BizyMoms is a very informative website for work at home moms. It includes tons of information to help those who are trying to get started working from home. Had I discovered it a couple of years sooner, I might have become a WAHM long before I did.

I’m proud to be a part of such a wonderful resource! Bookmark that first link, because they will be adding more WAHM blogs soon.

Quite frankly, I’m rather relieved that 2008 is over. It was a very trying year for my family and I. We all had some health issues, we had to move, and our finances became extremely complicated. But we made it through it all, and I’m hopeful that 2009 will be better. The economy going haywire has taken its toll on pretty much everyone, but I’m determined that I’m going to take those lemons that life has handed me and make lemonade. My hope is that each and every one of you can do so as well.

I haven’t made any formal New Year’s Resolutions, because every time I do, I end up breaking them. But I do plan to get more organized. I’ve been working out a schedule in my head that would allow me to get everything I need to accomplish each day done. Maybe if I can get it on paper and post it prominently, I can make myself stick to it. No more surfing the web, reading about everything from ball lock pins to geological formations. I’ve got to take control of my time so I can get more work and housework done and still have time to spend with the family.

I’ve been kicking around some business goals for 2009 as well, but the organization thing is top priority right now. If I can’t do that, there’s no way I’ll get anywhere in the coming year. So quantifiable goals will have to wait.

What are your hopes and goals for the New Year? Share in the comments. Maybe we can provide inspiration for each other.

He said he was going to get me something later, but hopefully he’ll forget about it. The problem is, I really need to get him something. Not just want to, but need to. I’m not talking something optional like New York Yankees tickets here. He desperately needs a new pair of work boots, and he won’t buy them himself. So when I get the money I’m going to get him some, and then he will feel like he has to buy me something.

Why do things have to be so complicated? Why won’t he just realize how badly he needs new boots and buy them himself? I just don’t get him sometimes.

I guess some people do that. Maybe a lot of people do that. But to me it just seems weird. I’m a dog lover and all, but of all the dogs I’ve had throughout the years, I don’t think I’ve every thrown a birthday party for one. I’m not sure I’ve even known any of their birthdays.

I suppose it all goes back to how I was raised. When I was young, we always had dogs, but we didn’t keep them in the house. My parents would let my sister’s dog come in sometimes when it was cold out, but most of the time they were outdoors. I finally talked them into letting me get an indoor dog when I was a teenager, and I’m still not sure how that happened. But in most cases, pets just weren’t considered an integral part of the family.

Maybe I’m going about things all wrong. Maybe I should be having parties for our dogs, and letting them invite their friends over for sleepovers. Maybe I should be getting term life insurance quotes on them. Okay, maybe that’s a little extreme, but to me so is a birthday party. To each his own, I guess. If you have the money and want to have a birthday party for your dog, why not?

Actually it started on Christmas Eve. I was expecting a gift that I had ordered for Pumpkin, but the mail ran and it didn’t arrive. So I called Amazon to see what was going on. They said it had been sent by UPS, so I waited around for UPS to run. The time came and went, and still nothing. I didn’t bother calling back, because I knew it would do no good and I had bigger fish to fry. But I was quite disappointed, seeing how I had ordered two days before the deadline for Christmas delivery with free shipping.

Oh well. Time came for Pumpkin to go to bed, and I stayed up because I had to fill her stocking, wrap one last gift, and get the stuff from Santa under the tree. I was feeling rotten, but it was Christmas Eve, and as a parent you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. I ended up vomiting three times before I went to bed, but everything was in place for Christmas morning.

Christmas morning came, and Pumpkin was all excited. I got my digital camera and started snapping pictures as she opened presents, but only managed to get a few before my camera’s memory was full. I have no idea where my memory card is and didn’t feel like looking for it, so I just didn’t bother taking any more. But she was a very happy camper.

She got two DVDs for Christmas, and she wanted to watch one of them. But when we turned on the DVD player, nothing happened. I thought I would let her watch it on my computer, but it decided that it didn’t want to play DVDs (or do much of anything else for that matter) either. So now we’re without a way to watch anything but VHS tapes.

I lay back down when all the excitement was over, but Hubby’s parents wanted us to come eat dinner with them. So I dragged myself out of bed, showered and went. I wasn’t able to eat much, but we sat over there and played cards for a while. I was glad when it was over.

That was my Christmas in a nutshell. I felt bad all week, and I’m still not feeling particularly froggy. I’ve had better Christmases, but I’ve also had much worse.

I just caught wind of a couple of promotions she has going on that you might be interested in. First off, she’s giving away an issue of Essential Biz Notes, a publication for her Sweetie Saturday Report Club members. Click here to download the free Essential Biz Notes.

And if you’re interested in getting an informative report from Alice each month, now is the time to give the Report Club a try! She’s offering a $2 one-month trial now through December 31st. Just join here, pay by PayPal, and use coupon code 28CC4.

Pumpkin had to miss school on Friday. We both went to the doctor, because my sinuses were acting up and hers were as well. She had also vomited Thursday night and Friday morning, but I attributed that to the sinus drainage. If only.

As it turned out, she had a horrible stomach bug that didn’t let up until yesterday. She still doesn’t have her usual voracious appetite, but at least she’s able to get up and play and not hurting constantly. She also has a sinus infection, but the doc said not to give her the antibiotics he prescribed until the stomach bug had run its course. So I’m starting her on those tonight. At least she’ll hopefully be feeling decent enough to enjoy her Christmas, and I’m very glad of that.

He also gave me antibiotics for a sinus infection, but my stomach was feeling a little funny and I decided to wait before I started taking them in case I was getting the bug too. It passed, and I finally started feeling confident enough to take them on Sunday. Then today I started having stomach problems and just generally feeling icky. Oh joy.

I’m hoping it’s just the antibiotics causing the stomach problems. Because I really don’t want to stop taking them. They’re the good stuff (Levaquin, about the only one that works for my sinuses), and I’d hate to turn those nasty little bacteria immune to them and end up in the shape I was in before my surgery. I’m going to keep taking them for now and hope for the best.

Hubby also has a sinus infection that didn’t get killed off by the antibiotics he got for them a few weeks ago, but I can’t get his stubborn butt to go get some more. He has also been complaining with pain in his lower abdomen. That could be a bad thing (like a hernia).

So none of us are feeling especially great right now. I’ve managed to get almost all of the Christmas gifts wrapped already, but I still need to do some shopping. I also have lots of work that I need to get done. But between feeling bad myself and taking care of everyone else, it’s slow going. I just hope Christmas day goes well. I’m stressed to the max, but if Pumpkin has a good Christmas, I’ll be happy.

I’d love to be able to go out and pay cash for a brand spanking new Sony Vaio laptop, but that’s not an option. So I’ve been searching for less expensive options. I found a tower that has all the power and features I should need for $299. As much as I would like a laptop, I may have to go with another desktop due to price concerns. I don’t think this one is going to hold out much longer.

There’s no way I can get any kind of computer right now. Maybe when we get our taxes back. I had planned to use that money to pay down the loan on my truck, but Hubby has already staked his claim on enough money to buy a hunting rifle. Maybe I’ll just use some of it for myself too.

When I first started saving Pepsi Points, they were offering MP3 players and all sorts of other cool stuff. I had my eye on a nice retro t-shirt. But I read the reviews for it, and they said it ran very small, so I wouldn’t have been able to wear it. So I decided to get a lunch cooler. But by the time I had saved up enough points, they were sold out.

I ended up getting a CD. Now the pickings are even slimmer, but there are still some pretty nice things. The main things that interest me are the CD cases and flash drives, but I may end up getting another CD unless I’ve just got an overabundance of points when I enter all of the ones that are on my computer desk.

The promotion ends December 31st, so if you’ve been saving your points, be sure to redeem them by then. They might not have as much to choose from as they once did, but you might as well get something for free while the getting’s good.

I hope everyone has enjoyed these giveaways. I’m planning on having more, but it will probably be after Christmas and the New Year, when things are less crazy for everyone (myself included). So be sure to subscribe to my feed via RSS or email, or bookmark my blog, so you don’t miss out!