical.  I want save more for the future and be able to pay off a few of our outstanding debts also.

I think most people want to feel this way, but I want to get to a point first where we feel comfortable with our cash flow most of the time and don't wonder if we will make it to the next paycheck.  After that I want to get to a point where we would be fine if one or both of us lost our jobs for several months and not have to touch any of our retirement savings. 

So, I suppose this is a starting point for all of that.  Small steps.