My Heart Is Full

You guys know me by now, and I'm a pretty simple person... not in a bad way, but the simple things in life make me happy... like for instance the fact that fall is upon us, and kids are going back to school... for most of us - life gets back into routine... and cute clothes (read: sweaters!!) are back in the stores!

I ran over to our new outlet mall today to pick up some things for John, and of course made a spin through the Lane Bryant outlet store. Ya'll, I was so excited about the entire store - I had to leave and make John promise to go with me when I officially accept a job. My love of argyle is in full swing, and they have more than one item to make my love flourish all the way until spring!

In addition to the lovely fall wares - they had a wall full of bathing suits, and I of course had to try a couple of them on... now I know they were 50% off, but seriously in the last remaining days of August... isn't $50 to much to pay for a bathing suit?! Even if you do live in one of the hottest most humid climates, but I just couldn't justify the purchase.

Tomorrow we'll be heading up to my in-laws to celebrate one of the Taylors' birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!! (the actual day is today) She's having a Camp Rock swimming party, and I desperately wanted to surprise her on her 6th birthday, and finally get in a pool with her for her party. Again, I just couldn't justify the expense... but I absolutely plan on donning a bathing suit for her 7th!!

Part of my resistance to spending the money is the fact that I just completely cleaned out my closet for the final time... I have three HUGE trash bags full of clothes that no longer fit me... and about 7 items on my side of the closet now... so with my wardrobe needing basics for work and play... I just couldn't justify spending money on a bathing suit that I might only wear once.

I mean honestly - 7 items... all are tops - because my 2 pair of pants no longer fit!! It's very clear that I've lived off of my few pair of shorts, and some t-shirts for the entirety of the summer... even now most of my shorts don't fit anymore...

Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT problem to have... but hopefully you can see how the lovely sweaters I found are a MUCH more practical purchase at this point? And maybe some pants? I think it's customary to wear those when you go to work, right?!

So today has been a big day of appreciation for me, I've been loving my friends and family... and of course argyle... what else is there? Oh WAIT - I've got to tell you the biggest news... Praise God!! John and I were sitting at home this evening, and someone came to the door. I almost let her walk away, but realized that she was our mail lady. She brought me a certified letter from my previous employer... containing... wait for it...

My annual bonus check!! Can you believe it?! I was blown completely away... the staff got theirs about a week or two ago - right before the tax free weekend. Hope & I researched the policy and were sure that in light of my lay off before the end of the fiscal year - we thought that there wasn't any way I'd be considered eligible, but I guess I was!! WHA HOO! Praise God again, because only he knows how an extra $350 will benefit our finances... who knows, it might buy me some much needed clothes for work. Possibly some items for a kindergarten classroom... pay for our ridiculous electric bill... whatever it is - he provides like no one else can.

Speaking of money - ya'll I've been doing a very small side job from my living room in my P.J.'s to earn some extra money. We'll need a little bit of a supplement to cover the costs of switching insurance carriers should I get a job with our local school district. So for the last week, John and I have been working in our spare time for a company called ChaCha. We are what they call ChaCha Guides, and we answer questions that people text in to the company via searching on the internet. You can earn between $.10 and $.20 for each question you answer, and the company is telling us every day that the volume of incoming questions is rising.... so it's a great opportunity for anyone that enjoys being on the computer and has some extra time. Should you explore becoming a guide - please put my name in as your referral so that we can be linked as friends.

That's about it for us tonight... I'm about to head off to bed as soon as the Texans game is over.