I know its been a while (so much for my pledge to keep up better).. January and February was a whirlwind of activity that included no internet for about 10 days.

But first.. I have a friend and Kojie sister from college named Jenny Bizaillion that is in the hospital in Dallas literally fighting for her life. She was diagnosed with the flu about 10-12 days ago that rapidly progressed to pneumonia to a life threatening septic shock and MODS with DIC. She is on a ventilator and has been on the brink of death a couple of times. The doctors and nurses are attributing a lot of her so far survival on prayer alone, they have no medical explanation for why she hasn't passed away several times now. They are the most wonderful people, her brother and sis -in -law are also good friends from my ACU days. Thousands of people are praying for them, and a few more prayers sure wouldn't hurt. If you want to follow her story, here's the link, its free to sign up for care pages to read her story.

My beautiful (and super talented) friend Jenni, nominated me for a blog award - its my first. Thanks Jenni! Seriously folks, she's super talented, check out her site or her design site at Swell Mail, she's going to design/coordinate/plan my wedding (if it ever occurs).

But anyway, my blog award..

Here's the rules:

To accept this award I must list 10 things that make me happy and then pass this award along to 10 fabulous blogs!

10 things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order):

1. A day off from work. Especially if I get to sleep in, then enjoy a hot cup of coffee and read the newspaper.

2. The boyfriend - he's pretty amazing

3. All my animals - the dogs, the horses, the burros, the cows and the cat

4. New cowboy boots

5. Bluebonnets

6. Summer days at the lake, or summer days in general

7. Opening non- bill mail. Hand written note cards always make me smile

8. Pumpkin Pie or Banana Pudding or Peach Cobbler or most any dessert

9. Did I mention the boyfriend. Ok, so how about all my family and friends (that I never see enough anymore :( )

10. Peanut butter M&M's

11. Looking out my window and seeing an arena, roping chutes, cows and my horses/dogs/critters

I nominate:

- Amy, I love hearing about your mixed animal stories, makes my own day not seem quite so crazy sometimes.

- Heather - Here's to hoping you get to move to Austin soon, that' s a long drive to make so much :)

- Kayce - will 4 kids, you deserve a bloggie award

-Amalia - my beautiful Physician friend, who does amazing things to help people every single day.

If you read my blog and I haven't nominated you, well, you are nominated too (and please comment so I know who else is reading)

Scentsy has some really exciting new warmers and promotions coming up. The January warmer is in preparation for Valentines day. The heart shaped lid, red color and XOXO design along the side are reminiscent of romance, but not too over the top for every day decor. The January scent is Berry Blush.

Alumni of many universities across the country can show their school support while leading a warm, homey scent to any room. You can bet that I have my OSU warmer proudly displayed in my exam room at work. As the only Cowboy (Go Pokes!) amongst an office of Aggies, it stands out in the sea of maroon.

There is still time to take advantage of January's hostess bonus. An extra 1/2 price credit for any show or party booked and ordered during January. Hurry and we can still get your order in now.

And finally! The February warmer will be getting a prominent place in my reception area. As a veterinarian, animal owner and lover. The Paws warmer is perfect for my clients and (hopefully) new Scentsy customers. February scent will be Vanilla Suede.

So update on my last post.. I ended up only making it to the public library to get a library card. Didn't make it to the DPS office, will have to wait until another game I suppose. I also found out this morning, that as of today (boy I got lucky that my day was yesterday), we are no longer taking days off. So its Monday through Friday 8 am - 6pm and Saturday 8 am to 1 pm for everyone, plus your scheduled on call duty. And an update on the weather - tonight 16 degrees F, and not above 30 until monday. (Still roll your eyes if you are experienceing 0 or negative degrees, I'm still a pansy:)

I now remember why moving to Arizona sounded so appealing that December 5, 2007, afternoon. The week forecast for my area of Central Texas does not include temperatures above freezing until Saturday. I work outside guys. Outdoors, unprotected from the wind/sleet/snow/rain/elements that mother nature will combine and throw at me, outside! And I'm on callt his weekend, when it finally becomes a balmy 40 degrees all weekend. EEK! All of you in Oklahoma where it is expected to be in the 0's - feel free to roll your eyes at my pansiness. Is that even a work, pansiness?

Today is an off day - all day no work. So of course I promptly slept in until 8 am. Drinking my cup of coffee right now, typing this. I'm going to get another cup of coffee and read out of my current reading book. Then I have a few errands to run today, such as changing my license address. Shh, don't tell TxDPS that I've lived here 8 months and haven't done that yet. And finally go get my public library card so I can check out books again, to read more (see Resolutions of the year). After that, who knows, the world is my oyster, or something like that.

What I'm doing to boost my debt payoff for this week:

1. Coupon clipping. Some tips I've learned... Family dollar often has laundry detergent, basic toiletries, etc for cheaper than grocery stores or Wal Mart and they take manufacturer coupons. Wal Greens also has their own coupons this week. Deal of the week: Sun Detergent buy 2 for 4.99

2. I've taken up selling Scentsy candle warmers for extra money. I can put as much time or as little time as I have available. So far, I've made my money back.
January goal: $1000 total in sales = $250 in commissions. Interested in being a consultant - email or call me - info can be found on my website (click link)

You would think that 9 years of college education, with several courses in personal finance, accounting and general business management, that I would maybe be a little smarter with money. During my early 20's, I poorly handled my financial life and now, in my later 20's, I'm having to clean up some of the debt I incurred while pursuing my doctoral degree. 2009 found me graduating from graduate school and beginning an internship position (read: cheap labor), but I was determined to knock out debt and have an emergency account in place, a la Dave Ramsey. Grade for this effort (remember, I've been a perpetual student, everything is graded) was a B-, I did okay. 2010, is going to be full force. So, in the interest of accountability to all 5 of my readers (I'm still semi private for multiple reasons), here is the beginning stats and my goals. I plan to also list out what I'm doing to reach my goals and any money saving tips you've got are welcome. (While I also pay for much of the boy's expenses, I'm leaving his debt out for now. I may add his in later as my debts are paid.)

January beginning worth:
Emergency fund: $450.00 cash
Savings Account: $127.50

Total Debt:
Wells Fargo Credit Card: $3453.85
Compass Credit Card: $5219.33
Citi Credit Card: $20,395.82
Student Loans: $207,416.30
Total: $ 236,485.30

If anyone knows how to add a running total ticker to the sidebar, I'd love to have the instructions. Thanks!