Thriftyness and my new Minimalist Vendetta

I am very cheap. I pretend to say that I am thrifty, or that I like to save money, but the truth of the matter is that I am cheap. I don't like to spend any more than I absolutely have to on anything. Sometimes this is a good thing. For example, about a month ago I saved over a hundred dollars by doing an at-home perm instead of going to a salon and paying for a professional to do it. And it turned out great! Yesterday I saved about $30 by doing my own acrylic manicure, which also turned out great! Sometimes it doesn't matter if you do things the cheaper way, as long as you do them the right way and don't cut corners.

Sometimes it does matter. Our house is filled with a lot of stuff that we don't really need or want anymore. Maybe because when I got it I thought to myself, "This is such a good deal, you can't pass it up!" However, for most things we use and reuse, cheaper isn't usually better. A good example of this is in clothes. I usually shop the clearance section of the store, which makes sense in my thrifty mind. For a while I could never quite realize why my clothes were never exactly in style and I never had the right seasonal clothing at the right time, but just the other day it hit me while combing through rack after rack of 90% off clothing: these clothes are already out of style and out of season... so don't buy them!!!

Recently I have started going on an all-out minimalist vendetta. We are moving in about a month, so I have come to realize that only the stuff we really need is worth keeping around and taking with us, and only the stuff we really need is worth having at all. I no longer care if it's cheaper or even free. I'm getting rid of box after box of clothes, purses, books, toys... and realizing that once it's gone none of it was really important anyways. Now I'm trying to get my wardrobe down to only the few clothes that I actually wear. One idea I had was to wait about a week and let the laundry pile up. After a week I went through my closet while the clothes I had worn were in the washer and actually asked myself why I hadn't needed each item in the past week. Turns out, I really only use about one pair of slacks, work shirts, one pair of jeans, three or four T-shirts, and a dress each week. So why do I have so many clothes I will never use? (Don't even get me started on Aaron's side of the closet - he has so many T-shirts he doesn't even know which is which.)

Anyways, so now I've become less thrifty but more choosy. Probably in the long run I will spend about the same amount of money on stuff, just buy less and have less and be a lot more happy. We'll see. For now, I'm going back to cleaning out closets and boxing up books to take to Texas. Even with all the stuff we've gotten rid of, it's going to be a real miracle if we can get everything into the back of our car. Wish me luck!

Home again, home again jiggety jig

It's good to be home. We had such a wonderful weekend in Chicago-land. After our visit with Ben and Analiese on Saturday we drove out to Wheaton for church on Sunday. It was good to see all our friends from Blanchard Alliance Church and then have dinner with Maffy. That evening we got some good chats in with old friends Paul Nelson and Bryan Biba.

Then on Monday we visited with professors and coaches, dear friends, and again my little brother. We took Biba, Rusty, Matt, and Nicole with us to the Cubs game last night and had a blast even though it was FREEZING cold! After the game Biba took us to Gene and Jude's which apparently has been certified by the Food Network as the home of the best hotdog in the US! Then today we decided to come home a little earlier due to the horrible weather continuing. We missed seeing a few people this afternoon, but we're glad to be home and relaxing a little before we both get back to work first thing in the morning. We have a busy schedule for the next few weeks until we move! So crazy and so much to do... AHHH!

A Delicious Lazy Chicago Saturday

We're in Chicago right now. We arrived last night and stayed with Matt, Aaron's best man, overnight. Today we are pretty much just hanging out with our friend Ben and his new girlfriend, Analiese. This morning we went to Ann Sather, for a delicious breakfast. Even Aaron liked the cinnamon rolls. Then we went to The Wormhole and to  Myopic Bookstore. Aaron bought a book called The Era about Baseball in New York in the 40's and 50's. Then we came home and all took naps, and Aaron watched baseball and basketball playoff games on TV. Now we're deciding where to go for dinner. Hopefully somewhere cute little and cheap. More updates on this laid-back trip will come later.

Sarah's Wonderful Whirlwind Visit

This last week has been a whirlwind! On Monday afternoon Sarah arrived from Wheaton for a wonderful visit for a few short days. We hadn't seen each other since Aaron and I got back from our honeymoon over a year ago, so clearly we were excited to get to spend some time together!

On Tuesday I took her to visit Grandma and Grandpa Woodard. It was special for her to visit with them and to play their beautiful piano for us all:

We also spent a good part of Tuesday shopping for gifts for Sarah to take back to her friends in Sololá and for some only-in-America items she needed. We were happy to find everything on her list!

Wednesday, Sarah spent the day visiting my classes at Drake and sharing with them about her life in Guatemala. 

Here she is with Eduardo and some of my students:

Then Wednesday evening I took her with me to AWANA where she spoke to our entire club about her ministry and her life in Guatemala. She spoke an amazing 8 times on Wednesday! What a trooper!

Even though I was sad to see her leave Thursday morning, I was glad to get some rest since I've somehow caught a horrendous cold! Yesterday I called in sick from work to go to the doctor, and even today I don't feel quite myself. Anyways, it was a wonderful week, I'll miss my Sary-Sue, (especially those amazing back rubs) but I'm so glad we get to see each other in less than three months at Lauren's wedding, and I know we're all excited to meet little Baby Bump when we're together next! 

In the meantime, Aaron and I have to gear up for the next thing, which is a trip to Wheaton next weekend! After that it will be time to pack and put the house up for sale since there will be only a little over a month before we move! Then come the Drake relays, graduation parties, and the move! Praise God for a busy spring, and please be praying for a job for Aaron in Waco. It would give us so much more peace about the move if we had that nailed down before we go. Also, pray for a quick and painless sale of our trailer here. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Well, Aaron successfully turned 23! We started the day as soon as I got home from work at 12:05 AM. As I walked through the door, my more-boy-than-man of a husband insisted we open the gifts he had gotten from my parents, sister, and me. I took these pictures of him opening his presents, happy with his gifts of books, a DVD, and some new undershirts (from his too-practical wife).

Since we both worked during the day on his birthday, we came home in the evening and enjoyed a visit from two of his best friends from high school, Jake and Dan. As a sidenote, Dan is getting married in October, and Aaron will be a groomsman in the wedding. For the boys' visit I made brats and cheesecake and we played Apples to Apples and watched the March Madness games that were on TV.

To finish off Aaron's birthday weekend, we went to his parents house for a lovely meal on Sunday after church. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by people who love us, and so blessed to love each other so much! Hoping this next year proves to be one of the best yet!