Kid Friendly Friday!

So I found this great carnival over at http://iblamemom.blogspot.com/. It's Kid Friendly Friday! And I loved the idea and knew immediately I wanted to join. Then the panic set in about what I should write about. (I hate being the new-kid-on-the-blog-block....). Then it hit me....our family schedule. Which is chaos to those on the outside and to Super Hubby and I, it is Kid Friendly. See, SH travels for a living. And his schedule changes every month and sometimes, even every week. And since we also don't have much family that lives here in this state, we don't have a lot of options for childcare.

So I work weekends. For my sacrifice of every Saturday and Sunday, it's like having a full-time job, as far as benefits and pay are concerned. The differential pay is good and I'm only required to do those 2 days a week. I never thought I'd love it....when I did this it was simply for a year or two until I could figure out something else. I was not going to give up weekends, Sunday church, family time, etc.... What we discovered though is that our kids don't know the difference between Tuesday or Saturday. It doesn't matter if we get to the beach, or the park, or some shopping on Thursday morning or Saturday afternoon. In fact, many of the places we go to in the middle of the week are less crowded, cheaper and a whole lot less stressful during those times. SH usually can get a weekday off here and there. He gets home every weekend to watch the boys. I get a weekend off once in a while. It's working out beautifully and I love it. Our kids love it. It so works for us and it is wonderfully kid friendly. Our boys don't go to preschool or daycare. We "homeschool preschool" at this point. We spend tons of family time together--much more than the typical family that works 9-5, Monday thru Friday. I feel like a part-time SAHM. All these things work really well for us and for our kids. I would really recommend anyone who has to work looks at this kind of option. It looked terribly restricting in the beginning but has turned out to be a fantastic alternative option for our kids and our family.

See you next week for another Kid Friendly Friday! Hop on over to http://iblamemom.blogspot.com/ for more kid friendly fun stuff!

Vacuum Sealer

These days, we are all trying to sqeeze the proverbial blood outta, well, whatever it is that we have. I'm all for saving a buck and am constantly refining the ways that we budget and spend our money. I enjoy being able to tell my money where to go and not just sitting around, wondering where it went?!

One of my favorite tools for saving money? My vacuum sealer! I LOVE this thing! I really use it and it saves me money. We buy large bulk size meats at places like Sam's Club and grocery stores. We cut costs by buying larger packages, and as soon as I get home, I separate out smaller portions, vacuum seal the packages and pop them in the freezer. It's a few cents that turns into several dollars over the course of a year of doing this. I've used it save fresh produce bought in season and frozen for later. The blueberries we did last spring are still as wonderful as they were then. We add them to yogurt smoothies and the boys just love them!

I have to admit that many years ago my wonderful husband, prior to proposing marriage, thought a vacuum sealer would make a great Christmas gift. He bought me the whole kit and knowing how much I like to cook, thought I would really appreciate it. Sadly, I did not. I was looking for, ahem...let's just say another kind of gift! I wasn't all that impressed and decided at the time, I wouldn't use it, so I returned it to the store. Years later...and happily married...we bought one. And I love it! He never lets me forget how insightful he really is....

For more wonderful tips, head on over to http://www.wearethatfamily.com/ for Works for Me Wednesday. It's a great place to find more tips on what really works--this week it is Greatest Tips & Hits edition. Enjoy!

No worries...

I'm protected by Super Powers!

Homeschool Preschool

For over a year, SH and I have been talking pretty seriously about homeschooling our two boys. Since formal school is still more than a year away, it has not been something that I felt we needed to decide upon. But it's getting closer and the more we discuss it, the more we believe it is the right decision for us.

I read several great articles about why homeschooling is important and chosen for families. And what really appeals to me is the diversity in everyone's decisions about it. At first, I thought I truly had no idea what I was talking about. The only homeschooling experience I knew of was this family in my hometown that no one really knew. The dad drove our school bus but his kids didn't go to school anywhere. Never got it? When we had the boys and the thoughts of sending them off to school was brought up, I shuddered. I've worked with kids with behavioral issues and mental health issues for years. Unfortunately, much of my experiences with school systems have been with kids with these kinds of issues. Not a good ground to formulate an opinion! So I've taken it upon myself to discover what our opinions are about what school should be, not so much in the arena of what it shouldn't be. What is it that we want, rather than what we don't want?

There have been several resources that I've found that are helping to make these decisions. First of all, it is our spiritual life. Our experiences through our church and Bible Studies simply reinforce that we know this is an important daily part of our lives. Secondly, our lives our not Monday through Friday. SH and I both work variable schedules, which often includes weekends and our days off can be during the middle of the week. This will likely never change. Right now, it is wonderful that Saturday does not mean anything different to them than Wednesday. I cannot figure out how to schedule their lives Monday through Friday when ours does not accommodate that. The reality is that one parent or both will have very little time with our children much of the time. And that is simply unacceptable. We also travel often and the ability to take the boys (and their schoolwork) with us works for us. We don't want this option to be hindered by school schedules.

Another important factor is that homeschooling truly is so incredibly flexible. You can follow any one of many wonderful programs such as A Beka, Classical, Unschooling, and many others. There are specific curriculums available or you can create your own. You can mix and match. The possibilities are endless. Something will fit eventually.

Socialization, or lack of, seems to be the biggest arguement to this option. Some believe that homeschooling equates to isolation and it simply is not true. There are so many options for socializing your children. Children can participate in homeschool groups for social events, there are unending options of sports, clubs, YMCA, museums, the list goes on and on. Our family is very social and we see friends and family members several times a week usually. I'm not at all worried about our children's social lives.

Right now, homeschooling is leading the options of schooling for our boys. That may change at some point and if it does, that is fine. For now, and mind you, they are simply at preschool ages, we are toying with the idea and playing school often. We'll see how it goes as time goes on and they boys progress. I'll let you know.

This is us, homeschooling today....it used to simply be called PlayDoh but in the world of school, we'll call it Tactile Work!

The Season of Lent

We attended a wonderful Ash Wednesday service last evening. The boys truly enjoy their Bible study playgroup and they really do leave there with new knowledge of Christ. It's so fun to talk to them about what they learn--out of the mouths of babes come the truest and most honest young views of our Lord and Savior.

As for the service, we were asked to write three things on a place piece of paper upon entering the church. We were to write a sin we have committed against God, a sin we have committed against our neighbor and a sin we have committed against ourselves. Then we folded our papers and upon approaching the alter for our ashes, dropped the papers into a basket. The pastor took the papers, still folded and gathered many together. Then he drove a nail through them and nailed them on a wooden cross laying beside the alter. Wow--how powerful was that! What a sight when he raised the cross at the conclusion of the service, with papers nailed to all areas of the cross and talked about how Christ died to SAVE US FROM THESE SINS. How the Almighty gave his only Son so that we could be forgiven for these transgressions. They were taken from us and placed upon the cross. It makes me weep, just the thought. That no matter what we wrote, no matter the sin, no matter the error in our ways, we are forgiven and are given the blessing of a relationship with Him anyway.

This one act has done so much to help me to step into the season of Lent in another way this year. It is a picture burned into my mind and will not be soon forgotten.

Works for Me!

How do you know so many things? How do you make your homemade laundry detergent? Where did you learn how to do 1001 things with used toilet paper rolls? How you ask? It's WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY! Ah---I love me some WFMW posts! I honestly look forward to Wednesdays where I can browse, wasting many valuable hours, in other blogs learning about the many useful and many times, not-so-necessary things in life. I love love love WFMW! I vow that I will start to participate every Wednesday, because honestly, I do have some helpful hints in life that I can share. I've learned tons from WFMW posts that I've read over the past year or so and that is usually how I discover great new sites to share with friends. WFMW is over at http://www.wearethatfamily.com/ now and she's got a great site.

So what works for me? WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY! Check it out! Just make sure you have tons of time to waste....err, spend.

Doing my part

So in light of the ongoing crummy economic conditions, I find myself thinking and rethinking how we can do better. How can we recycle, reuse, refurbish, redo and reconsider what it is that we need and use every day? I think about how I lived as a child, on the farm in Iowa. What did we have, what did we do without and what kind of efforts did we make to live that way. My parents still live much the same way we did while I was growing up. They still live without cable TV, without a telephone answering machine, without cell phones, even without a cordless phone! It's like a trip back in time every time we visit! The great upside to this is that it causes SH and I to talk about how we can scale back and reduce our budget and outgoings. We've implemented quite a few things and I still would like to do more. Some of the things we've done are:



1. Coupons--I use coupons mainly at Walgreens and CVS. I combine them with specials, BOGO's (buy 1 get 1 free) offers and ExtraCare bucks (ECBs). Many basic household items such as soaps, lotions, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc.... are purchased for little to nothing. Sometimes, when I'm really good I even make money on my purchases! I'm not always that good but many times, I pay 25% of regular cost of these items, or even less. I love it!!!



2. Bulk shopping--I shop mainly at Aldi, Sam's Club and farmer's markets. I can't imagine why anyone would shop otherwise. If you don't have an Aldi in your area, I'm very sad for you.....It is one terrific little off-brand, generic heaven of a store. I buy all staples there...things like milk, eggs, baking supplies, canned goods, and a few indulgences like chips, nuts and ice cream. I'm not at all a brand snob. I've learned to do without many of the old items we considered "necessities". We buy off brand Cheetos--the kids don't know the difference. We buy generic salsa when I don't make my own. Cream soups and any canned veges are all generic. Their milk is a mere $2.79 (most in this area go for $3.50 and up) and eggs are still $1.29. I buy meat and some bulk at Sams but we are careful not to buy more than we need. I stopped buying the massive toilet paper there because I can get smaller packages for nearly nothing with coupons. I like their meat and SH is in love with their pizzas--when we don't make our own. I go to local farmer's markets almost every week, sometimes more. This time of year the strawberries are fantastic, most everything is grown locally or not too far from here. I try to stay away from buying items that are shipped from other countries. I'm not fanatical about it but do buy locally whenever possible. The local honey at the market is really wonderful!



3. Cleaning supplies--I don't buy paper towels any more at all. We've amassed quite a collection of rags and such so I just use rags for any spills, cleaning and wiping down counters. It's about 1 more load of laundry a week or so--not a big deal at all. I've found that I prefer to use vinegar, baking soda and a good dose of elbow grease for most cleaning. I do like the smell of PineSol so I do buy that in the cheapest manner possible. Pine Sol just makes me feel like the house is cleaner---I'm working on finding essential oils to add to my cleaning supplies to make them smell, well cleaner!



4. Laundry detergent--I make my own! I swear, it is quite the source of humor among a few friends but I cannot tolerate how expensive detergent has become! I found a great recipe on the web and have been making our own for about 9 months now. There are a few whites that have gotten dingy so I soak them in some Bright White or bleach every few loads. That helps. I haven't noticed a huge difference in quality. Things don't get that perfume smell to them so again, I'm working on adding some essential oils to help them smell more fresh. Good thing no one has any allergies and I can experiment easily.



5. Utilities--Our electric company is a complete monopoly and is terribly expensive. I think our bill is high--about $340 per month--but have found that it is cheaper than many other houses our size. We live in Florida so to do without a/c in the summer is just unacceptable. But we do turn off the a/c in about late November/early December and manage to keep it off through April sometimes. We usually manage without heat although this year has been exceptionally cool at times. We even had 3 complete hard freezes this winter and needed our heat a few days. We are conscious to keep the a/c set high (about 78 degrees most days) and open windows to allow air flow, utilize all ceiling fans while in the room and dress lightly. The boys rarely wear more than undies and short pants in the summer months!



These are some things we've done so far and are pretty consistent about. I still have so much I want to do....



--decrease the amount of the dryer that is used for clothes drying. We cannot have a clothesline outside due to restrictions but I believe I'm going to have SH hang a retractable line on our back porch. That and some drying racks will work well.



--turn off electrical items that aren't in use. The spare room alarm clock (especially when there are no guests), use natural lighting the most and stop turning on lights (we do this a lot already--the neighbors never think we are home because the house is always dark!), watch less TV. We currently use two refrigerators and a freezer....I think we will eliminate the refrigerator in the garage. It's convenient but not really necessary. We can get all extra freezer items in the other freezer and don't really need the refrigerator portion most of the time. If we find it's not much of a sacrifice, we'll sell the extra refrigerator and use that to pay down debt.



--gardening. I used to garden all the time but admittedly, am not too familiar with the Florida growing season. It's odd for this Iowa girl! But I'm studying and hope to grow more lettuce, spinach and tomatoes this year. We did great with tomatoes and peppers last year so we can do better this year.

--bulk cooking. I'm striving for consistency with this one. Bulk cooking---making multiple meals at once and freezing some---is SO economical! I save lots and lots of time, money and hassle this way! It's also called once-a-month-cooking. We don't mind casseroles, which is a huge staple of this type of cooking for us.

--canning, freezing and making jelly/jam. I used to do this each and every year---for years. Then I moved off the farm, into the city and didn't have a garden. I have a little room for a garden and what I don't grow, we can purchase pretty economically here in Florida and I'm able to can these items. This year I'm striving for jam, salsa, blueberries and tomatoe sauce.

I'm thinking I'll stop there. I tend to get carried away with a to-do list so I better just reel it in a bit. I'll post more later on specifically how we have reduced our monthly budget and ways that we are finding to save even more money.

Attempting....

to get my life back in order! Ammachi and Appachan were here for about 3 1/2 weeks. And I spent lots of time trying to perfect my chicken curry during that time. It's not bad....not bad at all I tell ya....

So that is the reason for my absence. Lots of visiting and laughing and discussions of where to live (them, not us). They have gone on to Texas where they'll stay for another couple of months and then return to India for the remainder of the year. Wishing you Godspeed dear family....

Is it all bad news?

The recession drags on.....and on....and on. It is clear now that this is shaping up to be the worst recession of my lifetime, my husband's and hopefully our children. However, our boys are 3 & 4. Not likely that this is the worst for them.


It is making us continuously sit down and review our spending, our allocated budget items and cut, eliminate, re prioritize and think. Those items we could not do without 6 months ago, a year ago, many of those are long gone. I now look at the current budget and wonder what will be gone in 6 months from now? What is it that we "cannot live without" now but will be a memory next year?


I'm trying to focus on those items that we can replace. Those kinds of things that were previously necessary and now are simply optional. We are learning to live without, make do, use less of. So far, here are some things that we've chosen to eliminate from our budget:
**Eating out. This went away pretty quickly when we went line by line in our budget. You cannot justify spending $25+tip for dinner for a family of four when for the same amount of money, I can get at least 3 - 4 meals at home.
**Cleaning supplies. Yep--I make my own. I make my own "Formula 409", my own laundry detergent, drain cleaner, stain removal, and many other items. I added just a couple of items to my grocery list that I must have on hand and a few essential oils and I've got some great cleaners. I'll post a couple of recipes later on these new "tried and true" favorites.
**Lawn service. For weeds, bugs, etc... We live in Florida were lawn critters can wipe you out in a matter of weeks. And often do. You have to treat the little critters. We used to have a service that would come out and service the lawn but we eliminated that as well. We do it ourselves and in the process, are trying to do this as environmentally-friendly as possible.
**Heat & A/C. We used to be much more generous with our heat or a/c in the house. It was common to turn on the heat when the temps dipped near freezing outside and the a/c always came on the minute we started to sweat a little. Now it waits. Currently, it's 66 degrees in the house because it got pretty chilly outside. And its not likely to get above that outside today. But it'll be comfortable in here when the sun gets over the house and we'll survive. For now, the kids have on sweats and socks. As for the a/c, we wait until it's well over 80 and really humid before we turn it on. The humidity is what gets you around here. You are a puddle by mid-morning when the humidity is above 90%, and that is quite often after about May around here. We'll see if we can tolerate it to closer to June this year---maybe, maybe not. But we survive with windows open, fans on and a lot less clothes then!
**Utilities. We shut off lights, unplug unused items and use the dishwasher, washer and dryer as little as possible. We change all our burnt out bulbs with CFLs now. I only run the dishwasher in the middle of the night. It has this fantastic little delay button and I use that all the time. I still wash more in the daytime hours but try to do it early in the AM or later in the evening--staying away from high electric usage times. And the dryer gets used less and less all the time.
**Spendful days vs. no-spend days. I used to run out for anything I needed. And I used to wander the stores, especially Target, whenever I was bored. Not anymore. I visit Target maybe once a month now. I have not been in WalMart for longer than that I believe. I don't shop out of boredom. I make a list, take my cash and that is it. I stay home more with the boys and spend no money, not even gas, rather than make several small trips. I try to avoid leaving the house at all at least 1-2 days a week. This week that is working well. Last week it wasn't possible. But it is helping.

Those are just a few previous necessities that are now optional in our house. I'm working on more every day. What necessities have you learned to live without?

Welcome Home!

Welcome Home Ammachi & Appachan! That is Grandma & Grandpa in my husband's native language, Malayalam. They have made the long, arduous journey from Kerala, India to the United States. They'll spend a couple of weeks with us and then head to their home in Texas. It'll be a couple of wonderful weeks filled with fragrant curries, yummy Naan, conversations in broken English and lots of hugs for the boys. Oh how we love our Ammachi & Appachan!

Life Changing....

I would like to think that most of us are witnessing the amazing events that are taking place right now. Some are blessed to have the means and opportunity to attend Inaugural events firsthand. Some of us are blessed to watch them on a variety of cable channels. Some are simply reading about them. In any method, I pray that we are all witnessing the events that are defining our times, our generation.

I am a fan of Barack Obama and his intentions. I say intentions because I truly believe he wants what is in the best interest of our country. Whether or not his dreams are realized while he is in office is yet to be determined. I have faith that he will do all in his power to make positive changes within our government and our nation. I don't, however, have any false notions that our country will magically change in the timeline most Americans would like to see it. Let's be honest here....previous presidents who are now regarded as great change agents...weren't necessarily regarded as such in their time. Hindsight and time do something that we are not able to do today. They give us perspective. This give us the ability to understand what was done, what was left undone, see someone's intentions and more clearly see the results.

I believe that we all must do our part. We have to work hard for the change that we proclaim to want for this country. President Obama will not do it alone. He will be an integral part but he is not the whole. He is simply a part. Just like President Bush cannot be solely blamed for the current crisis we are in. He is a part. We are the crux of the nation. We can make a change in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our communities, states and yes, our nation. We must take the initiative. We must do the hard work it will take to change our country for the better.

If you are a Believer, I challenge you to include President Obama and our current administration in your daily devotions and prayers. They must have your support and most importanly, God's blessings. Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. --Hebrews 13:17-18. If you don't trust them---and you should not completely---trust God. In the end, it is not left in the hands of earthly beings. It is simply up to Him.

Budget Blues

Yeah, I have the budget blues. I really don't like budgeting. It's such a necessary evil and one I'm afraid, I've never quite mastered. I've tried my own templates, my own Excel spreadsheets, other people's Excel sheets and formal methods such as MS Money and Quicken. None of which quite worked for me. Probably because since I don't like budgeting, I'm still awaiting a program that will simply read my mind, look at my bank account and input the data miraculously by itself. Any such product yet, computer genuises? No? Bummer.

So in the meantime, I'll try another program. This one is https://www.pearbudget.com/. I like it so far. Easy input. Simple directions. Clear (and yes, small) results. Meaning little money leftover. But hey...at least it is accurate and so far, it is up date.

What do you use for easy budgeting?

I'm a TEACHER?!?

So today I got to teach....a teacher....someone in charge of another person's formal education. Really? I mean, teaching is such a noble calling. And it was what I played as a little girl. I played teacher. I would sit in the old desk, you know the kind that had the seat and desk attached, with the wooden top that my big brother had carved his name in. I would organize my pencils, sharpened of course. I would stack my papers and search for the one red pen in the house so I could grade my work. I would make my brother call me Mrs. I loved playing teacher! And today I got to be a real teacher! Wow!

I've picked up some teaching at the hospital where I work, teaching nursing students about
mental health. Since I've been in the mental health field in some capacity for about 20 years now, it comes rather naturally. But I've never been an actual teacher. It is fun! And exciting and a bit daunting as well. I hope to be one of those teachers that someone talks about someday. I mean in a good way. Honestly, the whole reason I became a nurse was because my community college science teachers were women. And brilliant. And so inspiring! It was the first time in my life that I realized women could be smart and scientific and good teachers. Sadly, not a lot of smart inspiring female teachers in my tiny little high school that I remember. But these two women in my first college experience were fantastic. I hope I can be inspiring, at least mildly interesting and motivate students to want more. I think that it is the key in education. You may not learn it all but be inspired to learn as much as you can.

Oh the pressure.

Hope you aren't completely lost....

I'm taking another stab at keeping up with this blog thing....for friends, for family, for bored anonymous blog readers who have nothing else to do but read nonsense..... That would be this blog...a LOT of nonsense! No, really, I'm so very sorry for leaving for...jeez, like 6 months! I had no idea it had been that long, truly. I thought 4, maybe 5. But 6??!!! I'm suprised those at Blogger didn't just drop me off the face of the web!

So I'll take another stab at blogging because once I went back and read what I wrote, I really liked it. So I'll have at least one reader, I guess. Unless I make my SH read it...then we will be 2!!

Let me contemplate on a witty and interesting topic for tomorrow....hmmmm....homemade laundry soap? teaching preschoolers at home? making soup? What will it be???

Gotta get off my......

I won't finish that sentence but I'm betting you did.

No excuses for not blogging except to say I'm a new blogger and it just hasn't been my priority. The other reason is that I've been working much more.....more than my typical Sat & Sun at the local hospital, where I am part of the "Baylor" plan. I work 24 hours, get paid for 32 and still qualify for some benefits. It's an awesome program and when I pick up another shift or two, it really helps put a boost into our debt reduction plan!!

Speaking of The Plan....we're getting more focused on exactly what needs to be done to eliminate the closed business debt. The history in a nutshell is.....new business, didn't work, closed and now, leftover debt. I wish it was so much more exciting than that but sadly, it is not. We wanted to pursue the American Dream.....and discovered that was the WRONG road and now, realize we are living the American Dream. With a bit of debt to go with it!!

Soon I think I'll be willing to post more details about the plan and how much debt is out there. For now, I came across this great article about the top priorities of getting out of debt. Here are ours:

1) So that our sons will never see, firsthand, how stressful and overwhelming debt can be. How it eats at your soul and heart at times. They are young (2 & 3 years old) and blissfully unaware of the debt and it's toll on us now.

2) We long to get out of our debt so we can give more freely to others, in a financial way. We truly want to help finance churches and charities in ways that it makes it difficult now. We give in other ways but we would like to give financially as well.

3) We want to "put our money where our mouth is" so to speak. We HATE, HATE, HATE debt!!! Enough to truly make some changes. Hard to talk about not believing in this much debt when you have this much debt....

4) FREEDOM! To live without the thought of "what are we going to do....". I really cannot stand the thoughts that awaken me from sleep about how we're going to reduce the debt.

5) SURVIVAL! The business did not survive but we will. When we are finally able to put it away for good, we'll truly be able to tell the story of how we survived this incredible challenge from God. I can't wait....

6) Value statement! The one VERY good thing about the process is that it is helping us to truly put our values out there. Separating those needs vs. wants. Showing one another the lengths that we are willing to go to to get to the finish line! It is bringing my husband and I closer together.

7) Challenge & Unity. One thing that has ALWAYS identified our relationship is challenge and unity. We grew up in different cultures and different geographical areas. Our union has always been somewhat of a challenge. We are of different cultures, different skin color, different family values. Yet we were able to go beyond all those things and find the very things that unified us.....a belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior, a belief that family is your second highest priority in life, after Christ, a belief that you share your love openly with those around you, whether they be related by blood or friendship or humanity itself. This journey is challenging and unifying us again....and again....and again.

What are your reasons to rid yourself of debt?

Testing something

Wow--long time, no blogging!

So sorry everyone....not very nice of me to blog and leave, is it? I went on vacation to my childhood home in the Midwest. To "The Farm". My parents still live there and it is smack in the middle of nothing. Closest town is about 5 miles away, and that isn't much of a town at all. Two gas stations, no traffic light (though I think they are up to 2 STOP signs), 2 banks, 3 bars and one library. Oh--and of course, the smattering of farm components such as the feed store and grain elevator. Iowa...that part of the midwest. Small town Iowa. VERY small town. The Farm is still without most modern amenities....including any kind of internet connection. None. Zilch. Absolutely no remote chance of even stealing the neighbor's signal....since the closest neighbor is about 1/2 mile away. So we just roughed it for about a week and a half, hung out, planted carrots, played tag with the cousins and slept a lot. It was heavenly.

Since returning, it's been all about work and organizing. Had a killer garage sale....made a couple of hundred bucks. And settling in to our summer routine. So I'm sorry about being gone for so long. I'm back. Soon you'll be sick of hearing from me.....

Letting Go

One of the foremost goals for myself is to live my life in the way God intended it. That being said, I'm not really sure what that means. I mean, it sounds good. It sounds so gentle and so deep and so thoughtful. Yeah, maybe..... Mostly it means that I am trying to let go more and trying to just let things happen. In a very 12-step kind of way, I suppose. Except I tried the 12-step thing before, and I'm not particularly good at it. I tried in terms of eating, which I like to do and probably do way too much of. But how do you Let Go and Let God determine if you eat the bread or not? I never got it. So now I'm trying it again, but in terms of oh, let's just say, just about everything.


I'm a reactor. Nuclear sometimes. I have a non-existent level of patience, I interrupt others all the time (ask SH......he'll tell you all about it, except I'll probably jump in there to tell you first), I have a lightening-fast temper and I jump to conclusions. Usually, not the accurate one. So I'm working on letting go. I'm working on counting to 5.....but let's face it....I rarely get to 3. I'm getting better and better at this when SH is not home. He's not home often because he travels for his job and is gone 3-4 days a week. I'm really good at taking a moment to pause, reflect and speak before inserting my foot.....when we are on the phone. I'm really--NO REALLY--bad at doing this when we are in the same room together. I tend to get pretty wound up quickly when the energy is in the room. I think that it is such an issue in my relationship with SH right now because God is trying, begging, pleading and forcing me to look at how destructive that personality trait truly is. It is a lesson in faith I'm telling you. Do I have enough faith that if I just shut up for a few moments, I'll still get what I need? Do I have enough faith that my needs will be met? Do I have enough faith that I will be nurtured? Do I have enough faith that even if it is not my way, it is still The Way? I am really bothered by that notion. That I don't have enough faith to carry me through. Because if I don't have enough faith, how do I teach the boys about it? If I don't have enough faith now, what is in store for all eternity for me?

Snowball Goals for 2008

One of the things you don't know about me/us yet is our fanatical following of all things Dave Ramsey and DEBT ELIMINATION in our lives. It is getting pretty hot in here...so to speak.



Superman Hubby (that's way too much to write all the time, considering I'll be talking about him a lot....from now on, let's just whittle that down to SH) and I had what we thought was this fantastic little idea a couple of years ago. That was after the fantastic Little Bit that was born to us. We thought we wanted a retail business of our own....a food business. I'm quite a foodie, and quite a cook, and sometimes, a bit of an entertainer. SH is just quite a business man. So we delved into the world of food-related retail. It was quite an adventure, but to make a VERY long endeavor short, it just wasn't meant to be. So we ceased that adventure and are now stuck with a bit of debt from it. That combined with our own little bit of debt and we have more than we want. So we are in the Graduate School of Hard Knocks, mastering in Debt Elimination and Living More Simply and Frugally. It actually is kind of fun...trying to get blood from the proverbial turnip (I actually like turnips....raw with just a bit of salt....Yumm!).



Here are our overall financial goals for 2008, which are being reworked and revamped on a continual basis:



1. $1000 in our Emergency Fund---DONE! Thanks to a "failed" business in the eyes of the IRS...we got a great return this year

2. Chase (those evil, evil people!) Circuit City credit card---will be completely paid off in May, this month!

3. Chase Credit (again, another entity of the evildoers!)--paid in full by September 2008

4. All business equipment sold and monies applied to debt--so far, over $4000 paid toward debts. We are expecting only about another $2000 from the equipment and that will go toward the Chase CC.

5. NO NO NO additional credit card debt---As of April, we completely destroyed all our cards. We found we truly had to complete a plastic-ectomy to stop the bleeding. So, that takes care of that!



I'll keep you up to date on how we are doing. I can't divulge just how much debt we have yet....it is truly an emotional issue as well and just too difficult to put those numbers on paper for all to see. We poured our hearts and souls into something that was just not meant to be and in hindsight, realize we should have stopped the bleeding long before we did.

We recognize also what a wonderful lesson from God it has been. We are incorporating many things into our lives at this point, that we know are what we are meant to be doing. We are not only spending less money and living below our means, but recycling more, reusing more, praying more, talking more, and eating less (especially outside of our home). I don't think that it is at all a "coincidence" that in the year I turned 40 that we are experiencing a life change. Each decade of my life has always been very different.

My teen years were well....full of teen things. My 20's were spent close to my childhood home, trying to grow up and grow out of an environment that didn't want me to change or leave it. I left when I was 30. In that decade I lived in 5 different states, started my new career and created an entirely different social network. I still maintained some key relationships near my childhood home in the Midwest but everything else changed. I met my husband, moved several times, got married and had children in my 30's. Seems to me that my 40's will be full of yet a new adventure and the business what just a blip in that process. So far, I'm really liking the change.

Happy Birthday!

Our wonderful neighbors celebrated his 40th birthday last night and we were invited to the party. It was really great to be included in the celebration. Friday was spent preparing for the event and evidently, the rumor has it that my potato salad was pretty terrific. Woot! Here is the recipe below for any potato salad fans....nothing spectacularly fancy but being from the Midwest, it is a staple and one that any good former 4-H girl should be able to do!

Potato Salad

5-6 large red potatoes
3 eggs, boiled
1/2 cup finely diced onion
3/4 cup sliced thin celery
1/2 cup pickle relish
1/4 - 1/2 cup mayo
1/4 - 1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
2 Tbs. yellow mustard (if desired)

Boil potatoes until just tender. Immediately remove from boiling water and dip into cold water. When cooled, slice into bite size pieces in large bowl. Dice boiled eggs into same bowl. Add remaining ingredients, leaving mayo and sour cream for last. If you like a "drier" salad, start with the 1/4 cup. For a very creamy version, go ahead with the 1/2 cup. You can add more to taste if you want it even creamier. Let sit overnight for best flavor.

That's it....as I said, nothing spectacular but pretty darn tasty. I'll be doing many more recipes on the blog....I LOVE to cook, love to entertain and love to share some good food and memories with those we love. Enjoy!