Ok so I mentioned previously that Jer and I got out of $15K of debt in about a year while still covering all of our expenses.

What's our secret?

Well firstly, we listened to Dave Ramsey's book on tape, "Total Money Makeover" and started on his steps to financial success right away. (Which I highly, highly recommend, by the way.) One of those steps is creating a budget and sticking to it. Jer got really into this and made a killer excel spreadsheet that helped us break down expenses vs. debt and gave us the tools to set goals and accomplish them. He has created a template of it for anyone who is interested in using it. It also gives us the amounts of money we each made from each of our jobs and then spit out how much we owed for our 10% church contribution each month. It seriously saved our lives.

So if you are interested in demolishing some debt, or just want a really good budget to follow, click on the link for the template:

DEBT DEMOLISHER

I'm about to start a series on my blog about all of our home improvements and especially discussing the details.

I thought I would give you all a little background on how we got here. I think a lot of people are a little surprised that we are so young and own a home. Through this whole process I have learned that you definitely do not have to be rich to buy a house, and you can do it in a smart way so that you aren't paying a HUGE mortgage each month. (More on that later.)

Almost exactly a year ago, Jeremy and I were working like dogs to get ourselves out of almost $15K of debt when we found out I was pregnant. (Don't worry, it was planned :o)) Although we had been looking toward having a child and trying to prepare ourselves in every way, once that line showed up on the test, things got real.

Our good friends and downstairs neighbors had just bought a house and invited us to come live with them for about half what we were paying at the time. Although it was a hard decision to leave our first little apartment that we loved so much and share a house with another couple, we knew it was a good idea because we would be able to get out of debt so much faster.

At that time, we realized we needed to look forward to where we would end up once our little one arrived. We instantly decided that with the market the way it was, we did not want to be renting a 3 bedroom apartment or house when we could buy and pay just as much if not a little less for a mortgage. (And actually have our money going into something worthwhile.)

Jer had just gotten a new job which meant a steady income and I quickly found a full-time job for the summer at Xactware. We put every extra penny we saved on rent into getting out of debt. We both worked LOOOONG hours and then when we got off work we would go house hunting. It was exhausting and trying. We had a strict budget and several must-haves.

Our initial thought was to buy a new little townhome in Spanish Fork or an area where they are starting to develop a lot more. It would be move-in ready and we could get settled before baby came. My dad kept suggesting these old broken-down houses with basement apartments that were cheap but definite fixer-uppers. I was not amused. Not only was I getting bigger by the second, but my husband was not the "handyman" type. Through our search I kept going back to this house in Provo. So old, so smelly, so not what I wanted. It was a short sale. Ugh. But we decided to put in an offer.

That was in July. Meanwhile, I was in panic mode. Our baby was going to be sleeping in a shoebox at this rate! So we kept looking. We realized we wanted an investment property so that we could essentially pay nothing to own a home. We found a cute little blue house in Provo that had a perfect basement apartment we could rent out. We decided we wanted it and started the paperwork. Not a short sale, easy peasy.

It took us a month to complete all the paperwork. We got everything ready, bought paint, made plans, moved furniture and boxes into the garage. The whole time I could not stop thinking about that first house we made an offer on. I even dreamed about it. It was so weird. Because I loved this blue house. And I didn't love the other one.

The day before we were to close on the house, we found out that the basement apartment was not legal to rent. And without that extra income, we wouldn't be able to afford the house. SUCH  a bummer. This was the end of August. Just 2 months from my due date. Cue panic mode round 2.

We moved into my parents' condo in Provo in order to save even more money while we tried to find a home for our growing little family. What you don't know is that a week before closing on the blue house, the Provo house asked us if we would like to re-submit our offer. Jer and I wanted to say no since we were decided on the blue house, but my father, in his infinite wisdom, told us not to let it go and advised us to keep our offer. So we did.

Just one month before Scotty was due, we found out the bank was finally considering our offer. We did a lot of back and forth in that month and had to re-do a lot of our paperwork. The week Scotty was due we heard the offer had finally been accepted. Just 5 days after he was born, we signed the papers to buy our first house.

Guys, my "ghetto fab" blog just got a little less ghetto and a lot more FAB! I'm so excited about the new look that my blog has taken on thanks to Kelsey at K. Yeck Designs. Not only did she do a great job making my blog aesthetically pleasing, she also made it mechanically sound, and she was a delight to work with! She made sure I was completely happy with everything on the blog and was really good at interpreting my crazy ideas in my head and putting them on the screen!

So if any of you need/want help with your blog, go see Kelsey over at just2birds.com.

I still have a few things I need to do to get it organized, so bear with me.

Thanks again Kelsey! You're the best!

And my blog isn't the only thing that has gotten a new look. Most of you know that we have been remodeling our house for the past 5 months or so and we FINALLY moved upstairs this past weekend. I made dinner in my new kitchen for the first time tonight and I will say, a dishwasher and disposal are magical things, as are new water heaters. Never thought I'd say that in my life, yet, here we are!

We are going to make a big before and after slideshow of our house once it is complete/decorated/etc. but here are a couple to whet your whistle!

As a teenager, I was the girl who would spend her Saturdays hanging out at the MAC counter at Nordstrom, or buying eyeshadows at Urban Decay. I would NEVER have ventured into the land of drug-store make-up.

Now that I'm a little bit older and a little bit poorer, I have had to find a way to pay less for make up that is just as good.

Believe me when I tell you that I have tried a LOT of different products. And to be honest, a lot of the "cheaper" brands really are cheap (aka you get what you pay for). But through lots of trial and error, I have found some stuff that is very inexpensive and still does the job. Here are my favorite make up picks that compare to some of the highest end brands around (at a fraction of the price):

Sometimes we have a baby and buy a house in the same week, and then we remodel the house for the next 5 months.

That leaves me with 23970698357 ideas to blog about and I end up always blogging about my baby. But here goes anyway...

I check on my baby several times at night after he has gone to bed. Yes, I'm THAT mom.

Tonight, while checking on him, I placed my hand on his chest and immediately felt his little heart beating beneath my hand. For some reason, I haven't felt his little heart beat before.

As a sat there for a second I immediately thought of just a few months ago when he and I shared the same crowded space, and every week or two, I anticipated hearing that sweet little thump thump through my giant belly.  I would heave a sigh of relief every time knowing all was well.

And for the VERY first time, I remembered the sweetness of being pregnant with my little Scotty. I knew his name before he was even "a twinkle in my eye". From the day I found out I was pregnant with him I wondered each day what he would look like, if he would have his daddy's laugh or my stubborn nature.

It's insane how just a few months ago I didn't know these things about my baby and now, I can pick out his little voice in a room full of babies and I couldn't forget that sweet face in a million years.

I know his heartbeat like it is my own, and he knows mine too.

So we are going through the 4 month sleep regression/teething/growth spurt over here in the Pendleton castle of chaos which means we are up every hour at night with little man lately. By some amazing act of God, Jer and I got ready and made it to church on time today but my BFF Scotty was not too happy about it so I was seriously considering leaving after Sacrament Meeting.

I'm really glad I didn't.

Jer took little man to Young Men's with him so I could enjoy RS. We had a great lesson by Jamie on Elder Uchtdorf''s talk, "You Can Do It Now" from October's General Conference. The lesson was really good for me and got me thinking a lot. (If you are reading this Jamie, thank you! I loved your lesson :o))

There are a lot of things in life that make us feel like failures, AKA our weaknesses. Sometimes we feel like we just can't recover from some of them. For example, I will be the first to admit that I am not the best housekeeper. My house is almost never as clean as I would like it to be, and sometimes I just think, "why bother?"

We talked a little bit today in church about focusing on the things we ARE good at, and the positive things we do each day. If you know me, you know I'm an eternal pessimist. I have to work really hard to focus on the positives in life, especially since having a baby and I am often much more limited in what I am able to accomplish in a day.

I decided to list a few things I'm pretty proud of that I have recently accomplished. This may seem funny or sarcastic but I really am proud of the little things. :o)

-I get myself ready every day except Saturday. Teaching at BYU has really made this possible since I teach every day and am required to dress in business casual clothes.

-I have learned to say NO to things that are just too much for me to handle and YES to help when I need it. It is unbelievable how hard this has been for me. As a typical woman I often think I can handle everything on my own. False. I am so grateful for friends and family who have been so helpful to me through this house remodel and new baby process.

-Sometimes I make dinner. Seriously though.

-Sometimes I make it to the gym.

-I did half of my Visiting Teaching this month.

-After 3 WEEKS of waiting and no sprouting I was sure I was a failure at gardening, this happened:

-I finally finished this project:



-I spend lots of quality time with my sweet boy Scotty and really feel like I'm savoring each moment of his development and growth. Parenthood is hard but SO worth it and so worth the piles of dishes in the sink, the dust on the shelves and the unmade bed.

*And let's get real, I can't blame new parenthood on not getting everything done that I would like to. I feel like I was just as busy and just as bad of a housekeeper before I had Scotty as I am now. Just a different kind of busy and maybe a better excuse for not cleaning ;o).

So, if you haven't done the dishes in a week, or you haven't gotten out of your PJ's or showered yet today, that's OK! You can still do it now! My MIL told me something last weekend that really helped me: "Save the guilt for sin." If you didn't do something previously, get over it. Don't feel guilty, it isn't like you are sinning. You still have a chance to accomplish many things! You can do it now!

As a dancer of almost 20 years, rhythm is in my bones. Whenever I hear a catchy tune, I can't help but move my feet, snap my fingers or sway my body. As a teacher, it is really hard to explain that innate sense of rhythm in my body because it is just that: innate.


I have been thinking about this a lot since I had my baby. At one of my baby showers, my guests each wrote down some advice for me. One card in particular has stuck with me: