Financial Peace

I just finished reading Dave Ramsey's book Financial Peace for the 2nd time. I first read it the year after I graduated college but didn't apply much of it then. I think I was inspired to read it again now because we recently took out a fairly large personal loan to make improvements to the house/yard. The main thing I remembered from the book was the "Debt Snowball" plan for getting rid of debt quickly. I knew we needed to apply that now or else we will be paying on our school loans until I am 57 years old. Ouch!

You pretty much have to get mad about your debt in order to have the motivation to eliminate it. It's best if you come up with ways of finding a little extra money (garage sale, part-time job, eat out less, etc) to put towards paying off that debt. First, you list out all your debts in order from least to greatest balance (include the type, balance, monthly payment and interest rate). Then you put all the money you can towards the lowest balance until it's paid off, while still paying the minimum payment on your other debts (to avoid penalties). Once that 1st balance is gone, you attack the 2nd debt, paying the normal amount PLUS the amount you used to normally pay on the 1st debt. You are therefore paying extra on the 2nd debt and it will disappear quickly. Once the 2nd debt is gone, you attack the 3rd, paying it's normal payment plus the amounts you used to pay on the 1st two. So, your monthly overall debt payment total (for all debts combined) is the same, but it is allocated differently that before. Get it? Eventually you will have paid off everything ahead of schedule so you will save on interest and be finally freeeee!

One example he gives is that a $100,000 30-year mortgage at 10% will be paid off in 21.1 years just by paying one extra payment per year. That's almost 9 years early just for ONE extra payment per YEAR. Wow! And think of all that interest you'd save!

One reason you start with the smallest debts even if their interest rate is lower is because you will see progress sooner and will be encouraged to keep going. He stresses that once you get rid of you debts you can easily save up for future purchases and not ever take on debt again. You don't want to fall and live in that hole again once you've tasted freedom!

Dave goes over so many important financial things in this book! He stresses the need to save money. He says first you need to pay minimum on everything until you get $1,000 in savings. Then kill all your debt (as described above), except your home. Then save up 3-6 months of living expenses into an account that can be accessed easily (a savings account, not an IRA, for example). This is your emergency fund and needs to remain untouched unless there is an emergency (medical, for example). He says that Money magazine stated that "75% of families will have a major negative financial event in any 10-year period". This causes a lot of bankruptcies because most people are just not prepared for that possibility (they have little to no savings).

After you have your emergency savings, you should save for retirement by investing in various places, especially all pretax retirement savings plans (401k, deductible IRA, etc) you possibly can. He explains all the options and also strongly recommends mutual funds (there is a whole chapter explaining those).

Once you are saving regularly for retirement, put all the extra money you can towards finishing off your home mortgage. Get that loan paid off early!

At the back of the book he provides many financial worksheets that help you get started, get organized and stay on track with your financial goals. You really should read this book and take notes!

Here are some other things he said that stood out to me:

"The personal, philosophical and emotional problems and strengths that you have will be reflected in your use of money. It you are very disciplined, you can be a good saver of money. If you are very selfish or self-centered, you will surround yourself with expensive toys that you cannot afford."

"No farmer has ever grown a crop unless he planted some seed. Personal growth requires that you give money away.... Somehow giving reminds us that the world does not revolve around us and that no matter what our financial status is, someone always is in a much worse situation. Good things that cannot be calculated or quantified are set in motion in your life and in your finances when you give."

"If you have too many open credit card accounts, even with zero balances, the mortgage company will count it against you when qualifying for a mortgage."

"The most effective way to save is by applying discipline over a period of time, as opposed to trying to save in big splashes. There are at least 3 main reasons to save money. First, you should save until you have built an emergency fund. Second, you should save for purchases to avoid debt. Third, you should save for wealth building."

"To the husbands: The emergency fund is an investment in your marriage! Women feel more secure with that 3-6 months of expenses in the bank!"

"You should never invest in anything you do not understand thoroughly.... If you cannot explain it to someone else, you should not buy or invest in it."

"Mutual funds are never short-term investments. If you cannot leave money alone at least 5 years, then you should not invest. Ibbotson's yearbook, a reference on most mutual fund brokers' desks, advises that if you had invested on the short term, just one year, in small company stocks you would have lost money 29 of the last 69 years. However, by leaving your investment alone in any possible 10-year period in the last 69 years, you would have made money 97% of the time and would have averaged over 12% per year."

"Never invest in something if the risk robs you or your spouse's peace."

"You have to avoid getting buying fever. When you get the fever, you lose all patience and negotiating power."

"Money--how it is handled and how it is managed--plays an intense role in the dynamic of the family."

"Most men draw much of their self-esteem or ego satisfaction from a sense of accomplishment in their chosen career, and in America we seem to keep score on the success of the career by dollar amounts. So money, the lack of it or the poor management of it can have an empowering or devastating effect on the husband."

"Women derive something different from the way money is managed in the household. They draw security and peace from the proper handling of household finances. If the money is managed poorly and there is constant stress, the wife will tend to feel insecure."

"I think we should learn financial principles and then pass them on to our children as if our life depended on it. Teach the children and start young."

"The man, woman or couple who makes significant financial decisions without careful consideration of outside counsel first is destined for pain and heartache."

"God gave women a sixth sense called women's intuition, which He did not give us. Most women have the ability to come to the right decision even if they totally misunderstood or have not a clue about the data. I am a very logical person so I fought this for years--and I can't tell you how much money it cost me and how much I've saved since taking my wife's advice. Women often get the right answer by "feeling" it."

"It takes an emotionally secure person to seek and seriously consider the counsel of parents."

"Everyone needs a written budget.... Something mystical happens when we commit something personal to writing. We somehow begin to live out our plans.... A good plan lives and moves--is dynamic--and changes as your life changes."

"If you want to control your estate and be responsible to your family, you need to have a current will."

"Successful people know the value of discipline in their lives."

1 Fresh Stir Fry

We had dinner tonight at this local place called 1 Fresh Stir Fry. It's in between a fast food and a sit-down restaurant (you order at the counter but they bring you your food and take away your bowls and trash when you are finished). You mark your order with a dry-erase marker on a laminated card, choosing your starch (various rices and pastas), meat, veggies, sauce (7 choices ranging from sweet to spicy) and topping (various nuts, herbs, crumbled cheeses, etc) and then they ring you up at the register. The location closest to our house is always really clean and quiet (there is one other location in town).

I usually get my stir-fry in a bowl, but tonight I opted for the wrap version (for the 1st time). I was not disappointed! They even served Ruffles potato chips with the wrap (I was unaware that they would that).

With every order they give you a large malt ball for dessert. After eating your delicious stir-fry meal (they also have sushi & salads), a large chocolate malt ball is the perfect finish. Tonight it seemed especially delicious. I put the whole thing in my mouth and slowly chewed it as it melted. It seemed larger than it actually was, filling my whole mouth with luscious chocolatey goodness. I was in heaven!

Shopping while pregnant

I went to Governor's Square Mall yesterday to get my free $20 Discover gift card. The process was simple (show them my receipts totaling at least $200 and sign my name on a list indicating that I received a gift card) and I didn't have to wait in line. Yeah! Of course I browsed the mall next. Actually, I started by eating a chocolate chip cookie with frosting on it from the Great American Cookie Co. I love treating myself to that when shopping at the mall and I hadn't had one in a looooong time.

It's different shopping now that I'm pregnant (aside from the fact that I go to the bathroom about every hour). Most of the stores at the mall are clothing stores, but I can't wear normal clothes anymore so I have to skip a lot of stores while browsing. I did manage to find the tiny maternity section at JC Penney and ended up buying 3 necessary items (that were on sale!)--another pair of jeans (this pair has the panel that sits under the belly, my other pair has the panel that goes over the belly), a black long-sleeved shirt and a grey long-sleeved shirt.

The maternity/plus size dressing room was closed and locked so I had to find another one and it was clear across the store. I was a bit perturbed about that...of all the dressing rooms that should stay open, that is the one because it is more of a burden for the heavier ladies to walk far! I had to try a medium and large size of everything because I'm not sure which one would fit better so I had a heavy stack of clothes. Oy!

I also bought 2 Christmas candle holders and 2 oil warmers with some birthday money. The designs on the candle holders are more visible when the tealights are lit inside because then the shapes glow through. I love snowflakes and elephants so I was very happy to find these! The elephant oil warmer is the cutest ever!





Once it was dark outside I realized that the mall looks really neat inside in the evenings. The lighting is minimal so it was mostly dark overhead (way up in the rafters) with the glow from the stores all around. There were only a few small bulbs for the overhead lighting and the rest of the lighting was comprised of small bulbs arranged in 3 rows around a mirrored section high up on the supporting poles. Very nifty!

I found out that at this mall you can take your pet to get a picture on Santa's lap. How funny is that? They say since your pet is part of the family, why not? I'd like to see how that goes down. I know Minga wouldn't sit still! She'd probably pull Santa's beard off!

Thoughts on Tallahassee

Tallahassee is a nice town. There are trees EVERYWHERE and lots of canopy roads (trees on both sides of the road that branch over the road and intertwine above in a canopy-like fashion). The numerous trees sometimes make it hard to find a store or restaurant because they line the roads and block your view of parking lots and buildings. At least it's prettier that way though.

There are also bike lanes on just about every road (impressive). I have yet to see a cyclist in that lane though. I think it would be a bit scary to ride there, but I guess it's better than riding on the edge of a regular lane like in most cities. Many times just before an intersection, the tiny bike lane will be in between the regular lane and one of those curving right turn lanes where you just have to yield and not stop at the light. It would be nervewracking to be a biker sandwiched between two cars there!

Tallahassee is a town of U-turns. There are lots of divided highway type roads (gotta have those trees lining the median!) which means you usually have to turn right out of parking lots. I've already done more U-turns in the 3+ months I've lived here than I did in my 12 driving years in Tulsa! Wheee!

There are several movie theaters in Tallahassee and even a $1 theater (which I'm told is rare...though Tulsa had at least 2 of them). The screens aren't as large as the newer theaters in Tulsa, but the cool thing is they charge matinee price Monday through Thursday (even in the evenings!). So, you only pay full price for a weekend evening.

Lots of African Americans live and work in Tallahassee. You see them everywhere. I first realized their numbers when I saw that there are so many of them working at the stores, restaurants and banks (more than I was used to seeing in Tulsa). All the ones I've encountered are very friendly. In fact, the people in this town are more friendly in general than in Tulsa (they chat with you more at the grocery store, etc). People say Tallahassee looks and seems more like Southern Georgia and there really is that southern hospitality here. Bring it on!

The temperature here is milder than Tulsa, but it's not Southern Florida so we do have seasons here. The daytime high has been between 60 and 70 degrees and the nighttime low has been 38 degrees for a couple of weeks now. We haven't turned our heat on yet because of the warmer sunny days. We just snuggle under the down comforter at bedtime so we stay toasty. With these temperatures and the good amounts of rain, some of the green underbrush (clovers and such) that got scraped over during the yard clearing is sprouting up again. And the rye grass we planted is growing just fine. It's weird to see so much green grass (and even new growth) in November! You don't see that in Tulsa (it's all dry and brown there). Ah yes, and Tallahassee has lots of groovy vegetation and trees such as Spanish moss, Palm trees and Banana trees.

Tallahassee has many parks, small lakes and many many churches. And the town has quite a few regular events, such as the Downtown Marketplace which is where people sell food and art at booths downtown every Saturday from March to November (and there is live entertainment). When walking around downtown I don't feel unsafe. In fact, I haven't even been in a shady part of town yet (don't even know where they are). It's a college town so there are lots of students, but it's also a family town that has fought to keep out the naughty strip clubs.

Yes, I'm glad we landed in this town for Craig's schooling and bought our first home here.

Chicken Burrito RECIPE

Here is a quick and delicious recipe:

Chicken Burrito Bundles

2 c. chopped cooked chicken
1 (1 1/4 oz) pkg taco seasoning mix
1 (16 oz) can refried beans
6 (8") flour tortillas
1 (8 oz) pkg shredded Cheddar cheese
3 plum tomatoes, diced
1 sm onion, diced
salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cooked chicken and seasoning mix in a large heavy-duty ziplock bag; seal and shake to coat. Spread beans down center of tortillas. Top with chicken, cheese, tomatoes and onion; roll up tortillas. Wrap each in aluminum foil and place on large cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Serve with salsa. Serves 6.

You can easily tweak this recipe. I made this last night but I didn't have any tomatoes so I just used a 10 oz can of Rotel. Get creative! Let me know what variations you try.

A nice evening at home

Tonight I put together a quick dinner I've never made before--General Tso's Chicken (frozen breaded chicken bites with ginger/garlic sauce packet...from Sam's, I think) with brown rice and stir-fried broccoli & cauliflower (seasoned with bottled stir-fry sauce). It was rather tasty and Craig discovered a piece of breaded chicken that looked just like a little duck. We put the duck in sauce (so it looked like he was swimming) and took a picture. Isn't he so cute?



After dinner we hung up some globe lights in the living room. We had white Christmas lights there but one string stopped working (after like 5 years!) so we upgraded to the cool globe lights that we found while browsing in Target. I ended up buying a replacement string of white lights (about $2) and we will put those 2 strings hanging above our front porch for nights that we want to sit in our new screened-in porch and enjoy coversation with friends.





I was going to go to the mall to get my free $20 gift card (thanks to Discover) but it started raining and I decided to stay home. This was the first rain we've had since our screened-in porch has been finished so we went outside to see if the rain was staying out of that area. It was raining hard (with lots of thunder and lightning) and the place was dry. Yeah!

We had Super Fudge Brownie ice cream for dessert. This is one of our favorites. It is made by Blue Bunny and you simply must try it if you like chocolate.

We watched an episode of "House" that we had TiVo'd yesterday. House is such a crazy character, always pushing the limits! He's so opposite of me!

We finished the evening by doing random things on our computers (Craig was playing "Second Life" and I emailed, posted to my blog, etc).

Dog Dreams

We have some good laughs watching Minga nap sometimes. She dreams a lot and is an active sleeper. Her muscles twitch, her legs move and she whines or barks (muffled barks with her mouth mostly closed). When she was a lot younger she would do the suckling motion with her mouth (dreaming of momma, I assume). Whenever she barks a lot in her sleep we can't help but laugh because it's just cute and funny for some reason. It would be interesting to see what she's dreaming.

Last night was the first time I can remember hearing Craig talk in his sleep and actually understanding what he said AND remembering it in the morning so I could tell him! He very clearly said, "Good girl, Minga! Good girl." Haha! How sweet. We dream of her and I'm sure she dreams of us too.

I love my Discover Card!

I just have to say that my Discover credit card is the best! I've gotten so much free stuff from using it. And since I always pay off the balance every month, I'm not paying any interest or fees.

Here's an amazing fact: Craig and I have not had to pay for a single movie rental during the entire 5+ years of our marriage thanks to our Discover Card rewards. We rent several movies a month on average...and sometimes even more if we are catching up on a TV show like Alias or The Office. So how cool is that?!

With my Discover card I can choose to get cash back, a credit on my statement or rewards such as movie rentals, movie tickets or gift cards to restaurants or stores. Some Rewards Partners even let you double the amount of your reward (accrue $20 in cashback savings but get a $40 gift card!). Plus, for every 3 month period Discover offers 5% cashback on a defined spending category, such as gas, groceries, entertainment, etc. So, if the category is entertainment, during those 3 months every time you rent a movie, go to the theater, go out to eat, go bowling, etc you get a 5% cashback reward on your account (instead of the normal 1% or 2%).

The thing that prompted this post is that I just got a card in the mail from Discover that says for the next 2 months every time I spend $200 dollars at the mall I get a $20 gift card free. I already spent $200 on maternity clothes my birthday weekend so I already get a $20 gift card. I didn't even see that coming! And you know I'll get at least another one because the Christmas season is starting! Wahoooooo!

I know they do all these extra cashback specials to get you to spend more money, but it's still nice and fun. You just need self-control so you don't overspend. It IS possible to work the system! My Personal Financial Planning teacher at ORU warned us about credit cards (their tricks, the fine print, the dangers of overspending, etc) and told us that credit cards don't have to be bad if you are smart/disciplined with them and understand how they really work. He said in this modern day you pretty much have to have a credit card (to rent a car, make hotel reservations, build good credit, etc) so he encouraged us to get a Discover Card or one with cashback rewards. So, I did and I'm soooooo glad!

I've made the changeover

Today I got a Florida license plate for my car! That completes the official changeover from Oklahoma resident to Florida resident.

I got my driver's license within the first 3 days we were here because the Jeep tag expired at the end of July and in order to get a Florida one Craig and I had to get Florida driver's licenses first because both of our names were on the car title. So, now I have a Florida license, tag and a home. And fairly soon I will birth a child in Florida. Yipeee!

Sunlight and random findings

I love it when the sunrays stream through the trees in the morning!



This is the view from our bedroom balcony so I see these awesome rays every morning:







The guys who built our fence found this abandoned turtle shell in the creek:



We found this lovely snakeskin after one of the landscaping guys said he saw what he believed to be a rattlesnake slither under the house (I was paranoid about stumbling across the snake for the rest of the week!):



This rusty old shed was useless to us (it was falling over and the doors didn't close anymore) so we had it torn down (it was full of old paint cans and who knows what else):



The landscapers found all sorts of rusty metal things (car & refrigerator parts mostly) while clearing out our jungle:



Here's an old car (Craig said it was a Rambler) they found smashed and upside down in our yard:



Here's part of what appeared to be an old dog pen fence:



These manholes showed themselves once the underbrush was cleared away (Craig had the city come and look at them...we now know that there are active sewage pipes in our yard, but the manholes certainly hadn't been accessed in years because no one even knew they were there):

AFTER yard pics

This is how our property looks now (cleared yard and new fence, screened-in porch, ramp, staircases and some grass). The projects lasted from the 2nd week of August to the 1st week of November, with some days off here and there.













Inside screened-in porch (the railing tops are wide in here too--so handy!):



Main balcony with new wider railing tops on right side:



Back of the house (there is a large gate on the left side, you can just see the shiny hinges):



See the bright green rye grass growing on the side of the house?:





From the edge of the fence looking down the hill at our yard (it really is a steep hill but you can't tell here):



Someday this yard will all be nice and grassy (good for picnics by the creek!):



View of backyard from master bedroom balcony (the creek is at the edge of our dirt yard...it's green on the other side of the creek):



Left side of yard:



Left side of yard looking towards front (the X marks the spot where the gate is):



Under the front of the house (under the front porch):



Our under the house storage area (under the kitchen):



Front stairs on right side of the yard, which join the main balcony right by the ramp gate and across from the screened-in porch door:





Back stairs on right side of the yard, which go up to the master bedroom balcony:



It's so handy being able to let Minga out our sliding glass door in the morning (she sleeps on the floor in our room) to go to the bathroom by herself!



What's next? Planting grass, plants and trees (hopefully even some palm trees!). We've planted some Wax Myrtles that will make a nice hedge at the northern border of our property and some ground cover grass and Saw Palmettos in another spot. We have already bought more ground cover to plant around the manholes and a Cyprus tree to plant near the creek. We were just waiting to hear back on the palm tree situation before committing these plants to the ground (because they might be in the way of the palm tree planting truck). Turns out the palm tree guy's truck can't get down our steep hill while carrying the super heavy palm trees without tipping over. We are working out a deal to get the trees brought down our hill on a trailer and then the truck can drive down alone to plant them. More on palm trees later....

WANNA COME VISIT US NOW?

BEFORE and DURING yard pics

The guys we hired to build a fence, ramp, stairs, etc are also the guys who totally renovated the house in July 2003 (3 years before we bought it). We randomly met them when we were looking at the house for the 2nd time after we already had a pending contract to buy it. They let us see (and scan) the pictures they took of it during the renovation process. Here are 2 of their pictures before their work began (in comparing these to my current pictues, you will notice that they changed the glass front doors to a regular door and added a kitchen window as well as a dining room window and 3 living room windows on the sides of the house, amongst other things):



The original house didn't have any windows on the right side of the top 2 floors:



The first changes we had done to our property (other than replacing the stove and having an over-the-range microwave installed) was clearing of the underbrush and scraggly trees in our yard. Even though we liked the look of our jungle of a yard, we wanted to have a yard we could actually walk in and play in. The growth was so thick that it was hard to navigate through (I didn't walk or see our whole 3/4 acre property until the jungle was cleared), not to mention the poison ivy and many spiderwebs you'd get all over you. Plus, our realtor told us that landscaping is like the #1 way to increase your property's value (and you get the money you spent on the landscaping back dollar for doller plus more when you sell the house).

We hired 4 groups to tackle our land. The first group cleared out all the underbrush and sprayed to kill the weeds and poison ivy.







The second group removed all the trees we had marked and some dead vines hanging from the trees that we were keeping.





This branch fell during the night and landed right where Craig's Jeep had been parked the day before--it would have done some damage! This prompted us to look into removing the larger trees that were dangerous or had diseases and would become unstable.



Pine tree (lightest colored tree on left) and Sweet Gum tree (by house with lots of leaves) before removal:



Sweet Gum tree has been cut down and the pine tree (it was diseased) is next to go. This picture shows you how tall it was:



Side of house without the Pine and Sweet Gum trees:



Cutting down the big pine:



Pine tree on the ground (notice the heart-shaped base):



Grinding the big pine tree's stump:



The third group dug a ditch to divert the water that rushes down our driveway from the street when it rains, graded the yard to eliminate puddles and smoothed out the ground to get it ready for grass planting.

This young guy had fun smoothing out our yard with this setup (a 4-wheeler pulling 2 crates with cinderblocks on them):



The ditch, viewed from the main balcony:



The fourth group (just 2 guys, actually) built a fence around the house to keep Minga in (and to hide the uglier underneath parts of the house). They also added 2 stairways (from the master and main balconies) so we could let Minga outside in more than one place and she'd be in the fenced yard. They replaced the main stairs up to the house with a ramp to avoid the precarious walkway that has been deteriorating over the years. They made all of the main balcony railing tops uniform in size (parts were skinnier than others). Now they are nice and wide and we can have outdoor parties with lots of people and they can put their drinks or plates on the balcony railings! And, they screened in the front porch, which included making the office balcony leakproof since it is the roof to the front porch.

Back of house before the fence was built:



Craig and his mom (who visited us for a week in October) on main balcony looking down at the fence guys working:



Fence posts on right side of house:



The ditch runs along the outside of the fence along the southern (right side) property line:



The ditch diverts the water to the creek at the back of our property. Here is the full creek on 9-10-06:



Here is the full creek on 10-22-06 (so maybe once a month it rains really hard and the creek is full...when it's not full, the water is really clear):



Craig threw some rye grass seeds on the ground on 10-25-06 and they started growing by the next week. It is only a winter grass, so come spring time we will have to decide how to grass the whole yard (depends on what we can afford). The rye grass is a temporary solution to help control erosion on the hill when it rains (you can see pics of the bright green grass growing on the next post).



This is the dangerous walkway. The driveway has been slowly breaking apart over the years when it rains hard so there are pieces of it and also roots and other things that make this pathway unsafe.



Posts for the ramp:



Ramp without the railing:



Completed ramp (it's such a nice, wide and gently sloping ramp!):



Ramp with gate (so we can truly lock Minga in the fenced area):



The last project was the screened-in porch. There was more work involved than they had originally anticipated, such as having to remove the house siding and move the outside light in order to secure the wooden posts to the house properly. They did a such great job of putting it all back together that you would never even know what all they had to do. These guys are perfectionists and take their time to do things right.



On my birthday, they had a bonfire and burned more of the wood scraps from their projects. I wanted to toast marshmallows and make s'mores but they said the wood was treated and I shouldn't inhale the smoke or anything so I couldn't. Sigh.



View my next post to see the AFTER pics of all these projects!

Mmmm

Is there any ice better than Sonic's crushed ice? And is there any cherry limeade better than one from Sonic? I think not!

Speaking of drinks, I made homemade lemonade the other day for the first time. It is delicious! One of the guys that has been building our fence brought me a whole bag of lemons from the tree in his yard. Next on my list is to make a lemon pie or lemon bars. Mmmm!

Our Little Angel

Minga is being a total angel today! She didn't whine at all in the morning. This is her first day to be able to run free like a dog since her injury so you think she would be going crazy with excitement. But, she's not. I took her for a walk this morning and she behaved better than ever before! She didn't try to walk ahead of me and she didn't really react to other people or dogs when we passed them (that is, she didn't do her usual jumping up and down, panting and tugging at the leash to run after them). She kept her head high and didn't sniff along the ground like usual. Dogs behind fences were barking like crazy and she just kept walking. Oh, she made me so proud!

The only time she didn't keep walking was when we passed someone's Halloween display. There was a carved pumpkin with a hat and straw for hair, a scarecrow and a skeleton that looked like it was coming out of the ground. She was so scared of that display! I got her to calm down though and she gradually and cautiously walked over to it to sniff it. Then we moved on and the next time we passed it she just kept on walking. Way to go, Minga!

I think this is her Guam Day present to me. What is Guam day, you ask? It's a day Craig made up. It is the day before your birthday because it is your birthday in Guam then due to the international date line. So, you can celebrate for 2 days instead of just one! We love birthdays.

We have many nicknames for Minga. It's cute when our friends, parents and even the guys who are building our fence use one of her nicknames. Some of them are: Ming, Mingy, Mingert, Mingamos, Minga Bergman, Ming-Pong Ming-Pong, Mingtropolis, Minga Mae, Mingaroo, Mingarooski, Puppins and Slobberdonovich.

Minga is about 65 lbs now. Her black coat has always been shiny and gorgeous (our friends Mark & Beth recommended in the beginning that we feed her the healthy Nutro Natural Choice dog food and we have). We discovered that she loves ice cubes and the vet says they are okay for her teeth. What a cheap treat! She now runs to the kitchen whenever she hears me rummaging around in the ice bin.













I think her front legs look funny when she lays like this:



Minga is so tall when she stands on her hind legs now! She still jumps up on people (that's like her one bad habit, or puppy sin, as Craig calls it). That is a hard habit to break because she just gets so excited to see anyone and everyone that she jumps up to greet them (this is really bad when she's muddy!). The guy who repaired our washer said we should stick our knee out quickly when she jumps up and that will hit her chest and knock her back on her butt and eventually she won't jump up on anyone because she will get the point. It worked for him and his big dogs. The problem with that is that Minga no longer jumps up on me because I catch her before she does and tell her to "Stay down" and she does. (If strangers only knew in time to tell her to stay down they wouldn't be jumped on either.) So, that leaves Craig and everyone else to give her the knee. It's hard to get everyone else to do that though ("Hey Mailman, just stick your knee out and knock her down with it!") so who knows how we will break her of this bad habit.



The other day I felt like I was using "The Force" on Minga. She was out on the office balcony and I was sitting at my desk. She decided that she wanted to come back inside so she started jumping up on the sliding glass door and barking. I said, "No" and stared at her. She stopped for a minute but then continued. So, I stuck my arm out and pointed at her and gave her a mean look but didn't say anything. She immediately sat down and then quickly layed down and just looked at me. She stayed like that for awhile. Some time later she jumped up so I did the same thing and she responded in the same way. Even later that day I was able to just look at her with my arm outstretched and she obeyed. But, once I thought about how it was like I was using "The Force" I lost my powers because I kept laughing every time I tried it thereafter. I cracked up so hard and Minga just stood there staring at me. She could tell I wasn't serious anymore. It was fun though and I had a few good laughs.

Speaking of a few good laughs, I had a few when I looked at the many pictures we have of Minga where one eye is green like a zombie or robot something. It's always the right eye, so I think something's going on there and we should maybe fear for our lives because "it" will one day take over her and then us.



What a dirty zombie dog!





Oh, and another thing about Minga that makes me laugh...sometimes she will be whining about something (like wanting to come into the bathroom with me but she can't because I shut the door). She will whine for a bit outside the door and I will tell her, "No". Then she'll lie down and as she does so she lets out a really funny whiney sigh. It is such a funny sound and it makes me laugh every time!

I'm PREGNANT!!

I'm sure most of you already know by now that I'm pregnant, but here is the official report with pics....

I found a pregnancy test that my cousin had given me (she was pregnant and didn't need it anymore) when we were packing to move to Florida. On Friday, July 21st at 5:30pm Craig suggested that I take the test because we were going out to dinner with friends that night (for the last time before moving) and might consume margaritas or some other tasty alcoholic beverage. I took the test and was SO surprised to see that it turned out positive that I screamed. I hadn't had any symptoms yet, except a few days here and there where I was unexpectedly tired (I had just chocked those up to working all day and then packing and preparing for the big move every evening).

I took another test the next morning (don't we all?) and then scheduled an appointment with my doctor ASAP. On Tuesday, the nurse confirmed my pregnancy with a urine test and told me I was already 9 weeks along based on the menstrual & basal temperature charts of mine that I had shown her. I was in disbelief. She told me to take prenatal vitamins, rest a lot, get plenty of calcium and not to lift heavy objects. I gave blood at the lab for tests (HIV and other diseases) and that was it. I didn't see the doctor since I was moving in 2 days and my new doctor would want to do the complete exam and history visit.

So, that Thursday and Friday we drove to Florida. I drove my car the whole way and Craig drove the Jeep with Minga in the passenger seat. My parents drove their van pulling a U-Haul trailer (both were full of our things that weren't allowed on the moving truck, such as our little gas grill and propane camping stove). My mom ended up riding with me most of the time to help keep me awake. I couldn't have driven the whole 941 miles (15 1/2 hours + stops) without her. My parents and I stopped at a motel for the night but Craig kept driving with Minga. He was anxious to get to the house and we had to be sure someone got there before the ABF moving truck arrived with our things on Friday. To make a long story short, we had no trouble during our travels and we got everything unloaded from our cars, the van and the large truck by 8:30pm Friday night. We were exhausted and rested while eating pizza (delivery) for dinner.

My parents stayed with us a week to help unpack and settle in, which included using their van to haul the large items we bought for the house. During the week, I noticed some more pregnancy symptoms (fuller & sore breasts, had to urinate a lot, felt sick if waited too long to eat and had more days where I was extremely tired). The Sunday after they left my nausea began. I was nauseated 24/7 and it sucked. I was constantly eating crackers and mints to tame it. I never threw up though (thank God). I don't handle nausea well so by Saturday I broke down crying. I didn't know when it would ease up and I didn't think I could handle any more. Craig saw my distress and immediately comforted me and did all the chores I was trying to do (clean the bathrooms, etc). Thankfully, the nausea eased up during the next day. It was sporatic for a bit and then came faithfully every evening (before and after dinner, lasting until bedtime). I hated bedtime because lying down made me feel worse. But, I always managed to drift off to sleep and didn't usually wake until morning (and I always felt fine in the morning).

I finally made an appointment with a doctor in Florida on August 24th. They asked me questions about my health history, took blood for more tests and gave me a packet of information about pregnancy (what foods to eat, what drugs I can and can't take, etc) and the hospital here. They also gave me a book called "Your Pregnancy and Birth" which is a good one covering all the basics and a couple of magazines (one has really incredible and amazing photos of a baby in the womb during each month of pregnancy). They scheduled my next appointment and sent me on my way. I was pleased not to even have to pay a co-pay for the visit.

I had my first ultrasound at my next appointment on September 8th. I met the doctor for the first time then and was pleased by my random choice (the nurses told me during my first visit that he's a favorite around there). The doctor said that according to the size of the baby I was only 11 weeks and not 16. We were shocked and had to adjust to that news. So, that meant that the last bleeding I had in June was not the implantation bleeding like I had thought but must have been an early and light period. Weird. My body played some tricks on me! The setback turned out to be good because it meant I had more time to do things right (food and exercise) and that traveling at Christmas would be a bit easier because I'd be a month less far along than originally thought. Oh, my new due date is March 29th, which is Craig's birthday!

The ultrasound was great because we could see the baby's heart beating and limbs moving. They gave us 3 pictures (which we promptly put on our fridge) and scheduled my next appointment for a month later. At the next appointment we got to hear the baby's heartbeat and ask the doctor questions.

We had a little scare in between appointments because I tested positive for being a carrier of cystic fibrosis (blood test). That means I have a defective gene on chromosome 7. They had to test Craig to see if he is a carrier too. If he wasn't then we'd have nothing to worry about. If he was though, there is a 25% chance that our baby would have cystic fibrosis (and a 50% chance that our baby wouldn't have the disease but would be a carrier). I had to read up about it on the internet. It's an awful, life-threatening disease. It affects the lungs and pancreas mostly (mucus clogs them and causes problems). Not a fun way to live! Praise God he tested negative! Case closed.

At the beginning of the 2nd trimester my nausea went away completely. Wahoooo! I also had more energy and actually felt hungry before mealtimes instead of just sick. I've only thrown up once so far and it seemed really random to me. We were getting ready to go out to eat dinner and I suddenly didn't feel well but thought it was just because I was hungry. I asked Craig to hurry and get his shoes on while I started munching on carrots. Suddenly, I rushed over to the kitchen sink and threw up several times. It was hard puking while standing like that (I had never done it before)! I had eaten lunch (leftover crockpot meal of carrots, potatoes, onions and chicken) about 5 hours earlier and let me just say that it didn't look digested. I was upset that I threw up that night because it was the one night we actually had plans to go downtown with our only Tallahassee friends. Needless to say, we didn't go out to dinner. I ate soup and tried to figure out if I felt well enough to still go out later. An hour and a half later I decided that I felt totally fine and we did go downtown and then to a late movie with our friends. Yeah!

So here I am now...19 weeks pregnant and feeling good. I still get hungry every 2-3 hours so I eat 6-7 times a day. I think my stomach has shrunk because I can't eat big meals anymore. It's better to eat 6 small meals a day rather than 3 normal/large ones anyway. I eat oatmeal every morning (for my first breakfast) and have not tired of it yet (amazing). My snacks are mostly cereal (the healthy ones), fruit (I crave fruit a lot), cheese & crackers, yogurt (need that calcium!) and granola or breakfast bars. I was surprised to discover that I don't crave sweets (other than ice cream) anymore. They still taste good when I do eat them, but I don't eat them as much because I don't strongly desire them (and if you don't strongly desire sweets, then why eat them because they aren't good for you). I get winded easily (due to hormonal changes) and have a harder time breathing when lying down because my nose feels a bit stuffed up even though it's clear (I've read that it's because the mucus membranes in my nose are a bit swollen from all the extra blood coursing through me). I've also felt a few sharp pains here and there which is due to my expanding uterus (the round ligaments that support it are stretching). It sounds funny but I rejoice at every bowel movement I have because I've heard/read so much about constipation during pregnancy (and constipation can lead to awful hemorrhoids!).

I just had my 2nd ultrasound on October 30th. They said come with a full bladder but I had to pee so badly when I woke up that I decided to get relief instead of holding it until the appointment, which was an hour later. I then drank my usual 8 oz of orange juice with breakfast, but also drank 8 oz of water (all I could get down before the appointment). By the time I was shown back to the ultrasound room (20 minutes after my scheduled appointment) I really really had to go pee again. I told the ultrasound tech that I had a full bladder as requested and she said it didn't have to be uncomfortably full, just needed a little something in it. She started the ultrasound and saw that my bladder was so full that it was cramping the baby's space (I didn't know it would do that!). She took a picture of my cervix and then had me empty my bladder so the baby could stretch out and she'd be able to get good pictures. So, a full bladder is not necessary for a baby-viewing ultrasound after all! It was good for viewing the cervix though. This ultrasound was a long one (so great!) done by an ultrasound tech (rather than the doctor) who checks every part of the baby's body to be sure everything looks good. She was really nice and explained what she was looking at (kidneys, heart, liver, spine, lips, thigh bones, etc) so we knew what was going on. When she showed us the baby's privates and said it's a girl, I cried because that's what Craig and I really wanted to have first. She tooks lots of pics (one of every major part) and gave us 9. I've posted the best 3 here.

Baby girl's belly, hand and face:



Baby girl's body with feet up over her head:



Baby's head and spine:



And here are those current belly pics some of you have requested:







I used to be able to wear this shirt without my belly showing!

I'll keep you posted on the pregnancy and provide you with more pics as my belly grows.