Baby Steps

So, Davers and I have been reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.  It seems a little bit (well, a lot) scary, but we are starting to do the baby steps.  We are pretty much on step #2: the debt snowball. 

This also means that we officially cut up ALL our credit cards.  And neither of us have had a panic attack yet!

I know, I know, Dave Ramsey is not the financial God, and we are not mindlessly becoming his disciples. But, we are ready to take an aggressive approach to pay off student loans and live with good financial principles like... spending money we actually have! 

My Day of Birth and Other Happenings

So, I officially turned 24.  There has been so much Hoopla with the wedding and everything that it was nice to have a chillaxed dinner with my family and friends at Live Oak Grill where the Kemps seem to eat weekly.  Call us boring, because we are.  AND, we like it!

Two people gave me tulips!  My husband brought me some on Thursday just because, and my sis gave me some for my birthday.  Sweet.

My wonderful aunt Ann gave us some money specifically to buy some glass in Venice.  They have the most beautiful, elaborate glass art there and in Murano, but since I have boring taste, I picked out this lovely black vase. 

Davers had the bright idea to take some of the yellow tulips and jam them in the soil with the reds.  It only took my 23.5 years to figure out that there is a flower I like.  They're just pretty, people.

On to more important things: I cooked dinner.  Kris and Jacob came over to eat with us.  I mean, I throw together some kind of dinner almost every day, but I actually tried to make this: http://southernfood.about.com/od/porktenderloin/r/r90909a.htm.  To find this recipe, I did what I usually do and googled "Easy ____ Recipes" and found the one that looked the easiest with ingredients we already have.  It was actually pretty simple, except I had to cook the pork twice as long as it says or serve it raw...and we don't really eat pork sashimi around here.  Since I'm lazy and was so focused on the pork, we ate salad and bread as sides.   Also, I continue to amaze myself with the clumsy things I manage to do while trying to cook.  I'm sometimes really relieved that no one is around to see them.  While being negligent, I let the maple syrup and mustard sauce ooze all over the entire microwave tray.  Since he's awesome, Dave still cleaned it up along with ALL the dishes.  Also, when trying to pull out one foot of aluminum foil, I somehow dropped (launched?) the whole roll across the island and into the dining room causing approximately 10 feet of foil to unroll all over the floor.  I awkwardly tried to roll some of it back, then crumbled up a huge foil ball and threw it away hoping Dave wouldn't see it and ask me about it.... Whoops.

Lastly, Penny Lane is still being keeping busy and being a goober.  Most of the time she's doing things like this:

Keepin it clean.

Occasionally, she decides to kiss me then try and take a nap on top of me like so:

It really makes it easy to breathe.

Odds and Ends

Although I have wanted to post in the last couple of days, nothing too exciting or funny has happened recently!

A few updates:

* Some friends in the Dominican Republic are taking a trip (the second trip for some of them) to Haiti to deliver supplies.  Rachel, Gideon, Cara, Ashley, and Kendall are going to a church on the north coast where a missionary couple has taken in orphaned children from the earthquake.  Pray for their safety and that they would be a blessing to the people there.

* I had a job interview!  It was sort of random, since I sent my resume to this organization back in August.  The position sounded awesome, but I don't want to get my hopes up since they are interviewing a lot of people...Anyway, I should hear from them early February if it works out...  It has everything I'm looking for in a job: Spanish-speaking kiddos and good hours!  Vamos a ver.  I think Dave wants me to sit at home all day eating bon bons, but I just get bored.

Also, my tv-watching life may have just hit an all-new low.  I told my DVR to tape "Toddlers n Tiaras." It's true, people.  I find crazy, delusional people fascinating.  You can pray for me if you'd like.

NOW, I need to show you the next pet I need in my life:

A teacup pig!  I used to want a potbellied pig so bad, and these little guys are teeny tiny versions!  Too bad my husband loves me a lot, but not quite enough to buy me one. :(

Domestication

Well helloooo everyone.  We are recently back from Italy and learning how to be at home these days.  My loving husband went off to work today for the first time in a couple of weeks!  I am currently unemployed and trying to get settled in and take care of some things before going back on the job hunt.  I have a list of about 357 things to do this week, so naturally, I decided to start a blog!

Anyway, Italy was amazing, and we are SO grateful to the folks who made that possible.  Pictures to come soon!  (I mean, maybe).

I decided that since we are home now, maybe I should attempt some wifely things.  My first goal as a wife: make breakfast on Saturday morning.  I decided to make bacon, eggs, and toast.  I have never actually made bacon, but people make it all the time in real life and on tv, so I figured it was pretty self explanatory.  Not so.  I know I like cripsy bacon, so I stood around waiting for the bacon to look crispy.  Well, this turned out to be a bad idea that resulted in a few open windows to air out the kitchen.  Dave told me that the bacon will never look crispy while it's in the grease, so you have to take it out before then.  I mean really, who knew?

The bacon was in fact crispy, but in a sort of unedible way.  Breakfast attempt #1: FAIL.

In other news, Dave and I came back to Penny Lane Livingston, who is now a whopping 50 pounds and still the biggest goober ever.  I swear, sometimes she looks so regal, and sometimes she looks like a dumb dumb.  Thanks for letting her terrorize your house for two weeks, Mom and Dad!

 

Laci Wiener Kemp must think we are on some sort of weird vacation.  She seems like she is waiting for us to leave this house to go back to "Nana's."  I am trying to win her love back, so we'll see how that goes.  This is her response to, "Want to go to Nana's house?"

I think that's a yes.

On a more serious note, please pray for my Makarios friends while you are praying for Haiti.  Obviously, being so close to Haiti and so connected with the people, they are feeling the burden like ourselves to help in any way possible.  Some of them are going on trucks to take supplies to the hospital, and some are being prayer warriors and waiting for God's timing.  Pray for safety and discernment for them.  Gracias.

Besos.

Domestication: Fail.

Blog post # 1: Success.