Possibly the best purchase of 2013

Shortly after the new year (or possibly on New Year Day), I saw a blog that mentioned 5-year journals.

Friends, they are the best thing ever! At least for those of us that want to record snippets of every day, but can't commit to long journal entries.

I headed over to Amazon and started searching for the right one.  The girl that I heard about it from had this one, but I ended up purchasing this one. (full disclosure: mine says you are supposed to write about the little Jane Austen quote at the top of the page.  I ignore that instruction and just write what I want).

Basically, the idea is that you record 2-3 sentences about your day at the end of every day.  The things I record tend to do with the kids (surprise, surprise) or something at work or with Ronnie or other family that was significant.  I write as part of my nightly routine when I am reading scriptures and saying prayer and honestly, it only takes me 1-2 minutes, which I feel is worth it.  I have an entry for each day of 2013 so far, but admittedly have had to fill in two or three nights at a time when things are crazy, or I'm away from home and forget to take it.

I get a little giddy when I think that in 3-5 years, I'll be writing on March 4th and read that in 2013 it was the day that Devynee started giving real kisses, with the "mwah" noise and everything.

I realize that now some of you are mad that I didn't say anything around January 1, but who says you have to start on a new year?  If you think this may be a fit for you, order one up and get to writing!

Ready, Set, Go!

Quick, someone just let you know that they will be at your house in 15 minutes.  You have had a "normal"day at home and haven't focused on making the house neat and tidy. What would you rush to do in those 15 minutes?

Me?

• Pick up toys on living room floor
• Put away clothes on couch (it seems that I ALWAYS have a load waiting to be put away there - and by put away, I really mean move the pile to my bed)
• Clean/straighten the part of the kitchen counter that is visible from the living room
• Straighten desk/top of piano (as this is my work station, it gets paper clutter throughout the day)
• Finally, if I still have some time left, I would do the dishes that I KNOW are in the sink.

THAT list

You know the one.

The one you start the instant that you purchase a home.  If you are like me it has two sides.  One side consists of things you want to fix (ahem, you want your husband to fix) and one side consists of things you want to purchase.

Ronnie and I were able to take a pretty good crack at the list while he had a few days off to help at home shortly after Devynee was born. Not to mention the many things that Ronnie and his dad were able to tackle while I sat around and snuggled a newborn. And we can't forget about the things that my dad drove over to do as well.

Things like a medicine cabinet for our bathroom,

 shelves set up (and organized) in the basement

a humidifier installed on the heater (LOVE this one! Humidified air in my entire house?  Heck yeah!)

and an over-the-range microwave

and other things that would just be boring to take pictures of (sealed grout, fixed screens, etc.).

Gotta love a few good work days and willing workers!

Now, if that list would get any shorter, we could really be getting somewhere!

One thing I do to keep my sanity...

alternately titled: My kids don't die because...

I burn my DVDs.

That's right, if you open any kid-related DVD case on our shelf, you'll find my kid-like friendly writing staring back at you.

I've found it basically impossible to keep Easton from touching the DVDs and since I like to pretend that I am smarter than him, I decided to see what I could do about it.

I found a program online (www.dvdfab.com) that does the conversion/compression stuff for you.  When I first found it, you could do everything you needed to do with their free trial, and it was awesome.  Then, they up and got smarter than me and now you do have to pay for the service.  But really? $25 a year is worth it to save hundreds of dollars in DVDs.  After you have that program, you just need to have a DVD-burning capable computer and DVD-burning software (we have Nero).

And then, WAH-LAH!  Kid-proof DVDs.  It will make you sleep easier at night, I promise.

Notes:
*In the DVDFab program you have the option of burning the entire disc or just the main movie.  I recommend burning just the main movie.  Not only does your kid not really care about all of those extra features, but if you do just put the main movie on the DVD, you don't have to wait around to press the play button, the DVD just starts playing.  It is the greatest thing ever.
*If you remember, unselect the subtitles option when you burn your DVDs.  For whatever reason, the default on the burned DVDs is to have the subtitles on the screen and while Easton doesn't seem to care, it drives me batty if I ever sit down to watch a movie with him. [you can turn them off, but the default is that they are there].
*Because I only burn DVDs that I own and I only burn one copy at a time [if one has worn out (ahem, Incredibles) I break the unusable kid DVD in half and burn a new kid copy] this is legal. 

And I get a little bit weirder

...if that is possible.

We all know my issue with lists. I love my lists.

In the last few days, I've realized that I have a list that I was unaware of previously.

My DVR.

I love it, I really do, it's just that I can barely stand to push the "list" button on my remote because I see the gigantic list of all of the episodes we have yet to watch and I feel overwhelmed.

In the afternoon, when Ronnie isn't home, I don't push it at all, because I just have to stare at all of the shows that I can't delete because we have to watch them together.

Curse you the-entire-season-of-LOST and the-last-four-episodes-of-24.

I want you gone.

Soon.

Hints Part 2

Disclaimer: I received a finance degree from a reputable university. I did not get straight A’s and do not consider myself a finance expert in any way. If my advice doesn’t work for you—that is fine, just don’t blame me.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get on to the business. {another quick warning that this is long}

Accounts Spreadsheet
When you are single—life (financially speaking) seems fairly easy. You have a bank account, a credit card or two (which you of COURSE pay off at the end of every month) and a few internet passwords to remember. Then you get married (dun, dun, DUN). All of the sudden you have your accounts, his accounts, your credit cards, his credit cards, your internet passwords, his internet passwords, not to mention that you are trying to find what will work for you as a couple. For Ronnie and I that means one joint bank account, but everyone is different—so do what works for you.

I have found that keeping track of that information was a bit daunting. Everything was in a different place and not necessarily accessible. So, I created a spreadsheet (I LOVE spreadsheets). I’ve even made it accessible to you (a blank one that is—I love you, but not enough to give you my personal information). Click Here. You will need to have a Google account to edit it, but I have left it open to everyone to edit and once you are in the edit screen you can export it (under ‘file’) to your computer so you can do with it as you will. I will warn you that I am not a computer guru. I have a printed copy of the file that I keep in my [soon to be] fire proof box and I also keep an electronic copy that is password protected. (While this will deter some from getting to the document on your computer, a true hacker may be able to access it—you can decide what you want to do).

You’ll notice that mine probably has a few categories that will not pertain to you (I’m pretty sure not everyone needs to know their Hunter’s Safety number), while your finished document will have areas that I don’t have—make it fit your needs. I cannot tell you the number of times I access this document! It would come in handy if one of our wallets was ever stolen (knock on wood) in that I have the phone numbers and account numbers of all of our credit card providers, etc. When Ronnie needed his FAFSA pin (after 3 years of not using it)—there it was. You’ll thank yourself later, I promise.

Checking your Credit
I know you hear a lot about “free credit reports” on television—but what they don’t tell you is that you have to enroll in a monthly-fee program to get that free report. Luckily, the government has mandated that we can get one free credit report from each of the three reporting companies each year. I HIGHLY recommend doing this. If you have never checked your credit before you will want to get reports from all three companies the first time (and then set a date in your calendar to remember to do it again in a year). The reason you want reports from all three is that you will be very surprised about the differences between them. This way you can cancel inactive accounts, clear up any other mistakes and start fresh—so to speak. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to get started.

After I initially checked all of the reports, I now check our credit every four months—but only from one reporting company. That way I have a more frequent check, but it is still free (get it?). One note: Keep your oldest credit card! Even if you never use it anymore (since usually the credit amount is very low and it doesn’t have rewards). A LOT of your credit is based on this amount of time you have been tracked. Once you close an account, it will still be on your report, but doesn’t help with your credit at all. Also—the free service offered just includes the credit report itself and does not include your credit score. You can purchase that at the time that you request your report (for usually around $7 per company). I only pay for our scores once a year—to save some dough.

Budgeting
I probably don’t need to tell you that programs like Quicken are awesome. I also probably don’t need to tell you that these programs cost money. I took a Personal Finance class my senior year of college that CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER. And yes, that really does need to be in all caps. It was a 4000 level course however, and a few of the concepts we covered require a bit of a finance background. But do not despair. The marvelous teacher has launched a FREE website that is essentially an exact copy of the class (minus a few of the advanced concepts I mentioned). I have been using the budgeting spreadsheet he provides since I graduated—and love it. REALLY love it. The entire website—which I strongly, STRONGLY encourage you to check out is at http://personalfinance.byu.edu/ and the budget sheet is located here {it is TT04 in the document list}.

I don’t know if you can tell by now, but I feel strongly about being in control of your personal finances. In fact, I learned so much from the Personal Finance class I mentioned (including VITAL information for buying a home, a car, etc) that I wrote a letter to the president of my university letting him know how it had changed my life and that I believed that a simplified version should be added to the general requirements to graduate from college. I like to think that that letter is the reason that the new, free website exists. [I can dream—right?]

So there you have it—the secret to my success (if you consider living in an apartment and going to graduate school a success). My little family is getting there—one baby step at a time. Feel free to comment with questions, or let me know about things that have worked for you—I’m always looking for a better way to do things!

Hints

I asked you recently for things that I should blog about, and a few different people asked for organization tips. I’ve shared my genius filing system (which unfortunately, I did not invent) as well as the calendar that keeps me sane at my computer, in the past. If you haven’t implemented those in your life yet, go do it—seriously!

Other than that, I only have a few things that I do that have a name. Things in my kitchen are organized, but I think that is a very personal preference, so I’ll let you have your kitchen the way you want it. I’ll ask you to stay with me—as this post is solely my opinions and these things may work for you, a variation may work, or you may say “man, KaLee doesn’t know ANYTHING” and just keep on doing what you are doing.

Labeling: Ahhh, labeling. How I love you! I took a few pictures of my stamping stuff and linen closet {click on the pictures to make them bigger} so that you can see my labeling in action. This is the first house that this labeling has been typed; I normally handwrite on the labels (which is equally as effective, but doesn’t make my heart go pitter-patter in quite the same way).

Here we see a few examples of my stamping labels. I have found that a general category that is very easily read works best and when applicable I list individual items so that I don’t have to dig through the drawer/box.

And here we see the linen closet. While in my ideal world I would have gorgeous, stylish containers that match and make the closet “shine” my budget just won’t let that happen and truth be told, these boxes work exactly the same. Again, you will see my use of large general labels with specific items listed underneath. I’ve found that this system also helps when you get those questions from your husband that go something like, “Honey? Have you seen my C-3400 gun remover bullet shaper thingy?” I can then say. “That will be in the “Hunting” box.” This takes a bit of time, I won't lie--but the joy that will swell in your breast every time you open your closet will be well worth it, trust me.

Color Coding: I don’t know that this counts as organization, but it makes me happy—so we’ll roll with it. All of my shirts are color coded. I have black on one end and white on the other, but you could do ROY G. BIV if you so desired. I used to keep my shirts in categories: long sleeved, short sleeved, button-up, etc. My roommate Carissa introduced me to this form of organization and I’ve never been able to go back. I find that I know exactly what shirts I own and can tell by glancing at the empty hangers which shirts are in the wash. Shirts that normally would be forgotten get worn more often. This will only take you about 5 minutes--one of the easiest fixes you will ever find. {the part of this system that your husband may not enjoy is that you can see exactly which colors your wardrobe is lacking and you will go on crazy hunts to find and purchase tops in those colors--ask me how I know}
We’re taking this in baby steps—so tomorrow I’ll be back to share a few gems that were gathered while obtaining my finance degree. Things to help you feel in control of your accounts/bills and budget. Anticipate that.

The place where we dwell

Here it is--the long awaited apartment tour. I'll put the captions *above* the picture that I am describing. I don't really know what is standard in that regard.

A view of the living room.
And this is the view into the kitchen/dining area. I love the open floor plan, but could use a bigger kitchen for sure.
And here is a view from the couch. The door on the left is the front door and the door on the right is Easton's room. That ugly grill is our air intake for the heating and A/C (yes, we do have A/C-hallelujah!) so we can't cover it up.
A view of the kitchen. We are going to be putting up a shelf next to the cabinet that in set into the wall for the microwave to live on. That way I can have a *tiny* bit more counter space.
And here is the dining room. That bin is awaiting all of the clothes that Easton has outgrown so it can go to long-term storage.
Now we will move into Easton's room. Here is the view straight ahead from the doorway. You can see the door to the walk-in closet (BOTH bedrooms have one) and the built in bookshelves.
A view of the office/stamping space part of the room.

And a view of where Easton's area starts.

Here is the crib. Easton has almost made the adjustment to a new home. He is still waking up twice a night (instead of the once he was doing previously), but I think he feels like this is home now.
This is the view of the built in shelves I just mentioned. They are great for game and kid book storage.
You know that I really love you since I am showing you the inside of this closet. The closet in Easton's room houses all of my craft/stamping stuff as well as our short term storage (or things we get into more than once a year).
Another shot of the closet. In order to redeem my organization status, I'll have you notice that every drawer is labeled. Does that count for something?
As we exit out of Easton's room and turn left, this is the view. The bi-fold doors on the right are the laundry closet and the other door on the right is the linen closet. The open door on the left (of which you can only see hinges) is the bathroom.

And here is the bathroom. Nothing too exciting, we put up the over-the-toilet cabinet to try and combat the lack of storage in this room.
And here is my laundry closet. I love my new washer and dryer. Why is the blue protective plastic still on, you ask? I am my mother's daughter. Taking it off means that they are no longer "new." My previous washer and dryer (which we sold before moving to Laramie) still had the plastic on after a year and a half. My grandparents (who purchased them for their cabin) were THRILLED.
And now we walk into the master bedroom. I really need something above the bed--but have no idea what. Suggestions? The major problem is that the height of the headboard means that normal artwork doesn't look quite right.
A slight turn to the right from the doorway.
And now I am standing by the headboard. The door to the outside leads to the patio area (which can also be accessed through the kitchen) and the closed door is the one that goes to the hall.

The closed door on the left is the one that goes to the hall and the other closed door is to our walk-in closet. (yes, that is a moose antler on top of the armoire)
A view into our closet. I just have one thing to say about this. It is HUGE!
And these are the shelves that are on one entire side of the closet. I am in love with them.
Finally, this is our patio area. The open door goes into the kitchen and the door straight ahead is the one I discussed in our bedroom. You can also see our storage closet.
Do you feel at home? I'm starting to. No pictures of the outside since this is a fairly recognizable complex in Laramie and while I like to believe there are no crazies out there, the truth is--they exist.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that our patio opens right up to the playground and sandbox for the complex, which I am sure Easton will LOVE in the future.

The Good Genes

I think we have discussed (probably too many times) that I like clean. I like organization. That gene was inherited from my mom, and she got it from her mom (is Easton cursed? We shall see).

In the past month my sister and I have moved out of our respective apartments. This has meant that deep cleaning has taken place. Both times, my mom came over to help (Erc even got the help of Grandma and Grandad, but I was not so lucky). In my sister’s apartment we cleaned for four hours. My mom spent the ENTIRE time on the stove and oven. You read that right, the entire four hours. When Erc and Dan checked out, they got rave reviews of the cleanliness of the oven. They were the first people to not be charged an additional fee for the management people to re-clean it.

When it was time for Ronnie and I to clean my mom came over to help us as well. I had not planned very well and my oven was still in the self-clean mode (which takes about one bazillion hours), so my mom tackled other areas.

Like the light fixtures.

And the top of the cabinet doors. (note that this was not just the cabinets, but the top ridge of the cabinet doors—they had some NASTY residue that I’m sure had been there for years and years).

And the light switch covers.

I would venture to say that the light switch covers and screws had never looked so good. (do you know anyone besides my mom that would take a toothpick to them?)

I teased her a little bit (all the while being eternally grateful for her help).

And then, we received our deposit check in the mail a few days ago.

For the FULL amount. Every. Last. Penny.

I hope my mom realizes that this means that for the rest of my life, I will be flying her out to help with the final cleaning. (Note: I also hope that my apartment/renting experience will end sooner vs. later)

Thanks, Mom!

Sorting Winner

First of all, I was going to offer a prize in each category--but then I realized that it didn't matter because Anne Marie (who has a private blog) was the closest on all three!

I am moving 1 box. Just for the record, 20 boxes were shredded (my department handles all scholarships and donors for the college so there was a lot of personal information), and 8 boxes were recycled. Even the shredded stuff will be used in drywall (or something like that--so the shredding company told me).

The oldest document I found was Sept. 17, 1965. Although the documents from 1977 enthralled me the most since they were all typed on carbon paper so our office could have a copy of the letter.

Our office did their accounting by hand in GIGANTIC ledger books until 1993. Not as horrible as I made you all think, but still personal computers were around.

So, thanks for playing! Anne Marie--send me your preferred monogram for the cards and I'll get those right out to you!

Sorting

So I mentioned how I am quite busy at work currently. No, I’m not an accountant (though that would be a logical explanation for craziness at work this time of year).

I’m planning an event for a lot of important people—that is half of the craziness.

The other half is that our entire building has to move.

Into an old dorm building.

It will be as glamorous as you are imagining.

So, as such we are sorting. Sorting old files, office supplies, broken chairs, etc. I know that I am not moving one single thing that I don’t have to. In fact—with every job I’ve ever held, I’ve completely cleaned (or should I say chucked*) all unnecessary items about six months after starting. At that point, I usually have a good idea of what can go.

It is my belief that offices in general keep way too much crap. Yes, I used the “C” word and I’ll say it again. CRAP.

But now I’m going off on one of my pet peeves—so back to the situation at hand.

My office has a store room. I was shown where it was when I started, but have never set foot in it since. Not once. I haven’t searched for a single file down there.

So last week I tackled the job. 25 file boxes and 3 four-drawer filing cabinets.

And now I present a little contest. Answer the following questions.
1. How many boxes am I moving to my new storage room?
2. What date did the oldest document display?
3. Until what year did my department keep their account books by hand?

I’ll close the contest Wednesday, April 16th at 11:59p.m. (One entry per person please).

The prize?

You want to know about the prize?

A set of personalized cards from yours truly. Cuz, let’s face it—that’s about all my pocket book can afford to shell out at the moment.

*When I say chucked, I mean recycled. I am earth friendly. But recycled just doesn't make my heart sing like the word chucked. Say it with me. CHUCKED.

A dependency

So.

I think we have established that I *tend* to like things a certain way.

Okay, okay. I am a psycho about it.

I was reminded of this as I returned to work.

You see, while working in Provo, I was given a computer screen calendar. What is that, you ask? Here’s a picture so you can get an idea.

It is pretty amazing how often you need to reference the date. Whether it is today’s date, the day of an upcoming meeting, or a holiday. All I had to do was direct my eyes upward and January through December were proudly displayed.

But I returned to work in 2008 and my calendar was of 2007.

The first morning back, I attempted to locate an upcoming date no less than 8 times and it was only 9:30am. I frantically emailed my previous co-worker and good friend to see if there were any extra 2008 calendars lying around her office than she could mail to me (the calendars were sent out as promotional items from an affiliate of the company). She informed me that there were not any extras, and then, being the good friend that she is, she gave me links to printable calendars that would do the same job.

Because I have realized that this calendar is of the utmost importance in my life I want to share it with you.

You can find a letter sized printable calendar here or a legal sized one here. (If you have access to legal paper, I would recommend that one—it’s just a little easier to read).

Now please, hold the applause.

Cleaning

My house has not been up to my standards of clean since the arrival of Easton, and as such my mind has been directed toward cleaning. (This does not, however, mean that it has been cleaned yet).

I'm kind of stealing this idea from my wonderful friend Jen who has posted similar ideas here and here, but I have one specific product that I would like to recommend--and it's not cheap.

De-Solv-It

Say it with me now: De-Solv-It.

Go buy some. RIGHT NOW!

This stuff can do wonders. It has removed gum from my hair (I know that you aren't supposed to get gum in your hair after the age of 6, but sometimes I struggle), stickers from windows, oil stains from laundry and the list goes on and on.

Not only is it magical, but it smells delicious--like you could drink it (although I'm pretty sure you shouldn't). Orangey goodness will radiate from your house. Yum.

Memories or How My Old Room Was Full of Crap

I am not a pack rat.

Not even close to one. I despise all forms of piles, whether they be necessary or not and have no problem donating (ahem, trashing) my items. With two moves in the last 7 months, I can say that I have successfully sorted and cleaned every drawer, closet, box and cubby that we own.

Except for three large Sterilite tubs.

They are not mine and I do not have permission to go through them. (If any of you want to remind Ronnie that they are sitting in the garage, please do so).

Unfortunately, since I permanently moved out of my parents’ house in 2002, I had not gone through the closet of my old room.

Last night I took on that task.

I determined that I was a little bit more of a pack rat then, than I am now.

I threw away no less than three large, black garbage bags full of things like:

All of the letters I had ever received from a missionary (note: I did not send off any missionaries, so these were all just friends.)

A binder full of love letters from my 9th grade boyfriend.

No less than 100 empty CD cases (why I saved these I’ll never know).

Various trinkets that were given by old friends but had been melted or completely faded by the sun.

Three empty boxes (again, what?)

Not just one, but FIVE fuzzy notebooks (you know, the kind that are popular with the preteens).

And many, MANY more insignificant items. I don’t want you to think that I am heartless and don’t care about anything—I did keep many memory filled items as well.

Now all I have to do is sort through the large basket of old birthday cards and my cleaning will be complete. (Let’s all pray that I find some long-lost money in there!)

The Junk Cabinet

Several times I have talked about my love of planning and all things organized, but I have a confession to make.

I have a junk cabinet.

That’s right. It’s not just a junk drawer, but a three-drawer Sterilite container that contains all the things I would “like” to file.

Look! I can appear organized, and not actually know where anything is!

My intention of this 3-drawer system was to semi-sort everything, and then go through the drawers and file things away as necessary.

The filing never happened.

Before you lose all faith in me—the drawers are at least categorized. We have Warranty Information/Instruction Booklets, Keepsakes, and The Bottomless Drawer of Crap.

A few days before we moved to Laramie, I buckled down and went through Every. Single. Drawer. I was pleased to throw away or shred two-thirds of what was in there, but since the filing cabinet was taped and secured, I did not get around to filing.

Which brings us to my next problem—I HATE to file! I hate it at work and I hate it at home. But, I know it is a necessary evil—so I force myself to stop crying and buckle down.

I have always filed things into categories such as food, utilities, recreation, jewelry, furniture, tithing, school expenses, cell phones, gas, car repair, etc. And most of the time the folders were empty.

But I would now like to share with you my miracle way of filing. (I learned this online—I’m sure from a blog a few months ago, but can’t find it now, so if you know the original author give her a humongous hug and let me know who she is so I can shower her with praise and gifts!)

I now have one file for each month. Every receipt, bill, and bank statement for that month is put in the folder as it is paid. At the end of the month, the folder is placed in the filing cabinet. (I keep the current month folder in the kitchen, since that is where I do most of my check writing, etc.) When it is tax time, I go through the year and grab the papers that are vital, then everything is put into a 2007 folder and the months are empty for the next year. (I actually have two folders for January and February since these months happen before my taxes do.)

In addition to the month folders, I still have folders for tithing, furniture, jewelry, and other large purchases since these are items that I want to be able to access quickly.

Seriously, I love it! There isn’t a junk drawer and everything is automatically filed at the end of the month. And lets be honest—who references all of their sorted receipts regularly anyway? I can usually remember the month that something was purchased if I need to return it and then I can find the receipt.

I apologize for the length of this rather boring post if you made it this far! If you happen to have any other miracle tips regarding corralling your household papers let me know!

The Handbook

So, Monday is my last day at BYU.

They posted my job today.

Obviously, I will not be around to train my replacement.

Knowing that, I have been hard at work putting together a handbook of sorts. So far it is 13 pages long and covers the entirety of my job (I'm pretty sure). It is organized, but not too fancy.

But a problem has emerged.

How competent is my future replacement? Do I need to dummy it up, or will the person feel like I am talking to child? Have they worked at BYU before, or is this their first time? Are they anally organized like me, or a little more laid back?

For now, I've decided to ere on the side of too much detail. I have computer folder trails as well as hyperlinks to all documents. I have a step for EVERYTHING you edit when adding a new cable company. I have even explained the complexity that is our mail system.

Too much? I really don't know. So far I have made 15 additions just today. I really need to come to a stopping point, but where is it?

Let's just hope that the "new" KaLee will be anally organized, love step-by-step directions and sing my praises for the handbook.

Moving....and Sharing

Ronnie and I are officially moved into the basement of my Grandparent’s house. I learned a lot of things…things that can only be learned when you move.

Things like:
1. The sound of packing tape can be grating to the ears after several hours.
2. No matter how organized you pack in the beginning, you will always have boxes at the end that can’t be categorized simply (I have one with a list of 8 different things on the side).
3. Everyone should move every two years in order to clean out all of the crap you accumulate.
4. The very last thing that should be carried out the door as you are doing your final lock-up is a bottle of lotion. My hands were so dry that Ronnie would not touch them, and I was in serious pain as we quickly drove to their rescue.

Now that we are “settled,” we are also learning a few things about living in the same house as someone else for longer than a vacation.

1. We are constantly whispering to each other, not about important things, but for some reason it just feels appropriate.
2. I find myself literally tip-toeing around, something I am pretty sure I haven’t done since I was about seven.
3. Each morning I dig for instead of select clothes appropriate for work.
4. Food is hard to share, especially when you have double the condiments available.

The hardest thing about all of this is not that we have to share a space, because my grandparents are pretty much the coolest people ever and have bent over backwards to ensure that we feel at home, but that I can’t truly unpack anything since we are moving into a different bed, bedroom, closet, and even floor of the house once they leave on their mission and I don’t have the energy to organize everything twice. If anyone has any quick-fix suggestions for me to keep my sanity, let me know.

Who Needs a Plan?

Towards the end of the summer Ronnie and I were looking for some excitement. We had been to visit both of our families and wanted to go on a trip. Given our limited monetary and time resources we decided upon a trip to Yellowstone National Park. When going on a trip, you usually need to have at least an idea of what you may be doing...for those of you that know ME, you may know that I am a bit of a planner.

Okay, okay…I am a freak about planning.

I began what I consider to be a necessary part of any trip—internet research. Ideally, I like to have our lodging planned and paid for as well as a general itinerary of events throughout the day. I don’t need minute-by-minute plans but a solid itinerary in my mind would look something like this:

Breakfast

Morning: visit Old Faithful, Look at deer, elk, moose, raccoons and other animals. Visit Artist’s paint pots.

Lunch

Afternoon: visit other various geysers, hike to the lower and upper falls.

Dinner

Evening: More animal gazing.

Fireside fun

Bedtime

In my opinion, you cant go on a trip with anything less than that, and you really need to know the mileage and time estimates for each activity so that any surprises aren’t too extreme.

So back to Yellowstone. We were hoping to go with friends, and invited our friends Josh (with the incredibly strong neck) and Gnickie. They were happy to go but wanted to leave that day.

Yep, you read that right.

Ronnie and I had toyed with the idea for a few hours the night before and they were wanting to leave the VERY next afternoon. Ronnie called me with this information at 11am and told me to be ready to go right after work. WHAT!?!?

Did we have a place to stay? NO!

Did we know who was driving? NO!

Had we decided on food? NOPE!

I went into psycho-planning mode and began more intensive internet research, compiling lists and calling Ronnie every 15 minutes or so. By the time 5pm rolled around, I had secured a place to stay and had the best itinerary that I could have possibly done in a mere 6 hours. I continued to stress until we were on the road…but in the end we had an excellent trip and actually got much more done and seen than I could have planned in even more time. Below are a few pics of our adventures.

Ronnie and I at an overlook at the Artist's Paint Pots.

Ronnie, Me, Gnickie and Josh proving that we really were at Yellowstone.

The Grizzly bear that was 40 yards from where we decided to eat lunch. We ate standing up constantly ready to run for our lives. It also made sleeping in Grizzly country that night more of a "real" experience.