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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Oh the barnyard is busy in a regular tizzy*

*Hey J-Dub, have you seen "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?" If not, I nominate it for the next movie night!



Is the hill always this green? Or is this a result of last fall's fire?

Whew. Spring is here! I don't feel particularly miserable in the winter, but spring arrives each year like a breath of fresh air to my soul. Every year I ask my kids if it was this colorful last spring. (And every year they roll their eyes at me.)

Spring break, however, has brought a nasty little virus into our home. This is not a big deal; we never leave town for spring break, so no harm done. Except that I've been a little delirious the last 24 hours, and my typical wake of chaos has widened and intensified. (You know, things like forgetting to cancel piano lessons, promising to make phone calls and forgetting 2 seconds later . . . just the usual, but worse.)

I've been home alone enjoying peace and quiet this afternoon. Half an hour ago, I heard footsteps coming up my walk, and someone opened and shut the front door. There was zero response to my timid, "Hello? Hello?" I'll admit I was just a little freaked out, and wondering if I was willing to use my laptop as a weapon (I'm not), and then wondering how hard I could throw a bottle of Ibuprofen at a scary intruder (It's a Costco bottle. I could do some damage).

And then a cute curly blond head peeked around the corner, piano books in hand.

Oops.

Forgot to cancel that one, too. So embarrassing.

Also, BIG thanks to KB2, who came to the rescue when it hit me that I was supposed to be feeding two missionaries tonight. (Mrs. S is laughing at me right now. Why can I never get around to feeding those guys dinner?)

You know what we're REALLY excited about around here? New neighbors! We're counting the days until Yonf and company take up residence around the corner! My 11-year-old figured out yesterday that if she climbs our backyard tree, she can see the bedroom window-to-be of Yonf's 11-year-old. We feel so lucky!

My apologies to those who have already heard me go on and on about this, but I am in looooooove with my new financial software, YNAB (stands for "You Need a Budget"). I've been eyeballing it for a couple of years, after seeing it recommended highly by separate and unrelated sources. I finally bit the bullet last fall and bought it, and it paid for itself within the first month I used it. The biggest difference between YNAB and, say, Quicken, is that in YNAB, you have to decide where your money is going BEFORE you spend it, instead of assigning it to categories AFTER it's been spent. It did take a while to learn the software, but it's been worth every minute. (If you've ever listened to Dave Ramsey, it works on the same Zero-Based Budget idea - give every single dollar a job.) I've been tracking our progress towards our financial goals in a spreadsheet for years now, and the difference since we bought YNAB is indisputable.

Not that I'm excited about it or anything.

Anything you all are excited about?

7 comments:

Savannah said...

I'm excited for the book I ordered to come in the mail! YAY!!

Mandi@TidbitsfromtheTremaynes said...

Totally jealous of all those beautiful blossoms! Wow. Sorry you've been sick! I hope the bug has passed through and left the building.

Mrs. B said...

Savannah, what book is it?

Mandi - one of the things I miss about Utah springs is the bunches of phlox blooming in everyone's rock walls. Is it out yet? Or maybe that was just an Ogden thing?

families are forever said...

Hope everyone is better soon!

Jeri Hazelton said...

Our closing date got moved up! The excitement level around here is scary!

Jill said...

Apparently I'm excited to watch "Seven Brides" (which, surprisingly, I have NOT seen). I did attend said production when my high school performed it. I don't remember a single thing about it. Can't wait for movie night!

Jacque said...

Count me in on that movie night.

I am excited about myfrugaladventures.com which helps put coupons to good use. My sister showed me over Spring Break. I'm clipping away as we speak.