Visiting Home

On Feb 20 we all 4 boarded a flight to go back to OK for the first visit home since moving! It has been almost 9 months and we were happy to see both of our families. Nick took his vacation days, I used our reward points to get 3 free roundtrip flights, and Brad had the week off school so it all came together! I'm glad we were able to squeeze in a trip before Jacob turns 2 because after that he will need his own ticket.

The first thing to do was get new luggage! Ours was battered from many trips so it was time to replace it.

Our flight left around noon, and it was only an hour long to our layover in Baltimore. The boys did good, and we got lunch to kill time on a 2.5hr layover. At that airport we came across a free kiosk to teach hands-only CPR! There was even a mannequin chest to practice on. If course I had Brad go try it out!

The next leg of the flight was 3hrs and Jacob was pretty restless for that one. He does not want to sit still! We landed safely and got our luggage before heading to get our rental car. We arrived at my mom's house around 630pm and she had a lovely dinner waiting for us! After we all ate, Nick and the boys headed down to Foster to stay 2 nights with his mom and sister. I stayed with my mom.

The next morning I had breakfast with my dad, then spent the day hanging out with my mom and sis in law over coffee and chat. That evening my mom hosted a big potluck dinner at her house! Nick drive the boys up with his mom, sister, and niece following him up. My brother Eric, wife Amy, and her 4 kids came. My brother Shane, his son Cameron, and Shane's girlfriend Regina came. Regina's sister Shirley was there, as well as my friend Sara, and my mom's friend Cheryl.

The next day I was able to go up to my old hospital Saint Anthony's and see my recovery room coworkers and boss! For dinner that evening we all meet at our favorite Italian restaurant Zios with my dad for a big dinner. We caught a beautiful sunset on the drive there.

That was our last full day there. The next morning we had to get up at 430am for an early flight home! We were pretty tired after a few days of late nights and early mornings, but glad to be on our way back home.

All in all we had a great time seeing our family and spending some time away from our crazy life and jobs here in NY! The very next day it was back to reality for both us. Maybe our next vacation will involve a beach!

A Valentine's Day on the Go

We spent our Valentine's Day on the road to check out a house for sale in Bolivar, a town that is 2 hours away. Nick went into work at 6 a.m. so that he could get off early, and I had a babysitter arranged to watch the boys at home.

It was a really pretty house, in a beautiful mountainous wooded area. It has been very well maintained with a lot of new updates, but there were several cosmetic things in a few structural things that we would want to change. The listed price is at the top of our range, so we are going to hold off on it for now. The search continues!

For our special Valentine's Day dinner, I had planned to do fondue at home. I had an assortment of things to dip in cheese, and things to dip in chocolate. We set down in front of the TV with our special meal and started watching one of our shows. But once we got done eating, we were both so tired that we couldn't even finish the show and went to bed early! How's that for an old married couple?

Goals Are Legit

I was just sitting here thinking about where I'm at in life, and where I want to be. I've always had a plan, whether it was a one-year plan, or 5 to 10 year plan. I'm a firm believer in setting a goal for yourself--either short-term or long-term--and making a game plan to reach that goal. I think that is a major part of adulthood and we should all know what we want to do with ourselves in life.

That doesn't mean you should know what job you want to do for the rest of your life, or how many kids you want. For example you're 18 and not sure what you are doing in life. This is where a game plan comes in! Let's say within five years you want to live on your own, travel to Europe, and have some money in savings. Now you need to come up with a plan to make that happen. What kind of job would you like to do, and does it require college? What luxury items are you comfortable with doing without so that you can afford necessities and build a savings? Do you have a friend you can be a roommate with? Make a plan and put it into action, and stick to it! You will reach your goals and no time.

I am 30 years old, and exactly where I want to be in life. I am working on the final step needed to reach my happy place in life where I can settle in with my family, and live happily ever after. I hope that I can inspire other people to follow their dreams and not get discouraged.

Frugal living is not glamorous, it is not popular, it is not "on trend", and most of the time it is not easy because it may involve going without things that everyone around you has.

I am currently living debt-free, I have three savings accounts full of money, two retirement accounts, a credit score over 800, and after moving across the country last year I am currently searching for my dream home to buy. This is many years in the making, but I have done it while raising a family on a very modest income and keeping my long-term goals in mind. I am even factoring in frugal living when I look for houses because I want to be able to grow a large garden, and have the option of raising chickens.

Through the years I've learned many tips and tricks for living frugally and being goal oriented. I love to inspire and help others who may have wondered off the path toward their goal and need help. I take joy in hearing other people's success stories and seeing others achieve their dreams! No dream is too big.

The Search Continues

We are continuing our search for our Dream Home. In a previous blog post, I had said that we looked at two houses. We actually put an offer in on the second home, and after some negotiation they accepted. After we got our inspection however, some major repairs were needed that were not anticipated. It would have been completely out of our budget for renovation, so we requested the sellers to fix it but they refused. We ended up withdrawing our offer, and now we are back at square one.

Everyday we check online for new listings that meet our criteria. Not much is available right now so the pickings are slim. This is a house that we we're keeping our eye on, but we weren't very serious about it because it is a foreclosure, and the taxes are very high. Last Saturday we decided to go ahead and look at it just to see it in person if it would be worth it.

It is a Second Empire Victorian house in Corfu, NY. It is about 40 minutes away from our jobs and where we live now. It is on one acre. The outside is very beautiful and the town is nice and quiet, but there are many downsides to the property so we are not going to pursue it.

In other news, I have been at my new job for a month now. I am a full-time evening RN supervisor at a local nursing home. I am new to that type of facility, and new to that position so it has been a major change for me and what I'm used to. I am slowly coming off of orientation and I still feel like I have a lot to learn, but trying to soak everything up the best I can, and take it one day at a time.

It has been a big adjustment for our family with me back at work, even more so that I'm working 5 days a week instead of 3. I don't get to join the family for dinner in the evening anymore, and I basically only see Brad in the morning before he goes to school, and Nick for a little bit in the morning before he goes to work and when I get home and go to bed. Most of the evenings I'm gone, I still try to have a dinner cooked or in the Crock-Pot for the boys to eat when Nick gets home from work. My days off are spent trying to catch up on all the house chores and errands, not to mention us trying to fit in houses that we want to look at! It is a struggle to balance everything for sure, but we both know in the end it will all be worth it when we can settle our family into our Dream Home.