switching back

i'm going back to my wordpress...tired of this old blog! check it out: http://ryanandsamantha.wordpress.com! i'll be there from now on... :)

budget-smudget

ryan and i have never really been the best at budgeting. i find it difficult to be really disciplined with money... it seems like every time i decide i'm going to really work at it, some surprise comes along and throws everything off. seriously, every time... but, we have decided to give it another go. as we look to one day move in to a space with a little more room to breathe than our current location, i've decided we need to 1) see how much extra we actually have that we could put towards another living space, 2) pay off some debt and 3) save, save, save. 

i have been doing the coupon thing for the past year or so (thanks to my sweet mimi who clips them each week and sends them my way), but i don't really feel like i'm super good at using them. like i know people who really work the system, but i have a hard time figuring out how. any suggestions out there from people who know how to do this well?

we are following the crown budget format, mainly because they have a lot of online resources that are free. but i did wonder also if anyone out there has any other suggestions for this sort of resource? i know dave ramsey and my mom has encouraged us to try to do one of those classes forever...but it's not super practical right now for us with ryan working so much. we are pretty selective about our night's now because it's the only time we really get to be together. 

so...anyway, the question is, what works for you? i know a lot of people make budgets work with no problem-what's the secret??

the lost art of conversation

"tienes hungry?" she said.
"si, mucho!!"
"oohhh.... donde esta tu babe?" she asked.
"con me esposo..."
"ohh!" she exclaimed.
"no, no, con me esposo's...no, esposo de la.. no, no..con me madre de esposo?"
"oh, si, con su abuela?" she corrected.
"yes, yes...exactamente!"
"tu es mucho funny!" she laughed.

this is a conversation that i recently had with anna, an older lady that i have recently come to know from el salvador...and, not surprisingly, this is how many of our conversations go, neither of us speaking the other's language very well, but both desiring to communicate with each other. we use of mix of spanish and english with lots of facial features and gestures, and sometimes even raise our voices (because talking louder and slower really makes an unknown language understandable!). even though conversation with anna is awkward and sometimes difficult, it's worth it to get to talk to this sweet lady..to try to communicate friendship and love to her across the many boundaries stacked up between us.

a friend was telling me the other day about another friend's teenager, who said that she prefers to text always. she doesn't like talking on the phone because "there's all those awkward silences where you just don't know what to say." i'm not knocking her because i totally understand what she means. i remember being in middle school, when that cute guy who sat across from me in my pre-algebra class called...and as much as i wanted to talk to him, i always got so nervous and didn't really know what to say. so there was a lot of breathing and only a little of talking...but that's what being in a middle school relationship is made of. and i really think i was learning even then about how to converse with other people..in fact, i think i have been learning that from a very early age. even noah, as a young infant, is learning how to have a conversation, in his own, little guy way. he makes noises and i respond, usually by saying, "no way, really?" or "you don't say!" or something along those lines..and you know what happens next? he responds back to me...babbling on a little, and back and forth we go. chit chatting away. while it's not the most intellectual conversation i've ever had, i know it's great for him as he develops and grows.

i really think overall, this whole texting thing isn't really the best for the art of conversation. i find myself, at times, saying things i would never say otherwise, or not saying things i would otherwise say...because of the freedom of just letting what is said be said. there's little relationship, even though there is much convinience. so, really, i'm going to try to pick up the phone and call next time...and you better answer. and be ready...awkward silences and all.

not quite right...

i was talking with a friend earlier about how it's just not fair that ryan and i are sickly alongside noah...all of us fighting these stupid colds. it makes it really difficult during the day for me to take care of noah when i am barely making it around myself...and poor ryan, having to go work from the wee hours of the morning, late into the evening-well it's just not good for anyone. i thought mommies and daddies were supposed to be immune to catching their children's illnesses?!?