My Credit Has Become My Hobby.

I've been spending hours pouring over potential houses. I'm not ready to buy yet, but looking at what is out there, is keeping my dream alive. Keeps me focused! (That, and the people who moved into the house next to me with two yappy dogs that yelp and bark like they are being murdered out their window facing my apartment whenever the wind blows)

I spend the rest of my spare time working, and re-working my budget. Shuffeling money around between credit cards, deciding what to pay more on, and what to pay the minimum on. Pay the low interest one down, transfer back on from the high interest card.

Not buying clothes on my store cards...even though they are having sales, and I really need new summer clothes!

My credit usage rate is what is holding me back. I'm just about maxxed out on my cards. I make good money, but I have a lot of credit debt. So, I've taken on raising my credit score as my next project.

I check my credit karma account on a daily basis...even though it only updates once a month.

Your credit score is like a child you have to keep an eye on it!!

So...I'm cutting back!

Discount food shopping is a big one..in the way of my non-perishables, and produce...(the rest I can't stray from the grocery chains..)

My hair roots are longer than I'd like. I am going longer between hair appointments. I've cut down on my wine consumption (the horror!) switched to a knock off toilet paper brand (this is huge for me, I am a strict Cottonelle user!!) I'm fighting the urge to tan, but this might lose out because I have to wear shorts again one day!

Every day I think about what I can cut next, and I spend $50 a month to have the dog groomed, when I'm perfectly (almost) capeable of doing it myself!

Of course this was a good idea until he started to scoot his butt on the floor a month or so back, which prompted a vet visit because I thought he had worms. Turns out he needed his anal glands expressed. Something the groomer always did. And saving the $50 wasn't worth it when I had to pay an equal vet bill to have tests run, and his glands done.

So in the spirit of continuous improvement..I'm reading "everything you need to know about anal glands".

Yes, it has come to this!

I just know owning my own home again is going to make all of this worth while! Moms of human kids do way grosser things, right?!!!!

Mr. Magoo sporting a hair cut by me, and 
cooling off on a walk in the park. 

I May Be an Official Re-Virgin...

I just love the dating scene....said no one over 21, ever!

I am not ashamed to say that while dating here and there, I have been celibate for 17 months. Good Godfrey in writing it seems even longer!!

I say celibate, because it sounds more like a decision vs. an affliction. Which...I guess it is, because if all I wanted was sex, I could certainly make that happen, right?

The last time was with exmanfriend. Someone that while I was not in a relationship with at the time, I once deeply loved, so it seemed perfectly OK. Now,  the thought of just tossing it away after all of this time seems silly. After you go for so long without being intimate, your goods turn back into a gift again.

While I have not lost the desire for sex, the thought of waiting gets easier the longer I wait. I have the most amazing dreams about sex with the most random people in my life, which is quite amusing.

That being said, I have yet to find those "fireworks" again, and I'm holding out until I do! (I think...) And despite the long cold spell...I still want it all. Nothing less!

Plus, it's going to take a very special man to understand that while I may love spooning, I would never make my Mr. Magoo get out from in between us in the bed.

I mean, just look at him. He's so completely worthy of a double spoon!!

You Stole Whose Bank Information?...

I guess in this day and age, everyone will succumb to having their financial information stolen at some point. "They say" it's inevitable.

It was just another Saturday, I was at the gas station buying cigarettes, and the cashier told me my bank card was not authorized. So, I presented the card to my secondary account, and went right home and confirmed, yes, I have my rent money, plus more in the bank. Surely it was a mistake, the cashier was an idiot...

Two days later, I'm at the grocery store...same deal. Luckily I have two bank accounts, so I am able to pay for my food, and go home. I called the bank who says, my card had been "compromised" and that they shut it off, and sent me a letter.

Sidenote: the post office has given me every bit of mail for people in a 4 block radius lately in the way of delivering me their mail. I had lodged a complaint with the post office already about getting random mail. I didn't get my bank card, but they said it had just left a few days ago and I should have it by week's end.

All I could think was, thank the stars they shut my card down, and no one stole my money! 

A week later, I still had no card. You don't realize how much you depend on a bank card, until you don't have one! All of my auto bill pays had been rejected. I had to shuffle money between accounts, but I kept telling myself, I am very lucky, my money is still there, I just have to re-arrange things to make my payments! It could be worse!

A week passed, another call to the bank to report the card never made it to my house. I then had to wait out the weekend, and make an actual trip to the bank branch to order a card to be mailed to the bank instead of my house, since my mail person has been an idiot.

I left the branch with a temporary card, which made me feel so much better!

I asked about where my card was stolen, so I could avoid using it again, and they just said it was a multi-merchant compromise that started with the big Target scam.

This has taught me that I need to start taking cash out of my account vs. using my card so often. Sure, it's an extra trip when you buy gas, but honestly, I think going back to cash will also help me save money for my house down payment!

And, in the myriad of phone calls to the bank, they talked me into opening an actual savings account. I have two checking accounts, but now I have a bonified savings. With no bank card access, so I'll actually save money vs. dividing it between two accounts.

There is always a silver lining!

Through the two week ordeal, and all of the inconvenience, I just kept remembering that I am very lucky no one took money from my account.

Gotcha Day...

Four years ago, I adopted a VERY introverted little dog because I learned from my visits with him at the rescue that he was there and gone a couple of times. Turns out, he was adopted and returned twice for not "bonding" with the people who took him home.

He lived the first four years of life in a cage at a puppy mill, terrified of just about everything. I knew my home was the one he needed to be in so he could know what love is, and become a beloved pet! I had the patience, and love to give to him to wait for him to come around!

He learned to eat out of bowls, walk stairs, play with toys, (and then his kitty siblings) all in due time, but it just took time.

And, he's grown into the best little companion I could have hoped for!

Animals come into your life for a reason, he has inspired my love of volunteering for animals, and it really makes me feel good to spend time with those animals who have no one else to depend on.

Happy "gotcha" day to my Mr. Magoodle bug!

Mr. Magoo is a rambunctious dog, that you would never guess is 8 (or 9, or 10...) and he sure turned awful handsome with some TLC.

I work with dogs all the time that are amazing, but don't show their true colors on a first visit with them at a rescue, they have trust issues.

Take a chance! Consider adoption! Some animals just need patience to become who they are meant to be.