Looking forward to growing older

In less than 1 year, I will have a "milestone" birthday. Yup. It's inevitable. You either keep getting older or die. I have been described as a 90 year old woman in a 20-something woman's body, so I guess I am just catching up to where I should be. So, I'm celebrating in a big way:

Going to Alaska!!!!

I hope that I will have someone to join me on this trip (friends, family, any takers???), though I know it is expensive. Over time, I've accumulated lists of sights to see and reasons I have for going there:
--Seeing bears outside of the zoo (Denali National Park & Preserve)
--Whale-watching is so much better there than in the Midwest (Harv & Marv's)
--Lichen and other flora that withstand weather which I cannot imagine (even in space)
--Glaciers
--Wide open spaces, so few people (1:1 person per square mile ratio, acc'd to wikipedia)
--Totem poles and other signs and symbols from a different culture, different time.
--Riding in a train through the mountains
--Northern Lights! 

(photo source: http://www.alaskaantlerworks.com/)

So, who's with me?  Is Alaska your dream adventure or is there somewhere else you'd rather be?

Finances, Flowers, and Adjusting Priorities

I think I want to start a new tradition for myself:
Buying flowers for myself on Fridays.

(from a dinner party we had for Thanksgiving/Christmas 2011)

Why?

1) I love the outdoors & I want to get as much of it indoors as I can.


2) I no longer work weekends, and flowers will serve a reminder of the blessing that that is.

3) (this is the long one) I'm starting a new budget tracker on mint.com (totally recommend the site!) because...I have started a new job!  Yay!  I am advising students at the local community college system.  I'm about 6 weeks into it and feel so good about what I get to do. My schedule is a blessing and I am so less stressed out!

The new routine is different and I need to remain focused in order to now fritter away my new-found resources: more head-space and soul-space as I have fewer burdens and crises that I feel I must carry, an increase in time at home (no on-duty time), responsibilities that allow me to use my strengths more regularly, and a substantial increase in finances. (How does this relate to flowers? I'll get there. Promise!)

Previously, I had a monthly budget that I had lived on for 3-5 years: pay all the bills and necessary expenses, then try to figure out how to ssssstretch the rest of the paycheck for things like--replacing clothes when they got old and worn, paying for gas to go visit my family in another state, spending a bit on hobbies (fun ingredients for recipes, yarn or fabric for a gift, etc.), and eeking out bits of money to have lunch or dinner or movies with friends.

Now that I've got the basic expenses covered, I'm learning that I can waste a lot of money when I have it. My weakness = food (and craft supplies, but I've been showing self-control here). There are many times when I have to eat a meal by myself and don't feel like cooking. Or I want to try a new recipe. Or I want to treat someone to a nice dinner. These are the times when I spend-spend-spend! I have gone overboard in some other areas since getting a new job, but I know that food is a serious financial drain. I like good food, effortless food, healthy food, and social food. Lots of food apparently.

 (Beef Curry from my birthday, as made by my best friend/roommate's mother)

(We made pita pizzas when a friend and her daughter came over to help tile the bathroom)

So going back to the flowers plan: I love plants. I love how they liven up the wintry gray that is settling in all around right now. I love how they last. They last longer than food most of the time. Sooooo, I'm going to reallocate some of what I have been spending on food into a new budget dedicated to buying flowers and plants on a regular basis and bringing them into my humble home.  Which leads to reason #4:

4) Flowers won't have a negative impact on my physical health (unlike milkshakes and garlic bread).

Love and flowers to you all!
Take care,
Amy

Making connections

Making connections with other people is high on my priority list. Lately, I realized that I have many blog-type connections (meaning: reading and commenting on other people's blogs) with people in various parts of the country/world, but very few in Indiana, where I live. So, I'm on a quest to connect with similarly-minded folks who are nearby.

Oh, and I started a Pinterest account. It's another way to connect and it's even easier than blogging. :-) But I still like a good written account of everyday life and ideas, too.

So, here I go on my quest to find crafty bloggers in Indiana. Wish me luck!

Have Done instead of To Do

I updated my 101 in 1001 list to more accurately reflect what I have been up to...not just dreams of what I might be able to accomplish.

I think that life sometimes sneaks up on me when I'm not looking. Because it might be frustrating to look a "to-do" list and see all of the items that were not completed, I took some time this evening to add to the list many of the adventures (positive and negative) of which I have played a role. According to my list, I have been really busy living.

Leaving one or two projects for a later season in my life frees me up for the activities of right now.

Planting a tree may be a beautiful thing, but right now is the time for comforting a 16 year old following the death of her mother.

Installing a fence in the backyard will be important whenever I have a dog, but right now is when I can impulsively dash off on 18 hour road trips on a weekend.

Despite what the lists say, I Have Done a lot. There will always be things To Do, but that doesn't mean they are for right now.

What have you been given right now?

To-Do list update

I just realized that I have finished a couple of the projects on my 101 in 1001 list. And I just realized that the end date for that is coming up soon. I think it's all still very do-able. Especially since I only have 51 items on my list. So, I have about 7 1/2 months to complete some very important tasks. :-) Wish me luck!
Oh, and I've got to take some pictures of my projects and post them here. That can be item #52.

Craft Hope

http://crafthope.com/

You know that place where your gifting intersects with a need? That place where joy and excitement surge at the thought of how you can serve? That's how I felt looking at this website.
Sign me up for the next project. I'm so there!

a challenge and a change

Challenges have been coming my way fast-and-furious style lately. So, I've been doing some thinking. Thinking and praying and reading and writing. Lots of relationship issues, but also some deep personal imbalances that I'd like to overcome. I've been reading Captivating by Stasi and John Eldredge. It's brought up many fascinating and undiscovered aspects of my role as a woman and has given me courage as a single woman to step into the life that God has called me to. Although there are criticisms and many items can be taken out of context, the book, as a whole, is a beautiful view of downplayed aspect of Christianity--how God reveals Himself through His creation.
I also came across this blog post at humblemusings.com. http://humblemusings.com/archives/2009/06/04/it-cant-happen-to-us/
It really made me stop and give some serious thought to my disgusting apathy and self-centerness in recent years. Apparently, Russian journalists think that apathy is a more widespread problem that just with me. My question is--what now would God have me do with this knowledge?

A short post...

...to let the world know that I am still around & still working to fix up my house (which I love & is perfect for me!). This house has been a bit of a money sponge and has caused some friction in my time, but it has been a total God-thing. I can't imagine a more perfect house for me right now. yay! I will post some pictures later on. :-)

~Amy

9 Days Away from Closing

On September 15, I toured 3 houses. On September 19, I (we) made an offer on one that seemed to meet our needs and fit our budget. On September 20, they accepted the low-price offer. Ever since then, this has been a series of open doors & positive answers.

I am buying a house in 9 days.














This picture was taken from the website http://www.indianamls.com/

It's been a long time since I started looking that actually owning a home seems surreal.
I spent so long looking for my dream house, and I thought I could never buy a house unless it was perfect. Well, after realizing that I wouldn't want to own my dream cottage with my roommate, only to have to move out of it later whenever I got married, I have felt very content and at peace about this house. It meets our needs & that's what is important. Investment expert Larry Burkett, in his book Investing in Your Building Years, says that a home is the wisest investment to make for a person my age. Through that, and in other ways, I've gotten a lot of confirmation about this purchase. Yay!

There are only two bumps in the road between now and closing: convincing the sellers to install a high-efficiency furnace (because the existing furnace is broken) and convincing the insurance company to insure the co-owner's belongings (she's not a member of the armed forces--neither are her parents--so she can't become a member of my bank/insurance company). Other than the thought of spending my current savings in the first month of owning the home, I am so excited to own a home!

I am buying a house in 9 days. I have to keep saying that to myself so I can believe it.

Well, I've got to get back to work.

Whistlestop, Moving on, & ToL

I was just surfing some blog sites & found this wonderful link:
http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/index.html

And wonderful gifts can be found here:
http://www.whistlestopcafe.com/

Plus, if you're interested in starting your own Whistlestop Cafe, you can get details there.

I love the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" and Fannie Flagg's books, too.
{Confession, I haven't read any of them, but I listened to "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl" on tape once.}

Well, I've been pretty busy at work, so I haven't updated much.
The house thing: right now, with the house we had made offers on, well, we were rejected. We were going to take a break in the searching, but then I saw a house I wanted to look at. So we're back on the hunt, but with some experience behind us and a fresh perspective: we are OK with renting a little while more, just not in our current rental because of the mold problems. It would just be really, really nice to find a house that suits us for a price we can afford in a good neighborhood. We saw a home yesterday, but it was full of wood paneling & dropped ceilings--everywhere! It was like there was a sale on wood paneling & the home owners went crazy! It's even in closets!!! Ever heard of drywall? yikes! So anyway, for the price of the house, it's not the best option. But our realtor is AMAZING! (at least, better than the previous)

Oh and in more WONDERFUL news--my favorite, first-job-out-of-college cafe, Tree of Life, is bringing back soups! (It's like "bringing s*xy back", but much more hoped for, anticipated, dreamed about, and wanted! at least by me and my roomie) I nearly pulled my car over this morning to cope with the excitement and surprise. So, I'll be chomping down on potato bacon soup in no time! ****little blessings****

I found this awesome idea at http://justenjoythejourney.blogspot.com/ :

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (represent some amount of work on my part).Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities. Need help figuring out your ending date? GO HERE.

The Reward: Personal satisfaction of a job well done...and lots of things accomplished you really needed or wanted to do!

I will post a list next week. Maybe I should add that to my list. ha ha ha.

I'm trying to FLY!

www.flylady.net
This website is a home grown get-yourself-out-of-a-rut, self-help group. I'm just fluttering right now, but I'm trying to truly FLY (Finally Loving Yourself) as I create some healthy patterns to combat the clutter in my life.

Applying for a mortgage

So she said--let's buy a house, and I said--ok.

She said--I want to find the perfect house. Then I said--I can't afford to buy one now.

Two years later...
She says--here's the perfect, affordable house. Then I say--let's go for it!

The bank says... who knows???

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of "How to Buy a House when You are an Unmarried, Poor College Grad (who lives with her best friend)"!


There are way too many details involved in buying a home, but I think having an attorney on my side would be a good idea.

Some people say that life wasn't all that great "back in the day"--but I think that obtaining a home/property was probably simpler. Consider the original European settlers: Maybe I could just exchange some pretty glass beads for a nice piece of property overlooking the ocean or something. Or what about the farmland lotteries in the wild (mid)west? Instead of wading through piles of paperwork and talking to people who think you are crazy for wanting to buy a house ("you're so young. live it up! don't settle down. you're not even married; why don't you just rent a nice little apartment?"), I could hitch up my horse and buggy and ride across the Oklahoma plains in search of a nice stream next to which I could build my log cabin and plant some crops.

Maybe I want to have a nice little home to call my own in a small town where everyone gets into each other's business and the most exciting thing going on is the new lampposts being installed in the downtown.

No sense in arguing. It all comes back to: not my will, but Yours be done, Lord.


But sometimes, I just want a little cottage, like this one: