Ten on Tuesday

1. Let me begin by getting the bad stuff out of the way... I have a sinking feeling tomorrow is going to s.u.c.k. It might have been a rumor but I thought I over heard something to the affect of case file reviews at work. Nothing makes my stomach sink more. You think you're doing a good job but there's always someone out there to let you know otherwise. And these people are generally brutal and have NEVER done you're job before. So, say a little prayer with me tonight!

Update: I started this list last night. Today went better than I thought or at least it could have gone a lot worse. Prayers worked and you didn't even know you were praying for me!

2. On to better news... we held another successful yard sale on Saturday. It's amazing how much stuff one has. Even now, we could probably hold another one and still make another $100. Insane.

3. In my personal opinion... there are two things that create a successful yardsale (1) hold it in a good neighborhood. Rich people's junk is always better than mine, right? and (2) one hyphenated word makes all the difference: Multi-family.

4. Besides getting rid of two pets, any thoughts on how to stop my dog from barfing on the floor and stop my cat from shedding? You'd be my hero if you could figure that out for me. And while you're at it, figure out a way to teach them to clean my house while I'm away. That would seriously make my day.

5. I love this time of year but there is one thing that drives me crazy year after year... I'll send weeks hunting down the best deal on the perfect gift and either 1 of 2 things will happen - I'll miss the best deal waiting for another one to happen (ie. last year's blu-ray incident) or I'll purchase too soon and find a better deal later on (ie. this year's moon incident). And I'm too cheap to pay shipping to return an item. I wish there was a way items would say "Hey loser, this is the best deal your going to get - Take it."

6. Aiden lost another tooth yesterday. We're down two now. And I can already see the need for orthodontics. Guess that gives me 5-7 years to start saving, right? Ah, I say that like I can even save for Christmas, let along dental work a decade from now!

7. Saturday is our annual Pirate football game. There was apparently an unwritten statement in our marital contract which requires me to one live-and-in-person football game a year. As a dutiful and faithful wife, I have fulfilled my requirement for the last 8 years - totalling 8 games, not one more :-). But seriously, I don't mind them. It's just difficult to entertain a 5 year old in 24 inches of wiggle room for 3+ hours.

8. Having said #7: Lets go Pirates! (guilt...)

9. I'm still recovering from Saturday's night Orange Chicken incident. Thank you Parker's for coming to my rescue.

10. And for the finale... We're counting the days until we get to spend a great Thanksgiving with the Lewis'! 9 days and counting.

YOU MAY BE A DAVE RAMSEY FAN IF…

I totally copied these from another site. If you thought this list was long, you should have seen the original one.

...the value of your car doubles every time you fill the gas tank!
…you see a guy driving a 15 year old car and you think, I wonder if he would sell it to me .
…you had 4 very successful yards sales and you can still find things to sell.
…your automatic response to the phrase "Mom, I want..." is "Save up!"
...you count late fees from the library as an addition to your debt snowball.
…you respond "better than I deserve" every time someone asks you how you're doing.
…you start a sentence with "Well, Dave says..." and your friends just roll their eyes and walk away.
…the guy who works at Quik-Trip makes fun of you for putting cash your QT Gas Card every week instead of just using your debit card. Replace this with Walmart and you’ve got me…
…you walk down a row of cars at the mall and wonder how many might be paid for.
...you say, "Because Dave said so," every time your kids ask why they have to eat beans and rice again. I’ve never actually eaten beans and rice but we eat our share in sausage and peppers or PB&J, does that count?
…you rinse out a sandwich bag for reuse.
…your children run and hide in a panic when you ask them "I wonder what I can sell on Ebay Now?"
…you've cut your dryer sheets in half to get double the use per box. No, but there’s an idea.
…you've cut your own hair to avoid paying a hairstylist. Okay, no… but I’ve shaved Jamie’s head a time or two and threatened to do Aiden’s.
...you feel sorry for your friend when she goes on a shopping spree, instead of jealous. Only if she just put 5 pairs of GAP jeans on her credit card , this actually just happened.
…the internal temperature in the house is 62 degrees and you try to justify turning the thermostat down a little bit more to save on energy costs.
…your 9 & 7 YO kids believe in Santa because Mom & Dad would NEVER buy all that stuff!
…you go shopping for a new purse, and it HAS TO BE a shape to work with your envelopes.
…the thought of shopping for stuff you don't need makes you ill.
...you move in with your in laws to save money.
...you see furniture on the side of the road and you realize it's in better shape than your own.
...you use credit cards and Satan in the same sentence.
...you price compare thrift shops for the best bargain.
...you still have money on your Christmas gift card cause you really really can't spend the money.
…you make your own laundry soap for 3 cents per load and cannot keep from telling everyone you know how to do it themselves!!! Can you really do that?
…you are excited at the opportunity to go grocery shopping and whip out the crazy envelope wallet in the hopes that it will spur a conversation with anyone about getting out of debt!!
…you shed tears watching the baby gazelle escape the cheetah "go baby go go go go go!"
…you see someone driving an economical 88 honda accord and you know that it has to be paid for and your are jealous...
…you keep a budget on your fridge in your purse and on your mirror in the bathroom to remind you what you are trying to do!
…you can spend less than $3 dollars at Wendy's and feed two people.
...your pets have their own envelope.
...you are shopping for office supplies with the company credit card and still feel bad.
...you are shopping for office supplies for work and can't bear to not compare prices, buy generic and get the very best deal.
...you are eating off a card table because you would rather put your money toward a fully funded emergency fund.
...you have enough checks to last you three years, because you ordered them BDR (Before Dave Ramsey).
…your 5&6 y.o. go around saying, "Credit cards are EVIL! Evil I tell ya" and your 2 y.o. follows them around saying, "Evil, Evil."
...it's a good thing to be awake in the middle of the night thinking about money. Not because you can't sleep from fear but because you can't sleep for thinking about what you can cut to pay off the debt sooner.
…you see the "immigrants" driving some beat up car with 4 guys riding together and think that's really smart, good for them.
…you hear about someone winning a large sum of money and you think about how much debt you could pay off if you had won it.
…your 6 year old asks you if we're debt free yet This has happened, but he was 5…
…you have to tell the bank teller the number of each specific denomination you need when you get your cash so it will be easily split between your 7 envelopes AND so the 3 kids on commission who need to be paid in all ones can easily split their commission for their OWN envelopes. EVERY time.
…"freeeeedom" is no longer thought of as a phrase from Braveheart, but rather a signal that someone is debt free.
…you would rather learn how to sew a slip cover than to spend money on a new couch
...you plan camping vacations months in advance, not to make sure you can get the time off but so it doesn't throw your budget off.
…you begin referring to yourself as the "King of cheap Saturday"...you know, walks in the park, making sandwiches, free movies at the town plaza.
…the van breaks down and you think, "Is this REALLY an emergency, I could just walk to work for the next month. It's only a couple miles." because you don't want to disturb the BEF.
...you associate "Another One Bites the Dust" with plasectomy.
...you actually know what a plasectomy is.
…you spend hours, literally, making out weekly menu's based on sale papers.
…the highlight of your trip to the grocery store is reading the total savings on the receipt when you leave the store.
…you think about Christmas coming up in 4 months, and you know that you cannot afford it this year. You tell your kids "Christmas is a craft"!
…you fantasize about the day you'll be able to scream "I'M DEBT FREE!!!"
…you and your spouse exchange the SAME Christmas card back and forth to save money.
...you think all these things are funny and awesome instead of down right pathetic.