Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

So, I've definitely been just a tad bit lazy.  Sorry guys. I definitely did not blog about Thanksgiving and its getting past time that I blog about Christmas, too.  Because, well, this being New Year's Eve and all... 2011 is just about over.

Something else you should know... I'm writing this on my iPad.  It took me almost 3 months of convincing to convince Robert he should buy me one.  I had to sell my old iPod touch and Robert's old iPhone 3G as well as take back my Christmas present that Robert bought me (more on that later... you'll discover why I took it back, but there's a funny story to go with it. )

So, lets keep it simple with Thanksgiving.  Robert and I headed to Canyon Lake for a few days.  We pretty much had beautiful weather the whole weekend were there.  We definitely had some great food.  We missed seeing our cousins Dena, Jake and Ann but had a lot of fun hanging out with Julia and Jane, the rest of the Atzenhoffer/Hunt clan. We played some Wii, went shopping in Greune and, of course, watched some Aggie & Arkansas football.  You know how the football games ended.. badly, so we won't keep talking about those.

Me, my mom and my sisters also went a did a little Black Friday shopping at midnight.  Or well, we tried to do some black Friday shopping.  Kate wanted a TV from Wal-Mart so we went there first and, well, they were already sold out before they actually went on sale.  Imagine that.  So we left and headed to the San Marcos Outlet Mall... with what seemed like the rest of the State of Texas.  The place was packed... I did nab a good parking spot though.  But the lines to check out were pretty much really long.  We made a few purchases at J.Crew and Ann Taylor.... but as I was telling my mom, I'm not sure how comfortable I feel picking out my Christmas presents at 1 AM.  And when we got to Ralph Lauren, the line to check out was 45 minutes long.  No thank you.

I'm not sure what we were thinking...we don't generally like shopping with crowds and waiting in lines... why on earth would we be able to tolerate it when we're friggin tired??  Yeah, so we left and went home to sleep.

Another random incident that happened on the night of the Aggie/Texas game (Thanksgiving Day).  A man in the condo across the parking lot from ours died.  He apparently had a seizure of some sort and ended up dying.  It put a real damper on our night.  I still feel immensely sorry for that family, definitely not a way you want to spend your Thanksgiving.  Made me really thankful for my family, that's for sure.

So... anyways.. onward to Christmas...

These are the cupcakes that Kate made for Christmas!

Robert and I headed to Arkansas on the night of December 22nd.  We pulled in around midnight and drove home on December 28th.  So, a pretty long trip.  Just kind of stinks that you have to spend two full days of that just traveling.  Alas, that's what you gotta do.

I had so much fun at home.  I love spending quality time with my sisters and my mom and dad.  We also got to see Mema & Pepa who stayed with us for a few days as well.  We spent a whole day baking and icing cookies like we did last year. We went to the Fayetteville Square to look at pizza and got to eat at our favorite pizza place... Guido's.

We tried a new icing trick for our sugar cookies called Royal Icing.  We made it ourselves.  It was definitely a little bit messy and kind of hard word.  We had to outline our cookies and then "flood" the cookie  with icing to fill it.  We had to use like actual icing bags you buy at the store (advanced, I know.).  Of course, I was in-charge of flooding the cooking which means your icing is so runny that it just pours out of the bag and fills the cooking.  I might have forgotten to roll up the top of my bag though and had icing pouring out of both ends.  Straight down my arm and hand.  So, that was amusing.  None of those cookies made the cookie plate, but they did taste really good.

Me, Rob, Kate and Kirstie played Act Your Wage by Dave Ramsey one afternoon, as well.  It's a game kind of like Life and Monopoly mixed together.  You draw life cards so you know your annual salary and fixed expenses as well as how many kids you have.  Then, you draw three debt cards and you go around the board any pay your expenses and receive your weekly pay.  There are other good/bad surprises thrown in through out the board.  The first to get out of debt, wins the game.  I know, I know... doesn't sound that exciting.  But, it really was pretty fun.  I won the game (go figure, I know).  It is definitely a good game to work in money management and teaching you how to pay your bills and live off what you have. 

Sadly (or maybe happily), I forsee Rob and I playing this game on our own because we are addicted to money management and now that we have our finances in order, we need more challenges!  Hahaha.  Believe me, I know what you're thinking right now.

So.. moving forward.  We had the traditional mexican dinner on Christmas Eve  (tamales, Chili and Tortilla Soup) and got to see the Johnson Family.  We also went to a candlelight service at Fellowship Bible Church.  Is it only me, but I get insanely nervous when we start lighting the candle.  All I can picture is the church bursting into flames.  It did not, however.

Christmas Day we spent the first part with my family opening Christmas presents where Rob and I got some clothes, a knife set (which we needed badly!), a piece to our Christmas Village, and some other assortments of awesome goodies.  We also had the traditional Christmas lunch with Ham and Turkey and all the sides as well as the pie to go with it.  We also played some Michael Jackson dance game that Kirstie got for Christmas to keep us entertained.

Later, we went over to the Meier's where we got to hang out with Robert's family.  The boys played some pool and the girls stayed in the kitchen.  Dinner was spectacular which included beef tenderloin, wedge salad, potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes and rolls.  We opened up presents where Robert and I walked away with some new jackets and lots of other goodies.  At both places, of course.. we got some money (which we are incredibly thankful for).

The next day on the 26th, we spent most of the day with Robert's mom, Kathleen and her parents as well as Lori, Ryan and Stacy.  We opened presents and played Trash Train where Robert's grandma Lorene beat the pants off the rest of us.  We also went back to the Meier's where we helped Christine with her new iPhone and iPad and syncing between the iCloud. 

The last day of our trip was the 27th and we spent it running around in different directions.  Robert hung out with his mom and his grandma and me and my mom went running around.  Headed to Dillard's where I bought a piece to my Christmas Village for like 70% off (woo hoo!) and some new shoes.  We also helped Kathleen deliver a piece of furniture to her house in her office.  Then, we went and admired some chairs that mom is looking to replace "the green chair" with at home.

We also went to the Meier's that night for game night.  We had some Chicken and Gnocchi soup, Chich Tortilla soup and Beef Vegetable soup.  I also got to play with my niece and nephew, Maddison and Tristin.  Those two are growing up so fast.  They are definitely at the playful stage.  Me and Maddy played with make-up and I took the two of them round and 'round the Kitchen in their red wagon.

Little kids have such an imagination.  Little Maddy was having a picnic and eating her carrots and her fruit.  Mommy would have been proud, had those been real food!  The two of them were very cute and made my evening.  The rest of the grown-ups played Sequence where the Green team won both games.

I even got Maddy to give me hugs and kisses when we left (first time ever!).  When I asked for just one more hug, she said "No, that's it Aunt Jess."  So cute!

So anyways, I've yet to tell you the story of when Robert and I exchanged presents which was before we went to Arkansas.  I got him some new kitchen utensils from Williams & Sonoma and a shirt from Banana Republic.  He got me.. wait for it... a hair dryer.  From Neiman Marcus.  Not cheap.  You may ask, well Jessica.. did you ask for a blowdryer?  No, I did not.  A few months ago I had been looking for one because I could tell mine was on its last leg, but just never bought one.

Rob kept this in his head though the whole time.  He said he did all this research and that this blow dryer was going to amazing... I wouldn't even need to straighten my hair afterwards.  Well, I tested it out and I think Robert was a little disappointed that it didn't dry my hair any faster and my hair looked the same like it normally does after I blow dry it.  I still had to use my Chi to straighten it out some more afterwards.  Silly kid.  He did really try hard though, so I know its really the thought that counted.  We decided to take it back though because it was really expensive for hair dryer that does the same thing that all hair dryers do.

So yes, Robert and I have had quite the time and have been incredibly blessed.  I can't believe that year 2011 is almost over.  In just one more day 2012 will be upon us.  Rob and I will have been out of college for 4 years and high school for 8 years.  Can you believe it??  Me either.

I hope you and your family had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year.  God Bless!

P.S.  I'm going to work on my blogging for 2012, maybe I can keep it more consistent this year around!

 

A Weekend Full of Meier’s

The weekend before Thanksgiving was filled with Meier’s.  Randy & Christine (“R&C”) (Rob’s parents) drove down and Ryan & Stacy (“R&S”) flew down from Colorado Springs.  We hadn’t all been together since last Christmas… so it was quite the reunion.

On Friday night we met up with R&C at Houston’s for some fabulous burgers and catch up chats.  Later that night we ventured out to George Bush airport to pick up R&S.  Smooth sailing at the airport really… no delayed flights or lost luggage. 

In the car, Ryan even asked me to talk about Dave Ramsey and I got to give my Dave Ramsey spiel. I love giving the “debt free” speech and have perfected it to under 5 minutes.  Just ask R&S, I was quick.  The church they go to endorses Dave Ramsey so they’ve heard of him, too.  Why does it seem that every blog I right talks about Dave Ramsey???  Most of my friends seem to be talking about getting, being, or just having been pregnant.  I prefer to talk about Dave Ramsey myself.  J

We headed to Pappa’s Burgers with R&S to meet up with their friend Travis on our way back from the airport.  Since Rob & I and already eaten, we just ordered a milkshake.  Not gonna lie tho… that milkshake might have been one of the best ever.  During this time, we also watched an intense Iowa State, OSU game.  Crazy weird.

We called it quits around 11 or so and headed in for the night.

Saturday, I made R&S cinnamon rolls and Ryan had a bloody nose due to the extreme change to humidity from dryness.  Whoops!  J  It was really, really humid while they were here.  At least 90% on Saturday.  On the bright side, Stace said that she hadn’t had to use lotion as much!! J

We caught the Port of Houston tour of the Ship Channel via boat and got to see some gigantic ships and things on the Houston ship channel.  The tour was free, which made it kind of amazing.  I was kind of hoping to maybe see some historic things, but we didn’t really.  Just really big ships.

For lunch Christine found this place called Azteca’s where we ate Mexican food and then R&C went and did some errands at The Container Store while we took R&S through the classy neighborhoods of River Oaks and Tanglewood.  We reminded them, that no… we would not be living here… but it’s always fun to come and look!!  We came back to the apartment to rest up and watch the first half of the Arkansas game.

That evening, we headed to City Center to walk around, eat dinner and see a comedy show.  We ate at a place called Tuscan Brio Grille which was fabulous.  It was a nice evening so we could sit outside.  The waiter new there were twins at our table, but at the time he came over Ryan was gone to the bathroom so the waiter was trying to figure out who were the twins between me, Robert, and Stacy.  We told him that he would know who the twins were when everyone was at the table.  J

We headed to the comedy club which was very funny.  It was very clean humor, but there were a few too many teenagers in the crowd.  But, it was still really funny.  When asked to describe a Canadian… Ryan volunteered the word ‘Heterogeneous”.  Don’t ask how he came up with that word or even why he came up with that word… but he was awarded the “best suggestion” at the end of the night and the comedy person acting out the word heterogeneous even got his team to guess the right word.  It was very impressive.  All in all, a very hilarious night.

On Sunday we slept in a little and had brunch at this place Chris found in the Height’s called Dharma’s Café.  It was very good food and probably a place that we would go back to.  We then headed out to Houston Zoo, which was very spectacular.  Did you know that you can feed giraffes there??  For $5 you can feed them 3 pieces of lettuce.  Note to self:  bring your own lettuce.  It was a very nice zoo and a lot of it seemed pretty new.  I’m told the African Forest section is about a year old.

We also went up to the Cheesecake Factory at the Woodlands Mall where we were able to meet up with Robert’s sister Jordan who rode down with a friend.  Later, we drove R&S back to the airport for them to catch their flight back home.

It was very nice catching up with everyone and hearing about everyone’s lives.  As you can see, we packed a lot in to a short weekend.  On Monday, I spent the day with Jordan & Christine and their friends at the outlet mall in Cypress and met up with Robert and his dad at the Hard Rock Café.

Phew!  Lots of things to be thankful for this season.  Today, we’re off for one last meal with the Meier’s and then to Canyon Lake to spend the rest of the week with the Hesseltine/Atzenhoffer family.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Anyone who knows me, knows I love Harry Potter.  It was destiny when the last and final movie came out on my birthday.. which was July 15 (2011).  I’m a huge Harry Potter fan.  I’ve even written a letter to JK Rowling herself and got a letter autographed picture back.  (Granted, she probably didn’t write the letter or even really sign the picture.. but it was the thought that I counted.. and still counts).

I grew up with Harry Potter.  Let me give you the publishing dates and my respective age:

HP & The Sorcerer’s Stone- September 1, 1998 – Age: 12

HP & The Chamber of Secrets- July 2, 1999- Age: 12

HP & The Prisoner of Azkaban- September 8, 1999- Age: 13

HP & The Goblet of Fire- July 8, 2000- Age: 13

HP & The Order of the Phoenix- July 21, 2003- Age: 17

HP & The Half Blood Prince- July 16, 2005- Age: 19

HP & The Deathly Hallows- July 21, 2007- Age: 21

My lovely mom bought the first book.  She had said at the time that she saw it on Good Morning America (back before the Fox News era) and it had good reviews.  At the impressionable age of becoming a teenager, I was definitely more interested in the teen romance novels—not some fluffy magic stuff where the character is at the age of 11.  I read the back cover and put it on the piano to sit for awhile.  I somehow eventually got around to it… I was a big reader back then (and still am).  Now, I don’t think I was 12 when I read the books because I don’t remember having to wait for the first three books to come out.  But, I do remember reading them in the 8^th grade… so that would put me at the age of 13… first year of junior high.

I loved them.  I read the first & second books over and over again.  I’ve never been a huge fan of the third installment and it was definitely the one I read the least.  I remember just waiting and waiting for the fourth one to come out.  I even entered into a contest with Scholastic magazine and I won!  The prize was getting the 4^th book sent to your house for free on the day it was released.  And sure enough, my parents were having a garage sale with the neighbors and when I woke up the book was there.  Best wake-up present ever.  I immediately ran over to the garage sale and even remember my mom being impressed that the book was already there.

So yes, I was addicted to Harry Potter.  I remember several teens reading them at school as well.  It was never uncool to be seen reading Harry Potter.

I think that is what I love most about these books:  Harry Potter will always be cool.  You don’t have to be female to love the books (aka Twilight series) and the story line is so purely good vs evil that it will never go out of style.

JK Rowling has developed a set of books that will carry on for forever.  I know, that I will certainly set my children upon them as soon as they are old enough to read.  It doesn’t matter that Harry and friends start out at the age of 11.  The books are about friendship and battling good vs evil.  There’s little romance and lots of suspense.

I still have all my original Harry Potter books.  The first book is so worn, that you can barely read the words on the pages inside.  But, I’ll definitely keep it for, forever.

For a person who didn’t have that many friends growing up or always felt a little different, Harry Potter was my world that I could escape to.  I dreamed about him and his friends and read the books over and over again.  Every once in a while, a magical word like “Loomis” (light) will pop into my head as though I used it every day.  I’ll never look at broomsticks the same way either. JK Rowling’s books are so well written that you picture everything and feel like you are right there with them.

It was until the movies started coming out that I realized I was pronouncing some names wrong (aka Hermione was always Herimone to me).  I almost didn’t like the movies because the books are so much better!!  But, I learned you just take the movies for entertainment.. nothing more, nothing less.  If you want to discover the real wizarding world of Harry Potter you have to read the books.  Promise.

What brought on this blog?  Well, I bought the last movie over the weekend and watched it while Robert slept.  Just watching it brings on a sense of melancholy and a little depression.  It’s my childhood in one final 2 ½ hour movie.  10 years built up into the epic finale.  He was my world and now its no longer.  I will always love Harry Potter, but I always get a little sad knowing his story is complete.  Though, I will make it to the Harry Potter theme park one day, I swear!!!!

When Dumbledore died in the 6^th book, I cried like a baby.  My mom asked me what the heck was wrong.  I felt like I had just lost my best friend.  Cried in the last book and the last movie, too.  These characters are more than that.. they are my friends.  Harry Potter is a dream world, and unfortunately.. we can only visit it.  But, by golly.. it’s one heck of a world that I definitely spent a lot of time in.  Thanks, JK Rowling and Harry Potter.. you probably changed my life over these books… and if you didn’t change it… you definitely brightened it.

Taylor Swift Concert

Ahh Yes.  We went to see Taylor Swift this weekend.  It was us a 41,998 of Houston’s loudest and finest screaming girls.  Oh you think I might be over exaggerating, but I’m not.  Rob was standing there holding this ears hostage from the sound of screaming.  I’m really not joking about that.  I actually had to tell him he was embarrassing me and to put his hands down and not over his ears.

Oh yes, doesn't Rob look exited to be here?!

But, on a fantastic side note, the concert was pretty spectacular.  She put on a great show.  And let’s face it… the main reason I went was to put the rumors to rest… could Taylor Swift sing live or not?  Well, she turned me.  I think she can definitely sing live.  The few times I’ve watched her on an awards song I’ve also thought she sounded a little off.  Maybe because she was not in her element.  In either case, she was definitely in her element in Houston and sounded great.

Taylor Swift-- first song out of the gate.

The teenage girls loved her.  I would have loved her too, except I was starting to feel a little tense at all the high-pitched screaming.  We were seven rows from the floor.  And T-Swift decided to make a little walk around the stadium.  Well, it would have been great for us, but everyone and their dog decided to race down and pile up in the stair well where there was even more high-pitched screaming and little girls surrounding me at every angle.  So, that kind of turned me off.  Had I known that would have happened, I definitely would not have chosen aisle seats. 

Ok, I know… you’re probably like what were you expecting Jessica?  This was a Taylor Swift concert… but I guess I kind of forgotten how excited is to be a kid and your famous role model walks in.  Wait, who I am kidding… I know what that is like, I get that way every time I see Dave Ramsey!  Haha, just kidding (maybe, not really).  Needless to say, my ears are still recovering today.

Oh, let me also tell you about my tickets.  I bought them from this random internet site kind of back in April.  Yeah… super long time ago!  I had almost forgotten where I stashed the tickets and when the concert was.  I was really afraid they were going to be counterfeit.  I brought my paid receipt and everything with me just in case the police wanted to take me to jail.  As, we were walking in I saw that the price on my ticket ($89.50) was indeed NOT what we had paid (I won’t embarrass myself and tell you what I actually paid).  So, I might have gotten just a tad bit ripped off.  All in all, it was about a $270 night.  I’m not sure Robert will let me by tickets online from a random place ever again.  But, the tickets did work!

Bet you can't guess which song she sang for this?!

Oh… so T-Swift didn’t actually start to perform until about 8:45pm.  We got there at 7.  The Arkansas game was going on and LSU/Bama were about to start up.  We couldn’t get our phones to work in the stadium.  Everyone once in a while a text would pop up about the game or I could get my twitter feed to update.  Rob was definitely a little sad and maybe a tad grumpy?  He was really hoping is new 4s would be able to perform better, but alas… when there are 42,000 people in one place… your phone just does not work.

Let me tell you another story… there was this lady, her daughter, and a dad sitting behind us.  All throughout the opening acts she kept telling her daughter that she was not allowed to scream.  “There’s just no reason for that” and I quote.  So, she wouldn’t let her daughter scream.  And then, she told her daughter that she probably wouldn’t get to see Taylor Swift because it would be late and they needed to get to bed.  I looked back about 2 songs into T-Swift and sure enough they were gone.  I don’t even know if her little daughter got to see T-Swift at all.  OMG.  Why pay $89.50 (x3 and assuming you bought them at face value, unlike myself) only to leave???  Yeah, I know… I just complained about screaming up above.. but, if a girls gonna scream… the best place to do it is with 40,000 other little girls at a concert to a pretty darn good idol.  This poor child.  It made me more than a little sad.

She changed outfits so many times, it was unreal.  Not sure how she did it.

On a happy note, there was a mother daughter date directly in front of us… and she got to touch T-Swift’s hand when she came walking around and then proceeded to hug her mom and I kind of thought both of them were going to cry.  It made me really happy though.. that’s how a mother/daughter duo is supposed to react when it’s likely the daughter just achieved a lifetime dream (real or not).

Okay, but enough… laundry seems to be calling my name… and bagel bites.  We really did have a great time at Taylor Swift and she put on one heck of a show.  I almost forgot a highlight—Nelly was there!!  He performed a song with Taylor at the end.  I’d never seen Nelly live before, nor would I voluntarily pay money to see him, so it was nice he just appeared.

T-Swift and Nelly

Until next time…

We Do Love a Good, Lazy Saturday

Oh Saturday's.  I love Saturday’s.  It’s the day after Friday where you work.  And it’s the day before Sunday where you kinda sorta start to think about going to work.  It’s just a good day.  This weekend, the weather has been awesome.  I’ve had the windows open and the Pumpkin Spice candle lit.  Quite nice, if I do say so myself.

The only thing is, Robert kind of ruined my weekend (in the best way possible, of course).  He was supposed to work all weekend, but their test broke all these parts they need, so they have to get them re-machined and whatnot so they couldn’t work until those parts are fixed.  But, I had thought he was working… so I was going to just watch gymnastics (world championships in Tokyo were on) and football on TV and read my new Nicholas Sparks book, “The Best of Me.”

When it’s just me, I don’t really have to worry about food because I can usually skip lunch or make myself some toast or something.  Nothing fancy.  I love to just lie on the couch and read a good book.  I had this planned the whole weekend to myself.  After I was to spend Saturday with myself, Robert and I were to head to the Verizon Wireless Theater to see Straight No Chaser, a really awesome acapella group.

Yes, you may wonder why I would go see an acapella group?  After all, this is coming from the girl who is still scarred from the time my parent’s made us go to Silver Dollar City in the freezing cold and watch the Vienna Boys Choir.  They sang without microphones in the Echo Hollow theater at SDC.  All I can remember really is how I couldn’t really hear them and how cold it was.  Oh, childhood memories.  I'm sure my mom will tell you it was great.

So, that was what I thought acapella singing was.  More of a choir thing.  Now, don’t get me wrong I there’s nothing wrong with choir’s.  But, I need something that has a good beat to it where I can tap my feet to keep me interested.  Maybe I should also preface any story about singing with the fact that I cannot sing.  At all.  I have no pitch or rhythm.  Even I know I can’t sing.  But, let’s face it… I love to sing.  I don’t really care if I sound bad.  Just turn the volume up.  Anything where I can shake my head and belt my voice.  Ask my family.  Ask Robert.  I do love to sing… I just am really bad at it.

So… enter NBC’s the Sing Off.  I love this show.  The first time I saw it I was like… “Robert, is there music playing?”  These kids are so darn talented.  They make all these sounds with their voices while singing.  They can rap and make it seem like someone is playing the drums.  It’s really darn amazing.  I’m just fascinated.  After all, this is a skill that I don’t have. So, this show has really turned me on to this acapella music.

So… anyways…. Back to it being Saturday.  I had Rob around all day.  So, I decided to work on cleaning the apartment.  Rob cleans the kitchen and I clean everything else.  I started with the bathroom and worked my way from there.  Rob got a little tired and didn’t want his new found freedom to be taken up with cleaning.  It’s cool.  He at least did the dishes and picked up around the kitchen.  We finished all of this before noon.  He was like, “what are we gonna do today??”  I responded with, “well, I know what I’m doing today, but what are you going to do today?”  He then asked if I wanted to go on a bike ride.  I responded with a “Nope, that is not in my plans for today.”  I’m tellin ya.. I was stuck on reading my new book.

So, Rob went on a run instead.  I started my gymnastics and opened my book.  Then Rob comes back and he wants something to eat.  Well, we don’t have anything to eat.  So, I send Rob off to the store.   We ended up cooking a frozen pizza for lunch and had the leftovers for dinner.  I swear, I’m cooking a real meal tonight.  Plus cupcakes… got a special occasion at work tomorrow.  During all of this, you kind of picture Rob with his puppy dog face….

So, I had to turn my “weekend for me” into a little bit of a “weekend for Rob AND me.”  We have promised each other that we wouldn’t go shopping the rest of the month because we had two mom’s birthdays to buy presents for, spent a weekend in Dallas, and bought Rob the new iPhone 4S.  (It’s not here yet).  So, we gotta cut it back the rest of the month.  And Rob gets a little antsy when he doesn’t have enough to do.  But, he calmed himself down with some football.

Anyways, I did finish my Nicholas Sparks book.  If you like crappy endings, feel free to read it.  Otherwise, I’d say skip it because it just left me feeling depressed.  Oh and Team USA won the world championships.  Yes!

Then, we headed off to see Straight No Chaser.  Here’s a picture of us before we headed out.

The show was just great.  The kids were very talented and entertaining.  They kept the crowd engaged and kept my foot a’tappin.  My only complaint was that we were on the very top row and I guess were right in front of this main AC vent for the event.  It was SO cold.  You could literally see my hair blowing in the breeze.  I actually made Robert roll down his sleeves so that I could stick my arms up in his sleeves.  I’m pretty sure Rob wanted to pop his collar so that maybe he could warm his ears.  It was so COLD!!  That was the only downer.  I’m attaching a few video clips and pictures of the guys.  (Scratch that, I can't get my computer to upload the video)

Oh, I should also give a shout out to my friend Michelle Hurst who recommended these guys to me.  I took her up on her recommendation and you really can’t go wrong.

Enjoy!

You Can Call Us Weird, Because Normal Is Broke.

Now, you can’t judge us.  But, we spent our weekend hanging out with Dave Ramsey.  The personal finance guru.  Our main squeeze.  Bald-headed.  Usually see him with scissors and credit cards.  That guy.  Dave Ramsey.

He's practically part of the family.  Maybe this will become our Chistmas card photo?

On Friday, we headed out to the Books a- Million where he is signing his new book called Entre-Leadership.  This book is not on personal finance, it’s about leading a small business.  He has some great ideas in it… and even if you aren’t in a small business, you can still apply the principles he teaches in your group at a business.  Very applicable stuff.  Definitely check it out if you’re looking to become a leader in the business world.  It’s all about how to run your business. 

This is the car Dave sold his first book out of many moons ago.

We got to the Books –a-Million at around 5 PM (we both got to leave work early.)  We purchased the book and got our number in line… number 69.  We ended up in the line that was the medical reference and pet aisle.  Not such a great aisle to spend the next hour waiting in line.  But, once he started… he moved fast.  So, yes.. we got to meet our main squeeze, Dave Ramsey.  Since we talk about him like we know him, I figure it’s a good thing we finally met the guy.  He looks just like all his pictures and sounds the same as he does on his radio show.

My view from the Pet aisle.

His team was very friendly, too and new how to get everyone in to see him.  Unfortunately tho, I didn’t get a picture with him.  He said that from past experiences, most people didn’t know how to work their cell phone camera’s, so they had to stop the picture taking because it took to long.  So, I don’t really blame him.  I’m not really even sure how you sign books for two straight hours.  Your arm would have to hurt!  Maybe he does special arm exercises to practice for the big day???  Maybe one day I’ll know… or maybe not.

We hung around the book store until 7 PM when they did the drawing for $2,000.  We did not win.  L  It would have gone a long way in our house fund!  Someone named Laura Martin one… I will forever remember that name, after all.. she did steal our money!  Ok, not really.  But she won what we wanted.  Overall, there were probably about 300 people there to sign their book…. Note:  We were number 69.  Such an over-achiever, I know.

It was really pleasant to be around people at the signing that truly liked the man and wanted to be there.  Gotta love it when people get it… that debt is dumb and cash is king!  You could hear everyone talking about how his plan was helping to change their financial lives.  That’s really encouraging!!  He’s definitely provided the road map for Robert and I and I know we’ll definitely be better off with that map.

On Saturday… we went to Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover (“TMMO”).  We had purchased our tickets at a special $19 price back in April.  (So, we’re a little obsessed, big deal.)  We ended up sitting on the floor in some pretty good seats I think.  It was also a sold out crowd.  I’m not sure how big Reliant Arena is, but I’d say there were about 5,000 people there. Pretty awesome when you can get 5,000 people together to learn about personal finance.

Me & Robert before the show!

Dave on stage!

The TMMO is what we have been doing.  So, we pretty much already knew everything, but it’s always nice to go in there and see the man who you’ve been blaming for why you can’t go out to eat that night.  Plus, he puts a little pep in your step and keeps you motivated to follow his plan.  We did learn a few interesting things, so I’m going to put them below.

*15 Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me in 6 Hours*

1.       A 30 year-old couple made $48,000 a year and saved 15% ($7,200 per year or $600 per month) in a 401(k) at 12% growth… at 70 years old they will have $7,058,863.50 in the 401(k).  What if you don’t agree with his 12%???  Well… look at it this way… WHAT IF HE IS HALF WRONG?!  Who cares… half of 7 is $3.5 million.  I’ll take that, thank you.

2.       The same couple fully funded a ROTH IRA at $5,000 each per year (a total of $10,000), which would be $833 per month, at 12% growth…. At 70 years old they will have $9,803,937.87—TAX FREE.  Again, WHAT IF HE IS HALF WRONG?! 

3.       Nearly 70% of consumers live paycheck to paycheck.

4.       The average American household has $91,000 in debt and the total consumer debt has doubled since 1980.  In 1980, the total consumer debt was $1.3 trillion; today, it is $2.6 trillion.

5.       Conflict over money is still the leading cause of divorce today.

6.       In 1929, only 2% of the homes in America had a mortgage against them.  By 1962, only 2% did not have mortgage against them, even though the affordability index was actually better in 1960 than it was in 1929.

7.       Due to a lack of savings, 60% of the 77 million baby boomers will not have the means to support their current standard of living when they reach retirement.

8.       A $1,000 one-time investment.  No withdrawal.  Age 25-65 (40 years)

a.       6% Return:  $10,285

b.       18% Return: $750,378

True, you can’t get an 18% return.  But you know who does?  CREDIT CARD COMPANIES.  That’s right.  You’re willing to earn 6% but pay 18%.  That doesn’t sound right, does it?!

9.       Ben & Arthur.  Ben & Arthur both save $2,000 per year at 12%.  Ben starts at age 19 and stops at age 26. ($16,000 investment over 8 years),  Arthur starts at age 27 and stops at age 65 ($78,000 investment over 38 years).  At the age of 65:  Ben has $2,288,996 and Arthur has $1,532,166.  Arthur never caught up.  THE POWER OF COMPOUND INTEREST.  START NOW!

10.    Diversify in fund types when investing in mutual funds (the only thing Dave recommends investing)

a.       25% in growth and income funds

b.       25% in growth

c.        25% in international

d.       25% in aggressive growth

** REMEMBER:  No one gets hurt on a rollercoaster except those who jump off.**

11.    The average college student graduates with $42,406 in student loan debt.  This is usually to finance a lifestyle and not the education.  Take the time to research the cost of college and make the student get a job!

12.    According to a 2008 study by Sallie Mae and Gallup, only 9% of families use college savings funds like ESA’s and 529’s.

a.       An ESA is an Education Savings Account that is an Education IRA.  You can invest $2,000/yr into this and it works just like a mutual fund... you can even pick the fund!  $2,000 x 18 = $36,000 in principal for school!  That doesn’t even count any earnings!!!  If you earned 5%, you’d have $56,264. 

b.       Did you know that his ESA is considered a tax break for the rich?  It was only extended when Congress extended the Bush tax breaks for another two years at the end of last year.  Doesn’t sound like tax break for the rich? Sounds like it could help the middle class pay for their children go to college to me.

13.    According to a 2008 survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, roughly 76 million adults say they do not have any non-retirement savings.  Of those to who have a cash fund, 61% don’t have enough to cover three to six months of income.

14.    The real meaning of a FICO score:  Let me go into debt so that later, I can go more into debt.  Think about it… the only way to have a FICO score is to go into debt.  Once you’re in debt, it’s what you do with it that raises or shrinks your score.  But, we only care about our score… so that later, we can go into more debt.  What’s happening to us?

15.    MYTH:  It is wise to keep my home mortgage to get the tax deduction.  WRONG!  Tax deductions are no bargain.  Let’s do the math:

You have a $200,000 mortgage at 5% interest.  OR:  $200,000 X 5% = $10,000 interest paid.

You make $75,000 salary.  OR:  $75,000 - $10,000 = $65,000 amount calculated for taxes to be paid

You’re in the 25% tax bracket.  OR:  $10,000 X 25% = $2,500 amount in taxes paid.

So… would you rather:

PAY $10,000 in interest or SAVE $2,500?  DUH!  You’d rather save the $10,000.  Still worried about losing those tax savings though??  Well, since you don’t have to pay $10,000 in interest every year, you can give $10,000 to a charity and use it just like we did above for a charitable deduction… and you are right back at the $2,500 in tax savings!

Never thought of it like that, did you?  Me either.  But now I am.

*****

So, yeah, the man is real genius.  NOT.  He’s not a genius.  He’s just full of common sense and shares it.  And he’s not afraid to hurt your feelings either.  Trust me, I’ve heard him on the radio and sometimes I feel really bad for the people that called in.  But, they need it.  You need it. 

We can’t be like Congress and keep spending what we don’t have.  It will catch up to you.  What happened to all those people that bought a house they couldn’t afford?  They got foreclosed on.  They’re hurting.  But… we can’t just sit around and wait for the government to help us.  Only you can change your life.  Only you can stop spending what you don’t have.  Have you ever met a President that has changed your life?  No.  Has either one ever written you a check and said.. “Here you go… it’s okay that you spent more than you had.”??  No.  When you watch football and see that quarterback throw an interception three times… do you think that coach is out there saying, “one more try hunny, it’s okay.”  Hell no.  They are ripped off the field and sat on the bench.  Do you think that a batter who consistently strikes out gets to keep batting?  Do you think they say it’s the “pitcher’s fault?”  Hell no.  Replacement please.  So, why is it that when it comes to finances, we only want to blame others or hope that one day a handout will come our way?  Only you can change your financial life.

That’s my small little rant.  It’s not about being Conservative or Liberal.  It’s about embracing what you can do for yourself.  I think we tend to all get caught up in what the other side has to say or can or can’t do for us.  When in reality… Only I can do for me.  Only We can do for us.  No one is going to just hand you money for the sake of handing you money… it’s about working hard or harder.  So that when you get to a place where you can give, you WILL give and help that single mom who is struggling or the family that just lost their house to a fire.  You can’t help people when you are broke.  As Margaret Thatcher once said, “No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he didn’t have money.”

So, pretty good stuff, right?  That’s what we spent our Saturday listening to.  And man, I am fired up!  (As if you can’t tell from above).   Let me also add, at Dave’s event I also got a book signed by Jon Acuff.   Jon Acuff is the author of “Stuff Christians Like”, “Quitter”, and “Gazelle’s Baby Steps and 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt”.  I had previously read his Quitter book… which is the book that inspired me to find what I wanted and quit my job.  So, I got two books signed this weekend.  Pretty awesome!!

For someone who has never been to a book signing in her life,
I somehow got two books signed in two days!

That pretty much wrapped up our weekend.  We went to Outback where we used our Free Steak coupon and watched the Hogs kick some Auburn butt!!!!  So, a pretty spectacular weekend.  Yeah, I know.  We’re weird.  But normal is broke, so I’d rather be weird any day.

I’m posting a link here to Dave Ramsey’s website so that you can become a little weird too.



One weird, happy girl.