All I Wanted Was a Hug

It's been 5 months since I've seen The Man, today he comes home for a visit.

It's amazing how quickly five months goes. We've seen birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas since he left for deployment. Can we make up for lost time in a matter of days before he has to go back overseas?

One the one hand, I'm over joyed that he's coming home; on the other hand, I'm worried.

Worried that the progress we've made as a fractured family will be undone a bit by the rise and fall of emotions that will come with this visit. Worried that even though on the phone The Man seems like his old self, he's been affected in some negative way from being overseas.

But I need to stay positive and cherish these next several days while our family is whole again.

The one thing I instantly missed once he climbed on the bus to start his deployment was a hug. Today I'll get the hug I've been wanting.

One Bill Less

I'm so happy to give you an update on the No Debt Challenge I set forth for my family and I. As of the end of the year, we had eliminated a credit card bill that has plagued us for years. The day I sent the final payment off, I felt a huge weight lifted.

And now we're one bill less.

This year, the goal is to pay off the car, which means we'll have no more loans but our mortgage outstanding.

And speaking of mortgage, that's one of the next beasts to tackle...but all in good time.

Once the car is paid off, the funds that were funneled into those payments be redirected into savings and other activities.

The Man and I will celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary next year, returning to the Sandals Royal Bahamian resort where we went on our honeymoon. That time feels like ages ago!

So we're starting the budget for our second honeymoon now, so we'll be able to pay cash when the trip comes.

Big plans!!

New Year's Goals

I don't make resolutions anymore...they never stick. Instead, I've started making New Year's Goals. This way I have an entire year to complete them, rather than having to change the way I operate all in one day.

So my goals for 2012 are as follows:

• Eliminate the car loan
• Double the amount of money in our emergency fund
• Establish and max out IRAs for both my husband and myself
• Take a vacation

See, no mention of exercising or not cussing...we need to be realistic here!

Happy new year!

**This just in**

The Girl has her own goals for 2012. She wants to learn how to

• Knit
• Tie a bow
• Snap louder, and
• Whistle

I think these are admirable goals for a (almost) 6-year old.

Project for Kids: Masquerade Mask

Inspired by The Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2, The Girl and I created this masquerade mask using old cardboard boxes, stick-on jewels and holiday packaging.

I didn't use a pattern, but drew the shape of the mask freehand, then used an x-acto knife to cut away the eye holes.

The box we used was already pink (thanks, Barbie!), but you could glue fancy paper or fabric to the front, draw cool designs, or even hot glue some neat beads to the front to make it extra fancy.

The Girl in her masquerade mask.

3 Steps to Clean Oven Glass

I recently did the self-clean function on my oven, but it left the glass on my oven door looking dull and still dirty. I'm sure I'm not the only person out there with a grimy oven since we're at the tail end of the holiday cooking season.

Thankfully, I found a great cleaning tip through Pinterest that uses just plain old baking soda and water to clean the oven door with no real effort.

My oven door: BEFORE. The glass seems to be perpetually dirty.

You don't need harsh chemicals, loads of money, elbow grease, or even loads of time to clean your oven.

What you'll need:
1/4 cup Baking soda
1-2 Tb water
(that's it!)

How long this will take?
About 20 minutes

I used a bbq brush to apply the paste.

Instructions

1. Pour the baking soda into a bowl and gradually add water until you have a loose paste.
2. Generously apply the baking soda paste to the oven glass and let it sit, with the oven door open, or 20 minutes.
3. Wet a paper towel or rag with water and wipe off the mixture.

The result

The glass in my oven (and the door) look brand new. 

No more dirty ovens!

The Value of Handmade

Let's get this straight: just because something was handmade, does not make it cheap, devalued or less thoughtful.

We've become a society that doesn't appreciate hard work. We want instant gratification and for some reason, many believe that true feelings can only be expressed through Hallmark or factory-made items.

Case in point--

I was invited to participate in an ornament exchange recently. I didn't want my ornament to look like all the others (stamped with "Made in China" on the bottom), so I made a cute bird ornament out of fabric and beads.

This is the bird ornament I made for the ornament exchange, not yet complete.

Granted, I had all my components on hand, so I didn't have an outlay of cash to complete the project, but the little bird ornament took about 75 minutes to complete (finding the pattern, selecting the fabric and thread, ironing, cutting, sewing--by hand--, stuffing, and adding the bead work on the hanging tag).

When the time came for the ornament exchange, I was both proud of my little blue bird and nervous about the group's reaction to him. When my little bird was unwrapped, I could tell the recipient was disappointed for some reason and she started to laugh (yes, laugh!).

I can't help but feel hurt that my hard work was received in that manner, especially when everyone else brought in store-bought ornaments--there were even duplicates!

Then I had to stop and look at the situation from a different perspective. I know my bird was awesome, but the problem resided in the perception that some people have of handmade. The ornament recipient didn't realize the value and hard work that goes into a handmade piece.

Why must value be decided by where a piece was purchased, rather than how it was created?

I've seen this same scenario play out in other places, such as Etsy. A good percentage of items available for sale on Etsy are handmade (vintage and supplies are also available on the site--and some supplies can even be handmade) but artists routinely de-value themselves because they don't respect their work.

But think about this: if that same handmade item was for sale in a store like Macy's or even a boutique shop, the perceived value would be higher and therefore command a higher price, yet the craftsmanship would be the same (or higher if it is a one-of-a-kind item instead a mass-produced piece).

So why do we continually de-value handmade?

I don't have much "me time" these days, so I take the time for deep reflection during the hours each week I spend sitting in my car (usually in traffic). Sometimes I reflect on deep, meaningful topics, such as parenting and finances. Other times, my head is filled with completely random thoughts, such as these:

If I clean my coffee maker with vinegar, aren't I essentially giving the thing a douche?

And, every 28 days my body makes me think I'm becoming a unicorn with the one massive zit that forms on my forehead, and that my nipples will fall off...all courtesy of PMS. I can't even begin to touch on the moodiness, which I'm sure has spread to days 1-365 of every year.

Those are just yesterday's random thoughts. I wonder what I'll come up with today.