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?!?

ultimate fail in frugality

i have been really getting into the coupon thing. my sweet grandmother clips the coupons each week and sends them my way, which speaks so much love to me because i know it's such a pain to do. and i love saving money using the coupons! a penny saved is a penny earned, right? well, every now and then i find myself letting the coupons control me instead of me controlling the coupons. i had the experience just recently. there i was, walking around target, trying to really get ONLY what i needed...which is a constant struggle, because there is always something more that would be just so nice to have....when all of a sudden, i spotted one of those in-store coupon dispensers! sweetness, i thought to myself, a little surprise savings-maybe it will be something i need!! i rushed over to see that it was a $1 off coupon for coffee mate creamers. hmm, i do love their vanilla caramel creamer! yum yum yum! and, what's that? the creamer is on sale 3 for $4!? with a $1 off coupon, that makes it 3 for $3 ! what a deal? you know, those things are usually at least $1.98 for one, if not more than that! think of all the money i'd be saving if i used that coupon and got 3 creamers! so, i picked out three delicious flavors, thinking i could even share one with my mom (i mean, really, i didn't need to hord all 3 for myself!!). so, i pulled out one of the coupons, grabbed my creamers and headed to check out...smiling all along about all the money i was saving...as it so happens, i remembered as i was pulling away from the store, i don't really drink much creamer in my coffee these days, in fact...the truth is, i realized as i put the creamers into the fridge later that afternoon, i don't drink any creamer in my coffee these days... nor have i really for the past year... but, what does that really matter?? look at all the money i saved!!!

isn't it ironic?

...doncha think?? i have found it quite a bit of irony in the fact that people who are most like me, at least in mostly the same stage of life as me, are the most difficult to actually be friends with? i know of quite a few mommies with little ones who i'd love to really be friends with, but we can never seem to get our schedules together enough to actually be friends... it makes me so sad some days. but, little one's schedules are hard to work around. i know i have found myself scared to go out sometimes with noah for fear that he will be hungry as soon as i get any where, or it will interupt his nap time, or he will just be super fussy. when he is any of those things, he's not a lot of fun to be around. i mean, who really wants to be sitting at the coffee shop with the frazzled looking lady with the screaming baby?! not me! :) but, still, it is frustrating sometimes not being able to be friends with the people who actually understand who i am... and, on top of that, sometimes it's a little difficult trying to converse with people who don't have babies yet. what? you don't care about what kind of cereal noah is eating right now? you don't care if it feels like he might have a tooth coming through? seriously, you mean to tell me that you don't want to hear about the massively disgusting diaper he had the other day??! what in the world are we supposed to talk about then?!??

more snip-its

*i just burned nearly 500 calories running on the treadmill and hated every minute of it. i. can. not. stand. treadmills. supposedly, they make the running experience easier, but it wears me out. i decided today i was going to set up a laptop in front of me and watch abc.com to help the time pass by...so, i spent like 10 minutes trying to get it all set up right and on the perfect show (not too long, not too short), and then started running only to find out that the bounciness of the treadmill and the propped up laptop=terrible reception. unless i wanted to watch the show in half second increments (with like 30 seconds in between) then it was a no go... so, i tried to listen to some music on pandora via my phone...but, of course, i forgot to bring my headphones up and didn't want to pause the treadmill to try to find them. so, i ran with only my thoughts, which unfortunately i couldn't quite get past, "gee i hate this. this is no fun. gee i hate this. this is no fun." tomorrow, back to the open road for me!

*school is going really well. exceptionally well, actually. i have been impressed by the boys in my class, though i'm thinking they are still on just-started-school behavior. all the same, we have had a fun few days of learning together. i really think that's what i might like best about the environment i'm teaching in...i don't have to be the expert. we are learning together, which is wonderful! wednesdays are our chapel and picnic days, which makes them just enjoyable all the way around. i wish i could put into words the wonderful-ness of this precious school, but i don't quite have them yet. so, i'll wait until i do. i will tell a sweet story that i haven't even gotten around to even though it's been a week since it happened. we had a guest come speak in chapel who read the story of the Good Shepherd and talked about it with the children for a bit. at one point she asked the question, "what does it mean to "hope"?" a very young child answered, "it means to wish!" in a voice that implied, "what a silly question, lady. there is no question of what it means?!" i just am contemplating that thought...

*noah stayed with cece today...in fact, ryan is just now picking him up on his way home from work. as much as i love my boys (and i do...absolutely adore both of them!), having an afternoon to myself was nice. i took some clothes to try to consign and then came home and worked on my sewing machine for a while. i made these "go green" bags:
i'm always getting ideas of things to make from here and there...seeing things and thinking, "hey, i could totally make that!" sometimes i can, and others it turns out i can't...but i think things turned out cute. i actually have been using another one i made as a little tote-around-town bag and i'm loving it. i do plan to take one on my next little grocery outting. i always feel a little guilty about using so many plastic bags, so i can cut down by bringing one or two of my own! i'm thinking about trying to sell them, but not quite sure if they'd be a go just yet...

*on that note, i am hoping to start back my tie purses.. i absolutely love them and just haven't had the time or the space to make them.. but now, i do! :)

*i'm getting a little nervous about all the swine flu talk... not so much for me as for noah. our pediatrician talked to us about getting him vaccinated when he is 6 months, but i'm not sure how i feel about that. the vaccine is going to be so new...and he's such a little guy. on the other hand, it may be better than if he got the flu, which there seems to be somewhat of a chance of him getting. i'm not sure i'm ready to make decisions like this! can ryan and i really make such a choice?!? i certainly will be reading more on the subject...holler if you know of any good resources!

*noah is getting better at the cereal thing, and, consequently, the sleeping thing. for the past month or so, he has been getting up right around 3 am, then again at 6 or 7 only to stay up long enough for me to actually get good and awake before he falls back to sleep. but, the cereal might, just maybe, possibly be helping with that finally! the past few nights, we have put him to bed by 8 and he's slept until 5ish..and gone right back to bed after eating!