Journey To Me

Depressed

So my husband doesn't get it.

He just spent $535 on a new seat for his snowmobile and didn't tell me. 

I don't know what to do.  I am so depressed today that I don't know if I will be able to work. 

I did forgive him, but once again, I have been taken advantage of and lied to.  I just want to cry.

Thanksgiving Update

Thanksgiving went well.  We managed to get everything to the table while it was hot or cold as appropriate (except the cranberry relish; I guess only missing one thing is pretty good!) and everyone had a good time.  The day reinforced my belief that it is about getting together and not the perfect preparation of the house that is important. 

The house was full of people and laughter.  It was a blessing for my soul. 

Early Frugal Friday!

I am doing my Frugal Friday post early because I plan to sleep in on "Black Friday". 

My frugal tip is that I will NOT be shopping on this day! 

I have in the past and found that I spend MORE money.  Just because something is on sale and is a good deal, doesn't mean I need it cluttering up my house!

My mother is notorious for this!  She buys everything on sale, but needs none of it!  I am going to break the cycle. 

I already have my list made and it is very small!!!

I am going to make everyone else something.  Whether it be cookies or homemade christmas ornaments or a table runner.  I will use items I already have on hand or items I can re-use (such as my fabric I am going to use to make curtains for my bedroom; it is currently a beautiful table cloth for my Thanksgiving guests!) and make my dollars stretch! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  And remember, just because it is on sale doesn't mean you NEED it!!!  Spend wisely!

Baby Journey

No baby for me in July/August of 2008. 

I was very dissapointed when I was not pregnant.  I thought for sure I was.  I think I must just want to be so badly that I made myself have symptoms. 

Hubby seemed dissapointed when I told him we were not pregnant.  He said that he would definately enjoy another month of "trying" though!!!  Men! 

My best friend's baby is 5 months old now and is just the cutest!  He is making lots of noise and is such a happy baby.  I hate to admit it, but my Hubby gets to see both her boys every morning before he goes to work (he rides with her husband into the city every day) and I AM JEALOUS!  Seeing those smiling faces would make me happy and joyus every morning! 

Makes me want our own babies more and more! 

Preparations for Hosting Thanksgiving

I love my house.  The only thing it is missing (besides extra bedrooms for all the children I would love to have someday and closets, as far as I am concerned, no house has enough closet space) is a formal dining room.  We have a larger eat in kitchen which is great for the two of us, but is lacking in space when we have guests.  We acutally do have a 3 bedroom house, but had to turn one of the bedrooms into a closet.  It is a great closet, which also doubles as my sewing room, but means that we can only have a couple kids before we would want to move (hubby only wants two, I want more than two)

My goal for tomorrow is to make it through the day in a calm and thankful manner.  I am a list maker so I have created a detailed schedule telling me when to start each new section of the meal.  All should go well! 

My wonderful mother in law (I am lucky and have two great mother in laws!) is coming up early to help me cook and is bringing her new boyfriend.  I have met him, but no one else in the family has and she is excited to introduce him!  I think he seems like a great guy (after all, his daughter has the same first name as I do (so I know he has good taste ;-), plus, he said I was a beautiful soul!). I just hope my Husband thinks he is a good guy.  He is very protective of his Mother (especially after her failed 2nd marriage). 

I can't wait to get home from work tonight and finish my cleaning!  I love it when the house is spotless and smells of great food cooking!  Plus, having a house full of laughing, happy people is good for my "beautiful soul"!!!! 

Frugal Fridays!!!

Welcome to this week's edition of Frugal Fridays!

My tip for today is on Thanksgiving Dinner.

I am hosting 12 people for Thanksgiving Dinner and it is my first time having this dinner at my home.  My husband's family is well-to-do and they break out the china and real silver at their houses for dinner.  I don't have china or real silver (though I do have my great grandmother's everyday flatware, which I will be using) and was feeling down in the dumps that I would not be able to host dinner in a grand dining room like they are able to do. 

So, I just put it out of my head that I (at 29 years old) am supposed to have a huge house with a formal dining room and china and silver...  I have beautiful stonewear dishes which I received as wedding gifts (we specifically requested NO CHINA as we would so seldom use it) and I am going to place 2 borrowed "church basement tables" in my large living room and cover them with homemade tableclothes.  My wine glasses are made of glass, not crystal, which is okay with me because it costs me pennies to replace glasses instead of dollars (I break things often when handwashing) 

They will just have to live with bringing a dish to pass (I requested they do this if possible to cut down on my stress and grocery budget) and sitting on folding chairs for one afternoon.  Plus, in the three and a half years I have lived at this house, they have not once come to visit (most live over an hour and a half away).  So, I guess it is even a blessing that they would choose to drive all that way to spend Thanksgiving with me! 

I am going to just let it happen as it is supposed to.  Maybe my next house will have a large formal dining room!  (Probably not as my husband thinks they are a wasted space!!!  What a smart man I have!) 

So, I could go out and buy all the fancy things I think I need to host this meal, but I am going to let myself be happy with all the great items I already have to use in making dinner an event to remember!

Sick

I have been sick with a head cold since last Wednesday evening.  I don't know if I can take it much longer.  I am having trouble concentrating and cannot get motivated to complete even the simplest of tasks (such as put ingredients in the bread machiene so that I can have the simplest of foods).

Took a pregnancy test yesterday and it said I am not pregnant, so I took some OTC drugs to help me get through last night.  I slept for 15 hours then went into work this afternoon (only because I had to get my laptop and printer for my out of office assignment tomorrow).  I feel like a zombie walking around the office!  I have to start feeling better soon!

Menu Plan Monday

This week we will be having:

Breakfasts: Pancakes, Bacon & Grapes or Cold Cereal

Lunches: Deli Sandwiches & Carrot Sticks or Leftovers

Dinners: Salsa-Mac Chicken, Fish & Chips, Chicken Parmesan, Enchillada Bake and Red Pepper Chicken

Snacks: Banana Bread, Raw Almonds or Walnuts, Yogurt, Granola Bars

I have been fairly sick this past week and it is continuing on today, so I have planned very simple meals that I can put together in under 10 minutes.  My pancake batter is already made and in the refrigerator and many of the dinners I will be making in the crock pot. 

The New Chapter

The next chapter in my life has begun.

We are trying to have a baby.  I am so very excited and nervous at the same time!  While I hope we get pregnant right away, I am very nervous for this life changing event!  Everyone I have spoken with says that having children was the best thing they ever did, so I am very excited about the possibility!

Were any of you very nervous about the first time you actually "tried" to create a baby?  My husband and I are getting along great with each other, but the tension created by this new experience is like nothing I have ever experienced!  It is like it is our wedding night again! 

Frugal Friday

Welcome to this weeks edition of Frugal Friday!  Crystal hosts this on her blog, but she is out of town today for the FILM FESTIVAL, so I thought I would do an independent post!

 My money saving tip for today deals with date nights.  My husband and I occasionally get together for date nights and since the money is scarce these days, we have come up with our new money saving date night idea of "Exploring A Town".

We pack a picnic lunch complete with beverages and head out to a town.  It could be a historic town, a town we have never been to, or a place we have wanted to take the time to explore but have not yet.  We will do window shopping, antique shopping and have a picnic in the local park!  It is a great way to spend an afternoon or evening.  We tend to stick with smaller towns that are more historic and have great shopping (even though we rarely purchase anything!).  This weekend we are hitting Stillwater, Minnesota. 

I am so excited to spend the day with him that I can hardly wait!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Welcome to Menu Plan Monday for this week!

Breakfasts this week consist of:

Cold Cereal, Yogurt, Homemade Bread with PB or Jelly

Lunches this week consist of:

Leftovers from dinner or Turkey Sandwiches & Carrot Sticks with Fruit Slices

Dinners this week consist of:

Antipasto Pizza, Tossed Salad

Cheese Lasagne, Tossed Salad

Chicken Chow Mein

Black Bean Taco Salad

Spaghetti, Homemade Bread, Tossed Salad

Leftover Nights...

We are also eating out this Saturday or Sunday evening for my Birthday.  (Using a Gift Certificate we received for Christmas last year.)

Chicken Enchilada Update

Wow was it spicy! 

It was a great meal though.  The rice, by itself, was too much (tumeric seasoned) but when paired with the homemade black beans it was excellent.  The chicken enchiladas were so spicy that I had to add extra sour cream and drink a glass of milk to help control the heat! 

It was a great new recipe.  I think next time, we will add a little less jalepeno, a few more tomatillos and make much less rice (with less tumeric).  We are still not comfortable making up our own recipes as we go, so we follow the ones we get on line or from friends and family.  I do think that eventually we will be able to create our own recipes and that will bring even more fun to our kitchen!

Tasty Tuesday!

Tonight my Husband is cooking a new recipe.  We are going to be the bold taste testers of Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa . 

He has been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now, so I have invited over my Mother for dinner before we head to our local Public Library for Girls Night.  Hopefully it will not be too spicy!  There are four jalepenos in the recipe! 

I will post tomorrow on how the meal went!

A GREAT website!!!

This is one of my favorite websites.  I have truly enjoyed getting to know Crystal and her family through her blog.  While I do not agree with everything she says, I do find that the majority is faith based and love the encouragement that her articles and posts give to her readers.

Check it out at www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com 

Cleaning Old Mini Blinds

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to clean old mini blinds? 

Should I take them down?  Just dust while they are hanging there?

They are fairly yellowed and the strings are somewhat stained (I have no idea how they got stained).  I thought maybe submerging them in a large bathtub filled with soapy water and bleach would help.  My fear is that the bleach will start to deteriorate the strings like it deteriorates clothing. 

I have not cleaned them since I moved into my house (I had a professional clean the entire house BEFORE I moved in, so they have been cleaned before) and it has been three years now.  The dirt and stains are really starting to bother me!

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Basement Organization Project

I have had a whole wall of shelves installed in my basement for storage purposes.  We do not have any closets in our old farmhouse, so storage has always been an issue for us.

I have had the shelves up for over two months now.  There are items on the shelves.  The problem is that the items are not organized in a way that makes it easy for me to find items. 

Does anyone have any suggestions or examples of a project like this that they have done?

Menu Plan Monday

This weeks Menu Plan consists of...

Chicken/Spinach/Rice Casserole, Salad

Chicken Enchilladas (Trying a New Recipe)

Salsa Mac Chicken, Salad, Vegetable

Black Bean Taco Salad & Fixings

Black Beans & Rice, Salad, Vegetable

Tuna Melts, Salad, Vegetable

Leftover Night...

Lunches consist of either leftovers from the previous night's dinners or deli lunchmeat sandwiches & carrot sticks. 

Breakfasts consist of english muffins, waffles or pancakes all with turkey bacon, fresh fruit and yogurt. 

We are having a partial "eat out of the pantry week".  All items are from the pantry except for the Chicken Enchillada meal.  My husband is trying to make this new recipe and it has many ingredients in it that we didn't have on hand (tumeric, tomatillos, rotisserie chicken etc...).

Maybe he doesn't get it...

Maybe my Husband does not get the idea of getting out of debt. 

We discusses trading in our fancy truck (which we owe $20,000 on) and getting a commuter car, as he will start a long commute for work soon.  He said that was fine, but in one year, he wanted to have a truck again...  I asked him how he thought we were going to pay off $70,000 in debt in one year and save enough money to buy a truck next year?  He said he didn't know.  I told him it wasn't possible (which is the truth, based on our current income situation).  He then proceeded to say that he doesn't want to give up everything that he knows and take 5 huge steps backwards. 

We then proceeded to fight...  He said he wouldn't get rid of everything because he would be miserable, I said he was shallow and was baseing his self-worth on his belongings, (it was just a bad fight...)

So my question... 

How much do I give into his requests when I know that the choices we make now will change how fast we can pay off our debt in the future?  He wants to keep his snowmobile (we owe $3000 on it).  He wants to keep his trailer (paid for in full).  He will get rid of the big truck but wants to get into a smaller one (which will save $ on the payment, but not on the gas and he will drive everyday roundtrip over 110 miles to and from work).  This is a large gas bill!  My though was to drive a more economical car, saving on the payment AND on the gas bill. 

Am I totally wrong?  Should I not be trying to give suggestions for us to get out of debt as fast as possible?  We have already sold everything that I had (my snowmobile) that we could sell.  All it appears he is willing to do is get rid of the four-wheeler.  I don't really call that as much sacrifice as necessary to get us out of our situation in a timely manner. 

I was so excited about the possiblility of us agreeing to get out of debt.  Now I feel doubtful that it will happen.

Frugal Friday

Today's frugal tip is to use your local public library. 

I have been using mine for quite some time now.  It is wonderful because it is within walking distance of my house!  They have FREE internet access (you can use their computers, or bring your own laptop) and they also have a network of other public libraries that they share books with.

I can go online, request a book from a different library and it will be to my library within a week (as long as it is not currently checked out by someone else). 

This is how I got the Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover" book and workbook.  A library over 3 hours away had copies of these books and they sent them off to my library as soon as they were checked back into their stock!

I also like using this technique to preview books I have been interested in purchasing in the past.  I have saved a lot of money by previewing the book before buying, because 95% of the time, I can talk myself out of purchasing the book!

The Financial Plan

My Husband finally sees the light! 

I have finally been able to explain to him how being this much in debt makes me truly feel.  The best part is that he finally COMPREHENDS what this debt has been doing to me and to our marriage.  We have decided on a PLAN!

We are going to use Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" plan to get ourselves out of debt.  According to my calculations, it will take 5-7 years (depending on circumstances such as car breakdowns, having children, etc...). 

I am so excited that we have decided TOGETHER to embark on this journey!  It will strengthen our financial lives and hopefully we will grow together as a married couple also!

We start working on our budget tomorrow!!!