I'd Fall For It...Would You?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Read more about this cake at Not Martha.

Delayed Gratification

Delayed gratification is not so very popular in mainstream America.  I am sure it is one of our biggest faults as a nation.  We want it now.  We want it how we want it.  We don't care if we cannot afford it.

I had been a slave to this kind of thinking, myself.  It caused a lot of problems.  I can remember thinking I needed a NEW car every two years.  Since I could not afford one, I leased.

I can remember thinking I needed a BIGGER house.  We bought one thinking my husband's paycheck would keep going up and up as it had before.  Then came recession.  We had to move.  I learned to never make a financial decision based on hopes.

I've learned a new kind of thinking over the last 5 years it took us to get debt free.  It was not really new, but new to me.  I learned to say no to myself.  I learned to make do with what I had, not rushing out to a store without trying to make do or just do without until I could afford whatever it was I thought I needed.  I learned to delay my gratification.

I've been thinking about how to encourage someone who is deep in debt and wants to change.  It is so very hard, but not impossible.  The first thing you have to do is face the fact that you have a problem.  Add up those numbers and be brave.  Take a good look at the total.  You promised to pay this money to someone who trusted you to pay them back.  It doesn't matter that they are an impersonal bank in some other city.  You owe them the money.  Debt is a serious matter. 

After you face the total, tear up your credit cards and write a real budget.  Stick to that budget no matter what.  Because there really is no alternative.   Start paying back the money you owe.  You might have to get some help here and set up a payment plan.  It might take you 5 years.  That's really OK.  In those five years you will learn many lessons that only time can teach you! 

I remember thinking it would be impossible to live without credit cards.  What would we do in an emergency?  It forced us to spend more carefully.  We started saving for an emergency fund.  We prayed!  When we hit bottom, it was very scary.  We lived on "fumes" for four years.

Emergencies do happen.  One of the reasons we choose to rent at this time is to manage our risk while we regroup.  Part of this regrouping time is working on saving for 2 months living expenses. Houses can be money pits.  We figured we can save more if we don't have the risk at this time. 

If you are serous about getting out of debt, it will happen.  It will take time.  It will not be fun.  But when you are debt free, it will have all been worth it.  I know that most people who read my blog are frugal and debt free already.  And I applaud you.  I also know there are some people in debt through no fault of their own reading this.  Know that I am not writing this to discourage you.  I am talking to people like me who were spending money they had no right to spend. 

But, if you need some encouragement in this area, I am here to offer some. It is still easy for me to be discouraged in this area.  It is one step forward, two steps backwards at times.  I wonder if we are trying to do too much.  We are living within our means, but we need to be saving more.  There is no end to the ways I can be overwhelmed when I think about all we need to do.  That's where my faith in God helps.  I know if I am doing my best, He can do the rest.  

~Jenn

Hair Update

I keep meaning to write a follow up post to my other post about going "No Poo".  So far, I am very happy.  It did take three weeks to adjust, but the adjustment was very mild.  Now on the second day, my hair is no longer oily.  I have found that it helps to rinse my hair with water on the days between the washings with soda.  I also read that you can let those washing go farther between as your hair adjusts.

One day I skipped the vinegar rinse because I forgot to make more before I was already in the shower.  Boy, was I surprised at how tangled my hair was afterwards.  The vinegar rinse really does work.

I only have one other family member joining me on this journey, so far.  The others might have to join by default, as they are soon to need shampoo and I just might not buy any! 

Again, I am just so pleased with my hair.  I have no reason to go back. 
~Jenn

This Week at Home

In which, we continue to make progress.

On the Heart and Mind:

I am so thankful for how things went this week.  Ryan had a low grade fever Sunday evening, so I was not sure how things would go.  He remains congested, but is functioning.  I've let him have extra sleep each morning.  And I let him skip gym class.  It seems to be working.  Of course, I hope no one else comes down with this.  

I got some really good news from a close family member.  I can't say exactly what it is, but it going to be nice seeing them more often very soon.  

Only 5 more working Saturdays of tax season remain.  We are doing very well this season.  We get to see Jeff for an hour or two each night, so that is nice.  I am sure this will dwindle down in the next several weeks.  I am not allowing myself to have any pitty parties this year.  There are too many people with harder situations than mine for that. 

Goatee?

Life and Learning:

We finished Teresa of Calcutta and Shadow Spinner, both, very good books.  We will start two new books next week.  I think we are moving on to Africa from India.

The older two students wrote persuasive essays this week.  Grace chose to persuade me that it would be better to have cookies for her birthday rather than a cake, as we will be camping that week.  Ryan wrote about why Linux is better than Windows.  (I agree, by the way.) 

I've started gathering books for next year.  I bought two years of Teaching Textbook's math from a dear online friend.  We're getting ready to place our Sonlight order, too.   I need to place an order for Apologia during CBD's sale this month.  I love curriculum sales! 

Look familiar?

Around the House:

Just keeping up with the basics, which I have decided is good enough during the school year.  I mean, really, it is not going to change, so I need to get over it!  :-)

Camping out in the family room.

In the Kitchen:

I splurged and made a huge pan of lasagna this week.  It's a splurge when cheese and meat are so dear.  I used the leftover marinara that I made last week.  I will end up freezing lunch sized portions for my husband's lunches, so it ends up going a long way. 

Saturday, we'll make some treats to take to my Grandma on Sunday. 

On the Nook:

Oscar Wilde's play, An Ideal Husband is what I am reading for fun this week.  It's a tale of what happens when you lie.  I'll be looking for another book soon, as it is a very short story.  Any suggestions?  Remember, it must be in the public domain.  I am thinking about Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.  It's been a long time since I read that book. 

Scripture Memory:

Going to have a review week, going back to the beginning. 

Picture of the Week:

Quote of the Week:

"We all have our short comings," Teresa said, "but the marvelous thing is that God uses us for His work, even with our weaknesses.  God writes through us, and however imperfect pencils we may be he writes beautifully."  

from Teresa of Calcutta, by D. Jeanene Watson, p. 120.

One last thing.  My friend Keri of Sunny Keri has made a short video that I think you just have to go see.  She adds her gorgeous photos to Wyane Watson's singing of I am His and He is Mine.  Just beautiful.  Thank you, Keri.


I hope you've had a great week, too!
~Jenn









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The Lasagna Garden

Several years ago, a friend of mine kept talking about starting a lasagna garden.  Images of tomatoes, basil, and oregano filled my head.  Was she going to grow wheat to make pasta too? 

Skip forward some years and I finally figured out what she was talking about.  I was instantly enchanted.  But I was afraid of failure, so I went with a more trusted method, The Square Foot Garden.  We had very good success with our boxes, too.  Only trouble was that we had to leave them behind, two houses ago. 

Presently, we have a backyard that is wooded, which is not good for a garden.  There is a very small, gated area off the deck,that is in the sun, mostly.  We've decided that this is where we want to grow our small garden.  And we have decided that we can best do this most economically with the Lasagna method. 

So what is this method?  What does it have to do with lasagna?  It's all about layers.  The beauty is that the layers are on top of the ground that does not need to be tilled.  You build up.  You use nutrient rich materials to make these layers.  There is cardboard on the bottom to discourage weeds.  I am all about discouraging weeds!

If you want to know the details let me suggest two really great resources to check out , Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! by Patricia Lanza  and Homestead Blessings, their gardening DVD.  


I'll let you know how it goes.  Has anyone else given this a try? 
~Jenn

Having Thoughts of Spring

Don't you just love this tree?  

It won't be too much longer and the trees in my yard will be just as green and full of life.  Soon we will have to mow the grass.  Probably not until late April, but soon enough.  Then it will  be rainy and growing like mad and we will not be able to mow it because of the rain.  And we will start to complain about spring. 

We hope to plant a very simple garden this year.  We will be using the popular "Lasagna" method.   We have purchased Homestead Blessings DVD about gardening.  Even though we've had good gardens before, we always feel like we could learn more.  This reminds me that I should be ordering some seeds soon.  Grace already worked in the garden, picking out rocks.  Our frost free date is not until around Mother's Day.  It is sooooooo hard to wait.

My husband, always thinking about spring, has been busy making camping reservations.  We even had the camper popped up on Sunday.  Talk about anticipation!  Oh my!  The next time we pop it up, we'll be cleaning it and filling it with supplies.  It's getting so easy to pop it up and down.  This last time we did it so quickly that we thought at first that we must have forgotten something. 

This morning, I heard more birds singing than ever.  Even they know spring is coming and they cannot contain their joyful song.   I have not seen my snow bird friends in a couple days, too.  I wonder where they flew off to.

With spring comes the natural urge to clean.  To spring clean or not?  I'd probably need to take a full week off of school to do it well.  Who wants to do that?  The house could use it though. 

I read about an idea to make a list of jobs I want done and then offer 50 cents per job, if it is done to my requirements and done before I get to it.  If we take the week off, we could work on this list in the mornings and then go do something fun in the afternoons, assuming we have the energy.  Anyway, that is just an idea I am tossing around, not sure it will happen.  It might be nice to just keep going and get done with the school year earlier.  Then I can clean.  It will be late instead of early spring and does it really matter?

One other thing I am looking forward to is opening up the windows to air out the house.  Perhaps the germs will go away.  There is nothing like an open window  on a warm spring day!


These are just some of my thoughts of spring at the moment.  I cannot believe that winter is almost over and we made it.  I purposed to get through this winter with a happy heart.  I did not want to grumble.  I wanted to celebrate life, all of it.  Praise be to God. 

Now, onward to spring!
~Jenn

A 13th Birthday in Pictures

It was a fun birthday weekend.  I can't think of anything lacking in the birthday boy's experience.

It was great celebrating our first born.  I feel as if he was such a special blessing to our family. He broke us in and still is paving the way for the others.

Both my husband and I were first borns.  It comes with its advantages and disadvantages.  As first time parents we made our share of mistakes, not in his favor.  However, he is the first to get a cell phone, to be able to babysit his sibblings, and has his own laptop. 

Ryan has been his own little person since day one.  God knew we needed him to begin our lives as parents. And now that he is 13, he is making his way in this world of ours.  He has such potential.  He has a brilliant mind for computers.  He loves to read and he can remember almost everything he reads.  He is a good writer.  He loves to tell others about everything he is learning.  He is serious about martial arts. His ambition in life is to be the biggest geek ever.  *smile*

 And now, we get to guide him through his final years at home.  I am confident we will make mistakes along the way.  I am also confident that he will continue to thrive despite them.  He is a creative guy, who has a lot going for him.  It is going to be a pleasure watching him grow into the man that God wants him to be.