Birthday Loot

So I had a birthday last month.  I posted about my wish list here.  They day itself wasn't spectacular.  I had to work, it rained most of the day, I gave 18 flu shots before 2pm, it was pretty hectic.  I did receive a sweet card from my hubby and one from my babies (they even colored in the card to "sign" their names!).  Later that week we went for a dinner date to The Melting Pot to celebrate.  I enjoy eating there.  I mean, I eat waaaay too much, but everything is so yummy.  I highly recommend it for a special occasion dinner.

With birthdays often come gifts, and more evidence that I am spoiled well-loved.

Hubby surprised me with a new pair of slippers.  While this may not have been a gift I picked out for myself, I really appreciate the thought he put in to it.  I have been wearing the same pair of slippers since I was a freshman in college.  They may be slightly discolored.  Hubby scoured the internets for a replacement that could surpass my expectations.  And he found them.  They are beautiful fluffy soft lambskin slippers with arch support in "ocean" blue.  I may have worn them just about every day since receiving them.

My Mother-in-law (and Father-in-law, but I know who did the shopping) blessed me with an assortment of gifts from Bath and Body Works.   Candles, lotions, body wash, and a candle holder.  She also gave me a lovely pair of silver earrings and two gift cards.  Don't worry, I don't stink, she just knows how much I love beautiful scents.

My Momma hearts West  Elm almost as much as I do.  In fact, I think she is the one who introduced me to them.  She furthered my stash by gifting me with this vase and two votive holders.  She also gave me these awesome measuring spoons from Anthropologie.  Oh, and mom also gave me two white serving platters.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of them.

All in all, I had a wonderful birthday celebration with family.   They all "know" me enough to gift me with something I love, something soft and comfy, something lovely to smell, and something blingy!  Thank you!

More Money

Ok, so its been over a week since I tried YNAB (you need a budget).  (read about the introduction here.)  And, honestly, I am disappointed.  You see, the free trial was to last one week, however, I didn't get a chance to check back in.  I spent a few hours setting up the budget in the program.  My plan was to check in again in a few days and monitor our spending.  But life happened, and the seventh(or eighth) day came and YNAB would not allow me to look at my previously made budget without purchasing the software.  All my work was lost.  I was mad and frustrated.  I didn't look at our bank account for almost two weeks.  I didn't want to face it. Yes, I realize this is silly, but hey, its the truth.  I'm not ready to commit 60 dollars to a download I'm still iffy about.  So I haven't.  But I have returned to my senses and looked at my bank account again.  I revisited Dave Ramsey's online budget tool, used an old fashion calculator, paper, and pen, and re-wrote our budget.  I found it oddly satisfying.

I think YNAB could be helpful, just not for my needs.  I was able to import the data from my checking account directly into the software.  I then assigned categories to each expenditure.  YNAB allowed me to view how my spending compared to the budget I set up.  It was easy to see where the money went.  I recommend it for those who feel they need help identifying who gets their money.  I, on the other hand, am well aware where my money goes.  I am a planner, so I want the plan on paper as to how I am going to spend the necessary money.  Once all my bills are paid, I want to know how much free money I have left to apply elsewhere; like paying off debt.  For this reason, I like the budgeting tool by Dave Ramsey. 

With Gazelle Budget Lite, I can plug in my income and the fields are pre-populated with the recommended numbers for each expense.  I can then change the fields to reflect what I actually spend, or need to budget.  It is easy to see if each category falls within the recommended range.  The old fashioned person that I am, then writes all of this down in my notebook so I can refer to it as often as I want to.  I also usually write out the subcategories and further breakdown the budget.  For example, in transportation, I also write out the amount to budget for tags, taxes, oil changes, repairs, gas, and insurance.  Overkill?  Maybe, but I want to be sure I don't forget anything and have a 500 dollar surprise later.

So have any of you tried these or other budget tools?  Any questions?

Study Session

I've fallen off the wagon of my reading goals (mentioned here.)  I did pretty good for awhile, however, I've been pretty busy the last few months and reading has slipped to the bottom of the list.  I did have a chance to finish up Boundaries while we drove to my parents house  (the e-book version on my ipad) and I highly recommend it.  I have read a few other books by the same authors, but not the original Boundaries.  Its something I will probably re-read a few times.  There is a ton of information and hard to digest all at once.

What are you reading?  I am really interested in suggestions for my next read.  It doesn't have to be something deep...I like to alternate light reading with the hard stuff.  Tell me your favorites that you re-read, something inspiring, or what makes you laugh.  I'd love to know!

Steal of a Deal

Do you read magazines?  I love them, but rarely spend the money.  Glossy pages are something I rarely splurge on except for plane rides.  And a subscription?  Forget about it.  But in four to six weeks, that will change.  And I have this woman to thank for it.  I didn't know Amazon has a magazine sale.  Heck, I didn't even know magazines went on sale.  Nevertheless, I didn't let my lack of knowledge hold me back.  I took it ran...straight to the Amazon checkout.

I ordered House Beautiful and Coastal Living.  Two things I aspire for and maybe these subscriptions will help my ideals come to fruition!  At $5 and $8 for a 10 issues each, I will at least get a lot of eye candy on the cheap.  House Beautiful is normally $5 per issue!  Amazon has the sale going on through October 11th, so don't delay!

So what do you think?  Are you a magazine glutton or rarely partake, like me?  What are your favorite glossy pages?