Today has become somewhat unexpectedly full.
I woke up early to take Char baby to a new daycare. Work was worky. We got our PL4s and they are brutes. It takes two people to safely hang them on the over stage electrics. Fun!! At lunch time I officially became a Tupperware consultant!!! My website is my2.tupperware.com/mariachunn. I will be hosting a party this Sunday! For those of you in the Rogue Valley, doors will open at my home at 3 pm. Be there or be Tupperware-less. I am working on adding an online component for those out of towners.
The most challenging part of my day though occurred when I picked Char up to go home. My darling man graciously picked her up from daycare as the provider had an appointment before I got off work. They went to our friend's house in Ashland and chilled til I could come get her. However, for whatever reason, she was very tired and ended up falling asleep in his car while he grabbed himself a drive thru dinner. She stayed asleep at the house, in my friend's guest room, until right before I got there. She was okay hanging out for a bit, but as soon as we got in the car, she began crying. She cried all the way home. I had planned to go to Fred Meyer after a pit stop for a diaper change and coupons, but that went out the window as soon as we got inside. She was inconsolable. Just a mess. She wanted to be held, walked around, put down; she wanted to see her toys downstairs, but cried when she picked any up or I tried to give her one. We went upstairs. She wanted her music boxes, but only if I held her while they played. She wanted her blankie and her bottle, even in the bathtub, which did calm her down a bit. She had a stuffy, runny nose, but wouldn't let me clean it. She had a little bit of diaper rash, but has definitely had worse, though she didn't want me to put anything on that either. She didn't really want me touching her at all (I noticed her skin was a little dry), but she wanted to curl up in my lap. I finally got some lotion on her body and some vaseline with a little lavendar oil on her for the rash. I brought a warm bottle upstairs, and all of a sudden she just relaxed. Got her into her pajamas with no problem, and rubbed frankincense, lemon, and lavendar oil in coconut oil on her feet. She was out in about 5 minutes once she settled into her crib. She just woke up, about 2 hours later, but I just went in and rubbed her back a little bit, and she seems to have gone back to sleep. Oi!!!!
This is the first time since she was an infant that I have truly been at a loss as to how to calm her. NOTHING seemed to be helping. Bottle and blankie always work in the short term, but I wish I could figure out the actual problem. I hoping that it was just being worn out, from playing and from her first entire day being with new/"strange" people (kids).
So here I am at the end of my day. I'm sore. I still need to continue my plank challenge and take my vitamins. I did manage to make a new to me dinner tonight that I will also have for at least one lunch this week. Super simple: Half box shell pasta, one can sweet corn, one can peas, a little lemon juice, a little olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, parmasean- toss, serve. According to Natalie, she will now consider considering me an adult because I purchased black pepper. Not sure what the rest of the criteria are, but I'm confident she will notify me when I've past my adulthood test. :)
LIttlest Electrician
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Monday, January 6, 2014
The Road to Independent Financial Well Being
Everyone wants more money. This is because we live in a culture that relies on money as a means of trade. Can you imagine living without cash? Or a monetary system based on chance? Probably not, but that's really what we live with. Printed money is one big game of diminishing returns. But this is how we function.
My whole life I have lived the middle class conundrum of having just enough money to be considered having enough money. What does this mean?? No college scholarships, grants, or subsidized loans, even though both my parents and I had to take out money for me to go to a university. With that degree, in the Bay Area, I made decent money, but still had to work as much as possible to get by. My last year there I had 10 w-2s. 10. And 2 1099s. And I still pretty much broke even on my taxes. I think I made a total of $40k and got about $700 total back between fed and state.
When I moved to Oregon, I decided to only have one job. That worked for 6 years. Now, though, so much has changed that I need to find other opportunities. I am a solo parent (by choice) and a sort-of homeowner. I make about $100 too much per month to qualify for any support services while I'm working. In the off season, when I am on unemployment, I can get WIC, and it is a godsend, especially during January. I always apply in December, so that I have been off contract for a few weeks, and because qualification is in 6 month increments. Therefore, we get assistance through May. January is rough because I can no longer claim unemployment because I am technically earning money, yet I don't see any of that for almost 3 weeks because of pay periods. Yeah, it blows.
Unemployment insurance itself is another reason I'm looking for more opportunities. I'm over it. This year was just the absolute last straw. I'm tired of the hoops I have to jump through; of being talked down to and patronized when I try to explain my situation and how their system doesn't even provide the correct tools for my industry; of the ridiculously strict guidelines that don't account for everything, yet don't allow any wiggle room. I am so done. It may mean giving up my WIC, yes, but if I can find ways to generate income on top of my regular job and therefore not have to rely on this system, I will be so much happier.
To that end, I've already signed up with doTerra International Essential Oils, (link in the sidebar!!) and am working on getting signed up with Tupperware (link to come). Though it's a story for another post, I have been using doTerra for almost a month now, and the oils have really helped my repetitive stress injury. I'm still on a journey with them, learning, using, sharing. I know they aren't for everyone. I know that there is a lot of skepticism. But guess what? That's goes for EVERYTHING EVER, and I'm not trying to force anyone. I also don't HAVE to do the business side, and neither does anyone who buys from or signs up through me, but I CAN, so why not?? I'm a terrible sales person by nature, but I'm never going to advance any part of any career if I don't learn how to close a deal. And I need to start moving in some direction. I can't be an entry level worker bee forever. I don't want to be either. If I can gain confidence and skill from these ventures, so much the better.
I do have an Etsy store as well, but that link and any marketing will have to wait as well. There isn't anything of note in it yet, and I am trying to decide how to focus it so that I can easily share it, and maybe grab a niche. It is also currently based around knit goods, which are harder to produce with my injury. I'm hoping that as I heal, through good medical care both mainstream and alternative, I will be able to get back into knitting as more than a hobby, but that is a little ways off still. I am also considering "monetizing" this here blog with a few links, but I am still on the fence. Maybe I should make a poll to see if people would care?? I looked at Google's AdSense, which is already imbedded and I can activate if I so choose, but it's just like Facebook ads. I wouldn't really control the content, and I don't like the idea of infomining my own blog. What I would consider is an Amazon banner, or some other company, though I can't think of any that I would want to support that would probably have a program like that. I will have to keep throwing that idea around a bit longer as well.
I have absolutely no idea how any of this will go. All I can do it try.
My whole life I have lived the middle class conundrum of having just enough money to be considered having enough money. What does this mean?? No college scholarships, grants, or subsidized loans, even though both my parents and I had to take out money for me to go to a university. With that degree, in the Bay Area, I made decent money, but still had to work as much as possible to get by. My last year there I had 10 w-2s. 10. And 2 1099s. And I still pretty much broke even on my taxes. I think I made a total of $40k and got about $700 total back between fed and state.
When I moved to Oregon, I decided to only have one job. That worked for 6 years. Now, though, so much has changed that I need to find other opportunities. I am a solo parent (by choice) and a sort-of homeowner. I make about $100 too much per month to qualify for any support services while I'm working. In the off season, when I am on unemployment, I can get WIC, and it is a godsend, especially during January. I always apply in December, so that I have been off contract for a few weeks, and because qualification is in 6 month increments. Therefore, we get assistance through May. January is rough because I can no longer claim unemployment because I am technically earning money, yet I don't see any of that for almost 3 weeks because of pay periods. Yeah, it blows.
Unemployment insurance itself is another reason I'm looking for more opportunities. I'm over it. This year was just the absolute last straw. I'm tired of the hoops I have to jump through; of being talked down to and patronized when I try to explain my situation and how their system doesn't even provide the correct tools for my industry; of the ridiculously strict guidelines that don't account for everything, yet don't allow any wiggle room. I am so done. It may mean giving up my WIC, yes, but if I can find ways to generate income on top of my regular job and therefore not have to rely on this system, I will be so much happier.
To that end, I've already signed up with doTerra International Essential Oils, (link in the sidebar!!) and am working on getting signed up with Tupperware (link to come). Though it's a story for another post, I have been using doTerra for almost a month now, and the oils have really helped my repetitive stress injury. I'm still on a journey with them, learning, using, sharing. I know they aren't for everyone. I know that there is a lot of skepticism. But guess what? That's goes for EVERYTHING EVER, and I'm not trying to force anyone. I also don't HAVE to do the business side, and neither does anyone who buys from or signs up through me, but I CAN, so why not?? I'm a terrible sales person by nature, but I'm never going to advance any part of any career if I don't learn how to close a deal. And I need to start moving in some direction. I can't be an entry level worker bee forever. I don't want to be either. If I can gain confidence and skill from these ventures, so much the better.
I do have an Etsy store as well, but that link and any marketing will have to wait as well. There isn't anything of note in it yet, and I am trying to decide how to focus it so that I can easily share it, and maybe grab a niche. It is also currently based around knit goods, which are harder to produce with my injury. I'm hoping that as I heal, through good medical care both mainstream and alternative, I will be able to get back into knitting as more than a hobby, but that is a little ways off still. I am also considering "monetizing" this here blog with a few links, but I am still on the fence. Maybe I should make a poll to see if people would care?? I looked at Google's AdSense, which is already imbedded and I can activate if I so choose, but it's just like Facebook ads. I wouldn't really control the content, and I don't like the idea of infomining my own blog. What I would consider is an Amazon banner, or some other company, though I can't think of any that I would want to support that would probably have a program like that. I will have to keep throwing that idea around a bit longer as well.
I have absolutely no idea how any of this will go. All I can do it try.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
High Five!
What is this? I've made it five day? Yippee!! Isn't it if you do something for 7 days then it's a habit? Well, I guess I'm close to a new habit.
Nothing too exciting happened today. We worked. Most of the over stage/house hang is done. Our shiny new fixtures should arrive on Tuesday. We are getting Selecon PL 4s. 34 total- 2 skids and a palette. That's a lot of lighting!
With work starting and my parents being in town, its been a few days since I've seen my honey. I miss him!! I'm bad at missing people. I don't usually do it. I know in the past people in my life have been put off by my ambivalent attitude toward presence, but dammit, I miss him. It's a little weird actually. And on top of that, he's pretty much the same way. More than once we have had the conversation about missing each other so much that it is out of character, even when we're only apart for a day or two. Moreover, though we text during these days, we aren't in constant contact. We don't need to know what the other one is doing 24/7 and who with. I believe it's because generally the information is volunteered, sometimes to the point of inanity, which I don't think I could stand from any other person. Example:
11am "Good morning babe."
11:15 "Morning darling."
1:50pm "Just got out of the shower. Hanging in my room."
2pm "Just off lunch. Going back to work."
6pm "Going to hang with my bros. We're gonna play Call of Duty."
630pm "Fun! Just got home. Snacking with Char. Might watch some tv."
WE ARE LAME!!!!! AND IT IS FABULOUS!!!
We make up for it by having long, winding, expansive conversations when we are together, and embarking on adventures of all kinds. (Though we dispute what constitutes an adventure, with my level 1 being his level 0. I think we had to get up to my level 3 for him to consider it adventure-worthy. But I'm teaching him. Haha.)
Nothing too exciting happened today. We worked. Most of the over stage/house hang is done. Our shiny new fixtures should arrive on Tuesday. We are getting Selecon PL 4s. 34 total- 2 skids and a palette. That's a lot of lighting!
With work starting and my parents being in town, its been a few days since I've seen my honey. I miss him!! I'm bad at missing people. I don't usually do it. I know in the past people in my life have been put off by my ambivalent attitude toward presence, but dammit, I miss him. It's a little weird actually. And on top of that, he's pretty much the same way. More than once we have had the conversation about missing each other so much that it is out of character, even when we're only apart for a day or two. Moreover, though we text during these days, we aren't in constant contact. We don't need to know what the other one is doing 24/7 and who with. I believe it's because generally the information is volunteered, sometimes to the point of inanity, which I don't think I could stand from any other person. Example:
11am "Good morning babe."
11:15 "Morning darling."
1:50pm "Just got out of the shower. Hanging in my room."
2pm "Just off lunch. Going back to work."
6pm "Going to hang with my bros. We're gonna play Call of Duty."
630pm "Fun! Just got home. Snacking with Char. Might watch some tv."
WE ARE LAME!!!!! AND IT IS FABULOUS!!!
We make up for it by having long, winding, expansive conversations when we are together, and embarking on adventures of all kinds. (Though we dispute what constitutes an adventure, with my level 1 being his level 0. I think we had to get up to my level 3 for him to consider it adventure-worthy. But I'm teaching him. Haha.)
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Bumps in the road
I am incredibly blessed to have the childcare situation that I do. Without Dawn, I am at a complete loss, in many ways. So when she is out of town, I am scrambling to get people to hang out with Char baby. Thankfully now I do have a wonderful man in my life who is happy to help out when needed. I try not to fall back on him too much though, because I know it is hard on him, not being a parent himself. On the flip side, I do my best not to rely on any one person or only a few people (though truthfully, there are only a few that I know will/can watch her). I always worry that these friends of mine will feel like they are being taken advantage of, simply because I don't have much to offer in return. I bake!!! And I can provide knit goods at some point in the future! Also, I will trade childcare if you also have kids! I know, for the most part, that those individuals that I rely on do not feel like I'm only using them for their willingness to put up with a ridiculously smart toddler, but I still want them to know they are very much appreciated.
As much as I can afford, I find "regular" daycare/ professional babysitters. But let me tell ya, it is spendy. I can't believe it sometimes. I can't imagine having to pay for all day care 5 days a week at the rate a traditional place is asking. Even one week is about 25% of my budget after bills. Yikes. I wouldn't eat. Seriously. There would be no money to buy food or anything else for myself. Jesus. How do people do this?? I looked into assistance, just to see what my outlook is in case there comes a day where Dawn is no longer available, and dammit but I don't qualify. Story of my life. I make just enough money (like by $100/mo) to be deemed above the line. Shucks. Too bad day care costs something like $1000/mo. Who the hell thought up this math?
This adventure is really just renewing my pledge to get myself financially independent of "the system". Building whatever income sources I can. I have a plan for doTerra that I am about to implement, and I think tomorrow I will be ordering my starter kit for Tupperware. If my wrists will hold up through the build and tech, I will hopefully be knitting more, and maybe some of those items can be passed along through Etsy. I also want to start making my own skin care products for myself, and again, maybe if that is easy and reasonable to share, I can either put those on Etsy, or just go word of mouth. There is alot of opportunity out there. Not all of it is monetary either. It's about building a support system and a market; connecting with people who want to serve each other.
As much as I can afford, I find "regular" daycare/ professional babysitters. But let me tell ya, it is spendy. I can't believe it sometimes. I can't imagine having to pay for all day care 5 days a week at the rate a traditional place is asking. Even one week is about 25% of my budget after bills. Yikes. I wouldn't eat. Seriously. There would be no money to buy food or anything else for myself. Jesus. How do people do this?? I looked into assistance, just to see what my outlook is in case there comes a day where Dawn is no longer available, and dammit but I don't qualify. Story of my life. I make just enough money (like by $100/mo) to be deemed above the line. Shucks. Too bad day care costs something like $1000/mo. Who the hell thought up this math?
This adventure is really just renewing my pledge to get myself financially independent of "the system". Building whatever income sources I can. I have a plan for doTerra that I am about to implement, and I think tomorrow I will be ordering my starter kit for Tupperware. If my wrists will hold up through the build and tech, I will hopefully be knitting more, and maybe some of those items can be passed along through Etsy. I also want to start making my own skin care products for myself, and again, maybe if that is easy and reasonable to share, I can either put those on Etsy, or just go word of mouth. There is alot of opportunity out there. Not all of it is monetary either. It's about building a support system and a market; connecting with people who want to serve each other.
Friday, January 3, 2014
3 is the magic number
What?? Day 3? Shocking.
Hit day 2 of the plank challenge. I need to start stretching in the morning. For now I'll go simple, but I'm thinking I eventually want to get back into doing a full Sun Salutation flow at least once through. This will probably make the dude laugh when he's here, but then again, he'd most likely sleep through it.
The great "boyfriend babysitting for 5 hours at a time 2 days in a row" experiment was a success. They are both still alive and well. It's a good thing they are buddies. Pretty soon they are gonna have a secret handshake.
I am more tired and more achey.
My parents are in town for about 36 hours because they love me, and more importantly, they love my kid (maybe more than me, haha). They are taking babysitting duties tomorrow while her regular sitter is still out of town. Next week we go to daycare 4 days in a row. Yikes!!! This is the next adventure.
And now it's time for bed. Lots to do tomorrow, mostly work. Sunday I'm hoping to get Disneyland pictures posted.
Hit day 2 of the plank challenge. I need to start stretching in the morning. For now I'll go simple, but I'm thinking I eventually want to get back into doing a full Sun Salutation flow at least once through. This will probably make the dude laugh when he's here, but then again, he'd most likely sleep through it.
The great "boyfriend babysitting for 5 hours at a time 2 days in a row" experiment was a success. They are both still alive and well. It's a good thing they are buddies. Pretty soon they are gonna have a secret handshake.
I am more tired and more achey.
My parents are in town for about 36 hours because they love me, and more importantly, they love my kid (maybe more than me, haha). They are taking babysitting duties tomorrow while her regular sitter is still out of town. Next week we go to daycare 4 days in a row. Yikes!!! This is the next adventure.
And now it's time for bed. Lots to do tomorrow, mostly work. Sunday I'm hoping to get Disneyland pictures posted.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
1/2 buckle my shoe
Plank challenge day one complete. Thinking about "monetizing" the blog. On the fence. I suppose I wouldn't mind Amazon, since it seems practical and convenient. I did post a link to my webstore in the sidebar. FYI y'all.
Oh yeah, and back to work. I forgot my braces today. Not so good move. Must remember tomorrow. Sticking with the regimen I've been on, plus starting the LLV and half strength. Time for ice cream.
Oh yeah, and back to work. I forgot my braces today. Not so good move. Must remember tomorrow. Sticking with the regimen I've been on, plus starting the LLV and half strength. Time for ice cream.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
New Year, New Me
The Internet. Great denizen of accountability through public declaration of things that may or may not been seen by others. But hey, I'll have to believe ONE person will see this, and therefore I will feel responsible to hold myself accountable.
2014 in the house!!!
Things I plan to do this year:
Lose the last baby weight. Really it's the mama weight. I didn't know it was possible to be an uncomfortably chunky size 2/4 until having a kid. Yes, I realize that is a low pants size, but that doesn't mean I feel good in the pants. So far I have decided to start the morning by planking (the exercise, not the photo trend) as long as possible. This morning I did one minute. That is a great starting point. I hope to add 5-10 secs a day, with no particular end goal. 3 minutes might be good, I don't know. I really want to get back into yoga too. I did about 20 min of a video today, and just, well... classes are better. Something about tapping into everyone's energy to focus and push you along. This however means finding an inexpensive, easy to get to place to take a class at a time when I can get child care. Big request.
I want to end this year at a point where I do not have to rely on unemployment insurance. The system is so. broken. I understand the "why", but the "how" has become unbearably frustrating. To that end, I have recently joined the doTerra family, and really want to make a go at the business end of things, on top of my regular full time job. They gave me a webstore!! http://www.mydoterra.com/mariarenee I am considering signing up for Tupperware as well, but haven't pulled the trigger just yet.
Speaking of doTerra, I want to commit to overall wellness for my family. I have my own ailments I need to heal, but I also want to be proactive with our health in general and finding ways to create a sustainable environment. Reduse, recycle, reuse. Be good to ourselves. Walk more, drive less (which is hard with a toddler and working in a different city than you live). Try to support local business over big box, and support my friends and family in their endeavors, whatever those may be.
I want to fall more madly deeply in love with my amazing companion. He's incredibly awesome, whether he wants to believe it or not. He carried my kid on his back up (and back down) a hill for crying out loud!!! That's... sigh... so unbelievably sexy. :-) It's wonderful to have a mutual respect and appreciation; to be able to talk about anything and everything, even when it's a disagreement or a misunderstanding. Yeah, I'm getting a little teary, I feel that lucky. Shucks.
I want my daughter to continue growing into the awesome person I know she's gonna be. She way too smart, and precocious. It's going to be a 5 star rollercoaster, this one. It's a good thing I love rollercoasters. We are nearing on potty training. One more bastion of freedom. Soon she'll be driving, and then goodbye kiddo!!! Haha. Somedays it feels like that.
Overall I want to commit to having a good year no matter what comes my way. I want to be successful in all my ventures. I want to be healthy and happy. Alright... here it goes...
2014 in the house!!!
Things I plan to do this year:
Lose the last baby weight. Really it's the mama weight. I didn't know it was possible to be an uncomfortably chunky size 2/4 until having a kid. Yes, I realize that is a low pants size, but that doesn't mean I feel good in the pants. So far I have decided to start the morning by planking (the exercise, not the photo trend) as long as possible. This morning I did one minute. That is a great starting point. I hope to add 5-10 secs a day, with no particular end goal. 3 minutes might be good, I don't know. I really want to get back into yoga too. I did about 20 min of a video today, and just, well... classes are better. Something about tapping into everyone's energy to focus and push you along. This however means finding an inexpensive, easy to get to place to take a class at a time when I can get child care. Big request.
I want to end this year at a point where I do not have to rely on unemployment insurance. The system is so. broken. I understand the "why", but the "how" has become unbearably frustrating. To that end, I have recently joined the doTerra family, and really want to make a go at the business end of things, on top of my regular full time job. They gave me a webstore!! http://www.mydoterra.com/mariarenee I am considering signing up for Tupperware as well, but haven't pulled the trigger just yet.
Speaking of doTerra, I want to commit to overall wellness for my family. I have my own ailments I need to heal, but I also want to be proactive with our health in general and finding ways to create a sustainable environment. Reduse, recycle, reuse. Be good to ourselves. Walk more, drive less (which is hard with a toddler and working in a different city than you live). Try to support local business over big box, and support my friends and family in their endeavors, whatever those may be.
I want to fall more madly deeply in love with my amazing companion. He's incredibly awesome, whether he wants to believe it or not. He carried my kid on his back up (and back down) a hill for crying out loud!!! That's... sigh... so unbelievably sexy. :-) It's wonderful to have a mutual respect and appreciation; to be able to talk about anything and everything, even when it's a disagreement or a misunderstanding. Yeah, I'm getting a little teary, I feel that lucky. Shucks.
I want my daughter to continue growing into the awesome person I know she's gonna be. She way too smart, and precocious. It's going to be a 5 star rollercoaster, this one. It's a good thing I love rollercoasters. We are nearing on potty training. One more bastion of freedom. Soon she'll be driving, and then goodbye kiddo!!! Haha. Somedays it feels like that.
Overall I want to commit to having a good year no matter what comes my way. I want to be successful in all my ventures. I want to be healthy and happy. Alright... here it goes...
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