My Baby Boy is a Graduate!

Well from Pre-K at least! Today was his very last day at pre-school. I was my usual non-chalant self. Just happy in the moment and snapping pictures and beaming from ear-to-ear. Well, that is until it was time for us to say our official goodbyes and walk out the door!

Yes I was a bit misty-eyed, I cannot tell a lie. I tried to be tough though...I don't think anyone saw! :-)

After all that school and I have gone through, I really do have great memories from Bruzer at all three houses. (The way the daycare is set up, it's actually 3 different houses: the baby house, the toddler house, and then the preschool once they're potty trained) In the nearly five years that Bruzer has been there, he's gone through a few teachers (mostly due to transitioning between houses) and I've gone through plenty of drama with payment issues. My "love notes" as I used to call them. "Love note" as in 'kids can't come back til the balance is paid' kind of writings! The woman who started the daycares over 30 years ago passed away last year, and her daughter now runs and owns the place instead of just being director at the preschool. In the past 3 years at the preschool, there have been many ups and downs. But I am glad I made the decision to keep him (and his sister) there through it all. It's made for some great memories, and a very bittersweet goodbye.

I'm not really an "end of an era" kinda girl. I don't cry when my kids go off to kindergarten, that's just part of life. I'm just so very blessed and thankful that we ended on such a great note.


After the graduation/bbq, we did our usual ritual of going up to Main Street to watch the annual Shriner's Parade. We made it home at about 1030p, and made everyone hit the shower before hitting the sack. Definitely counts as one of our great family days!

It's Not About How I Feel

That's what I heard Bishop TD Jakes preach on today on my iTunes podcast. Between that and reading Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, I am totally tuning myself up for greatness!

I know, I know. Blah, blah, blah right?? You've heard it all before. But I have to keep trying, I will not give up, that's just the facts! Can you blame me? Why would you want to blame me for wanting to do more, be more and have more?

You shouldn't. And if you do, shame on you!

Loving Life RIght Now!

I did it!!! StarrDom Travel is officially in business! I booked my first vacation for eight (yes 8!) to DisneyWorld for this summer! I met with the client and she is already talking about what she wants to do next year! WooHoo!
I am not out of the woods yet. I want to make sure this trip is memorable and pleasurable and as worry-free as possible, so that she will not only be a repeat client, but she will also tell her friends and family as well!

I do have more organizing to do at home, but I really know I can do this now! I'm excited to do this now! The fire has been lit!!

Some Facts of (My) Life

As I stated previously, I am re-reading Secrets of the Millionaire Mind again. Found a few great things so far. But here's the one that slapped me in the head (think NCIS):

"Wealth File #2: Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game not to lose."

If you really think about it, that's a pretty profound statement. I will tell you how it applies to me in virtually all areas. When I was younger, I was never super-competitive when it came to sports. The "objective" of the game was never to win for me, it was merely not to lose. Examples: In skating (roller or ice) the goal was to not fall; in bowling I never aimed for a strike or a 300-score, I just tried to avoid a "gutter ball"; baseball/softball was never about hitting a homer, it was about NOT striking out! Get the idea? Now if I was that way in sports, do we really think I have been any different in everything else in my life?? EXACTAMUNDO!!!

That is...until now! More to come...

Moving Forward...but Still Behind

Today was a migraine day. I woke up with the headache, took 1000mg of Tylenol, and waited. It was still there several hours later. We went to see Night at the Museum 2, which I was a bit cranky because of the headache. The movie was good though. Lots of laughs. (Note: The Jonas Brothers as little cupid-like singing cherubs!) We came back home and I took yet another 1000mg of Tylenol. After hanging in there for about an hour, I went to sleep. I couldn't take it and I didn't like being in a constant state of crankiness. That's not fair to the kids.

By the time I woke up, it was back down to a manageable "dull ache" status. I can definitely deal with that!

My training class has been going very well. I plan to do a little studying tomorrow to be better prepared for the rest of the week. No class on Monday for the holiday.

I need to purchase my books this week for school that starts on the 1st of June. I'm back to making a conscious effort to change my mindset, to reprogram it for wealth, abundance and prosperity. I tell you one thing for sure, I don't want to "just get by"! I want to be rich! That doesn't make me a bad person! As one of my favorite sayings goes: "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll still be among the stars." To translate that into what I just said about being rich: I'm aiming to be rich; even if I don't achieve it, I should still be at the very least well-to-do!!!

It Worked!!!

The school - make that my school - approved my waiver request!!! So on Thursday I will pay the standard 10% for the first semester of attendance (which confirms my classes), then I will go ahead and purchase my books online!

No! Of course I won't be purchasing them from the University bookstore! Who really does that?? ;-)

I have already scoped out half.com and amazon.com where I can get my two books valued at $347 for about $120! It runs in my genes...I can't take credit for thrifty skills like these!


I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

A Wondering Mind

The phone rang at 1130p. I was sure it was him. But it wasn't. Right now I'm not as comfortable thinking he went straight home after softball and fell asleep as I usually am.

What A Day...

Well it was very nice outside today. I started my training class and all is well there.

So that was the good news.

Because of an outstanding balance that I let go to collections before I paid it at Park University, they're telling me I have to pay my entire summer tuition up front by next Monday, or my classes will be dropped. That is correct. All $1800 of it!! Need I mention I already have a full financial aid package completed, where they will owe me a refund! The lady gave me the name and email of someone who could possibly waive that for me. So I sent them an email letter today, along with a copy of the paid receipt, and my unemployment check stub. I have asked God for this and thanked Him for granting it. There is nothing more I can do. I literally told the lady in the email that by denying this waiver request, it would completely derail this single mother's plans to go to school in the near future.

Then, to top it all off, my bank account is back in the negative again. You have no idea how absolutely frustrating and angering this is for me. I want to reset this "poverty threshold" that I have, but I just don't know how. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry, that's how much anguish I feel. As my mom would say, "I just can't win for losing." Yes, some could say this wouldn't happen if I was working full-time at a (dare I say it) job. But with everything in me, I completely beg to differ. My finances would probably be less honestly because I would have to pay more out in gas and childcare expenses. It's way deeper than just a job though. I have to get back to making an everyday effort to give myself permission to achieve more wealth and abundance than my family has previously seen. I'm still held back by that. I think I am going to read "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" again. I really need to.

A Challenging Evening

Okay so here we go. Last night there was an incident with Dante where I got to listen in on what was going on at his home without him knowing. No! I didn't plant a bug! Although.....

...aaaand, I'm back!

I sent him a text message because he got off the phone sounding upset, so I wanted to know if everything was okay. Well, I guess when he touched it his iPhone to acknowledge the text (that he didn't answer), it called me. I thought he was on the phone, my kids were talking in the background plus tv so I wasn't hearing so clearly. It took me a few minutes to realize he couldn't hear me. I sent a text to ask if he could hear me. I heard his phone vibrate when the thext came through, but still nothing. That's when I heard someone else talking. It was a woman he was having a conversation with. They were talking about the playoff baskeball game that was on, really rather uneventful. But, you know our past can come back to haunt us in the strangest ways. I had a flashback of Roy again from back in the day. Listening to him telling some woman about his townhouse and his business...while the cell phone that I bought and paid for was in his pocket ON!!

There was a joke about his sheets and that's when my heart started pounding almost out of control! It wasn't anything suggestive, just enough for me to know whoever she was, she was in his bedroom! Then they went back to talking about the game. After listening for a little while longer (okay, like 16 minutes) and not hearing anything incriminating, I hung up. I sent a text message saying "call me when the game goes off and your company leaves". He sent a message not long after that, but I left my phone on the charger in another room. I heard the next text though, when he asked was I mad at him. So we went back and forth by text for a bit, but then he called to clarify what was going on. He says he had some people over watching the playoff game, though I never heard anybody but that one. When he called he was conveniently 'taking the out the trash', so he never technically talked to me while he was inside his place. He got off the phone so he could 'go back in and not be rude' to his company. Here's my thing with that: Call me rude, but if my sweetie is calling me you can be damn sure I'm not going outside of my OWN PLACE to talk to him! To make it worse, I didn't hear from him again until about 530a the next morning, asking me to call him at work.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. A little part of me is thinking it too. I mean come on! I hear a woman's voice in the apartment with him, he goes outside to talk to me, and then I don't hear from him the rest of the night????!!!!

(Alarm Bells Ringing)

Anyway long talk later that morning, I told him exactly what I said in that last paragraph. I just wanted him to know, that if he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing...I didn't miss it. If I choose to let it pass, that's another thing. Perhaps he could convince me that what he said was the truth about what happened last night. Perhaps...

The Computer Genius Strikes Again!!

Ms. Technical Support (aka ME) has solved yet another dilemma on her own! My computer was being really REALLY funky by having 100% CPU usage when no programs were even open!! What that means is that when any programs were actually open, the computer was going at a snails pace!!!

So I couldn't take it anymore. I scanned everything, there were no viruses. So I went digging online and between a few techie forums, I found my solutions and fixed it!!!!

Yay Me!

Wasting Money

Some things I just don't get. Like why you pay $35 to get a 7-year-old's hair done at the beauty shop, when you KNOW it's gonna look like crap the next day!
I just don't understand my sister, The Officer, in that respect. I mean really! Are you THAT lazy about washing your child's not-too-bad-at-all hair! But it can just be me!

Talk about throwing money away!

Ok just had to get that out!

Happy May!

The countdown to school being out has begun! My baby boy will be graduating from pre-K in a couple of weeks! (tear) Who knows? In a year or two I may get to do it all again...twice! Meanwhile, things are ramping up for me quite a bit!
I got selected to train for an at-home customer service position with a major retailer. It's through the company I contract through. The training costs, so I have paid that already. Class begins on the 18th of May. I am very excited, because that will be money coming into the house when unemployment insurance runs out. Plus, I've been trying to get back into a client with them since I lost the other last year. I learned my lesson!!
In addition to that, I am scheduled to start class online at Park University on June 1st, in pursuit of my Bachelor's Degree (then my MBA). Due to their open registration format, I am registered all the ways through Spring 2010. By then, I will be well into my junior year! My graduation estimate is May 2011! Only 2 years away!!! (On my way to MBA by 40!) I am so excited, it's about all I can think about!
There is also the matter of my travel business. I am making positive strides in that direction as well! I've committed to purchasing local leads online. I also would like to approach the children's principal about a flyer insert for the parents. I need to wash my van (if it ever stops raining long enough to matter) so that I can put my letters on it. My travel magnets are wearing away so I have removed them. Better not to be there than to look completely tacky, right? In it's place, I want lettering on the van I believe (still kinda debating).
I'm getting more and more positive that I can live my life the way I want to live it. I am not that hung up on a job. I have come to realize in my life that my peace and happiness is worth something too. I mean really, for the money I would be getting right now at CWT - less 10 hours per pay period due to the mandatory reduction in hours - I would be under a tremendous amount of stress right now. It's not like I would be crazy enough to feel secure in my job! On top of that, I would be looking at an additional 35-50 minutes on my one-way commute beginning in a couple of weeks to go to the main office. All that stress and LESS money too?? No Thank You! I would rather put forth the effort to build my business and clientele, hopefully while going to school full-time, so that StarrDom will support me and my family better than any job ever has!

Is that so hard to believe? Why are there so many that are programmed to think that a job is the be all and end all? I just found out in July of last year that that is completely BOGUS!! Wouldn't I be a little crazy to keep banging my head on that same wall?

I rest my case!