Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a blast. We got together with everyone on my Mom's side of the family. Not such an easy thing when you factor in adults with jobs, college students, and coordinating the other family's plans.

All my cousins were there, so I insisted that we take another cousin pyramid picture. The boys were a little reluctant-and if you see where they are in the pyramid you'll understand why. But it happened easily, and much quicker than the first time we did this (two years ago).


And a piggy back picture...



Of course there was lots of football watching as well.


So thankful for my family. I quote from my father-in-law, "You can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family." While this is true, I wouldn't have chosen any other family.

I especially love this crazy guy. (I'm glad I picked him :o)

Before and After

The much awaited music room...


BEFORE

AFTER

Don't you love the treble clef clock?! The room isn't 100% the way I want it, but it's good enough for now. I need to move on to other rooms in the house that are in desperate need of some DIY TLC DYK (Don't ya know). Alright, I won't get too carried away :o)

I'm just wasting a little time while the paint dries in the music room...

I've felt very creative lately, not that I've finished many projects, but the ideas are unending! I love crafty things, painting (in doses), and seeing something come together for a final project.

It seems my house is an unending canvas of things to do. No, those things don't have to be done, but I enjoy home projects.

Right now I have two coffee tables that I need ideas for. They will be painted, but I want some inspiration. My style is eclectic and leans towards contemporary. Nothing too detailed, or ornate. (Yes, you can draw the conclusion that Handel is not my favorite. I prefer Eric Whittacre or some other contemporary composer much more :o)

So, inspiration for my two coffee tables, hmmm....

the search begins!

Homecoming...the good, the bad and the ugly

Patrick and I decided to take a little break/vacation to Flagstaff during NAU's Homecoming weekend. We saved up for it (Dave Ramsey wouldn't have it any other way) and it was wonderful and terrible...I'll explain.

We arrived in Flagstaff and parked our car at the dome, then proceeded to walk downtown. We HAD to go to my favorite place P.J. Chillcottage (I thought it was Philcottage all these years) to buy some soap. It's expensive, but honestly it's the only "splurge" I do for my home. There's something about homemade bar soap that is just so cool to me.

Anyway, after visiting the Old Towne Shoppes we headed to a new restaurant: The Lumberyard. Since we moved from Flagstaff there have been quite a few new restaurants opened, and we wanted to try our luck on this brewery. I give this restaurant two thumbs and two big toes WAY UP! It was amazingly delicious! I mean, just look at this pulled pork sandwich and chili cheese fries! Excellent food, and fabulous beer!


There are cobwebs all around us, but don't worry, it was only a part of their Halloween decorating.

By this point I had a very satisfied stomach and purchased my all-time-favorite soaps. I probably could have gone home and been just fine right then. But we decided to stay for the game (since that is what we came up for).

We walked everywhere, and it was so refreshing. Look at how beautiful Flagstaff is in the Fall...


We walked to the dome to check out the tailgating, and it turned out to be sort of lame. I remember it being so much more fun when I was in college. Anyway, we made our way to the alumni table, got our free keychain and lanyard, and a delicious meal (I gave most of mine to Rachel because we had just eaten). After tailgating we headed into the dome for the game...and that's where the disaster started.

I love sports. Let me rephrase. I love going to sports games. It's very much a social thing, and I love being social with random people. Patrick goes for the game, I go for the social aspect :o) But this game, was not good. Not good at all. The score was 0-40 until the 4th quarter. Guess who had 0, yup, NAU. There was even a time when one of our players who had the ball threw it out of bounds because he was too scared to run with it, get pummeled or something. It was so sad. He just threw it out like a little girl. Now, I'm no pro football announcer, but I know a sissy when I see one-and that play was absolutely pathetic. There were countless other times when the guy throwing the ball threw it terribly, or the guy that was supposed to catch was looking the other way and literally got hit with the ball ON THE CHEST BETWEEN THE NUMBERS! Now again, I'm no pro, but any Joe off the street knows that is terrible playing right there. We managed to make the best of the game and take a couple of pictures.


This was before we realized our alma mater was so terrible at football. Notice the smiles :o)



And the 3rd quarter "after" picture-self explanatory.



This is my favorite part of going to games: seeing all the crazy people. I love stuff like this!



Rachel joined us for the game.



NAU Football ::sigh::



Louie the Lumberjack.

We left before the 4th quarter was over, and the score was 3-41. Sweet, we scored some points. The final score was 10-40, so at least it wasn't miserable in the end. Ha ha.

After we left the game we got some apple cider and coffee at Starbucks with Rachel. There's nothing like warm apple cider on a Fall day. I love it!

We didn't want to stay too late, but almost forgot about "our spot" Beaver Street Brewery. We've had some good times there. It seems that was the go-to place in college and after we got married, for celebration or some good eating. Turned out the fondue was great, but beer was sub-par. What a let down. Oh well.



Afterward we decided to hurry home so we didn't have to drive so late, plus Patrick's parents were staying at our house that night. Overall it was a very nostalgic and fun day-trip. I'd do it again, only next time, no football game for me :o)

Can I just take a moment to tell you how cool God is?

Wow, have we been blessed! Patrick and I are going through Financial Peace University (Dave Ramsey) and I think we're on week 7 or so. If you're familiar with Dave Ramsey, you know about his"Baby Step" system to building wealth and having peace in your finances. Baby Step 1 is save $1000 for an emergency fund. Baby Step 2 is pay off all debt (except the mortgage). Baby Step 3 is save 3-6 months of expenses in an emergency fund...and so on. Obviously some steps are easier than others, and some you may stay on for longer but we're realizing his "system" is really all about having a plan. Quite honestly, that's the best thing about what he teaches. When I was working full-time, we had two incomes and a pretty cushy life. We basically went out whenever, did whatever and the money flowed-OUTward. Don't get me wrong, we didn't accumulate any credit card debt or anything. In fact, now that I think back on "those days" I'm surprised we didn't rack up any credit card debt. I can really only attribute that to Patrick, as he did most of the finances. Now things are different though. I resigned and followed God's voice to what I felt was clearly calling me to work at Streetlight. Except the work at Streetlight isn't paid, at least not right now. So we went from two cushy incomes to a single income-something had to give.

Some friends suggested we do the curriculum for FPU in small group, and I'm so glad we did. At first, finances were really tough because we had to change our lifestyle. No more going out to eat, coupons would become a staple in every shopping trip, and we were going to have to scale way back. After that slow change in thinking we started taking off! We're now on a "plan" and we tell every penny of our take-home income where it should go, not the other way around. And we're sticking to it! The very discipline of being on a budget is something we've both had to learn (maybe me a little more so), but woah, God has TOTALLY blessed us for it. Check this: since we've stuck to our budget all these things have happened...

-We get freebees galore! Literally just last night we went to Fry's after the gym to get some eggs. The lady at the self-check out handed us a $2 off coupon. FREE eggs-Thank you Lord!

-Last week Patrick prayed for breakfast and lunch to be provided at work. I know, I was thinking the same thing, wow that would be cool. BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WERE PROVIDED at work. Oh wait! AND he won a $25 gift card (as a promotion for sales or something like that). Yup, MORE than we asked for!

-I've started a new business selling Scentsy product-stuff that I love! And that money is being saved for our anniversary in January.

-I just took on my 3rd voice student yesterday!

-I do surveys for a couple of marketing research companies and get paid for it! My favorite one is actually the one that pays the least. I get $3 for every online survey I fill out (only takes 15-20) and they usually end up sending me a full-size item of the product being researched. So yes, I get a little extra cash, AND free household items! All those $3 surveys really add up.

-I drive out to Glendale several times a week, and at first I saw this as a huge expense (and it is), but at least I can get gas that's almost $.10 cheaper than in Mesa. It makes a HUGE difference when you drive nearly 2 hours round trip like I do.

-We had a garage sale this past weekend-it was LONG overdue. I only advertised on Craigslist and put up a couple of signs around the neighborhood. We also decided ahead of time that the money we make from the garage sale will go all to buying new clothes. (Neither of us had bought clothes in several months). We made a good chunk of change and found some amazing sales at H&M and Old Navy. We're talking like $5-$15 shirts for Patrick and $16 jeans and skirt for me! And my favorite buy: an old school Angels shirt from Old Navy on clearance for......drum roll please.... $3.29. Oh it gets better. We were all the way out in Scottsdale and we're pretty hungry so we looked in the clothes money envelope and there was $10 left. Arby's it was! We pull up to the drive thru and I said, "Can I have a Value Jr. Ckn., Value fries, Jr. Roastbeef, and Mozzerella Sticks?" Drive thru man, "For the mozzerella sticks do you want 3,6, or 9?" Me, "Whichever one is on the value menu...oh and a water please." Total: $5.60 with tax. We were all excited about our cheap meal and the fact that we could eat out! So we parked and sat by a beautiful fountain to eat our meal. I reach in the bag and I'm a little confused because we ordered 4 things and there were 5-an extra sandwich. Patrick said, "Maybe it was a mess up and they gave it away. Or maybe he just felt bad for us because we ordered EVERYTHING off the value menu." We had a good laugh about that one. No matter! A free sandwich is a free sandwich!

-Here's one of the coolest ones. We're trying to finish baby step one, and it was really slow at first. Until we refinanced and got an escrow check in the mail from our original mortgage company. That put us just shy of baby step one! I remember getting that check in the mail a couple of weeks ago and literally being amazed at how much God has blessed us. Simply in awe.

-Speaking of refinancing...we did, and we're paying about $200 less a month...WOOHOO! And here's the cherry on top. Our closing costs were $72 because Patrick works at Wells Fargo. Now I feel like chocolate covered cherries, mmm...

-Patrick is possibly looking at another promotion. It hasn't happened yet, but we claimed it last night and you know what? I know God has great things in store. Obviously.

Thank you Lord for your blessings in our lives. From the free sandwich at Arby's to providing for our every need. God, thank you for knowing the desires of our heart and for loving us as we grow and become more disciplined especially in our finances. I'm in awe of how good you are. In Jesus name, Amen.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of th...

These are a few of my favorite things...

I'm amazed at how much God really loves me. I've had some remarkable growth in this "transition" period of my life. I know my creator in a deeply personal way, and wouldn't trade anything in the world for it.


Both the man in the picture, and his sense of humor :o)


My "children." Even if they dig up my backyard and eat trash.


An organization that has captured my heart and my desire to reach girls stuck in this industry.

So good

My teaching career, has had its...moments. Some good, some less than good. I'm a list person, that's how I get things done, how I visualize success, how my brain functions really. Here is my list of reasons that I love being a teacher (even if it's no longer full-time in a "big" school):

1. A student says, "Mrs. Jones, I get it!"
2. I get a text that says, "I miss you"
3. I see them accomplishing amazing things...without me :o)
4. A thank you note
5. A thank you blog-ahem...Rhonda
6. Seeing the growth
7. A student that says, "Mrs. Jones I'm not very good at singing, but I will try"
8. A student who appreciates the VALUES and lessons in CHARACTER, when I thought no one was paying an ounce of attention.
9. Someone who sees I actually do care, and begins to change their attitude.
10. A student who asks for advice even after I'm gone.

Really there are so many things. I'm glad that I've finally come to seeing them. :o)

13 Wives and 56 Kids...he's a Johnson

While we were in Utah, Eric's dad told us about a descendant of the Johnson family. He was Eric's great great great something? Uncle, grandfather, I can't remember. Anyway, Paul was saying the tombstone is HUGE and was right on the drive home in Springville, UT. So naturally, we had to see this polygomists tombstone-especially since he was a part of the family...well, Eric's family.

Eric Johnson, 12 wives, 56 kids

The new Mr. and Mrs. Eric Johnson

We traveled to a far away land called Utah. It was a treacherous trek (12 hour car drive) and there were many obstacles to overcome (like sleeping in the car, in the parking lot of the hotel at 4am in the morning when we arrived), but we went for one thing, and one thing only: to see Patrick's best friend Eric Johnson marry his love, Marie Steck. Here's the proof...

The Bachelor Party Scavenger Hunt.
























The Temple Square Picture w/o the temple in the background. (The lady thought I was a lunatic for not wanting the temple spire in our picture. I honestly just loved the beautiful flowers.)


See, the flowers are beautiful!


The new Johnson family...no, we didn't go in the temple(not even Patrick-for all of you who read his Facebook status updates. But it's true they didn't let me go to the bathroom because I didn't have a recommend.)







This is what I married ;)



The reception







We wish you love, understanding and years of bliss! To Eric and Marie!