Life IS Good

So I realized that while our motto is, "Life's Good," I haven't spent a lot of time saying things that ARE good in our life. To make up for that, I'm going to make a list of just a few reasons that our life is, indeed, good.

We're married forever.
We're happy together.
We have a place to live (however small it may be).
We both have jobs.
I student teach in a month...and then I'm done with school!
We have the Gospel.
Our health is generally good.
We have the luxury of pillows!
Our family's are supportive.
I passed my online summer class.
Snow cones... I love snow cones!
I'm starting a business (QuiteRightInvites).
We have hot water.
We certainly don't go hungry (though maybe we should!)
Laughter.
Love.
We're kept safe.
While the future is uncertain, we'll take it on together.


There's much more to say about why life is good, but I'll leave the list at that for today.

Thanks to all our friends and family that show their love and support! We love you guys!

Credit Rant

Oh, credit! I find it to be a mostly annoying thing. A few summers ago I found out that there is a Jose Ramirez or Rodriguez... pardon me, but some jerk, illegal Mexican guy... attached to my Social Security number. Obviously, this isn't a good thing. I THOUGHT I got it cleared up then. But, when Geoff and I went to make good on an offer from Chase Bank, he looked at me and said, "I'm assuming this is not pronounced Josie, and that it's not you. You'll probably want to look into that." Well, duh I want to look into it! Stupid people coming here and using MY number to do who-knows-what with! So far, it hasn't been identity theft I guess, but it could head that way.

So now I'm gathering my credit reports *which it's your right to get 1x a year, for free from the 3 companies (Equifax, experian, TransUnion)* and attempting to find out if he just shows up on one, or more- and THEN disputing the whole thing until he's finally cleared away! What a mess!

And, along with dealing with my credit, let's add the school and their difficult ways. "You've been selected for a verification process...blah blah blah." Ok, fine. Submit, submit, submit. Did I get it all yet? Nope. Submit some more. How about now? No, we still want you to work harder for this money. Ugh. Fine. Submit, submit, submit. What about now? We'll see. ANNOYING! I just want my financial aid. I just want to get through this final semester of school, get through student teaching and move on with my life. I can't pay for it on my own-that much seems obvious- but the school is going to give me the run around until I give up. News flash! I'm not giving up! I need the money to finish the degree that I need to get the job I need to live the life I need. For goodness sakes!

I suppose that will conclude my ranting for the day.

An Update on the Bailey's...

Fourth of July, I got some great shots to turn in for the IF photo contest. I won't bother to post those, because there are tons of pictures and they're of people none of us know.

Also, Geoff and I are what I would officially deem nerds (I know, big shocker). When we're broke (oh wait, that's always) we find our entertainment in cheap ways. Clay falls under this category. Geoff is 100x better at this whole artsy thing than I could ever hope to be, but I still think my characters are kind of cute.
(Geoff's Creations... the guy isn't painted yet though.)
(My creations. Erin can make the same lips the fish has. :))

Then there's the ability my new hair cut has... freaking awesome!


And finally, there's our dog.... no wait, he's MY dog. Geoff won't claim him. Lately, Max has been throwing some major fits. Either his separation anxiety has increased or he just decided he was neglected. In any case, he's spread his food and our garbage all over the house and 3 times in 4 days he pooped on the floor and marked a few things with pee. A few of those unfortunate targets: my gym bag (full of my clothes and shoes,) my purse (lovely, eh?) a basket of clean, folded laundry, and the most frustrating one... my temple bag. A very fun list, huh? Needless to say, he's been in some big trouble lately. I finally decided that it would be best to get him a kennel...which I didn't want to do! I bought him a pop-up, tent-like kennel. Very comfy and roomy. The first time I left him in it he managed to catch the zipper just right to just unzip it. The second time, he either clawed or bit right through the netting in front. Great. I even left him with one of my shirts (supposedly that helps them calm down since my scent is on it.) left music on for him and left him a peanut butter treat. It didn't seem to help, no matter what the websites say.
So, I had to step it up a notch. I exchanged the not-so-helpful pop-up version for a thick metal frame kennel. It's not as roomy (because that would have been like $70) and he doesn't really like it, but it works. He whines a little when we leave and throws a fit when we get home but at least the messes are gone and I don't have to step around wondering what I'll find.

Snip, Snip

I got tired of the same-ol' style. I wanted something fun, spunky even; something that I could make look professional, or spike up and go crazy. So I chopped it all off and went for something I've never had before. I was scared it wouldn't work well with my face shape, but the girl assured me it would. I let her go and I'm happy to say that I love it! :) Now, to add some color...