I have recently read "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, and I have to say it is a MUST READ. I originally came across the book in Costco, and thumbed through it. I decided to check it out from the library, but it was on reserve for a while. I finally had the opportunity to read it, and it made me cry. What's more, he succumbed to his cancer about 2 weeks ago, which made the story that much more impactful. If you are interested in a truly inspiring book, this is one to read.
Also, I have read "The QBQ: The Question Behind the Question" by Dan Miller. This one I read back in May, but it is a book that I constantly think about, and has changed the way I view a lot of situations in my life. It is a book about self-accountability. If you have EVER fallen into victim thinking (you know, "Why did this happen to me? Why can't things ever go right for me? When will it be my turn to win?"), then you need to read this book!
I love it when GREAT books come across my path. It is amazing to me that someone else's written words can change my life. I hope they change yours, too.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
What's New
Wow! So much has been going on since I last blogged. We are keeping very busy around here.
I have been working at my chiropractor's office for a couple of weeks now. I do not spend too much time there, however, as he is still relatively quiet. I do go help out on Tuesday's, which is his busiest day. I am learning all about running a doctor's office, and it is nice to be learning something new and different. Right now, I am being "paid" with free chiropractic care for the family, which is very helpful, as it is one less expense for us.
I also have been working on my web site, www.theprofessionalsub.com, which keeps me pretty busy. Most of the things I have been working on are not on the site yet, so you will just have to bear with me on that. I am hoping, however, that this site will be making money within a year, which I feel is fairly realistic.
Additionally, we have listed some of our hand made items on Etsy.com. My store is www.davisonfamily.etsy.com. We only have a few things listed so far, but we are working on that as well.
That brings us to school! We are one week away from the new school year beginning here. Andrew is moving into 4th grade, and he has my friend Melanie Holland for a teacher. I know from working with her that she will do a good job, but I worry about Math and Science. She is weak in those areas, and she is adopting a math program called Excel Math that I do not like. It is a lot of worksheets that Andrew could teach, because it is a highly scripted program. That is not teaching to me, but I do not get a say in the method she uses.
Mandy is so excited about going into 1st grade! She has been counting down the days until school begins. Every morning and evening, she double checks the days remaining. They go back on Tuesday, the 19th. She has Mrs. Gwinn for a teacher this year. Mrs. Gwinn has adored Mandy, so I am sure she will have a great year. She is one of those teachers that you hope your child will have, because she is so encouraging of all the children in her class.
One more thing...ANDREW MADE HORIZONS!!! OK, so you have no idea what that is. Horizons is the name for the academically gifted and talented program in our school district. At the beginning of the summer, we received a letter that Andrew did not qualify, though he missed by 2 points in each of the 2 possible areas for making it. On Saturday, we received a letter that he made it, based on Spring testing results, namely the PACT test. We are so happy for him, as he has many friends that are also in Horizons. It will be great for him.
Well, that's about it for now. Talk to you all again soon!
I have been working at my chiropractor's office for a couple of weeks now. I do not spend too much time there, however, as he is still relatively quiet. I do go help out on Tuesday's, which is his busiest day. I am learning all about running a doctor's office, and it is nice to be learning something new and different. Right now, I am being "paid" with free chiropractic care for the family, which is very helpful, as it is one less expense for us.
I also have been working on my web site, www.theprofessionalsub.com, which keeps me pretty busy. Most of the things I have been working on are not on the site yet, so you will just have to bear with me on that. I am hoping, however, that this site will be making money within a year, which I feel is fairly realistic.
Additionally, we have listed some of our hand made items on Etsy.com. My store is www.davisonfamily.etsy.com. We only have a few things listed so far, but we are working on that as well.
That brings us to school! We are one week away from the new school year beginning here. Andrew is moving into 4th grade, and he has my friend Melanie Holland for a teacher. I know from working with her that she will do a good job, but I worry about Math and Science. She is weak in those areas, and she is adopting a math program called Excel Math that I do not like. It is a lot of worksheets that Andrew could teach, because it is a highly scripted program. That is not teaching to me, but I do not get a say in the method she uses.
Mandy is so excited about going into 1st grade! She has been counting down the days until school begins. Every morning and evening, she double checks the days remaining. They go back on Tuesday, the 19th. She has Mrs. Gwinn for a teacher this year. Mrs. Gwinn has adored Mandy, so I am sure she will have a great year. She is one of those teachers that you hope your child will have, because she is so encouraging of all the children in her class.
One more thing...ANDREW MADE HORIZONS!!! OK, so you have no idea what that is. Horizons is the name for the academically gifted and talented program in our school district. At the beginning of the summer, we received a letter that Andrew did not qualify, though he missed by 2 points in each of the 2 possible areas for making it. On Saturday, we received a letter that he made it, based on Spring testing results, namely the PACT test. We are so happy for him, as he has many friends that are also in Horizons. It will be great for him.
Well, that's about it for now. Talk to you all again soon!
Friday, August 1, 2008
New Web Site up and running
Please check out my new web site and try out all of its features. I would appreciate it if you would let me know what you like and do not like about the site. If something does not work correctly on your computer, I need to know. Thanks a million for your help!
Jess
Jess
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
FYI
Just wanted to let you all know that we are still alive here. Though I do not have a "job" for next school year, we are making the best of the situation. I am working on starting a home based business. What kind of business, you may wonder?
Well, it seems to me that many people enjoy homemade crafts, but most of these people either do not like to or don't know how to make things. So, my idea is to create some crafts, such as knit and crocheted items, as well as some other items, and sell them online. I plan to have items for baby, children, and adults, as well as holiday and home decor items. I am working on a web site to sell things from, as well.
We are still working on a name, however. Does anyone have any ideas? It needs to be usable as a URL as well.
I have been working hard on creating items to sell over the past couple of days. I have a few already, too! I am hoping this idea works well, but we will see what time brings.
In addition, I plan to substitute teach this school year. That should keep me pretty busy!
Well, it seems to me that many people enjoy homemade crafts, but most of these people either do not like to or don't know how to make things. So, my idea is to create some crafts, such as knit and crocheted items, as well as some other items, and sell them online. I plan to have items for baby, children, and adults, as well as holiday and home decor items. I am working on a web site to sell things from, as well.
We are still working on a name, however. Does anyone have any ideas? It needs to be usable as a URL as well.
I have been working hard on creating items to sell over the past couple of days. I have a few already, too! I am hoping this idea works well, but we will see what time brings.
In addition, I plan to substitute teach this school year. That should keep me pretty busy!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
How to Survive With What You Already Have
Jennie has a good thread going over at her blog, and I just had to add to it.
A lot of our culture today is based on "have it now". We definitely have entitlement issues. After several years of marriage, many of us have the same lifestyles of our parents, often with bigger homes, newer cars, and more fashionable clothing. The trouble is, they can afford their lifestyle after 20+ years of working hard for it, and we can not. So we go deeply into debt for it. Add to that the fact that we have to "keep up with the Joneses", and you have a surefire recipe for disaster.
So were does all that lead? It leads to fear, arguments with your spouse, and a general discontentment with the things we have. Isn't it time we stop this insanity? But how can we do that, you may wonder?
First, make it a point to communicate with your spouse about money issues. Paul and I had a hard time with this at first. I had been taking care of the money for so long, I was a little scared to tell him exactly how much we had (didn't have was more like it) and how much we owed. But it wasn't that bad once we actually had the talk. It seems he was thinking things were much worse that they were.
Second, sit down together and spend EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR on paper before the month begins. You know how much you make, you know how much you spend on your "necessities", and you should have at least an idea how much you spend on food and gas. When we did this, we noticed that we spent a ridiculous amount of money on paying back our creditors. It was almost a third of our take home pay, actually. Once you have this taken care of, you can see where you can trim your budget. We chose to suspend our DirecTV service for 6 months to add that $65 to our payoff plan. We also use cash now for food, gas, and clothing purchases. According to Dave Ramsey's research, people spend between 12% and 18% more when using a card of ANY type for these purchases, and I would have to agree.
Finally, learn to tell yourself NO. This is where the contentment comes in. If you really look around your house, how many things do you have that you truly love? Probably not as many as you would think. I can look around and see many things I would love to get rid of. Have a yard sale with all of the junk you don't love. Then, you have to be able to say no the next time there is something you just have to have. NO IMPULSE PURCHASES. If you want something bad enough, it will still be there tomorrow.
For more information on how to take control of your finances and become content with what you have, click on the "Family Tree" banner at the top of my page. It will take you to Dave Ramsey's site. I think you can learn a lot there.
A lot of our culture today is based on "have it now". We definitely have entitlement issues. After several years of marriage, many of us have the same lifestyles of our parents, often with bigger homes, newer cars, and more fashionable clothing. The trouble is, they can afford their lifestyle after 20+ years of working hard for it, and we can not. So we go deeply into debt for it. Add to that the fact that we have to "keep up with the Joneses", and you have a surefire recipe for disaster.
So were does all that lead? It leads to fear, arguments with your spouse, and a general discontentment with the things we have. Isn't it time we stop this insanity? But how can we do that, you may wonder?
First, make it a point to communicate with your spouse about money issues. Paul and I had a hard time with this at first. I had been taking care of the money for so long, I was a little scared to tell him exactly how much we had (didn't have was more like it) and how much we owed. But it wasn't that bad once we actually had the talk. It seems he was thinking things were much worse that they were.
Second, sit down together and spend EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR on paper before the month begins. You know how much you make, you know how much you spend on your "necessities", and you should have at least an idea how much you spend on food and gas. When we did this, we noticed that we spent a ridiculous amount of money on paying back our creditors. It was almost a third of our take home pay, actually. Once you have this taken care of, you can see where you can trim your budget. We chose to suspend our DirecTV service for 6 months to add that $65 to our payoff plan. We also use cash now for food, gas, and clothing purchases. According to Dave Ramsey's research, people spend between 12% and 18% more when using a card of ANY type for these purchases, and I would have to agree.
Finally, learn to tell yourself NO. This is where the contentment comes in. If you really look around your house, how many things do you have that you truly love? Probably not as many as you would think. I can look around and see many things I would love to get rid of. Have a yard sale with all of the junk you don't love. Then, you have to be able to say no the next time there is something you just have to have. NO IMPULSE PURCHASES. If you want something bad enough, it will still be there tomorrow.
For more information on how to take control of your finances and become content with what you have, click on the "Family Tree" banner at the top of my page. It will take you to Dave Ramsey's site. I think you can learn a lot there.
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