i'm feeling reminiscent lately... recalling old trips, missing old friends, longing for warmer weather, remembering our former house by the river.  that old house with the hardwood floors, all the built-ins, and the sun room.  oh, that sun room... i've been thinking about purpose and passion and plans for the future. my heart is antsy. i get like this every now and then....

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It started with bananas. As a followup to yesterday's post about needing one ingredient and wondering if I'd end up with more... As we were going to the store I decided it would just be easiest to get the one thing I needed (beer, oddly enough) and not shop for more things.  Toting a toddler around in snow and cold is a challenge,...

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Well, we have made it half way through the month. We got some groceries the other day, and Josh did a great job of helping me stay on track and determining if something was a necessity or not. I have to go to the grocery store tomorrow to get a missing ingredient for a dish we're making for our small group potluck dinner...

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Being on a spending freeze has definitely gotten me doing more in the kitchen, and it's been really fun!  Especially since my husband is willing to do the cleanup!  Bless his heart!  Oh, and did I mention that on top of everything else, our dishwasher broke?!? Catherine LOVES to help bake.  In the past I would just let her watch from her highchair...

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The other day we ran errands.  Josh had to have his phone fixed.  And we felt a working toilet was a necessity, so a stop at Lowe's was also in the plans. I decided to join him since I really haven't been out much in the last couple weeks.  Then it became a matter of what do I do while he's having his...

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Why do this silly little spending freeze experiment anyway? Oh many reasons.  In fact, I rarely choose to do something significant if there's only one reason for it. So, in no particular order... I've always wanted to.  Years ago I contemplated the idea of stopping buying things.  I even read a book about a couple who did a year long spending freeze.  I...

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I can't believe it's only Day 3 of the spending freeze.  I thought for sure it was at least 4... Josh was reading tonight about how McDonalds soft drinks truly do taste better than other soft drinks and why.  I saw a picture of the McDonalds cup and thought "Yes, a diet coke from McDonalds sounds just dandy right now." I've been sick...

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The last 2 weeks of holidays and merriment and family and friends have been awesome!!However, since Christmas Eve part of my heart has been in Burbank, CA, where I used to live ten years ago.In California, I was a part of a good GREAT group of people who met Sundays and Thursdays to grow and learn together in our faith.  It was an...

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Last month Josh got a travel mug that during the month of January can be taken to any Starbucks and filled with coffee at no charge. Depending on how much one likes Starbucks coffee, that could be a pretty smart investment. So, we're making sure he makes full use of it, and that started today of course. During Christmas Break this week, we've...

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Not only does tomorrow start a new year.  But it also starts a new month.  And we have decided that we are going to attempt a month long spending freeze.Now there are certain things that we HAVE to spend money on:  house payment, utilities, student loans, etc.  And there are certain things that we will still spend money on:  telephone and internet.  Though,...

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