Archive results for “December 2010f 2010”
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Despite some interesting ups and downs, 2010 was a good year to us. We did more than just ‘survive another year’. I feel like we really lived this year. We grabbed every moment and squeezed out every drop.
We had some amazing trips, we reduced our debt, and our families are healthy. What more could we ask for?!?
I’m excited about the coming year. I really think 2011 is going to be big for us.
Shoot. Did I just become an optimist? Please don’t tell anyone.
Tomorrow, we will be celebrating at our annual new year’s party. We invite our families, friends, and neighbors over for a ‘culinary experience’. The food this year? (Vegetarians should stop reading) Roast pig. Everyone chipped in for a whole pig to roast over an open fire. Mix in a salad, some baked beans, and conversations with the folks I love and I’d call it a great day.
Have a GREAT new year!!
I’m in a tax write-off frenzy right now. My strong procrastination skills have resulted in a 6 month old neatly folded pile of clothing ready for donation to Goodwill. Leave it to me to give myself a measly 48 hour window to take care of everything.
Also included in the 48 hour countdown is our energy efficient spending. According to the Wall Street Journal, and the ever so helpful staff at Lowes, this is the last year of the 30% tax rebate for energy efficient insulation, water heaters, windows and doors. Bad news: Our house has zero insulation and we’ve been working on fixing that problem for two years. Despite all this work, we still need an additional $600 worth of insulation. Thanks to the removal of the tax credit, we’re forced to bite the bullet and buy the remaining insulation now. At least it’s on sale. Good news: I guess our water heater picked a good year to go kaput.
My husband is ripping apart our walls as we speak. Our thermometer is reading a crisp 56 degrees…in the living room. I’ve always fantasized about having a living room temperature above 65 during cold spells. I guess my wildest dreams are finally coming true.
It’s amazing what a 48 hour deadline will do.
Obviously, I’m not a tax person. Consult with a professional before investing or donating.
I complained a few blogs ago about my inability to part with our budgeted Christmas money. Two years of no Christmas spending has formed some serious tightwad habits – and not in a good way.
I did buy a couple gift cards to restaurants for my siblings and I bought a shirt on sale for my husband. He also asked for a few small tools to add to his work bench so I stopped by the hardware store and bought him a gift card. I was $50 under budget and extremely proud of myself.
Shortly before Christmas, my husband called me at work and asked how much was left in the Christmas budget. When I told him, he asked if he could donate it to Rady Children’s Hospital. He had been listening to the radiothon all week and felt the kids needed it more than we did.
We donate a set amount to charity each month and in my compulsiveness, I hadn’t even thought to be more generous over the holidays.
I have become the Christmas Scrooge.
We gave the last $50 to Children’s Hospital.
Fortunately for me, I married a compulsive giver. Somewhere in the middle, I think we’ll turn out OK. Maybe next year, I’ll be a little less Scrooge-ish.
Every year, my sister gives me the BEST gift and, thanks to my good for nothing memory, I forget to steal it and claim it as my own. But I figured I’d share it here so maybe you can do a better job of gift idea theft than me.
My sister bakes the world’s best cookies (no exaggeration) from scratch and as awesome as that is, it’s not the best part of her gift. She also includes all the dry ingredients for a complete dinner and prints the directions on beautiful holiday paper. This year’s selection: tortilla soup with corn bread.
Sure, nothing makes me feel older than getting far more excited over a pre-mixed dinner than the new Lady Gaga CD but… we all have to grow up (somewhat) sometime.
So, steal the idea for next year and claim it as your own. There is no shame in stealing good ideas.
Thanks Cole.
Best Wishes to All of You!!
At 4AM on Saturday morning, my husband’s cell phone blared loudly, shocking me awake from my sleep.
Here’s my deal about middle of the night phone calls, my husband and I both work two jobs and he attends night school on top of it. Unless someone is dead, don’t call at 4AM on a weekend, otherwise, it will be your funeral I’m planning.
Fortunately, no one was dead. It was my in-laws calling to ask my husband for help fixing their water heater that had sprung a leak and flooded their basement. The water had long since been turned off but I’m guessing since they had been up since 2AM cleaning the mess, 4AM seemed like a semi-decent hour.
My husband went over to help fix their pipes and uncovered some other problems with the gas line while he was at it. Having gas line problems while using industrial heaters and fans to dry out a flooded area seemed a bit on the dangerous side, so he fixed those as well. He ended up working on their plumbing until 3PM.
Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal but we had already promised to move my brother’s father-in-law’s stuff out of his condo in exchange for some much needed furniture. Unable to postpone the move since the property closed on Monday, we worked until 11PM (with some great help from my brother-in-law’s) before finally giving in to sleep.
My husband spent Sunday morning re-piping the neighbor’s bathroom in exchange for helping us finish moving the furniture. The neighbor’s plumbing had problems too (surprise surprise) so we didn’t get started again until about 3PM. We finally finished moving, vacuuming, and sweeping around 8PM and made our way back home. After unloading and rearranging the furniture, we didn’t to sleep until after 10PM.
Monday morning, as our alarm clocks chimed at 4:30AM, my husband whispered, ‘I changed my mind. I don’t want tools for Christmas, I want a weekend of sleep.’
Can’t say I blame him.
But the weekend of hard work paid off with some furniture we could never afford to buy ourselves.
We moved the wonderful, fabulous, awesome, smell good couches this weekend (more on that later) and I love, love, love them.
My parents always told me that people don’t appreciate what they don’t pay for. They especially loved using this when I asked for a car. ‘You’ll treat it better if you pay for it yourself!’ was their mantra for all my teenage years. They said it would build strong character.
Whelp mom and dad, just like you lied about Santa, you lied about appreciation.
I’ve had the free couches for two days. So far, I’ve asked three people how recently they’ve showered and screamed at two more for getting their shoes within 3 inches of the ottoman.
‘Ahh!’ I screamed and ran to cover the couch with a towel when my husband attempted to sit.
He looked at me confused, ‘Honey, I just got out of the shower. I’m clean!’
‘I don’t want soap scum or gel on the couches’ I said sheepishly.
He muttered ‘Dear Lord, I’ve married a whack job.’
Have a little mercy on me. It’s the first time we’ve had nice couches. I’m sure I’ll loosen up after a few months *cough* or years *cough* but until then, guests are welcome… they just can’t sit on the sofa.
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My Debt
- Original Debt: $38,495.86
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