I love unexpected money! :)

Today turned out to be an extremely good day.

I received a check in the mail from my previous employer for 2 weeks worth of vacation that I didn't take. :) After hours of run around, I was finally able to get it cashed.

Why wasn't I just able to breeze into my bank and cash it, you ask? Well, here's a short and unfunny story.

I was told I wouldn't receive my vacation pay by an upper salaried manager. I thought that was a little strange but I wasn't going to argue because I just wanted out. In return, I never expected anything. The check I received today was dated 11-10-2010. Hmm...

Apparently, they received my check (complete with a void after 90 days clause like most checks) and didn't mail it out to me until 06-24-2011. Oh yes, they waited almost 8 months to send me MY vacation pay that was due to ME. Grr...

So, after my bank wouldn't cash it and I couldn't get a hold of any *big corporation* personnel on the weekend, I decided to mosey my hiney into the store and ask for the check to be cashed.

Long story short here -- I had to threaten to ask my attorney if this was legal and also call corporate on Monday to see if holding checks are frowned upon and *like magic* I walked out with cash in my hand.

Since we had a large chunk of unexpected moolah, the family and I went out for dinner, made some kid-friendly purchases and enjoyed the rainy day.

It was a good day. :)

2:04AM. What better time to start a new blog?

I've never been much of a procrastinator. My mom said I was walking by 8 months and potty trained before I was 15 months (bedtime included). As I got older, my desire and drive only grew stronger. At 16, I had my first job and within 6 months I was promoted to an assistant. (Granted this was fast food but by golly, I was telling 20 year olds what to do.) :)

I left that company at 19 and went on to work for a vey large retail corporation. If I gave you 2 guesses, one of them would be right.

By the time I turned 21 I was promoted to salaried management and life couldn't get much better. I was a snot nosed kid who didn't know squat (really!) and I was getting paid over $50k to basically babysit. What young adult wouldn't want that kinda money?

With the money came the long hours and the lack of a social life. I started to wonder if I was going to become one of those older women I worked with. You know, the one that never leaves the jobsite and is the first one to arrive and the last one to leave...

After meeting, becoming pregnant, and marrying my husband (yes, in THAT order) I decided that all the money in the world could never replace the time I would miss from my family in the coming years.

We talked about my options of working vs not working vs working parttime and decided it would be best if I just stayed home to raise our little one and 10 year old.

Being a stay at home mom is really one of the most rewarding things I've ever experienced. I've never missed a 'first' with our daughter and I'm always home to help our son with his homework. I don't have to worry about child neglect in daycares or babysitter issues. Life is a dream...

NOT.

In choosing to stay home, my husband and I have had to sacrifice tremendously. Currently, my husband is a fulltime college student getting paid to attend school. (He was doing this before I met him due to a lay off at a factory.) So basically we make due with what he receives in his benefit payment and I freelance and sell coupon dividers online.

We make it work. Sure it's a struggle sometimes but I wouldn't have it any other way. We rely on each other and God and we've always pulled through.

We don't have everything but we do have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, love in our hearts, and (a lil' bit of) money in the bank.

Basically, we live like Big City Rednecks. :)