Archives for October 2010

Budget – Envelope System Update

October 17, 2010 by Amy 14 Comments

I’m sure you’re waiting on pins and needles on an update about our envelope system. I mean we HAVE been on it for a full pay cycle of 2 weeks now + the 1 week test run. You’re excited, RIGHT?!

Well, you should be because it’s going SPLENDIDLY. Splendidly, I tell you. We stayed under budget for both the test run and the full 2 week cycle. In fact, in all 3 weeks, we came $30 under in groceries, my most feared category, EACH week.

I can’t tell you how nice it is to open my Mint.com account and only see 2 red lines (thanks to extra Charity (yay) and pharmacy (boo)). Usually by mid-month, the budget was shot and it was difficult to find a green line. I mean, seriously, all the rumors are true…we finally know where our money is going instead of where it went! It’s amazing! We already have money set aside for our car taxes next spring for crying out loud. It’s fantastic!

All of that to say it hasn’t been complete smooth-sailing. There have been a few times we’ve been caught out without our cash and then we’re left juggling cash around envelopes after using our debit card. Scott is more of the spender than me (really) and he’s stomped his foot and lowered his bottom lip a few times when I’ve had to say, it’s not really in the budget. I can’t say I haven’t been disappointed just in the last two weeks not being able to spend like I want (fingernail polish or fall decorations, anyone?) but in hindsight it feels really good to have stuck to my guns.

We have made a few changes. There are a few categories that Dave recommends we use for envelopes like gas or vacation that is just too inconvenient or silly to keep in envelopes. So far, I’ve kept other things super divided. Food is our sore spot so I have separate envelopes for groceries, fast food, sit-down restaurants and coffee. I know it seems like a lot but knowing ahead of time it is our weakness, we are better able to keep an eye on how many times we’re eating Taco Bell and how many times we’ve gotten coffee etc. with it like this.

Speaking of food, I still haven’t mastered weekly meal planning. I’m at the grocery store constantly, only thinking of dinner a day or two ahead of time but you know, we’re literally 3 minutes from the store and it’s just hasn’t been a big deal. It’s the only way I don’t completely stress over the whole thing. And you know they say the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. So I’m tackling this dinner thing bite by bite…or something like that.

So all in all, I really can not imagine not having this even just a few weeks in. All our needs are met, our wants are managed and we have flexibility to help others. Win, win, win!

Water Marbling Manicure Take 2, 3 and 4

October 17, 2010 by Amy 3 Comments

I did the girls nails today. And then mine again after mine was destroyed doing theirs. They picked white, pink and purple. Go figure.

These are Emma’s. Her pinkies are my favorites.

photo 2 (1)

These are Lexi’s little chubby hands and I just want to *squeeze* them. I can barely get passed the cute chubby to see her nails. Her right thumb is the best but you can’t see it well.

I picked white, purple and some peachy color (quickly when my orange wouldn’t work) which I sort of regret. I think I’m getting a handle on the patterns though. These are at least much more consistent in look across all the fingers.

Things I noticed: my high lacquer polishes hardened almost immediately. My older Revlon polishes wouldn’t spread well. I stuck to newer Revlon colors I had.

I really want to try out some neon colors!

The Water Marbling Manicure

October 14, 2010 by Amy 17 Comments

OK so I heard about this marble manicure thing from Katie on Twitter the other day. Side note: I feel like everything I know is starting to come from Twitter. Every other sentence I say is something like “Oh, I saw that on Twitter” or “The other day on Twitter”. Oh well. So the other day on Twitter I heard about these things and some of them looked SO cool. And they made it look SO EASY. Here is one of MANY tutorials on YouTube.

Here’s the basic steps though:

Paint your nails with a base color and let dry.
Pick 3 other colors to use.
Fill a bowl with tepid water.
Tape up one finger (see videos).
Let a drop of the first color drop on the surface of the water.
Let a drop of the second color drop in the middle of the first drop.
Let a drop of the third color drop in the middle of that.
Repeat as many times as you want.
Use a toothpick to pull in the colors to the center.
Dip your finger in the spot of the pattern you like.
The polish has created a film on the water. Pull that away from your nail while it’s still dunked in the water.
Pull your nail out and untape it immediately.
Repeat for all your nails.

Yeah, it’s not the fastest thing ever. One video I watched said it only took 15 minutes. HA!

So I picked this mint green color for the base and then silver, pink and dark purple colors for the swirl which apparently were horrible picks because really only the green and purple showed up. I had to redo a few fingers and still a few are pretty sketchy. I think if I try a few different colors and practice with the patterns in the water I’ll get better. Here is my first water marbling:

I think my thumbs came out the best:

So, that’s that I guess. I definitely see some potential.

Have you heard of this? Tried it?

Wordless Wednesday – Mommy, Why Are These So Poopy?

October 13, 2010 by Amy 4 Comments

Radical Chapter 5

October 12, 2010 by Amy 5 Comments

The concept in Chapter 5 that has stuck with me is this:

If we were left to ourselves with the task of taking the gospel to the world, we would immediately begin planning innovative strategies and plotting elaborate schemes. We would organize conventions, develop programs, and create foundations. We would get the biggest names to draw the biggest crowds to the biggest events. We would start megachurches and host megaconferences. We would do…well, we would do what we are doing today.

Er, 4 days ago, actually Pastor Platt. Now I’m not knocking Catalyst. Trust me, to experience what I experienced and come away with what I did, no one will ever convince me there is not worth in what they are doing. But that’s what we jump to don’t we? I mean, since leaving I think that’s what I’ve been trying to do…strategize and plot and organize and just…figure out a way to make a difference. And not saying organizations are bad either. But Jesus gave us this clear picture of going alongside just 12 guys and changing the world.

Even through Sisterhood of the Traveling Belt I’ve learned you just need a handful of people to make a difference. (over $1,000 raised!) It doesn’t have to be complicated. If you yourself can just use your own talents and gifts for him it’s enormous. I just think so many people are stuck in trying to use their gifts and talents for themselves. They’re still stuck in attaining that American Dream. But if we we didn’t? What if we banded together with our friends that had the same mindset and just WERE the church? There are no limits. I love David’s closing comments:

A community of Christians each multiplying the gospel by going, baptizing, and teaching in the contexts where they live every day. Is anything else, according to the Bible, even considered a church?

Man, I pray that me and you and you(!) and(!) you (!) would come alongside each other and be the church together. I don’t need to create anything brand new. I just need to jump in where God is already moving. I love what my friend Dani wrote today…she’s working on being more frugal because people even at her own home church are being turned away. I’m learning there isn’t a magical formula for making a difference. It’s just me using my passions and you using your passions and us doing that together to meet needs we already see. I love what Christine Caine said at Catalyst. She said the Samaritan in Luke 10:33 had compassion and then he went and bandaged his wounds. The passerbys before had seen the man too but they did nothing. Christine said compassion is only sympathy until we cross the road and do something about it. Guys, I’ve seen. If you’re reading this, you’ve seen some of the needs. Are we going to be sympathetic or compassionate? Jesus says in Luke 10:37 “Go and do likewise.”

Today I printed our Shoebox labels and had the kids watch a video on it (going alongside my family). I also volunteered to man a Compassion table at a concert next week with my friend Becky (Attention locals: Jeremy Camp/Carlos Whittaker/John Mark McMillian in concert in FM next week!). I’m not saying that to boast but to let you know I’m not just spouting this stuff out to you. I’m challenging me too. What if we did stuff like that every single day and not just once a year. You know what I think?

We just might end up being RADICAL.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Catalyst Takeaways

October 12, 2010 by Amy 6 Comments

Yeah, so I’m going to be talking about Catalyst for a while I suppose. Just to start I thought I’d make a list for you (but mostly me) of organizations that Catalyst promoted. I’m planning to research many of them in depth that I feel called to but you might have a heart for a different ministry. Here’s a quick overview.

Operation Christmas Child. No stranger to many of us. Fill a shoebox for a child for Christmas.
Compassion. Definitely not a stranger to this blog or to you probably. Sponsor a child for only $38 a month. Catalyst had a graduate of Compassion there who is now sponsoring another child. Do it. Do it, do it, do it. I LOVE Compassion.
CharityWater.org. They reminded me a lot of blood:water mission who we are supporting through the Sisterhood of the Traveling Belt. Very worthy cause to say the least.
A21Campaign.org – Helps women who have been a victim of human trafficking.
Street Grace – Atlanta based group that help children who have been victims of trafficking.
Tronie Foundation – Survivor led organization to support survivors of trafficking.
First Response Team – A group that responds to United States natural disasters to aid local responders do their jobs.
143Million.org – Brings awareness to the 143 million orphans across the world that need adopted.
Project 7 – A company that sells COFFEE where a part of it goes to charity.
aHomeInHaiti – They provide shelter to homeless Haitians.

Here’s the thing. I KNOW that’s a lot. But as Helen Keller said, “I may not be able to do everything, but still I can do something”. Yes, I feel overwhelmed with all the ways we can help make a difference. But not understanding all the ways doesn’t mean I can’t understand at least ONE way.

So pick one.

Do something.

Start a small monthly donation to one. And then add another when you can. Having any number of options should not lead us to no options. Do something.

So I’ll start the thinking process for you…which one jumps out at you as you read the list? Go ahead, put it in the comments.

For me, obviously Compassion is really close to my heart but sex trafficking has been heavy on my heart for weeks leading up to Catalyst. A21Campaign, Street Grace and Tronie Foundation were a big bright neon sign to me. I’ll be posting more about them in coming days. Stay tuned!

Read more Top Ten Tuesday posts over at ohamanda.com.

Overwhelmed

October 11, 2010 by Amy 8 Comments

Overwhelmed. That’s the only word I can come up with 3 days after Catalyst. I’m not exaggerating when I say I came back a different person. I’m thinking about things differently. I want different things. I don’t know, a little of my spiritual DNA changed a little last week.

And then life happened.

Saturday morning I did a charity walk. Saturday afternoon we went to the Renaissance Festival. Sunday was church. Today was work.

None of this was bad stuff. But I went from two days on a high and wanting to change the world, back to life. Just life. And not that my life is bad. But it just…is life.

And I know I can make a difference with just life but I don’t know. I’m having a hard time processing it all. Last night I was exhausted and just went to bed, cried and took a nap. It was the only thing I could do. And then I got up and went back through all my notes and made a list a page long of takeaways.

And somehow, some way I have to make it my life.

Carolina Renaissance Festival

October 10, 2010 by Amy 8 Comments

Yesterday was the Carolina Renaissance Festival. I’ve never been and I sort of expected the normal fall/state festival. Lots of tents of food, maybe a few stages with different shows. Well, boy was I wrong. This thing was like a mini amusement park. Not necessarily roller coasters but all the buildings were permanent and it was so much larger than I thought, winding back into the woods with food vendors, stores to buy the Renaissance related items, small rides, stages and even a little arena for some jousting. This was the common view:

Lots ‘o people! What should have taken us no more than 45 minutes to get to, took us THREE HOURS to get to this thing. You have to go out to the middle of nowhere outside of Charlotte to get to it and there is this two-lane road that was 6 miles between the interstate and the festival that took us 2.5 hours to get down! That’s literally going 2 miles an hour. And that’s about what we did. But it was one of those things where you’ve gone 1 hour and then 2 and you keep saying maybe it will get better and you really don’t want to REALLY waste your time by turning around and going home.

We managed to get in 45 minutes before it originally was supposed to close and then they extended the time an hour just because so many people were trying to get in. So yes, it took twice as long to get there as it did to be there. But it was quite the experience. The first thing that wowed us was this:

Because yes, that’s a person, not a statue. And performers would randomly show up along the path and a crowd would gather like for these two…uh, not sure what to call that…guys that stand on each other in weird positions.

But of course, we were pretty much there for the food. The almighty turkey leg.

We also had some sweet potato fries and Heather got some pesto pasta salad that was pretty yummy.

We also let the kids do one activity. Hello, budget! Emma picked the jumpy thing that she did back at the beach this summer. She went SUPER high and the guy twisted her rope right at the end so she would do a flip.

And Lexi picked this huge rocking horse. And no, it wasn’t motorized, the ladies working it had to rock it for us!

But REALLY what we were there for is to see all the pretty costumes. The environment is like none other I have ever seen. Workers are all dressed up but festival goers can also come in their own costumes or rent ones there. And the really kinda weird part is they LOVE having their pictures taken. Scott walked around and just started snapping pictures and many obliged with a pose.

All the workers were so nice to the kids.

This one reminded me of Belle from Beauty and the Beast!

Even the ducks had costumes on!

We’re assuming King and Queen?

Weirdest one definitely went to this guy:

So Scott was in a really silly mood on our way out and walked by this guy and said, “My wife wants a picture with you.” So I played along and this guy went for this posed that cracked me up. Can you tell?

We were a few yards away and Lexi says, “Daddy!” and swatted him on the butt. That’s the way to take up for Mommy, baby!

All in all, a trip that is certainly not worth 3 hours of travel for but definitely worth experiencing!