It's official. I'm going back to school in October to finish my Bachelors Degree in Applied Psychology, and then my Masters in Counseling. When all is said and done, I'll have about $25,000 in student loans to pay off and it will take me about 3 full years. I'm scared to death, worried about the time, the money, the energy it's going to take to go through with all of this. But I'm even more scared not to do it. I love my life, don't get me wrong. I love my husband more than anything, I have three amazing children that couldn't give me more joy and fulfillment in my life. But... I also hate it. I hate not ever having enough money for anything...a big enough house for our family, a nice car, a vacation every once in a while, even little necessities like school clothes and supplies without stressing on it. I want to LIVE my life, and LOVE my life - not struggle through it.

And that's never going to change unless I do something about it. I can't keep living for today with no thought put into the future more than the next mortgage payment. I can't keep hoping and praying that things are going to get better, that we're going to somehow "fall into" money that will keep us afloat. I need to DO something about it, and that's where the plan comes in.

First things first - I have to finish school. Then I need to get a real job, and start bringing in money to keep us afloat. By the time I'm done, Eva will be in 1st grade, which means I can work during the day and not miss too much time with them after school and weekends. With a Masters, I will be able to work for a hospital, school, or private practice which means I should be able to work the kinds of hours I will need to keep myself happy and the kids feeling like I am not abandoning them. Hopefully I'll be able to make enough that Jeff can go back to school at that point and get his Bachelors degree in Business and then he'll be able to get a higher management position and we can work our stuff out with that.

Next - I need to start feeling more comfortable with myself, which is going to involve making time to work out again. I know that once school starts I will be able to do that, but I have 6 more weeks - I need to start doing it now. I think once I feel confident and better about my body by working out, eating right and losing some weight, I will feel more capable and less embarrassed to go out and do all those things I want to do, but can't.

Money and weight have been holding me back from living my life to the fullest extent, from doing all the things I really want to do with my life big picture and day to day... and I don't want to do that anymore, dammit. I want to feel like I am not being held back. So I need to do the things that are hard that will let me feel capable and confident.

Wish me luck