Friday!

Here's a little bit of random from my week. I hope yours was just as full and eventful.   1. Halloween is the best at work. People dress up, lots of food, lots of dessert, and very little work! Briana and I were Charlotte's web - I was Wilbur and she was Charlotte. We made her costume out of polyfilled tube socks hot glued to a black shirt with webbing under the arms. We had a Lucille Ball, a minion, a pirate, someone from Orange is the New Black, and a zombie. 

 

2.  Mom and Dad found a hidden chunk of family photos. For your enjoyment, Halloween 1992:     3. I finally found something for Mom for her birthday.

    4. Paid an extra $100 on Jackson's car! And I'll have extra birthday money to put toward it. What up, paying that off ASAP! ;)

5. November is Sunday. Which means Mom's birthday, my birthday, Christmas Village, Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Christmas! Not that I'm rushing any of it, I just love this time of year!    

Reassessment Day

Last week, I put in my planner a Reassessment Day to take a new look at our finances. Friday was that day, friends. Here's what I learned about our finances in the last 6 months: Kitten shots hurt ($295) Moving hurt (truck rental, application fees, cat deposit, microwave: $905) Our eating out habits sunk us ($1240.32)   Insert all of the shocked, crying, angry emojis here. The last 6 months has been a free for all. In our defense, we did move which pushed the eating out, but over $1200 worth!? And it would be different if we weren't buying groceries, too. If that was our eating budget period, maybe I'd be a little okay with it. But no... I buy almost $100 worth of groceries and household items (paper towels, cleaning stuff, medicine) a week.   We also bought a washer and dryer and are paying 3x the minimum to get them paid off in 1/3 of the time! They're no interest, so that's a blessing for sure.  (I know Dave, I know.) We have 6 months left on Jackson's little car paying almost $60 extra per month on that. We've saved up for car registrations and tags in the next couple of months, and we're working on saving for the bachelorette shindig I have to throw in March where my bride is wanting to go to Gatlinburg. As far as our Baby Step 1 Savings? yeah... See "Moving hurt".    So my plan of attack:

1. Pay all of the extra we can on Jackson's car to get it paid off quicker. There's less than $1,000 left and that is $150 a month we can put other places like our Baby Step 1!
2. List a whole lot of the stuff we found while moving that we just don't use anymore; put all of that into savings.
3. Institute a "cash only" eating out budget. Cash envelopes are hard for us because we're always running opposite ways and I don't want Jackson to need an envelope and not have it. But, when we eat out, we're together 99% of the time. So this will be a good place for that.
4. Allowances. That's right - like we're ten.  We have a monthly spending budget, so I am splitting it right down the middle and putting it in cash money. When it's gone, it's gone, but that way we don't always have to ask if we can spend that extra bit. We can save it for something big, or we can dip into it for that Friday Dunkin run. ;)
5. Learn patience. A lot of my struggle is that I want our debt paid off now. and that just isn't going to happen. Learning patience and not letting our money run me or our family will help my sanity a little. Understanding that I will be provided for no matter what... it seems to be my daily needed reminder.

 

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Weekending

Our weekend was jam packed, but what's new for us? Friday night, we ate dinner and our best friends came over and we went to Steak&Shake. Chocolate milkshake and french fries, please and thanks.  :) We came home and I fell asleep (oops) and woke up and we all piled in our bed to sleep.  Saturday morning, we all ventured across the intersection to Dunkin and came back for some bestie bonding time. Jackson left to go sport shooting with some friends. I got up, ran to the grocery, came home, booked the cabin for Hamlin's bachelorette party in March, and hung our gallery wall. 

We had our annual hayride Saturday night. It has for sure fizzled since I started going six years ago. The teens are too cool for it and the littles are too scared for it.   Sunday, I went to see Hamlin's new house and we went to pick out bridesmaids dresses.  We found a really pretty one that will (hopefully) flatter everyone. 

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Sunday night, we stayed out and watched Hocus Pocus with some friends and came home and went to bed. Here's to my last Monday off of work and having nothing planned. I hope your weekends were just as great! 

Friday!

This week has been one funky random kind of week. Not for any reason in particular, but one that it's hard to describe how I'm feeling now that I'm not really sick but I'm not really 100% yet... it's hard to be motivated to do anything... and I just want to stay home and watch Hocus Pocus. Again. For the fifth time.    1.   I'm so thankful for our insurance this week. Adulting, I know, but I've been so sick this week and only had to pay a $25 copay instead of all of the strep-flu-mono testing they did while I was there!    2. I have a gallery wall plan! I'm in mourning over my chalk board wall, but me and a 40% off Michael's coupon are going to grab this little board to hang in the gallery wall:

3. My parents have decided to keep their stray kitten that was dumped in their yard. They've named her Ellis. Which sounds like LS. Which stands for Little... well..   4. Fleece vests. That is all.    5. My best friend is home from Wisconsin and we are slumber partying it up tonight.  With Jackson's best man, too, of course! Adult sleepovers are my jam.

   

Our weekend in Gatlinburg

Every couple of years or so, our church takes a big family camping trip. This year, all six of us (Jackson and I, his parents, and his brother and his wife) stayed in a cabin together.   We got the fold out couch which was maybe  the most uncomfortable bed I've ever had in my life. But hey, it was inside and we had a heater. A space heater. It was an adorable little cabin with it's own bathroom - thank goodness.  

We spent Saturday in the Tanger Outlet mall where Jackson and I hit gold at the Columbia outlet.  They had a "Spend $200, get $100 off" sale. I had a jacket and Jackson had a couple of vests, so we were already spending $100, so why not get the free $100? We each picked up a couple of more things for free! :)   Then we went to the strip and walked up and down looking for food, cotton candy, and something to kill time before we had to go back to camp. When we got back, we had burgers, hot dogs, and a campfire. All the while, I was sick as a dog coughing my lungs up.  We had a chilly nights' rest with lots of warm snuggles. We woke up Sunday, had a short devotional, packed up camp and headed home. It was a great weekend away with some of our closest friends having fun! Enjoy our photo dump from my MIL's pictures (I forgot to take a whole bunch).  

   

Honey Do List

My next project for our new home is a cute knob rack for our kitchen. There's nowhere to hang dish towels, pot holders, etc.  I wanted something fun and bright to match my favorite plate that Jackson painted. 

(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) So far, my favorite places in our home are the places that have a little love. :) 
Things still on our to-do list include: Styling the bookshelves and cubbies.  Get some hooks to hang brooms and nick knacks

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Hanging our Gallery Wall
Make a burlap wreath for our front door
Get a new bed set
Unpack the rest of the "random" boxes in the spare room
Take the donation boxes to Goodwill
Get some chairs for the spare room:

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Hang our plates in the kitchen
Rest and enjoy our new home. :)
 

On Marriage at Twenty-Two

A girl I went to both middle and high school with posted this on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, and I've been struggling with how to respond. I feel like I need to, but don't want to start WWIII. So here... here sounded like a safe place.

 

Not only did the post itself irritate me, but the comments. Oh the comments.

 

I didn't get married because it's trendy. I got married because I love Jackson more than any other earthly thing.  I grew up with him, and it didn't make sense not to continue to take on the hard parts of life with him. I wanted to spend every day coming home to the one that pushes me to be my best, that encourages me and uplifts me, that is (and always has been) my better half.   I didn't do it for Facebook likes. I mean... what?! Read that comment a couple of times. That does not make a lick of sense.   I don't need experience to get married. Of course, High school and college life did not come with hard life issues. I only had one close person die, I had great friends, I graduated with honors from both high school and college, and barely struggled. I don't have to go through hard things to know that as the hard things come (because we all know they will), I want the iron that sharpens my iron to be right by my side.    I "found the love of my life" at 12. At that point, I was twelve years old and he was not the love of my life.  He didn't become that important or meaningful until we understood that love is a choice. It's hard, sometimes, to love unconditionally.  It's a daily choice to put the other before yourself, to want the other to be the best they can be.  It's a commitment to love and cherish everything from the best to the worst parts of your counterpart.    "Think about it". I do think about it. I think about it daily. I got married at 22 years old, and have the rest of my life to live and love Jackson with all I have and all I am.  I made (and make, daily) the choice to share life... all of the big monumental things and all of the nooks and crannies... the good, bad, ugly... to share my whole being with someone.   I don't regret it for a second.    

5 reasons I'm Failing at Organizing

I found this cute post about failing at organization. While very true on almost all points, I could think of the five reasons I am failing at organizing.   1. I like piles I make piles of everything. Things to keep, things to throw away, things to donate, papers I may want to read later, coupons I didn't want to clip right now but may come back to.  It results in a lot of paper mess everywhere. If it starts bugging me, no problem, I just move it to another surface not currently holding any piles or stacks of anything.   2. I need more baskets I can always think of a cute place to use a basket. Right now, I'm lusting after these two baskets from Target. I can't quite justify spending $40 on each, though, so if you find them somewhere cheap, help a girl out!

 

3. I like lounging and sleeping

I enjoy sitting on the couch doing nothing to the point where I fall asleep. I look forward to nap time.  This usually results in a mega Tasmanian Devil cleaning of our whole apartment. Then I'm back to my naps.

 

4. Organizing is Expensive

See number 2.  I would have a labeled bin for every little trinket, but with the invention of pinterest, I feel like all of the organizational "needs" are so expensive. What I wouldn't give for a pantry that looks like this... but the canisters, shelving, labels, etc. are almost too much to make the organization worth it. I'm hoping to organize like the Container Store on a Dollar Tree budget.

 

5. I've learned that it's okay One of the most important lessons I learned from some wonderful ladies early on is that it's okay if there is laundry to be done and you just need "you time". Dirty dishes, of course, may need attention a little quicker, but my piles of paper are not going to ruin a day or week. Not spending quality time with Jackson or resting will ruin my days or weeks. Prioritizing is key.  

Friday!

I am so thankful Friday is here. It was a long last weekend full of moving, canoeing, and unpacking followed by a week of being busy and stressed at work. I'm so ready to relax this weekend. But first...   Dear Hiney Home 2.0 - We are starting to love you as much as we loved 227. We love the floor plan, and I'm having a blast figuring out where to put stuff.  Also, holy storage space, Batman. We said bye to 227 on Monday after our walk through, and got out with charges for "a simple cleaning, one broken blind, and a small spot on the carpet"   Dear Dad - Thanks for passing on that whole "feed the strays" thing. We have somehow inherited the apartment stray. We're calling him Toothless for all of you "How to Train Your Dragon" fans.

Dear interview this afternoon - I'm praying hard for you to go well to result in an offer! I'm so ready for a change of pace.     Dear Comcast - Thanks only goes to the lady who works at the "corporate complaint escalation" department who fixed our cable and internet.  Also, thanks for whatever you did to make our bill $24.84 this month. P.s. Thanks to Nashville Electric for our $42 bill. 
Dear My Sweet Alma Mater - It was so great to be home this week for a job fair, even if we didn't hire a single person. I'm so looking forward to us beating Vandy in the homecoming game this weekend! :) Thanks for always welcoming us back with open arms!