Tip for saving those cell phone minutes

If you have an awesome cell phone provider, like US Cellular, and have free incoming minutes, then here's a great way to save those minutes, even when you're calling out!

Get a google voice phone number. It's only by invite right now, so request yours as soon as you can. You can pick from any area code you want, and there are many other benefits of having one. Google is great.

Sign into your google voice account online, and use their "Call" feature. Type in the number you want to call. Google will then dial that number, and CALL YOU to connect you. Catch that?

It's an incoming call. I double-checked this (because it's too amazing to be true when you only have 100 minutes to last two more weeks), by checking my minutes before and after making a phone call this way. No minutes used!

Sweetness.

Real Estate Investing

I'm going for it.

Oh, did you think I meant the investing? I only meant attending a meeting tomorrow!

That's all the nerve I have right now.

Being who I am, I have been swallowing and digesting data at an insane rate the last week, and one thing I have found is that there is a national real estate investor's association that has local chapters in us cities. I googled it and discovered that we have one in OKC. You can see the info here:

Planning for Retirement: Business Ideas that Tend to Thrive During a Recession

My family has always had its own business. My grandfather was the true entrepreneur, and successfully started two small businesses, and also made (or lost) some of his money pursuing other ventures as well. Because of that, I see entrepreneurship - or alternative income - as the best way to succeed and be financially independent.

I've moved away and started my own family now, so I'm not as involved in the family business. Thankfully, though, I talk to my mom daily. Just like my grandfather, she's a True Entrepreneur, especially in that she possesses a keen business sense. (If you're in the market for a life coach, I know exactly who to refer.)

My husband and I have a goal to own land, a nice home, and be financially independent enough to semi-retire within the next decade. My mom is helping us get there. We come up with all sorts of ways to save money, use money and invest money.

Most recently, we've been exploring how to take advantage of a down market. It may be a recession, but all good entrepreneurs know that any market shifts can create new trends or put certain trends in higher demand. It's a matter of discerning which new needs you can address in the form of a service or product.

Some ideas include:

• Cheap entertainment solutions (i.e., used books, lounges)
• Home-delivered products, Direct-to-home services
• Grocery Store (either discount or niche)
• Scooter, Bicycle sales
• Tax Preparer
• Financial Advisor to businesses, families
• Family Financial Counselor (budgeting, debt reduction, etc.)
• Discount or thrift clothing stores
• Alterations
• Shoe Repair
• Auto Reapir/Used Car Sales
• DIY - related (either providing the service, or providing services to help people DIY)
• Garden - related (i.e. equipment, services)
• Micro-farming (in your backyard, a client's yard, etc.)
• Any 'green' or 'eco-friendly' service or product
• Home Safe sales
• Self-Defense Weapons
• Pawn Shop
• Trading Assistant (on ebay)
• Repo business
• Debt -related (i.e., protection services, collection)
• Home Staging
• Purchase trouble/foreclosed properties and businesses
• Relocation-related (i.e., truck rental, packing supplies, relocation services)
• Temp Employment Agency
• Continuing Education and Job Skills Training
• Life Coaching
• Resume-writing
• Any informational website about any topic on this list
• Teach seminars, write a book or e-book about any topic on this list
• Conversion of big business to local business service (i.e. banks, insurance)
• Sales and Marketing Consultation
• Budget Analysis/Cost Reduction
• Indpedent Contracting/Outsourcing services for almost any corporate department
• Invest in energy, utility or public safety
• Elder Care or other healthcare-related service
• Any home-based business in any of the above

Remember that in a recession, people will not stop spending money. They begin looking for more value. Your business should offer an innovative solution to a recession-specific need, or an alternative product that they no longer think they can afford.

For example, most people are feeling a budget crunch right now. They don't have as much discretionary money, and some even feel the stress of living paycheck-to-paycheck, not knowing if they can afford to pay the bills. A unique service you can offer during this time would be the skill of budgeting. Not very many Americans know how to create and stick to a household budget. You could create a niche website offering this information, create traffic, and earn money off AdSense or affiliate products. You could also create e-books to sell online. If you are better with face-to-face interaction, offer budgeting services and advice.

More and more people are having to cut their clothing expenses, but they still want new clothes. You could offer them an alternative: open an up-scale consignment shop, or a website that coordinates a clothing exchange.

The possibilities are endless, and are only limited by imagination. Now if, like me, you aren't particularly creative or imaginative, then the key is research. Ask anyone who will humor you, Google until you can't touch another key, and open your eyes as you run errands. The ideas will come to you, and the idea that sticks is yours to own. Whatever interests you most is surely the avenue to pursue.

The next step would be...yes, research. You'd need to figure out whether you have the courage, capital, know-how and time to make your idea into a money-making business. It took my grandfather 5 years to make his business profitable. He worked full-time as a firefighter and built up his business on the side. But after those 5 years he was able to quite his day-job and enjoy the fruit of his labor. Maybe one day we will too.

More resources:

• http://www.powerhomebiz.com/News/062009/home-business-ideas-recession.htm
• http://debtcrisissolutions.com/blog/2009/04/26/business-opportunities-during-depression/
• http://www.noobpreneur.com/2008/09/02/flourishing-business-opportunities-in-recession/
• http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/business-planning/starting-business-recession/
• http://www.trcb.com/business/business-opportunities/ten-high-quality-products-you-can-sell-on-ebay-during-recession-7502.htm
• http://www.gotoguyenterprises.com/blog/64/what-to-sell-during-a-recession/

Do The Mashed Potato

I made an entirely-too-large batch of mashed potatoes for lunch today, and wondered what to do with it. Since I have a frugal (read: make more work for myself) mindset, I really didn't want to throw it away.

Here are some options I came up with:

• Freeze it
• Use it to thicken and flavor a soup or stew
• Make potato cakes
• Make potato soup
• Make mashed potato rolls
• Make gnocchi
• Use it to make Shepherd's Pie

Honestly, after making an involved lunch I wasn't too keen on any of the ideas that started with the word "Make" or "Use", so I'm opting for freeze it.

Many people cautioned against this, saying that thawed mashed potatoes can turn out runny or mealy (that is, gross). The people who said their mashed potatoes turned out just fine made their potatoes with a lot of fatty ingredients like butter, cheese, sour cream, milk, etc.

Now, my mashed potatoes are usually chalk full of goodies like that, but I don't want to eat runny, mealy potatoes and it's not worth wasting a whole batch in experimenting. So I divided my potatoes into two smaller quart-sized freezer bags and then froze them. I plan to use them to thicken my soups/stews, make shepherd's pie, or potato soup. I'll let you know how it turns out!

For more information:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/528070

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf802857.tip.html

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/good-questions/how-do-i-freeze-potatoes-good-questions-095567

Summer

Blogger is not working. If you want to see more pics go to my facebook page!

Taxi

February

Earlier this month: He's sporting Daddy's work shoes.

I don't know. He only asked if he could take off his shoes, and that sounded innocent enough...


My cilantro, chives and parsley sprouted! Green feeds my soul!


I love tulips, too.

And Joseph gave me some for Valentine's Day! I also got some beautiful daisies, carnations and roses from my wonderful Aaron.

Sorry there aren't more pics from our trip to FTW, but this is what intrigued me: Have you ever wondered about grass? In the springtime, does new grass grow out of the ground, or does the old grass become green? It may be obvious, but I don't know. This is Exhibit A, though.

For Chrystoval.

The best dinner I've had in a long time. I marinated chicken breasts overnight in a mixture of olive oil, fresh lime, the zest from the lime, cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic. Aaron grilled it just right and we served it with black beans and Keely's Perfectly Cooked Brown Rice, adding a good amount of butter and salt to taste.

I Email Aaron

"My knight in shining armor doesn't rescue me from dragons, or even bad guys with guns. My knight in shining armor barges through the door valiantly bearing a huge smile, dinner, and endless patience and optimism. He only cringes slightly at, but recovers quickly from, hearing the grim stories his fair lady tells him of her perils: a baby who cries for 2 hours, poops, and then pees so much that the poop seeps out the diaper and onto every surface in or near the crib; a little boy who can't understand "no" (and instead throws huge fits or cries terribly from disappointment), but is still so good-hearted that he gives his little sister her stuffed animals to play with...while she's in the bath tub; a leaky poopy diaper that drips onto the rug that now needs to be cleaned; and fingers that still smell like poop even after a good scrubbing.

This is what my Knight in shining armor is coming up against. Anyone want the job??"

Remember, Remember

I want (need) to remember the best day of motherhood so far. It happened last Friday and it was glorious.

I got home that morning, from working out, and Aaron and I were chatting. We always recap the previous night, and so I asked, "Did you get up with Emma at all last night?", because (miraculously) I hadn't. "No", he answered. Shock hit my face, and then tears welled up in my eyes. I promise I'm not this emotional normally. Really.

But Emma had just slept her first full night of sleep. 12 hours of gracious rest.

I'd been waiting 14 months for her to sleep more than 6 hours at a time (she often only slept 4 hours at a time). And we got 12 hours! It's cheesy to blog about how relieved and excited I was to realize she'd slept so long, but this was a mile-marker that was months and months overdue, and it felt life-changing. Don't blame me for being so dramatic about this - sleep is powerful, and a lack of it is even more powerful.

Joseph also contributed on The Best Day of Motherhood.

You need to know that, on a whim, I've been working on a few sight words with Joseph. I'm not pushing him, or expecting him to read before he's 3 or anything; just some fun to see how he does and to get him in the habit of learning. So, written on his index cards are the words "God", "the", "Daddy", "Mama", "Emma" and "Joseph" - words I thought he'd see often enough to have them stick. We try to practice everyday, around the same time we practice his catechism questions.

Well, later the same morning we discovered Emma had found Rest, Joseph was eating a snack in his booster seat, facing the refrigerator. I was washing dishes. He said, "Mama! 'The'! 'The', Mama!" Huh? I asked him to explain and he said the same thing, pointing to the refrigerator. I couldn't believe he might be pointing to an actual word, so I picked him up, and asked him to show me what he meant. Sure enough, right there on a piece of paper on the refrigerator was the word "The", and he pointed to it again and said "'The', Mama!"

He read his first word!!!

I'm not one to sit around gloating about my children, holding strangers captive with pictures and stories of their excellence, beauty and superiority. I try to be realistic. I know I'm biased, after all.

But my little boy read his first word all by himself at 2 1/2!!! I'm so proud I could just burst. I was beaming at Joseph! He made me full of a joy that I couldn't explain. I know it was just a word, but I was awe-struck by him.

After that, I thought about God, and wondered if He delights in His children the same way. Does He beam at our successes and our victories? Does He celebrate with us those tiny things we accomplish, as if we'd just conquered the whole world? Is He proud of our efforts, and rejoicing over our progress?

I had a great day on Friday. I really felt like a Mama. Not a new Mama. But a Mama whose whole life has always been about her children: offering her soft body for hugs, her time for their learning, and reserving her special smiles for them. The rest of my long life will be about their successes, their efforts and failures.

How is it that mothers do that? Give up so much for their children? I know my Mom did. She still does. We're grown up and away from home, but I still hear the smile in her voice as she congratulates me on finally folding the laundry, or not losing my temper with the kids. And, of course, my own children have become her life as well. Surely this is the image of God in us? To so love the ones we created, and for whom we've sacrificed so much, that our own happiness disappears and theirs takes its place?

I'm grateful when I can think like this. It's the sane reminder on days, like today, when I'm not just suspicious (but convinced!) that their existence is to make mine difficult. Why do their noses leak soooo much?! Why does he have the urge to hit everything, including his sister?! Why is she hungry (and cranky) every hour today?!

Yes, reminders are good.

Emma's First Outlasting Session

Poor Emma. The "session" ended because she couldn't stay awake anymore. What caused all this? "Take a drink."

We were eating lunch and Emma signed for a drink. I handed her the sippy cup full of a raspberry-lemon fizzy drink I want her to drink. She pushed it away! A light bulb went off in my head, so I said, "Here, Emma, it's yummy. Take a drink." And she whined/screamed a bit and pushed it away. Aha! She knew what I wanted! I'm all for training a baby to have manners as long as I'm convinced they're able to do what I'm asking. And I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I've waited on this one. But I didn't wait long after that.

So, I settled comfortably into my chair, made a slight grimace toward Aaron (who said, "you're going to do it?"), and I said, "No, no, Emma, take a drink.". My voice was pleasant, but the command alone was negative enough for Emma to start crying her shrill, angry cry.

Within fifteen minutes of my relentless but oh-so-pleasant requests, she took a drink! I have gained a tiny bit of wisdom though, and I knew that only half (or less than half) the battle was over. I asked her to take another drink. :) Of course, she absolutely refused and got angry. (We also got to practice "no screaming" quite a bit!)

I think about an hour into it she gave up and took a drink. But she's tricky, and didn't actually drink, just put her lips on the spout. When I said, "No, sweetheart, you need to take a drink.", it started up again, and she refused. It's sweet raspberry-lemon for crying out loud! :) But Emma didn't want it and Emma wasn't going to have it. Period.

About 1 1/2 hours into it, she began getting really sleepy and staring at the wall. Oh no. We called a truce and she's asleep now. I imagine I'll ask her again when she wakes up, and the process will start again.

It's funny that when Joseph was around the same age as Emma is now, he learned the same lesson. It was painful for both of us. I was not quite as practiced or patient; and he was much more stubborn and passionate than Emma. It's all about principles with Joseph: he did not want me telling him what to do - it didn't matter that he was thirsty (with Emma this is just a taste preference, I think). We sat there together for 3 1/2 hours, and then he just. Changed. He took a drink when I asked him. And every time after. And despite all the 2yo things he's going through now, I smile when I notice that he has never once hesitated when I tell him to take a drink. Some things stick, I guess. :)

Karina is 7!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, KARINA!!!

We love you! :)

Commonsense Investing

Aaron and I have big dreams, and we spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways to accomplish them. From what we can tell, it's a good thing to think outside the box. So, in December, Aaron and I began investing in the stock market. (With this economy, don't you think that's outside the box?) We actually don't care much about making money; we want to educate ourselves now so that (hopefully) in the future we could use the stock market to make real money.

I can be candid with the figures, since, come on, who cares about our $500? So, we deposited this $500 into our new account to begin trading. In a little less than two months, we've made an almost 45% profit on that initial investment. Every day or so, I log into our account and see a chart on the home page that graphs the value of our account. I get excited watching it fluctuate up or down, and have been happy to see such a profit in two months, even if it doesn't add up to much money.

So, as of yesterday, our account was valued at $722. Well, Aaron and I had an extra check from work on our hands (which happens twice a year). We decided to go ahead and deposit it into our trading account. Here's what the graph looked like when I logged on this morning:

HOLY SMOKE!, I thought. Look at the jump!

Of course, this huge leap in the value of our account is not because of huge gains in our stock positions, but simply because we deposited more money. But that's when it hit me. We increased our assets in this account by 343% just by not spending the extra money.

I make myself dizzy sometimes trying to think of another way to earn more money for our family. But I could never underestimate the value in saving and being frugal. It is amazing how much money you give yourself by not spending $50/month. It's easy to lose the true value of it. But time and time again, I realize that the best and first thing Aaron and I can do to achieve our dreams is to continue to cook from scratch, buy groceries from the sale ad, have Aaron repair our vehicles, say no to luxuries, etc. It saves (earns) us hundreds and hundreds of dollars in one month.

It may not be complex or sophisticated, but it does make sense. :)

Christmastime

Most recent first:

Getting ready to leave FTW...

It was so beautiful while we were in FTW, we rode the 5 mile Train. J was ecstatic. Emma was hypnotized.

The Train.

Cowboy Joe. (That's the only "Joe" reference I want to give to my son.)

Sweet Emmaline.

Papa gave lawn mower rides to the grandkids.

Uncle Donnie and Aunt Carley gave Emma her first Cabbage Patch Doll: Isabel. Emma loves her.

Just before Christmas, we went to Branson with Aaron's family. We stayed at a really nice condo. On the last day it was 4 degrees! Aaron borrowed this hat, and scared the daylights out of his daughter.

While there, we also dealt with obscene amount of vomit. This is me afraid. Very afraid.

Joseph got sick, and had to sleep on the kitchen floor of the condo. We were consoling him.

We had a lovely time this year, but it was hard. The kids were sick with a stomach thing for over a week (part of which was in Branson). Just after Christmas, while we were in Fort Worth, Aaron and I got sick with a bad respiratory Something. We concluded that 2008 was a year full of sickness for our family, and ended accordingly. :)

But Jesus is still here, still King, and still worth celebrating! Praise God!

Winter takes us inward

I'm bad. I've been looking at houses. Again.

At first I thought, I'll look at land around here. Then I became nostalgic, and looked for homes in Norman. Then homes with land in Norman. Then Broken Arrow. It's never a good idea for me to do this. But I do.

If I knew with all of my heart exactly where I wanted to be, I don't think it would be a negative thing to do (or, as negative). But I don't know where I want to be. I don't like the idea of any of these places, really. Will I ever like ANY place? Or is it some unreal idea I want?

I do know I want to love my life. And that can happen right now. If I break habits and get productive. If I get off the comoputer. If I drink more water. If I hold my tongue and smile more. Talk about a "day of small things"....an entirely different life lies in wait for me. And it's made up of seemingly small decisions which are not nearly as attractive or magnificent as the life I want.

I loathe irony.