Sneak Peek...

...mostly because they won't arrive until we're in Seattle, and although I'm having them shipped directly there, I won't be able to get them to most of you until AFTER Christmas. So, here it is, our 2010 Christmas card

Yes. It's a very small PNG. The text reads "Merry Christmas From the Hnosko Family. Jonathan, Melissa, & Levi.

And a very Merry Christmas it shall be - in just 15 days!

Confession: I'm a blogger on a budget

"no, really?" you say rhetorically.

yes, and so it may come as no surprise to you I'm finding it difficult to shell out dollar after dollar to write, print off, and send my traditionally hilarious and simultaneously informative Christmas Letter.

I neglected to write such a letter last year - thinking that a 6 month old and a fresh recovery from a terrific bout of post partum depression were excuse enough. But this year, well, I'm afraid my excuses have run out.

That, and my son is so dog gone adorable, I'd be crazy not to share him with the world. Thanks to our dear friend [and, ahem, professional photographer in the making] Marilena, we have oodles of fantastic photos to share...

and that's just a sneak peak - there are MANY more that she snapped when she was here at our place just as the leaves started to turn. The woman has MAD talent, let me tell you.

So as I was going back and fourth about whether or not to break the bank, I found this promotion Shutterfly was running, and it sealed the deal.

But I need your help. I'm terrible at making artistically sound decisions. As I've been looking through the (astronomical number of) card options Shutterfly has this year, I have to say this card jumped out at me (maybe because it has a giant "H" in the top left corner). I also really like this one. Way more understated, but sometimes simple is nice. But then there's this one and - I'm overwhelmed. Do you see one you like?

Then again, even if I do manage to settle on a card choice, I may have so much difficulty narrowing down my photo options I may just have to send out some of these...

When we did announcement photo cards after Levi was born we went with one (very similar to this) that had a lot of pictures above and below two understated lines of text, I loved it. Maybe because it was heavy on pictures and light on text - after all, when you have a son as cute as mine, nobody cares what the words say. I may as well send one of these of my son to everyone, forget the "here's what we did this year" business, and call it good.

Every year (we call it our "anniversary gift" to each other since our anniversary is on the 29th) Jonathan and I order a photo book from Shutterfly that chronicles the previous year. Why? well, in simple terms, I'm NO GOOD at scrapbooking. Their photo books are nothing short of awesome, and also quite simple to create. The two we currently own are treasured - to illustrate that further, I should point out they are stored on a very high shelf to keep little fingers FAR AWAY.

Oh, I know what your'e thinking now. And you're smart to consider it. "ok, so she's finagled free Christmas cards, but to send them she'll spend minimum $22 - and that's without purchasing envelopes." Fear not, friends, I have a plan. You see, I figure I'll be able to GIVE at least half of these to their intended recipients in person. I mean, seriously, we're already spending umpteen dollars to fly half way across the country where the vast majority of everybody we know lives. Why couldn't I just hand them out? So, that's the plan. Which leaves me with about $12 in stamps to buy. Not bad for such a venture, I say.

And you? How's your Christmas card coming along?

Tightwad Tuesday

Why do I never find time to blog anymore... used to be a daily occurrence. I suppose that's a good thing though - it should mean I'm spending more time doing other things and less time staring at my screen - but two blogs a week 'aint bad, if you ask me.

Anyway...

Here's the nugget I've been thinking on this week. By now, you all know that Jonathan and I are making conscious decisions to save more and spend less. We've made lots of (small) changes and (small) sacrifices to do so. And yet, I think Jonathan would even agree with me here, neither of us feels deprived in any way. If anything, we feel less stress overall simply because we know we're slowly making our way towards our common goal: Wealth by way of frugality.

What? Excuse me?

Let me explain. I'll use a quote from my new favorite book* to illustrate my point.

"...most Americans are confused about the relationship between frugality and wealth. This confusion has a profound impact on how Americans spend. Because we think frugality has to do with being poor, we see it as an admission of economic failure. We think only poor people bring home a good find from the dump [or, in our case, the curb], and only poor people cut their own kids' hair [or, in our case, make our own yogurt and crackers for sack lunches]."

"Because we don't want to be seen as economic failures, we spend our money the way we mistakenly think the wealthy do - usually on day-to-day extravagances. We feel good, because briefly, we've made people think we are wealthier than we are. If we do it often enough, we may even fool ourselves along with our neighbors."

"It is true that most wealthy people buy a few more luxuries than do poor people, but the total percentage of income they spend on extravagances is extremely small. Consequently, a person with a low income and a wealthy attitude would live as modestly as possible to create maximum surplus to save and invest. Poor people often remain poor because they spend any surplus income on short term gratification"

*The Complete Tightwad Gazette, Amy Dacyczyn, 1998

No no, friends, we aren't going for riches here. But, darn it, I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck. Also, "wealth" to me represents the ability to stay home with my son and not bring in an income. So, we're making lifestyle changes that, yes, make more hands-on work for me, but also allow us to add to our emergency fund, meanwhile totally reducing my worry factor over our financial state.

Another key point I wanted to add came from the sermon our pastor preached this past Sunday. Wonderful message, but for the life of me I can't remember exactly which point it was that fit with what I've already said. I've been listening through the sermon again (on James, 5:1-12, speaking to "the rich") and still can't pick it out. Suffice it to say, we ALL fall into the category James would have described as "the rich". And we should all heed his warning to the rich because before we know it, in the twinkling of an eye, Christ will return. And do you know what he is going to want to know?

"What did you do with what I gave you? Your time, your talents, and your treasures?"

And that point resonates with me. On that glorious day when I meet Jesus face to face, I want to be able to know that I used what I was entrusted with responsibly. I did not spend wastefully. I did not pilfer it away. I did not hoard, and become greedy. I did not build up my treasure on earth, buying stuff and more stuff and more stuff, to make me happy, and to give me a false sense of worth. On the day that I am held accountable for how I used my what I was given, I want it to be said of me "well done!". Because on that day, there will not be any more" tomorrows" to which I could promise I would invest in His Kingdom, and wisely employ what He entrusted to me.

And so it is with that in mind that I try to humbly remember none of this is my own. Not my family, not my stuff, and certainly not my money. And as such, frugality and humble living is as much my responsibility to God as it is my means to be a stay-at-home mother. It is a means to both ends.

Wealth. Frugality. Obedience.

They go hand-in-hand-in-hand.

A few of my favorite things

I could write a long list of my favorite things... or I could just mention that many of them are sold at one place. I may not have been there, waiting with my nose smooshed against the glass at 8:00 this morning for the grand opening...

But I was there less than two hours later thankyouverymuch.

Trader Joes - I have been waiting to have one locally for TEN YEARS.

And today, well, today changes everything.

NOT ME Monday

Oye, what a week. I mean, a marvalous one, but WHAT A week. Holiday, husband home from work, baby's routine all out-a-whack, too much food and too little sleep - you know the type.

But among the many happy moments in my Thanksgiving week, there were some that were more than slightly irritating - and you know me, I always respond in the best, most polite way possible when irritated. I never lose my cool, and I have more patience than anyone you know.

In fact, it was with that very polite attitude of mine that I responded when I realized I hadn't a single egg in the house with which to make a pumpkin pie. On Thanksgiving Eve. Me? Forget eggs? Never.

It was Not me, mind you, who made Thanksgiving stuffing that was entirely too dry a couple of years ago. And therefore, it was not our dear neighbors who refrained from asking me to make it last year. It was also not my dear neighbor's husband (affectionately known as Levi's adopted grandpa) who, forgetting I had made that stuffing two years ago, reminded everyone of how dry it was. As such, it was NOT ME who, after being asked politely to give stuffing another try this year, made it TOO MOIST. I didn't even know that was possible.

Did you follow that? I sure hope so.

It is NOT my child (get a load of this one) who has recently discovered (ready for the gross-out factor?) his rectum. Yes, his anus. During each and every diaper change I wouldn't dare be caught saying "Levi, do not put your finger in your rectum" NOT ME! that's gross. Seriously GROSS!

In a stroke of blind faith, it is not me who has been giving my dairy sensitive toddler 4-8oz of cows milk, daily, for the past week. Oh no, I know full well what kind of problems that can cause. I've SEEN THEM. Weeks of diarrhea can be the eventual result of ONE SIP of cow's milk - why on EARTH would I give him more than that. Better question: How in the world can it be true that he's actually tolerating it? Go figure.

Feeling guilty about our expenditures on disposable items, I did not recently sew a new set of baby-wipes out of two old, donated blankets. I mean, you've heard me say RIGHT HERE that I don't want to use cloth wipes (because I don't like poop going into my washer, it is for that very reason I rinse all my diapers. Yes, yes, I know I could "rinse" my wipes too, but that's taking it a step too far people). I did, however, come up with a plan I think might work. I'll let you know.

Lastly, in the veritable abundance of free time I have, I did NOT recently take up yeast-bread-making as a hobby. I have not recently found it therapeutic to bake fresh bread, after fresh bread, after fresh bread. Nor have I been boning up on my baking science so as to use the least amount of yeast possible, while maintaining a strong flavor. Christine Boothman, this one's for you:

Wordless Wednesday

Tightwad Tuesday

I'll continue in this vein, because it's on my mind.

As I'm thumbing through this tightwad book I keep mentioning, one theme seems to permeate many of its pages. It's a theme I've had at the forefront of my mind this week - and maybe you can relate. First, a little background into why this theme is so relevant to me...

I don't know when it started really, but I'll take a stab in the dark and guess it was probably college. I lived in dorms. I had very very little space, and even less money. I surmised that the things I would buy while in college wouldn't need to last me beyond college - and for the most part, I was right. I shopped primarily at Walmart for any non-food item I would need, and that was that.

Every piece of furniture I bought was made of particle board. Every electronic item (save my laptop) was bottom-of-the-line. Virtually everything I bought was cheap. I don't mean to say it was all inexpensive (although most of it was that, too) I mean it was cheap. You know, cheap quality.

Knowing in the very very back of my mind that these things were cheap, I had no expectation that they would last a really long time. And I treated them as such. Without my even knowing it, or paying attention, this way of buying followed me (or us, I should say) on into marriage and adulthood. After all, we've never really been "rolling in dough", so we've always tried to buy inexpensive things. And what did that leave us with? You got it: A collection of things that don't hold up to long-term use, and a long list of things that need replacing.

Which brings me to the theme running throughout the book I'm reading: Buy good quality things, and take excellent care of them.

For us, that means we are going to start saving to buy the higher quality choice within the category of items we're looking for. Why? because it will save us money in the long run. I need to get this idea of "temporary stuff" out of my cheap brain. Living frugally means so much more than spending less money - it means getting MORE for the money you spend.

Note that I did not say buying quality things means buying expensive things. Sometimes the higher quality item can be found used - which, in some cases, would still last longer than a lower-quality new item. Do you get where I'm going with this?

Note that I also mentioned taking good care of the high-quality things you buy. Taking impeccable care of a low quality item may actually be equivalent to, if not better than, taking poor care of a high quality item. I'll use one of my own possessions as an example...

Last year we bought a humidifier for Levi's room. It was a nice one - I got it at Walgreens. It was not top of the line, it was a generic, but I'd say it was a nice one. We used it every single night in Levi's room throughout the winter last year. Then what did we do? we left it in his room, full of water, all throughout the summer. Mold grew in it. I would look at it every-so-often and think "you know, I should really try to clean that", at which point I would decide that it would take too much time and effort. After all, it called for "distilled water", a requirement we never took seriously, and I figured I had probably ruined it long ago. And I had. In all honestly, it would have been better for us to have purchased a cheap humidifier, if we were going to ruin it. We would have saved some money.

This winter we purchased an equally nice humidifier with a filter. It does not require distilled water. Needless to say, I plan to care for this one very well. I intend for it to last us many winters. Speaking of winters, we are also considering the purchase of a snow-blower. As per our most recent "ah-ha", we plan to buy a nice one, with a good track record, and a good warrantee - and not settle for the cheapest workable option we can find. If it lasts, it will more than pay for itself in the time and energy necessary to remove snow from a long driveway and sidewalk year after year after year - or however long we're in Nebraska.

Please don't take this post as anything more than a reasonably-new-mother trying to get her thoughts out. If anything, I'm preaching to myself. Take from it what you want, but there's nothing I'm trying to convince you of. You don't need my convincing.

So, Your thoughts?