Pinching

With the Wuehler family (as with many families across America), 2009 is going to be a tight year. Brent and I have looked at our finances and agreed to take some cost-saving measures to trim the fat. We're pretty careful with our money anyway so we had to get creative on finding more ways to save. The following is a list of things we will do for 2009 and once 2010 hits we can loosen our belts a tad. In the meantime:

1. No movies: we have Netflix and rather than pay $12 per person for a movie in the theater, we're just going to have to wait until it's available on dvd. I think Harry Potter is the only one we would have shelled out the money for anyway.


2. Public transportation: even though gas has gone down to a tolerable price, parking in Boston can be pricey. Every so often I'd be headed out the door to catch my bus when Liesel would wake up, smile a groggy smile at me and my heart melted. I'd announce to Brent we'd just have to drive in because I couldn't leave my girl. Doing this a couple of times a week at $11 a day, you can do the math. I'm just going to have to suck it up and consistently take the bus. Those early morning hours are Brent and Liesel's bonding time anyway; I get to see her in the afternoon when I do pick up.


3. No restaurants: when we looked at our finances for this past year I was blown away at how much we spend at restaurants. We never go out! But a little Burger King here, a Chinese craving there and voila, it adds up fast. For some strange reason we've amassed a number of gift cards to various restaurants lately. BTW- huge thanks to the anonymous person who sent me a gift card to The Cheesecake Factory for my birthday. I never did find out who was so generous. Anyway, if we really need a night out we'll use one of our many gift cards. No restaurants means NO restaurants. Everything from Bertucci's to Yum Yum Dim Sum is on the chopping block. 2009 will be the year of home cooking.


4. A couple of degrees: I like a toasty warm house even though Brent and Liesel run warm. I looked at the temperature gauge and turned it down a couple of degrees. I'm wearing my hoodies around the house a lot more often and Brent's obliged me with more cuddling. This one's not so bad.


5. E-bay: I'm looking long and hard at the things we just don't use that could be sold to an eager buyer. We made a nice chunk of change from the extra Cities and Knights set and my old Coach bag this past year. Now that I have the account and a little bit of know how (thanks for the tutorial Reagan!) our virtual garage sale is up and running.
6. Valentine's Day: from the beginning of our marriage we agreed that Brent would always get me flowers (ordered shortly after Christmas when there are a lot of deals) and I would take him out to eat. Turns out Valentine's Day is on a Saturday this year! My co-workers will never know we decided to forgo the flowers and we'll cook each other a lovely meal at home to celebrate. We're planning to do the same thing for our anniversary.
7. Buddy System: I've agreed I will not frequent a Container Store unless Brent is with me. I can easily justify spending huge amounts of money there because "A house of order is a house of God" so Brent promises to keep my feet on the ground.


8. No birthday gifts: Birthdays are a pretty big deal in my family and I really try to get everyone in the Nielsen and Wuehler families a little somn' somn' for the big day. Turns out, it's a pretty big expense so this year we're doing letters detailing why we love and appreciate the birthday person. I can't go so cheap as to do email but a stamp is still a pretty big savings. I have a feeling people will like personal letters better than the gifts we've gotten in the past anyway.


9. Embrace the Kirkland brand: Oooohkay... this is, well a challenge for me. As of right now we do the butter and the frozen chicken so perhaps I can swallow my pride and try some of their other products. Except the men's shirts. And the toilet paper. You know what? This one isn't all that big of a deal. I just agreed to try it. I could even take it off of this list.

Any other suggestions? I'd love to hear your cost-savings secrets!

I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing...

Ever get a tune stuck in your head? This was in mine last night and if your over the age of 25 and you read the title of this post it's likely stuck in yours too now. Brent kept looking at me funny when I'd try and make up the words although I think "I'd like to buy the world a coke and make it caffeine free" was pretty darn clever. Anyway, it was seriously driving me to Alzheimer's trying to remember how it went so I hunkered down on the laptop to research it out and satisfy my inquiring mind.



Wasn't this such a great commercial? Of course, this is the 1984 Christmas version but the original was done in 1971. In my search for lyrics I ran across the story behind it. I consider myself a road warrior and I loved how a fogged in airport can turn into a great opportunity.

Whaddya say? Should Coca Cola bring one more rendition of this one back for old times sake? I'd love to buy the world a home and furnish it with love. I would!

Hallelujah

Ladies and gentlemen! As of 3:00 yesterday our Arizona house has SOLD!!! We sold it in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We sold it in the off-month of December. We sold it in Arizona which was one of the states hardest hit by the housing bubble. We sold it without hurting our pristine credit. We sold it without resorting to renters who would have destroyed the place. We sold it after much blood, sweat and tears. Literally. We've poured a huge chunk of our marriage into getting that house off our backs. Miracle? Absofrigginlutely!!! A mountain of thanks for all your prayers. They worked.

No more sleepless nights. No more paying for air-conditioning during the hottest summer in 10 years. No more complaints from the beotch neighbor (no lie, she really was a piece of work). No more pool repairs. No more tear-filled calls to family and friends. No more landscaping upkeep. No more calls to my buddy Glen at Service Magic (we became very close) for plumbing/electric/roofing/ water heating/whatever estimates. No more cringing every time I read about the state of the housing market as it plummets into oblivion. No more worrying we'd have to move to Arizona (with my asthma and allergies) before we had our next child so we could stay financially solvent. No more. It's over folks. We are leaving behind a painful past in exchange for a rosy future.

I'm so happy I want to run naked through a field of daisies. Too bad it's winter. I've never been so excited to be homeless. Well, we have our apartment here in Boston but you know, other than that :) We're FREE!!!

Let the healing begin!

Thank You Patrick!!!

This is a shout out to the governor of Massachusetts for calling a state of emergency for today. Since I'm considered a "non-essential city employee" work is closed! To add a little cherry on top of that, I have all next week off so basically, my vacation starts NOW. I get to hang out with my adorable girl today. I could start that t-shirt quilt for Brent. I could tidy the house. I could go back to bed. I could bake bread! I could call all my friends and have long, meaningful conversations. I could take pictures and video of Liesel. I could blog. I could light a yule log. I could watch all the recorded tv episodes on my dvr. I could shop online. I could organize my iTunes. I could ponder poems by Yeats. I could change my ring tone. Oh the things I could do! Oh! Oh! Oh!!!

LOL

Being married to an accountant comes with it's own brand of humor. These made me laugh:

• Two accountants are in a bank, when armed robbers burst in. While several of the robbers take the money from the tellers, others line the customers, including the accountants, up against a wall, and proceed to take their wallets, watches, etc. While this is going on accountant number one jams something in accountant number two's hand. Without looking down, accountant number two whispers, "What is this?" to which accountant number one replies, "it's that $50 I owe you."
  

• An accountant is having a hard time sleeping and goes to see his doctor. "Doctor, I just can't get to sleep at night.""Have you tried counting sheep?""That's the problem - I make a mistake and then spend three hours trying to find it."
  
• A job interview is in progress, a bright and experienced accountant is interviewing for a position of a CFO. He is being interviewed by the members of board of directors and a CEO. During the interview the CEO suddenly asks: "Tell me, what is seven multiplied by three?" The accountant thinks fast and tells "22." Once the interview is over the accountant goes out, takes out the calculator and finds the answer - 21, disappointed, he goes home. Next morning he gets a call from the CEO, "Hey, you got a job." The accountant is pleasantly surprised. He cannot but ask, "Thank you very much for the job but what about seven multiplied by three?" The CEO tells him - "of all the candidates we interviewed, you came the closest."
  

• A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and says, "Want to hear an accountant joke?"
  The guy next to him replies, "Well, before you tell that joke, you should know that I'm 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, and I'm an accountant. And the guy sitting next to me is 6'2" tall, 225 pounds, and he's an accountant. Now, do you still want to tell that joke?"
  The first guy says, "No, I don't want to have to explain it two times."

Got any other good ones?

Information That Would Have Been Useful YESTERDAY!

So apparently you're not supposed to put potato peels in your disposal. I guess the starch gums everything up. And apparently filling the sink with hot water in the hopes the stuck potato will cook and soften isn't a good idea either. I guess the water just backs up and drips out of your dishwasher, through the floor and onto your storage in the basement below. Apparently the busiest day of the year for plumbers is the day after Thanksgiving as noted in this article. I guess my favorite part is the guy who paid the plumber $100 not to tell his wife it was, you guessed it, the potato peels.

Didn't know that. How come everyone else does? Why did you all selfishly keep this information to yourselves? Why didn't you all warn us about this? "Hey Danika, Gymboree is having a sale. By the way, don't put potato peels down your sink." "Great Red Sox game Brent! Have I ever told you it's not a good idea to put potato peels in your sink?" "I love you so much little Liesel. Because I do I'd like to pass on a valuable little tid bit: never EVER put potato peels in your sink!"

What's the dealio people? Are we not good enough for your potato conversations? Is there some secret spud society we're just not cool enough to join? Is that it? Huh? HUH?

Men Are From Home Depot, Women Are From Vera Wang

What should I wear?

I pose this question to Brent in regards to the children's Christmas party at his work. He responds dismissively, "It's Saturday so just something comfortable... jeans." Hmmmm, he mentioned Santa was going to be there. While I realize I'm pretty new at this whole parenting thing, I recall being amazed at how well-dressed the children at the mall were waiting to sit on Santa's lap. It's a photo op. Some parents even make ornaments out of them. Kind of a big deal.

Are you sure? There aren't going to be kids in like, super nice outfits are there?

Again, Brent dismissively assures me it's SATURDAY which is code for casual. I quickly decide on my own outfit: skinny jeans, high heals and my fuzzy pink sweater which is carefully stowed in a plastic bag for much of the year. I throw my hair in a chignon and put on only light makeup. I'm trying to convey the message that I'm impossibly put together for the mother of an 8-month old and my husband's success extends well beyond his position there at work. Then I consider Liesel's outfit. Something festive for sure. I settle on a red sweater with jeans and then fearing she'd look too much like a boy, I throw on her red and white lace socks. To top it off (pun intended), I force her into the scratchy Santa hat we bought on a whim at Target a week ago. As I strap Liesel into her car seat Brent comes out with no coat. He's always insisting he runs hot and I'm always begging him to blend with the crowd and cover up. This time I also remind him his work is located in the seaport district where it's always much colder than inland. He runs into the house and in a flash he's back in his over sized BYU windbreaker. The one that's big enough for a linebacker to wear... with his football gear on. *sigh* I'd been thinking something more along the lines of his black, leather jacket but you have to pick your battles.

Upon arriving at Brent's work he shows us around before we head down to the party. We ran into his old boss who has three kids in tow. I notice the children are in matchy-matchy argyle outfits. Ooookay... maybe it's just because that's the boss? We head down to the party and there are all the children in their red velvet/plaid satin/sparkling silver outfits. The boys have chunky sweaters with matching pants and socks. The girls have white tights and patent leather shoes not to mention silk ribbons in their hair. The good news is my outfit was right on cue. Every woman there is wearing essentially the same thing. Liesel on the other hand is looking a tad... well... off. Even with the Santa hat she's just a little under dressed. When I talked to Brent about it afterwards he was a bit sheepish. I'd been right to inquire about a dress code; even if that dress code was unspoken.

What I find fascinating about all this is it seems to be a gender thing. Pretty much every married woman I know has a story similar to this. Men may make fun of us for staring at a closet full of clothes and exclaiming, "I have NOTHING to wear" because they don't understand this fundamental truth: always obey the dress code. You don't want to be THAT woman who's ridiculously under/overdressed. It indicates arrogance or ignorance or worse, BOTH. Yet for the average male, it barely escapes their notice if someones appearance is out of kilter with the event at hand. Why is that anyway? If a man showed up to a black tie wedding in jeans all he'd remember is that he was really comfortable that day, not that he was horrifyingly inappropriate. Ladies, back me up here?

A Little Sunday Afternoon Reading

Here are a few pictures from the Thanksgiving holidays, including celebrating Sister Nielsen's birthday. Also included are some pictures of Liesel in the tub, reading on a Sunday afternoon (my favorites), and a videos of watching the train go around the Christmas tree, and Dancing/Kicking (Sorry for the change in direction on that one--I did it so I could capture more of her kicking).

Just a Flesh Wound!

Laughed and had to post this in the hopes it would give the three people who read my blog something to smile at too. I love that they used Hilary's real voice.

What the Heck?

Yesterday it was orange. Not an orange hue; BRIGHT rust orange. It's something you might see in a brilliant sunset over India with the heat from the day and the aroma of spices in the air. Today it was so dark green it was practically black. Like the color of a pine tree in the middle of a thick, dark forest where the sun has not shined in decades.

Both times it smelled like sin and there was lots of it. I've been changing sheets, blankets and mattress pads. I'm so grateful we opted for a waterproof mattress pad or we'd be throwing out the mattress too. What the crap is going on? Literally?

What is Liesel eating?