Back, I think. It’s been real…it’s been fun…but I can’t say it has been real fun. I have just about finished up my traveling for the summer (I have one more flying excursion to Houston and back tomorrow..literally.)

I have been all over the state….and to Hawai’i.

Somehow, in the middle of it…I lost a few things…and gained a few things…including a new boy. Yup.

And, why is it, when you really want a guy to be impressed by your organizational skills and your ability to keep your household running (including offering to help him do his laundry at your place on a Sunday afternoon)….

….that you walk back into your house to find that your favorite doxie has urped all over the carpet? Murphy’s Law, my pets…Murphy’s law.

I am being hate-stalked by an ex-boyfriend’s live-in girlfriend.

Now THAT’s a new one.

It has been a long week. And, I am not quite ready to hash out many of the specifics.

Midnight…and I am waiting for a homemade german chocolate cake to finish baking in the oven. The homemade icing is setting up quite nicely, too.

Yes, the girl is baking. As if I wasn’t already too busy to see straight.

Long day - hair appointment with Mandy at noon (although we didn’t even get started until after 3:30pm….housewarming party at Patty’s…and the aforementioned cake for a friend’s birthday.

Once it emerges and cools, I will pop it in the freezer for a few hours…then ice it quite nicely and deliver it to the birthday girl tomorrow afternoon.

….and, then I swear I am going to sleep for a week.

I was ‘balancing’ my checking account this week. I use that term loosely because I really don’t balance it. In fact, I think I have balanced my checkbook a grand total of five times in my life..and all of those were back when I was married and could not figure out where our money was going. Answer? Todd was a ‘couple bucks here, couple bucks there’ type of spender and would run the card zealously everywhere he went. Poor guy, he thought that if he had a card in hand, there MUST be money somewhere. I, however, was trying to keep us out of the poorhouse…and wasn’t having much luck.

That is why I have always liked having my own account. After we split and then reconciled, I refused to share a joint account with him again…figuring that we would be best served if I simply handled the household finances and we settled up later. I wasn’t always a financially responsible person. In fact, I used to be completely irresponsible in my wild child younger days. I bounced so many checks and was late with almost every payment you could think of.

However, one day, I decided to turn over a new leaf (or a new dollar, as it happened). I started budgeting and tracking what I spent. And, without balancing my checkbook, I could tell you exactly how much money I had, within a dollar. I still can - - even though I now have three checking and two savings account. (Don’t get any ideas…two of those checking accounts are pretty anemic…they are for my ‘mad money’ and ‘Christmas’ expenditures. The third checking account is for household expenses and bills and all of those grown-up things.) I have two savings account….once again…one is here in Dallas…and it has a rather sad little balance. It suffers because I can access it. **evil grin** The other savings account is in Abilene…and I cannot get to it easily. I have a nice chunk of my paycheck drafted into it every single payday. However, that is also the account that pays for both my car and my mother’s Tahoe. Sometimes I make the regular payment…sometimes I load up and make a payment in excess. It is also my ‘Hawaii’ savings account.

I had been saving as much as I could, because I was planning on treating my family to some fun excursions…such as parasailing, swimming with dolphins, luaus, etc. I took a look at that balance yesterday and realized that I am not going to need all of it. Our accomodations (cabins that sleep 5 to 6 and are right on the beach) are only $80 per night. My rental car will be less than $300 for the trip. AND, Kim called me last week and asked me if I would be adverse to sharing with another party, since I am solo for this trip. I was ok, until she mentioned it was a man. That gave me pause, but she reassured me that I had met Kris before - - the last time she had come to visit. Sadly, I don’t remember Kris - - I had just flown back from my brother’s wedding in Vegas, and I barely remember seeing KIM…much less meeting Kris.

I thought, “You’re being stupid.” So, I said I wouldn’t have a problem sharing the cabin and a rental vehicle with him for the duration of the trip. I got to visit with him and while he doesn’t remember me either, he seems laid-back enough to make me comfortable. So, I have a boy roommate for the Hawaii trip and someone to split the cost of the rental car, too. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Kris is easy on the eyes….if you have to have a roommate, it might as well be a nice and nice-looking man…right? (Relax, the boy is safe from me.)

So, financially, I am ready for this trip - - and was just double-checking my Dallas account, to ensure that my automatic payments were being made correctly….and I noticed that my car insurance payment was FAR lower than it should be.

It should be $102.00

It was $70.00

I went online and reviewed my policy. OH! It renewed, did it? OH! This last month was far lower because they had to reimburse me (since it is pre-paid every month through draft). I did a snoopy dance when I saw the (real) new rate.

$85.44

WHEEE! My defensive driving discount has expired…so if I take it again…I will get that discount back, and my car insurance will be sub-$80 again! I am thrilled.

I mean, I used to be the world’s worst. In fact, about two years after I got my license, the family insurer called my dad up and told him “They’re dropping her coverage.” Between the lead foot and the tendency to wreck my car…I was a risk. To the tune of about $400 in insurance per month! (Which is why my non-existent child is not driving until he/she hits 30.)

But, wow. Now I am happy. No speeding tickets (knock on wood) in a year….and only one wreck — not at fault, thank you very much.

I feel like I have gotten a (small) financial windfall!

**giggle**

I am torturing zenmike, one of the nearest and dearest to me, by placing a countdown on my chat status…..”Seeing the Southern Cross in 20 days”.

I didn’t even realize until yesterday that I will be able to see the Southern Cross from my location in Kaneohe Bay. And, for some strange reason, I am looking forward to that more than I figured that I would.

Of course, I want to be flat on my back on the private beach in the middle of the night, letting my skin soak up the warmth from the ground and feeling the surf tickle my feet….all the while listening to Jimmy Buffett’s cover of “Southern Cross”. Friends and I were all talking about his last concert in Frisco…and I think we agreed that his performance of “Southern Cross” that night was nothing short of a religious experience. Don’t ask me why…but, there was an air of electricity and absolute happiness and comfort and ‘rightness’ when he played that song….(and no, it wasn’t the jello shots talking). So, I have a plan to commune with Buffett and the beach, while taking in the glorious beauty of the Southern Cross…playing on my iPod.

Yeah, I know I don’t have any iPod any longer. Scratch that…I don’t have a WORKING iPod…you know…since I ran over Evelle with my little Z4. Accident, I swear. I PROMISE I didn’t do it just to have an excuse to buy an iPod touch. Although….now that you mention it…..

….I need to go pick up an iPod touch and get used to it before my trip.

…and the crazy time of year hasn’t even started.

It’s Open Enrollment, my friends. I wing my way (or drive) all over the state to all of my branches. I spend the better part of 2 1/2 weeks on the road, in hotel rooms, in conference rooms…you get the picture. PLUS, I still have all of my regular duties, with the added bonus of, um…well….having to take care of everything remotely.

And, to top it off, I will be taking half a week off during the middle of it to fly to O’ahu. I’ll be in Hawai’i from July 9th to July 13th. And, I hate time zones, jet lag, etc. I will leave Sunday afternoon to fly back to Dallas…however, my plane lands in the morning…and I will have to rush from the airport to the office to take care of a large time-sensitive item. Not to mention, there are some pretty serious things going on that require phone conferences, lots of research and most likely at least one additional trip to Houston.

Looks like I will come up for air sometime in August.

Don’t get me wrong, I am excited. I live for this - - but, I am realizing that there are definitely not enough hours in the day and not enough days in the week to get everything done that I need to do. I am planning like mad…and driving myself up the wall.

Boarding dogs? Check
Making sure I line up all of my bill payments so that I don’t have to think about them? Check
Laundry? Um…I’ll get to it, I promise.
Fun? Not likely to occur.

I am afraid that I won’t be able to spend time with my friends, and may miss out on some July 4th fun. I may miss a couple of pool parties, some happy hours, etc. I am trying my hardest to schedule things so that I can be in town for a couple of birthday celebrations. I missed those b-days last year….simply because I was traveling…either for work, my aunt’s funeral or my father’s funeral. I commit to making those get-togethers this year.

I did an ‘as the crow flies’ mileage search on my upcoming business/pleasure travel. In the course of three weeks, I will travel MORE than 10,000 miles. If you were actually plotting true mileage, based on air routes or highways….it might exceed 12,000 miles.

I’m so going to enjoy getting back home ‘for good’.

Unfortunate Serendipity, PHR

Yes…I passed the PHR certification examination!!!!!

Next up? The SPHR! (I’m going to wait about a year to sit for that one)