A Quiet Weekend

After all the excitement and adventure of last weekend...I'm hibernating in my house this weekend with my pups. Tim has been in Dallas since Wednesday night and we miss him terribly! Fortunately, he's coming home tomorrow (woo hoo!!).

For Christmas my parents got me a photo editing program. It's been so long since I've been trained on any program so I'm kind of re-teaching myself. I am working on editing photos for Tim's and my "Third Year" book and started messing around with Tyson pictures.

This is the original:

This is the edited version...I'm not really sure what I did with it, I was just messing with different options. I have a great model, though...don't I?

I'm going to watch some of my "pointless" tv and go to bed! I'm loving this evening of doing nothing!

Please Pray for James

I'm sure some of you have noticed that I have posted a prayer request in my sidebar for James Watkins.

On Friday, 2/20/09, Tim received an email from his manager informing us that our friend, James, was diagnosed with leukemia. He has the form called Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). The doctors have said that he has had this for some time, but it has gone undetected. His back had been bothering him for a few weeks and his primary care doctor finally suggested doing an MRI and blood work late last week to determine the cause of his irritation. This is where they found that his white blood cell count was around 579,000, and it should be around 5,000. After a bone marrow test, they confirmed on Friday that it was CML.

More information about CML can be found on the Wikipedia website or the Mayo Clinic website.

Please keep James and his family in your thoughts and prayers. You can click on his picture or on the link that reads "James Watkins' Progress" to follow his progress in this battle.

Financial Peace University

This week's lesson was Clause and Effect, The Role of Insurance in Your Financial Plan...

The Basic Types of Coverage Needed Are:
1. Homeowner's or Renter's Insurance
2. Auto Insurance
3. Health Insurance
4. Disability Insurance
5. Long-Term Care Insurance
6. Identity Theft Protection
7. Life Insurance

He states also in this lesson...if you do not have a will yet, MAKE ONE!! A will is not for your benefit, but for the benefit of those left behind.

He stresses the importance of long-term care insurance as well...but also states, that if you are younger than 60 DO NOT get long-term care. Once you turn 60, you need to immediately get it. For those 60 and older, the last 6 months of your life are the most expensive months of your lifetime. Long-term care insurance will insure that your family members are not stuck with the bill or left pennyless.

He also mentioned that cancer insurance, accidental death etc. tend to be a rip off...as most health care or life policies will cover these instances.

It was kind of a downer night...talking about death and "what if" situations, but it is also something you have to face if you want to be financially at peace.

A Mardi Gras to Remember!

I know it is not even officially Mardi Gras until tomorrow...but 2009 was no doubt a huge year for Our Little World!! As we were planning lunch on Friday with Tim's cousin, Amanda, she went into labor! So...we drove to New Orleans knowing we were going to get to meet the newest addition to the family, Maxx Robert!! What a joyous moment. He is SO perfect!!

So, after meeting the newest Henderson, Tim and I headed back to my parents house where several of our very close friends were...and we went to watch the Friday night parades. We all had SO much fun!! And made a team effort to save parking spots in front of the house...here are some pictures from Friday/Friday night:

But none of the above is the moment you all are looking for, now is it?

So, Yes. It happened. I'm a little scarce on detail as I was the absolute LAST person to know...but Mr. Timothy Patrick Rafferty knelt on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of COURSE I said YES!! My sister, friends, parents, some of his family...they were all in on it and they were there to celebrate with us! To the point that Veronica admitted she felt like 007!! The ring set is my namesake's, my grandmother, Shay. Tim bought the diamonds, but the set is hers. It is so special to be wearing something that she wore every single day. I'm so blessed with the family and friends in my life and look forward to all the new adventures that being a Rafferty will bring!

We have decided on a date (for those of you that know me...you know that "planning" is nothing that I put on a back burner!)

April 24, 2010 is the big day! We'll be exchanging our vows at the St. Andrew Cathedral in downtown Little Rock. We are so excited and are looking forward to sharing our big day with everyone.










Well, after all THAT excitement...

Tim had to go home on Sunday. Lauren, Bobby and Jessica went home, too. Our friends, Sunnie and Michael came into the city to watch Bacchus and a couple of other parades with us. It was fun...though we were bummed Tim and the gang couldn't be there with us.

I really couldn't stop looking at the thing!!

Financial Peace University

As I missed last week's post I'm going to sum up two classes worth...but I'll do it quickly!

Last week's class--"Credit Sharks in Suits."
Key points:
--Just because you have a great FICO score does NOT mean you are winning financially.
--Essentially to have a good FICO score, you must be in debt...just great at making your payments!
--www.fico.com
--Make sure to check your credit score at least once a year
--If you are victim of identity theft, do not let the banks/credit cards make you believe you are the criminal. IF you are a victim of identity theft, you owe nothing, you pay nothing!
--Always set your priorities by the Four Walls. Pay these four things off FIRST then worry about paying off your credit (by using debt snowball):
1. Food
2. Shelter/Utilities
3. Clothing
4. Transportation

This week's lesson: "Buyer Beware."

This was a lesson on how marketing and advertising agencies are paid big dollars to convince YOU the consumer to purchase their goods. I found this to be a flashback of my college days...we all got a kick out of the segment that talked about supermarkets and how they purposely place items on shelves, etc. That IS what Vestcom does. So...buyer beware!!

Because you can always spend more than you make, you must develop a power over purchase by practicing five steps. When making significant purchases, make sure to go through these five steps to gain "power over your purchase."
1. Wait overnight before making a purchase.
2. Carefully consider your buying motives. No amount of "stuff" can ever equal contentment or fulfillment.
3. Never buying anything you do not underrstand (i.e. insurance, finances...I know a GREAT broker if you ever want to understand!!)
4. Consider the "opportunity cost" of your money. What will you have to give up to make that purchase?
5. Seek the counsel of your spouse or accountability partner.

I'll finish this summary with a quote Dave Ramsey said in tonight's lesson that really hit me. For those of you know how much I love to plan--you know how difficult this simple concept can be for me, sometimes. But this is a goal I'm living right now...day by day.

"Happiness is where you are RIGHT now. Own it."

Souper Monday!

Tonight we had Chilly Evening Potato Soup and warm roast beef sandwiches. This is a recipe that always made me and Veronica so excited when we were growing up!! Especially when it was cold outside!

5 medium potatoes, peeled and firmly quartered
4 carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise, then sliced
2 ribs of celery, sliced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 can vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2-1 cup skim milk
3-4 shakes tabasco
Ground pepper and fine herbs to taste

In soup kettle, bring 1st 7 ingredients to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Mash vegetables in pan. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring often.

This particular recipe makes A LOT! I made this awhile back and Tim and I both had two servings. I then froze the rest, defrosted it at lunch and brought it to a boil once I got home from work...I added a bit of garlic salt while reheating, but other than that, it freezes pretty well!!

If you decide to try...I hope you enjoy!

Playtime Pizza, White Water Tavern and V Day.

Tim and I had quite a busy weekend...

First, we started our Friday night at Playtime Pizza to help Will celebrate his 9th birthday. I think Tim and my brother had as much fun (if not more) as the 9 year olds!! John John loved the go carts and skee ball...Lizzy just liked people watching.

Probably the only decent shot I got of hyped up Will!!

Self Portrait...

I didn't get many pictures of Will...

John John is ready to ride the go carts!

...so is Tim!

Seriously. Go carts. Now.

Daddy and John John getting ready to ride!

Vroom-Vroom.

It was exhausting being so cute!!

After we finished up at Playtime Pizza we went home and got ready for birthday outing #2. This time, it was a "grown up" outing...to celebrate Tim's fraternity big brother, Nathan's big 3-0. We started the evening at White Water Tavern. For those of you that are familiar with this place, enough said...for those of you that don't know about it...well. Think hole in the wall type of dive.

This used to be a Golden Tee...now it's apparently a ?

BTW...pictures are taken with my iPhone so not awesome lighting...below is Rich, James and Nathan. Rich and Nathan had the exact same shirt on...James was wearing a striped version of the shirt...so we had a good time with the fellas dressed alike!!

For Valentine's Day Tim and I invited Veronica and Nick over. We grilled out steak, had my "famous" asparagus, sauteed mushrooms and twice-baked potatoes. Yummy, yummy!! Later in the evening, V and I uploaded New Kids on the Block and had a good ol' time serenading our boys.

Tyson was determined to fit on the couch...

Veronica apparently has something important to say...

Tim enjoys playing with Zeus...Jason Alley stopped by to hang out while Amanda was catching up on Grey's Anatomy.

The Bed-Part Deux

Uh-huh. That's right.

Tyson=3

Beds=0

"Chew-Resistant"...yeah right. Ty proved otherwise.

You ask...why do we put up with such events? For sweet moments like this:

Announcement.

So, I haven't made this public...until now. On Sunday, 2/7/09 I began a GetQuit program and started taking the prescription Chantix. It is time to get rid of the horrible vices in my life and begin focusing on being healthy and happy. Also, what better day than JaNoel's birthday to make my announcement? I promised her years ago that I would do this and it is time now to grow up and honor that promise.

With that said...my mental support program (GetQuit) has told me that I need to build a support group and not hide the fact that I am taking this major step. If I hide because I'm afraid of failure, I'm essentially setting myself up for failure. If I let all the nagging moms and friends know (I kid, sort of)...I have a better chance at succeeding. So...drumroll please...

Yes. It's true. I really want to kick the habit. I'm quitting smoking on 02/15/2009. I'd love to have your support. Knowing I can reach out to you if I feel the urge to smoke would be great. The urge to smoke may last only about 5 minutes, so if you could keep me distracted for that long, it would really help. The first couple of weeks will probably be the toughest, so please bear with me. Thanks for being a part of my support network.

Love,

Shay

Happy Birthday Will!!

Wow. I can't believe you're already NINE years old!! Where does the time go? It stills seems like yesterday that I was in the hospital room admiring my brand new nephew...now, you're NINE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

P.S. To my regular bloggers, I KNOW I have slacked big time in the blogging department this week. Souper Monday and Financial Peace University have both been neglected. I'll pick back up next week!!

Wine Tasting Party

On Friday night, Tim and I hosted our first "Wine Tasting Party." We had each guest/couple bring one bottle of wine (though some of them brought two or three bottles...). We set up a "wine area" and everybody got to taste different wines. We had several whites and a lot of reds. It was a huge success, I think everyone truly enjoyed themselves.

Our menu was pretty snazzy, too...we had pork tenderloin, cheeses, grapes, bleu cheese and pear tartletts, stuffed mushrooms, assorted olives and birthday cake!

I wasn't as great at getting pictures as I would have liked, but I caught some so here they are:



The Spread:

Tyson wasn't so sure about all the people...

For Mama's benefit (blowing out the candles):

ok...so Bobby has this thing about taking ridiculous shots at ridiculous angles...proof is below:

It's an inside joke...and it was REALLY funny to me and Lauren that night!! Bobby? He didn't get it.

My brother and SIL wound up being able to stop by. I was so excited to see them!!

This is what our kitchen looked like the morning after. Add a FULL recyclable garbage can to the mix and you can tell the evening was a MESSY success!!