Star Wars Chocolates!!

Yep, those are all the supplies.  Really, that's it!!

Hehe, we made Geeky Chocolate Novelty Gifts!! In the Star Wars form-to be exact!! It was lots of fun to do, plus it was pretty easy!! Best of all, we get to give the chocolate gifts, and guess who gets to keep these awesome ice molds??? That’s right, US!! Woot woot!! We definitely have a pretty awesome beverage station building up. This just adds to our fabulous soda stream, and the fun things I plan on doing to it with my birthday money!! I will add pics when it’s done, but for now, I had to share these fun gifts!! Thanks Think Geek!!



A little Death Star and Millennium Falcon anyone?



Microwave the chocolate for 40 seconds. Stir.  Repeat, and then:  Mmmmm!!!  Soooooo Creamy and Chocolatey!!



Spoon the soft chocolate into its mold.



We added oreos to the bottoms of the Millenium Falcons, so they would hover :-)

The Death Star required a bit more sophistication.  So we used a quart sized baggie as our piping device of choice!!



And then we just piped away!!

Dreaming

Ok, hopefully you went through the tedious “Reality Check” from my last post. I’m sorry if it was hard to see, but it is necessary to see and admit what is going on. Spending more than you make can become an addiction, and is sometimes difficult to face. The first step of the 12 step program for recovering addicts is to “Admit you are powerless over your addiction.” It is the first step to freedom. Maybe you’re not that bad, but it was still helpful to get some refining in your ideas of where your money has been disappearing to.

Now, let’s do another activity. I don’t want you to not think of where you are “at” for a moment, and instead think of where you would like to be, and dream a bit and perhaps even start the foundation for setting some goals. Here we go:

CLOSE YOUR EYES...Hehe, ok, so you can’t actually close your eyes and do this at the same time. Pretend to close your eyes. Really think, or meditate on these thoughts.

Think back to when you were about 8 years old, around 3rd grade. Hopefully you can picture your class mates, who was your teacher? What did your siblings look like at that age? What kinds of things did you play at recess? Who was your best friend?

(Picture of Disney’s Recess on ABC)

Keep thinking about it, but I want to tell you why I pick this age. This was the age between complete innocence, and just on the brink of starting to understand the world around you more. You probably had an IDEA of what the world was all about. I doubt there were many limitations to you, as this was still an age of imagination; the possibilities of life as a grown-up were endless!! You probably played those things out on the playground, between games of tag, wall-ball, four square, and perhaps Mario Brothers, or Ninja Turtles. You probably had an idea of what KIND of adult you wanted to be, and more than likely wanted to be an astronaut or president or teacher when you grew up…

Now I want you to think further on the KIND of adult you wanted to be, not so much what you wanted to BE for a job as an adult. What KIND. I know I thought I would be adventurous, not boring like so many adults I saw. I wanted to be full of energy; I didn’t give thoughts to finances, obligations, responsibilities. I was going to be a parent like no other; my kids would think I was the coolest!! Think on these things. I will stop suggesting, because I want to give you the chance to think of your own, and if it helps, write them down.

Now let’s take it just a bit further. If time, money, or education didn’t matter, what would you do with yourself? I think all of us think like Bill Murray in Ground Hog’s Day, where we have silly petty things we would get out of our systems first, but then with this question, you get to go deeper in the endless time and money, and you realize you can truly do anything you want (except killing ourselves over and over again like he did in the movie)!! What did his character finally do? He learned to play piano, and carve ice sculptures. He learned about people, and helped people. He worked on his people skills and more. Think about this. Why do we like this kind of a movie so much (or despise it, because we really want more time so badly we can taste it)? What things have you always wanted to learn? What hobbies have you wanted to do? What adventures have you wanted to take? But even more, what kind of parent do you want to be? What kind of marriage do you want to have? What kind of person do you wish you were?

Alright, here is the hard part to these questions:

WHY NOT?? WHAT HAPPENED??
(Picture from Disney’ Recess on ABC)

First, I want you to know that I’m not saying, go buy that expensive car you always wanted, or sporadically go on that dream vacation to Greece without planning, or jump over 50 cars with a motorcycle.

What I am saying is that there are so many things you can still accomplish with your life. Dave Ramsey says, “There is hope, if you are sucking air.” You are not limited by the things that have or have not happened in your past. You can make things happen!! You can have a fiery marriage that others are jealous of. You can be an intentional parent that your kids want to bring their friends home to. You can plan that Hawaiian vacation.

 

There are things that tie us down though. Maybe for you, it’s because you are swimming in debt and don’t know how you will EVER get out of it. Maybe you and your spouse only communicate to have intense discussions about the bills. Maybe you feel like life is completely unfair, and all you’ve been able to do is be reactive to the lemons it has thrown your way.

 

I want you to really allow yourself to reflect on the things you want. And start thinking of the ways-even if they’re completely crazy, you never know, sometimes those end up being the best ideas-that you might be able to start working towards those things.

I’m going to stop here for now, but will be back with more soon. In the meantime, I pray that you will be able to start getting an understanding of who you are now, and not give up hope. Instead think of who you want to be, and know that you can get there, with a little time and work.

 

  Make it a blessed day!!

What Are Your Spending Habits? A hands-on activity to SHOW you what you're really spending

"And I'm off!!"  I have been writing curriculum like a crazy person for my Financial Basics, Advanced Finances, & Life Management Skills classes.  It's all looking like an English Course Composition Paper with scribbles, notes on the sides where I want to add things in, messy handwriting, questions, answers, info, etc. etc. etc.  I love the process of creating.  I get to research, interview, reflect on past experiences, read, read, read, and get my thoughts onto paper.

One of the things I love to do, when writing a curriculum is think of the visual aids, hands-on experiences, and stories to share that will bring the information together, and hopefully bring an "Ah hah" moment to someone.  I am a very strong believer in trying to implement all the different learning styles into my teaching, so it is very important to me to incorporate these.  It can be a difficult task, because sometimes, there just isn't a way to make a subject more interesting.  Sometimes, it's just hard truth, and/or it's just tedious.  None the less, I still always try.
 
Anyways, I have come up with a few aids & activities, and am excited to share them.  This one has to do with telling your money "where it needs to go," and discovering the reality that it doesn't already do that.  We all have an idea of where we think our money should go, and then we make up a "budget" and say, "We're going to only spend $300 on food this month, and we're not eating out!"  The problem is, you didn't really account for where your money is going.  You also didn't do an assessment of your spending HABITS!!  The word HABIT comes from the Latin, HABITO, which literally means TO LIVE.  A HABIT IS "HOW YOU LIVE."  These are the things you HAVE been doing.  If you don't take a look at the REALITY of how you have been living, and don't set up a realistic plan, you are setting yourself up for failure, my friend. 
So, I came up with this activity. It’s not really a new, renovative thing.  I have been told many times, when struggling with finances, or in financial classes to do this very thing.  I have simply created a method for it over the years in helping others through their finances.  Here it is:

You Will Need:

Your Check Registry OR at least One Month print out of your Bank Statements

A separate piece of paper

A pen

Your Brain J

STEP ONE:

 (Please know that your categories will go in a different order than mine.  Don’t lie to yourself; be honest about what you are doing.  This is to help you.  Restaurants are separate from the food category. Netflix and Hulu are entertainment, not utilities.  And going out to the bar and buying a drink does not fit into the FOOD category either :-)

What you want to do, is start at the top of your statement, and look at the first line item.

For example: Rent Check

Mark it with a small #1.  On the separate piece of paper, write: 1-rent.

Go to the next line item. 

For Example:  Winco Foods

Mark it with a small #2.  On the separate piece of paper, write: 2-food.

Next line item.

Example: Pier One Imports

Mark it with a small #3.  Separate paper, write: 3-shopping

Next line. 

Example: Taco Bell

Mark it with a small #4.  Separate paper, write: 4-restaurants

Next line.

Example: Electricity Bill

Mark it with a small #5. Separate paper, write: 5-utilities

Continue down each line item. Write a NEW number for each NEW category.  Eventually, you will start to see repeat categories.  You don’t need to make a new number, if an item fits into a category you already wrote down.

For example:  Phone, electricity, gas, trash, etc. all fall into the utilities category, and can be marked with a little 5 next to them.  You don’t need to create a new category for each of those. 

It seems like a slow process when you first begin, but I promise as you get your categories established, and you continue down the list, you will see patterns, and be able to mark each line item pretty quickly. 

Once you’ve finished this step, I bet you will already be seeing some strong habits.  This is not to calculate your percentage of what you’re spending-yet.  We just want to see which activities you engage in the most.

STEP 2:

Now is where we see the BIG REALITY.  Brace yourselves. You probably already caught on a bit, when you were seeing the pattern in the numbers.  We really have to bring it home though.

Go back to the top of your Registry or Print Out.  Tally the number of numbers J That sounds weird, I know.  So, if you have a 2 in your first line item, put a tally mark next to 2-food on the separate sheet of paper.  If the next line item is a 4, put a tally next to 4-restaurants on the other piece of paper, and keep going until you have tallied them all.

Look at your data.  There are some questions you’re going to want to think about:

·         Which activities are you doing more of? Which ones are out of balance?

·         Which activities do you need to do less of? Or more of?

·         What ARE YOUR Spending Habits?

Now that you have completed this activity, you truly have a better handle on what is going on with your finances, and you’re not just guessing.  Remember to have GRACE, when learning these truths.  Also, make sure to consider your current circumstances.  When I did this activity in my registry last night, I had 15 tallies under shopping, and I don’t mean grocery shopping-we’re talking World Market, Pier One, JoAnne’s, and other stores.  Normally, this would be WAAAAAAAYYYY out of balance; however, it is Christmas time, and not only was I shopping for my own family, but I was also purchasing items to make Christmas Baskets for my hubby’s employer.  Since I rarely use my Debit Card, it was easier to do all these purchases through our account, than to have another envelope to haul around, not to mention a ton of cash to be carrying.  Eeek.  The thought of anything happening to that really scared me.  So, in this case, the shopping made sense.

Alright, hopefully your brain is not fried, and hopefully this was a helpful activity for you to really SEE what you’re doing.  I pray that you will be able to take this information, and move forward.  That you’ll give yourself GRACE through this process of discovery and growth. 

(You may be perfectly happy with doing this activity, and that’s great!!  I however, like to take numbers and data like this as far as I can.  So, there are things you can do with this information to take this to the next step, if you wish. You could write down the Dollar amounts in each category, add them up, and then find out what percentage of your income each of these categories is.  Then, you can compare it with the percentages of a financial expert, like Dave Ramsey to see if you think you need to make changes to your budget.  I will probably do this, just because I’m a nerd, and proud of it.  I love numbers J)

Personal Mission Statement

I have been encouraged to start a brand new blog to start documenting my journey of learning, and things I am pulling out through my consulting and teaching, etc.  But, I have to say, that I really don't want another blog, so I am going to be working on this one to remodel it a bit.  I probably won't change the look.  I happen to like the bling.  However, I have been learning about photography, how to make better thumbnails for youtube videos (I want this to be a vlog), and things like that.  This time, I'm also not worried about trying to get everyone to read it either.  This is really for me, and putting my thoughts in order. 

So, I need to share my credentials for a coming up job, and I have to admit, even though my credentials are awesome (to me anyways :-)), I am quite intimidated by it.  I've been reading some books on the subject, and came acrossed how to put together a personal mission statement.  I have never done this, so I thought, "why not, it certainly couldn't hurt anything."  Here is what I came up with:

"The last 7 years of my life have been spent with my hubby, getting ourselves out of all the messes we had created up to that point.  We had to learn how to have a marriage we actually enjoy, how to raise kids who are someday going to be well trained for life (something we weren't prepared for), how to get our finances in order, how to have proper boundaries with our friends and extended families, how to learn without feeling like we had to pay for it, and how to set goals for what we want to accomplish in life.  Through a lot of hardship, mentoring, specific training, reading, and applying we have decided to be people of impact, happening to life instead of just waiting for it to happen to us.  In that, we decided that the next step for me is impacting others.  We decided that there weren't to many things we are willing to give up my time for, but once I realized I had a gift and passion for teaching and communicating knowledge, I began my process of being trained, and learning, so that I could help others with the things we have been through."

There it is.  It was kind of hard, because I really like to explain things.  Believe it or not, this is the edited-down version.  I like it though.  This is definitely where we're at.

If you want info on how to write your personal mission statement, there are two books that I really love (they of course, help with more than just this):  "48 Days to the Work You Love" by Dan Miller, and "Entreleadership" by Dave Ramsey.

Another cool video

I am officially a Vlogger!!

So, this video will officially make me a vlogger!! I am so excited to use this!!

P.s. I'm not saying it's the MOST exciting video ever, I'm simply saying it's a video...

Office/Craftroom Project Part 1

I have finally started my Office/Craftroom Project!! It has been waiting since we moved in, in February. And as most spaces with undefined purposes tend to do, it was really piling up the mess!! I decided to share my before photos and the process I go through to get where I want it. Hopefully, this will be an encouragement for anyone else who has been procrastinating on any of their big projects. With no further ado, here are my before pics:

As you can see, it is going to be quite the process. No matter, I am taking this bull by the horns, and starting my fight. I got paper, tape, and a sharpy, and started categorizing all the stuff lurking in my space:

Let the work Begin. I will check in as I go to let you know how it is going. Back to work for me!!

How we're crushing the summer dulldrums!!

Do you get tired of hearing your children complain, “I’M BORED”, a million times throughout the summer? Why not create a day camp environment for your kids at home. I decided to do this, because my kids do much better with some structure. There are many themes that you could do each week that will allow for experiments, crafts, and places we visit (Just Google: ”summer day camp themes”. My favorite are: Parks and Recreation’s Camp Catalog, OMSI’s camp catalog. I got plenty of ideas from these two.)

I’ve chosen not to necessarily do a theme, but have a similar schedule each week, that will look something like this:

Monday: Smaller Activity.

Tuesday: $1 Movie

Wednesday: Larger Activity

Thursday: Possible Second $1 Movie, or Smaller Activity, plus Library Visit

Friday: Garage Selling

Smaller Activities: We will visit different parks around Vancouver, the Water Resource Center, & Blue Lake park, bowling, berry picking, etc. .

Larger Activities: We will be visiting places such as JJ Jumps, North Clackamas Aquatic Center, the Zoo, OMSI, Kid’s Club, Oaks Park, Enchanted Forest, , Bullwinkle’s Fun Center, Golden Skate, Ice Skating, Big Al’s Happy hour arcade games.

We’ll be trying to finish most of our activities right around lunch time. After lunch we read for half hour to ourselves, and then I’m reading out loud for a half hour while they color, or play with something quietly. Then the kids can have a half hour of video game time followed by free time to play whatever they wish.

On days that we're staying home, I'm giving them guidance as well. If we're not working in the yard or doing chores, or projects around the house, I've been giving them "playing tasks". They get to choose, they can either help with chores or do the next task. Total "no brainer" on which they pick, but this way if the task is one that they don't totally want to do, but I know they would enjoy, they're going to do the task. The way that I give these to them is in the form of riddles. For Example: "These have been made for girls and for boys, you sometimes forget to play with your ________" (toys). I keep them simple, and have them do them for about an hour, and then they can move onto the next task. I give them specific board games to play, movies to watch, places to go like the park, backyard games to play, etc. I keep it specific, so they don't end up spending an hour arguing over which board game to play, which is what happens when they are completely free to pick all the time.

I’ve got lots of incentives for the kids. I am giving the kids a roll of dimes each week (only ends up being $5). When they have bad attitudes or are complaining, I take one away. They can earn them back by participating and getting along. At the end of the week, we’ll cash in their leftover coins, and that is their money for garage selling. Of course I’ve also signed the kids up for the library’s summer reading program, and since we’re doing a lot of reading, they will be able to get lots of prizes from that.

I’m making sure to simplify as much as I can. I made out a meal plan for each week that we will follow throughout the summer. This will help my grocery shopping to be easy, and the kids will know what we’re having, and will hopefully keep the “I’m hungry”,” what are we having for lunch” comments at a minimum.
Lastly, I will be having the kids scrapbook our summer. I noticed last year that my kids quickly forgot what we did last summer, even though I was very purposeful in making sure that we did a lot!! So, I am going to be better about taking a ton of pictures, and letting them put together their own journals about our summer together. I am very excited about our time together.
These are my ideas for the summer, I would love to hear more ideas and thoughts about what your family will be doing. Thanks for stopping by!!

Garage Sale Projects!!

I was able to go garage selling with some great ladies this weekend. Because of that, I was able to redo my lime green wall, adding more to it!! Yay!! It feels much more complete now.

Amongst my many finds, I found this perfect, behind the couch, table. I'm actually going to use it as our dining table though, because we don't have a dedicated area for eating, so this is perfect since it won't take up too much space. The best part was painting it though. Here's what I did:

I drew my design on freezer paper, and cut that out. Then I ironed (on a very low setting) the paper onto the table. I then silver leafed the design using the silver leaf adhesive and silver leaves. It was fun to work with.

I have several more projects underway, and will show them once they are done. Thanks for stopping by.

Decoupaged Bike!!

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Step 1
Take bike apart completely (I had my hubby do this, as it seemed too complex to me)

Step 2
Decide which parts you want covered with fabric; use those parts to help measure out the width and length of your strips (Do this along with step 3 as you go. This way you don’t have to try to remember where each strip goes on the bike).

Step 3
With a foam brush, cover back of fabric with mod podge, and cover the corresponding bike part with mod podge. Lay the fabric on the bike part, playing with it as you put it on. Use your fingers to get out any air holes.

Step 4
Once you have covered the bike parts you want covered, spray all decoupaged parts with 2-3 coats of sealant, allowing it to dry in between each application. You may want more layers; I am finding that I might not mind a few more myself. So, just cover it until you get the desired effect.

Step 5
Put bike back together.

Last Step
Enjoy your beautiful new bike!!!