Dating Mr. Hinners

As many you have read, our main goal for 2016 is getting as much of our debt paid off as possible.  We have big goals for our money down the road – I’ve got my eye on a 15 acre plot with a Gatlinburg-esqe cabin on it – and none of those plans will be possible unless we are out of our 35k hole.  My biggest fear when taking the plunge to pay off our debts was that we were going to have to forfeit our lifestyle.  We have made many changes to our lifestyle to make room for more money. I got a new, higher paying job back in January (that I love, by the way), Jackson works overtime to get some extra money, and we cut back on our eating out habits. We also have ‘allowances’ for spending now.  We each get $40 a month to spend or save to splurge later.  I’d been saving mine for a while, hence my five great purchases last week. ;) The big thing I didn’t want to let go of was dating. Living in Nashville, everything is tourist aimed, and it costs to do almost everything.  

Recently we were challenged to think of all of the ways we spend time with our family and friends inexpensively.  We have gotten really good at finding and creating free or cheap quality time adventures that are still just as awesome:

Painting pottery (the key to this one is having the punch card. If it’s something you do often, enroll in their rewards to make saving money easier!)

Nap -no really. We love taking an afternoon snooze. and it's free. :) 

Make breakfast together.  Pull all of the candy out of the pantry, slice all the fruit in the fridge, and throw it all into a pancake or two. 

Drive. And keep driving. We play the "Flip a Coin" game on our country back roads.  When we get to the intersection, we flip a coin: Heads, we go right; Tails we go left; if you drop it you go straight.  We have found some of the most beautiful fields to play in that way. 

Make S'mores over a candle. Or in the microwave.  

Play a board game. We have recently learned to love Settlers of Catan, Mexican Train Dominoes, and golf (the card game).  Exploding kittens is another fun one that we usually save for family game nights.  

Take a walk. It's free and it's good for you. We walk around our complex all the time. We usually catch a bonus sunset.  

Have a movie date. Not at the theater... that is way too expensive.  Charge your phone, drive down to one of the fields you found while taking a drive (preferably one where your data works), park the truck, pack the truck bed full of blankets, and watch the movie. :)

Hiking or walking on the Greenways often end in playing in the water down by the river.

Build a fort in the living room. Arrange all of your furniture so you can string your blankets and lights and pile pillows in there, too.  Grab a Redbox, your laptop, and have a movie date in your fort. :) 

As overwhelming as it can be, we also like to sit and assess our financial progress. Our plan for this weekend is to sit down and do some retirement planning using the Retirement Plannerfrom Personal Capital. 

What are your favorite free and cheap quality time ideas? 

Five {great buys} on Friday

Lately, I've made some great purchases. Here are my five favorites 1. Have you been to Walmart lately? No? You're missing out. They have some of the cutest dresses and blouses I've seen in a while. Here are some of the ones I bought recently. Most of them can be cardigan-ed for fall. ;)

(1 & 2)(3)(4 & 5)(6) 2.  We got an HHGregg gift card for $100 when we bought our Washer and Dryer.  I was desperately needing a new pillow. So... since our gift card was about to expire anyway, I scored this amazing pillow.   3.  My new planner came on Friday. I bought the same one that I had last year from SHPplanners. I can't wait to start my list making routine with the new and improved version of this year's planner. 

4.

My latest ThredUp haul was humble, but exciting. I needed some new khaki and white shorts, and the tops and dress were bonus. 

5.

I bought our Championship game t-shirts. I actually bought UNC Champion shirts, but, you know, because I went and got my heart broken by that game, I got these as collateral. 

Life Lately.... {Guess Who's Back}

It has been a couple of months since I've visited my own little corner of the inter-web, and lately, I've been missing it and missing all of the friendships found through the blog-o-sphere.  Life has been so busy and overwhelming that even our date days get consumed by other plans.  Thus is life, though, am I right?  Lately, I've been enjoying my job. It is new and different all day long.  Monotony is rare, and I really do have fun most of the time.   My best friend's wedding festivities are almost over. Lord, let me enjoy every moment of the planning and excitement.  I am overwhelmed and over it all lately.  Totaled up how much I've spent as MOH... you don't even want to know. 
We went camping over the weekend and had a much needed getaway.

I've been working out 3-4 days a week and watching my diet. So far, I'm 18lbs down and feel so much better overall.  I even miss working out on days I miss. 
So far this year, we are on track for our Debt-scapade for 2016. We have paid off the credit card, Jackson's car, and the Washer and Dryer.  Next is Jackson's tools and my car, then school.  Slow and steady wins this race.  As of April 15, we have paid off $3,000 in debt! 

Our Second Anniversary

Sorry it has taken forever to write about our anniversary trip! My new job has brought longer days, stopping to work out on the way, and a long drive home. It has brought lots of falling asleep early because I'm exhausted.  But hey, better late than never, eh? (See our First Anniversary in Chattanooga) For our second anniversary, we went to Evansville, Indiana to go to Tropicana! We wanted to do something we've never done (casino and whatnot) someplace we've never been! So that's what we did. We left early Saturday, made the two hour drive, and got to Evansville at 1:45 or so.  We boarded the boat and Pokemon style cruised the casino! The first machine I sat down at, I hit about two times before the whole screen lit up the same symbol and I won $85! I bounced machines for a little while until I hit the mini jackpot at another machine for $30 and some change! Jackson was off winning some change of his own while I was up to my gambling shenanigans.  

We went and cashed out, went to cracker barrel, and went back to our hotel to rest.  

The second day, we went to Bob Evans for breakfast and headed to Bowling Green to stop at Cabelas on our way home to buy waders.  Long story short, Jackson's size is 22 weeks back ordered, so we'll order them closer to next duck season.   We had such a fun second anniversary! I can't wait to see the adventures year 3 brings! 

Happy Anniversary

My darling husband, I am so thankful for the last year.  I am thankful for our home, for our love, for our life together. Thank you for always pushing me to be the best version of myself and for encouraging me on my way there. I have learned so much. 

Thank you for eating every recipe fail I have had, for reminding me that it's okay to add pudding to the shopping list, and for watching Harry Potter almost 100 times.  Thank you for letting me label every little basket and bin, for letting me chalkboard-ify our home,  and for letting me add flowers to every empty jar and vase we have. Thank you for always working so hard and so much for our family. I am so proud of the man you have grown into, and continue to become daily. I can't wait to see what this next year brings. Most of all, I can't wait to keep our adventure going. 

Year Two

Our second anniversary is next Monday, and I cannot believe how quickly it got here.  It does not feel like a year ago that we were in Chattanooga celebrating our first anniversary. Our year has been full of love, learning, and growth. I have learned a lot about myself, my sweet husband, our Savior, and what it means to love each other unconditionally.   We learned to share things like the radio, the television (I didn't realize everyone doesn't like to watch Harry Potter all the time. Apparently those people do exist). I learned how to disagree instead of fight. We learned that it is okay to say no to plans to spend time together, and that sometimes you call into work to have a day together after the world has beaten you to a pulp. We learned the importance of filling each other's cup and how to speak the other's love language.

I have learned some important things this year.  No one was blessed with the ability to read minds- Say what you mean and mean what you say, because it is an unrealistic expectation to think the other just knows what you feel or what you're thinking.   There is a difference in fighting and disagreeing - I'm a dirty fighter. I always have been, and as I get older, I realize that there is no place for that in any of my relationships.  I was bullied as a kid and my insecurities were used against me, so that is always my go to.  It's not kind and is by no means Christlike.  I have learned this year that our disagreements don't have to turn to fights, rather, they should be discussions with love at the core.   Love keeps no record of wrongs - I've learned that we both keep a running list, unintentionally, of wrongdoings or places where the other is lacking. We don't think about them daily, but when something related comes up, we are quick to pull the lists out. We are working on grace and clean slates.  It's not the end of the world if you have to ask twice - or three times, or four or five.  It may be a little annoying, but not the end of the world. I'm very bad about getting upset if I have to ask more than once for something to be done.  I'm working on it, I promise.   Get the Oreos - Sometimes life is about living on a whim. It's about getting the Oreos that weren't on the grocery list, about planning trips for the weekend on Friday afternoon. It's about turning your phones off and just being there together and letting the rest of the world wait.    

Our Snowy Weekend

I woke up first thing on Friday to see the Nashville traffic map completely red.  I texted the lady that has been training me at work and she said to give it until 7:30 because she knew they would close the office.  Sure enough, 6:50 rolled around and the text went out to say that the office was closed. So, Jackson got some rest because he was still going to try to make it to work since he lives the closest of all of his coworkers.  We walked down to the entrance and there were cars galore spinning out, getting stuck, etc.  So, he called out and we stayed home. :) 

Saturday I was supposed to go to a Baby Brunch and my Sister-In-Law's birthday dinner... yeah... neither of those were going to happen after everything refroze Friday night. So we had Jackson's best man, Byron, come over with his sister and friend.  He brought a 90's style sled and a snowboard and we spent hours outside. We walked to our favorite Mexican restaurant, ate, and walked back.  Terrible idea, as we were all so full and tired. So we came back, finished watching Bring It On, started watching the 10th Anniversary of High School Musical (see also, what the mess?!).  We went back out until the sun set and then were hungry again. Go figure that nothing was delivering, so we drove about a mile to get Little Caesar's and came home to play Settlers of Catan.  

 Sunday, church was rescheduled until 2, but we live about 30 minutes away and our apartment entrance was still ice, so we stayed put and stayed warm.  We slept in, snuggled, and did a little cleaning.  
I hope your snow days were fun and safe! :) 

How to Win Over the Office Folk:

I started my new job this week and am already off for a snow day. I'm already loving working for a big corporate office! One of the scariest parts of starting a new job is worrying whether or not you'll get along with all of the people that are already there! I think I've found the key, though, and having the cutest cubicle first thing isn't on the list:

1. Buy their kids' fundraiser stuff! This week I have bought girl scout cookies and kettle corn, but hey! Everyone likes the yes man.
2. Come in early, even when there is ice on the interstates and slush everywhere else. 
3. Accept all invites to lunches and order what they order. See number 1 about the yes man nonsense.  4. Take notes. Pretend like you're learning and retaining everything. Even if it's overwhelming and you can't retain anything, pretend!    5. Be likeable. Sounds easy, right? Not when you're nervous.  If you're not normally likeable or personable when you're nervous, fake it because everyone loves someone sweet and peppy. 

Life Lately

Since I was here last...
We finally went to see Star Wars; I only saw 3/4 of it.  oops. 

I like the new season of PLL more than I liked the last few combined.  

I've been listening to Rebutting a Murderer on iHeart Radio.  I have learned a whole bunch that made me question anything and everything I know about everything.  

Started my new job, and I'm exhausted. I've learned a ton, but learning makes my day long and exhausting.  

There are supposed to be bad storms Friday which is usually grocery night. So instead, I'm ordering them online, you know, like I said I wouldn't do again? 

I'm so looking forward to our trip next weekend to Evansville for our anniversary!  Mostly the getting away and being together part. 

Saying Goodbye

Goodbye, little corner of my office.  You've been so cozy and warm for the time I've worked here. You're much better than the table gig they gave me when I first started. 

 

Goodbye overly organized sorters and caddies and folders.  You've helped me stay sane this last two and a half years... even if I did find things while cleaning from two years ago that I was supposed to do and never did... oops.   Goodbye endless supply of free postage and binder clips.   Goodbye collection of water bottles and coffee cups and love notes that they're gross.     Most of all, goodbye to the team I have grown to love.  The amount of time and effort you have all invested in me has been more of a blessing than I know how to say. I couldn't be taking the next step or making this move without all that I've learned from each of you.