Scene: My mom, my younger sister {who shall be known as Sassy on the blog} and I went out to dinner while the boys were all at Scout Camp. Okay, so Easton was with us, but he loves chilling with the girls. We had finished dinner and were trying to decide on a dessert to share. We asked the server for her recommendation and were told that the white chocolate sauce on white chocolate cake, with white chocolate sprinkles was delicious.
Me: Well, that sounds good. Do you guys like white chocolate? I think we will need to like it to like this dessert.
Mom: Yep, I like it.
Sassy: I ate white chocolate chips off of the FLOOR last night.
Needless to say we ordered it-we wouldn't want Sassy to have to resort to eating off of the floor for the second day in a row.
Clarification: the night before my mom was baking with white chocolate chips. They spilled and Sassy ate them within the 10 second rule. {she wanted me to make sure that was said}
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Hints Part 2
Disclaimer: I received a finance degree from a reputable university. I did not get straight A’s and do not consider myself a finance expert in any way. If my advice doesn’t work for you—that is fine, just don’t blame me.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get on to the business. {another quick warning that this is long}
Accounts Spreadsheet
When you are single—life (financially speaking) seems fairly easy. You have a bank account, a credit card or two (which you of COURSE pay off at the end of every month) and a few internet passwords to remember. Then you get married (dun, dun, DUN). All of the sudden you have your accounts, his accounts, your credit cards, his credit cards, your internet passwords, his internet passwords, not to mention that you are trying to find what will work for you as a couple. For Ronnie and I that means one joint bank account, but everyone is different—so do what works for you.
I have found that keeping track of that information was a bit daunting. Everything was in a different place and not necessarily accessible. So, I created a spreadsheet (I LOVE spreadsheets). I’ve even made it accessible to you (a blank one that is—I love you, but not enough to give you my personal information). Click Here. You will need to have a Google account to edit it, but I have left it open to everyone to edit and once you are in the edit screen you can export it (under ‘file’) to your computer so you can do with it as you will. I will warn you that I am not a computer guru. I have a printed copy of the file that I keep in my [soon to be] fire proof box and I also keep an electronic copy that is password protected. (While this will deter some from getting to the document on your computer, a true hacker may be able to access it—you can decide what you want to do).
You’ll notice that mine probably has a few categories that will not pertain to you (I’m pretty sure not everyone needs to know their Hunter’s Safety number), while your finished document will have areas that I don’t have—make it fit your needs. I cannot tell you the number of times I access this document! It would come in handy if one of our wallets was ever stolen (knock on wood) in that I have the phone numbers and account numbers of all of our credit card providers, etc. When Ronnie needed his FAFSA pin (after 3 years of not using it)—there it was. You’ll thank yourself later, I promise.
Checking your Credit
I know you hear a lot about “free credit reports” on television—but what they don’t tell you is that you have to enroll in a monthly-fee program to get that free report. Luckily, the government has mandated that we can get one free credit report from each of the three reporting companies each year. I HIGHLY recommend doing this. If you have never checked your credit before you will want to get reports from all three companies the first time (and then set a date in your calendar to remember to do it again in a year). The reason you want reports from all three is that you will be very surprised about the differences between them. This way you can cancel inactive accounts, clear up any other mistakes and start fresh—so to speak. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to get started.
After I initially checked all of the reports, I now check our credit every four months—but only from one reporting company. That way I have a more frequent check, but it is still free (get it?). One note: Keep your oldest credit card! Even if you never use it anymore (since usually the credit amount is very low and it doesn’t have rewards). A LOT of your credit is based on this amount of time you have been tracked. Once you close an account, it will still be on your report, but doesn’t help with your credit at all. Also—the free service offered just includes the credit report itself and does not include your credit score. You can purchase that at the time that you request your report (for usually around $7 per company). I only pay for our scores once a year—to save some dough.
Budgeting
I probably don’t need to tell you that programs like Quicken are awesome. I also probably don’t need to tell you that these programs cost money. I took a Personal Finance class my senior year of college that CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER. And yes, that really does need to be in all caps. It was a 4000 level course however, and a few of the concepts we covered require a bit of a finance background. But do not despair. The marvelous teacher has launched a FREE website that is essentially an exact copy of the class (minus a few of the advanced concepts I mentioned). I have been using the budgeting spreadsheet he provides since I graduated—and love it. REALLY love it. The entire website—which I strongly, STRONGLY encourage you to check out is at http://personalfinance.byu.edu/ and the budget sheet is located here {it is TT04 in the document list}.
I don’t know if you can tell by now, but I feel strongly about being in control of your personal finances. In fact, I learned so much from the Personal Finance class I mentioned (including VITAL information for buying a home, a car, etc) that I wrote a letter to the president of my university letting him know how it had changed my life and that I believed that a simplified version should be added to the general requirements to graduate from college. I like to think that that letter is the reason that the new, free website exists. [I can dream—right?]
So there you have it—the secret to my success (if you consider living in an apartment and going to graduate school a success). My little family is getting there—one baby step at a time. Feel free to comment with questions, or let me know about things that have worked for you—I’m always looking for a better way to do things!
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get on to the business. {another quick warning that this is long}
Accounts Spreadsheet
When you are single—life (financially speaking) seems fairly easy. You have a bank account, a credit card or two (which you of COURSE pay off at the end of every month) and a few internet passwords to remember. Then you get married (dun, dun, DUN). All of the sudden you have your accounts, his accounts, your credit cards, his credit cards, your internet passwords, his internet passwords, not to mention that you are trying to find what will work for you as a couple. For Ronnie and I that means one joint bank account, but everyone is different—so do what works for you.
I have found that keeping track of that information was a bit daunting. Everything was in a different place and not necessarily accessible. So, I created a spreadsheet (I LOVE spreadsheets). I’ve even made it accessible to you (a blank one that is—I love you, but not enough to give you my personal information). Click Here. You will need to have a Google account to edit it, but I have left it open to everyone to edit and once you are in the edit screen you can export it (under ‘file’) to your computer so you can do with it as you will. I will warn you that I am not a computer guru. I have a printed copy of the file that I keep in my [soon to be] fire proof box and I also keep an electronic copy that is password protected. (While this will deter some from getting to the document on your computer, a true hacker may be able to access it—you can decide what you want to do).
You’ll notice that mine probably has a few categories that will not pertain to you (I’m pretty sure not everyone needs to know their Hunter’s Safety number), while your finished document will have areas that I don’t have—make it fit your needs. I cannot tell you the number of times I access this document! It would come in handy if one of our wallets was ever stolen (knock on wood) in that I have the phone numbers and account numbers of all of our credit card providers, etc. When Ronnie needed his FAFSA pin (after 3 years of not using it)—there it was. You’ll thank yourself later, I promise.
Checking your Credit
I know you hear a lot about “free credit reports” on television—but what they don’t tell you is that you have to enroll in a monthly-fee program to get that free report. Luckily, the government has mandated that we can get one free credit report from each of the three reporting companies each year. I HIGHLY recommend doing this. If you have never checked your credit before you will want to get reports from all three companies the first time (and then set a date in your calendar to remember to do it again in a year). The reason you want reports from all three is that you will be very surprised about the differences between them. This way you can cancel inactive accounts, clear up any other mistakes and start fresh—so to speak. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to get started.
After I initially checked all of the reports, I now check our credit every four months—but only from one reporting company. That way I have a more frequent check, but it is still free (get it?). One note: Keep your oldest credit card! Even if you never use it anymore (since usually the credit amount is very low and it doesn’t have rewards). A LOT of your credit is based on this amount of time you have been tracked. Once you close an account, it will still be on your report, but doesn’t help with your credit at all. Also—the free service offered just includes the credit report itself and does not include your credit score. You can purchase that at the time that you request your report (for usually around $7 per company). I only pay for our scores once a year—to save some dough.
Budgeting
I probably don’t need to tell you that programs like Quicken are awesome. I also probably don’t need to tell you that these programs cost money. I took a Personal Finance class my senior year of college that CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER. And yes, that really does need to be in all caps. It was a 4000 level course however, and a few of the concepts we covered require a bit of a finance background. But do not despair. The marvelous teacher has launched a FREE website that is essentially an exact copy of the class (minus a few of the advanced concepts I mentioned). I have been using the budgeting spreadsheet he provides since I graduated—and love it. REALLY love it. The entire website—which I strongly, STRONGLY encourage you to check out is at http://personalfinance.byu.edu/ and the budget sheet is located here {it is TT04 in the document list}.
I don’t know if you can tell by now, but I feel strongly about being in control of your personal finances. In fact, I learned so much from the Personal Finance class I mentioned (including VITAL information for buying a home, a car, etc) that I wrote a letter to the president of my university letting him know how it had changed my life and that I believed that a simplified version should be added to the general requirements to graduate from college. I like to think that that letter is the reason that the new, free website exists. [I can dream—right?]
So there you have it—the secret to my success (if you consider living in an apartment and going to graduate school a success). My little family is getting there—one baby step at a time. Feel free to comment with questions, or let me know about things that have worked for you—I’m always looking for a better way to do things!
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Hints
I asked you recently for things that I should blog about, and a few different people asked for organization tips. I’ve shared my genius filing system (which unfortunately, I did not invent) as well as the calendar that keeps me sane at my computer, in the past. If you haven’t implemented those in your life yet, go do it—seriously!
Other than that, I only have a few things that I do that have a name. Things in my kitchen are organized, but I think that is a very personal preference, so I’ll let you have your kitchen the way you want it. I’ll ask you to stay with me—as this post is solely my opinions and these things may work for you, a variation may work, or you may say “man, KaLee doesn’t know ANYTHING” and just keep on doing what you are doing.
Labeling: Ahhh, labeling. How I love you! I took a few pictures of my stamping stuff and linen closet {click on the pictures to make them bigger} so that you can see my labeling in action. This is the first house that this labeling has been typed; I normally handwrite on the labels (which is equally as effective, but doesn’t make my heart go pitter-patter in quite the same way).
Here we see a few examples of my stamping labels. I have found that a general category that is very easily read works best and when applicable I list individual items so that I don’t have to dig through the drawer/box.
And here we see the linen closet. While in my ideal world I would have gorgeous, stylish containers that match and make the closet “shine” my budget just won’t let that happen and truth be told, these boxes work exactly the same. Again, you will see my use of large general labels with specific items listed underneath. I’ve found that this system also helps when you get those questions from your husband that go something like, “Honey? Have you seen my C-3400 gun remover bullet shaper thingy?” I can then say. “That will be in the “Hunting” box.” This takes a bit of time, I won't lie--but the joy that will swell in your breast every time you open your closet will be well worth it, trust me.
Color Coding: I don’t know that this counts as organization, but it makes me happy—so we’ll roll with it. All of my shirts are color coded. I have black on one end and white on the other, but you could do ROY G. BIV if you so desired. I used to keep my shirts in categories: long sleeved, short sleeved, button-up, etc. My roommate Carissa introduced me to this form of organization and I’ve never been able to go back. I find that I know exactly what shirts I own and can tell by glancing at the empty hangers which shirts are in the wash. Shirts that normally would be forgotten get worn more often. This will only take you about 5 minutes--one of the easiest fixes you will ever find. {the part of this system that your husband may not enjoy is that you can see exactly which colors your wardrobe is lacking and you will go on crazy hunts to find and purchase tops in those colors--ask me how I know}
We’re taking this in baby steps—so tomorrow I’ll be back to share a few gems that were gathered while obtaining my finance degree. Things to help you feel in control of your accounts/bills and budget. Anticipate that.
Other than that, I only have a few things that I do that have a name. Things in my kitchen are organized, but I think that is a very personal preference, so I’ll let you have your kitchen the way you want it. I’ll ask you to stay with me—as this post is solely my opinions and these things may work for you, a variation may work, or you may say “man, KaLee doesn’t know ANYTHING” and just keep on doing what you are doing.
Labeling: Ahhh, labeling. How I love you! I took a few pictures of my stamping stuff and linen closet {click on the pictures to make them bigger} so that you can see my labeling in action. This is the first house that this labeling has been typed; I normally handwrite on the labels (which is equally as effective, but doesn’t make my heart go pitter-patter in quite the same way).
Here we see a few examples of my stamping labels. I have found that a general category that is very easily read works best and when applicable I list individual items so that I don’t have to dig through the drawer/box.
And here we see the linen closet. While in my ideal world I would have gorgeous, stylish containers that match and make the closet “shine” my budget just won’t let that happen and truth be told, these boxes work exactly the same. Again, you will see my use of large general labels with specific items listed underneath. I’ve found that this system also helps when you get those questions from your husband that go something like, “Honey? Have you seen my C-3400 gun remover bullet shaper thingy?” I can then say. “That will be in the “Hunting” box.” This takes a bit of time, I won't lie--but the joy that will swell in your breast every time you open your closet will be well worth it, trust me.
Color Coding: I don’t know that this counts as organization, but it makes me happy—so we’ll roll with it. All of my shirts are color coded. I have black on one end and white on the other, but you could do ROY G. BIV if you so desired. I used to keep my shirts in categories: long sleeved, short sleeved, button-up, etc. My roommate Carissa introduced me to this form of organization and I’ve never been able to go back. I find that I know exactly what shirts I own and can tell by glancing at the empty hangers which shirts are in the wash. Shirts that normally would be forgotten get worn more often. This will only take you about 5 minutes--one of the easiest fixes you will ever find. {the part of this system that your husband may not enjoy is that you can see exactly which colors your wardrobe is lacking and you will go on crazy hunts to find and purchase tops in those colors--ask me how I know}
We’re taking this in baby steps—so tomorrow I’ll be back to share a few gems that were gathered while obtaining my finance degree. Things to help you feel in control of your accounts/bills and budget. Anticipate that.
Monday, June 30, 2008
The place where we dwell
Here it is--the long awaited apartment tour. I'll put the captions *above* the picture that I am describing. I don't really know what is standard in that regard.
Here we have the view from the front door. What you do not see is the coat closet directly to the left of where I am standing (I didn't think you cared to see that).
Another view of the living room.
And this is the view into the kitchen/dining area. I love the open floor plan, but could use a bigger kitchen for sure.
And here is a view from the couch. The door on the left is the front door and the door on the right is Easton's room. That ugly grill is our air intake for the heating and A/C (yes, we do have A/C-hallelujah!) so we can't cover it up.
A view of the kitchen. We are going to be putting up a shelf next to the cabinet that in set into the wall for the microwave to live on. That way I can have a *tiny* bit more counter space.
And here is the dining room. That bin is awaiting all of the clothes that Easton has outgrown so it can go to long-term storage.
Now we will move into Easton's room. Here is the view straight ahead from the doorway. You can see the door to the walk-in closet (BOTH bedrooms have one) and the built in bookshelves.
A view of the office/stamping space part of the room.
And a view of where Easton's area starts.
Here is the crib. Easton has almost made the adjustment to a new home. He is still waking up twice a night (instead of the once he was doing previously), but I think he feels like this is home now.
This is the view of the built in shelves I just mentioned. They are great for game and kid book storage.
You know that I really love you since I am showing you the inside of this closet. The closet in Easton's room houses all of my craft/stamping stuff as well as our short term storage (or things we get into more than once a year).
Another shot of the closet. In order to redeem my organization status, I'll have you notice that every drawer is labeled. Does that count for something?
As we exit out of Easton's room and turn left, this is the view. The bi-fold doors on the right are the laundry closet and the other door on the right is the linen closet. The open door on the left (of which you can only see hinges) is the bathroom.
And here is the bathroom. Nothing too exciting, we put up the over-the-toilet cabinet to try and combat the lack of storage in this room.
And here is my laundry closet. I love my new washer and dryer. Why is the blue protective plastic still on, you ask? I am my mother's daughter. Taking it off means that they are no longer "new." My previous washer and dryer (which we sold before moving to Laramie) still had the plastic on after a year and a half. My grandparents (who purchased them for their cabin) were THRILLED.
And now we walk into the master bedroom. I really need something above the bed--but have no idea what. Suggestions? The major problem is that the height of the headboard means that normal artwork doesn't look quite right.
A slight turn to the right from the doorway.
And now I am standing by the headboard. The door to the outside leads to the patio area (which can also be accessed through the kitchen) and the closed door is the one that goes to the hall.
The closed door on the left is the one that goes to the hall and the other closed door is to our walk-in closet. (yes, that is a moose antler on top of the armoire)
A view into our closet. I just have one thing to say about this. It is HUGE!
And these are the shelves that are on one entire side of the closet. I am in love with them.
Finally, this is our patio area. The open door goes into the kitchen and the door straight ahead is the one I discussed in our bedroom. You can also see our storage closet.
Do you feel at home? I'm starting to. No pictures of the outside since this is a fairly recognizable complex in Laramie and while I like to believe there are no crazies out there, the truth is--they exist.
Here we have the view from the front door. What you do not see is the coat closet directly to the left of where I am standing (I didn't think you cared to see that).
Another view of the living room.
And this is the view into the kitchen/dining area. I love the open floor plan, but could use a bigger kitchen for sure.
And here is a view from the couch. The door on the left is the front door and the door on the right is Easton's room. That ugly grill is our air intake for the heating and A/C (yes, we do have A/C-hallelujah!) so we can't cover it up.
A view of the kitchen. We are going to be putting up a shelf next to the cabinet that in set into the wall for the microwave to live on. That way I can have a *tiny* bit more counter space.
And here is the dining room. That bin is awaiting all of the clothes that Easton has outgrown so it can go to long-term storage.
Now we will move into Easton's room. Here is the view straight ahead from the doorway. You can see the door to the walk-in closet (BOTH bedrooms have one) and the built in bookshelves.
A view of the office/stamping space part of the room.
And a view of where Easton's area starts.
Here is the crib. Easton has almost made the adjustment to a new home. He is still waking up twice a night (instead of the once he was doing previously), but I think he feels like this is home now.
This is the view of the built in shelves I just mentioned. They are great for game and kid book storage.
You know that I really love you since I am showing you the inside of this closet. The closet in Easton's room houses all of my craft/stamping stuff as well as our short term storage (or things we get into more than once a year).
Another shot of the closet. In order to redeem my organization status, I'll have you notice that every drawer is labeled. Does that count for something?
As we exit out of Easton's room and turn left, this is the view. The bi-fold doors on the right are the laundry closet and the other door on the right is the linen closet. The open door on the left (of which you can only see hinges) is the bathroom.
And here is the bathroom. Nothing too exciting, we put up the over-the-toilet cabinet to try and combat the lack of storage in this room.
And here is my laundry closet. I love my new washer and dryer. Why is the blue protective plastic still on, you ask? I am my mother's daughter. Taking it off means that they are no longer "new." My previous washer and dryer (which we sold before moving to Laramie) still had the plastic on after a year and a half. My grandparents (who purchased them for their cabin) were THRILLED.
And now we walk into the master bedroom. I really need something above the bed--but have no idea what. Suggestions? The major problem is that the height of the headboard means that normal artwork doesn't look quite right.
A slight turn to the right from the doorway.
And now I am standing by the headboard. The door to the outside leads to the patio area (which can also be accessed through the kitchen) and the closed door is the one that goes to the hall.
The closed door on the left is the one that goes to the hall and the other closed door is to our walk-in closet. (yes, that is a moose antler on top of the armoire)
A view into our closet. I just have one thing to say about this. It is HUGE!
And these are the shelves that are on one entire side of the closet. I am in love with them.
Finally, this is our patio area. The open door goes into the kitchen and the door straight ahead is the one I discussed in our bedroom. You can also see our storage closet.
Do you feel at home? I'm starting to. No pictures of the outside since this is a fairly recognizable complex in Laramie and while I like to believe there are no crazies out there, the truth is--they exist. Oh, and I forgot to mention that our patio opens right up to the playground and sandbox for the complex, which I am sure Easton will LOVE in the future.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Feet
We discussed my feet quite a bit (I’m sure more times than you cared to know about) when I was pregnant. But really. Those elephant feet were dying to be documented.
Summer is now upon us and I have again realized….
My feet are SENSITIVE.
I mean really, really sensitive.
Walking outside barefoot? Out of the question. (Unless I have just swept the sidewalk myself)
As a kid, I always looked at the kids who ran through the neighborhood without shoes on in awe. My own sister was one of them—and I hated that. She would run out the door without a care in the world as I stopped, located my jelly shoes, put them on and THEN went out to join in the fun. There was a time when I thought that I could train my feet to change. If I spent enough time barefoot (all the while moaning in pain) surely, I could get “tougher.”
It never worked. So here I am, with my shoes on.
Do you have tough feet? Were you born with them—or was it something you were able to obtain over time? I'd love to know the secret--if there is one.
Summer is now upon us and I have again realized….
My feet are SENSITIVE.
I mean really, really sensitive.
Walking outside barefoot? Out of the question. (Unless I have just swept the sidewalk myself)
As a kid, I always looked at the kids who ran through the neighborhood without shoes on in awe. My own sister was one of them—and I hated that. She would run out the door without a care in the world as I stopped, located my jelly shoes, put them on and THEN went out to join in the fun. There was a time when I thought that I could train my feet to change. If I spent enough time barefoot (all the while moaning in pain) surely, I could get “tougher.”
It never worked. So here I am, with my shoes on.
Do you have tough feet? Were you born with them—or was it something you were able to obtain over time? I'd love to know the secret--if there is one.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
One less worry
The universe has seen fit to bless me with one less worry.Monday, June 23, 2008
A Talent
Some people have amazing voices.
Some can write profound words.
Some can create works of art.
Me? I can tell you which way is north.
Remember that the next time you want to go hiking.
Some can write profound words.
Some can create works of art.
Me? I can tell you which way is north.
Remember that the next time you want to go hiking.
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