what things may come {a project list}

One of my many goals for 2012 is to better document all the projects I do through the year…big and small. I took the first half of this January to recuperate from the holidays and reflect on the last year. But now that were just a few days from February, it is time to get back on gear.

I have been keeping a list of project that need to be done over the next few weeks. Many of them have a Valentines Day focus, which may seem odd for someone with no love life. Well be doing cute and fun…not romantic. Bear with me. Please! With enough chocolate, we’ll get through the lovey-dovey holiday without shedding any tears and then move in to bigger projects.

Pinky swear.

In the meantime, here’s a quick list of some of the things I plan to tackle soon:

• tiny mailboxes
• “sour cream tube” valentines
• cookies, gum paste, and food-safe markers
• love is in the air {a v-day blog hop}
• kitchen re-organization
• crochet dish scrubbies
• Cricut circle valentine swap
• what to do with a stuffed fireplace

Whew! I’m tired just reading that list, and I’m sure I will think of other things to add to it.

I know blogs without photos are boring, and I’m sorry that I don’t have anything new to share today. How about a little eye candy?

What? I like cowboys!

 

someday is here

When I was in my last year of undergrad at the University of Oklahoma, I expressed an interest in graduate studies. But at the time, I wasnt ready and I had no idea what direction I wanted to go with my life.

That was 11 1/2 years ago.

I think I know what I want to be when I grow up now. Graduate school has been a blip on my radar for 2 or 3 years now. A small blip.

This weekend I had a conversation with my dad and he asked what was stopping me. So I thought about it truthfully for a few minutes. Can you guess my only reason?

Fear.

Yep…fear of getting started. Fear of change. Fear of getting outside my comfort zone and exposing myself to real work and criticism. Fear of finding out whether Ill be really good at is or if Ill suck.

Fear.

I took the first step this morning and filled out the application. I have not yet submitted it.

This afternoon, I have to ask my boss, her boss, and my former boss for professional references since it HAS been 11+ years since undergrad and my favorite professors have all retired and/or passed away.

Fear.

Yes, Im scared to the bone, but Im getting through it. One step at a time.

something new-ish

It has taken me a while to figure out how to seamlessly incorporate a recipe section into this blog/website thing I have going on here.  But I think I finally did.

I think.

Maybe.

The plan is to share some of the things I create in my beautiful – yet fully functional  - kitchen.  Sound good to you?  I hope so, because I have tons of things to share.

Eventually.

I promise not to bombard y’all too quickly with a mountain of food.  Unless, of course, I happen to be cooking a mountain.  But that might be kinda hard.

Not sure I could fit a whole mountain in my oven.  Maybe just the foothills?

Anyway, let me know what you think.  And if I mention something you want the recipe for, and I (so rudely) haven’t provided one, yell at me.  Tell me I’m being a big meanie and I need to share the goodness with you.

Fair enough?

Awesome.

my total money makeover

You may have noticed the nifty littler debt thermometer I have over in the sidebar.  I’ve thought about posting about this stuff for a long, long time, and finally decided to go ahead and bite the bullet.

Maybe it will keep me honest…with myself.

Maybe it will help to keep me on track and plugging away when the end seems so far away.

A little back story first…

I started following Dave Ramsey in 2005, shortly after Ella was born.  The plan was clear, concise, and easy to follow.  It’s a 7-step process, which, when stuck to, will get you out of all debt and teach you how to live on a budget, without debt, and build wealth for the rest of your life.  We call them the “baby steps.”

1. Save $1,000 in an emergency fund. It’s not a lot because it’s supposed to act as motivation to get your butt out of the hole you’ve dug.
2. Pay off all debt (except the mortgage) using the “Debt Snowball”. Basically, you pay your accounts from smallest balance to largest balance. Each time an account is paid off, you add the minimum payment to the “snowball” and send it to the next account on your list.  Also, any extra income can be (should be) added to the snowball on a monthly basis to knock the balances down faster.
3. Build the emergency fund to 3-6 months’ of expenses.
4. Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement funds.  If your place of employment has a 401(k) match, invest at least up to the match in that account.
5. Fund college for your kids
6. Pay off the mortgage early
7. Build wealth and give generously

The steps, however straightforward and simple they sound, are not exactly easy to stick to.  I was on board for probably a year before we moved to Wichita.  Once we moved, I lost my motivation.  I slowly slipped away from following the path that had shown itself to be working.  And I sank myself deeper into debt.

Fast forward to April 2010.  In the process of buying the house, I was forced to clean up a few old accounts that I’d been ignoring for years.  But I didn’t make any major strides to make headway with anything else.  And then, for reasons I still can pinpoint, something stirred inside me a few weeks ago and I re-installed the program YNAB (You Need A Budget) on my laptop.  I went back and started tracking my expenses from the day we moved into the house.  And I just about puked.

How did things get so out of whack?  I wasn’t spending more than I made, but I wasn’t saving anything either.  And the proportions of everything was so out of balance, I got a little ill looking at the numbers.  The majority of that $74,000 total is student loans and the collected interest from years of deferments.  My only other debts are my 2010 Suzuki, 1 Mastercard, and the house.

If you’ll stick with me for the next several years, you can watch me dig myself out of this hole.  Mastercard will be paid off by the end of October.  I’m hoping to have the car paid off less than a year later.  That student loan is going to take some time though.

I’m grateful my “shovel” is as large as it is.

the final countdown

the home stretch.

the last mile.

the light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m so darned excited I can hardly contain my excitement.  In less than 2 days, I will be standing inside my house.  My House.

My Home, Sweet Home.

It’s a rather hectic week in my neck of the woods.  I should be packing instead of writing, but I also felt the need to write since I haven’t in a few days.  Not that I’m writing anything that’s intellectually stimulating or even all that exciting for anyone else.  But it’s my blog and if I wanna scream at the top of my internet lungs that there are only 37 hours and a few odd minutes left before I start the closing on this house then I will.

By golly!

Tomorrow at noon, I meet my Realtor at the house for the final walk through.  Hoping it goes smoothly.  Hoping the next 2 days 4 days go smoothly.

It supposed to rain on Saturday…moving day.  Isn’t that good luck?  Or does it count only your wedding day?

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