April Goals!

Spring is here! Time for a new list of goals!

FITNESS:

-Start getting into shape for summer by walking the pup more

-Yoga 3 times per week 

FINANCIAL:

-Save at least $200 more into emergency fund

FAITH:

-Start a regular prayer time daily 

-Find a home church

-Finish reading the book of Genesis

FUN:

-Read a whole book

-Learn at least one new song on the piano

I'm going to try my best this month to accomplish these! Good luck with your goals as well!

 

What are your goals for April?

Birds in the Guest Bedroom?

Hey all :)

While I was at Michaels, the craft store in this area, there were very cute birds on sale and they inspired me for the theme of our guest bedroom! Check it out!

I'm starting to clear out our spare bedroom to turn it into a guest bedroom just in time for my family to visit!

Here are my ideas!

Instead of spending a bunch of money on paint, I'm going to keep it clean and crisp by adding three green horizontal stripes a little higher than half way up the wall. 

I'm thinking a gradual fade would be nice, like the above

Then we have a white chest that one of our family members never uses, so we want to sand that down and repaint it white.

I also found little bird cages at Michaels. They hold tea lights! My idea is to hang them from the ceiling, in a corner, at varying height with fishing twine to add some soft lighting. 

Lastly, I found this bigger bird cage to set on the dresser, possibly with a candle inside. The little white birdie on the side, and finish the dresser top with a simple bouquet of white roses and some greenery. 

Beautiful :)

We're looking a small white side table to tie everything together. 

And maybe even a rocking chair! That would be cute, but those darn things can be pricey. 

Thoughts? Ideas? How are your at home projects going?

$$$

Alright, now awhile back I started the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. After moving a few months ago, we used up our emergency fund and need to start building it back up. So guys, I'm back to step one. If you missed my post on the TMM you can check it out here: Do you need a Total Money Makeover?

When I first started this I was in debt: $11,464.93
Now I'm down to: $8,472.11 (which is only my car loan! woo hoo!) 


It may not seem like a lot to some of you, but I'm so excited! 


But I need to build my emergency fund back up. I only have $50 in there...yikes..that's bad. haha 
SO that is my next goal, to save up. :) 

I have been cutting back our food budget again and am cooking in the crock-pot, which saves a ton of money! And, with only the two of us, there is always left overs to eat later. Fantastic :)Yesterday I made some delicious ribs, which you can check out here: Slow-cooker BBQ ribs (I didn't have ketchup and all that in my fridge, so I just used Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce...DELICIOUS) I made much smaller portions too. 





I am also considering taking a second job, part-time in the evenings. I work at the school during the day and have time to take a few hours in the evenings for work.

How are you guys doing with your budgets and financial goals? Any suggestions for budget cut-backs??

A list of things...

Michelle P posted a great blog about her list of things she wants to do if she had more time...check it out here makingsenseofcents.com

Wheeeeee!

It got me to thinking. Here is my list of things I want to do if I had a bit of more free time:

1) Learn Italian....FINALLY.  I have been slacking on this for two and a half years...yikes...that's just terrible to even say I've been "studying" it that long and I'm still a beginner! Pizza! Piano! haha
2) Start running. I think about it. It doesn't happen. We go on walks with the pup sometimes, and they're long walks when we go, but some days I think, 'This would be a great day to run!', but I usually just grab the book I'm reading or put on an episode of Futurama. The couch just calls to me..
3) Practice yoga REGULARLY. I do it here and there, but I love how it makes me feel and how relaxed I get. Plus, I can see the progress I've made because, from time to time, I'm a small bit closer to the goal of touching my toes! ..I have a LONG way to go...hahaa
4) Learn the piano/keyboard. Yeah...I practice sometimes.
5) Read all the books I have piled up in our backroom. I have a ton. Where did they all COME FROM?!!?!
6) Take an awesome trip at least every year!! There are so many exotic places I want to travel to!

What's new!

I've almost paid off my credit card! That means the only things left to pay on is....my car! woo!

Things are going well.

I got accepted to the radiology program I applied to! YAY!!!

I bought a keyboard and have been practicing! Woo!

This week

This week has been going really well!

The students are taking their state standardized tests, so the mornings at work are super chill. 

The weather here is becoming gorgeous and I'm loving it!

Did my first test paint on our kitchen walls. It's a green color. I really like it, my husband says he likes it too, so yay! 

I've been reading a really good book called "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver. Fantastic book, I posted a few things from it on my other blog: My Journey in Searching

Running up and down the four-story school, all those stairs, my cardio is going great! haha!

How is everyone doing this week?

Keeping this blog! but also started a new one!

Hey everyone! I'm going to keep Cakes and Calculus going, especially now that I'm back online and have a little more free time. But, I've started a new blog on my search for Jesus. I know not everyone is into that kind of thing, but if you are and want to follow along and share your stories and thoughts, please check me out on http://myjourneyinsearching.tumblr.com/ ! Hope to see you there!

Hey everyone, I'm back!

Hey everyone, I know it's been a while since I have last blogged. I have been very busy, but all in a good way!

I got that job I was looking at. I'm working as a teacher's aide at one of the local school districts. Currently it's at the special education dept in a middle school. It's challenging, but rewarding. I enjoy my job!

 I paid off our furniture! WOO HOO! Almost done with the credit card, that I admitted I ran up whenever we moved up North. 

In other news, it is starting to warm up in Pennsylvania and it is just gorgeous out today! I'm getting all the housework done so I can take the pup out for a good walk. 

My husband and I are having a vow renewal ceremony in May, so we are planning that and it's all very exciting! We are going to go cake tasting Tuesday. I normally would make our cake, but this time I am excited to have a bakery do it! lol They invitations just came in and we're working on getting them addressed and sent out. It's all very exciting!

We also are looking at painting our interior, giving it a new attire. When we moved in, there are some rooms with very.....interesting....wall paper covering its walls. We're ready to start making our house, our home, giving it our touch and personality! Will post pix when we get some rooms finished :) 

I hope all of you are well!! I've missed blogging!