Tic-Toc:Time to Clean

One thing that’s certain is that time waits for no one. Day by day, minute by minute, it continues. Whether we need more of it, want to rewind it, or even stop it for those once in a life time moments, it is nonstop. Today we celebrate 7 months of my pregnancy. This reminds us that Baby Miss will be here before we know it . . . ready or not. It’s something about this time of year that zooms by. You find yourself trick-or-treating at 6 p.m., eating Thanksgiving dinner by 7 p.m. and leaving Santa milk and cookies by 9 p.m. I know with the rush of the holiday season and God willing, I will soon be holding a baby girl in my arms and things will be very different. 

Thanks to my nesting mode I decided to take a little time off this past Friday.  This is something I rarely do which is why I have about 5 years of sick and personal days saved up. For some reason things began to get a little overwhelming. I’m sure most of my stressors were self-inflicted due to my worrisome nature. Anyway, I eventually found myself with four loads of clean laundry on the floor, bathrooms that I was afraid to use, and a room for two little girls with about 1,500 choking hazards. If it wasn’t for the Hubster doing his part down stairs, our home would be unlivable. I’ve considered posting before and after pictures and reminded myself that I actually would like to keep the family and friends that I have now.  I’ve read somewhere that clutter of the home clutters the mind. I am living proof that that research is right on!

So, I de-cluttered,  swiffed, vacuumed, folded, magic- erased and everything else in between. It felt so good to have a clean home and STILL have the weekend left to actually live. This wasn’t the first appearance of the overwhelming portion of my “cluttered” life and we all know it won’t be the last. However, I did some research used Pinterest to find some weekly cleaning lists to better manage my time. Hopefully, with a ‘clean’ slate I'll be able to think clearer and focus on spending my time on more important things.

 

 

 Spring Cleaning Checklist

 

 

 Schedule

 

Off to tackle my car,

~Jeanell



 

Money Matters

We have been blessed enough to recently participate in Financial Peace University. This finance class, led by Dave Ramsey, is taking place at our church. It lasts for 9 weeks and offers lessons and resources to gain ‘financial peace’ based on biblical practices.

This class couldn’t have been available at a more appropriate time. Until May (2013), when the Hubster graduates, we’ve had to make major changes to our budget.  This class offers insight on how to build an emergency fund, helps you decide where your money should go, and explains a whole bunch of financial terms I never even heard of. Overall we are pretty excited to be educated and grow together as a team. For so long we’ve been on opposite sides when it comes to how to handle our money, now that we’re BOTH involved, it’s making a huge difference.

Most of all, we look forward to sharing some tips with our children. Little Miss gets money from grandparents, earns it for chores (rarely), and even finds it on the street. She’s had the piggy bank and even the random can of coins. Eventually, the money is everywhere or sometimes even lost.

At our last FPU class, Dave Ramsey’s daughter shared a great idea of splitting your child’s money into 3 categories: spend, give, and save. I thought this was a great thing to try. Money that goes into her ‘spend’ jar would obviously be for her wants. Anything in the ‘give’ jar would be used for offering at church or other charities and missions. At our school we have a great Bank in School program where the students open an account and make a deposit monthly right on the school campus. This is obviously where the ‘save’ jar contents will go. I’m excited to get it started, her not so much. I bought the jars yesterday and she groaned. Hopefully this will teach her some discipline and appreciation for money. . . at least I can say so far it’s done that for me.

 

 

 

 What are some money tips you've learned from your childhood that you still use today? Leave a comment below. :)

~Jeanell

From Start to Finish

The last time I made a blog post was FOUR months ago!!! That is ridiculous. Honestly 2 weeks after my last post, we found out we were expecting and my world sorta turned around after that.

Goal 27- complete. J It must’ve been the stroganoff.

 If you follow me you know that yesterday was July 31st, my deadline to complete all of my goals. Though it should have been a BIG FINALE to my 400 day goal list and wasn’t, I still feel pretty good about it. I may not have saved the money that I wanted to or crocheted a blanket for our couch, but I learned a lot this past year.

For starters when I decided some of my goals they were based on my past experiences. I realized that some of those things don’t interest me anymore. I wrote about 3 poems this year. That says a lot, my friend. I still love poetry and get excited each time I teach the unit, but I don’t have time to make it a daily activity. As you grow, you change and it’s ok if your interests and hobbies do as well.  

Secondly, procrastination is haunting. It’s this huge dark cloud that apparently adores me. I actually started some goals and never finished them. Huge surprise right? I would also complete some goals and procrastinate about blogging.  I was so close to completing my fast food and home lunch goals. I actually completed 3 out of the 4 weeks of each of them. This was done with the help of co-workers at school. They would make sure I packed my lunch each day when I entered the cafeteria. It became a game and it was nice to have someone in my corner.  Not eating fast food was way easier than I thought. That is until the cravings started to kick in. At the end of week 3 of this goal my sweet husband bought me a big mac and it all went downhill after that. At the end of the school year I became this lethargic monster. I slept all the time and took 2-3 hour naps daily. I got absolutely nothing done. No motivation whatsoever. I know a lot of it had to do with my anemia and first trimester, but it was sickening. I was sick AND sickening. (Ask the Hubster)

Another big lesson was the lesson of perfection. I sometimes found myself with this false image of what I should be and what my life should look like. BIG MISTAKE. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in those around you and lose sight of yourself. You find these images in magazines, on television, even in your closest friend whom you adore. But, when you begin to compare, you begin to fail. I would get so overwhelmed when things didn’t seem “right” or “perfect”.  This would in turn upset those around me. Sometimes you just have to breathe and let things be. I’m still learning to be secure with my own decisions. It’s perfectly fine to be inspired by others and to grow based on the inspiration, but there should always be some of you that shines through.  

Speaking of shining, I’m not going to let my little light burn out just yet. J I love blogging. . . believe it or not. I know some days it just won’t get done, but no pressure. There are some goals on my list that weren’t complete but they are still aspects of my life that I want to improve. No sense in turning back now.

I still want to try new recipes and save money. I still want to eat healthier and read books. I still want to volunteer and strengthen my relationships. I still love to go on dates and want to work on my marriage. I still want to jot these memories down in the form of a blog and share it with those close to me. You are more than welcome to continue to follow along for the ride. J

You Got Beef?!

Beefy Stroganoff

Ingredients:
1 small yellow onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 lb lean ground beef, 7% fat
4 oz pre-sliced fresh baby portabellas (Didn't use)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup flour
8 oz wide egg noodles
1 (10.5-oz) can condensed beef broth
1 (8-oz) container sour cream

Prep

• Put water on to boil for pasta.
• Peel and dice onion.

Steps

1.Melt butter in large sauté pan on medium-high, then add onions and garlic; cook and stir 1 minute to soften. Add beef, mushrooms, salt, and pepper (wash hands); cook and stir 5–7 minutes or until meat crumbles and no pink remains.

2.Stir flour into beef mixture; cook and stir 2 minutes.

3.Cook pasta following package instructions.

4.Slowly stir broth into beef mixture; then stir in sour cream. Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir 7–8 minutes to blend flavors.

5.Drain pasta; serve beef mixture over pasta.

Hubby's words. . . "It was fantastic! I love when you get in these moods."

The mood he's referring to is the. . . I'm-going-to-cook-and-clean-and-be-an-awesome-wife-and-mom-mood.

It comes and it goes. ;)

Needless to say, the dinner WAS fantastic. When I tried it at Publix yesterday I picked up every ingredient minus the mushrooms.

I was even super excited to use my flour once again. :)

We added some buttered Italian bread to that bad boy and ate the night away. . . literally.

 Sunday night I watched Young Adult with Charlize Theron. I can cross my 'Y' movie off the list. The movie was okay but I really didn't see the point of it. Charlize plays an author of a Young Adult series that is trying to rekindle a totally burned out flame with her ex. Who, might I add, is happily married with a newborn.    

 I mean, I got the lesson but it ended so abruptly.

 I was like "Oh, that's it!"

Rating- 4 Smooches

The Seventh Day

Saturday

Saturday morning I finished this book.

The author, Jen Hatmaker, is made of pure awesomeness.

She decided, after careful planning to make sacrifices and changes for 7 months that would allow her and her family to get closer to God.

Trust me, after you read this you will find yourself meditating in the same outfit you've worn for a week straight while growing a vegetable garden in your backyard. :)

You will be enlightened.

Sunday

Happy Easter!!!

When we checked out of the hotel today, we took a detour before heading home.

We were able to visit First Baptist Church in Myrtle Beach. It was only a few minutes away from where we stayed.

We all enjoyed the service and the pastor was actually really funny. It was a nice experience to worship with complete strangers.  

While driving home, all I heard was "Are we still in MYRTLE BEACH? Are we STILL in Myrtle Beach? Are WE still in Myrtle Beach?" over and over.

After a few minutes of unexpected silence, I turned around and she was out like a light.

Extremely Talented and Incredibly Beautiful

Thursday

This is what I was in the middle of watching when I was supposed to be loading the car.

When it was finally time to go we couldn't find the keys. . . talk about a rough start.

Unfortunately I have to finish it when we get back.

 It's soooooo good. No words can describe it.

You know I'm a sucker for anything that includes New York, a dramatic Sandra Bullock or Tom Hanks, and an extremely talented child actor.

Ahhhh. . . talk about living vicariously through others.

So far, Rating: 1o Smooches

Can't wait to finish it and check off my 'E' movie!

Friday

I was able to snap this pic when I woke up this morning.

Apparently, I was up before the sun. . . and everyone else.

Somebunny LOVES Cookies!

Wednesday

Easter will be a little different for us this year because we will be out of town.

We plan to visit a church Sunday morning and have dinner with family as soon as we return home. 

This week while The Hubster has been in class, I've been trying to do things with Little Miss to create some sort of tradition.

The Rice Krispy Treat Eggs were an epic fail, so we tried something else.

Who can go wrong with COOKIES??!!

What's your favorite Easter tradition? Leave a comment below. :)