Oh for the money that I lost in Poker earlier this month! There's a bracelet I am drooling over, and you, dear money, would pay for it. *sigh* I miss you! Please come back :*)...
I have to say that the month's almost over and all the cash is gone, but we should be good with groceries until next Tuesday, the first of the month. I must say, the feeling of accomplishment will be great when we see a greater balance in the account than a month ago.
I was blessed to attend an amazing workshop a couple of Fridays ago. Brandon Barber came up to Bozeman for a bootcamp and taught about the three parts of a personality, and how to cut through the self-sabotaging 'stuff' to get to the real you. You take an Assessment Report that
"measures with great accuracy the thought processes that are driving your decisions and actions." This comes with a 40-page report, giving valuable insight into the workings of your minds. Keeping in mind that Brandon coaches a lot of Mary Kay consultants/directors, he is definitely NOT warm and fuzzy --- definitely nice, but not soft! He knows that he has 6 hours to get you to that AHA moment (which mine came 1-hr into the workshop), and he's going to do everything he can to get you there.
I was so excited by the process that I made Sheri take the assessment last Sunday. Her report was right on, exactly who she is. Then we had a fun time picking out our husbands' personalities and reading the specifics. HOLY COW!!! For both of us, we married our opposites, and we tend to butt heads on some matters. To see (on paper) what my spouse needs to make decisions and how he goes about forming a decision was relationship-transforming. "OH! THAT'S WHY HE DOES THAT!!!" "OH! THAT'S WHY HE SAYS THAT!!!" So amazing, in fact, that Brandon is coming back for a 6-hour bootcamp on July 30. This might be a hard one to get the guys to go to, I mean there are a million other things to do on a Friday in the middle of summer (like WORK!), but for the couples that do make the decision to come, it will be the best investment into your marriage/relationship that you have ever made. That Friday's workshop is going to be called "Finding Your US." You are going to learn how to live in a win-win relationship. I'm so stinking excited to drag my husband (kicking and screaming if I have to!) to the bootcamp!!!
The other fun thing we have in the works is for the next day, July 31st. We are throwing a "Finding Your FUN" show at the Hilton Garden to tie into the "Finding Your US" workshop. We are looking for companies that promote fun activities, women-inspired and -run businesses, and any other great booth rental ideas. We will have an area dedicated to volunteer information. It's just going to be FUN!
This week I'm hoping to get all the promotional material together. If anyone has any insight or ideas into vendor shows, please holler :-)! Also, if you have questions about the bootcamp, you can email me at amberblazina@bridgeband.com. Take care, Everyone!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Budget Nazi
Tim and I (again) realized that our checking account was slowly bleeding (to death). Time for the Super Budget to be reinstated. This month, I agreed to the following: $150 for gas (the Hunting Widow Rig is a bit of a gas guzzler!), $250 for groceries, and $40 for fun money for Josie and I. I decided to play poker last Friday night with some friends, and in a very upsetting beat, lost the $40 of fun money. YIKES! So, instead of condemning myself into my usual guilt-stupor, I took the feeling of conviction and decided that I needed to "Stop Acting Rich" or I would never end up being one of the "Millionaire Women Next Door".
This is hard for me, because I see and I want it. I fall in love with marketing. I live and breathe Visual Communications. My past is full of striving to be cool. My husband calls me a raccoon because I like shiny things (especially diamonds). But the past year has been tighter for us, and God has smacked me over the head a time or two with convictions about spending money (have I mentioned that I'm a slow learner?). I can safely say that I am no longer scared of a Budget. I actually feel quite nice to know that we have a predetermined amount of money to spend. The fact that the allotted amounts are small is something I'm working on, but for now they are what they are. This stops the bleeding of the account, and it really is comforting to know where your money is going, even before it goes there. Thank you, Dave Ramsey!
Tim and I are also in the middle of a Marriage Bible Study. It's part of the Dynamic Marriage series. There are two big themes that are going on with the genders that I have seen: Women want their husbands to acknowledge their feelings and affirm their actions, and Men want their wives to act with a gentle spirit and a glad heart. We are to make one personal commitment to our spouse for the coming week. That can range from easy to hard, depending on what you think you need to work on. This week, I committed to acting with a glad heart. Too easily I become bogged down with details and time schedules. And all it does is sour my attitude, and if Momma ain't happy, no one's happy. Wives are entrusted with so much to keep the family operating, especially if their husband is a Sportsman. From laundry, cleaning & cooking to budgets & child-rearing, we have to function as a single parent very often. I don't say this with disdain, but with a sense of ownership. If there's anything I've learned from the Marriage Class, it's that husbands love capable wives. A smoothly-operating home front is a sense of comfort for a husband. This isn't a man's forté, and wives tend to have a knack at making a house a home. So I encourage you to embrace your role as a wife. And husbands, encourage your wives with affirmation and hugs and kisses. Little steps can achieve big results!
This is hard for me, because I see and I want it. I fall in love with marketing. I live and breathe Visual Communications. My past is full of striving to be cool. My husband calls me a raccoon because I like shiny things (especially diamonds). But the past year has been tighter for us, and God has smacked me over the head a time or two with convictions about spending money (have I mentioned that I'm a slow learner?). I can safely say that I am no longer scared of a Budget. I actually feel quite nice to know that we have a predetermined amount of money to spend. The fact that the allotted amounts are small is something I'm working on, but for now they are what they are. This stops the bleeding of the account, and it really is comforting to know where your money is going, even before it goes there. Thank you, Dave Ramsey!
Tim and I are also in the middle of a Marriage Bible Study. It's part of the Dynamic Marriage series. There are two big themes that are going on with the genders that I have seen: Women want their husbands to acknowledge their feelings and affirm their actions, and Men want their wives to act with a gentle spirit and a glad heart. We are to make one personal commitment to our spouse for the coming week. That can range from easy to hard, depending on what you think you need to work on. This week, I committed to acting with a glad heart. Too easily I become bogged down with details and time schedules. And all it does is sour my attitude, and if Momma ain't happy, no one's happy. Wives are entrusted with so much to keep the family operating, especially if their husband is a Sportsman. From laundry, cleaning & cooking to budgets & child-rearing, we have to function as a single parent very often. I don't say this with disdain, but with a sense of ownership. If there's anything I've learned from the Marriage Class, it's that husbands love capable wives. A smoothly-operating home front is a sense of comfort for a husband. This isn't a man's forté, and wives tend to have a knack at making a house a home. So I encourage you to embrace your role as a wife. And husbands, encourage your wives with affirmation and hugs and kisses. Little steps can achieve big results!
The Wonderful Craziness of Last Week
I have another thought-provoking post I want to touch on, but first, some fun!
Last week was Josie's Birthday -- Big #4 -- and my HW friend JoLin & I finally wore Tim down into agreeing to get a kitty for Josie. We found little Waffle at the local shelter, and she's been wonderful! She's about 7 months old and potty trained. Josie's in seventh heaven, and I've been able to have a little less mommy-pressure now that Josie has a cat to play with. There's been some clawing and biting (isn't it funny how animals tend to treat the youngest one in the family with less patience?). There was a bit of tension between Waffle and our dog, Abby. But even that is subsiding, and I have grand thoughts of them playing together and laying down on the same doggie bed. Perhaps that's the hopeless optimistic in me, though :-).
I tend to not take Mother's Day too seriously, because I've learned that high expectations only create big disappointment for me. Plus, we're on a Super Budget, which I will touch on in the next post. I really consider myself lucky that I LOVE to flyfish, and the caddis fly hatch falls on Mother's Day. The fish are frisky and fat, and it's great odds that you'll have a good time. Tim, Josie and I drove over to the Yellowstone Sunday late afternoon, and Tim let me catch all the fish I wanted :-).
I love to fish, but I rarely do it without Tim. Our very first date included my first fly fishing lesson out at Spanish Creek. I caught a lot of tiny fish that night. I screamed like a little girl when I noticed a BIG spider on my shoulder. And I really fell in love with Tim. Fly fishing for both of us is very calming and centering, although I will admit I've been through many years of it being just plain frustrating :-). I do feel like I'm ready to break free and perhaps try a little fishing by myself. JoLin, Josie and I went to the Chica de Mayo at The Rivers Edge last Thursday, which was all about empowering women to fish for themselves. There was a wide range of women there, talented fisher women to women who haven't even fished before. And bravo to these women, because stepping into the unknown can be very hard and humbling.
Last week was Josie's Birthday -- Big #4 -- and my HW friend JoLin & I finally wore Tim down into agreeing to get a kitty for Josie. We found little Waffle at the local shelter, and she's been wonderful! She's about 7 months old and potty trained. Josie's in seventh heaven, and I've been able to have a little less mommy-pressure now that Josie has a cat to play with. There's been some clawing and biting (isn't it funny how animals tend to treat the youngest one in the family with less patience?). There was a bit of tension between Waffle and our dog, Abby. But even that is subsiding, and I have grand thoughts of them playing together and laying down on the same doggie bed. Perhaps that's the hopeless optimistic in me, though :-).
I tend to not take Mother's Day too seriously, because I've learned that high expectations only create big disappointment for me. Plus, we're on a Super Budget, which I will touch on in the next post. I really consider myself lucky that I LOVE to flyfish, and the caddis fly hatch falls on Mother's Day. The fish are frisky and fat, and it's great odds that you'll have a good time. Tim, Josie and I drove over to the Yellowstone Sunday late afternoon, and Tim let me catch all the fish I wanted :-).
I love to fish, but I rarely do it without Tim. Our very first date included my first fly fishing lesson out at Spanish Creek. I caught a lot of tiny fish that night. I screamed like a little girl when I noticed a BIG spider on my shoulder. And I really fell in love with Tim. Fly fishing for both of us is very calming and centering, although I will admit I've been through many years of it being just plain frustrating :-). I do feel like I'm ready to break free and perhaps try a little fishing by myself. JoLin, Josie and I went to the Chica de Mayo at The Rivers Edge last Thursday, which was all about empowering women to fish for themselves. There was a wide range of women there, talented fisher women to women who haven't even fished before. And bravo to these women, because stepping into the unknown can be very hard and humbling.
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