Get to know your neighbors

Even though last week was busy with packing, work, moving, seeing friends and more, I took a little time out for myself to find a little something for our new place. I had been eying a couple pieces from everyeskimo for a bit and finally bit the bullet and clicked "checkout."

Lucky for me, everyeskimo is local to me, so not only did I get to save on shipping (cost cutter!) but I got to meet the lovely Regina behind the great finds and cute little stitched friends. She was just as adorable as I expected and her home (the little bit that I saw) is an aesthetic extension of what you see in her shop, amazing. She seems like the kind of lady I could be friends with! Ah, Etsy, bringing people together!

I adore the packaging!

a kind note

And what did I pick up you ask?

for my jewels

for my office space

I am finally getting around to getting these pieces out as everything is finding its new place in the new space.

Treasury Tuesday

To give a little handmade love out, I decided to do up an etsy treasury focusing on some things for the men in our lives. I used T as a bias but these can be for any gentleman you fancy.  With Valentine's Day around the corner (I know, January 11th and I'm already thinking about Valentine's Day?!) here is a sneak at some things your gentleman might enjoy:

Find my Treasury here

My favorites for T would be:

1. Screen Printed Anchor Cardigan

2. Triangle Beard Print

and 3. Gray Tweed iPad bag (if he had an iPad)

images 1. brightwall; 2. heatherfuture;+ 3. mariforssell

It's Here

Bird's first tooth has started to poke through! After months of wondering when it would get here, thinking that she was teething every time she drooled too much and got fussy, and people assuring us it was OK to have a late teether, her first pearl of a tooth is popping up. Now if only she would sit still long enough to let me take a peek/pic in her mouth.

Also, this cutie arrived on our doorstep today (after this failed attempt to pick it up in person):

And then this happened:

I will say this, they are as b*tchin as everyone says they are.

Now I'm no expert (despite my single high school photography class and the many that I sat in on with my friends) but I'm really looking forward to the awesome results we're going to get from this upgrade in our photo arsenal.

Welcome to the end of November and the end of NaBloPoMo, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Fail update and mini victory

The events of today are as follows:

Enter Sam's Club promptly at 10 am when they open with receipt and item in hand
Explain situation to older lady behind counter
She gives me guff because I am not actually on the membership, T is
I tell her my card is the one the item is charged to, so lets just get this fixed
Team leader Angie (TLA) comes over to hear about the problem
Problem is explained and TLA asks why the box was opened by workers last night
Our cashier from last night comes in to start work and vouches for me that the box was opened by the workers last night
TLA wanders off with my item
15 minutes elapses, Bird is adorable and helps me keep my cool with her toothless grin
TLA wanders back and begins to explain that the General Manager wants to investigate and that the other worker who helped us last night by bringing over the item can't be reached by phone right now and will be in this evening; asks if I can return this evening
Cool is being lost slowly at this point; I just want a refund
I am told that refund is not an option until the situation is further investigated; contact information is taken down and I leave with my half-item and adorable child in hand
3.5 hours pass
I get a call to from TLA asking me to check the serial number of my item on the box; I read it off to her and she says she'll call back in 5 minutes; I start to doubt that
I get a call in 5 minutes; they sold us the display model and they still have it at the store, if I can come in now I can pick it up no problem
I pack up said adorable child and head back up to Sam's
Wait 15 minutes for TLA to come to the member services and address my issue
This is the last of the item in the store; I ask if there is any discount for the display and my time and trouble and was offered a $25 gift card
We opt to return the item; as a courtesy, we receive a $10 Sam's gift card
Head to pick up T from work, stop by another Sam's hoping they have one in stock
Head to the register with new version of item box
Wait 20 minutes for them to try to locate item in warehouse
They have the item, 11 in fact, on a special truck/storage area/wrapped pallet that are for Black Friday sale only; will not/can not sell us one
We leave 2nd Sam's
Go home, go to samsclub.com, order item with free shipping to be delivered in 3-8 days; should have done it in the first place.
All's well that spends well.

Sam's Club fail

This evening we took what we thought would be a short trip to Sam's Club to pick up something we've been thinking about getting for a long while. Here's what happened:

We take the card for our item to the cashier
We wait for them to go find the item in the warehouse area
We are repeatedly told that they found it but it was under something/in another area/locked up
We are given free sodas due to the wait
Bird is oogled by many a worker and shopper
30 minutes go by and our item finally comes to us
We are assured that they checked the box and everything is in there
We check out with our sodas and Bird and item and get a smiley face on our receipt as we leave
We get home all excited about our item, waiting to see who tries to open it first
We start to open the box and pull things out...

...the item is not in the box. The main component that we bought is not in the box. I've been repeating that out loud to myself and T for the past 2.5 hours. I can't believe it is not in the box.

Sam's Club, we'll see you tomorrow.

Happy weekend!

This week has been a long one for us, with T working extra long days at work and me + Bird trying to occupy our time in the house due to the lower temps outside. Here is what our weekend will look like:

Today: This afternoon we are going to do something that we have talked about non stop for about 2 days...after being super frugal and basic with our phones + phone plan over the past 2 years, we have decided to get iPhones. I've already called the store we're going to to make sure they have them and when T gets home, we're off!

Tonight: It is time for games night again with the Mister and hopefully some guests. If not, time to ourselves will be much appreciated. I'm thinking Life will get played this evening.

Saturday: It's our one year anniversary of being credit card debt free! We have remained CC debt free and proud of it. Since we are selling our house (fingers crossed!), just a few student loans stand in the way of our total debt freedom! I don't know how we'll celebrate today since it is also another anniversary of a not so happy event, but I'm sure it will be low key and perhaps involve pizza.

Sunday: I'm back to the nursery at church, full time volunteer again! I love my babies and I can't wait to hang out with the new ones this year. I thought that once I had my own that would be that but now I love spending time with them even more.

In between

Today Bird and I went on a shopping girls day out, complete with a trip to the mall, Target and the grocery store. She was a trooper, eliciting admiration from passersby, even when she was a little upset by how long everything was taking.

While out at the mall browsing for new fall clothes (since the internets have given me such inspiration lately) I realized what it was that I have been feeling in the past couple weeks as I flitted from Forever XXI to J. Crew to American Eagle and back. I'm in between.

I'm not in college anymore, but I'm wondering about a new career.
It is not just the two of us any more but I'm fairly certain there will be another child filling out our family.
I'm not a hipster and I'm not a prep. (perhaps I'm classic, but I don't know about that either.)
I was 21, I'm not 30.

I want to embrace the position, the time, the place I'm currently at in my life but I can't help but feel like I'm not where I was and I'm on my way to something else, that I'm just in a hold over pattern until I get there. Is this that mid life crisis they always talk about or is this just a mid-20's new mom life change thing I got going on?

Also, on a side note, I can't seem to find clothes that I like that fit in with my lifestyle/age/style/SAHM-ness. I don't want to look like the high school/college girls, I don't need dress clothes since I don't have an office job anymore, I like cotton/machine washable with my pre-toddler around and I don't have a fortune to spend. Where is a stylist when you need one?

Happy weekend!

This weekend is going to be packed with visitors, first meetings, old friends and celebrations:

Tonight:
My favorite band, Down the Line, is in town again and I'm a lucky girl because I get to go see them and my friend AS.  Yes, I just saw them in April, don't judge.

Saturday:
More cleaning/decluttering at my parents and a shopping spree for Bird's 1/2 birthday. Nana has been wanting to spoil her with some clothes for a while and who am I to say no? AC is in town from Idaho and is coming over for dinner and will be meeting Bird for the first time. Its been ages since we've seen each other and there is a lot to catch up on.

Sunday:
CD's bridal shower for the afternoon their wedding is in a week!) and then a bit of relaxing hopefully before the week revs up again.

Surprises:
Maybe a visit with JV who is in town for a week in the middle of her many travels.

Add to the wishlist

I'm in the mood to shop for Bird and these have just been added to my wishlist:

 

mydesignpick

Save me from myself.

Debate and spending paralysis...

Trying to choose between this headband and these hair pins...or neither...I need help.

*update: bought both...{sigh}

Measuring up - March 2009

Almost one year ago, T and I started aggressively tracking and systematically eliminating our CC debt. Currently this is the picture:

Card #1 - $0/$6,200 - 0%
Card #2 - $0/$8,500 - 0%
Card #3 - $4,534.03/$5,000 - 91%
Card #4 - $1,513.08/$2,000 - 76%
Paid vs. Total - $7,642.22/$13,689.33 - 56% of the way to CC debt elimination!

With an unexpected change in our mortgage payment (dropped back down to below where it was when we first bought the house) and the removal of our cable/internet, we are in stride to attack with a fury. We're so close and yet we still have to bide our time and dollars to finish strong. Barring any crazy emergencies, we should definitely beat our deadline of December 31, 2009...but lets just wait and see!

In other goal updates, I don't think I'm doing very well with not buying clothes. To clarify, I still haven't purchased any new clothes. I have looked at clothes that I want to purchase and have had a major case of the gimmies ("I want _____" screamed repeatedly.) Just thinking of taking a month off of debt repayment and spending! Oh the wants I have. I know that I shouldn't and it will feel better when I buy it later but I still have wants.

Resolutions, if we must.

We're almost two weeks into the new year and I've yet to talk about my goals or resolutions for the new year...

1) Pay off all credit card debt by 12/31/09! - By far the most important goal to me this year...I've mentioned it many times before but with all the changes to expenses over the past few months, we were wondering if it would still be possible. Anything can still happen to derail our plans, but we are committed to making this happen this year.

2) Buy no new clothes - This is only for me. The caveat to this is that I am allowing myself to make clothes. This will force me to learn to sew, which is something I'm really excited about and will allow me to spend more time with my mom as she'll have the task of teaching me!

3) Enjoy this year with less commitments and have more commitment to that which I choose to partake in - Another one for just me. I often have the problem of overbooking, saying yes to everything, or canceling at the last minute if I feel overwhelmed. I think this will help me to really enjoy those things that I do, even if they are few and far between.

My theme for this year: simplify. I think my goals are encompassed by this theme.

Thinking about Christmas...

In August!

All around people are already starting to get geared up for Christmas...Christmas presents, vacations, parties even.

I am just starting to think about how we want to celebrate this year...and how much it will cost.

Last year, with inspiration from our church, we gave part of what we would "normally" spend on Christmas presents and things as a donation to better the lives of others. In addition to that, we scaled back on the number of presents purchased for family and friends, either buying a shared present (T's parents) or drawing names (my family). It worked out well and we had a great time because we also set aside lots of time to spend with the people we cared about, rather than just get them something expensive and hang out for a few minutes.

I think we'll try and stick to this plan again this year. I would like to start to look for any presents that we are getting as soon as possible, as more time to look generally will lead to less impulse shopping and a more thoughtful present.

HO! HO! HO!

Goals: a reflection

Here are some goal updates so far:
Brought lunch all last week...still haven't decided on reward yet for attaining this goal but I think it involves a dress for Mr. & Mrs. G's party at the end of August!

Bought a sweater that was on my list of clothes to buy for fall! Well to be clear, this actual sweater wasn't on my list (my list gets kinda detailed sometimes), but a similar sweater was and besides specific sweaters I had the vague "2 sweaters" to save myself in case I found something I really liked...even better, it was on sale! That's what we call a win-win-win!

It just keeps snowing...the snowflakes are just showing up from everywhere...we just got a rebate check in the mail from some oil we bought last month to do an oil change...also, I took the change in from our piggy bank and came home with 23.24! ("Not to shabby for sitting on the desk," says Piggy.) This is a good start for our wedding fund but we have a long way to go.

It keeps going and going...

This weekend was wonderful, from the weather to the visits with friends to the time spent with T, it was great...

I got to go shopping with T on Saturday morning after he got home from work and we had a big breakfast. I like to shop on line and show him things I like to get his opinion, but sometimes you have to see things in person, so off to the mall we went. After an hour or so of peeking and trying on clothes and being really appalled by this store, we left with a purchase or two and made our way to Ypsi-pipsi for the Heritage festival and to see JV.

JV and I hadn't gotten a chance to hang out in a while so walking around in the nice afternoon sun was the perfect opportunity. We looked at the wares vendors were tempting us with, had some festival food, watched a pie eating contest, saw a fiddle or two being played and then ended up at Sidetracks. They claim to have great burgers and they are right, but their fries leave something to be desired.

T and I were tired after running around all day at the mall and with JV, so we headed home and preceded to sleep from 730 pm until 430 and 730, respectively, the next day!

Sunday was more of a cleaning, helping out, hanging out day, spent decluttering the house some more, lawn-scaping (Secret Scalpers!), and churching and eating.

All in all a great one for the books.

Tonight I'm looking forward to a surprise dinner I don't have to cook! Thanks, T!

List shopping and tonight's activities

Just a quick update on my efforts to shop from a list:

I have decided to keep a running list of things I want, mainly clothes, in Google Notebook. As promised, the list is full of prices and colors and store names and is constantly being updated as I find sales and my tastes changed.

The listing process has really helped me to stay focused on my spending goals because it showcases how much I really want and makes me think through purchases instead of just buying and hoping it all works out in the end. Also, it makes me track certain items that I want and check for alternatives and possible sales. For instance, I had 3 shirts on my list that I wanted and was ready to buy when I found them...but I have since waited a week or so and now they are on sale (BOGO) and one is not in my size, which means I can get the 2 I want and they have for much less than the 3 I originally wanted or even 2 at their original prices!

Which brings me to tonight's activities. This evening while T is hanging with the boys, I think I might make some online purchases (the aforementioned shirts). Another thing I always think about doing periodically is de-clutter the house some more, so I think I'll tackle that as well (mainly the office/study). I tend to get in the zone when I de-clutter so its best when I do it while I'm home alone so I'm not ignoring T.

Single step personal finance challenge

Gather Little by Little discusses Mrs. Micah's first step challenge, and it gave me pause to think about the first (next) step to take in my PF life.

Then it hit me...the list. The list is the next step. I will only shop from a list. I know that seems really simple and people will think, "Well you can just put anything on the list and then you'll be able to buy it, right?"

Not so. For me, my lists are things to be thought about, planned for, revised, and then finally shopped from. The list may find its self as vague or specific as I feel like, including things like "2 dozen organic free range eggs" or "pants". Also, this list must include prices, whether accurate or just estimates. Things may willy-nilly make it on the list, but if they don't have a great reason to be there, they will find their stay short lived.

This will be one of my goals for August but I thought I'd write about it now before I forgot. Hopefully this will be come a habit that continues on in life. For now, we'll see how August goes.

p.s. Speaking of first steps, one of my favorite babies, EO, turns 1 today! Happy birthday!

Mark this in the history books

This past weekend was one of my favorites for oh so many reasons....

I got to celebrate AAD's 25th with her and old/new friends...its so nice to be surround by people you have such great history with for such a great reason like a birthday...we had some spirits and chats at a few places in Ferndale and then called it a night at the respectable hour of 3 am.

The next morning (later that day) I was up at 8 am, ready to get started on the lawn...except there were no headphones in the house. You see, I like to jam when I mow the lawn, really jam, dance moves and all...it doesn't make the lawn look better but its great fun and a great work out! Oh well, I found a spare pair of earplugs and went to it...you should see our backyard, I mow it in a triangle!

After that, T was home from work so we had waffles and bacon, the staple of our weekend breakfasts, before I headed out to hang with Mrs. L. I got to look at the L's wedding photos that they just received and they were gorgeous. Every time I look at wedding photos I'm reminded of shots we never got, and of just how creative the photogs can get with each couple. I loved the decorations they had and the reception looked like it was a lot of fun! After that Mrs. L and I headed out to get pedicures, eat Panera (try the Strawberry Poppyseed salad...I'll have to remember next time to get chicken on it) and wander about shopping in the city of B'ham.

We'd been discussing a recipe that she was going to cook to surprise Mr. L later so we headed off to the grocery store to pick up supplies for the surprise. With all the planning we did I'm sure it turned out great and I hope he really liked it!

After my afternoon with Mrs. L, I went home to pamper my own husband. I tried a new recipe myself, Chicken with Grapes in Cream Sauce and Couscous and I must say, it turned out very well. I got no complaints, seconds were had and even the leftovers were eaten the next day, the mark of a delicious meal! After dinner we went to buy ice cream and toppings and came home to make our own ice cream sundaes and have movie night. We watched Fargo, which I was told would be more of a comedy. It was funny, except for the head shootings, chin shootings, people being woodchipped and gratuitous hooker hook-ups! All in all a great date night...

Sunday morning I got the pleasure of spending time with KCC B'ham's under 2 set. The kids were in perfect form, all just playing together and having the best time. My arms are still hurting today from the little boy that just wanted to be held the whole time. Its worth it to see them smile though.

After church we commenced with our Sunday routine of brunch/lunch and napping for an undisclosed period of time. This Sunday it was for about 5 hours! Finally getting up we decided to have dinner and go for a walk. I love our walks cause its a great time to open up with out the computer or TV or something else you have to do getting in the way. Its just me and T and nature. Lastly we tried to stay up and watch Dune, as we checked it out of the library and this was the last night we had to watch it before it had to go back. Let me tell you, I'm not one for sci-fi flicks, but this one was funny, though I don't think it was supposed to. My favorite thing is that the actor that played Trey McDougal in SATC was in this movie and I couldn't stop laughing.

I pray for more weekends like this one.

Ebates.com

I signed up for Ebates.com a while back after reading some good reviews on it. I had a bit of money saved up to buy clothes and since I didn't really have the want or time to go to a mall and shop around, I decided now was a perfect time to get some cash back on some big purchases.

Basically it's a shopping portal where you go to their site first, then you click through to the site you really want to go to, buy what you want, checkout, and a few days later you get the cash back credited to your ebates.com account. They send out checks 4 times a year as long as your account has $5.01 in non-promotional funds (i.e. from purchases, not referrals or sign up bonuses.)

This week, the cash back from my two purchases was credited to my account. I don't have enough to get a check disbursed at the next go round, but we'll see (I have until 6/30.)