Wednesday

Today's accomplishments:

-Got the oil changed. With our $25 Pep Boys reward card, it only cost $10. That was the good news. The bad news is they found something wrong with our front tire axle, and it might cost $250. Boo.

-Got gas.

-Got groceries. Referring to Monday's post about finances, we are trying to stick to our food budget. With Michael out of town this month for three weeks, we hadn't been using much of our food cash. We splurged and used a little of our food money to eat out (which is only cheating the envelope system, but oh well). So, as the end of the month draws near I had to sit and very carefully plan meals for the rest of the month, to incorporate what food we already have and not go over budget. That's how the cash system works, when the cash is gone, it's gone. This week I only had to spend $8, and next week I'll probably only spend about that much. I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself for making the meals work with what we have left, and they're still healthy. Dave Ramsey would be proud (though not proud of spending our grocery money on eating out!)

-Went to Bible Study.

-Went for a run and lifted a few weights. This felt like a big accomplishment today because I was not feeling like it at all. I mean, I washed my hair this morning and everything, so I didn't feel like having to get all sweaty. Excuses, I know. But at least I went.

-Blogged.

And, I'll sign off with this thought from my current reading on David. I am a verbal processor, one of the reasons I decided to start a blog. I also journal like crazy. And talk people's ear off, including my patient, listening husband after a long day of work. So, when I read this line I had to circle it and underline it in my book, because it describes me well:

Feelings can be a little like our laundry. Sometimes we can't sort them until we dump them on the table.

Tuesday

Today I had some big deadlines at work. I normally go home by around 12:30, but I decided to push through and work, and ended up working until 3:00 without a lunch break! I felt a huge sense of accomplishment at getting my work done, and was complimented by some co-workers on my speed and efficiency on some of my recent projects. It feels good to take pride in what I'm doing, even if it's not my first choice in jobs at the moment. I'm thankful for a job, and one where I can feel useful and use my talents to help others.

I got home from work, ate lunch, and felt zapped of energy. I was going to go do my errands on my list today, but felt too tired. Instead, I opted to stay home and work on some of the home list.

Today's To-Do List Accomplishments:

-Take garage opener to be fixed, for the 5th time. I forgot to add this to the original list. This has been a perpetual problem. Our garage door opens randomly and we often go out in the morning to find it had been open all night. Apparently our door can also be opened by someone else's opener. Hopefully 5th time is a charm.

-Read and journaled.

-Fixed our two art pieces in the living room. When Michael was gone two weeks ago, I found these frames for an amazing deal, (I got them both for less than $15, which is a steal for frames, especially this size) and put them together before he got home. We bought the canvases in Rwanda, and knew we wanted to frame them and have them be our main living room art.



-Ordered my contacts. I've been putting this off for weeks. I just put off little things like this because I don't feel like it at the time, and it just makes life more hectic later.

-Began the application process for my California Teaching License. I had looked a month or two ago, and was overwhelmed with the thought of applying for a 4th license (I have one for OR, PA, and applied to CO in June). Tonight I feel much better about the prospects. It looks like they will take all my tests and credentials, so it's mostly a matter of filling out paperwork, paying some hefty fees, and getting my fingerprints done. Then, it will be waiting for months. One nice thing about California's website is they list the applications they are working on processing by the date they were received. Currently? They are working on applications from July. Which means even after my paperwork is in, it will be months before I see a license. Good thing I'm starting early.

Things I didn't accomplish today:

-Working out. But I'm okay with that. I sense a cold coming on, and I'm trying not to push myself too hard.

Monday

Today I made a little progress on my To-Do List.

-Went to married's group last night. Check.
-Exercised today, despite a faulty dvd and thus no P90X and thus I had to go running. Check.
-Blogged today. Check (see below).
-Worked on my Bible Study stuff, journaled. Check, Check.

That was actually most of my day today, once I got home from work.

A few items to add to my list:

-Fix both art pieces hanging in our living room.
-Get a few groceries.
-Make banana bread for neighbors.

Wow, this list is getting long. It's a good thing I only work half days.

Just writing my list seems like I'm cheating myself out of a real blog post...

Last night at our married's group we talked about finances. We're talking about getting out of debt, perspectives on money, etc. We had a good discussion on how we have to change our behavior in order to really get out of debt. Not only that, but we have to check that our priorities are in line. Our American "needs" are so often not actually needs but "wants." Living in another country was a good reminder of that, but it's so easy to be back in this culture and to get caught up in the American way of life.

We are on our second month of living our budget, or "spending plan," through the envelope system (pulling out our budgeted cash for the month and keeping it in envelopes). Last night our leader mentioned that there are multiple studies (Citibank just did one recently) that show that even if you are using your credit card and paying it off every single month, never accruing interest, maybe to earn miles or some other reward, you are still spending an average of 25% more than you would if you were simply using cash. The plastic is so easy to justify spending a little bit more, to get that good deal!

Last month when we were visiting Oregon we saw some friends who will be debt-free in just two more months. They inspired me to come home and find areas to shave our spending even more, in order to put that extra money towards our debt. We are looking forward to D-Day: Debt-Free day when we can celebrate!

This Week's Agenda

Michael is in Pennsylvania this week, until Saturday afternoon.

The last two weeks he was gone were tough. I found myself wasting time and not being productive.

So, this week I decided to come up with a to-do list, to keep myself focused and to help the time (hopefully) go by a little quicker.

Here's my list:

-Work on applying for my California Teaching License
-Get the oil changed on the car
-Order new contacts
-Organize/work on November birthday packages
-Clean off back porch and take all recyclables to the recycling place (Michael and I ended up doing this on Saturday, but it was still on my list)
-Exercise every day
-Blog every day (I haven't blogged every day in years!)
-Go to church's Young Married's group Sunday night
-Go to Women's Bible study on Wednesday night
-Keep up on my Bible Study reading
-Go to Young Married's group Pumpkin Patch activity on Friday night
-Figure out another part-time job, or something to do in the afternoons
-When bored, read one of the 7 library books I have checked out

I'm sure there are more things, but this will help keep me focused.