MORE POINTS FOR ME!!!

Well, you know how I mentioned it was boring at work and such when it gets slow? Tonight while working I decided to get some exercise in. We were not quite slow enough to do some lunges between the self check out registers, but I did manage to get some calve stretches in and do some push-ups off the desk that the register is on. Then I got caught...

One of the guys I joke with off and on who works in some department (not sure where) saw me and made a funny comment. I stood up for myself and was making jokes back and in the quick discussion he told me he was going to give me points for the Life Track thing. Of course I had to inform him that you actually get 1,000 points to give away to others and he really could. Instead he went back and got a slip from the HR manager to award me 250 points. LOL!!! But hey, I got points for working out at work... if you could really call it that.

Random thoughts from a day of Substituting

This week I feel I have kept up with the ab/back exercises and while at work the other night I found out about an AMAZING thing our company offers to every single one of it’s employees! The company pays for and offers a service to try and get the employees to be able to live a healthier lifestyle. This means discounted gym memberships (still not in the budget for me though), education on nutrition, diet, and exercise. There is a food and workout journal along with tons of other resources! AND… when you do these various things you get reward points. When you get enough points (it is a lot) you can cash them in for products.

Yeah, some of the products are things like an ice scraper for your car, a pedometer, a calculator/clock/calendar thing for your desk, and other cheap and cheesy prizes. BUT… they also have a lot of cool things (of course for more points) like Dunney and Burke purses, Kitchen Aid stand mixers, Fossil watches, Movado watches, iPods, Blue Ray players, surround sound systems, flat screen TV… the list is huge and amazing! Now you ask, are points easy to earn? Yep. I earn points for filling out anything on my food journal, more for my work out journal, some for keeping track of my weight, more for reading the articles they post and answering a few questions, logging in the Dr. appointment I had a few weeks ago, logging in my dentist appointment, and I even got 250 points for just asking my HR manager about the program.

So of course I sit on my butt to read all this stuff about living healthier… ironic. But, it is one of the few things I can access from certain terminals in the store. This keeps me entertained when I cannot leave my register but have absolutely nothing to do. So, in a way, I get paid to check it out and participate.

Next topic: next week’s resolution.

I am thinking more and more that next week’s resolution will be to fix a budget and stick to it. In the past I have not had much to worry about and when I get paid I pay my bills and depending on how much is left I either spend it on food and such throughout the time till the next check, or I put it into savings. This just is not working out so hot for me and to pull off this Hawaii trip I will need to stick to a plan so I have money to spend when I get there and will still have some to show after I get back. I had a basic budget set up for my last paycheck that I got (something I did at work while I was bored) but then I screwed it up and was supposed to wait for my substitute pay to come in before paying the credit card bill and screwed it up. So, the last two days have been “babysitting” days while substituting and so I brought in my computer and worked out a budget. I have it outlined for what days I should get paid, when I will pay bills, how much each one will be, how much I should still have at the end of the month, how much I have for spending money, and everything I think I should have mapped out. I am still finding some things that are going to need to be put on there, but it is a working document so I can modify it as I go along. I also have it set up to where I can compare the estimated amounts versus the actual amounts that I end up spending and getting and such.

There is only one problem with this budget still… there just is not enough coming in! Student loans are killing me! Substituting is coming to an end and this next check will not be much larger than the last one that still was just enough to cover the loans. I can only work up to 30 hours at my other job and I have been getting up in the 20’s for each week so asking for more hours at work is not really possible. Another job is in order, but with only a month before I leave to teach in Hawaii there is not time to apply, interview, etc. before I have to leave again. And once I get my first check from Hawaii I should be ok and able to put a lot away into savings to cover what the paychecks cannot when I get back.

Then I remembered that home income opportunity. I did make about $200 one month with putting in about 5-10 hours of effort. So, that is my new focus in the next couple weeks. If I can sign some people up I can cash in the money right away and still will get a check at the end of the month. As it is now I make about $25 a month doing nothing with it, which still is not bad for doing no work!

So, if you are interested in green products that replace what you already use let me know. This means it is nothing extra to add to your budget each month, but simply switching stores to safer products. They make around 400 different things so there is always something for everyone! It is also really scary to find out that Fabreese Air Effects puts 89 air pollutants into your home every time you use it! Or that Ajax, Dynamo, and Fab Ultra liquid laundry detergents contain formaldehyde? It can cause asthma and allergies and is a known carcinogen but they only mention that it is in there on technical disclosures for workers. They are not required to list ingredients like food labels are. Corox, Fantastik, Fabreze, Formula 409, Easy-Off, Lysol, Mr. Clean and Spic and Span contain ammonium compounds or ethanolamine, which are classified as asthmagens. These things can trigger asthma attacks and can actually cause new cases of asthma in people who do not have it! Why would you risk exposing yourself to these things? Especially on a regular basis!

I cannot wait to get my own place again so I can decide what comes in or not… No sugar, no horrible products, no tempting bad foods, etc. If it is not around, I will not be tempted to eat it or use it.

Final Topic: Jobs

Job applications SUCK! I have filled out so many of them and am so tired of having to do them in the first place that I am about to write one of these to the next job I do not get. http://www.chaosmatrix.org/library/humor/reject.html

Currently I am also working on an application to stay in this town (that I really want to leave) in a teaching position that I could do, but it is not the subject I really want to teach. I would also have to take the Praxis II test for the content area before I could become certified and that is a lot of money. It is a lot to get a job in a town I do not want to be in and teaching a subject I do not want to teach. But hey, it is a teaching job right? At least that is what everyone says now. I really wish I could find all those people that told me finding a job teaching science, especially physics, would be extremely easy. Now everyone with experience is getting those jobs even if they cannot really teach the subject. It is crazy and soon I shall be certified in 3 states and still jobless. I do not even think I will get to be picky about jobs and will jump on the first one I get an offer for!

Week 17: Abs

This week's resolution is an attempt to redo Week 6's failure of working out 3 times a week. Instead of requiring a half hour of working out which some days just cannot happen (example: Thursday I will sub from 7:45-3:15 then work from 4-11) I will focus on doing little things throughout the week. This week on a daily basis I will do some form of ab workout. Nothing extreme, but some crunches, sit-ups, planks, something... anything! A six-pack is not necessary, but I have weak back muscles and it sucks. I decided on this resolution Saturday night and this morning when I went to the chiropractor he gave me a list of exercises he wants me to do to help strengthen my back muscles so hopefully my back will not kill me after working. Ironic?

This should also help me when I get to go to the beach and maybe join in on a volley ball game. Oh, and it should help the measurements and self-confidence. :)

Week 16: Chap Stick

Ok, so I know I am absolutely horrible at keeping up with the Sunday posts on measurements. I did take my weight and remember it so I will post that in a minute. But, in my non-posting time I have been busy. I worked all last weekend, babysat the nephew on Monday, went on a bike ride with everyone's "new" bikes, substituted, ordered plane tickets, and accomplished a lot! Where to begin...

First, week 16, NO MORE chap stick, lip balm, etc. My one addiction in life is chap stick. My lips get so chapped and quickly too! They look horrible and so I live with chap stick in my pocket. Now, I also lose the stuff like you would not believe. I swear I have to have at least 15 different tubes and kinds of the stuff running around my life. So, by chance I have broken my addiction. On my way to Chicago I lost my chap stick that I was going to travel with. (Note, found it today in a pair of pants from before I left...)  When traveling I can typically keep track of one so I only packed one, or at least I thought so. Turns out I had none to go to Chicago with me. Well, I survived. When my lips got to the point of hurting from being chapped I used some of my amazing lotion on them. This lotion is AWESOME!!!! I could probably write a whole post about the lotion alone. So, I have not used chap stick of any sort since Chicago. It kind of goes along with my no shampoo idea. Without the artificial moisture, your body will eventually even itself out and produce the correct amount of moisture... or that is the theory anyway.

Last weekend my nephew turned 6! It really makes me feel old even if I am not. Well, my bf had been out of town for the party and so the nephew wanted to be sure to see my bf. Monday then when I was babysitting we took him out for dinner then we went for a bike ride. The nephew got a brand new bike for his birthday, with brakes! Which is a big deal since his last bike was just a fixed gear little kids bike, but his new one is a big boy bike with training wheels that can be taken off. After watching him ride, they will be on for a little bit longer for sure. But, it was the first time my bf and I got to ride our bikes together and the nephew was very happy he got to ride his new bike with us. Maybe this week we will go for another ride.

I also got most of my garden planted! The size of the garden had to shrink a little bit, but that will be discussed in a later part of this post. I started seeds awhile ago but they are not that big yet. Work had a sale on veggies and herbs so I went and picked up some plants. Currently planted is: a tomato, a grape tomato, a chili pepper, a bell pepper, mint, a stevia plant, and a row of corn seeds. I plan on adding the tomatoes and the jalapenos that I started from seed along with planting some cilantro. The stevia plant was one that was on sale and I figured some how I could get the sugars out of it and use it for my no processed sweetener resolution. Any ideas for how to do this or things to do with stevia???

And, last but the most exciting... plane tickets. I officially have a teaching job!!! Well, for June at least. The last week of May I will be flying back to Hawaii to teach for 5 weeks and then come back in the beginning of July. Work also gave me the all clear to have my job when I get back. My HR manager and the store manager were alright with letting me still work when I got back, but they had to get the all clear from those above them in the company. This means that I will get to keep my benefits!!! Benefits are awesome and I am using them. I already got my annual exam done and have a chiropractor appointment Monday followed by my first dentist appointment in about 6-7 years on Tuesday. The dentist is something that I have been needing for a long time. I remember going to the dentist either in my Junior year or Senior year of high school and then had my wisdom teeth removed in my first year of college. From the pain and the decrease in overlap of my bottom front teeth after that, my teeth have moved and changed. I digress though....

I AM GOING BACK TO HAWAII FOR HALF THE SUMMER!!!!

Chicago Part 2

Sorry, I got distracted after lunch finishing the movie Rango and then went to work on the garden which would be getting planted right now except we had a frost advisory last night and another for tonight. Then I made some awesome pizza's for dinner for the bf, roomie, and their co-worker/friend who is down for the week.

So, Day 2 in Chicago... We set an alarm for about 8:30 and decided if we woke up sooner we would be ok with that, but definitely wanted to be up by then. We were staying at the Congress Hotel which is old and beautiful! But, it is not very sound proof either so when the neighbor was getting up and leaving at around 7am we woke up. We headed down the street for some Starbucks (for her) and some JambaJuice (for me). After that we were pretty much on the route for the Magnificent Mile so onward we went to see the architecture and to check out the Water Tower Building.

One of the bridges along the river.

A Building...

Gorgeous Architecture EVERYWHERE!

Another building

I thought this pic was the Tribune Building, but I guess I picked the wrong one...

The water tower.

Another view of the water tower. Apparently the water tower and the pump house thing across the street were the inspiration to White Castle?

Then we headed back to the hotel to check out and store our bags before heading out to Navy Pier where there was a Filipino festival happening.

Yay for Navy Pier!!!

Cool fountains inside...

I was disappointed in their lack of food. What they did have was not worth it...

After eating some lunch, at around 2pm, we were trying to decide what  to do next. There were clouds rolling in and it looked like it was getting colder out so our Sears Tower idea was not that great. Maybe if it were free, but I did not want to pay to get in there and then only be in a giant cloud to see nothing. By this time I was just plain worn out! So we decided to just go to the other hotel where my interview was in the morning and veg out. That is exactly what we did.

Monday morning I had to wake up to go to an interview. This was an initial interview for the Hawaii Department of Education. It got me to the next round, as I am calling it. Now I am put on the list of people that principals can look at when they have an open position. From there the principals can contact me if they want to interview me.

And, after all that... I have decided that I will not be taking a job in Hawaii unless it is ridiculous. It pains my bf, but I do not want to leave my puppy. She has been there for me through a lot of stuff in life and she is now getting old. She also does not like living with the other 4 dogs currently at my sister's house and so it is time I take her to live with me again. Taking her to Hawaii would be another grand or so and also would be really, really rough on her. :( Maybe after she is gone. For now though it would appear I will be going for the month of June to teach! :)

Kia in 2007 (3 yrs old)