Date Night

Chris did a good deed for one of the people at our church and instead of payment, decided he did enough. They, however, still felt indebted and decided they wanted to watch the girls for us on a date night ... AWESOME! Finding good sitters suck.

I had decided I really wanted to do a crab or cajun seafood kind of fare - he seemed cool on that. Then we didn't really have a plan for other forms of entertainment ... to which my husband said, 'we could go ride the light rail'.

I love it.

I'm almost tempted to say let's do it ... we'll catch it in Tempe, ride up through ASU and downtown Phoenix, and come back. A fun little date night hanging out with the city. I love our sense of romance.

Ah, poverty

While I look at my refrigerator ... think, how bad can this be ... I have some artichokes, some milk, bacon, some celery and parsley, butter, eggs, a little bit of cheese. Up to the point that the tummy starts grumbling, I feel like I have way more than most ... doesn't feel so good to have so little in the refrigerator. I'm okay with oatmeal and peanut butter jelly sandwich dinners. But my small family may object. I think after this ordeal, there are going to be kids who have developed an aversion to said PB&J nights.

But it's definitely an upgrade from a lot of people who are going hungry tonight. How humbling it is to pass someone on the freeway corner trying to get a dime. And how selfish I must be to thinking that I have nothing. Things are supposed to be improving though. We have been diligent in our faith, diligent in maintaining our pocket books ... and we think we may be on to a good trail for Chris to do something he's always dreamed about doing. More to come ...

Deported

Just got through reading the article about the 11 year old who is going to be deported to Poland because she's not a legal US citizen which is consistent with our laws.

The media makes the government out to be the bad guy because they are "separating" a family.

Why does that happen every single time I read it? The government does not have the family as priority, the article read.

The government is not the ones at fault here - at least, that's the way I see it. If I was told I had to get my affairs in order by "x" date ... you bet, I'm going to make it my priority to make it so! I make sure my taxes are filed by 4/15 ... I make sure my bills are paid ... I make sure I brush my teeth. Boy, I sure do have a lot of personal accountability! So why is it, everytime something of this variety comes along - it's always the government's fault? This isn't the government's fault ... it's the parent/guardian's fault. Plain and simple. Sorry you get to miss 7th grade in your school; I guess mom and dad didn't think it would be important. And that's not really fair of me to feel that way. Part of me feels like maybe the parents did try to get the paperwork done but because of our laws made it difficult to get it resolved timely. I will fault our government with ridiculously difficult citizenship processes. It's easier to buy a house in this day and age and economy ... but becoming a citizen is flat out impossible.

The solution

I'm not sure if I'm in the majority or the minority here ... but is everyone else as tired about the whining over the whole same sex rights/marriage issues? I don't even have an opinion about it anymore - that's how tired I am.

'President Obama will announce later today that he is extending some federal benefits to include unmarried domestic partners of federal workers, including same-sex partners.'

The key word being 'some'.

I have a solution here ... it's not the best but I think it will get some people to STFU. Make benefits open to any employee (done), and tell them they can insure their dependents (done) ... but tell them they can insure ANYONE ELSE. Why not? The insurance companies won't mind - they'll make more money. But any husband, older parent, cousin, aunt, best friend, whatever - is at a premium. You have to pay more and it comes out of your check. Some people may cry that this is discrimination ... but at least you got benefits now. Now get over it and get in line to fork your $50 to your GP and pharmacy.

Boooooooooo!

Lisa Ling's sister is reportedly held against her will in Korea. Her family and doctor are concerned; she also has a young daughter. It's very unfortunate and I pray that she's returned to her family and friends very soon.

But Al Gore stepping in to offer assistance is a direct slap in the face of every other hostage out there? Do you have to be related to a celebrity to get any help?

Boo Al Gore ... Boo.

Waiting

Jenna lost her 3rd tooth today much to her relief. Eating out of one side of her mouth was pure torture.

We rustled up some change ... decided to make it random ... came up with $1.25. Why not - I have a hard time believing an imaginary creature carries around exact change.

So here it is. 11:30 pm. Dad goes in for the kill.

He opens the door and she looks right at him.
What? (in that you are bothering me and I'm busy kind of tone)
Oh, I thought I heard something in here. Is everything okay? (he's good at improv)
Yeah (kind of deflated/disappointed)
Did the tooth fairy show up?
No (the perturbed kind)
Okay ... good night honey.

So we surmise she's waiting for the tooth fairy. We're not sure the tooth fairy is going to show up seeing as she's still asleep. If we can't get in there tonight - the story is the tooth fairy passed her up since she was awake. I'm not buying it - but dad is the tooth fairy and whatever the tooth fairy says goes.

Philanthropy

Like most ideas, mine always seem good, have great intentions, and a glimmer of hope that they may actually work. They definitely fall into the "best laid plans of mice and men" category ...

Being less fortunate, I really want to help others. Help someone get a degree. Help someone get out of an abusive relationship. Help feed a starving child. Give someone a leg up in the hopes that one day they could pass the favor on to others. One of the ideas was to obtain a parcel of land and build small single family homes at a very inexpensive rate so that people can get back on their feet. Clean, safe, and free of the troubles of the world.

Recently, my husband and I have been talking about the container homes that sparked media interest last fall. It was great. A company in the states was taking old shipping containers and making them small inexpensive homes for people. One of the areas of interest was Mexico. Mexico is like my sweet and sour. You have an entire nation of people who live off the land and tourists. They live in cardboard box treehouses. The country barely takes care of its own riddled with corrupt politicians and law officers - rather catering to the drug cartels. I find it hard to believe that Mexican people can be so proud of 'this' heritage. Some of their traditions can be so fascinating and beautiful. Most of the people are weak or greedy.

So when I asked what happened to the container homes that were going to provide these people shelter and a clean place to live, I was a little upset with the answer. I'm being told that the homes were dismantled to build onto other existing homes. My goodwill dreams came to grinding halt. I'm not about to invest time and money to have is trashed by those who did nothing to work for it. My preacher shared a similar stories where previous churches paid camp fees for people so the children could attend only to have no-shows when it was time to load the bus. Why are people so quick to dismiss an open palm?

I'll have to reconsider some of my plans for when I'm able. In the meantime, I would have hoped that society - no matter what the culture may be - can learn to respect what they have and respect what's given to them.

The code!

I wish it was about the pirate code because then it would be cool to point at people with me squinty eye and say stuff like, "YAR! Stick to the code! Aye, the code!"

No - it's about the dress code.

Not just any dress code - my company's dress code. One might say it's the topic of the century within the cubicled confines of our workplace. For example, Monday through Friday we are not allowed to wear Capri pants unless it is part of a jacket suit. Casual dress Friday's we can wear cropped pants. Depending on one's perception of cropped vs. capri, you might find yourself getting the glaring eye of someone who has instantly condemned you for not wearing the correct article of clothing on the appropriate day.

It's turned into a bone of contention as well as a game.

Let's face it ... North Easterners may find that their business demands they wear nylons with their heels. Well - here in Arizona, 10 feet from the Sun, that's not really feasible unless the building thermostat wants to be set on 60 degrees. Most employers here are fine with open toes without nylons. But, our employer lives in the snowy north and has no clue what it's like to be a lady in Arizona trying to make an honest living.

For the most part we are well dressed - no one comes in looking like the extremes.

Rumor has it, someone from "the other side of the building" who is in the same company just a different division, complained that we were not being compliant. NO one likes a party pooper. I hope our division figures it out soon. Until then - I'm still wearing my flip flops in and out the door until my supervisor says something. I don't feel it's right for them to dictate what I wear when I'm not "on the clock".

Credit. What's it good for?

I've been remembering my old friend 'the blog' for some time and realized I hadn't been here in a while. The minutes melt into hours, hours into days ... blah blah blah. It has been a hard few months. I had just finished Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and it's been great. I'm really motivated to get my bills caught up and start saving for rainy days. I just seem to have more rainy days than I have opportunities to save.

I wish they would teach personal finance in high school. I know a lot of parents are to blame for the errors of their children. I can remember sitting in the school office with my mom filling out check after check for her to sign so the school took payment for my brother and I going to school. Ah, the good old days before recurring monthly payments applied to a card were the normal.

I'm glad mom sent us to private school - I doubt I'd be where I am had we not gone. But, now I've trailed off my intended path or line of thinking.

Anyway - no one ever told me credit cards were bad. No one taught me how to SAVE. It's such a foreign concept for people nowadays. Everyone thinks they have to have credit and a credit score. It's more like a credit sore.

Just last week, a friend of mine said she thought about taking a loan out against her house (no no no) to buy her and her daughter reliable cars. Don't get me wrong - Dave himself says transportation is one of the (4) things you should have. But taking out a loan seems like such a bad idea. I wish I could encourage her to save money.

Dave - if you are out there - I want to learn to do what you do :)

But, as it is ... I'm still sitting on babystep .1. Just trying to save $100 in the bank has proven impossible.

I have to say - if you are reading this and you are broke or always behind - I have trimmed so many aspects of my life down to bare minimums and I wonder why I had not done it before. All the money I would have saved would have been incredible!

We got rid of cell phones ... that was easily $75 a month.
Now we use Skype. $3 a month.

We got rid of extended cable ... saved $30 a month.

We sold our house because the payment was too much. Not to mention we ended up being on one income (NOT EASY) and now rent for 1/2 of what was the mortgage.

We also ditched the HOA as a result. $65 off the budget.

We started using cash! This alone has saved money and time because I hate recording debit purchases in the register. If I pull out cash - I budget it to where it goes and when it's gone it's gone. One register entry for cash. No overdrafts!

I've been clipping coupons. I haven't really been able to save gobs of money yet - but at least enough to cover the cost of a newspaper and a few extra things. My goal is to get really good and stocked up on the canned goods and dry goods so the veggies and meats can be a 2 x Month occurence. The meals haven't been overly exciting but it's better than nothing :)

With Jenna out of school we're using less gas. And I have to say if gas gets back up to $4/gallon - I'll be using the bus. It costs way less to ride it/day than it does to drive!

All in all, I hope to be on track within a few months. Then saving so I can hopefully buy another house in a few years with a massive downpayment. Actually, we're hoping to get a decent used car (yet another way to save money) next ... but it will be a while yet. If there are other ideas out there, I hope you share.

If you are looking for great financial advice - Dave Ramsey's the guy. Watch out for people who encourage you to protect your credit score; they are only going to facilitate you staying in debt for the rest of your life. This does not help you get ahead. :)

I'll see you all in 10-15 years when I should be a millionaire in combined assets :)

You had to be there

*In traffic, taking Jenna home*
*Me talking to cars as usual - as if they could hear me*
ME: Hey - watch it lady - you don't want to mess with me right now
JENNA: Or you are gonna mess with the wrong sister!!

Where does she get this stuff!!???