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Archive for February, 2015

Knocked Out Another

February 27th, 2015 at 03:15 pm

Payday today!

Sent mortgage payment bringing the balance to $49,008.37. I'm very tempted to send an extra payment to bring it down to the $48ks.

Paid off the credit cards, put $100 in vacation fund and sent $25 to my IRA.

Best of all I finished topping off the EF! Another big goal completed. Now all that is left is my smaller goals. 2/5 done before March isn't bad.

Up Again

February 27th, 2015 at 02:13 pm

My goodness. Yesterday kitty was so sick that he could barely breathe and could not even swallow so he was covered in drool. His heart rate was not consistent.

This morning he is sitting up and even tried to walk around.

He ate an egg and a small amount of canned food. He is responsive, and will turn his head and look at you if you talk to him. His eyes aren't flicking anymore either.

I don't understand how he can change so quickly. He is on daily steroids, so it's possible that they finally kicked in.

He keeps surprising me, and I won't give up on him yet. It's good to see something in his eyes again, rather than a blank stare.

But I'm not expecting it to last very long, he is on borrowed time. So I'm just going to love on him as long as I can.

He has definitely used up most of his 9 lives.

Nearing the End

February 26th, 2015 at 05:05 pm

Frown

I think kitty isn't going to last much longer. My heart hurts, but at the same time I feel bad for him, and just want him to let go and be at peace. I don't wish for him to suffer.

I've only slept a couple hours in the past 2 days. I've stayed up all night with him because I was sure he wasn't going to make it. Yesterday he went back to the vet and got more steroids, and he was surprisingly up and walking, eating, etc.

But that only lasted a couple hours, and then he was back, flat on his side. He can't control his muscle movement, and his legs are "peddling". His eyes are flicking uncontrollably back and forth, and he is getting distressed. He starts crying, and even when I hold him he doesn't seem to realize I'm there. His stare is blank. The vet thinks he has a brain tumor, but they say he doesn't act like he is in pain. I think he is just scared, and it is horrible to watch. I want to snuggle and comfort him, but moving him or touching him seems to cause a panic so I'm trying to just talk to him and leave him be.

I've cried for over 18 hours straight, and have been so upset I've made myself physically sick and am having tremors.

It's crazy that he can be up eating, walking, using the littler box, and be normal. Then in a matter of hours he is limp and unable to lift his head. Few hours later he might just randomly sit up and be fine again. I've never seen an animal go up and down that fast.

Pray for his peace, and my strength. I'm loosing my best buddy, and my heart is breaking.

Rental Car Update

February 24th, 2015 at 10:58 pm

After doing some more searching, I found that Hertz was offering to waive the "Young Driver" fee if you signed up for their Gold Family Membership. (Which is free)

I signed up for it, and cancelled my previous car, saving me $200!!

BUT. I wonder if they will honor that. I called them to check and make sure, and no one seemed to know what I was talking about.

I will be printing the website page out to bring with me to prove that, that was the discount I was offered. Hopefully if I have any problems I can throw a stink and get it.

I'm super scared I'm going to pick up the car and they are going to tack on a bunch of fees. I've heard horror stories. :/ Lots of fine print, and extra details. Any suggestions or advice on renting cars? I'm doubtful that I will actually pay what I am quoted.

Trip is Coming Along

February 23rd, 2015 at 03:36 pm

Really started finalizing our summer vacation.

We are going to Yellowstone, and I've been stressing about syncing up flight, rental car, camp reservations, etc. It was a lot harder than I thought, especially since we are going during the busy season.

I paid our deposit and locked in our camping spot.

I reserved the rental car. It ended up being $600 which is kind of stinky. I originally thought it would be $400 but they tacked on $200 for us being under 25. But I am a bit relived to have it reserved, because when I went to reserve it last week the price had jumped up to close to $1,500!!

Now the price is locked in. I will continue to monitor it, and if it goes down anymore I will snag it cheaper.

All that is left to book is the flights. Hopefully tonight, but I have to pay for those up front, so I want to wait until husband is home.

This weekend we are going shopping for a tent, and camping gear for our big excursion. It's going to be fun!

So far the flight + car is right at $1,000. The campground for the week is another $130. Leaving us $370 remaining of our trip budget. Gas will be another $150-$200. That isn't going to leave us much wiggle room. The only other thing we will have to buy is souvenirs, and food, and we will have our normal grocery budget for that week as well. So I think it will be okay. We are splurging a bit since this is our first real vacation as a married couple, if we go over a little it's not a huge deal.

We are not counting our tent, supplies, etc as part of the budget. We both enjoy camping, and needed to buy those things anyway. We will get a lot of use out of them in the years to come.

Holy cow... uh goat

February 20th, 2015 at 07:32 pm

My goodness. I just typed out my goat waiting list, and organized it by date that they reserved because the next kidding season is soon...

I just counted and I'm at over 80 doelings. Not counting bucklings, which there is probably another 20...

That is 100 babies! There is no way in heck that I will have 100 babies.

That is only from 2014/2015, older than that I just took them off the list since they haven't shown any interest since. That also doesn't count, all the babies I've sold last year.

I've been telling people that the list was long and that I couldn't guarantee I would have any, (most likely not) but I didn't realize how long...

If all the goats took, I currently have 12 does pregnant...

Plus the 9 at mom's that have already kidded, which only had 6 girls! (Buck year)

Yikes! I'm hoping some have changed their minds. Otherwise they are going to be waiting for a while.

I guess I'm going to have to start turning people away. That's a shame. The problem is I can't make my herd bigger because I need to sell them, not hang into them. I bought 5 last year from another breeder, but I have just as much trouble as other people do, and had to wait years for them, and drive 24 hours one way!

I might be raising prices again next year. I can't keep up with demand.

Guns & Quality

February 20th, 2015 at 03:40 pm

I'm needing to buy a gun, but I'm having trouble deciding which one. I need it for home safety, scaring coyotes, and just plinking cans. We already have a gun in the house, but it is too big for me to shoot. I can't even cock it by myself!

I REALLY want the Smith and Wesson 317, but it will cost me $560.

Or I can get a Charter Arms Pathfinder for $300.

I can't make up my mind, because I hate spending that much money, but Charter Arms are known for their very poor quality. I hate to buy something that is just going to break. On the other hand, Smith and Wesson's 317 is one of the best on the market. And the resale value is great.

Is it worth nearly twice the price to get something of good quality? Or should I just get el cheapo since I won't be using it much anyway.

It should be noted that my husband works at a gun store, so I am getting either one at a very discounted price. A 317 sells for more than that used!

PS: Update on kitty. Still having up and down times. He keeps going to the potty on the floor, but I have been able to get him to start eating a little more slowly. Seeming to walk a little better, and he got to sleep in our bed for a couple hours which he loved. I don't think he was sleeping well by himself.

Updates

February 16th, 2015 at 04:37 pm

I paid off my credit card, added $300 to the EF, and we now have a total of $220 for our summer vacation saved.

Bad news on kitty. He was doing horrible this morning, and I thought he was dying in my arms. He couldn't even stand without falling backwards and and was limp as a noodle. I panicked, because we got a lot of snow last night and the roads are bad. But my mom came and got me and we got him to the vet early this morning. They gave him more steroid and more antibiotic, which is all they can do anymore. They were sad to see me again. Another vet looked at him as well. Frown

We are home now, but he is still very weak and very sick. Praying the steroid kicks in and gives him a boost to regain his balance again. He is not eating or drinking this morning, and is barely moving. I feel absolutely sick and have bawled all morning. I had plans to go on a girls trip with my mother and sister, but they are now cancelled due to the weather and the fact that if my cat died while I was away I would never forgive myself.

Could really use some prayers.

Done and DONE!

February 10th, 2015 at 03:05 pm

Line of Credit is paid in full!!! Debt free again except for mortgage!

How cool is that to have our hardest goal done before the middle of February! Also sent $1,000 to the EF!

The other goals are going to fly by, EF will be done by the end of the month, and the others will follow soon after. 2015 has been a great year so far!

Feeling Blessed

February 9th, 2015 at 02:20 pm

Two posts today, sorry! Just had to the share the good news.

First I had forgotten that husband has already been putting back for his truck. He has $300 saved so far. Also he has about $350 saved that could count for our EF, but I'm going to leave it off for now.

But the major news is that my company just signed with another company in a partnership of sorts. They also do website design, but they are not to keen on WordPress, so basically they are subcontracting all the WordPress websites onto us! That means we are completely swamped and running at full capacity, if we do decide to hire the new guy. We actually hired a girl as well to do our spell checking, content review, and marketing training. We really need to hire at least one MORE worker, but it is surprisingly hard to find good web designer. This is great news, and we are booked for the next several months! We have at least 14 websites on line-up and I can only do about 4 a month... The boss works full time in addition to his company, and the new hire will have to be trained before he really starts outputting. I'm guessing with my help he could do maybe 2 a month at this time.

The other company will continue to supply us with unlimited work. Once some of these jobs get finished and the checks start coming in, I should get a considerable raise! Things are going better than expected. It is nearly unheard of for a company to make a profit after only one month of operation.

Not Getting Better

February 9th, 2015 at 02:00 pm

Well it appears the steroid shots aren't working for my kitty anymore. Frown They told me that would happen, but they figured it would be months from now.

The strongest antibiotics didn't work either. So I think at this point there really isn't anything else we can do for him. I'll continue to report to the vet, but the only other thing they could do is a brain scan at a specialty vet. $$$ which I can not afford. They are stumped. At this point he is either going to heal on his own over time, or he won't.

He is not as bad as he was, but he still has no balance, and is walking in circles. Thankfully he is eating, drinking, etc, normally. So I don't think being off balance will actually kill him. But I am worried about him falling off something and getting hurt.

I'm not sleeping well because he paces in our bed during the night. (Walks over my face) He also jumps up and down several times, which he can't really do anymore. So any movement and I shoot up to make sure he is safe. Thankfully my quick reflexes helped him this morning. He tried to jump on the bed, but then started falling backwards. I managed to grab him and pull him up before he hit the ground. I may have to start locking him in a kennel at night so I know he can't hurt himself, and so I can sleep. But I hate to do that. He's been sleeping next to me, and had free roam for his entire nearly 12 year life.

I feel so helpless, my poor little baby. I can't imagine life without him.

Refunds & Work

February 6th, 2015 at 01:59 pm

I just checked the "where's my refund" and it says it has been approved and that I will receive my federal return before the 10th! Hurray!

State hasn't even acknowledged they have received it yet... For the record, my state government sucks. I'm pretty sure it's one of the worst in the nation.

Work is going well. We have more business than expected which is a good thing. I am currently meeting/training a new person to see if they would be a good fit to hire because our business is quickly out growing our time.

I'm really loving it! I get to work from home, doing stuff that is fun, and then once a week I go meet with employer and discuss things and then he takes me out to a fancy lunch. I think I'm becoming spoiled! Part of me is worried that it is too good to be true, and that it isn't going to last very long. But so far, nothing but up.

We are so swamped that we actually doubled our rates! We are trying to build up a buffer account for the slow times, but if business continues like this it's very possible that my income could double or more in the new few months. That is hard to imagine, as I am making more now than I ever have. Trying not to put the cart before the horse, but it's certainly fun to think about.





Car is Gone!

February 3rd, 2015 at 07:50 pm

The car was picked up and I drove straight to the bank and put the full amount on the LOC. Less than $800 to go! How exciting!

A New Record

February 2nd, 2015 at 08:26 pm

I just want to dance and shout and sing!

I was checking our taxes one last time before submitting, and I realized that I mixed up a 3 and a 7 on our state income tax. When I fixed the error I got an additional $400 back on our refund! We are getting a total of $2,100 which is the most we've ever gotten. Taxes filed.

Also, the lady who had me hold the car got her refund back today unexpectedly early, so she is picking up the car and paying tonight when she gets off work!!!

So that means, today I just made over $6,000! Whoot!

$1,000 will be going to the EF. We are paying OFF the line of credit, and the remaining $350 we are saving for our summer vacation.

After all the payments clear, I will be debt free again except for the mortgage! How exciting.

Taxes Almost Filed

February 2nd, 2015 at 04:07 pm

Waiting on husband to text me his DL number during lunch so I can e-file.

Also caught an error on my W2. My old address is listed. (I moved 3 years ago!) So I'm not sure if that will affect my return. It was probably wrong last year too, and I don't remember having any problems. But I alerted old employer and they are going to call their tax accountant and make sure.

We are getting the most back ever! $2,100. That is great for us. $1,000 is going straight to the EF, $1,000 I believe is going to vacation fund, and we may go out to dinner with the other $100.

Some people try to take out the minimal taxes as possible. I don't. I don't claim anything. I enjoy getting a lump sum at the end, rather than have an extra little amount in my normal check. I really don't care that it is interest free. Most likely it would get spent anyway, and even if I saved it I would make less than 1% interest, so how much really more would I get...

It will be exciting to deposit that much at once and see my numbers shoot up!

Poor Little Kitty

February 2nd, 2015 at 02:43 pm

Well the cat went back to the vet. Poor guy.

They are worried it is NOT an ear infection now, since he's not responding to antibiotics. They are starting to think brain tumor, cancer, stroke, swelling on the brain, etc. Frown

They tested him for feline leukemia, and he was negative. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have a tumor.

Three vets looked at him, and they are all just at a loss. They gave me one of the strongest antibiotics on the market and said if this doesn't cure him, then it's not an ear infection. It's kind of scary. There are a ton of side effects and warnings, and it even says use extreme caution on the box.

The plan at this time is to keep giving him a low dose steroid when he regresses, until it stops being effective. The problem is that it took over 12 hours for it to kick in this time, whereas the other times there was improvement after only an hour or two. So I'm worried that it is already not working as well as it was.

If I want to take him for an MRI, or X-Rays, then they will have to refer me to a specialist, which is over 1.5 hours away, and will cost a small fortune. Not sure if I can swing that, or if it would even give us answers.

My poor little baby. I love him so much. Thankfully when he is regressing it is not as bad as it originally was, so I'm really hoping he will slowly improve and get better. He is still happy, snuggly, and purring. He just has bad balance. It might just be something he lives with long term, unfortunately.