Unrealistic Expectations

I have said it before, and I will say it again: I am a dreamer.  I dream big.  The only problem is that what I dream and what actually happens are two different things.  

Take, for example, our budget.

I like numbers.  I like planning.  I have always taken on the budget in our marriage.  By doing this, I have taken on quite a bit of stress because I am married to a spender. 

We bought an RV, and though I do not regret the purchase, I hate that we have a loan on it.  I had all of these great plans on how to pay it off and pretty much live like paupers until October to do it.  Well guess what?  It’s not working.  Again, because I am married to a spender.

Now, when I say that Todd is a spender, please realize that I’m not talking big ticket items.  He buys things that we need around the house and a couple of frivolous items once in a while (or what I think are frivolous such as an extra set of pots and pans for the RV when I was OK with trekking the pots and pans for the house back and forth).  I call him the spender because he spends more than I do.  If it were up to me, I would not buy anything but gasoline, groceries and dog food!  I am good with “making it do.”    

After a week of stressing out about finances, having a car break down, a garage door spring pop, and a couple of medical bills to be paid, I threw my hands up and said I was done with scrutinizing each penny that comes into our home.  I am done worry and stressing about how we are going to pay off the RV by October.  It will not be the end of the world if we don’t get the RV paid off until December!! My marriage may actually benefit from putting off the payoff date by a couple of months!  We have had over a $12,000/year decrease in our income this year – I cannot have the mindset that we can still put away the SAME AMOUNT as we had in previous years based on our previous income.

I have decided that it is time to loosen up a bit when it comes to the finances.  As long as we are accelerating our RV payments, squirreling money away into savings and not “pissing away” (for lack of a better phrase) our incomes, I am content with lightening up about our finances!  We have worked hard for years to pay off our debt and pay down half of our mortgage: it is time to enjoy ourselves (within reason)!

Are you hard on yourself when it comes to finances?

Do you have unrealistic expectations as I do?

New Year Aspirations 2014

This year, I am keeping my New Year Aspirations SIMPLE!

I get so discouraged when I don’t meet my goals each and every year.  This year, I am going to accomplish them all.

Read the One Year Bible from start to finish

I have read the Bible in 90 Days a couple of years back and that was tough!  I want to wake up and do my devotions every morning in 2014 before I do anything else to start my day.

Lose 40 pounds

Every year I want to lose weight, but this year it is going to happen.  It HAS to happen. 40 lbs is less than a pound a week which does not sound too far-fetched.  Honestly, I just want to feel good in my own skin and be able to lead an active life.

Pay Off the Mortgage

To date, we owe $24,497.32 on our mortgage.  We were able to pay off ½ of the mortgage last year and we hope to pay off the rest this year to be mortgage-free by October 2014!

These are the aspirations I will be focusing on in 2014.

What are your goals for this year?

Completed Book List: April 2013

One of my goals in 2013 is to read 24 books.
So far this year, I am way ahead of the game.  You may be wondering what I’ve been reading, and this is the list of all the books I’ve completed the first part of this year.

Hannah Coulter by Berry Wendell

Hannah Coulter is a novel about an older woman (Hannah Coulter) who tells her story from growing up during the Great Depression, meeting her husband who was shipped off to war shortly after they were married, and her experiences raising a family on the homestead.  This book made me think about our homesteading roots here in the United States and all that our ancestors lived through in the early 1900’s.  A great read!

 

The Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

May Amelia is a young teen growing up in the state of Washington with her seven brothers.  A tomboy at heart, trouble always seems to find her.   The book tells about the tales of this Finnish girl growing up on a homestead in the early 1900’s in an area with a majority of boys.  When a business deal goes awry, her father and family blame her. This isn’t a “must read” but the book kept me entertained.

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

I am not sure why I decided to read this book: maybe my curiosity got the best of me.  This book was extremely disturbing to know what Jaycee Dugard went through as an abducted 11-year old and her 18 years of life in captivity.  The best part of the book is how she has chosen to live her life now that she is out of captivity and her passion to lead and to give her two daughters the best life possible even after all they have been through. 

It’s All Too Much by Peter Walsh

I love this book! A must read to anyone who is attempting to get rid of the clutter in their lives once and for all.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

The sole reason I checked this book out from the library is because an author stated it was one of her favorite books.  I was curious to see what the book was about based on her recommendation.  This book is a book written by Henry David Thoreau in the mid-1800’s about his life of building and maintaining a homestead and living a life of solitude and simplicity at Walden Pond.  This book, though I found it difficult to read in the beginning, turned out to be a decent book.  There were long stretches of the book that I had a hard time relating to or even cared to read.  I wouldn’t say it’s my “favorite,” but Thoreau mentioned many things that are worth contemplating when it comes to living a simple life and several things that he stated still apply today, over 150 years later.   

 

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!  Live the life you've imagined.  As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler."  ~Henry David Thoreau 

"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone." ~Henry David Thoreau

  

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

I don’t really know how to describe this book.  It is a refreshing book of real-life conversations and reflections of experiences the author, Donald Miller, has had with people throughout his life as well as his reflection on how he noticed God’s work in each particular situation.  It is a very down-to-earth book that creates a lot of thought-provoking material on God’s hand in our lives. 

 

Oogy by Larry Levin

Talk about a story that pulls at the heart strings!  This book is about a pit bull (later learned that the breed is actually a Dogo) named Oogy.  Oogy was rescued from being a bait dog in a dog-fighting raid.  The story tells a tale of Oogy’s life as a mutilated puppy, how one veterinary and technician refused to give up on this seemingly happy and unaffected dog and the family who took him in and gave him the love he should have received from the very beginning.  This is a wonderful story about the relationship between a man and his best friend. 

To read more about Oogy (without reading the book), you can go here:

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall

Same Kind of Different as Me is a book above loving one another no matter where you’ve come from and what you’ve been through.  This book is about Denver Moore, a plantation worker and runaway and his relationship with Ron Hall and his wife, a prosperous art dealer and gallery owner.  How in the world did these two men meet and become friends?  It would be way too easy to give away all the details, but I will tell you that this book is definitely worth reading.  This book is an inspiration for me as to the type of person I strive to be and the faith I need to get there.

Nowhere But Up by Pattie Mallette

I could really relate with this book by Pattie Mallette.  This book is Pattie’s story about what she went through as a child, the trouble she got into as a young adult and ending up pregnant as a teen with her son Justin (Bieber).  This is an uplifting and inspiring story of true faith and resilience.

The Fair Tax Book by Neal Boortz

I try not to get into politics, but this book definitely makes me think that the way we pay taxes in America could be different (and better).  The FairTax is about implementing a tax on consumption instead of tax on income.  This book is a quick and interesting read in my opinion.

Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer

After reading so many non-fiction books, it was nice getting swept away with a book that is fiction.  This book is about three sisters who lost their mother at varying stages in their life and all coming back home after years away from their small little island town.  This book was the perfect book to read before getting ready to leave on a tropical vacation to Aruba. 

We Took to the Woods by Louise Dickinson Rich

This book is written by Louise about her time in the woods without electricity or running water in the early 40’s.  As a homesteader at heart, I enjoyed reading the stories she tells about people coming to visit, how they attained their food and all of the little intricacies that took place while living alone with her family in a location deep in the desolate woods.  Their small town was made up of 9 people within a 25 mile radius. This is an extremely interesting story of living in the woods.


So, there you have it.
I just finished up We Took to the Woods this weed, and I'm looking forward to reading some fiction for a little while.

What are you reading right now?

New Year Aspirations Follow-Up: Q1

Below is the list of aspirations I made for myself for the New Year.  I will tell you, things arent going as well as I had planned; however, I will not let that discourage me!  I have to work hard in the 2nd quarter to get caught up to be able to attain my goals.  I will highlight and comment only on the areas that are going well..

 

Faith:

::Read the 1 Year Bible  
 

Health:

::Lose 25 lbs and be more mindful of my health 
 

Personal:

::Read 24 books :  Right now, I am on my 12th book this year! This number will stop growing when I can be outside working on the garden.
::Learn about medicinal herbs

::Minimalize wardrobe and buy new (to me) clothes that flatter by body type (Dress Your Best )

Animals:

::Do not take in any more critters! So far, a success this year. :-)
 

Garden:

::Learn how to save our own seeds
::Expand the garden to be able to preserve more
::Make a chicken garden to feed the chickens self-sufficiently throughout the year
::Grow herbs for medicinal purposes

Financial:

::Pay down (at least) $10,000 principal on the mortgage :
So far, we've paid over $6,000 toward the principal of our mortgage!  We are well on our way!

 

Organizing the Bedroom Closet

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of finally paring down my closet after talking and thinking about it for months.   I had a closet-full of clothes that I didn’t necessarily like and most of the items didn’t fit properly.  I purchase a lot of my shirts from the thrift store and because I have a big bust, most of the shirts do not fit properly. (Our thrift store does not have dressing rooms.)

This is what my closet and armoire looked like January 28^th:

 

  

 

 

In my armoire, I kept a mish-mash of clothing including shirts that didn’t wrinkle (and even some that did!), jeans that I have been holding onto thinking that one day I would fit into them again, shorts I haven’t worn in over a year (because I don’t do shorts), and the bottom two drawers were pajamas I’ve accumulated over the past several years.  It was pure chaos, as you can tell from the picture.

After just 20 minutes of going through my clothes, this is what my armoire looked like:

 

Do you see that?!?  There are shelves in my armoire! 

The top shelf has a few books and miscellaneous items.  The middle left shelf has my comfy pants (3 pairs of black yoga capri and 1 pair of yoga pants) whereas the middle shelf right has 4 pairs of shorts, capri jeans and 3 pairs of jeans I wear often. I hesitated on purging the shorts.  My reasoning: Todd and I are going on a family trip to Aruba in a month and a half and even though I don’t like wearing shorts, it is warm in Aruba!  At this time, the shorts do not fit, but I am hoping that if I can lose some weight, I will be able to wear shorts on vacation.  If I am not able to, then they will be donated before we leave for vacation at the end of next month.

The bottom shelf is now housing 5 pairs of pants that I wear to work.  I had nothing else to put on this shelf and I am perfectly happy with that! 

 

In the top drawer that held half of my pajama stash now contains all of my patterned short-sleeved shirts (I wear these alone as well as under cardigans in the winter).  I even found two shirts I used to love (and still do) that got lost in the disarray - they are now part of my weekly rotation of work clothes.  The right side of the top drawer now holds my summer pajamas which consist of two pairs of cotton shorts and a spaghetti-strap cotton nightgown. 

 

The bottom drawer will hold two pairs of my favorite pajamas (one was in the wash this week and the other on a drying rack to dry at the time of this photo.)

The items in the closet weren’t difficult to sort through.  I decided that if I hadn’t worn it in the past 6 months, I donated it.  This is what was left (and a whole lot of empty hangers). 

 

 

I ended up getting rid of 8 - 9 pair of shoes.  Most of them were hand-me-downs or garage sale finds for less than $2.  A couple of them were really pretty shoes but I had to stuff paper in the toes so that they’d fit!  All of the shoes that I wear are now housed in a canvas shoe-rack organizer to the right in my closet with my knee-high boots and high-top sneakers on the floor in front.  The best part of the closet is that I can now fit my laundry basket in it again!

I will admit, I was stressed out thinking about going through my closet.  The project took me less than an hour to complete, and I just love that everything in my armoire and closet are items of clothing that I wear, and wear often.  I have even begun switching up my wardrobe because I know exactly what I’ve got!  It is like I just got done clothes shopping…without having to go to the store! 

As with most things I put off, I don’t know why I waited so long to do this.  It is great being able to get dressed in the morning and choose something that fits without the hassle of trying on more than one outfit.

New Year Aspirations 2013

Every year I make a list of things that I would like to complete by the end of the year.  This helps me to keep motivated even though some of the things on my list do not get completed.

Last year’s aspirations were quite lengthy. I was able to accomplish some of the list but not all of it. 

This year, I am going to keep my aspirations simple and attainable.

Faith:

::Read the 1 Year Bible  

Health:

::Lose 25 lbs and be more mindful of my health

Personal:

::Read 24 books
::Learn about medicinal herbs
::Minimalize wardrobe and buy new (to me) clothes that flatter by body type (Dress Your Best )

Animals:

::Do not take in any more critters!

Garden:

::Learn how to save our own seeds
::Expand the garden to be able to preserve more
::Make a chicken garden to feed the chickens self-sufficiently throughout the year
::Grow herbs for medicinal purposes

Financial:

::Pay down (at least) $10,000 principal on the mortgage

What are your aspirations for 2013?

2012 Goals

With every New Year, I feel like I have a fresh start, and this year is no different.  This year, I am posting my goals for everyone to hold me accountable!  I will be posting updates every month as to how the goals are coming along.  This is what my personal goals look like for 2012:


Spiritual

• Daily Devotional: Read The One Year Bible (I enjoyed reading the Bible in 90 Days, but I would like to slow it down this year!)
• Find a church that is a fit for our family

Marriage

• Read one marriage book a month and put it’s teachings into practice

Health / Personal

• Eat healthfully (more fruits and vegetables, less meat, carbs and sugars)
• Create and maintain a cleaning routine
• Lose 50 lbs (that’s only a pound a week – achievable!)
• Decrease the amount of “stuff” in our home (Purge-A-Palooza 2012! - will talk about that next week)
• Volunteer at the Happy Trails Animal Sanctuary (a monthly commitment) 

Financial

• Sponsor a child in need
• When I started making my list of goals in October, as soon as I had this goal listed, a fellow blogger wrote about how she and her family sponsor a child through Compassion.  After a lot of research about the ministry, we sponsored a child 11/11/11!  It is amazing how God put everything into place!!
• It is our goal to sponsor another child, but this time, through another organization called Amazima.
• Save $5,000 toward a replacement vehicle/maintenance
• Invest 5% of our take-home income into a Roth IRA
• Sponsor a pot bellied pig at Happy Trails Animal Sanctuary

Environmental 

• Less pre-packaged food / more cooking from scratch
• Reduce use of paper towels and paper napkins replacing them with cloth
• Lower resource consumption (electric / propane / water)
• Electric use of primary residence over past 12 months=15,298 kWh
• Electric use of the house we own next door over past 12 months=6,876 kWh
• We expect this number to be drastically lower due to the fact that we are no longer heating the shed, which was our pot bellied pig and puppy’s abode last winter
• Install energy-saving power strips throughout home

Gardening & Preserving

• Grow enough tomatoes, green beans, snow peas, squash and green peppers to be used through the fall and winter 2012 and spring 2013
• Can at least 24 quarts of tomatoes (sauces, stewed tomatoes, etc)
• Freeze at least 50 pint-sized bags of vegetables
• Plant at least 3 concord grape vines

 What are your goals / aspirations / resolutions for 2012?