2009 Goals Update 12.19.09 December 19, 2009

I think it’s been since July that I’ve done this (so sad), but thought I’d at least see how I’m ending the year…

1. Spend daily time in prayer and the Word (I used to do this no problem, but since Anja was born, my discipline in this area has slipped)

This has been pretty good in the past couple of months.  I know it will probably lapse again when the new baby comes, so I will enjoy it now while it lasts!

2. Read 2 photography books

Finished with one. Started a second. Can’t even remember if I finished.  Sad!

3. Read 1 Photoshop book

Then one I was reading became obsolete when I upgraded to CS4 and Lightroom (which I have had since August but haven’t even installed yet because I haven’t had time to deal with learning new stuff).  Last night Husband brought me home two books from a co-worker about Lightroom, so that will probably be my new goal book.

4. Book an average of 4 on-location sessions and 1 wedding each month

Was able to quit my other job and stay home with the kids thanks to my wonderful clients. Now booking 2010!

5. Sell our townhome and purchase a home with a $500 less per month payment

Nothing.  Market is too saturated with foreclosures and cheap townhomes.  If we don’t sell in a year, we’ll probably end up refinancing and staying here.  Prayer appreciated!

6. Organize an office for myself (instead of using the dining room table…)

Still waiting for the house in which to do it.

7. Have a baby or get pregnant

Second part of this goal attained!

8. Lose 10-15 lbs.

This will probably carry over to 2010 in the form of 20 lbs.

9. Make healthier meals most nights each week

Healthy has been balanced, at this time of year, with feasts with family and friends and too many baked goods.  Oh well.  I’m trying not to make a fuss, as long as we’re healthy.

10. Reduce grocery bill to $250/month (this could be the hardest one…seriously)

I pretty much consider this, as I mentioned in July, a giant FAIL for the year.  We probably spend $30-40 a week just on produce, and I have no idea how to reduce other things without compromising our health (as in I’m not about to start cooking from boxes just to save $).  Nor am I willing to buy 47 bottles of Pert Plus and 13 bottles of Tide just to get in-store credit at CVS.  I do clip coupons whenever I can and take advantage of sales.  If any of you have been able to cook primarily from scratch (we do store-buy things like tortillas, crackers, cereal, some canned goods, etc.) for $250 a month or less, I am all ears as to how I can save some dough!

10 about Christmas December 16, 2009

I got this fun Christmas meme from Gretchen (sorry dear, tried to comment with my link and had trouble again…hope you get to read this).

1. Best childhood gift from Santa: Santa pretty much brought the same things every year: socks, underwear, candy canes, and some other trinkets. He’s gotten much more adept with the gifts as I’ve gotten older. Now I get gift cards for gas and groceries!  And some socks.

2. Best childhood memories: Going to my grandparents’ homes for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The two celebrations were different, but each special in their own way.

At my mom’s parents’ (Eve), there was usually just our family of four, my two grandparents, and my great uncle Ed. We ate our traditional meal (corve* and lutefisk, and some sort of red-and-green jell-o dessert cut into rectangles, always served on a separate plate), read Luke 2, Grandpa prayed (for what seemed like FOREVER when I was a kid), then my brother and I handed out gifts and we all opened them (one at a time, by age, youngest to oldest). And then Grandma finished up with her last 21 gifts while we watched and oohed and aahed appropriately at each pair of elastic polyester pants and crossword puzzle dictionary. We threw wads of wrapping paper at Grandpa, and he smiled his crooked grin and chucked it back at us when we weren’t looking. After cleaning up the wrapping paper and boxes, the menfolk and myself would sit at the table with a giant Tupperware bowl of nuts, still in the shell, and use nutcrackers to shell them. They were usually enjoyed with a can of 7-up or Pepsi.

At my dad’s parents’ (Day), we arrived shortly before noon to find Grandma bustling about the kitchen, putting finishing touches on the meal (varied from year to year). Other families would show up (everyone came to this celebration every year—our family, all 6 aunts and uncles, Grandma and Grandpa, and 9 cousins…almost everyone still shows up, too!), everyone bringing salad or vegetables or rolls to share, and we’d eat around 12:30 or 1:00. Dishes would get done, and we’d take family pictures on the staircase. I miss that staircase… Then the kids would pass out gifts, and we’d open them in the same style, one at a time, youngest to oldest. Grandma would end with her last 15 gifts while most of the cousins scrambled off to play with new toys and the older folks (and me) stayed to ooh and aah over every bathrobe, sweater and cookie jar. After clean-up, the trays of Wheatie Bars, caramels and Nut Goodies would get passed around. Friends and other, more distant relatives would show up throughout the afternoon, sometimes sharing a meal or bringing a treat. Games like Taboo, Scattergories and Pictionary were played in large groups around the dining room table. We would have leftovers and buns for supper and continue playing until it was time to go home.

3. Favorite Christmas cookies: Tough one. My mom makes way more bars than cookies, and they’re super-yummy, but my favorite cookie is probably a frosted sugar cookie.

4. Icky Christmas memory: Driving from Husband’s folks’ place up to my folks’ place on Christmas Eve through a snowstorm our 2nd year of marriage. We didn’t get there until LATE.

5. It’s not Christmas without: Jesus. He’s the reason for the season, after all!

6. Our Church Service: I remember Christmas Eve services at my mom’s parents’ church—all glowy in candlelight, kids I grew up with playing instruments and singing, scriptures being read. Loved it.

7. Christmas Pet Peeve: Feeling stressed when it’s supposed to be a time of tidings of comfort and joy.  I’ve been better with my expectations this year and made specific plans to NOT stress out.  The work part of December has driven me nutso, but I think I should be able to wrap up before the 24th, so I’m looking forward to some time to relax…

8. Favorite Christmas CD: Probably Christmas with Conniff, just because I grew up with it on vinyl, and it reminds me of so many good memories.

9. Real or Fake: Real, much to Husband’s dismay. I don’t know what he’s complaining about, though, because when his family has a tree, it’s real, too. That way we can enjoy the fragrance and we don’t have to store it, right?

10. I spend Christmas Eve: varies every year now. Sometimes with Husband’s family; this year we’ll spend it just the three of us. I am really looking forward to that, actually. I have plans for a special breakfast and to attend our own church’s Christmas Eve service.

If you play along, leave a link in the comments section—I’d love to read!

*Corve is apparently so obscure that I couldn’t find a single thing about it on the interwebs.  It’s a homemade sausage of sorts, containing some sort of meat (Mom?  Is it beef?  Pork?).  Husband’s family makes potato sausage, which is similar, but corve doesn’t have the potatoes or onions in it.  I kind of miss corve…

Baby on the Way December 4, 2009

So this baby is due in a little over a month, and I have yet to do much of any preparing for his/her arrival. The plain truth is, I haven’t had time! I dug out the Boppy and have put a few of Anja’s neutral-ish newborn clothes in a bag in her closet for quick access (some of which are seasonally inappropriate, but I figure I can just plop something warmer over them, right?).

What did you do to prepare for your second (or third, fourth, etc.) child? I hope to have time to pre-cook some meal starters (ground beef, cubed chicken, etc.) and freeze them. And I have a list of a few things we will need (double stroller, smaller diapers), but what am I missing? Help!

My Experience with MAC Cosmetics November 9, 2009

Normally, I am that girl who doesn’t venture beyond the aisles of Target when buying make-up.  But last month my buddy Ingrid visited from California, and we decided to go to the MAC Cosmetics store in the Mall of America and get makeovers.

Let’s just say I left with my wallet a little bit a lot lighter.  After using the products, I wanted to review them for you here, in case any of you are considering making purchases there.

1. Holiday Brush Bags – I purchased this one since it had the foundation brush I wanted.  It also included a blush brush and three good brushes for eyes.  I am not impressed.  To be fair, my consultant warned me that the brush sets aren’t as high quality as the individually-sold brushes because they are machine-made, not hand-made.  But when I pay $49.50 for 5 brushes, I don’t expect them to shed 47 bristles onto my face every morning, which is exactly what the foundation brush does.  I end up having to use a different brush to get those bristles off my face.  I have a brush set I got at Target last year for $10, and those brushes are, in my opinion, far superior to the MAC ones.  They are softer (making application less harsh-looking) and have hardly shed a single bristle.  Save yourself $40 and buy these somewhere else, ladies!

2.  Fab-racadabra Bronze Face Kit – Another one of the holiday kits that I bought to try and save a little rather than buy three separate items (bronzer, blush and iridescent powder).  I’m pretty neutral on this one.  It gives my cheeks a nice glow, but I’m not sure it’s that much better than my previous Cover Girl blush.  I may change my tune in a couple weeks when my skin has taken on its usual “death” pallor for winter.  That bronzer could be a winner.

3.  Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Though, again, much more pricey than my normal Cover Girl pressed powder, this one is worth the money ($25).  I get a nice finish by dusting it over my makeup with a brush, and I’m not greasy (I’m prone to that in my T-zone) for hours.  Sometimes I don’t even have to reapply it all day!  It also works great when I don’t have time for anything but a little mascara.  It goes on more evenly than the Neutrogena mineral makeup I was using for those gotta-get-out-the-door-now mornings.

4. Paint Pot in Rubenesque – Far and away my favorite product purchased.   This glorious, shimmery little pot acts as a base for eyeshadow, but unlike another color they sell, Painterly, Rubenesque has enough color to it that it can actually function as eyeshadow if I don’t have time for anything else.  And the most amazing part–it lasts ALL. DAY. LONG.  No creasing, no smudging; this stuff stays put.  Even after an 8-hour day behind my camera, which usually has my eye makeup in ruins, I came out looking virtually the same as when I’d started that morning.  Worth every penny of $16.50.

5.  Eyeshadows – My consultant informed me that I would save money by getting a palette of these and inserting these little pots ($11 each), but that they contain the same amount of product as the individually-sold eyeshadows ($14.50 each).  I currently have three colors – one for filling in brows, one for my crease, and one for highlighting below the eyebrow.  I am still waiting for them to call me telling me they have re-stocked the fourth one (for my lid), and Rubenesque has been filling in as my main shadow.  MAC is known for their highly-pigmented products, meaning you have to use very, very little to get a saturated look.  I merely tap my brush on top of the makeup and it’s enough to begin application.  No smushing or swirling my brush to get enough on, which is nice (plus, it doesn’t leave layers of eyeshadow dust all over everything!).  These shadows also stay put (I’m sure partially due to the paint pot product) and will no doubt last me a long time.

6. Fluidline Eyeliner – Normally an eyeliner pencil will last me several years.  I just don’t wear enough to put much of a dent in it.  So when MAC girl put what looked like a thick black inchworm on my upper lashline, I wasn’t terribly excited.  However, I decided to give it another chance and had her switch it to a dark brown.  This looked much more natural on me.  After a couple of days, I got used to applying my liner with a brush rather than a pencil, and again, this takes very little product to make a huge impact.  It will probably not last me as long as a pencil, but it doesn’t smudge all over my face like pencil does, either.

There you have it–my experience with MAC.

I have continued to use my own cheaper mascara (Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof–love the stuff!  And pros use it.) and foundation (Cover Girl TruBlend), since I had just purchased new of them both and I didn’t particularly care for MAC’s version of either (my face was THICK with foundation; I looked fake).

What makeup do you use?  Have you ever gotten a counter/store makeover done?  Did you fall for it as hard as I did?  Have you stuck with any of the products?

Sunday Sunshine 10.25.09 October 25, 2009

My best friend from college is here visiting from California right now–what better sunshine than that?

Also, here’s a great article that really sums up my view on simplicity.  Doing something yourself (canning, quilting, building a bookshelf, etc.) is not necessarily “simpler.”  It can be cheaper, more fulfilling, better for you, and so on, but simple, by its definition, is “not complicated” or “easy to understand, deal with, use, etc.”  So, release yourself from the pressure to be “the perfect mom” or “the perfect husband” by allowing yourself to buy laundry detergent or preserves or hire out that painting job if you don’t have time.  I sure won’t hold it against you OR say that you don’t live the “simple lifestyle”!

 

Here’s some stuff I had in a draft for two weeks ago–oops!  That’s okay, it’s still relevant and good!

Antique Mommy’s 10 Commandments of Entertaining.  Read them, practice them.  Preaching to myself here.

The Nester is doing a series on “Dressing Your Nest,” and I really liked this post about defining the purpose of your home.  Makes the rest so much more simple, doesn’t it?

Price My Space July 16, 2009

The Nester is having a little Price My Space thing over at her blog (actually she posted it Sunday night, I’m just late to the party because it’s been One of Those Weeks).  Normally, my house does NOT look this clean/uncluttered.  We were staging it for pictures for selling, but it provides a clean canvas for my little numbers and this fun project.  Check out everyone else’s spaces, too. There are some fabulous decorators out there!

Here’s my entry, part of my living/dining room:

1. End table comprised of a $10 rummage sale suitcase and a 1/2 price basket from Michaels at $24.

2. Set of two wicker chairs from Pier 1, meant to be indoor/outdoor for our deck and living room, around $200 for the pair plus cushions.  The pillows were freebies I stole from my mom, who didn’t like them (they came with her sofa).

3. White coffee table I couldn’t live without, purchased from my favorite furniture store in Fargo, ND, Funky Junque, for $150.  I’ve had it for two years now, and I still love it.

4.  Probably our biggest investment piece, a leather couch from HOM Furniture, coming in at $1100.  We hope it will last at least 10-15 years.  I like it because it’s comfy and durable yet doesn’t have the untailored “stomach roll” look of some leather couches.

5.  The softest of soft pillows (whose life has been rubbed out of them–they’re like the family pets) also from HOM, for $20 each.

6. This is where it starts getting sickening.  Cute green sewing cabinet, free, gift from my mom.

7. Old, but in perfect condition, pecan wood dining table (expands to be HUGE, seats 14!) and chairs (in not-very-good condition), free, from Husband’s grandmother’s home after she passed away.

8. Beautiful antique china cabinet with curved glass, free, from my grandmother’s home after she passed away.  Full of gorgeous antique china and American Sweetheart depression glass my other grandma collected for me since I was a child and gave to me as a wedding gift.  This is the “Anja, don’t you dare touch anything” zone.

9.  Wood bookcase, free, also from Husband’s grandma’s place.

10. Hot-glued and upholstery clipped “curtains,” about $40 total for fabric and hardware.  There’s another one at the opposite end of the room that can’t be seen.  Idea stolen for free from The Nester.  :)

11. In the area you can’t see is a big, comfy green armchair we got in the discount section at HOM for $300, a little plant stand, free, from my mom, my grandparents’ piano, free, and a big honking balustrade hung on the wall, $75 from Funky Junque.

I have a new dining table, a custom-made harvest table that hopefully will be everything I’ve ever dreamed of, coming this fall, and that will add $850 to the mix (VERY reasonable price considering the quality of the piece and that I got to pick my size, my finishes, and all the details), so if I’m honest and add that, my grand total for living and dining rooms combined is: $2,789.  To me, that’s not a bad total considering we have several heirloom-quality pieces plus two major investments.

This set of rooms is where we have spent most of our money.  The rest of the house, combined, probably cost us about $450 combined (more if you count Husband’s electronics), because we have received so many hand-me-downs, incredible gifts, and have picked up quite a bit of curbside stuff and salvaged it.

20 months April 28, 2009

Anja, dear, you’ve really got to stop this growing up.

At 20 months, you:

• Have got quite a chambly face again.  It’s actually extra-cute when you yell and it gets all squishy-cute.  I don’t think I miss your skinny phase.
• Still can’t quite fill out 18 mo. pants in the waist, however.
• Say full sentences sometimes, like “Welcome home, Daddy!”
• Pooped in the potty on Sunday!  Then, when I was putting a diaper on you a minute or two later, you said, “Chocolate….chocolate piece!  Chocolate piece!”  I didn’t understand at first, but then remembered the prior Sunday when I had promised you two chocolate chips if you pooped in the potty.  That’s a pretty good memory!  Then again, it is chocolate.
• Have a renewed interest (shall we say obsession?) with coloring.  You ask for your crayons all the time, especially the green one.  I found some of your art scribbled directly onto my white coffee table; I wasn’t particularly impressed with that art.  One thing that you do frequently that I do find interesting is poke your crayons through the paper in patterns.  Then you ask Mommy to draw you an airplane, an elephant or a circle.  And then another one, and one more, ad nauseum.  Yet my skills at drawing airplanes have not improved in the least!
• Get really excited when small group friends start showing up on Sunday night.  Usually some sort of happy dance ensues, and you’re learning most of their names!
• Can identify the letters A and B and the number 1.  But when you count, it usually goes like this: “One, three, six, nine.”  We’ll keep working on that.  :)
• Had to be separated from a library book called Monk Camps Out because we were reading it 5-10 times a day and if we didn’t drop everything and read it on the spot you would have a MAJOR fit.
• Ask to pray for Baby Stellan whenever you see his picture.
• Are giving much better hugs.
• Are starting to sit still better in church.  You only had to be taken out once this week!
• Are running and jumping and climbing a lot more, which often means a lot more spills.
• Have an amazing sense of humor for your age.  You keep us laughing all the time.
• Ask to watch “Chee-Vee” (TV) or “Eemo” (Elmo) whenever you go in Daddy’s room, even though 90% of the time you are turned down.
• Sing little songs about Mommy, Daddy, and whoever/whatever else pops into your head at the moment.
• “Talk on your cell” (old dead phone of mine) as you walk around the house, pointing out different things to the person on the other end.  Never mind that they can’t see it; it keeps you entertained for 10 minutes, sometimes!
• Are fabulously good at putting puzzles together.  We started you on the ones with the matching pictures beneath the pieces, but now you assemble plain ones with no trouble.  We’re very proud of you.
• Take “pictures” of things with part of a play food grinder that you pretend is a camera.  Maybe someday you can be my second shooter!  But only if you want to.
• Are the apple of my eye.  I love you!

Sunday Sunshine 04.26.09 April 26, 2009

Great Gifts for Kids That Don’t Involve “Stuff” – I love this article, because I, for one, don’t have room to store any more “stuff.”

As Long As I’m Living - Beck has this unspeakable gift that you have to read to believe.

Also, is it possible to love someone as much as I love her? What a gift it is to be a mommy.

2009 Goals Update 04.06.09 April 6, 2009

1. Spend daily time in prayer and the Word (I used to do this no problem, but since Anja was born, my discipline in this area has slipped)
Going pretty well, though again, I would still like to set aside more time for personal prayer.

2. Read 2 photography books
Finished with one.

3. Read 1 Photoshop book
Still haven’t started it.

4. Book an average of 4 on-location sessions and 1 wedding each month
Have booked some weddings, hoping for more sessions…still.  J

5. Sell our townhome and purchase a home with a $500 less per month payment
No bites yet.

6. Organize an office for myself (instead of using the dining room table…)
Still waiting for the house in which to do it.  :)

7. Have a baby or get pregnant
Not so much.

8. Lose 10-15 lbs.
Holding steady at 2.  Sigh…my body has reached a new, fatter homeostasis, it seems.  Even some drastic changes to my workouts and virtually cutting baked goods out of my diet hasn’t budged me more than those measly two pounds.

9. Make healthier meals most nights each week (fell off the bandwagon slightly in mid-November and haven’t recovered yet)
I have some more great recipes I’ll be sharing later this week, hopefully.

10. Reduce grocery bill to $250/month (this could be the hardest one…seriously)
Ahem…STILL waiting to see what the budget reflects (Husband calculates).

Sunday Sunshine 03.29.09 March 29, 2009

Thriving in the Kitchen with Kids - Read this if your kids are always hanging on your legs while you cook!

This lastest post by one of my favorite blogger ladies is very sweet.  I’m going to post the comment I left on it here for my own posterity:

He picked out a rubber snake. I love that. The imagination he is developing with his (and your) rubber snakes is worth its weight in gold (far more than $3).

I give Anja old spice tins, pieces of ribbon, and plastic pill bottles with beans inside for toys. She loves them, often much moreso than the expensive Christmas or birthday gifts with lights and sounds. A little stuffed dog that was mine in college is her current favorite companion, and he receives more than his fair share of “milk” from that pill bottle.

If you’re not already praying for baby Stellan, please visit MckMama’s site.

Last weekend, just before the major flooding started, we were up at my mom’s.  I snapped a few photos in the car as we drove.  Even though it looks like we were driving by (or through) a lake, the areas pictured here are fields where crops are grown.  And this isn’t even near the river.  We found out that two days after we went home they closed both of the main roads we would have taken to get back here because they were under water.  Keep praying for all those who have had to evacuate their homes and for those who are still there, sandbagging to save them.