I really should have written this post a while ago. Maggie at Northern Expenditure challenged other bloggers to come up with a list of accomplishments, or “awesome opportunities you’ve taken.” She wrote about a friend who was disappointed about not checking everything off of her to-do-before-I-turn-30 list. In comparison, Maggie decided …
My sanity is dependent on indulging in a little me-time here and there. It’s necessary to occasionally escape from the responsibilities and stresses of being a working mom of three little ones, with extra endeavors on my plate. While I may advocate for multi-tasking whenever possible to maximize your productivity, it’s also important …
As you formulate new strategies in life, priorities start to shift. Much like a line of dominoes, things that you held to be absolute truth for decades of your life can suddenly be thrown out the window. I always believed that I would freely pay any expense we could afford in …
My youngest is about to turn one year old. I ran into a friend at daycare the other day, who asked about plans for his birthday party. She seemed genuinely confused when I told her that we are not having a party for him. Why in the world would we …
Daydreaming about your goals can be a great source of motivation. Mr. Smith and I are always ruminating about the unique life that we’re designing for our future. Of course, we’re very excited about our cross-country trip with the kids and often discuss different destinations or the practicalities of that adventure. …
One of the highlights of our weekend was playing Monopoly as a family. We have always liked the game and used to play it on nights spent visiting with friends and drinking a few adult beverages. One of the wedding gifts that we registered for was a fancy wooden version. In more …
I can read the confusion in their eyes, when I tell people things like how I cut my own hair. They seem surprised when we don’t rush out to buy a new minivan after the birth of our third child. They marvel at the time we spend, out in the sun, working hard on …
I may be a bit late with to the year-end review party, but here is the update on our progress. 2015 was an important year for us in many respects. We made progress on improving our finances, but also made quite a few changes to our lifestyle which will enable …
I remember the determined conniving that would follow every time I saw a “free kittens” sign as a child. I would beg, draft pet-care contracts for my parents, and try to earn extra money to pay for food and supplies. I always expected that as an adult, my home would be …
A belated Merry Christmas to everyone! We had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday with our family. I think we did a good job of balancing the fine line between being cheap and being frugal. This is quite an accomplishment with all of the pressure to spend, spend, spend this time …