the best gift ever...EVER....

Tim's brother and sister in-law sent us Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover.

For those of you who have never picked up one of his books, Dave Ramsey is THE guru of personal finances. The Total Money Makeover is a no nonsense program that encourages people to eliminate all of their debt in order to live a cash-only lifestyle and achieve wealth and financial freedom.

No, this blog posting is not sponsored by Dave Ramsey.

I started reading The Total Money Makeover three days ago, and in that time I have begun a complete transformation of my personal finances. I will be out of debt in 12 months. That's right folks, 12 months.

In the last three days I have managed to ...

cut $600 out of my annual budget,

save $1,000 for an Emergency Fund (Baby Step #1 of the Total Money Makeover),

schedule a garage sale,

sell books to a local bookstore,

and put some old unused china up on eBay.

To top it all, Tim and I have decided to begin the hunt for a cheaper apartment that we can stand to live in for a year. Shaving $250 off of our rent each month would save us upwards of $3,000 each year.

In what ways would you "downsize" for 12 months in order to get yourself out of debt?

Over the next 12 months I will attempt to transform myself into a lean, mean, budgeting machine! I need all of the support and encouragement I can get--and some creative brainstorming about how to live EVEN lovelier on EVEN less!

I am grateful to Michael and Heather for extending a random act of kindness our way, sending us this modest looking hardback black book. Who knew a book of less than 250 pages would transform my perspective of my own wealth potential, AND give me such hope?

Following in Michael and Heather's generous footsteps, I have passed the book on to a dear friend of mine. I hope it provides she and her family with the same hope it provided me.

$1.29 Ticket to Paradise

Do not adjust your computer screen.

Yes, that is actually BACON on a MAPLE BAR!

Has someone lost there mind?

They said the same thing about other heroes--Christopher Columbus, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein...the founders of FROST Doughnuts in Mill Creek.

Hello GORGEOUS!

A bit more expensive than your average doughnut from the grocery store,but seriously, do we even need to question the return on investment here?

Visit www.frostology.com for more details and a list of their other flavors including the Red Velvet and the Bananas Foster Fritter.

Oh yes people, miracles DO come true!

Cheaper than a full breakfast at a restaurant, paired with a good cup of coffee this was a kinda special way for my boyfriend and I to spend a rainy Sunday morning.

I hope you'll have a chance to do the same.

ahi tuna with a smile

This beautiful image is brought to you by Erin and Jaime, two of the loveliest ladies I know.

We and our significant others gathered around the table last night to share a bottle of saki and a platter of this homemade sushi.

Erin and Jamie taught me the ropes. It was a blast...

Thank you ladies!

Fresh ahi tuna with avocado and cucumber. YUM!

Sushi doesn't require many special tools other than these little mats,

and maybe a good sharp knife.

There are some particulars about cooking the rice.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Sushi-Rice/Detail.aspx

No special skills required except a little patience and creativity.

Some basic knife skills would come in handy too.

Simple, delicious, and low cost Friday night fun!

I close with this picture...just because...

my boyfriend is the cutest man on the planet.

Have a good weekend everyone!

pumpkins, compact cars and my wildest fantasies

Seed starts in segments of toilet paper and paper towel rolls.

Every year, I entertain fantasies of an abundant urban homestead.

I envision crowds of smiling friends and neighbors dancing with glee in a circle around me as we celebrate the record-breaking size of my harvest...

...Okay so I only have 32 square feet of garden space
(imagine a king sized bed and you've actually imagined too big).

They say there is some power to positive thinking.

So here I go again barreling into another spring with dozens of seed packets and a dream.

Hundreds of blueberries WILL pop off of each of my three bushes.

There WILL be a pumpkin the size of a compact car begging me to make a pie.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Daydreaming of spring...

Making the most my sunny day off, Cadence and I headed to Sky Nursery.

Note: Co-pilot poking her nose out of the rear window.

But first we had to stop at a friend's garage sale.

(By we I mean I.)

Picked up a HUGE vintage wooden frame for $5!

Craft project coming soon...

Sky Nursery is beautiful any time of year. They are dog friendly (if your dog is people-friendly), and their staff is incredibly well-informed about the ins and outs of gardening in the Pacific Northwest.

Visit their website for a $5 off coupon for every $25 purchase.

There is also a coupon in the most recent Chinook Book.

http://www.skynursery.com/doc/gifts_specials.htm#coupon

http://sea.chinookbook.net/

Ah, I can't wait for Spring!

I might have gone a little overboard on the seeds this year...

Fantasizing about large fresh salads, pumpkin pie and butternut squash soup forced me to load my basket with seed packet after seed packet.

How can I resist such names as

the exotic Dolce Vita basil,

the silly Pinokkio organic lettuce,

the seductive scarlet nantes heirloom carrots,

and the teenage boy of the cucumber world, the burpless muncher?

It wasn't my fault, honest.

Can my tiny urban backyard handle my visions of bounty?

For those of you interested in sustainable gardening and urban homesteading on a budget,

visit the fine folks of

http://backyardfarming.blogspot.com/.

The Great Giraffe Masacre of 2011

This morning I stumbled upon the scene of a brutal crime...

The puff balls filled the air. Sunshine lit up the scene...

Who is the culprit you ask?

I venture to guess it is none other than...

CADENCE!

Oh no!

She came back to finish the job!

What a vicious beastie!

$1 Goodwill stuffed giraffe = Countless hours of fun!