So far So good

It is the sixth of the month and my little spend no money experiment is working. I have been taking my coffee cup everywhere with me and D and I spent our two days together at the house. With the cold weather I thought about taking him to the mall to cruise in the stroller and then I realized that would be too tempting to spend!

So we limited ourselves to the library and then one errand run to the grocery store. I pondered for a long time if buying donuts at the grocery store was cheating but then I went ahead and got the day old kind and told Kel they were only for breakfast.

I've already packed my lunch today for work so I don't have to be tempted by a lunch run. I also packed my water bottle and made sure I don't have any change for the pop machine.

Wish me luck!

Daryl is modeling his new shirt from Grandma Korf. His step stool from Grandma Meerpohl is in the background. He has been carrying it from room to room with him all week. He can't be without his stool! What a ham!

New Year New Habits

I finally got Kelly a knitted gift he will actually use. I made him a hat with this lovely Noro yarn and it turned out really great. It was the first time I used Noro and now I see why everyone loves it! The stripes are beautiful.

One of my New Year's resolutions was to stop mindless spending. I tend to shop without thinking and it can really kill the monthly budget Kel works so hard to keep straight. I've done a lot better since we got married but I want to try a little experiment this month.

Kelly and I are keeping track to see how much extra money we will have at the end of the month if I keep my money in my wallet. We do the debt snowball ala Dave Ramsey and I want to see how big our debt snowball can get without me spending it all!!

I have promised Kel that this month I will not spend any money without consulting him and the budget first. I will also not eat out on my way to work or stop for my frequent coffees.

Four days in and so far so good. I've been taking my coffee travel mug with me everywhere so I don't have to buy any. I also told all my coworkers at JoAnn to not let me get anything. They are all doubting my self restraint but that is ok. As a former supervisor once said about me "Just tell Candi it can't be done then get the he** out of her way!"

I'll keep you all updated on my one month experiment!

Christmas Part Deux

Part two of our Christmas tour ended in Norton Kansas. Where we met the lovely Henry David. He is such a cutie!! I see a lot of the Becker in him. He looks a lot like his grandpa Becker! All of the cousins were together as the Brown kids made the trip as well.

I'm sure Henry was wondering what all the rucus was but he handled it well! Mom loved her quilt that I finally got finished for her. She took a wonderful picture of her and all her babies on it!

Now that the holidays are over I need to get this house back under control. You can't see the living room table and the laundry is going to take a whole weekend to get done. So if you are wondering what I am doing the next couple of days you will know.

Resolutions/Projects for 2010:

Don't buy anymore yarn (Jan-March)!! I can't go a whole year ;-)

Cook at home more!

Kitchen Renovation

Potty Train D

Get Organized

Finish all of my knitting projects that are started:

Simple Cardigan

Wicked Sweater

Cable Guy Sweater

Caterpillar

I think that is enough for one year!!!!

A Very Merry Meerpohl Christmas

We are not quite done with Christmas yet but if I don't update now I'm afraid I'll forget precious details. I think I'll make this entire post precious details. hmmmmm

1.) You are never too young to play Santa. D passed out presents to the entire Meerpohl clan regardless of who the present was for or if it was already in someones pile!

2.)Christmas does not impress Baby Dominic. He was asleep about 2 minutes into opening gifts.

3.)Getting caught in the middle of a nerf gun fight is actually quite fun!

4.)Carson can tell you that you can never get too many KU Shirts!!

5.)It is worth getting stuck in the snow to get a 75% off prelit Christmas tree! Just ask Kelly!!

6.) The most interesting part of a Christmas present to a toddler is always the box!

7.) Jenny's favorite color may not be green but that is our favorite color for her!

8.) Booze is always a welcome gift!

9.)A Blizzard will always guarantee the birth of a baby! Yeah Henry David 8lbs 12ozs!!

10.)I got everything on my Christmas list! Next year I'm asking for a hairless cat!!! Yeah!!!

Happy Birthday Kelly!!

The head of the manor (he can have the title for the day :-) is celebrating his birthday today! We already ate BBQ for his bday earlier in the week and I think he is going out with friends on Saturday. He is pretty easy to please!! D almost said happy birthday today but instead he just waved bye bye as his daddy left for work. We take what we can get!

Getting ready for Christmas around here. The lights are up outside (THANK YOU KELLY) and we also added an inflatable Santa to our decor. Kelly hates those things so I know he must really love me to put one in the yard. LOL

I have been trying to remember to take a picture at night to show everyone but so far I have been to tired and cold to venture back out at night with the camera once I'm inside.

D has not tried to pull over the Christmas tree and I am very proud of him for that. I'm anxious to see how he will be once we put presents under it.

That's about all for now. I will include some of D's sexy lumber jack pictures! He is just the best lumberjack EVER! I'm biased...

Let it Snow!

Last night we finally got some of the white stuff! I know a lot of people don't appreciate the snow but I can't get into the holiday spirit without it. Kelly rushed around last night and got the lights finished as well as our new inflatable Santa. He is great!

Yesterday D visited my office as I needed to take in a gift card for our department's gift to the foster children for Christmas. I had kept forgetting so I went and got it and then dropped it off on my day off. D liked meeting everyone and got to play on the phone! He was a character.

I hope today D and I don't go stir crazy but I don't plan on getting out today for any reason.

Did do some Christmas shopping yesterday but it was just the beginning so I need to get busy on that.

Hope everyone is staying dry and warm today!!!