Sell...Sell..Sell...

My DH and I made a decision a while back, exactly 2 weeks ago, to start selling stuff we don't use or need anymore. It started with little things, and ended up with some furniture pieces.
So far we made about 5K. It is a pretty good amount of money! Beside that, we made some extra money by selling things on craigslist to be able to pay off our Laptop from Dell & my small collection! Not bad, at all!

Tonight after our dinner, we'll sit down and make a decision what to pay first, if anything, or just keep the money in our account for an emergency, until we save some more money that we can count on as an Emergency funds.

As I mentioned before, we don't have any savings nor emergency funds. We are thinking about to pay off some small credit cards, collections and loans, and then jump on to the big ones. Until then, we will keep this 5K in our account, and make sure we add as much as possible money to this amount so we can finally in a month or two pay off other small loans & credit cards, and of course couple of other collections we have.

My DH told me that it would be a good idea to hold on to this money because we're expecting a baby any moment now, and because of that, we might need some money for the baby or something that will come unexpected.

At least... we're heading towards our financial freedom!

Appointment update...

I was kind of excited to see my Midwife today because she's such a nice woman who can answer all you fears, concerns and questions. If I should have another child, in the near future hopefully, I would choose her again. She's so sweet.



Anyway,

Today I was told that I started dilating and it was over 1cm, close to 2cm. She said that I should come back next Monday for another check up and then she will talk to my doctor to make sure that they can schedule me for Labor next Monday evening. Actually I was so thrilled about that idea because my sister will be visiting me next Monday morning, so it will give me enough time to go pick her up from airport with my husband and go straight to my appointment. I hope I would be able to deliver next Monday evening because I would be very happy to have, beside my husband, my sister with me in the labor...



Anyway...this week will be kind of long ... Waiting :)



*****



I have to plan our menu today so we don't spend money on going out. We made a list which is more like a contract and every time one of us wants to go out and eat something, we have to figure out how much that would cost outside, and that person is supposed to take that amount of money and put it in our debt jar. That money is some extra money that we don't count on to be able to send toward our debts :) Good idea huh? Of course it is when a woman comes up with it :) :) :)





Menu....Tonight... We will have some good chicken breast with veggies and rice... (Rachel Ray's speciality from the 30 min meals) + I will make some good salad!





*******



Did I already mention that I just LOVE this season? Fall is my favorite season...All these beautiful colors outside in parks...Awww sooooo cute & romantic and beautiful... We might end up going to park today or tomorrow to take some more pictures of my belly ... It would be perfect to do so while the weather is just wonderful and parks are being colors with these beautiful leafs :)



Wishing all of you a niceeeee day ...

What is....

... Life without love?
... Happiness without a happy marriage?
... Laughter without kids?


When you have a respectful and wonderful husband, who supports and loves you as you are, what else can you do?

Nothing but thank God!


*******

We started reducing our over 30K debts ....

We paid the following today:

- My small collection of $220
- A computer (lap top) we purchased from Dell 8 months ago. The amount left to pay was $960. It was mailed out today!


Some of you might say 'Not much' but for us it means something. We are happy that something is happening ... We're paying off things we think are a 'must'...

Also no going out for a week! We enjoy eating home, and we don't buy groceries like we used to... We plan our meals and buy only what we have to have!


In this economy today, we all have to be more careful and pay attention even to these small spendings, that add up fast and a lot!

*****************

Also, only one week left until my due date! I've been having some contractions over the weekend but they were first for 2 hrs with 10-12 minutes apart. And then Sunday night they were like 9-10 minutes apart... I think the time is knocking on our doors and letting us know to get ready... I hope it'll happen this week...We are so excited and can't wait to meet our little angel!

I pray to God for an easy labor!

I would love to ...

learn couple of GREAT French dishes!

Anyone willing to suggest something good from a French cuisine?

Ahhhh that feels WONDERFUL...

I'm 38 weeks pregnant.
For the past 2 weeks my feet are swelling like crazy...
It does hurt, I'm not saying it's not ...
And tonight...after our dinner, i laid down on the couch in our family room to watch TV with my husband and he looked at my feet and asked so kindly
'They are so swollen. Do they hurt?'
'Yes...' was my response with a sad face

He started massaging my feet and it felt sooo GREAT.
He massaged my feet for few minutes, and I am just feeling like a newborn now...

Thank you baby ...

If you have someone so lovely and kind at home, after a really busy and stressful day, let them massage your feet, and you will feel sooooo goood!

New Fall Pieces...

I would have to get me few cloth pieces this fall, but since I will deliver this month my first baby, I thought about to save some more money and do the shopping in couple months (End of November maybe?) when I start loosing the baby weight! I do have most of my winter clothes that is still new looking therefor I wouldn't need to go do a BIG shopping. Just a few thing here and there, to make me smile and happy! :) I looked at some websites and honestly there is a lot of new clothes for fall and winter displayed, but all of them are costing money. It's impossible to buy stuff without spending much money.

I, actually, made a decision: I will buy things that I like, and that I can match with my other clothes at home. So it still would look like 'new' and make me happy! :) I don't want to renew my wardrobe until I am back to my 135 lbs, which is my goal by May of 2009, and when I am back to my 'goal/dream weight' I will then go shopping and make sure I get what I love and need! :)

Here is my wish list:

Old Navy displayed some good clothes and jewelry pieces. I like this 3/4 sleeve Sweater in Gray. It is only $20 now on clearance. Not bad at all! I might definitely get me this piece! :)

Then I checked Banana republic website and saw this hat. I fell in love, but really did fall in love, with this pretty black floppy hat at Banana Republic... So beautiful! The cost is $69. I might get me this one, only if the price goes down a little, this would be more than I can spend (what my budget allows me :( ) I love hats, and have so many of them, but this one is something else!

Banana Republic has this beautiful pair of boot socks to warm my feet during the winter... I love this style, and it looks great to wear them when you are just enjoying the time at home. I will for sure get me at least one pair ($12.50) of these! They have different colors!

My favorite website VictoriasSecret.com has this beautiful new Sensuous cable knit sweater (wine color) for $118, which is a little too pricey, but ... Somehow I feel I have to have this piece of cloth. I wish it was a little cheaper :( I might check other outlet stores and look if they have something similar to this, which means cheaper too!

Well, hello my lover! People who know me, know also that I am crazy and obsessed with shoes, purses and perfumes. I love to have a nice and beautiful (good quality) pair of shoes, purse and a good perfume that I can count on. This red/black pair of shoes by VictoriasSecret is $70 but I am not sure if I should even think about it. I do, for sure, love this pair!

This coat is just leaving me speechless. I do want to buy myself a nice red or white, possibly both colors :D, coat. But that will not happen this year. Maybe next fall/winter. I have one long black coat that I never wore, one purple that I also never wore, and one coat (black) that I love and wore few times. I just think spending money on another coat would be insane. I will try to hold my self back when I see a nice piece of a coat! I promise I will try!

Also perfume, this fall and winter I am not sure what kind I would love to have. I do have few perfume bottles, but my favorite is 'Coco Chanel Mademoiselle' which I've been using for years and love it. I got a nice big size bottle for our Anniversary from my Husband. Lovely! :) I don't think I would need anything else. I would actually have to get a nice piece of a coat for my baby, but that will probably come from Potterybarnkids.com, where I saw some great coats for girls on sale.

Also, husband has to renew his wardrobe too. He has to go get few nice fall and winter pieces for himself... He's so easy when it comes to shopping. He sits in front of his lovely computer, gets on his favorite websites, and gets the stuff he likes and needs. I wish I was like him, but NO. I have to go to the Mall and spend hours and hours looking for something that I don't even know what I'm looking for.

Anyway...What about you guys? Do you like shopping? Anything you WANT or HAVE to get this fall/winter?

Love,

Mademoiselle

Pregnancy update...

I had an appointment earlier today, and the Dr. said that everything was good with my baby. That made my day ;)

Now I just have to wait for her to decide to pop out ... Hopefully very soon!

*******

I found some good pieces online at Banana Republic... I got to post some pictures.... This Fall is bringing us some good stuff, but costly too!

Birthday Dinner...

We didn't go out. My DH didn't want to and we just stayed home. I invited his sisters, niece, and mom over for dinner. And guess what we made?

Fajitas! But we made some GREAT Fajitas, that everyone loved.

One thing is for sure. ....

From now on when we plan to have a Mexican food lunch or dinner, I will definitely go to one of the Mexican Super Markets, where everything is soooo cheap, and a dinner for 6 people will not cost you more than $15. And some of these veggies are unused, which will make us a dinner tomorrow :)

Usually when we go out, just the two of us, we end up paying up to $100 for 2 people! That's a lot! And all these veggies and chicken breasts would cost us about $40-$50 at a regular store (Publix or Kroger).

We had a great time and on top of that, we saved some money on a dinner! :)

Try to enjoy a dinner at home (family or just as a couple). I am talking about a tasteful dinner, but cheap!

We did, and are so happy about!

Happy Birthday My Love...

Today is not just a Monday that I usually don't like.
Today is not just another day.
Today is a very special Day.
A day when God sent an angel. 30+ years ago, to this earth, and made me very happy!

Today is my husband's Birthday.
A man who's so caring.
A man who I love more than anything.
Someone who's just making this world a better place by being himself!
He's very special.

I am proud to say that I found someone who's gentle and caring, who's there when I need him, and who makes me feel needed, too!
I found him, who can be proud of who he is, who is loved & respected more than he can imagine.

He's the best thing that ever happened to me.

And today I would love to thank God for sending him into my life, and making him be my husband.
Thank you dear God for making me happy by meeting and marrying an angel - My husband.

Also, I would love to thank my Mother-in-Law for giving a birth to a wonderful man, who she raised in a very special way. When I look at him, I cannot stop being grateful to her for raising such a wonderful person. Thank you Mom!


Baby,

Today...and always....
I wish you happiness, great health, laughter, success and many many more magical moments to spend with me and our little miracle, who's about to be boren.
I hope that your birthday and every day will bring you as much happiness as our life together has brought me.

I love you today and always....


Happy Birthday my love!

Sunday...

Another day in Paradise...

Sunday's are usually meant for relaxing and enjoying the day. But not ours ...At least not this one. We have so much to do in the house, before I head over to the Labor room, which should be any moment/day now.

Today, my DH and I decided to clean up the house a little bit (vaccum, dust, and organize) before the big day, which is so exciting to both of us.

Also today, we were supposed to be grocery shopping but we did that yesterday. We spent about $76, which is really surprisingly low for us. But at least we are doing better now when it comes to grocery shopping. Before we would have gone to a store buy groceries and then go out to eat as soon as we got the opportunity, which was on a daily basis. Shame on us! Not that I mind going out and enjoy the dinner or lunch or brunch/breakfast, but it's insane to spend a lot of money on dinning out! That was last year.

This year we improved and started to think about saving money and paying our debts down. Now we plan what to eat next day, and we know what we need and what we to have for lunch or dinner. It is so easy and much more enjoyable than going out. We are spending less money and saving more. Not that we have some saving accounts built up but at least we are sending the money (that we save on food and other unnecessary things) toward our Credit cards & other loans.

Sometimes we are make our little decisions and make sure we are on the right road.

My DH and I are getting back on track financially and making sure we don't spend more than needed! Hopefully we'll stay on this track for a while, which would mean 'debtfree' by Summer 2009, I mean $0 owned to CC and loans. DEBTFREEEEEE!


Since I am very busy today, I wish you all a Wonderful Sunday & hope you'll get enough rest for a weak ahead!


Tonight we'll be renting a movie & enjoying our evening! :)


Love,
Mademoiselle!

September

is the month I just love. Acutally I love the Fall. I enjoy all these beautiful colors you can see outside in the park and street. I just wanted to start blogging and leave a little story about things I love, enjoy, experience, go through, hate, and places where my heart took me to.

This is not just a personal finance blog, but also about other things in our life that every woman thinks are important and fun!

Anyway...

I'm a 28 year old female, living in Atlanta and loving this City. This is the City where I met the love of my life, my husband, where I found myself and where I started my new dreams and goals to write down. Having a husband that supports you in everything you love makes you feel that you achieved more than just a goal you dreamed of. He keeps me alive and makes me happy and follows my dreams with me... Being happy doesn't mean I'm debtfree! I am not.. I also have all these ugly credit cards, student loans... Just like many other people in todays world...

Join me in my life journey while I share my personal finance stories, my love for fashion, school, kids, marriage, food, and all the other things and places I just enjoy...

Love,

Mademoiselle