SNOW!!

Check out our snow pictures here!

Those Bangs.....

Yesterday when I got home from work, it was just warm enough, and just the right amount of sunlight... so what did I do? Drug the hubby out for some photo practice :-) I think he did alright for his first time....

The looking crappy part is all me- all day at work, with little makeup on.... meh....

Whew.....

Work has been just crazy the last few days! I spent my whole weekend being busy, busy, busy! I took off on Saturday early afternoon to head to Greenville, NC for a new Grange meeting with some of our fantastic kids and a couple of their friends. I spent the night in Wilson, and headed back to Davidson on Sunday morning.
That afternoon I got to hang out with the Millinix family over in Concord for a little baby boy photo shoot! What a cutie and a sweet family!
Monday.... well, it was Monday....
Tuesday, went to work.... then left after lunch for a meeting in Dudley- right outside of Goldsboro. Stayed there last night.... and then drove back into the office today..... whew.... it was a whirlwind!

Oh yeah..... and I got those bangs! I made a stop at Lux salon in Raleigh to see Anna.... my super awesome stylist :-) She makes me look pretty. So, I like her. Stay tuned for photos of the new do!

This week....

Has been rough. It's been really emotionally draining on Jeremy and I. The uncertainty of the future is terrifying. I like to think I am a generally positive person, but this week has taken a toll on my positive outlook. We were just getting on track to be out of debt in the next 12 months, now that dream is on hold, till Jeremy finds employment. I can say that I am so happy that he is out of a bad situation, and will hopefully find something that he truly loves. I am also so blessed that we have made smart LARGE financial decision until now. We (I) bought our home using only my income 1.5 years ago. This means theoretically we should be able to live off just my income. We also made the decision to pay cash for our Honda back in the late summer. This means we have a super cheap house payment ($690 a month) and only one car payment, mine. These two things really help give me piece of mind.
I'm not sure how to put into words the emotions felt over the last 5 days, but it's been tough. We've tried our best to stay positive, but it's hard. We are lucky that we do have a small emergency fund that will help carry us through the coming weeks and months, until Jeremy finds employment.
We ask that if you know of anything (in the Charlotte area) to let us know. Because of the high unemployment, all the jobs out there are super competitive, and an inside contact would be greatly appreciated.

We keep reminding ourselves of what our preacher told us in marriage counseling-

"Marriage is nothing but a series of adjustments"

This is just our first of many adjustments.


One a more positive note:

I booked my first wedding photography gig this week! I am so excited about this, and cannot wait to be a part of this couples special day! I will be training Jeremy on how to use my Nikon so that we can either buy or rent one for him to use- and he will be shooting with me at the wedding!

Starting Over....

Today, Jeremy lost his job. He hated being there, he hated to lack of company morale, he hated the company mentality, he hated it all. He's now on the hunt for a new job. If anyone knows of a civil engineering job, let us know! Thanks.

I think I want bangs....

My hairdresser will most likely freak out.... oh well.....

and yes.... this is what I do when I have to work on a "holiday"..... I search through photos of girls with bangs.....

I Caved....

and joined Twitter today.... ugh, like I need one more thing to keep me occupied at work- other than work!

Let's All Do What We Can....

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/earthquake_in_haiti.html

Planning ahead

So as I said in my Goals Revisited post, we're planning to take a cruise for our 1 year anniversary. It's been SO cold here in NC (as well as lots of places!) that I just can't wait for warm weather :-)

A few months ago, I stumbled across this little jar. I found it wildly appropriate since we wanted to take a cruise and we needed a good dumping place for change. It has a home now on our kitchen counter :-)

We've picked out a Carnival cruise that leaves Miami on October 4th (the day after our anniversary) and returns on the 8th, Monday-Friday. It cruises from Miami to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico!

I'm even more excited that we're getting a SUPER good deal on it since we are booking it so early! We're paying UNDER $550 for both of us for the whole week!!!! This even includes our taxes!

We'll most likely get down to Miami on Saturday and spend the day there on Sunday. Depending on the cost of flights at that time- we may drive. We'll see!

Haiti

I was privileged enough to go to Haiti on a mission trip my senior year of high school (Jeremy also went the year before). Knowing what that country looks like, and the poverty that exists there I can only imagine what life is like there today. I will be digging out my Haiti photos to post here tomorrow. Here's some Melanie posted on her blog this morning.

A photo she took of the Palace while in Haiti


Some of the kids at the school we worked at


What CNN posted this morning of the Palace


The organization I work for, the North Carolina State Grange is organizing an auction to be held the Friday night of our Family Conference. If you or someone you know would like to attend, and or donate an item or service (if you own a business and can donate time/talents) it would be greatly appreciated!!!

NCGRANGE.COM & NCGRANGE.BLOGSPOT.COM

Goals Revisited....

I admit, I made those goals below on a whim.

They are mostly fine, except #2- Instead of this, we decided to seriously sit down and look at our budget.

We discovered we have about $3200 each month left over after paying bills, so every single penny of this for now will be going to pay off our debts.

1st. Jeremy's credit cards
2nd. Jeremy's student loans
3rd. My Car

*** we do plan to take a cruise in October for our 1 year anniversary :-)

We estimate that we can be debt free by about June of next year, if not earlier! :-)

So- this means several things:

1. We will be living very frugal over the next year (and we are ok with that)
2. This will only fuel my coupon clipping, sale section reading even more!
3. Our house projects will have to wait. We could easily put those new hardwoods on a credit card, but that's kinda backpedaling, now isn't it?

After those debts are gone we'll start doing a few things:

1. We will start contributing to IRAs ( I have one open right now, that my employer is socking 5% of my income into, Jeremy doesn't have one)
2. We'll most likely start paying extra on our mortgage (like a lot, like 2k more a month!)
3. We *might* start trying to have a baby..... eek!

If you are in the mode to get out of debt and see some light at the end of the tunnel, I highly recomend reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It's just practical. Definitely not a 'get out of debt quick' scheme... just good advice for those of us who need a place to start.

Saving, Saving, Saving!

Just wanted to brag for a moment....

So, I started clipping coupons and watching the sale ads a lot closer. I got wind that Harris Teeter was doing Super Double Coupon Week this week (Wed-Tue), meaning they will double coupons up to $1.98- so you could potentially save almost $4 with a coupon! So I gathered my coupons and headed there last night.

I bought $127 worth of groceries for $75!!!!!!!



That's all.

The New Year.

Well, it's 2010 and since we all make goals at the start of every new year here we go with some of ours!

1. Pay off as much debt as humanly possible.

While Jeremy and I are not in any huge amount of debt, it's something we need to do away with. I am proud to say I paid off all three of my credit cards 10 minuets ago.

With having no more credit card payments every month, that can free up about $400 a month for me. I already save about $500 each month, so I am setting another goal-

2. Save $1000 a month. At the end of 6 months use $6000 to pay down something else, like Jeremy's credit cards, or pay off my car. Rinse and repeat- until we are OUT OF DEBT :-)

3. Go to the gym 4 times a week, and burn a minimum of 700 calories a week. Totally do-able.

4. Be more organized. Our house is better, but it could be so much more.

5. Work on my photography business more. It's really a hobby, but I'd like it to be a bit more, just a little supplemental income for that $1000 savings each month. I secured my first repeat client today- ok so it's my sister in law- but that counts, right?

6. Work harder at my job. I have a fantastic job, but I want to be more fulfilled in it, so I've gotta put in more effort. Their WILL be a Grange in Mecklenburg County by December 2010, DANGIT!!!!!

7. Cook more. That goes along with goals 2 & 3. It will save us money, and we will be healthier.

8. Get better and better at clipping coupons. It sickens me to think of how many dollars I've wasted by not even looking for coupons! This year I will be more frugal! I've already saved about $22 this year in coupons :-)

That's all for now!

Things We're Selling.....

I am now more motivated to get more of our wedding stuff SOLD!

Please help us out and buy these goods!

VERY LONG brown fabric- It's in 3 sections and could easily be cut down to shorter lengths. $40 for all. (The monogrammed ends have been removed)... please note- the edges of this fabric is raw, unhemmed. We wanted it that way, but it could easily be hemmed.

Orange table runners from Pottery Barn, 3 total ((2) 6 foot runners and (1) 8 foot runner). They are a heavy linen with velvet trim.

We also have about 30 tan, twin flat sheets if anyone is interested. They were used as our tablecloths- $100

Two spools of grapevine from Pottery Barn, each are at least 10' long- we wrapped them around the front of the church. $20 for both.

Juicy Couture Ice Shoes, size 7, never worn. $75



Assortment of brown and ivory candles (12 total). All slightly burnt. $15 for all