Money Smart Mom

I’m back - with a vengeance! If you read my last blog post, you know I was facing very uncomfortable surgery. I was really dreading the surgery, and whaddaya know? It was just as bad as I thought it would be. It was incredibly painful, and really lasted three days. They did the surgery on one day, and two days later completed reconstructive surgery to close up the wound and give my a nose again. I was missing a good sized chunk on the left side of my nose.

I was pretty awful looking for a few weeks - scabby and gross. And to be honest, my self-esteem took a big hit. I felt depressed and unhappy, uncomfortable going out in public. It didn’t help that I couldn’t work out for a few weeks, and I let myself go big time when it came to eating healthy. Everyday I got crankier and crankier, and I wasn’t doing to pull myself out of the dumps.

What a difference two months can make. My nose looks just fine. I’m back on track making good nutritional choices, and I’ve started working out again. I’m now running three mornings a week with a great bunch of girls, training for my first 10k in September. We run at 5:45am - absurdedly early for a mom with three small kids to run around after for the rest of the day! But I look forward to it.

I have resolved to keep up with this blog on a more regular basis - make it a habit. It truly takes at least 6 week to turn an action into a habit. I’m determined to follow through with this one!

My husband and I returned last night from a four day trip to Las Vegas.  I’d been two years before with my mom and really got to see a lot, he’s been twice for work and saw the inside of a shop for three days.  We were very much looking forward to the trip - we planned on sleeping in, taking naps, seeing the sights, meeting up with friends, and just enjoying each other’s company.  Often we’re like ships passing in the night - he comes home and I hand off the kids to run out to something, and I arrive back home just in time to handle bedtime while he goes out to hockey.  Four days alone - what on earth would we talk about?

I needn’t have worried.  We had a fabulous time.  One of our best vacations ever, in fact.  The weather was great - not too hot, not too cold.  We gambled (a little) and won (a lot) which took pressure off our budget for the trip and allowed us to eat at better restaurants and do a bit of shopping.  We met up with friends and laughed and laughed while touring the strip and Freemont Street. We borrowed a car from a colleague of my husband’s and toured the Hoover Dam, and hiked in Red Rock Canyon.  We watched the Canadian men’s Olympic team beat Russia in a bar filled with Canadians cheering their head off.  We spent a lot of time in bed … sleeping or otherwise.

We didn’t talk about the kids, or work.  We didn’t check our email, turn on the television, or read a newspaper.  We called home just twice, working on the assumption that if something were wrong, home would call us.  We didn’t have any big talks, arguments, or make any life altering decisions.

It was blissful.  I was extremely happy during those four days, and I remember thinking how lucky I was.  Because despite the work of being home - watching our pennies, counting my calories, raising three children and running a business - home is still a lot like that vacation in the big ways.  My husband and I love each other, and get along extremely well regardless of whether we’re on a vacation alone or surrounded by the chaos of home.  And after fifteen years together, I think that’s a feat worth celebrating!

So, blogging.  I feel like I’m hollering, “Hello world!” out into the great vastness that is the Internet.

I’m trying blogging because I’m interested in recording my life as it happens.  What I’m thinking about in the moment.  And I think the things I’m doing these days is potentially somewhat interesting.  I read quite a few blogs, and there have been some over the years that I’ve been moved by.  I don’t know if my blog will have the same impact, but it’s worth giving it a shot.

So, about me.  I have three girls.  Kate is four, turning five in May.  Jacqueline is turning two (tomorrow!).  Nicole is five months old.  I own a children’s consignment store, which I opened the same month Kate turned one.  I can hardly believe it’s been four years since the store opened.  I used to work 60 - 80 hours a week at my business, but over the years it has been whittled down to a more manageable 20 hours a week or so, mostly from home.

I am publishing my second book, Money Smart Mom: Financially Fit Parenting in March.  I published my first book, Sink or Swim: Get Your Degree Without Drowning in Debt with a traditional publisher in 2003.  I loved writing and promoting the book, but was less than thrilled with working with a publisher.  I had little control over distribution, pricing, and even the cover.  So this time around I am self-publishing.  It’s a lot more work, and a significant upfront investment, but I’m hoping it will pay off.  I’ll be blogging about some of the process.

I’m also working on myself this year.  On January 1 I set a goal to lose 50lbs in 2010.  So far I’m down nearly 15 lbs.  Best of all, I’m doing this the healthy way.  No fad diets, no bargaining with myself over food over and over again.  I’m seeing a nutritionist and learning about healthy eating, and I’m exercising my butt off (literally).  With my schedule it’s difficult, but it may be the most important thing I do this year.  Having three girls is motivating - I am their role model for their relationship with their bodies and their eating habits, and I need to be a good one.

So this is officially my first blog post.  Let’s see what else happens!