No Money no problem

What an interesting January? The longest government shutdown in history has eaten through so much of our extra cash. I have been scrimping by this January by not driving any where (gas is expensive), not buying anything but food, and luckily being way ahead on most of our bills. I have to wonder what every one else is doing who is affected by the government shut down.  

This experience has made me totally reevaluate how I spend money.  For the last three years we have been paying off the debt we racked up to fund all of Nolen's expensive therapies.  We will finally have that paid off in March.  We were going to buy a new car this year to celebrate; however, I now think that is a terrible idea.  Our cars are paid off and have been paid off for a long time.  Do I really want to go into debt for a car?  No.  It has been so freeing driving a car that has no payment.  Cars really do not bring any type of return on investment.  I think we can make it three more years with my car.  It has 170,000 miles on it and, of course, this month it broke down.  We had to pay $1400 to have the water pump replaced.  UGH! AND I do have that money in saving for such a rainy day, but I had to use the dreaded credit card for the water pump because, well the government shutdown happened.  THEN, yesterday, our toilet broke.

Do you ever think life is some cruel joke?  I do.  We could have paid for the water pump just fine and fixed the toilet no problem if we had our normal pay check.  But we don't.  The shutdown ended on Friday but will resume on February 15th.  That is just enough time to get paid ONE pay check.  We are missing two. 

Anyhow, January 2019 hasn't been my favorite.  I have been working on closing my photography business and that has proven to be much more challenging than I ever imagined.  Nothing can be done easily.

This brings me to my final point.

SAY THE HARD NO FIRST!  I had a feeling I shouldn't get a partner for my business.  I knew it was going to be hard, but I allowed myself to be talked out of following my gut.  I will not do that again.  If I had just said, "No thank you.  I don't want a partner." A year and a half ago, I would not be where I am today.

I am now ready to stop throwing money at people and things that do not help me reach my end goal: pay the house off in 10 years.  I must remind myself of that daily.  It is so easy to get distracted by shiny new things. I love clothes.  I love shoes.  I love work out clothes.  I have to remind myself that what I have is enough.  That what I have can and should be exactly what I need.  I get distracted by wants verse needs.  I negotiate with my mind.

NO MORE!

My wise sister in law said, "Stop negotiating with your mind."  

I negotiate all the time with my mind.  I talk myself out of exercising.  I talk myself into buying a new (uneeded) shirt.  I look at facebook rather than clean the house.  I have so many habits I want to change.  Number one: stop spending money on unnecessary things.  

I am sad it took this government shutdown to learn this lesson.  I am sad I didn't have the discipline to have more money in my savings account.  

I have written down my goals.  I will no longer negotiate with my mind.  I will listen to myself when I know I shouldn't do something.  It is too easy to negotiate.  It is too easy to make excuses.  

Thanks, January 2019, for helping me get my life back on track.

And for fun, here is a silly January video montage of random stuff.

The Longest Government Shutdown in History

Hello and welcome to my life.  I usually don't worry too much about money.  My husband and I have both worked hard to achieve the success we have in our lives.  We have over come many challenges.  We have a child with autism.  We disagree on politics and we don't see eye to eye on religion.  However; we agree on thing: The government shutdown needs to end.  

I don't care about your political view.  I don't care which way the shutdown ends.  It needs to end.  This is ridiculous.  Unless you are personally affected by the shutdown, please shut your mouth!

Enough is enough.  

Did you personally loose a family or friend because of the people crossing the boarder illegally?  No? Are you able to feed your family this week? Yes? Why does this wall matter so much?  Isn't boarder reform a better choice?  Why do we call the HUMANS who want to come to America, illigals?  Why are de-huminizing them? They are still people seeking refuge here in the LAND OF THE FREE! If this wasn't the American motto NONE OF US WOULD BE HERE! 

Think about that... your ancestors came here from another country seeking refuge, seeking freedom, seeking acceptance.  What has changed?  Why don't we completely open our boarders and let everyone in?  Wouldn't it be great to allow every one to come here and try to make our country better? 

I do! I think it would be great.  Our country is an amazing country.  We have so much to offer the world.  We have so much space.  AND we need help getting out of debt.  Let's bring the factories back to America, bring the workers from other countries here, pay them, have the business pay their fair taxes, and build a better America.  

Am I left? Am I right?  WHO CARES! I love all people! YES, all people!  No matter the race, creed, or back ground.  I don't care.  I want EVERYONE to have the chance to succeed in life.  There are enough American's that leach off our country that could be working.  Let's tighten our belt on handing out Social Security and Medicaid.  MAKE THEM WORK! 

I have had it!  Seriously, God asked us to LOVE EVERYONE! So let's start today. 

OH! And pay the people who have been working for 26 days with out pay.  Pay the people who PAY THEIR TAXES! Stop paying the people who don't pay their taxes.  If you don't pay taxes you don't get to vote.  SIMPLE!  You get no say in the government if you're not helping build a better country.

SIMPLE!

The end.  End the shutdown.  This is ridiculous.

Out with the old and in with the new

This last year was such a great year.  I have been reflecting on all the amazing things we did as a family.  It was so fun to watch the boys accomplish goals, go on vacation, and come closer as a family.  I want to do all those things this year AND clear things out of my life that no longer bring me joy.  

At the start of this year, I have decided to do the great purge of 2019! At least that's what I am calling it.  I have been going through closets one day at a time to clear out the clutter.  I am, in general, not a keeper of things, so this should be simple, right? I started with my own personal closet.  I go through my close once every 3-4 months.  I try to get rid of things I haven't worn or no longer have a use for in my personal closet.  Well, I went through all of my clothes and found I had a lot of things hiding in the nooks and cranny's of my closet.  I did a thorough de-junking of my closet. 

I gave away shoes that I loved but never wore.  I gave away all my "show" clothes.  That included things like tights, leotards, and spanx! I don't know when I'll go back to performing, but when I do, I am sure I'll update my wardrobe to accommodate my body type at the time.  I have been hanging on to these show clothes for years and haven't been through them in at least 4 years! WHAT? So it was time to purge.  

The next closet I chose was the coat closet.  What a mess?  We tend to just shove things in that closet because it is right by the kitchen and throwing things on the ground is much simpler than finding a place for it.  We have a lot of jackets.  I got rid of a bunch of jackets that I no longer wear.  I have been keeping these jackets because I thought I would need them one day.  Well, I don't use them and haven't used them in years.  So good-bye jackets!

I went through our linen closet and was shocked at what was in there.  So many sheet sets that we hate.  Too scratchy, too big, too ugly to name a few of the reasons why they are not used.  Also, one sheet set had holes! I am ashamed to admit it! At any rate, I feel much better about the clutter in our home.  I have a LONG way to go, but this was a good start.

I have also started to clean up the clutter in my real life.  A few years ago, I started a photography business to help pay off Nolen's autism debt.  I love photography.  I have been studying photography since college.  It is a true passion of mine. After sitting at my desk and editing thousands of photos, I learned that my passion has an end point.  The brutal side of owning your own business combined with the many hours spent sitting at my computer became far too much for me. I closed my business at the end of 2018.  

I am always up for a good trade if you would still like your photos taken by me in the future! 

I also love to reminisce about the trips we took last year.  Sometimes, I look at other people's lives and think, "they are so lucky! They get to travel, a lot!" Well, as part of my new years resolution, I am going to remind myself that I am blessed with travel in a different way.  I may not get to go out of the country, but I still take a lot of little trips that bring my family closer together.  

I'll start backward:

1. Reno, Nevada for Nationals

2. Palm Springs, California for Ironman 70.3

3. Hot Air Balloon ride
4. Phoenix, AZ for Regionals

5. Yellowstone, Idaho, Utah, Jackson Hole for 2018 Family vacation

6. Sipapu for Cross county high altitude training

7. Phoenix for Resort fun vacation

8. White Horse Lake, Arizona for the Independence Day

9. Ojo Caliente for Stephen's birthday

10.Santa Rosa for Camping and the wibit, TWICE!

11. Roswell for the Milkman triathlon

12. Four Corners for a triathlon

13. Vegas for our yearly anniversary trip

When I really look back on the year, I can see we have gone on some amazing trips.  I am so excited for what we have planned this year.  Up first is a trip to Great Wolf Lodge for Edward's 10th birthday.  Then Vegas, then Colorado for our yearly family vacation, and then Los Angeles for a fun couples get away.  I am also trying to plan a girls weekend with my friend Melanie.  We are going to run a half marathon together.  

As for my goals/new year resolutions I plan to really clean up my house. Not just the dirt and dust, that's easy, I want to de-clutter every inch of my house.  Including the garage and Stephens man cave! 

I want to run a half marathon and pick a few smaller triathlons with the possibility of another 70.3.

I want to become a better music teacher at home and at church.  This is a big one for me.  I try to be a good teacher and come up with new ideas each year, so this has been on going.

I want to foster better relationships with the people who really matter in my life and say "no" more to the people whom I allow to take over my life. This is also a big one for me.  I have been working on saying no for a long time, but it is tough to change who I am.  I like helping people but it is always at the cost of my family.  I can no longer do that.  At all.  I have a zero tolerance for doing things for others at the expense of my family.  IF I have met my family's needs then I can entertain the thought of helping others outside of my family.  For now, I'm sorry, I have to say no.

Lastly, I want to really study the scriptures with my boys.  I am so glad the Church came out with the "Come follow me" curriculum for home study.  I am going to make this a huge priority.  I plan to read the Book of Mormon with the boys as we already do daily, but I am going to add the New Testament to our reading each Saturday night before church so we can be prepared for the lessons.

I am so excited for this year and to see what it brings.  I am sure we will face many challenges, however; I am ready for them!

It wouldn't be life if it wasn't messy.

Oh life! How you constantly keep me on my knees. Humbled.  Always humbled. 

Let me start at the beginning.

I, somehow, always plan too much to do.  I can never get it all done.

Over the last three years, I have been better at saying "no" to many things that don't fit in my top priorities.  1.God 2. Husband 3. Family 4. Sports 5. Music  These priorities have kept me grounded.  I still find myself making excuses for things that don't make sense.

This week, my smoke detectors went off early in the morning scaring us all to death.  That one single moment sent my week into a downward spiral.  We found the reason why the smoke detectors went off; a leak in the roof that shorted out one of the smoke detectors.  Not cool.

Saturday, we planned a full day.

We woke up at 5:45 on Saturday to get ready for our cross country meet. Edward and Nolen ran their fastest times of the season!  They were so happy to be at the meet playing with their friends and running with their teammates.  We helped clean up the meet and then headed home to meet a friend for a play date.  On the way to the play date, our friend cancelled.  We ended up still going to the park to play instead of spending our afternoon looking at screens.  

After we left the play date we had a few errands to run before we went to our ward's trunk or treat.  We sped home, put on our costumes and headed back out again.  I couldn't button my dress and both boys tried to button it for me, so I threw on a jacket and figured I would have someone button it for me at the trunk or treat.  

Well that never happened.

I had to stop at target to get batteries for our trunk or treat game.  The boys came in with me and as I checked out I must have taken my phone out and left it on the counter. The boys grabbed the bags and we left the store.  We stopped at the house to get a screw driver to open the battery compartment of the game then we headed right to the church.  Once I got to the church, I reached for my phone to snap a photo of the boys and me in our costumes.

No phone. 

Gone.

I went inside and asked Sister Shumway if I could borrow her phone.  I first called Stephen.  He didn't answer.  No surprise.  Then I texted him.  We share our location on find my friends.  I figured he could look to see if my phone was at home or at target.  I waited about 2 minutes for him to respond.  He didn't.

Then I called my parents.  I also share my location with my mom.  She answered the home phone and I told her what happened.  She checked my location. She said my phone was "driving around Albuquerque".  Face palm! Someone had taken my phone from target.  

She called my phone and luckily the guy answered.  He said he had my phone.  My mom told him I would drive to his address and pick it up.  I think that sort of scared him because we knew his address based on where he was with my phone.  He then told her he would drive the phone back to the target.

Luckily, brother Shumway said he would drive with me to target to retrieve my phone.  We waited 20 minutes for him to show up.  When he drove up, he drove right up to me (remember I am in a big princess costume) and handed me my phone saying, "Sorry for taking your phone."

WOW!

I just told him thank you for bringing my phone back and we left.  So glad I got my phone back and it doesn't seem to have sustained any damage.  I went back to the trunk or treat and had a blast.  

Sunday morning I started looking through my phone and I realized I missed a very important text. I had invited a friend and her son to the trunk or treat.  They texted my phone at 6 PM saying they had arrived.  I never got that text so they left.  AH! 

Well Sunday night I decided to audition for Savior of the World.  I fell flat on my face.  Three years of no auditions and I can tell.  I am rusty.  Just makes me really appreciate the fact that I chose to be a mother instead of a professional singer.