{ NO spend month redux }

So, we did it! And we were right on with our goal of $500 for food and $50 for misc. items. We even had $.08 cents remaining! LOL!

How did the family handle it? Well, my husband took to calling my {NO spend month} - NO Food In The House month! He said, can we PLEASE go get sushi now that this is over?

What did I/we learn? I really want to continue to keep better tabs on where our $ goes each month. I think by simply paying attention and being more mindful of purchases we can continue to do a good job of saving $ for the things we really want (paying off our mortgage early, traveling lots & lots, etc.) We want to live our lives and spend our money in ways that are in line with our values, interests and passions. We want to be do-ers, not accumulate-ers. For instance, we don't want more stuff (more cars, more toys, more clothes) but we want to be able to spend generously on recreational pursuits, organic foods and long trips to faraway places. We want to continue to make efforts to be environmentally green. By reducing our consumption, we save money (and the earth) in the process. We talked about ways to generate more passive income streams and ways to cut non-essential personal & business expenses. And we talked about what questions to ask ourselves before making a major purchase. We have our financial goals listed on a chalkboard in our kitchen and on the bulletin board by my desk - as daily reminders - pay off school loans, save $ for month in New Zealand/Australia, retire early, etc. This daily reminders help keep us focused & inspired! We decided that we were going to take a VERY minimal approach to holiday giving this year (photos of Sam & tree dedications to immediate family and no gifts to extended family), asking nicely that the grandparents don't inundate our child with dozens of gifts, but instead, perhaps donate to her college fund (she will thank all of us later). More on some of these ideas soon.

Now, this doesn't mean that I will NEVER set foot in Anthropologie again or never order anything online again. For one, I'm not perfect and two, I don't know how anyone can resist Anthro. But what it does mean that the tide has changed and I will THINK about the purchase in advance (and maybe even wait on it for a day or two) and decide if it is something that will make our lives better (more organized, more fun, etc.)....If not, I won't be tempted to get it. I will save up $ in advance for a holiday jaunt to Anthropologie and not enter the store with a credit card.

I think this quote sums up my experience with NO spend month...

"It is not what you earn that makes you rich or poor, it is what you spend."
- David Bach, Go Green, Live Rich

How did it go for those of you who participated? I enjoyed reading some of your blog postings!

{ august challenge...Fit ME }

Stay tuned for more information on August's challenge...Fit ME Month.

My goals for the month are: to workout everyday; jump starting training for a fall 1/2 marathon; get toned; and to lose 5 lbs....all in ONE month.

Just wanted to give you a heads up so you can get EXCITED and MOTIVATED along with ME!

{ green ME }

"Ten Thoughts on Green Living" from Body + Soul magazine.

1. Think about where your purchases came from- and where they're going.
2. Never underestimate team effort when it comes to setting change in motion.
3. Going green doesn't have to be difficult or hard; quite often, simple is best.
4. Make it a goal to spend more time outdoors.
5. Ask yourself how you can use, and reuse, what you already have.
6. Living sustainably comes with learning to see the world in a new way.
7. Rather than worry about the costs of going green, consider what you're investing in.
8. In everything you do, align your actions with your personal philosophy.
9. An ecofriendly life happens in stages- with one decision at a time.
10. Many of our biggest problems get solved when we view ourselves as part of a whole.

{ see ME giveaway }

A one year subscription to Seeing the Everyday...an amazing magazine. Seeing the Everyday aims to cover the "in-between" moments of parenthood. The non-events that actually make up the bulk of the act of parenting - these important little moments in time. It has beautiful photography and amazing, heartfelt writing. Oh, and did I mention that it is {ad-free}?

One lucky commenter will receive a FREE one year subscription. Just leave me a comment by Monday, July 28th with one of your favorite {moments}. And if you don't win or don't want to wait, never fear, you can get your own subscription here.

{ turn ME off }

This statistic will blow you away. Next time you reach for the remote, think about this... The average American watches 1,672 hours of TV a year. That is about 70 days worth of TV a year. Or about 10 weeks!!! What could you do with 10 more weeks this year?

I'm guilty of TV watching too (although not that bad)...I've been known to watch a few episodes of Gossip Girl {guilty pleasure} & Oprah. We TIVO the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Samme watches some commercial free Noggin. So we aren't perfect. But 70 days of TV a year - NEVER!

How many hours do you/your family watch a day? Now multiply that by 365. WOW.

{ clean ME }

The average US household spends more than $600/year on cleaning supplies. I know I've given a fair share of our funds to Method and Seventh Generation over the years. This weekend though I wiped up some homemade cleaning supplies. Here are some of the recipes I used.

Wood: Combine 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1 tsp olive oil in a glass jar with lid. Use small amt. on cleaning rag to polish wood surfaces.
All purpose: Combine 1 cup distilled white vinegar and 1 cup water in a spray bottle.
Bathroom: I've been using baking soda to scrub sinks and toilets.
Stain Remover: Here's a link to a great stain remover posted by Small Notebook the other day!
Do any of you have any great {homemade} cleaning supply recipes you want to share?

{ another one bites the dust }

Just got this email from Organize Magazine - a magazine all about being organized (what wasn't to love about that?)

It is with a profound sense of sadness that we announce the cessation of publication of Organize Magazine.
We are deeply grateful for your support and feel that we had a wonderful magazine because of your input. Being organized was goal we all shared and we loved hearing how you worked to make that goal a reality. You were a valuable part of Organize and we'll miss your energy and enthusiasm.
We are working hard to find a suitable substitute for the remaining issues of your subscription. Please be aware that the transition could take a few months to complete. Should you have any questions, please email us at info@organizemag.com.
All our best to you,
The Organize Magazine Team

{ whole ME }

From an old issue of Body & Soul Magazine.

{ ten thoughts on whole living }

1. Make space for joy in your life; let it flow through you.
2. Life is at its most intriguing and mysterious when it's in flux.
3. Love nourishes your soul; passion ignites it.
4. Don't just shield your body from harm; protect and strengthen it from the inside out.
5. Take pleasure in others' happiness, as it will augment your own.
6. Let then season breathe new life into your home.
7. Pain accumulates over time; healing requires patience- and a soft touch.
8. Nurture your personal power; it's the source of your will.
9. Create something, anything. Learn to play again.
10. Get excited about the process, not just the outcome.

#10 really resonated with ME today. I've had lots of you email ME about NO spend month and how challenging it is and how frustrated you are about how long it will take to get your financial life in order, how long it will take to get your family out of debt, etc. What if WE start looking at whatever you are working towards as a just what it is...a process...and look at the great things we are leaning during the process. WE learning about tracking our spending; what is this process teaching ME about my values?; how can we continue to be more mindful of our spending and align it with what is important to us? How can we be patient with ourselves during this process and how can we carry forth our excitement about what participating in this process means to us TODAY?

{ procrastinating ME }

So, Sunday night in our house is not for chilling...its for getting {ready} for the week ahead...putting away laundry & dishes, getting schedules set for the week and plans made, making some food for easy, healthy lunches, clearing out the inbox, cleaning off the desks, meal planning, picking up around the house, etc. We generally begin these projects after dinner on Sunday evening. I always want to start the week of FRESH...and organized...and clean.

But, this serious eye candy & blog by Anna Maria Horner caught my attention and I just squandered away almost an hour...Bet you will too!

Photo by Anna Marie in her Flickr pool

{ shamless ME }

Fun seeing MY products in stores!

ps - what are those banana things next to my display?!?!

And really happy to BE a part of the fab collections at Broadway Paper.
I got to meet Tracie & her crew at NSS this year and they are the most delightful buyers Alli & I ever met! And don't you all want to work there?
ps - Thanks Tracie for the blog love.
{oh and Alli got some luv today too!}

{ yumME }

This is what we are making for dinner tonight.

Recipe & photo from Domino.

{ crafty ME }

Samme & I are going to start making LOADS of these and these for Christmas gifts. PS. If you haven't checked out Fawn & Forest store & blog, head on over, they are both amazing.

{ i'm going INSANE... }

So I have been having all of these issues with blogger so today I decided to switch to wordpress...not so easy to do (and keep my archives)...so then I decided I would change my blogger template to 3 columns (I hated it), so I tried to change it back to my original template (long gone), lost all of my blog links in the process, and chose a new template. So any of you that have seen the 18 different layouts today, comments, feedback? I think I am just going to stick with this one before I lose my mind. It is just a blog afterall.
p.s. I had like a MILLION more important things to be doing today then messing with my blog...how's that for prioritizing tasks?

{ week 3 - NO spend month }

Well, I've resisted buying this, this, this and this. Because, we/I don't NEED them. I'm still on track for keeping my grocery/food expenses under my goal and not wasting food this month (but it will be close!) I've been picking flowers from our garden instead of buying flowers from the Farmers Market. I bypassed a much needed pedicure. I resisted tickets to a cool concert.

It is still strange having cash on ME and not just wiping out the Credit Card. I still automatically reach for it, but it's not there!

As I mentioned before I want to be better about holding off on purchases and thinking about them before buying them - curbing those impulse buys. I'm learning to ask myself - "Is this a product that will help simplify or organize my life?"; "Is this an item that Sam needs in order to learn and be creative?"; "If I buy this will it set us back from our goals - of purchasing solar panels, traveling and paying off school loans?"; "Am I buying this because I am bored?"

Here are some great personal finance book recommendations. I've been taking this list with ME to the library lately. Right now I'm reading Living Simply with Children and The Simple Living Guide (which my husband joked with ME doesn't seem so SIMPLE since it is 444 pages long!)

Also, here are some great tips by Frugal Dad for ways to save $ during a slow economy.

How is No Spend Month coming for all of you?

{ a day in the life of ME }

My second posting in the { day in the life of ME } series...my great friend Maureen. She & I grew up in the same small town in upstate New York. We've known each other forever but have gotten closer (despite our geographic separation) in our motherhood adventures & our shared desire for a simple, sane & healthy lifestyle. Here's what her days are like. Doesn't her life INSPIRE you? And don't you think she should be paid to write?!?! NOTE: Her days begin at 4:30 AM. Yes, 4:30 AM everyday. Thank you Maureen for sharing your day with us...


There are few things in life that don’t require an asterisk (that is, an explanation, a disclaimer, some context.) I won’t spend time here describing what those things are because this is supposed to be about { a day in the life of ME } (which comes with its own long, winding trail of asterisks).

I’ll spare you the details and give you the Birdseye:

• I am not very organized in a tangible sense but I tend to see things clearly in my mind.
• I rarely feel productive enough but when I stop to think, I’ll admit I’ve accomplished a lot.
• I believe that a better way of doing things exists, but I’m okay with doing what works for now until I find it. I worry sometimes that I’ll never find it.

So before you read on, know that every asterisk you’ve ever read probably applies (including but definitely not limited to: every child is different, consult doctor before starting an exercise program, sleep requirements vary according to individual, never run alone, and side affects are rare but may include…).

Here is MY context:

• My daughter turned two in April. When she was nine months old, I left my job and started my own one-man business so that I could be home with her. I spend a lot of time studying how businesses and organizations operate compared to what their clients need and how they get what they need. Then I propose how these businesses and organizations can restructure or reconfigure what they do to: a) meet their clients real needs, b) increase productivity and outcomes, and c) maximize resources (money, time, people).

• What I really love to do is write but I wasn’t making the time to do it and no one was holding me accountable to do it. So I started a blog last October. While I’m not always sure where it will lead or what its purpose is, I am certain that I enjoy it. That is enough, for now.

• I do not have childcare for my daughter and I never have. What I do in a day is what I do in a day. Our families (my husband’s and mine) are a six-hour drive away. I could find help if I wanted to. But the truth is, I’m both blessed and motivated to make being home with her work. So I do. I make it work.

• I must run. I started running, seriously, about five years ago and I haven’t stopped since. You can read about why I love it here.

• I have an incredibly supportive and involved husband. He is my right hand and my left hand at the same time. We are in life and love together.

Here is MY day:


What You May Notice:

• My day starts at 4:30 am. I have always been an early bird; the difference is that now I moonlight with the night owls. It serves many purposes: (running, writing, paying the bills, and devoted Ava time when she wakes).

• I have three blocks of work and writing time on any given day, totaling between 7-10 hours. All while my daughter sleeps.*

• I have two blocks of Ava and ME time (not including sleep and meal activities)—one block serves to exercise our bodies the second to exercise our brains.

• I have one block of family time—sometimes we walk, sometimes we swim, sometimes we go for an ice-cream, sometimes we just play on the floor—the what isn’t important as long as we do it together, undivided in space and time.

*I know that every child is different, but as soon as I detected a pattern to her newborn ways, I put my daughter on a schedule. Knowing when she would sleep was essential to my ability to pull this business off—and now I’m convinced it’s a big part of why she is so happy, well adjusted, and smart (since it didn’t come from me)! As early as six-weeks old, Ava has had the opportunity to sleep in her own bed every single day at the same times (of course, times change with age). The result is a little girl who sleeps between 12-14 hours per night and 2-3 hours per day and tells me when she is tired and needs to sleep. That gives me lots of working and running time and gives her lots of processing and repairing time!

What You May Not Notice:

• I run six days a week and weight train at least twice a week.
• I practice yoga at least once a week, but I aim for twice.
• I pray every morning and feel off-balanced if I don’t; sometimes praying is just closing my eyes and being quiet.
• I make healthy dinners every night, except Saturday’s when we eat out; despite my intentions. to routinely plan ahead with my FeedME, I tend to know what I will fix only an hour before I put it on the table.
• We read in between everything (waking, potty, eating, sleeping) and sing on our way to everything.

So, while this day-in-the-life isn’t accessorized with glamour and Gucci, it sure is filled with loving and living. There are hard days among them and doubt-filled ones tucked in between, but what I’ve learned about days in general is that they pass way too quickly to want them to end…so on the bad ones, I think about what makes Ava happy—and then, suddenly, I am happy too.

{ you've got to be kidding ME? }

I can't even begin to tell you how irate this makes ME.
{ Breathe, Jenny, Breathe. }

{ want to grow some more brains? }

Go workout! According to a new study, exercise stimulates the growth of new brain cells, a new study on rats finds. The new cells could be the key to why working out relieves depression.

{ simple living }

"....the lure of personal freedom - freedom from the tyranny of never having enough time, freedom to do more things our own way, proved utterly compelling. A quest had begun in our lives, a search in all things, great and small, for that which could make us free."
- From: Simple Living

Leaving you with this great quote for the rest of the week and this link to 30 awesome articles on how to simplify your life.

ps. You'll find ME by the river this weekend reading this book. Go get it from your library today all of you moms. It is amazing.

{ no more excuses }

So one of the items on my 2008 To DO List has been to create a will & guardianship documents. Just in case. Well this required choosing software, making an appointment for an attorney perhaps, etc. and half-way through 2008 it still hasn't happened. But, then I came across this free offer for Suze Orman's Will & Trust forms. So I am putting this on my To DO list and will have it done by August 1st. I'm going to fill out these forms and have an attorney review them, get the witnessed & notarized and filed safely away.

Here's how to get it:

• Go to SuzeOrman.com.
• Click on Will & Trust Kit link on upper left menu.
• Click the orange Gift Code button.
• Type in the code “people first”.

Oh, and these better not be sold out by the time my No Spend Month is over. :-)

{ grateful ME }

Gratitude means:

• an appreciative attitude for what one has received
• a warm or deep appreciation of personal kindness
• a disposition to express gratefulness by giving thanks

Today I am grateful that my mom's surgery was a success. Today I am grateful that I have 60 years of love from her. Today I am grateful that I can continue to love her back. Today I am grateful that my daughter can have many more moments like the the one captured above with her grandmother.

What are YOU grateful for today? I encourage you to take 5 minutes and list out all of the people, things, etc. you are grateful for today. It is a great exercise in re-directing your perspective. After you are done listing out your items, give your family big hugs & kisses and tell them how much you love them.

{ a day in the life of ME }

This is a guest blog, part of my new {a day in the life of ME} series on LobotoME Brain Fog Blog. This first one is from a great friend of mine, Julie, a busy mother of 3 who manages to work, be a great mom, travel with her family, work out everyday, have a clean, organized house and feed her family healthy meals everyday. {She & I try to sneak out for yoga class together at least once a week for our SANITY.} She uses her momME planner, feed ME pad & check ME pad each week and hopes to use the Sit ME pad soon and have a date with her hubby. I think you will all enjoy hearing how she does it all. Thanks Julie for sharing your Sanity Saving Tips with us...

So when Jenny asked me to do a guest blog on her site, my initial thought was, “oh no, my new mantra is to say NO to anything above my daily requirements because I over-committed my summer by saying YES one too many times.” I decided to do this blog however, because Jenny is a dear friend and also I wanted to give her some free time this week to spend with her family. So why me??? I think Jenny thinks my life is crazy, IT IS, and she thinks I balance everything somewhat well---I guess that depends on who you ask and it would most likely be a different response from my husband, children, parents, co-workers, friends, etc.

I am a busy, working mom (36) of three children all under the age of three—yep, that is correct, although Jaden will be turning four next month. I joke to my friends that even though I have my Ph.D. and I am a college professor who got tenure and promotion to Associate Professor just this past spring, people still look at me as I trounce through the grocery store with three young kids in tow like I never graduated from high school and haven’t heard of birth control. I actually have done both, but we had twins the second time around, hence, the magical, busy number of three small children. The twins are now 15 ½ months old and things seem to be getting harder instead of easier, is that possible???

So you might wonder what a typical day is for me. The time my day starts depends on my three children. If all goes well, we might make it to 5:45 am. My husband leaves at 6:45 am for work, so on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I am on my own until 5 pm with three kids (Tuesday and Thursday, David takes Jaden to work with him and then drops him off at preschool for the day). During the school year, I teach on campus these days and things are even crazier than in summer. First thing I do is nurse both the twins, yes, I am still nursing, they were to be weaned last month but somehow that didn’t happen. Then I quick do diaper changes/get them dressed for the day while trying to keep Jaden entertained and then I make a mad dash for the shower—if I don’t do this now, I never will. The shower always ends up with one or more children trying to push open the glass shower door because they can no longer entertain themselves—I am quick, five minutes or less. By now they all want breakfast but I need to quick put lotion and what little make-up I wear on. During this process, I generally have the twins crawling on my lap. I quickly get dressed and upload one twin in each arm (~20 lbs a piece) and head downstairs. Jaden by now has no more patience and wants to eat now. You might be saying, why don’t you feed them all first and then take a shower? Well our house arrangement isn’t perfect right now because Amara's room is connected to our bathroom and there is no door between the two rooms so in essence she is in our bathroom. As a result, I need to get the shower out of the way so I can put her down for her nap after she eats breakfast without waking her up (our house is currently for sale - a great house for a family of 4, but not 5!). I feed everyone, let the twins play for a bit and then put them down for their morning nap by 8:15 am. I then get Jaden set up with something to play with or he goes outside jumps on the trampoline, plays in the sandbox, etc. Whew….I quick scarf down some cereal while reading the news online and my emails. I have about 30 emails to respond to everyday for work so this takes up quite a bit of time. Before I know it, it is 9:45 am and I need to quickly get Jaden dressed because my Body Sculpt class starts at 10 am. I wake the twins up, change diapers, get snacks, mad dash out the door and arrive a few minute late for my class. I carry my purse, a baby in each arm and Jaden by my side into the daycare hoping one of the twins doesn’t slip out of my arms. Whew, 10 am and I feel like I have had a full day---is David home from work yet??? SANITY TIP #1 for MOMS: Find a workout class that has daycare and build it into your schedule—your body, brain, and children and husband will LOVE you for it. I have been doing the same class for 3 ½ years three days a week and have hardly missed a day except when my midwife demanded at 20 weeks that I stop all exercise when I was pregnant with the twins. Seriously, this is the BEST gift you can give yourself even if you hate exercising. It is so empowering to have a free hour during the middle of the day to focus on nurturing the body that nurtures others 24/7 (Tuesday and Thursday I run 4 miles in morning pushing the twins in my BOB jogging stroller with friends while Jaden is at preschool). After class, I try and have a play date for Jaden or do something special for him since in the morning I am so busy with the twins. We come home by 12:30 pm and I feed everyone, besides me, and I get the twins down for their afternoon nap. I feed my children healthy, whole foods. We are vegetarians and eat mainly organic food. I did start eating fish while pregnant with the twins and am still eating it and enjoying the protein. Don’t get me wrong though, Jaden eats more than plenty his share of crackers and bars and while they are organic, I don’t really consider them healthy, whole food. Since Jaden doesn’t take a nap anymore, I let him watch one video lying in his bed while the twins sleep. I have guilt over this sometimes, but I also have work that I need to squeeze into my day and he needs quiet time or he will be an overtired, cranky preschooler by 5 pm. So while everyone is in their rooms, I grab a bite to eat by 1:15 pm and then get to work. It is summer break, but as I mentioned, I overcommitted myself this summer. What do I need to squeeze in to the 1 ½ of “free time” I have you might ask?? Here is my list of things to do for the summer: Revisions for scientific manuscript for Fire Ecology Journal, revisions for invited book chapter on the Ecology of the Eastern San Juan Mountains, prep and give volunteer plant walk for Colorado Native Plant Society, prep and give volunteer plant walk for the Mountain Studies Institute, create an ACCESS database for the Forest Service for plant ecology analysis, start data analysis and writing two new scientific manuscripts for my long-term forest restoration fire research project, coordinate with my intern for San Juan Collaboratory, work on invasive weed project for Aztec Ruins National Monument, work on Environmental Assessment for the Vegetation Mgt Plan for Aztec Ruins National Monument, work with students on their senior seminar research projects, work with colleague and students on a fire ecology study in the Missionary Ridge burn area, attend climate change conference and establish research project for summer Field Ecology course related to early snowmelt, climate change, and plants, attend and present oral presentation at national Ecological Society of America conference, coordinate with local non-profit to have a class participate in a cooperative learning experience for fall….is that all, not really. Anyways, I think you get the point, I am BUSY. Kids wake up, snack, play, dinner, play, bath, books, and bedtime by 7:30 pm for twins and 8:30 pm for Jaden—don’t forget to throw quite a bit of chaos into the mix. I then take 30 minutes to relax (read blogs, email friends, de-clutter our house, etc.) and then back to work on my “to do” list and bed by 11 pm. SANITY TIP #2: Work as a team with your partner. David is amazing. The minute he walks in the door, he helps me with everything. In the beginning, I definitely had to ask for help, but now we pretty much have it down for the most part to keep our evening chaos in check. By this point you might be asking, I am after re-reading this blog, “is she happy?” The answer is YES. SANITY TIP #3: The only moment is the moment in which we are presently living. Focus on that and try to leave the past in the past and let the future happen through the actions you are taking in the present moment. For this is the only thing we truly can control. This helps me make it through some of my long days and the recent six day puke/diarrhea parties the twins had literally ON me—trust me, you don’t want to know what this past week was like. In moments like this, I go back to my life mantra from Thich Nhat Hanh, if you haven’t read anything from him, it is a definite must. His teachings are very simple, but that is the point. Life doesn’t need to be difficult if we slow down and show compassion for ourselves and others. “Breathing in, I calm my body, Breathing out, I smile. Breathing in, I am in the present moment, Breathing out it is a wonderful moment.” I have said this mantra in some of my most painful life moments and have accepted these moments graciously. I gave birth to my 1st son, Denali, at 21 weeks gestation and repeated this mantra throughout his birth even as his spirit left my body and I wept uncontrollably.
LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH, and SMILE.

{ spend smart. live rich. }

I think this statement by Suze Orman really was what got ME started on the path to better money management.

"Money is a teacher. One of the primary ways you learn who you are is through your money: how you make it, spend it, share it, save it, open your hands to it or block its flow."

A lot of you have asked if Dave Ramsey was my financial guru so to speak. He isn't. However, I would definitely recommend you read his book, it will certainly inspire you to become debt free and look at money in a different way. Simple Mom also has a great overview of his 6 step plan to Debt-free Living. I have read a lot of financial books recently - some by Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey and David Bach. The books that I thought fit ME the best and really hit home with ME were:

Your Money or Your Life
Smart Women Finish Rich
Smart Couples Finish Rich
Women & Money

A lot of you asked, why do you care how much money you spend - you seem to have plenty of it? Well...Without disclosing our ENTIRE personal lives on this blog or copies of our tax returns :-), I will say we can do better. We are very lucky to have 2 successful businesses, a beautiful home that has appreciated over what we purchased it for, little debt in the grand scheme of things and money to pay the bills and travel. Having said all of that (and being very grateful for that list), we aren't very good at saving. We are however very good at traveling and Sam at the age of 4 has been to more countries than either Will or I had until we were in our 20's.

We are after 4 things with our enhanced focus on saving more and spending less.

1) Spending less on s%*t we don't need (new home furnishings when the ones we have are great, new mt. bikes when the ones we have work fine, etc) and using that money for other enjoyments and pleasure - mainly travel. Finding that balance between saving for the future & having great LIFE experiences (now, not later) is a goal of ours.

2) Spending less in order to save more for the future. We don't want to work until we are 65. Retiring early doesn't just happen magically and since neither of us have a trust fund to retire on, we need to SAVE for this grand early retirement plan of ours.

3) Spending less in order to have less stuff - Less stuff to deal with, take care of, put away, etc. After spending the last 10 years bringing MORE stuff into our lives (cars, bikes, trailers, books, furniture, kitchen appliances, art, paintings, etc.) we want to spend the next 10 downsizing. We are on a mission to de-clutter and part with anything that isn't useful or wanted in our home.

4) And last, but not least, to teach Sam that $ does not in fact grow on trees. :-)

{ 4th of July salad }

What I always bring to 4th of July BBQ's

4th of July Salad...
1 Bag of Spinach or Arugula Salad Mix
1/2-1 cup of Sliced Strawberries
1/2- 1 cup of Sliced Blueberries
1/4 cup of Feta or Goat Cheese (I tend towards the goat cheese more)
1/4 cup of slivered Almonds
2 TBS of light Vinaigrette (I like to use a light raspberry vinaigrette)

Hope you all have a happy, safe & relaxing long weekend!  

{ energy saving tips }

Here are some tips for saving on your energy bill this summer. Save $ & Save Mother Earth!

• Take your cooking outdoors. It's the season for grilling, so why not take advantage? It's too hot to slave over a hot oven anyway.
• Give your dryer a break and line-dry whatever clothing you can. If you need to use the dryer, make sure you're doing a full load and clean the lint trap after every use.
• Watch the dial on your thermostat.
• Open windows at night and in the early morning, allowing cool air to enter the house, then close everything up. It will help keep the house cool without switching on the AC.
  
• If your air conditioner is an older model, it will pay to switch to a new, Energy Star-approved one. Not only will it be more effective at cooling your home, but you can also reduce energy consumption by 20 to 50 percent, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

{ organize ME }

The other day some of you asked to see how I was using my weekly momME planner and how with all of my to-do's I prioritized. What I do is generally put my {wow, wouldn't it be great, but also a miracle, if I could get all of these things done today} list into each day. Then I highlight my THREE Most Important To-Do's for that day. I try to tackle them right off the bat and schedule time for them. That way I am not getting "distracted" by to-do items that, while they may need to get done, aren't as important. YOU will see I also list one household to-do each day (again, that doesn't mean I'm not picking up or washing dishes, but one time consuming- water & weed the garden item - generally an item that I need about an hour for). Another example could be {clean all 3 bathrooms}.

{ NO spend month }

So, July is officially {NO spend month} here in OUR household. This means ME. Since Will never buys anything and Sam can't yet!

I NEVER carry cash (no point in mugging ME) but I decided to experiment and withdraw cash to pay for groceries each week (within my budget) and pay for gas with our business credit card and put my personal Credit Card AWAY. Hide it. Far, far away. And see if I could survive a MONTH with NO CREDIT CARD and no frivolous purchases (lattes, clothes, etsy art, ebay purchases, Target trips, etc). So, here it goes....Wish ME luck. Here is the spreadsheet I will be using to track my purchases.

Others have attempted this before and some do this every July. How much $$ could you SAVE each month if you didn't buy S%&t you don't need? Could you use this $ saved to put towards paying off debt or save for an upcoming vacation?

If you'd like to join in on NO Spend Month, take the button from the sidebar and GO for it. Let ME know how it goes.

** A lot of you have questions about NO Spend Month - I will get back to you in a different post later this week.