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!

Doesn't anyone know how to debate anymore?

Patrick mentioned a while back that people don't know how to have discourse. My husband says many things, and most are true. I'm finding this in particular to be more and more true.

Let me first open by saying, "This is an Op-Ed piece." Meaning, my opinion. There, now we're clear.

Someone on Facebook today posted to their profile an article entitled 6 Reasons to Have Casual Sex. I read the article and found it to be a terrible source of information. Several times the article poses an opinion (which is fine) but then argues the opinion with findings from a poll or survey (also fine). The problem is, the polls and surveys were not cited or listed anywhere on her article. There is a link however to her current survey (one you can actually take). What's the problem? Data, or lack thereof. I don't understand how a person can state his/her opinion and support it with non-cited findings. Doesn't that make you question the source right away? It did me. I won't even go into the ridiculous "comments" at the end of the article...well, maybe I'll save that for last. :o)

So I posted on this friend's wall something to the effect of, "there's no citing of the sources, don't believe everything you read." RIGHT AWAY was a response to my own that said, "Are you saying casual sex is bad for you? If so, cite your sources." I had no idea I would get such a response, because I wasn't arguing that at all (although I have very strong convictions about the subject) that wasn't even my point. We (responder to my comment and I) cordially, I think, discussed the idea that this article wasn't concerned with facts, rather it was an opinion piece. In the end I don't think my point got through. I only commented to make her (the person who posted the article to FB in the first place) think through what's being presented a little more thoroughly. The whole "don't believe everything you read" idea. But someone was looking for a fight I guess.

Which brings me back to the fact that people don't debate well anymore. I remember another situation, also on Facebook, where person A stated something political in nature and person B attacked with words like, "you're uneducated" and making assumptions that were not there. Now tell me, regardless of how you feel politically, wouldn't you think person A a much more credible person than person B? Attacking does not equal a sound argument. In fact, I would say the opposite is true. Attacking makes you look like a fool. Yup, I said it, a FOOL. Have I attacked before, yes. Have I appeared foolish, you betcha. And certainly I realize my mistakes and tried to learn from them.

So why do people attack in discussion? Why is it a necessity for your voice to be heard above everyone elses? As if speaking louder will get the point across. I think debating is ok, as long as it's only a debate. If we disagree, ok. But there's no need to attack. In the end, we'll all be judged by a just and fair God. There's no debate on that one-you'll just have to wait and see.