Countdown to 40

Today is Saturday October 8th. Lately I have had a LOT on my mind. In 41 days I will be 40.

I've always had goals in my mind that I would achieve by the time that date arrived:

1 - Be done having kids.
2 - Get my body back into the best shape possible.
3 - Be doing what I want to do for the rest of my life (job wise)
4 - Be financially stable and able to start having fun.

There are others but they are more "bucket list" type things. Not necessarily things that had to happen by a specific date.

How am I doing on my goals?
1 - As far as I know we're done. Feels right. I always wanted 1 more but finances and health have put up some major road blocks preventing any more additions to our family.

2 - Working HARD on this one. I've lost 25 pounds this year so far. I have been on a plateau for the past 2 weeks but have been hitting new all time lows again this week. How am I doing it? Big one is using the "livestrong.com" website helped me be MUCH more aware of calorie intake. I find that it's not hard for me to live on 900 - 1,500 calories a day. Sometimes I get majorly hungry and I eat but just watch portion sizes. Eating small amounts more frequently. I drink a large glass of water (my tumbler cups can hold 16oz or more of water) about 10 min before I eat. I feel full MUCH faster than when I forget to do this. I also have been using our elliptical machine for at least 1 hour 3 days a week. I'm going to be charting my progress on another post.

3 - This is still sort-of on hold due to the fact that I still have a 2 year old at home. I want to get back into the film industry. I LOVE the type of personalities film draws. Everyone is super creative and slightly crazy... or is it slightly creative and super crazy? I've recently helped out with rotoscoping on some of my husband's film projects. I miss being on set though. The "hurry up and wait" environment. I also love photography. I'm saving up for a Canon 5D (my current dream camera). It will be a LONG time time before that goal is met but I have to have something to aim for.

4 - This goal is the one impacting 2 of the 3 goals above. Our finances have been hit so hard lately that my hands are severely tied. We're squeaking by only with help. I have become a genius at feeding and taking care of a family of 7 on what we bring in every month. I should have a master's degree in frugality by now.

At the moment... The one goal that I can have the biggest influence on is #2 - my fitness level. I will be posting updates on that progress in another section of this blog. I'm pretty motivated and excited.

Perspectives

I've recently looked at pictures posted by family members who live far away. They're always pictures of them in exotic locations doing fun and different things. My first feeling is "Oh, I wish I could do that too." "I'll never have enough money to do something like that." Then I stop and think about things clearly. I realize that I am where I am the happiest.

Ok.... I don't have nearly enough money to make ends meet. We're financially in the toilet and it has nothing to do with overspending. Any money we get is spent on necessities, the kids, business needs etc. We don't vacation, rent movies, buy new clothes, go to the movies, eat out, spend money on extra activities for the kids. We do free stuff and get creative.

The family members I was referring to are not married... do not have children and spend all their money on themselves. They do what they want, when they want, yes, but they also don't have what I have. I have a husband who loves me. I know where our relationship stands - no guessing. This might be a bit odd to read but I know that we don't have any STD's. Don't have to worry about that path. I have 5 amazing children who are more entertaining than most tv shows. At the end of the day I get to kiss them all goodnight and hear them say they love me. I get to watch these little people grow into amazing grown-ups. I have the ability to pass on wisdom and insight that I wished I had while growing up. I can make someone's life less stressful and worrisome.

When the time comes, I get to be a grandmother. I get to watch my children raise their own families. I also won't have to be a super old grandma because we've had all of our children before I turn 40. I am leaving something (someone) in this world to hopefully pass on some bits of wisdom to others long after I'm gone.

Right now we have to put exotic vacations and the theatre, movies, fancy items on hold. We may never be able to afford any of that but I have the most important and amazing additions to my life that I could ever want. I am grateful for my husband and my children. I am truly blessed to have this life. I know this life is not for everyone. Some do not want children, do not want to be married. I would cease to be me if I did not. My family fills my life and enriches it beyond anything I could have imagined. I look forward to each day that I get to see the growth and development in everyone - even my husband and myself, not just the kids.

Having my family - I have been able to work through a lot of my anxiety. I'm co-teaching a small neighborhood preschool class. 10 years ago I would have laughed in the face of anyone who said I would do this someday. I've been able to hold a real person to person conversation with an actor I had a huge crush on as a kid... and I didn't implode (although I thought I would any second). I've learned all about life under the sea with a sponge.... how to bend things like air, earth, fire and water.... I've learned that a little girl named Dora can really talk in a yelling voice for her entire life.... I've learned that with the help of clone's, Star Wars will never run out of sub plot lines. I am grateful for the person I have been shaped into as a wife and mother. I am so excited to see the talents and abilities I acquire in the years to come. None of this could have happened if I had stayed single.

Advertising and creative money earning.

Ok.. I caved. I swore that my blog would be ad free and not public. Then life came screaming in my face. My huband's health has been getting progressively worse and his ability to put in a full day's work is hit and miss. Paying just to survive from one month to the next is very stressful most of the time. I want to help out.. I've taken on small jobs from time to time that I could do from home. Why don't I "just go get a real job" you ask? I've taken all this into consideration: The age of my kids, the number of children, cost of day-care, the fact that I would rather be the one to teach my kids about life and morals and religion than some stranger, fact that my husband shouldn't be alone when he's at his worst, and any job I would get would be at a "newbie" pay scale rather than the "experienced" pay scale that my husband gets for all his years of working. All these and more add up to the fact that we're better off if I stay home and help my husband be as stable as he can be and assist him in getting his work done as quickly as possible. I save us thousands of dollars by raising our kids myself.

So..... I had to start getting even more creative in attempting to bring in more cash - or saving even more. I find coupons online and in mailers to my house when and where I can. I've saved $11 in the past 2 weeks with coupons for items we use normally. I wish I could find more for the items we use. There are TONS of coupons for products that I could never bring into this house (wrong ingredients etc...). My husband's health prevents a lot of the junkier ingredients most people have no problems digesting.

About 2 months ago I joined Swagbucks and I now have $15 sitting in my Amazon account and I have enough earned Swagbucks to get another $10 in gift cards to apply to my Amazon account. I'm saving up for a rather expensive luxury Christmas gift for the family. At the rate I'm earning points... I think it will have to wait until Christmas 2011 rather than 2010 though. Unless I get more recruits to join through my link. I'm grateful for what I have so far. It's money that doesn't have to come out of my pocket.

I'm not sure how long ago I brought advertising to this site but I have now acquired 1,011 page impressions since installing the adservice. That means my blog has been looked at 1,011 times since then. 10 times ads have been clicked on (that's where the REAL money is) and I have earned a whopping $4.22! It might be another 3 or 4 years at this rate before I get a check but we'll get there. Just know this... if you come to my site and see ads you are helping me out financially. Might only be a tiny fraction of a penny but each fraction turns into something eventually.

I also opened a "stuff" site on Zazzle.com (myth's conceptions). I noticed that someone has OFFICALLY purchased 2 small items off my site. I am in total AWE! I have TONS of ideas for more products and a reorganization of what is where. I need to get back on that site and get busy.

Until being a tall, qwerky, slightly nerdy, good hearted woman gets the bills paid I will have to resort to creative methods to save as well as aquire money. I'm not sure if what I've listed here can help anyone else. Just in case it can I decided to write about it. It's not much of an income right now but I know it will pay off in the future. I'll keep you posted if I figure out how to do things better or if I find something even more helpful for a stay at home mom.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

2) When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.

3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.

4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.

5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.

6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.

7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.

8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.