12-12-12

So today, Tom and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. It seems like just yesterday we went on our first date, but I also can barely remember what life was like before I knew him. When Tom married me, I was a package deal with two children Josh and Serenity, ages 3 and 4. He accepted them as his own, adopted them less than a year later, and we had Natasha to complete our family. He has been the best father and husband that anyone could ask for and has consistently shown his love for me. I love him and like him even more than I did on the day we got married twenty years ago and can't wait for the next twenty years (plus many more, hopefully).

Just call me...

Well, I have big, big, big news! My oldest daughter and her husband are going to have a baby. I am going to be a grandmother! I am so excited! Now I have to decide what I want to be called because I think I am way too cool and hip to just be Grandma, LOL.

Well, Christmas is even closer than it was the last time I posted a blog here on October 25th! Wow. It's 3 weeks from today. Are you ready? I'm getting there, but I'm not done yet. It's hard to get in the spirit.

Bi-Polar Weather and EEK! Christmas!

Well, I was worried the wind wouldn't blow today, but thank goodness, it is. LOL. Okay, that was sarcastic. But this weather, wow. Upper 80's for several days, now we're plummeting back into winter. Come on, how about some fall somewhere in here?

So, a friend posted on Facebook today, it's only 2 months until Christmas. What have YOU done to get ready? Me? I've bought a few things, but still have a long ways to go. Need help organizing for Christmas? Check out Flylady, she has a great Holiday Control Journal. Whatever you do, make a plan! It makes Christmas so much easier to deal with. So in addition to the goals I posted yesterday, I am setting a goal for myself to have a Christmas list made by next Friday (November 2nd).

Have a happy and blessed day! And put some rocks in your pocket so you don't blow away!

Not enough hours in the day

It just seems there are not enough hours in the day to get all the things done I want to get done. So I'm going to set myself some goals and see if it helps:

1. By next Monday, I will update our debt total. It's creeping along and we're making a bit of progress.

2. I worked in my office last weekend. I will finish getting it cleaned up by the end of next week.

Okay, those are both pretty big goals so I'm going to leave it at that for now. Hope you are all having a wonderful and blessed week!

Health update-what a difference a year makes

A few weeks ago, Tom's employer had their annual health screening. They "encourage" us to do the screening by giving us a $500 discount on our health insurance deductible for the next year. There were big differences in mine from a year ago.

Last year I weighted 292, this year I weighed 250. Two years ago I weighed 313! I've lost about 5 or 6 more pounds since the screening too. :)

Last year my Hemoglobin A1C was 9.1, this year it was 6.8. If you don't know, that's a number that gives an average of your blood sugar over the last 2-3 months. This is even including the fact that I have drastically reduced my insulin dosage. Last year, the doctor had prescribed me to take 60-70 units twice a day; now I'm taking 15 units twice a day (and may need to reduce it a bit more).

Last year my fasting blood glucose that morning was 226, this year it was 122.

Last year my cholesterol was over 200, this year it was 187.

Tom had huge differences in his too. He'd lost 30 pounds since last year and his A1C had gone from a 6.6 to a 5.8.

I am so proud of both of us, we are making huge improvements in our health and lifestyle and it is showing! God is good!

Smart phone app/Website review: My Fitness Pal

Just a few weeks ago, I finally got a smart phone. It was time for my upgrade and most of the free/cheap phones were smart phones, so I just bit the bullet and did it. Anyway, I'd been hearing people talk about My Fitness Pal, which is a website as well as a smart phone app, but I had never checked it out. Well, I added it to my phone about 3 weeks ago and I LOVE it! It makes it so easy to track your food and your exercise and watch your caloric intake. And although the smart phone app makes it super easy, you can also just use the website. If you are trying to lose weight or get healthier in anyway, I highly recommend My Fitness Pal. And if you join, add me as a friend, I'm under my name TracyHinton.

Some weights lifted

Well, some of the things that have been on our shoulders over the last few weeks were finally lifted somewhat last week. I do ask for continued prayers for our family and appreciate all the prayers that have already come.

One of the things that I can share about is our house insurance ordeal. In mid-August, we got a letter from our home insurance that they were not renewing us. It said to call to see if our agent had "other options" for us. So I called and was told if we would switch our car insurance to them, they wouldn't drop us. Now, I don't like being told what to do, but even more than that, I don't like feeling like I'm being blackmailed. To top it off, the car insurance was going to be 3-4 times what we are currently paying. So I started looking for other options on house insurance. One of the places I called was our car insurance agent (I've had my car insurance with the same agency since I was a teenager). We finally got word last Friday that we would be able to get our house insurance through them. It is only about $30 more a month than what we were paying and we'll get a discount on our car insurance so it will come very close to coming out even. That was a huge weight lifted. I am rather fond of having house insurance!

Had an epiphany

Sunday night during our First Place 4 Health class, I had an epiphany. We were discussing how our bodies are God's temples. And I thought "I would never desecrate or destroy the church building that I go to worship at. I should take care of my body too."

This week, Tom and I had the annual health screening at his job. We are both anxious to see the results of the bloodwork. My weight was 250, which is 63 pounds less than it was 2 years ago and over 40 pounds less than last November when we did the health screening last. Tom is closing in on 40 pounds.

The First Place 4 health class has been a huge blessing for us. We just started a new session and added a Wednesday night class. There are 19 people in the Sunday night class and 8 people in the Wednesday night class. If you are interested in visiting one of the classes, let me know. You're welcome to come check some out!

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. I Corinthians 6:19-20

So have I mentioned?

Have I ever mentioned that I have a hard time writing when I'm depressed? The last few weeks have been really hard for my family. I can't share any details because I don't have permission to do so. But I do ask for continued prayers for our family.

And just a reminder to everyone: life is short. Tell the people that you love how you feel. Never take life for granted.

This Bible verse has encouraged me this week:
2 Corinthians 12:10
¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

If it weren't for bad luck...

Remember that Hee-Haw song?

Gloom, despair, and agony on me.
Deep dark depression,
excessive misery.
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all...

Sometimes I feel like that song is the story of our life. The last two weeks have been incredibly difficult. I am not going to go into any details, but I just beg of you to please pray for my family. All of us. We really need it.

Thanks!

Something to think about

I have had two interviews to fill my open spot not show up this week and haven't heard back from the one that did show up last week. So I have been feeling discouraged and frustrated. This passage was my devotional for this morning:

It amazes me how God can always show me the right passage or send me the right person to feel better.

Isaiah 40:27-31

²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”? 
²⁸ Do you not know?
    Have you not heard? 
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth. 
He will not grow tired or weary, 
    and his understanding no one can fathom. 
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary 
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall; 
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength. 
They will soar on wings like eagles; 
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

A week of good-byes

This is a week of good-byes.

It started Sunday night when I had to say good-bye to a couple in our church that are missionaries. They are leaving to do some traveling before they head back to Brazil. They've been here on furlough since last summer. I feel like I've grown really close to the wife and just really enjoy spending time with both of them. So, I was crying my eyes out Sunday night.

Then yesterday, Natasha left to go back to college. It was great having her home, but I know she was ready to go back and I think Tom and I were ready to have our empty nest again. LOL. But I cried anyway.

And Friday will be the last day for one of my kids. Since he doesn't live here in town, chances are I won't see him a whole lot after this. So I know that Friday's going to be a very hard day for me. It's always hard when a child leaves. I guess I wouldn't be good at my job if I didn't get so attached to them, right?

So, if you see my crying this week, you'll know why! :)

A brief update

I haven't had much time to post lately, so I thought I'd post a brief update.

We are limping along with one car right now. For the most part, it's not a problem. But it can be an inconvenience. And we are just praying that this one stays running well.

Tasha is home until August 13th. She had a great summer in Denver, but she was glad to be home.

I will have two openings coming up in my child care, so please pray for me to fill them. I may have already filled one, so just pray for wisdom and the right family/families to come along.

Just as we got the 2007 tax stuff paid off, we got a letter about 2008. I need to get that stuff together and file it and then we'll start paying on that. We still haven't got any more bills on the 2006 stuff and I haven't tried to call them. It's so hard to make a phone call here during the day. But I'm going to have to break down and do it.

As always, I appreciate all of your prayers. Hopefully I'll be able to post a debt update in the next day or so. :)

6 months ago...

6 months ago, on January 30th, I began exercising. Since then, I have exercised 6 days a week most weeks. In fact, last week was the first week I hadn't exercised 6 days, but I did manage to get in 5 days because I took our little DVD player and an exercise DVD with us. Plus, we just did lots of walking. I have never maintained an exercise program for more than a few weeks so this is super exciting for me!

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy for me with Vacation Bible School and then vacation. Hopefully this week, I can get back in the swing of things because it's about to start getting crazy here! Lots of stuff coming up and I feel a bit overwhelmed. Just going to tackle it a little bit at a time and try not to stress out.

Over 50 pounds lost!

Just a brief little thing to share here! When we weighed in at church yesterday, I was under 260 pounds and have lost about 54 pounds since the fall of 2010. About 30 of that in the last 3 months. God is so good! I am loving the First Place 4 Health class that we're doing at the church. Our members as a total have lost 117 pounds since we started in June!

I miss my dishwasher!

As I mentioned quite a while back, our dishwasher died (back in January). I've tried really hard to have a positive attitude about it and not let it bother me too much. But days like yesterday, I really, really, really miss it. This is the pile of dishes I had to to wash by hand after lunch yesterday:

This was on top of trying to get 7 kids down for a nap (including an infant). Yeah, I really miss my dishwasher!

Broke the $5000 mark!

Just since we started Financial Peace University up again in February, we have paid off a little over $5000 in debt.

$200 towards student loans
$118.02 + $75 towards our Napa bill (PAID!!!!)
$386.78 towards our 2007 tax bill

$125 towards our 2006 tax bill
$375 towards one credit card
$345 towards one credit card (settled in full-so PAID!!!!!!)
$75+388.26 towards one credit card (settled in full-so PAID!!!!!!)
$250 towards one credit card (

$500 towards our Bass hospital bill

Bass physician’s bill $35.50+26.91
$18.80 for a doctor bill
$1412.33 towards our house

$333.36 for 2011 real estate taxes

$340 for 2011 Oklahoma income taxes

For a total of: $5004.96

Big news!

It's official! I will be teaching an online child development class as an adjunct instructor for Western OK State College in Altus starting in August. I will be teaching Health, Safety, and Nutrition. I went down to my parent's on Friday night, then met with my friend/boss yesterday morning. She walked me through the ropes and gave me the textbook, etc. I am so super excited to be doing this. And nervous of course! :) But it's a huge opportunity for me and will be a great experience. And God willing, it will lead to bigger things eventually.

It's not enough income to quit my day job, but it will be some extra income to go towards debt!

I guess it's really obvious

I guess it becomes really obvious when I am struggling because I have a hard time writing on the blogs. That's not the only reason I haven't been around much, but it is part of it.

I posted about Car Troubles back on June 8th. We had been praying fervently that the car would be fine and it seemed to be doing well. We'd driven it to Enid a couple of times and church once and it seemed to be fine. But last Friday, Tom took it to work and when he got home Friday afternoon, it was bubbling over in the overflow tank. :( So...we're going to get it checked out one more time and then make the decision about what to do. Please pray for wisdom for us as we make this choice.

The news isn't all bad though. I had an interview last week and started a new baby this week. She's 2 months old and just precious. I am so excited and grateful! AND, I am going down south on Saturday to meet up with my friend and get training on teaching an online child development class starting in August. I am so excited (and very nervous!).

And, I haven't told too many people this yet, BUT we get to go to Vegas on our vacation next month! My parents gave us free flight vouchers, I got rooms for $29 a night downtown (we're staying 2 nights), and so we'll just need food and entertainment money. Since there are alot of free things to do in Vegas, I'm thinking it will be a fun and cheap vacation! Although I am sure it will be hot!

That's all the news for now. Would appreciate prayers continuing for us.

Book Review: One Year Bible

I have always wanted to read through the entire Bible, but have never actually done it.  I tried once, starting in the Old Testament, but ended up quitting. I've seen the outlines where you can read different sections of the Bible and get through it in one year, but have never done it.

Recently, I started hearing about the "One Year Bible" which has the Bible (both Old and New Testament) broken down into 365 daily readings so that you read the entire Bible in one year. I found a used one on Amazon and ordered it. The one I got is a Zondervan and is the New International Version. Each day has a section from the Old Testament, a section from the New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverb.

I love it! It is so easy to read that day's section and doesn't take as long as I always thought it would to read enough each day to get through the Bible in one year. If you want to read the Bible all the way through, I highly recommend buying a version of the One Year Bible!

Car troubles

I'm getting a horrible sense of deja vu right now. On Tuesday night, Tom's car was overheated when he got home. Turns out it was just a busted hose. BUT, the mechanic is worried the stress of it may have cracked a head. Just please pray that this is not the case. I'm finally feeling like we're getting a bit of a foothold on the debt and I don't want to go into debt to get a new car and we don't have enough money to go out and buy one right now. And wouldn't it just be our luck that we just put two brand new tires on that car last Saturday and it is going to die? Surely that won't happen.

Anyway, we would greatly appreciate all of our prayer warrior friends praying with us about this. Thanks!

Review: Leslie Sansone Walk at Home

Good morning! How are all my friends doing out there?

I have been trying out a new workout this week (did it Monday and this morning). I ordered the set with some birthday money from my wonderful daughter. :) Anyway, it's tough, but I've enjoyed it. I needed a challenge and I got it. There are actually 4 DVD's in the set, plus various walk boosters, I can't wait to try the others out. But I'll take some time to get used to this one first.

If you need a good workout, I highly recommend Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home program. Tom and I have been doing it for a few months now and we both really enjoy it. I had one DVD (with a 1 and 2 mile walk on it) for several years, but just started using it regularly back in January. As I said, I felt like I needed more of a challenge and wanted some variety and found this set through QVC. It was $36 plus tax/shipping. Came to around $45 with that, I think. Great price for all you get.

Click on this link to see the new set that I ordered it from QVC, you get 4 DVD's plus 3 walk accessories.

This program give you excellent workouts and while they are not easy, they are doable. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can! LOL!

Starting a new lifestyle

I have been sharing for the last few months how I have been working on making positive changes in my lifestyle. First by starting a consistent exercise program and then by eating healthier. Last night at church, I had the orientation for First Place 4 Health, a program that focuses on the entire person, spiritually, mentally, and physically. I am super excited about doing this and making further positive changes in my life. We had a great turnout in the class, 15 people plus two more who told me they were interested in joining. Best of all, Tom is doing it too!

4 months!

As of yesterday, it was 4 months since I started exercising 6 days a week. That is really a big deal for me. I have never stuck with exercising for this long or this consistently! So I am pretty impressed with myself. LOL. I'm still working on the eating better. I am making strides towards that. I'm actually looking forward to my next doctor checkup to see how my Hemoglobin A1C's are.

Tasha made it safely to where they were staying last night on the way to Colorado and she will drive the rest of the way there today. I only cried a little after she left. LOL. I enjoy the empty nest, but I still miss my kids.

Prayers needed

Natasha is leaving tomorrow for Colorado. Please pray for her as she travels and as she is there. Pray for me too. I know it's what she's supposed to be doing, but I"m having a Mommy Moment and don't really want her to go. LOL.

And on another note, why is it costing us so much for her to go to Colorado? Two new tires (over $100 each), a physical for her job (not sure how much that is going to be yet), new contacts (over $100), and just random stuff she needs. UGH!

Seriously, these people aren't too bright

I've been blogging about our journey out of debt and mentioned that we've settled several credit card debts over the last few months (four out of the six, to be exact). Well, last week, I got a credit card offer (first one in forever) in the mail. Funny thing is, I"m about 99% sure that the offer came from one of the companies we just settled with a few months ago. Really? They already want to offer me credit again? Brave souls, aren't they? LOL.

Anniversary trip

Tom and I have our 20th anniversary coming up this December. This week, I found a deal through Google Offers to stay for two nights at this Bed & Breakfast in Oklahoma City. I am super excited! Now the room is already paid for and we'll just need to save up money for whatever we want to do while we're there.

Making Progress: debt update

Well, I haven't updated our debts in a while. Yesterday, we were able to settle another credit card one, so that puts us down to two credit cards. They are big ones, so they'll take a while to get paid off.

We are down to around $250 on the 2007 tax bill and all the tax portion is paid off so it should quit accumulating interest. The 2006 tax bill is still up in the air. I haven't got another bill since I made the payment last month and I don't know if they've ever corrected it. I need to call them, but as you can imagine, making phone calls during the day here is almost impossible. I'll be adding the $25 from the credit card we settled yesterday to the 2007 tax bill and God willing, that will be paid off by July. Then that money will roll onto the 2006 tax bill, and so on. Let's get that debt snowball rolling!!!!

$200 towards student loans
$118.02 + $75 towards our Napa bill (PAID!!!!)
$386.78 towards our 2007 tax bill

$125 towards our 2006 tax bill
$300 towards one credit card
$345 towards one credit card (settled in full-so PAID!!!!!!)
$75+388.26 towards one credit card (settled in full-so PAID!!!!!!)
$200 towards one credit card
$400 towards our Bass hospital bill

Bass physician’s bill $35.50
$18.80+26.91 for  doctor bills
$1077.27 towards our house

$333.36 for 2011 real estate taxes

$340 for 2011 Oklahoma income taxes

For a total of: $4444.90

Winner of the coupon binder

I have announced the winner of the coupon binder from the Cruising with Coupons blog birthday giveaway.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 46th birthday and the last chance to go "like" my Facebook page for my Cruising with Coupons blog and be entered for a chance to win a coupon binder. I'll have the drawing sometime on Wednesday, May 23rd.

What a busy and fast weekend

Well, this weekend went by in a blur!

Friday night, we went out to dinner with our friends to celebrate my birthday (coming up tomorrow!) and then we went to Lowe's to get a new turbine for our roof (ours got destroyed in the storm a few weeks ago) and to Wal-Mart to get gifts for Saturday's wedding shower and Sunday's birthday party.

Saturday morning, we got up and mowed/weed-eated and then cleaned house in preparation for Serenity and her husband Anthony coming. Saturday evening, we went to the wedding shower at the church. That was alot of fun!

Sunday morning was church, then home and heading off to Enid with Tasha, Serenity, and Anthony to meet Josh for lunch before Serenity and Anthony headed home. That was the first time we'd all been together since Christmas so I really enjoyed that. Then last night was our great-niece's birthday party. The only thing that could have made yesterday better would have been if I had not had a sick headache all day long, which neither Aleve or Excedrin Migraine medicine even touched. (and still have it this morning!).

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and I am so looking forward to a 3 day weekend coming up!

Weight loss

Tom and I are still working on the weight loss aspect of our journey. I had bought a scale from a Facebook local sales site, but it didn't seem to work right. I had Tom pick up another battery for it (it is digital) and finally we have a decent scale! So, I weighed Friday morning to see where I was at. 275 pounds. At the doctor last month, I was around 288, so that is possibly a 13 pound weight loss in the last 6 weeks or so. Not 100% sure how accurate the scale is, but I think it's fairly close. So...here we go. I'll be weighing weekly now. :)

Tom and I have both been working at making healthier and better choices in our eating. Not perfect by any means, but progress.

Birthday giveaway at my other blog

I'm having a birthday giveaway over at my other blog: Cruising with Coupons. If you go like my Facebook page, you'll be entered for a drawing on Tuesday, May 22nd (my 46th birthday) for a coupon binder.

Hug your loved ones

Some things have happened to friends of mine recently that have me wanting to remind everyone. Hug your loved ones. Tell them you love them. Forgive and move on. Life is short. Some things just don't matter in the long run. If you are really upset with someone, think about this. If that person were to suddenly be gone, how important would this be?

And prayers all around, please.

This is one of those days

This is one of those days where I cannot think of a thing to say...but I said I would post everyday, so here I am. LOL. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day. And hopefully I'll come up with something to say later. LOL

So tired

So, the last few weeks, I have just been really struggling with exhaustion. I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe my body is trying to adjust to the healthier lifestyle. Maybe it's my allergies, because they have been pretty bad lately. I don't know. But it's really frustrating me. I'm still getting up and exercising each morning, but it has been a struggle. Just asking for prayers. Thanks, friends! :)

My "baby" is home (for a while)

My "baby" girl got home Saturday afternoon and will be here for about 2 1/2 weeks before she has to leave for Denver. It's been great having her home. I am really struggling with her going to Denver, even though I know it's the Lord's will and that it will be really good for her. So, please keep her (and me!) in your prayers!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mom's out there. Hope you have a great day with your families!

Great garage sale finds today!

I hit the Pond Creek city wide garage sales today and did pretty well.

I got an umbrella for my new-to-me patio table, it was $1

A collapsible clothes drying rack for 25 cents

A collapsible rolling cart for $5

One of my daycare families gave me a pack 'n play and a pad for my changing table

A yoga mat for $1

2 vinyl flannel back tablecloths for 50 cents each (those are great for when the kids play with the water table inside).

3 bags of books for 50 cents each at the library sale and a couple of other books at sales for $1 each


I got a sweeper/steamer. Similar to my Shark, but it actually picks stuff up and has scrubby brushes. It was $15. Oh my goodness! I loved it! Already used it once.

Smoothies

Knowing that I need to get more calcium and milk into my diet, I've been making smoothies the last few days, using yogurt, milk, ice, and sweetener. Some of the days I added fruits, but Thursday night, I added cocoa powder and made chocolate ones. Yum. I don't really follow a recipe. I've been putting in about 1/2 cup yogurt, some milk, ice cubes and about 6 packets of sweetener. They are very filling and the yogurt is a good source of protein, too. Going to try to get some Greek yogurt when I shop this weekend since it's supposed to have even more protein in it. Figure that will make a good breakfast or mid-morning snack for me. Don't like the Greek yogurt by itself but mixed into a smoothie, it should be good!

Not letting my emotions rule me

As a follow-up to my post on Doing the next right thing, I have been thinking about how important it is not to let my emotions rule me. As I was reading the First Place book, it talked about this. And I thought about how easy it is to...

Not cook supper and eat out because I don't "feel" like cooking.

To skip exercising in the morning because I don't "feel" like it (I've done well with this one, since January 30th, I've exercised 6 days a week, whether I felt like it or not!)

Not take the dog for a walk because I don't "feel" like it. 

Staying home from church on Sunday evening because I don't "feel" like going. 

The list goes on and on. None of these things are really bad things to do or not do. But if I concentrate on doing "the next right thing", there are better choices I could be and should be making. The book talks about not letting our emotions control us, do what is right and what we should do, no matter how we "feel". I know that's not always an easy choice to make. But I figure if I can do the next right thing more often than not, I'll have made alot of progress! 

City wide garage sale this weekend

The Pond Creek city wide garage sale is this Saturday, May 12th. Come on out and look for great deals!

Thoughts for today

This morning, I was reading in James 1 and came across this passage. Really struck me between the eyes:

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Kind of drives home the point that I am responsible for myself. I can't blame God (or anyone else) for my problems. Kind of a different attitude than from today's world of constant blaming, don't you think?

Do the next right thing

The church got in the group starter kit for the First Place 4 Health program. I've been reading through one of the books and this phrase really struck me: Do the next right thing. I don't have to do everything perfect, I just have to do the next right thing. That being said, I know I've really been neglecting my writing lately. So my goal for this blog is to post at least once per day. Even if that post just says "Hi, I've got nothing to say today". LOL.

Some prayer requests:
Please pray for me as I work to get this First Place program started in our church. Specifically that there are members who are interested in and committed to doing the program. I think group support will really be beneficial for me.

Pray for me to have writing ideas and the ability to share them. I like writing but I seem to be really blocked lately. :(

Pray for Tom and I as we continue to work on our finances. It is hard to be gazelle intense all the time and we have faltered lately.

I have a new son

My oldest daughter got married last Friday in a small ceremony and we (mostly her new in-laws) had a reception for them on Saturday. It's a weird feeling to be a mother-in-law, but I'm so happy for them. I feel like she made an excellent choice in her husband and I know they'll have many happy years together!

My body is a temple

I am sure that most of us have heard our bodies referred to as "temples". As I was reading the book: Give God a Year: Change your Life Forever", I was reminded of this Bible verse:

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.I Corinthians 6:19-20


This is going to be my memory verse this week to remind me as I work on changing my lifestyle. God gave me this body and I should honor and take care of it. 


Have a great day everyone!

Eating Healthier

I am feeling like the exercise is a habit now. I've done it through being sick with a cold back in February, I've done it when my back hurts, and when I've been super tired (like this morning). So now Tom and I are working on eating healthier. Earlier this week, I wrote an Examiner article about using the "Choose my Plate" program (the new Food Pyramid) as a way to have a healthy and frugal lifestyle. I have heard so many people talk about how it is more expensive to eat healthy and I believed that too. I'm only a week into it so I am not really sure yet. But I will say this, I'm learning than when I eat healthy foods (like whole grains and vegetables, etc.), I fill up faster and do not eat as much. I've also been looking at the actual serving sizes for stuff rather than just eating it willy-nilly. So earlier this week when we had Tuna Helper for supper, I looked and the serving size was 1 cup. I didn't think that sounded like much, but after I put it on my plate, I realized it was a pretty big helping. With that, we had baked yellow squash (which we both loved!) and fresh strawberries. There was enough tuna helper left that I was able to enjoy it the next two days for lunch. I have been doing that alot lately at supper, eating a smaller amount and saving the rest for my lunch the next day. My fasting blood sugars in the mornings this week have been awesome, anywhere from 86 to 137. (the 137 one was this morning and I think that the Sonic in Stillwater last night may have given me regular cherry instead of diet because it spiked after I drank that). A big victory was Tuesday night when we had our VBS training clinic at church. We were having snacks after and that is always hard, especially since I knew there would be lots of sweets there. I prayed to make healthy choices all day and asked Tom and another friend to pray for me. That night, I chose cheese and crackers and a few pretzels. AND our pastor told all the people that didn't win a door prize (of which I was one) that they could take home the extra VBS theme snacks, but I didn't even stop and look at the table. I am hopeful and praying that this new lifestyle will help Tom and I on our journey out of debt because I believe that feeling well makes it easier to be in control of your finances. Keep up the prayers, I know they are helping!

Seek ye first

I have been reading about and learning about a Christian weight loss program called First Place. Their motto is Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well

Their belief is that if you put Christ in first place in your life, the other things will fall into place. I am hoping to begin this program at our church and I would appreciate prayers for God's will and direction there.

As I was looking up this verse to read in my Bible this morning, I was reminded of the context of this verse, which I should probably print out and put where I can see it everyday. Matthew 6: 25-34

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Since I was in the midst of worrying about something, this passage of scripture was extremely timely. Isn't it awesome how God always knows exactly what we need to hear?

Whew! Exercising is really helping me!

Well, as I completed another week of exercising 6 days last week, I began to realize how much exercising is helping me. On Sunday afternoon, after church, I came home and ate lunch. After lunch, I went out and started mowing the lawn. That was unheard of before, I would have never got out and done yard work on a Sunday afternoon when I had church that night. Last night after the kids left, I went out and pulled monster weeds in my front yard and lopped off some tree saplings around the yard. Another thing that was pretty much unheard of, I was usually too tired after the kids left to do much. I was too tired after THAT to do much more though. LOL.

You might be wondering what this has to do with our journey of getting out of debt. Well, Tom has been exercising too and it has really helped both of our mental attitudes and our stamina which in turn helps with this journey that we're on.

Check out that huge pile of weeds. Um, next time I don't think I'll let them get that tall! LOL!

Debt update April 16th, 2012

Since February 5th, 2012, we've paid off: $2749.11 in debt!

Please continue your prayers for us as we work on paying off our debts!

As of April 13th:
$150 towards student loans
$118.02 + $75 towards our Napa bill (PAID!!!!)
$236.78 towards our 2007 tax bill
$125 towards our 2006 tax bill
$225 towards one credit card
$345 towards one credit card (settled in full-so PAID!!!!!!)
$75 towards one credit card
$100 towards one credit card
$200 towards our Bass hospital bill
Bass physician’s bill
$18.80 for a doctor bill
$407.15 towards our house
$333.36 for 2011 real estate taxes
$340 for 2011 Oklahoma income taxes

For a total of: $2749.11

The nudging of the Holy Spirit

For the last few days, the Holy Spirit has really been talking to my heart about my attitude and feelings towards a certain person in my life. And I mean, this message has been everywhere. In my devotional two different mornings.

Proverbs 15:1: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Ephesians 4:2: Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

In our club meeting on Tuesday night, where both the devotional and the lesson were about our attitudes and not letting other people ruin them or affect them.

And in a book I've been reading: "Give God a Year, Change your Life Forever", the author speaks of treating each other with the mercy and kindness we want to be treated with. (OUCH! That one hurt!)

If I make a mistake, do I want others to forgive me and have mercy on me? Of course I do. Do I want others to have patience with me and be kind to me? Of course I do! Would Jesus dread the thought of talking to or seeing someone? Of course he wouldn't.

There is another person in my life who has annoyed me for years. A few weeks ago, I began praying in earnest for this person and for my attitude towards her. It has helped me to see her in a totally different light. Now I am going to do this with this other person in my life.

I truly want to be an effective witness for Christ in my life and I can't do that if my attitude towards even one person stinks. So for those of you who know who this person is that I am referring to, you now have my permission to hold me accountable for my attitude towards that person! :)

Health update

I mentioned last Saturday that I had been exercising 6 days a week. Last Friday, I had blood drawn to check my Hemoglobin A1C levels. This is a 3 month average of blood sugar levels. In September, mine was a 9.5. In November, it was a 9.1. This time, it was a 7.8!!!! That is a big improvement. Still needs to come down, but I am so happy with myself and thankful for the energy to exercise. As I work to improve my eating habits, I think it will come down even more.

Writer's Block

I have had a horrible case of writer's block all this week! Everywhere, the blogs, the Examiner page, etc. I hate it when that happens! Going to have to do something to get myself jump started again.

On another note, I've been exercising 6 days a week since January 30th. I had been switching back and forth between Walk Away the Pounds and Yoga for the Rest of Us.This week, I decided to start trying to do the 2 mile Walk Away the Pounds walk, I did it Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Monday and Wednesday I did the 1 mile walks and Friday, I did the yoga DVD because my heels had been bothering me so I thought I should switch it up a bit. I don't think ever in my whole life have I exercised consistently for this long, so this is HUGE!!!! I also went to the doctor yesterday morning to have blood drawn to check my blood sugar levels (hoping they've come down a bunch). While I was there, I weighed. I had lost 3.5 pounds since November. I had hoped for more but then I realized that I have probably gained some muscle from the workouts, and so I decided to just be happy about it. LOL. From the fall of 2010 (before my surgery) until now, I've lost 24.5 pounds.

Happy Birthday Serenity!

Today I want to wish a happy 24th birthday to our wonderful daughter Serenity! I know that I am blessed with really good kids, but sometimes I am reminded of just how lucky I am. Serenity told me a few weeks ago that she didn't want anything for her birthday, she'd rather us put the money towards one of our debts. How awesome is that? I don't think, shoot I KNOW I wouldn't have done that when I was her age.

Happy Birthday Serenity!

Update on debts

Okay, here is our total debt paid off since February 5th: $2395.11!!!! I got my REWARD check in March and was able to use it to finish paying off our Napa bill, pay our 2011 real estate taxes, and pay our 2011 Oklahoma income tax. Here's the list of what we've paid since we started Financial Peace University in February:


As of March 30th:
$150 towards student loans
$118.02 + $75 towards our Napa bill (PAID!!!!)
$107.78 towards our 2007 tax bill
$150 towards one credit card
$345 towards one credit card (settled in full-so PAID!!!!!!)
$50 towards one credit card
$100 towards one credit card
$200 towards our Bass hospital bill
$18.80 for a doctor bill
$407.15 towards our house
$333.36 for 2011 real estate taxes
$340 for 2011 Oklahoma income taxes

For a total of: $2395.11

Next week I'll be sending payments for our 2006 and 2007 tax bills and I'll update the list again then. Still no word on the 2006 tax situation, but I'm going to go ahead and start sending them $'s so they don't send it to collection while we're waiting on them to fix it.

Update to tax situation

As I told you in True Confessions #1, I have not paid our state taxes in several years and we got letters about 2006 and 2007 back in December. Since then we've been working on getting the situations remedied.

We got all the paperwork requested turned in for 2007 and have a payment arrangement on it. We made our first payment on it in February. Next one is due on April 11th (they send out billing statements every 45 days. I know, kinda random, but...whatever works for them I guess. LOL).

2006 has been a different story. First I couldn't find the w-2 for that year, so I printed off a copy of it from our computer tax program, but they wouldn't accept it. So Tom went in and talked to someone in his office and got another copy. I faxed it in the first time February 9th, again March 7th, and again yesterday. We got a bill for 2006 (first one we've got for that year) last week and they hadn't taken the 2006 amount we had already paid in off so it's over $1400 with interest and penalties and they want a $240 payment by April 11th. When I called about having sent the papers in last week, I was told that I needed to go ahead and pay and not wait for them to fix it because it would be sent to collections if a payment wasn't received.Apparently 2011 stuff is taking priority right now and they won't be processing the stuff I sent them anytime soon. Even though I've sent in everything they asked for. I know that we're in this mess because of me and my ostrich tendencies and so now I'm really trying to face it head on and get it taken care of. But oh my goodness, that is so frustrating and upsetting!!!!! After talking to several different people and being told different things, I finally burst into tears with the last one. She asked me to fax the stuff to her and she's going to try to push it on through.

At any rate, I feel a peace that God will work it out for us. Would appreciate prayers about the situation though.

We do owe for this year, but I am planning to pay that out of the REWARD check I'll get this month and Tom has adjusted his withholding so hopefully we will not be in this situation next year.

Big oops!

I meant to post these on this blog, but accidentally posted them on the coupon blog, so here are the links, LOL

$320 from the Lord

Debt Update March 20th

In the Desert

I am sure most of you have heard the story of how God led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Then how when they got into the desert, the people complained against God, thinking He was going to let them starve, even after all He had already done for them (parting the Red Sea, etc.).

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

Exodus 16:3

I used to feel real superior when I read that story and think to myself "How could they doubt God after all He had done for them?" Then one day, I had an epiphany when I realized that I do the same thing all the time myself.

Take today for example. Yesterday was an amazing day. I had a phone call from a creditor that I had sent a $25 payment to last week. They offered to settle the account for $320 (it was around $575) AND accept $25 a month on that amount. What a huge blessing. I really felt like God was blessing us for our efforts.

Then this morning, I get an e-mail from a parent who may want to take their child out for the summer so he can stay with his brother at grandma's. Now, don't get me wrong, I totally understand that. But our budget is very precarious right now and it threw me for a loop for a little bit. Instantly, I went into pity party mode: "Why me? Why do things go wrong as soon as they seem to start going right?". Then I realized...God will take care of us. He will provide a way. I may not see that way yet, but it's here. I already know of another family who may be looking for a spot just for summer for their child, so it will all work out. And I do have in my policy that I will charge a fee to hold a spot open. So if they do want to hold the spot, then I will at least have that income coming in.

God is in control!

Debt updates

Okay, well we've been in Financial Peace class since February 5th, so it is time for some updates. For now, I have decided against posting a complete list of our debts. Suffice it to say, it is well over $100,000 (a vast majority of which is student loans). However when I look at that big picture, it scares and depresses me. So I've decided to focus on small bits at a time. Reminding myself constantly that God is in control and HE will get us through this if we are faithful and follow His plan.

So, since our first Financial Peace class on February 5th, we've paid:

$100 towards student loans
$118.02 towards our Napa bill
$107.78 towards our tax bill
$150 towards one credit card
$25 towards one credit card
$25 towards one credit card
$50 towards one credit card
$100 towards our Bass hospital bill
$18.80 for a doctor bill
$72.09 interest payment on our house (it was time for the balloon payment and refinance last month).

For a total of: $766.69!

Additionally, we have $205 in our Emergency fund and we paid two cell phone bills and two house/cable/internet bills in the last month to get completely caught up on those. Our electric bill got paid on time in February so no late fee. That's probably the first time since last spring that it's been paid on time. After the horrible, horribly high bills last summer, we had a terrible time getting caught up. Our gas bill was behind, I made payment arrangements on that so we're working on that.

We have a March budget done and so far it's going pretty well. I had a certain amount budgeted for groceries/Wal-mart shopping last weekend. I really wanted to go to United's double coupon event last weekend, but after getting what I needed bought, I only had a few dollars left. I decided not to even tempt myself by going in there. I figured I'd find something I "needed" and blow my budget. Sometimes the best thing to do is avoid the stores. Plus I wanted to save a few $'s to send with Tom today to get some great deals at Jumbo's (canned vegetables for 25 cents a can with coupons and salsa for 50 cents a jar with coupons).

So...keep sending those prayers up for us. And I have an interview on March 20th to fill a spot with a newborn in mid-May so please pray for God' direction there. Thank you!

Gazelle Intensity

If you have been reading my blogs a while or attended a Financial Peace University class by Dave Ramsey, then you've heard of Gazelle Intensity. That is what our class on Sunday was about. It comes from this passage in the Bible, where the writer is basically saying if you owe money, work at getting it paid off as if you were running from a predator. I printed this passage and picture out today and I"m going to hang it up somewhere in my house to remind us. Most of the pictures I found have the gazelle getting eaten by the cheetah, but since I want to get away from the cheetah (or debt), I didn't choose one of those. LOL.

Proverbs 6:1-5


1 My son, if you have
put up security for your neighbor,
if you have struck hands in
pledge for another,

2 if you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth,

3 then do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen
into your neighbor’s hands:
Go and humble yourself;
press your plea with your neighbor!

4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.

5 Free yourself, like a
gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

Bitter or Better?

One of the things that the speaker at the conference on Saturday mentioned was how everything we say, everything we do, the people we spend our time with, the texts we send, EVERYTHING either makes us Bitter or Better. I found that thought to be very profound. It is so true!

She mentioned how she avoids watching the news too much because it will just drain you. How true is that? Watching the news can just depress me within 5 minutes.

What about the people you spend your time with? Do they make you bitter or better? We've all had those friends who just suck the life force out of us. Shoot, at one time or another, we've probably all been that friend sucking the life force. LOL. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying abandon your friends who have problems, but be careful. Are they taking way more than they give? Sometimes a friendship can be unhealthily lopsided.

What does all this have to do with getting out of debt? Well, when you are struggling with debt, it's easy to feel bitter. It's easy to let yourself sink into that pit of feeling sorry for yourself. That "Why me?" attitude. Trust me, I know, I do it all the time. LOL. How instead can I be better? I am not sure yet. Part of me thinks that I just need to get angry enough with the debt. Or maybe a better word is determined. Instead of feeling that there is no way out of this hole, maybe it's time to JUST DO IT! Rather than focusing on the whole number, focus on one area at a time. When you need to do a big job, looking at the whole thing can scare you and paralyze you into doing nothing. So how do you deal with that? Well, you just start. You pick one thing and just do it! Then you go on to the next. And just do it. Flylady teaches people that they can do anything for 15 minutes at a time. When I'm feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed on a task, I set a timer for 15 minutes and just do something! That often motivates me to do more. Dave Ramsey teaches us about Baby Steps, just taking one step at a time. So instead of looking at the whole number, we need to be looking at one step at a time.

So today, I choose to be BETTER rather than BITTER. What do you choose?

Updates

A friend and I went to Tulsa to a child care conference this weekend. We left Friday evening and spent the night, then went to the conference yesterday. It had been more than a year since I'd gone on an overnight trip for a child care conference and it was much needed and appreciated. I had a nasty cold last week and was really hoping that I would feel better so I could enjoy it. I felt so bad that I stayed home from a club meeting on Tuesday night. Now if you know me, you know how hard it is for me to stay home from a meeting, NO matter how bad I feel, so that gives you some insight into how I was feeling. Anyway, by Thursday I felt some better and by Friday I felt almost 100%. Yesterday and today, I feel great!

A bit of a brag on myself. 3 weeks ago tomorrow, I got up and started exercising. For the last 3 weeks, I've exercised 6 days a week, taking only one weekend day off. Even this past week when I was so sick, I got up and exercised each day. It was hard, but somehow I managed it.

We had our second Financial Peace University class last week, the third one (the budget one) is tonight. Something I've been thinking about alot since the first week is something Dave says: "It is as you will it". Now obviously, not everything is going to work out perfectly all the time, but I think if we can really believe that we can do this, we really can. Or God can do it through us.

Hopefully this week I will do better at updating this blog. I have some ideas for posts that I want to do, so I'm going to do my best!

Budget 101 website

A few days ago, I mentioned a website I used to visit with the tagline about digging out of debt with a spoon. Well, the name of it came to me and I did a search for it. Guess what? It's still out there! Check it out here! They have articles on frugal living, 'copycat' recipes, budget recipes, and more.

Started Financial Peace classes last night

We started Financial Peace University classes last night. This will be our 4th time through them. We need to get inspired and motivated again. I am praying that this helps. I was really struggling with feeling negative last night,especially when Dave makes the comment that it is "easy to get $1000 into an emergency fund, it's 'only' $1000". ONLY???!! ONLY???!!!! Really? Ugh. Anyway, I'm praying for my attitude to improve.

Digging out of Debt...with a fork?

Years ago, I used to go read at a frugal living website with the tagline: "Digging out of debt, when all you have is a spoon". That has been a couple of computers ago and I can't remember the name of the site anymore so I don't know if it's still around or not. But I've been thinking about that the last few days. And I thought, "shoot, we're using a fork.". LOL. You know what happens when you dig with a fork? You get a little bit out, but most of it falls back through the tines to the ground. That's how I feel most of the time with our finances. I'm trying to be funny here, but sadly, I'm also a little serious. It gets frustrating and overwhelming. I have to constantly remind myself that God is in control.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Good intentions

I have had good intentions (and even a few good ideas) for blog posts on here lately but haven't been very good about posting them. So, my goal this week is to go through and make an updated list of debts and get it posted.

Oh and here's some news! We are starting a new Financial Peace class at church next Sunday. I'm excited, hoping it will help motivate us.

Watched the movie Flywheel last night

Tom and I watched the movie Flywheel last night. I had borrowed it from a friend and watched it a few years ago, but Tom hadn't seen it. After watching Courageous, he expressed an interest in watching it so I borrowed it again.

The movie is made by the same team that made Facing the Giants, Fireproof, and Courageous. It is their very first movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It is an excellent movie with a wonderful message. The main character turns his life and business over to God and makes some dramatic changes in his life.

This goes along with things that I've been thinking alot about the last few days. I want my life and my child care program to glorify God.

Saturday was my 4 year "blogiversary"

I totally missed posting on Saturday for my 4 year "blogiversary". It was one of those things I kept thinking about all week long, then when Saturday came, I totally forgot about it. DUH. I started the blog 4 years ago with this post.

Sometimes I feel like we are swimming against the current. In mud. And often I've felt like giving up. But we just keep plodding along and maybe someday we'll be out of this hole.

True confession #1

Well, this is embarrassing and upsetting, but I'm going to post it anyway. For several years, I haven't filed our state taxes because we owed money. I kept intending to get it done and never did. Tom had no idea until we got two letters from the state for 2 of the years (2006 & 2007). Haven't got anything on the other years yet. So those two years are filed now and we are trying to work out payment arrangements. I'm posting this before the debt list so it will make sense when you see the Oklahoma Tax Commission on the debt list. Not sure yet how much we're going to owe between interest and penalties, but please pray that they will work with us. I have been consumed with guilt and feeling stupid ever since we got the letters. I feel like Tom should hate me and be angry with me, but he has been his usual understanding self.

I just feel like this hole keeps getting bigger and we are fighting a losing battle.

And just a note to everyone: Ignoring stuff does not make it go away.

And so it begins...

Tom and I agreed to start new this year and recommit ourselves to getting out of debt. For those of you that have been following me for a while, you know that it seems every time we try to do this and get any money into our baby emergency fund, something happens. Sure enough we got $60 in our EF and our dishwasher quit and we need to replace our kitchen faucet (it's leaking). We have the new faucet (our son who works at Lowe's got it for us for Christmas), we just need to get it put in. The dishwasher is a want, not a need, so it will wait. It's just very hard not to get discouraged and frustrated. I've been trying really hard not to have a pity party about this. I have alot of dishes to wash cooking meals and snacks for the child care and for the family. I LOVED having a dishwasher!

Anyway, this week I will write out and post our debt list again. And I have some confessions to make. Those are always fun (not).

Hope you all have a great day!

Oh and Happy New Year!