good stuff all around.

for Lent this year, Chris and I are taking a social media break. 

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest are far too important in my life.

we don't really practice Lent, but it's a good time to reset and refresh.

we're 6 days in and yes, I'm missing my social media terribly, but I can say that life has much less drama when i'm not reading about everyone else's drama!

i deleted all the apps from my phone, so i catch myself opening my phone and then just staring because there's nothing good to do lol. all my photo apps don't matter if i can't push it to facebook or instagram.

really, the only other stuff i have on there is my period tracker and starbucks.

yep, not getting me very far.

clearly i needed this break.

but realistically, i'm trying to focus for this next month until Easter.

focus on what it is that God wants me to do.

what step does he want me to take?

and can i just say, it's amazing how much clearer you can hear God without all the distractions.

i asked, and he's delivering.

and i am absolutely paralyzed in fear.

just when i thought i had my control issues under control, God clearly shows me that i do not.

i spent a good 30 minutes ugly crying yesterday because i was scared. 

like scared to even say "ok God, I'll follow" because i have convinced myself that he will force me.

and by force me, i mean get me laid off from my job so i have to jump in with both feet.

but if it's God's plan, i know that he'll provide for me anyway.

oh my brain is so....human.

and i realize that this is all really vague, but i just need to get it out, so play along mmkay.

anyway, i tried to take a step and i signed up for a significant conference yesterday. that's gotta count for something.

but then there's the issue that much of my drama over it is put on by pms.

i mean i cried watching our dave ramsey class last night.

who am i kidding? i cry at that anyway.

speaking of dave, we're doing financial peace university right now. i kind of love it, but i'm nerdy like that. it's exciting to think of getting complete control of our money, and then completely overwhelming when you look at how much real debt we have.

i haven't yet had to make a student loan payment, so while i've always known it's out there, i've also never really counted it because it wasn't part of our monthly payments.

so today i actually logged in to get the total balance (for my 12 year bachelor's degree) and i just about passed out.

well....let the debt paying madness begin! i'm ready to call into his show and scream WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!

yeah, i cry every time someone does that too.

Well, it's Wednesday....

i swear i thought monday felt like friday!
but now i'm all like "oh crap it's wednesday and there's so much to do this week!"

we're heading to atlanta for a few days this weekend and i'm so excited.
i just need some good hugs from my peeps back home.
and mexican food...white cheese to be exact! ;)
you would be happy to know that i finally tried fuzzy's taco shop and was pleased with their white cheese, so it'll get me by in between trips to the ATL.
and yes, we're packing up the dog and taking him with us. his first road trip. should be interesting.

chris and i are going through a few transitions in life right now, but in a good way.
and although it's an overall positive transition, it's still stressful.
but do you know what the best stress reliever ever was?
yesterday, i had a stack of random bills that had accumulated outside of our regular monthly bills.
you know, medical bills, traffic violations, etc....and i paid them all!
and then i paid off our credit cards.
ah...now that feels good.

and yes, i mentioned traffic violations. we have had more violations here (2) in the last 6 months than in the last 10 years! what the what?

did i ever tell you about the $540 parking violation we got slapped with?
luckily a nice lawyer man decided to help us for free and get it knocked down to $200.
still stupid, but at least it's better than freaking $540. honestly, why would a NON-MOVING violation cost more than one that would put people in danger?
i swear, i'll never understand our judicial system.
oh and the other, yeah it was from a red light. we turned right as the light turned red.
apparently, one has to make a complete stop before turning right on red.
these texans take their traffic laws very seriously...maybe we need a refresher.
geez.

so how's your week shaping up?

Dave Is Taking Over

well, it's in full swing.
our new budget, that is.
it's happening in a fierce way.
meet dave -

this is dave ramsey and he is quite the financial advisor.

he has a proven plan that works.

and while we've been playing with dave for 7 years on and off now, we've never embraced the program to it's fullest. we've just picked bits and pieces.

but dear friends, the time has come to completely commit to the entire dave ramsey total money makeover.

the joke this weekend was that i wasn't sure i'd be able to implement a budget and revamp the healthy lifestyle in the same week.

i know myself all too well and while i've had no need to spend money, the fact that it's all divided and spoken for in all these envelopes did something to me. and so last night i needed some fried chicken. it's been almost a year since i had true fried chicken. and since i knew dave would not approve of my spending at chick-fil-a or zaxby's, i was a good budgeter and came home and made it!

yep, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy.

it was delicious.

and gym time is in desperate need to work it off.

back to dave.

so yes we're on dave's plan fully.
envelopes have been created.
allowances given.
a new lifestyle in place.
3 days now of not eating a single meal out....for me at least.
this is huge.
and it's hard.
not the actual budget or the plan.
but the implementation of the budget.
it's hard to change your way of living.
but here's how we're looking at it......
we want to bring a baby into the picture soon, and well we want to make sure that everything is in place and ready to go.
we're going to need money to move when that baby comes along.
we're going to need a savings account that's fluffy for when i'm out on maternity leave.
we're going to need to be able to live month to month and not have that as an additional stressor.
we're going to need to be able to set up a college fund....my child will not go through what i am going through with trying to pay for school and pay back student loans.
and while none of these things are happening in this moment, we need to be good stewards with our money enough to plan for them.
and i believe that god wants to bless those who are faithful with what he provides.
faithful meaning using our gifts to be blessings to others.....not spend it all eating out every meal or buying random crap.
and so, here we are.
living on a budget.
or like dave says - temporarily living like no one else so that you can live like no one else.

Shopping Craze!

There's something about being on vacation that gives me the illusion that I have lots of money to spend. Just to clarify...I don't. However, the outlet malls down the street from our resort completely took control over me!

So on this particular day, we started out with a yummy to our tummy breakfast at a place called Another Broken Egg.




I had the most delicious chocolate milk ever in the universe!




Let's take a closer look at that.....do you see that? Whipped cream on chocolate milk!!!!




After that indulgence, we headed to the stores! As you know I have a weakness for all things teal. Needless to say, when I saw these, they were a must have! Possibly the highest heel I've ever owned but I love them!




Chris had a little fun at Eddie Bauer. He said this one made him feel like a blueberry. I got a couple of things here too...




All that shopping worked up quite the appetite, so off to Panera it was! I ha a French onion soup bowl. SO good. And here I am exhibiting Eating habits o a hyena while attacking my bread bowl.





This day was only the beginning of my uncontrollable urge to swipe my plastic!

4 Months and Counting

Well can you believe it, there's only 4 months left in 2008! So, I have decided to set a goal list of things that must be completed by 12.31.08. Here it goes:
1. Get out of Debt
2. Buy my camera
3. Lose 20 pounds

That's my top 3. I think that's enough to start with. I don't want to overwhelm myself, because then I wouldn't accomplish any of it.

On a lighter note, we had a fun family evening of determining stripper names. I would be the fabulous Teddy Holiday! Chris would be Pee-Wee Augusta! The way you decide your name is very easy:
Take the name of your first pet (first name)
and then the name of the first street you lived on.
Ahh, what an evening! Hmmm......maybe I could get Chris to start stripping again to help bring in some extra cash! :)

HAPPY TUESDAY!