Today is Saturday. A beautiful day. The first time I've worn a skirt since November. I rarely wear skirts or dresses to work since I'm sometimes on all fours with the kids- not very lady like.

So I have had some pretty significant accomplishments in my life the past couple of days. They might not seem very important to you because they are really every day things, but I personally struggle with them. It's such a good feeling to take a step forward.

First, I think I mentioned how the situation with Matt's bill from the hospital resolved itself. I tend to get very angry very fast over little things, or sometimes big things. I've been trying to learn patience in all areas of my life. I know this is my biggest struggle and personal fault. When I dealt with the different hospital and insurance representatives over the phone yesterday and was able to keep my temper in line and treat them respectfully since they personally had done me no wrong I felt like a double weight had been lifted off my shoulders when I was finished. I had resolved the issue and I had done so without raising my voice or saying stupid things. I actually rehearsed what I was going to say before hand so as not to let my emotions get the better of me. That is a big accomplishment for me. I usually wear my emotions on my sleeves, especially anger.

Second, I filed our federal, Michigan, and Virginia taxes! I was so stressed about them because I had never filed jointly and had received some extra forms from the bank and Liberty since I had received interest and scholarships in 2008. I had never had to deal with those kinds of forms before. Now, I know our taxes overall are still extremely simple since we're not making that much and we don't own a home yet, but it still worries me. I have this irrational fear that the IRS is going to fine me 100,000$ or send me to prison for "misrepresenting myself". I know, it's rather silly since I would never purposefully lie on my taxes. I eventually decided to e-file and even though we had to pay a small fee (less than 10$ for all three forms combined) it was worth it in the end. I input all our information and all the various forms we had received and the program entered the information into the necessary forms to send to the government. I am missing one piece of information that we need, but I'll be able to get it this weekend or early next week and then our taxes will be officially underway. I had sent them to be filed, but the program said it needed this last piece of info. Michigan went through immediately but the other two are still waiting. It feels good to have this finished and out of the way. Once we start making more money or owning a home I think I'll do what both our parents do and take our tax forms to an intermediary to file. Much less of a headache.

Thirdly, I have officially lost all the weight I was trying to lose. It took about a month. Just goes to show how a little exercise can truly make a difference. I wasn't over weight by any means, but I had begun to get a little more flabby in areas I once had firm muscles. It feels good to be back to where I wanted to be. I'm still hoping to drop a few extra pounds for summer, like everyone else in the world. And now that I've discovered the secret of jumping jacks, I have no doubt I'll get to where I want to be. Seriously, it's the workout cureall. We'll get gym membership eventually, but for now these jumping jacks are doing it for me.

Fourth, while I'm still officially planning on returning to the preschool next year, I have been feeling the need to put myself out on the job market once more. If something pops up then hoorah! If not, then I still have a good job at the preschool. There are a few positions I'd be interested in that are in the social services field and would give me the opportunity to pursue my Masters while working. I'd be making double or triple what I'm making now and it would be a regular full time schedule with benefits. Since it is March and I would be unable to begin work until mid June, I'm not sure if these employers are willing to hold the position for me. But I've started sending out preliminary emails to get a feel for the position and to know if the employers are interested. Resumes will follow hopefully. I love the preschool, but would also love to get some experience in the field and be able to pursue more education. It's so difficult sending out applications and resumes. If I am ever in the position of hiring I will always send back follow up emails to let a person know we are not interested. I hate waiting and waiting to never hear back because they are not interested.

Fifth, I've been cooking. It's a good feeling. I love being a wife.

Matthew is home on his lunch break and playing Resident Evil 5. I am trying to clean our house like every Saturday. When he is done with work for the day we have some errands to run and then we're planning on going for a long walk. We have one last movie rental to watch and a roast for dinner. It will be a great day, I can feel it already.

Happy Saturday.