I've been busy in the craft room, making a box for my Christmas CDs and painting/decorating a crate for the Christmas movies. Pictures are coming, I promise.
I can attest to the brilliance of an idea I saw on Pinterest.....using pushpins to hold up an item you're painting. It worked fantastically on the crate, raising it just high enough for me to paint the lower edges without worrying about it sticking to the newspaper.
I'm thinking of starting a separate blog for some of my craft pictures/posts since I'd like to "pin" them, but this blog is really more personal than that and I don't want it pinned for the world to see and comment on, kwim? I'll keep you posted about that too.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Looking Back
It's easy, I think, to look back and lament the setbacks, frustrations, and disappointments of the past. I don't know why we're wired that way, or at least, why *I'm* wired that way, but there it is. I certainly do that when talking about myself, while, at the same time, building others up.
And I'm already rambling....
Anyway, I'm looking back at 2011 in a bit of a different light, wanting to celebrate what I've accomplished, rather than lament what I haven't gotten to yet.
As a family, we've switched to an all-cash economy, so to speak. As a result, we're spending more on what matters and less on what doesn't. When the cash is gone, we stop spending, at least until payday! We've paid cash for all of our trips--camping trips, a trip to northern Idaho, and my sister's entire visit in June. No lingering credit card bills to pay off. That feels good!
(Funny aside.....When we bought my new laptop, I paid for the second half of it using the CC because I wasn't sure where the money was--I knew we had it but I didn't know which debit card to use so I used the CC because it buys time to move money around if necessary. About the same time, Bruce was paying for wreaths for our church fundraiser with the same credit card. So we went from no balance for several months, to nearly $3K charged in 30 minutes. Not 30 minutes later, we had a message from our credit union, wanting to verify that the charges were legit!).
We paid cash for a new set of hearing aids for Tristan. Cash for all car repairs, cash for home repairs, cash for the deductible when I crashed the van, cash for all of the kids' activities, cash for my new laptop, and cash for Christmas.
I've struggled with this, honestly. Right now, we're focused on paying off debt and we're making progress. We paid off the bills from our Disney World adventures and we now own the our camping trailer. It's ours! But, the hard part for me is that it's not tangible. We're not buying anything or saving up for a big fancy trip or anything. We're just watching numbers on the computer screen get smaller. Big whoop.
But, today, as Bruce was doing the bills, he looked at the totals. We've paid off nearly $35,000 in debt! That includes car loans, the trailer, student loans, and the mortgages (we have a second). By the end of 2012, we should own both vehicles, and have the second paid off as well.
We've also got more money in savings than ever before. We've got a cushion against life, really. And that feels good.
Even when I'm being a whiny, petulant child who wants to go to the beach. NOW! LOL!
One of my goals, personally, was to use my reusable grocery bags more often than not. And I did it. I probably saved 100s of bags. And it had a trickle-down effect. The kids and Bruce all used the bags too, or they just didn't take one. I feel pretty good about that. And we'll continue that into the new year.
Because of the cash-only thing, I stopped buying certain things at the grocery store. Food prices are going up, but my budget is not. And gluten-free products/cooking can be expensive. So, over the course of the year, I stopped looking at things like soda, crackers, and granola bars as a "need," and saw them as more of a "want." I've done more baking, more couponing, and more sale-shopping/stocking-up, in order to keep the family fed with healthy food. Soda is a treat and we're all healthier for it.
Over Lent, I gave up ALL junk food and ALL computer games. Now, I do eat junk and I do play games, but neither holds quite the appeal they did in the past. Another score for me! :-)
While I always feel like I've got a loooong way to go, even my perfectionistic-self has to admit that the house is more organized and running more smoothly than it was a year ago. We've all gotten better about not keeping things we don't need. And I know I've gotten better about not buying something just because it's on sale, it's cool-looking but I have no idea what I'll do with it, or I think I "need" it. I've gotten better at seeing something and realizing that I've got something at home that will work just as well. I've got more work to do, but I'm beginning to accept that it's always going to be a work in progress and that's okay.
I've been more spontaneous this year, which for this "planner" personality, is a BIG deal. I'd like to continue that trend into the new year too.
So, what about you? If you're like me, you focus on what you need to fix, looking at how far you have to go, without seeing just how far you've come. So, how far have you come?
And I'm already rambling....
Anyway, I'm looking back at 2011 in a bit of a different light, wanting to celebrate what I've accomplished, rather than lament what I haven't gotten to yet.
As a family, we've switched to an all-cash economy, so to speak. As a result, we're spending more on what matters and less on what doesn't. When the cash is gone, we stop spending, at least until payday! We've paid cash for all of our trips--camping trips, a trip to northern Idaho, and my sister's entire visit in June. No lingering credit card bills to pay off. That feels good!
(Funny aside.....When we bought my new laptop, I paid for the second half of it using the CC because I wasn't sure where the money was--I knew we had it but I didn't know which debit card to use so I used the CC because it buys time to move money around if necessary. About the same time, Bruce was paying for wreaths for our church fundraiser with the same credit card. So we went from no balance for several months, to nearly $3K charged in 30 minutes. Not 30 minutes later, we had a message from our credit union, wanting to verify that the charges were legit!).
We paid cash for a new set of hearing aids for Tristan. Cash for all car repairs, cash for home repairs, cash for the deductible when I crashed the van, cash for all of the kids' activities, cash for my new laptop, and cash for Christmas.
I've struggled with this, honestly. Right now, we're focused on paying off debt and we're making progress. We paid off the bills from our Disney World adventures and we now own the our camping trailer. It's ours! But, the hard part for me is that it's not tangible. We're not buying anything or saving up for a big fancy trip or anything. We're just watching numbers on the computer screen get smaller. Big whoop.
But, today, as Bruce was doing the bills, he looked at the totals. We've paid off nearly $35,000 in debt! That includes car loans, the trailer, student loans, and the mortgages (we have a second). By the end of 2012, we should own both vehicles, and have the second paid off as well.
We've also got more money in savings than ever before. We've got a cushion against life, really. And that feels good.
Even when I'm being a whiny, petulant child who wants to go to the beach. NOW! LOL!
One of my goals, personally, was to use my reusable grocery bags more often than not. And I did it. I probably saved 100s of bags. And it had a trickle-down effect. The kids and Bruce all used the bags too, or they just didn't take one. I feel pretty good about that. And we'll continue that into the new year.
Because of the cash-only thing, I stopped buying certain things at the grocery store. Food prices are going up, but my budget is not. And gluten-free products/cooking can be expensive. So, over the course of the year, I stopped looking at things like soda, crackers, and granola bars as a "need," and saw them as more of a "want." I've done more baking, more couponing, and more sale-shopping/stocking-up, in order to keep the family fed with healthy food. Soda is a treat and we're all healthier for it.
Over Lent, I gave up ALL junk food and ALL computer games. Now, I do eat junk and I do play games, but neither holds quite the appeal they did in the past. Another score for me! :-)
While I always feel like I've got a loooong way to go, even my perfectionistic-self has to admit that the house is more organized and running more smoothly than it was a year ago. We've all gotten better about not keeping things we don't need. And I know I've gotten better about not buying something just because it's on sale, it's cool-looking but I have no idea what I'll do with it, or I think I "need" it. I've gotten better at seeing something and realizing that I've got something at home that will work just as well. I've got more work to do, but I'm beginning to accept that it's always going to be a work in progress and that's okay.
I've been more spontaneous this year, which for this "planner" personality, is a BIG deal. I'd like to continue that trend into the new year too.
So, what about you? If you're like me, you focus on what you need to fix, looking at how far you have to go, without seeing just how far you've come. So, how far have you come?
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