Week 18 of 52 - Vanity and Maturity at Odds

When we considered what we could we could do without for six months, we agreed no new clothes for the adults.  Believe it or not, it was actually my idea.  We were rocking along just fine; I was even surviving quite nicely in the small segment of my closet known as post- baby-and- not-everything-fits-quite-right-yet.  Then an email from Facebook,  “you’ve been tagged in a photo”.

I scanned the photo and thought how pretty – all the lovely ladies from my church at a wedding we all attended.  Then I paused, who was that older girl on the end?  And what was she wearing? Oh my, that’s me and that brown polka dot dress, that’s mine too...except it just wasn’t as attractive captured there for all time.

Suddenly I realized – I still have Easter to go!  Then my cousin’s May wedding!   What ever will I wear?  This dress will never do…  I will say I did pray over my childish behavior.  And without hearing of my “plight", a dear spiritual mentor calls to tell me that she’s proud of me for the financial changes we are making and God put it on her heart to send some money to buy a dress.  I was quite surprised, thanked God, marveled at His provision, and bought a dress.  

Wouldn’t it be an uplifting story if it ended there?  But it didn’t.  I then bought another dress for the wedding because after all, it was also on sale and I wouldn't want the same people to see me at the wedding wearing the SAME dress.  Then the next day, I bought a third dress because it was one of my favorite colors and I had a coupon!  I reasoned, if it had been at the first store, I wouldn’t have bought one of the other dresses, so maybe I will take back one of those dresses.  But later decided it really didn’t make sense to return the first dress because after all it was on sale and I might need a third dress before summer’s end.  Oh and Walt could use a color-coordinated polo shirt… so in my shopping haze, I end up spending $150 of our dollars.

I like the dresses and while Dave Ramsey would never understand, I tell myself that maybe his wife Sharon would… sometimes you just feel better in a new dress, or three.

As for now, I will enjoy the dresses and work on regaining my focus and maturity with our finances.   I heard Dave say, adults devise a plan and act on it while a child just does what feels good at the time. So I am trying to take Dave’s advice and devise a plan – a plan so big and long-term that the goals are more appealing than what I’m not wearing.  I can only hope my maturity outpaces my vanity.

As for my photography project this week, here's a few:  couldn't resist a shot before pushing those toes back in the crib.  Not as worried about his safety as I was his sleep being interrupted by a stuck foot...

 

While my brother was swinging him sideways...

I joked that this odd shot may be our monthly family photo... Samuel, a blurry George, Walt's arm, my foot...

Week 14 of 52 - Spring has Sprung!

Every Spring, I declare it my favorite season.  Then a few months pass, the beautiful fall colors and crisp days descend, and I waver in my declaration.  But as for today, I am delighting in the birth of new flowers and green leaves, the bees buzzing and the morning dew shining.

When we bought our home, there was nothing – this multitude of wild onions, some scrubby boxwoods, a poorly-placed star magnolia, and a handful of grass seed tossed over the builder’s shoulder as he spun out of the drive.

Our adventures in yard work were initially fueled by those beautiful second trimester hormones.  During my pregnancy with George, I tied ropes around those scrubby boxwoods and pulled them out with my Toyota Rav4… my mechanic brother just shook his head and said it’s a wonder I didn’t blow it up.

We’ve learned a lot since then.  Most importantly, we budget far in advance.  Spring comes every year – it’s no surprise the maintenance expenses will follow.  Here are the top lessons learned…

• *Invest in a  landscaping class.  We took a continuing-ed class and learned we’d spent $400 on trees, plants, and plant bed accessories that were bad choices (and time proved this to be true).  Just because Lowes sells it, doesn’t mean we should buy it.
• *Over-invest in top soil and compost.  We spent 3 years trying to till and coax this red clay with a few bags of dirt.  It wasn’t until we called in the dump truck from a local nursery that we saw a difference.
• *A Toro Dingo can make light work of digging holes for trees.  At first, we gasped at the $150 price tag for a ½ day rental at our local Ace Hardware.  Then we calculated how much time it would take for W to dig 25 holes that size and realized his time (and the health of our marriage) was more valuable than that - quite the bargain!
• * Local gardening stores are the bomb-diggity.   We’ve found plants and shrubs at 1/3 the price of our local big box store.  Just last night, I saw a particular perennial at Home Depot for $4.96.  I paid $10… for SEVEN of them.
• *Look around for freebies.  We have planted 3 Eastern Red bud trees and 4 Eastern Red Cedars just by looking in the ditch and property adjacent to ours.  I also rooted a fig tree from our neighbor’s magnificently huge tree.  Yes, I got permission from our neighbor first!  

 (Terribly harsh lighting, but sometimes it's just about capturing the moment).

We still have so much to learn.  We haven’t tackled growing grass yet.  We just mow our clover and hope all the green blends together.   My dad raises beef cattle and to successfully do that, you need be just as successful in growing grass.  He wisely scanned our yard and pronounced that we still needed a ton of lime.  He was being literal… back to the budget. 

 

Happy Spring!