Smells Like....

For those of you that have been following from the beginning, you might remember that in my first post, I mentioned that I had taken up running. In reality, we all know that running is a combination of jogging and walking. The great news is that I'm still doing it, and I had the most fantabulous time today!

I've found a great, circular route near my work with almost no cars, and no yappy dogs. I've been running consistently for the past two week (three times a week) for about 30-40 minutes each time. I'm loving it, and today I figured out why:

1) Who needs drugs when you've got endorphins?

2) The air smells like purple!!!


(pictured above: Texas Mountain Laurel)

A Call to Action

The other day I was reminded of one of the best life lessons that exists. I would go so far as to say that this story might be what Curly was talking about. You know Curly. The old, wrinkled cowboy in City Slickers that scared the everlovin'-bejesus out of Billy Crystal's character. During one scene Curly shared with Billy that he knows 'this', and he holds up his pointer finger: 'the one thing', 'the secret of life.' We never find out what Curly thinks is the secret of life, but I like to think that this story I just re-read is what he was talking about. What is it you might ask? The Tortoise and the Hare. For those of you not so familiar with the story, here it is (as quoted from ChildhoodReading.com)


_______________________________________________________________
The Tortoise and the Hare - One of Aesop's Fables

Once upon a time there was a hare who, boasting how he could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing tortoise for its slowness. Then one day, the irate tortoise answered back: "Who do you think you are? There's no denying you're swift, but even you can be beaten!" The hare squealed with laughter.

"Beaten in a race? By whom? Not you, surely! I bet there's nobody in the world that can win against me, I'm so speedy. Now, why don't you try?"

Annoyed by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the challenge. A course was planned, and the next day at dawn they stood at the starting line. The hare yawned sleepily as the meek tortoise trudged slowly off. When the hare saw how painfully slow his rival was, he decided, half asleep on his feet, to have a quick nap. "Take your time!" he said. "I'll have forty winks and catch up with you in a minute."

The hare woke with a start from a fitful sleep and gazed round, looking for the tortoise. But the creature was only a short distance away, having barely covered a third of the course. Breathing a sigh of relief, the hare decided he might as well have breakfast too, and off he went to munch some cabbages he had noticed in a nearby field. But the heavy meal and the hot sun made his eyelids droop. With a careless glance at the tortoise, now halfway along the course, he decided to have another snooze before flashing past the winning post. And smiling at the thought of the look on the tortoise's face when it saw the hare speed by, he fell fast asleep and was soon snoring happily. The sun started to sink, below the horizon, and the tortoise, who had been plodding towards the winning post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish. At that very point, the hare woke with a jolt. He could see the tortoise a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and bounded at a great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and he'd be first at the finish. But the hare's last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him to the winning post. Poor hare! Tired and in disgrace, he slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him.

"Slowly does it every time!" he said.
______________________________________________________________

The moral of the story? Slow and steady wins the race. I've already shared my 'slow and steady' story: getting debt free. Stuart and I worked our tails off for 3 years to achieve a goal that many said was unattainable, but we stayed focused on the finish line and accomplished our goal. We beat the hare.

A Call to Action:

What is your 'slow and steady' story? What have you done in your life that makes you the tortoise? Or, if you haven't done such a thing, what have you done that makes you the hare? Submit your full stories, regardless of length, and I will post them as 'guest bloggers'. One of my favorite blogs (Fatherhoody) has guest bloggers all the time and I love the idea. If you know me and know my email you can submit your story that way as well.

Fits of Rage!

Yesterday the new credit card restrictions took effect so, of course, the AP is buzzing with news on how the credit cards have reacted and what the effect will be on America. Doom-gloom, awfulness, end of the world type stuff. The more I read, the more upset I get over many different things:

• How can people be so awful to one another for money?
  
• How come it took the government so long to put this regulations on them?
• Why I am I wondering why the government took so long to regulate them? It's the government.
  
• How did America as a whole become so dependent on the use of credit?
• Why do people think that have to suffer this foolishness?
  

One of the members of the Financial Peace class that my husband and I teach sent me an AP article that was meant to sum up the new changes/regulations, and as I read it I was astounded that an educated individual would believe some of what they wrote (I'm talking about the journalist, not my class member). Here is the article: My Way News - Mixed blessing: credit card reform may shock some.

The article does a good job of discussing the new law, explaining how the card companies are reacting, and giving background on the situation as a whole, but when I got to the part that talks about "subprime borrowers" my hackles went up. The author writes, "for a good portion (subprime borrowers), options may be limited to alternatives like PayPal and other electronic services, prepaid cards, and payday lenders." Payday lenders!!! Seriously?!? Don't these individuals that no longer qualify for credit have another option? PAY CASH!!! Stop depending on a credit card company to cover you. If you don't have the cash, don't buy it. Plan ahead and save money. In the case of an emergency (which there will always be) have an emergency fund and use that. Don't have enough cash flow to save? Read, learn, and apply yourself towards a better life. There is always a way.

As quoted in the article, Roger C. Hochschild, COO of Discover Financial Services says, "Not everyone either deserves or should have an open-ended credit card." I wholeheartedly agree with his words, but not his intention. No one deserves a credit card. No one deserves to pay a company 24-26% interest. No one deserves to pay an annual fee for the privilege of owing money. No one deserves to be a slave to these corporate giants with no soul. It is just not worth it.

As of yesterday, my husband and I are debt free. We have worked for 3 years to pay off the $73,000 in consumer debt that we blindly walked into, and we most definitely did not blindly walk out of it. We were passionate and driven, and my biggest wish is that all of America could see how green this side of the fence is. I find it ironic that our debt ended on the day that these regulations took effect, and I am so thankful that we don't have to mess with this nightmare anymore, but we work daily with individuals still battling with these all too real demons.

If you, or any one you know needs help with their financial situation, read all you can about these new laws and how they might effect you. Here are some resources that I have found and I will continue to post more as I find them. If any of you find any good resources, send them my way and I'll get them up.

Resources on new CARD law:
SmartMoney Magazine - article giving some detail on the changes in the regulations.
Consumer's Union - Nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports detailing new protections.
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 - .pdf of the act

Resources for credit card abuse and fraud:
Federal Trade Commmission - become informed or report abuse from credit card companies and collectors.
Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act - .pdf of the act

Ash Wednesday

What a great day. I'm Episcopal. I used to be atheist. Long story, I'll save it for another day. For today, I'm loving Ash Wednesday. For those of you who don't know, this is a day when people in the Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran (and possibly other) faiths go to church and get marked with the sign of the cross on their forehead. According to wiki (and the faith the I follow) the purpose of this bizarre ritual is to "Turn away from sin, and be faithful to the Gospel," but this is not why I love this day.

Everywhere I went today I saw a bunch of people with ash crosses on their heads, and everywhere I went today I saw a bunch of people looking at the people with ash crosses on their heads. What I saw everywhere was people with the courage to wear their faith on the face, and others who wondered what it was for. Every year on this day, I get to see the courage that people have to show what they believe in, in as open and honest a way as possible. What I love most about this day, is that people believe in something and are willing to back it up with action.

How often do we shy away from our feelings, beliefs, and interpretations because we are afraid to look silly to someone else? I'm not saying 'we' as in 'we fellow Christians,' I'm saying 'we' as in 'we human beings'. Way too many people are afraid to say what they think and why they think it. If you are human, you have an opinion. If you are human, you have a right to that opinion. Say it, spout it, shout it from the rooftops! Believe what you believe and have the courage of conviction to back it up! I don't care whether it is in faith in God & Jesus, a belief that there is no God, a belief in inalienable rights, democratic leanings, republican leanings, veganism, feminism, or The Flying Spaghetti Monster. What I care about is that you are passionate enough to share your thoughts and feelings, and to have open conversation with those that both agree and disagree. Today, in my faith, is a day to repent for your sins and prepare for your journey into the Lenten season, but it's also a wonderful day to see that there are those people out there that aren't afraid to show what they believe in. Go Ashey people!!!

Simplicity

So I've been having trouble figuring out what to write on my 'blog'. I keep coming up with ideas, but the then I don't think that I actually want to write about it. Then I think I figured out why I'm having issues: I made it too specific. This is supposed to be about new beginnings and the unfinished business of life. Why did I make it so specific? I thought it would make a cute title :)

Well, in the true spirit of things, I'm going to change it. Instead I want to write about whatever I want to write about, whenever I want to write about it. This is my blog, and I'm gonna do it (but the name will stay the same).

Ironically, this post is about a new beginning. Every year about this time, a whole bunch of people around the world do a really bizarre thing: we give up something for 40 days in order to refocus our intentions and focus on our faith. We have a big party on Shrove Tuesday (pancakes and yummy goodness), then we take on a discipline of giving something up, or taking something on. This year, my husband is giving up eating meat (which in turns makes me give it up since I cook), and I'm giving up DVDs. Since we've been on the Dave Ramsey program we haven't had cable, and we don't own rabbit ears, so the only TV entertainment I have are my movies and TV series on DVD. I'm addicted. I like having the noise on in the background, but it makes me highly unproductive. This year, without TV of any sort, I hope to get in better shape, read more, write more (did I mention that I'm writing a novel?), and in general regrasp my intellegence. Beginning on Wednesday the 17th of February I will begin the annual Lenten Journey that I have taken on every year that I can remember. Some years I make it the whole 40 days, some years I fall short (like the year I gave up caffeine). Will I make it this year? I know the suspense is killing you, but you'll just have to stay posted and find out :)

Pearl Farmer's Market

I haven't been to a Farmer's Market since I was living in Colorado back in the late '90s (that really shouldn't feel so long ago, but it does), and this past weekend I finally went back to this wonderful world. I always loved the fresh produce, great homemade products, amazing organic meat options (sorry Tasha), and my favorite: Kettle Korn. A few months ago the old Pearl Brewery added a new complex with a Farmer's Market out back, and I've been dying to go. Last week I finally did, and it was wonderful.



Mom (the best friend I could ask for) and I met down past Alamo Heights and got to explore the new complex. Along with a lot of (I'm assuming) upscale office buildings, there is a neat kitchen store and one of San Antonio's cutest bookstores, The Twig Book Shop, where we ran into an old friend, which was pretty neat.


The Farmer's Market is out back behind Full Goods and it looks out onto a gorgeous portion of the Riverwalk.

The first booth we stopped at had some wonderful greens, and I unfortunately didn't get the farm's name or I would plug them. I bought some spinach off of the them, and it was some of the best I've ever had! Very robust and flavorful. I was looking for baby spinach and bought the regular by accident, but I wasn't disappointed at all.


My favorite booth that day was for Sol y Luna Baking Company from here in San Antonio. The smell coming from this bread was intoxicating. As I've recently gotten into making bread myself, it was relieving to smell these wonderful smells without putting in all of the work. To top it off, the people were incredibly nice and inquisitive about my photography and my blog. The bread Mom and I got there was delicious. I think we got the rosemary ciabatta, and we had it that night with some marinated feta cheese that we got at another booth at the market. It was delicate, but tasty. If you get a chance: eat this bread!



Another intriguing booth was a tilapia and herb farm that utilized aquaponic farming (which I will let you google). The couple that runs the farm and the booth were very sweet and were patient with me as I asked all my questions. They even had a binder full of the pictures of their operation. Next time I go I will be getting some of this fish. It is fresh caught and filleted the day before coming to the market. I bet it is amazing. Too bad I have to wait.






The last booth I was able to stop at was for Sally's Salsa, and, you guessed it, they sell salsa, along with many other products. I was looking to get a jar to add to a mexican lasagna I was planning on making, and while in my opinion the lasagna was a complete dud, the salsa turned out to be really good. Maybe if I just ate it with chips, and left out the 'me cooking' bit, it would've been a better dinner.

Ship in a Bottle

Have you ever done something that you weren't sure you could actually do? I just did, and it was pretty cool. I had one of those great days yesterday where you go home feeling great and accomplished, and I decided to go for a run. Since my first post I've only gone running once and it was more of a leisurely walk. Stuart and I have a route that we take through the neighborhood that is probably about 2 miles long, we start heading slightly downhill (either way we go), and the return trip is a gradual uphill that really works our glutes. We've walked it a few times, but today I wanted to run it. I found my sansa player (blew off the dust) and headed out the door. I walked the first 2o feet or so, then started running, and running, and running. I didn't stop until I got to the halfway mark at the end of the neighborhood. I haven't gone that far since doing figure-8's with my highschool volleyball team! The endorphins kicked in by the end of the run and I switched back and forth between power walking and running all the way home.

Now I know I'm not usually the cheesey one, but on the last downhill run the coolest thing happened. I was listening to Dave Matthews on my mp3 player (which by the way is not the most motivating workout music) when these lyrics were being sung:

"Some might tell you there's no hope in hand,
just because they feel hopeless.
But you don't have to be a thing like that;
you be a ship in a bottle set sail."

If you haven't heard the song: do it. It was oddly inspiring. Here I was running for the first time in almost a decade, heading towards the sun setting over the pond (no kidding), listening to a gorgeous song with a beautiful message. Be the ship in a bottle that sets sail. Don't stay on the mantle, bound forever. Break free of your expectations, make life what you want to make it, hope always no matter what, and live life without being bound by expectations. The moment felt like a super-sappy end to a t.v. movie, but it also felt really cool. Once my muscles forgive me, I think I might head out again...

Narcissism or the Next Stage of Human Evolution?

Woo Hoo! Third posting, and I'm actually looking forward to it. So far this blog thing isn't a bust. I started thinking about what I wanted to write, and I kept coming up with the same idea: something that mattered to me. This whole blog idea is about stuff that I want to write about. I'm sending my thoughts and ideas out into the world, hoping that people will read them, hoping more that people will respond, and then hoping that they like it (and me). Why would people read this? At first glance it is seems like one of the most narcissistic means of communication out there. Hey everyone! Look at me!

Lately, I've also been reading some other people's blog (The Voracious Vegan, Fatherhoody, and my newest favorite The Fabulous Life & Times of Miss L.A.) and I've been loving them. One focuses on activism and veganism, another on the joys and pitfalls of becoming a new father, and a third on the life a 20 something blogger. Why am I so enthralled with these? Yes, they're written by my friends, but can't I just call them on the phone a chat? Why do I need to read the nuances of their lives from a far? And why are they putting it out there in the first place. This whole blog scene is starting to really confound me.

Next, I started spending way too much time thinking about this and came up with some interesting conclusions:

What many of you might not know is that I hold an undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in anthropology. I focused primarily on genetics, human evolution, and primate social behavior. What we have here is a technologically advanced tick-picking fest! We are simply scratching each other's unreachable areas, while setting up social connections. Sound a little far fetched? Here's where this is all coming from:

The great apes and their monkey cousins have this particular habit of sitting around picking critters of each other, eating the pickings, and 'connecting'. What the casual observer doesn't see is that there is a very structured hierarchy of who can groom whom and when. Chimps of a certain social level can only groom chimps in other specific social areas without it becoming taboo. There are actually recorded instances of baboons hiding behind rocks to groom others that they should not be grooming so that they don't hurt the social standing among the other baboons. They now the system and it works. The going theory on language acquisition in primates (aka humans) is that language stuck around after its evolution because we were able to 'groom' people that we weren't around. ??? What does this mean ??? Chimps can only interact with the chimp right in front of them, whereas Sally and Judy can interact with any other person they choose simply by talking about them. Judy can talk to Bob, then pass that conversation onto Sally, without Sally ever actually talking to Bob. Clear as mud? Humans could now interact with larger and larger social groups, and keep those connections alive, without interacting with each and every individual. Step one towards the growth of tribes, villages, cities, and civilizations.

Why get into all of this? What does that have to do with my quest to post a blog? These postings aren't narcissistic at all. We humans are hard-wired to talk and to connect and to listen and to gossip. We want to talk and we want to be heard. Just think of the runaway successes that Facebook and MySpace have become. People could talk to one another without even being online at the same time. Remember those antiquated chat rooms, where you had to fumble through a typed conversation? No need for that anymore! Comment on what you had for breakfast and people will be commenting on it for the rest of the day! Blogs are just the next step in this ever evolving world of personal communication. People all over the world are grooming each other's egos and maintaining their social surroundings just like our early primate ancestors. What's next? The hive mind? Go Borg! No need to converse or type, just think it and all will hear.

All of this to say: what should I write about in my blog? Anything I want. If it matters to me, it matters to someone else. It will be read by someone, somewhere, and they will interpret it anyway they want. That's all that matters. We interact.

The Start That Stuck

Less than 40 days until my life is irreversibly altered forever. Noah was on the stinky, stuffy ark longer! Less than 40 days until an almost 3 year goal is met. Blood, sweat, and tears have been poured into an unbelievable feat, and in just over one month we will have achieved the unachievable (at least in the eyes of most of North America). 39 all too short days until a paradigm has been effectively shifted. What is all this fuss about about, you ask? At the end of February 2010, my husband and I will be DEBT FREE! That's right. No car payments, no more student loans, no credit cards (they've all been cut to pieces in a rather effective plasectomy), no consumer debt whatsoever. Visa eat your heart out!

This all began as one of my many beginnings and my husband Stuart and I had no idea this would be such a life altering process. Back in March of 2007, we were gifted tickets to a 5 hour talk on personal finance. Bleagh! Who would want to sit through that? Stuart's Aunt and Uncle asked us to join them, and since they had already bought the tickets, we decided not to turn them down. Instead of the drudgery we expected, we saw the most motivating, entertaining, and informative live event that either of us had ever attended: Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Live. We watched and learned a new way of living.

After the event, Stuart and I went home and took a look at our finances for the first time. We were 23 years old, less than 6 months from getting married, working hourly retail jobs, and we were $73,000 in debt! We were appalled. We had never run the numbers, and we couldn't believe it. $10,000 on a credit card (because who doesn't have a credit card), $5,000 & $9,000 on two cars (because who doesn't have a car payment), $40,000+ in student loans (because who pays cash for school anymore), an over $4,000 in loans to family. And the sad thing was that this was the normal way our generation lives.

Item	Total Payoff
Haley's Private Loan	4366.00
Haley's Car	5000.00
Stuart's Car	9410.00
Credit Card	10000.00
Stuart's Student Loans	22365.57
Haley's Student Loans	17984.95
Debt to Mom	4200.00
TOTAL	73326.52

We said, "NO MORE!!!"

Within a week, we had cut up and canceled our credit card. The next week we pared down our budget as much as we could: no cable, no eating out, no movies, no unlimited phone plans. Within a month we sold our cars, and walked off the sales lot with two beaters with no payments. We said goodbye to almost $750 a month in car payments! We were on our way.

Over the next 3 years we focused all our energy on paying off debt. We worked extra jobs, we sold every expensive thing we owned, we had garage sales, we almost never went out for fun (it was a very boring 3 years). But it was worth every bit of it. We learned how to communicate with each other, how to live on a budget, how to plan ahead, and how to live with our families telling us we were crazy (even though they were still full of love and support)!

Looking back I don't think either one of us truly believed we could do it (at least I didn't), but we tried it and it stuck. Now we even volunteer our time at our church to bring this message of freedom to other families struggling with the need and desire to be free of debt. The mere thought of debt freedom brings tears to my eyes every time I try and wrap my head around it. I choke up knowing that my children will never know what it's like to have debt or to be a slave to payments. We will be debt free and we will be weird!

I dedicate this post to Stuart's Aunt & Uncle who unknowingly changed our family tree. Without their invite we would still be normal. Thank you also to my parents and Stuart's parents for being patient with us (most of the time) as we worked the process. Finally, thank you to Fr. Ram and the people of St. George Church for giving us the opportunity to pass along our story and all that we have learned on this journey. It is truly amazing to try something new and have it be such a blessing. Here to finally finishing a new beginning!

New Beginnings...Yet Again

I'm a starter. I like new beginnings. They are fresh, invigorating, motivating, exciting, and appealing. Does that mean I'm a finisher? Not really :) When it comes to work and a few major life goals I follow through, but the intrigue in something is more in the beginning.

Join me on a journey of "fits and starts" as I take on new projects, new processes, and new programs. (Ha! I love alliteration too!) Some of these new undertakings will stick, and some of these new undertakings will fall to the way side, but all of them will teach me, and hopefully you, something new.

My current new projects: bread making, weekly meal planning, and running. For those of you who know me, you're probably laughing out loud at the thought of me running at all, but that's the fun of this. Trying something new. I'm learning the ins and outs of making homemade yeast bread and so far I'm loving it. There's nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the house (except the smell of fresh cooked bacon!), but so far the pit falls have been more often than the successes. The coolest attempt so far was homemade bagels. Yes, bagels. I learned that, when bread making, you can make the equivalent of edible bricks, but you can also make some amazing food. Next up...hoagie rolls!

The hoagie rolls are actually for dinner next week, according to my weekly meal plan. Have you ever heard of emealz.com? I found out about them through the Dave Ramsey show, and they have weekly meal plans available complete with shopping lists so that you don't have to make them yourself. Stuart, my husband, and I have been using them for a while, but now I've started making my own. Once I figure out how to post documents to the blog I'll post some of them. They take a while to do, but it's so much fun to get creative with food!

Lastly, I'm attempting to start running regularly. That's a laugh. I have never been a runner. I hate running. It's boring. It's slow. It's painful. You name it. But for some reason, I feel oddly compelled to get out on the road and run. Any suggestions? I'll take them.

What does all of this amount to? Nothing much, but it's fun and fullfilling. Why are we so afraid to try new things? Are we afraid that we might fail? Are we afraid that we might look stupid? The worst that can happen is you waste a little time or money on something that you never do again, but you can't waste your time learning something else. Will this new blog be yet another thing that I try and don't follow through on? Or will this be one of the things I begin that stays with me? We'll just have to find out together.