Happy Halloween!

I'm exhausted but I'm only on day five of a eight day work week. I would complain but I'm working this long so I can attend Friday and Saturday of Fun Fun Fun. PARTY.

ALSO: Homemade Halloween Ice Cream:

You can find the recipe for my homemade ice cream in this post :)

I'm new to this whole Ebay thing......

is there a nice way to say, "bitch, give me my money"?

Life and Loans

Married to the Sea only speaks the truth.

Wells Fargo is the bank that holds my student loans. Long story short I didn't qualify for federal student loans so I had to get private bank loans. About a week or so ago I received a letter saying my payments were set at $821 a month. Cue crying. Lots and lots of crying.

I called and tried to explain my situation and Wells Fargo did a really great job of not giving a fuck. They told me the only way to lower the payments was to consolidate. So I tried and got denied. They asked for a co-signer. My mom and I got denied. They asked for ANOTHER cosigner. My mom, my dad, and I got denied. They asked if I could ask some friends. I told them I don't know anyone without debt. My parents and I all have credit scores in the 750+ range and yet we still didn't qualify for any help. Supposedly Wells Fargo wants my money but they sure are being dicks about how they take it. I can make payments of around $300 a month and that apparently isn't good enough.

I won't lie this whole process made me pretty depressed. Whenever I start feeling this way I allow myself one epic evening of pity party fun. I went out and bough a stuffed crust supreme pizza, hot wings, and peanut butter cup ice cream. I drank whiskey and stuffed my face and felt so sorry for myself. I cried. I ate. Cried some more. I got pretty drunk and watched animal videos on youtube. I got every ounce of self pity out so the next morning I could get to work.

The next morning I started looking for a second job. While it may suck I know it's possible to work the job that I currently do and have other employment. My lead does it and in my mind she's a superstar. She works TWO full time jobs and goes to school for her masters. If she can do it, I can do it. I used to be a barista so I dropped off a few applications (I got a call back today for an interview, fingers crossed it works out). If I can't find new employment I can always pick up shifts at my old job. Either way, I'm working more. I called Wells Fargo back to see how much money I would have to make to qualify for consolidation (I was told one of the reasons we were denied was because the debt to income ratio was too high).

I was told that not only was my debt to income ratio too high but that since I had only been at my job for a month that I didn't have a long and stable work history. I told the guy that I had been at my last job since 2006 and I was technically on the payroll and still worked some shifts. He ended up crunching a few numbers and just that small fact lowered my payment by $200 bucks. He told me to have my dad re-submit his information because maybe he forgot to include the contract jobs that he sometimes does and we could finally qualify.

So, here's the thing that I don't understand. The fact that I made more money than originally thought LOWERED my payments. How does that work? Shouldn't it be the fact that I'm broke as fuck and don't have an extra $800 that lowers my payments? If I had more income I should be expected to pay more. It's like when places like Baskin Robbins or KFC give celebrities life time free cards. You know, the same celebrities who make millions and millions and can afford a $5.99 meal. Companies should be giving poor and hungry families life time free cards but that's not how it works. While I've somewhat known it all along the system is really set up to fuck the poor. Fuck them good and hard. All I want to do is pay back my loan and still be able to eat food and have electricity and Wells Fargo is making it close to fucking impossible.

I already told the guy I will call back every day until my loans get consolidated. EVERY DAY. Sold a piece of jewelry on Ebay? Better call because that $5 sale could lower my payment. Get this job as a barista? Gonna call so I can get closer to qualify. I got all of the sadness and the tears out of my system and now all that's left is piss and vinegar. Wells Fargo doesn't know who they are fucking with. As God is my witness my loans WILL BE consolidated and my payment WILL be lowered to a reasonable amount.

Sellin'

I just sold my first piece of jewelry on Ebay. While I know it's not that big of a deal I'm all like:

Ballin

More Jewelry!!!

Finally took the time to list the other jewelry I got in. I really hope that I can make extra cash from this. I'm not even looking to get rich but some extra dough to pay student loans would be freaking amazing. Also, still no word on my student loan payments, I think they're trying to kill me by taking FOREVER.









I wish I had a nice camera or Photoshop so I could make my photos look all profesh. But until I can steal Photoshop from the internet (don't you judge me) or someone gives me a camera I'm stuck using my iPhone and Microsoft Paint.

And once again if you see this post and you think my feather earrings are cute please feel free to head over here and shop away!

JEWELRY!!!

This morning (after yoga and before work) I was able to post some of the jewelry I got in. I'm still learning about Ebay so I might have to tweak the post (in order to show up on more search results) but so far I'm pretty proud of what I've done because I've done it all on my own :)

Lookie:








I currently have 4 different finishes in my store: gold, pewter, bronze, and silver. The rings are adjustable (which I love because I have tiny tiny fingers) and they measure about 2 inches by 2 inches. I, for one, love big statement jewelry. I love rare and unique little pieces that reflect my odd and eccentric personality. I just love how big and bold this ring looks on my little hand (seriously, I'm 5ft 9inches tall but I have the hands of a dwarf).

So lets say you're looking at this post and you're totally in love (you should be!) just click this link and shop away!

C.R.E.A.M.

So, I don't know if anyone remember my post from a few days ago. You know, the one where all my hopes and dreams came crashing down because Wells Fargo was high on drugs and actually thought that I could pay $800 a month on my student loans? Well, that problem is still hanging out all not fixed. What has happened so far is that I called and told them straight up that I just can't pay that. They agreed to work with me and said that the best strategy would be to consolidate the two loans that I have through them, extend the repayment time, and to get a loan co-signer. I really didn't want to ask my Mom to co-sign, she does so much for me and me getting another degree was about finally getting a good job and supporting myself and being an adult. Unfortunately I had to ask. She agreed and didn't mind because she is the best most supportive mother ever. She gave them all of her info and initially they turned her down, not because she has bad credit but because she has SO much in her name (house, multiple cars, my loans, etc). She told me that she got a little spicy with them on the phone. I've always been curious as to where I got my attitude from; my Mom is angelic and I can sometime (lots of times) be a mega bitch from the pits of Hell. After my Mom told me some of the things she said to the bank representatives over the phone I realized I inherited my Mom's spunky spirit. Which is awesome because if I inherited that maybe I've inherited more of her awesome traits.

Anyways......I'm still not sure where the loans stands. No matter what they're not getting $800 a month. Not because I'm mad and don't want to pay but because that's half of my pay. Literally. If I paid that much an entire paycheck would be going to them and I simply can't live that way. I've already budgeted out $300 a month and hopefully that can do for now until I can get promoted or earn some extra cash.

I've been thinking about ways to make extra dough and one is selling stuff on Ebay. So far it's going pretty well. I've sold 2 shirts and a CD set and I've made $75 bucks. Because I'm a new seller I don't have access to the full payment just yet but hopefully I can establish myself and sell more and have quicker access. I just placed an order for beautiful jewelry to re-sell and I'm hoping to start making extra cash soon. I only ordered 36 pieces because I want to see how this first batch goes but my ultimate goal is to make a couple hundred bucks a month. If I can sell each piece for $5 bucks then I've made $180.

Look at how gorgeous this stuff is!







I should get the stuff next week and I'll put it on Ebay right away. My plan is to hopefully have a good run during October, establish myself as a Gold seller or legitimate seller or whatever, and hopefully sell a ton of stuff for Christmas. I'm not looking to get rich I'm looking to make big payments on my evil student loans before they kill me and my credit.

Birthdays and Booze Cupcakes

So it was my honey's birthday and I wanted to make him something special. He had seen this post on Bakerella a while back so I decided to surprise him with Bourbon Sweet Potato Cupcakes. The recipe was surprisingly easy and cheap. The only thing I had to go and buy was a sweet potato which was only a dollar or so.

Bourbon Sweet Potato Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup cooked sweet potatoes
1/3 cup bourbon

I used Jack Daniels Whiskey instead of bourbon. Despite my love of booze I have a hard time remembering the differences in the whiskey family. Like, what makes Scotch, Whiskey, and Bourbon different? It either has to do with the main ingredient or where it's grown or both. Like, corn grown in Kentucky makes bourbon. I DON'T KNOW. The only thing that really matters is that whiskey is the best drink on this planet (tied with coffee and Dr. Pepper) and mixing my two loves (sweets and booze) together creates some new, incredibly amazing thing-that-I'm-crazy-about.

ANYWHOOOO

I didn't follow Bakerella's recipe for the icing. I like playing around with icing and the one I made was insane and really complimented the pumpkin pie spice and sweet potato in the cupcakes.

Buttercream Maple Frosting
2-3 cups Powdered Sugar
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp shortening
Maple syrup

I've been making homemade icing for so long that I don't even really measure anything anymore so I sort of guessed with the amounts. All homemade icing really requires is a ton of powdered sugar and some sort of liquid.

Crushed

Remember the other day when I posted about how happy I was? It was like life was finally working itself out and I had figured out a way to make it. Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from the bank that holds my student loan. I have to start repaying it next month. My payments are set at $821 a month.

This is how I feel now:

I have no idea how I'm going to make it through this. How am I going to survive?

Going Martha Stewart Up on Everything

Saving money has been freaking delicious (and probably fattening).

I've been making my own bread for a while now and I really enjoy it. The recipe makes two loaves (I tend to give one away) and I only have bread in the house when I know I'm going to use it. Plus, fresh bread is on a whole other level.

Look at this kick ass sandwich:


I've been wanting to make apple butter for a while ever since I saw this recipe. Apples went on sale at my local grocery store for $0.97 so I figured it was time. I can't even describe how amazing my house smelled. It was also a great way to bring in the fall (FYI fall in Texas is when it drops below 90 degrees and there's a slight breeze). After reading some of the comments I modified the recipe by reducing the sugar to only 1 cup and using some Agave Nectar I had in my cupboard. Despite my best efforts it turned out more like apple sauce so I had to give it a whirl in my food processor. After that it was perfect. Next time I might process the apples before cooking and add another cup of sugar to thicken it up.


Tomorrow I plan on making fresh buttermilk biscuits and going to townnnnn. I hope leggings are still in fashion because I doubt I'll be able to fit in any of my pants for much longer.

Unfortunately I wasn't satisfied with the sugar overload of apple butter. I wanted more. MORE. Lately I've been all about ice cream. After 4 years of being vegan I now want to try every single flavor my pals Ben & Jerry can offer. That got to be an expensive habit so I wanted to try my hand at home made ice cream. The only problem is that I don't own an ice cream machine and I certainly can't rationalize spending $40 on something I don't really need. So I googled my heart out until I found a recipe for home made ice cream sans ice cream machine.

I found this recipe from a blog called Kevin and Amanda and I don't know how my heart is still beating. There's only two ingredients: Heaving whipping cream and sweetened condensed cream. Jesus. The blog also gives recipes for cinnabun and Nutella ice cream. I decided to keep it simple with plain ol' vanilla. The recipe was easy and cheap (around $3 for 3 full mason jars of sweetness!!!).


So good. The only difference between this and store bought ice cream/ice cream made with a machine is that it isn't as cold. It is, however, ridiculously creamy and satisfying.