I realize I've been AWOL ... here's why

So, I've been AWOL from the blog. Sorry to those who've missed me...all 3 of you. :) A few things have been keeping me busy:

1)      Being a gym rat. We got a gym membership, and I'm using it pretty regularly. Regularly enough that the person at the front desk recognizes me. I've NEVER had this kind of relationship with a gym…and I think I could grow to like it.
2)      Cleaning and Crafting. I had some beautiful ladies over to make cards at the start of February, which required me to bring some order to my home. Now my house – especially the craft room/office – is more orderly than it has been in months. Also, it was fabulously fun to talk and spend time together with amazing women who make me smile. I hope they enjoyed the time as much as I did.
3)      Desk shopping. So my BFF is creating a home office and needed some furniture. We spent most of a Saturday going to multiple (7 ish) stores looking for the perfect desk. She didn't end up getting the desk that day, but we found a super cute and cheap end table that she's going to paint a brilliant color…the DIYer in me wanted to steal it for my home.
4)      Face time with the Hubbs! He recently changed shifts at work, and while he's home at night while I sleep, he gets home after I fall asleep and is still asleep when I leave for work in the morning. As a result, our time when we're both awake is pretty much limited to his weekday off and the alternate weekends he gets off. BUT, he had the 2nd weekend in February off and we spent 3 whole days being obnoxiously lovey dovey and inseparable. It was charming and the weekend went FAR too quickly.
5)      More crafting and friend time. Sitting down and making cards after a long hiatus has gotten me pretty stinking excited about making cards. So I went to my friend's house and we made more…while Hubbs and her hubby played poker. They both won money and I had a little stack of homemade cards at the end of the night. I call that a win.
6)      Making a BUDGET. Yep. The big ol' B word. It's been a time suck, but I'm kind of obsessed with it and will kick any unsuspecting expense in the keister if it messes up my beautiful, wonderful, zero-balance budget.

So, back to this beautiful budget. When Hubbs and I got married 3.5 years ago, we were gifted a copy of The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey with a note from my uncle and aunt that read, "This is most valuable gift we got on our wedding day, and now we give it to all newlyweds. Hope you enjoy it as much as we have." 

So, I read the first few chapters, thought it made sense, and then I put it on a bookshelf and told the Hubbs we HAD to switch to a cash only budget. Play this cash only budget conversation on repeat for the next 3.5 years (add in a few budgeting spreadsheets, look how much YOU spent this month conversations, and wouldn't it be great to have no payments dream conversations) and you reach the present. BUT, this time, I plugged the numbers in a new budget software, shared it with Hubbs (face-to-face with no distractions), and WE ARE BOTH ON BOARD WITH A SERIOUS BUDGET. 

Now, we're not as GAZELLE intense as Dave Ramsey suggests. We won't be picking up additional jobs or switching to rice and beans only diet, but we're going to stop allowing stupid gas station and Target whim purchases to keep us from eliminating our debt quickly and building wealth early so we can enjoy our money and make decisions WITHOUT being limited by our financial obligations. So, thanks to this budget, I'm pretty confident we'll be able to say hello to early retirement if we so desire...and who doesn't COMPLETELY desire that dream.

Third grade put downs and other life lessons

I grew up in a home where there was a lot of laughter — usually at my mother or my expense, and usually after a zinger delivered by my too-smart-for-his-own-good older brother.

This upbringing helped me develop some life skills that are pretty important:

1)      Know how to be the butt of a joke with grace — I often am the one making myself the staring character.

2)      ALWAYS carry a comeback close at hand.

Now, in the moment, I didn't always love being the punch line. And I threw out my fair share of, "Well…you're a meanie head," comebacks. If you ask my hubby, he'll tell you that my defense in most compromising situations is STILL to throw out some old school name calling that ends in "head" or "face" — meanie head, jerk face, dork face, butt face, stupid head, etc.

Don't you feel insulted just from reading this list?

Now, I don't condone name calling. But, these are some gems so feel free to use them at your discretion. At minimum, they're AWESOME argument diffusers. Who can take a grown up seriously when they're busting out third grade put downs?

I feel like I need to add to my list of "life skills"...

3)      Add "head" or "face" to all name calling. It really ups the ante OR completely destroys your street cred...but life is a gamble so I really think the risk it worthwhile.

So, I guess the moral of the story is to appreciate the things in life that annoy you in the present (like a stupid head older brother) because they'll make you better in the future...and don't forget the lessons you learned in childhood. You never know when a third grade put down will come in handy.