Workin' 9 to 5 . . .

Wait - make that Workin' 8 to Noon.

Yep, I am going part time. Brett and I have made this decision for many, many reasons. But the Lord's timing is perfect (and it always is). Brett has a great job that he loves and it has a great salary with great benefits. I want to focus on my home and family. (I am NOT prego.) So starting Tuesday, June 1st I will only work 20 hours a week. I can't wait to have less stress, more free time, a chance to keep up with house work, and most of all time to spend with family and friends.

The light at the end of the tunnel

On Sunday, May 23rd I will finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Work has been overwhelming for the past three months. But, it is all coming to an end and for the most part went very well.

Here are some short updates
1) Brett got a job and he started yesterday.
2) The three kittens are doing great and growing up so fast they are 7 weeks old.
3) My house is a wreck and it is just going to have to stay that way for a little longer.
4) I have some travel/vacation coming up this summer. I am very excited about it.
5) Home improvement jobs are about to start and I can't wait!

More to come on this blog about everything. I can't wait to get back on track and catch up on the blog.

Geocaching

Here is a great video that explains geocaching.

Updates will be slim . . .

There might not be much going on here for the next three months. Work is really busy. We have two MAJOR projects going on right now. The funny part is they happen at the exact same time. It feels like a three ring circus! It takes all my focus and energy to work so I come home wiped out. The blog will be on the back burner for now. But here are a few random thoughts . . .

Our cat Patches is prego. I think she will have kittens in about three weeks. We are looking for good homes for them. If her first litter of cats is any indication, these are going to be some cute cats!! I'll even throw in some free cat food.

Brett has started a blog. Check it out. He will talk about "Man Things", and leave me to talk about "Woman Things" on this blog. He has been working on lots of projects around the house.

Speaking of Brett, he has had one job interview so far. It went really well and we are just playing the waiting game to see what happens. In the mean time, he has found more places to apply and we are still praying for wisdom and guidance.

The budget thing is going well. Which is a really good thing because we have to pay Uncle Sam a big chunk of change. I have never had to pay taxes. I am not to happy about it at all. We do get a nice refund from the State, but it is not enough to cover what we owe to the Feds. *sigh* That is why we have savings and money set aside for emergencies. But it is no fun. :(

I am very, very, very ready for Spring. I need some sun shine and warmer weather. Because it has been so cold, I haven't gotten my birthday flowers yet. Every year around my birthday God grows little pink/white flowers in every one's yard. The day Mom and Dad brought me home from the hospital Martin went into the back yard and picked a handful for Mom and me. Ever since then we call them Birthday Flowers. (Most people call them weeds, but they just don't know the proper name.) So I am ready for some warmth and for God to grow some Birthday flowers.

I have finished our Christmas stockings and I have bought two more kits. They are matching. One is a tree skirt with the Twelve Days of Christmas. The other is ornaments of the Twelve Days of Christmas. I am really enjoying working on them. Now the race is one to finish them by December 2010. I am still thinking about making these felt Christmas decorations and selling them on etsy.com But I told myself that I had to finish the stockings, tree skirt, and ornaments before I started anything else. So we will see what happens . . . .

My birthday went really well. I got lots of cleaning supplies for Our House. We were able to go with our small group the day after my birthday and visit with the folks there. We had a good time playing Bingo, Uno, and Taboo. I think we can really help meet some needs there.

I am so glad we have cats. They each are so different! Tiger doesn't come around much. He is like a moody teenager who thinks his parents are lame. He will stop by to eat our food once in a while. He loves to go visit other houses in the neighborhood. He often smells like another woman's perfume. I think he has a hurt paw right now. I am guessing he is trying to be the Alpha Cat and not doing too good at it. I caught him running into the storm drain the other day. How he got out, I don't know. Also it looks like some one tried to give him a hair cut. My guess is a little girl got some gum stuck in his fur and they had to cut it out. Boots is our loyal and true one. He hardly ever leaves the back yard. And if he does leave, he just goes to the front yard. He loves to eat. If another cat is eating he always goes and joins them, even if he just ate right before that. He has become so sweet and loving. He will let anyone pet him and loves to cuddle on the couch with me. (Yes we do let them in the house sometimes). Patches has made the most dramatic change. She is very lovey and sweet now. Probably because she is prego. She loves to come into the house and explore. She loves to be petted and held. She comes running every time we open the back door. And she has become Brett's special helper in the shop!

That is about all that I can think of right now. I know it is a long post, but it might be all you get for awhile. In June I'll have time to catch back up and starting with November 2009. If you think about it say a prayer for Brett to find a job and a prayer for me to stay sane at mine.

Are you an artist?

Do you paint, draw, take photographs or sculpt? If so please consider entering the Epoch Church Art Gallery. The theme is “Life of Christ” Check out http://epochchurch.org/artgallery/ for more details.

Goal Update

Goal Update

January's Goals:
e-mail the Christmas letter out - not done yet
**** Still not done, I have decided to just post it on the blog and be finished with it

February's Goals:
finish our stockings for Christmas 2010 - Mine is 98% there, Brett's is 80% there

**** FINISHED!!! I can't wait to show off the finished product.

wrap the hot water tank with insulation

*** Not even started, but Brett did get some insulation for the pipes under the house. Does that count?
e-mail the Christmas letter

***** See above

On another note - the couch recover project is almost finished and that wasn't even a goal. :)

I'm a WINNER

I enter blog give-a-ways all the time. Once I thought I had won something on Pioneer Woman. But there was another Jill who's favorite dessert was pecan pie . . . sigh . . . .

But today - I AM A WINNER!!!!!

I entered the give-a-way over at The Pilot's Wife the other day. I met Emily in the summer of 2002. We worked together at a Summer Day Camp in Mountain Home, Arkansas. She was a hard worker, loved the kids, and was super creative!

Emily married Patrick and they have a cutie of a son. Patrick's parents own a wonderful jewelry store in Mountain Home called The Jewel Chest. This store is amazing. The staff is warm and friendly and they know their stuff. I bought a ring there in summer of 2003. I LOVE that ring. I know that it will be something that I will wear for the rest of my life.

Back to the give-a-way - Emily was offering a give-a-way for a sterling silver ELLE necklace and I won. I can't wait for it to come in and show it off. Please check out Emily's blog and The Jewel Chest.

Thank you so much Emily and Carter Family.

The New Budget

When Brett was laid off we took action to make sure we would not go into debt during this time. We stopped some of our monthly payments (Netflix, support of two charities, our monthly savings). In addition we were just about to start a monthly contribution to our retirement funds, and put that on hold. We pared it down to the essential things.

I am sad to say in the past we have spent TOO MUCH on food and misc. things each month. So in order to get that under control we have switched to the cash system for these two categories.

Each week Brett gets cash for groceries and cash for our "fun money". Brett and I get an equal amount of "fun money" each week. We can choose how to spend that money. It can be on eating out for lunch, buying something we want, or saving for a larger purchase. In addition if you get birthday money or such you can keep that and add it to your fun money.

At the end of each month we evaluate the situation and make a decision on how much we can put into savings. It will vary each month because of emergencies that might come up. We are trying very hard to add to savings each month because we don't know how long Brett's unemployment will last. We want to be ready for the time when it will end.

1,000 Gifts 41-50

41. An ice day last week.
42. A SNOW day on Monday.
43. A second SNOW day on Tuesday.
44. The possibility of SNOW tonight!
45. Making a snow man with my hubby.
46. Curing cabin fever with the hubby with a trip to Chick-fil-a
47. My hubby helping with a Wal-Mart run.
48. Kitties that keep us laughing.
49. Not loosing power.
50. Not wrecking on the ice or snow.

Getting back on track

Well the holidays, Brett loosing his job and both of us being sick in January seemed to get me off track. I am working hard to get our home back in order, my spiritual life back in order, and this blog back on track. I know there has not been much posted here. But we have been living life and doing stuff. So in the next few weeks you see pictures of stuff that happen two or three months ago, just give me grace.



P.S. I have been posting one sentence prayers. I set those up months ago, but it seems that the one that pops up is just what I need for that day. That is a God thing you know! And I am slowly making my way towards 1,000 on my 1,000 gifts list. I find myself thinking of things that I am thankful more often. I am really enjoying it.

P.P.S. So I haven't said it here before, but Brett lost his job. It happened the week before Christmas. We are doing good. We have cut back the budget and we have a good financial plan going. We are blessed to have a nest egg in savings and our family, friends, and church have been a huge help to us. The Lord has taught me a lot through this and I know that I have a lot more to learn. I'll be sharing some of that later on.

I must really love Brett

because I watch a lot of sci-fi with him. I would like to thank my Dad and brother for watching so much sci-fi when I was growing up. Little did I know that I would help prepare me for my future mate. Here is a run down of what we have watched in the 14 months we have been married.

We started with 5 seasons of



The idea is that a team of scientist have discovered the lost city of Atlantis.

Then we watch 10 season of



The idea behind this show is that scientist have discovered a giant ring that is a doorway to other planets. They walk thru the "door" into another world. This "Star Gate" is how they get to the lost city of Atlantis.

We are currently watching



Star Trek: The Next Generation. There are seven seasons and we have just started on season five. This is the sci-fi that I grew up on!

But wait! There is a new Star Gate that has just started. Thanks to the power of Internet I have already watch all 10 episodes that have come out.



The idea behind this one is that they use the Star Gate to travel to a ship that is billions and billions of light years from earth. But the ship is old and run down. They face life and death situations as they try to make it home.

Goals

My friend Emily posted her goals for the month. It inspired me to post mine. I hope this will help keep me accountable.

January's Goals:
e-mail the Christmas letter out - not done yet
get the laundry back under control - DONE

February's Goals:
finish our stockings for Christmas 2010 - Mine is 98% there, Brett's is 80% there
wrap the hot water tank with insulation
e-mail the Christmas letter

I'll check back in with you in the middle of the month . . . .

One Sentence Prayers

O God of compassion, have mercy on me.

1,000 Gifts (31-40)

31. A hubby who made my lunch.
32. A mom who will check on you when you are sick.
33. A new co-worker.
34. Encouraging words from people who have walked the same road that I am on.
35. A kitty who sits at the door just waiting to be petted.
36. Kitties that seem to have calmed down for the moment (we had all the boy cats interested in our girl cat for about two weeks . . .)
37. Recovering from being sick again
38. Friends who will come over even when your house is messy and don't care
39. Friends who understand we are on a budget and bring over food.
40. The hope of snow and ice.

I have a birthday coming up

I want to do something a little different this year for my birthday. I am asking for cleaning supplies to be donated to Our House. Epoch (our church) has been able to serve there several times. One of the things they are always running low on is cleaning supplies. They get lots of food and clothing donations. It can be things like – 409, Windex, paper towels, toilet paper, dish soap, hand soap, laundry detergent. So if you want to give me something for my birthday, would you please consider something to help Our House?