One Month Down...

...Approximately 18-21 months remaining.  Here's hoping it is closer to 18 than 21.

Living on a budget isn't nearly as tough as I thought it would be.  Being completely honest, it has actually helped to alleviate some stress in my life.  No more living paycheck to paycheck only to be down to just pennies before my next payday.  All bills/commitments are fulfilled on the 1st, INCLUDING money going into BOTH savings accounts.  It feels really good.

It feels REALLY good to know that I am getting my debt under control.
If feels REALLY good to watch the balance in my savings accounts, yes PLURAL, go up.
It feels REALLY good to have a goal and to be actively pursuing reaching that goal.

I know that it won't always be easy, but I am glad that I made it through the first month with only a few tears and with great confidence in the rest of this journey.

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Yes

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) : Hillsong United, Zion

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Truth

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary 
and increases the power of the weak. 
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

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Sara Bareilles does it again...

...as if there was ever any doubt.

You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love
Or you can start speaking up

Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do
And they settle ‘neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
 
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
 
Everybody’s been there, everybody’s been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, stop holding your tongue 

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
 
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave   
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
 
Innocence, your history of silence
Won’t do you any good
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don’t you tell them the truth?
 
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave


Brave - Sara Bareilles

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Wow

You are more beautiful than you think.

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Done... well, Half-way

DONE!!

Well, the first 8 weeks are done!
We made it.

Might as well do another 8 weeks.

So.... I guess, we're really half-way done.
Either way, this calls for a celebration!

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Feel the Burn

Sometimes 5:15am is your only option.

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A Necessary Truth

In the midst of the confusion, anger, sadness, questioning, and downright chaos that comes with events like those which took place today, I can't help but draw near to my God.

Rather than listen to Justin Timberlake or whatever random playlist that is generally blasting through my speakers, I wanted to be centered on Truth.  I turned off the music that was playing so I could pray and gain a little perspective.  Then, Timberlake took the back-burner to some Jesus tunes.

The first song that come on, through the shuffle option, was "You Are God" by Charlie Hall. Tears immediately started to flow and I couldn't help but put this song on repeat. It was a necessary truth. It is a necessary truth.

"You're closer than our troubles, more present than any danger... You are God."

In times like these, I have no other choice but than to remember that God is closer than our troubles and more present than any danger. He is God... And if He is for us, what what can stand against us? I hope and pray that we can all find a sense of peace in the midst of the present chaos, and that we may know and believe the truth that is so eloquently shared in Charlie's song.

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Neon Run

Running with glow-sticks, getting splattered with paint, all while music is blaring is much more fun than your average run through the neighborhood.

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Internet Envy

It's a real thing.

It wasn't until very recently, and mostly because Nate called me out on it on more than one occasion, that I realized how much time I spend on social media.  I would find myself checking Facebook just a few minutes after I checked it the last time.  The same with Instagram.  I deleted the Twitter app off of my phone a while ago and deactivated/deleted my account soon after that... which wasn't really a sacrifice of any measure considering I would only check Twitter about once a month.

What is our fascination with being in the constant "know" of what is going on in the lives of those that we call "friends".  Do I really care what your 6 month old ate today? Not really.  Do you really care what concert it is that I am "at" and by "at" 9 times out of 10 it means that I am in a box office working, NOT out in the crowd?  Nope.  Do I really need to know where you ate your lunch and with whom? Not at all.

Sidenote:
About these "friends".  I put friends in quotations because I know that I am guilty of being "friends" with someone on Facebook that I don't consider a friend in my non-social media life.  I am not "friends" with complete strangers - but I certainly have "friends" that are people that I went to school with that I haven't seen since graduation and have only spoken to a handful of times since wearing those Maroon Caps and Gowns almost 10 years ago.  Some Many are real-life friends, but some are not, and that is why I use quotation marks.

There are parts of Facebook and Instagram that I really love.

While I don't care that your child is teething or what it is that they ate for their 10am feeding, I do love getting to see my friends' families grow.  I love getting to see the little ones grow and change - but I don't need to be on Facebook multiples time a day, or even daily, to see those changes take place.

While you don't care what concert it is that I am "at" - I do love my job, and am excited to get to share it with the people that I am "friends" with.  I feel VERY FORTUNATE and consider myself to be QUITE blessed to get to work a job that I absolutely love.  Along with that, people often complain that they didn't know that a particular show was happening - so I share it when it goes on sale, as tickets remain/go off of sale, and when the show happens.

I love being able to see and read about trips and treasures, engagements and weddings, house hunting and remodeling, babies and birthdays.  I love it.  BUT - I don't need to log-in or power up the app multiple times throughout the day, or even daily.  If I were being honest with you, and especially myself, I would say that it is absolutely unhealthy how much time I spend on social media.  I say that my time is valuable but I waste it on social media - it doesn't make sense... and it certainly doesn't make me any better.

I love getting my email updates from Relevant Magazine.  There is almost always an article or two that challenge me in one way or another.  This week was no different.  Shauna Niequist wrote an article about this exact topic: Instagram's Envy Effect.  If you haven't already, I think it is worthy of a read - even a quick skim wouldn't be a bad idea.

It is full of so much truth...

We post pictures showing our social media world our seemingly perfect relationships but no one knows about the disagreement that took place before the photo was taken.
We post pictures of our cute outfit but we make sure we crop out the mess in the background and post the picture from the most flattering angle that was one of MANY taken.
We say things like "Blessed" in our status update but don't update it the next day when we feel like curling up in a ball and crying all day.
We show our extravagant vacations, weddings, shopping trips, but we don't show the pile of debt that is building because of those things.

As Shauna says, we show half truths.  Only our REAL community, the one NOT found or formed through social media knows the WHOLE truth.  They know about the fight, the messy house, the panic attacks and debt.  Sure, there are some communities within social media that provide great support - but if that is the community that you find yourself going to most often, I would venture to say that it is time to unplug and look up at the faces that are right in front of you.

By no means am I giving up Facebook and Instagram.

BUT

I am trying to be MUCH MORE MINDFUL of how much time I devote to it.  I want to be present with those around me.  I want to find out what is happening in someone's life because we met for a walk or had a phone date or sent one another a letter or email.  I want to be more intentional with the people that are most important.  Facebook and Instagram are great - but they CERTAINLY do not deserve the amount of time that I have dedicated to them in the past.

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Book Worm

I want...

Alas, I must figure out if these are a big enough WANT to dig the money out of my "fun" money budget to purchase them.  Cheers to buying responsibly...

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So It Begins: UPDATE

I started OPERATION GET OUT OF DEBT FOR REAL a week ago... taking cash out of the ATM, placing it in designated envelopes and saying adios to the use of my debit card for everyday purchases.

I started out using designated envelopes to hold the cash for my purchases.  I have a love/hate relationship with this situation.  Love it because it is helping SO MUCH.  Hate it because I don't like have my wallet AND multiple envelopes in my purse... to much clutter.  SOOOOO I did a little Google search for other options and found a great template for wallet dividers.  I feel SO MUCH better about this situation.  SO MUCH better.  I like that all of my money is in one place - but is still able to be divided the way it needs to be for budgeting purposes.

I had heard about mint.com many times before - I even signed up for an account at some point but never utilized it.  Lots of friends have used the site for successful budgeting... not sure why it took me so long to sign up and really use the site.  Now, I am kind of a geek in that I love setting stuff like this up - so I can't wait to REALLY get it all set up and watch my debt start to go away and my savings start to grow.

So far, it hasn't been too tough.  BUT - I also haven't walked through Target only to be tempted by a cute top or fun pair of sandals.  I haven't had to turn down a trip to see friends.  I haven't had to face the reality of an envelope going from full to empty.  I am totally aware that this is the honeymoon phase and there will be times when it is REALLY tough.

Rather than be bummed about the toughness that is sure to come at any moment, I am choosing to celebrate the decision to get all of this under control and taken care of.

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Groovin

A little while back, I was asked to transform the Groove Room at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.  Spring Break was the perfect opportunity to dedicate virtually a whole week to making my vision become a reality.

Bye-Bye reject office chairs.
Bye-Bye old sofa.
Bye-Bye ugly coffee table.
Bye-Bye out of focus and oh-so-hideous venue picture.
Bye-Bye 6ft table that is supposed to serve as a buffet.
Bye-Bye clutter.
Bye-Bye tan-ish color paint.

Hello pretty grey paint.
Hello new curtains.
Hello new sofas.
Hello fun new pillows.
Hello Classic Albums as artwork.
Hello soft light instead of ugly Fluorescent lighting.
Hello BEAUTIFUL buffet that I want to steal from the room.

I feel VERY fortunate that I have been able to be part of this project over the last week.  It was A LOT of work and there were MANY a road bumps throughout the design process but it all worked out and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.  It's nice to have job(s) that I genuinely enjoy going to.

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So It Begins...

Operation GET OUT OF DEBT has officially commenced.

Let the envelope toting begin.

It just got real.
And by real I mean real uncomfortable... but in the best possible way.

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