Went camping this weekend, but had to cut the trip short. It was foggy, wet, dripping water all day and night…. Our first time camping at Dogwood is documented here. Last year we had snow and all of the above, so I guess this time was a tiny bit better. But this time, we just called it quits after one night of camping. After cleaning up we all met at Stephen & Kelly’s house for a bbq to keep the festivities going.
Cindy wasn’t able to make it up this weekend. She had unbreakable plans, so I was up there with the boys and our dog. I enjoyed my time with them. We were the only family that voted to tough it out, but I think it was because Cindy wasn’t there to add some sound judgment to our vote.
Another crazy thing happened. Our tent was on a tiny slope, and Toby slide down just enough so that his sleeping bag made contact with our tent heater. The bag burned and melted. A day later, Cindy noticed that his foot was burned too! Toby didn’t even feel it. Here’s a picture of it. I have no idea how he didn’t feel it, hehe.
It’s all good. We’ll give Dogwood another try, and if we get slammed by weather again, we’ll never go back!
Since the Summer we’ve signed both our kids up with Gracie Barra Jiujitsu, AND piano lessons. We also got Bingo the dog. The added cost of about $400 a month with no additional income is quickly catching up to us. On top of that we spent a few thousand on vision therapy for Micah. He had focusing issues or something. Now he has super vision (no joke). It’s eating into our savings, and more importantly into our vacation fund! Here’s what we’ve done:
1. Re-focused my shopping addiction (ie. bike, surf, electronics gear, tshirts…). I’ve canceled targeted advertising sites like steepandcheap, chainlove, and woot. I still browse some deal sites to “have a taste”. I’ve refocused my online shopping addiction towards items that will cut back on recurring expenses. This refocusing has also caused me to think twice about how I spend money in general.
2. Capitalized on my geekiness. I canceled our home phone & DSL, and then purchased cable internet. I then set up skype as a VOIP solution. I already had a nice skype phone (the Linksys iphone, named such before Apple stole the name), and I bought another wifi phone to be always on, even when the computer isn’t. There is no 911 support, but our cell phones are always at hand. This solution saves around $20 a month and the internet connection is easily ten times faster.
3. Doing my own gardening. I’ve tried this before and failed miserably. This time, I’m playing toward my strengths (online research, short term project management, and laziness). I researched for the right tools that I didn’t already have – going green with human powered tools! I searched for low water, low maintenance plants to make it as easy as possible. And I mapped out weekly projects to get my plans in motion. I’m rather stoked about it! I just hope I don’t cut a toe off while using the scary looking lawn mower.
4. Cut back on charitable giving. I researched that giving around 3-4% at my income bracket is more than generous. We’re at 5% now, which is a good place for us. Giving 10%, aka “a tithe”, is too lofty a goal. It would cut way too far into my family’s standard of living. As an ex-pastor, I’ll ask this, “Pastors have theology degrees NOT finance degrees, so why go to them to learn how to manage your money?” Research what financial experts say about charitable giving, and give generously and freely to meet goals that make sense to you and your family!
Here’s the final installment of the Mr. Doodie Star series. Toby dug up several star erasers that he’s won in school raffles. He gets entered into raffles for doing well in class. He gave Micah another one that looks just like Mr. Doodie Star….Mr. Doodie Star 2! It’s completely up to the whimsy of Micah and Toby whether or not there is a new series.
