33 Random Things

I'm a very random person. You may mention that you went skiing in Vail over spring break and my next question will be, "Did you hear about that atom smasher in Geneva?"

What? How did the conversation just go from skiing to an atom smasher? Well, skiing makes me think about snow, which makes me think about hot chocolate, which makes me think about Swiss Miss, which makes me think about Switzerland and, alas, the atom smasher.

See, sometimes there is a method to what appears to be randomness. Sadly, today there's not. I just have a bunch of random thoughts going on in my bean I thought I'd share.

1. Peep-toe sling back heels make me feel very lady-like. I'm wearing some today.
2. I need a pedicure.
3. I need a pedicure, badly.
4. I found my make-up bag. It was in the drawer below where it's supposed to be. Didn't think to look there.
5. I finally cleaned out the back seat of my car. Poor Ellie was almost up to her eyeballs in winter coats and gear.
6. I found several lost hairbows under above mentioned junk.
7. Ellie says bow right when she wakes up and grabs her hair looking for her hair bow.
8. She left a path of baby powder from her room to the living room last night as she crawled with an opened container. I still haven't cleaned it up. Is it bad to want to just rub it in the carpet?
9. Today is Alex's birthday. I like helping people celebrate their birthdays.
10. I'm drinking that new MiO Liquid water enhancer and it's pretty good. Berry Pomegranate is where it's at.
11. I'm in the process of booking my first photo shoot of a little girl in her dance gear. I'm so excited I'm almost giddy.
12. I secretly wish I could wear glitterly dance outfits and not be ridiculed. I guess that's no longer a secret.
13. I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Maybe, just maybe, someday I'll make that reality.
14. I want to start a business that teaches/helps men be thoughtful gift-givers. There's a HUGE market, I'm sure.
15. I have $70 dollars from my birthday and I have 70 ways floating around in my head about how I want to spend it.
16. I want a 50mm prime lens for my camera.
17. I want a sewing machine.
18. I want to donate money to Charity:water and the A21 Campaign.
19. My coupons are so unorganized.
20. My husband makes deer steaks on the grill and they are so bomb!
21. I think Cutie oranges are the best things ever, but they are so overpriced.
22. My friend's brother and sister-in-law adopted a baby girl from China this week. I think that's so stinkin' awesome.
23. I need to order some pictures of Ellie for my office and my home. The last ones framed are from her 3-month photo shoot.
24. I'm ready for some rain tomorrow, but I don't want to see or hear any tornados.
25. Cake Wrecks makes me smile every time. "Dang girl, it's Easter!'
26. I hate talking on the phone.
27. Things I need to do today: make a menu, grab a few things from the store, bake and go for a run.
28. The last on that list might get dropped. I'm lazy.
29. I want to use pops of color, mainly orange, in our bedroom.
30. I'm looking for fun photography props. Let me know if you have old junk you want to get rid of.
31. When I was pregnant, the smell of Salisbury steak made me want to throw up. I was at work and it was gross. Someone just said Salisbury steak and the memory came flooding back.
32. I love reading other people's blogs.
33. I want to plant some honeysuckle bushes in my back yard. The smell of honeysuckle and lilac both remind me of my childhood.

Mother's Day 2011

Today was Mother's Day. And, it's 2011. Just thought I needed to put the year in the blog title apparently. Didn't want you all to think I was going to start reminiscing about MD 2004, 1999 or any other year for that matter. The blog post is all about MD 2011...just for the record.

I have to say, this MD didn't compare to last year's, but it was still great. E was about 8 weeks old so last MD was my first and E was dedicated at church, so MD 2010 was a hard year to top. Nevertheless ( I hardly use that word...so glad I could work it in) we set out to see what fun we could have this year.

After church, we headed down to great grandma and grandpa A's house for dinner. Soon after arrival, Ellie found the toy basket.

Ellie is the first granddaughter on this side of the family. Hence the absence of "girl" toys. She didn't mind though.

While watching her play in the floor I noticed how long her hair in the back is getting. Look at it; I see some curl coming on. <sniff sniff> Not that curls make me cry, but she's just getting so big!

She had fun playing with her great grandpa. She loves grabbing the stuff he keeps in his overall pockets. 

This next picture just makes me so happy. My grandpa has hands down the best laugh I've ever heard. His whole body just seems to shake. This has nothing to do with the picture. Just wanted to share that tidbit in case you're ever asked, "According to Lacy, who has the best laugh?"

Of course Ellie had fun with great grandma, too. I have one random picture of them today when Ellie put her hand down grandma's shirt. It was a little too odd to post.

We took a four generation picture and boy was that an experience. This is the best we got. Yep, I said this one was the best. Scary, huh?

This next one just makes me laugh. Check out Ellie's "hear no evil" pose.

After the "photo shoot", Ellie got some playtime with silly grammy. There's nothing better than hearing and seeing your child laughing. Medicine for the soul, I'm tellin' ya! 

The best part of the day? Finally getting a picture of her walking. Yep, she started walking yesterday after months of pulling up and walking with her toys. She's been walking with her toys before Christmas but just would never let go!

Things Are About to Get Weird

Our church just finished a series called "Weird" inspired by Pastor Craig's new book by the same name. I quickly devoured the book which covers five main areas: time, money, relationships, sex and values, and have been inspired to live a different lifestyle because as Craig puts it "normal isn't working."

On top of this new challenge, this calling to be set apart from normal society, I'm on the edge of a milestone: turning 30. A couple weeks ago, I turned 29. Weeks before my birthday, I knew I wanted to do something a little crazy, a little different, a little, well, weird. Then it came to me. For a whole year, I'm giving up shopping. No more buying shoes, clothes or accessories that are new until I turn the big 3-0 next April.

For several of you who know me well, your jaw probably just hit the floor. I had the same reaction to this crazy thought. In fact, that's part of the reason I haven't blogged about this decision sooner. I knew once it was in writing and made public, I'd have to follow through. Plus, I'm eating better and exercising, so I'm "releasing" a few pounds, which will only increase my need for new, smaller-sized clothes. I wrestled with this decision, but ultimately I felt like I needed to push myself and give myself a challenge in this area.

Why give up new clothes and accessories, you ask? Well, in theory people view their 20s as their fun-loving, doing anything, live it up period of life, so conventional wisdom would suggest that one should do a series of fun, selfish acts to capitalize on their last year of "youth." I don't buy into that hype. It's incredibly amazing to see how many young people today are striving to simply look the part and be cool, so they buy into this lie from society that in order to have fulfillment and to be accepted, it's all about the right look, the expensive jeans and the hip brands. Big hat, no cattle (my new favorite phrase, courtesy of Dave Ramsey) So, me not focusing on shopping for one year isn't really about spending less money, but more about distancing myself from the thought that the brands and trends I wear make me a better person, and that fashion/clothing bring meaning to my life.

Here are the details. Like I mentioned before, no new clothing, shoes or accessories for one whole year. If I need something, I have to:

• buy used at thrift stores, consignment shops or garage sales; or
• borrow something from friends.

I have allowed myself two loop holes: a bathing suit and under garments because buying those used is just GROSS!

I'm sure I'll be posting regularly about my not-buying-new journey, and asking friends to please help a sista out! There are bound to be days where I curse my closet, but I know the sacrifice will be worth it.

I leave you with my first thrift store find. Merona cardigan for $3.99. I know I could have done better on price, but I was excited to find something without 80s shoulder pads!

My Birthday Present

Today I got my birthday present. It's a day early, but the timing contributes to its special meaning. You see, today marks the 10th anniversary of my great grandma's passing and this years present reminds me of her so much.

My Me-ma was a sweet lady. Every card you received from her had the message underlined multiple times and she always closed it with, "God loves you and so do I. Always have, always will." I've grown to love this saying and our family has carried on the tradition of underlining and using this message to show our love for one another. My brother gave me a Bible for my 20th birthday with this message written in it and it's one of the top three items I'd grab if my house were on fire or a tornado was heading my way. That phrase is special to me. It's meaningful. It's a statement of absolute, unconditional love, which is rare in today's society.

So, my sweet husband ordered me this ring from The Vintage Pearl for my birthday.

I'm so thankful for this sentimental gift to remind me of God's love and a family's bond. No matter what happens in my life, I hold on to this truth. "God loves me and so does my family. Always have, always will."

Could this family be any cuter?

I had the greatest time photographing my college buddy and her adorable family last weekend. I'm still editing some of the photos, but I think I'm in love with these.

Aren't they just the cutest?

I love the look on his face!

More editing is in my future tonight, so I may post more of these adorable cuties tomorrow.

Plus, it's been a while since I "blogged", as opposed to posting a few pictures and calling it good. So, hopefully I'll have something to say this week. Well, the problem isn't having something to say...it's having the time to put it in writing.

Ellie's Birthday (Mainly) In Pictures

Ellie had a birthday. She's one.

We had a party. It was owl themed, of course.

Mommy made the invitations.

There were cupcakes.

Ellie had her very own cake.

Which she ate like a lady.

She played ball.

And opened gifts.

Boy, did she get a lot of gifts.

It's been two weeks and the decorations are still up. 

But taking them down really means the first year is over. Just a few more weeks; I promise to have them down by Christmas.

Envelope System

For our On Our Mind section in the Oklahoma Money Matters newsletter, Your Bottom Line, I wrote an article about how Dan and I have implemented the envelope system. It was released yesterday and I've had a few people comment about how helpful it was because they were thinking about moving to a cash-only system, too.

Here's the article if you're interested. You can also go here to view it in the context of our newsletter (it's on page 5) or go here to sign up to receive them directly.

Last year was a year of change for my husband and I. We had our first child and sold and purchased a new home, both of which made us take a closer look at our budget and make drastic changes to the way we handle our money.


Since last October, we’re now proud followers of the envelope system and we’re very happy with how this system has helped us stay on budget. Prior to switching to cash, I constantly used my debit card. I even charged a .54 cent coffee at one point because I never carried cash! It’s shocking how quickly expenses add up when you pay with plastic. I’d always try to keep a tally in my head, but if I thought I’d spent $40 in one day, it typically was more like $60. You always spend more with plastic than when paying with cash.

If you’re thinking about switching to a cash-only system, here are some suggestions based on my experience.

Stash a few weeks of cash to get started. If you’re serious about the envelope system, I suggest using a lump sum to pre-fill your envelopes versus starting with empty ones. Each pay period, your envelopes will grow, but if there’s nothing in them when getting started, it’s easy to feel like the system has already failed you. It’s possible that a week after starting this all-cash method, you’ll be invited to a baby shower or you’ll want to do lunch with a friend. What will happen if there’s no money in your "gift" envelope or "dining out" envelope? Pre-filling them with a couple weeks worth of cash is a good way to help you start your new system on the right foot.

Don’t switch everything to cash. If you use online bill pay, keep the money used to pay these bills in your account. Whatever we budget for our bills, we place in our savings account and then transfer funds to our checking account when we pay the bill. Also, to us, paying for gas with cash is a huge pain, so our gas expenses are placed on our credit card, which we pay off at the end of the month.

Don’t spend the change. The great thing about using cash is all the change you get from your transactions. Let’s say you pick up groceries and your total is $24.09. Hand the cashier $25 and throw that .91 cents in a jar home. Change really adds up. When your jar gets full, take it to the bank to deposit in your savings account.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about using the cash method; join the conversation on our Twitter page, @OKMoneyMatters.

For those of you looking for an Ellie birthday update, I'm working on it! Stay posted.