Thursday, November 20, 2008

Ups and downs

My husband is an independent computer guru, handling both the software side of things (web design, logos, programming) and the hardware side of things (trouble shooting computer problems, setting up systems, server issues, etc). I help by handling some of the financial stuff, like keeping the books and paying the taxes. Business in the computer world is in a constant state of flux, where months are either really busy or really slow. We are currently in a state of "up" and it is hard to keep our schedules straight, while still finding time to spend with our kids.

This kind of schedule stress is still much easier to handle than the "big corporate world" kind. I am so fortunate to have my husband around most days and I wouldn't trade our current situation, even if it meant more money. Sure, he could do an online IT job search and find companies willing to pay top dollar for his knowledge. We have been there already and we prefer to be more in control of our work lives. Of course, corporate jobs are always part of "plan B" if business gets really slow for too long, but things have a way of working themselves out, and we haven't had to go down that road for almost three years so far.

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Plans and life changes

We have been revising our future building plans again, since we are convinced that we won't be able to make all our money back on our current house. Since the incidence of the damage from Hurricane Ike, we have also decided that a basement is necessary, even if just used for storage, so we can have a safe place to go when the next emergency strikes. I'll have to start getting quotes on how much it costs to excavate around here. We were hoping to do some of the digging ourselves, but our trials with digging even small holes around here turns out to be a painful and rocky experience.

Once we get the hole dug, I believe we can do almost all the work ourselves. We have been reading a lot and feel we have a better understanding of the inner workings of houses since we repaired an entire wall in our kitchen, including reinstalling cabinets. Our new house will be much more simple in nature, and as small as possible, so the work should take less time and will definitely take less materials to complete.

We are looking forward to some major lifestyle changes with this move. The obvious is the smaller house, which we hope will force the kids to spend more time playing outside. Don't get me wrong, my kids love playing outside to matter where we are, but the new lot slopes down and is set below street level, so I feel they are safer playing outside over there. Our current house has a circle driveway and we live on a dead-end street, so many cars will use our driveway to turn around and I worry about the safety of the kids and dog if they are playing out front. Since we are also planning to start a garden at the new place, the kids will love helping with that too. They have recently taken an interest in where our food comes from and what things are made with, so gardening will be a great learning experience for all of us. Plus, the fresh organic vegetables, herbs, and fruits may eliminate our need for vitamins, medicines, or diet pills.

The other major change will be increased exercise. We will be closer to town, and within walking distance to the park, the library, the post office, and all the events that happen downtown. We are planning to walk or ride our bikes for any downtown errands, including my commute to work.

I know these are many changes to make at once, but I figure "why not"? These are changes we have been thinking about for years and are only just now beginning to make them real. Also, implementing these changes while the kids are young will make for a better transition and will help to cement better living choices in their minds. In this way, things like reusing materials, composting, gardening, and conserving energy will be second nature to them and they will continue practicing these things for the rest of their lives.

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Our little "Super Scottie"

My readers please excuse me, but I simply must gush about my daughter (again)!! At an awards ceremony at the elementary school, my daughter won one of the coveted "Super Scottie" awards for making the honor roll, and exhibiting exemplary behavior at school. Only four kids in her class won the award and we are so proud that she was one of them.

I was worried she might have trouble adjusting after they shuffled her grade around a month ago and she was switched to a different teacher. But as usual, she has made the best of it and is thriving. I love having those moments when I am truly proud to say, "Hey, that's my kid!"

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Keep the vacation

We're big on taking vacations in my family. We try to go on at least one trip as a family each year, even if it is somewhere close. Kids can't tell the difference and they have just as much fun traveling 100 or 1,000 miles from home. The part they like is getting their parents' undivided attention and spending time together.

We've sort of made a tradition out of visiting Disney World every few years, but I'm not sure how many more Disney vacations are in our future. We went about a year ago and now that our family consists of four people, the expenses were higher. We realized after a couple of days, however, that the children's meals were the best deals in the parks and the resorts and we ended up buying them for the kids and the adults for the remainder of the trip. We try to live very frugal, and it is so hard to pay $4 per meal, per person every day. I kept reminding myself that we were on vacation in order to justify the high cost.

There are many places to visit around here, we have never been to Hot Springs, Little Rock, or even the Buffalo River area. Just because the economy is in hiatus, people still need vacations to reconnect with their family and escape from the stresses of everyday life. We just need to keep it simple and keep it close to home for a couple of years.

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