Birthday Fun

Ok, so the cat's out of the bag for those of you who know when my husband's birthday actually was; you now know how non-recent my posts can be, BUT for the rest of you, we can go on pretending this blog is an up to date report of my favorite things. We recently (eh hem, relative term here) celebrated Jake's birthday along with two of his good friends who also share birthdays around the same time, and significant ones at that (35 is very significant b/c you can run for president). We had a good ole potluck, some marshmellows by the fire and the yummy cake pictured here. I'm excited to see what God is going to do in the next 30 years!

A Brave Feller

When I was a little girl, my dreams of prince charming and my frugality in the making sometimes crossed paths. For instance, I had thoughts like, "If I marry a dentist my family will get their teeth cleaned for free!" or, "If I marry a carpenter, we'll save money on furniture, kitchen cabinets, etc!"

Well, let me share the economic value my rock climbing, repelling, hard core camp husband has brought to our family. He saved us a lot of $$$ by felling 2 big pine trees in our yard all by himself. I was a little nervous, yes, but I knew he knew what he was doing and Zane and I had full confidence in him as we watched from afar.

Loving On Your Husband

I've come to the point where I close my ears when I hear the term " the state of the economy..." Yes, we all know that our economy is in "a state". You won't hear me say one more iota about the subject after this post, I promise. But, this is for those of you dear sisters who, like myself, have been directly effected by "the state of the economy". Tightening our purse strings might be tough and at times downright maddening, but I have a feeling that it's peanuts compared to how it weighs on the souls of our dear hubbies. Whether you're a stay-at-home mom, contribute to the family budget, or even if you are the primary bread winner, I encourage you to take the time to encourage your husband. Let him know it's okay that you shop at the Salvation Army, let him know it's okay that your hair is your natural color right now, that it's fun to make baby wipes instead of buying them at the store. I bet if he knows these difficulties aren't as hard on you as he may think they are, that maybe they won't be as hard on him.

Stocking Stuffers

This year my hubby and I decided to make origami coupons for each other's stocking stuffers. It's something we could make together yet not know what the other is writing. If you're not familiar with giving coupons as gifts, you write on a piece of paper something like "Free back rub" or "I'll do the dishes for a day", etc. The recipient then turns in the coupon when he/she wants it redeemed. We decided on origami because it fills up the stocking more than a coupon book. There's nothing like a full stocking and spending $0 to get it that way.

It's a Hard Knock Life

I use this title for my post because I've been listening to this lately. And when your hubby has had a long hard day on his feet, the items pictured above can make it not such a hard knock day. A wash cloth, towel, some liquid soap, foot creme, a candle, a bucket (not pictured) and a willing spirit (also not pictured) is all it takes to get out all the tension in his feet. Plus, chances are if he's been working hard on his feet all day, you'll enjoy the smell a lot better if you do this for him. See, everybody wins!