I adore checking out items at my local thrift stores. Virginia Beach has several including Salvation Army (my fav!), Goodwill, CHKD and others. I can always find lots of great deals at the stores and always walk away with a ton of stuff. Today was no different when hubby and I (with the Kid) hit up the local Salvation Army. He found an awesome trunk style suitcase which we want to use for the dress up trunk (why yes, boys have dress up clothes also!). We also found a few clothes for each of us for the winter. I found a couple cute snowmen items to add to my collection and also some charms for my wine charm making hobby. I also saw a great elliptical but they wanted $85 which I just don’t have right now. Maybe next time it will be $50! That would be awesome!

So, I just want to say that the stuff found at the "Bigger" name thrift stores are nice - I have been to a few of the smaller ones and some of the stuff there was kinda gross, but I have tons of luck at Salvation Army. Check it out and maybe save yourself some money! It’s really OKAY to save money!

I’m seriously going to start a lens on Squidoo for "Plus Size Business Attire (on a budget)" because I’m on a quest for some! I’m not a Manolo Blahniks type of girl - I’m WAYYYYYY too cheap for that (plus, I’m not very good with heels). I just want something flattering, inexpensive and conservative (with a kick). I am the one who will wear a sleek black suit ($20 per piece at Wal-Mart!) and pair it with a pink button down and skull accessories. I look ready for a meeting - but people know I’m "fun" also. In my (current and desired) line of work (Web Development / PR / Marketing) dressing a little fun is okay. I mean, there were tons of guys that went to a blog convention recently who seemingly thought "business casual" was nice jeans, a tshirt and a sports coat. It’s cute - and it WORKS in this business - but if this were say, a law firm than it just wouldn’t fly.

So - send me some places where I can find nice business attire? With a twist please!

It’s a beautiful Autumn here in Virginia. The trees are all orange, red and yellow and the leaves slowly fall onto the ground. It’s time to begin a few projects around the house!

Obtaining Wood for the fireplace is high on the list - planning ahead and finding the best price saves us from the $5.00 for 2 pieces prices at Wal-Mart. Last year we paid $25 and listerally FILLED the back of our SUV with wood. There are a lot of people who offer that deal around here from their backyards. Having a fireplace lowers our winter electricity bill quite a lot - that and it’s just beautiful to watch the fire wrapped in blankets on the couch.

Winterizing our wardrobe is another important project. Xander grows so quickly and he needs a new set of clothes for each season. I’ve been finding sales and stocking up as I can for him. I decided that I personally needed more “business” type attire this winter since my school has a “dress up” day where we have to dress for success. Sweats are nice for the house too - I’d rather lounge or clean in them than anything else. I’d love a pair of UGG Knightsbridge boots this year - I bought a cheapo knockoff pair last year and they hardly had any tread on them. It actually snows here - so winter boots are a must!

Planning for holidays are on my agenda also. We will only see Alan’s sister and brother-in-law this Christmas, but we still have to buy gifts for the rest of our family. Plus Xander and each other of course! I also go on a cookie baking marathon so that needs to be planned also.

I love this time of year - but it takes a lot of planning to make it run smoothly and with less stress. What do you do for your holiday planning?

My husband, the kid and I are all ready for Halloween! I will be Hermione (from Harry Potter), the Kid will be Super Mario and hubby is going to be a Vampire. Hubby’s costume we finished putting together yesterday finally. He was being incredibly picky about his attire!! I was like dude - what do you NEED! We’re running out of time!! Do you need fangs? Makeup? A box cutter? What else? He finally figured it out though and I have to admit he looks pretty darn good! I haven’t tried on my entire costume yet - so hopefully all is well.

What’s next? The AFTER Halloween sales!! Yeah!!

My husband wants to eat healthy. Like. NOW. Where was he months if not years ago when I was doing this? The whole “eating well” and “healthy lifestyle” idea I mean … I mean, okay yeah he was deployed for awhile there - I get it. But now he wants to do it and I don’t. Well, no .. I do .. but I don’t. I don’t mind cooking healthy, but don’t try and make me get off my butt at this point. I’m too tired.

Why can’t he just take some Phentermine and leave me to my chips and Mojito’s? Let me veg out in peace man!

My husband saved some money and is in the process of building another desktop computer for us to play on. He had saved the money before my college plans were even planned so I “let” him keep the money. He’s taking his time and searching for sales so I’m not worried. I’m actually excited because our current desktop “The Beast” is about 4-5 years old now; which in computer terms means “a dinosaur.” So, he’s got a plan - a plan that includes a couple 300GB hard drives (to run in a “raid” of course) and a super fast processor. I have really no idea what all the jargon is since I’m really not into “hardware” - but I listen and occasionally learn something new.

I am working on painting a case too - an old one just to play “artist” and make it crazy girly. It will be black with pink (blacklight sensitive) skulls. Maybe some zing and sparkle. I then plan on selling the case, along with our old case from The Beast (unless we sell it as a whole).

Hubby’s computer business only really runs when he’s home to build or tweak. Right now I believe we’re good.

I’ve been thinking up “business” type outfits and getting ready to work on my closet (you know, whip it into shape) and I think I’m good to go here. I’ve got a few tops and at least one nice pair of pants that actually fit. I’ve got a few pieces of decent jewelry (that doesn’t even have any skulls on it!) and I might actually learn to brush my hair this century.

Why all the fuss? Because I start college Monday. I start at a technical computer school that provides me with not only a ton of information but also the connections to get a job when I leave the school. Hence - I need to “put on the suit and act as if” (I love that statement - wish I knew who said it first).

I don’t have any extra money for Cartier or Patek Philippe brand watches - but I totally have a fake-Rolex that my husband brought me from Iraq! Does that count? I also shop at the Exchange at places like Ross for name-brand stuff. I might like “the labels” but I certainly don’t like the real stuffs’ prices.

Hubby got my Mac all set up in the “guestroom/Christine’s office” so all I need is a chair (and a bulletin board to keep track of those pesky assignments both from school and from the internet).

I’m quite excited. I’m also quite nervous. Wish me luck!

Tis the season for ghouls and ghosties folks. My son and husband are in their element I tell you - it’s hard to get either of them out of the Halloween section at Wal-de-Mort. So, I kinda treated them tonight and we hit up some of the local fly-by-night Halloween stores. We’ve been to three now and the one we went to tonight was awesome! It was HUGE! The Hogwarts robes I am on the hunt for at still $35 so I am biding my time a little. I still need to complete my costume though - and soon. My husband got a huge kick out of all the gore makeup and now I think he wants to be “something dead” for the holiday, lol. That’s my hubby!! The boy is going to be Super Mario … so I’ve been looking for blue overalls for him. The rest I need to get off my ass and order online.

We need to get our living room in order and get some home theater seating for all the movies we usually watch in October. Some of our favorites are “Nightmare Before Christmas” (which we watch before Halloween AND Christmas!), Disney Halloween, Rocky Horror Picture Show (not really Halloween but it’s still lovely), and of course movies with suspense and vampires! Gore kinda squicks me out now though … I’ve turned into a wuss. I used to be a horror movie FIEND though. Blah.

Have I mentioned how much I hate renting a house? Even more so, I hate renting OUT a house which is the case right now. We own a house in Jacksonville and it’s currently being rented - and the tenant has been late on her payment twice now. In fact, this month we’re “getting paid” on the 24th - which translates to she’s paying our manager on the 24th and we won’t see the money until next month. Oh and we don’t get any of the “late payment fee” money either. I swear we’re being held by our nostrils here. A good thing is that the contract runs out in November. The bad thing is that the contract runs out in … November. HOPEFULLY we get another tenant. But, I hate our management company so much! I wonder if we can re-negotiate the terms of the contract? Has anyone had any luck with that?

Okay, so I lied … It’s a little easier renting than owning a house and renting it out. Unless perhaps you are renting out a house with friends or family nearby? At least then you don’t need a manager that will take $200 a month from you for nothing.

Life was a little easier with the second of our Outer Banks rentals. The first was with a management company and we ran into all sorts of issues (plus, the house was a bit of a slum). The second one was actually owned and managed by a bank (and a guy) and was so much nicer. When something went wrong we just dealt with the one nice person (even when our dog knocked over a bottle of bleach on the carpet!) Oh, by the way, if you’d like to learn a little about TRAVEL in the Outer Banks check out my recent post on my other blog entitled “Travel in the Outer Banks” (yes, I realize it’s a very original post title).

Anyway, the next “rental” was in Spain and it was military housing. So not only was it slummy, it was maintained by local nationals; none of whom spoke English very well.

Here, our landlord is okay. I won’t say anything else since - um, he’s currently our landlord.

Department of Employment shot by Mike Colvin

I was checking out Craigslist last night for some web design or freelance work and realized that I am WAY behind the learning curve. Seven years ago (when I only had two classes left) I dropped out of college. I was on my way to getting an Associate in Arts (read: GENERIC) degree that I could use to transfer to another college with. I was burned out. So, I left. I moved in with my boyfriend at the time (3 states away) and eventually we got married, moved to Spain, had a baby, moved to Jacksonville, moved to Virginia …

Last night after I got depressed looking at Craigslist I looked up colleges in the area. I found a nice school with everything I am looking for in a career in web design and advertising. I’m excited - and incredibly nervous. I have a meeting with a counselor on Monday - with my transcripts. Hopefully, me going to school for what I love to do will impress those I go do employment screening with and they might just think I KNOW something! Imagine the possibilities for a second. Getting more education and potentially getting a job in field that I love to work in anyway? That my friends, would be awesome. Now, if I can still stay at home with my kiddo? Well, that would be even awesome-er. Er? More awesome? Something …

At least most web development software has spell check right?