I received my diploma in the mail today!!!
I still need a frame. Any suggestions are welcome as to where to get a nice one with a mat or a floating frame
It even came with a wallet diploma, courtesy of the UNLV Alumni association.
Yes, I did blur out my middle name. I figure this is a public site.
Last night Eden was having a rough time sleeping so I brought her into rest with me while I held her. For those moments awake I had a lot of thoughts go through my mind. I don’t remember exactly all of them, but two stuck out.
The first thought. I have a lot of dreams. Now this sounds good, but my dreams all require money. Buying a new car, redoing the counter tops in the kitchen, redoing the girls bathroom almost completely ( we’ve already bought a new toilet so that’s the one thing that doesn’t need to be done). Then there’s painting the inside of my house and buying a new mattress Jon and I both agree on. Plus maybe some real furniture for the girls and our room. (like new dressers :)) Plus I want diamond earrings and my mom wants to sell me her $3,000 quilting/embroidery sewing machine for a small fee each month, (She’s getting a new one that’s worth about $9,000 for around $4,000). Plus I just like shopping in general. Then there’s paying off the smaller mortgage. Well paying off the mortgage company. (We’ve used about 14,000 in student loans to pay it off, which will start being due this July, but $10,000 is at the low rate of just 2.8 %).
So the main dilemma is the car. I’ve made a deal that we will not buy a car until the small mortgage is paid off. Which looks to be about December if nothing major comes up. The problem being I want to do around $1,500 in remodeling which will then make it more around March of next year. ๐
My thought is to do this nanny service my sister does. Well babysitting is what I would do, about once or twice a week.They cater to the hotels and wealthy families in town. The problem being is while filling out the application I felt so under qualified because I have no professional training and haven’t worked for nearly 4 years. I’m very qualified by life experience, I am a mom, but they want employment for the past 10 years and references that have known me for five. (Amber you’ll probably be one ๐ ). I worry about not getting the job because who will want a stay at home mom to babysit, though I do have a college degree.
I guess it’s just a little scary entering a work type field and filling out an application when you haven’t worked for so long. I’m tempted not to do it just out of feeling incompetent. (I know I can do it, it’s will they hire me with just the life experience of taking care of my own children.) I’m glad that I don’t have to do this job. Really it’s just so I can fund these extras. Which also brings me to the next dilemma, should I be worried about these extras or should I be happy that we are happy and fed with a roof over our heads? I guess I also want to enjoy these extras while we’re here, not 6 months before we leave because we’re thinking about selling and they’ll help sell the house.
I guess it’s also “Do I mind having the mortgage debt while having a car?” One reason I want the mortgage to go away is so I can get a slightly nicer car then if we had the mortgage. I feel a little greedy but I also feel that working one night a week is okay. I went to school twice a week during my schooling, and once even three times a week when I was pregnant with Eden.
So there’s my dilemma. I’m too scared to fill out a job application for fear of being rejected because I haven’t worked in so long. Then I also worry about working for the wrong reasons.
I really want a nicer kitchen and bathroom, and I really want a car by next year. I’ve made lots of sacrifices and I feel that this is an okay one for my family.
We’re told so often that having the mom work is terrible. Though plenty of Mormon moms do things like home businesses, so I feel that this is okay. I work and come home. Or I don’t work that night if they don’t need me. Rather then I work and do party or show and have to continue to work while at home doing phone calls and everything else that come with home businesses. Lots of moms do those jobs for their extra money or to do their hobbies. This money is for myself. I really want a new guest bathroom and a nicer kitchen. So my family benefits as well. ๐
Next thought. Last night we watched the Disney movie Cars. I love this movie. We always watch the extras and they tell how the animators and writers traveled the entire Route 66 to get a feel and appreciation of the movie. Every time I watch the movie I want to go on Route 66 and see the land and heart of America. Every time they tell the sad story of interstate travelers bypassing the small fictional town of Radiator Springs I want to first cry and then take a road trip with my girls. Jon and I are fans of small businesses, along with big, but if we have the money we like to help those who are doing what they love because they love it, not because they make money. Jon wants to do a road trip this summer, but I don’t think we’d be able to financially. One we’d need to buy or rent a car, two we’d need $1,000 just for room and board along with gas. So my goal is next summer to have a road trip with my girls. Maybe along a part of Route 66. I want to travel to forgotten places. (Though I don’t know if I want to stay a night in a forgotten hotel, unless it has been newly refurbished. ;))
I want to see the history and experience some of the old towns of America. I love car rides. I love looking at the landscape and watching the road go by. I enjoyed that as a girl. So this movie makes me sad for those who have been left behind in the wake of advancement. I want to visit quite places with nothing to do other than enjoy the fresh air and run through the sprinklers.