Menu plan 4-15

Ok so my very ambitious menu plan for the next 2 weeks :

4.16 : going to a friend's house
4.17 : Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken
4.18 : Minestroganoff
4.19 : Chicken and Gravy
4.20 : Crock Pot Taco Soup
4.21 : Sunday at in-laws
4.22 : Dorito Casserole 
4.23 : Pizza quesadillas
4.24 : Buffalo Chicken Sandwich
4.25 : Cheeseburger Soup
4.26 : Fish and tots
4.27 : Chicken alfredo with garlic bread
4.28 : Left overs for Sunday

So there you have it.

The 1st week I just kinda picked stuff that would be good for Shark's lunches. Ability to be reheated and how desirable it is upon reheat are the main factors.

The 2nd week I followed my theme - Mexican Monday, Pinned Tuesday, Chicken Wednesday, Meat Thursday, Fish Friday, Noodle Saturday. :)

We'll see how it goes.

Also, I'll have you know, I have ulterior motives for linking the recipes in my post... It's easier for me to find the recipes. Yeah. But I am also sharing them! Yay for sharing!

So we'll see how this goes.

I've also got a plan to stay within my grocery budget. This week I kinda didn't do so well... I was running to the store for things I forgot, or other. I needed to get toilet paper cuz I needed baby wipes. (Yes, I'm THAT mom, who makes her own butt wipes.)

So yeah. :)

Here's to plans! Love to all -

Thursday Nap 4-11

Well, hello again.

Nap times are a cherished thing around here. Whenever Shark is around, he and Danger take naps together.

When Shark is at work, Danger naps while I try to do something around the house.

Keyword : TRY

Anyways, today here is what I tried to accomplish.

Taxes. We've had our taxes done for over a month... We have already got our Federal return back, but we had to mail in our payment to the State. Which means I had to print out our State forms, which I have been totally slacking on.

So I printed out our completed return, and got the check ready to mail out. Too bad the mail man came 20 minutes early today....

Taxes for next year. Yes. I know I'm a planner, but I'm not that good. This year, my taxes are going to be a little different. I need to prepay on my taxes for my babysitting job. So I had to print out those forms.

More forms. One of my goals is to write up a living will. So I printed out those forms today too. Shark and I will start working on those forms on his next weekend.

Christmas. Yes, I am already working on this year's Christmas gift. I've got it all planned out, expect for a few people's gifts. Shark has 2 months where he gets a 3rd paycheck. Those months are so awesome! And I've already been talking to Shark about how we are going to allocate that "extra income." Here's the plan, some of the "extra" paycheck from the 1st month goes to Christmas, and some goes to registering our cars. (We NEVER plan for registering our cars!) The 2nd month's "extra" income is partly going to Christmas and partly going to our trip this Christmas, we're heading back to WI for Christmas with grandma and grandpa.

Shark says he likes it when our Christmas budget doesn't hit our bank account all at once. It hurts the money bone much less when the Christmas budget hits a bit at a time. Also, it's one of my goals to make and keep a Christmas budget. :) We shall see.

Yeah - so nap time was good time for me. I like getting things figured out.

I'm also pretty excited about Christmas this year. I mean, I'm excited every year. I'm excited to get/make gifts for each individual person on my list. I love finding THAT gift for them. I'm also planning on making quite a few things for people. This year, I've planned to only get/make a few things per person. It seems like every year I plan to only get each person a few things, and I always end up going over the top. I keep finding things for them, so I keep buying things for them. I feel like I'm being a cheapskate for only getting people 1 or 2 things.

 But this year, we are trying to get out of debt and save money. So this year we're pretty freaking serious about sticking to our holiday budget. Sorry everyone, but it's going to be a few things this year, like 1 or 2. Seriously.

But you're probably going to like it. You better!

Like I said, I'm excited about getting presents for people! I find things specifically for YOU!

Yay! Anyways, that's been my day so far. Just chilling with my little guy. We've been dancing to all kinds of music lately. That little guy loves getting his groove on. Too bad he stops dancing as soon as I pull out my camera. I'll try to get some footage of it soon!

Love to all -

Thursday Nap 4.4

So, since I usually have Thursday free and I want to blog weekly at least, I figured I could put something kinda constructive into my Thursdays - rather than just watching TV and eating chips.

Danger's napping so the timing is perfect!

This past week has been pretty run of the mill.

We did kind of go on a spending spree. Ugh. I know.

I'm such a hypocrite! I sit here and complain about money and not being able to skrimp and save. But then we register the boat, get used tires on the boat trailer, we bought some (cheap!) seasons of Survivor, and I HAD to buy my Mother's Day present early.

Ok, the boat - I put it under Shark's Father's Day present. That boat has been sitting on the side of our house since we moved here. Not working. Every winter it fills up with snow and ice, then every spring it drains into the boat and thru it. He's excited cuz the boat works now! Yayay!

Survivor - I started watching Survivor again, and freaking fell in LOVE with it! It's so awesome and then I had to get Shark in on it. It's now a show we LOVE together! There are a few seasons on Hulu, well, once those seasons were over, we bought some seasons on Amazon Instant Video. Well - no more are left on AIV, so we had to buy some. You know, we HAD TO!!

My Mother's Day present this year is baby books. We only have 1 little guy, but I want all my kids to have the same book, and I don't have a baby book for Danger yet. Well, I have a beautiful 1st Year Memories book my aunt made, but I want books that have more than 1 year. The books I picked out are 1-5 years, they have a family tree page. AND these weren't too expensive, I've been looking at memory books for a while, and they can be anywhere from $16-60! I want all my kids' books to be the same, so I bought 4, we're planning on having 4 kids. :)

SO yeah....

Last weekend was fun. Friday night the whole family went to Wendover for a buffet. Shark's brother got free buffet tickets. So we all headed over Friday after Shark got off of work.

We got home around 2 am, so we slept in Saturday morning, and did NOT make it to any Easter egg hunts. Saturday was just an easy relaxing day. After Danger was in bed that night, I put some candy in some plastic eggs and hid them for the little guy. As soon as Danger figured out there was goodies inside and there were more than 2, he got so excited.

I picked the black and mint green suit for him for Easter. And he was such a stud muffin at Church.

At Shark's parent's house he played with bubbles and his bug magnifier. And he ate TONS of candy! It was a fun Easter for him! He's been pretty cute signing MORE and PLEASE all week!

We sure do love that little man.

mo money...

So this whole "NO SPEND MONTH" thing was another epic fail....

Yeah - we had to pay for tuition and new tires....

and you know, those 4 seasons of Survivor....

Yeah.....

Although, we did get the warranties taken off the Durango... Like the warranties that aren't doing a darn thing for us.

Like the Interior/Exterior warranty : if the Interior gets dirty, they will clean it and if they can't clean it, they'll replace the upholstery. They will repair any exterior damage that doesn't need paint, but not tail lights or panels.... Screw that!

And the Gap Coverage : If we were to get in a crash they would pay the difference from the insurance company.

So that was like $1300 back onto the loan! Woo-hoo!

And today I called my internet company, who I have been a customer with for over 5 years, and asked about a customer loyalty promotion. I got a 50% discount on my internet for the next 12 months!!

I'm so happy and excited I could freaking cry!

These are FINALLY steps in the right direction. I'm so happy.

Yeah so we failed this month. But we're working thru it, and taking steps to becoming debt free.

I've started babysitting again, so that income is coming back in. We've got some plans, and now it's just a matter of setting them in motion.

We did just get a new credit card tho. We tried to refinance to see if we could get a lower rate, and we couldn't. My credit is too low and terrible. For a while, about 6 years ago, I didn't give a crap about what money I was spending, or when they wanted it back... So I have some delinquencies on my credit, but I also do not have enough revolving credit.

So we got another credit card to put gas on. It'll help maintain our budget: I already have the gas budgeted out, but we don't spend that much on gas, ever, so we end up using the "extra" money on other things - like take out or Slurpees.

So the credit card will help me gain responsible revolving credit, while helping us get our budget ironed out (find out exactly how MUCH we're spending on gas).

So here goes! We've got some good plans. :)

No Spend Month 1

So one of my 101 goals is to have 3 no spend months. March is going to be the 1st no spend month.

It needs to happen, and this next month just makes perfect sense! We've been doing a pretty good spending fast for the past week. Yeah, I know, a week is nothing compared to a whole month!

I stumbled upon this blog thru another blog... It's called And Then We Saved. It talks about saving money and a spending fast and diet. :) 

What we need to spend money on :

Mortgage

Utilities

Cell Phone

Food (meal plan!!)

Gym membership (it's cheap and it's the only way I work out!)

Doctor bills

Car payment

Gas

Credit Card

Diapers

Insurance

There you have it. That's what we're going to be spending money on this month. And that's it.

No craft stuff (I have a gift card!)

No restaurants.

No clothes.

No spending out.

We plan a date each month, and we've been trying to keep them cheap We watched The Oscars this year and Shark wants to see a lot of the nominated movies. So I signed up for Inside Redbox. So hopefully we'll be getting free movie rentals. Plus, we didn't really go to the movies last year. So we need to catch up. We also have a few movie gift cards. So free dates it is! 

We are only using cash and we have cards just for gas. I already have gas budgeted so it will make purchased easier, the gas cards are ONLY for gas and no other spending is allowed. The reason for the gas cards is cuz Shark drives pretty far to work and needs to fill up often. It'll also help us keep track of the gas we spend. :)

So here's goes with our no spend month.

I'm always glad to try something new, especially if it'll help us out. 

Wish us luck!

comes to money

So, it seems like it always comes back to money....

I hate it... I hate bills, I hate surprise bills, I hate budgets, I hate never having enough money...

I am willing to do anything {ANYTHING!!!} to save money and get out of debt!

But it is so hard.

It is so hard to follow thru (apparently I have no willpower.....) I have such a hard time sticking to a budget. Something always comes up. Some disaster always happens.

One thing that really sucks for us : when we do the debt snowball (Dave Ramsey's plan) we "throw" money at our debt and it feels like nothing! We don't have small debt, we have all big debt. {Not HUGE debt, but big enough to feel like the monthly payments aren't doing a thing...}

It hurts. It hurts the ambition when you're doing all you can and it feels like nothing.

Every paycheck, Shark and I tell each other : NO EXTRA SPENDING! And we shake on it. but it doesn't seem to matter.

So what I have been trying to start :
 - menu plan.
 - make a list
 - stick to the list
 - only buy NEEDS

So far... Yeah... Um.... Like I said, something always comes up. And it sucks.

I found a blog thru a blog... It's called And Then We Saved....on her blog, she does a Spending Fast. She also does a Spending Diet, it's like the step before you're ready for the Fast. It sounds like something I could to start.

It's all so hard.

I think my current plan (menu, list, stick to it, NEEDS) will work. I just need to stick to it. Avoid the clothing racks, and the craft section...

Well....mo' money, mo' problems... right?!

Deal of the week

So last week my sister and I went shopping. She's going off to college and needs some pots and pans, kitchenware like that. We went to the DI (Utah thrift store) and founds some. I didn't browse tho, I usually do!

The reason I didn't browse was cuz we were also heading over to Savers, another thrift store that I'd heard about but never gone. It ridiculous I've never gone cuz it's seriously just down the street. Well I wanted to go cuz a friend of ours had gotten this super cute rocking horse for $4!! I wanted one, Danger wanted one!

So we went to Savers. Did not find said rocking horse BUT I did walk away with this mini bread pan! How awesome! Shark loves it because I've already made pumpkin chocolate chip cookie/breads in it and they were "so far into the realm of awesome" and I got this mini bread pan for $3!!!

Oh yeah! I'm envisioning chocolate chip cookie bars, maybe granola bars (Shark eats TONS of granola bars) and all kinds of brownies. I think I can make mini chocolate chip topped Oreo topped brownies..... Mmmhmm!

Fondant and a week

So, I've had plans to make fondant for a while. And it's been on my mind more lately, well, ever since my niece's 1st birthday. My SIL made a cake for my niece with fondant snowflakes. So I picked out a few recipes for fondant, and picked the easiest/quickest one. If I have learned anything in my baking and making, it is this :

NEVER USE THE EASIEST RECIPE!

It never works out. And in this case, it was true. The recipe I used sucked big time. BUT! I made fondant, and for the most part, it worked the way fondant is supposed to. Mine was more pliable and flexible, droopy, and heavy than I wanted it to be. I would have liked if it held it's form better, more of a sheet of paper than a wet washcloth. It filled in every crevis and divot in my cake, and let's be honest, I'm not THE best at frosting cakes.

 And, my stove cooks things oddly. {Now I'm just making excuses} My stove leans forward, so all my cakes (and cupcakes) are lopsided, and I still haven't figured out how my oven cooks. Sometimes things need more time, and others times I burn stuff! It's awful.

So, it really has been a while since I blogged. For some reason, I just haven't been feeling like blogging. {Weird, I know} But lately, it's just been work and clean. Shark has decided to start working late again. We have discussed it, and decided it was best to work hard now, so later in life we can take it easy {please cross your fingers for us!} Also, it feels like we can't go anywhere {ok, I can't go anywhere} without spending money. So, I have been staying at home, watching TV and trying not to feel too lame and useless. Someday I rock at not feeling lame, others, eh, I don't even worry about getting dressed.

I just started taking the medicine twice a day, and I'm still not used to it yet, so my stomach still hurts and I still get dizzy and feel tired. So, yeah sitting in front of the TV and making food (I try to make dinner every night, even if it's mac'n'cheese.) is the perfect way to spend a day. Hopefully as I get used to the medicine, I'll start to feel more like myself.

Also, like usual, we're trying to get a hold of our finances. For some reason, month after month, we still cannot seem to grab our bank account by the reins. It really is frustrating to have more month at the end of the money, even after we keep setting a 'game plan.' I took out my Dave Ramsey book {AGAIN!} and have it next to my bed. I found a "One for the Money" pamphlet at my in-laws, and am going to read thru it and apply it. I keep feeling a prompting to go to Provident Living.org and work on that site to get things figured out. Shark and I have made a pact to stay within the budget.

Here's to making things work. Love to those who keep trying... ♥

waiting...

Here's a little story about a girl and teh credit that broke her heart. There once was a girl from Wisconsin, and she got a credit card. When she was living with her parents in the castle, she was careful with her money and her card. But, a dark day was coming, when she would no longer be under the protection of her parents, or their castle. That day came, she went to college and she thought she was still smart with her money, she was buying smart things, like groceries and smooties and tanning packages. She figured, I can just charge it, I won't have to worry about paying this until I'm old, or my awesome parents will pay it for me! Then things got worse, and she was abover her credit limit, way above! And it looked like things at school were ending, and she had to move somewhere else. And this time she really NEEDED that money, but she didn't have it. {Darn tanning packages!} And just when she thought she was done, another credit card came in the mail! Oh joy! So she opened that credit card account as well. New money, now she could pay for gas to drive to work! Then after about 5 years of paying off this card moderately on time, she thought she finally has it under control, and for the most part she did. {Her parents bailed her out of a few other things, and she is eternally grateful, but those credit cards are hers to deal with...} She met a boy, who's only credit history was buying a truck, and eventually a ring. They eventually combined their credit, and that meant, they had low scores, his didn't really have a score and her scores were awful. But they TALKED about it, and now, 3 years after they met, they are getting these credit cards destroyed! They haven't touched these cards in years, and are using an awesome plan (Dave Ramsey) and some amazing friends to help them on their way. They are now down to 1 credit card, the card with the truck and the ring. And that is how they like it! The End.

Ok, so that is my little story about credit cards. I just sat on the phone for 30 minutes waiting to talk to someone about closing my account. Well, apparently, I was so abusive to this card, they closed it a few years ago. I said, pay the remaining $1.02, and get rid of that card account number please. Don't put any more interest on it, I'm done! Whoo hoo!! It feels so good! I have actually 1 card left, but that will be paid on the 28th, after we get paid on Friday. We've set up a budget, and I've got all of our stuff on auto-pay. But now we're just waiting. Waiting for everything to be paid off, and not worry about it any more!

The thing about waiting for it, is that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're so close. And that's exciting!! We are almost done with it!

In the mean time, I've got a talk I've got prepare on Forgiveness. I talk this week in church, or maybe it'll be bumped to next week since we didn't have chuch last week!! Hmm, I'll prepare my talk anyway.

Love to those who are impatiently praying for patience. ♥

UnLazy!

So, last night I finally moved my tree out of my living room. When I say moved, I mean all I really did was move it downstairs inton an "unused" room. I did NOT take it down, I did NOT remove any of the decorations. I just took it downstairs. And this is where it will stay, probably until next year, unless we need to use that room. And my first thought when I finally got it down there was : Hmm, I guess now my family will be able to see my tree. :) {Cuz they are coming out to Utah in July!!}

Also, here is the set of shelves Shark got me for Christmas. I got him to set it up in my craft room. Oh, and with all my birthday money, I bought containers and bins for my shelves. Now I just need to organize all my stuff.

In my devious plans to decorate my house and keep it clean-ish, I wanted Shark to set up our little "couple's table" for the front window. Then I could rearrange my little cube shelves around, and get my tables organized in my craft room.

And recently, I found some cups at the Trading Post, in the colors ORANGE GREEN AND BLUE! I was so excited when I found these, that I had to buy them right away. These cups have been shuffling around our house for about 3 weeks or so. Well, then I found another set of hooks at the Post, but with 5 hooks instead of 3. So I switched out the 3 hooks from the bathroom downstairs for the 5 hooks, Shark likes hooks. And I took the 3 hooks upstairs, Cuz I wanted my cups on those hooks. My sister-in-law Heather, gave me a sign for our first Christmas, it says our last name and Est. 2008. I hung that sign in my kitchen, and underneath it, I hung my hooks and my cups! I love it! It looks like someone with decorating skill did it!

Oh, and a while back at the Post, they had these frames on sale for $10. Not really sure why I needed one of those frames, but I did, and so I got it. Right now, it is just a blank frame hanging on our wall. I have a few ideas, but I just need to get off the couch and follow thru.

On my Ikea trip a while back that reaffirmed my love-hate relationship with the store, I bought some awesome mirrors, that have been sitting up in my closet for a while, and neither Shark or I really felt a need to put them up. Well, this past weekend, I wanted those mirrors, and our picture up in our room. Shark kindly obliged and put them up! I love them! He's the best husband ever!

Shark went back to school last week, it's been a hard 2 weeks for both of us. Shark's weeks have been hard because he's been walking to school early in the morning for his first class, he stays at school all morning, goes to his 12:30 class then walks him to eat a sandwich and then drive off to get to work at 3, then stays late each night. My weeks have been hard because work has been riduclously slow and that means hours have been cut slightly, but that's not the hard part, the hard part is sitting around the house with Bandit. I've been doing all kinds of laundry and folding and putting away. But it's hard being alone, and it seems like everytime I get in the truck, I spend money, and we can't have that! So basically, my weeks haven't been that hard, just kinda boring. There are plenty of things for me to do, I jsut need to prioritize. :)

Love to those who are lost in their own boredom... ♥

All in writing

We're getting our budget down on paper! Because I can never stick to it we're never sure what we've got left! So far so good, I bought 2 calendars to write everything down on. I bought 2, 1 for my goals (yeah, that list to the left is still REALLY long!) and 1 for our budget and money stuff. :)

I made a To Do list of all my Christmas presents this year. I can check 2 off! Yayayay! The items I make will NOT be posted until Christmas Day, so if you were hoping to peek, neener neener neener!! It feels good to get things done on my list. 

I went grocery shopping today and that means : NEW MENUS!! Yayay

M 11-8 ------- Waffles
T 11-9 -------- Crunch Wrap Supreme (homemade!!)
W 11-10 ------ Wings
TH 11-11 ----- Chili (Shark leaves for hunting)
F 11-12 ------- Tuna fish Sandwiches
S 11-13 ------- Mac & Cheese
SU 11-14 -----  Football
M 11-15 ------- Gnocchi (as found on Make it and Love it)
T 11-16 -------- Cheeseburger Soup
W 11-17 ------- Linguine Alla Carbonara
TH 11-18 ------ BBQ Beef Sandwiches
F 11-19 -------- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
S 11-20 -------- Soup
SU 11-21 ------ Football

Last night we made waffles as our FHE, and they were awesome! And tonight we made Crunch Wrap Supremes, as made famous at Taco Bell. I just guessed at it, but they turned out pretty dang good! (It helps that I bought this BIG huge can of Nacho Cheese 2 weeks ago... Nachos and Crunch Wraps for ever!!)

Yes, you read that right on Thursday's dinner.... Shark is going hunting... again. I'm crossing my fingers that he comes back with some deer! I need my freezer filled up!! Shark and Steve are heading to Nebraska for this big rifle hunt. I'm just excited for them to get some whitetails! I might even have to borrow Ang's dehydrator... Or maybe... Christmas is coming!! ;)

So anyways, that's what's been going on so far this week. :) Now it's time for me to go to bed. Good night all - and love to those who are crossing things off their To-Do list!! ♥

Loving Life and Living it

So Shark and I slept in this morning, and it was great! We got to spend time together, just talk and relax and laugh and tell each other how things have been going. It was so good to just be around each other for more than 10 AWAKE minutes. I care so much about my husband, and love him so much, I am so grateful for him! LOVE YOU!

Everymorning I wake up (first to Shark leaving for work at 5am and then I fall back asleep) to kids walking to school. I love waking up to the sounds of kids laughing and playing! It makes me smile. I enjoy life, and I love watching the lives of others (not THAT kind of watch!)! It made me realize that I like to make people happy. I like to see people happy, I like to have a positive effect on people. While I was at Wal-Mart this afternoon, there was a big crowd of people around a crying little boy. His mom was holding him, comforting him, and I asked my cashier what had happened. She said that the little boy had been seizing (seizuring?) and had a big "fit" in the middle of the checkout lane. The cashier then went on to tell me that she lost a child to a seizure a few years ago, so it hit home with her, hard. While watching the little boy and his mom, tears running down both faces, that horrible lump jumped to my throat and my eyes started to tear up. The pain that this pair was going thru was so apparent, it flooded the whole area, and I felt it in full. I don't have kids yet, but this made me really want them, so I can hold them and love them and kiss them! How I already love them!

Ooh! I am happy to announce that Shark and I getting out of debt! Instead of just saying it, like we have been for the past 2 years, we are actually doing it!! We paid his brother Steve for the motorcycle (in full), we paid off my truck (in full), and we have wiped out hands clean of Wells Fargo but paying off my credit card (in full)!! So happy and excited to actually be paying stuff off!! And I have officially and actually started the Dave Ramsey envelope system, instead of just talking about it. :) We're doing it! And it is such a good plan!

POTD for 5.7.2010 is : our sliced and shredded WF checks!!

love to all who have ever had a life changing revelation ♥

Craft ideas HELP

Ok, so Teri, since I know you read my blog every once in a while, I have a question for you : where did you get your metal letter stamps? The ones you used on your washer ornaments? I've got all kinds of ideas, and I want to get some of those stamps... I can't for the life of me think of where you got them... or what size you have. So that's the info I need for you! And I am so glad to read the updates, and how great he's doing. I wish we were there to see him, and help you out. I'll be sending something cute your way, I've just got to finish some projects and then drop it all in the mail!

Next, I have to admit something : I am an impulse buyer. I'm horrible. I just bought {AND I DO MEAN JUST BOUGHT! As in 1 minute ago!} Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 on ebay. Ugh! I saw it, and was like, well, I'm going to need to, so I might as well, plus I've been selling things on eBay, and had money in my paypal, so it's not like it'll cost me anything, and it's not like it was very expensive-$23.00.... Yup just awful, so dang impulsive... Which reminds me, I need new tennis shoes... Bandit ate the last ones...

Hmm, so now I have to run home and get that $10 Kohl's Cash, so I can get my shoes!! Maybe the checkered ones... or maybe the all black ones!! Now I don't know! And I don't know what they have there!! Oh decisions... and Shark wonders why I'm impulsive. If I don't act fast, I get so distracted and bogged down with all the choices... Act fast!!

Love to those who have ideas ♥

PS: Kohl's did NOT have my shoes, so I bought a pair of capris instead, they cost $10. I was sad about my shoes... but now that it's getting to be summer, it'll be all flip flops, all the time. But, when we go camping/hiking and stuff, I'd like a pair of tennis shoes. So I'll have to get some new ones anyways. The search is on! My capris sure are cute tho!

Making Changes

I have this idea (trust me, it's nothing new, it's the same idea I've have since Mark and I got married) and the idea is to make a budget and stick to it. Well, with holidays, and buying presents, that budget went out the window (or just trampled in teh dirt). But, I am making changes to the budget, and I'm cutting bills off, and I'm trying to pay off what bills I can. But all of these changes are going to start in January, I know my efforts will be in vain if I try to implement them now, I've still got to ship the gifts for Christmas. But I am serious about getting things taken care of this year. We're switching insurance so we will save tons of money that way (and when I say tons of money, I really do mean TONS of money!!). Now, it's just a matter of sticking to it. We've been doing pretty good for the past few months, but then Thanksgiving and Christmas came, and birthdays came all at the same time. But 2010 is the year I want to become debtfree, or at least it to just slightly indebted. And the thing is, that it's possible for us to do that. We just need to stick to it, and keep the dog out of the laundry detergent.

With the idea comes the strategy, and the strategy is the Dave Ramsey thing. His Total Money Make Over. Basically the plan is: Save $1000 for emergency, then pay the minimum on all bills, put all un-bedgeted money towards the littlest bill, once the little one is gone, focus the un-bedgeted money on the next little one, and so on. He calls it the Debt Snowball. We knocked out our littlest one a while back, but now we're back to saving up the emergency money again, we had some mishaps. But I'm very confident that this plan will work, and that all we need to do is stick to it. So, get ready 2010, the Collards are paying stuff off! Now, if we could just make next year go better than our first year.... I thought we would be fine our first year, that nothing would go wrong. HA! Yeah right, all kinds of stuff happened that we had to pay for. So please, 2010 (KNOCK) just go (ON) the way (WOOD) we plan!!! Dang, I probably just cursed us.... Oh well, Cheers!!

Love to all - bry and mark

State of Mind, State of Being

It's all in your head, it's all in your head! I have come to realize there are alot of things that are all in my head, and in no one else's. For example : I am the only one what worries if my shoes match my shirt or pants. I am the only one that worries if my hair is just right. I am the only one what worries about how wrong some craft I've made is. How do I know these things? Easy, cuz I think about them all the time. I am the only one to notice that my ears are lopsided, one is higher on my head than the other. And really, if everybody thinks the same things I think (expect about themselves) then no one else would be thinking about me. EVER! It makes sense, and I know it's true. No one ever looks at my shoes, and if they do, they aren't looking at my shirt at the same time (unless they have eyes all over, like my mom does, that woman can see everything!), and very rarely do people scrutinize my clothing choices as a whole (unless it's Mark, and he has one opionion of clothes as a whole-None is good.) Next, only girls worry about hair, and I am in an office of 90% men, so they don't care, plus all the women I work with are too busy with work and worrying about their hair to even notice mine. Oh and, if I make a craft, I know where I went wrong, and what I messed up, and exactly where it doesn't line up, and I have forever burned that location of screw-up into my eyes and brain. No one else sees the screw up, they just see this amazingly cute (they've said that!) and freaking awesome (they've said that too!) craft I've duplicated or created and they LOVE IT! And even if I point out the blemish that is staring at me and screaming at me, they always innocently ask, Where? What's wrong? (I bet it'll be that way when I have kids too....) Lastly, my ears. No one ever seems to notice that my ears are lopsided. And I didn't for a while, until I started wearing glasses. Then I noticed BIG TIME! I have to bend my sunglasses and eyeglasses so they are lopsided to correct my facial lopsided-ness. Mark laughes at me. But even when I am wearing glasses, no one notices the lopsided glasses, it drives me nuts, cuz I notice!! (Well, it sure beats being lopsided elsewhere.) So there it is, the proof that no one is worrying about me and my crap, cuz they are all thinking and worrying about their own crap. It's not cuz we're selfish or narcassistic, we are all just insane in the membrane and got a lot of junk in our heads.

A friend of ours did a MindVideo, I thought it was pretty cool, she made hers about money, and no, she's not greedy or money hungry or any of that, I think it is more of what makes her comfortable, stable, secure, and less worrysome and more free. If I made a MindVideo thing, it would be about money. Money means stability, more security, more freedom, not only for me, but also for my family. (That's why we have life insurance policies, if we leave, then our family has enough to be secure in their lives, at least for a while.) It's not about being rich and having STUFF, it's about safety and security and being able to provide that for your loved ones. The MindVideo has a purpose, and it is: if you focus on something long enough and hard enough, eventually, you will get what you focus on. I love that! It's a state of mind that turns into a state of being. That is what we all strive for in our lives. To be like what we focus on or think about. We teach a Sunday School class at our church, and the kids sing a song "I'm trying to be like Jesus" - wouldn't it be great if these 5 year olds's state of mind turned into a state of being? I think the state of mind/state of being idea can work with just about anything (somethings need a physical transformation/change rather than a mental one.)

My main worry is always money. Not having enough, when bills come out, which bills come out, where is my money going, what am I buying? Mark and I, both want me to stop worrying about money, and I think the answer to that, is to have more, have enough in our accounts that if we pay rent, we won't have to worry about bouncing a check or not having enough to pay our phone bill. So that is what we are striving for now. I read in a Glamour, Define what RICH means to you. (Glamour of ALL places!! I know!) Reading that made me stop and think for a few minutes. Mark and I have been trying to get out of debt for a while now. (Ok since we got married and added our debts together. Most of it was mine... and it's really not alot, but we still want to get it gone before we incure any more. Everybody tells us this is SMART!) We have had tons of plans on how to do this, and so far have only been able to implement ONE! And that has only been in the past month. I will tell you our strategy so far. I borrowed a book from Teri, by Dave Ramsey, called The Total Money Makeover. We started that, and even eliminated a credit card (woot woot!) we saved up $1000 for an emergency fund, and then.... we bought a dog. We tried at least! Well, that was back in March (we bought Bandit) and now, we have new resolve to do this and get it right. We've got big plans coming up (and you can take THAT anyway you want!) and we want to be debt free for these plans. Well, we got the paper route -it sucked big time- we but it got more cash money flow into our accounts, I switched all my accounts and bill pay over to Mark's account (he has had that account since he was 15 or something ridiculous like that) and he has all his loans and his one credit card at that bank. I got my paycheck to go into his account, and now we work solely out of that account. I created an estimated amount of bills that come out before the 15th of the month and another amount that comes out before the 30th of the month. (I get paid on the 15th and the 30th of each month.) and I leave that money in the account, and then take all the rest of the money out. We have the rest of it as cash. Cash is easier to work with, it means you can't spend more than you got. We set aside for groceries and gas and the dog. When we find out the 'extra' money we have, we then deposit it into my old and unused bank account (from a bank here in town) and then transfer money to the debtors we want off our backs. It works out pretty good (so far!). Mark and I make lunches/buy cup of noodles from Wal-Mart for .28 cents. We each get $30 at the start of each month, to spend on what we want. (Mark buys hunting/fishing stuff, I buy crafting stuff.) But that $30 is all we get, we can't spend 31, or 30.27, we can only spend $30. Then we have $30 for a date night out. (we rent movies-in-the mail for cheap, so we have date night each week, but a night out is still fun!) But, the 2 things that really make this work : Only having OUR cash in our wallets and leaving the cards at HOME! It is so easy to say, "Oh, it's only $2 for a hamburger." swipe that dang card and do that all week, and next thing you know, there goes $25 on food! So, anyways, it's been working so far, and this plan has helped to ease alot of stress and worry.


State of mind, state of being about love. It's up to you if your marriage sucks after 5 years or not. (Ok, not just you, but both of you!) I hate when people ask how long we've been married. A little over 1 year. Oh that's so cute, call me in 5 years when you two hate each other. OK! Really?! I love my husband more than words can explain, it feels like saying I LOVE YOU doesn't even come close to what I feel for him. I plan to be in love with him forever, or at least until they find a new phrase for it! ;) I plan to keep falling in love with him until the end of time. Call us cheesy, corny, dorky, or naive, but I love him, and I am so happy to be with him. So all you people who keep telling me that marriages don't last, that after 10 years we won't talk to each other, in 5 years we'll hate each other, you can all kiss my booty! Mark and I talk about everything, and enjoy spending time together. We both plan to make this work, and want to make this work. So :P (pbbbtttt!!) It's that whole STATE OF MIND, STATE OF BEING!!

much in love- bry and mark

Would you porch that for me? NOW!?

So, this project that Mark and I have been losing sleep over is not really a project at all. It was a paper route. And we were thinking it was an early morning, nothing overly exerting, just a paper route. HA! It was nothing like that, it was not easy, it was not early morning, it was middle of the dang night and it sucked!! It was not me or Mark on a bike with those double shoulder bags with loads of papers rolled up with rubber bands. No musical or singing people working with us, wearing newsboy caps, they weren't even friendly. I was at least hoping for Christian Bale, but nope, my Newsie dreams were shot down when I realized the only music we would hear would be AC/DC or Journey from the radio or from the guy who raps to music in his head on Sundays. Yeah that was about it. But wait, there is really more!! Not only was it not early morning, we were thinking it would be at 4 or something that it, and they would drop the papers off at our house, heck, we just thought they would count the papers first! NOPE! We had to get up at 1:30 AM-2:00 AM, and go to the warehouse (here in Brighton) and then fold the papers, and then go throw the papers. We had to be done throwing our papers by 5:30 AM weekdays, and by 7:00 AM weekends. Paper count? M-W : 143, TH-F : 215, SAT : 270, SUN : 343. Now, really that's not too bad, but we had the 2nd largest route in the district, and we covered 3 large neighborhoods. So, it's not like every house got a paper, some places only have one house on a street that gets one. Usually, Monday-Wednesday we can throw the route in an hour, or an hour and a half or so. Sundays, it takes 4 hours, 1.5 to fold and the rest we throw. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the dang porch requests. (Mark has sworn to me, that even if he is hobbled up so bad he can hardly walk to the garage, he will still hobble his old bones out to the driveway to get his paper, if we get one.) Because for most the porches, we have to stop the truck, get out, throw the paper on the porch and then get going. And then there are the occaisional roof throws, Mark climbed up there and got the paper down, we only had 2 of these.

Then there was the crazy stuff we saw. In the past weeek, we've seen 2 vehicles that were destroyed. Not just totalled but destroyed!! It seriously looked like a T-Rex had done thru the neighborhood and torn into 2 cars.

We did get a bunch of free stuff which was pretty cool. We got a cooler, some frames for my crafting, some end tables with magazine racks, a world map that's huge, and a washer for some friends. It was pretty awesome that we got first pick of the FREE stuff.

We started the route on the 17th of August, and tried it out for 2 weeks, but Mark had already signed the contract, so in order to get out of it, we had to hand in a 30 days notice, so that 30 days is today! Yayay! But it sucked so bad. Mark and I have been losing sleep, losing friends (we need all the ones we can get!) and getting sick! It's been awful! And at least 3 times, the managers have been like, We're trying to get someone in here to take over your route. It always falls thru, and this last time, we showed up on Monday and Tuesday to throw the route, and one manager said, "I wasn't expecting you two to show up, I thought you assumed the route got covered, I was going to throw the route for the rest of the time." Now, really? Why would we assume the route had gotten covered, nothing was said to us, we were told it fell thru and no one was able to take the route this week, so we figured we'd just come in until the date on our 3o day notice. UNLESS - You wanted to charge us the $250 early termination fee as stated in the contract! UGH! Really?!

I talked Mark into signing the contract and taking the route, however, I only had to say that I wanted to quit ONCE and he was on board! I figured we'd take the route, get the $450 every 2 weeks (that's SO not what we got paid!) and pay off the debt we've got. Pretty much, all the pay from the route took care of was the gas to throw the route, Bandit's puppy class, and our family pictures. Which really is not too bad.

We're very excited to be done with the route, it means we get our friends back, and we can stay up and watch late night football, without having to worry about going to bed at 8 so we can wake up at 2am. I think it was a good learning expireince, it taught us to be grateful for what we have, and that things could always be worse. I'm very grateful that we don't NEED that job, and that it was just for extra money. It also taught us that budgeting is so very needed and it finally pushed me into budgeting everything, which is what I have been wanting so bad! We're also glad because we can spend more time with the puppy, which means he won't be starved for attention and won't tear up the house like he did on Wednesday. :) Thank you to everyone who put up with all of this paper route nonsense. We didn't tell everyone, I wasn't sure how my work would take it, so I decided to tell them after I had quit. Better to be safe than sorry. :) IT'S FINALLY OVER!! Woot woot!

Love to all - Bry and Mark

Puppy school and my longing for a camera.....

The Bandit starts puppy school tonight at 7:00 pm. We're excited to finally get him into the class, cuz lately he has NOT been listening good/at all. He knows SIT but only because he usually gets treats. But that's about it. And that shock collar we bought off eBay, doesn't work too well. He completely ignores it. He's been digging everywhere and making holes, and chewing up all kinds of things from off the counters, and under the cabinets, and taking laundry off the hangers, and chewing up my crafts. I'd like to reprimand him rather than beat him.... He has those sad sad eyes... He was pretty good in the puppy class, he was well-behaved through most of it, towards the end he started whining and howl-barking at the little 3 mo. old pit bull next to us. But, he was probably the best behaved pup there. :) I think as long as we do the homework, he'll do pretty good in the class. It'll be nice to know what to do and how to train him, he's been a pretty good pup from the start (being house trained and all...) but lately he has taken to causing trouble while we're gone (for ANY amount of time...)

I have been really missing my camera lately. I guess with all the new posts, and crafts I've been doing, I miss it more than I thought I would. Oh how I wish I could say "Reparo"and BAM have my camera fixed. If only the Harry Potter spells worked here....*sigh* That's what we'll be trying to get fixed soon, I'm hoping soon... Like I said, I really miss it. And as much as I appreciate Mark letting me steal his work camera when I want to, I'd still like to have my awesome nice sweet camera back...

Ooh - we went out on a date today. I have been dying for some Buffalo Wild Wings, and we decided if we went to BW3 we'd have to go on Boneless Thursday! So we got some wings right after word, we sat there and played the Trivia game for a while (I beat Mark at the first game, then he came back and totally whooped me in the last game.) It was pretty fun! :) Tonight is also the NFL kickoff, first game of the season (Steelers vs Titans) so we also watched the pre-game show. We have it planned to go on "dates" each week, we rent movies all the time thru Blockbuster (lately we have been watching movies in 20 minute increments,we've been so tired!! But soon, we will be getting back to normal!!) and we have it planned to go OUT once a month, we've budgeted that date in. :) It'll be nice to get back to a "normal" schedule. I'll fill you in on ALL the details a little later this month. :) Anyways, things are going good so far. We're happy and smiling, and feel we're doing what we're supposed to be doing.

All the love - Mark and Bry