I kept accepting mystery shops that came along and now I have 12 shop this weekend. I also am doing my editing job. So much for resting up for teaching next week!

On a good note, this will net me $100 cash (this is actually low because only one shop had a bonus), $30 in groceries, a bottle of wine, a $5 Goodwill item, and a free meal.

I will make the most of it and be sure to use the Shopkick app and scan my receipts for Receipt Hog (I will have enough for a $5 cash out after today, but I am saving up for the $30 cash out). I am also wearing my Nabu bracelet (basically a FitBit) so I can track my steps as well.

Have a good weekend everyone! Time for me to get to work.

Where I am teaching, we are paid monthly. As I said when I took over this position, I expected to get the regular day to day sub pay initially. I thought at day 61 was when I would get retroactive pay. However, when I opened my check today, it was about $800 more than I expected. Apparently since they hired me for the position for the remainder of the year, I get regular teacher pay from day one!

This will help me pay off my dad's loan a lot quicker. I owe him $2500. I will probably have the tax return sometime this month to pay off the remainder. After that I will be beefing up the savings account.

I am on Spring Break. It is a much needed break. I was sick for two weeks. I probably would have recovered faster if I had been able to rest, but that was impossible with three jobs. I also would have reset my subbing to day one if had missed a day. This would have been a loss of several hundred dollars. Anyhow, I made it through. This week is just the editing and a few mystery shops.

I made a tough, but necessary decision. I sold the car I bought in June. My other car is paid off next month. I will have no payments. This means one car for awhile, but financially it was a wise decision. I didn't lose as much as I thought I would. My tax return will cover the loss. I have a large one due to the move last year. My dad gave me a loan until the tax return comes in so I could go ahead with the sale. I still want to kick myself for buying the car in the first place.

I am reworking a new budget. I keep tweaking it, but need to finalize it and stick to it.

As far as long term decisions, I am seriously considering a tiny house. There are several pros and cons, but sooner than later I will have an empty nest. It is so enticing to think I could save up and pay cash. No rent or mortgage is enticing! Also, I don't have a lot of stuff, so size wise it is doable.

On the marriage front, it is more or less over. I have not seen positive changes. As a matter of fact, DH drinks at night. He is harmless and never drives, but it is not good for someone who is depressed and a waste of money for someone who earns so little. I can't get past the guilt factor of where he will end up. But honestly, I can't live with him just because I feel guilty. He won't seek professional help and thinks the world is against him. He has alienated his entire family and only his son is on speaking terms with him at this point. I have decided with my large June paycheck, I will hand him some cash for moving expenses. Now it is a matter of mustering up the courage for the big talk about it. We own nothing together and have no kids together, so the paperwork should be easy.

As you can see, my thoughts are all over the place these days. On a positive note, I have kept up with the personal goals on my sidebar for the most part. The grocery goals has not been met. There have been less grocery mystery shops available and I can't take as many with teaching.

It was obvious right away the interview was a formality. Luckily, I will have lesson plans for a few weeks. This makes it a little less overwhelming. It would have been tough to whip out lesson plans over the weekend when I have not been around.

Financially, I know I will make 90.23 for the first 20 days, then from day 21-60 it is 108.23, day 61 forward it is 175 a day. It says it is retroactive, but I am still a bit confused. If I interpret this correctly, after I get past the 60 day mark, I will receive the difference so that technically I will make $175 all along. Does this make sense? Does anyone interpret this differently?

Nevertheless, I am counting on the 90 all along. I am going to take the difference and pay off a credit card, pay down the car, and save an extra $1000.

And of course, I have several other sources of income (child support, editing, mystery shopping) to help pay the everyday bills. I hope to have some time to just relax and let everything sink in over the weekend.

I have done so-so with my goals. I have not stuck to the 10 PM to 5 AM sleep schedule (close though), but I have avoided the electronics in bed. I have done pretty well with the 5000 steps, but I have a bad habit of forgetting to put my fitness tracker bracelet back on after showering. I also have been good about work and stop promptly at 9 PM if I have not already finished. I need to do the math on the groceries, but off the top of my head, I think I only faltered once recently on the $20 challenge.

As far as finances, they are crazy once again. I have a baseline budget, but a specific budget is difficult. My circumstances keep changing. My DH got hired at AC Moore part-time. Considering how things have been going, it is a good start. Then I got a call for an interview for tomorrow at the high school. I have been subbing a bit. They need a long term sub to take over a class for the rest of the year (and I would be eligible to apply for the job next year). I hadn't anticipated this. I have to say I have been very lucky when it comes to jobs. I lost count how many times I have been sought out when I am not looking. I am grateful.

If I get this job it starts next week (nothing like waiting til the last minute for interviews). I will have two full time jobs and the mystery shopping. I can cut back on that for awhile if need be. However, financially, I can get so far ahead in the next few months. It's exciting, but I won't make any plans until I know the job status.

Over time I have had some comments expressing interest in mystery shopping. I put a link in my sidebar. This is for the Mystery Shop Forum and the link goes to the new member area. If you are interested in getting started, I suggest thoroughly reading that area of the forum. You will learn quite a bit. The forum also links to legitimate companies. My recommendation if you are first starting out is to start with the following companies:

Marketforce.com (mostly groceries, fast food, and cell phone shops) They pay monthly by direct deposit (or you can get a check but it will take an extra week or so)

Bestmark.com (My referral is NH2490). Lots of car related shops (reimbursed oil changes!) and electronics shops. They pay bi-weekly by check.

Maritzmysteryshopping.com (gas station audits, banks, home improvement) I recommend starting with the home improvement shops. The gas station shops are great, but get some experience first.

There are over 200 companies available. I highly suggest if you are serious to do a great deal of reading. You can also find more reliable information and sign up for companies at: http://www.mspa-na.org/member-companies.

Good luck!

I am sure some of you probably use this app already, but for those who don't, I thought I would mention it. I tried Receipt Hog a year or so ago and uninstalled it. It would never credit my receipts. The app was clunky for lack of a better description. As I was going through my micro earning programs today, I saw it and tried again. I just uploaded 5 receipts and connected my email and I am at 250 points. You can cash out with as little as 1000 points for $5 Amazon or Paypal. If you save up and get 4500, it is $30.

You have 14 days to upload your receipts and you can send yourself a weekly reminder. Since I mystery shop, this should be a great "double dipper" for me. I am getting reimbursed anyhow and I can also upload the receipts to earn points from Receipt Hog. Of course you are under no obligation, but if you are interested my referral is KEZ87274. Whether you use it or not, I am truly happy to share an app that can benefit someone! If you do use the app, let me know how it works out for you. I will let you know when I reach 4500 points (there is a maximum upload of 20 receipts per week).

I have only gone out in the last week to do mystery shops and do the final paperwork for substitute teaching. Any money spent is being reimbursed other than business cards for subbing. Thank goodness I have a Publix shop today because I need a few groceries. I may have to spend a few dollars out of pocket.

Things are still tight on the money front, but I now have my badge and can sub. It was recommended I get business cards to hand out, so I ordered 100 from Vistaprint. They came to $17.79 including shipping. I used Swagbucks when I ordered, so I will get 8 swagbucks per dollar spent.

I also received an invitation for an interview from Upwork (formerly Odesk) to write ACT and SAT articles. It is an ongoing project. Hopefully that will pan out as well.

Things have not improved on the marriage front even after my talk. As a matter of fact, most days DH isn't out of bed until noon or so. I think I may call his son, but I am not sure. He has his hands full with his own family. I honestly do not know what to do. I consider DH more of a friend than a partner at this point and don't want him to be homeless. He has nowhere to go, but I cannot afford to support him any longer.

I have not kept up with my 15 minutes of organizing per day. I have done it on average two days a week. However, I have been working an awful lot. I have been good about not working after 9pm. I have only done so twice and have not worked past 10pm at all.

I did okay on my goals the first week of January. I was busy and did not get to the 15 minutes of cleaning/organizing on two days. I took a vitamin most day and hit 5,000 steps four days. One day my Nabu tracker didn't track properly, but I am confident I got enough steps in that day.

I did well on the grocery category. I spent $9.99 out of pocket and 5.99 was on cough medicine for DH. I bought an additional $38 dollars in groceries, but that was all covered with mystery shopping.

I have to spend some money this week for subbing. They are charging $55 for a certified sub certificate. This seems ridiculous to me, as the only thing I had to do was get fingerprinted and take an ethics class. I have a degree and have been a regular teacher so this just is a fee that is meaningless in my opinion. However, it is the last step and I should be able to sub after this next week. It's exams this week anyhow, so doubtful I would have had work. In the meantime, I am picking up all the extra work I can with my editing job.

I also had a talk with DH about his lack of working and its effect on our marriage. I tried to do it in a caring way, and I hope it sunk in. I guess we shall see in the coming weeks.

Time to go out in the pouring rain. I have to go do some trailer checks at the movie theater. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

My goals are updated on my sidebar. I originally had a much more detailed list. After a great deal of thought, I realized I needed goals I could attain without setting the bar too low. They are still on the low side, but it's what I feel I am capable of at this stage. I hope to exceed several of them.

I am excited about the $20 a week out-of-pocket for the groceries and household goods. This is very dependent on the grocery store mystery shops not going away. Assuming they stay, I average 6 of those a month. I am reimbursed $10 for groceries for those shops. I also earn a fee, but I am not using the fee on these shops. A good amount of food is also covered with restaurant shops. The rest of the food and household goods will be ordering from Amazon Prime Pantry. That money is free to me as well because I earn Amazon credit from several programs including Swagbucks, Media Insiders Panel, and InstaGC.

I personally like a set it and forget it amount for savings. However, my income is so variable right now, the 52 week challenge is a better fit.

As far as the cleaning, I do basic cleaning daily. The idea with the 15 minutes is to focus on something larger such as going through boxes, scrubbing a floor thoroughly, etc.

The trips should be doable since I can work while I am gone and I am staying with family and friends. I shouldn't pay more than some extra gas to reach those destinations.

I hope you all reach any goals you set for the year. I wish you all a happy and healthy 2016.

I really need to update my sidebar. I will be doing so soon. I want to think hard about my goals and my future in general.

I do have a few goals for 2016. One is to keep my grocery/household goods budget at $100 per month. I have been pretty close to that lately. Mystery shopping and Amazon credit allows me to stick to such a low budget.

I want a more structured 2016 in general. This means some decisions need to be made soon. My son is taking extra classes through virtual school to graduate early. We need to look at colleges when he officially has enough credits to be considered a senior in mid-January. If he stays in the area, I will stay as well. I like the area, but nothing has me tied here otherwise. I have until mid-April to make a decision.

I also have to decide on my marriage. My husband has been so depressed and does nothing about it. He won't seek help. He has not worked at all since the end of May. I don't want to sound like I have no compassion, but I admit I am resentful. I don't mind being the major breadwinner, but I do mind him not having any responsibilities and sitting around all day. He literally has nothing if I end the marriage. If family doesn't take him in (I am sure someone would though), he would be homeless. I truly think even if he found something part-time he would improve. He needs a routine and some sort of structure. Otherwise, I only see him going downhill. There's more to it, but those are the basics of the story.

On a positive note, I do love the editing job. There has been a lot more to learn than I expected. Although we work as employees in almost every aspect, we are independent contractors. I find this to be an advantage because I can fill my day with other income as well. I don't have to work set hours. I only need to do the edits within 24 hours of receiving them. This has allowed me to ramp up the mystery shopping. I will also go back to publishing that monthly income next year.

I also finished all the paperwork etc. for subbing. I am waiting on an email and should be able to teach in January. I am not sure if this will lead me back to teaching full-time or not, but I do miss the classroom to a point. The pay for the subbing is decent since I have a degree.

I hope you all have a good holiday and enjoy your family, friends, and/or a little down time.

I only purchased two items during the weekend shopping frenzy and I bought them both online. As a matter of fact on Black Friday, I took my phone and used it to make money. I used Shopkick and Checkpoints to check in and scan items.

I did purchase the Kindle Fire that was on sale for $34.99 late Wednesday night and it arrived on Friday! I went back and forth deciding if I should, but my other one is 2 years old and the power button is sticking often. I use my Kindle Fire every day (sometimes for work too). So, I bought it for $21 after taxes and Amazon credit. This morning I made my other purchase on Target.com. I bought my son a pair of jeans for Christmas. They started at $18.55 including tax. By the time I used my Red Card, used the 15% off Target is offering today, and gift cards from Shopkick, I paid $6.98 including tax. I also get free shipping.

I am doing very little shopping this year. I am only buying for my son (spending $50 or less), my nephew (I stick to no more than $15), my grandmother ($25) and putting savings of $25 each in my two grandkids accounts, that will be it. My adult kids and I don't exchange. My husband still isn't working (that is a post for another time) so no exchange there either. I should spend less than $150 total. One part of me feels slightly guilty. However, I do not want to spend money I don't have and everyone has so much stuff already.

I did have my friend crochet some really nice stockings for my grandkids too. I paid for the supplies when I visited her in Michigan last January. I picked them up when I went back in October. My daughter brought them to my son's house on Thanksgiving. I wish the picture feature worked here so I could post how nice they turned out.

On a financial note, I am keeping a tight budget until my first full paycheck at the new job on the 17th. Thank goodness for savings and mystery shopping income. It will pull me through in the meantime.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Does anyone here participate or know someone who participates in a health care share plan? I read a blog where the author reviewed Liberty Health Share. I am intrigued and considering trying it out now that I am working for myself again. I am not a fan of the Affordable Care Act and the plans are well-outside my budget. The health share does allow you legally opt out of the ACA without penalty. In short, you pay a monthly fee, have a $500 "deductible" and then you are covered either 70 or 100% depending on what you choose. It isn't insurance per se, but it quite similar, the members all pay into it for coverage. If anyone is interested in learning more the url is : http://www.libertyhealthshare.org/

On another note, is anyone having issues with having to continuously verify their info with Paypal lately? I get a lot of payments for mystery shopping and the last two weeks I constantly have to verify with a code.

Finally, not sure if I mentioned it here yet, but I officially have the editing job!It's work from home four days on, two days off, and I have 24 hours to complete my edits so no set schedule each day. I am very excited!

Today I am going to the movies alone. It will be free (eventually, I have to pay up front) because it is a mystery shop. I was hoping to see The Peanuts Movie, but it isn't showing at this theater. I will see the Cooper (I forget the exact name) Christmas movie since there really isn't anything interesting playing. I am going alone. My husband's been ill and my son is working. I also get a drink and candy or popcorn as my reimbursement. I will also get paid $5 cash.


Afterward I am going to stop at Target and get in on the last day of the buy one, get one holiday drinks at Starbucks. I think I can use a Target gift card. If that is the case it will cost me nothing since I have five dollars on a Target e gift card from Shopkick. I will bring the second drink home to my son who should be home from work by then.

Between the movies and stopping at Target I will stop and do a cell phone mystery shop for another $15.00.

**** Snowflakes****

This past week I did well on snowflakes:

$25 PayPal from Media Insiders Panel
$3 Amazon from Swagbucks
$1 Amazon from MPoints
and I am up to $8.44 in Google Play credit from the Google Rewards app.

I am officially back to being self-employed as of Monday. I have one more full paycheck on Friday, but I also will get paid a week's vacation.

I organized my banking so all of my income goes to one account and I did a spreadsheet for mystery shopping. On average,that alone should net me $1300 plus reimbursements. I always make sure my reimbursements reduce my household budget. I often get gas, groceries, and small household items. I have reduced my household budget to $260 a month out-of-pocket. The rest will be covered by my reimbursements.

I did all the paperwork for the merchandising job. I will actually be an employee, although I will be able to take what I want for work. I am also starting the training on the editing job. I will get paid per report for that, but should average about a $1500 a month I am told. Next week I will get fingerprinted for subbing.

Waiting to hear about Cobra from my job. I can't believe they didn't do an exit interview (large company). I did set up disability insurance through Freelancer's Union the other day.

Snowflakes: $10 Amazon through Swagbucks (I decided not to wait on the $25) and another $1 Amazon through Mpoints.

In summary for those that aren't aware, I moved to the Florida panhandle in March for a job recommended by a friend. The good news is I like the area. The bad news is over time I grew to hate the job. It was an entirely new career for me (condo management) and the lack of training was frustrating. I let them know my initial concerns my interview. I was told they hire for attitude, not experience and they would teach me what I didn't know.

I did a lot of thinking when I took a vacation week in early October to visit my mom who has been ill in Michigan. When I returned I spent an entire day applying for jobs I would enjoy and would allow me some flexibility.

I am in the final stages of being hired for a part-time editing position from home, I am also doing a LOT of mystery shopping (I have done it close to full time in the past and have made pretty decent money), and I only have one more step to being able to sub in the local schools. Finally, I was also offered some merchandising work (as an independent contractor).

I did the math and I will be able to replace my income including insurance. I gave my notice and they only held me to one week because they had someone to fill my position. Yesterday was my last day. I have such a sense of relief!

I look forward to enjoying my new area (The job took everything out of me and I barely left the house since August when things went downhill) and my new jobs. I am thankful for the abundance of opportunities and multiple streams of income.

On a side note, I had the following recent snowflakes:

$3 Amazon from mPoints
$9 Paypal from Pinecone

Happy Halloween everyone!

While I was on vacation last week I cashed out for $2 Amazon through mPoints. I also cashed out another $1 this morning (mPoints) and another $5 via instagc (all Amazon).

Right now I am saving my Swagbucks. The $25 Amazon card is discounted so it makes sense to hold off for that. In the future I will go for Paypal, but from October through mid-December I would like to get as much Amazon credit as possible for Christmas spending. I have $23 right now.

I also earned $1.80 through Google Rewards. My daughter had me sign up last week when we were on our trip. I don't have any plans for those earnings right now, so I will let them add up.

Since my job isn't going well and my mom has been pretty sick up in Michigan, I have been picking up a lot of mystery shopping. I have done shops on my lunch hour, on my way home, and weekends. She has been in and out of the hospital for a month and is in ICU with congestive heart failure right now. My daughter and I have decided to drive up. We leave Sunday. I am glad we made the decision because my mom isn't improving.

My daughter is in SW Florida and I am in the panhandle so she has to drive nine hours up here to meet me. She will spend the night Saturday and we will take off early Sunday. I do have a week's vacation so at least I get paid. This time off will also give me time to think about a long term solution job wise.

I am using short term savings to pay for the extra gas. The trip should be cheap. We will stay at my parents and I picked up some food shops so we won't make much of a dent in my parent's grocery budget.

By time I return the money will start coming in for all of the mystery shopping I did this past month. I really want to beef up my savings and pay down my credit card. I can't wait to get back on track.I have felt so discombobulated most of this year.

3 $3 Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks

1 $1 Amazon gift card from MPoints

I also earned other "snowflakes" that I am not cashing in just yet.

Between Monday and today:

-$3 Amazon gift card from Swagbucks

-$2 Amazon gift card from Mpoints

-$5 cash from Instagc (going to savings)

All of the Amazon I accumulate is going to be my Christmas budget this year.

I am holding my own doing my best to maintain a good attitude despite my job and marriage woes. I am not ready to talk about my marriage, but it is not headed in a positive direction despite my efforts.

As you know, I feel like my job is out of my league and I wonder how long I can last at it. I also found out this week the big boss gave his notice. He said he can't drink the corporate Kool-Aid anymore (He doesn't like how things are being run). All of this has kicked my butt in gear. I have looked into how to get on the sub list for the county. I think I will do so. I can always take a day off per month to sub to keep in the loop. If I ever do lose my job, I can bef up the subbing. I am also picking up what I can for mystery shopping.

In addition to all of this, I am working on the smaller ways to earn including Swagbucks,Instagc, mPoints, Epoll, and Pinecone. I am using all of these small items to earn Amazon and or Paypal. Any money going to Paypal from the snowflakes is being split between debt and savings. The mystery shopping is split this way too.

All of this does not eliminate my anxiety, but I know it's small steps in a positive direction.

Today's snowflake is $9 from Pinecone. I transferred $5 to savings and $4 to my credit card.

I haven't posted much because my mood has been horrible and I don't know what to do. As you know, I moved to FL for a job back in March. I do not love the job. I don't hate it, but it makes me extremely anxious. I have had very little training despite being told not to worry when I was hired. It is a new field for me. The little training I do get comes after I have to take care of items (i.e. budgets). I fear if something doesn't go right, I will be fired despite it really not being my fault. We work for very entitled people and my bosses will stick up for them to make them happy even if they are dead wrong. I am purposely being a bit vague since I am airing my grievances on the internet.

It makes me sad because I moved the whole family. We are "stuck" now. My son graduates in 2017 and has settled nicely, so I need to stay here for two years. I do like the area and can deal with the job for now. I guess all I can do is keep my eyes open for other opportunities in the area. It doesn't help that my husband has not found a job here yet and isn't putting in a whole lot of effort.

I had plenty of mystery shopping work in NH, but here the options are limited, but I am filling my weekends the best I can to try and save up more money in case anything does happen with my job.

I am a firm believer in things happen for a reason, so I will try my best to be optimistic that better times will be coming soon (I hope!).

Time to quit venting and head to work. Thanks for "listening".

The craziness of the last few months is finally coming to an end. I left my family in NH for this new job in mid-March. They are finally joining me this coming week!

I have my budget more or less figured out now that my first full utility bills have come in (stayed at a friend's til June 1st). I will implement it in August as I still had some double bills this month and the moving costs. The truck is $1700. I am hoping travel is around $400 for gas, food and one night in a hotel. I realize it may be closer to $500, so that is what I budgeted. DH says he has enough food left to pack a couple sandwiches; hopefully he only eats a couple of meals on the road. My son is flying down on Tuesday. I took the day off to pick him up and spend the day with him since he will be here by noon.

I am looking forward to life getting back to normal!

I flew home to NH last night and am staying until Tuesday morning. I needed to see my hubby and son. I also want to go through my stuff and de-clutter and pack a bit so to ease their burden in July when they will be joining me.

The new job is going pretty well. There is so much to learn. It's a totally new field for me.

I applied for and was approved to rent a townhouse. I am waiting on the current renters to move out. I will be able to move in no later than June 15th. It's a really nice place with very low rent. It's 950 per month which is less than 25% of my gross monthly income. I can finally start a budget!

Back to packing....have a great weekend everyone!

I did the paperwork for the new job today. I have my first full day tomorrow. I was a bit disappointed in the offer, but my pay should increase significantly within a few months. I am a condo association manager and I have a portfolio of four properties right now. However, they plan on adding a couple more properties in the next few months to my portfolio, and at that time my pay will increase. For now, the offer is $42,500 and a $200 a month car allowance. The car allowance is pretty generous considering my properties are all in the same town. I will also get a cell phone paid for by the company.

I looked at the benefits packet. Those won't kick in until July, but my costs will be fairly low. I was happy about that. It includes all the standard stuff, but what I really liked was the 401k offers a 6% match!

Anyhow, the plan is to stay with my friends through May and have a house to rent by June, although my friends are encouraging me to stay until July 1st so I don't pay double rent for more than a month. My lease in NH is up at the end of July. This is when hubby and son will join me.

I have a feeling I will have a tough time sleeping tonight so it is time to head to bed.

I have been in Florida almost two weeks. Although I haven't started work, things are progressing nicely. I had my fingerprints cleared and my state application approved. I am scheduled for the state test this coming Saturday. Assuming I pass it, I will have my manager's license. My interview went very well last week. I know I am hired, but they cannot officially do so until I pass the test. The big boss is on vacation this week, so I will find out my official start date no later than the end of next week.

I have been passing the time learning the area with the help of my friend I am staying with. I also have done a little mystery shopping for income (although hubby is working up north and I also have child support). I miss my husband and son terribly, but otherwise things are going very well. Everyone in this area is very friendly!

Things are progressing along here in Florida. I arrived on Wednesday. I got my fingerprinting done on Thursday and was called to do my interview tomorrow! In the meantime, I shopped for a business suit. I got a blazer at Sears that rang up for 4.99! If that wasn't awesome enough, I got a $6 coupon for a future purchase. I cannot believe this blazer was essentially free! It is a typical black blazer that is interview appropriate.

I had found a great deal on slacks at Dillard's for 21.40 yesterday as well.

Other than missing hubby and son, I am happy so far. The weather is a comfortable 75 degrees and the locals are super friendly!

I ended up spending $52 on clothes this past week. I was digging out summer clothes and only found one shirt and one pair of shorts. I was initially perplexed, but then I remember what happened. At the end of the season I had washed my summer clothes. I live in an apartment and my elderly neighbor had used an excessive amount of bleach in the washing machine. My clothes were ruined.

I went to Goodwill to keep it cheap and besides I want to lose some weight. I didn't want to spend the money, but it is in the mid-70's in the Florida panhandle.

I am running around like crazy making sure everything is as easy as possible for my son and hubby while I am gone. With the exception of the week I will get to come home for my car, we will live apart for four months. I head out Wednesday morning on a one-way ticket. I have to take a state test and can't get that date until I am down there. My friends have a third vehicle and insist I use that until I get my car. I also plan to pack "my stuff" when I am back for a week since the boys will have to pack everything else this summer.

I am very nervous, but also excited about my big "adventure".

The HR department for the new job called yesterday. Basically, they want me for the job, but can't do the official interview without my state certification. I have to be fingerprinted to take the test. I had previously understood I could take the pre-licensure course (which I did) and could finish the process if and when I got the job.

I called my friend whose husband has played the key role in the process. She talked to hubby and he said to get down there and get fingerprinted asap while waiting for a test date. He said in the meantime he can give me admin work (after the fingerprints) and if for some reason they have to fill the management position, two more are opening. She told him what I am giving up to go down there on a leap of faith. He said he was 100% sure he will have work for me and I will ultimately have the management position.

Mind you my major income has been mystery shopping lately. There is plenty of that here in New England, but not in the new area. Thankfully, if I need to return, I can pick up where I left off. My lease is good here through July and my husband and son will stay put. That is the toughest part for me is going alone. They will join me in late July if all goes well.

On a positive note, my friends insist I stay with them and they even have a vehicle for me to drive. They told me to fly and not drive down alone. I booked a one way ticket (since I don't have a test date and can't get it until the fingerprints are done). So, I will be leaving here next Wednesday and have no clue when I will be back. I was guaranteed that the job will let me come back for at least a week when I need to so I can get my car and more of my stuff. I hope to do that over my son's spring break in late April.

Right now I am looking at all I need to do in a week (including finishing up tutoring and scheduled mystery shops) and I am totally overwhelmed. It's an exciting, yet very scary new chapter for sure.

I am still in a holding pattern as far as life goes financially and in general. The process is ongoing for the job in Florida. I just took the "psych" test, so I can only assume an interview is next.

Hubby may have landed a part time job an an independent contractor via a friend. He will be a courier in the evenings for a couple of hours. I hope it comes through, we could really use that extra money. He and my son will stay here through July when our lease ends so he has some time to decide what he wants to do. He wants to do the long distance relationship for a year. He thinks I will hate Florida again. I told him this time it's a completely different area and situation. I plan on deciding whether or not it is for me before the lease is up in July. I won't come back after that.

As you can see a lot of major decisions and changes lie ahead. I hope to have some answers asap so that in a month or so I can set a budget. In the meantime I am paying the bills and only spending when I absolutely need to do so.