28 days, being alone and a lot of money

Day #28 today and $168 saved. Remember, thats a low number though... I put down $4/pack on the website, but we really pay close to $5. And double that for the husbands quitting. I'm pretty much down to 1 pill a day, too, but not by choice. I just keep forgetting to take the other fricken pill.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. My husband left me. Ok, ok, not really... well, yes he did. He left me at 5am for snow covered snowmobile trails and a bunch of guys who all they do is sit around and talk BS and snowmobiles all day. It sorta rather sucked without him yesterday...

I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day - or any commercialized holiday really. Yeah ok, I go overboard on Christmas, but the rest? Bah humbug. A few years back... probably 8 or 9 years ago the husband walked in the door the afternoon of Valentine's Day with a huge vase filled with one dozen roses and a balloon that said "I love you" attached to it. I was in shock! MY husband did this? Talk about falling in love all over again!

In our house we have one checkbook and it stays with me. He hates writing checks and when he became a truck driver I was forced to be responsible for the bills, so it's just kinda turned into me handling it. Which works for us... and hey! no fighting about money! It's great. #1 reason for divorce in America is financial fighting - won't happen here! Anyway, I have the checkbook, but he has one of those handy dandy plastic cards that works as a check, so when he uses it he has to give me the reciept so I can deduct it out of the checkbook. He used the check-card for the roses, so he handed me the reciept. I took one look at it and said; "If you EVER buy me roses on Valentine's Day again, I'm leaving you".

And I mean it. Some guys will say women don't mean it when they say it, but I do. $85.00 for a dozen roses, a vase and a stupid balloon. That should be illegal. $85.00!! If he would have waited a week they would have been $40. It's stupid and as far as I'm concerned - not very original. If most men think women don't mean it... think about this. Women expect it. Valentine's and roses go together. We don't think men can think past what they know... it's an easy-out. Throw money out, bring home roses. Done.

Let me put it this way - I have all 3 notes that my husband has ever written me. I cherish them like I cherish my children. How many of those 12 roses do I have? None. Figure it out.

Anyway. How about a picture of my puppies just to lighten the mood?

Today we are off to the orthodontist and then the dentist. Demon #1 has braces and she doesn't have enough room in her mouth for all the teeth she has, so today the ortho is going to remove her brackets so the dentist can pull 2 of her teeth... then Monday we go back and have 2 more pulled. She's going to be a hurting unit after all this is said and done!

Speaking of money... do we really want to go here when talking about braces? Ugh. And, of course, our dental insurance is good, but it ain't that good! $4600 for braces... that should be illegal too! And I know that Taryn is going to remember that amount until the day she dies because she is always reminded of the cost. Now granted, she might have ended up with braces anyway, but a lot of it is her own fault. She had no idea what the outcome would be, but when she was little and her baby teeth were loosening up, she wouldn't tell us. She didn't want us to pull them out. So by the time we realized they were loose, they were hanging by a thread and the adult tooth had already come in... and not in the right place. She did this time and time again and it drove us nuts. Snaggletooth we called her, because... she was!

So I'm long winded today, ain't I? If you are still reading... whats wrong with you? I'm not that exciting! LOL

Anyway... have a great day and remember to smile at a stranger for no reason. They'll smile back - I promise!