The Good, The Bad & The Mundane

First for the Mundane......

I finally sat down to pay some July bills this morning.
I can't believe we are already on the backside of the month!

Everything is paid up and I still have money leftover from the 1st paycheck this month.
Go me!! ;-)

I figure about $750 more in spending until the end of July here...between prescription refills, the couple of regular bills not received yet, gas fill ups for Hubs and a bit of miscellaneous/cash spending.
We have another paycheck before the month ends so unless something really expensive pops up before August, I should have a healthy chunk of change to put into my Savings Challenge goal.
Go me again! lol

I'm going to enjoy having spare money this month because next month the semi-annual car insurance premium is due.
*sad face*

On the Good News side of things.....

 

Firstborn got a job!!!!!!
A real, fulltime job that pays a decent amount.

It's not a teaching position but having an education degree helped him get it......that and having worked every summer for the last 6 years w/special needs campers too.
It's something he's comfortable doing and is a great fit for his skill set until he lands that teaching position he hopes to one day find.

Plus he and the girlfriend got approved for the apartment in Pittsburgh they wanted.
So they are making plans for the "big move" to P'burgh next month.
And since Firstborn got a decent job, even though we had to cosign their lease, they will be able to afford to pay the rent, the utilities, gas, food and student loans.  His expensive craft beer habit will have to be put aside for awhile though....

On the Not-So-great News.......

Why on earth do they make swimming pools out of metal that rusts?
Seriously.
If you are fabricating something to HOLD MANY GALLONS OF WATER, why would you NOT use stainless steel or heavily treat said metal sheeting with rustproofing?
Oh yeah.....because they don't want your pool to last more than 5 years so they get to sell you another one, and at a higher price because that will go up over 5 years like your blood pressure will when you find out you need to basically replace your pool.

Hubs has had a pool liner leak he has been trying to find all season.  We have taken the liner partly off to patch this and that numerous times.
But the water level keeps dropping and it's not all due to evaporation.
Something was up and it wasn't the pool water.

And Hubs keeps refilling the pool and my water meter keeps spinning like a crazed hippie hyped up on meth at a Grateful Dead concert.
Kaching!
Those regular bills that haven't arrived yet this month.
Yah.....the water bill is one of them and this will not be pretty when it does get here.

As for the pool--
Hubs has stopped refilling it and it's about bone dry now and the source of the problem has finally been found.  The bottom where it meets the side of the wall of the pool is where the leak is.
And it isn't just a leak, it's dry rotted such that if you took your finger and poked the liner it would puncture and then you could run your finger along the bottom and open up a gash the size of a Volvo.
Ok, so that's a real weird metaphor/simile(never could remember the difference between those two!)but it's fairly accurate because most everything about my life is strange/bizarre/funny.

The verdict is we need a new pool liner.
Plus the skin/metal walls of our pool are rusted and rusted through in a couple of spots.
So putting in a new pool liner is just asking for it to be torn by jagged metal panels.
I'm not sure what we are going to do about all this.

Basically, we need to replace most every piece on this pool.
And while I do enjoy having it for the 2 months a year we get to really use it, I don't know if it's worth replacing at this point.

* We just have one kid left at home and he never uses the pool.
* And it's a big expense between the cost of the pool parts itself, all the water needed to fill and top it off each year, the electricity to run the pump all season and then all those pool chemicals....oy!.....the chemicals that cost an arm and a leg.
* Plus we will be moving in a few years, so why bother putting up a new pool?  I hear it can make selling your house more difficult if you have either an in-ground or above-ground pool.

I sure wish we had a community pool like in our old neighborhood.  If you wanted to use the pool you paid a yearly fee which was quite reasonable.

I am thinking maybe to go the hot tub route instead.
Granted it isn't cool and refreshing in the Summer and you can't swim in it......but it can be used almost year round here if located in the right spot because it's heated.
And relaxing in a spa with a glass of an adult beverage is almost as good as a refreshing dip in a pool when it's 90 degrees outside.

What do y'all thing?
Replace the pool, get a hot tub instead or just do without for the time being?

Sluggy

All I Am Going To Say On This

While I have stayed out of the blogger fray on this Zimmerman/Martin Shooting and Trial until now I will share some of my thoughts with you all here.
Feel free to move along and not read this if you can't help letting emotions cloud your powers of reasoning.

It really doesn't matter what anyone thinks happened or didn't happen in those 2-4 minutes that are unaccounted for in the timeline of this incident. The only ones who truly "know" what transpired and in what order are Messrs. Zimmerman and Martin.  Ultimately the state of their immortal souls is between their individual consciences and their makers(if they believe in one).

I believe cases like these, which are labeled racial incidents but aren't necessarily so, are used to push certain politic groups agendas forward and these groups really don't give two farts about the actual humans involved and what the resulting Trial Circus does to their lives.

And the trying in the court of public opinion and the media only serves to divide our country as a nation.  But that is how the Powers That Be keep control over us all, by diverting our attention and separating we, the people, from each other and thus dissipating our group power.

If the race baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton truly cared for their "people", where is the outrage over the thousands of African American youths that have been killed in the time since this highly publicized deemed "racial" killing occurred, African American youths who have been killed by other African Americans in their own racial community?
I think rapper Lupe Fiasco said it best in his tweet....."Yeah gimme that anger...once again that rage...that misguided angst when you true enemy is your own complacency and cowardice.".

Our lives are all about the choices we make.  As PF bloggers you all know that if you are in a bad place with money, it isn't only because of bad luck or for no reason.  Primarily, you make your own luck in life by the choices you make throughout your life.  Sure, a fluke thing can happen to throw your finances into a tailspin but it's all those decisions you have made, all those little, seemingly insignificant and "unrelated to any other choices" decisions you made, that pile up year after year which had formed the path on which you are now trodding into your financial future.

Life is about personal responsibility.

And much like the financial decisions you make over the course of a lifetime, you make other non-financial decisions too that have led you to where you are today in life in all aspects of that life.

This article HERE sets the Martin/Zimmerman incident on it's ear, by presenting that while this shooting was what many call tragic and certainly a needless waste of human life, that it could have possibly been avoided or drastically altered by the actions and decisions made by, Trayvon's parents and Trayvon himself.

By making the personal life decisions that they did, shouldn't his parents be held accountable for forging the path that led to a drugged up 17 yr. old gang member from a broken home in the first place?
The fact that his parents didn't put this kid's needs in life ahead of their own wants and desires speaks volumes about them in particular and about our society as a whole.
Kids are not throw about objects that you have just because you can and only take care of when it's convenient for you and the life you lead.

I know "the system", since it is run by fallible humans with their own issues, to an extent is still rigged against certain classes of citizens, but you can't blame "the man" for all your failings and ills in life and take no responsibility for what befalls you.  Sure, you may have more challenges in life than the next guy/gal due to who your parents are or what socio-economic class you/they are from, but many in our world have risen above challenges and by making those little choices, one heaped upon the other, have built lives that honor themselves and their families.  I can cite you volumes of  cases of "the world was against them but they rose above their situation" people.


I feel for both families of Messrs. Martin and Zimmerman.
But I want to tell them maybe instead of looking to other's faults we should be looking within at our own hearts and the place of personal responsibility in our lives for that justice  that they feel is still eluding them.

God speed George Zimmerman.
Rest in peace Trayvon Martin.

Sluggy

Blog Business and Linky Love

Taking care of some blog stuff today and sharing some linky love.  These links may inspire you, or call you to act, or broaden your knowledge,  so sit back and enjoy. 8-)

** First up, I had a request from a longtime reader, Syama.
She had a blog a year or so ago and was a regular commenter here under the Non De Plume of Free!,  but "life happened" and she had to shut her blog down and schooling kept her from being around the blogisphere.

She is facing a medical crisis now and reached out to me to help her publicize a site she has created in order to raise funds so she can go to MD Anderson in Houston TX for cancer treatment.  She needs to raise cash for plane tickets for her kids so their grandparents in CA can care for them while she is undergoing treatment.
If you think you are in a position to donate to her cause or can share the site somewhere else, go check out her page on this site HERE.

** Secondly, I received a note from someone named Heather.  I'm not sure if Heather is a regular reader or hit on my blog by chance, but she asked that I put a link to a site featuring a video she is the subject of on my blog.  In her own words she said, "My journey with cancer was a terrifying one and I'd like to turn my pain into purpose and become someone that other people can look to for guidance, inspiration, and hope in situations like my own."
She received a death sentence from a little known, deadly form of cancer and after intensive treatment is here 7 years later to give others hope.
Check it out HERE.

** Thirdly, I received an email from someone named Sage who has been reading my blog.  She says she has a website to help folks choose non-contract phone plans located HERE.  It looks like a legit informational site from what I can tell
Check her out.

** Fourth on the agenda, I was contacted by a longtime reader(unbeknownst to me)named Tina who started a blog 3 months ago HERE.
She requested that I put her on my blog roll. 
Now I am happy to oblige since her blog looks like something some of my readers would enjoy.   She's an artist, crafter, teacher, gardener, etc. etc. etc.

Let me say, it takes a certain amount of oh, how shall we say?...."balls" to ask to be put on someone's blog roll when you yourself do NOT have a blog roll(or page of links to others) to reciprocate a link back to that person's blog.
So for having "balls" Tina goes on the blog roll.
I like folks with "balls". ;-)


I am happy to encourage and share stories and other blogs on here so feel free to contact me if you would like me to post about you or your site.

And as always, if any of these folks have links and are selling something, I am not endorsing those efforts or sending you there to hand over your hard earned dollars.
I try to check out everything I am sent but I can't be held responsible for where you and what you see/do/go beyond these links.

Sluggy

 

The Boring Blog Box Giveaway Winner Revealed!

 

We had 45 valid entry comments over the coarse of 4 blog giveaway posts.  I used the highly scientific method of putting all the names onto slips of paper and drawing one from a basket.

I am here to tell you the results now.

 

 

Sonya Ann from A Mom, Money & More Blog.

Congratulations Sonya Ann!

Now if you will just email me your mailing address privately, I'll have this fine box of goodies on it's way to your house shortly.

Stay tune everyone else for another Box of Goodies to begin this Week!  Who knows?  You might snag the next box.....

And thanks to everyone for reading and playing along.  8-)

Sluggy

Just a Reminder....Giveaway Ends Tonight!

Don't forget to Enter the Giveaway.
Today is your last chance as it ends tonight at 11:59pm.
Use this link HERE or the one on the right side bar over there ----->

Sluggy