Real Life

Currently Reading:

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey

And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity by Dannah Gresh

Lonely Planet: Brazil by Gary Chandler

I do have another (like 10) on my wish list on Amazon for my Kindle which I will get to once I finish the three I have going right now. They are all great informational books that are educating my in different areas. I will write longer posts on each book.

Currently should be doing:

Studying for my GRE

Cleaning my room

Really...I should be cleaning it is a huge mess because my parents are away for a week so I commandeered the living room and dining room to organize my stuff but now that it is out of my room I don't know how I fit it into my room in the first place....

I should post pictures and I may still but they definitely represent the reality of not having enough space and having too much stuff.

Pictures

Just some random pictures from my trip to B.C.

Jumbled

So I have been neglecting my blog...again.

Nothing much going on in life, just working, hanging out with the niece and nephews and studying for the GRE, which is not going very well. I am also going to be taking it a lot sooner then I though I was going to be taking it but oh well.

My nephews and niece are great! I love hanging with them. We went swimming and J, was showing off how well he could swim and B actually put his face in the water. N, clung to her mom most of the time but that was okay. She got brave towards the end.

Work is still there. My bosses are great and very relaxed. I wore the wrong dressy shoes and butchered my feet, so for 3 days I would walk to work and then talk off my sandals till I needed to go help someone or until the end of the day it was great. My feet healed really fast.

I love my Kindle, though I now have to figure out how to budget impulse book buying into my budget, didn't take into account how Easy it would to just by a book and not think about the amount...

But thats okay, its a good problem to have.

I have decided I need to change how much the world influences me in every aspect of my life so I am making some changes. I will blog more about that separately in a day or so.

decisions, decisions

Okay, a update again.

Sam is doing well, and he even got his hair cut! I'll take his picture later for proof.

I'm same old, same old.

Okay, preface, Some people seem to think I just come up with stuff off the cuff but that is soo not true of me, just because I talk/write something doesn't mean I haven't thought about it for at Least 3 weeks. I just don't let others in on my thinking process. So the next statement means I have been thinking of doing either option for a while. One for 2 months and the other for about a month and a half.

I've been thinking of what I want to do the summer after I graduate and I have two thoughts. I'm kind of torn because they are both the complete opposite of each other and the prices are very different also. I wanted to voice them out and see what other's thought about each option. Emailing me would be great (it would prove that I have people reading...since no one comments).

Option 1: Cruise, around the Caribbean, $700 but have to add in price of either gas to drive to Tampa, FL or a plane ticket so probably est. $300, so $1,100 in total ish, before excursions, which I don't have prices for. It would be for 7 days and 6 nights.

Option 2: Volunteering in Brazil (I am fascinated by the culture and the country interests me is the reason behind this country). For a month it would be $3000 not including Airfare, which is $900-1,100 depending on the time. A lot more expensive but more worthwhile use of my time and I want/like to help people. I would be going through crossculturealsolutions, and helping in an orphanage.

So what's the verdict?

Obviously I am going to have to fundraise if I do the second option because of the price tag but it is for a month. The first one I can swing by saving for the next few months. I have a little time before I make a decisions but I want to have a firm plan in place before september.

Edit

My list has been revised...
The kindle dropped in price AND I got a dog sitting job so I was able to afford it, so I bought it and it is amazing. Now just have to get a case from it.

I'm deleting the Ipad currently, because of the bad reviews that are coming out, so I will wait and maybe put it back on when they have a new model out.

The Canon is still on:

Canon EOS Rebel X2i EF-S 18-55IS kit: 899.99 plus camera bad: $45.99 and Camera strap: $15.00 for a total of: 960.98

And finally the one that WILL take me 5 years to save for:Apple Macbook: 4GB memory, 500GB hard drive, Apple protection plan, plus a case for it…*little squeaky voice* Ahem…1498.00

I am thinking of adding Rosetta Stone language programs to my list, because I want to learn different languages that can help me in the future. And because I want to travel a lot and knowing the language is always a good thing.

The U.S.A. made it to Round 16, it is great! Now if they can make it to the Quater Finals that would be amazing! My first pick is Italy but they didn't even make it out of their round so My picks are U.S.A., England, Uruguay, then Brazil.

Sam is doing well, he normally texts me when he gets off work (like 6 in the morning, I don't always reply...)

Hmm,

Maybe I will be able to get one thing off my 5 year list. The Kindle just dropped in price to $189.00. Much easier to afford.

This FIFA soccer cup is very interesting. Non of my teams are doing very well. But a lot of the underdog teams are tying or winning. Also some of the games have been very high scoring which is not normal for this sport. Germany v Australia 4-0 and Portugal v North Korea 7-0, the two highest. Spain is favored to win it all and maybe they will, they are doing well. The England v U.S.A. was a great tie, being that the last time they faced each other was in 1950 when the U.S. beat them. I wrote a 10 page paper on it. It was really fascinating. I am going to watch the Portugal v Brazil game with interest because they are both great teams. I

I was looking at Jersey's, I soooo want an Italy one but they are 80 dollars. Not something I can afford currently...maybe one day.

Not much to report, Sam is doing well. Looks like he could pass for anyone in South America because he is so tan. He is enjoying his job, he is on night shift now.

I'm studying for the GRE and working and enjoying life.

Hmm, I think I need to save more

So I was thinking of what I want on my 2-5 year wish list (yes I project that far) to save for. I realized I have expensive tastes…

I am thinking of starting at my cheapest one and working up to saving for the most expensive. I figure it will take me five years to get them all and since I’m always adding stuff to my short list there will always be a list.

Kindle 6” (Though I may wait because there is a new one rumored to come out in August). Price: $259.99 plus 2 year extra warranty $65.99 plus a cover $35.00 so a grand total of: $360.98

Ipad: $499.99 plus case $35.00 equals to: 534.99

Canon EOS Rebel X2i EF-S 18-55IS kit: 899.99 plus camera bad: $45.99 and Camera strap: $15.00 for a total of: 960.98

And finally the one that WILL take me 5 years to save for:

Apple Macbook: 4GB memory, 500GB hard drive, Apple protection plan, plus a case for it…*little squeaky voice* Ahem…1498.00

Like I said, I have expensive taste, but I figure it might save me money eventually, because the Kindle is a eBook reader and has cheaper books because there is no paper involved, hence I will spend less on books (though because of trying to save for this fall semester I have been frequenting the library to a crazy degree…I have read most of the romance and mystery books, now onto non-fiction…). The Ipad, because it doesn’t replace a laptop (not even close and I am aware of its drawbacks) will replace my portable DVD player (longer battery life and better quality plus it can do some other fun stuff but only at one app at a time) that I need to replace as it is on the fritz). The Camera because I have always wanted one…I LOVE to take pictures, though I am not good enough to take professional ones I still love capturing little perfect moments forever through a lens and a digital just can’t compare. Finally the laptop because it will be PORTABLE, don’t get me wrong I love my desktop but it hasn’t been the best for college life when I want to study or write a paper in weird places. I know, I will be done school in 3 years but I can dream that I might save enough to buy it before then. I am hoping to try to save $100.00 a month towards this goal but come spring time that won’t be possible because I will be student teaching and only working 7 hrs a week when I can squeeze it in. So I’ll only be bring in like $200 so not feasible. But I can dream right? That is my projected timeline, wish it was shorter but hey the life of a student right? I know I will have a “real” job for 2 of these 5 years but I will also be paying rent and other stuff instead of for school so I figure things will still be tight.