Another New Book

Chris gave me another blog book, comprising 2017-2018.  It is almost 800 pages.  We all love the blog books at our house.  (Pardon the cheesy smile).  The package arrived while Chris was gone on business, so I had more presents to open on the weekend!  Yay for an extended birthday.

Why Eat Out?

Chris and I were eating at Old Chicago and overheard a conversation between a young waitress and an older gentleman.  They were obviously acquaintances.  After a couple minutes of small talk, the waitress asked, "So, what brings you in tonight?"  The friend responded, "Ummmmm, hunger?"

Goodbye to the Desk

We bought this desk in our first year of marriage, moving it from house to house over the years.  Now, while the girls work on laptops a lot, the desk doesn't get a lot of use anymore.  We thought it was time to pass it along to another welcoming family.  I, of course, cleared off all of the stuff.

Planetarium

Misha and her friend, Sam, attended the Fiske Planetarium's laser and music show "Laser Queen".  They had a blast rocking out to these fun Queen hits.

We Will Rock You
Bicycle Race
Another One Bites the Dust
Best Friend
Flash
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Somebody to Love
I Want it All
Stone Cold Crazy
Princes of the Universe
Killer Queen
Bohemian Rhapsody
We are the Champions

The performance didn't start until 10:30 pm and lasted for a couple of hours.  Misha got home a lot past curfew, but since she had asked beforehand, I was okay with it.  The rule is though, if you stay out late, you can't be grumpy the next day!

Being Financially Savvy - Adulting 101

When Chris and I were first married, I am embarrassed to say that I let a few of my die-hard habits fall by the way side--regularly exercising and balancing a check book--to name two. I eventually got back in to the habit of daily exercise while creating a financial dynamic in our marriage took a little more effort. It wasn't until about ten months after we were married that I sat down and over the course of a week, proceeded to balance our check book. Until then, we had had a good idea of how much money was available to us, but not exact numbers.

As a couple we decided that I had more time for the day-to-day business of keeping our finances on track and Chris had a better handle on the longer term investment and retirement planning side of things. To this day, that is how we have continued to divide the responsibility of managing our finances. I make sure our budgets balance and our bills are paid each month. Chris ensures that our future days in retirement will still have budgets to balance.

Throughout the years of raising our daughters, we have tried to instill some financial sense in them as well as pass on information we have learned along the way. "Adulting" is a term we often discuss with all of our girls, but especially with Amy, a college student, and Misha, a high school senior. As they look toward setting out on their own and thinking of marriage, it seems apropos to discuss being financially savvy. My daughters are a great example of having inborn tendencies as two are spenders and one is a saver. Being fiscally responsible, while a natural gift to some, can totally be a learned behavior for all of us.

As a newlywed, I took my charge as "keeper of the budgets" seriously and created a budgeting system that would be easy to manage and give a quick glimpse in to our financial health for the month. I started by creating a simple table that listed our income sources and then our obligations: tithing, groceries and food storage, toiletries, medical bills, insurance, gas, utilities, and rent/mortgage as well as allowances for car repairs, clothing, gifts, and entertainment. I also allocated funds for student loan payoffs, Christmas gifts, vacations, car registration, and baby needs. Each of these categories was given an amount, ie., Gas - $50, and adjusted as necessary. In the beginning, I penciled in the amount we spent in each category, and we were pretty good about staying on target. My budgeting system has become more sophisticated over the years, but the concepts are all still the same.

This is a plan that I would recommend for young adults, single or married, to begin learning how to budget and live within a budget. It is hard, and sometimes you have to forgo items or activities that you would really like to have or do simply because there is not enough money to cover it. That is what "adulting" is all about.

Children learn from what is demonstrated at home, and in turn, learn that there is peace in being financially responsible. When my grandfather passed away, my father was asked to give the eulogy.

"He was a frugal man and made use of everything. He worked hard and finished jobs once they were started. He tackled things that would have cost to have done so he would learn how to do them himself. He was an inventor and could figure out how things worked, repair, and keep things going long after everyone else had gone out and bought a new one. His old Minneapolis tractor, which was the first one he bought was still running forty–two years later. He had taken it apart and nursed it back to health many times on his own" (Gordon Rice Life History, February 24, 2015).

Through the years, Chris and I have continued to prepare our daughters through Family Home Evening lessons, simply saying "no" to some wants, teaching about credit cards and checking accounts, and emphasizing the importance of paying your tithing first.

"Chris and I presented a budgeting Family Home Evening lesson to our girls that was hands on and thought provoking. I created a fictitious budget with income and expenses for them to work with, plus emergency expenses. We gave them Monopoly money to work with to try and cover all of the monthly expenses. It helped them learn how I budget, understand why I sometimes say, "It is not in our budget this month," or learn how to make a choices for cable tv, cell phones, and other "extra" expenses. I'm sure we could have even spent more time on the lesson, but after a couple of hours, the older two had homework to finish.

"We hoped that they got the notion that just because you have money in your bank account, it doesn't mean that you can spend it. It might already be allocated. Also, Chris and I wanted them to understand about saving for big expenses. We put money away all year long for Christmas, vacations, some utilities and expenses that are paid on a quarterly or yearly basis, and car registration to name a few. It is never too young to be financially savvy and to develop good spending and saving habits" (March 14, 2016).

I'm not going to tell you where to spend your money or where to invest or even if you should invest. I simply want to emphasize the importance of keeping an accounting of your wants and needs and planning for your future. If this idea is second nature to you, then you're on top of things already. If this is a talent you need to develop, make a plan, ask for help, and get to work.

Fresh Bread

It was a bread-making kind of day.  Amy asked if I could send her some.  If only it were easy, I would.

Misha's No Snow Day!

Misha tried to back out of the garage and drive to school this morning without much success or traction.  Even after getting the four-wheeler out to clear the driveway, she still wasn't able to make it up the driveway.

I sent a note excusing her from school, and she had her own snow day.  Until, that is, I started giving her some chores to do.  And then suddenly, she was anxious to get to school.  She went outside to clear the driveway again as the snow had started to clear and the clouds were breaking up.

She made it out of the driveway on her second attempt and was off to school.

FabFitFun Box

My sister-in-law sent me this FabFitFun box for my birthday.  I believe you can sign up for it as a quarterly delivery if you wish.  Opening the box to discover all of the fun gifts inside was awesome.

Texting with Amy

While we waited for Kristen's Honor Choir performance to begin, Chris texted with Amy about her math class and the cute boys in her study group--both with the same name--vying for her attention.  She is definitely having fun.

Chris was laughing all the while finding the perfect GIFs to send to Amy.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was a rather quiet day as Chris was working in Boulder for the day and the girls were at school.  I enjoyed the quiet and worked on my book.  Kristen had an Honor Choir performance in the evening so that was our activity for the night.  Fortunately we were able to go out to dinner together on Monday night.

As we arrived home, Amy joined us via Facetime for a lively rendition of "Happy Birthday" and some gifts.  I am so grateful for my family and all that they do to celebrate me.  Chris brought home edible brownie-flavored cookie dough and apple fritters (donuts for the rest of my peeps).  The edible dough was delicious.  Probably not a good thing that I know you can buy it at the grocery store.  My family spoils me.

Here's Amy card to me.  I particularly like the line about me passing on my handwriting talent.

Ministering Sister

I have an awesome "ministering sister" who checks in with me every month, comes to weed in my yard, brings me goodies, and delivers beautiful red roses for my birthday.  To top it off, her entire family sang "Happy Birthday" to me over the phone.  Some of the best serenading I have had in a long time.

UPS "Drop" Off

I happened to be watching the other day when the UPS delivery guy arrived at our house and then proceeded to have a package fall off of his...skateboard?  I guess it makes it easier to push the packages and then he can zip back to his truck on his skateboard.  Anyway, he knocked and then waited for me to answer, acknowledging that he had indeed dropped a package and heard what sounded like something breaking.  He said he would wait while I opened the package.  Lucky for him it was a bunch of metal brackets.  I was impressed with his honesty since he didn't know that I had been watching.

Honor Choir - Kristen

Kristen participated in her last middle school Honor Choir through the school district.  Thirteen schools had students audition for an intensive rehearsal and instruction experience.  Kristen was able to work with Kate Klotz as the girls honor choir clinician and had such a great experience.  These kids sounded great.

Cupcakes with Maggie

Kristen and Maggie were a little bored the other night.  I suggested they make some brownies or cupcakes.  They opted for cupcakes since they could then decorate them.  My only requirement?  Clean up the kitchen when you are done.  They have a lot of fun together.

High School Orientation

Chris and I attended the high school orientation night with Kristen.  OUR YOUNGEST GOES TO HIGH SCHOOL NEXT YEAR!   Who said that could happen!?

New Gazebo Roof

Our gazebo got blasted earlier this summer in the hail storm.  Our insurance paid for a replacement roof and the company doing the work just now got around to replacing the roof.  The roof was brown before and is now a rusty red color.  I am not a fan of the new color, especially since the company didn't even ask if the color change would be ok.

Middle School Jazz Choir

Kristen has been looking forward to participating in Jazz Choir all year long.  Auditions were held on January 11.  Not sure that any students were turned away, but Kristen is excited nonetheless to be a part of the group (I am sure that getting a ride to school twice a week was a bonus as well over riding the bus!) . They will perform at the regular middle school concerts as well as a few extra performances in the community.

Middle School Play

Kristen tried out for the middle school play before Christmas break and even though she felt as though she bombed the audition, she was pleasantly surprised that she was cast as Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet.  Her best friend, Maggie, earned the role of Juliet.  The performance will be in February and practices are held daily from 3 to 5 at the middle school.

Printed Artwork

Chris surprised me with this amazing metal print for Christmas.  It is one of the pictures I took in Lourmarin, France.  I love it.

Back to School

All of my girls are back to school today.  Amy as a Sophomore in college, Misha in her last semester of high school, and Kristen in her last two quarters of middle school.  Time flies.

I-Night

Amy and her roommates had a lot of fun at BYU-Idaho's I-Night--a fun, interactive night for  all students to get to know new people and let a little steam off.  Here's Amy and her roommate, Liz.  Amy is on the left.

Come, Follow Me

We started out the new year with our Come, Follow Me study as a family.  With 9:00-11:00 am church this year, simply continuing on with our learning once we get home from church seems to work the best.  Love this picture of the Savior from the first lesson.

Eyelashes for Me

Before Amy headed back to Idaho, she took some time to apply eyelash extensions on my lashes.  They were fun.  I had Misha take a few pictures about a week later, so the lashes aren't quite as full anymore.  I had her take a couple extra pictures since I couldn't believe that wrinkly eye was mine!

Top Gun T-Shirt

As a Top Gun aficionado, Amy didn't think I knew enough about the movie to own a Top Gun t-shirt.  Turns out I know enough and can wear whatever t-shirt I want.

Back to College

One year makes a big difference.  This was January 2018.

Chris and I dropped Amy off at the airport one year later, after a quick stop at Costco, with a hefty suitcase in tow and excitement for a new semester.