Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Consolidate Your Bills

Hey guys! I have been going through all my post and realized since I have had a boyfriend I have been giving out a lot of advice! I am in no way an expert in dating, those of you who have read my book know that! 
I am simply just talking about how I feel and my opinion on things that are happening in my life! Take it or leave it guys!! Some advice may be good, some advice may be bad! Some things work in my life but may not work in yours! 

So, moving on......looking at the bills that Cole and I have seperately plus the bills we have together we are paying way too much!! So consolidating seems to be the perfect idea right? If we are going to be together in a relationship and live together as a family we need to cut corners wherever we can, starting with bills. Getting your finnaces in order causing so much less stress in your life and that way you can both be accountable and active in your financial situation. So just a couple of examples that I have......

Cell Phones: Cole has T-Mobile but I have Verizon

I am on a plan with my mom but Cole is by himself. Cole has been paying $110 a month for his cell phone. He has a smart phone and I think unlimited everything! 
My mom and I both have smart phones but my mom also has a tablet that is on our plan. We have unlimited talk and text with 10GB of data per month we pay $175 a month. 
So together we are paying $275 just to have our cell phones!
Looking at our plans and how much data, minutes and text we use, we decided for him to be added on to our plan. So to add his line on our plan it was only $60 extra a month. That is way better than paying $110. So now we are all on the same plan! 
Saving $50 a month!!

Another example is with our car insurance. Now, since we are not married we are not allowd to combine auto insurance policies. Cole and I work opposite shifts, so looking at our schedules we decided to be a one car family. 
Saving us money on our insurance $75 a month!
Plus, his car is way better on gas than mine was, I am not sure if we will be saving gas money but it is definitely a plus.

Now this stuff is nice to do when you have been together with your boy/girlfriend for a while that way you both are committed. If I didnt love Cole and think that we would be together forever I wouldnt be doing this stuff because you never want to find yourself being reliable or dependant on your significant other. So just do what is realistic for your family!!



What kind of ways do you all save on your monthly expenses? What advice do you have for other women on a way to cut corners with their bills?

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Delegating Duties and Dating

I must say it is so strange dating again. Maybe I was just single for so long that I just have to get use to it again. At first when Cole moved in with Alyssa and I, I was the women of the house you know I wanted to make sure that dinner was ready, the house was cleaned and laundry was done. We all want things to be perfect! But as life got busier and time went by faster, I started to feel very overwhelmed by normal house duties. I started feeling like everything was falling on my shoulders and everything was my responsibility. But after breaking down and just telling Cole that I was feeling overwhelmed we were able to come up with a nice plan.

Delegating duties in your relationship is a must ladies!! As much as we want we can not do it all. 
So here it is a little glimpse of what we do to make our lives a little easier.


Cole is in charge of:
Laundry: Washing and Drying
Dishes: Emptying the Dishwasher
Housework: Cleaning his half of the bedroom and helping out with the living room
-Taking the trash out-

I am in charge of:
Laundry: Folding and Putting Away
Dishes: Loading the Dishwasher
Housework: Cleaning my side of the bedroom and helping out with the living room
Vacuum and Mop aka Swiffer  :)
-Taking the trash out-

I even gave Alyssa some duties because I have been told if you start them early it will be normal routine for kids.

Alyssa is in charge of:
Laundry: Putting all her dirty clothes in her hamper and putting her hamper by the stairs
Dishes: Setting the table before dinner and putting her dirty dishes in the kitchen after dinner
Housework: Sweeping the kicthen floor and cleaning up her toys 
-Help take the trash out-

We are trying to make living together as easy as possible and trying to make sure that if we delegate duties then everybody is pulling the same weight and nobody will feel overwhelmed. 

Now, this is still a work in progress but hey its a start!

Dating is hard enough why make it harder by getting upset or fighting about little things like taking the trash out!

How do you delegate your duties at home? Do you share chores with your boyfriend, spouse or children? What advice do you have for people who are still trying to figure it all out?

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

I'm Getting Semi-Comfortable Here In Ohio!

So as you all know that have been following me for a while, I moved back home to Ohio after almost two years in Kentucky! It was a big adjustment! But being able to stay with my aunt and uncle helped out a lot getting some money saved up or not saved up and just being able to do things with my daughter was really great!

But now I am a big girl again!! 

I moved out of my aunt and uncles house in March and have been living on my own! It was nice because I waited until I got my tax return and that helped me buy all the stuff I needed for my apartment. I got a new sofa, pot and pans and thankfully my aunt gave me pretty much everything I needed for my kitchen, even a kitchen table!!

This kitchen table is very special to me because it use to be my families table, my mom got a new table and gave it to my aunt and uncle and then they let me use it as a desk when I lived there. When I moved out they let me take it with me! How cool is that! Every night when we sit down as a family and eat dinner I am eating at the same dining rom table that I use to growing up! 

After a month or two of living by myself and trying to get use to my new found freedom, my boyfriend moved in with me!!! Wow what a big change in life, right?!?

After being single and dating around here and there for four years I finally met somebody and have been dating them for a while now. His name is Cole!!!!

 Cole moved in with Alyssa and I and took on a huge role as a positive male figure in her life! It was so weird at first and honestly I sometimes still cant believe it! But, we are doing so great and I almost forgot how easy it is having somebody there with you, apart from friends and family having that romance and those feelings of security!



Being single was great and it let me focus on Alyssa, so I would suggest if your single live it up, own it completely because once you get back into a relationship it can be hard at first especiallly if you guys are not on the same page.

Cole and I fit perfectly together! Were I lack he gains and were I gain he lacks. I have never felt closer to somebody!! That part is what I missed being single!

But now, we have been living together for a couple months and starting to look at everything as a whole instead of two different parts, that is a big adjustment. It is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Combining bills and finances can be a deal breaker. Some couples are great together but fight about bills and money and that can tear people apart real fast. The best thing that that I've found is to be completely open and honest with each other, remember people communication is key!

So your turn........

Are you going through the same thing with your boyfriend? Are you guys new to living together or throwing around the idea of moving in together?

Couples who have been living together for awhile, what was the biggest struggle or adjustment for you and how did you overcome it? 

I need some advice ladies and gents!! 

Help a girl out here, I dont want to scare this one away!  ;)

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Where Did My Body Go?!!

So, a couple months ago I was at work and one of the girls there was talking about how excited she was because she gained five pounds. Then......she brought the scale out!

Ahhhhhhhh!! Noooooo!! 

She thought it would be interesting to get on the scale and see how much she weighed, she then pressured her sister to get on the scale. Honestly, I was a little curious how much her sister weighed because we are about the same build I would say. But, then they pressured me to get on the scale, at the time I was like no I weigh like 10x more than you. After minutes of peer pressure I decided to jump on the scale. OMG!!! I looked at that scale and my eyes got all teary eyed. How embarrassing is that number!!! The worse part is when you are weighing yourself at home you are in private so the number doesn't really matter because only you can see it. But now, everybody I work with including my boss knows how much I weigh. 

Where did my body go? I wasn't skinny before I had my daughter but I surely wasn't whatever this body is.

How is it possible that five years after I give birth I weigh the same that I did 9 months pregnant!! WHAT!!!!


Why is it so hard for women to loose the weight? Why is it that even if we weigh the same our bodies are different?Why is weight such a big deal for us anyway?

I am beautiful and I know that when I look in the mirror and see my face. Whenever I try to find somehting to wear, now thats a whole nother story! Its like I'm a ginormous women and nothing fits right. It may look good in my closet but it definitely doesnt look that good on my body! It takes me double the time to find a good outfit. I just dont like how my body looks!



Working a full time job and being a mom doesnt really leave much room for exercise does it ladies?!?

But, I am confident that I will control my eating and get back to my ME!!!



I feel like I have pretty much kissed my pre-baby b ody goodbye and now jst want to feel comfortable in my own skin and my own clothes thats where my goal is!!!!

How about you ladies is there an issue with your body or weight that you are struggling with? Please talk to me about it, maybe we can go down this journey together and keep each other accountable!! We can beat this ladies!!!