Happy New Year!

Happy New Year all! What are you new year's resolutions? I don't usually set resolutions, but this year was different thanks to Dave Ramsey - more on that later.

Our New Year's Eve celebration consisted of staying at home. Everyone and their dog goes to The Strip for the celebrations there. They shut the city down on and a few blocks away from The Strip (I think to allow the drunks to walk in the streets without being killed) to serve the influx of people that go there, so the only way to do it if you DO go to The Strip (we've heard) is to get a hotel room so you don't have to worry about getting in and out and you can go to bed whenever you want. Since we're broke we will save that for a later time. We used a birthday gift of Justin's to see a free movie and we went to Frozen! We loved it. I thought there was a little more singing than I expected but we were in a theater stuffed with kids and it made it so much more fun. They would GASP and LAUGH in all the right places making the movie so fun. I've been doing purple eye shadow since inspired by Elsa! We got home at 10:00 and made sugar cookies and finished the final season of 24. At midnight the six minute firework show at the strip started going off and we could hear and feel the explosion from here - ha! New Year's morning I made a yummy breakfast again and we just had a low day. Nothing special there.

French toast with strawberries and cream!

breakfast casserole muffins: hashbrowns on bottom, egg, cheese, and bacon on top

playing scrabble

Thursday Justin and I went to the temple. That was a great experience as always. Friday we did more furniture shopping and went to the library. I picked up Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover" and became gazelle intense! Forget buying furniture! What's funny too, is when we say "We're not buying until we can afford it" all the salesmen say things like "three month financing, same as cash" in a "we work with you" voice and I'm not fooled! It's been a lot of fun reading his book and now Justin's reading it so we can sit down and do the math together because I am gazelle intense to pay off ALL our debt by the end of the year and to have six months of savings in 18 months!!! I graduated debt free because my smarts = scholarships that paid for everything, but my sweet husband was not so lucky and so we owe some money. And I am gazelle intense! I review these motivations every day and every day I've been listening to Dave Ramsey's show. I plan to print off the pictures and our debt snowball and hang them in our front room. Everyday when I walk by it I will say, "I am going to WIN!" We will live like no one else (rice and beans baby!) so later we can LIVE like no one else! I love it. I'm so grateful I've read this book at 21 years young to start our life right.

All this rent-to-own for an affordable price...we don't buy it!!

Sunday our church changed its meeting time from 11:00 to 9:00. Turns out we won't be moving as soon as I'd hoped so we'll be here for a bit longer still. We played games together and read pretty much all day. We did make a fabulous cake from scratch which was fun! Monday our good friends got into town, Todd and Christine Brooks, so we helped them move their stuff in and then we went and threw the disc around. Next week we'll start playing with the team that plays down here. Tonight I'm working my Mary Kay business for the first time in this area so I'm excited and a little nervous about that! I still have two weeks of vacation until student teaching starts so I'm just enjoying life reading up on Ramsey and working my business.

That's about all our news. Something funny...I'm starting to feel cold. I can't believe myself - it's like I've conformed already - but I feel like I need a winter coat when I go outside and it's 40 degrees! What's wrong with me?